For It Is Only A T.V. Show!!!

I have been watching the PBS Masterpiece Theater Show Downton Abbey. While watching an episode the other night Earl of Grantham said, "We all have different parts to play and we must all be allowed to play them!" Not that the Bible or God has been brought up in the show much at all, except a mere 2 times that I can remember, it still made me recall the verse from 
Romans 12:4-5. "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." I couldn't help get the words Lord Grantham spoke or the bible verse out of my mind without acknowledging how true that statement really is. We are all here in this world to do a job, have a purpose. No matter if you are a plumber, custodian, doctor, lawyer, mother, father, pilot, server, hairdresser. It simply doesn't matter! We are all important in the big scheme of this journey we call life! If only we, myself included, spent more time focusing on how we are all connected to one another and how the importance of the roles we play influence the greater good of us all. I don't know call me crazy, but we might just have a more peaceful world to live in! If we really stopped judging one another and began encouraging. I know competition can be healthy at times, but if we really stopped thinking we were better than another and realized how we could use the gifts we individually had to come together for a greater purpose. We are often so focused within that we lose sight of the greater purpose. For me, I know there is a reason I am here. I have a purpose. Honestly, around August 2009 when I was put on disability and no longer able to work my current job, which I loved, I had many days where I felt like I had no purpose at all. But after a couple of years of soul searching, lots of prayer, and many patient loved ones, I know I have a purpose. I may not be able to live out my life long dream of being a nurse, but I wear many other hats these days and God has blessed me with so many other dreams to dream. I don't know exactly all the ways God will use me as I am here on this earth, but I know one thing for sure: I am READY and WILLING to go where He may call and DO what He asks of me! I pray daily that we as a world, will not be too deaf to hear His call or too blind to see His plan. 

WOW, to think all of this, just from watching a T.V. show about an aristocratic family and their servants in the reign of King George V. 


If He thinks highly enough of you and me to put His fingerprint on us, we can be assured that He has a purpose for every one of us. -Rebecca St. James 

An Attitude for Happiness

God implanted in us a desire for happiness, eternal happiness. In truth, the things of this world - money, athletic or scholarly achievement, fame, possessions - can never satisfy the hungry heart we all possess. Only God, God's goodness and love, can quench our thirst for happiness. Jesus teaches us what we have to do right now to develop the kind of attitudes that lead to happiness, even in this life. Think of the Beatitudes as Jesus taught us as attitudes for happiness. They will require us to change our lives. 


Matthew 5:3-12
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, 

   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

4 Blessed are those who mourn, 

   for they will be comforted. 

5 Blessed are the meek, 

   for they will inherit the earth. 

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

   for they will be filled. 

7 Blessed are the merciful, 

   for they will be shown mercy. 

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, 

   for they will see God. 

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, 

   for they will be called children of God. 

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, 

   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Surgery Update

My pre-op appointment at Duke is tomorrow at 10:30. As far as I know I am scheduled to be the first surgery on Thursday morning but won't know the exact time until my pre-op appointment tomorrow. Jesse and I plan on spending the night in a hotel close to Duke tomorrow night so we don't have to travel so early Thursday morning. Thank you all for your love, prayers and support. I will keep everyone updated! 


Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about. 

Surgery Update

I will be heading to Duke on Wednesday for my pre-op anesthesia consult and having surgery for my AICD implantation on Thursday, I will know specific times on Monday once the operating room scheduler calls me with all the details. So basically I will have the best of both worlds with an AICD; a pacemaker and defibrillator in one unit. As long as everything goes according to plan I will be discharged from the hospital on Friday. I will not be able to lift for 6 weeks so I will be resting as much as I can so that my recovery will go as smoothly as possible.
An AICD is a device that monitors a person's heart rate. They are generally implanted into heart failure patients. The device is programmed to perform the following tasks: speed up or slow down your heart, depending upon the heart rate. The AICD gives your heart a shock if you start having life threatening arrhythmias or an abnormally high heart rate. Arrhythmias occur when your heart does not beat normally. Some arrhythmias can cause the heart to completely stop beating. The shock given by the AICD can make the heart start beating normally again. An AICD can also make your heart beat faster if your heart is not beating fast enough. The surgery I will be having is called Implanted Cardiac Device Lead Extraction. Years after implantation, some cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator leads (wires) may need removal or replacement by extraction. This is because implanted cardiac devices (pacemakers and or ICD's) can be subject to infection, malfunction, or fracture. Removing implanted leads is potentially risky and offered only at a small number of medical centers -- many fewer than those offering implantation of these systems. Similar to other procedures, volume matters in terms of success and freedom from complications. Duke has among the highest volume of cardiac lead extractions with laser or other technology in the Southeast.

About 95 percent of patients have their leads removed without the need for open-heart surgery. Duke has an interdisciplinary program in lead extraction using the only hybrid operating room in North Carolina offering state-of-the-art x-ray fluoroscopy in a fully equipped open heart operating theater.
I am very confident in my doctors and surgeons and know that I am in the best of hands. As with any surgery, there is always anxiousness and the fear of the unknown but I can honestly say I am ready to have the surgery and have complete faith in God and know that everything will work out for the best. Thank you for all your love, prayers and support. I really appreciate all of you! I will definitely be keeping all of you updated!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

Surgery Update

Tomorrow is my surgery consultation with Dr. Kanter. Right now my surgery date for the pacemaker battery replacement and possible defibrillator implantation is February 15th. I will have my pacemaker checked tomorrow to be sure the battery will last until the surgery date. I will keep everyone updated once I know more. Thank you so much for all your love, prayers and support!

Learn to appreciate what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had!