My dear sister, Ocie, has been keeping my mind occupied by having me pray for people.  It's about the only thing i can do ever since this rotten disease took just about everything from me.  I am bedridden, totally paralyzed, unable to feed myself, dress myself, or move (excepting for my head or eyes).  I have super progressive nuclear palsy, which is a very mean cousin to the more familiar Parkinson's disease. 

Ocie and my nurses continue to provide for me.  Sometimes, though, even the best care doesn't keep me out of the hospital.  I've been in the hospital three times in the past few months, twice for bedsores, and the last time for pneumonia.  

I'm just now feeling more like myself.

Every Saturday, Pastor Corbin and several ladies from the church come to the house, so they can pray with (and for) me and we can worship the Lord together and read the Bible.  I get such joy knowing that even though my body is useless, my mind is not, and I am still able to contribute to God's calling by praying for others, as He commands.  In kind, God blesses me by healing my body whenever I'm sick or by giving me a sense of purpose in life: thinking of others, even when my own life is full of fear, worry, and strife.

Yesterday on the news, there was a story about a pastor in Tennessee who was beaten up by some teenaged kids.  He is in the hospital as I write this; don't know how bad he was injured, but it was bad enough to put him into the hospital.  I have been lifting this pastor in my prayers and I pray that God touches Him in a mighty, tangable way.  

I have also been praying for our service men and women.  With the Fourth of July quickly approaching, we will be celebrating our country's birthday.  I won't be able to get out, but Ocie, my nurses, and myself will have our own celebration.  And we can watch some of the fireworks displays on television without having to worry about things like bugs, crowds, heat/humidity, and most of all the nightmarish traffic jams after the fireworks have ended.

I have been praying for our current president, and even though I do not like him, I sitll pray for him.  I pray that God brings people who can help him make the right decisions and that God is put back into ou homes, schools, or public places.  It seems that he (and others) are doing everything they possibly can to strip away the freedoms we have held dear; they certainly aren't honoring our Constitution!

I am still thinking about writing a book about my experiences with SPNP and how it's changed my life.  While a lot of it has gotten bad, it has been a blessing in disquise because it's given me a compassionate heart for others and I am a lot mor patient and forgiving than I used to be before I got sick.

Well, Ginny and Carmen, my nurses, are here; they are going to give me a bath (YAY!!) and then feed me; it's nearly lunch time and I'm starving!  Take care; I will write in here again (by way of Ocie)!  God bless; He's certainly blessed me tenfold!

~Love, your friend, Mildred Q. Coates-Tackett.  :)

~To be continued.~