Tag Archives: faith

Hypochondriacs, UNITE!!

Sometimes it’s a problem working in the medical field. For a lot of reasons. First, let me assure you, I enjoy my job, taking care of patients (I’m a nurturer), hearing their stories and seeing what’s going on inside the body (I like to pretend I’m a doctor and figure out what’s the problem–makes the day more interesting). Buuuuuuuut……sometimes I get a little over it and have to dig DEEP for some compassion, because after the 20th whine story I’d rather get a spinal needle in the eye. Just sayin’….that’s when my friend and I encourage each other with these kind of things:

you are never too old for a “Gold Star”…

The bad thing is that when people get sick at home and I’ve been dealing with sick people all day, sometimes I have to dig even deeper. Pathetic. I know. And this week I’ve had to pull out the big shovel and dig for flippin’ China because we’ve had round 2 of our youngest getting sick AGAIN with a visit to the After hours Ped clinic and diagnosed with a virus lasting 5-7 days. Nausea, fever and all the good stuff that goes with it (if you can read between the lines). After recent strep throat and treatment for that, I was less than amused to deal with a virus. Nor was she. <sigh> Then it gets good….

Hubby becomes violently ill the next night with our daughter’s symptoms. Great. (here comes living out that “in sickness and in health” part…. So after a night of holding our daughter’s hair back a few times and about 3 hours of sleep next to the human furnace, I was thrilled to head to work, leaving our 14-year-old in charge of doling out Tylenol and water. Both of them were basically out of commission the entire day. I came home from work and went to work bleaching both bathrooms, kitchen and doling out more fluids and meds. They were rallying, then….

Dearest daughter complained of peeling feet and achy joints. I made the fatal mistake. yes. I web-surfed her symptoms. I know better. Let me STRONGLY encourage you. DO. NOT. DO. THIS. EVER. SERIOUSLY. Every symptom has a bizarre and rare disease to match on the web (this is why you DON’T surf the web for medical advice, people!). I found a disease for her, too. I did what any mother would do. I made her another doctor appointment. Hubby took her (he is now recovering somewhat). She did not have Kawasaki disease despite the matching symptoms…PHEW!…she DID (they are pretty sure after the swab)…have another round of Strep throat, so it’s another visit to Publix for free antibiotics and hopefully we are all on the upswing…… but…..

There are 4 other people in the house still, so we will see how it goes!

St. Raphael, the Archangel, patron saint of illness and healing, Pray for us!

A little education is a dangerous thing….

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I know it’s not for everyone (though it really IS)……however, knowledge is power, peeps!! For us, NFP frees me up from remembering to take a pill, get a shot or have something foreign in my body. NFP is openly communicating with my hubby and growing in faith whether we decide to abstain from (SUPER challenging, BTW…and in my opinion, probably one of the main reasons people don’t want to practice NFP) or embrace the marital bed. There is ALWAYS the possibility of a new life, plain and simple. The fact is, life is FULL of unknowns, unplanned-fors and surprises. Life is fluid. Always changing. Never the same. The more we try to control it, the more restless we become in this futile act of “control”. Life IS. The better we become at “rolling with it”, the easier it becomes with ALL unknowns, unplanned-fors and surprises. For us, that is the bedrock of our faith, trusting that GOD has plans for us that we may not understand now (or ever), but His plans are ALWAYS far better than we could imagine and NFP fits right in that belief.

NFP. Natural Family Planning. For some, these words strike fear deep in the hearts, for others its a lifestyle. That lifestyle can be one deeply entrenched in faith and trusting in God’s plan for family size and being open to the children He provides us with (complete with sleep deprivation, dirty diapers, tantrums and potty training…..as well as that sweet baby smell, soft coos, chubby cheeks, and reliving life through all the “firsts”) OR perhaps it’s a lifestyle of eco-consciousness and organic living. Whatever the reasons, it’s worth learning about if you are stuck in the mentality of the “rhythm method” or would rather just trust in this amazing body we have and learn to understand it in regards to our health and reproductivity. One of the places you can learn more about “NFP” is on the long-awaited site, iusenfp, there is a wealth of information about the various methods of NFP, HOW to implement NFP as well as a blog (of course!) and a “real life” section on folks like you and me and how NFP works in their life and in their marriages. There’s even a great article by Simcha Fisher–in her usual sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek manner on NFP and marriage. (**all cute little buttons are from their site)

There’s also 1Flesh.org a site filled with (more) blogging, stories and conversational topics anti-pill, pro-life, etc, etc, etc. Geared toward a younger generation but a truly In-Your-Face, Let’s-Dialogue on the benefits of an NFP lifestyle. It’s all kinds of confrontational….in a good and positive way.

There’s the Faith and Family website, where not only are there a myriad of articles each day on, yes, faith and family, as well as each day a forum geared toward a specific topic and today is….NFP. And trust me, the questions are raw, honest and eye-opening. You can learn a lot. I sure do!!

And Catholicmom.com for a variety of topics and columns filled with testimonials, advice and information on NFP, in addition to news, homeschooling, prayers, crafts, parenting and faith topics galore!

These are but just a few areas to look around, feel free to leave your own link in the comment section if you’d like to share.

Blessings!

Speaking our mind

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I find it amusing that we all complain and tout our right to freedom of speech and yet, when someone speaks against a belief of ours we are deeply offended, self-righteous and indignant calling them hate-mongers and so on. I suppose we are supposed to all have the same beliefs? Really? Last I looked we are all different, brought up with different life experiences, background, parenting, religious beliefs or non-beliefs with society making its own impact on our thought processes as we age. So, it is with MY own right to freedom of speech that I share with you the July 25 “National Eat at Chik-fil-A Day”. A day to applaud the Cathy family in their support of marriage and yes, even speaking out IN DEFENSE of THEIR beliefs of a traditional marriage. Agree or don’t agree, that’s your right. However, why should Dan Cathy be ostracized for espousing a view that is in line with his Christian beliefs? I’ll go ahead and break the news if you aren’t already aware, Chik-fil-A is a Christian-based company. Run by Baptists. They are closed on Sundays. They say, “It’s my pleasure to serve you.” when you pick up your meal. If you are anti-Christian, don’t agree with their beliefs or a statement their COO made, then eat somewhere else. No big deal. Move on. If everyone truly believes in freedom of speech, that comes with respecting the opposing view and understanding we won’t all change each other, however, we can agree to disagree.

So. On that note, I’ll share this:

July 25 and August 1….if you’re interested and/or are close to a Chik-fil-A, if not you can go to any other fast food restaurant. It’s all good.

**and since there was no boot camp today, I was up early with time to blog. woo hoo!

Life giving friendships

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These girls, ladies, women, amazing friends and sisters in Christ. They’ve been an integral thread in my life for a dozen years. We met during a women’s retreat at our parish and many of our husbands participated in the men’s retreat that took place after ours. Our retreat group was probably twice this size after formation, but this group……THIS group struck a bond. A bond that went beyond formation and providing the next retreat. A bond strengthened over bible studies, rosaries, dinners and desserts. In spite of busy lives and season changes, we’ve managed to stick together, each taking a piece of the other’s heart so that we are all forever sisters regardless of distance and life’s plans for us. These are life giving friends.

This picture captures a rare moment of togetherness recently, and marks the move of one friend and her family to Washington D.C. The fact that we were ALL able to make the dinner (with school over and summer ON, one with laryngitis, one leaving the next day with her husband and 6 kiddos on vacation, myself being 4 hours away, and one with a newborn) was an amazing accomplishment in itself–on a Wednesday night no less! It was a bittersweet dinner (saying goodbye is NEVER easy) however, we were ALL able to take turns “catching up” in a roundtable discussion and enjoy each other’s company, laughing at stories and enjoying super delicious food, too–BONUS!

12 years brings much opportunity for prayer, encouragement, hope, love and comfort. What a blessing in these friendships, an abundant harvest resulting from following the prompting of our Lord to attend a weekend retreat.

These friendships are a tapestry of prayer and God reveals the image one story at a time. Through the years He’s weaved that tapestry through praying for one another and sharing in each other’s lives.

Prayers for struggling marriages and praises for God’s gift of forgiveness, compromise, commitment, and strength in fighting through the challenges and the fruit of healed hearts.

Prayers for babies born and unborn and praises for those who took their sweet, sweet time.

Prayers for being open to life and praises for the many varied gifts of life in this culture of death.

Prayers for children’s health, novenas for treatment and praises in God’s gift of talented physicians, compassionate nurses and a network of prayer warriors storming heaven.

Prayers for children lost in the sea of peer pressure and hurt as they spread their wings and fly solo, praises for God’s path and the gift of healing through angels on earth who allow the Holy Spirit to form their words and gently redirect their path.

Prayers for the unfairness of cancer and all the promises it robs, praises for the power of prayer, God’s will and the promises of His plan far exceeding our own.

Prayers for guidance and advice in the ongoing vocation of motherhood and marriage, and praises for God’s wisdom and love provided through friends as we all weave our families through this obstacle course of life.

Prayers through job loss and financial struggles and praises for jobs found, opportunities presented a faith to step out of comfort zones into Trust.

Prayers throughout a family’s prison ordeal and praises for a family restored.

Prayers for friends who move away and praises for the unexpected gifts received in stepping out in love and hope.

Prayers spoken, fears whispered, tears shed, hope restored, love shared, faith renewed. Prayer warriors and lifetime friends. A bond not weakened by distance. A bond strengthened through prayer, sharing, love and faith.

Thank you, Lord for the gift of friends. I am truly blessed.

Proverbs 11:14

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

For more on friendship Scripture check here…

Put a Fork in me….it’s Friday!!

making the trek

Trekking through life: Faith, family, friends and a whole lot of coffee!