Gospel of Matthew Archives - Rest Ministries - Chronic Illness and Pain Support

When a “Fire” Hits Your Life, Do You Know How You Will Respond?

May 10, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

By Shelby Boughman Some of you may know the codes for using the fire extinguishers in the event of a fire. The acronym PASS means "Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Spray." Doing so will help you use the fire extinguisher properly so that you may fight whatever flames may be around you. Yesterday, the Lord gave me a new idea for this. Have you ever thought about other ways we can use this code? In Ephesians 6:16, Paul talks about a vital piece to the Armor of God by saying, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” The enemy is constantly trying to throw fiery darts and battles at us Christians, but we must stand tall and strong, fighting back at Him with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Coping Skills, Loneliness, Ministry - Personal, Spiritually Struggling, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesu, Lord, Lord's Prayer, Prayer

When Illness Threatens to Make You Feel Invisible

November 8, 2011 By admin 3 Comments

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...]

Filed Under: Articles, Coping Skills, Founder's Blog, Invisible Illnesses, Loneliness, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, God, Gospel of Matthew, Invisibility, Jesus, Lord, Martha, Mary

Devotion: Faith in the Face of Fear of Illness and The Unknowns

October 5, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell the disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.' Now I have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Galilee, God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, Lord, Mary, Mary Magdalene, New Zealand

What She Learned Lying Down, Angela Dugi Shares Her Reflections

August 4, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Bridget Gazlay Through my conversations with Angela Dugi, author of What I Learned Lying Down: Hope for the Chronically Ill, I saw that God did indeed meet her needs during her times of devastation. She struggles with chronic fatigue, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and asthma, and yet God has provided for her in miraculous ways. God has used her illnesses to teach her five life lessons: First, we must gain an eternal perspective "God used my weekly trips to the cancer center to teach me that, and much more." Because she is chronically ill, she could empathize with others who were hurting. She knows firsthand (after fourteen years) how encouraging words helped her to survive when she thought she could not … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Coping Skills, Person w/ Illness, Share Your Story, Spiritually Struggling, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Chronic (medicine), God, Gospel of Matthew, Holy Spirit, New International Version, Second Epistle to the Corinthians, West Michigan

Marriage and Chronic Illness: Is Life is a Bowl Full of Cherries? Sometimes!

May 3, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

By Jackie Confalone Once upon a time, a fair young maiden caught the eye of a godly young lad in the village of "Bowl of Cherries." The young lad asked the fair maiden if she'd accompany him to a jousting tournament and a courtship began that continued to blossom over the next two years. Once the fair maiden completed her classical studies, the young lad asked for her hand in marriage and she enthusiastically said yes! A grand wedding ceremony and marriage celebration followed and life became a "bowl full of cherries!" Actually, that "fair maiden" is me, and I have been married 30 years to my "young lad." We were blessed with two children, a 24 year-old daughter who married her own godly young lad, and a 21 year-old son who is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Marriage, Parenting, What's New? Tagged With: Catholic Church, Christianity, coping mentally ill spouse, dealing with a terminal illness, God, Gospel of Matthew, Jackie Confalone, Jesus, living with a mentally ill spouse, living with mentally ill spouse, Marriage, marriage and chronic illness, marriage and mental illness, mental illness spouse, mentally ill spouse, my wife has cancer, Relationships, Religion and Spirituality, spouse mental illness, spouse with mental illness, terminally ill parent

Devotion: Learning to Escape To Our Knees When We Cannot Escape Our Illness

March 22, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

"When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place." (Matthew 14:13) I was recently sharing with a friend how exhausted I am lately, coping with some harsh flares of my rheumatoid arthritis. "I love people," I explained. "But when I am in so much pain I need space. I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to answer the phone. I don't want anyone in my house, even the housekeeper. And then that feels so selfish! I don't want to be that kind of person! But I shouldn't have to leave my own house to get some quiet." "Lisa," she calmly said. "What did Jesus do when he was tired and needed to find renewal?" "He withdrew" I said. What does "withdrawing" mean to you? We all have read how Jesus went … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Founder's Blog, What's New? Tagged With: Christian, Christianity, God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, lisa copen, Lord, Luke, Satan

Devotion: Have You Been Hurt on Facebook? Social Pain by Careless Words

February 25, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

Today's devotional is a little longer than we typically post, but I felt it had a wonderful message and wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy. -Lisa __________________________ "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.'" (Matthew: 16:24) It still seems unreal to me sometimes that we can connect with people from all over the world through a connection called the internet. Social networks are very popular now days, such as Facebook, where you can chat, play games, and share ideas with people around the earth. Recently I was 'surfing' posts on Facebook when I saw that a young lady was distraught because she was ridiculed in her church by certain … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Christian, Facebook, God, God the Father, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, Lord

Devotion: Illness Can Make Us Feel Like One of God’s Lost Sheep

February 20, 2011 By admin 3 Comments

". . . Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'" (Luke 15:6) Recently I was feeling lost; I was in a situation that seemed so overwhelming. I felt uncertain about the future and how I could cope with it and I found myself crying out to God. In the midst of these fears, I felt that God was reminding me of these four important things. God is with me. Joshua 1:9 says - "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." I don't have to do this alone - God is with me in all of it. God loves me. Jeremiah 31:3 says - "The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: 'I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic pain, God, Gospel of Matthew, Jeremiah, Jesus, Joshua, Parable of the Lost Sheep, Religion & Spirituality

Devotion: Watching Our Words Carefully Even When We Are in Pain

February 8, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

"There some people brought to [Jesus] a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him." (Mark 7:32) My son came home from AWANAs the other night happy that a little girl from his school was there. At the elementary school, she is in a class with one of his friends who has had an on and off friendship. My son said, "She said she would talk to Sam (name changed) to see if he'd play with me at recess again, because Sam COMMUNICATES with her, but he won't COMMUNICATE with me!" He just turned 8 years old and to hear him say that, and also use the word "communicate" exactly correct, sort of cracked me up and I tried to keep my smile to myself. My son, a boy, complaining that someone won't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Founder's Blog, What's New? Tagged With: Christian encouragement, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, daily devotion for women, daily scripture readings and meditations, encouraging scriptures, Father God, finding bible scriptures, finding peace through trials scripture, free daily bread devotionals, free daily devotion, God, Gospel of Matthew, illness ministry, inspirational bible scriptures, inspirational poems and scriptures, inspirational stories, invisible illness, Jesus, lisa copen, Lord, meditation, more daily devotionals via email, our daily bread devotion book, Religion & Spirituality, Rest Ministries, Rheumatoid arthritis, short inspirational devotionals

Devotion: Finding God’s Strength In Our Fatigue of Illness

January 31, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) Have you ever been so tired that you did not even have the energy to watch TV? Think about that. How much energy could it require, and how much poor concentration is needed to sit in front of a TV set? Yet I've found myself even that exhausted, to the point of not enough energy for the mindless entertainment of television. Sometimes God will speak to you in your spirit, just a small voice that you must listen closely to hear. Recently I was praying to God and saying, "Lord, today I need You to carry me for I have no strength." The Lord surprised me by responding, "I've been carrying you today and every day." I burst out laughing because … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Christian encouragement, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, Crohn's disease, daily devotion for women, daily scripture readings and meditations, encouraging scriptures, Fatigue (medical), finding bible scriptures, finding peace through trials scripture, free daily bread devotionals, free daily devotion, God, Gospel of Matthew, Health, illness ministry, inspirational bible scriptures, inspirational poems and scriptures, inspirational stories, invisible illness, Jesus, meditation, more daily devotionals via email, Ohio, our daily bread devotion book, Rest Ministries, short inspirational devotionals

Devotion – Taking The Chance to Pray “Thy Will Be Done” With Surrender

January 24, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

"He went away a second time and prayed, 'My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'" (Matthew 26.42) "Thy will be done." How many times do we really mean that prayer, or even pray that prayer? Don't we really desire in our prayers that: "Lord, please please do what I want, what my will is. Please give me what I'm asking for, what I desire, what I will." It is a scary proposition to ask the Lord that "His will be done." What if His will is to take us through very difficult circumstances to deepen our faith and build character in us? What if His will is to allow our hardship to continue to teach us patience? Or to help us to better relate to others who are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Christian, Christian encouragement, Christianity, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Chronic Illness, Chronic pain, Crohn's disease, daily devotion for women, daily scripture readings and meditations, encouraging scriptures, finding bible scriptures, finding peace through trials scripture, free daily bread devotionals, free daily devotion, God, Gospel of Matthew, Health, illness ministry, inspirational bible scriptures, inspirational poems and scriptures, inspirational stories, invisible illness, Jesus, meditation, more daily devotionals via email, Ohio, our daily bread devotion book, Prayer, Religion & Spirituality, Rest Ministries, short inspirational devotionals, suffering, Thy Will Be Done

How Do We Find the Light of Jesus When We Are Suffering? Interview with Cindy Tuttle

November 10, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

By Debbie Farmer I recently had the blessed experience of chatting briefly with book author Cindy Tuttle, who has written “Joining in the Dance of Life” and recently released “Finding the Light of Jesus” both available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. I feel privileged to share this interview with you about her new book. Meet Cindy Tuttle, Author Cindy, please tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to write “Finding the Light of Jesus”. Thank you Debbi for letting me share “The Light of Jesus” with you. I have been honored to have worked with people with severe mental illness for over twenty-five years. I’ve also worked with adults and children who were profoundly retarded and people who are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Books, Joy, Person w/ Illness, Share Your Story Tagged With: Christ, Christianity, Evangelism, God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, Religion & Spirituality, Rest Ministries