Update:
Joshua came over on Wednesday afternoon and we made three videos:
1.
The first one is a detailed explanation of all
the pieces and parts of my prosthesis and how to put it on. This video is about 9½ minutes long. It can be found at http://youtu.be/ZxUPSF1UKdc I’ve
shown people my prosthesis and how it locks onto my leg, but in this video I
start with bare skin and show how all the pieces work together in my
prosthesis.
2.
The second video demonstrates me putting on a
pair of pants. It is just under 5
minutes long. It can be found at http://youtu.be/lEAggfLD66c Getting dressed in the morning can be
challenging because everything has to go on in a certain order. First putting the silicone liner on, then the
pants, then the socks, foam liner, and socket.
3. The third video shows me getting on my
motorcycle and going for a ride. This video
is 6 minutes long. The video can be
found at http://youtu.be/fObsxH9QfSo This video shows me getting on and off of
the motorcycle while I talk about some of the changes that I had to make in
order to ride my cycle.
Just before Joshua left today, I got my bicycle out to see if I could
ride it with my prosthesis. I was
nervous that I would crash and really hurt myself; but I did okay in that department. However, I found that I cannot get my left
leg high enough to keep it on the pedal at the top of the stroke. That is very disappointing. I was hoping to be able to ride my bike to
help burn calories; I thought that would be a great alternative to
walking. Doesn’t look like that is going
to happen! Bummer!
I spent Wednesday evening after dinner, working on the videos, read a
book for a while, and then took a shower before bed.
I told you before that I am attempting to lose weight. One of things I’ve done to help with that is
to cut my food intake by over half. In
between meals if I get hungry, I take a tablespoon of Psyllium (fiber) with
water and that satisfies that empty feeling quite well. I am working hard to only eat until I am full
(not stuffed). The result of that is I am now taking less than 10 units of
insulin per day (5-short, 5-long). Most
of my glucose levels prior to meals have been around 95-110. It is very possible within a short period of
time that I will no longer need to take insulin at all. That would be wonderful! I’ve really made a lifestyle change and am
feeling better for it. Too bad that it
has taken me this long to decide to do it.
Thought for the Day:
I’ve included Os Hillman’s daily devotional in its entirety today. I couldn’t have said it better:
.
.."Surely
the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." - Genesis 28:16
“Jacob was forced to flee his family after receiving the blessing
of God from his father, Isaac. He ran as a result of his broken relationship
with his brother, Esau, who threatened to kill him. He was alone after leaving
his family and was sleeping in the wilderness area at Bethel. It is here that
Jacob encountered God personally for the very first time. He had a dream in
which Heaven was opened up to him. The Lord spoke to him there and gave him a
promise to give him the very land on which he was lying.”
“This encounter with God made him realize that God was in this
place, even though he had not been aware of it. God had to remove Jacob from
all that was of comfort to him in order to reveal Himself to Jacob. What began
as a crisis that forced him to be removed from his family and friends led to an
encounter with the living God and a fresh vision of God's purposes for his
life.”
“How often we go about our daily routine and fail to recognize
that God is in the place where we are. God had to bring Jacob to a place of
separation from his old life and remove all his worldly possessions. He was
alone with God at Bethel; nothing else could distract him from an encounter
that would change his life.”
“God often must do radical things in the life of the servant in
whom He has special plans: separation from family, removal of physical and
emotional resources, an encounter with God. These are often the hallmarks of
ownership by God that build a vision into a life.” [Os Hillman, Today God is
First (TGIF), on-line devotional, 5/22/2014].
For many people, God has to knock out all of the props that hold us up
before we begin to look around for Him.
I don’t know, maybe we are just too comfortable and content to notice
Him before. It is in those moments of
desperation that we sense His presence. Depending
upon what we lean upon for security—God has to temporarily set it aside or
permanently remove it to grab our attention.
It may be the security of our finances, or our leisure activities; it
might be our health, our children, or our spouse (or significant other). Sometimes it might be our job or our own self-sufficiency
that gets in the way of us seeing that God is right there next to us. He was probably there all of the time; we
just didn’t sense Him standing nearby.
At times it seems harsh and perhaps even cruel. In our anguish and grief, we cry out to
Him. In desperation, we seek Him. Having cleared away the things that cluttered
our life and those things which have adverted our attention, we are suddenly
attentively focused upon God. When you
have nothing else to stand upon; leaning upon God looks more attractive.
It is in these difficult times that we achieve clarity of vision. We finally see what is really important. Until they are gone, we might have felt like
our life would be over without our toys.
“Life wouldn’t be worth living, if I had to give up .” We might believe that is true until we go
without. Our perspective changes over
time; hopefully we come to realize what is really of importance and what is
just nice to have, if available.
One of those “I gotta have this” items in our lives is a relationship
with God. We may not realize that it is until we are about to die; but then
suddenly we want to “get right with God” so we are prepared for the next life. God knows how important it is to us to have
relationship with Him; so at all costs He seeks to make us aware of Him before
it is too late.
He also uses these kinds of events to draw us closer to Him. There is nothing like having a sprained ankle
to cause you to find out where those crutches that you have were stored in the
basement and to keep them close at hand.
Pain in our life helps us to keep God close because of our need.
So if your life is dark and gloomy, look around for the light! God is going to use the bad things that
happen to help you become more aware of the true nature of your need and that
He is the solution to everything that you face.
Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call
upon him while he is near;” (ESV)
Psalm 34:8 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and
saves the crushed in spirit.” (ESV)
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