Does that make your stomach queasy? It did mine! Those pins are criss-crossed over the little finger knuckle. They are allowing the little finger to stay in its socket while the broken pinky bone heals. Poor crinkly hand!
But you don’t want those pins left exposed if you are out and about, so… a very capable hand therapist created a color-coordinated, custom-fitted cast! The red strips are Velcro so I can take this off.
Gotta keep smiling!
God is good! The bones are healing. Occupational therapy begins tomorrow. I can shower without a big plastic bag over my whole arm, hampering my ability to function. As i have said, ever since the fall and break on April 20th, “It could be worse!”
I continue to thank God that it wasn’t my right (dominant) hand. It wasn’t my head or arm or hip. It could have been much, much worse!
My Ukranian hummingbird
Don’t you pray daily for the people of Ukraine? Don’t you thank God for your health, happiness, safety, and freedom? Don’t you realize, as I do, that your troubles are minuscule compared to those suffered by so many in the world?
What can we do to take the focus off our own pins and casts and remember what to do in tough times?
Look at #5 above. What did I do to have some fun? The hand therapist asked me, as she was crafting my smaller cast, “Would you like your Velcro black like the cast?”
I decided to have some fun. Add a little color … match my optimistic mood!
This finger will heal. A lot of people are a lot worse off than I am! PT will help me regain the use of these fingers. Meantime, I can type with my right hand. God hears my pleas and sends friends/family to help.
John 15:7 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Thanks for joining me today and adding your prayers to mine. I pray you will take heed and “Slow down and watch where you’re going!”
God bless you and help you avoid pins and casts. They’re no fun!
I haven’t posted for a week. Have a Happy Cinco de Mayo! Just here for a quick catch up…
Today’s message in my on-line Guideposts devotional contains an unintentional pun. I’ve been told that the doc may cast this hand with the broken finger when I go in for my follow-up appointment next Wednesday. Meantime, it is wrapped like a mummy and the pain pills are an important part of keeping me from full agony. But they also have some unpleasant side effects that I won’t elaborate on…
Here is a screenshot from my iPhone:
Yes, cast my cares. Cast my hand. Rest in God’s Grace. These are important prescriptions.
Thank you for your prayers. God is good 👍🏽 If you read my blog a week ago, you know I misjudged the height of a curb, tripped, landed on the sidewalk with all my weight on my left hand, broke and dislocated the little finger. You know it could have been much worse. Coulda been the right hand. Coulda been the head or the hip. This left pinky finger will heal. I need to be patient, and faithful about elevating and icing it.
Before I go, though, I need to tell you: Love ya… Appreciate your expressed concern. So grateful for neighbors/friends who come with food and friendship. We are blessed indeed. Your kind words are a comfort. I’ve missed my WP blogging… but, it’s too hard with one hand. As the Guideposts message suggested, I need to let go my troubles, cast them aside, and rest in God’s grace.
Thank you, my friends, for your love and supportive prayers and comments. Bob & I are headed in to Bozeman now for my surgery on this dislocated and broken finger.
It snowed a lot in a circular radius around us, so we’ll have icy roads up & over Norris Pass and a lot of snow in Bozeman when we get there. Prayers for safe travels appreciated.
My surgery is to realign this little finger and put a couple of pins in the finger to keep it in place going forward. Prayers for the surgeon’s steady hands and skill appreciated. And for my pain tolerance, please.
Dear friends are bringing us our dinner for tonight. Praise God for His loving servants who reach out to others in their need. We are so grateful!
I probably will not blog for a couple of days. You understand.
See you when I can. Sending love and appreciation.
Hugs, JanBeek
Please send continued prayers for those who need it so much more than I do…
God gives us doctors When we cannot heal ourselves. He says, “Lean on them.”
God gives us neighbors When we need acts of kindness. He says, “Bee grateful!”
Our Savior saves us When we cannot save ourselves. He says, “Lean on Me!”
I may have to learn To accept strength from others – Can’t be strong alone!
Single-handedly, I feel slightly “hand”icapped. God says, “Lean on me!”
Have you ever felt Too weak to accomplish all You have on your plate?
Who did you lean on?
Sometimes when we ask God for the strength that we need, He sends us earth angels.
My neighbor, a retired nurse who lives in CA part of the year, just texted. She asked about my hand. When I told her about the upcoming surgery, she wrote, “We will be there to help and if you have any questions, we know stuff :o)”
See … earth angel on her way! And her husband is a brilliant physiologist. He’s part of the “we” she’s talking about! Yup, they “know stuff.” Hah! It will be comforting and helpful to have them back in the “hood.” Just in time! God is good … all the time!
When Our Daily Bread posted on this subject, it wrote:
“We may not be able to touch Jesus physically, but we can entrust the weightiest circumstances of our lives to Him. He said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:28).
How blessed we are to have a Savior whom we can trust to be faithful through every circumstance of our lives!
Are you ‘leaning’ on Him today?”
I am leaning on Jesus, and I am Leaning on Bob, too! He’s an earth angel God sent to me.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Just as the bees in a hive look out for one another, our WordPress community reaches out and cares for one another. Thank you all for your words of support and comfort during this time of pain and loss. Your words are sweet as honey!
Your comforting words remind me of this scripture:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Not only did I present my request to God, but I told you, my friends, about our troubles: my fall and subsequent dislocated & broken finger, and our granddaughter’s miscarriage. From the goodness of your hearts, you reached out with words of encouragement. Thank you so much!
My hand is bruised and wrinkly – and the fingers are braced to keep the broken pinky immobile, but this will heal… and the good news is that it was my finger and not my head that took the brunt of the fall. I have an appointment next week with an orthopedic hand specialist. Hopefully no further intervention will be needed.
In the case of Hope and Drew (my granddaughter and her hubby), prayers are appreciated for their family as they move forward. Finding that she had lost the fetus, Hope’s comment was, “Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” It was early in her pregnancy – and that’s a blessing. I think it is much harder when the baby is more developed, the sex is determined, and the parents are preparing their home and hearts for the new addition. In this case, they had not quite adjusted to the idea of a third child yet. So, we are just thanking God for the blessing of the two they already have… and praying for their well being.
I pray for more time to be with them, too… Children are such a blessing! God is good – especially when He allows us to live long enough to see our children’s children have children. Don’t you agree?
During this week following Holy Week, we still are in awe of the Easter miracle… and our minds are comforted by the resurrection message. We remember that this is the week when Jesus showed Himself to the disciples in the Upper Room. He returned to let Thomas touch His nail scarred hands and his pierced side. (I bet Jesus’ hands hurt more than mine does right now!)
He talked with His followers who were on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), and was seen by hundreds before His ascension. Jesus’ words are a comfort to us all! Listen to them in song:
Bee Comforted! Let not your heart be troubled.
In yesterday’s Mornings with Jesus Dianne Neal Matthews wrote, “Remember how Christ felt concern for His disciples’ well-being and sought to comfort them… He paid a high price so I can know supernatural peace in all circumstances… His soul was troubled so mine doesn’t have to be, regardless of what I face.”
I am thankful it was:
my left hand, not my dominant one
my finger, not my head that broke
early on in Hope’s pregnancy not the last trimester – and she’s OK
God’s concern for mankind that sent His Son to earth
His sacrifice that assures me of eternal life
your words of encouragement that comforted me
Thank you!!
Oh, and this is the day that my youngest granddaughter, Faith, who lives in CA with her husband and a new little girl, Mable, is celebrating her 26th birthday! Happy Birthday, Faith!! That’s another reason to be thankful, right?
Happy Birthday, Faith!!
Have a blessed weekend, my friends. I send my love. See ya tomorrow (God willing) Thanks for visiting JanBeek
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
My prayers go out to Hope & Drew.
I look to the Lord in whom my strength and healing abides and helps me.
Pray with me today, will you? “Dear Heavenly Father, Be with Hope and Drew as they mourn the loss of their unborn baby. Help them understand Your will and know the blessing of the two they have. Be with me (Jan) and the finger that needs to heal… Provide comfort – – and the lesson to be learned. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Thanks for visiting JanBeek and expressing your love and concern for us.
In the book of Psalms, David writes in chapter 139 verses 13 and 14:
“for it was You who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been fearfully and wonderfully made”.
What does it mean to be fearfully and wonderfully made?
Fearfully when translated from the Hebrew means with great reverence, heart-felt interest, and with respect.
Wonderfully when translated from the Hebrew means unique and set apart.
Do you know you are unique and set apart? Do you feel the enormous amount of reverence, heart, and respect that went into your making?
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
When we badmouth our bodies, we are insulting God, don’t you think?
Last week when our Presbyterian Women met, the Bible lesson we studied was the story of Bathsheba. It pointed out the secular take on who Bathsheba was may be flawed. Instead of a gorgeous seductress, she may have been the victim. Hollywood’s version of her is the perfectly gorgeous Rita Hayward.
Is that how you see Bathsheba?
The artists who have painted her have a different version:
I much prefer this one! A little bit of a double chin, a poochy stomach, and hefty thighs. Yes, I can relate! Now don’t you think she was fearfully and wonderfully made?
We’re all different in our body type – and yet God says we all are beautiful, lovable, and created in His image. Do you believe that about yourself? Even if you’re not perfect?
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Did you hear that? “… as yourself.”
Yes, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Accept God’s love. Love yourself … and then You can love others!
Don’t let you body stiffen, and don’t let your mind stiffen either!
There are bodies of all shapes and sizes – All are made in God’s image – All are fearfully and wonderfully made!
And – hey guys, You don’t have to have a six-pack to be considered handsome!
Those old Charles Atlas ads are outdated – and those muscles don’t make the man!
That guy on the left is my Bob at the time we met – – – and his brother, Bill, on the right. They don’t look like that today, but they still are fearfully and wonderfully made – and their bodies have lasted into their mid-80’s!
Hah! Here’s Bob celebrating his 80th a few years ago with his younger brother, Bruce, and his brother-in-law, Stan. When asked, “What makes the man?”
Bob answered, “Character! A man who says what he’ll do and does what he says. A man of his word.”
Being fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God means you are made a hero because you are made with the characteristics of heroism.
12 Characteristics of Heroism
Brave
Filled with Conviction
Courage
Determination
Helpful
Honest
Inspirational
Exhibiting Moral integrity
And that’s not just for you guys out there. Those are the qualities of a woman made in God’s image, too!
Add faithful to that list… It’s a part of honesty and being inspirational and moral integrity.
It’s faith that gives you that character Bob was talking about!
May God bless you today – Your mind and your body – Know for sure, my friends, you are fearfully and wonderfully made!
Believe it!!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today. See ya tomorrow (God willing) Hugs!
We have been praying for Bob to get $$ assistance for the medication he needs for his heart condition. Check! Prayer answered.
Then, after getting the call from Pfizer that his application for aid was approved, we thanked God and Pfizer for answered prayer. And now, we have been praying for the medication to arrive. Check! Prayer answered just now!!
Your package was delivered.
From PFIZER-SPECIALTY PAP-MEDVANTX
Delivered
Wednesday 03/09/2022 11:48 AM
Oops – that notification didn’t don’t show up. Sorry! It was a notice from UPS saying Bob’s medication was delivered to our door this morning. Check!! Prayer answered!
Now we are praying that this medicine does what it is touted to do… what it is intended to do… control his TTR Amyloidosis. It was designed to dissolve the protein deposits in Bob’s heart muscles and keep additional protein from gathering there in the future. With that prayer answered, his heart can begin to pump efficiently again and he will regain his stamina.
So, keep on praying. God hears. God cares. God answers!
These prayers for life-saving medications are not too small! And they are not too large for our Lord to handle.
You have prayers on your heart, too. Besides world peace, what else?
Do you have a prayer that God answered recently like we do? I’d love to hear about it.
Praise God and thank Him for his care.
Do you have an unanswered prayer that I can add to my prayer time for you? God hears. God cares. God answers prayer.
Let’s be prayer warriors together!
Hugs from Bob & Jan
See ya tomorrow (God willing). Thanks for visiting JanBeek and leaving your comment. God bless you!
I appreciate you. Thanks for your prayers. God heard. God answered. Bob & I are so grateful!
Our WordPress family is so great! Our family and friends have been so comforting during this last year while we went to a gajillion doctors and finally got the reason for Bob’s congestive heart failure diagnosed = TTR Amyloidosis. Oh my! Never heard of it!
We are grateful for the expertise of the Bozeman, MT hematologist who suspected the problem after ruling out the need for a pacemaker or a stent. Neither of those was the problem.
Dr. Hool had encountered two other patients in her career with Amyloidosis. There are two types. One is AL. It is cancer of the bone marrow. Chemo is the only treatment and the life-expectancy is short.
The other type of Amyloidosis is TTR. It manifests itself as a collection of extra protein (it can happen in any of your organs – liver, kidney, brain, etc.). Usually it attacks the weakest of your organs. In Bob’s case it was TTR (thank God – not the cancerous type) and the protein collected in the heart muscle. It stiffened it, causing the heart to function insufficiently.
We are grateful for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and for Dr. Borgeson there who positively identified the TTR variety and prescribed a medicine to (hopefully) fix the problem.
We are grateful to Pfizer for developing the medication and approving Bob’s application for assistance to afford it. It’s outrageously expensive! So, thanks to Pfizer, the medication is on its way. And we are so grateful to all who prayed for this outcome. Thank you! And thank God!
Live in Gratitude! It’s a great state to be in!
Living with an attitude of gratitude Can definitely change your life! Focusing on your blessings Instead of your challenges Turns frowns upsidedown. Try it!
That’s my great-granddaughter, Sienna. I dare you to look at her and not smile!
So how does an attitude of gratitude change your life?
What does the Bible say about that attitude of gratitude?
22 Corinthians 9:11
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Thank You, God. Thank you, dear friends. We are, indeed, feeling enriched in every way.
Hugs to you, my WP friends … let me know if I can be in prayer for you about something specific, will you?
I have a couple of specific prayer requests: 1) Please add my friend, Alex, to your prayer list. He’s in surgery to have a malignant tumor removed from his lung. God, bee 🐝 with him! 🙏🏽❤️ 2) Please pray that the medication Bob needs is here (in the mail) soon – and pray that it does what it is designed to do – to help break up the protein that already is damaging Bob’s heart muscle – and that it helps to keep further protein deposits from forming.
We received a call this afternoon from Pfizer (the manufacturer of the medication Bob needs for treatment of his Amyloidosis- congestive heart failure). They have approved his application for assistance and the drug he needs to treat his problem will be in the mail tomorrow. We are grateful beyond measure! God is good! Thank you for your prayers. ❤️🙏🏽🥰
Lotsa smiles today.
Hugs to you, dear friends. Keep the faith. Be sure to express your needs to our merciful Heavenly Father – and believe your prayers are heard. God hears. God cares. Good is good!
janbeek 