Jesus is for the Wounded

10 Tips for Preventing Tick-borne Diseases This Summer

Published on July 8, 2013July 8, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Here it is: simple and comprehensive tips for avoiding a nightmare.

It’s officially questing season for ticks. Billions of blood-loving arachnids are looking for their next meal, and it could be you. This wouldn’t be such a problem if ticks didn’t carry so many life-disrupting (and sometimes fatal) diseases. Here are 10 tips for avoiding the bite and its potential consequences.

1. Don your armor. Ticks attach to your skin. The best way to prevent this is to keep skin covered and to wear clothing that is treated with a tick repellent (like permethrin or cedar oil). Long pants are a must; tuck them into your socks or boots. (I know it looks stupid, but if enough people do it, it will become cool–I promise. It’ll be like wearing UGG boots with a miniskirt.) I’d also recommend long sleeves and a hat (better for ticks to end up on your hat than on your scalp). Wearing light colored clothing makes it…

View original post 968 more words

To Blog or Not to Blog, That is the Question

Published on July 4, 2013July 4, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Shall I blog for my own aggrandizement or to edify the Lord?

If I sign my name and not His with His Word, have I turned the attention to my finite mind and wisdom instead of His omniscience?

Will the cutsy comics and quips create a stir in the moment and not an eternal fire in the hearts of men and women?

Can coping for the moment or finding the next cure become a substitute for finishing the race of life well no matter what, for His glory, His purpose, His plan?

If suffering is my best result in this life, will it still be wasted if I do not see the fruit of my labors and toils in the next 24 to 48 hours?

The apostle Paul wrote many letters inspired by God while in chains, in prison, in recovery from tortuous beatings and deplorable conditions. If we own a computer and can read this, we will not be able to fully understand how God used this broken man to change the world forever. He had His own infirmities on top of this such that others had to record the words for him so that we would know the heart of God centuries later. God’s Word, though Paul inspires me to look beyond the blog, the news headline, the Facebook posting for real, enduring answers and truth.

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Phil 1)

The questions noted earlier are among the important questions for Christian bloggers no matter what the topic of conversation. I doubt that each of us will ever really know the answer to the question, “why do I blog?” Oh we might think we have a purpose, a theme, a mission for our works . . . I just hope that for me, my words have little to do with my drama and more to do with the One who created me!

²⁴but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. (Jer 9, NIV)

Your thoughts?

Kermit the Frog Here

Published on July 3, 2013July 4, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

James 1 reminds me:

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

These words have guided me for years during many trials by fire and extreme life makeovers! As I have said many times this past week: “If I did not have my faith in Jesus Christ, I’d be lost.”

Wow. That is a testimony of sorts I guess. I give the Lord credit for the presence of mind to utter those words after seizure attacks during various health appointments and when communicating with non-believers on Lyme-specific Facebook pages. I said it because it is true.

To God be the glory for the things He hath done in my life, for the good that may come. I’m going to hang in there for, as Paul Harvey put it, “the rest of the story.” Or better yet as the apostle Paul wrote when bound in chains in his letter to the Philippians:

⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1).

Now that’s a promise for which to hang in there, eh? Turn to Jesus and He will carry you too!

The Pajama Gang: Who is in?

Published on July 2, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

No Worries Here

Published on July 1, 2013July 1, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Our anxiety and worry is distrust and disbelief in God, and it weakens us for His service. The Word tells us that we are to pray about the things that are troubling us, giving us anxiety, or weighing heavily on our hearts. Make these requests known to God.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) This is the peace of God; knowing that He is sovereign and that He cares for us, that we have been reconciled to God because of what Jesus did on the cross, and we have the hope of heaven and enjoyment of God forever. This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.” Isaiah 26:3 (from Patrick Klein and the online newsletter of Vision Beyond Borders, June 28, 2013).

These are my hopes and prayers of today, to keep me focused on that which matters most. The relatively little stuff of my Sunday cannot compare to the riches in heaven, the rewards of the faithful, the promise of eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. Translated in Julie terms: the noxious stuff will pass. This is but a season of trials. And so I pray:

“I lay these at Your throne of grace my King for your care, mercy, and grace. I trust that You see me. I trust that You hear me. I trust that You care for me on my bed of sickness (Psalm 41:3). I trust that You are my strength when I am weak and will sustain me, prepare me for the tasks ahead (Psalm73:26). I trust that you will guide my beloved husband and me in Your ways to fullness of joy (Psalm16:11). In these promises I rest. In Christ’s name, amen.