Invisible Illness Week Starts MONDAY!

Invisible Illness Week Starts Monday, Sept 14th!

Join us for a free virtual conference. Just go to www.invisibleillnessconference.com and listen on your speakers. All programs will be archvived to listen to later and also available on iTunes. This event is the annual outreach of Rest Ministries.

All times are pacific time, USA
Listen here http://www.invisibleillnessconference.com

SEPT 14
MONDAY - 9 AM
Understanding How we Uniquely Deal with Difficulties in Life
Georgia Shaffer

MONDAY - 12 PM
Finding Health Insurance Coverage with a Pre-existing Condition
Jennifer Jaff

MONDAY - 3 PM
Super Foods for Super-Natural Health
Joanna Faillace

MONDAY - 5:30 PM
Hearts of Gratitude and Joy
Maureen Pratt

SEPT 15
TUESDAY 9 AM
Coping with Chronic Illness in Your Marriage
Bill & Pam Farrell

TUESDAY 12 PM
Coping with Crises on Top of Chronic
Jennifer Saake & Lisa Copen

TUESDAY 3 PM
How to Start a Business When You are Chronically Ill
Kirsten Borrink

TUESDAY 5:30 PM
To to Be Announced
Kelly Rouba

SEPT 16
WEDNESDAY 9 AM
It's OK to say NO: Building Healthy Boundaries
Jenni Prokopy

WEDNESDAY 12 PM
Parenting When You are Chronically Ill - Chaos and Confessions
Dena Dyer, talking with Lisa Copen

WEDNESDAY 3 PM
Simplifying Your Home and Housework
Marcia Ramsland

WEDNESDAY 5:30 PM
Real Talk About Men and Chronic Illness
Jeff Kenyon

SEPT 17
THURSDAY 9 AM
Find the Job You Desire and Can Do
Rosalind Joffe

THURSDAY 12 PM
When Your Child is Chronically Ill
Jolene Philo

THURSDAY 3 PM
Managing College with a Chronic Illness
Lynn Royster

THURSDAY 5:30 PM
Helping Others Understand Your Pain
Karen Richards

SEPT 18
FRIDAY 9 AM
Applying and Winning Disability Assistance When You Are Chronically Ill
Scott Davis

FRIDAY 12 PM
Being a Teenager with a Chronic Illness
Naomi Kingery

FRIDAY 3 PM
Surgery Preparation
Curtis Dean Hall

FRIDAY 5:30 PM
Closing workshop
Lisa Copen and guests

Celebrate Love Kit

 

Here is my new Kit available at www.craftyscrapschat.com under the Creative Team Forum. It comes in two parts. Part 1 you can download immediately. To get Part 2, you will receive after participating in the challenge.

Take a moment to think about the people who you love and love you. Now take a moment to let them know that you love them. Sharing love will create a positive day for you and the one you love!

a midnight wake up call

Last Wednesday, I went out. I had to stop at Walgreens to pick up a 9V battery for my TENS unit. I put one battery in my TENS unit and went on with my day. When I arrived home, I put the other 9V batteries in the closet.
Fast forward to Saturday night 10:47 pm. My smoke/carbon dioxide detector starts going off; then stops. I quickly, well as quickly as I can, get up and check the stove and oven. No gas smell, no heat, no fire. I go back to bed wondering what caused the alarm to sound.
12:16 am the alarm goes off again! I once again get up and check the stove and oven. No gas, no heat, no fire. I even check to see if all the pilot lights are lit. They are. As I was standing there trying to figure out what set off the alarm, it goes off again. I get one of my kitchen chair/stools and carefully climb up on it. I'm looking at the alarm. That's when I see a small tab. I push it and a small container pops out. There's a battery too!
I've lived in my apartment for 15 years. The alarm is connected electrically to the apartment's circuits and never had a battery. Last year, when they upgraded the alarm to include a carbon dioxide alarm, they never told me the new ones have a battery!
I carefully climbed down from the chair/stool and got a battery from the closet. Then I climbed back up and after a few minutes of maneuvering, got the battery back in the compartment. Then I waited to see if the alarm would go off again....5 min. nothing. 15 min nothing. I went back to bed wondering if that's all it was a dead battery.
The alarm has been quiet since. I now know to replace the battery when I change the clocks. That way, I won't have anymore midnight wake up calls!

I think back to Wed when I bought the batteries. I had been buying only one at a time. Just what I need for my TENS unit. But this day, they were out of single sets. So I bought a double set. And they were on sale, so actually I bought a 2 double sets. So, at midnight when I needed a 9 volt battery, I had one ready to put in. The details which often go unnoticed, were very LOUD and clear to me this time. Next time, I buy a set of batteries, I'll think about my midnight wake up call and how God made sure I had the extra battery on hand.

Sometimes, even unpleasant events can turn into a positive, when we stop and look at the details involved. The next time something unpleasant upsets your routine, look for the positive aspects, you might be surprised at what you will find!

GREAT web seminars!

Do you or someone you know live with pain or an illness? Then you will want to visit http://invisibleillnessweek.com/. September 14-20 is Invisible Illness Awareness Week. The website has a list of web seminars which you can listen live or the taped version. Many topics full of helpful information!

If you know of someone living with an illness, please let them know of this great resource. There is information about insurance, relationships, applying for disability, and many other topics. Often people living with an illness or pain, think they are all alone. Invisible Illness Awareness Week lets them know that they are not alone and that there are many resources available!

Create a positive day by sharing information which may encourage someone else. It's free and takes just a few minutes to share the information!

What do I value?

What do I value? What is important to me? What matters? If something is important to me, then I make it a priority. If it's a priority, I do what's necessary to make it possible. If something is NOT really important to me than I don't spend energy, time or money on it. This is true for things and relationships.
If I value someone and consider them a friend, I'm willing to make them a priority. I will turn off the TV when he/she calls so I can listen and hear what he/she is saying. I schedule time on the calendar to get together with him/her. Some relationships I value more, so I spend more effort and time to develop that relationship. Some relationships aren't really as important to me, so I spend less time with him or her.
I have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. How I use those hours is a window of what's important to me. Do I take a few minutes to send a note to a friend? Do I spend a few minutes to call someone to say 'hi"? Or do I spend that time watching the TV or surfing the web for strange and unimportant sites?
Often I hear, "I don't have time." We all have the same amount of time. We each make daily choices on how we spend that time. Even at work, choices are made as to which project or person will get how much time and attention. The more time we allot to a particular project, the more attention we spend on it.
I want to strive to spend each hour of each day wisely. Just as I want to make wise choices with my money, I want to make wise choices with my time and energy. Making wise investments now, will enrich my life for years to come.

Creating a positive day for myself, is often done by creating a positive day for someone else. Maybe it's sending a card to calling to say "hi, I care". Creating a positive day is a wise investment!