I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m willing to follow His lead…even when it’s not always comfortable. I had a patient last week with an extremely poor prognosis. I was honestly expecting him to die. Upon meeting, he was impossible to work with. He had no drive. He had no will to help himself. He didn’t care. He had damage to his esophogus and swallowing was an issue for him. He was placed on tube feeding through a nasogastric tube (tube inserted into your nose and leads to the stomach). When I came in the next morning, I discovered he pulled the nasogastric tube out during the night. Um, ouch homie! When I asked him why he pulled it out he said, “Because it was just bothering me and I didn’t want it there anymore.” Well, ok…whatever floats your boat, sailor. I explained to him that that was the only way he was receiving any nutrition and he had probably done more damage to his esophagus. At this point, he couldn’t swallow, meaning his new doctor’s order was NPO (nothing by mouth)…not even water. The main reason for this was to prevent aspiration. Since he can’t swallow, he’s more liable to choke…which would be bad. He also had fluid and secretions on his lungs which makes him more at risk for choking. As a nurse, something I’m educated in is interventions. So, since he had fluid gallore…I had to think of a way to get that fluid OUT so we could put water IN. That’s where the use of an incentive spirometer comes in handy. It’s a breathing device used to loosen up secretions and fluid in the lungs. Basically, it produces a cough so you hack all that mess up. Another thrilling experience. As I was charting some stuff outside his room, he kept yelling for me: Patient: “NURSE, get in here!” Me: (gritting my teeth) “Yes sir, what do you need?” Patient:(in the most pitiful voice you’ve ever heard) “Get me some water.” Me: “Sir, I can’t. I’m not allowed to give you any.” Patient: “But please….I need it.” I’m a sucker and I hate to see people suffer. So, I tried to conjure up a way to relieve his thirst without giving him a sip of water and breaking the doctor’s orders. Praise God for mouth sponges that relieve dry mouth! I then instructed him that we were going to do our little breathing exercises with the incentive spirometer so he would cough, which would clear his lungs of fluid, which meant he could begin drinking water again. Before I explained the reasoning behind it, he wasn’t into it but after I explained the benefits and the end result, he was all on board. I remember specifically saying, “If you just do this one thing for me, it will help you and ultimately get you something that you’ve been wanting but you’ve got to get through the tough stuff first.” So, that’s when the spiritual chills set in at this guy’s bedside and I thought of these things: 1.) He was uncomfortable with the tube inserted, so he took it out. How many times does God place us in uncomfortable situations in order to induce growth but yet we back out because we “don’t like the way it feels” or it “bothers us”? 2.) Even though the tube was uncomfortable it was feeding him but all he could focus on was the discomfort. Spiritual discomfort is a form of spiritual nourishment. 3.) I knew he wanted water. I knew his desires and I could’ve easily given it to him but I had to find an alternate source in order to not disrupt the healing process and ultimately bring him to what heneeded. He had to be patient. It’s easy to become demanding with God so he’ll send us what we want. But ultimately, he knows what we need. However, just like I gave the patient simple mouth swabs, God gives us alternate sources as well to increase our faith and make us strong. I like to think of them as little glimpses of the big picture. 4.) He didn’t want to do the incentive spirometer until I told him that it would help him. The use of that would bring him to what he wanted. How many times do we fear what has been handed to us that we don’t move forward? As much as we want to move out of the storm, we secretly desire to stay because we’re afraid of what lies ahead. We’re not willing to do the work. Be willing. Build endurance. The next day I came in to see a new doctor’s order. I walked in his room to find him drinking a glass of water and eating soft foods. Not only did he get what he wanted, but he got more. When I peeped my head around the corner and smiled at him, he looked at me and said, “Don’t say anything…you were right.” I like that God speaks to me when I least expect it…even when it’s over mucous conversations. :)
I’m a writer. I write. I found these in an old journal.
· My sin made me learn; my discipline made me fear; my fear brought forth faith; my faith will bring joy.
· Romans 4:5—“But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.” It doesn’t matter if you do well or if you mess up…all that matters is that you had faith. Faith is useless if we’re perfect.
· Romans 4:20-21—“Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was absolutely convinced that God was able to do anything he promised.”
· My interpretation on Proverbs 31:10-30
(10) If it is God’s will for you to be a wife and we wait on God, we build a real relationship with Christ while we wait. Not only are we worth so much to Christ for our faithfulness but we will be worth “more than precious rubies” to our husbands.(11) A good wife can be trusted. She will greatly enrich her husband’s life. She will not seek to hinder him but instead help him all her life.
(13-19) She isn’t lazy. She is hardworking and useful to her family. She is resourceful with money.
(20) She is helpful and unselfish when it comes to helping others
(21-22) She makes sure certain needs of her family are met—works as a team with her husband.
(25-27) She is strong and respectable. She isn’t afraid of the future because of her faith in God. Her words are wise and kind.
(28-29) Her children respect her and her husband thinks she is the most amazing woman.
(30) Only the fear of the Lord allows her to receive praise—inner beauty, not outer.
· Psalm 5:8—“Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do, and show me which way to turn” Beautiful. Lord, I want to live abundantly and effectively. I want my life to have purpose in You. Shine Your light to the right path. I will follow.
· Psalm 54:6—“I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.” Have you given God something VOLUNTARILY that you really wanted? He takes that sacrifice and turns it into something beautiful; something to exemplify His glory.
· Psalm 89:8b—“You are entirely faithful”. ENTIRELY faithful!! Through the good and the bad. Even in the bad, He’s faithful because it shows he represents who he says he is by being our Father; guiding us, and disciplining us! He’s faithful with his promises of being our Father!
· Spiritual Warfare: Ephesians 6
1) Belt of TRUTH—you know what the Spirit is telling you! You know what kind of peace you have in your heart. Doubt is NOT truth!! Satan=doubt.2) Body armor of God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS—Everything good and amazing about God—something we will never reach—covers our entire body! He covers us with His righteousness!
3) Shoes of PEACE—Having peace in your spirit prepares you for any attack from Satan. Hold onto that peace because Satan wants nothing more than for you to forget you have it!
4) Shield of FAITH—The shield protects us from fiery arrows of the devil. Faith gets us through the battle!
5) Helmet of SALVATION—Jesus is in you and he is on your side! Don’t fight alone!
6) Sword of SPIRIT—All that you’ve learned is carried in your spirit! The word is there…USE IT!
· Did you live for today? Did you serve somebody? Did you represent who Jesus is by letting your light shine? Did you allow Satan to have a foothold in any area of your life?
· 1 Corinthians 1:27-29—“And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important”. SAY WHAT?! The struggle of sin makes me POWERLESS but it will be used, once broken, to shame those who are POWERFUL. Or, the sin is powerful so it will be crushed once broken. The power will be gone. The importance of the world will be crushed to NOTHING because it doesn’t matter!
· Your salvation gives you a new life and a new outlook where you should set your thoughts on Heaven instead of Earth. Like Mary, fixate on Jesus! Unlike Martha, don’t be worried about perfection or the details. Have NOTHING to do with shameful desires! Watch out for idolatry—what consumes your mind more than Heavenly thoughts? Salvation enables us to get rid of sin—surrender it at the feet of Jesus! It doesn’t matter who you are—your background—Christ loves you and that’s all that matters! Because of my love for Christ, I should be clothed in:
KindnessHatredGentlenessPushy
HumilityPride
PatienceAnxiousness
ForgivenessBitterness
LoveHate
I've recently been informed about a family that needs help!
The situation: The husband/father is dying of cancer. He's not expected to win this battle and the family is in financial distress. Because of the medical bills the family has had difficulty paying their power bill and even utilities. The wife also has a fear of being unable to pay for any funeral expenses if her husband loses his battle with cancer. They have three young children ages 10, 5, and 2. The last power bill was $315 and the only amount paid towards the bill was $150...and that was just to keep the power on!
What can be done: You can donate money online through the "ChipIn" widget below. The money goes through me and then directly to the family. My goal is to do more than pay just a power bill! We have the opportunity to bless this family with more than that! So, let's do it!
If you have any questions, you may contact me directly through facebook or via email: katie@itschance.com
THANK YOU!
Free Counter
iC Love Tour is about to get started and Chance and I are busy trying to get everything squared away! We've had the help and support of a lot of our friends but we would be grateful for even more help! The point of iC Love Tour is to spread love by way of handmade cards for Valentine's Day! Last year, itsChance spread the love in Jacksonville, FL. This year, we're teaming up and spreading love throughout upstate SC as well! We're going into Children's Hospitals, Retirement Homes, Nursing Homes, Homeless Shelters, and Women's Homes! It's pretty amazing what God will do when you just provide Him with the hands and feet! The outreach opportunities are endless and we're very excited about how God is using Chance and I as a team!
I'm going to try my best to keep everyone updated on what's going on in SC so here's a quick breakdown of what we've got so far:
Who's Helping?
- My friends are AMAZING and they've been spreading the word like wildfire! Because of that, there will be a few "Card Making Parties" from now until February 10th. Let me know if you're interested in hosting your own or if you'd like to attend one and we can get you the information!
- My friend, Brent Odom, is an administrative assistant at Ralph Chandler Middle School. I contacted him to see how we can get the kids involved in creating cards for a cause. The art teacher there is going to allow the kids to create the Valentine's Day cards during their time in class! Also, they're going to allow card making to be an activity the kids can participate in during their after school program! That's ALOT of cards!!!!!
- I've contacted 46 day care centers in SC and in FL to get the kids involved in making cards there. Hopefully we'll hear from them soon!
- I'm going to contact a few other facilities throughout SC and FL this afternoon and hopefully we'll have more people participate!
- YOU can help! Even if you make one card! YOU can make a difference in someone else's life!
- I contacted Safe Harbor which is a home for women and children who have unfortunately experienced domestic violence. I spoke with their volunteer coordinator and she is SO excited that we're going to be able to bring in Valentine's Day cards to their clients!
- Project Host Soup Kitchen is another organization that I'm in contact with about getting cards to! Gotta show the homeless some love too!
- I'm also working with the volunteer coordinator at Shriner's Hospital in Greenville so hopefully we can get through all the logistics and get the cards to those beautiful kiddos!
- If we have enough cards left over, I'd love to go into the Nursing Homes in Greenville, especially the ones that I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with during three of my clinical rotations.
Let us know if you'd like to help! If you do not live in SC or FL we still would love to hear from you and please know that you can still contribute to our cause just by making cards! We can provide you with our mailing address so you can mail the cards directly to us and we'll make sure they're distributed!
What are you waiting for?
Questions? Check out our Facebook page
OR
email us: Chance--cc@itschance.com
Katie--katie@itschance.com
THANK YOU!
Free Counter
Free Counter
Past
Lift up your eyes girl, I know you’re broken
Just like the same war that you never know
Your way is to fall just like before you
But the way isn’t long and your almost there
There’s a feeling that you won’t make
All you have in store
This time is just a season, you deserve much more
Lift up your head, look out the window
Cause it’s almost over now
Take back the time that your fear has stolen
Cause it’s almost over now
Don’t let it get you caught in the tunnel
The end is always a few steps away
There’s a feeling of resistance
You can’t seem to fight
This time is just a season
You can make it right
Your eyes open, your heart clean, but are you looking
To be free
Present
May today there be peace within..
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing and dance. It is there for each and every one of you
Free Counter
I have a love/hate relationship with running. The "hate" part includes getting ready, especially when the weather is weird and I'm not sure of whether or not to wear a sweatshirt. It also seems I get tired of the music on my ipod rather quickly so I'm always having to download new songs before I leave. Stretching is something I've tried to get better at over the months because even my doctor and a masseuse told me that if I didn't start stretching, I was going to do some damage. And then comes the mental preparation. I never want to go but once I find my rhythm and beat, the love comes out. We've been lucky here in SC to have such beautiful weather when we're rapidly approaching December. Low 60's and sunny with a crisp breeze. That's a recipe for perfect running weather. My favorite time to go is as the sun is beginning to set. It's absolutely breathtaking and creates a pretty incredible mini-worship experience. It creates a thankfulness inside of me for the small things in life; the things we take for granted. All that thankfulness initiates love for me.
I decided to wake up early Thanksgiving morning and get a run in before all the family arrived for lunch. So, off I went. It was a beautiful morning and I thought it only appropriate to listen to some worship tunes as I ran so I could really get in some good Jesus time. One of my favorites, Never Said by Brandon Heath was playing and it was a good time of reflection over my prayers. The lyrics were a good reminder of the times I doubt what I'm being told. It could be out of uncertainty of if I'm hearing Him right but mostly, it's fear. Fear of taking a wrong turn or going down the wrong path. However, those fearful times are when I allow faith to replace that fear. It's all a cycle, really. I had a pretty powerful moment the other night while praying. I was asking for an answer of something I've been praying about for months now. It's been emotionally draining and there's been plenty of times I've wanted to give up but something keeps me going. As I was begging for clarity and even saying "just give me the answer, now!", I heard Him say, "If I gave you the answer, you wouldn't have faith." Ouch. So then, I just prayed for renewed strength instead. I want to see as He sees, feel as he feels, and have a heart that is only triggered with His love.
When I've been running, I always pass a house at the end of my street. Most of the time it's usually dark by the time I make it to that end of the neighborhood. The man that lives in this house has no blinds or curtains so I can see directly in his house. He's probably mid-80's and he's always sitting at the kitchen table by himself. I recently learned that his wife passed away about a year ago and he lives alone. That pretty much broke my heart. Every time I see him, I always think that I should go introduce myself and just have a conversation with him but I never do. It's probably because I fear he's going to think I'm a total freak...but then again, he probably wouldn't. So as I'm running on Thanksgiving morning, I pass his house and I notice that his truck is in the driveway and I immediately felt a burden to go ask him if he had anywhere to go on Thanksgiving. I kept running. The burden grew. I kept running. Then I couldn't stand it. I turned around to go ring his doorbell. As I was approaching his house, I kept running. I thought, "I'll just fix him a plate of food and bring it by later". Yeah right, I knew I wouldn't do that. Then I remembered that not only will we regret the things in life we did but we'll also regret the things we didn't do. So, I turned around. I walked across his yard and rang the doorbell. I waited a few minutes but no answer.
I don't know where this gentleman spent his Thanksgiving but at least I had the peace of knowing that he wasn't sitting alone at his kitchen table. Even though this isn't much of a heroic story, ringing the doorbell was just a step. Small steps lead to bigger steps. It was a beautiful reminder to be cautious with fear. There's a time to be fearful and there's a time to replace fear with faith. And then there's just the beauty of time which is the most lovely of them all.
Free Counter
Leave a Comment