Thoughts Of The Day 1/27/09

In a world where you can be anything, be yourself.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than be loved for who I'm not.

Those who are poor, smile at what they have, yet those who have good fortune, frown at what they do not have.

When you judge someone else, It doesn't define who they are, It defines who you are.

Life is too short to be distracted by the opinions of others.

Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone.

Thought Of The Day 1-20-09

Dependence upon God makes heroes of ordinary people like you and me. - Bruce Wilkinson

Thought Of The Day 1-19-09

If you begin to live life looking for the God that is all around you, every moment becomes a prayer. - Frank Bianco

Learning About Myself

1. I have come to realize that I may be too outspoken. I realized I had this problem when I was a teenager, but then somehow I grew out of it, and then now that I am back in Church, I am back to be being outspoken again. I am the type of person that I don't care who you are, if I think you have done me wrong or my family wrong, I will be the first one to tell you about it. I am usually nice about it unless you ignore me or defend your behavior, and then I might not be so nice. Some people cannot handle this about me, and so I don't make friends very easily. Once people see that I am not this way just to be mean, then they get to know me and like me, but it takes some time for people to get that close.
2. I have come to realize that I am not the type of person who searches for or longs for a leadership role. Not to say that I wouldn't want a leadership role if the position were right, I just don't "need" it in order to feel like somebody important. I may not be important to anyone but my family, but that is OK with me. I see a lot of people look for leadership roles just to say "Look at me!", "Look what I am doing." I don't want to ever be that way because then it isn't for God's glory, it's for mine, and that would be wrong.
3. I get annoyed with advice that comes from people who have not been in my situation, and because of that, I try not to give advice to people if I have not been there myself. We all think we know all the answers and it is real easy to tell someone else what to do, but not as easy when you are standing in the situation.
4. I am a lot tougher than I thought I was, and I know I owe it ALL to God. He has given me more strength than I thought was possible over the past several years. God is truly amazing!
5. I am so happy to be happily married. I go to school with a bunch of young girls and overhear them talk about dating ... I could not do that again. I LOVE stability. I love knowing that I have someone who loves me and only me. I love it that there are many predictable things in my life (I don't like surprises), and I love it that at the end of the day I have a soft place to fall and I will always be caught by my husband's loving arms.
6. I do not like confrontation, and express myself better in writing. I don't mind talking face to face, but I am more apt to becoming emotional or upset and do not like others to see me cry.
7. Sci-Fi movies are NOT for me ... give me a good romantic comedy and I am good to go!

I have learned a lot about myself over the past few years in school. I know I will continue to learn more as I grow older and continue to change. I am looking forward to the adventure.

Drugs or Jesus

I have been having a hard time dealing with some things lately. Lord knows I have prayed and prayed but I still don't know what to do or what to say. I will try not to go into too much detail, but one problem I have is that I feel, and my kids feel, like they are treated differently than other kids in a couple of different environments. I don't know why this is, and no reason can justify it in my mind, but it happens regardless.

I am the type of person that believes that all people should be treated equally and fairly. I realize there are people that have their favorite kids, I do too, but that does not mean that you nag, be mean to, or be unfair to other kids. It isn't right and is sin no matter how you look at it.

I also have a problem (in general) with the amount of people who are addicted to or take prescription drugs for no reason. These people are all around us; on the roads, in the shopping malls, and for some reason they think because they are legal drugs, that it is OK. It is NOT OK. An addiction is an addiction and not to say these people are bad people, but I don't want that mess around my kids.

Prescription drugs have become the new "street drug", and these people will try to sell these drugs to your kids, or they will even give them away to help get them started or addicted. I have seen good people ruin their lives from abusing prescription drugs. It is mainly pain pills or anti-depressants that are being abused. It is very scary to me because I know how easily doctors just hand them out like candy.

No good doctor should keep writing prescriptions for pain killers without testing the drug level in the person, and without trying alternative methods of pain relief. The doctor that writes those prescriptions every month without checking things out and making sure the client is in real pain and not just addicted, should lose their license in my opinion. They are part of the problem when they need to be part of the solution. Prayer is needed for sure!

That was my soap box for the day ... It could be continued :)

Feeling Great

Well it has been one month and a day since my surgery and I feel wonderful. That is a blessing for sure! It took a week and half before I did not regret the surgery due to the massive pain I was having, but all is good now ... Thank you GOD!

We have started painting the house. We have lived here for two years and we have only done minor work on it due to me being in school. I felt so good this past weekend that I had to start working on it, and so far it is looking great! I didn't even answer the phone in fear that I would stop painting.

We spent Saturday night at a friend's house playing Rockband (one of the coolest games on the planet if you like music). We ordered out for pizza and sat around talking and catching up, and then I took turns singing and playing the guitar while Stanley did not feel very musically inclined, so he just watched and listened to us. We had a great time! I think we are going to buy Rockband and Guitar Hero World Tour Band so we can jam at home :)

School started back yesterday and so far I think 203 is going to be awesome! Our professors are a hoot let me tell you. I also liked my Medical Micro professor and think this semester is going to be one of the best so far.

Now we just got to plan out devotionals for our family and get closer to God and all things will be great in the Stevenson household!

Seven Weird Or Random Facts

My sister tagged me, so I guess I am it :) Here are seven weird or random things about me.

1. One of my nicknames is Miss Chin. My daddy called me that from the time I can remember, even as an adult he called me that or just "Chin". I really miss my daddy :(

2. My husband and I started dating in July of 1991, we got married in April of 1992, got a divorce in April of 1997, continued to live together, and got remarried in August of 2003. God did an amazing work on the both of us!

3. I was out of church for over 20 years, and I am so thankful that God got a hold of me again and pulled me out of the life I was living. To find true happiness, all one needs is God.

4. I can touch my nose with my tongue.

5. I have to drink coffee the first thing every morning or I get a bad headache that will not go away.

6. I had my first three kids by c-section and then the fourth was born natural, something that is very rare and most doctors will not allow anymore due to the serious risk of death for both mother and baby.

7. When I was 9 years old I got strep-throat and the infection went to the tubes of my kidneys causing post-strepococcal glumerulonephritis, which caused my kidneys to shut-down and I ended up in a coma for 5 days out of my two week stay at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky. If it had not been for the prayers and genius of my doctor, Dr. Shumaker, I probably would have died or ended up on dialysis or had to have a kidney transplant.

If you are reading this, you are tagged ... so get busy!