Tag: mold illness

‘Twas the Night Before Moving

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Sung in my heart this night to the tune of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Don Williams

‘Twas the night before moving

And all through the hotel room,

Not a creature was stirring

The dog smelling rank, for lack of da groom.

The clothing all packed

By the door with other stuff,

In hopes that the cleaning

At home would soon be enough!

The couple will nestle at last

All safe in their own bed

While visions of dollar signs

Will forever dance in their heads.

And the contractor is gone

Who took care of the rug

He can finally settle down

For a long Spring evening’s, er, nap.

When out in the lawn

Tomorrow shall bring such a clatter

As Julie drags in boxes-n-bags

To create an end to the matter.

Away to the window

No longer cracked to air out the mold

We’ll put back together the place

Steve and Julie once again will call home.

The moon on the breast
Of the new fallen snow
Gave the lustre
Of midday
To object below.

(Just love the imagery of the original poem as the snow melts one last time this season.)

When what to my wandering eyes

Should unexpectedly appear

A check from USAA

To cover some of the new gear!

Away to the window

I’ll fly like a flash,

To see my Spring bulbs a popping

Alas not the hotel staff, smoking their midday stash.

With a little tear of happy

So lively and quick

I’ll know in a moment

No longer in my home will I be quite as sick.

More rapid than eagles

My heart begins to swell for my Lord

As I whistle and shout,

“Praise be to the Lord!”

Now Dashing Stevers,

Dancing Christine

Prancing Sonny,

On Comet Dale J.,

Cupid Stevers (again of course)

On Donder Stay Inn staff

An blitzen bloggies out there:

To the top
Of the porch
To the top
Of the wall
Now dash-away
Dash-away
Dash-away all.

****

Let us spring a new song
To His sleigh, to His throne,
Give worry a whistle to go away
The Lord’s sleighdom flies for you & me alone.

“But wait,” I hear Him exclaim
As He lifts me to my next place,
“Happy Wednesday to all
And to all a goodnight.”

Do we love the Lord a little?

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Little-Girl-Dreaming-of-the-World--56003This article is from Dave McCarrell and the February 13th issue of PGM News, a non-copyrighted newsletter of Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Illinois

“Little by little, some Christians are growing a “Little” careless.  On Sunday mornings they sleep a Little late, and come to church a Little tardy.  Some doze a Little, listen a Little to the sermon and give a Little in the offering.  After dismissal, they argue a Little, gossip a Little, and go home and forget what Little they heard, and act a Little as if they care Little for the greatest, grandest, holiest, and most precious privilege on the earth — that of worshiping and serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

I may have exaggerated a Little, but very Little, and in some things I may have omitted a Little, “O ye of Little faith” (Matt. 6:30, 8:26, and 16:8).  ” . . . thou has been faithful in a very Little . . .” (Luke 19:17).  “Yet a Little while and that shall come, will come and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:37).

Little-by-Little, we can improve a Little by putting forth a Little effort in seeking to overcome a Little evil.  Little evils do not remain Little.  So a Little thought given to Little things may produce a Little improvement in a Little time.”

After reading the above by an unnamed author, I was challenged by the thougt of the many Little things I let distract me from the important things God has for me.  I am sure all of you, if honest would say the same thing.  Then I was challenged by the ultimate question that our Lord asked Peter, and the question we as believers all must respond to:  “Peter do you love me more than these things?”  (See John 21)15-17)

Instead of these things, in our case, I believe God is asking us:  “Do you love Me more than the Little things you have brought into your life?  Examples could be sports, TV, movies, material possessions, homes, cars, questionable friends, etc.  What a great opportunity to examin what Little things are keeping us from experiencing God’s best for us.

“JUST JULIE’S” ADDENDUM:  Thank you Lord for this reminder that You are not only Lord over all things big and little, You care about all of the things in our lives, big and little.  I can trust You with every detail of my life.  Yup, every one.  I lay my cares at the foot of Your throne of grace for your tender care.  You know what they are and in that fact, I rest this day.  Love,  Julie

Enemy Number Two

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moldimagesEnemy number one is the author of all that is evil, Satan himself.  Fallen from the angelic realm, he roams the earth tempting and taunting everyone.  Unless we claim the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will have no defense against his schemes nor against sin.  With faith in Christ, we are free from the penalty of sin (which is death), receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our eternal life begins with the triune God.  Whether I live or perish in this earthly life, I have eternal victory in Jesus Christ.  Enemy number one is defeated.

I have a new enemy in my life and it is not Lyme Disease.  Enemy number two, superseding all other hassles is mold.  Mold is making me sicker and sicker every day.  Turns out that the floods in our home when our water softener filter broke, twice, have introduced this dangerous neurotoxin into our master bedroom and bathroom.  We got a good look at some of it tonight when my husband, Steve, shined a flashlight under the bathroom cabinet.  Greenish blue spots splatter the wooden base that backs to the garage (and where the water softener is located).  The next step is to pull up the carpet and examine the pad, drywall, and wooden base in the bedroom.  Geez!  No wonder the ERMI (household DNA test for mold) exceeded the scale values.  We have a serious problem!

Sick building syndrome and mold exposure can mimic the symptoms of Lyme Disease or worsen them.  Initially I wondered if the mold exposure complication I was suspecting was from working some years ago in a moldy old hospital Aurora, IL.  Certainly I had chronic sinus infections back then, with the sick leave eventually complicating my job situation.  This newer exposure leads me to wonder if this is why I have had such a rough time treating Lyme Disease?  Is this why I am  struggling even more since ingesting mold (microbial rennet) in Gruyere goat cheese this past week?  Well with this discovery, we not only have a serious problem, we might have a solution!

Steve and I are implementing some survival strategies while we investigate the matter further.  We wonder if our homeowners’ insurance will cover repairs and we wonder how to protect me and everyone in our household from further mold exposure?  Can I stay here?  Thankfully, I will see my Lyme Literate Doctor this week and this will be a center point of our discussion for sure.  I’m feeling very sick these days.  Thank you for hanging in there with me as we prayerfully proceed.

Since the Lord has given us victory over enemy number one, we know that He will grant us grace, mercy, and peace with “enemy number two.”  And this night, I will be keeping my eyes fixed on Him.  Oh Lord, grant me your gracious mercy, yes mercy please.

Not all goats can be my friend

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goatimagesI finally figured out what kept me in neurotoxin distress for the better part of two days:  guyere goat cheese!  Turns out that this particular type of goat cheese is made with microbial rennet.   According to Wiki,

these molds are produced in a fermenter and then specially concentrated and purified to avoid contamination with unpleasant byproducts of the mold growth. At the present state of scientific research, governmental food safety organizations such as the European Food Safety Authority deny QPS (Qualified Presumption of Safety) status to enzymes produced especially by these molds.  The flavor and taste of cheeses produced with microbial rennets tend towards some bitterness, especially after longer maturation periods.[3]

Great.  Cheese that is unsafe in Europe is o.k. in the great United States of America.  I rarely ate goat cheese until I was put on a special diet to control “neuromuscular events.”  The first 3 weeks on this diet have been challenging due to limited and exotic food choices yet it appeared to be helping some.  Then consumption of guyere goat cheese put this mold sensitive gal with Lyme Disease in a neurological crisis for about 5 hours on Wednesday and another 5 hours on Thursday!  I know that I am sensitive to mold but had no idea that I should search for it and avoid it in food.  Lord have mercy!

Today was a recovery day, waking up because of a four-minute seizure attack, difficulty breathing, and a splitting headache in the middle of the night.  Or maybe I should say that after a lot more sleep, today was a recovery day.  Turns out I might not have turned off the wireless router correctly late last night.  Sometimes that bothers the symptoms of Lyme so we always turn it off at night.   I finally started feeling better around 4:30 p.m. after a good cry.  Gratefully my sister-in-law asked to chat on the phone and brought out the best in me; finally showered at 7:00 p.m.  Later I got to meet my husband’s son Daniel’s sweet date, Erin, and have my own date with my hubby to Office Depot and the post office.  This is huge, gang.  Running errands with my buddy is a treat lately . . .

I don’t really blame the goat for this setback.  That scrawny creature didn’t add mold to it’s milk for me to get sick on it.  Somebody out there probably loves microbial rennet.  I’m just frustrated.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

He’s kinda cute in a way . . .