Long time, no write...

Guilty as charged...
Six months and one day ago, I wrote a post on June 29th. Yeah, I know, I'm so incredibly bad for not writing sooner!!! (Note: that's with three, count them, three, exclamation marks.) I have no real excuse, except that I've just been downright lazy about posting.

Mayan's and the election...
The good news is that the world did not end on December 21st as the Mayan Indians predicted. The bad news is that we have another four years of Barack Obama in the White House. To tell you the truth, I don't even like calling him the head of our country, because he has made an absolute joke of this title. I have talked to many other relatives and friends  and they feel the same way. I am not picking on him because he is black. On the contrary, that is not my issue with him at all. I dislike him because he really does not respect the United States of America, it's people or it's beliefs of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that the election was rigged with many, many people voting more than once for Obama.

Digressing...
OK, enough of the world ending and the stupid election, I will talk about something else.

August 9th...
On this day, Mom unfortunately fell down three steps and fractured her right hip. She was taken to Wayne Hospital in Greenville and stayed there until the 16th. Even though the fracture caused Mom a great deal of pain, it did not show up with an X-ray, but they had to do an MRI to see it. Mom was also diagnosed as having a mild case of pneumonia and after doing a swallowing test, they found out that with every swallow she took, the liquids were going directly into her lungs.

Backing up a bit...
About two years ago Mom saw a neurologist, Dr. Rabindra Kitchener in Troy and he diagnosed her as having chronic progressive external opthalmoplegia. Basically, it affects the muscles of the eyes and limbs, as well as causing choking when swallowing, because those muscles are also weak. Dr. Kitchener discharged Mom, he told her to walk a mile a day and sent her home with a canister of powdered Thick-it that Mom used once and did not like the consistency which it made the liquids, so she stopped using it. She also did not feel up to walking every day, so that never happened either.

Simply Thick to the rescue...
While Mom was still in the hospital, the speech therapists started putting Simply Thick in all of her liquids at a pudding consistency. Right from the start Mom was not too thrilled with having to drink such thick liquids, but the goal was for her to regain the swallowing muscles so she would no longer choke and would eventually be able to drink liquids without the Simply Thick.

The Gardens of St. Henry...
Mom recovered another eight weeks at the nursing home where she had more physical and speech therapy. For about the first six weeks, Mom could only put 50% of her weight on her leg, which was difficult, but at least she was able to use a walker with wheels. By the time Mom was released on October 12th, she was once again able to put her full weight on her right leg, while still using her walker on wheels to help her keep her balance and move around the house a little easier. Mom is still not doing as well as she was prior to falling, but considering that she's still able to dress herself, go to the bathroom and do a small amount of cooking every day, she feels fortunate.

Home, sweet home...
For many years Mom wanted to get new bedroom carpet and her walls painted, so while she was hospitalized and having rehab in the nursing home, I told my brothers and sister that it was time we get her bedroom done for her. On October 12th, Mom returned home to a de-cluttered bedroom, new carpet, painted blue walls and white ceiling and two framed paintings. The bathroom/utility room behind Mom's bedroom was also revamped and now it's also looks so much better.

Timing is everything...
When Mom initially fell, I was really concerned with how difficult it was going to be for her to recover, but then as time went by and she was getting stronger and really getting some much needed help for the swallowing and choking problems that she had for at least three years, I realized more and more that the fall was God's divine intervention for three reasons.
     1) Mom fell down three steps, when she could have fallen down the basement steps, which would have really caused multiple breaks instead of just a small hip fracture.
     2) Since Mom's swallowing and choking problems were finally addressed, she is now getting some much needed help with it to help her stay healthier and stronger.
     3) Mom's bedroom and the bathroom/utility room, which she wanted redecorated for about eight years, finally got done.

Well, that's about it for now...
As the old saying goes, "I won't put all my eggs in one basket." so I'll end this post and write more over the next few weeks and months ... I hope!!!

Helping Our Blessed Mother by praying the Holy Rosary...

For too many years, our country and the world have been in a battle of good verses evil. When it comes right down to it, Satan is sitting at the helm, steering us down a very hazardous path with the injustice of abortion and the immorality of same sex marriage taking the forefront.

It's all very sad and scary, BUT there is some really good news. We DO NOT have to accept the way things are any longer. We can fight against Satan and the unruly tyranny that he is inflicting on us. The one thing that truly sends Satan running to his hellish home, are our prayers, with the Holy Rosary in particular.

We have all heard of Fatima, Lourdes and Medjugorje, for these are all well known cities where Our Blessed Mother Mary has appeared to men, women and children. There is also a lesser known apparition sight called Holy Love Shrine, located near Cleveland, Ohio, where Maureen Kyle-Sweeney, has seen Our Blessed Mother, Jesus and many angels and saints for over 20 years. Since Bishop Richard Lennon, who is in charge of the Diocese of Cleveland, did not give his personal "blessing", the shrine is considered an ecumenical place of worship, which is actually a good thing, because many non-Catholics have also felt welcome and congregated to the shrine, producing many conversions back to God and resulted in many people being healed.

After visiting the website, clicking on the Messages tab, and reading the very first message from 2012, I felt overwhelmingly loved, supported, joyful, comforted, protected, blessed and I even had goose bumps. Read Our Blessed Mother's message for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

January 1, 2012 

Feast of Mary, Mother of God

ARMY OF PRAYER

Blessed Mother says: "Praise be to Jesus." (Our Lady is in white and gold.)

She says: "Dear children, it is important that you realize that abortion is the key issue which is bringing about the demise of mankind. If abortion was defeated, the path of reconciliation between the heart of the world and God the Father would be laid bare. Then you would see wars cease, economies stabilize under righteous leadership, moral degeneration reversed, disease and famine greatly resolved and natural, as well as man-made disasters, lessen."

"For I tell you, evil begets evil. Remember, dear children, one Hail Mary said from the heart can stop wars, heal diseases, change hearts and bring victory of righteousness over evil. Therefore, I have come to mobilize an Army of Prayer - not just here, but around the world. I call it ONE ROSARY A DAY FOR LIFE. This is your Heavenly Mother's call to arms. Be united in this effort, dear children, as I call you to be. Jesus and I will help you spread 'One Rosary a Day for Life' around the world."

"You do not need anyone's approval to pray or to evangelize prayer. You should encourage people from every part of the world to enlist in this 'army' of prayer."

"I am always your Mother, your support, your partner in all that is good; but this Army of Prayer must be spread quickly to be effective - and, so, it is My most precious and personal project."

"Make it known."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

So, it's that simple. Praying the Rosary every day for the rest of your life can bring about the end of abortion and as Our Blessed Mother says... "you would see wars cease, economies stabilize under righteous leadership, moral degeneration reversed, disease and famine greatly resolved and natural, as well as man-made disasters, lessen."and, "one Hail Mary said from the heart can stop wars, heal diseases, change hearts and bring victory of righteousness over evil."

We can do this, I know we can!!! Just 20 minutes a day for one Rosary is not asking for a lot. God created us in the womb and gave us 24 hours a day, every day since we were born. Just start today and sit down with your family and pray together. You don't have to kneel, just sit in a chair, and peacefully enjoy the time with your family as you recite the Holy Rosary together.

I have been praying the Rosary off and on since my mid-twenties, but I still get confused as to the order of the mysteries, so to also help you, click here and you can download a pdf file explaining in more detail how to pray the Rosary. It is free to print and share with others, as is noted at the bottom of the page.

Our Blessed Mother, Herself, has promised us that praying the Rosary can and will change the world we are living in, but we have to take the step of faith by doing our part. Do it for Our Blessed Mother and do it for yourself and your family and friends, especially young children, teenagers and future children yet to be born. Our future and future generations literally depends on us praying the Rosary and then we will see our world change and miracles happen.

If you would like to read more messages, you can go to: www.HolyLove.org

Click here to see Maureen visiting Pope John Paul II and giving him the Holy and Divine Love messages.

Thank you for your time and may God richly bless us all with His love and protection.

Taking time to enjoy the weather...

Slower, but surer...
As I mentioned in my last post, I walk fairly slow - probably one-tenth the speed of the average walker. Whenever I have tried to walk faster in the past, I always end up hurting my feet and lo and behold I cannot walk for a few days until they feel better. Over the years, I finally came to the brilliant conclusion that if I want to walk every day, then walking at my own pace is so much better than trying to keep up with everyone's faster pace.

When it comes to using crutches...
I can walk indoors without my elbow crutches, no problem. However, when I'm outside, I do not feel safe without using the crutches. I have tried to walk with just one crutch, but eventually my feet start hurting and I end up having the same problems that I had when I walked too fast.

My elbow crutches are my supports...
Someone once told me that by using elbow crutches, I'm dependent on something to help me walk. I absolutely agree with them, because if I did not walk with crutches, I could not walk to the next door neighbors and back. But with them, I can walk almost a mile in an hour. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who has a difficult time walking, but want to get up and move, should try using elbow crutches. First of all, I enjoy walking and it's a lot easier because I'm not constantly worried about falling. Secondly, since the crutches weigh a pound and a half each, my arms also get a decent workout, making them stronger with every step that I take.

Nature in all it's glory...
Over the past few weeks as I have walked, I have enjoyed looking around at nature. Have you ever stopped to look at a yellow dandelion? It may be a weed, but it has a simplistic beauty all it's own that is a flower in every sense of the word. The blooming trees have also put on a spectacular show. And unless you are living in a cave, you couldn't help but notice the maple trees discarding their "helicopter" seeds all over the place.

Really wacky temps...
The real problem was having 80° temps in mid March, because we all got spoiled and just wanted the nice weather to stay for good. Just when we got used to wearing shorts and short sleeves, we got zapped with cold weather making us go back to wearing jackets and even winter coats.  Now that it's May, I'm pretty sure that the freeze warnings are not going to be happening until mid-November.

Road construction ahead...
Since May 1st, North Star has been getting some major road construction on the far east side of town.  The crew in charge have already ripped up the road and sidewalks and by September 1st, we will have a new road, sidewalks and curbs on both sides of the street. Since 1969, when the south side of the road had sidewalks put in, it will be much better having sidewalks and curbs on both sides of the street so residents and their visitors can actually park their vehicles in front of their homes.

Blessings after blessings...

A very special birthday wish...

My mom, Joann Bensman, is 82 today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!! Mom is slowing down a bit, but she still has a lot of determination to get things done and has such a good outlook on life and a wonderful sense of humor. I call the funny things she says, little gems, because when we hear them, we can't help but laugh out loud. We are so fortunate to have an amazing mother!

This picture of Mom, my brother, Bob, and Russ

and Barb's kids, Abby, Max, and Alex, was taken

in 2002. I have a lot of pictures of the kids when

they were little, but over the past few years we have

gotten out of the habit. Taking pictures is something

I really want to do on regular basis again.

  

The weather....

Since the second week of March, it seems that this topic has been on the lips of everyone you meet. I just checked the AccuWeather website for March and from Sunday, March 11th until Friday, March 30th, the average temperate in that 20 day time span was 70°. Can you believe it? Yep, it's true. In fact, the highest during the day was 85° on March 21st and the lowest was 54° on March 26th. All in all, it was absolutely gorgeous and we all, quite frankly, were becoming very spoiled by the warm weather. And then on Easter Sunday, the wind started picking up, it got worse and colder on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then we once again returned to nice weather yesterday and today. I'm not a big fan of the wind at all, so when it gets over 15 mph, I pretty much stay in the house. When it was so calm and warm, the only problem I had was having to go back in the house, because I absolutely love that kind of weather.

Walking, slow but sure...

Even though I probably walk one-tenth the speed of the average walker, I am still so incredibly fortunate to be walking. After all, considering that I did not walk at all from November 1977 to May 1979 - that's a grand total of 18 months or a year and a half - the fact that I am still able to walk 33 years later for up to a mile every day and doing that in a little over an hour, in my book is a true-blue, honest-to-goodness miracle. I will never ever get tired of saying how very grateful to God I am, because He has given me the strength and endurance to do so well. Wow, God is so amazing and He deserves all the glory!!!

Big YouTube fan...

The main reason I like YouTube so much is because there is such a wide variety of videos to watch, with my three favorite topics being religious, health and music. With just a few key words, finding a video is so quick and easy. Being a proponent of Pro-Life, I found the following two-part video by Gianna Jessen, an actual abortion survivor, to be so incredibly inspirational and moving. Gianna speaks so eloquently about her deep faith in Jesus and how He helped her overcame many obstacles in her life. You cannot help but get choked up as she touches your heart with her profound wisdom and sincerity.

Gianna Jessen Abortion Survivor in Australia - Part 1 of 2

Gianna Jessen Abortion Survivor in Australia - Part 2 of 2 

For anyone who justifies that abortion is a woman's right to choose, they quickly forget about the babies rights and Gianna really makes that point so strong and clear. Even though Gianna's mother chose to abort her, Gianna survived and is here to proclaim that she deserved the right to live, because she is a gift from God, and we are so very fortunate that she is alive to share her amazing life story.

Distracted by game playing...

The fact that I have not posted a blog in two months, is a shortcoming on my part and the only excuse that I have is really lame - I have become addicted to playing Angry Birds on Facebook. I do not like admitting that playing an arcade game has become a major pastime and total obsession, but it's true and I am owning up to it. Maybe, by making this little confession, I can set it aside and get on with doing more important things - things that really matter, like praying, walking, eating healthy and working on this blog. I have said it before and I am going to say it again, I will be more diligent when it comes to working on this blog - at least I HOPE SO!!!

An Attitude of Gratitude...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

I am still so incredibly grateful for all the blessings in my life: my faith in God, continual improved health, family and friends who have helped and inspired me tremendously over the years, and having the ability and knowledge to use a computer in a variety of ways. I am back and I will continue to share my love of God, who has given me so much in my life. I love my friend, Mary Ann, for sharing her passion of God with me. Walking With God By My Side is not just the title of my blog, it is the way I feel in my life and I want and need to share that gift with others. Amen!!!

Moving forward, literally...

Last summer was an amazing year for me, because for the first time in a very long time I had the chance to do a lot of walking with two new and improved feet and ankles that move and feel so much better. My life is good... no, my life is fantastic now! "Thank you, Jesus for sending me to surgeons, Dr. Thomas Lee and Dr. William DeCarbo from Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Center in Westerville, Ohio and to orthopedic shoe guys, John Druckemiller and Dan Kimball, from Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in Lima, Ohio." These four men have immensely improved my life overall. Thank you, gentlemen so much, for your valuable time, patience and understanding. My gratitude is overwhelming.

Click here to see my YouTube Channel, RebeccaJB1960...

On February 10, 2009, just a tad bit over three years ago, I set-up a YouTube account. I have only uploaded six videos so far, but I would like to add more this year. The following walking video is probably my favorite, because the song speaks so strongly of how I feel in regards to Jesus watching over me!

Click here to see the video, "Someone's Watching Over Me".

Ralph Waldo Emerson speaks volumes... 

"For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends."

I found seven more gratitude quotes on the internet that I would also like to share with you...

1) "Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation. " — Brian Tracy

2) "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." — Marcel Proust

3) "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." — Thornton Wilder

4) "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." — John F. Kennedy 

5) "At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." — Albert Schweitzer 

6) Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us.  — Lauryn Hill 

7) "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.  — William Arthur Ward

To everyone from me...