The last three days have been the first since the onset of my shingles that I have attempted to sit up at a computer desk for a full day's work. (I have worked other days, but mostly from my bed - half-lying down puts less strain on the affected nerve!). Unfortunately the nerve pain has reminded me that it is still very much there and ready to punish me for foolishly thinking I should not spend my life lying in bed!

I am fortunate, though, that over the course of the last few weeks the pain has been slowly improving. Some people suffer the severe - literally excruciating - pain for months or even years. It seems that if my current progress to date is anything to go by, I will not be one of those. For that, I praise God, and thank you all for your prayers.

This enforced inactivity has made me more grateful for the times I am able to get out of bed. It has also made me glad for the job I have that allows me to work from home, and - at least after the first ten days or so after the pain eased - from bed.

All this has also made me very thankful for the wonderful wife I have who works so hard for me and the family. I intend to treat our family holiday this year with the respect it deserves. There will be no Internet cafe trips. No email access. No blog posts. In short, I will be en famille for a little over a week. I will, of course, read, but I am eager, as much as my pain allows me, to get off my bed and make sure that my darling Andree gets a break this next week.

Having shingles has also made me realise how glad I should be of the strength to do practical things. So, as I continue to improve, I am hoping to get out and do stuff a whole lot more - doing mundane things like loading a dishwasher actually makes me feel so glad these days to be healthy enough to do them!

Right now, I wish I could be out of this bed and up and helping my wife who is busying herself getting our stuff ready for the holiday. Once I am physically able, I plan to make sure Andree gets a whole lot more help from me than she sometimes has had.

But, don't go away quite yet - I still have one more post for you tomorrow which will contain a fantastic special offer for you, my blog readers - which will also give you loads of stuff to read while I am away.

In fact, you don't need to go away at all - now that I have the "Warnie Headlines," you can find some of the best Christian bloggers' latest work by coming right here!

I will leave you with a list of my favorite posts, just in case you are one of the very few people in the world who are as addicted to reading this stuff as I am to writing it! If this isn't enough for you, book reviews and interviews can be found in the sidebars!

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE POSTS

A New Perspective on Paul
Apostles are Meant for Today
Blogging Principles
Churches that Change the World
Del.icio.us Fun for Bloggers
Disagreeing with the Jollyblogger
Don't Listen to Me - What Do I Know?
Free From the Yoke of Legalism!
How to be a Successful Blogger
It's All About You, Jesus - Calvinism and Worship
Loving Even Our Blogging Enemies
My Favorite Living Preachers
My Story
On Pastoring and Christian Counseling
Preaching to the Unconverted?
Preaching with Passion and Imagination
Sex Survey Results
Sufficient and Efficient Grace - Spurgeon, Tongues, and the Toronto Blessing
Teamwork that will Change the World
The Simple Gospel Explained
The Toronto Blessing
Together for the Gospel Conference 2006 - My Round-Up Post
Together On a Mission – the newfrontiers Conference Summary Post
What Does True Preaching Look Like?
What is a Neo-Liberal?
What is a Reformed Charismatic?
What is Love?
Year in Review - 2005