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A different kind of Christmas

Published on December 27, 2015December 27, 2015 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

Perhaps it is a sentiment of many Dayspring and Hallmark greeting cards to define Christmas as “the most wonderful day of the year.” For a believer in Jesus Christ, the day is one of the most meaningful: celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. But perhaps the most significant holiday is actually celebrated on Easter Sunday as we recall the sacrifice that Christ made in dying on a cross for our sins such that we may have everlasting life. No sentiments are implied or required: the truth is that He came to save, the truth is that He is Lord of all!

Isaiah 9:6-7New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

I can almost hear the victorious singing of Handel’s Messiah in the background as I read these words. Such is the confidence that we have, the joy we know as believers in Jesus Christ!

Many days when my life is a “nothing burger,” these words are just about all that I have for comfort. My Christmas and Easter in 2015 were not filled with either the people or activities of a typical Christian holiday. There were no church services dressed in better finery, homemade treats enjoyed in the basement afterwards with the dearest of friends, or family dinners filled with laughter and much feasting. The décor around here was the same as it is every day. I could go on with all that was cut due to the ravages of severe illness but I won’t. Perhaps you get the idea Gentle Reader?

I spent each of these holidays staring into nothingness for much of it yet also with nothing to distract me from seeking the face of my Lord. My prayerful meditation was uninterrupted and peaceful. Warm, loving glances came from my beloved Steve whose presence is one of the greatest gifts I could ever ask for in my life. Even our furry friend Elle is always a special delight with the gentlest of brown eyes, the softest of fur coats. I did get somewhat of a break during the middle of the day on Christmas in which we connected with family via Skype and the phone, MacGyvered a tasty meal of sorts, and opened some sweet gifts for our eighth Christmas together as husband-and-wife. Yeah God for special moments like these!

In two days we will continue and conclude as many of these traditions as we can in a gathering with my husbands adult children and their spouses. They graciously will attend to the mold/fragrance-avoidance practices needed for me to host them in our home. Since it may be my only time to see them when they are in town from their respective States and countries, I do pray that I may be able to participate in every moment available. They are wonderful young adults and I do love them so! I have simplified our menu and Steve has begun the preparations. We have spent extra time finding special gifts that would be meaningful; one of them may even serve temporarily as a different kind of “Christmas tree!” We’ll see. I still have to pull that one together! Eeeek!

So if you too have changed things up a bit for this Christmas season, know that you are not alone. I understand completely. It’s o.k.! This holiday along with Easter in the Spring have nothing to do with Santa and the white bunny carrying chocolate eggs. These special days have everything to do with a decision we each make in our hearts about Who we will serve as Lord over our lives. Where have you placed your trust dear friends? With a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we will have a celebration that will never be limited to a date on the calendar.

Nothing beats a Charlie Brown Christmas message:

And with that decision made to follow Christ, every day will be a different kind of adventure that transcends the moment into all of eternity. Yeah, I’m on board for that one. Will you be along too? JJ

It Takes Time: My Wife Is Crazy!

Published on December 9, 2015December 10, 2015 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Thankfully my beloved Steve never said this to me. I wondered it myself many times though!

Check out this husband’s perspective on mold and how it can affect your life. You may search the words “mold” and “biotin illness” for more on this topic from Hope Beyond.

And hang in there fellow sojourner. Praise the Lord that I am getting well! JJ

http://moldrecovery.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-wife-is-crazy.html?m=1#.VmdYd4SFbzJ

Let the numbers tell this story

Published on November 16, 2015November 17, 2015 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

While the numbers in my college statistics courses were fascinating and I applied them well in my Master’s thesis, I must admit that math was never really my forte. I’ll blame it on Mr. Courtright! Our Algebra II/Trigonometry course in high school was a constant source of frustration! John and a couple of the other male students would pour over the text book with him at the front of the room trying to understand the lessons he was supposed to be teaching that day. Yeah, you got that right: high school seniors trying to figure out advanced mathematics on the fly! I am so very glad that I never again had to sit through a traditional math class after that one!

Statistics are a different genre though. Statistics often tell a story that we can use to make sense out of the stuff of life. For example, landing one standard deviation from the mean (the average) in a bell-shaped curve can help us feel like things are going to be o.k. most of the time, in the right scenario of course! Enter here special numerals applied to my recent trip with Steve to Georgia and South Carolina that will tell this story better than I can even without a calculator! Oh how I wish some of these were more comforting than the majority of them though . . .

Over 7 days of camping in 2 locations, I was unable to leave the travel trailer 3 of the days due to illness.

My beloved Steve attended 2 of the 3 family wedding-related activities in Georgia and I attended zero.

We travelled over 2,000 miles in my truck with our 67-pound German shepherd, Elle, settled sweetly behind the jump seat of the King Cab. Such a great traveler she has become!

I prepared about 96% of all of my own meals making this trip more of a “business as usual” affair than vacation in the realm of food.

One hour of the five that I spent in our friends’ home on Monday was spent in continuous convulsive episodes on their couch. Thankfully the two young children had already gone off to bed when I crashed; graciously the three adults prayed over me for the Lord’s tender care as we all go forward from the significant stressors in our lives.

The kids and I planted 32 daffodil bulbs the morning we left South Carolina, overplanted with dozens of anise hyssop seeds. Hooray! By Springtime the view from the kitchen window of their log cabin will be alive with flowers interspersed amongst the numerous towering pines.

daffodils, mini daffodils, buttercup flowers, Spring flowers

A threatening wind storm with gusts up to 40 MPH forced us to leave a day early for safety towing our Camplite on the highways to get back home. Just a few minutes after we arrived home at 4:00 a.m., the winds increased again closer to the estimate of 50 MPH by morning. We had blown in just in time, praise the Lord!

Nearly 4 days have passed since we got home and I have yet to clear out, clean out the rest of the trailer as needed after a week of travel. Steve completed the first 5 loads of laundry and about 3 more are left to go. I have been sick in bed for most of the past 3 days, sleeping in late to recover from the nasties which characterize this wretched illness.

Over a dozen doses of a new anti-microbial treatment (Biocidin LSF) have brought both relief and a flare up of symptoms at times: begun when travelling and continued back home when seeking a new direction, new relief, new hope for a future without illness. Two violent convulsive episodes followed on Friday after an appointment with a new specialist and a new lab test, respectively. Many more filled the 2 days that followed. Perhaps this week (and 2 weeks shy of the 4-year anniversary of the first waking seizure attack) there will be an answer to end this suffering? The odds are wearing thin lately for sure.

Yet through it all, I am reminded of the 3 days that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ died and paid the price for all the negative numbers, the heartaches from what is not right in our world. He knows the mathematics of it all greater than I can ever imagine and holds it all tenderly in the palms of His hands, ready to redeem it for good when He comes again in glory. I choose to believe the promise that His precious thoughts towards me and you too, Gentle Reader, outnumber the grains of sand on the earth (Psalm139), giving us hope for a better tomorrow. For as He thinks fondly of the ones He loves, He also promises to wipe away our every tear someday (Rev 21:4) when the time is right: when time is no longer numbered in eternity with our Heavenly Father, God.

And that my friend is a story worth writing about. A world without limits. A love beyond measure. I just hope that when all is said and done, when it is time for rejoicing in the heavenly realms, that you will be there with me there too? Let not these numbers be wasted! Won’t you accept the love of Christ into your heart this day, this night too? Oh how I hope so dear one.

With love, JJ

From the Do It Sick Chef: Let’s make something that resembles lunch!

Published on October 23, 2015October 26, 2015 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

The first video of my Do It Sick Chef series is now available on Vimeo!

In “Let’s make something that resembles lunch,” I literally get out of bed to make real food in a real kitchen that includes: a veggie-n-meat entrée, ghee butter, and roasted turnips. Roasted turnips? Yes, you got that right! Special diets require new and sometimes unusual food choices. Just Julie will show you not only how to make these dishes but how to prepare the food saving money, time and energy.

Future videos that are already in the works will cover the topics of freezing foods for easier meal planning, a stand-alone segment on ghee butter, kitchen organization to save energy, and more. You are invited to “Like” my Hope Beyond Facebook page to keep up with future videos and share your meal planning, preparation, sanity tips too.

Take care, Gentle Reader. Lord willing, those of us battling serious illness are going to get well! JJ

Do It Sick Chef

Published on October 23, 2015October 26, 2015 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

And heeeeeere’s an important announcement!

You are invited to join my Hope Beyond Facebook page for the first release of my new video series entitled the

Do It Sick Chef

This soon-to-be published YouTube video series will feature simple meals, meal preparation strategies, kitchen organization tips, and general silliness depicted in real life for persons on special diets recovering from serious illness. The video will be minimally processed (no-make-up), Non-GMO (nothing fake or poisonous), organic (where possible), grass-fed (when affordable), and filled with an occasional bark from a cute German shepherd in the background. And if I can convince a foodie friend or two to make me a video for us then they will share the venue too (Sherry, here is your hint, hint!).

Get introduced to foods I know you will love someday like TURNIPS, ghee butter, and frozen vegetables that actually transform into something wonderful when sautéed at ridiculous temperatures in ghee!

Since I am exhausted from taping the first few segments, all I can share with you now is a picture of the first meal that came together before I collapsed. Hey, this is real-life, real-food, and really wacky! I know you are going to get a kick out of it, Gentle Reader. And Lord willing if you follow maybe half of what is shown, we are all going to get well too (but I make no claims on the turnips part!).

Take care and watch the Hope Beyond FB page for updates (and maybe this blog if I get around to it!). :JJ

UPDATE: The first episode is now live on Vimeo! Let’s make something that resembles lunch!