Lost and Found and a Little Perspective

Lost: My voice

For the past few days I've been dealing with my usual annual upper respiratory infection, aka The Crud. And as is typical for me with such infections, last night I lost my voice. I was out of town at a meeting with one of my co-workers, and my voice started to get really hoarse during the meeting. Thankfully I didn't have to say very much. On the hour and a half drive home, my voice went from hoarse to practically non-existent, and it wasn't much better today.

It usually takes losing my voice to remind me of how much I really talk on a typical day. Even at home, I find myself talking to my dog quite a bit, so I wonder if she's noticing (and confused by or even perhaps enjoying?) the silent treatment I'm having to give her. I'm on antibiotics now and actually feeling better than I have the past few days, so the laryngitis is more of an annoyance than a discomfort. Still, it's frustrating at times to not be able to speak up; no drive thru meals for me until I regain my voice.

We do have an event at our office tomorrow with lots of guests who I've been looking forward to seeing, so I'm praying that my voice will recover enough by tomorrow afternoon to carry on conversations without straining my vocal cords. Feel free to say a prayer on my behalf if you feel so moved. :)


Found: A new book

On a happier note, yesterday I got a nice little surprise. Not too long ago I stumbled upon a new (to me) blog, Peak313 Fitness. Clare, the author, is an aerobics and pilates instructor who writes about health and fitness from a Christian viewpoint. With a mix of practical guidance and spiritual insight, her blog has become one of my favorites.

She recently held a giveaway of a new book by Gary Thomas, Every Body Matters. Yesterday I found out that I was one of three readers randomly selected to win a copy of the book. As an avid reader, winning a new book is like Christmas for me, so I was thrilled. I've never read any of Thomas' work, although I have heard rave reviews for an earlier work of his, Sacred Marriage, and based upon Clare's own review of his latest work, I think this will be a great read. I'm looking forward to receiving it soon.



And a Little Perspective


For the past few weeks I've been part of the Praying for Karlie community on Facebook. Karlie is a little three year-old girl who has been at Children's Hospital in Birmingham for several weeks now with kidney failure and a host of other related problems. I don't know Karlie herself but I do know her father through work; he is one of our main contacts at one of our local printers.

This afternoon I read the latest update on Karlie, and was sad to see that she has had a very rough day, perhaps one of the roughest yet. The doctors seem to be baffled by what is causing her myriad of problems and unsure how to treat her. Of course, we have a Great Physician who knows exactly what's wrong with Karlie and can provide total healing.

Please join me in praying for this little girl, who has been through so much in such a short time. Pray also for her parents and her big sister, as well as her extended family and friends. You can read more about Karlie on the Praying for Karlie page on Facebook; it is a "public" page so anyone (including those without Facebook accounts) can access it.

Hearing of others who are going through such difficult times really helps puts things in perspective for me, and reminds me to not take my blessings for granted. Furthermore, I'm reminded that this life, no matter how wonderful or how difficult it may be, is a mere warm-up act for what God has in store for us in the life to come.