The Woman and the Fork

My friend Dawn sent me this story in an email today. It was a great comfort to me. The last few weeks have been a bit of a struggle, and I have been discouraged with the way my treatments are going. This story reminded me that there ARE better things to come. Thank you Dawn. Your emails and messages always give me a boost! Love ya!

Woman and a Fork

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things 'in order,' she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.

She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.

Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

'There's one more thing,' she said excitedly..

'What's that?' came the Pastor's reply.

'This is very important,' the young woman continued. 'I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.'

The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing
Quite what to say.

That surprises you, doesn't it?' the young woman asked..

'Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request,' said the Pastor.

The young woman explained. 'My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!'

So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Keep your fork ..the best is yet to come.'

The Pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand.. Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, 'What's with the fork?' And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the Pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.

He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork let it remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come. Friends are a very rare jewel , indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed Cherish the time you have, and the memories you share .... Being friends with someone is not an opportunity, but a sweet responsibility.

Share this with everyone you consider a FRIEND...and I'll bet this will be an

story they do remember, every time they pick up a fork.!

And just remember...keep your fork!

And have a great day!

The Importance of Accepting Others This is a story about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've got a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring with me." "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him." "There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us." "I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live." "No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us." "Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own." At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg. The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!! There's a miracle called -Friendship- that dwells in the heart. You don't know how it happens or when it gets started. But you know the special lift It always brings and you realize that Friendship Is God's most precious gift! Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

Author unkown. Story borrowed from Godvine.com

Marlene's note:
During this long road of chronic illness, there have been alot of instances of non-acceptance in my life. People that were my best friends, and yes, family members too, have turned their back on me once I became ill. Once I could no longer help them clean their homes for their dinner party, or stencil their living room wall, or go shopping all day, or babysit, or any of the things I always did but could no longer do, I became invisible. And I guess it was because they had the same mentality as the father in this story. We became a burden and they don't want to deal with us. It's a very sad thing really. We are ALL the same as we were before we became ill, or lost a limb. And we are still God's children.

Good morning friends. Today is going to be a busy crafting day for me. Lots to do. For the first time in 3 weeks I didn't wake up with a throbbing head, so I will take advantage of it.

Tomorrow is the big day. Rep from insurance company will be here to talk about the motorized chair. And I will suck it up and deal with it. The day before yesterday I fell again. Head first into the dresser, so I don't have much choice anymore. 

We will have to do alot to get the house wheelchair ready, and I don't know how that's going to work. And I'm trying real hard NOT to stress about it. And the best way for me to not stress is to keep myself super busy. And so,
I'm working on getting my websites, blogs and etsy shops back up and running as. I'll post when they are up.

Also got some plants repotted yesterday. All my cuttings did absolutely fabulous and all rooted, so now they are in dirt. Have some more I will start cuttings of this week, and in a month or so, I'll get started on getting some seeds started. There's nothing better that digging in the dirt- unless it you are eating something chocolate that is.

Best news for last- Tiffany found a gorgeous wedding dress yesterday in Springfield, Mo. and when they got home, she brought it over to show me, OMG it is really beautiful. She is such a lovely young lady, and will be a beautiful bride. I am proud to call her daughter-in-law.

Have a wonderful day everyone!  Gentle hugs, Marlene

Sugar Scrub Tags & Recipe Card Printable Freebie

Hi again. Made some tags and recipe card for the Snickerdoodle Sugar Scrub in a Valentine's Day theme. Cute gifts for your girlfriends! And best of all the printables are FREE. Gotta love that. In the next few days I'll add a chocolate bar wrapper and bag topper to go along with it, so stay tuned! Please note these printables are for personal use only. So don't claim them as your own design or sell them. I'll post the link where you will go to get the download. Enjoy! And let me know what you think of them.
Click here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/OslzvLRf/sugar_scrub_tags2.html

Sugar Scrub Recipe

Mary, here's the recipe. Hope you enjoy it. If anyone else would like to use it, please do. You will love it! I made it for my DIL and a good friend of mine as part of their christmas gift. I love this scrub. But please note  ( this is VERY important) because of the added cinnamon powder, do NOT use this scrub on your body. The cinnamon can cause irritation. It adds a nice scent making this scrub smell like cookies baking in the oven, but, it is not for people with sensitive skin . It is amazing for dry skin on hands and feet.

Snickerdoodle Hand and Foot Scrub:
1-1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark whatever you have on hand)
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon cinnamon powder (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (also optional- just adds to the yummy scent)

Throw it all in the bowl of your kitchen aid and mix till blended. I used the wisk attachment. Package it in a pretty jar. Easy peasy, and a nice gift using stuff you probably have in your cupboard. These scrubs sell for more that 50 bucks at dept stores, and that's just crazy.

To use: massage about a tablespoon of the scrub onto wet hands or feet. Massage gently. Rinse and pat dry. Great to use at nite before bed. I use lotion after the scrub, then wear socks and cotton gloves to bed. I have really dry skin and this works wonders!

If I had a brain I would have taken a pic of how I packaged the gifts, but, I was suffering from fibrofog as usual. I also made a peppermint bath salt, Lavender Milk Bath, and an herbal body soak for them as well. If you'd like me to share the recipes and gift tags you can print for those, I'd be happy to. 

Yesterday I put up a question to my fibrofriends about the headaches I have been having, and here's an update. I went to run errands with Joey, and he ended up having to rush me over to my docs office. The headache was sooooo bad, and the field of blurred vision was getting larger. And it scared me. I have never had such pain in my head. And here's what she said. The inflamation in my neck / spine from the arthritis has gotten so bad that it's putting pressure on the arteries in my neck that go to the brain. Thus the headache and blurred vision. When we left to do our errands, the headache wasn't bad, just kind of reminding me it's there. My getting in and out of the car most likely made it worse. She talked to me about needing to go back on the cortico-steriods several months ago after blood work, but I HATE HATE HATE them. And if you've ever been on one, you know what I'm talking about. I will be virtually a prisoner in the house for a while as my immune system will be even less capable to fight off any virus/ infection. Your cold/flu can kill me. Sounds exteme I know, but it's true. But, if I can get rid of the blurred vision and the headaches it will be worth it. Poor Greg. More he'll have to take over (shopping, etc.) on his own. :(

And that my friends is all for today. I didn't sleep much last night from feeling jittery because of having to take 6 of the steroid at once. So I'm tired. I think I will nap a while. Have a wonderful day!  Gentle hugs, Marlene

Hello my friends. I hope you all are well. We've been having some cold weather the last few days. but I won't complain, after all, it is january! And, the weather is supposed to be back in the 60's again in a few days. :0) Gotta love winters in the south!

I have a question for you fibromites out there. Any of you get headaches there are incredibly bad and have blurred fuzzy spots out of the side of your vision? I get migraines, but these headaches are different than any I have had before. And with the migraines, I got kind of an aura around my field of vision before the migraine would hit, but, nothing like what I'm getting now. This is the 3rd week in a row where I have had a headache like this for several days. But not all day. Several hours maybe. Just thought I'd throw it out there and compare notes before I call doc. But I promised Greg I would call her tomorrow if I still have it. I don't have it now, but I did for several hours today. :(

I wanted to tell you about an article I read a few weeks ago. It compared the breakthrough pain we get to the pain cancer patients have. I was floored. I mean, you don't have to tell me what we suffer through is painful. I know that. But for so long the medical community has said FM and CFIDS don't exsist. It's all in our head, blah blah blah. But now they are finally FINALLY seeing that our pain is real! It is sooooo about time, don't you think?  Funny thing though, a gal I know still doesn't get it. She says her sis has it and still works, and is FINE. Hmmmmm. So that means, all of us should work and be fine too I guess. Why do people not get that it effects people differently. Just like any other disease. Just like some people die from cancer and some don't.......

I am trying to work on some craft projects for our grandsons. I wanted to have them done for Christmas, but I have been plagued with computer program issues, and not feeling too great. Hopefully they won't mind having Christmas a second time. I am working on a set for the youngest (Isaiah) that is a sweet shop theme. It includes gallon and quart cans that will hold cookie mixes, two sizes of baggie toppers, buisness cards, menu board, and several other things including an apron, mixing spoons, and measuring cups. I am finished with the designing, now just need to print it all and put it all together. It is to tie in with a similar theme he was learning about at school and had alot of fun with. I'll post pics of it here when I am done. And if you are real nice, maybe I'll include some freebie printables so you can make some too. :)

For the older grandson, (David) I am working on some handmade journals, an altered clipboard and some pens to match.  Also a wooden box to keep his fave pens in. I was surprised to learn of his love of pens, journals, and paper. I share this love as well. I will post pics of his finished gifts as well. And maybe a tutorial or two on how to diy. Stay tuned!

Got another order for more floral work for my docs office with spring theme. So gotta get busy on that as well. Found incredible deals today on baskets and silk florals, so I was a happy girl!

Mary, I will post the recipe for the sugar scrub I made for gifts in my next post. I promise, you will love it.

And now, I gotta get some sleep. It's almost one am! Nitey nite.
Love & gentle hugs, Marlene

Happy Tuesday friends. I hope you all are well. We are fighting some illness over here. Me with bronchitis and sinus infection, and Greg an ear infection and some chest congestion. Hopefully the antibiotics are gonna kick in soon so we're not sick over Christmas!

We both saw the doc today. He asked her some questions about disability, and she told him he more than qualifies. I've know for a while that he should file. I mean, I live with the guy. I know how he is in incredible pain from his compression fracture (fell off a ladder onto concrete) and disk disease. And that's only his back. His knee is shot and only being held together by a brace, and his shoulder is a mess from falling off the truck (onto his shoulder) a few years ago. And that doesn't even include the severe arthritis head to toe. I hate that he has to work so hard to make up for me not being able to work. :(  Yes, I get SSDI, but it's not much, and I don't need to tell any of you how hard it is to live on one income. Anyway, I'm hoping after the holidays, he will file for disability. At least temp SSDI will cover him for the time needed to have surgery and recovery time!

As for me, I now have a Tens Unit, and it is helping my neck & mid back quite a bit and I've only had it on for a couple of hours. So I think if this keeps my pain level down, I will hold off on the facet injections in my neck and back. Not a nice thing to go through. I have also had the nerves burned as well. I think I'll pass on all that again thank you very much. And as much as I hate to say it, I have agreed to a motorized wheelchair. Getting around is getting harder and harder, and falling down is NOT a good thing. I seem to be getting tired alot faster, and my legs just don't want to do what they're supposed to. I thought it was tough when I gave up driving. Using a wheelchair is worse. And while I can stand long enough to cook dinner, or do a few simple chores, I cannot walk through the grocery store, or go to the mailbox anymore. Last time I did that, I fell in the driveway. :(
But Chris and I talked about it, and he said, "Mom, at least if you use the chair, you can save your energy for other things. What a wise son I have. And I felt better about it after talking to Chris and Greg. Next month a gal from Humana is coming to see me about the chair and to see what need to be done to make the house wheelchair accessible.

Our doc also had alot to say to me about getting my buisness going. Lots of you know me from either Splitcoast Stampers, or Wrapcandy. But you don't know my first love is floral work. Last year I gave doc one of my pine cone trees as a Christmas gift. This year she asked me to design trees for her entire staff and to make some decorations for her office. I designed a 12 foot garland for over her receptionist's desk and a wreath for each door as well as a 4 foot tall tree. She wants me to design more for each season! She said she has had so many compliments on them- even the big shots from the main office loved them and they have 15 clinics. She wants to set me up to do work for all the offices and is also setting me up with a country club. Wouldn't that be wonderful?? I told Greg there is our new buisness. No more busting his butt taking down trees! Yay!
So, I will get busy after Christmas working on the garland, wreath, and tree bases, then I only have to customise them.

Moving on.....
We did our annual cookie tray deliveries this morning. We aways bring some to the police and sherrif's office, and then to our friends. I have been baking like a mad woman for the last week, and I am worn out. We cut back quite a bit this year. It just isn't in our budget, and my worn out body can't do two weeks worth of baking and candy making marathons anymore. But I love baking, so I won't give it up. My mom was from Germany and I have fond memories of baking for Christmas. I even make home made marzipan. So, even though we fibromites are told over and over to not over do- I am the queen of over-doing it. I can't help it. It's like I want to show my body who's boss or something. Needless to say, it doesn't work well for me. My body always proves IT is boss, and then pays me back with a flare. Ah well. Tis the season!
 Enjoy the day!
 Love and gentle hugs, Marlene