God bless my precious CC... Jesus just welcomed him home. He is at peace!

My puppy was 14 years old. He was born on Feb. 14, 1994...Valentine's Day. Such a sweet dog who was so good with kids and people. He was a collie... beautiful collie. He was brown & white, with a touch of black. I named him CC Rider, not after the Elvis song (I didn't even know it existed at the time), but after a TV actor I loved when I got him, Rider Strong and after the white markings that looked like a white C around his little mouth. I called him CC instead of just C Rider. It just sounded cuter.

Gosh at the times we have had. He use to get free from his lot all the time when he was younger. It was a mess because we lived so close to the road and we were so worried about him getting hit by a car. I would be out at 1am chasing him through the community and boy was he hard to chase. He was the strongest dog. I've chased him through the snow, the rain, the heat, you name it. He was the cutest little puppy. So full of energy.

We moved him with us when we moved to the new house (my parents' new house) six years ago. It took us awhile but we finally got everything set up and brought him down. He had an even better place there and his lot was bigger. He was still pretty strong and was still good at breaking out even up til last year on July 5th when my lil bro and I chased him to the neighbors and then Billy carried him up the hill holding him like a little lamb. Precious memories.

I so wanted him to meet my child, but he wasn't up to it. Billy has been taking care of him quite a bit lately since I don't live there. The last few times I had went to see him and love on him I could tell it was getting hard for him to get around but he still had spunk. The last few days, he went down hill.

Billy came in yesterday and told us that he wasn't moving. We went and got him out of his little house and decided to give him a bath to cool him off and make him feel better. He just barely stood up the whole time. We then repositioned his house and things and let him walk around for awhile. He was so calm which is not like him at all. Later, we made him a bed with an old sleeping bag in the garage and he laid there for hours. We never left his side. He finally got up to walk around and I was so puzzled because I couldn't understand where he was getting his energy. He wanted to go to his little house so we took him back and took the sleeping bag. He kept acting like he wanted to be alone, which they say dogs do when they are about to pass.

I didn't come home until almost 1am this morning. I was so sad. I couldn't sleep and when I would doze off, I'd wake up and see his little pitiful face. I'd sit up in the bed and couldn't breathe. It was such a hard night. I was up every hour but for good at 6am. I called mom at 8am and he was still alive. She said he was slobbering and that they didn't think it would be long. They kept going out to see him and she said he kept trying to hide. So they eventually told him they loved him (I had told him last night and loved on him but I told him again over speaker phone this morning because I just couldn't watch it) and they left him to himself like he had wanted. It was strange because as weak as he was, last night and this morning, when someone would talk to him he would raise his head up. He was continuing to be that faithful companion. When they went back out a few hours later, he was gone.

We have all taken it pretty hard. I had never really thought about him passing. It's crazy because I have all these issues with death but it was like he was superdog and that he wouldn't be going anywhere. Mom kept telling us, especially after the arthritis in his hips started bothering him. Just hard to get through your mind I guess.

The one thing I will never forget about CC is his wagging tail. He wagged his little tail all the time... he never stopped. He was even wagging his tail last night when he was walking around the garage. And ... the peace that God is providing to my heart lets me know that he is wagging his tail in Heaven right now.

CC Rider... we love you so much and we miss you already. You have been such a good boy and the best friend we could have ever had. We will never forget all the memories we've shared and the love that you have given to us. We are so glad you are with Jesus now, playing as you did when you were a little pup. Much love precious puppy.

Love Always,
Alesha, Billy, Marsha, and Bill
Your Family

Ps. Please keep us in your Prayers.

Such A Shine 4 Jesus Moment: Baby Eliot Shines 4 Jesus!

I heard of this story on a TV show I rarely watch. I just happened to see it as I flipped through the channels today. It is a beautiful picture of how God can take something that the world would overlook and make such a beautiful miracle out of it... or I should say... out of him. Praise God for your life baby Eliot. You have touched my soul and my husbands soul so deeply! We praise God for your precious life!

PLEASE WATCH AND PASS ON TO SOMEONE. SOME FOLKS MAY NOT WANT TO ATTEND CHURCH OR HEAR ABOUT GOD, BUT THEY JUST MAY WATCH THIS... AND THEY'LL SEE THE FINGERPRINTS OF GOD ALL THE WAY THROUGH!

1 Thessalonians 4 (King James Version)

This has thoroughly touched my soul today. I have been reading in 1 Thessalonians and today I read chapter 4. Truly there are things here that show us how to live and truly there are things here that show us how things will be when we die. How awesome that we can say that both are wonderful and perfectly planned by our Heavenly Father. Notice the bolded statements.

1 Thessalonians 4 (King James Version)

1Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

10And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

11And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

How do you use your vessel? Do you treat it in a manner that is pleasing to God? Am I asking you these questions to judge you? No... I am asking them even of myself daily. I think these are the kinds of questions we all need to ask ourselves daily if we want to grow in our precious Savior. How awesome to know that we soon will see our loved ones again in the air with our Lord! Amazingly, beautifully, sanctified by God!

PART 3 -2008 Creation Conference-Binghamtown Baptist Church with Dr. Jim Gardner

The Mystery of Ancient Man

*** Did man evolve or was he created?

The Bible really can be trusted, starting with the very first verse.

Romans 1: 19-21 :

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1: 22-25:

22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

*** Some of our most intelligent people are so wise that they have become fools and they can't see the simplicity of the Gospel. It isn't "difficult" enough for them.

- Who changed the truth that God created the earth to the lie of Evolution? These same people.

EVOLUTION:
Never happened
Couldn't happen
Not happening now
Never will happen!

***True Evolution of 1 kind into another kind takes the addition of information! The addition of information requires an outside intelligence.

- Horizontal variation, which evolutionist call natural selection, does exist. However, it does not mean that a dog can evolve into a cat. Yes there are different breeds of dogs but they are all still dogs.

***Artifacts are old evidence that is found by going through the garbage dump of what's left from a society.

Evolution teaches: The further back you go, the more primitive mankind must have been.
That means: The more primitive the artifacts should be.

- Artifacts that don't find with evolution are called OOPS-Arts! This stands for Out Of Place Artifacts! Makes sense doesn't it?


These things are not as old as they think they are. They can't be:

Eg. Do Geodes take millions of years to form? A geode was found containing an actual spark plug....

(From: http://www.geocities.com/hngibson/geode.htm)

"Geodes look like ordinary stones. However, when cut open they often house crystals or mineral deposits. Geodes carefully cut in half are highly coveted by rock collectors around the world.

In 1961 Virginia Maxey, Wally Lane and Mike Mikesell, co-owners of the LM&V Rockhounds Gem and Gift shop in Olancha, Calif. went rock hunting in the Coso Mountains. Near the summit of a 4,300 ft. peak they found a geode that challenged the history of mankind.

Mike Mikeshell ruined a diamond saw blade cutting into the fossil encrusted geode. No one was prepared for what they found. In the middle of the geode was a metal core, about .08 inch (2 millimeters) in diameter. Enclosing a seemingly ceramic or porcelain collar that encased a hexagonal sleeve carved out of wood that now seemed to be petrified. All of this was enclosed in a geode made up of hardened clay, pebbles, bits of fossil shell and "two non-magnetic metallic objects resembling a nail and a washer. " A small sliver of copper indicated that the ceramic and wood may have once been separated by a copper sleeve.

Upon examining X-ray photographs taken of the object, Paul Willis, editor of INFO journal noticed the similarities between this object and a modern day spark plug."

Eg. A computing device found in a ship that sank in the Aegan Sea in 1st Century B.C.

Eg. Maps of Antartica - a map found that shows what is believed to be the coast of Antartica before the Icecaps. Scientists have stated previously that the Icecaps were millions of years old, but the map only dates back to 500 B.C.

Eg. Stylized insects on showcase at the Smithsonian? These were first called stylized insects but have now come to be realized as a scale model of an airplane instead. Even the curly cues on the wings are like those on the wings of airplanes today to help them fly more efficiently. They were found in grave yards and there have been quite a few found. They date thousands of years old. When shown to some air pilots they labeled them as a model of an airplane. They made some to scale that were larger and flew them.

Eg. Egyptian artifact a Sakkar bird from the 3rd Century B.C.: This was an artifact as well. There was even a notch found in the back and those who were measuring them to create bigger scale models to fly noticed it. They decided to put a stabilizer into the models there and they flew perfectly. So instead of what it is thought to be, it is instead an approximately 2,000 year old airplane! It makes sense because we do have airplanes today that have faces drawn on them.

Eg. The pyramids and Ziggurats? These have been found in places other than just Egypt. Folks have believed previously that these are tied to extraterrestrial beings actually being god. These places are where they were worshipped. This also ties in with the thoughts of Intelligent Design, a belief that a lot of Christian folks are ok with but should not be as it does not go along with Creationism and the Bible.

(From Wikipedia.com)

Ancient astronaut theories or paleocontact are various proposals that intelligent extraterrestrial beings have visited Earth and that this contact is linked to the origins or development of human cultures, technologies and/or religions.

Some of these theories suggest that deities from most — if not all — religions are actually extraterrestrial beings, and their technologies were taken as evidence of their divine status.^[1][2]

Ancient astronaut theories have limited support within the scientific community, and have garnered little if any attention in peer-reviewed studies from scientific journals. These theories have been popularized, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, by writers Erich von Däniken, Zecharia Sitchin and Robert K.G. Temple ^[3].

Ancient astronaut theories have been widely used in science fiction.

***YOU CAN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ, HEAR, OR (at this day in time) SEE!

- Man's sin brought about death.... evolution teaches that death is normal and good and actually needed. However, death is the penalty of sin!

- The oldest living human to date is 119 (as of this lecture). Think: People before the flood lived from 800-900 years!

John 16:8 -And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

IMAGINE: What if someone such as Albert Einstein had lived 800-900 years? What else could he have accomplished?

Genesis 4: 20-22 - 20And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

21And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

22And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

***This was 7 generations after Adam. And people really believe that the Ancient Man was stupid because he lived 5,000 years ago! Nope!

- They played woodwind and stringed instruments. How could have they have done this if they were just hunters and gatherers? It isn't exactly easy to play a violin. It isn't exactly easy to built these either.

Eg. Acan instrument .... strange instrument but makes beautiful music when played by someone who knows how.

- Tubalcain cast brass and iron - this was sophisticated metal working.

- The preflood blacksmiths had the art of metallurgy. Brass (Hebrew for Copper and Bronze) dealing with smelting.

- Deep underground mining - a stack of 98% ingas found .... 4,000 years old.... how?

***The Global Flood destroyed the surface of the entire planet!

- Possible Eg. Atlantis - the Global Flood could have taken it under ... just a possibility.

- People were highly advanced technologically speaking. Nimrod (Noah's great grandson), the founder of Babel, set up Astrology. Astrology was set up to worship the sun, moon, and stars.

What was God's reaction to this?

Gen. 11: 5-6 -

5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

- The post civilization of Nimrod: If they can dream it up, they can build it.

- Noah made the ark because he believed God. He probably took engineering drawings or mental pictures of the technology that was available before the flood with him on the ark. God had instructed Noah and his family to go and be fruitful unto all the earth. Nimrod did not follow God's instructions and tried to keep all the people right there.

- Noah and Shem lived for God

- The technology declined from The Flood until Christ's time (the dark ages) and then begins to come back after Christ.

***Why was there a decline?

- God confused their language and it slowed technology down.

- The different family groups could only understand themselves.

- They had disagreements with each other (different family groups) because they couldn't understand each other and they left Babel. God had wanted them to all sort out in the first place but Nimrod had disobeyed.

- They all moved away and the good things separated. You see, when they all lived together in Babel and worked together, everything was awesome. You had some families who were good at agriculture while others were good at building. You had families that were good at medicine and families that were good at various other trades. When they all separated, each family excelled at only one or so things and therefore technology slowed down while they tried to get better at the other things.

- Part of the human gene pool and knowledge pool also was moved away. They begin to marry within those who lived around them (family) and thus came gene mutations.

My Heart Is Heavy

"When I saw your car pull into the driveway today, I felt better. It's like when you show up, I know that everything is going to be ok and you are going to take charge and help me." Those are the words of my precious mother. She told me this today after I came back to her house for the second time upon hearing that her nuclear stress test results came back abnormal. I had just left to come home and was stopping to pay two of her bills when she got the call. I could hear her talking on the phone and I heard the word "blockages" which sent me into a frenzy. That word just takes my breath. Granted, I'm glad that if something is really wrong, it gets picked up and we have an opportunity to get it fixed. However, it is so hard to see my precious mother going through this over and over again. She often tells me that it is a mental thing. You don't just go through it physically but mentally as well. Every poke, every prod is a mental game that you play with yourself. She and I cried together today. It isn't a big deal that I cried because I can cry just about anytime, but my mom is not someone who just cries often. I love her so much and I just hate seeing her cry. And she did feel better about it when I left to come home tonight.

So I am, once again, asking for YOUR Prayers in this situation. Please Pray for my saintly mother to be healed and to be blessed with many more years of wellness on this earth with her family. She so desires to enjoy my children and I so desire her influence in their lives. She desires to see my brother grow up and to grow old. She desires to live just like most folks do. And I by no means feel like she isn't going to, but I desire your Prayers for God to move in her situation. She has always served the Lord and I know that she will continue to do so. I know God has more work to do through her. Just please keep us in your Prayers and in your churches' Prayers. God has carried us through her emergency open heart surgery in 2004 and her stent in Oct. 2007 of this year and we give Him honor and glory for those blessings! I know that He isn't through with her life.

We head to Lexington on Tuesday evening for blood work and then on to the Heart Cath Lab on Wed. morning at 8:30am. Please, please, please bathe us in YOUR Prayers during this. I appreciate each of you and God Bless!

Waiting is hard....God grant me the grace to wait right!

Good Morning All,

I am in Louisville this morning and it seems like it is going to be a beautiful day. Just an update on the baby situation.... still nothing. I have come to realize that waiting is so hard. No matter how much I try to be good, I can't help but have thoughts that enter my mind about the situation. Sometimes I see folks who have never uttered thanks to God for anything. At other times I see young teenagers with children that they really weren't ready for and sometimes didn't and still don't want. I know children in my school who have parents that really don't want them around. The common link? They all have these children that some of us long for and can't seem to get.
Now before I get a ton of comments that say... "Alesha you know God has a purpose for each of those folks and for you" let me go ahead and answer that by saying "Yes, I know." I realize that. I honestly believe that. But it is still a hard row to hoe. (Throwing in some of my country vernacular there hehe) I'm not bitter and I'm trying hard each day to be happy, jolly, and grateful for what I know God will do. I do believe He will do it, it's just sometimes my mind gets overwhelmed by the thoughts of "What could be wrong?" My husband is fine. His tests all came back good. I am taking my meds as prescribed. I am being healthy. Probably healthier than I've been in a long while. I've dropped 10 pounds in the last couple of months. I am taking my vitamins, folic acid (have been on that since college just for this reason!), and I am not consuming myself with the whole thing. I'm not stressing and worrying every single moment of each day. Yet, I'm still babyless. And though I know folks mean well, some of the things they say just make me want to scream. It's almost as if they think I am sabotaging myself by wanting this to happen. I am tired of hearing, "You're trying too hard" or "When you stop thinking about it, it will happen." How do I not try so hard? I have to try on certain days and I have to think about it occasionally.
Oh, what a post, huh? I just realized that I hadn't posted in awhile and I thought to myself, "What is there to post about this morning?" and this is what developed. Please don't think I am grumbling, being mean towards folks who haven't had a hard time, or those who mean well with their thoughts. I'm not. I love each of you and each of those who don't read this but fit the "comment" category. I am just saying what's on my heart.
With that said, I am so glad that I can take this burden to Jesus and lay it at His feet because I don't know what I would do if I couldn't. Talk about heart ache, that would be heart ache.
So let me end with a prayer. That would be fitting. I'm always asking for God's guidance and grace.

Dear Father,

Please Lord grant me the grace that I need to continue on this path. I want to make it to the end of this experience and be able to say that I handled it in a way that is uplifting toward you. Please Jesus, when You feel that it is the right time, please send us a child. Let he/she be devoted to You in the womb and I pray that this child will serve You all the days of his/her life. I pray also that until I meet this child or even know of his/her existence, that You will let he/she enjoy getting to know those that I love so much that are already there with You. I know there's no proof that that can happen but I'm not living by proof anyway. I am living by faith. I have faith that Danielle, Mamaw & Papaw Brittain, Papaw Brock, Shauna, Uncle Bruce, Edie, Sister Helen, etc. can inspire this child even now. Maybe they are even molding it for me as we speak. How precious You are Lord to let those thoughts comfort me! Jesus, go before me and just prepare the way. I thank You for loving me even though I never, ever show You enough love as hard as I try. I praise You for the joy that I have in my heart even through the tough times and I thank You for all the healing and health that You have provided me and those that I hold so dear to my heart. I thank You most importantly for my salvation and Your saving grace that I know those that I am Praying the hardest for, will accept when the time is right. Continue to lead us on and help us through this situation. Help us to never let this time or any time be in vain. Mold and shape our hearts into what they should be. Help us to continue to grow.

In Great Love and Thanks,

Amen


(picture from http://www.easybabyhandprintcrafts.com/babyhandprinttshirt.html)

Random Thoughts on a Friday Evening...

It's Friday evening. I am sitting her melancholy. My fall break is almost over and that's a sad thing. I know, I know... I've been off for awhile now but that has been with mom being sick and that has not been a fun experience. Mom is feeling better with the occasional cold feeling in her back sometimes accompanied by tingling in her arms. I have worried myself sick about this but her cardiologist and his nurse have assured me that they do not feel it is cardiac related because the vessel that is blocked is only a small one and it wouldn't give those kind of feelings. They said that it didn't sound like a stroke or blocked blood vessel in the neck (things other people had suggested) and she said it may very well be her blood sugar just feeling slightly different than it did before. She has had the cold feeling in her back for years with her blood sugar just not the feeling of it washing over her with tingling. The nurse told me that the fact that she had unrestricted blood flow now and actually has more blood could make her blood sugar feelings feel different. I pray (and ask that you do, too) that this is nothing major and it is related to the blood sugar. For those of you who do not know my mom, she is wonderful and I am not just saying that because she is my mom. She is the kind of mom that any child would want. She honestly is my best friend. I can't complain about my precious family because God has blessed me far too much with wonderful parents who have brought me up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. My brother isn't so bad either ;)
For those of you who know, I am still dealing with getting my wedding ring back. That has been an almost 3 month ordeal with the local Kay's store. I have sent the same ring (my wedding ring) back 7 times now. It began with just getting it sized and has resulted in the change of color on the band, a new shank, and now the fact that the jeweler cannot seem to get the indentions on the top of the ring fixed, they have been filled in with gold from attaching the new shank. There has been a young lady, unsure of her name, with blonde hair that has been very, very helpful. However, the older lady there was extremely hateful and talked down to my mother and I because she thought I was making a fuss about nothing. When I tried to explain what the problem with the indentions was, she said that the jeweler must have not thought it was that big of a deal because it was a small detail and I replied that if it were their wedding ring it would be a big deal. She was very smart with us and I have really had to pray about not getting highly upset about all this. So anyway, it came back wrong again and I am, once again, having to send it back.
Still no positive pregnancy test. But I can see what God is doing. He could foresee that this would all come up with my mom and that I would need my emotions and thoughts at full capacity to help. I praise Him for that and the healing that has given and is continuing to give to my mom and family members even now. I know that He Will bless us with a precious child when He sees fit. I trust His timing. I still ask that you pray for my friend Kim who recently lost her child and my friend Misty who is trying to conceive also.
I will leave you with some cute pics of my little Gavy. Enjoy!!!

My Precious Mother

Good Morning To All:

I am writing this morning to catch most of you up to date on what has been going on with my mom. Keep in mind, she is doing much better now but she still needs your Prayers on a daily basis.

On Monday, mom and I went to the doctor after school and found out the results of the various blood tests that had been ran to check us out. We found out first of all that all of mom's test came back good (including her cardiac tests) except for her blood levels. She was told that she was a 7.4 and suppose to go no lower than a 7 before needing a blood transfusion. The doctor put her on Slow Fe and a new vitamin called amni3 (I think) to help her get her iron levels and blood levels up. I found out that I am having issues with my thyroid (which might explain a number of things with me) and was scheduled for an ultrasound of my thyroid and put on meds as well. We left and picked up our prescriptions at the local pharmacy and went on home to rest up for the next day at work.

I fell asleep immediately following my arrival home and slept until mom called at about 11pm. I told her goodnight in our regular way "tell dad and Billy I love them and I love you, too... if you need me, call me. Love you, bye." I slept until 2:23 am when my cell phone rang. If you know me you know that I have serious anxieties with phone calls like this and hearing about sicknesses/problems with my family members. I jumped out of bed and began to try to gather myself. It was my brother who proceeded to say that my mom had been taken to the ER because she was sick to her stomach. He said that mom didn't even want him to call at first because she knew it would worry me but she told him to go ahead and to tell me that she was ok. I threw on my clothes and left, all the while thinking that she had to be very sick because mom hates going to the hospital.

I arrived at PCH shortly (and it was though Jesus had escorted me there because I made it safely and quickly). I walked in and my brother was in the waiting area. They had taken mom back and dad was with her. I sat there for a few minutes and then I went to the doors and pushed the button to get in. Billy followed. Mom was laying in a hospital bed with dad sitting beside her. She looked sooo tired. I asked her what had happened and she told me that she had felt a hold/cold sensation start at her feet and move up to her head. She said that it was so strong that she felt herself leaving her body. She also said that she was so weak that she couldn't even lift her arms. I immediately asked if she had felt pressure or pain in her chest and she said no. She didn't think it was a heart attack because she didn't hurt any or feel any pressure. When she had blockage around her heart before, she had tons of pressure and felt as though she couldn't breathe if she walked too far or did too much. She had felt that way for a long while before ever getting checked out and having her 3 way bypass open heart surgery in October of 2004.

The blood work that they had completed showed that her enzymes did not show that a heart attack had occurred. Her EKG however did show activity. (We later found out that this was because she had open heart surgery and that EKG's never look "normal" again after that. Each patient has their own normal baseline after surgery which may show up on an EKG as abnormal but technically be normal for the patient.) The doctor, who I must say was extremely laid back, told her that her blood levels were low and that they were going to admit her and give her a transfusion after he spoke with her cardiologist in Lexington. However, after he spoke with Dr. Skinner's partner, he said that they wanted mom to come to Central Baptist and have her heart checked out just in case since she had a history of heart problems. They didn't want to just send her there in an ambulance, they wanted to send her in a helicopter. Mom said that she had never been in the air before and asked if any of us could go with her but since they are so small, we obviously couldn't.

I left the hospital at about 4:30 am and by the time I pulled onto the road, the helicopter was landing on the launch pad across the street. I flew home and picked up my bag that Michael had packed for me. I had told him to stay at home and that I would be fine. I had figured that there would be limited room in her room and that they would not let all of the family there. I knew that I wanted to stay right there by her so he would just be sitting there waiting with rest of us. He obviously protested but eventually agreed and said to call him asap and let him know what was going on and that he would be there if I needed him. I told him goodbye in tears and asked him to keep Praying for her to be ok.

I left my apartment at 5am and flew to Lexington. I had my trouble lights on and made pretty good timing until I got close and started to run into the early morning commuters going to work. I was on the phone most of the way there and when I wasn't on the phone, I was talking and crying out to God. I was so scared. My aunt, who lives in Lexington, had already arrived at the hospital and taken care of mom's paperwork. That was truly a blessing. She was sitting outside waiting for the helicopter as I drove and she was right there as soon as mom got to the hospital.

I arrived pretty soon after mom did at around 6:15am. I raced up to her room and she was sitting there laughing with my aunt. She said she didn't feel as badly and was ready to go home. HA! Dad and Billy arrived about 45 minutes after me because they had stopped by the house to get some clothes and things and then left. I know that I drove Billy insane by calling him every 2 minutes the entire way.

The doctor came in for a minute, no joke, and said that they wanted to do a heart cath to make sure that everything was fine in mom's heart. They took her first to have an echo and then we waited for hours to hear again to see when they would be taking her for the cath. A few hours after arriving, mom was sick of sitting in bed and wanted to sit in a chair. We helped her to a chair and she was sitting there talking and laughing. Immediately, her face went pale and she looked blank. I asked if she was ok and she said she was doing it again. I ran to the nurses station and got the nurse and she helped her back to bed and we were all asked to step out while they went in. They put nitroglycerin tablets under her tongue and when we finally got to go back in, she was laying there resting. She said that the sensation had already went away. They started her on a nitroglycerin drip (which, by the way, causes a huge headache in the back of your head) and told us to keep a check on her. They informed us about the EKG (the above information I mentioned) and said that they were pretty sure she had not had a heart attack. We were pretty convinced that it had to be some sort of medication interaction or her body reacting to having such low blood.

We finally called mamaw in the early afternoon hours and she said that she would be there soon. We had not wanted to scare her so early and without having any idea of what was going on. We were told that her heart cath would probably be the next morning which meant we'd be staying the night. A few hours later, mom had the sensation again but a very quick version of it. It came on and was gone in a matter of minutes. The nurses had by then turned off the nitro drip and said that if she had another they were going to turn it back on. I got a little stressed and told them that we were worried that her blood levels may be causing this. I asked if they had checked and they said no. They sent someone to check them and found that they were now at a 6.8. They said that they were going to give her blood and if it didn't help or if it got low again quickly that they would have to do an upper and lower GI scope to see if something was making her bleed. (This scared us tremendously. Internal bleeding may be connected to some serious diseases.) So they ordered 2 units of blood for a transfusion. Michael and his mother wanted to donate the blood for mom but it happened so fast that there wasn't enough time. They tested her blood the next morning after the transfusion and found that it had went up to a 9.7. You could see evidence of it in her face because her color was really well and her cheeks were so rosy. This was really noticeable because she had been hearing for a long time that she looked "jaundice" and pale. (We later found that these were symptoms of severe anemia.) Dad stayed with mom that night in her room since only one person was suppose to, while Billy, mamaw, and I slept in the waiting room 2 doors down. I was up and down all night feeling ill because I was worrying that something was causing her to bleed internally, even though there were no signs of blood coming from her body in any way. Billy, mamaw, and I had special prayer for mom and I continued to pray the entire night when I would wake up. God truly gave me peace throughout that night because I honestly felt like I was going to start panicking. I got up at 4am and checked on mom and dad. They were sleeping. I then asked her nurse about her and he said everything was going fine. I was up and at 'em at 6am.
They had told us that if her blood levels went up they would for sure do the heart cath. So, we waited all Wed. morning for her turn in the cath lab. They came and got us and started on her at 1:10. I asked how long the procedure would take because I had blocked out a lot of that from the last time. They told us that it should be no more than 30 minutes unless they had to fix something.

Sitting in that waiting area was like being dunked in cold water. I could remember the last time we were in there waiting to hear about her heart and finding out that she was going straight into surgery. I remember losing it in the bathroom and Billy coming in to help me deal. I could remember walking to the "garden" area outside and calling ever Christian I knew to ask them to Pray for her to be ok. It was definitely a flood of emotions for me. I sat there so sick to my stomach and ill for almost an hour. I thought maybe that they had gotten started late and that was what was taking so long, but I was wrong. Dr. Skinner came out and asked for the Brittain family. He must have seen the stress on my face because he asked my relation to her and then told me she was fine. He talked directly to me for a few minutes and said that they had found 2 out of the 3 bypasses blocked again. One bypass was blocked 100 % and the other was blocked 90%. He said that the bypass to her left main (the widow maker) which had been so urgent in her surgery, was totally clear and unblocked. That was a blessing. He explained that the 100% blocked bypass didn't really serve a purpose and that he had left it alone but the 90% blocked bypass had been making her experience the sensations. He said that the 90% blocked bypass and the low blood count was a double whammy on her making her feel so bad. He placed a stint in the bypass and said that she was doing fine. He gave us a picture showing the artery before and after the stint. (I'll try to add that to this post at a later time). I asked why they had gotten blocked again so quickly after only 3 years. He told me that it was genetics and that she would have to be extremely strict on her diet, exercise, and cholesterol to ensure that she was keeping them unblocked. It amazes me that genetics can make you so susceptible to heart disease. I mean, I get it, I understand the science of it, but wow.

About 10 minutes later, we were back in her room with her and Dr. Skinner had already informed her of what had occurred. She rested on her back until about 4pm before they took the (I can't remember the name) shaft that had aided in the heart cath, out of her leg. She had to lay flat because the piece could have punctured her artery if she had have moved around. She then had to lay at a 30 degree angle until 8pm to ensure nothing aggravated her artery and that her leg was ok. We were told that they were going to take her blood the next morning (Thursday) and that if it was the same or higher, she would get to go home. Dad and mamaw left and came on home and my aunt stayed with Billy and I until early evening. Billy and I spent the night in mom's room (even though only one of us were suppose to). The waiting room had been empty and he had fallen asleep in two chairs before getting up in his sleep to make a bed in the floor. The nurses were really nice about it ( I was glad because some of the nurses prior to this night wouldn't have been). I was glad that we were there together because I would have been worried about him sleeping alone in a waiting room. I slept in a chair that can be made into a bed though I was afraid to make it into one because I was afraid of the room it might take up. One of the night nurses came to me in the middle of the night and woke me up and laid it out for me and told me to rest. That was a blessing. That chair felt like a king sized bed to me after sleeping sitting up the night before.

We got up Thursday (yesterday) morning and they took mom's blood. The physician's assistant came in and told mom that everything looked good and that if her blood levels came back the same or elevated she would be going home. I got ready and packed up and the nurse came in a couple of hours later and told us that mom's blood level had went up to a 10.7 ( I think that's right)! Praise be to God! We were later released and after eating grilled chicken sandwiches from Arby's we headed home. We stopped at my apartment to get my laptop and some clothes and then at the pharmacy to get mom's new prescription of plavex and arrived home at around 1:30pm.

If you have read this entire post, wow! I didn't mean to stretch the story out so long but I wanted to have these details recorded for my record. I still left plenty of things out but I think this is sufficient. I feel so blessed that my mom is laying in bed a couple of rooms away from me this morning and that she is doing well. God has been so good to us in every situation, especially throughout these past few years with mom. He showed us her blockages and remedied them through open heart surgery 3 years ago and He answered my specific prayers about specific body healing on my mom this week by letting us catch the blockages and low blood. How amazing is our Heavenly Father, that He would be so gracious and kind to watch out for my mom in such a beautiful way. She (and the whole family) credits all of this to Him! Praise You Jesus for being our protector and keeper.

I would like to ask that all of you reading would continue to lift my mom up in prayer each and every day. Pray for her strength as she lives in a healthy manner and pray for her heart and the rest of her body that it is strengthened each day. Thank you all for your love and support and I pray that God's mercies will rain down upon you and that you will be completely drenched in His loving grace!

VBS ........ Spartanburg

Last night as we drove home from church, my eye caught a glimpse of a familiar sight. A Bible School bus from Spartanburg, S.C. Now, I attend a big church now that I love! However, growing up I attended Tugglesville Baptist, a small church about 2 minutes from where I lived at that time. I can remember seeing the buses and getting all excited. This was so awesome to me and to all those that I grew up with. First Baptist of Spartanburg had a ministry called Kentucky Missions which brought adults and teens to my area to teach Vacation Bible School.
As I got older, it became even more exciting. First of all, as a young girl, my friends and I thought that the male teenage teachers were so cute! Secondly, I began to create lots of friends that I would continue to correspond with throughout the year. I actually met my friend Kristi (the same Kristi that turned me on to blogging) through VBS. She came back during the year and spent time with Brooke Helton and I. She was such a role model to me even though we are only a year or so apart. Imagine my surprise when I discovered her blog, Good Like A Medicine on here! I also met Ann, who also has a blog now. She and Kristi were friends in S.C. just like Brooke and I were here in Ky. I love the fact that I had the opportunity to meet these girls and to experience God through them and with them.

Brooke, Me, Kristi at Union College in 99

I also have been introduced to the story of Hannah Sobeski, who I have mentioned in previous blog entries, a young teenager who stood for God throughout her battle with cancer. Hannah was also a VBS teacher with this group. I know first hand of the lives here in Ky that she touched as I have had a few of the students in my school who were her VBS students.

Kristen, Hannah, and Annie VBS at Calloway

I am almost 26 now, but the excitement of seeing those buses still came over me. What a wonderful missionary work for God. I thank God for First Baptist of Spartanburg for all the years they spent teaching me about God. I thank God for all the friends that He sent me through this missionary work including Randy who has pictures of me as a small child all the way through high school.
I don't attend the same church now (as I mentioned above) and I probably don't know most of the folks that are here, but I know that they come from generations of awesome times in studying about God. Join me this week and throughout the years to come in Prayer for these wonderful folks who are working hard to see people in Eastern Kentucky Saved. Let's Pray a special blessing upon their lives and their ministry.

A Memorial For A Saint... Ruth Bell Graham

In Memory of One of God's Finest!

Please join me in remembering Mrs. Ruth Bell Graham, wife of Evangelist Billy Graham. My Mamaw Brittain thought the world of Rev. Graham and had supported his ministry for years. I have developed a love of him as I have followed his ministry in her absence. The moment that I truly knew this was a worthwhile ministry is when as a 14 year old girl, I wrote to let them know of my mamaw's homecoming to Heaven. I was sent back a personal letter of comfort along with various materials to help my family through that hard time. The Billy Graham Ministry is one of true value. If you haven't visited it's website, I encourage you to do so. I also encourage you to go to the site and read about Mrs. Graham. I promise this ministry will touch your heart. Also, please help me keep the Graham family in Prayer. Mr. and Mrs. Graham had been married for 64 years, you can imagine how hard it will be for him.

Billy Graham Tribute to Ruth Graham on the Occasion of her Death
"My wife Ruth was the most incredible woman I have ever known. Whenever I was asked to name the finest Christian I ever met, I always replied, ‘My wife, Ruth.’ She was a spiritual giant, whose unparalleled knowledge of the Bible and commitment to prayer were a challenge and inspiration to everyone who knew her. "

(from the BillyGraham.org)