Happy New Year?

It's 2019!!! January for me was a BLUR-- Three days after Thanksgiving 2018, I stayed home, lazy, after the holiday, no shopping, just needing to be home, in my pjs. Inspire65's Christmas Party on December 7 went super great, ono food, happy guests, outstanding band in Champagne, door prizes, sweet message and we even did some line dancing. At the end of the night, I had a chest pain on the right side opposite from my heart and thought, "all I need to do is to drink some water". Wrapped it up early and went home but water didn't help. Through the night the pain stayed with me. I guess it went away and then I continued to prepare for the Italian feast we would have on Christmas day, crossing off sending Christmas cards--I just wasn't up to it. Made my caramel apples at least and distributed them in the neighborhood and for the famiy. Same thing happened on Dec. 26. No energy, lazy again and this time I had some aches. Well, didn't think much about it and spent 3 days in my pjs. Perked up for New Year's Day and then 3 days of feeling crummy. Our church-wide fast was to begin on Tuesday, January 8 and I had made a list of the things I was giving up for two weeks: chocolate, desserts, red meat, rice, crafty YouTubes, Candy Crush and online shopping for crafty stuff. Went to connect group and shared my Word for the Year which turned out to be DELIGHT and also added DECLARE. That afternoon, we picked up a heavy power sewing machine from Jessica Montoya who was leaving the Islands. And then the symptoms began--coughing without a sore throat, aches & pains, lots of Nyquil and I was down. Clifford finally made an appointment for me with an associate of our doctor since he was off that Saturday on the 12th. She listened to my symptoms and prescribed me a pneumonia antibiotic and a 'cough pill' which looked like a tiny vitamin e. I also had an x-ray which showed two spots (nodules)=one where I had had the pain and another on my left lung. Went to my regular doctor on Monday and he had some additional blood work added for our quarterly visit that Friday. At Friday's visit, he prescribed an inhaler and a CT scan (16th) and referred me to a pulmonologist. Meanwhile, coughing without coughing something up is a drag. I always felt better when I had a cold and was able to expel that congestion! But this time it was stubborn. The CT scan showed the same dark spots. The doctor (23rd) allowed us to see the results on the computer and it's a video almost and you can move back and forth to see the various organs--cool. Feeling better by the end of January. Thank God. This is what I learned: God was with me through it all and though I had planned to do so many things, I needed to seek His Presence in my life more than trying to do the next crafty thing, or buy that pretty paper. That His Word became real to me in those days when I meant to clean my messy sewing room and every other room. That I needed to rid myself of the unnecessary=thoughts, time-wasters, clutter, distractions. I need to be about my Father's business and that would be praying, encouraging people, asking Him who, when, where, how, what.. And you know what? Before Day 3 of the Arise Conference in the wee hours of Friday Feb 22, God reveals to me a new assignment for Threads of Hope and that is to make blankets again and enable others to do the same. We've made blankets before for our 'houseless' friends but this time it's expanded to teaching others--within our church and outside. It starts with one. And you must use what you have on hand or from your mom or friend or aunty or grandma And you must give it away.