That One Sick Girl

A word study is a type of Bible Study in which you pick one word to focus on and listen to what God is saying to you through that word. While reading Mark 4, I noticed the word parables was used on several occasions. Below is a list that I have compiled of all that comes to mind when I think of the word parable. Remember to pray before doing this exercise. Ask God to give you the wisdom to understand what he is trying to say to you. Abba, I thank you for bringing light into my life and making sure that I know that I am loved by you. Thank you for guiding me today as I study your word, and give me the strength and wisdom to understand what you are telling me. Amen PARABLE Story Jesus Message Understanding of what we could not understand before An act of love Teachings Instruction Confusion Love of the deepest kind The story of God The prodigal son returns Prayer In my list I notice a few key themes. Parables are definitely a way of teaching. I also notice that they are

As I've been in recovery from a serious mental break that occurred a few weeks ago, I have been learning a lot about the importance of self-care. Often times, I think that we become so focused on caring for others that we forget what self-care can look like. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it most certainly needs to be a necessity in our lives. Every day we should get up and ask the question, "What can I do to take care of myself today?" The following post is really just a list of suggestions that I have tried when practicing my own self-care. Some are obvious, while other ideas are more creative. As a little note to the readers: any products suggested in this post have been tested by me and have my stamp of approval. Should you choose to purchase any of the products listed I will receive a small stipend for no extra cost to you. First, I will start with the obvious. You can take care of yourself by doing simple things such as practicing personal hygiene,

Anxiety is one of the most terrifying parts of my journey. It makes me feel vulnerable, weak, and very alone. That being said, I have been working a lot on realizing that I am not alone in this lately. I have to be honest with you. I was in a really dark place a few weeks ago, and my anxiety and depression got the best of me. I felt like it would be better if I weren't here. I don't want anyone else to ever feel like that, so I'm making it my mission to show you that you are not alone. You don't have to wear a mask with me because this is a safe place. If you ever need to talk, my email is right here on this website available to you. All you have to do is contact me, and I will be here. To start the conversation, I want to foster a place of vulnerability and share with my newfound knowledge with you. You see, I realized something recently. Everyone around me, including myself, is wearing a mask. When we walk down the street or through the grocery store we put a smile on

This type of study is normally done in partners, but, if you have no partner, I will do my best to adapt the study to you.  Opening Prayer:   O Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning. Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 1.  Read the passage out loud, slowly. If there are more than one of you, only one person needs to do the reading.  2.  Once finished, identify words and/or phrases from the passage that caught your attention. If you are in a group, each of you must do this, but don't share until everyone has had a chance to take in what they have just heard. If you are having trouble just focus on the first thing that comes to mind. This portion of the exercise should only take about 1 minute.  3.  If you are doing the study alone, you don't need to do this port

Note: I have tried all of the products mentioned in this post and will receive a small stipend at                      no extra cost to you should you choose to purchase it using my link. I spend more than my fair share of time confined behind the walls of a hospital, so I have gotten pretty creative when it comes to keeping myself busy. The following list is a series of suggestions for staying sane should you ever need to be hospitalized for any amount of time. It is my hope for you to become more informed and to feel like this is a safe place to share your story. As always, if you like it, share! 1. Learn a New Skill This could be anything from learning how to crochet to learning how to paint or play guitar. Anything time consuming is really the most effective. I always have my mom bring acrylic paint , brushes , and canvas , which keeps me busy for hours at a time. Another skill that I've gotten particularly good at while in the hospital is making all of my Christmas gif

Note: I have tried all of the products mentioned in this post and will receive a small stipend at no extra cost to you should you choose to purchase it using my link. In the world of GI disorders and feeding tubes, nausea is often part of the equation. It sneaks up when you least expect it, and it acts as an uninvited guest to several occasions. Fortunately for those of us who deal with it frequently, there are several alternative methods to try. In this post I will offer seven alternative methods of handling nausea that will work no matter who you are.  1. Smelling Alcohol Swabs This method is commonly used by nurses in the ED as an alternate way of helping relieve nausea when nothing else works. Though it is not necessarily advised by many medical professionals, it is definitely one of my favorite methods to use when I need something quick acting that gives my medication time to set in.  2. Using Ice on your Stomach or Neck I use ice for a lot of things, but, unt

NOTE: for this study I recommend getting the selected passage from an online Bible source and printing it off.  Step 1: Read the selection over twice (reading out loud has proven to be very helpful for me). Step 2: After the second time, read the passage again, highlighting/underlining/circling anything that sticks out, is repeated several times, or seems like it could be a theme. (example in the attached passage) Step 3:  Based on what you have marked, break the passage into parts. Write one sentence in your own words that sums up each section (for example, I broke up the first and second segments of reading between Mark !:10 and 1:11 and stated that the theme of the first 10 verses was that John was to come before Jesus to prepare the way from the beginning.) Step 4: After all of the previous steps have been completed write a paragraph that sums up the entire selection and pray over what you believe God is teaching you through the passage. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus C

I may not know you yet, but I am praying for you everyday. I pray that God gives me the strength and you the patience that it takes to handle someone like me. I pray that you are courageous and steady in your ways. I pray that you are happy with who you are, and that you strive everyday to be better than you were the day before. I love you already. I think a lot about our love story and all that we may encounter on our journey together. I don't think that you will be expecting me, but that's not a bad thing because we will make it work. We will always make it work. We will serve God together as a family. I love you already. You dream of a woman in white who you will go on many adventures with. I assure you that we will have outstanding adventures, but there will be many trials too. I'm stubborn, and we will butt heads. The reality of not having biological kids will be a shock to you, but I won't blame you for waivering in the first moments after I tell you. We

Well, lets be honest this is just a mess. Guy's, gallbladders are just mean sometimes, however, it's acting up has made me realized just how blessed I am. I have some of the best friend's, an outstanding family, and this one guy that I like to call my boyfriend sometimes; when he is being sweet that is. Otherwise he is just another pain in the rear end [don't worry honey I'm just kidding].... Oh yeah and my spunky nut of a dog! Anyway's, I have a bit of a public thank you that I would like to share with you all. Mom, thank you for always praying for me, even when I don't ask. I feel them. Thank you for being my best friend, my disciplinarian, my rock during the times when I thought that my world was falling apart. You have protected me from the world, and now you are serving as a guide to slowly allow me to venture out into that world I once needed so much protection from. Thank you for loving me when I'm being your "good kid" as well

I'll be the first to admit that this year has been a rough one. Between receiving an Autism diagnosis at the age of 21 [yes, you read that correctly. I went 21 years feeling like something was wrong with me before receiving my diagnosis], dealing with a huge transition period in which my boyfriend will be moving too far away for me to even comprehend, and having to leave the fall semester before finals due to malnutrition, things haven't been easy. I feel like I push myself beyond my limits just to keep my eyes above the water while other kids my age are soaring high above water with their heads held high. I feel cheated a lot of the time, and I try to remember that it could be worse and that God will never leave me to fight this alone, but some days are just harder than the rest I suppose. Today was one of those days. I have been missing a lot of class for the last two weeks due to being in unforgivable amounts of pain, and yesterday I found out for sure that I need to have

Growing up, I always felt a little bit different. I looked at myself as if I were another person; like I didn't really know myself.  I was the outsider looking in. As I would stare at my reflection, I often found that I truly didn't understand who or why I was. Don't get me wrong, I was an active and relatively happy kid who was involved in as much as any other child: soccer, dance, gymnastics, volleyball... I just found myself to be emotionally distant from my peers when it came to getting along with them. Things seemed so easy for them in areas where I struggled everyday just to try and understand why they did silly things like smile for no reason in particular. I had friends, but I questioned whether or not they actually liked me. Were they just being nice because they felt bad for the socially awkward little girl? Were they just taking advantage of my loyalty and careful, mother-like tendencies. The anxiety was crippling. What could I do? I had no idea who I even was