Category Archives: Life with Chronic Pain

April 18, 2014 · 4:23 pm

Mission Accomplished

imageWhat are the final words of a tortured, dying man who has just accomplished his great mission?

                            “It is finished.”

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 NIV

Those words alone should be enough to tell us that Jesus died on that cross for a planned purpose.

For 32 years I have suffered from chronic pain off and on because of multiple car accidents. Blinding migraines that give me the sensation of my skull being crushed and an icepick stabbed in my eye (usually left eye), neck aches that feel like I have a screwdriver pushed into the lower back part of my skull, and low back aches that feel anywhere from like my back is on fire to sharp sciatica Charlie horses that last for months.  Too often the pain has been so excruciating, that I cannot imagine dying hurting any more.  If I was to die from the torturous pain I described above, I seriously doubt  “It is finished.” would be my final words.

Those were Jesus’ words because He accomplished what He was sent on earth to do.  Humanity owed a debt to God we had no means with which to repay.  Jesus’ assignment on earth was to be God’s redeeming payment on our behalf.  And He followed through with it; Jesus paid our debt.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13  Jesus’ death was the proof of God’s love for us.

Please let us remember that Jesus’ dying words were for our sakes. Let’s remember that this weekend in humble adoration to the King of kings and Lord of Lords.

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March 25, 2014 · 10:31 pm

Slow in Faith, Quick to Worry

imageAfter forty years in the brutal desert, God will finally allow the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. Moses’ time on earth is fading. He makes his final speech to the Israelites, recounting all that their God had done for them, and tells them not to blow it again.

That forty year trip should have really only taken them 11 days. That’s right, eleven days. Deuteronomy 1:2.

Why did it take them so darn long?

Ten of the twelve men sent to spy out the land they were about to fight over were terribly worried. Their worrying was rooted in their lack of faith to follow God’s orders, and move forward to take the Promised Land.

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March 18, 2014 · 11:55 pm

Do We Expect Too Much?

I learned something last night.  I am taking a self-help class on a book called Safe People. A profound book on relationships that’s backed by Scripture.  We discussed relational peeves in our group. I shared two experiences.

Scenario #1

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February 19, 2014 · 12:26 am

Don’t Look Back!

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Is there a pillar of salt in your past?

In Genesis Chapters 18 and 19, we read about God’s appearance to Abraham in the form of a man, along with two other men who are actually two angels.  They come to declare to Abraham and Sarah that in a year their son Isaac, the promised child, will be born.

Then God shares with Abraham that He is about to set judgment on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous” Genesis 18:20

Abraham, concerned for his nephew Lot and Lot’s family who live in Sodom, tries to bargain with God not to destroy the city if there are at least 10 righteous people there.

In God’s eyes, Sodom and Gomorrah’s wickedness is so vile there is no other option to do but destroy it.  He cannot even find 10 righteous people in the entire city of Sodom.  God is gracious with Lot’s family for Abraham’s sakes.

The two angels are sent to Sodom to rescue Lot, his wife, and two daughters from being destroyed along with the city. Continue reading →

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January 22, 2014 · 12:26 am

God Is Working, Please Be Patient

imageI saw this image on Facebook today and was quite touched by it. I decided to share it not because I want people to Type Amen, but because I am hoping anyone who sees it will be encouraged by what it represents, like I was when I saw it.

So often we feel like God is slumbering on a tropical island somewhere sipping Mai Tais, and has just left us to struggle on our own.   But what we don’t see is that God is working in our lives, He’s constantly laboring behind the scenes to bring out the best in us.

Sometimes, if feels like we are prodded, squeezed, shoved, kicked, knocked around, and fired up till we are about to dissolve into nothingness.  At least I do.

But we really must keep in mind that because God is not finished with us yet, the work must go on and on. Continue reading →

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Filed under Everythingelse, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life with Chronic Pain

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January 17, 2014 · 1:26 pm

When it Comes to Meds, Study Suggests You Feel What You Believe

Knowing I suffer from chronic migraines, my neighbor dropped off a newspaper article on a recent study titled,

“Study: Thinking positive helps migraine drug work,” by Lauran Neergaard AP, a medical writer.

The article is about a study that proposes that what a patient expects out of a migraine medication will make a huge difference in the results that patient gets from their meds.

Sixty-six migraine patients were recruited for the study, some were given placebos (dummy meds) in an effort to measure the amount of real med related pain relief vs. the amount of relief from patient’s confidence because of their doctor’s positive comments about the meds.

In the article, Ted Kaptchuk, a Harvard professor, suggests that each word the patient is told about their medication is just as important as the actual prescription.

After over 450 headaches were analyzed, researchers concluded how essential it was for doctors to prudently select their words to their patients when subscribing a powerful drug; as the doctor’s message could make or break the medicine’s benefits. Continue reading →

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August 24, 2013 · 1:37 am

Living in a Warzone

I have never been one to watch too many fantasy movies but was encouraged to by the way “Waking the Dead,” a book by John Eldridge, uses these as analogies to help readers understand the struggle we all live under.

John Eldridge, does not encourage readers to watch fantasy movies. He encourages us to wake up to the understanding that spiritual war is all around us and gravely affects our everyday life.  The last thing the enemy wants from a Christ follower is success or to have anything good we attribute to God.  He wants to keep us in a struggle so that we are not living up to our God-given potential, but instead we are as frustrated, disappointed, depressed and discouraged as possible.

I rented the Hobbit.   Have you ever seen it?

As I watched it, I envisioned the dwarfs as the Israelites and Thorin as King David back in Old Testament times and King Jesus now and in the future.  There are numerous attacks by forces of evil.

The way the forces of evil are depicted in the movie, I can clearly imagine this is what the invisible spiritual warfare is like all around us, but the majority of us remain as unaware to it as Bilbo, though we are indeed deeply affected. Continue reading →

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August 13, 2013 · 12:49 am

What If Your Troubles Are Hidden Blessings

imageI found a beautiful song that helps everything make so much sense.  It is called “Blessings”  The music is absolutely lovely, but the words are priceless and speak miles and miles of wisdom.  I hope you get to listen to this song and that it will bless you as much as if has blessed me!  This person who wrote the lyrics, Laura Story, she gets it!  She was there. Her dream marriage came under fire as she and her husband battled for his health.*

As for me, I spent years angry at God for all the heartache and physical pain in my life. I felt cursed and I blamed Him for it.

In Matthew 17:20   Jesus said, “ I tell you, if you have faith as small as a tiny mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

This verse greatly frustrated me because I know Jesus doesn’t lie.

I had faith the size of coconuts,  yet the mountains weren’t moving.

And, everything–even ordinary things, just seemed impossible! Continue reading →

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Filed under A Broken Childhood, Awed by His Love and Grace, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life Lessons, Life with Chronic Pain, Poetry, Seeds of Inspirations, Single Parent Struggles, Writing and Author Stuff

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August 9, 2013 · 12:40 am

Growing Pains

You know that feeling of resistance we naturally get when we are required to step outside our zone of comfort, to push further, strive harder and move past stagnation?

Much like when the momma bird pushes her young to the edge of the nest.  What is that youngling thinking?

“Momma’s off her rocker!”

“She’s trying to kill me!”

“How could she do this to me?”

That little one, paralyzed by fear, becomes frozen as momma gives the final shove.

Down, down it goes until finally it gets this crazy notion to flap its wings… flap, flap, flap… Continue reading →

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Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Everythingelse, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Life Lessons, Life with Chronic Pain, Loss of a Child, Single Parent Struggles, Writing and Author Stuff

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August 2, 2013 · 9:29 pm

He Never Promised Us A Rose Garden

I have been a prodigal.  Saved at the age of 19, but without further mentoring or Bible studies, I tried to be a follower of Christ on my own.

I continued recklessly living my life, making poor choices as I had before.  On a rebound from a hurtful breakup, I became pregnant at 22.  The responsibility of a baby, straightened my life, but I had a ways to go.

I did not want my daughter to grow up like me, never knowing what her father looked like, so I worked at keeping a relationship with her father. Apparently, I worked too hard, I became pregnant again when she was eight months old.

We got married, but deep in my heart I knew it was a mistake. I had the naïve notion everything would work out once he saw what a good wife I could be.  Immediately after our marriage, my gut feelings were confirmed.  I made a horrible mistake. Continue reading →

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