A JOYFUL NOISE

Wait? An answer to my GI problems? There might be an answer; we just have to wait and see as the weeks go by. Let me start from the beginning. You all know of my health issues regarding my stomach over the past year. I've undergone every imaginable GI test and exams and nothing except gastroperesis has been found as to why I suffer so much with pain and nausea. I've gone so many times to my GI doctor and tried various medications and yet I only felt temporary relief. There was no permanent "fix" to the situation since the doctors didn't know what to fix. All I was told was to take a certain medication and eat 6 small meals a day to help my digestion and gastroperesis. It is a continue struggle to go through pain and nausea. After I had my surgery, on March 17, my mouth was very sore and I couldn't really chew anything that wasn't soft. That meant, I couldn't eat chicken, beef, pork, etc. Really the only thing I can comfort...

This past weekend, my brother-law and I sang one of my favorite songs, Take My Life by Frances Harvergal. Here are the words: Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee. A-men There are a lot of tunes to this song, but my brother in law and I sang this song to the tune written by our friend, Miriam. We must...

"With God in your heart; everyplace can be called Home". This is a quote that is on one of my posters in my room. As I was cleaning my room today, my eye caught this saying and it struck me. It struck me so hard that it gave me a sense of calmness and peacefulness. I remember when I first got that poster. It was my first year at JMU as a transfer student. I was in a new school, a new environment, and it was my FIRST time away from my parents and living away from them. It was my first experience living in a dormitory (c0-ed!) and I was beyond scared. One Saturday, I had taken the bus to the mall and at that time the Family Christian book store was still in the mall. I had a friend who worked there and she knew that I was scared of life in JMU and was extremely homesick, despite my being an hour away from home (I didn't have a car either). She encouraged me to buy the poster and hang it on my wall. At that time while at JMU, it was a good r...