The winds of change...

Well, it seems my life is always in some type of transition. The transition du jour involves church.

Beth, RJ and I have been going to New Life Baptist for a little over a year now. While we love the people there, something is just not right.

New Life is a church on the cusp. Though they want to be a dominant force in the Inglewood community, they are still a little closed off with their thinking. The people there are fantastic. I remember several of them from Riverside Baptist where Beth and I got married. So, on one hand it is a very nice and homey church. On the other hand, I'm concerned. It seems like every opportunity that is presented that involves growth is shot down.

When we started attending last year, it was so nice to see familiar faces every Sunday morn. But that was about it. About 4-5 months ago, the pastor mentioned the opputunity to join forces with a local Hispanic church that was looking for a home. In my mind I saw New Life as a growing, ever changing church that was going to live up to it's name...New Life. That did not happen!

The Hispanic church came and started their own service, only renting meeting space. What was supposed to be a joint service once a month, has only happened one time. Maybe I am a little jaded with my train of thought, but something is just not right.

Onto another thought about the church. I have a 10 year old that does not want to go, because he is being bullied by the pastor's son. As much as I have tried to teach RJ about turning the other cheek. He is not happy there. Before you jump to concl;usions, I have spoke to RJ about this, as well as the pastor. I long for the days of a youth group like we had at Riverside. Jay Victory was a man you had a vision for young people and the trials that they were going through. The youth leadesrship at New Life is not real strong. They have people who attend to the department, but that is it. If you know me, you know my heart is with the youth of the church. I have volunteered several times to help out, but am told no, or we don't need you at this time.

For most of my Christian life, music has held a very special place in my heart. When I am singing a special on Sunday morn, I feel the spirit of God right beside me, singing right along. If I am in the choir, it is the same feeling . There is nothing like worshiping my Savior through song. Our music ministry at New Life is lacking tremondously. We had an iterim Minister of Music before Christmas, and that's when I became active with the choir. In Jan., the church decided to let Mike go, and start the search for a new Minister of music. Here it is August, and a search has not even started. this is a big part of who I am, and it needs to be mistered to.

I guess when it comes down to it, I am not happy in our present situation. Both Beth and I have prayed about this for a while now. It seems God is leading us in another direction. New Life has served a purpose for me though. It reminded me of the love, fellowship, and importance of forgiveness! It has taught me the importance of keeping my life Christ centered. It has taught me that I have a family that needs to have Christ in their lives. I hold no hard feelings to the church, in fact I have been blessed to be a part of it! But it seems it is time to move on.

I have a favor to ask though...Several of you (the 2 or 3 that read my blog), have family or friends at New Life. I plan on talking to Brother Brian this week sometime to tell him how we feel. This blog is just a journal of my thoughts and feeling. I'm asking that you keep us in prayer during this time of transition. Please pray for my family and I as we seek God's will in all that we do!

OK, It's Finally Happened!

Everytime I see someone post about changing clothes size, I'm happy for that person. But deep down, I wonder will this ever happen to me? Will I ever see regular men's sizes?

So, This morning, we went shopping at Wally World in Hermatige. I knew my 50 inch waist pants were getting a little baggy, but they still felt good to me. Just to be on the safe side, I bought 2 pair of 46 inch waist jeans. They were on sale for $8 bucks a piece. Well when we got home, I tried them on. Guess what?

Next payday I will be buying 44 or 42's! Life is good!

Have a great day!

When do you feel full?

When did you feel full? That is a question that Beth and I have discussed for a while now. In the past, I felt full when I was miserable. You know the feeling...when you can't put another bite in your mouth. That's when I was full. When we had meals that I truly loved, I would gorge myself to the feeling of stuffed, That feeling when one more bite would put you over the edge. And we would always ask each other, "Did you get enough to eat?" Wow how things have changed. Before surgery I would listen to my body to know that I had enough to eat.

Today I progressed to full liquids. Now I know what I am going to say will anger or upset some people, but I need to say it. I made turkey chili for dinner. When it came time for me to have something to eat, I had chili. I of course took the immersion blender (I call it the boat motor), and completely liquefied my chili. I did not take my normal bowl, but a much smaller one. Instead of listening to my body to tell me that I ate too much, I listened for that feeling that I was OK! I honestly felt full, but not from pain. I felt full from a feeling of , "OK, that's enough". After eating each little spoonful, I asked myself where I was at. Am I full, an I satisfied? I think there is a difference in those 2 questions. I walked away from dinner, not finishing my bowl of chili, but feeling satisfied!

Last week there was a time that I was second guessing my decision to have RNY. It was that "buyers remorse", that you hear so much of. This week, I welcome the changes that surgery will bring. the changes for a new life. For all that to happen, I need to stop and listen to what my body is telling me!

When do you feel full?

Have a great day!

Random thoughts while deciding between "Chicken Broth or Beef Broth"

Hello all! It seems I have survived the eerily surreal depths of RNY surgery! I am on day 5 post op, and I feel better each day. Mind you I still get tired very quickly and need to stop and put things into perspective. I realize I just had major surgery and it will be awhile before I turn into Superman again. But that time will come! My plan is to take things one day at a time, of course:

Sip, sip, sip, and walk, walk, walk!

Fluids and protein are not a problem, though I am only getting in the minimum daily. Friday and Saturday both I ended up with 69 grams of protein and 82 oz. of fluids. So, I guess that is a good start. My biggest decision with the clear liquid diet is whether to have chicken or beef broth?

When I went in the hospital, I weighed in at 298.9 (at home). I came home on Friday and weighed 294.5. Shelia has said I might be one of the few that actually lose weight in the hospital. I think this was due to the adhesions that were cut away. It seems the fear I had after my sister’s surgery came true. When Dr. Dyer went in, he found an extreme amount of adhesions, and spent the following 2.5 hours cutting them free. As for where they came from…who knows? So, because of all the extra cutting that went on, I actually lost weight while in the hospital. O yeah, its Sunday morn, and I weigh 285.6! Scary if you ask me!

The hospital was not as bad as I had anticipated. I think the biggest problem in the hospital was the boredom. Yes, there were times I was in pain! Especially on Thursday! But I survived, and like I said, “Getting stronger every day!” I really want to Thanks all those who made it to the hospital to see me, and also those that were unable. I knew I was in your prayers and thoughts!. And a real big Thank You for the “Losers Bench”. That was an unexpected gift. I even carried it a step further and had almost everyone who visited sign it when they visited! The only one I missed was DocWill’s wife. It was after she left, that we came up with the idea! Don’t worry Will, the idea of your gift will be passed on, just as you passed this one to me!

Well, I am home and it’s taken me a little while to write this post. In other words, “I’m getting tired!” I have placed a picture of the Losers Bench below. I hope each and everyone of you have a very Merry CHRISTmas, and you each get all you’ve asked for. I’ve already received mine and am working toward 2008 as the year of the NEW ME!!!!!

Have a great day!

Shelby Bottoms in the Fall

It’s been a while since I just went walking just to take pictures. What with football and such. Well, today I decided it was time to push my tush a little! Especially since my tush will be laid up pretty soon!

I went to a park that is real close to my home, Shelby Park. The purpose of my excursion was to get some pics of the beautiful fall colors before they disappeared for the year. Unfortunately, the fog was pretty thick and made the colors invisible to the naked eye. But that was ok, cause I was able to use it to my advantage. What ended up as a dreary and overcast morn, gave way to some pretty cool pictures.

At one point I got the nature scared out of me! A blue heron was sitting in a tree, not 5 feet above me. He decided it was the right time to fly away and scare a human being. Hey, I did nothing except try and take his picture! Evidently he was a little camera shy!

Let’s see, what else did I find? Oh yeah, I think I found where the Keebler Elves actually live. For those that did not know, my brother is a Keebler Elf. OK, he’s not really an elf, he just works for Keebler.

The good and bad part of the walk was just that…the walk! After walking the greenways for about 1.5 miles in, I realized I would need to walk 1.5 miles back. To make a long story a little shorter, I got lost, ended up at a friends house, turned around, and found my way home. All told, I walked 3.5 miles! That’s not too bad! Maybe after I have surgery, I could start to run a little! Who knows? The Music City Marathon could be in my future…not!!!!

If interested, you can see the rest of the pics I took this morning by clicking on the link below:

Shelby Bottoms in the Fall!

Have a great week, and don't forget to push your tush!

Why is Santa coming early this year?

A good friend of mine from Louisiana once asked me why I am having this surgery. Was it because of personal or medical reasons? You know if I answered that question, it would be a little of both. Personally, I guess it is a little selfish…I would like to be around to watch my son grow! Now I know the next breath I take may be my last! But, I honestly feel this extra weight I am carrying around is definitely hindering my health.

Health wise, I am not in bad shape, but I am not in the best either. It seems I have several co-morbidities that have been known to improve with weight loss. I have the following co-morbidities:

* GERD: Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease
* Acute Hypertension
* Osteoarthritis: Caused by aging and additional weight on weight bearing joints
* Sleep Apnea
* Depression

So, the majority of the problems can be corrected with weight loss. Now, I have been able to lose a little weight on my own, and things seem to be better. The main reason I have lost some weight is not drinking soda. We have replaced the 2-3 cases of soda we were drinking, with 2 cases of water. So, if I am losing weight on my on, why am I going through this surgery? I need help! I need help with the ingestion of sweets. I read a great blog yesterday from “Bariatric Brat” that dealt with Gastric Bypass Surgery. Below is part of the article that speaks to my decision:

“Okay, no sugar-coating the truth here (pun intended) - I was a heavy-duty sweet eater before weight loss surgery. That is the primary reason I chose the gastric bypass. I knew that, with my personality, I would search out ways to get my sugar fix whilst defeating the LAP-BAND. I knew that I actually needed the surgery that would make me violently ill if I ingested too much sugar and/or fat. As I have stated before in this space, I love dumping. It keeps me honest. That being said, I have an occasional sweet - and I enjoy it. I can have a few M&Ms and be completely satisfied with the taste and texture, whereas in the old days, I would inhale the 2-pound bag faster than you could say "Jerry Springer" and not even taste it. These days, I can even have a candy dish in my office and it doesn't bother me whatsoever (of course, I keep my pre-op picture near it, but I digress.) I once heard a post-op put it this way: it's not as though you'll never have chocolate cake again. You aren't going to score the corner piece with the double-frosting and sugared roses, but you will have and even enjoy a small piece of, say, your daughter's wedding cake.”

I thought about Lab Band Surgery, but I knew I could cheat. For me I would survive on the Mickey D’s Milkshake Diet. At lunch, I would have a 32oz. milkshake. That would be 1160 calories and 240 carbohydrates. Not to healthy if you ask me!. Compare that to what I will be having…600 calories and 15 carbs per day!

To say I’m excited and scared and at the same time is an understatement! If you have not figured out by now, my surgery has been approved for December 18 of this year. So for Christmas, I will be getting a new lease on life. My request of you, my family and friends, is to say a prayer. And get ready for a new, skinnier me!

Have a great day!

Good Morning Sunshine...

...except where it's raining! Think of this though, behind the rain, the dark gray clouds, the dampness in the air...The sun is shining! That's right ! It is still there. The sun is just hiding, waiting on us to put our best foot forward. Waiting on us put that smile on our face! Waiting on us to face the day with a positive attitude! Now that I have reminded myself of this, on with the post!

Just an update ! I have followed up with my insurance company, only to find they have not received my papers! So I checked with Centennial. My surgeons office received my papers back in the mail with the following message...""the clarity of the faxed document received lacks sufficient clarity". Please resubmit in a format other than a facsimile. You think that CIGNA would have it in there notes that they had returned the documents, but no! The girls at Centennial handled with this with ease though, and are mailing the package off today!

Thank you Tonya and Lisa! After my tirade last week, I have found that you guys are the best!

So we try again! We walk out that door with our heads held high! Just a praying we don't drown from all the rain! Just a hoping that we don't end up with a mouth full of wet, soggy, dead leaves! Just a looking for the sunshine..................it's still there!

Have a great day!