2018 BLESSINGS

The beginning of 2018 was full of snow and cold. Just a typical South Dakota winter. 

I was diagnosed with a new food allergy at the end of January...granulated sugar. I was itchy all the time and had painful stomach and digestion problems. Taking out sugar has had it's ups and down but I do feel better without it. I am thankful I can still have honey and maple syrup to sweeten up my life!

March and April brought warmer weather and the snow started to melt. King and I enjoyed driving around the farm checking out the pasture and water run off. 

In May my mom and I were blessed to go on a ladies retreat to Branson MO with my Kansas City church. I'm so thankful for all these ladies and their encouragement as Sisters in Christ! 

My dad and I this summer built a strawberry box! We love strawberries and don't feel like sharing with the wild animals. 

In June my niece Emma was born! She has brought our family so much joy. Auntie life is a blessing!

I still work as a Medication Aide at an Assisted Living. I love my job. It has it's good days and hard.

I do a lot of janitorial, housekeeping, and cleaning jobs. 

I enjoy giving people DoTERRA essential oil massages and sharing the oil benefits with people. The massages really do a person wonders!

And I enjoy baking for people. I still have a dream of having my own bakery!

This summer I enjoyed Kayaking, reading in my Hammock, and many visits with friends. King loves to go swimming while I kayak. He is a faithful doggie! He even puts up with me when I try new things. Like putting a life jacket on him with no complaints but an annoyed look. 

  

I have had many sick days October-April while May-September I feel almost normal. 7 months of feeling sick and 5 months of feeling healthy this year. It's hard to explain to someone that doesn't understand chronic illness. I strive to enjoy my life even while sick. Life is not always easy but I choose to count my blessings everyday. God has blessed me with this kind of growth in counting my blessings. Recently, October-December has made me see how hard my organs work to keep me healthy. My organs struggle to keep me going. I've seen that recently with some new lung, stomach, and digestive issues. Despite those recent pains, as well as, allergies, cold flu, and fibro pain, I find my life quite enjoyable. I am still able to laugh, smile, and find things to be thankful for. I would never ask for a different life. I am so blessed!

South Dakota has had some of the best Sunrises and Sunsets this year!

2018 was the first year I didn't have a major surgery or medical test. I find that as a blessing! I was able to enjoy this year in all it's highs and lows. I have learned so much. This year I was able to experiences many new things both hard and fun. I sought after my good God and found new growth in my relationship with Him. I pray that 2019 is a new year of new growth, learning experiences, and joy. I couldn't ask for a different life. My life is a blessing!

I hope and pray dear reader that you can find ways to count your blessings looking back and looking into the new year. 

Happy New Year Everyone! May God bless you!

PRAISING GOD IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

Recently South Dakota received snow. Yes, snow! We were quite shocked. It has been awhile since we have gotten snow in early October. It looked almost like Christmas.

Within a few days it had melted but left wet fields for the farmers. As it is harvest time, farmers have been antsy to get into the fields.

All spring and summer long it has been dry in our area. When fall hit we began to get much needed rain for the fields and pastures which then created wet field issues for harvest.

You can imagine the farmers dismay when they were preparing to harvest and the wet weather caused them to wait. It can be a very sensitive time for those farmers.

Which leads me into my thought, "Praising God in all Circumstances."

What made me think this?

Well, a few days after it snowed we were in church. Our church does open praises and prayer requests during the service. So as one who enjoys all seasons and weather, I gladly shared my praise of snow to our church. I could feel the glares and disappointment from the farmers in the room that Sunday. To them it was if I was unsupported of their carrier and livelihood. But that is not why I said it. Besides loving snow, I was praising God for the much needed moisture.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God."

We can always find something to praise God for if we choose to.

We aren't supposed to thank God for tragedy necessarily but to praise Him in the midst of the hard things.

We are to find ways to praise God in all circumstances.

So I sat back as the farmers glared at my praise and thought, how many times do I do the same thing. I have a plan, something happens, and my plans fail. How can I truly be thankful when everything "failed"? How many times do I have ideas how life should go? How many times do I sit with impatience?

How many of those times did I thank God no matter what my circumstance?

This month God used the farmer to help me learn more about thanking Him in all circumstances.

How about you!? Are you learning to be thankful in all circumstances?

It's a journey we both may be on.
To seek God and his Goodness!
Blessings to all who read!

I AM NOT ASHAMED TO BE BOLD

            This summer has been amazing, hard, and full of wonderful learning experiences. The greatest thing I have learned it to not be ashamed to be bold. To be bold and confident with who I am. People may think I have confidence, but at times, I struggle with putting my confidence in God. God has taught me a lot this summer about boldness and I thought I would share a few experiences.

 I spent two weeks volunteering at a camp in South Dakota this summer. God used these kids to remind me not to be ashamed, to be bold and confident. Here are their stories:

One evening a little girl went crying to her friend saying she was homesick and wanted to go home. The sincerity in the little girl’s voice was clear. As her friend saw her dilemma she hugged her crying friend and had empathy for her as she tried to comfort her. Neither girl was ashamed of who they were. Both girls showed genuine personalities that didn’t care about what others thought. They sought confidence from each other as friends helping friends. 

One little boy started to walk with me as we headed to a new camp activity. As we walked he stated, “You know what I’ve been praying for recently? That God would heal my mom who is very sick.” I looked at him and saw the hope he had for God to heal his mom. He then continued to emphasize his knowledge that God can choose to do miracles whether it’s what we want to happen or something better that God has planned. This little boy knew that God could heal his mom on earth or heal her in Heaven. He was not ashamed to put his faith in God. Our God who can do anything. This little boy showed great strength as he spoke about his knowledge of God. As we neared the next activity, I told him that I’d be praying for him and his mom. The little boy looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “Oh, thank you, I would really appreciate your prayers for my mom. Some days it’s hard and knowing other people care means a lot.”  He smiled at me and then ran off to join the next activity. I then sat down and thanked God for this learning experience to see God from a child’s eyes.

Remember what it’s like to have that simple faith of a child? Sometimes it’s easy to forget and we get caught up in life. We forget that it’s ok to live life simply and to have a child-like faith.

To be bold and confident in our faith.

I know I am not ashamed of my faith in Jesus Christ. Yet there are times, I lack the boldness and confidence to speak out. To share my faith no matter what the cost. The ability to say life is hard or life is good isn’t hard for humans. Christians struggle with lacking confidence to speak out.  The boldness to say out loud to strangers, “I am not ashamed of my faith in Jesus Christ.” That is something I’m learning. It’s one thing to say you’re a Christian. It’s another thing to be bold and speak with confidence that you follow God no matter what the cost.

I was able to be bold recently and talked to a few strangers about my faith in God. One stranger started off by asking if I feared the future. Without even realizing how bold and confident I was on the subject I stated, “Why should I fear the future? If I die tomorrow I go to Heaven. If life becomes hard in ten seconds my hope is in Jesus. I have no reason to fear the future.” The other stranger looked at me with shock and said, “I’m amazed by your faith in God, you really know what you believe.”  I looked them both in the eye and said, “You can have that confidence and boldness in Jesus Christ too. Do you want it?” Their eyes darted away and mumbled, “Naw, that’s ok. I’m not ready yet.” “It’s your decision,” I responded, “The first step is knowing that Jesus loves you no matter what you’ve done.” They both smiled and started to walk away saying that maybe soon they would find confidence to not be ashamed and to find God.

Those two strangers made me realize how much God has done in my life this summer to not be ashamed to be bold in what I believe in. I have struggled knowing if boldness and confidence in Christ is pushy. But this summer I learned that having boldness and confidence in something isn’t pushy. It simply makes the listener uncomfortable because they are still learning to be bold. No matter which person you are, it's ok. We are all learning things at different times in life. As for me this is what I've learned this summer.

I am not ashamed to be bold.

I am not ashamed to have confidence.

I am so thankful for all that I’ve learned this summer about my boldness in Christ and not fearing what others think. This is who I am and the world cannot tell me any different. My faith had been made stronger this summer. God used two little kids to teach me about having confidence in Him.

God is good!

HOW ESSENTIAL OILS HAVE HELPED MY LIFE

Hello there!

I’d like to share with you how God has used essential oils to help me with my health. I use doTERRA essential oils. I love doTERRA and all they have to offer. If you don’t use doTERRA I recommend it.

The top two beneficial oil companies are doTERRA and Young Living. If you do your research doTERRA and Young Living have the best quality (pureness) oils with the best benefits.

Now I understand the skeptic side of home remedies. I once had a co-worked tell me that if I ate sweat potatoes when I was PMSing that it would take away all my irritations that hormones can bring. Boy did I feel silly when nothing happened to my mood after eating sweat potatoes while PMSing! Although some remedies don’t work others have. Which is why I’m sharing with you what has worked for me.

So here you go. A list of health issues I have and how I can use certain remedies and essential oils to help me have more energy and a healthier body.

1.      MOLD – my biggest health problem is my mold allergy. Black mold has destroyed my immune system so that it is destroying my insides. The way my doctor put it, my body can’t always protect my organs and they sometimes go on strike for a while or possibly for good. I get infections easily and I have to be aware of my work load and surroundings to help protect myself. The mold has also affected my adrenal glands. If I work a 6 to 8 hour shift it takes 4 hours of laying still in bed to relax my adrenal glands to let my body rest. Which is why I usually tell people I sleep/rest for 12 hours a night. I also am healthier when it’s warmer and so am able to do more. Most of my infections come from October-March.

WHAT HELPS: Moderation really helps. Such as knowing when to keep going and when to stop for the day. As hard as it is to deal with people that don’t understand my health issues, I have to be willing to find a replacement for work or reschedule an appointment if I truly need to rest. Yoga and walking also really help me to stay active and keep my strength up. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes on my really sick days, it’s worth it!

ESSENTIAL OILS: Lemon and Frankincense are my go to oils to help with my mold allergy. I put the oils in a diffuser, rub a couple drops on my hands or feet, or take a couple drops in empty veggie capsule and swallow with water. Frankincense is actually my first go to oil for any ailment which you will see the more you read. 😊

2.      FOOD ALLERGIES - I have many food allergies such as mold (mushrooms, anything fermented such as alcohol and vinegar, ect), corn, gluten, granulated sugars, and almonds. These food allergies as well as the mold have messed with my digestive system. Without grossing anyone out with my bodily functions, let’s just say my mold and food allergies if not watched will make me very sick.

WHAT HELPS: Watching what I eat. Experimenting to know what bothers me. My food allergy list keeps growing every year so I need to be aware of what I’m eating.

ESSENTIAL OILS: Digest Zen soft gels (a blend of oils that comes in a soft gel pill. This pill helps with nausea, diarrhea, bloating, constipation, and stomach pain), Peppermint and Ginger (help with irritated stomach or stomach pain), Oregano (helps with constipation), Lemon (helps with bloating) and Frankincense (helps with every issue).

3.      CHRONIC MIGRAINES – I get migraines with weather change, stress, humidity, and sometimes while PMSing.

WHAT HELPS: Keeping hydrated! Exercise, yoga especially helps! Eat healthy and staying away from caffeine and granulated sugar!

ESSENTIAL OILS: Frankincense (one drop rubbed on roof of your mouth), Peppermint (one to four drops in mouth, swallow, then drink 6 oz of water), Balance blend (rub on back on neck), and Past-Tense (a blend that helps with tension. Simple rub on where your head hurts)

4.      ADRENAL FATIGUE – For me, simply moving causes my adrenal glands to overact and overwork themselves. Working long periods of time make the glands work even harder. I struggle with fatigue everyday as my adrenal glands work extra hard.

WHAT HELPS: Moderation. Mayo Clinic taught me well to moderate all I do. I try to make myself sit for a couple hours before working a job to give my body rest. When I come home I am exhausted and the fatigue at times can be very intense. Sometimes if I have overdone it my whole body shakes and my mind becomes foggy. I work hard at moderating what I do. Resting really helps even if I don’t feel like sitting around, I make myself.

ESSENTIAL OILS: Basil is my #1 for fatigue (Simply rub on wrists, back of neck, or put in a veggie capsule), Joyful Blend (a blend of essential oils that help uplift your mood and give you energy), Clove (rubbed on wrists or in a veggie capsule).

5.      FIBROMYALGIA – When I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia I went to a week class at Mayo Clinic that taught me all they knew about the disease. Fibromyalgia is soreness in your muscles and joints. Chronic fatigue is another part of Fibromyalgia. I’m always in pain and always exhausted. I also have brain fog on my flair up days.

WHAT HELPS: Moderation, eating healthy, exercising, and keeping a positive attitude.

ESSENTIAL OILS: Copaiba, Siberian Fir, Ginger, Frankincense (two drops of each oils in a veggie capsule), Peppermint, Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, and Deep Blue Blend (a blend of oils that help with joint pain.)

6.      STRESS/ANXIETY – With my body always being in pain and always feeling exhausted mixed with life with people can make me very stressed. Don’t we all deal with stress and anxiety to a point! Job changes, going through hardships, family changes can all cause stress. Change for humans can be very stressful.

WHAT HELPS: Reading my bible and remembering God’s truths, having close friends care and walk alongside me, exercising really can help reduce stress, having “me” days, and writing my thoughts out help me.

ESSENTIAL OILS: Lavender and Peppermint are my go two oils for stress. Joyful blend, Bergamot, Ginger, and Roman Chamomile also really help.

7.      INFECTIONS – I get many sinus, ear, and cold infections in the winter months.

WHAT HELPS: Taking Vitamin-C or Airborne really help. Also drinking real lemon water helps!

ESSENTIAL OILS: Cinnamon, Protective Blend, Myrrh and Oregano (mixed in veggie capsule), Peppermint and Frankincense.

8.      MEMORY LOSS/MEMORY FOG – After I got sick and Stephen died my body went into survival mode and I lost a lot of memory. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia two years after Stephen died and I have memory loss from the past and memory fog when trying to do life. Some of the memory loss has come back and some may never return according to my doctor. I deal with memory fog a lot when having a bad day of flair ups.

WHAT HELPS: Drinking water and eating fresh veggies and fruit.

ESSENTIAL OILS: Rosemary, Peppermint, Frankincense, and Focus blend. (Fun fact: these oils will also help those that have Alzheimer’s Disease.)

9.      INSOMNIA – When I’m having a bad sick day and all my health problems are acting up I sometimes will struggle with Insomnia. I will be so exhausted and in so much pain that my body struggles to sleep restfully. Many times, I wake up every hour as my body is in so much pain.

WHAT HELPS: Drinking Chamomile tea right before bed.

ESSENTIAL OILS: Vetiver, Roman Chamomile, Lavender, and Restful blend. (I put Restful Blend in my diffuser, Lavender on bottom of feet, Roman Chamomile in belly button, and Vetiver on hands. I only use all oils at once on bad days. Usually I just choose one oils to use at bedtime.)

I love essential oils and how much they have helped my life. I love to put a drop of essential oil on my wrists or back of neck with some coconut oil. I love all the benefits that these oils have brought to my life. I can honestly say that they have helped me regain more of my life back. As I struggle with my health issues these oils have truly helped me. There are so many other oils out there for me to try!

I hope you enjoyed reading about the benefits of essential oils. By no means should you feel bad for me with my health problems. I am content with where God has me and all the ways He’s used my sickness for his glory. I simply wrote to share with you my joy in the oils and trying to be healthy. 😊

Blessings to all who read!

God is good!

AN UNSPOKEN REQUEST

What has God been teaching me recently? Well let me tell you! 😊

Since I moved back to South Dakota in 2015, I have been praying for an unspoken prayer request. And no, it is not for a healthy body or a husband. (Although I do pray for a healthy body and my future husband if the Lord wills it. This unspoken prayer request is not it. 😉) My unspoken prayer request is even more important. It’s a request of someone’s life, for change, for growth, for their ultimate salvation.

I have prayed many prayers and seen this person struggle more and more. Sometimes I would be so frustrated that I would ask God why? Why aren’t you answering this specific request?

I have prayed, “Lord, I asked for help. Why won’t you help them right now?”

“Right now.” That caught my attention the other day when I prayed and I realized again that God’s timing is different from mine. I have learned through many trials that God’s timing is different than mine but, in my humanness, I need lots of reminders. Don’t we all?  

I’ve been reading the book Radical by David Platt. David makes some very good points about our need for God. He writes,

            “In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability. He intentionally puts his people in situations where they come face to face with their need for him. In this process he powerfully demonstrates his ability to provide everything his people need in ways they could never have mustered up or imagined. And in the end, he makes much of his own name…

            Our great need is to fall before an almighty Father day and night and to plead for him to show his radical power in and through us, enabling us to accomplish for his glory what we could never imagine in our own strength. And when we do this, we will discover that we were created for a purpose much greater than ourselves, the kind of purpose that can only be accomplished in the power of his Spirit.”

David makes some powerful points of our walk with God. God wants us to need him, to trust him, to ask him for his strength.

Through my devotions today I read about a couple of God’s names.

Elohim Mikarov (God who is near) Jeremiah 23:23

El Roi (The God who sees) Genesis 16:7-16

El Ha Ne’eman (The Faithful God) Deuteronomy 7:9

(The names of God are taken from Gods Wisdom for Women by Patricia Miller and Rachel Gorman. This book is AWESOME!)

These names of God gave me hope. That my prayers aren’t in vain. That God is working in the unseen. That my unspoken prayer request is being heard. That I may need to see this person be broken even more before I may see change.

And that is ok. God does hear my prayers. He knows my heart to want to see this person find true happiness. So, I sink into the arms of my strong God, the God who is near, who sees, and who is faithful and I trust him. I trust him to move in mighty ways that I cannot see.

Psalm 61:1-3 says,
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.”

God is good!

God is working in my unspoken even if I do not see it.

God is here and knows my heart.

Maybe you have an unspoken that you don’t seem to see God working in. He is! Don’t give up! Keep the faith! Keep on praying! Never give up hope in our Faithful God!

Much love to all who read.

SICK DAYS

Every morning I wake up and say, “Hey God, what am I going to do today?”

That may seem like a silly greeting to you, yet it has given me hope for each new day.

My ability to do the things I do each day always comes from God.  

I never know how I’m going to feel in the morning. It can depend on a lot of things. What I ate the day before, how I slept, what activities I did the day before, how run down my body is and so forth.

So, I wake up with my mind set out to do what I can to honor God with the life he has given me.

It is a given that I am usually sick when it’s colder outside and “healthier” when warmer. I like to think June thru August is my vacation time. It’s when I’m able to do more, spend less time laying in bed, visiting friends more, and working my usual work hours without canceling or getting someone else to cover my shift. I find blessing in my vacation time with a healthier body.

Some days I really struggle. (You may have those days too.) The days I have been stuck in bed fighting infections for longer than a week. The days trying to decide if I should go to church or stay home and rest. The days I call in sick to work and have my coworkers cover yet another shift. The days where friends email or text and it takes me weeks to respond. The days where I struggle reading my bible as I lay in bed discouraged. (We all have those days.)

Today marks a month and a half of being sick. Thankfully I feel like I am starting to be on the mend. Out of those 45 days I have maybe done a few of the 45 things marked in my planner but not many. I have spent the rest of my time in bed with ear infections, vertigo, achy flu, stomach flu, cold and sinus infections. This does not even include my chronic illnesses of fibromyalgia and migraines.

You see, my disease doesn’t always show outwardly. I usually am smiling if a person sees me outside my house and so they then think I’m fine. Although that is not true it’s a reasonable assumption. I even told my mom today that maybe God’s not ready to have me get married yet because I may get sick and miss my own wedding. Haha. If God has a husband in store for me I hope he’s preparing him. 😉

When I get sick for days it makes me think about my priorities in life.

I thank God every day for my life and know that God is in total control. He’s in control of my health, sickness, and even knows when my Heaven home going will be. Honestly, can’t we all just admit that going to Heaven is our goal or should be our goal.

What we do with our life right now matters.

 So yes, I admit I don’t like feeling sick and sometimes I can get really discouraged wondering how many other things I am going to have to cancel this week for my health. But I know my attitude matters. I can grumble or find blessings in my weakness.

As the Apostle Paul said, I will rejoice all the more in my trails for “when I am weak He is strong.” I want to live my life and honor God. I want to have a story worth sharing.

I want to be different. I’ve always wanted to be different. Maybe God’s plan for me was a disease that has its ups and downs to show my attitude of faith. I wouldn’t have chosen this life for myself but I would not want to change it now.

This life that I’ve been given I want to live to the fullest. This life I have is a blessing.

Blessings to all who read.

God is good!