Social Distancing

This week one kind person asked how my kids are faring with all that is currently going on in the world. This question struck me, because to be quite honest, nothing much has changed for my kids. We homeschool, so school has been the same. We shop once a week for groceries, so that hasn’t changed. We go to church online a good bit, so that hasn’t been any different. The main thing that has changed is not seeing friends and family for play dates and such. So, after reflecting on the ladies question my husband and I have decided that we were social distancing before it was cool. While it may seem sad to you, for us it really hasn’t been. This time of social distancing has been full of purpose.

My social distancing started when I moved to a new city 8 years ago. I moved to a place where I knew no one except my husband and his family. While I tried to stay in contact with friends, it just wasn’t the same as seeing them in person. I did keep a close relationship with my mom, dad, brother, sister and soon to be sister-in-law. Please don’t think that I was without social fun though. I worked to meet new people and built friendships.

My plans of building strong relationships was thwarted by the first rumbles of my battle with Lyme disease. I was so tired that I didn’t have the energy to put into building relationships. I was also pregnant with our first child. Then our sweet baby girl was born and honestly, I only wanted to spend time building a relationship with her. So, although we were involved in a local church and small group, we still felt like our little circle of relationships wasn’t growing.

As many of you know, my battle with Lyme was very debilitating. I had to cancel more plans than I got to follow through with. My group of relationships got smaller and smaller. Let me pause for a moment and just say that I am forever grateful for the precious relationships that God did give during this time. I am thankful that I didn’t have many friendships to maintain during this time. It was an exhausting time and just attending to daily life was sometimes more than I could handle.

So, here we are in a mandatory time of social distancing. You may wonder why I shared a bit about my lack of relationships. Well, I have looked back over that time and thought about a few things I have learned about God. I think the things that He taught me may be of value for the time that we are living in now and I just wanted to share.

The first thing that I learned is that God created seasons. Yes, He made seasons that are marked on a calendar, but I mean seasons of life. He takes us through seasons of great joy, sorrow, waiting, movement, health and sickness. If the God of the universe made seasons, then He must have a purpose for each one, right? I believe that He does have purpose for every moment of our lives. The sooner we embrace and walk with grace through each season the sooner He brings the next one. I always refer to my time of sickness as my season of Lyme. It was a season! And this is a season of social distancing. It will not last forever. It will end. So take heart, another season is on its way.

The next thing that God taught me is that times of isolation are for God. Yes, He is jealous for your time. He wants to have a growing relationship with you. I tell my kids often that they were created because God wanted a friend just like them. And this is truth. He wants you to be His friend. Sometimes the seasons of slowness are there to remind you how much He wants to know you. So, press into time with Him during this season of slowness.

 Which leads me to the next thing I learned. Stillness does not mean inactivity. Over and over in scripture, God asks us to be still, to rest. This is not something that I find enjoyable. I am a mover and a shaker. My mind is always at work and my body isn’t too far behind. However, during my season with Lyme, I had no choice but to be still and rest. Seriously, I had a compromised immune system, I had to have people grocery shop for me. I didn’t leave my house. Yikes! While this seemed like a nightmare at first, I heard God say to take this time to learn. So, after much arguing, I agreed to learn. He taught me how to be a better mom and wife. He taught me about great loss. He taught me how to pray for others. He taught me how to research like my life depended on it (because in many ways it did). He taught me about grace for those who have walked before me. He taught me so many things that I should write a book (maybe one day I will). In my stillness and rest before God, there was never inactivity. He was always teaching me something. So, take this time to learn from God. What have you been wanting to learn? What has He been trying to teach you?

One last thing that God walked me through is how to be joyful and content in all circumstances. There are seasons of singleness, marriage, motherhood (or fatherhood), being young and being old. Each season is so valuable. Each season should be respected and enjoyed to the fullest. I think of my kids and how eager they are to get to their next birthday. They want to get to the next step. However, with that mindset, there are joys that are missed. For my kids they may miss the joy of building forts outside if they are too worried about how many days until the next great adventure camping. Being content with the season is the only way that you can also be joyful in that season. This one is so hard, but probably the most valuable lesson of all the lessons that God poured into me. I encourage you to find contentment in this moment. What is something that you are thankful for during this time of social distancing? Having trouble? Thank God for your basic needs. I promise you will find more to be thankful for. All this thanking God will then breed contentment. Then joy will flow as a result.

Well, dear friends, I am praying that you and yours are healthy and well. I pray that these crazy thoughts from an equally crazy gal help to encourage your heart. I pray God blesses you!

I will end with this thought from the Psalms:

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”-Psalm 46

Valley of Dry Bones

I am going to speak and share boldly a word that the Lord shared with me from scripture many years ago and refreshed in my heart again during this season. Please know that I share my story with humility and only to point you toward my God.

While I was walking through my journey with Lyme, I was searching for meaning in such deep suffering. I knew that everything is filtered through the loving and just hands of God. But honestly I was struggling to find purpose in that season. To some extent I believe that God has yet to reveal some of the purposes of that time. However, there is one thing that He clearly revealed.

Despite the dry place that I was experiencing, God was calling me to war. War on my knees. He was calling me to praise and pray like never before. The Holy Spirit was already there but God wanted my dry bones to be activated to action.

Let me back up just a bit. I was reading in Ezekiel 37 about the valley of dry bones. Verse 2 states: “He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.” I thought, yep, that describes me, dry! Many of my relationships had dried up. My interactions with the world were dried up. My church life was dry. I was exhausted and felt physically dry. DRY! DRY! DRY!

However, the scriptures in Ezekiel 37 also talk about a call to attention. A call to come alive. Ezekiel 37:5 says, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” I thought, alright, I am ready for some living. I am ready to be the wife and mom that I always thought I would be. I am ready to reach out and speak boldly about the Lord. God spoke to my soul and said but wait, that isn’t what I meant.

God’s purpose in awakening me was to pray and praise! Let me be clear, my circumstances did not change. My dry relationships did not change. My interactions with the world did not change. My church life did not change. My physical condition did not change. But God was calling my heart and soul to change. He was calling me to purpose in the dry valley. He was calling my heart and soul to awaken and dance!

Throughout scripture God calls us to pray and praise. These two actions almost always go hand in hand; like one activates that other. So, I searched out more times to praise Him during my dry season. I become a prayer, like never before. I went to war in during my praise and pray time with Him. God used a time that the enemy meant for evil, my time with Lyme, and He turned it for His good. Seeds of prayer and praise were planted. I have seen Him be victorious in my life as a result of that season of prayer and praise.

So, why share this now? As Christians, I believe that we are in a dry bone valley right now throughout the world. We have been coasting through our walk with God. In many ways, we have become comfortable in our routines and rituals. I know that suffering is filtered through the hands of our loving and just God. I know that the COVID-19 virus was filtered through His hands. This means there has to be purpose in this suffering. Could it be that God wants to bring His church out of the valley? Could it be that God wants His church to be activated back to life? Could it be that He wants His church to pray and praise? Could it be that He is calling us to war on our knees? Could it be that He wants to awaken your heart and your soul?

I love this song that is based on Ezekiel 37. Let the words soak into your heart and soul. Seek out the purpose in this time as a follower of Christ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34da6kgdrEw

Evaluation

Hello All,
It is that time...evaluation time! We all have things in our lives that may need evaluation. For me and my little family it is time to evaluate my health and current treatments.
We are not saying that we are drastically changing things, but we may. We wanted to reach out to you guys and ask that you be praying with us about direction, peace, and wisdom.
If you have been following me for the past few years you may remember that I have been on long-term antibiotics. This is not something that we have taken lightly, as I am a believer in homeopathic treatments as well as traditional medicine. After being on antibiotics for almost 2 1/2 years, and dealing with side effects, we have decided to see what my next round of bloodwork looks like. If there still isn't a mark improvement we are looking to change treatments to no longer include antibiotics.
You may wonder what treatments would look like if I'm not on antibiotics. Honestly, at this point we aren't sure which direction we need to go in. There are many options!
When I first started this journey, a lady pointed me in the direction of an herbalist in North Carolina who had won the fight against Lyme and helped her son heal from it as well. Over the years, I have incorporated several of her teas and such. As Jason and I have been seeking wisdom we have found that there are several things that have been missing in my overall plan for health. This herbalist outlines her journey to wellness. We are leaning toward following her plan. It includes several of the key areas that we feel may have been missing up to this point.
I will also be revamping our eating habits. With Christmas and then birthday season, we may have added a few things that are not helpful to healing. Hehe...doesn't everyone struggle with this? Anyway, we will be cutting gluten, dairy, and sugar out of our diets again. We may add some more juicing options into our options as well. I am excited about this part of the journey. I love trying to figure out which foods are most helpful for healing and which ones are not. We may even be taking the leap into strictly organic food. We have incorporated organics before, but never jumped into the strict organic world yet.
These are just a few of the things that we may change up. Again, please be praying for direction, peace and wisdom. We look forward to sharing what God continues to show us in the days ahead!
Until next time...

The Power of a Moment

I have recently been introduced to the world of Facebook classifieds. It is a crazy world where someone posts something that they are getting rid of and you can comment and then go pick it up on their porch. It is exciting and a neat way to sell unneeded things too.

So, I decided to try my hand at selling some items recently. I posted in my closed group on Facebook and ladies started commenting on the things they wanted. I put a gray storage box on my front porch and put the items in on the days that they wanted to pick up.

On a bad health day, I was sitting in the living room and heard a lady on the front porch open the storage box and take her items. I was struck with a thought. What did that lady hear in those few moments that she was outside my house? What would she think about me from that moment of insight into my life? In reality she probably just thinks I like Food Network, as I am sure that was what I was watching on television. However, it made me start thinking about the power of a moment.

What can a moment say about us? What impact can a single moment leave?

If someone looked at one moment of my life, I would hope that they would see that I love my kids. But let’s face it, the cashier at the grocery store might say otherwise. She only saw the weary momma who was just trying to get home with a kiddo that kept asking for every candy at the checkout. What the heck!?! We don’t even eat candy, but that doesn’t keep my girl from asking for it. Anyway, Cali, the cashier probably thought I needed to get a handle on my kid.

And the pharmacist at CVS, I can only guess what she must think about the sick looking, no makeup, crazy haired gal that I am when I go in there. She probably seriously wonders about me! I mean I am in there just about every week picking up a different prescription. Junky? Umm, no, but it could look that way.

And what about the restaurant owner who sees Jason and I once a week when we go to Atlanta for treatments. I admit that I look normal and put together when we enter the restaurant, but what do they think when they see Jason helping me stand up? I mean I am only 34 and I look healthy. I would imagine that they wonder why I need help.

My point is a moment is powerful! It can teach people about us. It can display our passions, joys, loves, beliefs, and goals. It can uncover our pains, inadequacies, and unlovely parts.

This is my goal, that my moments will be god honoring. That even if someone only sees a moment in my life, that they will see a glimpse of Jesus. Not because of me, but because of my good God. Not for my glory, but for the glory of my God.

 “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

Until next time...

Health Update

As promised, here is a health update. I have thought very hard about what to share with you. Not because I don’t mind sharing, it is just hard to share everything but not too much of the struggles that I am having. I guess in some ways, I would much rather just sit down over tea and chat with you. But then that may create some challenges with this crazy brain fog that I am experiencing.

Anyway, I suppose I will start with my pregnancy. Everything was normal as far as pregnancy goes. However, pregnancy caused my somewhat sleeping Lyme to erupt. Yep, that’s a good image of what happened. It was like a volcano that had been dormant, suddenly erupting.

I starting losing what little energy I had very quickly. I starting having crazy heart palpitations, dizziness and feeling faint. I went to a specialist and was tested, tested, tested. Only to be told that I was too young to be having any heart problems and they didn’t see anything conclusive on my tests. At least they didn’t tell me I was crazy and it was all in my head, but still it was a dead end. My OBGYN was not overly concerned with my Lyme, which was a bit concerning. She scheduled a C-section and monitored my platelets during pregnancy. We also had to change much of my medications and herbal protocols during pregnancy. The concern for my baby kept me on my toes looking at bloodwork and watching for signs of anything that needed to be changed. It was an exhausting time!

I was in labor for 24 hours before they started the mandated C-section. I went through surgery and was thrilled with the healthy little man that joined our family. I had a better recovery than with our little girl. I guess maybe it was because I knew what to expect, or maybe it was because I have been doing so much research. Anyway, recovery was normal. Jason was with me and has remained a rock the whole time. Our little girl was and is thrilled with her baby brother.

Having another baby and being so sick was a blow to progress that had been made in trying for remission of Lyme. Don’t get me wrong, we feel so blessed to have our sweet little man here and would not trade him for anything. I am just stating the truth of the situation. So, in many ways we are starting all over again.

Our little man has been here for 8 months. They have been full months. Full of joy, laughter, pain, and sickness. We have enjoyed watching our children grow and learn. We have laughed on the good days. We have cried on the bad days.

So, what does a good day look like at our house? I had one today. I woke up and was able to cuddle with my kiddos before heading into the kitchen where my husband was heating up the muffins that I had the energy to make the night before. We enjoyed a pleasant breakfast before Jason went to his office to work (it is so nice to know that he is just down the hall). I dressed both kids and then got dressed myself. I even put on makeup and did my hair. I sat down on the floor (a rare occurrence indeed) and played a game and then tea party with both kids in attendance. A little later we got ready and had lunch out with Jason. It was a lighthearted time in which everyone enjoyed laughing and eating. Our little man went home with daddy for a nap. My little girl and I headed to the library to play on the computers and get some fun books to read. She had a great time, but I will admit that the time exhausted me. She didn’t mind, she wanted to read her books from the library. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon reading. I had just enough energy to help Jason with dinner. We got the kids to bed and that was all I had energy for. That was a good day! I got to enjoy my family and go on an adventure with my little girl. We like good days!

What would a bad day look like? I am just being honest, it isn’t all that pretty. It can be depressing. It can be overwhelming. And I may not share everything. A bad day starts off with debilitating joint pain, a migraine headache, heart racing, and ringing in my ears. There is no cuddling with my kiddos, because the pain is too great to move. It may take me several minutes just to sit up in the bed. Jason takes care of the kids and breakfast while I try to move from my room to the living room. As I pass the medicine cabinet, I take a handful of pills before collapsing on the couch, which will be my home for the day. Jason brings the kids into the living room with me and goes to work. I try to entertain the kiddos between moments of needing to close my eyes. My girl is so sweet and always asks what she can do to make me feel better. She will bring me a blanket and tell me she hopes it helps the headache go away. Jason fixes lunch, which they eat in the kitchen while I eat mine in the living room. Normally my head hurts too much to lift it off the pillow and my hips will scream if I move too much. Jason puts little man down for a nap and goes back to work. My little girl is my quiet comfort in the afternoons as she brings toys into the living room to play. We have tea parties while I lay on the couch. Jason fixes dinner when he gets finished with work, again I eat it alone in the living room. Then the babies come and say their prayers with me before crawling into bed. By the end of the day I am having cognitive difficulties and may only be able to answer yes and no questions. Jason helps me to bed and we hope that the next day is better. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. There are times that these periods last 3 to 4 days and end by leaving me sweating and exhausted.

There are times that I see the lives of friends and even myself in days gone by and see life passing me by. I only get out to go to the pharmacy, doctor and to pick up my groceries (I order them online, isn’t that crazy?). The days that we get out and do something fun like eat lunch or go to the library or park are the rare exception. And those days leave me exhausted. I was reminded that life isn’t passing me by though. I am living life. Most days I would say that it only feels like I am surviving life, but I am living. And I am thankful that I am alive. I am blessed to be alive. I can’t tell you why I am sick. I can’t tell you why I am in this season of illness. I can’t tell you why I can’t get on the floor and play with my kids every day. I can’t tell you why I can’t have dinner out with friends. I CAN tell you that I know it is a season and it will end. I am confident of that!

So, please keep asking me to dinner. Please continue to include me in your life. Keep asking me how I am doing. I may hate the answer that I must give, but it helps to know that people care. Continue to pray. I know it can be hard. I know my illness isn’t easy to understand. I know it is hard to see suffering. But this season will end and I still want to have relationships when I get to the next season of victory!

I am thankful to have my sweet family as my support. Without them, I honestly don’t know what I would do! There are many days that my little girl goes to Gigi and Pops house just so that she can play outside and run. Every time my sister comes to my house she does my dishes or folds the clean laundry that has been piled up for days. I am so thankful and blessed by their giving hearts for me and my little family.

During this overwhelming illness, I know God is good. I know He loves me. I know He will save me. We are hopeful that this year holds remission of Lyme. Short of God healing me, there is no hope greater than remission.

Along with my Lyme doctor, we have changed several drugs that I have been on. I am still going for ozone treatments in Atlanta once a week. I am also introducing several new herbal and homeopathic treatments. We are hopeful that we are not even close to exhausting our options for treatments of this crazy thing called Lyme.

Please continue to pray for wisdom to know what treatments are helpful and which ones are not. Pray for grace during the overwhelming moments. Please pray for strength for our little family.

We look forward to the victory season! Until next time…

Family Update

I like to use my energy to talk about my family. On what I call my bad days, they are what make me get out of bed, so why not talk about them?

Since my last update, we have added to our little family and moved. So, I had better get on the ball and update you, right?

Where to start? Well, we put our house on the market and then a month later found out that another little one was on the way. We were joyful and excited! House for sale, packing and getting ready for a baby…life was busy!

We starting looking for houses in Northeast Georgia and found several that we liked. By the time we put together an offer, they would already be under contract. The houses in our price range were not staying on the market very long. So, we were starting to get discouraged that we would not be able to stay within our budget and find a house before our little one arrived. However, we found a cute little brick house that needed some TLC and closed on our house the week of Thanksgiving a year ago.

We began renovations on our new home on Thanksgiving Day! The holidays were crazy! I was very pregnant and was not allowed to paint, but I did everything else that I could. I ordered, shopped, cleaned, and designed during every spare moment. Jason helped add a mudroom and office to the house, as well as painting just about every surface in the house. Our little girl even got in on the act as she painted doors with her daddy. She loves to paint!

During the renovations of the new house, our house near Columbus was just not selling. We had ups and downs with it. We finally were able to sell it in July to a sweet lady that our old neighbors love.

We did get moved in to our new home and somewhat settled before our second bundle of joy arrived. Our little man joined the world in May 2016. He is a healthy, bright eyed little gentleman. He laughs and makes us laugh. He just got his first tooth and is starting to get up on all fours and rock. Oh my, it is just a matter of time before he is crawling EVERYWHERE! He is a blessing and a joy to each of us!

Our little girl is 3, going on 30. She is spunky and loves to ask questions. She told me the other day that all 3 year olds ask lots of questions, it’s just what they do! She also loves to cook and do art projects. We love to cook together and she is learning a lot. She can already crack an egg, help make muffins and smoothies. She has informed us that she wants to be the next winner of the Kids Baking Challenge, and we believe her! The other night she was sitting at the table tasting dinner that Jason had cooked. She tasted the meat then looked at Jason and said, “Daddy, I’m sorry we are going to have to chop you. Your meat doesn’t taste too good. For this reason, we had to chop you.” LOL Oh my goodness! Where did she come from? We love her so much and have a good time watching her grow!

We stay busy just being a little family. We still haven’t been able to get involved in church, community and much of anything due to my illness (a health update is coming). But we love to spend time together when I am having a good day. The possibilities for fun are endless with preschoolers. Just recently we had an inch or less of snow. Our little girl was so excited that we all bundled up and trekked outside. She made a “mud angel” instead of a snow angel. We built a 3-inch snowman on the hood of the car. Then we walked down the street. We came back inside and enjoyed some hot chocolate. This only took about 30 minutes, but it meant the world to her. From her excitement, you would have thought that we had 30 inches of snow. It really is the small things that matter.

My next update will be a health update. Until next time…

Blank Page

I look at the blank page and it mocks me. It mocks me because I know that I can’t fill it. I want to fill it. My mind is full of things that I want to say. However, the reality is that my brain will not allow the words to be released to my fingers or my lips. This reality is hard for me to explain, but that is what it looks like when I am having a Lyme flare up. Some call it brain fog, some call it neurological Lyme. Whatever you call it, I have it! And some days are much worse than others.

I have looked at a blank page many times over the past few months and have wanted to fill the emptiness. I have wanted to share my journey with you. I have wanted to share what God is teaching me. I have so many funny little stories that I want to share. And yet, that blank page keeps staring at me.

I feel that I need to apologize and then feel guilt for not writing. Not updating. Not sharing my life. But apologizing takes effort too, effort that eludes me.

So, for now, I shall fill in the blank page as best I can and not worry or feel guilty. Let’s face it, we each have a journey. We can share that journey or hold it close to ourselves. Either way, our journey is not changed. So, hang in there as I attempt to share my journey through a brain that is unwilling, at times, to allow the words out. Updates to come, I promise! 

Family Update

Hey Everyone!
I write today with much news. So, if you were hoping this would be a short and sweet post...well, I can promise there will be sweetness to this, but it is not short.
My little family has had many changes and challenges in the last three years. We have questioned, rejoiced, cried and laughed. All the while we have come to understand our God in a bigger and better way.
I was cleaning off my desk today and found some papers that Jason and I had put together several months ago. At the top of the page is written: "God's Precious Promises". We put together scriptures that had promises that God had made to us. These promises have carried us through some pretty tough situations. These promises have reminded us of a Daddy, a Comforter, a Healer, a Righteous Judge, and the biggest Lover this world will ever see.

1 John 3:1 states "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God."

We are proud to be called children of God and here is our testimony:
Almost three years ago, Jason and I got married, I moved to live in Alabama, and we soon found out that I was pregnant. During my pregnancy we found that some of the aches and pains I was having were not due to simple pregnancy. After four doctors, multiple hospital stays, and oh so many tests, I gave birth to our sweet little girl, without knowing what was going on with my health. Our little girl has been a healthy, loving and growing in Jesus girl all this time. We are so happy that she loves us, others and God with a childlike love. It is beautiful! Anyway, about a year ago now, we finally found a doctor who not only diagnosed me with Lyme but is also treating me for Lyme. After a doctor who told me I was just being emotional and it was all in my head, this was and still is a huge blessing. 
So, my health updates continue to be great from my Lyme doctor. She is always impressed with my improvement. I am still on two antibiotics, one anti-fungal and many vitamins, minerals and probiotics. I continue my herbal tea regiment and my bentonite clay baths. I am also continuing with just meats, veggies and fruits with a bit of chocolate here and there. A girl has to have chocolate you know! This diet has also been wonderful for my little family. I will sing the praises of God's good gifts of fruits and veggies to the entire world, if they will listen. Just don't get me started on good foods if you don't want to chat for a while :)
We still do not have a time table for when I will be able to stop taking the antibiotics. And we are always keeping other treatments in our mind as options. We are encouraged with the energy that I am having, which is much needed right now.
I would like to share with you some news from another doctor that I have been seeing. In late June, Jason and I rejoiced in the news that we would be parents again. We were both joyful and concerned. With Lyme, and more importantly while still on medications, there can be so many things that are against a pregnancy. So, concern about when to let people know about our exciting news was where we were when I began miscarrying that precious little life. Let me just tell you that God walked us through the most peaceful days as I went through the physical process of a miscarriage. God was a comfort in the worst of times. When there were no more words to say, He spoke life into us. We are confident that all things work together for the good of those that love God. And we are confident that God is and will continue to bless us through this miscarriage. And frankly, we can't wait to hug that little bundle of blessings when we meet up in heaven. We are alright. We are well. We are spiritual and emotional steady. Only because of the love of God. Physically I am still chemically a bit out of balance and some of my recent blood work has been out of whack as a result. Also, during the recent ultrasounds, they found a simple cyst that they wanted to monitor. After the second ultrasound, the cyst was gone, but there was a mass in a different place. Yet again, in such a short time our strength in the Lord was tested. It would be a lie to say that fear was not a part of the equation at this point. But with all that we have been through we did our best to keep our eyes on God and the promises and purposes that He has given us. Yes, in case you are wondering, cancer was the word that the doctor used. I was sent to get a blood test, which would tell us if I had the markers for ovarian cancer. I do not have the markers for ovarian cancer. There is still a mass there. I have another ultrasound in about five weeks. At that time we are believing that there will be no mass at all. And nothing more to monitor. Prayers in line with this would be greatly appreciated!
In the meantime, my handsome husband has had much favor at his job. His boss has been so kind to allow Jason time off to go with me to appointments and to work through family sorrows. Also, a few months ago Jason got a promotion. I am so proud that he has been faithful in his work. Because of this faithfulness and God's goodness, Jason was granted even more favor when he approached his boss to see if it would be possible to work from home. A few weeks ago, he was granted that favor. He has not begun to work from home yet. He will begin when we move.
Yes, we are in the midst of moving! YAY!!! So, here is the deal: We will be leaving the Columbus area and moving into northeast Georgia. We are keeping our options open, but we would love to be closer to doctors, Free Chapel, the mountains and friends and that goes without saying family.
We are in the process of talking to realtors here and getting that sign up in our yard. We are also planning, cleaning, storing, and boxing things up in our home. I know that I still have limitations with my health and am trying to plan appropriately. I am trying to not wait until the last minute to get things ready. At the same time, we are looking at houses and working toward getting a realtor in the northeast Georgia area. Talking to lenders, insurance companies and finding moving gear. It is exciting and oh so busy all at the same time. Having a preschooler running around has added to the fun, but we are ready for this adventure.
Jason and I were recently talking about our goals as a family. We have been praying for some time now, about where God was heading us. We feel that this move will be in direct line with the goals and purposes that God has for us. It will be hard, but we are at peace that this what God has and His timing will be the right timing. We are praying that our house miraculously sells quickly. We would love to only have one mortgage and are looking at houses with that in mind. 
Along those same lines, we feel this will be a blessing financially for us. However, this move will only be a blessing if God provides what we need within a very tight budget. Our God is a miracle worker and we know that He has blessing for us. Please pray with us about both houses, the one we are trying to sell and the one God wants us to buy. Also, if you have any leads, we are always keeping our ears open.
Among all this craziness, I am still working hard on my business. Jason and I are excited that we have booked four fall festivals that I will be selling at (so if you are in the Hartwell, Elberton, Cornelia or Social Circle area, send me a message and I'll let you know when I will be there.) I have continued to meet the professional goals that I have set for myself. I have several parties that are happening as we speak and already have a consultant under me. This is all so exciting! Thank you so much for all the great support and encouragement you have poured out on me in this endeavor. I am proud, excited and enjoying building relationships through a business. Can you believe that? If you are wondering about my business, you are welcome to check out my website: www.lillarose.biz/joyfulnoise

One last thing: Our little girl has turned two, we will share our third anniversary in a few weeks and Jason and I are both getting older...birthdays abound. We are loving life, God and each other. My dad shared this thought with me during a recent struggle: "You are a person of worth, created in the image of God, to relate and to live." -Grady Nutt
And that my friends, family and listeners is my final thought for today.
Thanks for taking this journey with us in prayer! We appreciate you so much!
Hugs and smiles,
Joy and crew

Kind Mom and New Wreaths

Hey All!
As promised I have a project post today. I may have mentioned that my husband and I spent a weekend turning our guest bedroom closet into a crafting desk/storage area. The post on that is coming. Until then I thought you might enjoy seeing some beautiful wreaths that my mom made for me out of random stuff I found while cleaning out the aforementioned closet. Almost everything was repurposed from something else, ribbons from a gift that I won as a prize at a wedding shower, flowers from a bridesmaid bouquet, tulle from my own wedding and the wreaths were reused from previous projectt fails. This was truely a thrifty project. I actually had to go buy more wire, but that was the only thing purchased for this project. Don't you just love when that happens?
So, without further ado, here are the lovely wreaths my mom made for me.

This lovely sunflower wreath is perfect for late summer and early fall. Can't wait to put it up!

Feeling like Valentine's Day? I always feel ready for Valentine's Day, guess I have to wait to put this out until next year.

Spring...Yay! Love flowers, they are just so happy!

A huge thank you to my talented mom for all her help with this. I am so glad that she enjoys helping me make my house a lovely home. Hope you enjoyed this project.

Until next time...smiles!

New Adventures and Sales

Hey guys!

I remember a certain accounting class from college. I really enjoyed that class and learned a lot about accounting but even more, lots about business. My teacher told me that I would be successful at anything I put my mind to. And guess what!?! I think I agree!

After a crazy few years of sickness I have finally started a business. I don’t pretend to know God’s complete plan for my life…I have clarity here and there, but only He knows the whys of where I have been and the what ifs of the future. I do know that God has a plan for that business degree that I worked so hard for. I am excited and thrilled that He has given me the chance to stretch my business wings again. I am now an independent consultant for Lilla Rose. I sell beautiful and affordable hair accessories. Wow! I get to own my own business and still be a mom. Who gets to do that?

I am thankful that so many of you have supported me in prayers throughout my illness. I know that many of you may also love to help me with my business. So, I thought it might be helpful for me to give you a few practical things that would help (other than purchasing from me) J.

Things You Can Do To Help Me Build My Business

• ·        ‘Like’ my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lillarose.joyfulnoise
• ·         Check out the new Flexi clip every month on my website: www.lillarose.biz/joyfulnoise
• ·         Purchase hair jewelry directly from me or online: www.lillarose.biz/joyfulnoise  (if ordered online, your hair accessories are shipped directly to you)
• ·         For review and giveaway options, I would love it if you would share any blogs that interest you. Email the blog address to: www.joyfulnoise114@gmail.com
• ·         Have a home party! Come on and plan a fun time with the gals, enjoying hair clips and laughing together. Home party hostesses get free product and fun incentives.
• ·         Have a catalog or online party! No cleaning and you still get to enjoy free product.
• ·         Join my team! Earn some spending cash while having a great time. I love Lilla Rose and am really enjoying the support and guidance that they offer. Ask me more!
• ·         Share my website with someone that you think would love the Flexi clip. They can order online, no party necessary.
• ·         Become a customer and get updates when there are sales and new Flexi clips. Simply go to my website and join as a new customer: www.lillarose.biz/joyfulnoise

Click here for more sale items

Speaking of sales, I would love to share an awesome sale that started this morning. Three brand new hairbands and six bobbie pin sets have been released. (I love the new Garden bobbies…so cute!) For this new release Lilla Rose is offering 10% off EVERYTHING. Plus, 30% off soon to retire styles. If you are interested in this sale, HURRY! The Sale started Wednesday, June 17^th, 2015 at 12 am PT and ends Friday, June 19^th, 2015 at midnight PT.

Click here for more sales items

So, I just wanted to share my new and exciting adventure. Come on back for other adventures with my little family soon. I am working on a blog of a recent home redo (wink, wink). Jason and I have been busy.

Until next time…

Riding Tandem

Hey guys and gals!
So, I have some very dear friends that are biking from Jasper, Alberta, Canada to Estes Park, Colorado. And if that isn't impressive enough, they are doing it with a toddler, on a tandem bike. WOW! I am thrilled that they are my friends and thrilled that God has put adventure in their hearts. If you are interested, they are keeping a blog of their adventures: https://gordonandhui.wordpress.com/
My reason for bringing this up is that riding tandem is not as easy as it looks. Take a look at the bike itself.

It looks like it would be hard just to get on the thing. The peddles need to be in the right place for both the person on the bike and the person getting on the bike. Control is more difficult with  a tandem bike as only one person can control the steering. Also, maintaining the same speed has to be super difficult.
On the flip side, I can only imagine how much fun it must be to have someone else with you to share every moment. My friends talk about how neat it is to see the mountains at the same moment. How much more fun a flat tire is when you have someone to laugh with as you change it. I guess riding tandem truly has some advantages.
Recently, my husband and I have either been in or attended several weddings. The weddings and the tandem bike got me to thinking about marriage.
Marriage is much like a tandem bike. You need to be on the same path and going the same speed to make it in marriage. I am blessed to have a husband who is both on the same path and willing to go the same speed as I, even when that speed is super slow due to health issues. On a tandem bike you both have to brake at the same time. In marriage, you both need times of rest. Too much busyness can kill a marriage. On a tandem bike you both have to stop to make repairs. How true is this also in marriage? You both have to stop and work on issues, money needs and just daily decisions. On a tandem bike, you get to enjoy the highs on the mountaintops and the lows of the valley with someone else. And that is so true of marriage. You take your spouse with you through all of the valleys and you get to enjoy the mountaintops just a bit more with your mate there beside you.
God said , "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up." (Ecclediastes 4: 9-10) That is what marriage and tandem biking is all about.
I am thankful for a husband who will ride the tandem bike of marriage with me. Here is to many more mountaintop views and support through the valleys.
Before I close, I want to say that before I was married I found great encouragement from Godly friendships with other gals. Thank you to those gals for riding at the same speed with me, for helping me when my tires were flat, for laughing with me during the valleys and enjoying the mountaintops with me. You were and still are an encouragement to me.
Until next time...

Health, Wedding, Business and Busyness

Hey guys and gals,
I am so excited as I write this post. So much has been going on in the life of my little family! It is encouraging to see what God is up too.
First, a health update. For those of you that have been keeping up, you know that we had tried to have some ozone treatments that did not work out. Well, we found out that they are being administered by a new nurse, which opens the door to this treatment again. However, the timing and financial commitment has not worked out for us at this time. The main reason for continuing to pursue this treatment is that it would give a great boost to my immune system. A boost that my immune system really needs. I continue to catch anything that makes its way into our home. The good news is that my doctor is seeing great improvements. She even told me that most people do not have as great and quick results as I. Isn't God good? He is the healer! My doctor is watching a certain blood count. It needs to be at or above 150 before I can be antibiotic free. It is currently at 57, which is a great improvement on the 7 that it was when I started. Please continue to pray with us that healing continues and my immunity improves.
Now for the wedding news. My brother just got married and is starting a new life out with the gal that he loves. We are so excited that they finally got married. It was a joy and honor to enjoy all the wedding festivities with both of them. I was a bridesmaid and baby girl was one of the flower girls. I am so blessed to love my brothers bride as a sister and it was a joy to share the "getting ready" part of the day with her. Praying with them both as they step into this new adventure was such a special thing for me personally. I must say that I am so grateful for folks who were and are praying for my health, because on this special day for my family, I only had to slow down once. I enjoyed the whole day, from beginning to end without pain, headaches and only once needed to sit down from dizziness. I watched as my brother's bride got her hair and makeup done. I stood next to my brother and his bride in the 90 degree sun as they said I do. I danced with my baby girl and husband until the very last song. I enjoyed seeing and visiting with folks that I haven't gotten to connect with in years. It was such a blessing to not just share in this time, but truly enjoy it without health problems. Thanks for praying me through this special day!
I have started a business! I feel a bit like that cartoon whose head spins round and round and round. I am learning so much and finally getting to apply some of that college learning. I am an independent consultant for Lilla Rose. I sell fine hair jewelry that is both beautiful and affordable! What makes this venture so fun is that I really love what I sell. Please check out my website: www.lillarose.biz/joyfulnoise and please 'Like' my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lillarose.joyfulnoise
I will be having my Grand Opening at the end of this month in Athens. Please pray with me that I follow God's leading in this business venture and that if/when I am successful at it that He gets the glory. I am so excited to see what He does in and through me with this great little business. My husband will tell you that it is wonderful to see me excited about this business. And he is right, I am just excited to sell something that I truly enjoy myself.

We have finally started that long "to-do" list that we had to put off while I was so very sick. First, stop...a crafting/gift wrapping/letter writing closet. That's right, we are multipurpose fans! We have taken over the guest bedroom closet (sorry, Mom) and turned it into a craft storage and desk space. A picture preview is coming soon in a post.
We are also starting to feel like we can start visiting extended family. It has been far to long since we have truly gotten to visit with much of our family and we look forward to hearing what God is doing in the lives of our extended family again.
Thank you for praying and being part of our story. We look forward to more wonderful updates in the future. Until next time...

What Happened to Children Being a Blessing?!?

So, the other day I was cruising through Facebook and saw a link to a Christian magazine article that caught my eye. It was about 20 things that Christian couples should do before having children. I thought it was going to be an article about things that you logically need to do before having children like: making a will, preparing a home for a family, or even deciding what you believe about raising children. However, to my surprise this article was about things such as traveling to exotic destinations, buying your dream car, joining a kickboxing club and playing soccer with a team. The article actually encouraged couples to put off having children in order to enjoy these activities.

To be honest, this article made me mad. Now, the disclaimer here is this: I do not think any of the activities in the article are bad. I do not think that everyone should think like me. And I do not expect the world to understand my viewpoint. But I am going to get preachy in this post. That’s it…disclaimer over.

My point here is that I didn’t read this article in a People magazine or an “all-about-you” magazine. I read it in a Christian online magazine. Shouldn’t we look different than the world?!?

If you are a bit confused as to why this article made me mad, then we need to have a brief conversation. My biggest dream was to simply be a wife and mom. So obviously, I value children. Even more than that though, I think that children are a blessing from the Lord. Actually Psalm 127:3 says, “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” This world is full of children who need love and God calls them a reward. Wow, it doesn’t get much plainer than that.

Again, I am not trying to say that everyone should make the same decisions that I have made, but if God thinks that all children are a gift, why would we not agree!

This debate hits home for so many couples who are not able to have children. They sit back and read articles like that and only wish and pray that they could have children. This article also may hit home for single folks who wish that they had a partner to share children with. Frankly it hits me hard, because I am a lioness who believes that children have great value.

One commentator on Psalm 127:3 summed my heart up well: “Too often children are seen as liabilities rather than assets. But the Bible calls children, ‘a gift from the LORD,’ a reward. We can learn valuable lessons from their inquisitive minds and trusting spirits. Those who view children as a distraction or nuisance should instead see them as an opportunity to shape the future. We dare not treat children as an inconvenience when God values them so highly.”

Thank you for letting me rant about something that is so precious to my heart. I pray that my little rant will at least help one person examine what they think about children. Please value them, even those that may not be your own. Children are a blessing!!!

Hope Is Springing Up

Hey guys!

I hope you all are doing well and being blessed! I am happy to bring a good update today…so grab a tea or coffee of your choice and enjoy!

After my last update, Jason and I spent an evening in the emergency room. I was in the worst pain of my life and while at the hospital passed what we think was a kidney stone and all pain left. The good thing about this experience was that it pushed us both to find a general practitioner here in Columbus. So, now Jason and I both have a GP in the area.

I am free of poison ivy now and looking forward to digging in the dirt some more in the next few months. Speaking of which, baby girl and I have been watching herb seeds grow over the past few weeks. Today we transplanted our little seedlings to growing pots. You would love to watch that sweet baby helping mommy fill the pots with soil. She is so careful and decided about each spoonful of dirt she moves from the bag to the pot. She is so much fun to work with. She loves watching the seeds grow…she giggles and claps her hands when we talk with daddy about the baby plants.

I am having more good days…such a blessing! I am not even close to 100% me yet, but improvement is good. We are thrilled with little victories like:

-being able to stay awake and alert longer during the day.

-being able to make a grocery list at one time instead of multiple tries.

-being able to get down on the floor and playing with Millie without worrying about where the nearest piece of furniture is that I can push myself up on.

-no dishes in the sink when I go to bed every night.

-planning our weekend activities at the beginning of the week and actually getting to do what we planned.

Many of you have asked how long I will be on the antibiotics and well, I don’t have a good answer. I hope that I will not be on them much longer, but the doctor  thinks that I need to be on them for two months after all symptoms are gone. As I am not symptom free, we are unsure what my Lyme doctor will say at my next appointment toward the end of April. In the meantime, I am still drinking my herbal teas, taking vitamin and mineral supplements, detoxing and eating nothing more than fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and lean meats with a few gluten-free grains mixed in once in a while.

Although I am not completely myself, we are excited that improvements have been made. Please continue to pray that a full healing will be swift. Also, continue to pray for financial renewal. It may seem simple but please pray that we will continue to find the joy in every single day.

The day is coming when I will finally be able to share a cup of tea with you and your family. Thank you for all your prayers this far! I couldn’t have made it without your love and support! It is a huge blessing!

Many hugs,

Joy

 

Walking Across Egypt and Crying Uncle!!!-Health Update

Hey Family and Friends,

I am so thankful for your prayers and love over the last few weeks. The prayers are much appreciated. You will know how much by the time you read this letter.

My mom and I always joked when something bad or unexpected happened that we felt like we were walking across Egypt. Well, ladies and gentlemen, my little family has felt like we were walking across Egypt these past few weeks and months. If you don’t get the word picture yet, let me expound a bit.

Like many of you, we were hit with the flu in December. Sweet little girlie was the one hit by this sickness. She was not resting during that time and Jason and I were both left exhausted. My daughter is such a sweet baby girl and battled through it with a smile on her face. Dealing with being exhausted from my illness and adding a sick baby, Christmas, the new year and then…

At the beginning of January, I got a simple cold. You may shrug your shoulders and say, “no big deal”. My immune system is so compromised, that a simple cold knocked me on my back for several weeks. Oh, man…I was so tired of being sick and so tired of having to lie down and not get things done with my family. I asked myself “why” often during this time.

Just about the time I started feeling better, Jason told me that he had been having stomach problems. I looked at him and thought, “are you being serious with me”? At this point I was tired of researching sicknesses, diet, treatments, herbs and just about anything you could think of related to an illness. But I started researching more, this time for Jason. We started changing an already difficult to manage diet. Because of my illness we had only been eating fruits, veggies, eggs and lean meats. That meant we had already cut out sugar, gluten, dairy, and any processed foods. Jason went to two doctors. We finally put together that he was having a reaction to eggs. Yikes…no eggs.

Just when I started to get a grip on our diet, it was time to start my ozone treatments in Atlanta. I know many of you have been wondering how that went, so here you go… My treatments were delayed until the middle of February. My first treatment was scheduled for a Tuesday, so that week was a single treatment (and now I am thankful for that). I haven’t really known what to say about the treatment but I will start by saying that we really felt that the treatment did improve my health. I had less joint pain, enough that I was able to play on the floor with Millie without groaning as I got up. I didn’t have any headaches afterwards. I even felt that I had more energy. I had no ill side effects. The problem is that (to put it lightly) the nurse administering the treatment was extremely unprofessional. The details (although many and varied) are not what I will concentrate on here. Needless to say, I will not be going back for treatments by that nurse. To be honest, I was disappointed and felt a bit overwhelmed. Here I found something that was helping me, only to realize that I would not be able to get it again. Well, poop!

Just when things started looking like it might slow down, Jason and I got poison ivy. What!?! Poison ivy in February? Yes, on a good Saturday we got out in the yard to remove some “harmless” vines on our fence. Those “harmless” vines were poison ivy. Well, with my immune system in the state it is in, I was not able to fight off the poison and it popped up all over my body. I felt extremely tired and knew that my body was trying to fight it. However, it just seemed that my body was losing the battle. As of today, I have had the poison ivy for over two weeks. It has gotten better and is slowly going away. In the process we tried a lot of home remedies and finally found a great product (Zanfel) that started helping my body fight the poison off.

After all this mess, I threw my hands up and cried “UNCLE”!!! I am tired of walking across Egypt! With that said, Jason and I are confident that we are walking across Egypt with God still in control. We know that He hasn’t left us or forgotten about us. Your prayers have allowed us to continue to believe that.

We are uncertain what the future holds for treatments for me. Please pray with us that we will be wise. I will be going for labs this month, with a follow up with the doctor in April. At that point we will see how the antibiotics have been doing and adjust if necessary. We will also talk about any additional treatments that she thinks would be helpful.

Please pray that if we are being attacked, that God will give us just enough strength for the battle (and maybe a little extra). Please pray for thankfulness on even bad days. Please pray for restoration of health and financial freedom.

We love you all! We look forward to the day that we can sit in a coffee shop sipping coffee, laugh at these days and see what God was doing.

Many hugs and smiles,

Joy and family

Simple Things

Hey all!
Sometimes it is the simple things that speak the most to my heart these days. I know...I am simple and why should I be surprised that simple things speak to me? I guess I'm not really that surprised, but thankful!
I went for a walk around my yard with my daughter this week. We were looking at all the dead branches on the trees about to burst out in life. We saw the little yellow bells that were just starting to awaken from a long dark slumber. We saw the birds that were building new nests from the leftovers of a nest past. We saw the tiny little bits of green starting to emerge from the dead ground all over the yard.

In that moment a simple truth was brought to my mind: God is always doing a new thing and He brings life from death! Isaiah reminded us of this:

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert and streams in the desert." -Isaiah 43:19

I have to be honest, it is so much easier to look at my circumstances and see the death...or the bad...in every day. It is hard to have the hope that He is bringing a new thing and life to my circumstances. I like to think that I am not unlike many of you in this struggle. At times, everyday can be a struggle. The hope comes in our believing that the new and life will come. Think about it, spring always comes. The flowers make their way to the surface of the dead ground and break forth. The trees continue to grow. It is His plan!
So here is my challenge for myself and you: Grab your boots, take a walk, marvel at God's world and be reminded that He never changes and that means that He is working on something new in your life if you are trusting Him and He will bring life!
Another simple truth came when I was having a not-so-great-day, and, just to be honest, wasn't feeling very thankful about much of anything. Heck, I was just straight up angry about circumstances in my life. I even had a "discussion" with God, where frankly, I wasn't really listening at all, just telling God why my situation wasn't very desirable. The details aren't that important, I'll just say that it was not a God-glorifying day.
At the end of the day, I was sitting in the rocking chair listening to my husband read a Bible story to our daughter when he began to sing. My daughter joined him as she swayed her head back and forth. My husband was singing, "Jesus Loves Me". My heart slammed inside me. Here I was, complaining about my situation and wondering if God was even listening to me, and was reminded by a simple children's song that God does love me. He hasn't forgotten about me instead, He loves me! Wow! It doesn't take much!
The last simple thing happened this morning as I was singing praise songs with my little family. The song below was playing when God reminded me that He is in control...of everything! Not just some things in my life or the world, but EVERYTHING! This was so comforting to my heart. May it be comforting to you as well. Enjoy listening and perhaps singing along!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG-zoopwV_I
Until next time....

Hiking In Hawaii

Hey!

I was looking at some pictures from my honeymoon the other day. I was reminded of a really rewarding hike that we took near Waikiki Beach to Manoa Falls. This hike was one of our favorite on that trip.

Before I let you in on all the wonderful parts of this hike, let me share all the details: We were staying at a nice resort that allowed us a late checkout of 1:00pm. We would be boarding our ship for our cruise later that afternoon.

So, we woke up early and headed to the bakery and grabbed some yummy cheese danishes. We had our backpacks full of water, snacks, sunscreen, bug spray, extra socks and raincoats. We hopped onto the public bus with a song in our hearts. We headed to the end of the line where we then hiked about a mile through private neighborhoods before finding the trailhead. The trailhead was a bit sketchy, but we were sure this was the place and continued forward. At first, we were rewarded with a beautiful scene out of…well…the television show, “Lost”.

It was so beautiful and we were thrilled to see what lay ahead. We had talked with several locals and they recommended that this was one of the best waterfall hikes on this island and it only took about 30 minutes to hike. We really only had a few hours, because we needed to get our luggage out of the resort by 1:00pm, so we thought we would be able to hike a short 30 minutes easily.

We knew that rain was always present in Hawaii, but we hadn’t counted on a downpour during our hike. It only rained for about 10 minutes, but that was long enough. We pulled on our raincoats and hid under a really old Banyan tree. What we were left with was mud, mud, and more mud. I had mud in my hair, mud in my shoes, mud in places that frankly, mud should not be. There were places that the trial was nothing but mud and we were slipping and sliding up the side of hills to get to the waterfall. At one point we were ready to turn around and go back. It just didn’t seem like it would be worth it. We couldn’t see the waterfall in advance because of all the lush foliage. We had stopped for a water break and looked at our watches wondering if we would now make it back to the resort in time to take showers or not. There were just so many reasons to turn around and give up.

 

We didn’t give up. We plunged forward through the mud and finally made it to the top. We were rewarded with one of the most beautiful waterfalls on the islands. We enjoyed marveling at the great beauty that God hid away on this mountain in Hawaii. We were struck by the awesomeness of God in those brief moments next to the waterfall. What joy we would have missed if we had turned back.

 

All too soon, we had to leave and head down the slippery, muddy hillside to catch the bus to our resort. Yes, we did make it in time, but barely. I have never showered so fast in my life.

The point is that sometimes God allows discomfort in order to get us to the place of great joy. It wasn’t fun walking through all that mud, but the reward at the end was so beautiful!

I am asked often if I know why God has allowed this illness in my life. I can give an answer, but is an answer necessary? God allows rain on the just and the unjust…the saved and the unsaved. The questions should really be, why not me! Why should I not go through the rain or mud? The reward of going through the rain and mud will be so worth it! I have no doubt of that! God brings beauty from the ashes, joy for mourning, praise instead of a failing spirit…and in my case, health for sickness! I don’t know what the days hold, but I chose to hold onto the promise that I am in His faithful care!

Be encouraged…He loves you very much!

Until next time…

Ozone and That Crazy Little Thing Called Lyme

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to send a shout out and ask you guys to be praying for me and my little family over the next six weeks. Next week I will begin a treatment for the Lyme called Ozone. It may sound a bit crazy, but in essence they simple draw my blood out and treat it with ozone (which is similar to oxygen) and then pump my blood back in.

You may wonder why this is even important and that is a good question. The main reason that we have, after much prayer, decided to proceed with this treatment is that in most cases it can kill up to 80% of bacteria in your body. We feel this treatment will drastically help the antibiotics and other treatments in killing the Lyme.

The main caveats to this treatment are that it is time consuming, costly and may leave me feeling much worse than before. Again, you may ask, why? As the Lyme bacteria dies, it releases toxins into my body that may make me feel worse. I like to think of this as good pain…it means that I am healing.

We will be in Atlanta two days a week and will be staying with family there. We are so thankful that Jason’s bosses have been kind enough to allow Jason to take sick leave on those days, so we will not lose his income during those six weeks.

We ask you to pray that miraculously this treatment and healing will be painless. Also pray that all other sickness will stay away from our family (as we found out last week, my body simply can’t even handle a little sniffle). As always, please pray for healing of my body and our finances.

This was a bit short, but I just wanted to give you a quick update. If you would like to read more about Lyme check out this website: http://www.columbia-lyme.org/research/lymetbd_center.html

If you are interested in knowing more about Ozone treatment, check out this (keep in mind that I will be undergoing Whole Body Therapy, not the other versions described in this article): http://www.lymediseaseneogen.com/2013/07/01/ozone-therapy-lyme-disease/

Much love and many hugs,

Joy and family

It's Official

Hello and Happy New Year!

I hope this update finds you well and blessed! My little family is blessed and feeling excited about the future. I have several blessings to share with you and as well as a few prayer requests.

It is official, I have chronic Lyme disease. That would go under the blessing category. It is a blessing to finally have a name to all these crazy symptoms. It is also a blessing because now I know what to pray about and what to fight.

Before I go any further, I have a plea for you. Please be your medical advocate. There are many knowledgeable doctors out there, but they don’t live with you, so they can’t know everything that is going on with you. Only you do! Also, we would have never found out what was wrong with me through conventional testing and blood work. It pays to research and learn! This is so important!

Okay, back from my scattered rant…

We have found a good doctor, who is open to many treatment options. She is knowledgeable and spends much time talking with us. She spends time asking good questions and is willing to research if she needs to. This is a huge blessing! Thank you for your prayers while we were seeking a godly, knowledgeable doctor. Also, most (not all) testing has been covered by our insurance. And any prescriptions are also covered by our insurance. These are also huge blessings!

We have a plan and are no longer wondering through life. Having a plan of action against this crazy sickness is something that my heart has been longing for. Yes, our plan is to continue to pray for healing, that will never change, but we now have the ability to fight it with knowledge and understanding as well. This is a blessing!

Lyme is a very tricky disease and can easily hide out for a while before reeking havoc in your body. It is also not an easy disease to treat as the symptoms are all very different for each person. It can also mimic many other different kinds of diseases. If you are interested in more information about Lyme, check out this website: http://www.columbia-lyme.org/ If you think that you may have Lyme, please have testing done through this company (they are the best at Lyme testing): http://www.igenex.com/Website/ The hardest part of the recovery from Lyme is that it takes time. Just like any young person, I am ready to get on with the plans that we feel God has for us and I am impatient. Please pray that I am patient for my healing!

Recovery from Lyme is not only time consuming, but it is also costly. We have been so blessed and are thankful for the many ways that God has taken care of us. He is truly faithful and we are so blown away by His ways of providing for us. Please continue to pray that He blesses our finances, so that we are able to continue treatments.

I am quickly finding out that Lyme treatments are controversial in nature, because the disease itself is very controversial. There are those that would try to scare you into only conventional treatments. There are those that would try to scare you into only natural treatments. In a nutshell, there are many scare tactics out there. Please pray that while researching, fear would have no place in our hearts and decisions. Also, as we research, please pray that we would have clear direction and peace about any treatment options.

We are moving forward with three prescription antibiotics, as well as probiotics and a prescription antifungal. This may seem crazy to you, but there are specific reasons for each of these. I am also going to start taking several supplements to help with liver function, detoxifying and immune support. It may be kind of gross, but as the Lyme dies it releases toxins that the body is just not able to handle by itself, so I need a healthy liver and several ways to detoxify. My immune system is seriously compromised, so it is very important to support my immune system, as well as physically staying away from as much sickness as I can. Please pray for these treatments to act quickly, so there use is not prolonged. Also pray that I am protected from additional sickness.

I won’t sugar coat it, recovery from Lyme is a painful recovery. As I mentioned earlier, the Lyme releases toxins as it dies. This can cause increased and worsened symptoms before getting any better. My symptoms indicate that my illness has progressed to the point of late neurological damage. Sounds worse than it is, but it means that my illness is in the late stages of damage and I will most likely have a longer and more painful recovery than if we had treated it earlier. Please pray that God gives strength and endurance during recovery.

The Lyme has opened the door to many other problems that we will have to fight against quickly. I have an underactive thyroid, which we will be working on by way of a natural hormone. I am also dealing with symptoms of adrenal fatigue and a lack of iron. I am still on supplements that will help with these problems and am researching more natural ways to combat these problems. These may seem like a small thing compared to the Lyme, but they are very serious and something that we need to get under control quickly. So, my prayer here is for quick healing, knowledge and wisdom in choosing treatment options, and financial resources for the treatments and supplements (which are not covered by insurance).

Thank you for taking this journey with me through your prayers! We are confident that the Lord is working! We are also very confident that He has a plan for me and my family! Again, we are excited about the future and look forward to more joyful blessings as we journey together. I am learning much and would love to share more if you ever want to know more about my journey. Just ask J

Many hugs,

Joy

P.S. I just realized that many of you may wonder about our little girl and how my illness may affect her (and any future kiddos). Lyme can be passed to a child during pregnancy. So, we will be getting our girly tested at her next pediatrician appointment. She can be a carrier but never have any problems, but we want check to see what her risks are.