Weekly Photo Challenge: Textures
Wanda
Day: August 2, 2017
The Weekly Smile 83
This is what made me smile this week. I spent the day with my friends at Sea World in Orlando on Monday. I had such a good time. I love to go to parks like this. It gives my inner child a chance to come out and play.
I rode the roller coasters and did a little shopping and took a ton of photos.
The shows were wonderful and I am just so impressed with the rescue work that Sea World does. So many of the animals they have in the shows are rescues.
I’ll be smiling about this day for a long time. 🙂
Wanda
One Liner Wednesday
One Liner Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass … it’s about learning to dance in the rain!
Wanda
Foggy Brain
Twelve years ago I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. It is believed that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.
Symptoms sometimes begin after a physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event. My symptoms began after I had an injury.
Women are more likely to develop fibromyalgia than are men. Many people who have fibromyalgia also have tension headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and depression.
There is no cure for it. It is something that won’t kill me, but it sure can make me miserable. I have pain every day, but the real frustrating thing for me is the fibro fog which affects my memory. Sometimes while I am talking I just lose what I am saying. It drives me crazy.
I have found changing my diet to a paleo one has helped alleviate the pain a bit which in itself is reason enough to stick to eating the paleo way. I do have to take medications which keep it manageable. Weather also affects my symptoms.
At my age I have the luxury of picking and choosing what is worth aggravating my symptoms and increasing the pain, and I can tell you that cleaning my house is low on the list. 🙂 My hobbies come before any housework and spending time with my family, especially my grandchildren, comes before them. I feel that if I am going to hurt, I want it to be over something I love doing, not something that isn’t fun.
Take yesterday for instance. Dottie, Frank and I spent the day at Sea World in Orlando. We met her ex-brother in law who had his grandchildren with him. They are the cutest kids. John 13 and Julia 9. It rained most of the day, but we walked all over the park. Julia wanted to sit down close when we saw the Shamu show. I sat right down there with her and we go soaked. We laughed so hard. I rode the roller coasters with them and we petted the rays together. We got back to the house around 8 o’clock last night and I can tell you I was exhausted and I was hurting. But I was also happy and excited about how I spent the day.
That’s the thing about fibro. You can’t give into it. You have to keep moving and doing what you enjoy. Like I said it’s not a condition that will end my life, so I don’t intend to let it dictate what I can do either.
Wanda
Flower of the Day – Clematis
Peach Clematis.
Wanda
The Immaculate Heart of Mary
In the Catholic Church the month of August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys, sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and most of all her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all persons. The image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with the pierced heart is the most popular representation.
I have always felt very close to the Blessed Mother. She is my patron saint and our heavenly mother who intercedes for us whenever we ask and even when we don’t because she knows our needs. When we say prayers to Mary, we are not asking her to grant what we ask, but are asking her to take our needs to her divine Son.
Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
O Most Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore your intercession with Jesus your Son. Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially those so deep in our heart.
We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask for your prayer. We trust to your gentle care and intercession, those whom we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever.
Amen.
Many people misunderstand devotion to the saints with worshiping them. Only God is worshiped. Quoting Catholic Answers, “1 Timothy 2:5, Paul says that Christians should intercede: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and pleasing to God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1–4). Clearly, then, intercessory prayers offered by Christians on behalf of others is something “good and pleasing to God,” not something infringing on Christ’s role as mediator.”
Wanda
