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

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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...]

Find a Church That Understands Disabilities

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If you are looking for a church that is more likely to understand your physical limitations, including illness, cancer, or disabilities, Joni and Friends is an excellent resource. This international Christian ministry has an updated list of churches around the USA who have shared their desire to create an environment that welcomes those who may be "differently-abled." To enter your zipcode into the search engine click here. You may also want to visit our HopeKeepers map to see if there is a church near you who has a HopeKeepers group that serves the chronically ill. Are you in a church where you want to stay but think they may be able to use a bit of a "refresher" on reaching out to the chronically ill? Our little booklet, … [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...]

HopeNotes Newsletter #87

Hi, friends, First of all, thank you for all the kind little notes you have sent me over the last few months when I zip off postcards or ezines that say, "more coming soon--life is chaotic now." Your emails always encourage me so much & I appreciate that you never say, "Come on, girl, & get your act together!" Your grace is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G & I am honored to be on the receiving end of it. It's been one of those weeks where it's quiet around my house & yet different things I've been involved in have come together. I feel like I have a million things buzzing through my brain & before I can get them done or down on paper, my brain just wants to shut off. I w&er through the house unmotivated. I sit down & then--literally--can't get up … [Read more...]

Joni & Friends Hosts Annual Summit For Disabilities Ministries

This annual event is wonderful & I have been honored to be a speaker & exhibitor for past years. This year, with my health being a bit more unpredictable I decided to pass on being involved as a speaker, though, as they date gets closer I am hopeful I may be able to attend. ~Lisa The event is May 7 & 8th & is co-sponsored by: First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena & The Joy Center for the Disabled. The registration form tells a bit about this amazing conference. Learn how to start or exp& a disability ministry at your church. Choose to attend up to 3 workshops each day offered at the Summit sessions on Friday & Saturday. Attend one networking session by geographical area (see how the churches around you are starting or exp&ing … [Read more...]

We’re Giving Away 3 Copies of Our New Small Groups Book!

We're giving away 3 copies of this new book by Lisa Copen! If you are even thinking about starting an illness support group, you won't want to miss this book. It's packed full of 320-pages of all the answers RM Director Lisa has given group leaders in emails for over 10 years. It also includes a chapters on Suffering, Healing, & How Churches Can Make a Difference. Here are some of the other things you will find in this new book! What a chronic illness is & does it matter if it's invisible A brief history of illness ministry in the medical community Benefits of small group ministry for the individual & the church How to lead when you are ill Steps to formulate the purpose of your small group, the logistics, … [Read more...]

Feeling Invisible?

I am in the process of preparing a presentation for a church called "Showing Up!" My mom was recently forwarded the video below of Nicole Johnson. If you've attended a Women of Faith conference in the past you have likely been blessed by her talent & her message for Christ. There are different ways we can feel invisible: Sometimes we feel invisible because our disease seems to have taken over the ability for our real personality to shine through. Other times, we may feel like whatever we are saying is not heard. "How many times do I have to ask you to pick up your toys so I don't fall on them?" Or, "Could you please open this jar for me?" (After it's sat on the counter with a sticky note attached for four days.) I love my husb& … [Read more...]

For Chronically Ill “Not By Sight” Book Offers Validation & Underst&ing

Not By Sight is a wonderful little booklet that can help friends & family to see the courage & faith that abounds in those with debilitating conditions. It gives them simple, pragmatic examples of "What to say" & "What not to say" in order to truly be a source of encouragement. This book is written by Sherri O'Connell, co-founder of Invisible Disabilities Advocate. It is full of Scripture & quotes from physicians who specialize in chronic conditions & many would say it should be a "must have" for all believers, church staff & ministry leaders. Read more here at our bookstore chronicillnessbooks.com … [Read more...]

Amazing Resources of Mental Illness Ministry Conference Now Free Downloads

We are always excited to learn about additional resources regarding mental illness & Christian support, so we are happy to be able to pass along this information to you. Presentations from the national summit, "Companions on the Road to Recovery from Mental Illness: Pathways for the 21st Century," are now available on-line as free downloads. (This is a pdf) It was held in October of 2009 in St. Louis, MO. The conference agenda is posted on pathways2promise.org with embedded links to some 20 of the presentations from the conference. Reprinted with permission by Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder, Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries … [Read more...]

The Story Behind “Silent Night”

It's always amazing to us the stories behind the hymns & Christmas songs. Here is how Silent Night came to be. Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Austrian priest, Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken & would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this & could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar music. He sat down & wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang "Stille Nacht" for the first time. … [Read more...]

What are the Nicest Things Someone Did For You?

During this season of thankfulness we asked our readers “What did someone do for you that made you feel special?” As you will see, it’s not the presents, but the presence of a friend that encourages us to keep pushing forward when we wonder if we will make it through this life. . . Do something special for someone today. They’ll never forget it! My chiropractor came to my home & worked on me without charge.—Jerry Ann My 9-year-old daughter made me a cup of hot tea when I had a horrendous migraine. I hadn’t even asked her for anything. —Beth Right after my father passed away a friend turned up at my house with a teddy bear as big as she was. Then she took me out for a “mystery journey”—her treat. First, to her … [Read more...]

HopeNotes #79 is Ready for You

As you settle into fall & winter, we hope the updates from Rest Ministries weekly issue of HopeNotes are an encouragement to you. Our newsletter, is now available for you to read. This week's issue talks about how to not let the guilt get the best of us with some links to articles & other resources. You can always find the most recent issue at this link: http://www.restministries.org/hopenotes/mostrecent.htm We hope this issue will encourage you! Thanks for being a part of our Rest Ministries family. … [Read more...]