MarysLaryVibes

In our family, as Catholics, we followed the traditional Catholic prayer before a meal: Bless us oh Lord And these thy gifts Which we are about to receive From They bounty. Through Christ, Our Lord, Amen When I had a family of my own, I didn't want anything traditionally Catholic. And this mealtime prayer? Well it was a rote prayer that we memorized. We said it so often it became just words, no meaning. My husband and I wanted something more personal done before each meal. A lot of times there was repetition, but we tried to bring in thanksgiving for a variety of different things. However, there was a point that I felt like my husband was doing his devotional prayer at the dinner time....his prayers would seem to go on and on while the food was getting cold. At that point, a memorized, traditional prayer would have been nice. (tongue in cheek) Another thing about a memorized, traditional prayer.....I still know it. I can say it and I love that I still know it. I wish I had institut...

Amen and Amen!  He was born to die.  I hate that. What is there to like about that? Because soon after we celebrate Jesus birth at Christmas, we will begin the 40 days of Lent where we prepare to celebrate his resurrection. There would be no resurrection if He hadn't been born; and then he died. Why did He have to die? It's actually a long story that I don't fully understand, but I'll try to explain a bit. In the beginning, long before the earth was created, God knew that when He created man, man would rebel. But He created mankind anyway. God is a just God and when wrong his done, sin must be punished. Because He is a just God.  BUT WAIT! God set up a system whereby a blood sacrifice would cover your sins. The blood of a lamb. Many sacrifices were instituted, but the blood of the lamb is for forgiveness of sins. So every year, the Jews had to go to the temple to sacrifice an animal for the forgiveness of their sins. But all along God knew that He would provide a sacrif...

  I tried to find in the Bible where it said "we are blessed to be a blessing". The Bible doesn't EXACTLY say that, but what it does say is "And I shall bless you and make your name great and so you shall be a blessing." We are all blessed in different ways. Some with money, some with family, some with relationships. Some are blessed with great talents that can be used to bring glory to God. ALL we do should bring glory to God. We are all blessed, but my name, my being known by many, will never be great. If I can be known to my family as a lover of God, I will be blessed. If those around me, not family, know that I'm a lover of God, I will be blessed just a wee bit more.  I pray that this Christmas you will find ways to be a blessing to those around you. Blessings, Mary

  It's hard for us think that God shows wrath.  After all, He is a kind, loving God that wants only the best for everybody doesn't He? Yet there is evil in the world and evil needs to be dealt with.  When we think about bad things happening in the world we get angry. We want justice for the victim. We don't know the victim but feel bad that something horrible has happened. Now if that victim is our child we take a whole different look at it. We are more determined than ever to not just get justice but to display our wrath on the perpetrator. That's how God is with us. Our pastor said this morning, "the greater the love, the greater the wrath."  God made mankind to have freewill. We are given choices. Those of us with high standards who treat people with love and kindness are making those choices and God gives us strength to carry out those choices. But those that have evil intent also have a freewill.  They are choosing to do evil. Free will is free will. Unfo...

  I said last time that my mom fell and was severely injured. I'm not sure I mentioned that she also broke her arm. After being in the hospital a week, she was released to a skilled nursing facility.  She was there only a day or 2 and had a heart attack. She said her chest hurt so the nursing facility did an EKG. The nurses didn't like what they saw so they called an ambulance. When she got to the hospital they discovered that two heart valves were totally blocked. They did emergency surgery to put in one stent to relieve the pressure. Doctors said it was too risky to do the other stent so they let her go back to skilled nursing. She said the pressure was gone so hopefully she can get back to recovery and rehabilitation. With everything being so busy I haven't been on social media very much. As I sat with my phone this evening watching a football game, I decided to scroll through FB. Somehow I ended up on our family's page which was originally set up, I think, for my br...

  It's been too long since I have posted. We got a 4 month old puppy from my daughter whose dog had 10 puppies. He came to us as Arthur, but we are going with MacArthur as it is easy to abbreviate into Mac. I showed my daughter a picture of him standing on the concrete picnic table on our back patio. I said he's acting like he's king of the hill. She said that's about right. So he came to us wanting things his way. He doesn't like going out in the cold rain so we've had several messes in the house. The dog we've had for 5 years is not a fan. She is an alpha female and doesn't really get along with other dogs. She mostly ignores MacArthur and acts like we've hurt her feelings by bringing him into the house. Oh well. What's done is done. They don't fight so as long as there is peace in the house, I guess they'll survive together. On Tuesday my 94 year old mom fell and broke her face. Yes, her face; her nose and a few bones in her face. She ...

I was flipping through channels and came across a show I like to listen to*. I began listening to some ladies in a discussion that have encouraged me many times. It's not always the same ladies. They seem to transition in and out, which is great! You get different perspectives and I believe God has designed which women are on specific days for certain topics and which days I happen to come across this show in my channel surfing.*  So they're talking about the power of our words; what we say and what what we choose not to say. Sometimes we talk when we should wait and listen, to others and to God. We can be sincere, but we can be sincerely wrong. Take the pause. This is stuff I've heard before, but I think it's a good reminder. I hope it's a good reminder for you. When upset with a situation don't just start spewing words to whoever is in the room. Take a minute to stop and process what we're feeling and pray for wisdom in what words we say. As a laryngectome...

We're going through a series at church called Victorious, studying the 7 churches in Revelation. Today it was Revelation 4. Vs 8 "Day and night, they never stop saying 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is and is, to come.'" Then vs  11 "You are worthy our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power."  One of the main points the pastor made is that wholehearted worship centers us. It's not just something done on Sunday; it's not just praying or singing or reading the Bible. It's all of those things, but it's also living every minute to honor the Lord. By being centered we don't focus on the babble going on around us and miss the Lord's part in our lives.  I thought this was a good thought as we approach election day. The end of the day on Tuesday, November 5, God will still be on the throne. It is not ours to fret about the election outcome. It is our privilege to know that God will not be surprised by ...

I continue to write. Not everything can be interesting or make a point but I try. Right now I'm just tired. Feels like I've been traveling most of October. I think it really is half of October.   So much going on besides traveling.  * 6 teeth pulled  * Outlet for garbage disposal and dishwasher is not working.  * Lots of doctor/dentist appointments this month.  * Hubby having some really bad memory days. Among other things, he couldn't remember how to adjust the volume on the TV.  One doctor is NEVER able to get refill called in on time so hubby goes a several days without certain medication. This time a different doctor ALSO didn't get scripts called in.  And I'm the one having to figure it all out. The dentist, the doctors, the electrician, the pharmacy; all with my struggle to speak. I decided to drive to the pharmacy to inquiry about certain meds. Just easier than trying to be understood over the phone. (He's been going to these doctors for ye...

I had my last 6 teeth pulled on Wednesday. Haven't been feeling too great and my husband's birthday was coming up so I've been getting things together for that. I've made myself go square dancing and to my classes even though I didn't feel like it. So whatever excuse I may come up with, I neglected this for a week.  Bad teeth are a bad thing. I thought I was doing myself a favor by waiting until I just couldn't handle the pain but that wasn't a good idea. I actually didn't wait until the pain was unbearable; I went in when it was really uncomfortable. By then the teeth were so bad that 4 broke off and had to be DUG out. They gave me an immediate denture but that doesn't fit real well with the swelling and is causing sores. Fortunately, the good dentist gave me pain meds.  I share this because cancer treatment can cause havoc in your mouth. Many of you may be doing the same thing as me. Waiting. Do yourself a favor, don't wait.  It is worth noting...

  A few issues I had as a kid and still have as an adult (I point these out because these were listed as what used to be guidelines for determining if a person was on the autism spectrum. I was never diagnosed as such but I've looked at a FB group and can relate to a lot of that) 1. difficulty making eye contact;  2. awkward in social situations; 3. difficulty making friends or maintaining friends.  I'm constantly looking at the floor. That becomes a problem square dancing because I loose track of where I am in the "square". Walking down the hall at work or church, my eyes are often times on the floor and if I meet someone coming the other direction I acknowledge them but I might not look them in the eye. I usually look away quickly. My kids tell me I don't have a filter. I don't even realize sometimes that something is inappropriate until it comes out of my mouth; now and then someone has to point it out to me. And maintaining friends....ugh. I try to show lo...

Another one from my grandma's collection: A Little Mixed Up Just a line to say I'm living  That I'm not among the dead. Though I'm getting more forgetful, And more mixed up in my head. For sometimes I can't remember, When I stand at foot of stair, If I must go up for something Or I've just come down from there. And before the frig', so often, My poor mind is filled with doubt, Have I just put food away, or Have I come to take some out. And there's times when it's dark out, With my night cap on my head I don't know if I'm retiring Or just getting out of bed. So if it's my turn to write you, There's no need to getting sore, I may think that I have written And don't want to be a bore. So, remember - I do love oyu, And I wish that you were here; But now, it's nearly mail time, So I must say, "Goodbye, dear." There I stood beside the mailbox, With a face so very red, in place of mailing you my letter, I had opened it inst...

As I sit to write this, it occurred to me that 50 years ago today, October 4, 1974, I wed my husband for the first time. Had we stayed married we'd be celebrating a big one. As it stands, though, we were divorced for 7 years. We have a new anniversary of September 8, 2007. 09-08-07. I'm terrible at remembering dates and I wanted one that I could remember easily. So 9-8-7 it is. My husband wanted to celebrate 40 years a few years back that would have been the first 25 years plus the additional 15 years we had at the time. That seemed like cheating to me. You can't celebrate 40 if it isn't actually 40 straight years.  I wasn't keen about going back to hubby number one but God told me that's what I should do. My response to God was, "please, God, send me to Africa. Send me to Alaska. Just don't make me marry him again." God said "Trust". And my response to that was "Um, you want me to trust him!? It didn't go so well the first time....

I'm a black and white kinda girl. If I think you're wrong I have trouble letting that go. I don't TRY to argue, but it often comes across that way. I just want to make sure you understand what I'm trying to say. I guess (so my thinking goes) if you really understood what I'm trying to say you would have to agree with me because you'd understand that I'm right. So I keep trying to convince you of my way of thinking. Hahaha! LOL! Whatever laugh you want to put in here.  That kind of thinking didn't go well as a kid.  That kind of thinking doesn't go well as a wife. [Insert whatever laugh you want in here also.] But frankly I was (almost) always right. Isn't that what we all think. (?) The Bible is always right. It's very black and white.  The Bible is Truth.   When in doubt go there. That can be tricky. "Wives submit to your husband." But HOW MUCH submitting is God talking about? I felt like a doormat at times. The Bible also says ...

Isaiah 40:28-31  "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth  Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who likes might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord  Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." And you might laugh! I know sometimes I wonder where that strength is. Why are things so hard. I become weary. But am I weary because I have taken my eyes off of the Creator? Things happen; bad things happen. Where is God? He is beside me giving me strength, even though I don't always feel it.  Some of you may say "I pray, and I pray, and I pray and I'm still stuck in this same situation. Why isn't God answering my prayers?" All I can say to you is p...

 My mom has a collection of paper items that HER mother cut out of newspapers and such. Sometimes my grandmother hand wrote some things, so I'm not sure where she got them. And sometimes my grandmother simply wrote out the words to a hymn and saved them.  I'm going to share some of that now and again. Here's one for ya! (I don't have any kind of permission to share this. I'm not sure if Ms. Moorhead is still around and I couldn't even tell you what newspaper it was in. I don't want to break any laws, so I will share sparingly.) FACADE by Wendy Moorhead As I look at peoples opaque facades, I tremble, knowing I reveal a wad of tangled, sincere emotions. I try to appear like others and hide behind a shadow of cliches, smiles and polite "ha-ha's" but I yearn to grow beyond the shallow depths of their "luv" I yearn, I wish, that I would see someone who wants transparency, to show what he feels without wavering. But I fear it is almost too ...

Just got back from trip to MD Anderson. Doctor says no growth, no treatment, see me in 6 months. In fact, the radiology report on my CT scan says nothing has changed since last year.  Doc said next time he'll talk about spreading out my visits even more. I gave him the squirley eye because I get freaked waiting 6 months. Going longer than that between visits with no treatment....scarey. So he laughed and said "ok we'll keep it at 6 months".  I should be excited about this, but I would prefer I get a report of NED, No Evidence of Disease. I wish they could cut them all out and call it good. Then maybe I would be okay with going in less often.  Reality is, I am very lucky. I have been dealing with this cancer actively now for 5 years. I've been through some rough times. I've said before breathing became very difficult. I had trouble walking a flight of stairs. But thanks be to God and the amazing doctors at MD Anderson, I have a good life.  Some of you are cance...

I was raised Catholic. Going to church was a very formal thing. We dressed up every Sunday and on Easter we added hats (sometimes even gloves). Once you stepped into the "sanctuary" you had to be totally quiet. In my early years mass was in Latin so it was difficult for anybody to really understand. What a sad way to try to bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus. Through sermons and songs we learned the basic stories of Jesus, but why the recitation of words people didn't understand? Fortunately, they gradually moved to all English service, and I think they eventually relaxed the dress code.  Once I married and we stopped going to Catholic mass, the services were not as formal. You could talk in the "auditorium" before and after service without being stared at, but dressing up for church was still a thing. Dress codes began to relax for church, but by then I was the pastor's wife and it was expected that I would dress up and so would my kids. There we...

I was a shy lass. Making eye contact is still difficult for me.  I mentioned before that kids were unkind to me in grade school. Now whether I was shy and unusually quiet and that's why kids picked on me, or did kids pick on me and THEN I became shy and unusually quiet? I don't know. I kinda think I was always shy. I was always the last one picked to be on a team.  I was the slowest in the 100 yard dash and I could never make it to the top of that stupid rope.  They made fun of me 'til I cried and when I cried they laughed at me.  So I became  withdrawn. I stayed away from people when possible.  As an adult I learned to cope. I learned to trust people a little more.  When I lost my voice box it became more difficult to be around people. I have to have a lot of determination and patience to be understood. If my voice prosthesis is working, you can bet it will start malfunctioning about halfway through a meal. Some people don't even bother trying to talk...

Psalm 23. You may or not be familiar with it. I wasn't going to put the entire thing here, but decided that it is best left intact. Psalm 23 (NASB)  The Lord is my shepherd. I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.      Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;      You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life,      And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord cares for me. For you.  THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE CARES ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU!  How can we even fathom that?   Something I cannot fathom is evolution. H...

Today is August 31, 2024! Many decisions have come along the way in my life but one of the biggest was my laryngectomy. Most people have a laryngectomy as a last resort. They either die or have a laryngectomy. Sometimes it's an emergency and a person doesn't even know it's going to happen but they wake up from a surgery with no voice box. I can't imagine the fear involved in that.  I can't imagine not being a part of such a big decision.   It's been a mere two years since my laryngectomy. It was 2019 I was told my cancer had returned. The doctors in my city told me I needed a laryngectomy immediately. I sought a 2nd opinion, then a 3rd opinion; all doctors were saying I needed a laryngectomy. Then a co-worker asked his doctor who had done a tracheotomy on him, and that doctor said my best option was a laryngectomy.  I had a biopsy done to determine the type of cancer I had. That doctor repeated his insistence that I needed a laryngectomy. I requested a PET scan ...

I have a TERRIBLE time making decisions! I have very few items hung on my walls because I can't decide what to put up. I haven't hung curtains because I can't decide what I like. Fortunately, there are blinds on every window. My house is full of clutter because I can't decide what to get rid of; and IF I decide to get rid of something, do I throw it away or give it away? I can't decide so I still have most of it. Ugh! Following Jesus wasn't a real hard decision. I was raised Catholic but didn't understand a lot of it. I was treated cruelly by my peers in parochial school and when getting ready to go to 7th grade I begged my parents to let me go to public school. Since I left parochial school I was required to go to Saturday school and youth group. One night at youth group they were planning a retreat. While the sponsors stepped away, the kids were discussing who would bring liquor. I didn't want to be a part of that and my parents didn't make me go t...

Back to   School ! I told ya'all I was signing up for a college class.  Just one. I tell you what...that has been a major hassle. I didn't think it would be a big deal. I just want to audit---one class. But just when I think I've gotten everything done I'm told one more thing I need to do. Had I known that "one thing" I could have taken care of it the night before when I saw the teacher. So I had to go back.  I don't mean to whine, but not having a good working voice makes EVERYTHING more difficult. Being a laryngectomy just adds to the challenger. Some stuff I should be able to do by phone, is best done in person. Good thing I'm mostly retired and have the extra time on my hands. Good thing the campus is only a few miles from my house.  At one point this week I was trying to decide if it was worth it. Having just buried my dad. Trying to work out dates for a trip in September. Trying to get as many hours at work to pay for said trip. Trying to get stu...

YAY! YAY! YAY! Autumn is my most favorite season.  Cooler air!!  Football is making it back to the TV line up!  Cooler air!!  God is the creator of all things and part of that is the seasons. Not every part of the world gets the benefit of temperature changes, but I live in Oklahoma, and I LOVE FALL! Autumn!  That's when I start putting up decorations for the holidays! I usually put up Fall decorations in September and leave them up until after Thanksgiving. I don't get tired of them. I love the colors! And d id I already mention I love the "cooler air".  School is starting for the kiddos and....get ready.....school is starting for me! OSU-OKC Just one college course, ASL 1. I'm just auditing it so there's not a lot of pressure but I still want to do well. I know some sign language. I'm able to communicate using ASL a little as long as I'm around someone who knows sign language also. But I'm not smooth. I'm jerky and slow and mess up signs so t...