Life verse: Do you have one?

Isaiah 58:11 is my life verse. 

One day, many years ago I was reading my Bible and this verse pierced my heart. God led me to it and I felt His presence and promise. It's been stuck there ever since.

Note: If a particular scripture pierces your heart, God may be trying to tell you something.

My verse says: The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

I need to apologize for my lack of blog postings; I was getting dry and felt like I couldn't write anything. In my home I have a beautiful tropical plant called an anthurium. They're supposed to look like this...

See those beautiful leaves? How lush and shiny they are nestled among the flowers? This is what mine looks like...

There are no flowers and the brown and yellow leaf tip means they're not getting enough water. I am at fault. I'm the gardner. Every time I pass by this wimpy, neglected plant I'm reminded that God never forgets to water.

He's the perfect gardener all the time and He knew I was lacking and needed some refreshing. A little TLC and spritzing to encourage me and help me endure. 

Life has been tough for the last several months. Lots of pain and fatigue...and activity and Christmas! so my husband and I took a quick getaway to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

On one of our excursions, we went to the Castillo Del Morro which is an old fort overlooking the sea. It was built in the 17th century and is one of those crazy beautiful old places. While we were there peering over the walls of a closed cemetery I noticed these beautiful ferns growing from the massive stone walls.

It was a reminder that God sustains all things. If you know about ferns you know they mostly grow in damp shade with well drained soil. But here they were, growing without any human help along a sun scorched stone wall. It reminded me of my life verse.

I was looking at some other things growing outside of the cemetery walls and came upon this strange tree growing these gorgeous flowers and I thought, yes - this is me blooming again!

It's great to be back!

So how about you? Do you have a life verse to share?

Seasons

A couple of weeks ago we took my mother-in-law to Asheville to celebrate her 70th birthday. It's a six hour drive - thats long for me - so I packed accordingly...

It was a good thing I did because I don't know what it is about traveling, but it's exhausting and painful.

How can sitting while doing nothing, be exhausting?

I do a better job of prepping for pain in advance of things like travel, never-ending piano recitals, and long movies, but it's not easy. Overthinking is also exhausting!

One of the choices I had to sacrifice though, was not going zip lining with my kids.

I HATE that I can't do things like this (for now), but it was the right decision.

My awesome hubby took the kids and gave me a little time for shopping fun though, so it all worked out in the end.

The Bible says:  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
                           a time to be born and a time to die,
                           a time to plant and a time to uproot,
                           a time to kill and a time to heal,
                           a time to tear down and a time to build,
                           a time to weep and a time to laugh,
                           a time to mourn and a time to dance,
                           a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
                           a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
                           a time to search and a time to give up,
                           a time to keep and a time to throw away,
                           a time to tear and a time to mend,
                           a time to be silent and a time to speak,
                           a time to love and a time to hate,
                           a time for war and a time for peace.
                                                                                       Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

So I'm determined to think of this time of suffering and affliction as a season - a time of tearing down my body and rebuilding my spirit.

A time to learn the lessons God offers through the trials.

What about you? What season are you in?

Love Your Body - Love Yourself!

...The second is this; 'love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:31  

As is obvious by pink ribboned everything, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Coincidentally, last week I got a pap test, mammogram, thyroid ultrasound and bone density screening.

What does this have to do with the Bible verse above?

It's all about love.

In Mark 12:28, a teacher of the law heard Jesus debating with some other men about God and asked him which was the most important commandment. Jesus correctly answered, "...The most important one is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Now focus on the verse at the top of this post - the second most important commandment: love your neighbor

as yourself.

Do you love yourself? Are we even allowed to do such a thing?

Yes! We are God's glorious handiwork and when we love ourselves, we're loving Him. If Jesus didn't mean for us to love ourselves, he would have put a period at the end of neighbor.

Part of loving ourselves means we care for the bodies God gave us.

We don't just make important appointments for our elderly parents and children, we treat ourselves with the same level of care.

So let me ask you this question:

How long has it been since you've had a mammogram?

      How about a pap test?

          What about a bone density screening or (ugh) a colonoscopy?

How about in honor of Breast Cancer awareness month, we commit to making these dreaded appointments and then show some sisterly love by challenging a girlfriend to do the same?

Ready? Go!

No Pain No Gain

By Erika Rizkallah

Last week, I lived out a ten year old dream of mine; I went hiking in Sedona, Arizona. I started hiking as a teenager and never stopped. Of course back then, when I went on a "hike with friends" it was usually to hang out and smoke in the woods.

I stopped smoking long ago, but never lost my love of nature. The more outdoor time I get, the better I feel inside.

Usually, the last thing we want to do when we live with chronic pain is exercise. Sometimes it hurts just thinking about it.

But it's what we need most.

                                                          All of my children ran ahead except for "the good one" - she stayed with me.

I prepared for this trip by buying a good pair of hiking shoes and pricey orthotics. I admit to being a little afraid I might hike myself into a flare. If you look in the upper right hand corner of the picture, you'll see the "pointy" formation we were hiking to.

I didn't realize it'd be so steep and rocky, but as I yelled out to my kids on the way up...

YOLO!

Note: A great way to embarrass your kids is to yell Yolo at the top of your lungs in an echoey canyon.

I made it to the top of the flat part of the formation - sweaty and proud of myself. The view was worth it.

My kids however, couldn't wait to get to the pointy top part so they ran ahead of me (again). It would have been a beautiful family moment if it weren't for me yelling at them to all come down. Of course they said,

                                                                 "YOLO mom. YOLO!"


I still made them come down. BTW - My son is the only one wearing an honest expression - girls are always posing.

We may have to live with chronic pain but we don't have to let it kill our joy or keep us from living the full life God wants us to live.

Click the link to read about the benefits of hiking and in the meantime . . . keep on following your dreams!

Blessings In Disguise

By Erika Rizkallah

I have a love-hate attitude about my chronic pain, a condition called Small Polyfiber Neuropathy. Of course I hate pain. But if I didn't have it, I wouldn't have been given a gift. One of those blessings in disguise things, if you know what I mean. 

Living an Unstuck life is all about freedom and movement. As we walk along the path of life God set out for us, we have freedom and rest for our souls. We also have movement... 

            We're walking with Him.

We're not stuck. 

However, we can be lured into that trapped/stuck lifestyle at any time. We have an adversary (Satan) who spends 100% of his time trying to kill, steal and destroy our life and everything meaningful to us.

Let's face it, we don't spend 100% of our time on anything; this gives him an advantage over us if we're not walking in the spirit.

We can be following God's plan when out of nowhere, we're hit with the rotten parts of life: confusion, crisis, strife in the home or an illness. These things come with decisions: Are we going to continue moving or are we going to let it paralyze us?

That's what happened to me when illness first struck. I didn't know what my body was doing or why - and neither did the doctors. Everything came to a screeching halt (me = screeching). But after a while, I resolved to get back on my feet and serve Him in my weakness. 

I also wanted to press on with my goals and enjoy the full life Jesus meant for me to have. 

I love to sing. I've been singing since I was four and was in choirs until high school. Then I got kicked out (long story) and stopped singing in groups. For the past three years I've been telling God I'd sing in his choir in Heaven, but several weeks ago I thought NO...I'm going to sing now! 

So I prayed for a choir I could sing with, and then...voila! I got the opportunity and joined it. Best of all, I get to sing with my daughter, Katya. 

Our choir is a mixed group of teens and adults and we traveled together to Tennessee to see three regional Broadway plays and perform a concert for a large church.

                                                       Two of our fave actors: Anna & Austin

I can't explain how joyful I felt watching people praise God from our position behind the pulpit. I now know what it means to offer myself as a living sacrifice and it was worth every ounce of pain I feel now.

                                                          Enjoying life with my daughter 
                                                                                               (I take terrible selfies)

What about you? Have you recognized any blessings in disguise from your illness?

What season are you in?

By Erika Rizkallah

On Sundays, this space is reserved for God stories. As one of the redeemed, I'd like to share just some of the many things he's done in my life. I hope you'll be encouraged by them!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. Psalm 107:1-2

Have you ever felt like you're in a spiritual desert? Like you're not hearing or seeing God? I have . . . more times than I can count.

In these times, the most useful thing we can do, is search for the root cause. Just as when we're feeling physically ill, we naturally try to figure out what caused it:

   Could it be food poisoning?

   Was it that snotty baby we held in children's church? (God loves snotty babies).

    Am I allergic to something (or someone)?

I recently had this experience; I was as dry as the desert - not hearing from God at all, which is unusual.

I began looking for the root cause, asking him in prayer and receiving no answer. Until  I noticed something . . .

Lilies began appearing in my front yard. I didn't plant them and so I was surprised when they began to blooming in early spring. The lily is a spiritually significant flower for me because of this favorite Bible verse:

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I (Jesus) tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" Luke 12:27, 28

These verses and the ones before them, are about God's care and provision for his children. We're not to worry about meeting our own physical needs. Isn't that liberating?

I do have to consider the lilies and I don't have to worry about myself. Maybe this is my season of seeing God at work.

What season do you find yourself in?

One of these days!

That went well.

The swimming I mean. On days one and two, I started by doing two laps using the breaststroke. I felt so good in the morning, so able. I was sore, but it was that kind of "good sore" you feel after exercising.

And so of course since I felt good with two laps, why not double it? Why not indeed!

I was on a roll, feeling proud and then, dunh dunh DUNH (how do you write that sound effect?) I swam myself into a flare.

Not smart. Not smart indeed!

To top it off, my computer went kaput in the middle of a manuscript. I paid $ 180.00 to have the hard drive replaced and it broke eight hours later. Then my husband was certain he was having a heart attack (he wasn't) and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance . . . AGAIN.

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Like you're in that old movie, Groundhog Day.

Me too. And this morning I had to remind myself of what these days look like from God's perspective. In the light of eternity, days like these are like a baby's first birthday party - unmemorable and super messy.

When I get to Heaven, I'm going to laugh about them. For now, I'll just stay in my chair, not working on my computer.

I need a good laugh, so can you tell me about one of your worst days?

Fight the black & white: How to change dangerous thought patterns

By Erika Rizkallah

Red is the universal color of danger but among the suffering, black and white can be dangerous as well.

Don't get me wrong. I love black and white - on clothing, accessories and especially photography. Some of my favorite patterns are black and white . . .

                                                                   Zebra - oh so chic!

                                                     Houndstooth - so nice for purses and jackets.

But black and white doesn't pair well with our psyche or thought life. This thinking pattern can drag us down into the miry pits of despair and hopelessness. Once we've fallen into that trap, it can take years of retraining or therapy to get us out.

And trust me, the enemy of our souls is waiting to trap us.

How do we know if we're in danger? Fortunately for us, B & W thinking comes with its own language.
                            Look for the words: Always, Never, & Should

Some examples of black and white thinking are:

I'll always be sick.
I'll never be able to dance again.
I should get out of bed and clean the house.

Life is a complex mix of colors and there are many shades of gray. Embrace the gray!

Making declarative statements is a part of American culture. Instead, we can train ourselves out of this habit. We can say things like:

                                          Today I'll make the healthiest choices for me.
                                          I hope to dance again one day.
                                          I'll rest now, and work around the house tomorrow.

Whatever you do, fight against the tendency to despair. Don't let the enemy gain any ground.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

What B & W words can you remove today?
     

Are there levels of faith and does yours measure up?

On Sundays, this space is reserved for God stories. As one of the redeemed, I'd like to share just some of the many things he's done in my life. I hope you'll be encouraged by them!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. Psalm 107:1-2

Last week I was in Jerusalem for the Easter and Passover holidays.

I've always considered myself to be a faithful person, but then I visited Church of the Sepulchre, which is believed to be the burial place of Jesus.

People come to pray and worship, and it was packed with Easter pilgrims.

I watched the women as they prayed. I watched their bodies as they bent and reached and kissed the Stone of Unction, which is the stone Jesus' body was placed upon after he was taken down from the cross.

This is where the "American me" kicked in. As they were kissing and rubbing it, I thought about germs.

I'm not kidding.

But, I still wanted to touch it, so I squeezed in that open space next to the lady in blue.

I thought it was crazy to come all that way and not touch it, so I laid my hands on it and prayed that Jesus would heal my body and my husband's.

And the lady in blue,  really got in my personal bubble space. She was moving back and forth, gently bumping me. She was "washing" the stone... with holy water or something. She had a bag full of folded notes and clothing and she would rub and pray. I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I looked.

Gosh - I think I look irritated in the picture, but I wasn't - I was just curious. Ok, I kind of was irritated that she was hogging the holiness out of the stone and not taking turns. I looked in her bag and realized...she had clothing in there.

                                                  She was rubbing underwear on it.

Many things run through my head about this, but the bottom line is that this woman was faithful.

She came to the stone with work to do, and nothing was going to stop her from praying over her notes and clothing.

I came and left empty handed and wondering about my level of faith. The Lord told me not to compare, because to him there's no such thing as levels. What matters to him is the heart and the belief that lies within it.

I'm curious. How do you come before God in prayer?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Heb 11:1

Trying to find the right Fibromyalgia Drugs?

Sorry for the delay in posting. My family and I went to Israel and the Palestinian Territories to celebrate Easter. Depending on where we were, internet was spotty.

                                                                                              Damascus Gate, Israel

In my last post, I wrote about my favorite medications. Today, I’ll share the next one on my list in hope that it helps someone else struggling with Fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

My # 2 favorite drug is Cymbalta and it was the drug given with Amytriptiline.  It cut my pain in half in just ten days. I was dopey for a bit, but I knew it was a side effect, so I allowed myself time for my body to get used to it. 

I felt like a new woman for a few months, but it was short lived; the pain re-emerged and I was discouraged.

So why is it my # 2 favorite drug? Because it still worked, and it may be just the thing for other people, especially those who don't want to use heavier drugs. I still take Cymbalta once a day in addition to other meds.

Four months ago I feared I'd never be able to travel again because of pain, but medication allows me to have a better quality of life.

This is one of my favorite moments from the trip. I was about to go through the Damascus Gate when an Arabic woman stopped me and held out her camera. I thought she wanted me to take a picture of her, so I reached out to take it and she handed me her baby. I was her tourist attraction!

Six months ago I wouldn't have been able to hold that baby, so what a gift it was for me.

My purpose in writing about the benefits of medication, is to encourage you to keep pushing through the long hard days of waiting to see what works on your body.

                                                  God is with us in our struggle.

But as for me, afflicted and in pain - may your salvation, God, protect me.                              Psalm 69:29
                                                                                   He is faithful and wonderful!

Resurrect the good gifts of life.

A couple weeks ago I wrote about some ways God comforted me and I challenged you to think about and see the ways God comforts you.

And then - as often happens when I open my big mouth about something - I couldn't think of anything else comforting me.

Except Jesus of course.

When in doubt, the answer is always Jesus. Or Baby Jesus.

                                                                              This is not the real Jesus.

But seriously...for like 10 days I couldn't think of anything, and I started to feel like a fraud.

Then I got to feeling a little nutty thinking about comfort all the time. Because honestly, shouldn't my thought life be a little higher?

After all, how often do we hear: "God doesn't care about your comfort, he cares about your character?"

Then I felt like my character was somehow lacking. Geesh!

And I also felt like God was challenging me to really think about it. So I did, and do you know what I discovered?
                                          Creativity gives me comfort. (I'd forgotten that.)

I'm not an artist, but I'd always been crafty creative and I let that passion of mine die for loftier pursuits. So I tried resurrecting it. I got out my old craft and scrapbooking supplies and started slapping some pages together.

Holy Moses. Am I having fun!

The Bible says: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Our God offers us so many gifts - so many good and positive things - to counteract the negativity that comes with chronic pain. I encourage you to discover, or rediscover an old passion and resurrect it.

See what happens and let me know how it encourages you.
                                                                                             
                                                                                  He is faithful and wonderful!

Doing things differently: Do you need to learn to trust God again?

Sundays are God's days.

By that I mean, God created all days, but Sunday is the first day of the week and therefore set aside for him.

Today my pastor preached a money sermon. Oh, how I love money sermons! Just kidding.

I could see that it was helpful to the hearers wanting to learn about the spiritual benefits of the tithe. Since that's already something I practice, I asked the Lord to help me apply the basics of the message to an area of my life. It was easy...

                                  Time is the most precious commodity to me.

It always has been, but now that illness and healing takes up so much of it, I find myself becoming gluttonous. Just picture me with my arms and legs wrapped around a giant clock.

That's right. Just like with money, we can hoard and protect our time. We can become stingy, guarding it and hiding ourselves away.

                            I find that I have to learn to trust God all over again.

Sad, but true.

So during today's sermon I asked myself: What can I do differently?

How can I be a good steward of my diminished time?

                  I know the first part of the answer is to give him the first part of my time.

Just like my financial tithe, I've got to give him this first day and pray that he'll bless the rest of my week.

The pictures below remind me of how he's answered one of my constant prayers. For years, I'd sit out on my front porch and complain to him. "Lord, it'd be a good day, if at the end of it, I could sit here and see the sunset. But I can't because there's a stupid house blocking my view."

No kidding. Every day, I'd sit there and say the same thing. I just wanted to have a clear and unobstructed view of the sun going down.

Last year it dawned on me that he'd answered my complaining prayer, years later, in a way I couldn't imagine...

Every day at 5:30, I go out on the porch and take a picture of the sun going down. My husband laughs at me and tells me it's the same view every day, but I think he's wrong.

So I've decided to lean in to God, especially on Sundays, and pray for his blessing on the rest of my week. I hope somehow, that I can take a picture of my answered prayer.

               What about you? Do you need to trust him in an area of your life?

Sharing Comfort

by Erika Rizkallah

In today's post, I wanted to share a couple of ways God comforted me these past few days:

1.  He offered me physical comfort.

I opened those bubble wrapped "big guns" I mentioned in my last post and inside was an
awesome surprise. It was a prescription for a pain killing cream that works REALLY
well. The downside is that I smell like a tube of wintergreen toothpaste. But hey, if it
reduces pain I'm not going to complain.

2.  He offered me mental comfort.

I am a homeschooler. As you can imagine, homeschooling while in pain is extremely difficult.

Almost every single day I wake up and wonder... am I doing a good job?

          Is anyone learning?

                  Is this still the best thing for my kids?

                           Can I really keep doing this?

But I gave God my worries right? Even though I knew the national testing proctor was coming to our home to administer tests to the kids on Friday.

                                 What was I thinking? I was so far from ready...

I also have to tell you that I homeschool four kids - three are mine. Two of them have ADHD, one's learning disabled (LD) and one's gifted.

I'm thrilled to say that all of the kids are moving forward. Not only that, they're over grade level and one of them moved up four grade levels in less than a year's time.

                                                   That's all God.

But I did celebrate with a whole lot of ice cream!

                                           Can you see the ways God comforts you?

   

Will you choose worship over worry?

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Cor 1:3-4

I received another potential diagnosis last week.

                               Another one! Geesh. How many can someone get in a year's time?

Anyway. I decided that I'm not going to spend much time thinking about it, I won't research it and I won't waste time worrying.
                 
                               Even though on this one, they brought out the big guns so to speak.

This arrived in the mail yesterday, with some worried call from the pharmacist about medicine and to call my doctor, blah, blah, blah...

I will. Because it's obviously important to many people that I get these things out of the bubble wrap.

But this time of year, this season of lent, is a special time for those of us who follow Christ. It's a time to look at him, reflect on what he accomplished for us and worship him fully. And I don't know about you, but I can't worship when I'm worried.

               Instead, I plan to look toward my Lord.

                        I will take comfort in our father. How incredible is it that He is called...

                                 The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.

That's just what we need. That's all we need.

Won't you join me for the next 38 days and rejoice in God's comfort?

      And share! Don't forget to share the ways he's comforted you so that you can comfort others.

Jesus didn't hold back anything from us. Let's worship and praise Him during this time.

Don't Give Up On Your Dreams

Do you have a dream that compels you so strongly you wonder if you have the option not to pursue it?                                

                                      That's how I feel about writing.

I began writing when I was six. I was compelled.

I wrote a poem with some first grade friends, and that's when I decided to be a writer...and an Egyptologist and marine biologist, (until I realized I was terrified of fish).

I got my first paycheck at the ripe old age of nine. I received $ 35.00 from a woman's magazine for a tip I wrote on how to iron a sharp crease in a pair of pants.  For someone who wasn't even allowed to hold an iron, it was better than Christmas.  I was hooked!

The writing life is lonely though. Sometimes I pull out that old poem as a reminder that I didn't choose writing; writing chose me, and it's hard. And what happens just when I feel like I'm starting to get in the groove?
                       
                                  Fibromyalgia comes along and threatens everything.

Have you ever had your dream threatened? That's when we need to run in the opposite direction - we need to run toward the dream.

For me, that meant attending a writer's conference in Florida. It meant that I needed to embrace the tension and not allow myself to sink into a pit of discouragement. Even though I had to wake up at 3:30 AM, carry heavy luggage and spend seven hours in the orlando airport...

my dreams are worth it.
                                                        And so are yours.

Living with pain can make us feel alone, but it doesn't have to rob us of our dreams.

So what do you dream about?

                                                       How can I pray for you?
                                       

Do You Celebrate The Small Things?

"C'mon baby," I said, furiously pumping my arms. I took a deep breath and straightened up for a moment, trying to ease the searing pain in my back and arms.

I bent over and tried again. Pump, pump, pump.

My CPR training kicked in; I regathered my strength and went at it for what seemed like the hundredth time.

No luck. I stood up and cursed it, "Stupid toilet!"

Out of breath and frustrated, I leaned against the bathroom wall for a minute. I'd been trying to clear a clog in the girl's bathroom for the better part of the day. The girls had been unable to fix it and after awhile, my mind started to mess with me.

      Remember when you used to be able to do this with no problem?

           Remember when you used to run, jump and dance any time you wanted?

                 Remember when...

Remembering when is dangerous territory for me. As soon as I recognize these words of self-pity roaming around my mind, I shut them down, turn them off and kill them if I have to.

I turned my attention back to the toilet but before I started, I prayed: "Please Lord. I need your help. We can do this."
                            Pump. Pump. Pump. Again and three more times and...  flush.

I did a little dance, hobbled downstairs to Katya and said, "Success! I have just unclogged your toilet. You're Welcome!" and then I wiggled a little more. Katya said, "Wow mom. You're acting like that was a big victory."

Any victory turns into big things for Fibro Warriors. Celebrating keeps our spirits up and I think it also gives God a little smile.

                                         Do you have any victories of your own to share?

5 Lessons Learned on the Path of Pain

Pain sucks and it's also a great teacher, so I thought today I'd share the top 5 things I've learned on this dark path:

Life is a gift - Duh, right? This is common sense to most people and I'll admit to having the head knowledge, but not the right perspective. However, everything changes when you wake up (after hardly sleeping) and know that you'll struggle almost every minute of the day. Life is an active verb. I value every second of living now... especially the pain free ones!

Pain is everywhere - Before, I'd fly through my days with relative ease checking off things to do from my daily list. Now, I don't "fly." I step gingerly - oh so gingerly, through my daily tasks and my payoff is noticing. I notice that the cashier at Walmart isn't just cranky, she's grimacing. She goes about her tasks painfully too. I notice the old man, hunched over and shuffling down the long walk to his mailbox. I notice the tears threatening to burst from the nurse's eyes, and I know if I ask her how she's doing she'll say, "I'm just fine honey."

Life is too short for BS - This speaks for itself. I don't have energy for much BS, I have enough people shoveling it into my own life. Now I just throw it back and move on.

God is still wonderful - Every day I wake up and thank him for this awesome life and unwanted lesson. Jesus was the master of enduring pain. He mastered it. No one was more filled with grace through suffering. Every day I fail at mastering this, but he remains my teacher and most importantly, he won't give up on me.

Each day is fresh! - I used to be a futurist and a planner. I always looked at the next day, week or year and often had them planned out. I can't do this now. It's a hard habit to unlearn, but I'm working on it. It's a fresh way of thinking for me - this living as each moment unfolds. Each day brings us opportunities and trouble, but I know I can count on tomorrow to be fresh.

So what about you? What has your disease/syndrome/affliction taught you? I'd love to know!

Sharing Saturdays: Devotions for strength in suffering

Today I want to share one of my favorite devotionals with you. It's the classic, Streams in the Desert, by L.B. Cowman.

I bought this devotional years ago for a friend, who (after not reading it) promptly returned it to me. Hurt, I put it on a bookshelf and left it there for a year or so. Then, one day it occurred to me that maybe I should read it myself.

                                                           What a gift!

God knew I would need the words and encouragement in my own struggles and suffering.

I hope it ministers to you in the same way it does for me.

                                                                                         He is faithful and wonderful!

Sunday Psalms & Stories - God's good plan for your life.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

  his love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story -

  those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.

                                         Psalm 107:1-2

This picture hangs in a prominent location in my house.

It's a picture of my great-grandma Edna, whom I've written about a few times on this blog. At first glance, it appears that three gentle Victorian ladies are relaxing under the shade of an oak tree.

        But it's not.

                 It's a photo of resistance.

Edna was sent to an orphanage when she was nine because her mother was destitute. I can't imagine how devastating it must have been for them. In short order, several adoptions were arranged by a man who put Edna and other children on a train. Once she arrived at her destination, she was met by her new parents, Ambrose and Minerva.

Her new mother took her in, changed her name and put her to work on their farm. She was a strict disciplinarian and even chose what Edna wore until she was 21-years old. Edna was their only child and Minerva didn't intend for her to marry anyone. Her plan was that she'd remain a spinster and stay on the farm.

But Edna had other plans. She'd fallen in love with a local farmer, my great-grandpa Olie, and they defied her mother's wishes. Edna was quite a woman, and that was her bridal photo. If you look closely, you'll see her "bouquet" is several oak leaves. The oak is a symbol of strength and courage.

I'm thankful she was strong and followed the plans God had for her, otherwise I never would have gotten to wear this super sweater!

Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. Proverbs 14:22

Thankful For Family

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's the most meaningful time of year for me because it was my dad's favorite time of year. It was an occasion for celebration that he'd attack with gusto and was elevated above all other holidays. 

On Thanksgiving mornings, I'd wake up with the smell of food cooking and sounds of clattering in the kitchen. And football - without fail, a game or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade would be blaring from the television on the kitchen counter. 

He was an excellent cook and would create elaborate feasts for us and our guests. Ironically, we spent our Thanksgiving meals with strangers. My dad had the gift of hospitality and he invited people to our table who had nowhere else to go. Many were not welcomed by their own families or lived far away, so they spent the day with us. 

It was a treat to see who would show up, and I listened eagerly to the stories they'd tell as they laughed and ate with us. It could also be a sad thing to hear their backstories and sometimes I'd purposely linger at the kitchen sink so I could eavesdrop on their conversations.

Now it's different. These days we celebrate with our immediate and extended family and occasionally, a guest or two. This year, I got to spend time with my best friend (and cousin by marriage), Terri, who's usually out of town.

I'm so thankful that my children know and spend family time with their cousins. 

I'm also thankful that I got to experience it my dad's way; both traditions are valuable.

The Bible tells us that one day we'll all gather together at the great feast in the kingdom of our heavenly father. At that time, we'll truly know what being thankful really means.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28-29