Our Best Tips

5 Things You Need To Know Before You Buy A Massage Chair at the Fair

May 28, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

Okay, so maybe you aren't ever actually tempted to buy the chairs, you just want to sit in it for a few minutes. We underst& (& we're likely sitting right next to you, dreaming about how much better our chronically ill body would feel if this chair was in our living room & wondering if we could write it off on our taxes.) But before you plunk down a credit card, here are some things you should know. Here is an article we wanted to pass along to keep you informed! 5 Things You Need To Know Before You Buy A Massage Chair at the Fair By Tom Resnick One great venue to actually try massage chairs our various events. You can find home shows, county fairs & other types of shows where massage chairs will be displayed. This is a great … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, Save $, What's New? Tagged With: Alternative, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, chronically ill, consider the sparrows, Deer, Health, Joni Mitchell, Mississippi, Shopping, why does god allow bad things to happen to good people, why does god get angry or mad

Tips For Retreat Planners Regarding Those with Chronic Illness

May 26, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

As womens ministries all over the country are starting to look at their fall calendars & reserve a autumn retreat for their women's group. Are you or someone you know planning a womens church retreat? We asked you, our readers to share your dream retreat! And also, "What should retreat planners know about people with illness? Do you attend retreats more or less often since your diagnoses?" Here's what you shared: 73% of you said you attend retreats LESS often SPECIFICALLY because of your illness. Almost 7% attend more retreats since being diagnosed with an illness What should retreat planners be aware of? Carol shares, "I was part of the staff that plans many of the retreats in my area before I started having health … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Caregiver, Church Leader, Need to Know, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Christianity, Chronic Illness, Church Resources, Conditions and Diseases, God, Health, Holy Spirit, Illness, joni and friends, Massage, Religion and Spirituality, Retreats, women's retreats, womens ministries

Are You Always Forgetting Numbers You Need?

May 23, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

We all have a million different numbers that we are supposed to be able to remember off the top of our head. Our phone number, our cell number, our family's cell numbers, our PIN numbers, bank numbers. Not long ago I was supposed to put my phone number into the grocery store's machine for my discount & I drew a blank. And the blank didn't fade away. I literally dug out my check book & with a red face, glanced to see what is was. Well, here is a web site that may be of a little bit of help. myPhonr is really easy to use. You just enter in your phone number --or whatever number you are needing to be able to memorize a bit easier, & see if it has any English words in it. You may be able to dial the "word" rather than the numbers. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Links, Organizing, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: anniversary, Business and Economy, choices in life, chronic conditions, Dear Lord, Groundhog, how to hear god speak, if i could tell my healthy friends something, ill caregiver, intentional living, living your dreams, mcs, peace in the storm, reaching out to jesus, resting in this work, searching for silence, Telecommunications, Website, what to say to your husband when he is ill, what will your legacy be, when healthy people do not understand chronic illness, when the man is sick, women bled for twelve years

Can Your Or Your Kids Set a New Record? Fun Summer Project

May 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Summer is coming soon & if you are a mom or dad with a chronic illness you may be wondering how you are going to fill in some of that spare time your children have. Here is one web site that get the kids, even if they are only 6 or 7 years old, to start thinking about what they could do to set a record. The Universal Record Database is touted as "the definitive site for human achievement." While I don't think seeing how many spoons you can knock off the counter with your nose in 20 seconds can be defined as a human achievement. . . who am I to judge? The fun thing about this site is that you can do almost anything, video tape it, & stick it up as a new record. One gal decided to see how many plastic spoons she could hold in 1 h& (45). … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Links, Our Best Tips, Parenting, Person w/ Illness, Silly Stuff, What's New? Tagged With: Book of Revelation, Campsite, Child, Chronic, Chronic Illness, Conditions and Diseases, Corregidor Island, Disability, Disabled, event, Health, invisible illness awareness, Isaac, Kitten, Limousine, Lynn Jones, Milk, moms with illness, power of words, Rescues and Shelters, Website, you are not alone, Zion

Choosing What Kind of Life You Will Lead – Despite Illness

May 18, 2010 By admin 3 Comments

The following is an excerpt from “Despite Lupus: How to Live Well with a Chronic Illness” by Sara Gorman, Chapter 1, titled, “Choose Well.” Though the article below & book are written with lupus in mind, those with any illness will find hope & encouragement! Setting out to drastically improve your life with lupus may make you a little nervous. In fact you’re probably a little scared. What if it’s really too hard? What if this path is even harder than the one you’re already on? Think of the numerous other times when you’ve felt unsure (or down right scared) regarding a disease-related experience. Maybe you were able to joke about it & laugh it off, regaining your footing & reassuring yourself that things would be fine. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Attitude, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Archive, choice, Chronic, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, Conditions and Diseases, Connective Tissue, Contact Us, Gandalf, Health, Joel Hunter, lupus, ministry leadership, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Organizations, Pain

What is the Best Time of Day to…

May 11, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Ever stood around the pharmacy & wondered where all the people suddenly came from? As someone who lives with a chronic illness you may want to print this article out for your fridge or to stick in your Woman's Health Resource Journal to refer to when you are making plans. When should I have surgery? As early as possible in the morning. When you live with an illness I know it can be hard to get up & get there to a surgical center or hospital. But let's be realistic. . . are you really sleeping anyway? And most often you are unable to eat, drink or take your medications in the morning, so the sooner in the day you can get in, the better off you will be physically. Plus, studies have shown that patients have fewer anesthesia … [Read more...]

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Yes, Christians Get Depressed

May 10, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

Over & over I still hear from people who have been told, "If your faith was strong enough, you wouldn't get that depressed. Jesus can heal you of that if you reallyy want Him to." Oh, how sad that makes me. One reason is that I do believe that speaking to a counselor can make a difference. Like any profession, there are some good counselors, & some not-so-good, so ask for referrals from your loved ones, mentors, or church leadership. But don't let the stigma or the expectations that Christians don't get depressed prevent you from seeking counsel if you are feeling "blue." (And there are many definitions of that light-hearted word "blue.") There is a large spectrum of depression & yes, Christians get depressed just like anyone else. I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Depression, Founder's Blog, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: bethany hamilton bio, Brady Bunch, Christian, christian depression, Christianity, Chronic, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, Depression, Faith, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality, United States, when your child has a medical condition, when your child is chronically ill

Appliances – When to Fix, When to Buy

May 8, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

When I was young appliances were made to last a lot longer. When it broke, you called the repairman. Now day, however, it is sometimes more financially smart to recycle the old one & purchase a new one. Though the costs involved may not be welcome in our monthly budget, paying 40% of the appliances value & having it last just a few more months, may not be the best choice either. So how do you know when to fix it & when to start shopping? With more energy efficient appliances as well as rebates, it can be hard to know which way to go some times. A website by Dan O'Neill, Appliance411.com can help you decide. The web site has a lot of well-organized information even if you have to dig a bit. And most of it worth reading at some point … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Links, Our Best Tips, Save $, What's New? Tagged With: Body of Christ, Business and Economy, Home, Jehovah, Refrigerator, Schizoaffective disorder, Shopping, when a friend is ill

Get Ready to Eat Right This Season!

May 4, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you are like me you are excited about the fresh fruit & seasonal veggies about to ripen, & yet still fighting the battle of weight. Maybe yours is too low or too high, or perhaps with all the medications you are on you just struggle to maintain the weight you have. Well, my friend Joanna Faillace is an amazing woman who has put together a great cookbook for us --& she is even sharing the profits with Rest Ministries! I asked her to share about her book & here is what she wrote: Super-Naturally Healthy Families Cookbook, written by Certified Biblical Health Coach & TV host Joanna Faillace, is packed with all natural & great tasting smoothies, snacks, "habit-izers", meals & desserts! Our "fast food" lifestyle is causing obesity & … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alternative Treatments, Books, Cooking, Links, Medical Professional, Our Best Tips, What's New? Tagged With: Bible, christian women, Design, Diet, dieting, encouraging, God, Holy Spirit, Home, how to encourage a friend, hurting friend, jennifer rothchild, Joni, mentoring tips, mentoring women, prednisone, Psoriasis, sharing, Shopping, the number of parish nurses in united states, women mentoring women

Lisa Shares About Joint Replacement Surgery Logistics

May 3, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

May is Arthritis Awareness Month & the Arthritis Foundation will be celebrating their 60th Anniversary. Many of you know I had joint replacement surgery on four fingers on my left h& in November of 2009. In the middle of my recovery I recorded five videos about the surgery. The recovery, the splints, & physical therapy. If you do not have a rheumatoid arthritis these videos may not be particularly "helpful" for you, but as a patient, I found very few resources for actual patients that were formative about what to expect. You can watch them at our YouTube channel. Feel free to share them! Lisa Copen Founder of Rest Ministries … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Founder's Blog, Our Best Tips, Person w/ Illness, Tools, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: Arizona, Arthritis, Bullying, butyoudontlooksick, Conditions and Diseases, Fibromyalgia, Gospel of John, Health, Invisible Illness Week, John, lisa copen, Logic, medical advice, Musculoskeletal Disorders, outrigger splint, Physical therapy, Rheumatoid arthritis, social networking and health, Surgery, unsolicited, Video, YouTube

Track How Much Air Pollution is Near Your Kid’s Schools

April 27, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Ever wonder why so many kids in your child's class seem to have asthma? Are there days the school moves recess indoors due to air pollution? As those of us with chronic illness realize, chemical insensitivities can lead to many health problems now & down the road. USA Today has created a great tool for parents to use & it takes less than 10 seconds. I just put in my son's school & found it is in the 68th percentile (rather good actually). USA Today uses Google Maps & lots of data to track toxic air pollution outside 128,000 USA schools to create this site, The Smokestack Effect. The site is packed with everything you can think of regarding clean air (or dirty air) & schools. Each school is given a national rank in comparison to other … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health News, Links, Our Best Tips, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Parenting, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Associated Press, Believing God, Cancer, Cat, Cessna, Chronic Illness, Domestic worker, Gardener, Google, Harbor Beach Michigan, Health, Lake Huron, Mustard seed, pet therapy, Religious text, Sowing, Toxicity, tread water, United States

Kettle Corn without the Calories

April 24, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

It's Saturday. . . are you craving a DVD & some popcorn? Well, if you love kettle corn but cannot eat the sugar or calories of that flavorful coating, you may want to try one of my favorite new treats! Kernel Seasons now has a kettle corn flavor. At just 5 calories & one sugar gram per 1/4 of a teaspoon (which nicely coats a bowl of popcorn), you can treat those cravings-- without the calories! It's not sticky, but it's a light seasoning that does have that kettle corn flavor. So far, we've only located this flavor at our local Blockbuster video store. It is a .9 ounce bottle & is just $.99. Other flavors have spotted at places like Target & the grocery store, including butter & nacho cheese. Any flavor can also be ordered at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cooking, Our Best Tips, Silly Stuff, What's New? Tagged With: Food, Grocery store, husband is chronically ill, kids in hospital, sick kids, spouse is ill, Sugar, when caregiver becomes ill