Book Review: Stumbling on Open Ground

 

 

I chose to review Ken Mansfield’s Stumbling on Open Ground: Love, God, Cancer, and Rock ‘n’ Roll because of the topic…Cancer.  I thought it would help me to as co-chair for the Relay for Life of Tipton County better understand some of the things the survivors I work with go through.

Ken was the American producer for the Beatles so most of the the “Rock ‘n’ Roll” facts he mentions in the book are before my time so I didn’t recognize a lot of the names but it was neat to get a glimpse of the behind the scenes stuff that happen in the music business.

The author’s wife, Connie, actually opened up each chapter with her thoughts and then he would give his.  It was interesting to see how each situation was looked at differently by the individuals.  Even though only one of them was going through cancer treatment, they were both affected but in different ways and it was heart breaking to read how it did.

For someone who is going through the scary journey of cancer, this book might be just what they need to read.  It is honest and points out that God is bigger than Cancer, no matter what the outcome.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through theBookSneeze®.combook review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Do Not Disturb

I love my smart phone.  It keeps me connected at all times.  I can do anything I need and stay in touch with everyone about various projects I am working on…but sometimes, I just need to get away.  I want to be able to enjoy family time without having to respond to an email about budget reports, a text about women’s ministry, or questions on one of the MANY Facebook pages I manage so I will put my phone on airplane mode for a few hours.  Well, this weekend, I decided that I was disconnecting Saturday evening and would not reconnect until this morning.   I hung a virtual Do Not Disturb sign…

I didn’t look at any of my emails…didn’t Tweet, stayed off of Pinterest, no texting…The only person I sent a text to on Sunday was my mother to let her know that my phone would be turned off so if there was an emergency, she would need to call my husband’s phone.

It was nice to have that break away from the busyness of my life.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my life and all of the activities I am involved in but my brain just needed a break…some time to just relax and enjoy the day.  It was really a mini vacation that I needed.  I feel that by doing this, I was more mentally prepared for this week.

I challenge you to turn off your device for a couple of hours a week to see how free you feel.  Enjoy!

Painful Post

It pains me to type this post…no, it really does!  You see, I have somehow managed to injure my left hand and am now sporting this lovely contraption

I initially strained it on December 21 and it wasn’t getting any better so last week, I told my husband that since more than a month had passed and it was still sore, I might want to get it checked out…but I didn’t make any effort to contact a Dr about it until I hurt it more on Tuesday.  I was buckling my seat belt as a passenger in my friend’s car and I felt something pop and my wrist started burning.  I called the Dr the next day and went in on Thursday.  He said that nothing is broken, I have mild carpal tunnel, and apparently have some tendon damage that requires me to “rest” my wrist.  He gave me a cortisone injection…OUCH…and put this brace on me.  I am still hurting and have little strength in that hand. I can’t pick up much of anything with my left hand.  Fixing my hair isn’t easy,unloading the dryer is painful, hold my phone on the left side is impossible, and Typing is torture!  One handed…peck…peck…peck…AUGH!

Anyway, I am just telling y’all this in case you have wondered where I have been and why you haven’t seen much of me online lately.  Please pray that this heals soon so I can get back to my regular life.

We WILL still have the Fantastic February Facebook party…I just have to figure out how I can keep up with the typing that night.