Tuesday Morning – October 23, 2007

Greeting to All!

Praise the Lord! God is so good – all the time! All the time – God is so good!!!!!

It has been 72 days since Marty won her victory with the Lord. I have been praying for her in her transition and know that she is wonderful and happy in the presence of our God. Eric and Erin, Jennifer, Travis, Trey, Mason, and Cole, and Buddy and I, I do believe, are doing well in our transition as well. It is down to only talking on the phone a couple times a week now, and I think that is progress. At first the kids were calling Dad every day to make sure he was doing okay. Which I was, but I also enjoyed the calls. We all, of course, miss Marty very much, but are adjusting and are so grateful to God that she is not fighting that “c” (cancer) word any more and is in the presence of the capital “C” (Christ). Praise the Lord!

This is the third time I have published on “Marty’s Struggle” since she won her victory and it will probably be the last time. I have been overwhelmed with all of the comments and encouragement that I have received concerning this blog and the number of people who have and are encouraging me to have it published. But that is still in God’s hands, and if He wants it in my hands, He is having a hard time getting it there, because they are not yet receptive. But God has a will and a way, and His will shall be done. Praise the Lord!

God has proven that He can and does get His will done in many ways and one of those is that I am starting another blog. It is called “Jack’s Dispatch” and can be linked to from the church website, www.fpcperu.org or go direct at http://jacksdispatch.blogspot.com. Briefly the story behind this is that many people wanted me to continue to publish on “Marty’s Struggle” but I did not want to do that because I felt like that was not the purpose for her blog in the beginning, and besides that was her blog, and our blog, not my blog. I cannot begin to tell you how many people talked to me and encouraged me to continue to publish. Finally, God sent Ed M. who set up “Marty’s Struggle” to my office and we had a long talk – nothing really unusual because we both like to talk. At any rate, he understood the problem I was having and said “Let’s give you your own blog so you can continue to publish and show the ways that you see God in your life even now and for however long.” And that is exactly what is going to happen. As soon as I finish here I will put the first article on “Jack’s Dispatch.” I only pray that it will be half as meaningful and helpful as it seems “Marty’s Struggle” has been. Praise the Lord!

So it is with great, great love and thankfulness to Marty for who she was, all she did, for allowing me to love her and be loved by her, for our two beautiful, wonderful children (Eric and Jennifer), for the stars of her eyes our four grandchildren (Trey, Erin, Mason, and Cole), and just for so many other “things” as Marty served her God and glorified Him as best she could that I close this article, and in all probability, this blog. Marty was so kind, loving, and gracious always seeking the way to be helpful and to bring peace and comfort where ever she was…what a role model! I give thanks and praise to God that He brought us together and gave us the wonderful 2 years of dating and 40 years of marriage. And Marty I give you thanks for putting up with me, I will always love you, you will always be in my heart and my life. Thank you for who you are and all that you gave me. You are my love! With all my love, Jack!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Monday morning – 12:30am

Greetings:

The week has gone well and I am doing well. I started at the office on Tuesday and put in a rather busy week, to come to the worship service and sermon this morning. Actually it was kind of good to be back in the saddle. I still have a lot to do at home and have not even started the thank you notes yet, but in its time that will all get done. In the mean time I didn’t do to bad at getting caught up on a lot of things that were on my desk and probably by the end of the coming week I should be up to date. Praise the Lord! Three months was a long time and I sure have had a lot of catching up.

Things here at home are going okay. I am doing some washing right now; I have been eating fine out of the freezer and fixing some things on the grill. Buddy and I are holding down the fort. Buddy is not sleeping real well and wakes me up almost every night around 4 give or take. I am not sure what his problem is, but I do believe he is missing Marty. When I talk to him about her he does not even put his ears up. Today he has been on her side of the bed, but that is really a first and it use to be that he spent a lot of time on her side of the bed.

Well that is the update as best as I can think about it right now and besides I really need to get to bed. So hope you have a good night of sleep and a positive day tomorrow or today. God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Afternoon, September 2, 2007

Greetings to one and all:

It has been three weeks since Marty won her victory to be with the Lord. I still praise the Lord for the victory and the fact that she is at peace with her Lord, out of pain, with new energy, and adjusting to her new life, eternal life, with the God that she served so well on this earth. Praise the Lord!

I don’t know if any one will actually still be watching for this publication, and though last Sunday I could not sit down to do one, I do feel lead to do one this day. Actually as far as the blog I have been asked to do two things by a number of people. The first is that a number of people have asked me to continue it to let them know how I am doing. And then a large number of people have been asking me to publish the blog. Well I have to say that the jury is still out on both suggestions. If I continue to publish on the blog I am guessing that it will only be about once a week. I am going back to the office this week and will begin to preach again next week so I know that the life style is going to change again and I pray that I will be able to discern and follow God’s will. As far as publishing the blog in a book I am still praying about that. I have been given a “hard copy” of it and I really want to read through that and pray more about it before I make a decision. Further I have to admit that this issue is on a back burner while I adjust my life and follow up on all the things that I need to do following Marty’s death and funeral. So for those of you who have made the above suggestions they are not forgotten but are still in the decision making process.

The last three weeks have been a very strong confirmation that all that I have ever learned and taught about grief is true. It is not an easy process to go through, but God is with us and gives us the strength that we need when we are willing to lean on Him. I have again become convinced that the open casket calling is a must and is a healer. Those that say that they do not want it need to consider the hardship they are laying on their loved ones, family and friends. It seemed to me that with Marty there was such a peace on her face, and a new found look at her “beauty” was seen and commented on by so, so many people. Not only was it warming to my heart, but I believe it was another inspiration and encouragement to many. Praise the Lord!

Speaking of many I have not counted in the book but I have been told that there were over 400 people who came to the visitation and another seventy-five, plus or minus, over in Defiance.. I just know that we did what I always advise others not to do, by having the calling straight through from 2 pm to 8 pm and I never got a break. I will still advise against doing it, it is too long and too hard on an already tired body. You see, I believe even stronger now that there needs to be a break. The Church Family had food for our family back in the Memorial Library and I never got back there to get a single coke or anything. Nor did I get back to the back of the sanctuary to get a cookie. But that is alright I made up for it when I got home, after I had rested in the chair for a while. As I heard that number for those who came to visit, I thought about the comments that we got at the hospital for all the cards that she got. I though, see those lives that she touched are real – Praise the Lord! And I want to thank all of those who did come during that time: every church that we have served as solo pastor was represented; there were 5 from the 6th floor of St. V’s that came up; nurses and former nurses that she worked with here at Dukes, as well as administration from Dukes; there were former patients; and there were people who had worked with her on church and community ministries. She touched so many lives! Praise the Lord! We as a family have received around 200 cards of sympathy, prayers, and support. I praise God for them; they are so important and helpful. We have received notification from American Cancer Society and hospice of memorial gifts to them. And I believe the church kitchen fund has received around 80 memorial gifts that total some where around $3500. Praise the Lord!

As humble as Marty was I can almost hear her have a fit over all this attention, she did not like it. And I think that is a big reason why Marty was loved the way she was. People could see that she was doing all that she did because she didn’t want to glorify herself, but to glorify the Lord. Not long before she went into the hospital in June, when she was sick, sick, sick and we did know why for sure, in fact I believe it was Memorial Day week-end and we ended up in Duke’s E. R. that night, she make home made vegetable soup from scratch for two other families that she felt needed some love and she wanted to show it. That was Marty and that is why people loved her. She never stopped thinking about others! Praise the Lord!

Well one on the purposes of this was to say how I am doing, and I guess you can see from above. I am missing Marty very, very, very, much and am doing my best to rely on God for my strength. I am indeed grateful for all the support of others that is still coming in and is oh so meaningful and helpful. I am grieving, I am remembering, I am talking, I am getting out, I am praying, I am reading scriptures, I am watching and waiting for another butterfly to be birthed on the deck right outside the sun porch, and I am giving God the praise.

I think I have probably gone on long enough for now. So again I want to thank all of you, family and friends for all of your help the past year, the past five years, all of Marty’s life and mine so far, for the prayers, help, support and all that you have given to us. I also sincerely thank the officers and members and friends of the Peru First Presbyterian Church who have been so supportive and wonderful during this past year. What a blessing you have been – Praise the Lord! And thank you. And of course most of all I thank and praise God because God is Love and I have seen and experienced a lot of Love. God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good. Praise and thanks be to God!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Afternoon

Greetings:

Praise the Lord – Marty WON her year long (almost five year long) struggle with breast cancer and AML by going to be with the Lord eternally this morning at 8:30 am Eastern Day Light Savings Time. The very end was very peaceful with three short breaths and then much deserved peace and rest. Praise the Lord!

The publication I did before this one at 5:00 am pretty much tells about yester-day and the events of the night. The three and a half hours in between were much of the same: Marty was not responding and breathing pretty deep. She wanted a WIN to her struggle so much, and since she was not able to get it through medical science she was ready to get the WIN with her Lord and that she has. Praise the Lord! God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good!

As we enter into this new week, we as the family and friends of Marty, we do so with our lives feeling different, with a hole in them, with an empty spot, with another change in our lives that affects us at different levels. But, we do so with at least two things in common: 1.) we are hurting because we will miss Marty, and 2.) we are strengthened, guided, encouraged, loved, and supported by a gracious God who has been with us and will be with us as we grieve and adjust to the death of Marty. So, we are WINNERS too because we have the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with God during this time. Praise the Lord! That is without a doubt what I want to do and I hope that you will do it as well. As God is constantly revealing Himself to us, we are never in a situation when we do not have the opportunity to grow spiritually and strengthen our relationship with God. I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to the glory of God.

When it comes to the life of Martha (“Marty”) May Veenis Hess we have a lot to celebrate and to thank and praise God for. She was indeed a faithful servant of God’s and true “Biblical Martha”. In order to celebrate her life there will be a time of visitation with the family on Friday, August 17, 2007 from 2 to 8 pm at the First Presbyterian Church, 102 West Main Street, Peru, IN. And a service of celebration, thanksgiving, and praise to the Lord will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, August 18, 2007 at First Presbyterian Church, 102 West Main Street, Peru, IN. There will also be a grave side service at 3:00 pm at the Riverside Cemetery, South Clinton Street, Defiance, OH and a time of visitation with the family at First Presbyterian Church, 501 Washington Street, Defiance, OH following the grave side service.

May you have a positive day and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Early Sunday Morning – 5:00 am

Greetings:

Saturday was truly a day of transition and it is not completed yet. I was sure I was going to be able to tell you Marty had her WIN with the Lord, and soon I do believe I will be able to, but as of now I cannot.

Saturday morning was a difficult time. Marty got up about 7:30 am to use the bedside toilet and we found that she was hurting all over her body. You could not touch her that she did not hurt and so she had a very difficult time getting back in bed. At that time I called hospice and the nurse came checked her all over, had a good conversation with her, talked to the doctor to increase the medicine, and we thought we were pretty well set. Marty had some yogurt for breakfast and went off to sleep. This was about 10:30 am. She slept very peacefully until a little after 4 pm and then her breathing pattern changed. We talked to hospice again several times and tried several different things to try and be sure that Marty was comfortable. At around 6 pm Claudia, our hospice nurse, arrived and felt that the end of Marty’s transition to her heavenly WIN was nearing.

The first thing that Eric did was to make arrangements to get Erin here. And we are certainly grateful, beyond words, to Nancy and Emily Black from Defiance and Cheryl Jaqua who met half way to get Erin here. Praise the Lord for those three and thank you very much. With all the grandchildren, Marty’s love, here they had their time with grandma before they went to bed. The surprise for them may be that she is still here when they get up but still unable to respond to them.

It was a little after midnight when Claudia left because it seemed like Marty had leveled off at a very low level and perhaps was not going to complete the transition until later. And indeed that has been true. It is now after 5:30 am and Marty is still breathing but not responding to me.

We have said from the beginning that Marty was in a win – win situation and that the Lord our God had a plan that we wished to be faithful to so that God would indeed be glorified. Our faith and our belief told us that and we Praise the Lord for that information. At the same time I acknowledge that it was not and is not my understanding of God’s plan that knows and/or understands the details of the plan. We certainly are experiencing again that God is in control and I pray to Him for His grace to receive Marty into His everlasting keeping of peace and love. The two things that Marty strived for, exemplified, and wanted the most in life were peace and love. And I pray that she will soon fully have them with her Lord, and I will glorify and thank Him forever for His child and servant Martha May Veenis Hess. Praise the Lord!

I will let you know as the day progresses and may we all have a very positive day to the glory of God. May the Lord bless you.

Jack
John 3: 16

Ps This has not been proofed, so I will have to take credit for any and all errors, but I will not charge extra for them. You are welcome!

Friday Night

Greetings:

Praise the Lord! It seems to me that there are so many things to complain about: the hot weather, the lack of rain, the war, sickness, the stock market, cost of living, and on I could go. But, what about the positive things: the beauty of nature, the birds of the air, the plants of the field, the animals, family, friends, soft music in the background, prayer, medicine, food, water, air, shelter, clothing, and when we really stop to think about it on we can go with the positives as well. Yet, it seems like all too often the negative gets more of the lime light, many more of the headlines, and most of the talk of the people in our society. If you talk to the media people and ask why they stay more on top of the negative news rather than the positive news, they will tell you because it is what sells and gets you the ratings and therefore the advertisement dollars. Why do we as a people want the negative? Could it be because we rest too secure in the promises of our Lord, rather than in the example and guidance of our Lord and our God? Or let me say it another way, do we rest so secure in our own reception of salvation, that we really do not let it rule our lives, rather we join others in worshipping the negative, so we are part of the accepted crowd, knowing that God’s promises will be made good to us?

The point that I am getting at comes from a conversation I had with the hospice chaplain today about Christians standing up for what we believe. We were sharing a few examples of where we have seen this happen and saying why it is not done more. For example, I had a friend that was an official for junior high football. He called an unsports-man-like call on a player and the coach came out on the field yelling and screaming wanting to know why. My friend said to the coach, unless you have a player on your roaster by the name of Jesus Christ the penalty stands. And while you are at it, you better watch the example you are showing these young boys or you will get one too. I have another friend who tutored four boys so they could pass from 6th to 7th grade. The first day they came to him they used all kinds of four letter words and even God’s name in vain. The boys were sent home and told to have their parents call my friend that night. The parents were told that if they wanted their boys to be tutored there would have to be a change in language used and in attitude. The boys came back the next morning and apologized with a little better attitude. But, one of the boys said during the conservation “I don’t understand what the big problem is, we talk that way at home all the time.” The other day, I had an interesting situation when a young man in a company truck almost hit a friend of mine in the back of his car because we were stopped just down the street from our house talking, and yes, blocking the road. When I said something to the young man about being in a really big hurry, he became very mouthy, using a number of four letter words, and with a real attitude. Well, the truck he was driving had the company name and phone number all over it, so I took it down and called it. I got an answering machine so I felt a message for the owner about the rude and unpleasant behavior of their employee. I also left my name and phone number if they cared to discuss the situation.

In the three stories above, it would have been very easy to have done nothing as far as Christian values and behavior and no one would really know the difference. But instead, we went against the grain to try and make a difference because we believed that God would want us to and Jesus gave us the example to. Think about it, was there any time today that you did and/or you could have stood up for God’s teachings and/or way? Having thought about it in the past tense now put it in the present and future tense and keep it right in the front of your thought process and life style so that you will always do it in the future. The chaplain and I agreed that it is only as we, one on one, change our life style toward each other that we will see the change in our society that is needed. And if we as Christians will not do it – then who will?????????

Marty has had a pretty rough day. She woke up this morning with the right shoulder really hurting. She said to me that she could not understand how it could hurt so much more just over night. She just did a very quick wash up job and was so tired she hardly made it to the sun porch and hospital bed. With out any breakfast she was back to sleep. She got a little sleep and was feeling better when Claudia, the hospice nurse got here. About the same time Marty’s nice, Clair and her husband Mike and daughter, Beth all arrived. The next couple of hours were wonderful and certainly busy. When Claudia left, hospice chaplain Guy arrived and we had a great visit with him. Marty got some lunch and a little nap before Jackie and her two daughters stopped by. Then came Joan J. followed in about a half hour by Linda M. who brought dinner. However, Marty never made it to the dinner table. She went into the bathroom, and her shoulder and back got so painful that she wanted to go right back to bed. We started giving her some medicine to control the pain and it took almost 2 hours. Now, she has been sleeping for the last two and a half hours thus we have not been able to get a pain level. Marty’s blood pressure had dropped lower today and so we will be watching that.

Marty is ready for her “win with the Lord” the question is “when is the Lord ready for her”? Of course that one we cannot answer but to say that “God is good – all the time! - All the time – God is good!” In His time all will be done and God will be glorified – Praise the Lord!

Have a positive day and God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Night

Greetings:

Another hot and humid day in Peru; and for Marty it was another “bad” morning and a pretty good day and evening. Marty started her morning about 9 am with a right shoulder that was hurting as much today as it had yesterday even though she was taking extra pain medication every six hours. But, she ate her breakfast and headed to the bath room to bath. About 11:30 am she was in the hospital bed on the sun porch and started to get sick to her stomach. This was a first for Marty. The entire time she has had cancer treatment she has not had as powerful of suggestion that she was going to throw up as she did today. But, she held it all off and dropped off to sleep. About 12:15 pm she had more pain medication and went back to sleep. When she woke up about 2 pm give or take, she felt a lot better and so the rest of the day has gone.

She was pleased to have David S. from Presbytery (Pastor to Pastors) stop by, as well as Cheryl J. (who the boys had a great time with, thanks Cheryl), Vern and Bev W., Denies S. who brought dinner, and Carolyn W. Marty had a wonderful time visiting with each and every one of them. She says that “visitors help make the time go by faster and it is a joy to see everyone again.”

Tomorrow Marty’s niece from the Chicago area is to stop by; she is a hospice RN up there and is keeping close tabs on her Aunt. The hospice nurse will also be by and is to bring some other pain medication so we can see if we can get the right shoulder pain under better control.

Jeremiah 10:23 is a very interesting verse, I think. It reads: “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” It seems to me that we all know this, I have been saying it in this blog, and yet it is with out a doubt what we try to do; we try to direct our own foot steps, we really want to be in control. And you see this is nothing new, it has been going on since Jeremiah’s time and even before. The reality is that it was going on in the Garden with Adam and Eve. And still we have not learned what God really wants from us. Talk about slow learners!! I do believe we have been even slower than slow, or should I say that we have been more than just too stubborn to change, we have defied God and said we are not going to change.

What if we did change, what would your day be like, how would it be different? For one thing, I do not believe we would be as anxious about who we are and what we do. I do not believe that there would be as much competition and a lot more working together for a common goal. I don’t believe there would be war, or hunger, or poverty, or illegal use of drugs, and so on. As my mind snowballs on out with this idea I begin to see “perfection” and here it being said, “That will never happen!” And I have to respond “Isn’t that the problem, we don’t believe that we will ever change, nor will society change, therefore forget it!” What a bad attitude, it doesn’t even give God a chance.

Think about it: what would your day be like if you totally acknowledged that your life is not your own; and that it is not for you to direct your own steps and you allowed God to totally direct your day? Since God has wanted us to do that for centuries, what do you have to loose to give it a try right now, even today? You know since God is LOVE there just may be a lot to gain by doing it. So, I hope you will give it a try. “Let Go and Let God!”

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Night

Greetings:

This has been an interesting day to say the least. This morning for Marty, was a rather difficult time, as it took her over two hours to bath, flush her lines (actually for the first time she allowed Jennifer to do that), and get out to the sun porch to her hospital bed. The above was all done with her O2 on and with Jennifer and/or my help. Since she did not eat any breakfast and was so late getting finished with the above she went right to lunch in her bed. All of this was the difficult part of the day.

This afternoon Marty, I think even without taking a nap, really perked up. By dinner time she came to the table ate a really good dinner, was talking to and having fun with the kids, was not holding her head up with both hands like so often happens when she is eating, and was acting the best we have seen her act for some time. Then, we had several visitors this evening and at 9:45 pm when the last one was leaving, Marty announced that she was going out to water the flowers. We told her that we would do the watering, but she would not hear of it. I figured when she hit the heat in the garage she would turn around, but again I was wrong. So, we got her outside as far as her O2 line would allow her to go and gave her a stool to sit on and she started watering the plants and giving me water to take to the roses and the tomatoes. At about 10:20 pm we headed back into the house and she was one tired “Martha,” but she had watered the flowers she planted back in May before going to the hospital. Praise the Lord!

Several have been asking about pain and it does seem to be increasing: particularly the right shoulder which has been a problem since last Oct. or Nov. There have been many pictures taken of it and a number of doctors have examined it, but as we have said all along, we believe it all has to do with the AML. She is wearing a patch for pain and has some pills that we can give her every six hours. Today we have had to give the pills every 6 hours for the first time, before today she had only taken two or three of the pills. I had asked about increasing the patch when the nurse was here yesterday, but Marty did not want it done. Maybe by Friday when the nurse comes back she may be willing for that to happen.

Marty’s wonderful visitors for today were: Judy F., Steve F., Patty M., Bruce E., Beth E., Terry and Susie G., the last three brought us dinner, Cindy K., and Andy H. What a joy it was to have each one stop by. I might also mention that Vern W. saw my truck at the church; I was picking up some CD’s, and called me to go and have a coke with him. That too was a good time of fellowship and an “outing”. God is good - all the time! All the time - God is good. It just seems that God knows when to send visitors and provide “breaks” and to do all the things that we need at the right times. Praise the Lord!
Some of you have no doubt seen the green thermo cup that Marty has used for a long time now. She use to take it to work with her filled with iced tea, I know that many times she took it to the church with her for a meeting, cancer support group, to work in the kitchen, and for the many other things she has done at church. She also took it to the hospital with her and at both lunch and dinner she would order two glasses of the hospital tea and put it into her glass to drink during the afternoon and evening. Iced tea is a favorite of hers as is this glass. As I mentioned earlier, the glass is green, the church liturgical color for everlasting life. And, on the one side of the glass are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, under them is the name JESUS, and around the letters are the words “the Beginning and the End.” Then on the back of the glass it says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Living One, the Beginning and the End. I was dead and behold I am alive for evermore.”

Now, the fact that this is Marty’s favorite glass and that she uses it so much is no big surprise, because she knows that her salvation is not because of anything that she has done, but rather is because of God’s sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ, that she and all who confess Him as Lord and Savior may have life everlasting. But, what is interesting is that Marty has taught Jennifer and me that when you put the top back on this glass after filling it, you must put the opening through which you drink directly above the Greek letters, Alpha and Omega. Now isn’t that awesome, and another lesson from Marty, that each time she takes a drink of iced tea she is reminded of Jesus. You see, here is a way that quietly, yet directly we can express and celebrate our faith many times a day and every day of the week. Praise the Lord!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Evening

Greetings:

The “sleepy time tea” lasted through today for Marty, because all she has been doing today is sleeping. Actually when one sees her blood counts one can see the reason why she is sleeping. For you nurses and those who have some knowledge about these things here are her numbers.

WBC HGB PLT BLASTS NEUTROPH BUN CR
RANGE 4-10.5 12.5-16 150-450 0 44-74 6-20 8-25

7.25.07 3.1 11.2 57 12 4 17 0.6

7.31.07 6.4 10.8 4 6 7 25 0.6

8.7.07 7.2 7.6 0 6 4 17 0.6

The normal points for transfusions are HGB at 8 and PLT at 20. When Marty would get close to needing either transfusion she would get tired and sleepy and when she needed both she really got tired and sleepy. So, looking at the above it is clear to me why she is tired and sleepy. The neutrophils are one of the indicators that the bone marrow is not recovering yet. As you can see above, that number should be 44-74 and it is only 4 so, baby cells are not being made. God is in charge and has a plan. I try hard to figure it out, and sometimes even to second guess God, but guess what! - I am not able to do it. I am still not in the know of the plan or purpose or goal of all of this, I just know that God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good! And that His plan will glorify Him and be a fulfillment for us. Praise the Lord!

Marty has eaten two good meals today, but was not up to eating much dinner. She has still been up to the bathroom and able to visit a little with John R., Cheryl J., Nancy and Mark B. who brought dinner, and Joan J. We know that a couple of others have been by but the heart has not been on the door because she has been sleeping. I can see that happening more as time goes on, but we will do our best to keep it up for as much as she is awake.

I happened to notice the other day that animals are as much creatures of habit as we are, or the other way, we are as much creatures of habit as animals are, at least as humming birds are. You see our humming bird feeder was in front of the kitchen windows. Well, that was a little hard for Marty to see, because she had to roll over and look back at the same time to see it. So, I changed the feeder with a wind chime that was hanging on the end of the sun porch roof. It was indeed a good change all the way around and particularly for Marty because she can see it much better. But, the first day and a half the birds had a terrible time, they just could not get a drink out of the wind chimes, yet they kept going back to it. Even some of the birds that got a drink out of the feeder in its new place would still fly back to the old place to see what was going on. I thought for a while I was going to have to get the birds some help to be able to cope with the change, but today it seemed like things were much better and they went to the feeder for their food.

Watching all of this made me think about how we are all creatures of habit and slow to make changes in our lives, particularly when we do not feel that we need the changes. When that happens we really wonder why the changes are being made. They don’t meet our needs, so we really don’t want them!

Think about it in your own life if you have some change going on and see if it isn’t true. And, if you don’t have change right now, the next time do think about it in these terms and see if it doesn’t make it easier to make that change. And, if that doesn’t work, think about all the changes you ask God to make on your behalf: like over looking a bad attitude; forgiving a big sin; not noticing a small sin; excusing the lack of bible study because of a busy schedule and an unwillingness to change that schedule to put God as the first priority. Just a thought, that maybe the changes we are asked to make are not really as bad and/or as hard as we first think. And, the reality may be that when we get over feeling sorry for ourselves because we have always done it that way and are being asked to change, we may find the change to be very meaningful. You know God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good! And, He wants the best for each of us. Further, I do not believe there is a one of us that would give up many of the changes that have been made in our life since we were born to go back to the way things were then. We do accept a lot of change in our lives without even realizing that there is change. Perhaps, that is why when there is change that we recognize, we fight it so hard and do not even really give it a chance.

Give some thought as to how you would have reacted to the change that the humming birds had at our house, if you would have a similar change for a similar reason!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16