What is a Yearly Theme all about

Reposting from December 2010, which is, in itself a repost from December 2009, which was an edited version of what I posted in 2008.  Anyway, here it is:

1. I first came across the idea of themes for the year a few years ago through reading the blogs of friends. Basically the idea is to seek God for an underlying theme for the coming year and then watch how He works that out in your life. Also considering your actions and lifestyle in light of that theme.
   
   
2. I started doing this myself a few years ago and have noticed more and more people commenting on their themes for the year.
   
   
3. Some years this has been a process of taking time out, sitting with God, looking at the previous years theme, how that went, praying, reading, listening, and other times it has just been one word or phrase that dropped into my spirit and I KNEW that that was the theme for that year.
   
   
4. Some years the theme seems like a really nice one and you approach the year thinking "Yeah, I can DO this, this will be fun." and other years you approach your theme with a little trepidation.
   
   
5. For instance, I have friends whose recent themes include Patience, and everyone knows if God wants to grow patience in you, He's going to put you in some situations that will require you to grow patience and those might not be fun. I have another friend whose theme for the coming year is Enjoy and I'm really excited to watch and see what God does with her this year.
   
   
6. Other years you look at your theme and you think it's going to be one thing and looking back on the year at the end you see it totally fitted with your theme BUT absolutely NOT in the way you had expected that to work out.
   
   
7. As an example a few years ago my theme for the year was "Seeking God for myself, not relying on others to speak into me." I thought "yeah, I can do this, lots of time praying, reading my bible, listening for god to speak, yeah, I can do this." What I did not expect was for it to be the most isolating year of my life socially, where a lot of relationships were stretched, broken, and there were fewer and fewer people close enough to be able to speak into my life. I had no choice but to seek out God for myself.
   
   
8. Then there was 2008. REST! Great, fantastic, slow down, take it easier, REST. HA! God really has a sense of humour.
   
   
9. I started 2008 knowing that I was having some medical symptoms that I suspected were sleep apnoea related. I had tried to seek medical advice previously but had been rebuffed by our family doctor who would not refer me to a specialist. As my symptoms began to worsen, and I realised I had less and less energy, needing frequent 3 or 4 hour daytime naps just to get through the day, falling asleep sat up at the computer desk, and even, at times mid conversation with my family, I knew I would have to face the doctor again. And I was prepared for it to be a battle, I was prepared that I would need to FIGHT to be heard.
   Alongside that, hubby and I had been struggling in our role as small group leaders at church. We had taken on what turned out to be an incredibly difficult group, for various reasons. We HAD previously tried to get help in our role, but had not been heard, we had even tried to quit before, but had been persuaded to stay. I was prepared for this, too to be a battle, I was prepared to have to FIGHT for what I knew God was doing in me!
   
   So, here were two situations in which I was totally expecting a battle.
   When I finally got up the courage to approach the doctors again, in the end I got my referral to the sleep clinic! PRAISE GOD. I went to my first appointment and for the first time in relation to these symptoms I felt like I was really HEARD. It truly felt like God had gone before me and prepared the way.
   
   Small group leading? It was awesome. We hold no blame over the couple who led the ministry at that time at all, and they were absolutely fantastic, totally coming to terms with where we were at, apologising for not having realised before and giving us the space to step back with no repercussions.
   
   So, two situations in which I expected battle and found nothing but the way already prepared before me.
   A year in which physically I was forced to take more and more rest as my symptoms grew.
   A year in which I tried to make much more of a focus on getting to "soaking" meetings, where we just sit on a comfy sofa, or lie on the floor and rest while appropriate worship music is played over us. Sometimes someone prays and sometimes they don't, but we just SOAK in God's presence.
   Then, at church family camp 2008 I had the most amazing experience.
   I wasn't sure about how attending camp would affect my sleep, and not being able to nap during the day, etc, but I went anyway, figuring if had to hide out in our unit I would. There was this one meeting, and worship was awesome, and I was singing and dancing, and then the tiredness, slowly began to come over me. And I got to a point, where I could not dance any more, but I still stood and sang, and raised my hands. And as the tiredness grew, my hands came down to hold on to the seat in front, and then I had to sit down and eventually even stop singing. I could not even muster to the energy to do that. I COULD NOT fight the sleep, I could not DO anything for God in that moment, I did not even have the energy to think through the words of the song in my head, it was all I could do to just BE. And in that moment I felt the nearness of God like I have NEVER felt it before, I felt His love and His closeness, and His passion, and it overwhelmed me. I mean, seriously overwhelmed me. I could DO NOTHING, and in that moment He came to me. I could DO NOTHING and in that moment He poured out His love on me. I could DO NOTHING and in that moment he came to dwell with me. I could do NOT ONE THING to make myself acceptable to God, I could not earn it in any way shape or form, I could not even keep my eyes open in the worship service, and in that place, He expressed His passionate love and care for me.
   
   
10. 2009 began with a theme of Breakthrough but in fact, at first glance, it started with some situations that did not look like breakthrough at all.
    I would not be allowed to drive my car for a few months at least. Due to my diagnosis of Sleep Apnoea, my driving licence had been medically revoked. My precious little gift of a car was put off road for a while!
    I was to receive a local bus pass because of that but that would take 5 or 6 weeks to come through, so in the meantime, and for any journeys after it came through that were not possible by bus, I was reliant on others!
    
    So, NO, this didn't look like breakthrough, and it didn't feel like breakthrough, but I KNEW that I knew that I knew, that God, the Father had His hands completely on this whole process and that He would use this, even this to bring about the breakthrough He intended!
    
    And at the same time, I was heading towards some fantastic moments of breakthrough that I already knew about!
    Hubby and I celebrated 15 years of marriage in February. Something a lot of people never thought we'd do!
    I got my CPAP machine (Sleep apnoea treatment) at the end of January 2009 and despite an early struggle to get used to it and moments of absolute despair at the possibility of things never improving I am now able to go about my day without falling asleep and without needing daytime naps and live life more or less normally. Of course there are still bad days, bad nights, and I still don't have the energy to do EVERYTHING, but this is SO much better than things were before I got treated.
    The restoration of day time energy levels meant I could focus once again on losing some weight and increasing my heart health through exercise! And that year I lost almost 30 pounds.
    I have also seen breakthrough in other areas of my life, I got my driving licence back at the end of the summer 2009, and God met me particularly in the struggle and desire for deeper female friendship, with that being met in more than 1 way. God had also spoken to my local church about breakthrough, that October, using the very verses from Joshua that I had used to back up my theme for that year.
    
    2009 was NOT over yet when I wrote this list of points. I did not Believe the year of Breakthrough was over yet! I believed there was much to come, both in the remaining 5 weeks of the actual year, and truly, I believed beyond that! When I sought God for a theme for 2010 it was not denying the breakthrough that would continue, it was merely adding to it!
    
    
11. So, 2010? This list was originally written in November 2009 and friends had been speaking of their themes for this coming year already, and I was refusing to even acknowledge it, refusing to accept that this was possible. I was still in the middle of my busiest 2 months of the year and quite simply, it was not even on my radar and I was fine with that.
    
    
12. THEN, one morning in November 2009, I was lying in bed and a thought dropped into my head, ONE WORD! And I thought after it, "Oh that might be my theme for the year" Then I reminded myself that I was refusing to think about that yet and that anyway was I really sure I wanted a theme like that? Remembering what I said up in points 6 and 7.
    I mentioned to some friends that I thought I MIGHT have my theme and was GRUMP GRUMP GRUMP in response to it.
    The truth is this theme fits in with other things that God has been speaking to me over recent weeks, and was confirmed by a blog post from someone whose writing I trust, the morning I wrote this list.
    
    
13. One word - or at least one word, that can be put in a number of different ways.
    SIMPLE
    simplify
    simplification
    SIMPLE!
    Not working harder and harder, but working smarter. Not doing things just because "well someone's got to do it" but focusing on those things that I believe God wants ME to do. Not doign things because "Doing A is the only way B is going to happen" but trusting God that what He has promised to do, He WILL do. Simplifying STUFF as well, de-cluttering, getting rid of junk, emotionally, spiritually and physically. NOPE, I don't think this is going to be an EASY theme to live through, but I think it's going to be an adventure, and I am up for that!

addition in December 2011:

Check out the following links to see other posts on my yearly themes

What I Thought Simplicity Would Mean in 2010

How the Theme for 2010 Actually Went

Finally, a theme for 2011  

An Art Journal Page to go With My Theme for 2011

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What I Learned this Week

What did I learn this week?

This week I learned that some colds take longer to get over than others.
Normally, if I get a cold, it lasts a couple of days and it is gone. THIS one went on for weeks! First I had a really bad sore throat, then the cold went to my nose and then it descended to my upper chest. I have spoken to other people I know who have had it and they each speak of exactly the same process.

Having a cold and being on a CPAP machine can be interesting, but I managed, and dosed up with cold remedies, and throat pastilles, eventually got through it.

I didn't quite lose my voice, but thought it was going to go a few times, which was interesting since I had two school assemblies to speak at. I just told the children they had to listen extra hard and if my voice did go they would have a very short assembly.

If you want to participate in What I Learned this Week, head over to the website by clicking on the image at the top of this post.

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What I Learned This Week

What did I learn this week?

This week I learned just how well my CPAP machine has been working for me.
I have sleep apnoea. I have had it for years but finally got diagnosed in November 2008 and got my CPAP machine in January 2009, so I've had it almost a year now.

This week I went for my regular clinic appointment. Don't even see the doctor, just the department sister. She was really impressed.
Especially with my AHI and other numbers.
Basically with sleep apnoea you have two types of events. The first is where you actually stop breathing completely and wake up, the second is where you ALMOST stop breathing.
Those two numbers together make up your AHI.
When I did my sleep study to get my diagnosis, I had ridiculously high AHI of 126 per hour!

So, when I went this week, she went through the menus on the screen and it tells them all the details of how many hours a night I have averaged over the last 6 months and how my AHI is WITH the machine.

Well . . . . .

WITH the machine I am down to an AHI of 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And even better still, the number for the times I properly stop breathing is 0.3 and that means I only do that on average once every 3 hours!
WOOHOOOO, it's no wonder I feel so much better since I got this machine.


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The Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY, Monday 11th May 2009...

Outside my window...
I can hear birds singing in the big tree that is outside our back yard. I have the door open and whilst there is a breeze, the sun is shining so I will cope with the breeze.

I am thinking...
That hubby might just get home before me this afternoon. I have to go to the hospital at 4:30pm to pick up a humidifier for my CPAP machine. The journey home is over an hour on the bus and depending on how long I am there it could well be past 6pm when I finally get home.

I am thankful for...
The very quick chance to try out a humidifier. I only got my name put on the list last week and I'm already picking it up. I only get to try it for 4 nights, then it has to go back and if I want one we will have to buy it ourselves. I don't know where the money would come from for that, but I know God will provide if I need it.

From the learning rooms...
We don't homeschool and I can't think of much that I'm focusing on learning at the moment.
Eldest (17) is not in college today because he's not well (by college, to my American readers I mean school, what my American readers call college, we call university, which happens AFTER college, and college happens AFTER school, have I totally confused you?).
OK, will it confuse you even more to say our 14 year old who still has another 2 years of school left, will also be going to college once a week from September for an after school Spanish class? Heeheeee. We don't like to make things simple do we?

From the kitchen...
Well tonight's dinner has to be VERY simple since I might get home so late. I'll probably leave instructions for one of the boys to get started on it. Just a packet of diced turkey thigh in a jar of cook in sauce. I'm not actually sure what flavour it is, we got it from a local discount store and while the brand is a name we know and trust the flavour is not one they sell here, only overseas, so the label is not in English and we have to guess the flavour from the pictures, that should be fun! With rice and steamed veggies.

I am wearing...
Brown cargo pants and a blue jersey top with large spotted flowers all over it. Nothing on my feet, because I rarely do that.

I am creating...
Haven't done much creating this week. Would like to make time for that this week. Would like to do some more work on jewellery, and possibly some scrabooking.

I am going...
to the hospital this afternoon, as I said. I will go on the bus, and whilst that takes a while, at least it will not cost me anything. You see, when my driving licence was revoked due to my sleep apnoea, I was given a free bus pass for buses all over England. Only thing is I can't use it before 9am here, and 9:30am some other places.
Hopefully I will soon have my driving licence back. I sent the forms off on Saturday and they say they take up to 8 weeks.

I am remembering....
Some lovely times I have had talking to friends this week. Not necessarily deep and meaningful conversations, but just talking and hearing where each other is at. This is a good thing and something I have been longing for for a while now.

I am reading...
I started re-reading the Shack on the way to and from my hospital appointment of last week, but discovered buses and reading and me don't get on! It made me feel ill! I do want to get on with reading it again and have popped it by the side of my bed, hopefully I will remember to read it.

I am hoping...
That the hospital can be flexible about the time of my appointment to take the humidifier back on Friday, because I have a dental appointment 2 hours before the hospital one and it takes over an hour to get to the hospital on the bus, so if the dentist is running late I might have a problem.

I am praying....
For insight and break though in a few areas.
I am also praying in colour, see today's picture thought.

I am hearing...
The birds have stopped singing now so I can hear the breeze and background traffic noises.

Around the house...
Still managing to keep things a lot better than I was before I got this new energy boost from CPAP. I probably don;'t have it to where some people would want their homes, and there are still the bedrooms to get to and blitz, but I am working on keeping up with what I have done so far and that is going OK.
Today will be kitchen and dining room.

One of my favourite things...
heeheee. . . . is spelling favourite with a u, because after all that is the ONLY proper way to spell it.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Well, there's the hospital this afternoon, helping the same friend as last week tomorrow evening, but this time we're unpacking at the new house. Wednesday I HOPE I'm meeting with a couple of friends for prayer,although that MIGHT have to happen on Friday. Friday I have the dentist and the hospital again.
Oh, and in the meantime I want to get that raised bed in the garden marked out into squares and get started on the planting.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...


SO, if you want to read more daybook entries or you would like to take part yourself. Click on the image at the top of this post and check it all out.

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13 Questions About Sleep Apnoea

My regular readers may well be sick of hearing about this, but I will keep on writing about it because people need to hear it!

1. What is it? - Sleep apnea (or sleep apnoea in British English) is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode, called an apnea (Greek: ἄπνοια (ápnoia), from α- (a-), privative, πνέειν (pnéein), to breathe), lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep.
2. What made me think I had it? - I had been dealing with severe tiredness for a number of years. Add to that my weight issues and the fact that I am a loud snorer and I was pretty sure this was what I had. However it took me a while to get my GP (family doctor) to take me seriously.
   
3. What did the GP suggest it was? - Well they ran all the usual tests for tiredness, such as diabetes and thyroid, etc but refused to test me for sleep apnoea because at that point in time my husband had not heard me stop breathing in my sleep. This was laughable because by her reasoning it could not be happening while he was asleep! Truthfully I think in his mind he thought I was just too fat and it would all solve itself if I could just lose some weight!
   
4. How did I get the GP to refer me for tests? - Well finally, another 2 years after the initial visit I was even more tired and even more fed up and falling asleep in the day frequently, even whilst working at the computer or in the middle of conversations. By now hubby had heard me stop breathing and so they finally agreed to refer me although insisted on doing all the other tests again first!
5. So what is the test for this? - You used to have to go to a sleep clinic overnight to get diagnosed with this, but these days they can send you home with a machine that you tape and wire yourself to that records various things such as
   Blood oxygen saturation
   Heart rate/pulse
   Body movement and position
   Oral & nasal airflow
   Snoring sound data & wave form
   Patient events
   Time
6. And my results were? - Quite horrifying! The main thing the machine does is count the number of delayed and missed breaths. To be considered as diagnosed with sleep apnoea you have to have 5 to 15 per hour of deep sleep. to be considered a moderate case you would be having 15 to 30 and to be considered a severe case you would be having over 30 (or 60 depending on who you ask). I WAS HAVING 126 apnoeas or hypopneas PER HOUR of deep sleep! No wonder I was tired.
   
7. So, what causes it? - if you have obstructive sleep apnea, your airways can be blocked or narrowed during sleep because:
   Your throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal.
   You're overweight
   The extra soft fat tissue can thicken the wall of the windpipe. This causes the inside opening to narrow and makes it harder to keep open.
   Not enough air flows into your lungs when your airways are fully or partly blocked during sleep. This can cause loud snoring and a drop in your blood oxygen levels. When the oxygen drops to dangerous levels, it triggers your brain to disturb your sleep. This helps tighten the upper airway muscles and open your windpipe. Normal breaths then start again, often with a loud snort or choking sound.
8. What is the treatment? - The main treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea is to use a CPAP machine each night as you sleep.
   CPAP machines have three main parts:
   A mask or other device that fits over your nose or your nose and mouth. Straps keep the mask in place while you're wearing it.
   A tube that connects the mask to the machine's motor.
   A motor that blows air into the tube.
9. So will that cure it? - NO, treatment wit CPAP is long term, you have to keep using it, EVERY NIGHT for ever!
10. Is there not a surgical option? - There are surgeries that can be considered but many doctors doubt their effectiveness and certainly the risks are quite high, so over here in the UK it is not generally offered.
11. So, it is for life then? - Yes and no. If your Sleep Apnoea is mainly caused by excessive weight making things worse, you can bring your weight down through diet and exercise. Easier said than done when you have no energy due to this condition!
12. What is life like with sleep apnoea? - Tired, tired, tired! As I said, I used to fall asleep frequently through the day, some days I would take 2 or even 3 hour naps and still feel tired. I felt like I never had any energy for anything. Once I was diagnosed I had to stop driving, because my consultant suggested I contact the DVLA, and of course once your doctor has said so, if you were to be in an accident because of it, your insurance company may have something to say. And eventually your doctor may contact them himself anyway, especially if he thinks you are a danger.
    Thankfully when my driving licence was revoked I was given a free bus pass, so I can still get out and about, which is nice!
13. Finally, how is it going now? - Well, I've had my CPAP machine since the last week of January, and I have only NOT used it once! Every other night I have managed at least some time on it. At first it was hard going and I struggled with it, but now it's going really well. I went back to the clinic this week and she checked the results on my machine.
    It says that now I am averaging between 5 and 6 hours a night (although that should go up because the last week has been even better than that), and that when I am ON the machine I am having only 7 or so episodes an hour! HOW AWESOME IS THAT? I have so much more energy, I feel alive and am able to do things I have not been able to do for so long! It's fantastic! I still don't have as much energy as i would like to, but compared to where I WAS at, this is amazing!
    

So that's my 13 things about Sleep Apnoea!

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Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY, Monday 4th May 2009...

Outside my window...
It's a bit chilly and cold and damp. Hubby is working on finishing the garden (yard) clear up and finishing and filling the raised bed today.

I am thinking...
That I am relieved my friend's daughter tested negative for swine flu last Friday after her recent trip to Mexico, or my current cold symptoms would have me freaked out! I spent Wednesday evening with that friend, so I reckon I'd be concerned. As it is this is just another spring cold.

I am thankful for...
My friend's daughter's negative test. For the peace that brought my friend. For CPAP that helps me sleep and means I wake up each morning. For a husband who is determined to make a garden (yard) we can all use.

From the learning rooms...
We don't homeschool and I can't think of much that I'm focusing on learning at the moment.
But eldest son finished with one of his subjects this week, which he's rather pleased about, and youngest son spent a few hours at a Samba drumming workshop with performance in the local town centre. They've been doing samba for a few years and have a fantastic teacher, but the school can't afford to pay for the lessons very often so it's been a while since they've done anything.

From the kitchen...
This week we had friends round to dinner and we ate from the raclette, and I made a fantastic rhubarb dessert. Gorgeous. I have 2 bags of cooking apples in the kitchen which I need to use up. I'll probably just make them into apple sauce for the freezer.

I am wearing...
Black velour trousers, and a red patterned jersey top. I would have my ruby slippers on too, but I only just got in and have forgotten to put them back on.

I am creating...
Yesterday I did quite a bit of jewellery making. I did a few necklaces and a couple of elasticated bracelets. Need to get a couple of items posted off this week to friends and then look at options for selling this stuff.

I am going...
To the hospital tomorrow to see my Sleep Apnoea consultant. Hopefully he will say yes to me reapplying for my driving licence and I can set the wheels in motion for that.

I am remembering....
The lovely weather we've had the last few days and wondering if today's wet weather is timed perfectly to co-incide with the public holiday over here today. It seems like it always rains on public holidays.

I am reading...
Not a lot. I did pick up the shack to start re reading while youngest was in a language workshop earlier in the week, but they made the adults come in and take part in the class as well. So now I can count from zero to ten and greet you and tell you my name in Spanish! Oh, and sing a song too!

I am hoping...
That this cold is just a 24 hour thing and is gone by tomorrow afternoon. I simply cannot miss this appointment at the hospital. It would probably take them another couple of months to give me another and that would be another couple of months without my driving licence.

I am praying....
For some more school assembly bookings to come in. I got some really positive feedback from the last one I did, which was great.

I am hearing...
Top Gear on the TV in the living room.

Around the house...
I haven't done much over the weekend and it's all in danger of beginning to SLIP again. So as long as I am not lying in bed with this stupid cold, I really need to play catch up tomorrow while the others are at work or school or college.

One of my favourite things...
Is to eat toasted white bread with lots of butter! But someone has eaten the last of the white bread. And the new loaf of bread is not defrosted yet.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Well, there's the hospital tomorrow afternoon, helping a friend prepare to move house tomorrow evening, and then not a lot else for the rest of the week.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...


SO, if you want to read more daybook entries or you would like to take part yourself. Click on the image at the top of this post and check it all out.

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Friday Fill Ins

And...here we go!

1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is NOT WORK IN AN OFFICE (heeheee, sorry, I couldn't resist). The only office I ever worked in, I was on my own most of the time towards the end, with the occasional visit from the caretaker. And BOY that man can talk for England!

2. I have never tasted clams.

3. When I think of carnivals I think of lots of yummy but totally bad for you food! Well unless it's the hippyish story telling festival I went to last year, where there was some really nice healthy food!.

4. Daffodils are my favourite spring flower.

5. Things on my desk include beads, beads, beads, cords, clasps, wires, connectors, head pins, eye pins, wire cutters, other tools, beading magazines, beads, beads and beads!

6. Waking up each day makes me wanna praise god for being alive. Seriously, with a condition like Sleep Apnoea, it's a reason for worship! And hey, I get to see the consultant next week, hopefully he will say yes to me re applying for my driving license, which was revoked medically until I got treatment going properly. Now that will be reason to praise. But it will also make me think of a friend at church who has his drving license revoked due to failing eyesight and has no hope of ever having one again unless God does a miracle and heals him.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eating a raclette meal with my hubby and kids. Hubby and I had friends round for a racelette meal last night and there is so much left that we can do it again with the kids tonight, tomorrow my plans include tidying up the garden and getting some more rubbish off to the refuse site. Hopefully I can then spend some time sitting in my lounger with a book and Sunday, I want to watch as much as I can of QVC craft day (UK, not USA). I don't necessarily buy anything, but I get all my craft stuff out (this time probably my beads, heehee), and sit in front of the tv with lots of drinks and snacks and I have a jolly good time!

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