What Would Your Church Do? Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

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By Lisa Copen Have you seen the T.V. show, "What Would You Do? With John Quinones"? In it, they have actors set up a situation and then wait to see if anyone gets involved. Do people stand up for the "underdog"? Will adults buy teens beer? Will people stop a drunk parent from driving? Results are very interesting. Below are some scenarios to help church leaders think, "What would our church do?" We always hope that we will do the right thing. We believe our church will make the best choices for all involved. But sometimes the lines get buried. Phone calls don't get returned because no one has an answer for the hurting person. Too often I hear from people who have called their church with stories like the ones below and the … [Read more...]

Free Meal Delivery Printable Labels to Give A Special Touch

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When one is chronically ill, and a friend wishes to help her, the first thing that comes to mind is to bring her a meal. In fact, since the most popular gift to bring is a meal, I wrote the book, Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend to get people to think beyond food. Having said, that, however, a meal is a gift of comfort. And even though we may be physically able to cook, it takes a burden off of us so that we can use the energy we would have spent cooking doing something else. I have discovered that many people who cook for the chronically ill are actually ill themselves. Though it is easy to understand new mommies and those who have just had surgery are in need of meals, those who see a chronically ill … [Read more...]

Am I a Hypochondriac If…

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By Lisa Copen We laugh as people say, "I think I may be a hypochondriac!" but is it really a funny matter? Not so much. Am I a hypochondriac if... I get up at 2:30 AM to google a symptom I am experiencing and I start imagining all the things it could be? It is unlikely. In today's age of having immediate information at our fingertips, it is much easier to just get out of bed and start searching than to wait until morning when the doctor's office is open and then we must decide to call him or not. In the days of our parents raising their children, rather than looking for search engine results in the middle of the night, they sat at the kitchen table with the Dr. Spock book attempting to figure out the cause of certain symptoms and if … [Read more...]

Q/A: How Do I Get Doctors To Listen and Stop Passing Me To Another Doctor?

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Have you had the experience of one doctor passing you off to another, and that one to another, and no one really wanting to "own" you as a patient? For a while I have felt I was the ball in a game of ping pong between my general practitioner and a specialist, each telling me to see the other. Currently, as new issues develop, I have become a "hot potato." My question is, what do you do to get doctors to listen and stop passing the buck? I am looking for suggestions beyond basics of talking to doctors. One thing I am finding helpful lately is to pray earnestly and specifically for the appointment and the agenda to discuss with that doctor. I am at least finding each appointment a little less frustrating, and maybe a little more … [Read more...]

Resources and Gadgets to Improve Your Health When You are Chronically Ill

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By Lisa Copen It is the time of year when many people are setting fresh goals regarding their health. For one who is chronically ill, however, it can be discouraging and you can feel a bit helpless at the lack of options you have available. Well, due to technology, there may just be some new possibilities for you! Here are a few we have found below. Many people do not want or cannot afford an ipad or an iphone to be able to use the apps in many new technological health advances. If these are something you are interested in, you may want to invest in an iTouch for less than $200. It has the ability to do everything an iphone does but make calls, and there is no monthly fee. You can only connect to wi-fi in a "hot spot" (like your home, … [Read more...]

Q&A: How Can I Let People Know Their Perfume is Making Me Sick?

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I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and when people who are wearing perfume want to hug me they transfer their scent to my clothing! How can we let people know that their perfume is having the opposite intended effect on some people? That to someone with MCS, their perfume is about 20 times more intense and nauseating! I'm not comfortable saying, "Hi there! No offense, but your perfume makes me gag! No, I can't sit next to you!" If I were king, I'd lump perfume with cigarette smoke and ban it in public places! Sorry you perfume lovers-- nothing personal. I am just trying to breathe and be healthy. --Semi-silent sufferer, attending church on-line Dear Semi-silent sufferer, You are definitely not alone! Although many assume this … [Read more...]

When Illness Threatens to Make You Feel Invisible

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I once heard the comparison that life with chronic illness was sort of like "living in the parenthesis." It can sound like a bad Christmas letter. . . We have had the most fabulous year (despite mom being in the hospital a couple of weeks). We had a wonderful trip to the lake and went camping (mom stayed in a motel nearby) and everyone waterskiied and sunbathed (except mom, she can't be in the sun or ski so she just watched from under a canopy). We went to see the caves (mom couldn't walk the stairs so she just rested at the motel). We are looking forward to getting together with you this year (Mom can't travel so we hope you can visit us!) Does life ever feel that way? Over in the Rest Ministries Sunroom Bet shared her heart on … [Read more...]

Why I Love My Kindle. . . and You May Like One Too!

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The Amazon Kindle. If you don't have one it may just be on your wish list this holiday season. I (Lisa) have had the blessing of owning one since 2008 when my husband surprised me with the very first version for my 40th birthday. He thought I would be having joint replacement surgery on four fingers soon and it would come in handy. Little did he know surgery would be put aside a few weeks later as I spent a week in the hospital (the flesh eating bacteria, nasty stuff!) I receive many emails from people who have asked me what I like about the Kindle and how it works. I thought I would put all my answers in one place so you can see why I like it and make your own decision. For the record, I had the first version of Kindle 2008-2010, and … [Read more...]

Today Starts Invisible Illness Week

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Today starts Invisible Illness Awareness Week. Each day there will be a post at the Invisible Illness Week website (our sister site)  on the podcasts we are "featuring" that day. I began this in 2002 and it's reached out to hundreds of thousands of people over the years, encouraging them that they are not alone. This year we will not be having a "live show." I made this decision earlier in the year for many reasons, and have been glad I listened to the Lord's instruction. August I was sick most of the month from an allergic reaction to a medication. The day after my son returned to school, for the first time in 15 years my computer had it's hard drive go bad. (On an 18-month old computer!) It was at the shop a  week and just I it … [Read more...]

How Memories Can Help Us Cope With Pain

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Nichole Fogleman Do you ever think about the past and smile about a lovely memory? Or feel a sense of calm when a pleasant memory has glimpsed your presence. God has given you this capability to bring back memories. I find remembering a certain experience from my past to be very calming to my soul. Sometimes I lie awake at night trying to fall asleep and I can go back in time and remember my childhood memories. These memories take me somewhere else in my present moment and provide an euphoria almost comparable to a drug. Even when I go for a long run sometimes, just thinking about memories helps me lose myself in the moment of physical distress that exercise can sometimes bring. For patients of chronic pain, memory therapy can be … [Read more...]

Raise Your Hands If You Really Love Jesus

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Shannon Dingle Last month, my church hosted a large women's conference. We put it on every other year, and it is truly a blessing. I really loved our musicians this time and enjoyed worshiping with other women from different churches and neighborhoods and backgrounds. Such a sweet glimpse of what heaven--plus men and children, of course--has in store for us! It was especially sweet to have this time, while my sweet husband was home with our two preschoolers, because I was in pain that weekend. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and my IV meds had worn off with three weeks before the next dose. Some movements gave me the sensation of needles in my joints, which isn't so pleasant (and some lack of movement did the same, but there wasn't … [Read more...]

Making a Difference in the Lives of Soldiers With Illness, Disability, and More

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Debbi Farmer One of the privileges of writing articles to share with the members of Rest Ministries who are looking for resources to help with their particular kind of pain is finding a "hidden jewel" that can out-shine many others. "Healing our Heroes Network" is just that jewel! "Once a Hero always a Hero," however our military heroes today are only human and can suffer many kinds of wounds too complex sometimes to treat, too personal to share, and too deep to heal without help. That is where this wonderful program comes into play. The "Soldiers for Bibles Ministry" a part of Heart of God International Ministries has seen the need to bring together resources to help our heroes in one convenient location. "Healing Our Heroes … [Read more...]

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