My sister is coming home!

My sister has been living down south. In just a few more days she is moving back up here to PA. I was at her new home today to check the electricity etc, and be sure things were ready for the movers to arrive. I am so excited for her and her girlie girls, 2 lady doxies named Megan and Jamie. My little boy doxie is excited too. He loves the girls. Everyone is spayed and neutered so that's OK!

Barnes & Noble - Books, Textbooks, eBooks, Toys, Games & More

Barnes & Noble - Books, Textbooks, eBooks, Toys, Games & More: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Check out the Nook Color. It's great. I have actually quit all my regular book clubs. I can even access the web and my email etc right thru the Nook devise. It's a great idea as a present for those who have trouble reading regular type print because you can adjust the size of the print on EVERY thing you read! It was the best present I have ever received!

February 1, 2011

I know I haven't posted in quite some time. Unfortunately the rest of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 have carried on in the same vein of loss and depression for myself and my family. My husband had some additional health issues that began with a cold. A man with one lung has to be careful of even the slightest sniffle and of course, being a man, he ignored it. Well, needless to say he ended up with an episode of emphysema and breathing troubles that required a weeks hospital stay. While in, they did a work up on his remaining lung and found a small nodule in the pleura. He refuses chemo and/ or radiation so that is being monitored for the time being. He is now on 4 new meds to aid breathing (2 of which alone cost over $500.00!) Thank God for his VA benefits.
We also suffered the loss of our son-in-law on New Years Day. He was battling alcoholism and losing. He and our daughter had separated so he could live at a rehab home that was supposed to be drug and alcohol free. They apparently take the word of the people staying there to keep sober, etc. Well my son-in-law was so drunk that he fell down the outside steps, hit his head and crawled over a snow pile. He wasn't found for 8 hours and had died of hypothermia. He was 46 and our daughter, now a widow, is 43. Such a tragedy for both of them.
For me another very difficult funeral to preform. I am hoping and praying for the tide to turn to more pleasant times for all of us.

Remember to help yourself

I have had the winter and spring from hell. I have done more funerals since the New Year than all the total funerals I have done since my ordination. (4 years now)
One of these was the husband of a close friend. He had been ill a short time and his passing was not a surprise. It was however, painful to see the complete loss felt by his family and friends. There were 5 more to come in close succession.
Another funeral was the most difficult funeral I ever hope to do. My best friend and closest companion of 34 years died suddenly and totally unexpectedly. I didn't even know she had gone into the hospital. The first I knew of it was when I got the call that she had passed away. I was devastated! I didn't know how I was going to be able to get through her service without falling apart myself. I believe when something like this happens, to put the whole matter squarely on God's shoulders. I did and S/He saw me through.
After the fact was even more of a problem. I went into a very dark place. My hubby said I wasn't eating or drinking. I had become so depressed and I didn't even realize what was happening.
I was useful to the family of my friend and frequently counseled them. I met with her husband many times and helped him, but I forgot about one person entirely. ME!
Thank goodness others around me saw what was happening and stepped in. It is an important lesson to be learned. Remember, as a spiritual counselor, you too may need some help along the way. When you are overwhelmed by the losses of others, you cannot help them if you are not together yourself. I didn't realize how deeply I had been affected by 6 funerals in less the 4 months and for the last one to be someone so close just threw me off my stride.
I have learned that as the spiritual base for others, you too need to have a support structure for yourself.
Maybe this will help some others out there who fact this situation too.

Click on this link to down load my newest cross stitch pattern. It's called "A Tribute to Mary Magdalene".

A notice to my loyal supporters

Currently, this site as well as my other religious based sites are under a verbal attack by a certain man who I believe is trying to cause my seminary school as much trouble as one man possibly can.
At no time have I ever presented myself as an academic. My ordination and my doctorate degree are from a religious seminary. They are religious credentials.
As Dr. Martin Luther King was a Doctor of Theology, so am I.
Since this man has what might be considered internet knowledge, I will be slightly altering the names and hometowns of those who post to my BLOGS, contribute to this Ministry and in other ways identify themselves to the world through any of my web sites. This is necessary, in my humble opinion, to protect my wonderful supporters from any attack, verbal or otherwise, from this person’s questionable behavior.
Please pray that God touches this man's heart and that She will stop him from any future harassment.
Thank you,
Dr. Maggie

Our Prayers & Sympathy

Our Deepest Sympathy and Prayers to all those who lost their lives at Virginia Tech. We also offer our prayers to innocence lost; to those who survived this tragedy but will never be the same.