Christian – Page 17 – Jesus is for the Wounded

A Call to Grace

Published on October 9, 2017 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Gal 1)

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From the perspective of the supernatural power of grace bestowed by my Lord, Jesus Christ, I write to you this day. For my flesh is more broken than before, hopes beaten up from the road, and spirit exasperated from the waiting. Yet I am compelled to look beyond my angst to the call to grace . . .

If I have fallen short of praising my Lord then I am sorry. Please forgive me. The alms and adoration to my Savior is what shall draw me nearer to Him and lift my sorrows.

Should I have focused too much on my own needs and not those of others then my selfishness has thus blinded me. The trials of life have more to do with our response to these trials (and more importantly to others) than to their resolution. I cannot serve others when my mind is full of woe. There is always room to love on others.

When I act to make my own plate o’ food and have not called upon God’s infinite power to feed my family then I have shorted all of us to the weakness of my own hands. My Lord is sufficient for me, enables me to serve beyond my ability.

Where my face has turned to the shiny distractions of this life, pining after them (or worse coveting that which I have been blessed) then I have really made my world smaller. Who knows the blessing that will come from sacrificial giving? Gratitude? And proper placement of my gaze to the Cross?

How much better it is to wait on my Heavenly Father than to cry out my need only to act thereafter in my own strength? Oh Lord, help me to wait, to listen, to dwell and nothing more during these times.

That about sums it up right now. Thank you to those who prayed for me last week and who remember me in your prayers. Please let me know how I may serve you too, k?

And there he was

Published on September 28, 2017September 28, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Dr. David Jeremiah, life beyond amazing, tour, Fort Wayne, coliseum, event, Christian, Blackhawk Church, believer, inspiration

My husband, Steve, and I recently attended Dr. David Jeremiah’s A Life Beyond Amazing event in our town. I enjoyed Dr. Jeremiah’s presentations: first to get acquainted with his family life then his message on enduring life’s challenges as unto the Lord. However I must say that the fundraising prayer by one of his staff was tacky! The music was loud, motivating, and moving. Overall I must say that it felt good to be worshiping and learning in the company of fellow believers in Jesus Christ again.

I really wanted to meet Dr. Jeremiah after the event. No problemmo as just one of about 10,000 people in attendance, right? Very carefully we made our way to show center from the nosebleed section of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. My balance was a bit off from the sensory overload from many directions as I still battle Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. Nonetheless, I was a woman on a mission and soon found ourselves in front of the stage talking to the gifted musicians still lingering around. I complimented Dr. Jeremiah’s granddaughter who sang in the worship team and asked where I might find her grandfather? “He had to leave for a fundraising dinner,” was all she said. I was disappointed but understood. Fort Wayne, Indiana was the starting place for Dr. Jeremiah’s ministry and many members of the church he had founded here were in attendance; surely there were special activities going on to which Steve and I were not invited!

We tried to find some restrooms that were not swamped by the crowds still leaving the arena. Having been there for shows many times before, when we headed down an open hallway where some smaller meeting rooms were located. We encountered the vocalists again and saw a meeting room bustling with people just before we found our destination. The hallways were virtually empty except for a few late-comers headed to what looked like a reception. Then just before I turned to go into the lady’s room, I saw him! Dr. Jeremiah was walking with his wife headed for that same room and it was becoming clear that we had just passed the room where his post-event activities were to take place.

This was my moment and I stepped up to it. I walked up to Dr. David Jeremiah with my arm outstretched to shake his hand. He accepted it and looked into my eyes briefly as I said what I had rehearsed in my mind ever since I had expressed a desire to go to the event days beforehand. It went something like this:

Hi. My name is Julie ____. Several years ago you gave a message that included the teaching that God’s man in the middle of God’s will, will not perish until the Lord God ordains it. I wanted to tell you how much that message has meant to me as I have battled a serious illness with seizures every day for the past 5 years. Thank you. Keep doing what you are doing!

His spoke words that followed mine as I finished the sentence from his audio tape, as if he had just given the message yesterday and not over 10 years ago! He thanked me and quickly continued to his destination with his wife. I continued to my own destination with a sense of wonder and amazement. That moment was ordained by God for sure, just for me, just for him.

My spirit was calm and full as I thought about all that had transpired over the past 2 1/2 hours. Steve and I drove home lightly chatting along the way, mostly quietly in our own thoughts. I would be very sick with convulsive episodes within the hour of returning home and showering. My senses were completely overloaded from the loud music, close proximity to other people, and the effects of some new treatment ramping up. For the first time I did not feel traumatized by the serious illness that I have been selected to endure. My own words provided the comfort I needed to get through the darkness of the night.

God’s woman, in the middle of God’s will, will not perish until the Lord God ordains it. He has a plan and purpose for our lives even in the midst of suffering. And should I finish well, the tasks before me no matter how difficult, there may be reward someday but first there certainly will be a closeness to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that transcends my understanding. I want that. And touch points in life like these will help me to craft my own life beyond amazing.

I’m up for that.

The Long and Winding Road

Published on September 22, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Paul McCartney wrote the famous ballad entitled The Long and Winding Road when inspired by the farmlands around his Scottish home. He wrote it during a time of tension between band members of the Beatles and then it was published in 1970, just after the break up of the band. I remember being very upset that they were no longer together after changing the popular music scene forever.

This is a sad song. Tonight I understand the many sentiments expressed within the lyrics that go with this sweet melody: melancholy to a sense of unmet longing:

When the road goes on too long before you reach your destination or you never really reach the destination you set out to find . . .

Where the twists and turns push you beyond the roadways onto the rough gravel, shaking you up quite a bit . . .

Who comes along with you sometimes wishes they were not there at all then comes around to being alright in your company after all the weary miles together . . .

What you find dashes the dreams you once had, leaving you with emptiness before the Throne of Grace where all roads eventually will arrive anyways . . .

And you shed deeper tears than you ever knew before in your pain and anguish . . .

Such is the song in my broken heart tonight. All I can say to the God above or beyond is, “I need you now more than ever. Please lead me back to your door . . . let me know the way.” JJ

Smaller Moments Mean More

Published on September 18, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

When the mist on the pond lifts up to the air

The morning hath come and I give witness to life once again.

For I am up through the night, my old haunts hath returned

A way of coping, of living: just what I gotta do for right now.

So I edit a magazine, make charts of treatments, plan for when I will be well,

Most folks would not notice the shifts ever so small

The wretched episodes continue albeit with shaking, less overall.

I had to gain courage to take more meds/more remedies than ever before

Go rogue to kill the monsters within with faith and every tool from this road.

“Parasites in the brain” sounds pretty scary might you agree?

Yet that is exactly where I have arrived so be that as it may

Find me spacey perchance to dream when restorative sleep comes that way.

The smaller treats of life mean more to me now in my softened state

I get to see them in slow motion and savior their texture, their smell even when awful like glue.

What is before me fills every moment in much more detail

Healing comes small before big so intentionally I walk through most of the day.

Don’t get me wrong, the chores fill more hours than they used to years ago

That ‘s just one part of the plan so is rest and in times of rest I believe answers we have found.

Wyoming, clouds, blog, metaphor, analogy, Chistian, faith, majesty, creation, God, sky, big — One does feel ever so small next to God’s majesty revealed in the big sky over Wyoming . . .

Treatment Update: The Beasts Within

Published on August 31, 2017August 31, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

If you follow as many of the various functional medicine forums as I do, you probably have noticed the topic of parasites coming up more often these days. In fact, there is a free “Parasite Summit” coming up in September. This topic became a personal one for me within the past month. Allow me to explain.

A friend and her sister were receiving some complex treatments for serious health issues that they have been battling most of their lives. Shortly after their focus turned to testing and treatment remedies from outside the United States, my friend suggested I look into parasites as the potential cause of the seizure attacks I have been battling for over 5 years. I looked into it. Their provider would not be for me yet the topic launched me into some new research about the time my hubby and I were set to leave on an extended vacation. Imagine realizing during your first day away from home that you have a new infection that requires attention IMMEDIATELY! Yeah, well when your bum itches making you crazy insane, ya gotta fix it FAST!

So right before heading out to my River Bear’s kayaking nationals 2 States away, wifey-poo requests hubby-poo stop at a local drug store for an over-the-counter medication. Thank the Lord he said yes! My symptoms diminished within hours! The problem was not a yeast infection but a nasty pinworm/parasite infestation! How did I get it? Who knows?! Pinworms are highly contagious and you can pick them up almost anywhere. The big shocker was that the seizure attacks virtually disappeared for the next 24 hours after treatment! I wasn’t expecting that! No episodes falling asleep or waking up; barely a little tic-zip broke through here or there. What was going on?

Three weeks have now passed and I have repeated the OTC remedy a couple of times. I found that clove essential oil with coconut oil provides some topical relief with the added benefit of killing the parasite eggs. Who knew? And now my Functional Medicine Doc is testing me a couple of different ways with a couple of different lab tests to see if we can capture all the critters that may be wreaking havoc “down there,” in my body, and brain. Yes: in my brain. Parasites can move to any tissue in the body once they hit the bloodstream or lymphatic system. My MRI and CT scans have been negative for typical markers that would suggest Central Nervous System involvement, however, allergies to contrast dyes have prevented use of same in diagnosis. In the end it really doesn’t matter to me if tests show anything or not. The idea of parasites just makes sense to me.

Simply stated, parasites develop a symbiotic relationship with their human “host.” They can actually help the body by balancing blood sugars or harboring heavy metals/toxic chemicals (that would be toxic if left to circulate freely). Parasites are not a good thingy though. They can also harbor infectious elements (some have suggested Lyme disease bacteria) setting up resistance to treatment, to eradicating the infections. And I thought it was the cysts and biofilms that were the biggest issues in treatment resistance! As they continue to live in our bodies, they drain nutrition and mineral resources in addition to creating a host of negative symptoms that mimic a wide range of diseases. Gut dysbiosis is a big example to which I can relate: my Doc wonders if parasites are causing my belly pain which has not changed much after two different treatment protocols for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. He says that worms/flukes/bugs can favor the right lower quadrant and where the trouble lies for me.

But the Palo Alto Toxoplasmosis Serology Lab testing was negative. Pinworms don’t typically cause neurological problems. Stool testing hasn’t found anything in the past even when I put a WORM in the sample cup! Oy vey! Maybe these two new tests will yield something useful? In the meantime, I am taking lots of anti-parasitic herbal formulas with a concoction of binders with gratitude that neither trigger seizure episodes as they have in the past. Lord willing, I am going to get well! Indeed there are parts of days where I feel some positive changes for the better as a result of these additions to my care.

If you have followed this blog for awhile then you know I am always looking for answers, for hope. I do hope to get well and am working every day towards that goal. Overriding everything however is this guiding principle: that my true hope is in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who will one day make me whole, here with you or when we meet in heaven. Nothing will change that. He is gracious and good to me even on my worst of days. I am so humbled to feel His presence on my bed of sickness as well as the moments where I can have a little fun here and there. Speaking of fun, did I tell you about white water rafting 2 weeks ago? Yeah, you heard me!

Stay tuned Gentle Reader. Pictures and more stories to follow that will blow your socks off . . . or at least get them a little cold and wet! The Snake River is about 60 degrees even in August dontcha know! More on that one next time. Gotta take some stuff and get to bed.

Take care, JJ