Get Creative with Some Craft Therapy!

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Do you like to get creative? Despite our pain and illness, if you have a creative streak, find someway to feed it. WEGO Health asks what is your favorite thing to do that is not health-related but likely improves your life?" Day #11. I chose to talk about doing some crafts or simple decor. Craft therapy. This is what crafting is to me--a form of therapy. As a child my bedroom door was decorated every month (and yes, my parents would try to hide the scotch tape because I went through it too fast!) In college, I made ornaments, dried flower arrangements and other crafts to sell to make money for Christmas gifts. I cross-stitched my way through the summer I was a nanny in Scarsdale. How weird to go to New York and find "the thing" everyone … [Read more...]

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

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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...]

Share Your Pinterest Account to Connect with Others!

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Pin this image to makes sure to spread the word so we can find one another over at Pinterest. Want to join Pinterest, but need an invitation? Just drop us a note here and we will send you one! … [Read more...]

Cute Frame With Dry Erase Marker Can Encourage You (Or Your Child!)

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My son, 9, doesn't like compliments. He says, "yeah, yeah, whatever," and yet he still needs to know I do notice them. Lately, his attitude and actions have left my husband and I throwing up our arms in desperation wondering what to try next to get through to this growing strong-willed blessing. Here is one thing I am trying: positive reinforcement! I bought a little 4x6 frame at the thrift store and painted it aqua blue to match our coastal cottage bathroom. Then I found a clipart-style beach background and some sunglasses clipart that I added to the right bottom corner. I put the words, "YOU ARE A COOL KID" on it in a fun font at the top and printed it out and framed it with the glass. Did know dry erase markers write easily on … [Read more...]

Clever Idea! Make a Pill Box Out of a Crafty Bead Box

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Are your medications and vitamins overwhelming you? I have 4 pillbox holders that I fill up 2 weeks at a time for morning and evening. But all the other bottles have been disorganized. And as much as I try to stay up on getting refills, some are last minute or I even miss a day. None of them seem to run out at the same time. We have a "drug drawer" in the kitchen with a lock. But as the rest of the family has added vitamins and medication over the years, my medications have suddenly become mixed in with everyone elses. So every time I spent 5 minutes going through 15 bottles looking for a particular one I think, "There has got to be a better way!" And. . . There is! Check this out! Can you guess what it is? It is a bead … [Read more...]

Cherish And Records Your Life’s Memories This Summer

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Denton Harris I spent yesterday at the hospital bedside of a very close friend who had a stroke that left him completely blind. We spent hours reminiscing about our many years together, and I learned a lesson which I am passing on to you. My friend had just celebrated his 85th birthday. He was in the D-day invasion in World War II, wounded and later taken prisoner by the Germans. He has a wonderful wife and family. As he lay there, staring sightlessly at the ceiling, he said, "So many things I'd planned that I'll never get done." Tears flowed as he talked (I had a few also but he couldn't see them). "I can never see my children and grandchildren and all the things they are doing. I can't watch them become adults." "I have a … [Read more...]

The Museum Of disABILITY Is An Interesting Place to Visit

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Daniel J. Vance I recently happened upon a delightful surprise. While planning for a family vacation, I learned of an interesting tourist attraction: The Museum of disABILITY History in Buffalo, New York. "The museum is the result of the desire of Dr. James M. Boles," said 51-year-old Doug Platt, museum curator, in a telephone interview. "Boles was teaching an introduction to developmental disabilities course at University of Buffalo and wanted to direct his students to a website for a comprehensive look at how people with disabilities have been treated throughout the ages. There wasn't one. That's how the museum was born, in 1998." Boles also was president/CEO of People Inc., a New York nonprofit providing employment, residential, … [Read more...]

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

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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...]

Finding New Hobbies and Joys Within The Midst of Pain

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By Bridget Gazlay You would think being chronically ill, a full-time administrative assistant, and a devotional writer would be enough to keep my time occupied. I also have the great joy of being a fabric artist. Now that title alone doesn't really tell you what I do. I don't design fabric or make clothing. I draw a design and then I make it in fabric, creating my own fabric art scene. I then scan my fabric original to produce my own prints, bookmarks, and note cards. That way I can spend as long as I need to on each design - which could be anywhere from 4 to 20 hours - and not have to make hundreds of them. I started making fabric pictures in 2000 when I was a missionary. I was a quilter at the time and wondered if I could figure out … [Read more...]

A Different Kind of Mom: Making a Difference at Home and in the World for Christ

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I remember sitting at my first MOPS meeting for Mother's with Preschoolers. After years of waiting to have a child, my husband and I had been blessed with a newborn through adoption. The irony is, all of the moms at the table had new babies. We needed support way before our children reached preschool age! Our of about 10 of us however, I found is disheartening to hear all but myself and another mom say, "Don't you just hate being a parent some days?" Gasp! And these were Christian women. "All I feel like is the maid and the cook" they shared. Looking back, now I realize that I was still in some of the "bliss" of motherhood." Yet, ironically, the only two of us who were content at the moment were both working at home--in the middle of the … [Read more...]

Make Your Own Artwork for Pennies

When you live with a chronic illness your house can get so dreary. We are often there--at home--looking at the same old knick knacks day after day, watching those dust bunnies grow into adulthood (oh, I'm sorry, maybe that is just at my house!) Well, either way, summer is just around the corner & maybe you are looking around wondering how you could cheer the place up. Or maybe you have kids that are out of school & they are bored & need a project. Here is a cool little tool we found! You can create a poster with the printer you have, even though your printer will only take regular sized 8 1/2 x 11 pieces of paper. Posterazor has a great video that shows how to download this free software & then how to upload your print. I can see … [Read more...]

Volunteering Can Ease Both Emotional and Physical Pain

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Too often we find ourselves sitting in our home, wishing we could go and do something to feel better, yet not knowing if at the end of the day we will feel better-- or worse. Although you may think that volunteering will drain all your energy, you may find that it actually can ease physical pain. And sometimes, even if you are in more physical pain, you may discover that the mental and spiritual joy you gained still makes the physical pain worth it! Volunteering has been found to: Enhance self-esteem through the "good feelings" derived from helping others and feeling worthwhile and needed. Distract one from one's aches and pains, providing motivation for rehabilitation and activity, helping overcome social isolation, and … [Read more...]