Prayer – Page 5 – Jesus is for the Wounded

Great things He hath done

Published on January 22, 2015January 23, 2015 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

⁵Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.

⁶Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
    but my ears you have opened
    burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
⁷Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
    it is written about me in the scroll.
⁸I desire to do your will, my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

⁹I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
    I do not seal my lips, Lord,
    as you know.
¹⁰I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
    I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
    from the great assembly.

¹¹Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
    may your love and faithfulness always protect me. (Psalm 40; NIV)

After speaking in adoration, gratitude, humility, and transparency, King David seeks compassion from his Lord and savior Jesus Christ.  He has been literally chased by his enemies to the cold, darkness of living in caves.  His very life, his promised kingdom, and all he knows is at stake yet he begins this song with faithful praise.  Thereafter he presents his request for the Lord’s mercy and protection.  Although not quoted here, this psalm of King David goes on to pray for the salvation of his people and desolation of his enemies.  In the end his hope that the Lord be glorified through it all.  Yes indeed.  Wow.  What a tremendous example for me!
Adoration.  Thank you almighty God for all that you have provided to this day.  I see your omnipotent power in the sequencing of events of my life to bring me into the best of fellowship to you my Lord and King.  I praise you here and forevermore.  You have provided exceedingly for my real needs.  The greatest evidence is in love of my life that is now here; I am honored to be at his side, his beloved too.
Gratitude.  For my times of sickness you have given me a warm bed in which to convalesce, healthy food, good medical care, and infused your strength into my weary frame to do the tasks that are needed each day.  No matter how I may be feeling, the facts remain true that you care for the details of my life and are here with me.  I am never alone.  Most of all your love changes my sorrow into joy.
Humility.  The striving, the determination of my youth were eventually broken well into my adulthood so that I might realize the plans you have for me.  Hurt has yielded to forgiveness and freedom.  Following the lead of my earthly kinsman redeemer instead of my own desires has brought me into the fullness of what it means to follow you.  Much goodness has come from all of these.  The motto that began the leap of faith to finding Jesus years ago has come true:  letting go and letting God reign in my heart must remain above all else.
Transparency.  You gave me a fondness for writing long ago, mentored by my own mother (a naturally gifted writer).  This blog has seen me through much suffering and challenged me to return my eyes to Your majesty, Your creation, and more.  I have learned that the truth about life is often separate from what I can see.  Lord keep me soft to submit to Your ways like the clay who gives its essence to the master potter craftsman.  Surely goodness shall be the result for Your glory.
 Prayerfulness.  I do ask for healing of this wretched illness that plagues me for hours each day.  Guide me in my interactions with others when frustrated by so many things; may I be a light for my true hope that is in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Bring rest and lead my husband, Steve, in the decisions we are facing.  Grant him wisdom at home and at work, as a father to his four wonderful adult children, and as a leader in our church.  Thank you for his faithful witness to so many of what it means to be a man after Your own heart.  And please bless the fellow sojourners you have brought into my life, especially my Skype Bible Prayer partners Karan and Sherry.  Such sweet fellowship is salve to my soul.
Great things the Lord hath done in my life since I met my first Gentle Reader about three years ago.  Thank you for coming alongside me for the ups and downs, bunny trail side trips, victories, and more.  Know that I am praying for you as I write this, that the Lord be with you this day too.  He is so good and worthy of our praise.  Perhaps King David said it best later in Psalm 40 like this:
16 But may all who seek you

    rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who long for your saving help always say,

    “The Lord is great!”

The knife in the soup pot

Published on January 19, 2015January 20, 2015 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Just when I thought I could get my act together and get a little cooking done, some absent-mindedness took over.

It’s not that I meant to cook the paring knife in my stock pot filled with bone broth. Oh no, that would not enhance the flavor or nutrition at all! Tee hee. It’s just how it goes sometimes. It fell in after cutting up the one carrot allowed on my low oxalate diet and I was too foggy in the head to pull it out. “I’ll do it later,” was my thinking and later came in about 5 hours. Sish.

Ever have a day like this? Sure, we all have. You find the salt shaker in the frig or your boots in the car. After travelling with TWO 15+ hour stretches plus another 10+ hour jaunt these past 8 days, this issue was actually our “new normal!” Where is the hair blow dryer? Well it’s behind the driver’s seat in the truck of course, attached to an extension cord. (And this saved everything when multiple locks froze on the camper more than once!)

Sometimes a little insanity is just what a person needs. Keeps things fresh, right? Here’s an extreme example that is my reality today. When I start convulsing it might just be due to a need to clear some satanic warfare and not the mold residuals from my husband’s breath and trip to a known water-damaged building. After all, when the convulsions continued this afternoon it wasn’t long before we discerned that he had already de-contaminated and more was going on here. We probably had chatted a little too soon after the exposure to the mycotoxins I cannot tolerate. Yet I love talking with my beloved River Bear! It’s so easy to forget the insane myriad of details that must be followed in the normalcy of everyday life actvities.

This time there was a battle going on. Not just at stake was a fluke of mismatched tasks in following our protocol. This was real. We knew from other episodes that Satan has used this illness to temp us with divisiveness, to misplace anger and bitterness, to doubt God’s soveignty and more. Praying through it, keeping me from harm in the process, citing scripture verses, and singing hymns set me free once again. We deal with this NOT because I am not indwelt the Holy Spirit by the way. I belong to Jesus. The Lord will always be the victor for those who believe. Even Satan cannot snatch us out of His hand.

Spiritual warfare can sway us from the hope we have in Jesus Christ. So that is the test here. Yet I will never be moved. (Ephesians 6:13) No amount of hassle, suffering, horror, or weirdness will ever change my mind. Such is the power of faith in the One who will trash Satan and his demons into the lake of fire someday. Jesus remains THE VICTOR on the throne and delivers us from evil. I just get extra doses that strengthen this spiritual gift needed for the life crafted for me. And then you get to read about it!

Hey thanks, Gentle Reader. And be encouraged. THERE IS NOTHING that can separate you from your Heavenly Father’s love either: no matter what happens on this earth. (Romans 8:38-39) Come into a personal relationship, a closer relationship with Him through His Son and dwell in His house forever. And don’t worry. While things will never be perfect here, they will be in heaven. No knives in the soup pot! Just bliss, joy, peace, love, happiness, and the spiritual food of the angels as we sit at the feet of Jesus taking in His glory.

Oh yeah. And the Bear who loves me will be there too. So glad. :j

Don’t confuse happiness with joy

Published on November 9, 2014November 10, 2014 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

In the words of Billy Graham:

Some people think Christians should always be smiling and happy, and something is wrong if they aren’t.

But this isn’t necessarily true. Jesus stood outside the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and we read that, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). As he approached Jerusalem “he saw the city and wept” (Luke 19:41) because of it’s spiritual blindness and guilt. He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and was, “. . . in agony [and] his sweat became like great drops of blood” (Luke 22:44)

Don’t confuse happiness with joy. Happiness comes with happy circumstances; joy wells up deep inside our souls as we learn to trust Christ. Joy does not mean that we are never sad or that we never cry. But joy is a quiet confidence, a state of inner peace that comes from God.

Life’s troubles will rob us of our happiness, but they can never rob us of the joy God gives us, as we turn in faith to Him and seek His face.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

From “What is joy?” in Hope for each day, (2002). Thomas Nelson, Inc. p. 338.

I get this and hope you do too, Gentle Reader. Few things can rob your happiness like waking up in the middle of the night 8-10 times with convulsive episodes and a massive headache. It probably wasn’t nice for my beloved husband Steve either, awakened from a sound sleep lying next to me. The aftermath for me felt like I banged my head in every direction against a wall. Not fun at all! Gratefully the dream I later woke up in the middle of (after more seizure attacks falling asleep) was a reasonable one. I mean that we had experienced something similar just under 2 years ago so it wasn’t that bad really.

I dreamed that Steve and I had moved temporarily into an apartment while some work was being done on our home only to have all of our belongings and the inside of the apartment become covered cascades of dust! Yeah, that was not good for someone multiply chemically sensitive like me knowing that mold is often lurking in dust. The situation was beginning to resolve when I woke up. Phew! It was just a dream! This time the headache was less and the convulsions were replaced with less violent seizure attacks. They actually helped clear my head some . . . and yet I still felt beat up. The next few hours were meaningless . . .

Regardless, I have joy! How is this possible you may ask? Well, it’s just like the quote from Billy Graham noted above. I have learned to trust Christ in all things, wretched or not. Of course I cry in sorrow when a new treatment intended to help me makes things worse for awhile. Call it a healing crisis, herxheimer reaction, or the like. It’s a bite in the shorts any way you slice it! But that doesn’t change anything between my Savior and me. He meets me on my bed of sickness and weeps for my suffering. This is not His intention for me yet at the same time my suffering will not be wasted because He has a plan for my life. Maybe one part is this: I am hoping that my suffering provided an illustration here of HOPE IN ACTION. I pray that it will encourage someone out there who is suffering too. HE CARES FOR YOUR SUFFERING TOO and will see you through it!

One day all of our strife and worry will be over as He makes our joy complete when He comes again in glory: with unimaginable happiness too! This promise holds true for those who love the Lord and call Him Savior. If you are suffering, please do not let that stop you from seeking the best hope you have in your pain: the person of Jesus Christ. His love covers ALL. In Him, you will find a joy that will transcend it all. Gentle Reader, please do not confuse happiness with joy. JJ

This could start simply or really complicated

Published on November 3, 2014November 3, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded4 Comments

The short story:

The next step in my treatment of ongoing illness will be a “pre-tox” protocol before actual mercury chelation. Methylmercury is chelated through the liver and gut; inorganic mercury is chelated through the kidneys. Since I am hypersensitive to every approach attempted thus far, my doctor recommends beginning treatment with remedies to open up these elimination pathways before beginning chelation. I’ll probably start with one of the five products recommended by Quicksilver Scientific: the company that invented mercury speciation testing and this more targeted method of detoxification.

The long story:

After my doctor’s office losing my test results, my pleading with the company to email them directly to me, hand delivering the report to my doctor’s office in the middle of their move from one building to another, cancelling an appointment in favor of a personal phone call on Saturday, and fretting until getting that call with the results on Sunday night, a plan is now in place for me! We will need to progress slowly since EVERY TREATMENT I have attempted thus far has resulted in increased seizure attacks and convulsions. It makes sense to attempt to open up the chelation pathways first for these two types of mercury since I rank very high in both forms. It also makes sense for me to complete some additional testing of systemic metals to clarify the clinical picture and avoid further toxicity as we proceed.

So I began to research the initial products needed for this “pre-tox” protocol and lo and behold I take issue with four of them! Three are homeopathic remedies from a very New Age German company that directly conflicts with my Christian world view. I decided over twenty years ago not to use homeopathic remedies: why do we need alchemy and weirdness for substances God created in this world for our health and well being? I have never felt good on any of these products! I need to pray about this for sure. And the fifth substance in the pre-tox program is made with an ionic solution of marine plankton. Does anyone recall that I got deathly ill with viral hepatitis at the beginning of this hell from cyanobacteria aka blue green algae? Let’s hope that they are not the same thing? Maybe one is a fish and the other is a plant? I am frightfully aware of the negative consequences of any biotoxin in my weakened frame . . .

The one product NOT in question is IMD 30x. While a homeopathic-like preparation, the main ingredient is a proprietary thiol-functionalized silica. No problemmo. I can even pronounce the ingredients! Too bad the company states that it’s best taken with the green water stuff! Sigh. You know I’m just a little weary after 3 years, tens of thousands of dollars, prayers, submission, and getting up to struggle through another day until zapped into a painful place . . .

The end of this story for now:

I will pray about this. I will consult with my husband. I will talk to our compounding pharmacist about this (who gratefully is a God-fearing man). I will call the manufacturer of the Quinton Isotonic Marine Plasma about the purity of its product and review their extensive website further. Maybe I’ll be o.k. with two of the five products after all? Then I’ll add another specific nutritional supplement before I begin the actual chelation process in about 3 months. With ongoing experimentation of zeolite and activated charcoal plus ending all consumption of fish, I should be well on my way to a better place early next year. Lord willing, that is! JJ

Skype Devotional/Prayer Group Forming

Published on September 8, 2014September 21, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

Hey Hope Beyond Friends who are battling illness: I’m putting together a Skype devotional/prayer group for those of us who are largely homebound. This is for persons who are followers of Jesus Christ of the Bible. You’ll need a computer with a camera, Skype, and to be registered on Skype. I’m thinking 8 people per group (and starting additional groups if more are interested), lasting 45-60 minutes, once per week. The format could be: Get acquainted, Bible-based devotional, short prayer requests, prayer. These are “come as you are” which means just get dressed and turn on the computer! This first group is for gals. I’ll collect names and facilitate additional groups that you will run yourselves if we have more gals or guys who are interested.

Make a comment below with a message and your Skype name if you are interested.

Thanks and take care, Just Julie

UPDATE: We had our first call at 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, September 18th. Such a sweet time of blessing we had! Looks like we will continue at this time and Yes there are openings for a few more folks. Would love to meet you! JJ