Author Archive
Chronic Illness: When People Say Things That Hurt
We may find ourselves shocked to realize just how much we are the on the hearts of loved ones who are a part of our life. They may actually be worrying more than we realize about our illness. So when they make comments we are left wondering about their intent.
How to Understand What a Chronically Ill Mom Needs
Mommy moments come in all forms of days at the park, backyard BBQs, or meetings at the pool. They are a great time to get to know other mothers and share activities as well as advice. But as the number of women who live with chronic illness such as chronic fatigue syndrome and lupus continues to grow, so does the spontaneity of the fun of these mommy moments.
4 Challenges To Expect When Leading An Illness Support Group
After weeks, or even months, of planning for your support group, the time for your first meeting has finally arrived. You have prepared a proposal to start up a support group which has been approved by an organization or church. You have gathered items for a welcome package and have topic or speakers ready to go.
Use Twitter To Create Awareness For Your Health Event
Twitter has quickly become one of the most effective ways of sharing with the world what you believe is important.
Chronic Illness: Encouragement In 20 Minutes In Your Church
Rest Ministries, founded in 1997, is the largest Christian organization that serves the chronically ill. They recently did a survey and asked people to “List some of the programs or resources a church could offer to make it more inviting comfortable.” Below is a sampling of some of the 800+ responses, all of which could be done in 20 minutes or less.
Prayer Makes A Big Difference In Small Group Success
Enthusiasm can be high when you first start putting your plans together to start a small group ministry for those with chronic illness, but even the best of intentions can actually lead to a decrease in prayer time.
10 Tips To Keep Your Illness Support Group Fun
If you live with a chronic illness or chronic pain, the odds are that you have at least tried a support group once since your diagnosis. Did the situation go something like this?
Your Illness Small Group: Who Is Invited?
As you make your plans for the support group you are considering, keep in mind the different people your small group could serve.
The First 5 Things to Do When You Are Diagnosed with an Illness
I easily can remember the day that my life shifted into a new kind of normal when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. At the age of 24, having dealt with a few weeks of swelling in various parts of my body, sometimes to the point of being disabling, my doctor called me at work with the test results. I had a positive rheumatoid factor, she explained, which most likely meant that I had rheumatoid arthritis. Faking confidence, I asked her, “On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being normal, what can I expect my life to be like from here on out?” She did not wish to answer, but after I told her I needed some kind of scale to know what side I was up against, she reluctantly replied, “If you are lucky maybe a six.”
