What God has done for us this week

Rascal has to have an epipen (a certain kind of shot) with him at all times. It is what will save his life if he ever has an anaphylactic reaction to nuts. These shots contain just enough epinephrine to give us 30 min to get to a hospital. They expire in a year and have to be refilled every year. We have always gotten our epipens for free with our previous insurance but we have a new insurance this year and it has no copays and a high deductible.
It's been great so far until we went to pick up Rascal's epipens. Since we don't have a copay, the coupon we previously had used to get them for free didn't work for us anymore. This meant we were left with paying $300 for the epipens. I left without them, hoping to find another way to get them at a MUCH cheaper cost.

I called our pediatrician and they tried everything they could but didn't leave me with another option. Fast forward a few weeks, someone at church unfortunately had to take their daughter (a teenager) to the er when she had a reaction to nuts after eating nuts all her life. They left the er with 6 epipens. Since they didn't need all 6 they gave us 2. We were extremely grateful.

All of us food allergy families have to look out for each other.

I got home and realized the epipens we were given were not the same dose as Rascal's usual ones (since she was a teenager the dosage was different). I decided to call and double check with his pediatrician and make sure we couldn't use these. I talked with a different nurse and explained the entire situation to her. She told me that I couldn't use the ones we had been given but would call me back with some good news hopefully. After a few phone calls back and forth and some MAJOR work on my pediatrician's part, they were able to get their drug rep to sign some papers and order us some epipens to give to us for free!! We were beyond thankful for their hard work and willingness to go the extra mile to make sure we got what we need without having to pay so much out of pocket.

God is so good and this is one of the MANY ways He meets all our needs.

What God Has Done For Me This Week

As I showed you guys earlier this week, we got hit with a pretty rough ice storm.

 I am so thankful that even though we did lose a lot of tree limbs and even had some damage, it was all so minor and could have been so much worse. 

God had his hands on us and we made it through with out major repairs and we kept our power. 

We may have been stuck at home but we had power, a roof over our heads and a full pantry to keep us fed.

 God is SO good to provide and take care of us in all situations. 

What God Has Done For Me This Week

Our family is in the minority at a lot of things and one of those is the fact that we sit down and eat dinner (a homemade dinner) together every single  night. Seriously there is not one day that goes by that we aren't eating around the dinner table together. 

I love that! 

Some people are proud of their kids athletic ability, I am proud we have family dinner time every single night! 

The conversations that we have at the table are priceless. Some funny, some uninteresting to us (pokemon, minecraft etc...) and lots of them are teachable moments. 

After we eat dinner we all stay at the table for a family devotion time. We usually read a bible story out of their bible story book and then ask questions about it. Some questions even stump me and Tim which causes us to go digging in the bible to find answers. 

One night this week we finished dinner and Tim grabbed the story book and picked a story about Joshua to read. When he told the kids what we would be reading about that night Rascal perked up and shouted "Joshua 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, The Lord our God we will serve, And His voice we will obey!" 

Then Scooter perked up and said " Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin" 

Then Rascal perked back up and said " Ephesians 6:1 Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." 

We may have camped out on that verse for a minute or two :) 

Then Rascal asked Baby A what verse she knew and she replied "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth!" 

Tim and I just looked at each other and smiled. There is no way to describe the joy that pours out of us when we hear our children recite scripture. 

We finished by reading the story of Joshua and talking about him as a leader. 

"I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee." Psalm 119:11

What God Has Done For Me This Week

Tuesday was a bad day for me. Nothing went wrong but I had one of those days where as a woman you just need a good cry, or chocolate, or to go shopping and blow money on pointless things. Women understand that statement...... men don't, that's ok.

Anyways, when it comes to certain things (most things) I am an organized, VERY planned OCD type person. 

Side note.... My birthday is coming up and I would really LOVE one of these life planners from Erin Condren  

Just Sayin.....

Anyways.....  I like plans and when something comes up I need a plan or solution right away. Otherwise I spiral downhill into one big stressed mess. Well at this moment I have not one, not two but 6 situations that have no plan or solution to. Now these aren't major in fact they are very minor (you would laugh at what can stress me out) but still the no plan/ solution has me in one big stressed mess.

Tuesday I went to the doctor about my hand and found out I have tendinitis in my hand. A round of steroids should take care of it but I have to take it easy on my workout for a little while. I was HARD on myself about this and this coupled with the other 6 situations that I have no plans for, caused me to want chocolate, a good cry, pointless shopping or all the above ( I only got the good cry).

I laid awake that night just talking to God. Feeling like a complete loser coming to him with my stupid minor problems that were causing me no sleep. Time with God hasn't come easy lately ( I blame the MANY days of school being closed and interrupting my normal routine), I could give every excuse that we all have but here I was crying out to him to bring me peace when I have been such a slacker at my time with him.

But he is so good and his love is unconditional and his mercy falls on me like rain.

I finally got a little sleep that night and when I woke up the next day, I tried to put a smile on my face, mask the stress and start the day off right.

At one point I picked up my phone to check email, instagram and text messages and would you believe I had an email from a friend telling me she was praying for me, a message on instagram from someone saying they prayed for me and a text from Tim saying he was praying for me. Now only Tim knew I was having a bad day the day before. The other two had no clue.....just lifted up a prayer for someone who came to their mind. And that turned my bad mood around and put my focus up, to my Creator. How can people deny Him??? He is with us and He loves us more than we could ever even comprehend.

I am thankful for His love!

What God has done for me this week

Thursday started out ok. Not great but it certainly could have been worse. 

I was SO tired from getting up everyday at 5:00 to work out and the arthritis in my hands was really bothering me (possibly due to the push ups???). We have also had a VERY busy week this week with no time for naps. 

Rascal had woken up Wednesday night complaining of his ear feeling weird and there was a bunch of junk in his ear. My assumption was his ear drum had ruptured. This happens all the time for Rascal around this time of the year. His allergies start bothering him, snot and mucus build up resulting in fluid on his ears and before we know it his ear drum ruptures. I have been giving us all local raw honey (along with other things) to help with the allergies and I admit, I was super bummed that in my best attempts to ward off sickness or dr visits, we still were going to be heading to the dr on Thursday. 

Baby A woke up Thursday morning saying she had a sore throat and she complained about her hips hurting. Nothing major but since we were already going to be taking Rascal to see the dr, I made her an appointment too just to check things out. 

I took Scooter on to school and bless his sweet heart he never pouted or said a word about being the only one to go to school that day. That helped me out so much. 

I got an appointment to see the dr and to be completely honest I was mad. Here I had tried all these things to keep us well (which has taken time to buy, make and research) and we are still sick and we are still going to the doctor. Everything within me wanted to go back home crawl in to bed, and just have a pity party for the rest of the day. Well all fellow mothers know that whether we feel like it or not, we must keep going and caring for our family. 

We got to the doctor and saw one that we typically don't see, our usual doctor wasn't in that day. I see now that this was a God thing. (hindsight is 20/20). We get into the room and Baby A is growing whinier by the minute. The nurse checks their weight and temp (Just a few mom notes; Rascal weighs 55 pounds now and Baby A weighs 39 pounds.... both had no fever) and then we waited on the doctor.

She came in and checked Rascal first, asking if they had colds or sinus problems recently; which they haven't. Rascals ears checked out great! WOO HOO!! What he felt was a lot of ear wax moving out of his ear canal and that is what we saw. 

Next up was Baby A..... she wasn't so lucky. She has some suspicious spots on the roof of her mouth and they tested her for strep. It was negative. Then they tested for the flu. She was getting worse by the minute and was now running fever. The flu test was negative also... the verdict was a virus (story of my life).



Then the doctor began a "lecture" on ways to keep the kids healthy during this season.... her first sentence "You may want to think about cutting out all sugar from their diets. " HAHAHAHA oh she had no idea who she was talking to. I explained all that we have done and she was shocked and highly praised me.  You see she had cancer a few years ago and the chemo and radiation did a number on her body. She began researching natural ways to help and what was the first one she tried..... Apple Cider Vinegar!!! She also cut out all processed foods and was telling me about all the chemicals (nitrates, GMOs etc...) in hotdogs, lunch meat etc... We talked about natural remedies for a good 30 minutes and she encouraged me because both her and her mother (both cancer survivors) have seen them do amazing things for them, She was so proud of all I had researched and done for us and didn't even get onto me about being against flu shots (yes I had the guts to tell my kids dr that I didn't agree with flu shots). She didn't necessarily agree with me on that one but she did tell me that I was helping them tremendously by the steps we have taken so far. 

That turned my day totally around. Even though we had to go to the doctor I can plainly see how God used that entire day/ situation and showed me that I am doing the right thing for our family. It encouraged me to keep on and you can bet we will be seeing that doctor from now on when possible (but hopefully a whole lot less). I love having people on my side encouraging me with natural remedies and helping us steer clear of all the processed foods (and some medicines) and chemical crap out there. 

We will still catch the occasional virus, stomach bug or sickness after all we don't live in a bubble. However we have options on ways to treat those things when they do come up. 

I give you full permission to call me weird wellness girl now. I get that some people think it's weird and maybe even dumb and really disagree with it all but bottom line is this is my family and I am striving for the very best for them. 

God is SO Good!! 

What God has done for me this week

There were a few things that I just really feel were huge blessings and God things this week so I am going to do this post in a list form rather than recap each day or incident.

* Tuesday was Tim's appointment with the surgeon and we got some good news. This doctor isn't convinced it's a cyst and after cleaning his ear canal out really good and looking closely, he thinks there is a chance it could just be mucus on the other side of the ear drum and not the cyst. There is a 20% chance now that he won't have to have surgery. Two weeks of ear drops and then another dr appointment and we will know then what will happen. This was such an encouraging appointment and we left knowing God is in full control.

* Wednesday Scooter came home with a huge smile on his face. He read a speech to his english class and was one of the ones selected to move ahead to the county competition. It's not mandatory but he is so excited to write another speech (2-5 minutes long) and compete next month. I cried happy tears and am so proud of him. He told me "mom, I was a little nervous that people would laugh at me but I thought... you know, who cares what they think. Just be confident."  I pray he always has this point of view because it will take him so far in life.

* Wednesday I got a call from the school which always freaks me out. I was in bible study and when I answered it was Rascal's teacher. This made me a little anxious. She told me that Rascal was upset because he had left his lunch in the van and was scared the school lunch wouldn't be safe. This broke my heart and I left bible study to rush his lunch to him (I was 30 min away). On the way to the school I was thinking about the whole thing and it hit me....... What Rascal did was the right thing and a huge step in responsibility for his allergy. I made sure to have him come to the office (instead of just leaving it there) and let him know how very proud I was of him for knowing what to do and playing it safe. I am going to have to give more responsibility to him for reading labels and knowing what questions to ask but for now, well this is a baby step in that direction. God keeps his hands over Rascal and his allergy and I know that is the best place for him to be.

* Wednesday night we went to church and the kids went to their AWANA class. Baby A LOVES AWANAS and asks daily if she gets to go. After church was over I went to pick them up and walked in just as they were praying. Out of 30 or so kids (5th grade to 3 year olds), when asked who wanted to pray Baby A raised her hand high and was called on to pray. She led them a short age appropriate prayer (thank you for so and so to feel better etc...) and they dismissed.  It was so sweet to end the day and have seen all three of my kids have confidence to do what was right. This momma's heart was bursting with joy.

What God Has Done For Us This Week

Last Saturday was a great day. I got up early and made it to the grocery store by 7:00 (ALONE) to get my shopping done. I am a morning person and would rather take a beating than go to the grocery store on a Saturday.........that early in the morning, no one is there! My new years goal is to pay cash for all my groceries this year.  That's a task that has seemed extremely impossible for me but I was prepared to do it last week. I had my list, my calculator and a few coupons in hand. I made it through the grocery store and back home in less than 1.5 hours and I blew my goal out of the water. Meaning I made it out of the grocery store $20 under my budget and I paid cash! Whoo Hoo!! I headed back home admiring the sunrise over the fields and barns and just felt like it was such a wonderful start to the day. I got home and unloaded groceries and then headed back to town to ship some stuff I sold on ebay (this all has a point I promise).

Once I got back home, Tim's brother was over at the house ready to grill/ smoke a bunch of meat for the week. After they filled up the grill with food, the oven with food and had a half hour to wait, they decided it would be a good idea to go to town to check out a store. I was left with a grill and oven full of food, and a promise that they would be right back. Well about 10 minutes later I got a call from Tim. He had heard a very loud BOOM and then it appeared that the van (which I had taken back and forth to town twice already) had blown a radiator hose and they were now headed to the mechanic and I needed to pick them up.
This means I was left with the 3 kids, all the meat cooking and a 5 passenger sedan. Do the math...... there was not room for the kids and 3 adults in the car. So because I have the world's best neighbors, Tammy came over, watched my kids, and the meat and I sped up to get the guys and rush back to grab the meat before it was ruined. The whole time I was just SO thankful that this did not happen to me while I was driving. It would have sent me into a anxiety attack for sure. At least Tim knew what to do and all was good.

Once we got back home, we had to laugh because we had just paid our van off that week and then this happened. It's always something right?!?!?

Anyways the guys got back to grilling and I was cleaning house. Tim got a call from the mechanic telling him it wasn't just a hose..... it appeared a bullet had ricocheted off the front grill, penetrating the radiator and the a/c condenser. SCARY! Once again I immediately thought of how GREAT God is, two feet higher and it would have hit one of them.

Later that night at the dinner table Rascal asks, what are we learning about tomorrow? We were a little confused and asked if he meant in Sunday School. He replied... No, What is Bro. Rick preaching on tomorrow? Can we read about that in our bible time tonight. My heart grew with joy. We read about the sermon on the mount which is what was going to be preached about the next day.
Then after dinner and showers, we all sat down in the living room to relax. Tim and I had watched a youtube sermon on our tv the night before and Scooter, asks.... Dad, can you find us another sermon to watch? I really like the one last night. My heart grew even more with joy.

So on a day that I would most definitely typically call a "bad" day, I was left seeing God's hands at work ALL day long. It was not a bad day at all.... it was a day filled with blessings.

Just to finished the van story:

We let the van sit until Monday morning, and filed it all under insurance (another HUGE blessing from God), got set up with a rental car and now we just wait for it all to be fixed.

Yesterday I got a call from the mechanic and they finally found the culprit to all the damage. A 3 inch long tire weight was found lodged somewhere under the hood, so it wasn't a bullet. That made me breath a little bit easier however if it can penetrate through a radiator and an a/c condenser... it could have still done some major damage to the guys. God is SO good. He has his hands over us protecting us at all times and this was just one of those times that I am glad he does watch over each one of us.

Wellness Monday: My Greatest Remedy Yet

I had another post started for today about turmeric but every time I would sit down and type out the countless things I had researched about it.... I went blank. It was ever so clear that I was not supposed to blog about turmeric this week but to blog about my greatest remedy I have ever found. So here goes:

OK I am going to get pretty real in this post. More real than I have ever been on this old blog. However I can't continue sharing with you guys how great these natural remedies are without telling you about the greatest remedy I have ever used. So let's start at the beginning shall we?

My name is Lindsey and I struggle with anxiety. 

It's real. 

In fact just typing that out brings tears to my eyes. 

I never really understood anxiety attacks until I had my first one while I was pregnant with Baby A. Let me tell you if you have never experienced an anxiety attack, it's not pretty. Not at all. My world seems to stop, everything starts to spin, I hold my breath without even realizing it, I get severely nauseous, then my heart starts with palpitations and then tears start to flow and I am left without any control over any of those things. After a day or so of this (yes my attacks have lasted for days) my stomach becomes severely upset, I have headaches that I can't get rid of, my eyes are so tired from trying to control tears that they become swollen, painful and throb. I can't focus on anything and I start having awful things enter my mind that I know are just stupid. At one point I was convinced that something was going to happen to either Tim or one of my kids and I would be left with a tremendous loss to deal with.

See it's ugly and it's hard and for years I tried everything I could to get over it. 

About 6 months ago I overcame anxiety. And I overcame it without taking any medication. Sure I still have my moments but nothing compared to what it was like those years. I was saved from restless nights, painful side effects, and horrible dreams. What was it that saved me??? 

JESUS CHRIST 

That right there is the name that saved me. 

That name right there, is the greatest remedy that is out there. 

He's far better than Apple Cider Vinegar and essential oils.  

Without him I would still be in the horrible mess I was in. Feeling like a fish out of water gasping for air. Feeling so alone even though I was in a crowded room. He took it all from me, embraced me with his unconditional love and showed me that HE has it all taken care of. 

Now I still had heart palpitations, and tension for a good 6 months after I gave it to Him. It wasn't that I was anxious, it was just the effects the anxiety had on my body took a while to slowly disappear. 

I know we all have experienced anxiety in some form or fashion before. Some may not have had it as bad as I did and some may have had it far worse than I ever had it. 

But one thing I know is for sure, Jesus is the remedy for ALL anxiety. 

Here is what I did to help give it over to Jesus. 

Philippians 4: 6-7 

Don't worry about anything; instead PRAY about EVERYTHING. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

I recited this verse every time I had an anxiety attack.  Once I was able to breath right and not throw up, I would then do just as the scripture says and tell God all about EVERYTHING (and boy did he hear a lot from me). I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep while praying to him. Not because I was tired (although I was but anxiety kept me from sleeping) but because it was as if I had laid my head in Jesus' lap and he held me tightly and I experienced that peace that the scripture talks about. I would wake up the next morning feeling SO loved and would think how awesome it was that the creator of the universe stroked my hair as I calmed down and fell asleep. Now I know that sounds crazy but that's the only thing I can possibly compare it to. He cares for me and you know what? The same God cares for you. He created you and wants you to come to him with all your problems and to let him take care of it all while you experience a peace that only HE can give. 

So there you have it... the greatest remedy that ANYONE could possibly find. 

I hope and pray that you find comfort in the Great I Am. He is there just waiting for you to give it all to him so stop trying to take over it yourself. 

If you struggle with anxiety and you have a min (or really 45 minutes), watch this youtube video. I strongly urge you to just take the time to watch it. Really.... it is that good.  I have 4 pages of notes that I got from Dr. Charles Stanley and his sermon Victory over Anxiety. It is a great sermon. 

Anxiety is a faith battle and I hate to spoil it for you.... but you will NEVER win that battle alone. Give it to Jesus. He will save you! 

What God has done for me this week

Baby A and I attend a bible study every Wednesday morning. It's something we both look forward to every week and learn SO much from. This week my discussion leader shared that one time she was a part of another bible study and her leader would ask them each week to tell one thing that God is doing for them this week. The point was to take a moment and see God at work in your life each and every week.

This spoke VOLUMES to me. Sure I see God at work in my life. I see how he leads me out of the valleys and how he guides us when we are confused or seeking His will. But it's more than that. He is with me EVERY moment of EVERY day. So I am making it a point to sit down and tell what God has done for me each week.
This will be my Friday post here. I thought about just writing it in my bible study notebook but what good is it if I don't tell what God has done for me to others. I am no evangelist or eloquent speaker but neither was Moses (Exodus 6: 28-30) and he did great things for the Kingdom of God.  So I am sharing what God is doing for me each week and if nothing else it will be a great way for me to look back and see ALL the wonderful things He has done for me in the year 2014 and I just know He has some great things in store for me in 2014.

This week God has given me great patience. Thursday was a VERY trying day with Baby A. She whined about everything, nothing was ever good enough for her and I was finding myself ready to end the day at 8:00 in the morning. But then God showed his love to me through music. Baby A and I had to run a few errands that morning and getting her into the van was quite the struggle.  Our favorite song right now is One Sonic Society's Never Once and as we backed out of the drive it came on the radio. Both Baby A and I lit up as we caught each other's eyes in the rear view mirror and we both started singing (I was singing through tears) about God's faithfulness. The tension in the air was gone and it was replaced with unspeakable JOY! It was like a great big hug from God letting me know that he was right there with me through the struggles of raising a 3 year old. The smile on Baby A's face as she sang praise to God, was something that held me through the rest of the week with her three year old tantrums.
To make things even better that afternoon we went to get the boys from school and we heard the song again. Then while waiting in car line I picked up my Jesus Calling devotion book. I haven't read it much since I started my bible study but I just felt interested in what that day's verse may say. So I picked it up and the devotion said this: "Don't expect an easy path as you journey hand in hand with me, but do remember that I, your very-present Helper, am omnipotent". God is so good and I am so thankful for his grace and unconditional love.

For nothing is impossible with God  Luke 1:37 

***If you usually skip over my Monday Wellness posts, make sure to read the one I will have up this coming Monday. I get pretty real... more real than I have ever been on my blog before and it's a good one... you will not want to miss it!