Would you like to write? Guest Speakers wanted...

Starting in the New Year... we will be doing a New Thing here at One of the Jones...
I will be accepting articles from other on-line magazines about once or twice a week...
We would also like to host articles... guest speakers from other Blogs as well...
If your interested please submit your article/ post to
elijahssong@gmail.com and I will review it and see  if it would be suitable material.
Kinds of material we will be accepting?
Christian Material..
Health, Beauty
Stories..
Photography,
poetry...
any other ideas you have... however...


Please keep in mind, this is a family and faith friendly site,
so have fun.... but please keep it clean...
Hope to hear from you soon!

Glorious!

 When I see a day like this..

How can I possibly question the existence of an amazingly creative

and awe inspiring God.....

Panic attacks..

Panic attack has been described as an episode of incredibly intense fear or apprehension that is of sudden onset.^[1] The DSM-IV describes a panic attack as a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort in which (at least 4 of 13) symptoms developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10 minutes.

This is the description listed in Wikopedia....let me tell you...
People will say it is all in your head.....you should be able to control it,
but if you have ever suffered with one...it would change your mind.

I really struggled with whether or not I should share this,
People who suffer with Panic attacks often feel like freaks,
or feel that there is something wrong with them...
So I just want to let you know..
It is OK..there are others of us out there.
We are normal people...
and it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you as a person.

My first experience with panic attacks began just after I had my first daughter Krystal...
I was in a n unstable relationship,
and my boy friend at that time had allowed some crack dealers
he had met on the street to come and spend the night with us in our tiny one bedroom basement suite.
I was understandably unhappy with the situation...having a tiny baby at home at the time..
and afraid of these strangers who my boyfriend had invited home..
I finally went to bed, but was awakened in the middle of the night by a racing heart,
Pain in my chest, and not able to breath..
I thought I was having a heart attack.
Being the stubborn/ independent silly girl I was,
I jumped in the car and drove myself to the nearest Emergancy.
By the time I got there of course, the attack had passed,
and they could find nothing wrong with me.


In the years that continued..
I would often have similar attacks...all of which were gone
by the time I went into the hospital.
I cut back on the caffeine- which probably helped
since I was drinking a pot of coffee a day to myself...
and after I quit smoking and doing drugs, I also noticed a marked difference.


My last bad episode happened in a shopping market .
We (I was married now to a wonderful man to whom I am still married)
had been having some money problems..and living off of not much..
and when I saw how full my cart was I just panicked...
I could feel the all to familiar symptoms coming on...
All I can remember thinking was "How am I going to pay for all this..."
I left the full cart in the store, and walked away...thinking
This is the last time I am going to allow this to control my life....
(And it was the last time for a long time...)

 (My profound apologies to who ever had to put away all those groceries...

and not to be mixed up with the time my husband and I were shopping,
dropped a bottle of jam on the floor where it shattered...
looked at each other and ran away laughing....)
Same store by the way....

I spent some quality time with God, asking him how to get control of my finances...
and my mind....
I practiced relaxation methods, and deep breathing...
I stayed away from triggers that would set me off..
and I prayed when I had to go into uncomfortable situations...

Which...brings me to this weekend,
when I had my first serious attack for the first time in 10 years.

I should have paid attention to my own warning bells...
I am not good in crowds...especially when I am alone..
(trigger 1)
I am shy...although you would never know it to talk to me..
(trigger 2)
and my car was acting up on the way to my location
(trigger 3) worrying about money.....

We just started going to a new church in Jan...and I have not really met many people yet..
We have some family members there,
and I have talked to a couple of people,
Everyone has been very nice..
It is a Great church...and we love it...
but it is VERY BIG compared to what I am used to...

The whole point to me mentioning that is..
that I decided I was going to go to their woman's breakfast...
BUT when I went in..I was shocked to find that there was 150 women there...
and that all the tables were full...
and that I only recognized maybe two faces..
THAT after driving there, and having car trouble on the way...
I went in anyways...feeling shaky..walked up to a table of older women
and asked if I could sit down..
Only to receive maybe not the warmest reception ever...
In fact... I wasn't sure I was really welcome...
I sat down...and the women went back to talking to each other...
Another girl I recognized  from mom's group sat down and started talking to her mom...
and maybe didn't recongnize me..
and I thought...
"How can I possibly sit here with these woman for the next two hours...
with no one to talk to..and eat with them. Where am I supposed to look?"
Start of attack...
I lasted about three more minutes before I started to shake and cry...
and slipped out to the bathroom before anyone could see there was anything wrong with me...
It took me about 20 minutes to calm down
and I finally decided that I needed to get control of this thing...
and not let it run me...
So....back into the room I went...
and snuck back behind the coffee pot, with the pretense of getting a coffee...
The problem is that by now...the table I had been at...had given away my chair..
and all the tables were up and down getting food...
I had no way of knowing if there was anywhere to sit..
and I was feeling more and more self concious all the time...

Finally one of the pastors wives came up and asked me if she could help me find some place to sit..
and NO WARNING...
I started hyperventilating and crying...and backed into a storage room..
fortunately right behind me...
By now, there are two woman in there with me..
and I am feeling like an idiot...BUT
I couldn't stop crying or hyperventilating ...
I FELT SOOO STUPID.
Both of these very kind ladies prayed and prayed the peace of Jesus over me
until I finally started to settle down,
and one of them told me she was accustomed to panic attacks,
as apparently she has a friend who gets them...
but I have always managed to not have them visibly...

So......Great way to introduce myself to a couple of ladies in the church..
HI! My name is Robyn...and I hyperventilate and cry when nervous...
I don't recommend it as a way to make a great first impression...

so back to the drawing board...
apparently you can always have relapses...

Back to committing myself to prayer in this area..
and back to watching my trigger points.
I will NOT allow them to control me or my life...
Jesus is bigger then all my problems...
He is Lord over all...including my fears.
There is no fear in love.

And for those of you out there who have panic attacks..
I just want to let you know there are others of us this happens to...
It is scary...but that is ok.
We are normal people..stuff happens...
and that is ok too.
If you want prayer I can do that for you as well.
We are all in this together...
God is a God of compassion, and he will help.
I believe that fully.

God did do something for me that day...
My 18 month old girl lost her little bear a while ago,
and she has been very upset about it..
Well....
Guess where it was?
If you said in that storage room
where I had my attack? You would be right....LOL!
See...God does care about the little things..
She was so happy to see "bear bear" that she kissed him for the next half hour...

Now...I want interaction people...
I bared a little bit of my soul with you...
now I want some back...
my question to  you is this..
Have you ever had a panic attack?
If so...how often...
How do you control yours?

I think it helps others to know your out there...

The Changing Tides...

WOW! I just realized this morning that it has been almost two weeks since I posted anything....

That's crazy... 

Part of the problem is to be honest, I have just been plain tired.

I don't really know why, but if I don't feel better soon, 

I guess I will have to get that checked out...

I am also not sure anyone actually reads our blog,

and the effort just seemed not worth the while...

I put this together so that friends and family outside of Regina 

could keep track of our family,

and after 4 years, I am not sure if anyone is actually reading this,

except for my MIL....

so if you do read our blog...

could you leave a comment so I know?

Even if you don't use blogger, you can leave a comment under annonymous...

Another problem is, that I haven't been taking as many pictures...

My camera pretty much quit working...

won't take indoor pictures anymore...

at least not where you can actually see what things are...

(However this problem has been remedied.)

and we actually haven't been our normal active selves either...

We have been busy, but not with the kind of things most people are interested in...

Some big things have happened in our lives lately though...

One being that my husband was fired from his job...

I wasn't surprised...we have been expecting this for a long time...

and it finally happened...

I was very proud of my hubby for taking the high road...

What a man of God...

I have attached his note about it from facebook,

if anyone is interested in reading it...

Other then that...here we are I guess...

Just living life...not really up to much at the moment..

but spring is coming, so that should change soon..  :)

Jeremy is joining Soccer, Gracie will be in swimming..

We have an Ghana dinner coming up this weekend,

and we are going to the Barenaked Ladies concert in April...

That will be a blast...I can't wait.....

OK, here is Kendal's note...

It's a strange world we live in when an ordinary 9-5 worker like me has to do a press release when he loses his job. :) Thanks a lot Facebook.

On Conan O'brien's last episode of The Tonight Show, he addressed his public falling-out with NBC. He took the high road and kept it classy. I would like to try to strike the same tone here. His message was that he was thankful for the opportunity NBC gave him and for the 20 years he was there.

I was employed at my last job for the last 7 and a half years. While there I earned a decent wage, had full time employment and learned a lot. Just to be clear, the company I worked for is a good well-run organization. Unfortunately my position was terminated this week. The stated reason was that my performance was not adequate. My work performance was a somewhat subjective issue. I feel that I fell victim to some nasty office politics. I believe and have some proof that someone in my office was running down my reputation, while he cut corners and took credit for other peoples work to make himself look better. I believe his campaign was effective and played a large role.

This has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. If I had sunk to that level and done what was necessary to win that war, the taste in my mouth would have been far worse.

It is also my opinion that I could only have improved my performance by cutting corners and not following procedures, which I was unwilling to do. As I said these are issues which are completely a matter of opinion and perspective, therefore pointless to debate.

I regret that things turned out the way they did. My employer was not an easy person to work for. That's no secret. The first thing he says to new employees is, "I'm not an easy person to work for." While working for him I learned to be a better employee. I learned about professionalism and commitment. I learned to work very hard. I learned not to be constantly watching the clock for the next coffee break or the end of the shift. I learned to be punctual and dependable. I learned that employers will not trust you if all you do is verbally run down your previous employers. I also learned a lot of practical lessons about work and efficiency. I am thankful for all that my employer taught me. I am thankful that my family was provided for. My favorite part of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" is when Bob Cratchit, at his family's meager Christmas dinner, toasts his boss, Ebenezer Scrooge. Despite his wife's protests Bob calls Scrooge "The founder of the feast." Not that I'm comparing my employer to Scrooge, but I've always thought that Cratchit's attitude was admirable.

Of course I did not like being fired. I don't think anybody has ever responded to the phrase, "you're fired," by saying, "Good call, boss." Obviously there is a sense of anger, frustration, betrayal and humiliation. Clearly my friends and family members are going to feel all this stuff and more. I also can't control the opinions and comments of other people who have worked for the same company. When I posted a positive and uncontroversial comment (the comment was, "Wednesday 5pm, I lose my job. Thursday 3pm, I have a new job, starting with the same pay, but I also get benefits!") on Facebook earlier today it turned into a debate. I never intended that to happen, but my family and friends are entitled to their opinions. It would be completely ridiculous to expect them not to support me and weigh in with their thoughts. I have removed the whole comment thread as some of the comments turned ugly and abusive.

I do not feel ashamed by my work record at that company. My work was meticulous and accurate. Even my employer has said as much to me, and he doesn't pay very many compliments. While there I was loyal, dependable and maintained my integrity. I left with my head held high. I intend to keep it that way by not dragging my employer's reputation and that of his company through the mud.

I don't want to walk around with bitterness and anger over this issue. I actually feel relieved, as I was saw this coming for a long time. The mind games and constant feeling of being unable to satisfy the demands put on me caused me a lot of stress. Within 22 hours I was able to find a new job that will not only match my pay, but has a benefits package. I see this as a positive situation. If anyone else wants to comment on the situation, I would prefer that you use the private message system in Facebook.

Thank you.

Kendal

Today Kendal starts his new job...

I am very proud of him, and know he will do well...

I am also thankful to God for providing for us as He always does...

Laminin!

 OH WOW! This really is a must see....How AWESOME is our God!
This is REALLY worth  seeing...