faith in action – Jesus is for the Wounded

The Children Cry Out

Published on August 10, 2014August 10, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

this simply should not be and yet it is.

here’s the story if you have not already heard: ISIS beheading children in Iraq.

no human could systematically do this to children without experiencing trauma oneself. it is evil, pure and simple. the answer? follow Christ’s example (see Matthew 4) and combat evil with the Word of God. please join me and conscious people throughout the word in the prayer that will combat this evil.

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

we pray in Jesus name who takes our prayers to our heavenly Father. even our utterances of grief will be heard by the holy spirit in One with the Father. thank you. Lord have mercy on the least of these! JJ

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Luke 18:16-17 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Leviticus 18:1 “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Deuteronomy 4:9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Deuteronomy 4:40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time. (Given before the grace of Jesus Christ at Calvary).

Deuteronomy 14:1 You are the children of the Lord your God.

2 Chronicles 25:4 Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.” (Thus correcting the concept of generational sin. These children are not dying for the sin of their parents! And they are too young to die for their own sins. See the grace given to children from Matthew 19:14 below.)

Psalm 72:4 May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

Psalm 127:3 Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.

Psalm 127:4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.

Psalm 139:13-18 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

Proverbs 17:6 Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

Isaiah 43:5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Lamentations 2:11 My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. (The Lord’s heart as reflected in the inspired words of the prophet Jeremiah, grieves for his children.)

Lamentations 2:19 Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner. (We are to grieve for the children.)

Lamentations 4:2 How the precious children of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!

Joel 1:3 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

Micah 1:16 Shave your head in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourself as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.

Matthew 2:18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Mark 9:37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Mark 10:16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 23:28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.

John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Acts 2:39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 9:8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.

Galatians 3:26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,

Hebrews 2:14-15 ¹⁴Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.   (Christ was once a child and always our Savior. As such he both grieves and overcomes the evil of the world.)

1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

1 John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

1 John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Revelation 21:7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

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In these words and promises I hope you will find instruction, direction, comfort and hope. Our Lord sees the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ, young and old. In the words of a dear sister I find the most encouragement of all. I will close with this and continue to pray for those persecuted for their faith. Their reward is coming. Take care, Just Julie

In view of the tragic beheading of Christian children & adults by Islamic groups, the following, written 68-96AD (1,946 yrs ago) is enlightening: “… and [I saw] the souls of them that were BEHEADED FOR THE WITNESS OF JESUS, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation20:4 (From Facebook August 8, 2014)

When death is no longer an option

Published on April 29, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded4 Comments

Who was it who said to “start with the end in mind?”

Well the “end” of everything in life as we know it will not be death per se but the second coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He will be bringing about the Great Tribulation, reign on Earth for 1,000 years, bring about the death of Satan and the world as we know it, and bring those who believe in Him to the New Jerusalem. There we will reign forever with the One True God. I can’t wait!

And yet wait we must as it is not the time for His return. So working back from this end I will examine a few personal challenges the current day . . .

Brother Mike

Incredibly with a remaining part of one of two carotid arteries, my brother is making slow progress (after a massive stroke two weeks ago). As it turns out his progress may still not be enough to keep him longer in a rehabilitation facility. Enter here the plight of the uninsured. Decisions about his care will be made by a team of therapists who are required on Wednesday to make an “educated guess” as to his the outcome of his treatment 2-3 weeks from now. Healthcare policy largely mandated by the US government requires them to make this determination. Today the Lord led me in “buying” him 3 more days after negotiating with the Physiatrist on Michael’s unit. Go Sister Bear, occupational therapist.

Overall it looks like Mike will be discharged soon to a nursing home for placement and not further rehabilitation. This would be sad. His beloved fiancé, Lisa, is doing the best she can to juggle her own responsibilities, visit Mike at the hospital an hour away from their home, and complete paperwork/phone calls/research/etc. needed for his discharge planning. He would not likely receive therapy services thereafter until his Medicaid kicks in; when it does start the amount for which he is eligible could be limited. I just hope they get him the proper wheelchair, feeding instructions, and do more than keep him “clean and dry” in a long term care facility. I don’t have high hopes for this at the moment.

In time perhaps Michael will be able to receive skilled therapy services and return home. In time perhaps Michael’s eligibility for VeteransAdministration and community services will be determined. To return home he will need to be safe enough to be left home alone when Lisa is at work while she graciously continues to provide for both of their needs in addition to her 13 year old son. We are all praying for them at this incredibly stressful time in their lives. My burden from afar (3 hours by car) is light by comparison. Sure I am making a few phone calls, found a family member with a commode, and am working on locating a walker but that is small compared to his incredible care needs. I do pray that some additional resources appear soon . . .

Sister Julie

This past weekend was a tale of two extremes got me. I started drinking Bulletproof coffee this past Friday: Freshly ground-and-brewed, mycotoxin-free, Swiss water decaffeinated coffee with ghee (butter) and MCT (derivative of coconut) oil. Everything gets blended in our Vitamix for a frothy hot drink that is quite good. (Remember, I am used to consuming unusual foods these days!) I had also begun taking a special formulation of B vitamins from Dr. Amy Yasko’s website to support some nutrigenomic issues. (Since the Functional Medicine MD set me adrift last week I struck out on my own for new solutions.) Saturday was an incredible day: waking up without seizures and enough energy to get showered and dressed before 10:00 a.m. just doesn’t happen for me! By 10:30 a.m. I had joined my hubby in cleaning our garage! Four hours later we were at a logical stopping point with the project nearly completed. We will recycle, discard, or sell either online or at a garage sale a goodly amount of items we no longer need. Ahhhh. Feels good.

Then comes the other extreme: almost 2 days with intermittent seizure attacks and bedrest. Crap. I guess I should have worn a mask when cleaning the garage? Maybe I shouldn’t have increased the MCT oil to twice per day? Or maybe the greatly increased activity level was just too much for this tender frame? Crap again. This is such a high price to pay for just taking care of our home. I enjoyed my time working with Steve so very much. I love doing projects with him! It had been soooooo long since our last big deal together . . . except for maybe driving up to Michigan to see Mike 2 weeks ago. Yeah that one took its toll on me as well. Crap, crap, crap.

So the worst case scenario for my brother is another stroke or even death. Since he appears to be stabilizing and improving I can set those fearful thoughts aside. I am quite confused about the Lord’s plan for all of this yet I choose to trust Him anyways. And as for my own illness, well, I guess the moments of improvement give me hope for my own recovery someday too.

On Sunday I decided to donn my firearm when Steve was selling some items from our home. He had opted to have the buyers meet us at the house. We took some precautions and everything worked out fine. His son, Daniel made out like a bandit (!) and we are pleased to have made it happen for him. But as that 380 pistol passed from my hand to its hidden resting place later that afternoon, I had to pause for a moment. At another time in my life it would have been dangerous for me to have a firearm in my possession. I had not yet learned how to shoot a gun, been taught gun safety, secured a carry permit, or decided for sure that life is worth living no matter what the current crisis.

You see I have faced overwhelming stressors in my life many, many times before. One time I had to ask a boyfriend to stay with me because the emotional pain that I was enduring was so great that I did not trust myself with my own life. I feared what I might do if I were to be left home alone. Flash forward about 15 years and that trust was tested once again. Gratefully eight years later, the overwhelming trauma of painful, daily seizure attacks, my brother’s stroke, and so much more is met with a solid faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His plan for our lives. He is faithful. I trust in His power, His sovereignty over my fear, my pain, my doubt. Overcoming the traumas of the past by the grace of God taught me that. My firearm is for protection and nothing else.

When in doubt, I often start with the end in mind. I have always been a future-oriented person which I consider to be both a quality of leadership and a source of considerable anxiety! Perhaps my writings could talk a little less about my vulnerability and a little more about the Hero leading my heart PERIOD. With the God of the universe at the helm of my life I have nothing to fear, nothing to doubt. I will be able to endure the stress and the stress will be less with my hands off the “trigger” that represents a need for action at the wrong time. To wait, to rest and languish in His loving care helps me transcend the suffering. He has held me close in the comfort of His wings in the past and holds me close in the present as well. Many folks yearn to feel His presence. Hey, I get to feel it every day! He makes Himself real to me every single day.

Lastly, the greatest manifestation of darkness in this life is death. One day all too soon His glory will replace the darkness with His consuming light. All things will be made new and we who believe will reign with Him forever! My brother and I will be made whole to love and serve our great God. Wow! So I pray: Lord, help me to live this truth in today with hope and shining Your light for all to see. Thank You for being here with us in our journeys. If the load may be lighter, please bless us with Your healing grace and mercy. Until then, You are our King and praise be Your name, Emmanuel. Love you, Just Julie

The whole chicken or egg dilemma

Published on January 31, 2014January 31, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

Sometimes in life things do not occur in any sane, logical order. Well after the original Creation of all things, that is! Before Creation there was only God and we came with His speaking into existence time, space, the earth, and so on. All I can say is that after I was born a lot of things happened in a fairly reasonable sequence. However after I became an adult that all changed!

I started my career, graduated with a Masters degree, and was married 12 years without ever having had any children. I see now the paradoxical blessing of never having had a family as a young woman; it just didn’t make sense why this happened as the years went on until more recently. It was the Lord’s plan for my life. Regardless I now have had the privilege of “adopting” my intended beloved husband’s grandson this past year and it is GRAND! I love it! Sitting here in the great State of Indiana following the stream of photos on Facebook of little Jackson and his parents in North Carolina is the new replacement for dinner-with-the-family on Sunday afternoons. Well o.k. Works for me.

Ah yes, work. I began my career as an occupational therapist, dabbled in worker’s compensation insurance, ventured into a home business three times (where I continue now as a hobby), bounced back after a few orthopedic injuries, and landed in an extended medical leave two years ago. I would have thought that I would be more vulnerable to such a serious illness when undergoing some of the more significant and stressful transitions in my life but it didn’t happen that way. Illness came when I was happily married, living closer to my hometown of Detroit, Michigan, secure in my relationship with the Lord, and largely homebound in a pretty place with a cool dog too. I have never felt more loved and it came after age 47, not as a baby girl. Works for me.

And there it is again. Work. My training as an occupational therapist brings a fascination with all things “work:” from the menial tasks of housekeeping to the time-and-motion requirements of an assembly line worker. I am amazed at the inner workings and outer performance capabilities of the human frame in addition to our ability to love, to hate, to dream. Later in life I would also come to know the Creator of mankind as my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: the One who made me and you in His image. Oh how lovely He must be for all of us to be a copy of His humanity! My life has been a wacky journey of discovery for all that He has made and gifted me to be; my weaknesses in addition to my strengths are crafted at His hand, in His time. This brings me to the current day.

I received a job notification from a prominent continuing education company for a part time Lead Occupational Therapy Education Planner. Wow, that sounds cool! The Planner would assist in the development and promotion of continuing education courses for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants nationwide. I have spent my entire career continuing my love for learning as I moved from one specialty area to another, adapting from one work setting and set of skills to another. Then when illness struck and continued into the year 2012, the Lord guided me into an online jewelry business. I knew very little about ecommerce at the time! Within a year I am grateful to report that I had customers from most sections of the United States and had learned a variety of jewelry-making techniques. I could adapt my creative schedule any time of day or night. And the marketing and writing skills of previous endeavors got applied and developed further, including photography and the use of social media.

Even with all of that, my greatest joy lies right here with you. This blog has received my heart, my hopes, my fears, my dreams, my failures, and my successes too. You have been there for me, Gentle Reader, through yet another transition in my life. I have recently doubted my ability to return to gainful employment due to the nature of the illness in my life. And yet the skills of reading, writing, creating, and social networking have grown despite any hardship. So I applied for the position! I included the online business, eBook, and this blog as accomplishments of late. It’s just like an occupational therapist to examine the skills needed to get through the day and a person’s ability to match it to what is needed in his or her life. This is exactly what I have done these past 2 years and in considering this new venture.

Thank you, Lord, for creating me as an occupational therapist. You knew the skills I would need to navigate the events of my life and breathed the seeds of them into me decades ago. And if it is your will that I move forward with gainful employment with this new company, then I am ready for this challenge. I don’t need to know if it’s the right timing, if I need to do something else first as in the chicken or egg dilemma. I’ll just trust you with all of the details. How timely that earlier today I was talking with a friend about her preparation and experiences attempting to return to work after a personal leave of absence. I place both of us at your throne of grace that your wisdom and strength would infill both of us for the opportunities that lie ahead. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. JJ

Taming the Savage Beast

Published on January 19, 2014January 19, 2014 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

“Don’t cry. Don’t raise your eye. It’s only teenage wasteland,” sung by Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend of The Who in Baba O’Riley, 1971. (Decca Label)

The first rock concert I ever attended was “The Who” at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. The venue doesn’t exist anymore and neither does the band! I will never forget the experience of seeing so many drunk, stoned, and wasted young people in one place before: the place probably held 80,000 of them that night!

I got to go to the concert for free as a member of the Warren Jayteens. The Warren Jaycees had a hot dog booth at the newly constructed Silverdome and we earned money for both of our community service organizations by working in their booth during Detroit Lions football games. The Who concert was to be the first rock concert scheduled at the Silverdome. When our Advisors in the Jaycees asked us if we wanted to work at the concert of course we said YES!!! Gratefully we ran out of our supply of hot dogs that we sold as Hawkers in the stands just as the concert was about to begin. We walked along the first level searching for the best view of the stage from the back of the seating area. It didn’t matter that we did not have seats. We were there!

I was there for the music. It appeared that virtually everyone else was there to get “wasted!” Sure is funny how my use of the term “wasted” has changed over the few decades since then. Flash forward and it appears that my hope these days is that my life and what happens to me will NOT be wasted! Time and experience are precious gifts to me: a blessing from the Lord to spend reveling in His glory, His plan for my time on this earth. We can’t take back either one after they are spent nor can we do them over again. So I want to be fully present in the gift of, well, the present and rest in its purpose or meaning.

Therein the challenge lies. How does one make sense of the savage beast that has become a part of my daily life? Shall I accept this thorn in my flesh or fight for the cure with every resource available to me? Do I drag my beloved husband through the details and horrors of every experience or escape alone: just my Heavenly Husband and me? These are the questions with which I grapple these days. And more often than not, my quest for meaningfulness falls short in a pile of wasted time, lying on a bed, seizing from head to toe. Then there’s the recovery phase. Such a raw deal at many levels. Wasted indeed, or so it seems.

There is no taming the savage beast at this point in time. Oh sure there are things I have learned to avoid that make the seizure attack episodes worse like consumption of simple carbohydrates, new treatments, exposure to mold and noxious sensory stimuli, and travelling away from home into unknown environments. But to make them go away: not a chance so far. I haven’t had an episode-free day in many months. Two years have gone by in this personal hell. This past week landed a night with a total of 6 hours of seizure and convulsive episodes with a 4-hour break in the middle somewhere in which I think I either passed out or slept. Yeah, that night was supposed to be part of a special visit with family at their newer home out of State. By the grace of God we had a few fun moments despite all of the suffering and post-seizure noxious symptom load thereafter. Guess you could call those minutes His redeeming grace. The scene captured below with my adoptive grandson, Jackson Rees, is a treasure to me. Treasures sometimes come at a price. Price paid. Moment not wasted.

And so it goes. Treatment continues for a systemic Candida infection. Treatment is on hold for Lyme disease and the mold-related illness called Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. In this moment in time I just hope that the food I ate an hour ago didn’t have too much starch to turn on a yeast rock and roll concert in my brain. As I close here, I guess I’ll just look out of the window of my mind and note the wonder that lies beyond. This too shall pass and with it will come an amazing story of the Lord’s sustaining grace through the firestorm of illness. (Philippians 1:12)

I am so very grateful for my Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ. I just couldn’t make it without you! And if it is Your will precious Lord, please end this nightmare. I am ready to live again.