I Am Enough!

It can be hard at times to remember your worth when you are dealing with a chronic illness.  Let this be a reminder of how much you are loved and valued!  I need to remind myself of these things daily also.

1. You are enough.

2. God loves you just the way you are.

3. You are not valuable because of what you can do but because of who you belong to.

4. Learn to be compassionate and considerate with yourself just as you would with a friend.

5. Learn to forgive yourself.

6. God still has a purpose for your life even though you can't do all the things you use to do.

7. God sings over you with His love. ("He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17)

8. God has started a good work in you and He will see it through to completion.

9. Stop comparing yourself to others.

10.Reach out to others.

Five Things That Help Me deal With Chronic Illness

It is hard to live with chronic pain and exhaustion form day to day.  I notice when I am tired or in pain I tend to snap at people more easily.  I think it's because I feel like I don't have much control over even the simplest things.  It's times like these that I have to scale back and try to come up with things that will  nurture me, but  don't require a lot of energy.  Here are five things I've come up with.

1. Visit restministries. This is a wonderful website for people 
    with chronic illnesses.
2. Spend time with your pet or someone else's.  I have a toy 
    poodle who loves to snuggle up to me.  I can feel myself relax 
    just by being near him.
3. Listen to some inspiring music.  I especially love listening 
    to Mandisa's new Cd.  It's like the songs were hand picked 
    just  for me. I also like listening to a cd of ocean waves.
4. Read a good devotional for people with chronic illness.  It
    always helps me to be reminded that other people get what it's 
    like to live with a chronic illness. One i especially like is 
    called Peace in the Storm by Maureen Pratt.


5.Write in a journal.  It helps me to get things out on paper and 
   sort through my feelings.


I hope these ideas helped you think of some simple ways to comfort yourself when you are having a bad day.