Blessings abound in my life...

Shirley comes to my aide...
Over the past four weeks, my cousin Shirley, has been so gracious to help me one day a week for four hours. She even went to the trouble to do a lot of paper work and took special classes in order become my extra special home health care aide. Now that spring is here and I'm able to get out again, Shirley has already been a tremendous help. She has had a lot of experience helping others over the years and is an excellent cook and very conscious about keeping things clean and tidy. Between Dianne, who still works 16 hours a week, and Shirley working four, I am very fortunate to have two very caring woman helping me. Thanks to both of them, they make things a lot easier for my mom and I. 

My mom is always there for me...
Speaking of my mom, Joann, she is the most important woman in my life. Despite slowing down a bit over the years, Mom is still very strong-willed and also has a wonderful sense of humor. God has richly blessed our family with an amazing Mother and Grandmother. 

Jesus, I trust in you!
A few weeks ago, I produced my last walking video using the song "Someone's Watching Over Me" by Hilary Duff. I included the Divine Mercy picture of Jesus, paying homage to Him for helping me recover from the last foot surgery, after the halo wire ripped through the bottom of my heal due to disuse osteopenia. While the halo was still on my foot and I was in a lot of pain from having the struts turned in order  to correct the downward angle of my foot, there were many days that I held my rosary and sang the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which calmed me, allowing me to get some much needed rest. God also blessed me immensely by providing me with the caring nurses from Comprehensive Health Network in Greenville, who were very diligent is making sure my foot was healing. Father James Trick from St. Charles Seminary in Carthagena was also instrumental in my healing process when he visited me and gave me a special blessing. 

God just keeps on giving and giving...
Over the past few weeks, God has intervened in my life time after time, allowing me to go places with Mary Ann Badgett and experience blessings that I never imagined would ever happen. And the best part is that I feel totally at ease. To most of you, it's probably "normal", to be around others and not be afraid, but for me, it's a small miracle, which I am so grateful for, because over the past three years, I have actually felt panicky every time I went some place and was with a group of people. If I could stand on the roof, I was yell out, "THANK YOU, JESUS FOR BLESSING ME WITH SO MUCH!!! I pray that Jesus continues to intervene in my life so I can continue giving Him all the credit and glory for making my life so much better, for I am nothing without Him!

St. Faustina... 
On Monday, April 18th, I attended a faith-filled evening at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Coldwater, Ohio with my friend, Mary Ann. The Sisters of Reparation of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, from Steubenville, Ohio, shared some very interesting information on the life of St. Faustina (see her photo above). They also brought relics and allowed everyone in attendance to touch and kiss them as well as have the relics touch personal items as a special blessing. I was so privileged to meet and talk to Mother M. Wendy McMenamy and Sister M. Grace Kelly.

The Sisters of Reparation are very enthusiastic about sharing the message of the Divine Mercy, which Jesus specifically gave to St. Faustina. There is so much vitally important information at their website that I highly encourage you visit it and learn more.

http://www.sistersofreparation.org/ 

Sr. M. Alfonsa of the Child Jesus...

The Sisters are also devoted to Sr. M. Alfonsa to become a saint. She had rheumatoid arthritis for many years, she passed away in 1994 and has already intervened in the lives of people by giving them healing miracles.

Mary Ann already met the Sisters...
Mary Ann had attended presentations of the Sisters in the last two years so she had heard about Sr. M. Alfonsa. When Mary Ann received her special blessing on Monday, she told Mother M. Wendy that I had rheumatoid arthritis. I was so honored and felt very blessed when Mother M. Wendy took the time to talk to me about Sister M. Alfonsa. She said that in order for Sister M. Alfonsa to become beatified and become a saint, people needed to come forward and share their personal miracles. Just knowing that Mother M. Wendy personally knew Sister M. Alfonsa for 12 years and had assisted with her health care, gave me special hope that Sister M. Alfonsa will intervene on my behalf and ask God to bestow on me the special healings of inner peace and physical well-being.

http://www.sistersofreparation.org/Spirituality/AlfonsaOne.htm 

Many, many blessings in my life...
God has already blessed me so much over the last few years by pointing me in the right direction with gifted orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Thomas Lee and Dr. William DeCarbo, who have helped me walk a lot better. Over the past few months, I have also met some very kind hearted people, who have helped me conquer my fear of getting out in the public. I am once again enjoying the fellowship of others and for the first time in two years, I am looking forward to getting out and meeting more people. THANK YOU, JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!!!

So many blessings all in one day...

Driving Miss Becky...
Friday, March 25th was an amazing day. First of all, I thought it was going to be just another ordinary afternoon of catching up on some projects in my office, but instead it turned out to be an extraordinary day of getting out with my girlfriend, Mary Ann.

A very special birthday...
First of all, it was Mary Ann's birthday, a birthday that is also on the feast of the Annunciation of our Lord, which celebrates the angel Gabriel's appearance to the Virgin Mary, his announcement that the Blessed Virgin had been chosen to be the Mother of Our Lord, and Mary's willing acceptance of God's holy plan. (I found this on the internet, because I could not explain it nearly as well.) Nine months later on December 25th, we celebrate Christmas. It also just so happens that Mary Ann was named after our Blessed Mother Mary and Mary's mother Ann.

Father James Trick has the gift of healing...
First Mary Ann and I went to the St. Charles Seminary, near Carthagena, to see Father James Trick. For many years, Father Trick has has been having healing services in surrounding communities and has helped countless number of people with spiritual, emotional and physical healing. Even though Father Trick has Parkinson's and has a very difficult time walking, he came to see me last year when I was recovering from the foot surgery and he gave me a special blessing.  By the time I was able to walk last November, the winter weather was too bad to get out so yesterday was the first time in many months that I was able to venture out and I really made the best of it. Father Trick once again anointed me with oil and gave me a special blessing.

A cottage on the lake...
After visiting Father Trick, Mary Ann and I went to Montezuma to check out a cottage owned by Mary Ann and her husband Steve. They have put a lot of hard work into fixing the place up and now it's a real gem.

God speaks to Jackie...
From Montezuma, we drove to Minster's St. Augustine church, where Mary Ann's niece Jackie made an unexpected visit last week and felt the very strong presence of God as He helped her with a health problem that she has had for many years.

Where Our Blessed Mother has cried...
Then we traveled back to St. Sebastian church where a parishioner, who's name is also Becky, saw the Blessed Virgin Mary statue cry a few years ago.

Seeking inner peace...
At both churches, I prayed to God to help me release pent up frustrations and anger that have been bothering me since 2008. I want more than anything to have inner peace and joy and I know God will help me overcome these feelings.

Happy, Happy, Birthday Mary Ann!!!
I hope you and Steve had an enjoyable evening out together. You made my day so very special just by sharing our friendship and building our faith. May God bless you and Steve, now and forever!

Out with the old eMac computer and in with the new Mac Mini...

Almost seven years ago...

On June 4, 2004, I had gotten my third Apple computer since 1989. My first computer, a Mac SE (Super Enhanced), had a 450 MB hard drive, the equivalent of about 112 - 4 MB mp3's today. This is very small by today's standards since a one inch security card can hold 512 MB.

In the very beginning...
Way back in 1972, when I was 12-years-old, I used a manual typewriter. You remember those, don't you? I had to push down on the keys kind of hard to get it to work. Then in 1974, at 14, I got an electric typewriter, which had a tape correction cartridge. Wow, now I didn't have to press down on the keys near as much, plus I could correct my mistakes without having to use the small correction papers. I thought I really had it made.

The age of computers...
In 1978, at 18, I got my first computer, a Commodore 64, with a floppy drive to save files, plus a daisy wheel printer which produced letter quality print. The printer was so much faster that I really felt like I was moving up in the world. I had no idea at the time how far technology would advance over the next 32 years.

Screen black outs...
Within the past few months, my eMac computer, which is a computer and monitor all-in-one (shown below) was gradually breaking down. First the screen would suddenly go black, so I had to shut it down and then turn it back on a few minutes later. I did some internet research and discovered this was happening to other users, but if another monitor was connected to the computer, it would mirror whatever was on the eMac. What a relief, it worked like a charm. Having a monitor that worked again, diminished my stress level a lot since I was able to get projects done without being interrupted.

System crashes...
Then about two month later, I started having system crashes that happened once or twice a day for a couple weeks and then every 15 minutes to two hours for two more weeks. I finally had to face the fact that my faithful, but worn out eMac needed to retire and I had to get a newer model that would be more reliable.

Fourth Apple computer in 22 years...
When I got the new Samsung monitor back in December, I decided ahead of time that "when" my computer did finally conk out, I would replace it with a Mac Mini, which is a much smaller version of the PC computer "towers". Here's a picture with the exact measurements.

Height: 1.4 inches
Width: 7.7 inches
Depth: 7.7 inches
Weight: 3.0 pounds

I got the Mac Mini the end of February and I've been getting oodles and oodles of work done again. I love it!!!

Scanning pictures and 35mm slides...

I really enjoy making music videos and I've made some for my personal use, as well as for family and friends, but sometimes it's mind boggling trying to get the pictures or videos to be in sync with the songs. Now that I have upgraded my computer, I have decided to start a new business venture called, Preserving Precious Memories, in which I will scan old and new photos, plus 35 mm slides, and put them on DVD's as a slide show presentation that can be viewed on a computer or DVD player. Since our family has a lot of old pictures, this will be my first project.

Upgrading walking videos...

In my blog post from January, I included a walking video with three songs on it, but I decided to delete it and make two separate videos instead, (using two of the same songs) which I produced before my eMac gave out. The first video is from the song, Someone's Watching Over Me by Hilary Duff. As a Catholic, I believe in the Divine Mercy Chaplet, so I wanted to include the picture of Jesus in my video, because He inspires me every day and gives me so much hope. Jesus is the one watching over me. The second video is Footloose by Kenny Loggins. It's one of my all time favorite dance songs. I hope you like both videos.

The links to watch these videos are below, which will redirect you to the Youtube website. After placing my videos here at blogspot.com, I wasn't really satisfied with the quality since they were more pixelated when the screen was made large. After experimenting with Youtube's quality, it seemed more logical to upload the videos to their new home.

Becky walking - Someone's Watching Over Me by Hilary Duff

Becky walking - Footloose by Kenny Loggins

In earlier posts, I had included other videos, but because the quality was so poor for them as well, I decided to delete them and post them on YouTube instead. To watch my collection of videos, just click on the YouTube web page below.

Becky Bensman' Video Collection


Looking forward to spring and summer...
Fortunately, I did not have to tromp through the snow this winter, but for those of you who did, I would imagine you are even happier than I am to put the winter behind you, at least for eight months. Yoohoo!!!

Spring into action...
My friend, Glenna, emailed me the following web link. Click on it and you will get a black page. Click your mouse anywhere (and everywhere) on the page and see what happens! Better yet, click (hold down) and drag your mouse over the black page... or do as I did and just click away. Enjoy!!

Get in the mood for spring and summer!

Long time, no write!

Slow, but sure...

Since October, my blog has taken a backseat to my top priority, which has been to get back in shape with walking. On November 8th, I got my right shoe and started walking again with both heels flat to the ground for the first time in 35 years. I used crutches most of the time for two weeks, then I was able to just use one and since early December, I've been able to walk without any for up to 45 minutes. However, when I first stand up, my left ankle is always really tight, but after about ten minutes of stretching it, I can bare my full weight and walk in the house without needing them.

A great day for a winter stroll...
Yesterday, it got up to 39° so I took full advantage of the weather, and the mostly cleared sidewalks, and walked for about an hour. It was so incredibly invigorating to breathe in fresh air and feel the slightly misty rain on my face, that I didn't even want to come back in. I did use crutches, because I still don't trust my feet or legs enough to go outside without them, but just being able to walk again with heels that make contact with the ground and my ankles don't roll like they used to, is an incredible blessing. The pain in my feet while walking is at least 90% less than what they used to be prior to having both foot surgeries. The only thing that bothers me is after I've been siting for an hour or more and then try to stand up, my feet feel achy and tired. But they were ten times worse before, so that's another thing to be very grateful for.

Partitioning my hard drive...
I'm currently in the process of backing up my hard drive so I can eventually do a clean sweep and partition it using dual operating systems. I've been using Panther on my eMac for over six years now, but since Youtube and other websites work best with Tiger, I'm going to also add it. I've never partitioned a hard drive using dual OS's so I hope I get it right the first time.

New town headquarters...
In a couple of weeks I would also like to add another video, introducing the North Star Community Center. Since all of the elementary students and teachers have transferred over to Versailles, the home base of our local school district, our little town inherited the school building. With six classrooms, a kitchen, gym/cafeteria, office and a library, the town is making excellent use of the property.

Until next time, stay safe, healthy and happy!