Andrew Raia

So she is in the hospital recovering well, but I wanted to explain exactly what it was that she had. She was diagnosed with Meckel’s Diverticulitus. Typically things that end in itis are an infection of whatever word they come from. For example an infection of the Appendix is called Appendicitis. She had a Meckels Diverticulum which became infected, hence the name Meckels Diverticulitis. What the heck is a Meckels Divericulum you ask? Basically it is a gastrointestinal malformation which is a little leftover over piece ( a few inches) of the connection between the small intestine and the yolk sac that was present during fetal development. It is so rare that only 2% of the population have it and less than that actually have the symptoms. Oddly enough one of the occasional symptoms leads many to believe it is accute appendicitis, which is exactly what we though it was. Most people who have it have symptoms before 2 years of age and some into adulthood. The Dr. removed her appendix as well as a precaution so she will never have to deal with appendicitis either. He said the Mekals Diverticulum had a mild infection but it was push against and irritating the appendix too. Since the infection was mild, she will probably be home today as long as she does well with eating and moving around. Ok well I need to get cleaned up so I can run to the hospital to visit her.

This post should actually be titled my wife’s life in hospitals, since she spends more time in the I do. Usually for something my daughter has to go through. This time it is unfortunately for her. All signs appear to be pointing towards her appendix. They currently have her in for a CT scan to check. I know she is in God’s hands and in the end everything will be fine, but it is just the whole process I hate dealing with. I wish we could just fast forward past this and get to the outcome. I suppose however that God has different plans and we have a lesson to spearmint and growing to do. We are being obedient in this matter and trying not to worry or complain, it will all be done soon. I will post again when we find out for sure what is going on. I apologize for the brevity and any typos as i am posting this from my phone.

So last friday I found myself in the situation where I had to front my band Aeonian at a show. I was nervous as all get out because I have never tried to sing and play all these songs at the same time. Thank God since I have been leading worship I have gotten better and playing more while singing. Save for my butchering of the first verse of the first song it went REALLY well. I managed not to lose my voice and made it through in one piece. So that led me to think. Aeonian started as a project where I want to send a message of hope to those saved and unsaved, where we would play a couple of times a month to have fun and do something positive. Over the years it went from its original design, to super serious, to non-existent, to its original design, to super serious, to non-existent. Right now we play once every couple of months if something good comes along. I will still play with the guys if they want if something comes up, but the singer is doing is own solo thing so this project really will never be what i was looking for it to be.

I have since decided to give it a shot and try and front my own project. So far I have written two songs and laid them down on acoustic just so I don’t forget them. I plan on laying a bunch of ideas like this and then start looking for a couple of guys that are on the same page as me. Then I will let them have the stuff so we can start rehearsing the stuff. I decided not to record any of it until I find the other members and we play it together. So many times I rush to record my stuff right away that it sounds all like ME and nothing like US. On top of that, we inevitably add or change a part that makes the song that much butter, and since it is already recorded, I can’t go back and change it. The music is more straight up rock and not hard rock. I like it so far, we shall see what happens, but I am excited.

Blogging from my android app.

I just came across a great quote?

“If you want to change who you are, you have to change what you do”

If who we are is defined by what we do, then it makes so much sense that if we want to change who we are, that we need to change what we do.

It is our nature to assume (and I have heard this from many motivational speeches and what not), that behavioral changes start in our mind and that the actions will follow. Unfortunately I have found through much trial and error, that is not at all the case. You can tell yourself as much as you want in your mind that you are going to change a certain behavior, but it in the end will leave you with nothing but a bunch of empty promises.

I believe change starts with your actions. If you start by changing your behavior a little each day, you will make great strides. It is like that saying that if you move your couch and inch each day, in a few months it will be on the other side of the room and you will not have even realized it was moved. I have seen you can change your behavior that way as well, and eventually it does not even become a conscious effort anymore, it just becomes who you are.