For Surgeon's Eyes - But You Can Look

So this is a weird post. I need to have the pictures of Ashley's hand available for the surgeons in Denver. The easiest way is to post to my blog, then they can review, study and print them if they wish.

Enjoy!

To Docs:  Dr. Jennifer Forest removed the cast at 11:00 am on Tuesday, March 29.  Ashley had been cast for 29 days.  After removal of the cast, her hand and forearm went into spasms.  Dr. F used compression to stop spasm.  A splint is being used to wean her from the support. 

At 24 hours after removing cast, Ashley reporsts that she feels she has more use of hand. She can flex fingers.  I have noticed her using the hand more as well.

Hand Open

Can touch fingers to thumb



Fingers Open except pinky which continued to tuck.  She had lots of pain in the joints of the pinky while in the cast.  Post-surgery might need to cast hand further around fingers to prevent curling.  She has callouses on inside thumb joints where her fingers would curl and rub on the cast itself.



Cast off - 1 minute

Fingers curl up instead of down

Cast off 9 hours.

Fisting.  Could open. 

Touching fingers

Sitting

There have been times in my life of forced stillness.  I'm not really good with those.  But God always speaks so powerfully to me during those times.

After surgery.

Before the birth of a child.

Sitting in a Hospital Emergency Room.

Waiting in traffic.

Just breathing.

Today is forced stillness.  For my body.  My mind is working - always.  But I'm practicing quietening it to the pace my body needs today.

And listening.

What is He saying today?

The Church That Built Me

A current popular song tells of a girl returning to her childhood home asking the owner if she can come in and see the house where she grew up.  She tells of hand prints in cement and back bedrooms where she learned to play music and how her daddy built the house of her momma's dreams.  She sings of the "House that Built Me."

 

In December, I was blessed to return to Big Spring, Texas - where I grew up.  We were moving our friends there - okay, that's sad - but in doing so, I was able to return to the church that built me.

The church where I first met Jesus.

The church where I first felt the Holy Spirit draw me to his side.

The church where I was baptized.

It is now the Spanish Assembly of God in town.  Luckily, the ladies of the church where there organizing a banquet for the next day and they allowed me to walk through with Marilyn, Chris and Ashley.

The auditorium

Front Row, Organ Side

I often stacked hymnals to make Barbie an apartment during long Sunday night services.

This is the place I gave my heart to Jesus.

It's also the place where I first received the gift of tongues.

The shelf my dad had built on the pulpit to hold the microphone stand and annointing oil are still there.  There was once a sign he taped to where he could read every service:

"Give These People Jesus"

My Kids  in  My Church.

Outside Sign

I've played hours of hide-and-seek around that sign!

I also spent hours "flying" a spaceship - most people called it the air conditioner compressor.  I knew that we blew the compressor at least once by flipping the switch off and on as we flew on missions around the earth.

My House.

My daddy planted the all the trees.

See the scratches on this pew.  Ever think of all the hands and baby teeth that were cut on those

pews.  A heritage.

The Brown's

God has a purpose for every encounter.  For every person you meet.

When I worked at the school district, the building hired a night janitorial person.  She came in the afternoon and we often visited in the lounge.  She was great to help me on special projects and events - and she had a great laugh!

This week, we reconnected thanks to an article in the paper on her son.

Not really the connections you want to make - based upon mutual pain - but still God-ordained.

Read their story:

http://jadensstory.blogspot.com/

Dangers of the Electronic Age

I've been mulling this over for a few days...

Several years ago, I was in Lousiville, KY for a family literacy conference.  For the pre-conference workshops, we were privileged to choose from some highly intelligent speakers on interesting topics that would have been better presented to me somewhere after 10 am - not at 7:30 for a breakfast meeting!  No, I'm not a morning person.

My friend and I chose a Media Literacy workshop by Dr. Peter D.  He was incredible.  I was on the edge of my seat.  This unassuming man from Santa Fe brought to my attention things that were on the outskirts of my consciousness - I knew advertising was manipulative, but knowing that the company who owned the television station also owned the products they were advertising was so new to me.  He challenged my friend and I so much that we developed and presented our own Media Literacy workshops in Durango Public Schools.  This training is needed for everyone parent - everything is a commercial!  everything is marketing research! 

Having had my eyes opened, I see the media through skeptical eyes.  And currently, these skeptical eyes are looking a Facebook, Twitter and blogs through an analytical lense.

Researchers know that what makes texting so popular is that it makes us feel connected without making any commitement.  We can speak without consequences.  If someone "misunderstands" us, it's not our fault, it's the limits of conveying emotions in text.  If feelings are hurt, oops!  And on the opposite end, we have learned to read texts without emotions.  No emotions, no commitement.

Now we have facebook with millions of "friends".  Okay, hundreds.  But "friends"?  Really?  People who were rude to us in high school, suddenly send a friend request.   Family members who never pick up the phone to call are suddenly interested in "What's On Your Mind?"  No.  Not really.

It's status.  To have an account.  To gather a high friend count.

But to the narcissist - this is nirvana! 

Narcissism is defined as the excessive love of one's self.  A narcissist posts things to be liked.  To get comments.  To gain approval.

Without commitment.  Without consequences.  Without relationships.

The same is true on Twitter - assuming that everyone wants to know what you are doing, what you are saying, where you are going. 

How about bloggers?  Yes, I realize I'm a blogger.  But you're reading me!  So you've probably read blogs that start off with a title about, say, Sunshine, and end on how creative this person was to take Sunshine and make a pot of tea and 12 tasty scones for a snack for 40 hungry children living in poverty on the outskirts of Bulgaria (a little hyperbole!).  Their purpose was never to write about sunshine but for you to see how wonderful and creative they are as human beings.

All three mediums are perfect for the passive aggresive personality, too.  They can say what they want and have no face:face consequences. 

All this to say, God has dealt with me on  -

Say what you mean, Mean what you say.

We should require all Middle School students and parents to take a class on media etiquette.  Remind each other that the internet, FB and Twitter are forever!  People judge you by your words - especially in print.  They can be read over and over;  their meanings questioned.

I have a friend who uses media so wisely - it's an evangelism tool! His posts and blogs point people to Christ.   There's never a question of motive or meaning behind what he writes - only Jesus.  Check him out at:  http://www.eternityimpact.blogspot.com/

Another friend regularly takes Media Breaks.  No FB, no Twitter, no blogs.  He focuses on maintaining face:face contact and building relationships. 

Maybe this a little extreme.  Okay, I think it might be for me.  But I do want to be careful of what I write and why I write it.

To use my words for good and not evil.

      To look for people. 

               To speak truth.

                          To stand for the right.

                                 To be a voice of the voiceless.

                                          And always, always point people to the cross.