Earnestly Praying To God

Prayer is the link that connects us with God.  It is the bridge that spans every gulf and carries us safely over every chasm of danger or need.

Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.  {Acts 12:5}  I love the devotional Streams In The Desert.  I feel like I just went through a prison of my own and the church was earnestly praying for me.  The rest of this post is from this devotional since it really ministered to me.

Think of the significance of this story of the first-century church?  Everything seemed to be coming against it, for Peter was in prison, the Jews appeared triumphant, Herod still reigned supreme, and the arena of martyrdom was eagerly awaiting the next morning so it could drink the apostle's blood.  "But the church was earnestly praying to God for him."  So what was the outcome?  The prison was miraculously opened, the apostle freed, the Jews bewildered, and as a display of God's punishment, wicked King Herod "was eaten by worms and died."  And rolling on to even greater victory, "the word of God continued to increase and spread."

Do we truly know the power of our supernatural weapon of prayer?  Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that not only asks but also commands?  God baptizes us with holy boldness and divine confidence, for He is looking not for great people but for people who will dare to prove the greatness of their God!  "But the church was earnestly praying."

In your prayers, above everything else, beware of limiting God, not only through unbelief but also by thinking you know exactly what He can do.  Learn to expect the unexpected, beyond all that you ask or think.

My Treatments Are Over

It never became easy for me.  I wish it did.  I wish I was tougher.  The first day of treatment, they put the mask over my face and then smashed it down as hard as they could to bolt it to the table.  I asked them if it had to be that tight and they said yes.  They don't want my head to move at all.  Every moment of every treatment was a battle.

Modern medicine is amazing, however.  I was put into a room with ten inch walls filled with lead.  Even the door was ten inches wide.  When my mask was securely on and the door shut, a large robot would wander all around my head shooting my tumor with radiation.  Every 45 seconds, these two camera-looking things on each side of the wall would take x-rays of my head to make sure the robot was shooting the radiation in the right spot.

The last day, my mask didn't feel as tight.  I could even open my mouth a little bit.  They stopped the robot five minutes after it started and came in and asked me if I was okay.  I said, "Yes, as good as I can be" and they said I was moving a lot.  I didn't think I was moving at all!  I asked them if that meant the robot was shooting the wrong place and they said "No, it just would make your treatment much longer since the robot would adjust itself to my movements."  She said that even a millimeter of a movement would lengthen the treatment.  They tried telling me the mask was my friend but it sure was a difficult friend, something I just could not get use to at all.

The nurse took my vitals when  I was all done.  Her prescription for me was a nice long massage with aromatherapy   That sounded wonderful to me.  It is amazing what a toll stress takes on your body.  This last treatment, before it even began, I was trembling from head to toe.  I couldn't even keep my eyes shut during treatment because they were fluttering so badly.  

Anyways, I am very thankful it is all over.  Now we wait.  If it killed the pituitary, it will take six months to ten years to know.  I am not sure about the optic nerve.  My vision is good so far.  Knowing whether or not it stopped my tumor from ever growing will probably take years since it is a slow growing tumor anyways.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.  I never would have been able to handle this week without God's strength since every single minute of the 48 minutes of every treatment I wanted to raise my little blue circle {what they had me hold so I can tell them by lifting it up if I needed help} and call it quits.

And after you have suffered a little while, 

the God of all grace, 

who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, 

will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

I Peter 5:10

Dangers Of Anti-Depressants

Dr. Oz had a show recently on the dangers of anti-depressants.  Someone very close to me was put on them many years ago due to heart palpitations and anxiety.  She has tried weaning herself off of them for many years and has had a horrible time of it.  These drugs have literally stolen her life from her.

Last year when I was in a lot of pain, I took a strong pain killers for awhile.  Little did I know that it had an anti-depressant in it.  The reason I have been able to make it through the past 25 years in pain was due to having a strong mind.  I am able to renew my mind with God's truth and reason myself through the pain.

While on that drug, I lost the ability to do that and it was horrible.  It took me two weeks after stopping taking it to rid my self of the withdrawal symptoms.  I have decided I would rather live in pain instead of on pain killers and all the side effects that come with it.

I wouldn't be surprised if most, if not all, of the mass murders in the past ten years have been committed by men who were on anti-depressants.  There has probably been a steep rise in suicides also since one of the side effects is suicide.

Dr. Oz said that many women are on anti-depressants now.  It is a becoming more and more common.  If I was ever diagnosed with depression, I would do many things before I would even think about taking an anti-depressant.

Change your diet dramatically to a healthy diet without chemicals in it. Eat more sun-dried salt like Himalayan salt which has more than 80 different micronutrients.

Get out in the sunshine a lot and exercise.  Read the Bible more and listen to the news less.  Dr. Mercola has some great information on anti-depressants and alternative treatment HERE. 

Before you take any drugs or have them given to your children, study them carefully and all the side effects.  Then make an informed decision whether taking the drug is worth the risk.  I realize depression is a horrible illness to bear but consider carefully your route to trying to get well.  The drug route may make you worse.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, 
and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

Matt Walsh wrote a great piece about ADHD HERE.

***Remember, I'm NOT a doctor. I'm just a homemaker who loves to research 
natural cures and have found many that have worked for my family and me. Information I have given is for educational and informational purposes only and to motivate you to make your own health care and dietary decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with your health care provider. Any statements or claims about the possible health benefits conferred by any foods or supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Nothing you read here should be relied upon to determine dietary changes, a medical diagnosis or course of treatment.

A Scolding Wife

David danced in the streets worshiping the Lord and sacrificing to Him.  And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might. {2 Samuel 6:14}  He loved the Lord and couldn't contain himself in praising Him for all His wonderful deeds.  He then generously blessed the people and gave every man and woman a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins.

Then he returned home to bless his household and his wife Michal greeted him and said,  "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today!  He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of te foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!"...And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. 
{2 Samuel 6:20,23}

On one of our vacations we had some guests staying with us.  As I was walking down to the house I heard this "godly" woman screaming at her husband.  She went on and on.  Oh, it was so ugly.  He later divorced her.

Let me encourage you to NEVER scold your husband, especially in public.  It not only humiliates your husband, but it humiliates yourself also.  We must always remember we are not their mother but their wives.

Mothering is necessary for training small children, but when a wife applies teaching or training to her husband it is an invasion of his privacy as an adult and a lack of respect for him as her leader.