Getting Rid of Sickness

Did you know that sickness is a way for your body to stay healthy?
Each sickness your body is exposed to builds up your antibodies to prepare you for another illness. In the same way God uses our past trials to prepare us for the next one. That is why it is so beneficial for us to pay attention and use the tools He has given us to get healthy.
As most of you know we have had sickness after sickness in our home. As we come out of the midst of this sickness, I thought that we would share a few tips I have learned to help us get rid of sickness.

We Rest!

Sickness, is an awful strain on your body, spirit and mind! I used to be the type of person that would work through sickness, and pain until I could go no longer. But being a mother has taught me the importance of slowing down and resting. I feel so much better when I put away the distractions and sleep. It is easy to get sick when we work our bodies to the point of exhaustion. Healthy people are those that sleep! Remember God even rested on the 7th day. I don't believe that God needed this rest but I believe that he did it as a lesson to us to follow, rest!

We Take our Medicine.

Most medicine is awful tasting but it is good for us! Our medicine for this last sickness was the nebulizer and albuterol. Let just tell you how much fun it is holding down a strong toddler to do a breathing treatment. But it is neccesary for her to get better, John had to practically hold me down to get me to do my treatments too! No one likes taking medicine, but we all have to take it once and awhile. When temptations and trials in our life cause a sickness of sin in us we have to take our medicine. God has seen the sin in us and therefore provided the medicine we need to get healthy, His Word! He hates to see us struggle with sin, but will allow us to suffer with it until we pick up The Bible and read. If you can't take the whole spoonful of medicine right away, then sip it. Listening to Christian radio stations like AirOne or KLove can be great tools. Reading books by famous Christian authors can help, just remember that the only one who can heal you is Jesus, so if the book isn't leading you to Him, then put it down. I reccomend John Baker (author of Celebrate Recovery), Beth Moore, Andy Stanley are just a few! Check out a local church or Christian bookstore and see what they reccomend.

We call in backup!

No one likes to be sick, but being sick without anyone there to help you feel better is worse. Whether it is a mom to soothe you to sleep, a sister to make or bring you soup, a friend to watch movies with you, we all need help.  God designed us to need companionship! Especially during trials or sin. Jesus himself was surrounded with people he loved and trusted.  Having people pray and hold you accountable during times like these can make or break you. Of course you know that i reccommend Celebrate Recovery, but a good strong church group or bible study group is good too. So make that phone call and ask for help, you'll be glad that you did.

We sanitize!

Anything that is plastic and doesn't have batteries is thrown into the bathtub with bleach water. Everything else is thrown into the laundry, the trash or sprayed down with Lysol! Don't give germs a foothold to stick around! Alike germs, the temptations of sin is contagious! Clean out your house of temptations and arm yourself with protection. If pornography is your sickness, then throw away the magazines, move the computer to a safe spot in the house, and find someone to hold you accountable. Since food addiction is my sickness, I have learned to only go grocery shopping with a list and a chapperone. I also keep busy because sitting around the house is a temptation to eat and I have my CR groups to help me stay accountable to eating and exercising.

We use good habits!

A sickness is a great reminder of why we should eat healthy, exercise and take care of ourselves! Reminding my daughter to wash her hands and keep toys out of her mouth is another way to keep sickness away.  Praying, reading your Bible and meeting with your accountability partners help you keep good habits!

We prepare for sickness!

Staying stocked on medicines like tylenol and cold medicines help us be prepared for something that may hit us fast. Cough drops and allergy pills are a must at our house. Remember that sickness, trials and sin is part of life. If we deny it won't or can't happen to us then we won't be prepared when it does. Sometimes God will knock us off of our feet so He can carry us!

Here's to your health!

Hacked!

I have been Hacked! For those of you not computer savvy. My email has been violated! Abused and attacked by a mindless computer and the twisted people that created the program. Sometime this morning an email was sent from my yahoo account to all of the contacts in my email lists. So if you got an email from me that just had a link in it with no subject line, DON"T OPEN IT!!!!

Apparently, this happens a lot! So hopefully you didn't open it and if you did then I am sorry, I don't really know what happens. But, you should never open an email that you don't recognize and never click on any link that you don't know what it is. So I changed my password and hopefully this will not happen again.  But this is always a lesson to learn. Just because we are protected by the king, doesn't mean that stuff won't happen to us. God lets us make the mistakes we need to make because we have free will. And sometimes stuff just happens to us because God needs us to trust Him. I know it seems awful that deaths and natural disasters are a part of life. But I have seen Oklahoma in the wake of The May 3rd 1999 tornado. Never have I seen a state pull together and search for God since that disaster. And remember 911? What happened afterwards was shock but then a country deciding that tomorrow might be too late. God works in the pain of disasters. When we stop thinking that we can control every situation that comes our way, He can enter. He wont enter if you don't open the door. but He will knock, and knock and never give up on you. So don't give up on Him. And don't give up on each other. We are not perfect and we make mistakes but He never does.

When the pain gets to be too much

I have been filled with sadness for some of my friends that are experiencing hardships right now. Marriages breaking, death, sickness and more. As a codependent, it is easy for me to feel the pain of others. I have always had compassion for those who are hurting. I have less compassion though for those who hurt. But in Celebrate Recovery, I have learned that hurt people hurt people. As human beings we all bring our hurts and habits and hangups into our relationships. And it is really naive to think that the past doesn't still have an effect on our today.
But when I walked into Celebrate Recovery for the first time I had no clue.  I was living in major denial of my previous hurts, I had no clue that I couldn't fully commit to a relationship because of the abandonment I felt in my heart. I didn't know that I substituted serving to get the acceptance and love I was craving. I really thought that it was normal to be two different people, the one I let others see and the one that only God knew about. But living life like that was exhausting. I never understood why I was always too tired to do what I needed to do for me, because I was busy holding the world up. My friends, my family, my coworkers. I thought that I had to be there for them 24-7 and that if I couldn't be who they needed me to be that I wasn't serving the Lord. People pleasing is a dangerous and exhausting game. It never gets you the results you want and it isn't actually helping those you think. Enabling and people pleasing go hand in hand. Sometimes the Lord wants us to stand up and say no. And when we do that we can really see what He is asking us to do. Who He wants us to help and how we are to serve Him without exhausting ourselves. Without being 2 people and without feeling void of what we need. Serving the Lord isn't always easy, in fact doing the right thing is usually the harder thing to do. Sometimes it means that we have to step over that crevice of pride that keeps us from truly gaining His blessing. Fear is a big obstacle that keeps us from doing what God wants. Fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure. The pain has to be greater than our fear. Sometimes God lets us go through these painful moments to bring us back to Him. Yes Almighty could keep your marriage together, but because of His love for us He lets us make our own bad decisions. And as far as death, I don't have the magic answer of why God lets people die. But I know that this life is temporary for everyone and is only a precursor to the afterlife. We should value the time we have on Earth with our loved ones. And for a believer, death is just the beginning of a wonderful eternity. If I could offer any comfort is this time to others, it would be to stop running from God. Stop trying to hold up that heavy burden. Run to the One who can help. Run to Jesus who never lets you down. Run to the Father that does not abandon. Give the weight to the Lord. He will lift you up. He has for me, I pray for you it will be also!

Falling in love with water!

When I fell in love with John it was new and exciting and fulfilling. But it took a lot of work to maintain the love affair. When the newness falls away and we see the good and the bad, we both had to consciously decide to work at it. Well that is how I am going to approach my new task this week. To re-fall in love with water. Everything that God made is good! And because he formed my body to need and crave water, that is what I am going to drink.

My addiction to food isn't my only addiction. I have always been addicted to soda also. Diet coke and Dr. Pepper were my poisons of choice. Anytime that I would have a diet coke, my stomach would start churning from the moment of that first sip. I knew what it would do to me. I knew there would be stomach pains and gas, much too much time spent in the bathroom and just an over all feeling of yuck. All from one can! But would I put it down, no. I was more afraid of being free from it. It was my comfort my shield. The same way that food is. When  I was a teenager I would freeze a 1 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper overnight and have it for breakfast. I remember stopping Dr. Pepper for awhile and that first week the withdrawal symptoms were awful! I had headaches mood swings and even shakiness. This should have deterred me from ever picking one up again, but like any addict I couldn't truly stop without the help of God. 

In the recent months, God has been preparing me to cleanse my body of the poisons that I have been putting in my body. The fattening food, the Carb catastrophe, the overload of sodium, the soda and the deadly portions of all of them. I have been feeling that I am finally ready to kick this addiction to food. Food will no longer be my master. I will not be ruled by what I can or cannot eat. I will not spend countless hours planning, thinking, and meditating on food. How will I do this? Only with God's help. I am counting on the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and change my habits. I will speak more about this on Weight loss Wednesdays, but today is about water. 

My love affair with water started when I was very young. My Memaw and Papaw had a pool and by the age of 6 months I could swim in it between Mom and Dad. I was definitely a water baby. When I am near water a feeling of calm and peace slip over me. I am safe I am home and I am nearer to God. I remember going to Maine to visit my best-est friend and she took me to the ocean for the very first time. I was so excited. I think it was May and the water was ice cold, but I stuck my feet in it. I had to touch it and feel it. I even made a sand castle. Then later in life I took a trip to California for church and we spent a couple of hours on the beach and I never felt closer to God. He was there making sand castles with me and watching His child be sublimely happy. 

Many of the adventures that are on my list involve water. Para-sailing, water skiing, swimming with dolphins, going on a house boat, etc... These things are some of my inspirations for falling in love with water. Also the overall health of my body. Feeling good and getting closer to my goal weight. Saving the money that I would spend on soda when water is free. Teaching good water loving habits to my daughter. 

Today, May 09, 2011 I hear-by start my water drinking habit. No more will soda touch my lips. I will limit my tea drinking to minimum. I will drink at least 64 ounces of water a day, more if possible. I hear-for assign accountablility duty to my friends, family and internet friends, in-which you are allowed to gently scold, and direct me back to a water loving habit, should I stray. Thank you for your support, Teresa

My story!

Growing up in the church, I was used to hearing people's testimony. Fabulous missionaries telling their wonderful stories of salvation and discovery. Or sometimes it would be a dramatic story of heartbreak to triumph when God was discovered as the answers to everything. All wonderful stories that would move my heart and bring tears to my eyes. I wanted that! I didn't want the heartbreak or the hardtimes that come with missionary work, but I did long for the drama. I know what you are thinking! Drama! Who would ever want that? But as a teenager I longed for it.

I wanted to experience the unknown of the world (still do). I wanted to feel love that moved mountains when it was strong and caused earthquakes when it fell apart. I wanted to be so inspiring that people couldn't help but want to be near me, (I know, childish dreams). And I wanted to be a part of something so revolutionary, that we could see and hear and feel the world changing around us. Now that's dramatic!

When I accepted Christ in my heart at the age of five in my bedroom with my mom praying the prayer with me, I was immediately filled with happiness. But as a teenager I would watch people come to Christ after having such tragedy and heartaches in their lives, and you would see them transform in front of you. The next few weeks they would be spouting off Bible verses and telling others about the change God has made in them. They would glow with Jesus and they would yern for the Bible like it was the new gossip column that you couldn't wait to get your hands on. I would long for that feeling. The Bible was like old news to me. I knew that it was good news, but it was old news. I had heard it, I had gotten over the shiny new luster of the print that transformed lives and brought about change.

Now I know how selfish I sound. I felt selfish too. I didn't understand how wonderful I had it. People would tell me that I was lucky to grow up knowing Christ and I was. So very lucky, but I would see them changing lives and influencing people and I couldn't get over it. I longed for that one thing that would make me unique, that would bring me peace and make me inspiring. I did have a dramatic life and I did influence people and I was and still am a part of something revolutionary. I just didn't know it. I was lost in my own pain and trapped by my fear.

3 years ago I walked into this little program at my church called Celebrate Recovery. I went to learn tools on how to help a couple of teenagers I knew that were hurting. it didn't take long for me to realize that I was hurting as well. So I committed myself to the program and to learning more about helping myself break down walls that I have built and distinguish the lies from the truth. It was the devil that told me that I had nothing to offer. It was him that made me feel uninspiring. AND it was him that brought pain and hurt in my life to keep me from growing closer to God. But the worst thing I learned was that it was me who stopped living because of those lies and fear.

The biggest lesson that I have learned is that dramatic people move. Dramatic people risk. There are really dramatic people out there that scare me. Have you ever met someone out there that was so crazy and revolutionary that you are afraid of them? Or maybe afraid of being seen with them? When we have a God that made the universe and you and me. A God that takes care of every creature on this Earth and knows the number of hairs on your head, what do we have to be afraid of? Yet sometimes the most crippling thing that can happen to us is fear. I was afraid to move. I was afraid to risk anything. Love, my life, my heart, my story. Well no more.

Celebrate Recovery brought me past those lies and pain to be able to see my testimony. The story that God has written for me to tell. This week, I told a portion of my story to some of my dear friends at CR. God isn't through writing my story yet, but I can tell you this. The rest of my story is going to be full of love that moves mountains, inspiration that brings people together, unknown worldly stories that get discovered, and a revolution that changes the world. How do I know? Because I am moving, I step at a time, toward that path that God has designed for me. A story towards greatness. What is your story?

ps. If you want to hear my story, you need to take a step. Email me!

Does anyone have the map to the narrow road?

Tonight I was inspired by one of my dear friends to pick up my Bible. I will be honest with you, I don't read my Bible as often as I should. I love to go to church and gain God's wisdom through the teaching and the life lessons, but I have neglected the Word. I am not sure why reading it is so difficult. Perhaps, its the thought that it will be boring and I won't understand it. Or maybe its because I don't want to hear what God has for me to learn. I think both apply actually. My big life change has to be spiritual as well as physical and emotional. God is my savior and my friend, my comforter and my provider. But I am despirately needing to see Him as my guide. Too many times in this life do I let the world choose how I am to live. My friends, the television, society, even my enemies make my choices for me. I want God to guide me, and I think that I have finally made the decision to read His Word and see where he takes me.

Tonight I read Hosea chapter 1 & 2. A wonderful story of how a nation fell away from God and how he used many trials and heartaches to get them back. He related this whole story to a marriage, in which God told Hosea to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him and would have children by other men, but would come back to him in the end. Hosea knew ahead of time that she would cheat, but he obeyed God.

What a guy! What an example of obedience towards God! I don't know if i can be that faithful. But, I want to! I want to obey God even if I know that my world will fall apart. Only He, can help me become the person I want to be. I want Joslyn to know of God's love and mercy. I want her to see His miracles and know the blessings that God gives when you serve others.

I have known of the blessings that come with service. I have served in the church, many different ones, almost my whole life. I love the feeling I get when I am being His hands and feet. But, I love that feeling too much. I need that feeling to bring up my self esteem. I wain for the acceptance that comes with doing for others. I realized this when I went through Celebrate Recovery and did the 12 steps. I just haven't changed. God has been very merciful with me and has allowed me to help so many people, through Him only. But upon doing this, I have been able to keep the focus on others and not my shortcomings. I have ignored my family's needs in order to serve, many times and I don't want to do that anymore. Also, I have recently discovered that I will stay somewhere I am not supposed to stay, because I was commited to serving those people. I don't want to go to a church because I can serve there. I want to go to a church because that is where God wants me. I don't want to leave my family to serve, when I know that I am needed at home. My God must come first and my family must come second. Service should be God breathed, and I believe that when it is, that everything else will fall in line.

So, in order to put the focus of my attentions back on God and not on serving, I am going on what I call a serving strike, for 1 year. I have started going back to Celebrate Recovery and I am anxious to see where God is going to lead me next. This is the first time that I can recall that I am not committing to a church or a service project. Believe me, this is scarier then going to a holy roller church. Not making a plan, not scheduling, God is leading. I feel that this will be a wonderful discovery for me and my family. And I hope through out it all, we will be a stronger family, but mostly I want to be closer to God and know that where I have been on this discovery, He has lead me!

PS. the picture is the view from my front porch!