Why You Should Come to the CNN Health ‘Chat’ on Illness

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CNN Health features a chat based on interest from Invisible Illness Awareness Week, with founder Lisa Copen, hosting. Thank you for all your help with Invisible Illness Awareness Week. I have some follow up emails set to come out in future days, but this one took priority about the opportunity over at CNN Health. When we live with invisible illnesses we often say no one understands. They don't understand the pain, the fatigue, the strength it takes to push through it all. They don't get our fear of infections, the stress of the bills, none of it. And we wish the media would do more to cover invisible illness than just show celebrities who seem to be "back to their old life" once they have taken certain medications. Well, CNN … [Read more...]

Last Day of Invisible Illness Awareness Week Conference

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Happy Friday! As we wind down the week we have some great speakers for you. Naomi Kingery will be sharing her journey with diabetes from a "tween," through teens, college and career. Pam Farrel shares about communication in a marriage and how it really are the little things that can matter the most. And then Kelly Young (@rawarrior as many of you know her) shares about the frustrations we sometimes feel when the media or doctors and such sugar-coat our illness. ("Why can't you go run a marathon now that you are taking that medication--like the girl on the commercial?) At 5 PM pacific I have prepared a 30-minute video for you as our closing seminar as I share about the week, what I hope you have taken away from it and more. I even have … [Read more...]

It is Thursday of Invisible Illness Awareness Week!

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  Today we have Leslie Vernick who will discuss destructive relationships. What do you do when a friend or family member goes beyond not understanding your illness. Trish Robichaud talk about steps she took following open heart surgery (she also has MS) to get through recovery and what she recommends when you are facing this slow process. Maureen Pratt will talk about steps to take when you are facing a crisis? What happens when a crisis happens in addition to coping with your illness. And at 5 PM Jenni Pettit discusses how to be an advocate for your illness. What can you do when you are exhausted all the time?   You will find it all here invisibleillnessconference.com All videos are archived and don't forget that … [Read more...]

Wednesday’s Happenings for Invisible Illness Awareness Week

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Good morning! It is Wednesday of Invisible Illness Awareness Week and today we add a fourth seminar through Friday at 5 PM pacific. We will be emailing this separately to our subscribers to ensure you get it in time. Everything is available at http://invisibleillnessconference.com Today we have some great seminars today at Invisible Illness Awareness Week, Mary Siegel, co-author of "Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired" (a classic!), working from home when ill with Jill Hart, finding yourself with Renee Fisher and parenting teens and tweens with Dena Dyer. All videos are archived and we love hearing from you. Tweet the parts you love with #iiwk12 - And thanks in advance for for sharing this email! You never know who you love who … [Read more...]

Tuesday’s Announcements for Invisible Illness Awareness Week

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Good morning! Thank you so much for all the prayers! I can FEEL them! The fact that my body holds up under sitting in this chair for 12 hours a day is TRULY a miracle. I have a bit of information and some praises to share too. I hope you will continue to join us today for Invisible Illness Week's virtual conference. Yesterday we had a few quirks when GoDaddy, the international ISP went down. Thankfully, all of our site is hosted elsewhere, but for a few hours the shortcut link, "http://invisibleillnessconference.com" was not working. All is fine today. If there are any issues like this, be sure to check out the Invisible Illness Week Facebook Page or our Event Page, as I can quickly provide updates such as this in those 2 … [Read more...]

We Kick Off Invisible Illness Awareness Week Monday, Sept 10

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This week is Invisible Illness Awareness Week. I am so excited about all the terrific presentations we have ready for you to watch or listen to online and I have been happy about all of the enthusiasm so many of you have shared. This week, I am sharing devotionals I have written that have a running theme of "how to help a person with a chronic illness." I have adapted them for you, knowing if you are reading this, you are likely ill yourself! But they are also nice little snippets to be able to print and share with friends, family, caregivers, your pastoral care team and church and more. Our team of devotional writers will be back next week and they have more touching examples of how God is working through their lives, just like He is … [Read more...]

Where is Hope? Those With Invisible Illness Share God’s Reminders

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Where is hope? How do we find hope? Each day God sends us reminders that He has it all under control. How can you share your hope with people around the world today? Good morning! Yesterday I gave you an update on what Invisible Illness Week is all about. I thought I would share a few highlights over the next few days. I know you may be thinking, "I don't need anything else on my plate right now." I understand. Really. And if you are "into" social media like Facebook and Twitter you know the power of using these tools to spread the word. But if you are rolling your eyes right now and saying, "Oh, no, not another Facebook thing-a-ma-jig I have to learn . . . " don't worry! Stay with me! I have been putting Invisible Illness … [Read more...]

Why You Should Care About Invisible Illness Awareness Week

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Invisible Illness Awareness Week is a great opportunity to learn new skills from authors and experts (many of them Christian professionals), as well as share your hope! Hi there, friends! Well, my son is back to school and I am in crunch-mode for Invisible Illness Awareness Week! What is II Week? Ten years ago I saw many people here at Rest Ministries who were on a great walk with God. They even had some idea how God may be able to use their illness for His glory. But there was a little problem. . . A lot of people still felt incredibly bitter, angry even, that no one understood what they were experiencing on a daily basis. And, oh my! The frustration they had about having an invisible illness really rocked their world. It seeped … [Read more...]

Share Your Hope Through Pictures for Invisible Illness Awareness Week

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Share your hope! Here are the details about the "share your hope" campaign I mentioned in yesterday's post. Are you ready to kick things off? We are! The theme for this year's Invisible Illness Awareness Week is "Invisible Illness? Share Your Visible Hope!" And Lisa's video below tells you exactly how to start doing that today! We invite you to share your hope with the rest of us. One of the ways to share your hope this season is by uploading images/photos (of your own) that show that (despite living with an invisible illness) we can and do have visible hope. Living with illness doesn't have to mean all doom and gloom. In fact, thousands of people challenge each other every day to "share your hope!" online. They inspire others … [Read more...]

Awareness Week Preparations Begin For Those with Invisible Illnesses

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We have started our summer preparations for Invisible Illness Awareness Week! Hi, Friends! I am excited to be kicking off our summer prep for National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week! Did you know Rest Ministries is behind this awareness week? Rest Ministries began National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week (NICIAW "for short" -- I know it's a mouth full!) in 2002 and so we are celebrating 10 years this year! When we first began the awareness week, we had a chatroom for our virtual conference and the term "invisible illness" was rarely even seen online. Through the years, the support of many of you have made this awareness week one of the coolest events online, as thousands join in for the virtual conference (where … [Read more...]

Book Giveaways This Week

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Oh, Don't ya love spring? The humming birds arrive, the flowers bloom,  the clutter starts to appear when the sun comes out. Wait a minute. I am talking about myself here. I have been trying to declutter for months. .  but I am finally hitting my home office here at Rest Ministries. I want space, open spots on my desk that don't have a pile. But I have so much good stuff! And some of those goodies are books. Most of these are books I have been given by the authors, the publishers, etc. and I just cannot keep them all. They are "like new" (I have read everything on my Kindle since 2008--much easier on my rheumatoid arthritis hands).  So these little books are gems that I have barely broken the cover on. Each day I will post the … [Read more...]

AMC Theaters Offers Movie Times for Those with Sensory Sensitivities

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I love movies. If I am watching a movie at home I feel like I need to be folding laundry or working or something. But sitting in a theater, I feel as though I am allowed (required even!) to sit in the dark and give it my full attention. Not everyone gets to enjoy this temporary getaway, however, when it is all a bit too much for your child's sense--or even your own. So I was thrilled to see that AMC Theaters and the Autism Society have teamed up to allow families who are affected by autism (or other disabilities--anyone qualifies) a chance to see movies in a environment that won't overload their senses. The idea for this program all started when one parent who had a child with autism asked for a special screening at AMC Columbia Mall … [Read more...]