Safe and Sound

 So everyone is here safe and sound; Tim, Kevin, Doug, Kelli, Tera, Aaron, Kyle, and myself.  Our first day here I was not feeling the best, I think it was a mix of a busy week getting ready and the car ride, anyway I slept most of the day yesterday. It is hot down here and the humidity is pretty high but I have found that on the boats its pretty easy to breathe because the wind keeps the humidity down. Today was my first time out on the boat this year Aaron, Kyle, and Tera went tubing! 

Mom and Dad holding Mable down

Aaron and Kyles first ride of the season which resulted in two bad wipeouts...they are crazy on the tube!

Tera and Kyle tubing 

Aaron is about an inch taller than Kyle

These gents are getting so tall! 

So far our vacation is going great, enjoying family time, great food, boating, sleep, and rest! I have had quite a bit of time to do some homework which is wonderful because my class is done on friday, I only have one paper left to write! Tonight we are headed out to dinner by boat to a new restaurant, so we are excited! 

I was reading today in Isaiah and found a beautiful promise. 

"Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you." Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy." ~Isaiah 35:4-6

What a promise this is, one day the Lord will be returning and on that day He is going to judge this world but for those that see their need for a Savior, for those that humble themselves, they will be saved. The day the Lord returns, for those who trust in Him, our world will be turned right our pain taken away and we will shout for joy. There will be a day when we will see the Lords faithfulness before our eyes, the day He will come to take us home. How excited I am for that day! 

Prayer Requests: 

*That my body will be able to handle the medicine

*That I will remember my limitations this week and not push myself too far

*That Dr. P will be able to keep his practice in Iowa and turn to the Lord during this time

Shade From The Sun

I finished the ten day medicine for the month of July on Saturday and I already notice improvements in my breathing. It is easier for me to breathe outside now, I don't need my inhaler every time I step outside which was my huge prayer for this medicine. On friday my family is headed to Lake of the Ozarks for the week where we spend almost all day everyday outside. It would be nice to join in on the activities, I believe the first dose of medicine will help me do more next week. 

Toward the end of my medicine a group of friends, my family and I headed to my Uncle Tim's pond in southern Iowa. What a blast we had!  Here are some pictures from the weekend. 

The whole group: 

Last Row-Jessica, Tera, Me, Stephanie, Laurie, Katelyn, Aaron

Second Row- Jake Nathan, Stephen 

Front Row- Jeff, Alex

Nathan, Alex, and Stephan canoeing 

Laurie, Tera, and Jess on the boat getting ready to anchor down and swim

Stephanie and Katelyn on the boat

Aaron with the best catch of the weekend

You can't forget the dogs Flicka and Oreo resting up on the boat

The whole group.

I am so blessed with the family and friends that the Lord has blessed me with. I am so thankful for them. This summer they have all been wonderful at making me feel 'normal.' There is a lot I can not do but they are so good at including me in everything, even if it is simply setting up a seat for me to watch on the sidelines. They are wonderful at keeping me involved in whatever ways I can. 

For You have been a  defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. ~Isaiah 25:4  

God knew before He created the world that one day sin would be prevalent and He knew exactly what He would do about it. He sent His son to die for us, He choose to die for people who didn't deserve it, people who were full of sin. He died for us because we were needy, we were helpless, we needed a refuge and that is what Christ died to give us. 

One of the medicines that I am on makes me burn very easily so I have to stay in the shade more often than not. At the pond we would all get on the boat and go anchor in the middle and jump in. After awhile I would begin to feel that I needed shade so I would get in the boat under the cover. How refreshing the shade was to me! I was thinking about how that cover is like Christ, half of the boat is in the shade of the cover and the other half is in the sun. Only when someone decides to let the tarp carry the burden of the sun for them do they move over to the shade. 

Just like that tarp is used to block the sun, so Christ died to carry our burdens.  He wants to take the pressure of the sun and desires that we rest in the shade that He created for us. Just like that boat in the middle of the pond. 

Prayer Requests: 

*That I will willingly move into the shade of Christ in all things

*That my body will be able to hand the medicine

*That Dr P. will be able to keep his practice in Iowa and find the Lord in the process

*That I will continue to see improvements

Never Ending Joy

My time at home has gone by very quickly, it matches the speed of everyday life. Sometimes I look at life and wonder where it went, and sometimes I look ahead and wish it would go faster. One of the blessings the Lord has given me through lyme disease is the understanding of my need to focus on today. What a joy it has been living life in today, not focused on tomorrow or next month but simply enjoying where the Lord has placed me. When I focus on today I see all of the blessings, when I look ahead I simply see the pain. 

I love the path of lyme disease, not because I like pain or being weak, I rather despise it. I am a country girl at heart after all, no matter how city slicker I look. But lyme has taken over my life, it tells me when to eat, when to detox, how many doctor appointments, what I can and can not do, but it can not tell me my joy. Six years ago is when my lyme symptoms began, lyme took my life away. I had to quit everything even friendships because you could not physically see my pain. 

I was physically wounded so that I may be spiritually healed. My life, everything I knew was taken away and because of that I realized that Jesus Christ is my life. 

It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.  ~Psalm 119:71

Walking the path of lyme disease has made me who I am today. I may look weak to people and be a slave to lyme disease but that is temporary. I have never in my life been stronger than I am now. I can barely walk a block but the Lord has given me so much strength and taught me so many lessons through this I couldn't ask for more. 

Everyone is slave to something; lyme disease, school, friends, work, money. What do you spend your life striving for? What do you plan your life around? Most of my life has been my health. How can we serve something that will last? The answer is so simple but so profound. 

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. ~ Micah 7:18

Gods unchanging love brought Him to the cross where His son died so that we may have the opportunity to turn from the things that bind us as slaves. Christ makes us free. Look at your life, tell me what are you living for? Is it worth it? One day this world is going to end, every single person is going to die and what happens then? There is two options.

Choosing Christ will change your life, but let me tell you it is the best choice you could ever make. Not  only will you be given eternal life but you will be given joy. A joy that can last through any challenge because you know that it is God who gives us joy and because of the great gift He has given us we can rejoice in all things. That is why I am so thankful that I have lymes disease, that is why I can rejoice even in my hardest days. God never changes and He desires you. 

Prayer Requests:
*That whoever reads this will genuinely think about it
*That we as believers will take action in sharing our faith in a loving way
*That we will rejoice in all things
*That my body will be able to handle the medicine
*That Dr P. will be able to keep his practice in Iowa and turn to the Lord in the process

A Faithful God

I began the ten day medicine on thursday, my doc called the day before I started and changed up the dose so that life would be easier to live while on the medicine. For that I am very thankful, for the first three days I stayed in Des Moines and saturday night after a day at the lake with friends and family I headed home to my parents and upped my dose. 

I also learned more about the medicine, it is for one of my co-infections Babesia, this is the infection that makes it difficult to breathe. I will be taking this medicine for three months, ten days of every month. After the three months I will be retested for this specific co-infection, if its gone I will stop the medicine, if its still there I will go longer. 

For those that don't remember lyme disease can come with extra co-infections depending upon what tick bit them. Deer ticks bite three times, the first two are in smaller animals typically rats or squirrels, the last bite is a horse, dog, or human. It is the last bite that gets the infection. Co-infections are created based off of which animal the tick previously bit, and what diseases that animal had. Many people don't have any co-infections if they are bit, but some do. There are a total of six co-infections, all of which cause different symptoms this is one reason why lyme is so hard to diagnose, due to all the different co-infections and symptoms. I have the co-infections Mycoplasma, Babesia, and HHV6. So prayerfully the co-infection babesia will be taken care of through the medicine I am currently on. 

So far at home I am doing well, yesterday I started feeling sicker than the first couple days on this medicine but its not as bad as it could be so praise the Lord for that. We think the laser treatment is helping my body detox more and because of that I am not getting as sick, my body can handle the medicine easier. Afternoons are still the worst time of day for me but I am enjoying spending time with my family. 

I read my favorite book the other day, and this is high on my list of favorite verses; 

While I was fainting away I remembered the Lord and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving, that which I have vowed I will pay, salvation is from the Lord.  ~Jonah 2:7-9 

We serve a God who is faithful, no matter how low we think we have gone or how broken our world seems, God is still God. He has not left His throne and He has not forgotten us. Jonah was asked to report a message to Nineveh, that they would be destroyed because of their sin. Jonah didn't wan to report it because He knew God would have compassion on the people, Jonah knew they would repent and God wouldn't destroy them. Jonah was right, however he fled to Tarshish to avoid what he was asked and in the process had to be thrown overboard due to a storm. He was swallowed by a fish and for three days he was in the belly of the fish. 

Jonah didn't know if he would live to see daylight again, the verses earlier were Jonah's prayer when he was in the belly of the fish. Jonah remembered that God is God, and He is our salvation. No matter our circumstance, no matter our condition we can be faithful to God because He has been faithful to us. 

Prayer Requests:
*That my body can handle my medicine
*That I will stay encouraged this week
*Dr. P will be able to keep his practice in Iowa, and will turn to the Lord during this time

Love of God

Yesterday I took an inventory of my symptoms and was pleasantly surprised. My dizziness is mostly gone, my hearing is close to normal, and my eyesight is going back and forth. I am so thankful and excited that my head stuff is clearing up, before I started antibiotics the lyme began moving from my head to my joints again and is continuing to move which is such a praise the Lord! On medicine it would take nine months to get it out of my head, I praise God it's doing it on its own much sooner. 

This last week I have had quite a bit of good days, some things I was able to do; went out for lunch and shopping at Jordan Creek, went swimming at Raccoon River, and went to tuesday work night for the first time! 

My family also went camping this weekend, which was so nice to see my extended family and spend time with them but they were harder days for me. With my trouble breathing the humidity really gets to me, and due to lyme I was sick most of the weekend but did have many good conversations and relaxing time with family.  The inhaler I was put on helps so much! Along with the liver pills I started, it is helping my liver keep up, always a plus! 

I finished the book Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor and I would HIGHLY recommend it. He was a man who truly understood what it mean to rest in the Lord, to trust the Lord, and to let the Lord carry his burdens. The main lesson I have learned these last six months is resting in the Lord. I have been learning what it looks like to let the Lord fight for me, to let the Lord carry my burdens. 

This story is from the book Do You Think I'm Beautiful by Angela Thomas. 

A traveler was walking down the road laboring under the heavy burden he was carrying on his back. Along came a man with a horse-drawn cart. Pulling alongside the traveler, the cart driver said, "Sir, I see that you are carrying a heavy load and that it makes you weary. Wouldn't you rather ride in my cart than carry that heavy burden?"

"Yes" the traveler said as he got into the cart. "Now I will no longer have to walk with this burden." A little farther down the road the cart driver looked behind him and was quite astonished to see the traveler sitting in the cart still carrying his burden, held tightly on his back. 

"Sir, why do you still bend under the weight of your burden when you could simply set it down?" he asked. "You have helped me so much already," said the traveler, "I would not want to impose on you any further." 

"But don't you see," replied the cart driver, "it would not be an imposition on me for you to put your burden down. Look at my horse; he is strong and willing. He was made to carry heavy burdens. Besides, both of you are now carrying your load, yet my horse will carry your load wether you do or not! So please put your burden down or you will wear yourself out and make my horse feel unappreciated." 

This story about a man and a horse is true for our lives with the Lord. So many times we choose to hang onto our burdens when we could pass them onto the Lord. He is the one who was designed to carry them, He also carries us. We can either try and fight our way with something too heavy for us, or we can let the Lord carry the burdens of our life which He desires so to carry. 

You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.  ~2 Chronicles 20:17 

Our God fights for us, He carries our burdens, He meets our needs, and He loves us. One thing that I started doing that has changed my life is to write down every night one way that I felt loved by God that day. The Lord uses a variety of ways to make us feel loved, to give us blessings. So many people see them as a need in their life and they turn to an object or friend to be satisfied, but if we understand who the source of satisfaction is, we can see those blessings as the love of God. 

Love comes in a  variety of ways, some ways I have felt loved by God this week; I got an uplifting text message when I was down, I had an afternoon out with girls, when I was herxing I had the best lemon which made my medicine really easy to take. These are some of the ways that I have felt loved by God, some of them may seem silly but when we put this world in its place we can see all the blessings the Lord gives us on a daily basis. 

Tomorrow I begin a new medicine, it is one I will take ten days of every month, I'm not sure how many months. This medicine is supposed to make me pretty sick, so tomorrow I am headed to my parents house. This way I can have my mom close at hand if I need help. Please be praying for this medicine that it will do its job and make me sick but also that it wouldn't make me too sick. If I get too sick I have to do a lower dosage for a longer time. I will do my best to keep my blog updated while I am gone and am excited to return and see everyone once again. Feel free to text, call or visit :) 

Prayer Requests: 

*That I can handle the medicine in ten days-sick but not too sick

*That Dr. P will get to keep his practice in Iowa and may see the goodness of the Lord in the process

*That I can keep up with my online class and the homework due, especially the next ten days

*That I will continue to see the love of the Lord and keep this world in its place

Rivers in the Desert

Yesterday my liver would not let up, it was the worst it had ever been for the longest it had ever been. Between my hurting liver and difficulty breathing it was a rough day. I also herxed again yesterday afternoon which is good to see the medicine continue to do its job. 

Due to all the different symptoms we called my doctor about difficulty breathing and my hurting liver. My liver is struggling due to the medicine I am on, my liver has never been the healthiest one out there, its been through a lot with all the medicine over the past few years and now it is more noticeable that it lacks. They started me on a supplement yesterday called thistle to help my liver function so prayerfully my liver will have more success. It also turns out that the difficulty breathing is due to one of my co-infections babesia, so they put me on an inhaler to help my lungs and airways relax. 

I just started these extra things last night so haven't seen a huge difference yet but I believe the inhaler is helping me breathe a little easier, which is a huge blessing! 

This verse has brought me comfort the last few months but especially the last two days.

"Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."  ~Isaiah 43:18-19 

So many times I expect life to go the same way it has gone, I forget about change. This is a change in my life, and in areas it has me so dry. It is hard for me to stay encouraged on days that are more painful than others, it is hard for me to see good sometimes when I cant get out of bed. But it is beautiful to see the promises of the Lord, He has new in store for all of our lives. So new its like 'roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.' 

My huge prayer for lyme disease is that it will be used for good. That the Lord will use my lyme to affect other peoples lives along with my own. More specifically I have been praying that I would have the opportunity to have an influence on others who struggle with lyme disease. Let me tell you, the Lord is doing something new something I would have never imagined, something I still don't see the whole picture off but its worth the wait. 

My parents are wonderful, they have been along side of me every step of the way, through every bout of pain and now through treatment. The Lord is using my mom in a huge way, its been going on since I have was diagnosed in March but is continually growing. My mom is getting phone calls from all over the United States asking questions about lyme disease and what we are doing for treatment. 

What surprises us though is the amount of people in central Iowa who are newly diagnosed lyme patients. When I started laser treatments my nurse told me that we (lyme patients) were coming out of the floor boards, I laughed at the time but now I see how true that is! I know of six new cases the last few weeks from Iowa...crazy, some doctors still don't think Iowa has lyme. Guess we proved them wrong :) 

I don't know what the Lord has in store for the lyme patients in Iowa but we are hoping to have a gathering, an opportunity to get to know one another and support one another. I have considered going to a lyme disease support group but was encouraged not to because the time was mostly spent complaining. I would love to get a group together where we can support one another and a time where the truth of Christ may be shared. Please be praying for an opportunity to do so, feel free to let me know if you have any ideas. 

Prayer Requests: 

*Dr P will be able to keep his practice in Iowa; strength and grace in doing so, that Dr P will turn to the Lord during this time

*An opportunity to meet/talk to some of the Iowans with lyme disease

*That my body can grow to handle the medicine

Light Overcomes

Today is exactly three weeks of being on medicine, I had a follow-up with Dr. P today and it went well. We went through the symptom list one by one and it was so good to hear that my worsening symptoms and new symptoms are a good sign. I knew it was good but it is so refreshing to hear it from others, especially my doctor. 

The choking spells I had is also considered common among lyme patients, my chest is still tight and I cough more often but its nothing to be concerned about. The last week or so every time I take medicine I am nauseous, this too is common. However I learned today I am taking my probiotic wrong, I have been taking it with my antibiotic, which eats it up so I don't get any of the good nutrients. So prayerfully changing the timing of my probiotic will help with the nausea. 

This month I will be starting a lot of different medications some for my co-infections and some simply for lyme. My next appointment is in eight weeks and by then we should be noticing major improvements. Most all of Dr P's patients see improvements within two to three months of treatment. We are three weeks into the battle, hard times are coming but I will take one day at a time and cross bridges when they come. 

Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. ~Ecclesiastes 11:8 

I read this and was slightly confused at why we should remember our bad times or trials and not the joys of life. I realized that when we remember our bad days we can see the good days as they are, as a blessing. If we remember the good days we set a standard for how we want a day to be but if we remember the hard days and how the Lord delivered us we see a whole new realm of joy. There is a lot of darkness in this world, everyone has a lot of bad days but Jesus Christ is so much brighter than our darkness. May we always remember our dark days so we may truly give thanks.  

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Lyme disease is a tricky bug. Its hard to live with, hard to diagnose, hard to treat, and I guess hard to believe. Animals also get lyme disease, its very common in horses and dogs and treatment for them is pretty simple. I found out last week they actually have a vaccine to protect dogs from lyme. What! Many doctors don't even believe lyme exists! I am not very knowledgeable about this, I'm pretty new to the lyme world, but am planning on studying up!

Some of my limited knowledge is that lyme is a political battle. Lyme disease is so different than any other method of treatment and any other set of symptoms which makes it controversial. I would bet you most lyme patients you talk to today have had a doctor tell them that their pain is in their head and they need to tough it up. I was told that, I was told I was depressed and needed to get out more. At the time I couldn't even bend over to tie my shoes. I am not the only one who has heard this, many patients have it worse and their family doesn't even support them. I understand both sides, I have been the patient with jumping symptoms I didn't tell anyone for the first year and a half because the ones I told didn't believe me and I couldn't blame them. I began to even doubt myself. 

By the time many lyme patients get diagnosed they are at the end of their rope barely hanging on. Thats not even the worst, I mentioned earlier that lyme is a political battle, lyme specialists are being turned in all over the country and getting their license taken away because of their treatment method. Although they are successful, its not the usual. My doctor, Dr. P, was written up on thursday. What does this mean? 

He was written up by a pharmacy in Iowa that was suspicious due to the medicine orders the patient was sending it, it wasn't normal. So now there are two things that can happen. One-he could give in and let them take his license and move to another state or two-he can fight. Dr P. has chosen to fight and will be going to court. Many of his patients have already stepped up and are doing fundraising for court costs and supporting where they can.

It blows my mind how you can take a successful doctor who has a wonderful record of patient health and simply take their practice away. Dr P is not the first and he is certainly not the last. Lyme disease breaks my heart, how much the patients suffer especially those without hope, those without Christ. You finally get a diagnosis, a doctor and a treatment plan and it can all be taken away so easily. Please be praying for Dr P and his practice that he would win the battle and be able to remain in Iowa. 

Prayer Requests: 

*That Dr P may keep his practice in Iowa; and strength and grace in the process that he may grow to know the Lord through this experience

*The patients that go to him would learn through this to put their hope in Christ who will never let them down

*Endurance through the new medicine

*That I will follow the Lords leading in where to help 

*Strength for my mom and how she is helping