Caregiver Archives - Rest Ministries - Chronic Illness and Pain Support

A Chronically Ill Husband: Reflections From His Wife

June 12, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

What happens when your ill husband can no longer do or be all that he was before? Does it change your love? No, you look for God's mercies that are new every morning. I Heard a Bird Sing I heard a bird sing In the dark of December A magical thing And sweet to remember: “We are nearer to Spring Than we were in September,” I heard a bird sing In the dark of December. by Oliver Herford Winter and summer are my husband’s least favorite seasons. I have an ill husband. Although his immune system is perpetually low, he always seems to hit his lowest in the winter. I have to fight against personal dread of the winter due to this. Knowing the Father of mercies, I am always on the hunt for the new “mercy of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Marriage, Person w/ lll Spouse, What's New? Tagged With: Caregiver, caregiver for spouse, Chronic, chronically ill spouse, Eeyore, husband with cancer, husband with illness, ill husband, Person w/ lll Spouse, Sunday, wife with cancer, wife with illness

Community Outreach Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

May 11, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Community outreach is more than just vacation bible school and Christmas programs. Read through these illness scenarios to see how your church can improve their community outreach and pastoral support for people in the church. By Lisa Copen Community outreach seems to be a common goal of many churches, but it often gets stuck on Christmas programs or vacation bible school. But community outreach, as well as support within our church body, is vital to the lives of so many people. 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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, HopeKeepers Resources, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: bible study, Church Leadership, community outreach, Illness, John Quinones, pastoral care, teaching tool, what would you do, What Would Your Church Do? Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

Bring a Meal and Make is Special With Free Printable Labels

May 7, 2012 By admin 21 Comments

When one is chronically ill, and a friend wishes to help her, the first thing that comes to mind is to bring 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. Sometimes all we can think of is to bring a meal! Why is that? Well, a meal is a gift of comfort. And even though we --who are chronically ill--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 and offer to bring a meal to them, are actually ill themselves. Though it is easy to understand new … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Beyond Casseroles, Caregiver, Cooking, Free Printables, Friend Has Illness, Invisible Illnesses, Ministry - Personal, Need to Know, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Chronic Illness, Conditions and Diseases, deacons, free labels for meals, Health, meal delivery, meals for family, meals for recovery, organize meals, organize meals for sick friend, printables, Rest Ministries, take a meal

52 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend

May 2, 2012 By admin 5 Comments

If you are looking for ways to encourage a friend who is living with a chronic illness, dealing with a lot of pain, or even fighting cancer, this article is a great starting point to think creatively! Get the "Beyond Casseroles" book for 505 ways! By Lisa Copen Excerpt from Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend - Please do not reprint without permission or reword a few of the ideas and post as your own article. We've seen quite a few out there and appreciate you linking back to the source here. Thanks! "A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." ~Lois Wyse Ask, "What events in your life are changing and how are you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Beyond Casseroles, Books, Caregiver, Coping Skills, Explaining Illness, Founder's Blog, Friend Has Illness, Friendships, Need to Know, Overwhelmed, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: 50 ways to encourage a chronicall ill friend, 52 ways to help an ill friend, beyond casseroles, Catherine Marshall, Christian, Chronic, God, Health, how to help a sick friend, how to help an ill friend, Illness, lisa copen, ministering to a seriously ill friend, Rest Ministries

New Book In Store: Stronger Still: A Woman’s Guide to Turning Your Hurt into Healing for Others

April 18, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

This book, Stronger Still: A Woman's Guide to Turning Your Hurt into Healing for Others (Deeper Still), by Edna Ellison is an amazing workbook to hold in your hand and work your way through if you are trying to figure out how to use the pain in your life to encourage other people. We have it available now at the Rest Ministries shop. I am happy to be able to call Edna a friend through a Christian women writers organization, but even I didn't know all that she had experienced in her life until I read this book. This woman has every right to write about her journey with suffering and how to use it for God's plans. This is an interactive 6-week Bible study that helps guide the reader through her pain and to a point where she can see how … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Books, Caregiver, Church Leader, Coping Skills, HopeKeepers Resources, Links, Ministry - Personal, Need to Know, Person w/ Illness, Reflection, RM Volunteer, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: bible study, book, Christian, Chronic, chronic pain support group, God, Healing, Health, illness support group, lead a group, Leadership, Ministry, Pain, personal, Religion and Spirituality, Rest Ministries, small group leader, start a small group, support group resources, women's ministry, women's ministry resources, workbook

What I’d Like to Tell The Pastor About Living with Illness

April 13, 2012 By admin 14 Comments

If you had the opportunity to sit down and really share about your pain, what would you tell the pastor of your church about your chronic illness and daily pain? Lisa Copen Living with chronic illness is lonely. Everyone around us seems to be enjoying health, happiness, and the ability to at least pursue their dreams. But many of us feel lonely, scared, and disappointed. We are faced with so many insecurities and we are living with an illness that we have not been able to pray away, cry away, or confess away. So we turn to our church for guidance, for acceptance, for unconditional support during the most difficult time in our life. But churches are made up of people—all of us imperfect. And our church does not always give us … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Explaining Illness, Friend Has Illness, HopeKeepers Resources, Hurt Feelings, Loneliness, Medical Professional, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, Share Your Story, Spiritually Struggling, Support Group Leader, Teen w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: care pastor, Christianity, Chronic, Chronic pain, Church, church disabilities ministry, Conditions and Diseases, Congregational, congregational care, Denominations, disability ministry, Disabled, disabled ministry, disablity, God, Health, Illness, Jesus, Joni Eareckson Tada, joni erickson tada, joni tada, Lord, Online Communities, parish, parish nurse, pastor, pastoral care, pastors, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality, Rest Ministries, small groups, Stephen Ministries, stephen ministry

New Thinking About Suicide Blog Offers Eternal Hope

March 30, 2012 By admin 6 Comments

A few months ago a friend of mine, Linda Evans Shepherd, announced to our group of Christian women writers that she was starting a blog specifically to reach out to those who were considering suicide. I have to say that anything Linda touches is done well and with complete passion and heart behind it. Her most recent web site, Finding God Daily, has a wonderful collection of articles about all the places we can find God! But would I be able to make a commitment to write an article or two a month about suicide? What do I know that may encourage someone else? And I just have a Bachelor's degree in Sociology, while many of the writers are professional counselors. But then I got an email from someone at Rest Ministries pouring her heart … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Fear, Founder's Blog, Links, Medical Professional, Need to Know, Person w/ Illness, Spiritually Struggling, Suicidal Thoughts, Support Group Leader, Teen w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Assisted suicide, Christian, chronic pain and suicide, considering suicide, do you go to heave if you commit suicide, end my life, God, how to commit suicide, lisa copen, Mental Illness, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Psych, Rest Ministries, San Diego, stop the pain, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, suicide statistics, taking my life, thinking about suicide, wednesdays and suicides

I Need You, Lord. When Your Healthy Spouse Has a Medical Condition

February 2, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

Dana Kennedy An antiseptic smell I couldn’t quite place permeated the air. Perhaps it was a combination of Pine Sol and Clorox. Industrial carpet woven in blues and reds needed a vacuum. A lone ant traveled by my foot. I took the damp tissue in my hand and squashed it. A few fluorescents created shadows which revealed the starkness of the room. The barren environment mimicked the fact that I was the only occupant waiting. It was the middle of the night, and I lay curled on my side wondering if my husband was going to live through surgery. I also--possibly selfishly, yet realistically--wondered if my body would allow me to make it through the ordeal. Having postural intolerance, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia severely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Caregiver, Loneliness, Marriage, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Bible, Cancer, caring for ill spouse, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Chronic pain, Gatorade, God, husband is chronically ill, Jesus, Love, Marriage, medical condition, Psalm, spouse is ill, when caregiver becomes ill

From Illness Comes Unique Card Ministry

January 17, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

By Debbi Farmer This was a rough week for me. One of my close friends lost her battle with cancer. Shortly after this, I lost my beloved family pet after having her in my life for fourteen years. My business has been almost non-existent the past few weeks because of the bad economy, and my health has taken a serious turn for the worse lately. I had so much I needed to say to the family of my friend. I had so much I needed to say to my family for losing their sweet pet. I needed to do more in my business, but my health would not allow it. I felt absolutely lost even knowing in my heart that the Lord was holding me and carrying me through. When you find yourself needing to convey a message to a friend or family, but you need help … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Caregiver, Links, Ministry - Personal, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New?, Working Tagged With: Christ, Christian, Christianity, God, Healing, is having a ministry working, is ministry a job, Jesu, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, Pennsylvania, Sunday School

What To Do For Those Who Are Hurting When You Don’t Know What To Do

November 17, 2011 By admin 3 Comments

As the holidays approach more people than usual are looking for ways to reach out to help a hurting friend. Sadly, this shouldn't be a seasonal event, but something we do all year round. But most people just don't know how to do that reaching out! Well, thanks to a wonderful book we don't have that excuse any longer! One of my all-time favorite books is The Art of Helping: What to Say and Do When Someone is Hurting by Lauren Littauer Briggs. In fact, I am very honored to have a section in it for those with chronic illness. But the whole book is helpful for those of us who, well, care. And it is one of the few books I believe should be on the desk of every pastor and church secretary! So much so that when it was first published we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Books, Caregiver, Caregiving, Church Leader, Friend Has Illness, Holidays, Medical Professional, Need to Know, Person w/ lll Spouse, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: cae-giver, Caregiver, depressed about loss of pet, Family, how to help a firend, reaching out, when a friend is hurting, when a friend is ill

In Response to Pat Robertsons Statment on Alzheimer’s and Divorce

September 16, 2011 By admin 21 Comments

I was shocked to hear such a bold statement from Mr. Pat Robertson, 700 club host, who, on Tuesday's broadcast, justified that a person should not be held accountable for leaving his spouse and seeking divorce if his spouse has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. In this scenario Mr. Robertson has shown the world that one's personal comfort, especially in the case of having a spouse with a chronic illness, is more important than the marriage vows of "for better or for worse, until death do us part." The religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) told his "700 Club" viewers that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer's is justifiable because the disease is "a kind of death." During … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Caregiver, Caregiving, Church Leader, Founder's Blog, Marriage, Person w/ lll Spouse, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: 700 Club, Alzheimer's disease, Christian Broadcasting Network, Joel Hunter, Joni Eareckson Tada, Pat Robertson, Rest Ministries, Terry Meeuwsen

Why, As Christians, We Must Go Beyond “You Look So Good!”

May 12, 2011 By admin 4 Comments

I recently had a pastor asked me, "If someone comes to church who is chronically ill and they have not looked great recently, and now they look better than usual, is it not okay to then say 'You look so good'?" I thought about it for a moment and replied, "Well, if it was me, I would think, 'Gee, I must have been looking really terrible!' As much as I intellectually know it is a compliment, it would not make me feel good, but rather worse about myself." "I understand what you're saying," said another woman. "Because it is still a comment on our outward appearance." Scripture tells us, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) When we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Caregiver, Church Leader, Founder's Blog, Invisible Illnesses, Need to Know, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader Tagged With: Christian, Chronic, Chronic Illness, God, Jesus, Lord, Rest Ministries, Rheumatoid arthritis