Joy

What Do You Want Your Faith-Legacy To Be? Donna Has an Idea with Scrapbooking!

May 1, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Scrapbooking Your Faith By Debbi Farmer One of my favorite hobbies is scrapbooking. I have so many memories that I want to keepsake for others to enjoy down the years. I am often looking for new resources to add to my scrapbooking technique. Perhaps that is why I found this book and web-site to be so fascinating and wanted to share it with you. Scrapbook Your Christian Faith: The Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy by Donna Riner Weber is just one of those many treasures that you have to share with all of your friends. I recently interviewed Donna Riner Weber about her book and website and discovered for myself how to scrapbook my Christian faith. What is Donna's story? One crisp, cool Friday afternoon in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Hobbies-Crafts, Joy, Loneliness, Ministry - Personal, Profiles, Reflection, Statistics, What's New? Tagged With: chronic illness. scrapbooker, faith-based scrapbooking, faithbook, keepsake, memories, purpose in illness, scrapbook legacy, Scrapbook Your Christian Faith: The Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy, scrapbooking christian faith, Scrapbooking Your Faith: Layouts That Celebrate Your Spiritual Beliefs

I Am Sad, But Choosing Defiant Joy

October 15, 2011 By admin 26 Comments

Tears are sitting on the edge of my eyes. Filling. . . filling. I wipe it fast before my son sees me. I have a friend who is having a fun Saturday morning get together right now. 10 AM. A morning with the gals. A "retiring from 9-5" party for someone starting her own business. I should be there. Rheumatoid arthritis keeps getting in the way. Everything within me is sitting beneath the surface, ready to erupt grief, frustration, anger, sorrow. My husband has been snoring for years, worse all the time. Gasping for breath. He finally fills out the paperwork for a sleep study. A rep drops off the gadget he should wear at night. "I will be back tomorrow morning to pick it up," he says. But that night I tell my husband it's not a good … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Founder's Blog, Joy, Loneliness, This is Me, What's New? Tagged With: Conditions and Diseases, God, Health, Night, Sleep disorder

Healing Words

August 22, 2011 By admin 6 Comments

Deanna Nichols "The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." -Proverbs 12:18 Yesterday I had a great conversation with a health and fitness coach with whom I recently started working. Not only did she give me some great ideas to work toward my personal goals, but I also found myself leaving the conversation with a lot more hope than I've felt in a long time. It's interesting I should be so hopeful because I'm really having a tough time physically right now. And we also spent a fair amount of time discussing my past history of chronic illness, a topic that usually drains me and makes me sad. Instead, she was able to focus on the accomplishments I've made in the past two years toward a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Joy, Reflection, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Conditions and Diseases, God, Healing, Health, Illness, Lord, Psalm

The Joy of Laughter — Even When It’s At Yourself!

June 1, 2011 By admin 5 Comments

By Tami Nantz "There is a time for everything. . . a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 3:1a, 4) My sweet mama was one of the funniest people I've ever known. Her battle with rheumatoid arthritis began suddenly at the young age of thirty, when I was just four years old. I don't remember a time in my life when she was without pain. Within just a few years of diagnosis, she began to have surgeries. First, to replace her right hip, then her left knee, then her toes. She knew what it meant to suffer physically. Yet, one of the things I most admired about my mom was her determination to thrive, to be happy in spite of her circumstances, her determination to truly live. Tim Hansel wrote … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Coping Skills, Joy, What's New? Tagged With: Christian, Chronic (medicine), God, Health, Jesus, John Powell, laugh, Laughter, laughter and tears, laughter in difficult times, laughter in pain, laughter is the best medicine

Crutches Don’t Have To Be Depressing! An Amazing Story

May 26, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

Debbie Farmer "LemonAid Crutches"(TM) is the first company to create lovely designer crutches in rich, vivid colors and gorgeous, expressive fabrics. Being on crutches can be a sad, depressing experience, but this store makes it a bit more enjoyable and a whole lot more cheerful. On the LemonAid Crutches (TM) web site it shares, "No one wants to be on crutches. They hurt your hands, they hurt your arms and they certainly hurt your sense of style. Many have tried to tackle the challenge of adding comfort to an uncomfortable item, but duct tape and washcloths look…well…tacky. That's why we created designer crutch-wear that's not only comfortable, but fun and fabulous looking." Founder Laurie Johnson's personal testimony to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Hobbies-Crafts, Joy, Links, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, Tools, What's New? Tagged With: accessories for crutches, businesses out of tragedy, crafts for canes, Crutch, crutches decorated, gift for ill friend, gifts for the chronically ill, Health, inspirational article, Laurie Johnson, lemonaid crutches

Author Interview: Finding The Light of Jesus Author Shares How We All Need God’s Love

May 10, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

By Debbie Farmer I recently had the blessed experience of chatting briefly with book author Cindy Tuttle, who has written "Joining in the Dance of Life" and recently released "Finding the Light of Jesus" both available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. I feel privileged to share this interview with you about her new book. Cindy, please tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to write "Finding the Light of Jesus." Thank you, Debbi, for letting me share "The Light of Jesus" with you. I have been honored to have worked with people with severe mental illness for over twenty-five years. I've also worked with adults and children who were profoundly retarded and people who are elderly living in long term care hospitals. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Books, Joy, Profiles, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Christianity, cindy tuttle, debbie farmer, Evangelism, God, Jesus, Lord's Cricket Ground, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality

“The Patch” – How God Used a Childhood Experience To Change My Opinion of Nursing Homes

April 24, 2011 By admin 4 Comments

By Carol Gray I have hated nursing homes ever since I toured one as a girl scout in 1978. It was difficult being an eight-year-old girl walking the hallways, passing rooms of the dying. I wondered, did I actually sign up for this? Did I really bring home a permission slip for this field trip? What was the sales-pitch by the scout master, oh yeah, I would get a patch…those darn patches! The "Service and Citizenship" patch would be the reward for entertaining the elderly for the day. I remember thinking that most of them did not look at us with sentiment, only desperation; as if they wanted us to help them escape the inevitable. How depressing. I took that patch and hid it away in my drawer hoping to forget about the entire … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Caregiver, Caregiving, Joy, Support Group Leader Tagged With: Bedsore, Carol Gray, Girl Scouts of the USA, God, Indiana Wesleyan University, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, Nursing home, nursing home ministries, nursing home ministry, outreach to chronically ill

How Do We Find the Light of Jesus When We Are Suffering? Interview with Cindy Tuttle

November 10, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

By Debbie Farmer I recently had the blessed experience of chatting briefly with book author Cindy Tuttle, who has written “Joining in the Dance of Life” and recently released “Finding the Light of Jesus” both available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. I feel privileged to share this interview with you about her new book. Meet Cindy Tuttle, Author Cindy, please tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to write “Finding the Light of Jesus”. Thank you Debbi for letting me share “The Light of Jesus” with you. I have been honored to have worked with people with severe mental illness for over twenty-five years. I’ve also worked with adults and children who were profoundly retarded and people who are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Books, Joy, Person w/ Illness, Share Your Story Tagged With: Christ, Christianity, Evangelism, God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, Religion & Spirituality, Rest Ministries

Rest Ministries Reader Has Unique Idea For Outreach and Education

October 8, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

By Jessica Hayford Cantrell I did something today that is weird for me to do. I’ve never done it before and likely never will again. I called a local radio show. He’s a local pastor who does a two hour call in show where you can ask questions about the bible, religion, or anything like that. I called in to ask him “how should Christians respond to chronic illness?” He asked me in what context and I told him that I had many people telling me that I’m not healed because of unbelief and so on. He got fired up over that. Really, he was mad that people professing to be Christians would ever say such a thing, let alone believe it. In part I knew the answer to the question, I know how I believe Christ would want us to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Coping Skills, Help RM, Joy, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Christian, Chronic (medicine), Chronic Illness, God, Health, Lord, Rest Ministries

Breakfast on Your Body –Without the Calories

June 3, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

So this woman I know, who shall remain nameless to keep her dignity (hi, mom!) has always sworn on her mother's advice to wrap raw bacon around a toe that is starting to get an ingrown toe nail. Evidently the fat of the bacon will pull out the infection. I have to admit, I've seen it work. . . But for those of us with not-so-hot immune systems, I wouldn't recommend putting a piece of bacon on your toe. (Nor leaving it in your sock, where your dog can pull it out & eat it & have to go to the vet &. . . well, that's a whole other story). But look what we found as a humorous alternative? Bacon & egg b&ages! Yeah, we know this post likely won't help you grow in great depths spiritually, but we hope it brings a smile to your face. We can … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Joy, Links, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Silly Stuff, What's New? Tagged With: Alternative medicine, Arts, chronic illness tips, Do it yourself, Healing, Hiking, Literature, Marker pen, Paper, Peter, Picture frame, Pinterest, prescriptions, Walmart, www.pfccreations.com

I Won’t Let Illness Steal My Joy

May 7, 2010 By admin 5 Comments

The debilitation of my illness surprises me at the strangest times. I have a new Spring purse & want to transfer items from my shabby old one into my new one. Unexpectedly, I am overwhelmed with choices. Do I put my keys in this section or that? Where would my sunglasses best fit? My lip gloss? My wallet? My pain meds? Suddenly, I am overwhelmed by the project & push it aside. What happened to the anticipation of having a new purse? It has fallen victim to fibro-fog. There are other times when my illness steals my joy before I ever have a chance to experience it. I decline an invitation to an art exhibit because I do not know the way. (MapQuest is not helpful if I have never driven the streets before.) I reschedule or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Attitude, Joy, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, Clark Kent, Comfort Zone, Conditions and Diseases, God, Health, Heart, hopekeepers, invisible illness, jennifer rothschild, Mentor, Mentorship, Superman

Living with Chronic Pain Isn’t Fun . . . But it Can Be Funny!

May 2, 2010 By admin 3 Comments

I was walking through a store yesterday & overheard two women who were clerks at the gift shop speaking. The conversation went something like this: "She was recently diagnosed with MS, but she is doing really well. She has a really great attitude." "Well, she must be in remission then if she has a good attitude." "No, I don't think she's in remission. She has just decided to take whatever life throws at her & try to have best attitude possible." "Well, most people go into remission when they have MS. It probably can't be that bad." It took everything in me to walk by & not jump in & share exactly what I thought of the one woman's perception of chronic illness. One of the more difficult parts of illness is learning to live with chronic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Founder's Blog, Friend Has Illness, Joy, Person w/ Illness, Silly Stuff, Tools, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: Christian, christians and depression, Chronic, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, Conditions and Diseases, Depression, depression and illness, disabilities, diseases, God, hardships, Health, health conditions, hopekeepers, invisible illness, invisible illness week conference, invisibleillnessweek, laugh, money saving tips, online sermon, Pain, Pope, redeemer fellowship, Research, Rest Ministries, sufferers, symptoms, what is joy