CPM - Continuous Passive Motion

For those of you that read my blog or are my friend on Facebook you know that on September 7, 2010 I had to have a total knee replacement on my left knee. The surgery was needed due to inherited degenerative arthritis and not taking care of it as I should have. The surgery itself was not as painful as I had expected but the recovery has turned out to push my pain tolerance. A major piece of my physical therapy is a machine called a CPM which stands for Continuous Passive Motion. This machine slowly takes the injured leg and moves it to a bend position at a specified angle and then straightens it back to a completely flat position. I am to use the machine always increasing the bent angle every day in order to keep my knee from stiffening and becoming unusable. As I sat this evening with my leg harnessed in the machine, I began to think of how much that CPM machine is like my church family.


Let me explain: Since my surgery I have had to miss several church services and I have truly in my heart missed the fellowship, love and encouragement I receive when I join with my brothers and sisters in God's House. It seems that I need them to be my spiritual Continuous Passive Motion. There are times in my walk with Christ that I become stiff and unwilling to move easily. It is at those times that a dear sweet Christian friend will give a hug, speak a word or smile a certain smile that moves me to that next degree. Google defines Passive Motion as "Movement of a patients joint by a person who is examining or treating the patient." There are those weary tiring time when we just don't see, feel or hear God or His next step for us to take but if we are connected to a CPM type of group then there is some there to "examine and treat you by moving you". I thank God tonight for my dear church family especially my small ladies group that have not only been there physically during this surgery but even more for the fact that they have been my Spiritual CPM machine.

Tweet

Population of one

Over the last few weeks I have spend much of my time preparing for total knee replacement surgery tomorrow. During this prep time I have made sure there was food in the house for the family, paperwork was in order for my co-workers at the office and bills were paid so others wouldn't have to worry with it. But while doing all of this I have to admit that I spent a lot of time thinking...... thinking about myself and how the surgery would effect me alone. As I got into the car the other day with all the "what ifs" on my mind Matthew West's song "My Own Little World" came on the radio and I realized no matter what happens with this surgery there is a larger world out there with the bigger hurt and worry of where they will spend their eternity. THat is now where my mind and heart is focused. I am including Matthew's words for you in hopes that you too will see more that a population of one. (The youtube embedding disabled but I have included the link.)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvSwcMp9vU4

Tweet

Is this a last-first event ?

“But forget all that- It is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new. See I have already begun!
Do you not see?” ISA 43:18-19

Monday Aug 16th was my daughter’s last-first day of high school. Tuesday was her last-first high school volleyball game. Tonight she is attending her last-first high school football game. This is all the beginnings of the end of her life as a high school student.
These times are both exciting and nerve wrecking.
Times of tears for joy and tears of sorrow.
Times to look both forward and backwards.
She will spend this year remembering back on all the good times she has had with friends over the last 11 years. She is also really starting to look forward to the next step in her walk of life.
As I have watched her through this process it made me look at my walk with God differently. Do I look for the next phase that God is bringing me into? Am I excited, a little nervous but excited, to let go of where He has me now in order to move on. My daughter is embracing each day of this senior year for all the last-first things that she gets to do and be a part of. God does not want us us to stand still… to become lukewarm. So He is always doing something new in our lives. He is always preparing us to graduate on to something else but we have to see it. We have to be willing to let go of where we are and step toward where He is taking us. We can embrace all of our last-first moments as long as we also move towards our first-first moments.

Tweet

Missing puzzle pieces

It has been so long since I have been here to post. I have sat at my desk and stared that the blank computer screen many, many, many times but nothing came. Others have ask me to post about various subject, mainly the She Speaks conference and I promised I would once I had take time to process all that I learned that weekend. However, as I began to step back in time in my mind to July 29-Aug 1st I realize that there were piece to my puzzle still missing.... questions still unanswered... dreams still unconfirmed. I have just felt undone since those days in North Carolina. I left my house on Thursday the 28th fill with self assurance that I was going to meet God to recieve my "marching orders". That I was ready to run into the fire as others would be running out. When I stepped into the Embassy Suites in Concord NC, I realized that I was going to be rudely awakened.


My eye opening first came in the Friday night General session when Lysa Terkeurst told the tale of two cities. The cities that fought for year and final City A decided to take up all their garbage and dump it over the wall to City B. In turn City B want to bring peace between the two so they gathered up all their treasures and tossed it over the wall to City A. My heart was broken at that point. I became so aware that daily I had been dumping my garbage on God and He just continued to hand treasures back to me. I have even come to expect His treasures and yet I have never really offered Him anything but my leftovers, the things I didn't need or want anymore.

Tweet

Aren't you Glad ???

These last few days/weeks I have felt a little under the weather. I have not been sick physically but just felt myself sinking into that depression pit of my past. I have fought it with all my human powers but it continues to swept over me like the waves in the oceans. So today I made it a point to find some quiet time to pray to and hear from God. I didn't know what verses to read or what words to pray so I sat in my comfy chair and cried. As the tears began to fall the weight on my heart began to lift and I opened my bible to Romans 5:8 " but God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (NIV) In this old familiar verse God reminded me that He loves me unconditionally.



Aren't you that God loves us unconditionally even when.....

• We neglect spending time alone with Him


• We are overwhelmed by all the things others have added to our "to do" list.


• We are frustrated and speak harshly to those around us.


• Our house is a mess and we have no desire to clean it.


• We don't give our spouses the attention they need, want and deserve.


• We feel the weight of the world pressing in on us


• We take our eyes off of Him and focus on our own wants and desire.

He love you and me no matter what life is coming at us.

Tweet

The Plan....His Plan

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you a hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

This verse has always meant so much to me. It was on a book mark my daughter gave me for Mother's Day when she was in 1st grade and was really the 1st verse I memorized. For each season of my life it has meant something different an special. As I went back and studied it again over the last few days God has opened my eyes to new things.

Back in March I was in Houston on a business trip. I had arrived at my hotel late in the evening after working that whole day and then taking a very uncomfortable flight. After checking in I went to my room and swiped my room key/card............

........ nothing happened.

I turned the key over thinking I had swiped it the wrong way.

Swipe.....

...Nothing again.

After standing there for a few minutes tired and hungry, I threw my head back in frustration. It was then that I saw the number on the door, 349. The room that the hotel had assigned to me was 348. I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry at myself.

As I studied Jeremiah 29:11 this last week God brought this story to my memory and I felt him say to me, "that is how you are treating the dream I have given you."

God has given me (all of us) a dream. A plan or a purpose, whatever it is you want to call it God has something for each of us to accomplish for His kingdom. For His glory. The talent/gift keys He has give us will open the doors to hearts in a might way when they are swiped properly in the door to the room assigned to us.

Are you using you key in the right door ? or are you trying to open a door that is not assigned to you ?

Tweet

Put it ALL on.

"Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be

able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Eph 6:11

This morning I got to the office, sat down and flipped my calender to begin the new day. On June 2, 2010 Ephesians 6:11-12 was waiting in me. I have read this passage about putting on the armour of God many time. I had even attended a weekend retreat in which the speaker broke down each piece yet today God taught me something new.

My son played football from the time he was 5 years old until he graduated high school. Between days of practices and weekends filled with games, I have see many hours of football but one particular game stood out in my mind as I read and re-read this verse. One Friday night our varsity team came running on to the field and lined up to do their "warm-up" exercises. They stretched, ran, and pass. They did all the things football players do before a game. Then when it was time come together and run through the cheerleader's sign, one of the referees walk one of our starting players up to the coach and pointed him toward the locker room. After a short discussion the player trotted off the field with the trainer. The game started and several plays passed before the player reappeared to the sideline. When the coach saw him he motioned for the young man to go into the game. The game went on but I (being the nosey woman I am) could not help but wander what the player had been sent to the locker room for. He had his helmet, the right jersey, a chin strap, mouthpiece and all the vital pads that I could think of . Had he said something wrong ? Did he make a obscene hand motion? What was it ?

After the game was over I found out from the boys mother that he had left a pad out of his pants. The pad is about 2 inches wide and 10 inches long and fits just in the back of the pants. Most players (and some coaches) consider it useless and unimportant. But on this night the ref, the man in charge of the game, told our coach that the player had to have on the WHOLE assigned uniform or they could not play. He was not willing to risk them getting hurt on "his watch".

Do you think that is why God tells us in His word to put on the WHOLE armour? Do you think it is because He knows best and is not willing to let us get hurt on His watch ? That small pad is a part of a football prayers uniform for a purpose. Frankly it is made to protect the player tailbone. It doesn't seem important until you get hit there without that protection. Parts of the armour of God may not seem especially important until Satan sees that you are unprotected and "hits" you there.

Are you putting on the WHOLE armour of God everyday ?

Tweet