Share Your Used Christian Books!

Love Packages collects them and sends them to English-speaking countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.

They received nearly 8 tons of items last year that were used to change lives! Books can be sent to Butler, Illinois, or call the ministry to see if a truck is in your area. They send them all over the country.

Mail a REAL Letter Using Free Web Service

If you did not get those Christmas letters out, or were unable to drive to the post office in December because of crazy weather, here is an easy way to mail a real letter — paper, not e-mail!

Go to TheMailMonster.com and type your letter. It will be printed out and actually mailed to the address you submit first-class, all within 24 hours for free. How is it free?

Local advertisers may include an ad, and then they pick up the cost. But if getting to the post office can be difficult for you this is a great way to send a personal note without any expense or need for transportation.

And all our Aussie friends will be glad to know it’s free in not just the United States but Australia too.

How Being “Tolerant” Can Ruin Your Health

Start Your New Year Right by Eliminating These Common Energy-Drainers

by Mary Yerkes

My desk is messy. My clothes don’t fit. The dog needs grooming. Life coaches agree that people zap their energy and increase their stress by putting up with a multitude of things that bug them, what life coaches call “tolerations.” And for the chronically ill, lingering stress can translate into increased pain. So, why not start your New Year right by identifying—and then eliminating—those things that deplete your energy and dampen your spirit.

Here are four common tolerations, along with practical suggestions for addressing them or eliminating them from your life:

Health Tolerations

If you live with chronic illness, you probably realize there are some things you just can’t control. But what about the things you can? Why add to your distress by eating too much junk food, not taking your prescribed medication, or failing to do your exercises, designed to increase your range of motion or reduce your pain?

Take a few minutes and write down your health goals. Just make sure they’re realistic. Don’t set a goal of jogging three miles a day when you struggle to walk to the curb each day to pick up the day’s mail. When making your list, make sure your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. A goal of eating healthier this year is too vague, but eating five serving of vegetables a day is SMART.

Environmental Tolerations

It’s hard to keep on top of housework and home repairs when you’re in constant pain and struggling to make it on one income. But, let’s be honest. If you feel well enough to sit at your desk and work, couldn’t you take a few extra minutes to clear that pile of papers from your desk so you could actually see your computer screen?

But what about bigger projects around the house that you can’t do yourself?

If finances are tight and you can’t afford to hire someone to tackle larger projects, barter your services instead. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, offer to create a brochure for your neighbor’s new business in exchange for shoveling the snow off your walk.

You get the idea.

People Tolerations

Face it. Some people are just toxic. They consistently say hurtful things like, “But you look so good!” or “You really should try harder to get to church on Sunday.” They chide you for canceling at the last minute and raise their eyebrows when you serve a store bought cake for your child’s birthday party instead of making one yourself. If you’re chronically ill, limit your contact with people like this.

It’s a little more difficult if you’re dealing with toxic family members. To maintain your sanity and preserve your health, learn to maintain appropriate boundaries. To better understand how to set healthy boundaries, I recommend reading, Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend.

Spiritual Tolerations

Are there areas in your spiritual life you need to address? Do you struggle with unforgiveness or harbor resentment or bitterness toward your spouse or children for failing to understand your pain, help with the housework, or give you the emotional support you need?

Nothing will rob your joy or sap your strength more quickly than unforgiveness. Don’t tolerate sin in your life for one more day. God’s Word tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).” Help is just a prayer away.

The benefits you’ll gain from identifying and removing tolerations from your life are significant. You’ll be amazed at what a difference it will make.

So, start the New Year right by making room in your life for what matters most.

Life Coach Mary Yerkes specializes in helping the chronically ill live abundant lives in Christ. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis in 1997, Mary understands the challenges of living with chronic pain and illness. Her greatest joy is seeing people set free to love and serve God with all their heart, mind, and soul. Mary is also an author, speaker, and contributor to popular Christian print and online magazines, including Focus on the Family, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, and On Mission Magazine. Visit www.newlifechristiancoaching.com and www.maryyerkes.com to learn more.

What Pill is That?

You may have a drug cupboard, a drug basket, or a drug bag. At my house it’s a kitchen drawer with a “baby” lock on it.

There are always a few little pills that make their way to the bottom of the drawer that I am not sure of what they are. Now there is an easy way to find out. You never know if it may be JUST the medicine you need in the middle of the night one night.

Not sure what those pills are that you’ve found in the bottom of your junk drawer? Worried about what you just found in your teen’s room? Log on to the web for the www.drugs.com” target=”_blank”>Pill Identification Wizard and then choose “Pill Identifier.”

Simply enter the drug form (for example, capsule), then the shape and the text found on the pill, and it provides you with the information for free.

Tools for Caregivers or Families to Share the Caregiving

Asking for help is so hard! But if you live with a chronic illness there will come a time when you or you and your family needs to ask for help from others. When you or a loved one becomes ill, it impacts the entire family… but it can also feel like it “takes a village.”

These are some of the resources we have found. Some are to help caregivers organize care for an ill person (such as getting the neighborhood together on who is bringing meals what day). Others are to help a person who is ill communicate with others, such as posting your hospital visiting hours, updates on your condition, or simply sharing. Here are some suggestions on ways to organize the help.

Assist Guide Information Services Care Groups
Organize help to provide care for your loved one so that you can take time to care for yourself. Your AGIS Family CareGroup can be created in minutes. It’s
a free, simple way for friends and family to assist loved ones in need.

Care Pages
CarePages are free, easy-to-use Web pages, brought to you by Revolution Health, that help family and friends communicate when a loved one is receiving care. CarePages help Families create a virtual meeting place on the web, share news and photos as often as needed, receive emotional support during a time of need.

Care Place
CarePlace was founded to help people and their caregivers connect with one another, to share their experiences, concerns, passions, triumphs, and difficulties, and to support one another through trying times

Caring Bridge
A CaringBridge site is personal, private and available 24/7. It has free, personalized websites for anyone facing critical illness, going through cancer treatment or in recovery,helping ease the burden of keeping family and friends informed.

Lotsa Helping Hands
This is a simple, immediate way for friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors to assist loved ones in need. It’s an easy-to-use, private group calendar, specifically designed for organizing helpers, where everyone can pitch in with meals delivery, rides, and other tasks necessary for life to run smoothly during times of medical crisis, end-of-life caring, or family caregiver exhaustion. It’s also a place to keep these ‘circles of community’ informed with status updates, photo galleries, message boards, and more.

Share the Care
This is a detailed step-by-step model that shows you how to: (1) Create a unique caregiver “family” from friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers and
acquaintances; (2) Answer the question all your concerned neighbors and friends have asked. “How can I help?”; (3) Hold a meeting that will turn a
group of ordinary people into a powerful caregiver team; and more! Based on the book, Share the Care.

Strength for Caring
An online resource and community for family caregivers. Strength for Caring helps family caregivers take care of their loved ones and themselves. Strength for Caring is part of The Caregiver Initiative, created by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company, Division of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc.

Beyond Casseorles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend
This book is by Rest Ministries author, Lisa Copen, and it has 505 ways to help out someone who is going through a rough time, as well as their family.

How to Organize a Care Group
This is an article with step by step instructions on how Ellen’s Angels organized their care group. Based on the book Share The Care

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• Too Soon To Quit (chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com)

What’s in Your Purse?

What is in your purse? When we asked you to share what you carry around with you each day we heard everything from 3 bottles of water to a razor to trim stray whiskers.

Yes, chronic illness requires a lot of maintenance, but overloading your purse can also cause you to lean sideways, causing shoulder, neck, and back pain. Physical therapists recommend that you carry no more than 10% of your body weight in a backpack, and even less in a purse, since it’s less balanced.

Do you have any favorite organizing tips? Our founder Lisa has succumbed to the (maybe tacky?) but convenient method of using clear “ziplock” bags. One for hand sanitizer, lip stick, tissues, pills, etc. One for sticky notes, pens, highlighters, one for snacks, etc. Do you have something that works well for you you’d like to share?

What things do you carry around? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. And… while we’re talking purses, you may be interested in the article below “Your Purse Could Be Making You Sick.” It’s a good idea to wipe down the bottom or your purse, the strap or handles, etc. at least once a week with an anti-bacterial wipe. There are loads of hidden germs on our cute little bags!

Related Articles:

• How to Know What to Carry in Your Purse
• How to Organize Your Mind by Cleaning Out Your Purse
• Your Purse Could Be Making You Sick

Create Your Own White Noise to Sleep (for free)

Trouble sleeping? For many of us a bit of white noise may help, but who wants to go buy one more gadget or expensive machine? SoundSleeping is a website with a web player that plays relaxing music or the nature sounds which typically aid sleep and even reduce stress.

One cool feature is that you can customize it so you can mix in whatever sounds personally bring you relaxation! Does a bonfire bring back happy memories? Is it 80 degrees outside and the sound of rain would help you hit the hay with a bit of ease? How about some drums or a flute (to each their own, if drums help you go to sleep, go for it!) You are able to adjust the volume and pan each sound the way you like, so have some fun just mixing your own tracks.

I had fun messing around with it and liked the ocean sound with the bonfire crackling in the background. I have crickets behind my refrigerator, so they don’t really relax me any more, so I skipped those.

All this is free–you don’t even have to “sign up.” Just sit your computer in the bedroom. Or, you can also check Man p3 section and purchase tracks for download. A 65-minutes CD (the longest available, but they also have shorter lengths) is just $3.99. Not bad for a good night of rest! Visit SoundSleeping today!

Lost Your Users Manuals?

You know how we open up our new appliances or other goodies, glance at the users manual and put it aside. How often are you able to locate it when you need it? Or maybe you put them in a folder (I admit it, I actually do this!) but soon that box is taking up too much room!

Here is a web site 2 Instructions that boasts, that they are “the largest internet database of manuals & user’s guides.” They have 1,250,478 documents available for immediate download – 15,105 brands.

So this is a web site to bookmark and the next time your blender starts having a mind of its own, you will be able to find out who to call or what to do in just minutes!

-ljc

Forms to Print to Keep your Medications Organized

How many times have you gone to see a new specialist and the nurse asks, “Are you taking any medications?” If you’re organized you pull out your latest photocopied list. If you’re like many of us, you say, “Well, yes, let’s see…” and start naming off everything you can remember. But soon you can’t remember the generic names versus the brand names, the milligrams, and exactly which doctor even prescribed it.

Here is a handy tool:  SafeMedication.com offers a pdf called “My Medicine List” that you can fill out online and then just print, or you can print as many copes as you want and then fill them out as needed. It also breaks it down to what you are taking in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings.

This just happens to be an excellent resource to add to your copy of A Woman’s Health Resource Journal that our own founder here at Rest Ministries developed. You can read more about it here.

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• 5 Ways To See Multiple Doctors Safely (blisstree.com)
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Is Your Cell Phone Somewhere in the House?

We’ve all misplaced things: keys, medicine, phones, cell phones. Have you had a grandchild for a visit lately and that was the last time you saw your phone?

For those of us with with both a land line and a cell phone, if we lose one we can always call with the other phone to listen and try to hear where it is ringing from. But if you just have one phone, then how long do you search before going to the neighbor’s house and asking her to call you?

Now you can just go to WhereIsMyCellPhone.com and type in your number and it rings. I just tried it with my land line. Works like a charm.

So no more embarassing admissions to your neighbor that it was in the freezer. Now it’s just between you and your computer.  This is a web site to write down on your refrigerator list.

-ljc