MY SAVING GRACE

I can't believe it's been an entire year since I posted on my blog.

However, when I think back to 2015 (actually 2013 - 2015) I realize that it's not surprising

that I haven't been around. It was a challenging year with many

new medical adventures.

if I wasn't so stinkin' cute I'd look odd. 

Let me bring you up to date. 

I now go to Houston to a Chronic Dry Eye Specialist.

I give my blood and they extract the plasma and put it in these 

thin "capsules" and I use my own plasma as the treatment

of my condition. They're called plasma tears.  

They're my eye drops! I will tell you that I was surprised

when Dr. P., after running some eye tests, told me

that I have zero moisture on my eyeballs.

This treatment is the first one that I've found that works great! 

Finally I only fight squiggles of dog hair finding their way onto my eyes! 

I am so grateful for Dr. Pflufelger. What a blessing he has been to me!

I finished up the surgeries on my left ankle. I ended up having two surgeries

in 2014 - one in April and one in December.

It was certainly a lesson in patience. I ended up having to 

wear a surgical boot to France, go to my son, Blake's, wedding

in a wheelchair of which I was in for 7 months. 

Dr. Casillas in San Antonio is such a great doctor

and surgeon. I have been blessed by him and his staff

for being so caring!

Last year in January I knew I was coming out of the surgical boot

and could get on with my life! I was zeroed in on one of my son's

friend's wedding in March. I love this kid and was so looking 

forward to going somewhere untethered!

If I tell you that his wedding gift is still in our garage

that should be all you need to hear! But, explaining why it is 

will show you why God is my saving grace.

For a few weeks I found myself short of breath some.

X-rays taken, specialist found, referral made, appointment kept.

I was out of the surgical boot and the wedding was 

coming up! I kept the appointment.......

I had known my pulmonary doctor about 10 minutes 

before (I allowed him; gave him the power) he completely destroyed me. 

You see, this appointment was the Monday before

the wedding weekend and I'm was still focused on

the fun we were going to have with all of Clay's college friends!

and I turn 8 with grace with my perfectly coiffed friends.

Okay, so the doctor takes a reading of my O2 level.

It's supposed to be between 95 -100. Mine was 79.

Since doctors are notorious about NOT explaining things 

this didn't register with me as something extremely dangerous for he didn't
seem concerned.

So when he told me he was admitting me to the hospital

right then, do not pass Go, do not attend the wedding,

I sobbed. I sobbed and asked very nicely while snot threatened
to spill out of my nose, for it to be put off

until after the wedding but he wouldn't budge (or give

me any information about what was going on).

He probably thought I was some crazy woman

folded over at the waist crying! I did notice that he backed 

up some. Shuffled actually. He shuffled when he walked.

Should have been my first clue.

I was in the hospital for 4 days. For two of those days

I cried. Sitting folded over at the waist in my 

comfortable hospital bed, I sobbed.

I was scared now. I was holding on to my hope,

the hope that I have always had these past 9 years

of medical stuff, hanging on by. a. thread.

So much so that I was very frightened that I wouldn't 

be able to hold on to my hope. I saw myself

hanging by that thread over a deep and very dark abyss.

In a moment I knew how close I was to losing my faith, my hope.

Oh, God, please, please HELP ME.

I have never been so frightened to lose something so dear to me.

My salvation. My God and His grace. Can you feel

my fear?? 

Somehow I managed to pull myself back. I don't think I'll ever forget

that moment. What a blessing to me to have hope even

in the midst of so much chronic pain.

"And now an update on the saga of JT's O2 adventures..."

I'm on O2 24/7, I have changed doctors from the shuffling little man

to an aggressive, very thorough and kinda preppy specialist in SAtown.

I ask a question and he answers it explaining his answer
as he goes along. What a blessing to have 

a doctor that wants to slow down the progression of my disease

which was misdiagnosed by my first doc. 

I have Bronchiectasis. It's chronic, progressive and also of the auto-immune family.

So many blessings in the middle of one of my scariest, most serious

diseases. God is my saving grace and He blesses me so much.

I am so grateful to have a God that loves me.

Then there's the kidney adventure but I'm tired of writing and 

you probably have to go to the bathroom. Let's just leave it at this - 

the kidney adventure is just that. An adventure full of blessings.

Live in gratitude. ~x~ 

I'M SICK. POOR ME. *BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT!*

I feel horrible. I got home from Germany on Thursday w/ acute bronchitis.

Yep, home, doctor, bed. 

I told my sister just a few minutes ago that I had to write this blog post right now 

even while I'm feeling icky because it's so important.

No pictures to attach - I don't feel well enough to search my photos 

for ones that would work. So, this time you just get my words.

Here's my question.

What the heck is going on people??

When did we stop showing our love, our gratitude, our blessings, 

when did we stop care giving, when did we stop saying thank you, 

making our family more important than our job, our gym, our phone, our hobbies??

And, of course, my rant comes from a couple of things that have happened recently. 

...And running with it on the phone with Joan!

There are many qualities of etiquette that have changed over the last 45 years when I was a teen and taking etiquette classes. Things that have changed from 25 years ago when I was raising my boys and passing on what I believed in from my upbringing. 

But, there are some things that should never change. #Never

We have become so busy, I think, that we've lost sight of what's important.

When we get God first, family second and job third out of order, we quickly begin the snowball that becomes the size of Frosty; rolling rolling rolling. 

So busy, busy, busy. No time to think about anything but work. 

Too tired to think about anything but work.

There's many examples and they don't all include work, but a lot do.

I'm 61 this year and didn't realize my age to the extent I do now, not until I saw 

a particular wedding picture that had my two daughter-in-laws being hugged from the side by me, their mother-in-law. Oh, how I hate that term. The photo showed me looking like I look to everyone but me. In reality, I'm 61 years old. #61 And, I have the etiquette standards of someone "old".

So be it. I'm old. I look old in the wedding picture. So embarrassing when you have no idea you look old. But, I have etiquette values that I try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to hold as a standard in the way I live my life. And, those values are a good thing.

Putting God first has never been an issue. My problem has been not letting my physical adventures get in the way of keeping my family first. Not really an issue for me unless it involves getting a birthday present or Christmas presents in the mail on time!

When you are the one that is aware and believes in certain points of etiquette and those around you don't practice the same, it can be very hard not to be in a state of disappointment. That's where prayer saves my life. Well, most times. Sometimes one just can't help but be in a state of disappointment for a few moments.

So, what are those points of etiquette that I think are so vitally important and that have, for the most part, been pushed to the wayside?

1. If you receive a card or handwritten letter in the mail, you need to acknowledge that. A simple text message thanking the sender is adequate according to the Etiquette Book of Jan (though I seriously abhor text messaging as a way of communication). It works here and let's the sender know that it not only arrived, but that you appreciate the time it took the sender to "think of you".

2. If you receive a package in the mail - a birthday present, Christmas presents, a "just because" present, any "gift" - you simply must acknowledge receipt of it along with a heartfelt thank you. It's so hard in this day and age to find time for extras (isn't that basically what this post is about??) that getting a present put in the mail is a bit of a chore. All of the time involved, the $$...it's a sincere act of love. And, it deserves a thank you. It deserves more than a text message. Try a phone call, an email, a written note. Do something (but, please don't send a text).

3. After God, make sure you're putting your family first. That begins with you and your partner, your children and your extended family. And, may I say something here that will no doubt make some of you roll your eyes??

When you, my child, "fly the coop" and start becoming your own person and then roll into being your own person? Don't forget your parents. Don't forget your mom. God made you whom you are through the efforts of your parents. And, speaking as a mom, I am still your mom. And, though no longer #1 in your life, I'm your biggest supporter, your biggest fan and, even if you've forgotten, your first love. So, just because you're now an adult, don't make the mistake of cutting your mom/your parents out of your life. Seriously? Not going to be around forever and speaking from experience, don't waste the time you have now to get to know me/us as people, not just as your parents. We're more awesome than you even realize. But to know that, you have to get to know us. (Do you know your mom's favorite dessert? Her favorite movie? Her favorite scripture? Her favorite outside pastime? Stories of great adventure and fun from her past? Her college days? Etc., etc., etc......)

So, there, I've said all I came to say. Maybe I said too much. But, I stand by what I said. 

I hope I said it clearly enough that it makes sense.

I would love your feedback. Disagreement said in a kind way is welcome.

The End.

Be blessed. Be a blessing. 

DO YOU HAVE A MOTHER?

Do you have a mother?

Do you have a mother that you love?

Call her.

Call her a couple of times a week.

Send her a card.

Heck, set up a schedule, have the cards in hand,

and make it simple for you.

Just. do. it.

Love her and let her know that you do.

Bless her with the things she loves.

mom with my niece, Carly, and my sister, Joan

Do you live close to your mom?

Lunch out.

Take her chocolates (please, not generic).

Go spend the afternoon with her and play cards.

Take her out to her favorite restaurant.

Do it all and more.

The time you spend with her will not only bless

her, but it will also bless you.

She's going to die someday.

YOUR. MOM. WILL. DIE.

And, I think that there is nothing more dear

than knowing that when she does, she will be going to heaven.

To have her come to love Jesus if she doesn't already.

I want to leave you with one last thought.

My mom died one year ago today.

I loved her dearly.

I miss her so badly.

Every day.

mom's 80th birthday trip....sitting with the Tank

But, I am at peace knowing that I did all I could all of my adult years,

especially the last year of her life,

so that there was never any doubt that she knew i adored her.

That I loved her.

I have a mother that I love.

BLESS OTHERS AND YOU WILL BE BLESSED TEN-FOLD OR...................... WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS 3 DOLLAR STORES AND 79 NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING TEENAGERS?? .....PART 1

WOW. It's true - my blog title. It's true like 'paying it forward' is true. 

I live by those. Nothing blesses me more or makes me forget my problems than blessing someone else.

Like at the movies yesterday. I was approaching the door to go into the theatre and this 20 something girl has just walked out....long enough ago that the door has closed and she has taken the first couple of steps to leave.

She stops, turns around, walks back to the door and holds it open for me.

No special reason - I wasn't limping or anything.

I like to believe, and I do believe, that she did it to be nice.

(And, not the "nice to old people" kind of nice)

I'm going to tell you about the Mini-Mission trip that I've talked about on Facebook and here on my blog this summer. I'm going to skip everything and get right down to it as I took a lot of pictures and have some amazing, over the top, God IS alive, stories to tell you.

But, before I get to that I want to thank everyone again (hopefully I didn't miss anyone) that sent me supplies for kids in a shelter that Skyler and I were hunting. Those supplies and the generous checks and gift cards....WHAT A BLESSING! Thank you. (And, if anyone is wondering if maybe I bought myself some Chanel No. 5 with your money, I saved all of the receipts if you want to see them. My cousin, Melinda, said that was ridiculous, but I feel better telling y'all anyway. *I was going to copy them and put them at the end of this post and she wouldn't let me*)

The story of some uber-remarkable kids goes like this................

Once upon a time there was me and there was my "little girl", Skyler, and we wanted to visit a shelter taking all kinds of cool art supplies for kids and spend a day or two with them "playing art". I knew it was a long shot, having worked as a volunteer in a shelter. They were going to want a background check before they let anyone spend time with the kids and you can't blame them. Heck, I could be as crazy as Jan Thomason.

And, that's exactly what we ran into......that and Skyler getting a temporary job, blah, blah.

Skyler's temp. job was over last Wednesday and I told her to look in the Corpus Christi yellow pages and find some shelters. She sent me the ONE shelter that had a website. I researched it and knew that it was where we were supposed to go and that they were going to let us "play art" with their kids. I just knew it.

Joanna Villarreal, the Volunteer Coordinator, and I exchanged emails and to make a long story short, THEY WANTED US. Praise God!!

So, I started my trip down to Skyler's. I had gathered up all of the supplies sent to me and cashed all of the checks. I stopped at three dollar stores to spend the money on further supplies as I made my way to Skyler's. I visited three dollar stores and can honestly say that I visited more dollar stores in that one day than in my entire life. 

I'll not be going back. Really, Wal-Mart is bad enough.

In one store I bought a Composition Notebook for every kid because we were going to turn them into journals. I bought 90 notebooks. Ninety. In one store. The checker didn't even look at me which I found rather odd.

The shelter that we spent Saturday at was like none I've ever volunteered in or been in.

It's called Bokenkamp and is in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

It is amazing and I am at a lack of words as how to describe it so I'm going to let it speak for itself:

(This part may seem long to you, but I encourage you to read it all - I think you will be a different person for reading it.)

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE, LET ME TELL YOU THAT BECAUSE BLOGGER ISN'T COOPERATING THAT I HAVE FINISHED THIS TWO DAY POST ON FLICKR.

PART TWO:)

VISIT MY FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM AT www.flickr.com/photos/polkadotbarn TO SEE THE PHOTOS AND READ THE STORIES ABOUT THE PICTURES AND ON ONE PHOTO YOU WILL LEARN OF THE HORROR THESE KIDS HAVE SEEN. THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN STORY TO TELL, BUT THIS STORY WILL GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIFE OF ONE AMAZING YOUNG MAN. 

BE BLESSED AND I APOLOGIZE FOR BLOGGER NOT COOPERATING.

BELIEVE ME, IT WILL BE GROUNDED.

God bless you all,

Jan.............continue reading before you go to my flickr account. the following story is uplifting!!

Bokenkamp Children's Shelter is an emergency shelter for unaccompanied refugee children from Central and South America, ranging in age from infants to teens. (We had 10 - 17 year olds when we visited) These children have all experienced some form of traumatic separation from their families. Bokenkamp provides short-term care that will leave a long-term impact in these children's lives by offering shelter, education and spiritual care.

The children who come to live in our residential centers in Texas – New Life, Krause, and the Nelson Center – often bring with them pasts and stories of unbearable hardship and emotional pain. Miracles do happen, and sometimes seemingly insurmountable odds are overcome, and we witness a child’s life turn around from the brink of despair in front of our eyes.

Read this and you'll get a feel of the 80 kids that we worked with on Saturday:

Manuel – Safe at Last, A Bokenkamp Story

By: Scott Carroll

7/19/2011

Manuel was only 12 years old when his parents were killed. He was left alone in the small mountain village in Guatemala, in a very unstable environment. For two years, Manuel lived in fear and poverty often begging for food from villagers. When he was 14, he decided that his only chance for survival would be to travel to America to find his aunt and uncle who lived and worked “somewhere in Texas.”

Manuel traveled for two months with strangers under treacherous conditions. He mentions hearing the screams of children as they were abused, and some killed, by the men guiding them all across the border. He was spared and is still not sure why.

When Manuel finally made it into Texas – after traveling more than 1,200 miles, alone and mostly on foot – he was apprehended by authorities and taken to Bokenkamp Children’s Shelter in Corpus Christi. He arrived at Bokenkamp hungry, tired and scared, identified only by a number written on a piece of duct tape placed across his chest. Staff at the center immediately gave Manuel food, water, a shower and a chance to tell his story.

For the next month, Manuel stayed at Bokenkamp while staff worked to locate his aunt and uncle. While at Bokenkamp, Manuel experienced many firsts. He ate three hot meals a day. He attended formal school. He was given a Bible. He received therapy to help him deal with the trauma of his losing his parents. He was safe. Manuel was united with his aunt and uncle and cousin in Houston, Texas, on June 20^th. He left Bokenkamp a healthier, happier teenager, with hopes and dreams of a promising future.

......................NOW FOR PART TWO:)

I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN

I'm blessed to the max, but a fairytale??

.......not so much

How do y'all do it??

You make it seem so effortless.

I've come to the conclusion that some of you

might be a wee bit O.C.D.

And the rest of you never sleep.

Me??

I feel like Barbie every minute of every hour of every day.

Did you know that I qualify for that Hoarders show on T.V.?

Yeah, I'm a Mixed Media Hoarder.

It's gotten so bad that I haven't completely unpacked from two art retreats....

both held last year and then there's this year's p.c. retreat...

Oh, and estate sales, flea markets, resale shops, junk shops,

people's trash by the side of the road,

crack house apartments being demo'd - I stopped to see

what treasures I could find.

I found a pick-up load. No kidding.

In an effort to keep up with something,

I made a promise to myself - it was about a week ago -

I was going to keep up with my blog roll.

Then I got this great idea that I would "rotate" some blogs

 off to get the number of blogs I read  I'm supposed to be reading

under 200. It didn't work.

I added six new blogs.

Oh, and my blogging??

I think it's so cute that you feel you have to ask.

I'm about 8 or 9 posts behind.

I plan on catching up.

Surely I can find the time.

The rest of you manage to blog, read your blog roll,

scour estate sales, create!, list all of your many creations

in your Etsy shop,

mail out all of the orders you get "the next day",

host swaps, be in five or more swaps at a time,

teach workshops, attend art retreats,

raise your well-behaved children,

cook well-balanced meals for your well-behaved children

and your darling husband,

and I'll bet you clean your own house, too.

AND, you work.

YOU WORK!...

I don't.

Work, that is.

I will admit that I have a couple of medical adventures

that I deal with on a daily basis, but I DON'T WORK....

Where are you finding the time??

I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a master plan

of *church lady's voice* "Saaa-tan".

I can hear him now, telling his evil little elves,

"Let's drive Jan nuts. I know just how to do it..."

I see you looking at the picture above of my kitchen

and at the picture just below of our bedroom.

These pictures are a few years old.

I've been pretty immobile off and on for the last six years

and I can assure you that the kitchen doesn't look

like the picture above.

The Tank's had free reign and that speaks volumes.

And the bedroom??

Well, both areas had probably just been cleaned

by my cleaning lady when these pictures were snapped.

That cleaning lady was 'let go' yesterday.

Let's just say I didn't vote for Obama

and we use to have money left over

every month for that cleaning lady...

for the last 25 years.

I'll be doing the cleaning from now on.

Well, all except the Tank's bathroom.

I refuse to go into that room.

There's a reason a man should have his own bathroom.

Oh, and one last special little thing I want to

share with you about my life...

I haven't cooked or baked in years.

Mostly because of illnesses, broken bones,

snapped tendons and leg braces, blah, blah, blah.

I told Frank yesterday that I'd start cooking again.

Yeah.

I think my meds need to be adjusted.

So, here it is, sweet friends.

I'll probably re-read this story and realize

that it's completely disjointed

but, heck, I really don't care.

I have dinner to cook.

And, I'm doing the best I can.

MY FAVORITE PLACE TO GO TO RECHARGE

Where do you go when you need to recharge your batteries?

There are many answers to that question; even for me.

Bed to sleep (you'd really understand that if you have fibro'), my studio, stick my nose in a Somerset Studio zine, blog surf, read the Bible or something inspirational, just to name a few that I'm sure are coming to your mind as you read this.

But, there's one place that I go every week that I'm in town and/or able, that's my favorite and most effective place for me to recharge and that's church.

And, before I get into that I'm going to give you a little tidbit of information that I didn't know until a few years ago. I don't remember who told me, maybe it was Jack Rothenflue, my old pastor. Well, HE'S not old, well, he is kinda old because he's older than me, but what I meant was that he was my "past" pastor. (That was for just in case he read this. Yikes.)

Anyhow, I just hung up from calling my current (and, actually "young") pastor (we'll talk more about him in a minute) to ask him where in the Bible it says what I'm about to tell you.

His response, which made me laugh out loud, was that he really couldn't look that up while he was driving. You see, I didn't know he was in his car. That made me laugh.

Okay, I'm giving you too much information *so me* - getting back on track, there is scripture in a couple of places in the Bible (and, please, it's not important that y'all email me with the scriptures. Send those emails to Oprah. Oh, my, there's a blog post for ya.)

that infer that when we go to church on Sunday morning *for me*, it's not to fill us up, it's not to refresh us, it's to WORSHIP THE LORD. Put aside your concerns, your troubles for an hour and simply focus on worshiping our Lord. It's what He wants us to do.

When I heard that I had to think about it for a bit. I went to church to worship, yes, but I also went to fill my tank for the week. Now what was I going to do??

Silly me, I was going to do the exact same thing I had been doing. . .praising God for all He does for me, for all my blessings, for all of my challenges that make me stronger, for my ability to minister to others that are hurting, to worship Him for His mighty-ness, for His Holiness. And, I found that even though I had changed my perspective of Sunday mornings, my tank was still filled for the week. In fact, it was topped off. WHOOP!!

Pastor Jay being a regular person, ordering lunch. We posed this picture because I told him at lunch that the picture I took of him praying over communion wasn't his best. LOL

Gosh, what a segue into talking about my pastor.............talking about gas and now talking about Jay. (yes, I'm smiling)

I have a wonderful pastor in Jay Dozier. A huge part of what makes him so wonderful is that his wife, Amy, is a friend of mine and his three children are my heart. Jay is also a very close friend. . .you know, the type that if he/they moved away we would still have a relationship. That's the ruler I use when I think about how good a friend someone is...just another one of my tidbits:)

Jay is a great pastor because He allows God to use him as a vessel. He's also a great pastor because he sincerely cares about the congregation. He is strong in the Bible, follows the scriptures in his sermons, his decisions and his advice. Makes mistakes (he is human, remember) and acknowledges when he does and fixes what needs fixin'.

AND, he prays........A LOT........totally cool.

The photos in this post aren't the best, but they give you an idea of my church. And remember that post I wrote entitled I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE on February 11th? So many, if not all, of the ideas I talked about in that post fit in church so well. Go back and skim it and you'll see what I mean!

Oh, and there's something else I just want to tell you about my church because I think it's so wonderful. . . . .we honestly don't care what battles you're fighting - you are more than welcome in our family and we will help you fight those battles. We don't care how you dress, we don't care about your past.

We care only that you love the Lord, Jesus Christ, and that you believe that He is the Son of God and died on the cross for your sins.

Period.

xoxo,

.....Jan