Between a rock and a hard place

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headache back pain comicSometimes you have to make a choice.  You are at a dead end or maybe lost.  Perhaps what worked in the past will no longer suffice.  Or perhaps you are facing the most difficult reason:  an external force requires you to act immediately.  Regardless, the process goes more gently when covered in prayer to the One who sees you and your situation, cares for you, knows your heart and heartache, and has a plan an purpose for your life.  That plan and purpose includes the crossroads in which you find yourself.  Stepping forward into the arms of the loving and perfect Father through a relationship with His son, Jesus Christ, will carry you through the decision every time.  He already knows, sees . . .

Gratefully I don’t have to stress very long these days before I’m at the throne of grace with my alms of concern.  I understand that it blesses the Lord to come before Him with all things big and small; such a mystery of His amazing grace.  This week had them both for me.

Big decision:  sell the Beam Ray/Rife machine in which Steve and I invested so much hope and resources just 1-1/2 years ago.  It’s not working for me and I cannot tolerate most of the frequencies anymore.  Time to let it go and move on.

Small decision:  relinquish my cheaper cell phone with a slider keyboard for a smartphone.  We will benefit from having it on the road when travelling and it will expand my online business possibilities.  Time to let go and move forward.

Big decision:  place active Lyme and mold treatments on hold to eradicate a serious systemic yeast infection.  This requires risking more noxious events to kill the fungus that is hurting me and may even be contributing to the seizure attacks, etc.  I seek wisdom in the timing of all of this with the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  Alas, it is time to let go of the time table and move ahead carefully.

Small decision:  discontinue the IV magnesium treatments at number 28 because the symptomatic “cost-benefit analysis” don’t compute anymore.  Sometimes you simply have to choose.

Medium decision:  sold my (beginning) surf ski kayak called a Stellar SR.  This one brought tears.  This illness has challenged my fitness and balance skills making the mastery of paddling this specialty kayak quite difficult.  Steve just sold a kayak as well so we likely will invest in a solo outrigger canoe and share it.  These are awesomely cool, fast paddling boats that just might work with either kayak or canoe paddles.  Yeah but I let go of the SR before ever mastering it.  I got sick after paddling it October 11, 2011:  my third time on the water with it.  Seeing it go on a rainy afternoon was a gray reminder of the past 2 years of illness and brought up feelings of failure.  Sish, maybe this was a bigger decision than I thought.  The tears are making it hard to see the computer screen right now . . .

I think tomorrow will be a retreat day.  Steve and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary and perhaps something simple will be nice this time.  One of the best decisions of my life was to move out of State to marry Steve 6 years ago.  Ahhh my intended beloved.  How the Lord has blessed me with a man after His own heart as you!  However we choose to spend our time together, I am sure that it will be wonderful.

O.k. so I just went from tears to blushing.  Allow me to send you off with a prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for seeing and hearing the hearts of Your children each day.  Help us to reach for the shadow of Your wings to carry us when we cannot stand, to shelter us when we must wait on your Divine hand in our lives, to lift us when it is time to step out in faith once again.  If it is Your will I ask for healing for me from this complicated mix of illness and for the Gentle Reader finding you this day whilst reading this blog.  Cover us with Your healing grace and merciful love.  Guide us in our decisions for your glory Lord.  And help us to keep our eyes fixed on You, waiting with great expectation for Your Providence to unfold.  I love you Lord.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Rambling thoughts saving this day

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What could have continued as a wretched day, did not.  For this I am grateful.

When my course of overall treatment seemed to need a brand new direction in a far away place, I discovered it did not, gratefully.

Where I thought I would be two years down this road trip of illness is not where I had hoped and it’s o.k.; I thank the Lord for His continuing grace.

Who ever thought I would be connecting with so many different people in so many far away places?  Not I and I am blessed for things going this way instead.

Why I spend so much time setting goals when the moment is far more worthy of my attention, I’ll never know.  I am thankful for the fullness of living in the now and not yesterday or tomorrow.  This minute is all we have to live in anyways, right?

How I ever thought I would find something meaningful to say tonight eluded me when I first started typing.  I hope these are Your words, my Heavenly Father, my King, my Lord.  I hope they bring you glory and honor this night and with each and every blog that spits out onto this page.

So with a humble heart I must say that I am confused as to where my life is going yet not Who is in control of it’s course or outcome.  My mind is mushy as I recover from a tough night with:  a few scrambled brain transmissions, an enlightening visit from my Lyme-Literate MD, and a week of wacky medical appointments for sure.  There’s so much other stuff to do this weekend yet I have too depleted of energy reserves to much of anything.  Guess I’ll start with breakfast when I wake up in the middle of the day and take it from there, one moment at a time.  Some important things did get done this past week; I am humbled.  Thank you Lord for making it so.

The conclusion might read like the 12th Step of Recovery in Al Anon:  Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.  Well here’s my message tonight and I’m working on “walking the talk” as they say too.  However the best inspiration, the best encouragement won’t come from me or a recovery program (that ultimately helped lead me to a personal relationship with God).  It comes directly from His Word:

You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.  You shall increase my greatness And comfort me on every side.  Also with the lute I will praise You – And your faithfulness, O my God!  (Psalm 71:20-22)

Perhaps if we meditate on these words we will no only save the day, we will find hope, love, and joy in His promise of redeeming grace.  This is a promise for you, Gentle Reader, if your trust is in the Son of God alone.  Oh won’t you join me in seeking Him this day my friend?  Let our words, our thoughts mean more than rambling but resound with praise for His holy name, the name Jesus Christ.  What could be more significant than when we place our trust where the One who loves us beyond measure gives us every reason why to follow Him?  These are things to think about for sure.  :J

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Reflecting on God’s majestic Niagra Falls, Canada

For the Downtrodden

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Having a bad day?

Let the words of the Lord wash over you and see where you land after that.  Just took me to a better place.  How ’bout you?

Psalm 107 (NIV)

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

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. 5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. 8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, 11 because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. 12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. 15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 16 for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. 18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 20 He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. 21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

23 Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. 24 They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. 25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. 26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. 27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. 29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. 31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

33 He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, 34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. 35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; 36 there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle. 37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; 38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.

39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow; 40 he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. 41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. 42 The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.

43 Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.

Free Coupon Ends Soon!

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Just a quick note that the free coupon for the eBook, Hope Beyond Lyme:  The First Year, ends on Saturday.  If you’re interested an updated collection of my most meaningful and encouraging blogs plus several Bonus Pages, head on over via the link below.  It’s available in 10 different formats, including a new smartphone app from Dropbox.

Final few days that it's free with Coupon Code: UR45T
Final few days that it’s free with Coupon Code: UR45T

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/371334

Here’s a little video with a personal invitation from me too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opCttpUCZW0

Take care Gentle Reader and thank you for your support this past year online.  I am grateful to the Lord and humbled knowing you are there . . .

Just Julie

Drs. Shoe and Butt, Respectively

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My husband, Steve, cracks me up sometimes . . .

Today while resting, he pulled a fast one on me.  Like, hey, I’m recovering from something serious and you are asking me whaaaaat?  Excuse me but the 5 minutes of serious laughter that followed erased my memory for exactly what we were even talking about!  What I do remember went something like this:

I was talking about something medical, perhaps a new treatment approach I was considering and his surprising remarks this afternoon to maybe pursue it.  He was interested in a Functional Medicine clinic up in Michigan and was quickly getting to the heart of the matter with a rather terse question:

“Was that Dr. Shoe or Dr. Butt you are talking about?”

You have no idea how funny this is!  Allow me to explain:  Dr. Shoemaker is a famous mold illness expert (author of Surviving Mold & other publications).  Dr. Shultz is a famous colon health/cleansing guru from American Botanical Pharmacy in California.   I have had the experience of doing 5-day juice fasts with a variety of tinctures and Intestinal Formulas (i.e. ones that make you GO) but that was before I met Steve.  My former spouse would tease me mercilessly when Dr. Schultz product catalogs came in the mail, often with a hearty picture of gut anatomy on the cover.  He called Dr. Shultz the “Poop Doctor” or something like that.

I have not done a juice fast/colon cleansing protocol in the past 7 years nor since meeting Steve.  He must have seen one of Dr. Shultz’s catalogs before I whisked it away to the recycling bin!  Oh dear!  The shoe and butt doctors have made their way into my genteel world of late for reasons whose details I’ll skip for the sake of grossness . . .

Gee, I wonder what will be the next zinger?  Stay tuned.  I’m not over this wacky derailment of health quite yet so there’s gotta be something else on the horizon.  And Steve will remember it when I least expect it to lighten things up, I’m sure of it!  He has a wild manner of remembering things dontcha know!

Have a good week, Gentle Readers.  Gotta run, :J