The end.
May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Cute Cat Clips
The end.
May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Tag: #LivingWithMS
The end.
May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Summer In Our Own Backyard
Hello Friend! I hope you are well. Summer in the Missouri Ozarks has been mild enough most days that I’ve been able to take the cats outside in their little catio to enjoy some fresh air. It’s always fun for me to take pictures of the cats, birds, and flowers. The last five pictures are from a special road trip last weekend 👰♀️🤵♂️💞!
I hope your summer has been safe and happy. May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Enjoying Spring 2025
Hello, Friend! Spring is here again in the Ozarks.
A few blooms and seedlings around our neighborhood.
The birds are nesting, finding mates, singing, and eating a bit extra this time of year.
I hope you enjoy this change of season wherever you are in the world. May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Anonymous Words
The following is from my daily devotional and attributed to the always eloquent Anonymous. I pray it blesses you as it did me.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~ Galatians 6:14
They were people who were living to themselves. Their hopes, promises, and dreams still controlled them, but the Lord began to fulfill their prayers. They had asked for a repentant heart and had surrendered themselves with a willingness to pay any price for it, and He sent them sorrow. They had asked for purity, and He sent them sudden anguish. They had asked for meekness, and He had broken their hearts. They had asked to be dead to the world, and He killed all their living hopes. They had asked to be made like Him, so He placed them in the fire “as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3), until they could reflect His image. They had asked to help carry His cross, yet when He held it out to them, it cut and tore their hands.
They had not fully understood what they asked, but He had taken them at their word and granted them all their requests. They had been unsure whether to follow Him such a long distance or whether to come so close to Him. An awe and a fear was upon them, as Jacob at Bethel when he dreamed of”a stairway… reaching to heaven” (Genesis 28:12), or Eliphaz “amid disquieting dreams in the night ” (Job 4:13), or as the disciples when”they were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost” (Luke 24:37), not realizing it was Jesus. The disciples were so filled with awe, they felt like asking Him either to depart from them or to hide His glory.
They found it easier to obey than to suffer, to work than to give up, and to carry the cross than to hang upon it. But now they could not turn back, for they had come too close to the unseen cross of the spiritual life, and its virtues had pierced them too deeply. And the Lord was fulfilling this promise of His to them: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32).
Now at last their opportunity had come. Earlier they had only heard of the mystery, but now they felt it. He had fastened His eyes of love on them, as He had on Mary and Peter, so they could only choose to follow Him. And little by little, from time to time, with quick glimmers of light, the mystery of His cross shone upon them. They saw Him “lifted up from the earth,” and gazed on the glory that radiated from the wounds of His holy suffering. As they looked upon Him, they approached Him and were changed into His likeness. His name then shone out through them, for He lived within them. Their life from that moment on was one of inexpressible fellowship solely with Him above. They were willing to live without possessions that others owned and that they could have had, in order to be unlike others so they would be more like Him.
This is the description of all those throughout the ages who “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Revelation 14:4). If they had chosen selfishly for themselves or if their friends had chosen for them, they would have made other choices. Their lives would have shone more brightly here on earth, but less gloriously in His kingdom. Their legacy would have been that of Lot instead of Abraham. And if they had stopped along the way or if God had removed His hand from them, allowing them to stray, what would they have lost? What would they have forfeited at their resurrection?
Yet God strengthened them and protected them from themselves. Often, in His mercy He held them up when they otherwise would have slipped and fallen. And even in this life, they knew that all He did was done well. They knew it was good to suffer in this life so they would reign in the one to come; to bear the cross below, to wear a crown above; and to know that not their will but His was done in them and through them. ~ Anonymous
It’s been quite a long while since I’ve shared any photos. The following are a few of the highlights since my last post.
A few autumnal scenes…
I’ve continued to enjoy the birds, of course.
Wally and Clemmy continue to bring us plenty of entertainment and snuggles!
God be with you!
❤️, Amy
Music in the Rest
There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by “rests,” and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the tune. God sends a time of forced leisure, sickness, disappointed plans, frustrated efforts, and makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of the Creator.
How does the musician read the rest? See him beat the time with unvarying count, and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come between.
Not without design does God write the music of our lives. But be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the “rests.”
They are not to be slurred over nor to be omitted, nor to destroy the melody, nor to change the keynote. If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on Him, we shall strike the next note full and clear. If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, “There is no music in a rest,” let us not forget the rest is part of the making of the music. The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us! And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
John Ruskin (1819-1900), English author, poet, painter, and art critic
These words have been a source of wise counsel to me through the month of January. As I’ve frequently written in the past, MS fatigue is my number one struggle. These last few weeks have been full of “rests” and the notes of the song seem few and far between.
I suppose January is as good a time as any to take a forced rest. We’ve had our fair share of lead-grey, overcast skies; bitter winds; freezing temperatures; and occasional snowfall in SW Missouri this month. It’s been the perfect time to hunker down and cozy up for most people in the Midwest.
The last couple of days I’ve averaged being able to be up and moving in 5-10 minute intervals before having to rest for a good 60-90 minutes.
Hubby has been so wonderful to take care of everything in the house during the long rests in the music of my life this month. Thankfully, he’s had some rests in the melody of his life too.
I don’t know exactly when, but the notes of the song will swell again and I’ll be up moving. When do you think? March, maybe 🤔?
May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Summer and MS: 😂
Hello, Friend! Yes, it’s been a while. I’ve been under the thumb of 5Gs of MS fatigue lately. I’ve been mostly home enjoying my usual favs: cats, hubby, birds, and flowers in our garden.
May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Loving the Ozarks
Hi, Friend!
Hubby has been on break between semesters at the college where he teaches. It’s been so wonderful to have him home with me every day. We took a day trip to Bentonville, Arkansas Thursday and enjoyed the beauty of the Ozarks as well as our time together. If you didn’t know, Sam Walton opened his first Walmart on the square in Bentonville in 1962. The Walton family has greatly and richly (😉) invested in the town turning it into one of the coolest and most happening places in the Midwest.
It’s starting to get warm and I’ve not been able to sit outside on the patio as much the past couple of weeks.
Sadly, the following bird photos are the last at our feeders that I’ll be able to get for a while. I’ve had so many squirrels and grackles eating the seed that I’ve decided to stop for a while, it’s just too expensive. 😢. I am researching some other options and hope to get something else in place soon. I’ve really missed my feathered friends.
Until next time, may God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Whew, What A Week!
When it rains it pours! Our dishwasher gave up the ghost Saturday morning (my birthday) and flooded the kitchen.
Thankfully, Hubby is a pretty smart cookie and got the water shut off.
He wrangled the dishwasher out of it’s nest and discovered the water lines from it were bad and the tub on the bottom had a crack.
We found a replacement the same day and my Dad helped us get it home and supervised Hubby’s installation.
It was a lot of work, but Hubby got the job done and it was sealed with Pip’s approval. 😻
Speaking of Pip, we have been dealing with a bit of a scare with him. Last month during his regular, annual check-up we learned he had a grade 2 heart murmur. Our vet referred us to the University of Missouri Vet Clinic to see a cardiologist to investigate the issue further.
She gave us some good news today that it looks benign and we are scheduled to go back next year to keep an eye on things.
The weather has been nice enough each afternoon this week and, despite pretty lousy MS fatigue, I’ve been able to make it onto the patio to watch the birds. They fill my heart with joy and gratitude to God for the wonder of His creation.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day! May God be with you. ❤️, Amy
A Week In My Life
Hello! I bet you didn’t expect to hear from me again so soon, did you? It’s been a while since I did a “week in my life” sort of blog, so…I did. Let’s see, when I last wrote I believe I told you I had finally tested negative for Covid 🎉. I was still sick, though. I started some antibiotics for a bacterial sinus infection 5 days ago and am happy to report that I am doing much better. I still have a cough, but I’m hoping it will continue to dissipate with time (and another 5 days of antibiotics 😉).
Surprisingly, my MS hasn’t been too bad this week and I was able to putter around the house with reasonable rest breaks between activities. This has been a HUGE blessing to me ☺️!
Anywho, I’ve been sewing up a storm and enjoying myself thoroughly this week! As a matter of fact, in the pictures you’re about to see I think I’m wearing four different things I either finished up or made this week. (There’s more sewing stuff a bit further down too 🙂.)
Covid wore me out and I hadn’t cooked for over two weeks, we survived on freezer meals I had squirrelled away. I finally found the energy to get in the kitchen again on Tuesday. I made a huge pot of beef barley soup, enough to last us several days. I also decided to get out my Mom’s high school Home Ec. cookbook and made a couple loaves of our favorite bread. Mom’s book has seen better days, but it is very special to me and has some great recipes.
Oh, and I made some chocolate chip bars on Thursday from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Cookbook. 😋. I love lots of chocolate chips but Hubby only wants a few, and the itty-bitty ones. So, I compromised and put half the normal amount of my chips and some of his tiny chips into the batter and they actually managed to please both of us.
I hadn’t cleaned my sewing room for several weeks, it was really bad. I cleared the decks on Monday and gave it a good going over. I don’t know how I didn’t end up at urgent care with 23 pins stuck in my feet! YIKES 😬! I also gave both my sewing machine and my serger a good service and cleaning.
The next few photos are random.
Of course I watched the birds this week!
Lastly, I’ll share some of my favorite moments of the week with Pip and Laudy, my constant companions.
Thanks for joining me this week. May God be with you. ❤️, Amy
Covid – It Was A Long Time Coming
It probably came home with Hubby from work. It was friendly and visited me while in the vicinity. The first five days were a nasty business for both of us. Hubby is better, though he still has a bit of a cough and tires easily. I took Paxlovid, got better, then got Rebound Covid. I am definitely feeling better, though I can’t get rid of the cough. I’ve nearly polished off my third bottle of Robitussin in two weeks. I must not be the only one out there on the ‘Tussin ’cause Hubby is beating the streets after work tonight to try and score me a fourth bottle.
Though my body had just started making B-cells again and I only had a few (see my last post), I was able to fight the dreaded virus and live to tell the tale. I praise God for His timing and the fact He made our bodies to be such hardy machines. This experience has proven it’s safe for me to venture back out into the world again 🎉🥳.
I hope you have had a good start to March. May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Amy's Axons 