Multitude Monday: Family Fun

We had an eventful weekend so I present a shorter Multitude Monday post today. Sorry there is no Scripture study.

Dear Lord, thank you for these gifts:

~ A son with the camera, capturing God's glory.

~ Dancing with husband at the fall apple festival.

~ Four kids who found joy at the bubble station for 30 minutes. We had to pull them away.

~ A naturalist who taught a wonderful class on various amphibians and reptiles.

~ Two brave girls who held the rat snake.

~ A nice visit with a dear friend.

~ Sharing burdens with Beth, my nursery worker partner. She has a 17-year-old daughter with the same difficulties my Peter has. How similar all these kids are! Like us, they find that their daughter's many issues run their lives in a sense. Please pray for Chelsea? She has severe depression with her ADHD and her depression med isn't helping enough. Very worrisome situation.

~ Our favorite nature center garden and all its treasures.

~ My precious Paul, who shares Daddy's love for college football. With no TV signal, Paul is forced to watch the progress of his favorite teams, especially Arkansas, online.

~ I have a photo of the kids on this same swing from two years ago. How they have changed!

~ Fall hay rides

Picking apples at our favorite apple farm, owned by Christians. All their neighbors' crops were ruined this year via the drought and frosts, but this family's crops flourished. How's that for divine favor?

~ Beth dancing with Daddy and then later, with Mommy and Daddy.

~ That God blesses us with deep orange and red trees this time of year. When I stop and think of this gift--about the many gifts of each season--I marvel at his tender, loving care of us.  

~ At the chili cook-off fall church fellowship, I sat next to a 68-year-old woman who was three days into a migraine. When she was 63 she suffered liver failure and was told she wouldn't live until the end of the year. All the medicine she had consumed for her migraines over the years finally caught up with her. While God didn't heal the migraines, He did heal her liver. She has to be very careful what medicines she takes, but she is alive and well. 

She prayed for me and took my address and phone number, and told me how to pray each time I have to take OTC medicines for a headache. My encounter with her was a real eye-opener for me. It was a divine meeting I will always be thankful for! 

It doesn't matter if you follow the directions on the bottles just right. Over time both acetaminophen and ibuprofen lead to liver and kidney damage. With acetaminophen, your liver goes first, then your kidneys. With ibuprofen, your kidneys are at risk.

If you take them for headaches more than two times a week, you'll put yourself into a dangerous rebound headache situation. Over time, your headaches will get far worse and more frequent (which has happened to me). This is not true if you need these OTC meds for arthritis or knee or back pain. The rebound pain is tied only to headaches.

This morning I started a reduction program. I have been taking acetaminophen every day for over 10 years. Instead of going cold turkey, which could mean some very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, I'm starting with a tapering. Instead of taking two at a time, I will take one. Then, as the rebound headaches lessen in severity, I will try eliminating the tablets altogether. It could take months and we will definitely endure some pain and hardship over this, but my new friend made me realize I have to do this for my children. 

Please pray that the rebound cycle goes away quickly, rather than taking months? Thank you!

What are you thankful for today, friends?

Linking with Ann today.