Archives for August 2011

Does our sin separate us from God?

30 August, 2011 by 1 Comment


Two years ago, I attended a “Women of Faith” conference, and was very intrigued by one of the speakers. Her name is Ashley Smith. A few years ago in Atlanta, she was instantly place in the spotlight as she was abducted and held hostage by Brian Nichols, a convicted killer. Her book, “Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero,” was an amazing account of every thought and action that took place during the seven hours she was held hostage.

I listened to her speak, and while she was very humble, her “miracle” was very fresh, and I wondered whether or not she could maintain a drug free life and uphold the promises she made to God that night.

In her book, she reveals she had tried and tried to become free of drugs, and she was reading and studying “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. While she had told God time and time again that she was done with drugs and ready to straighten her life out, she always kept a little stash “just in case.”


I think when we are in sin and are telling ourselves that we won’t do “whatever” again, and we still have that something on the back burner available if we need it, we are separating ourselves from God. I think of it as an invisible shield between God and me. In our head, we think we are doing the right thing. We talk ourselves into it…we justify. But at the same time, we know in our heart and in the back of our mind that we are keeping that sin on standby. 

Other than our prescription verse above, scripture also tells us when we justify our sin, we don’t have truth, which is the light in Jesus Christ. 

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8 ESV

Ok, back to Ashley Smith. I picked up her book to read (after having it for two years) and after finishing it, decided to Google her to see how she’s doing now. I was so happy to see that she is doing great. I’ve included a video here (part 1 and 2) of a show she was interviewed on not too long ago. I hope you will enjoy it.


For me, my sin was addiction. Yes, I had an issue with Lortab, and that was awful, but that is not the big picture. As the title of my story reflects, I was addicted to the chase…the chase to cure my migraine headaches; the chase to cure my seizures; the chase to be happy; the chase to grab my mask so no one would know how miserable I was; the chase to constantly isolate myself from family and friends because I felt such guilt when I was around them. Instead of focusing on God and what he could do, I focused on myself. On my misery; my search for a cure; my guilt. During that time, I missed an opportunity to let Christ minister to me. Thank goodness he rescued me from myself!

When I finished reading “Unlikely Angel,” and I thought about how I’d held on to my sin, I realized something important. When you make a promise to God that you will no longer give a home to your sin, and you truly have made the decision to put it behind you, the best way to stay on course is to use your experience to help others. I know blogging and writing is not the right avenue for everyone, but when we begin to help other people in similar situations, God gives us strength. When we can share with another person the covenant we’ve made with God, we will hold ourselves more accountable to it. When we can really be transparent, and realize that we are not perfect and neither is anyone else, we will find great freedom. It’s amazing to find out how common your struggle is…whatever it is. 

If you have read my story and my blogs, you know how truly happy I am. I’ve always had a heart for people, but for the seven years of my illness and “chase,” I lost my focus. I couldn’t see others very well, only myself. Now that my vision has been corrected, there is nothing more rewarding that sharing the amazing love that God has for us…and actually feeling it first hand. 

From my heart, 
Celeste

Filed Under: Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What is the purpose of life?

29 August, 2011 by 5 Comments

I received the following email today from my stepdad containing the answer to universal question we all ask: “What is our purpose?” On August 10th, I posted “In Sickness and in Health” with this same prescription, and this interview with Rick Warren is right along those same lines. Enjoy!
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having ‘wealth’ from the book sales.
This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
“People ask me, ‘What is the purpose of life?’
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is a preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him and in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body—but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act—the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys—you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness, which is ‘my problem, my issues, my pain.’ But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.  
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her—It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don’t think God give you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, “God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better.”
God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do.
That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quite moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.”
Enough said.

From my heart,

Celeste
Filed Under: Living with Purpose Tagged With: , ,

Do you plan your fun or simply let it happen?

28 August, 2011 by 1 Comment




I had a bible study to go to one night, and I left a few chores to be done while I was gone. One of which was to put away the monster size pack of toilet paper rolls from Sam’s. I was gone for three or so hours, and I was amazed to come home to see that the pack of TP was actually gone from the place I left it, and nowhere to be found. Visit inside my brain….”They actually put it up! I can’t believe someone actually listened and they didn’t just zone out in front of the TV while was gone. I will really need to give them some praise so they realize how much I appreciate that they listened and did this small task for me. Maybe I need to remember to praise more and fuss less…”

…Think of my surprise when saw the kitchen sink:


APPARENTLY, as soon as I left, a toilet paper fight broke out: Twenty-four rolls of toilet paper flying through the air…”over the dogs and through the kitchen, to the sink full of dishes we go”; Kids hiding behind doors, diving over sofas, sliding across the kitchen floor. And when I say kids, I’m including my slightly oversized, 46-year-old kid as well.

They obviously didn’t think that I could appreciate such fun, and decided to attempt to hide it from me. Yes, all of the rolls of toilet paper were tucked away in the appropriate bathroom cabinets, but they were a little worse for the wear. None of them quite “rolled” the way toilet paper was intended! But the dead give-away was the soaking wet roll in the kitchen sink.

Now when I got home, no one was to be found. Trevor and Marlee were asleep, and Miranda was in our room talking to David. When I walked in with the wet roll of TP, I immediately saw very guilty looks on their faces, and Miranda said, “CRAP, I thought we got them all!” The gig was up.

A year ago, while I was still in the midst of my depression, I’d have just gotten frustrated. Now, I wish I’d been here! Or at least had a hidden camera so I could see it! They have laughed and laughed over those few unplanned hours with toilet paper therapy.

We need to enjoy the every day in life. The trips we plan and look forward to are sometimes great, and sometimes not so great; the elaborate plans we make for a family day may come together, but all to often someone gets frustrated or upset; but who would have ever imagined the memories and joy that came from a huge pack of toilet paper from Sam’s…

Let life happen and look for the joy. Every single day.

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Filed Under: How to be Happy, Just for Fun Tagged With: , ,

So where is Jesus?

27 August, 2011 by 1 Comment


We battle bullying as kids and teens, but as adults, I hope that we are past that stage, but how often do we judge someone without really knowing them, or avoid talking to them because of the way they look? 

Jesus says, whatever you do for the least of these, you do also to me. Yes, we need to have compassion for the poor, feed the hungry, help in times of crisis, etc., but I don’t think that’s all Jesus meant when he said that. Look again at the part, “you have also done unto me.” How often could we actually be encountering Jesus in “the least of these”?

How would you react in the following situations?

Your assigned seat on your flight is next to a mentally retarded man. You know he will talk to you the whole time if you sit beside him, and you really wanted to relax and read your book.

You are rushing through the grocery store to get home, an see a woman on your isle leaning in really close to the spice jars struggling to find what she needs because she has very limited vision, obviously from a terrible accident.

The mom of a girl in class with your daughter always tries to duck away unnoticed because she is scarred from a burn on one whole side of her face, and you know she really wants to be involved with class activities.

You are sitting in your doctors office waiting for them to call you back and a hearing impaired man, who speaks very loudly, strikes up a conversation with you.

What if one of the people you want to avoid could be Jesus Christ himself? Should we assume that it’s not because he doesn’t look like the Jesus we know? Or because Jesus ascended back into Heaven after being risen from the dead so we won’t see him again til we get there? 

I went to a financial seminar yesterday and met a sweet new friend. The really weird part…well, let me tell you the story. 

I have to start with the fact that I have vitiligo. It’s an autoimmune disease that destroys the cells in your skin that hold pigment. You might recognize it better as the “Michael Jackson disease.” There’s not too much research on it because it’s a cosmetic problem more than anything else, and the other autoimmune diseases like lupus & rheumatoid arthritis are much more important. I developed it during my second pregnancy, and it gets a little worse each year, but because I have fair skin anyway, it’s not that noticeable. 

Last year, David and I ate with some friends at a downtown steakhouse, and I noticed a black waitress with vitiligo on her face, and it was very noticeable. I had the thoughts, “I hope mine is never that bad.” and “I’m glad I have fair skin and am not dark skinned.” And that was the extent of my thoughts. This was not a situation where I avoided her, I just noticed her.

At the seminar yesterday, I saw a black woman with pretty bad vitiligo. Only this time, I found myself wanting to talk to her. I am trying a new herbal treatment for my vitiligo, and if it works, I wanted to be able to tell her about it. But I wondered, “ Is she going to think I’m rude for bringing it up? Will she tell me to mind my own business? Will I just make her more self-conscious?” Nevertheless, I felt a gentle nudging to talk to her. And wouldn’t you know she had the sweetest, most endearing personality? And when we talked, she revealed to me that she saw someone years ago with vitiligo all around their eyes, and she hoped she’d never have it that bad, but now she does. That’s when I told her about the waitress I saw at the restaurant.

“That’s where I work!” she exclaimed.

She was the waitress that I’d seen that day! 

I was so glad that I was not to “whatever” to talk to her. Afraid? Intimidated? Uncomfortable? I gave her my contact info, and I hope to talk to her more. God has people cross our path for a reason. You never know who that person could be, or why they cross your path, but when you feel that little “nudge,” there’s a reason. I have no idea where this contact will go, but I knew God was nudging me to make it. And I’m so glad that I did!

So next time you decide to avoid that person who might make you uncomfortable, think about who it might be, or who you could be to them.  

Do you wonder where Jesus is?

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Filed Under: Real Relationships, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , ,

Intercourse…an adventure or a destination?

25 August, 2011 by 1 Comment


Be honest. Did the title make you want to read this? I’m sure this one will catch my hubby’s eye…and I can’t get him to read hardly anything I write! It’s not very long, but you have to read to the end to get the title…
If you have read my recent posts, you know my hubby and I just celebrated our 22nd anniversary. See my posts titled, “Its time for….” and “Do you get it?” to be up to date to understand this post…
This last year has been an incredible year for me…and us.  My new life in Christ has been the most incredible year of my life. I never thought that a close, personal connection with my Savior could outdo everything else! And while it outshines everything else in my life, my relationship with Christ makes everything in my life so much more special than ever before.
I thought nothing could top getting married.
I thought nothing could top giving birth to three beautiful children.
I thought nothing could top building my dream house with my husband and kids.  Until…
After seven years of the hell I went through, God reached down with his arms of comfort, peace, grace, and mercy and brought me to a place better than anything I could have imagined. Better than marriage, better than motherhood, better than my “American dream.” He brought me to a place of complete rest and contentment in him. He brought me to a new level of understanding with an eternal perspective. He freed me from all of the prisons I’d been keeping myself in. And now, all of those other things that I gave such high value to are better than they ever were before. I appreciate and love my family on a whole new level, and my dream house is just a house, with my “American dream” residing inside the house…and inside my heart.  If you ask me how, I can only explain with one word…miracle.
Ok, this was supposed to be a fun post, so I’ll get back to the “fun” part.
When my miracle is brought up in conversation, my hubby will be the first to say that it wasn’t MY miracle, but HIS. Sometimes I agree when I look back at what he had to deal with for seven years. I don’t know how he was able to handle a depressed wife, the responsibility of three kids, work, the house, and finances…and the list goes on and on. So while we were on our anniversary trip–the first anniversary we have looked forward to in quite a long time–we ended up traveling through Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Well, if you know David (or any man for that matter), he could not pass up the photo opportunity.  And he joked, “It only took us twenty-two years to make it to Intercourse, and I guess it took my second wife to get me here!”
So now, after my miracle, David loving refers to me as his “second” wife.
…And it’s amazing.
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Filed Under: How to be Happy, Just for Fun, Miracles Do Happen Tagged With: , , , , ,

Living IN the world, not OF it

22 August, 2011 by 1 Comment


Okay my friends, with 17, 12, and 8-year-old children, we seem to be in all stages of “development” these days! Lots of interesting discussions in our house lately. 

The subject of “the birds and the bees” is never an easy one to discuss with your children, but it is necessary that we do. I promise they are getting the information somewhere, so if you want to be the one to teach them, you’d better be aware of the information they are getting. As you well know, kids today are hearing all kinds of things at younger and younger ages. 

I have found myself recently in discussions with other moms on the B&B’s. I am so proud of the young woman that my 17 year old, Miranda, is turning out to be. By the grace of God, she has turned out well! I always call her our guinea pig since she was the first child subjected to our parenting skills! David and I have applied a few rules in our journey as parents I want to share.  
      
Answer questions as they come up, without giving more information than asked. Do not dismiss their questions as if they are silly.
        
Always answer questions about our bodies with emphasis on the fact that God created every little part of our bodies for a purpose and in His image. 

When the sex subject comes up, don’t freak out and assume that your child is doing something wrong, and don’t be so embarrassed you can’t talk about sex with them. 

Just as the case with many of God’s creations, the world has distorted and cheapened something that God created to be an intimate, one-of-a-kind bond between a husband and wife. Always keep this in mind when dealing with anything in this world that has been changed by the sinful world we live in. 

Instill self-confidence in your child. Help them realize and understand that God created them and they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-16). With girls especially, love from and self-confidence instilled by their father will have a huge impact on their choices of boyfriends and a husband. If they don’t feel this fatherly love, they may seek love and acceptance in boyfriends. I know that Miranda is the teenager she is today because her daddy has put her on a pedestal her entire life, and she will accept no less from anyone she dates or marries. Her values are strongly in place, and there is no one who could persuade her to do anything she did not want to do.

When you talk to your child about sex, try not to make a big deal about it. In other words, don’t break out “The Encyclopedia of Sex” (all four volumes) and try to explain it all at once! (Can you guess how I learned about those birds and bees? =o/ It was one loooong night!) 

Last, we work very hard not to shelter our children from the ways of the world. You must understand, however, that there is a difference between the KNOWLEDGE of this world and being INVOLVED in the ways of this world. Every family is different, and as parents, we are often products of the environment in which we were raised. Ahusband and wife bring to the parenting table a mixture of the ways they were raised. In our family, we do not worry about our children seeing us undressed (like getting into the bath or shower). As a matterof fact, during the years that I was having seizures, Trevor would not let me take a bath without someone in the bathroom with me (fearing I would drown if I had a seizure), and he was often the one with that job. (Don’t use your imagination here…it would not be a pretty sight! =o/) They know the differences between the anatomy of men and women, so their curiosity does not land them in a search for answers in the wrong places. We do not want to create a “forbidden fruit.” And again, I want to emphasize that we answer questions as theycome up. Often children will not ask a question until they are ready tohear the answer.

Nowhere in the Bible does God condone pre-marital sex. He specifically forbids it. In the world of our teenagers, and adults too for that matter, it is difficult to recognize the difference between Christians and non-Christians. That’s not acceptable. God calls us to be a peculiar people, and that’s what we need to be. In the world, not of the world.  
     
Keep in mind that I am only a parent to my three children, and every child is different. I am certainly no expert on raising children; I just want to share what has worked (so far) with me. Sometimes, well most of the time, children do not believe parents really know anything. They may have to learn lessons the hard way, and the best you can do for them is pray. 

So dig in your heels and brace yourself. If it hasn’t already been, it will be a subject in your home eventually. Don’t be blindsided by it–be prepared! 

I will be praying for you and your children. After all, my children will be choosing their spouses someday, and I want great young men and women for them to choose from! 




From my heart, 


Celeste 

Filed Under: Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Parenting Tips, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , ,

Pray the Promises

18 August, 2011 by 1 Comment


Hey guys! If you read my last post, you know I’m out of town and I didn’t think I’d have time to post, but I failed to take into the account the twelve hour drive…yes TWELVE HOUR DRIVE…to New Jersey. So I’ve had time to do a little thinking! Not to mention that we are in the car with a reformed presbyterian…the debates are getting heated! 

I recently read a book called, “My Time in Heaven” by Richard Sigmund, in which he stated, “Praying releases God to go into our tomorrows, lay a trap for the devil, and bring our blessings right on time.”
I dug a little deeper.
In doing some research, I read a book by Jan Coleman, “After the Locusts” (which, by the way, is a great book for anyone woman who’s found herself divorced and sitting in a pile of shattered dreams). At the end of her book, after talking to many broken women, she says this about prayer, “Pray the promises, not the problems.”
So now I have been told to pray to release God’s blessings into the future, and to pray God’s promises.
As I thought about my prayers, I realized that I prayed very differently during the seven years of seizures and depression than I did before them.
As I made my way through teen and young adult years, I expected the best. I had my dreams in order, and as I worked to make them come true, I prayed the same. I expected and prayed to graduate from pharmacy school, get a job, get married, and have healthy children. And that is exactly what happened. Until…
A seizure snowball began an avalanche of migraines, seizures and depression, and I began to pray for God to take them away. By doing so, I allowed the devil to get into my brain. By praying for my earthly problems instead of God’s heavenly promises, my focus was constantly on my problems. Without realizing it, it also made me become very selfish and obsessed with me…with fixing me.
The only one of God’s promises that I prayed for during my depression was the rapture! I’m quite sure my reasons there were selfish as well.
God’s promises are all throughout the Bible, some specific to certain people, others to all of his children. In Genesis 15, God promised Abram to make his offspring as many as the stars in the sky. In Genesis 11, he promises never to destroy the earth by flood again.
For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Deuteronomy 29:11)
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
(John 10:10)
By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
(2 Peter 1:4)
And my favorite…
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
In “After the Locusts,” Jan teaches us to claim the promise God made in the story of Joel. He promises, I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. (Joel 2:25)
Those are just the tip of the iceberg! Focusing on God’s promises and praying them will inevitably draw us closer to him. When our focus shifts from the worldly tribulation we are experiencing to the heavenly blessings God has for us, we break down the wall separating us from God, and begin building the wall separating us from the devil. God and Satan cannot exist in the same heart together.
Don’t put limits on what God can do by negative thoughts. Pray God’s promises to us and expect the best!
So no matter your struggle, God promises that he will triumph over all, and not only will he triumph, he will restore all that you lost, in abundance!
Dig in to your bible, read the blessings and promises God has for you, and start claiming them!
From my heart,
Celeste
Filed Under: Living in Faith, The Power of Prayer Tagged With:

It’s time for…

17 August, 2011 by 2 Comments

A time to go back to school shopping, and a time to get my child enrolled into a school he was just accepted to Friday.


A time to wash and pack, and a time to go out of town for my 22nd anniversary. Yay!


A time to get up really early to help out a friend, and a time to come home and take a nap (I wish) so I have enough energy for the evening. 


A time to have another car accident (not my fault thank goodness…this time), and a time to deal with insurance and the body shop to get an estimate that everyone can agree on. 


A time to take tons of photos of gymnasts, take too much time editing, and a time to post them so hopefully someone will be interested in buying one or two. 


A time to celebrate my birthday with sweet friends, and a time to read “The Help” just to finish it 10 minutes before the movie started. 


So I think you get the idea. This small season of my life has been very busy with lots of matters  under heaven. Good stuff, busy stuff, bad stuff…but all God stuff. I can honestly look at every one of the “matters” of my last week and see God’s hand in them all. Yes, even the car accident! Feel free to leave a comment and ask me if your curious…


I’ll just say this overall. When you make God an every day, all day part of your life…when you have conversations with him throughout your day and you get him involved, he will be there for all of those little crazy moments. REALLY! He wants to be there, you just have to invite him. Once you bring him in to all of those little moments throughout your day, you’ll wonder what you ever did without him, and you’ll never want him to leave. 


Now you know where my time has been the last week, and will continue to be for the next week (as I will be out of town). So to the masses who will be biting their nails anxiously awaiting my next post (LOL), it will be about another week. For those who do follow, THANK YOU, and I’ll see you in a week as well! 


Blessings to you as you get all of those kiddos of to school this week! 


From my heart,
Celeste



Filed Under: Your Relationship with God Tagged With:

In Sickness and In Health

11 August, 2011 by 4 Comments


Now I have read this verse before I’m sure, but never has it jumped out at me as it did today when I was reading. Not only is God telling us that his word is all we need for our soul and spirit, but our joints? marrow? thoughts? heart? I looked up a commentary on this verse, and basically it’s pointing out that if we know the word of God, we have no excuses. God is able to search out all of us…right down to the differences between what we believe in our heart vs. our mind. I couldn’t help but see it even more literally. God’s word is alive and well, and can pierce into every system in our body. So shouldn’t all christians then experience perfect health if they claim the word of God? NO. This brings me to a quote from Max Lucado…”

“If God’s aim is to grant perfect health to all his children, he has
failed, because no one enjoys perfect health, and everyone dies.
But if God’s aim is to expand the boundaries of his kingdom, then
he has succeeded. For every time he heals, a thousand sermons are
preached.”

In sickness, in health, in happy times, in depression, in faith, in anger, in life, in death…God  is using us. God loves us. God is preparing us for our next purpose. God has eternity waiting for us. 


When struggling with a health issue, it is so easy in our nation to get on the computer, try to diagnose ourselves, and then put our diagnosis together with a drug we saw advertised on television, and the chase begins: the chase to find the right physician to listen to you, the chase to try and try again to find the right drug to fix you. We want to be fixed. Now. We don’t want to dig into God’s word and see what he might be trying to teach us, or even someone close to us.  


If you are battling any type of health problem, here’s the thing: you may be healed, or you may not. You may have a life long struggle ahead of you. BUT…if you continue to pursue God and seek out what his purpose is for your life, you can find happiness and peace in him. I firmly believe that if your desire to have a close, intimate relationship with God is greater than your desire to have perfect health, you will find peace. Seek your answer in God’s words to you, his child, in the most complete instruction manual ever written, the Bible. God’s answer for you may not be to grant you perfect health, but if you allow his words to penetrate your heart and soul, and let him to use you in whatever condition you’re in, you will begin to see things from more of an “eternal” perspective. My daddy used to love to tell me to “plan like you will die tomorrow, but live like you will live forever.” I thought he was talking about money, but now I see he had a deeper, more eternal, perspective. 


I have a friend whose husband recently died after a battle with cancer. He had so many people praying for him during his battle…praying for a miracle. At his funeral, I will never forget what my friend said as she hugged me standing beside his casket. 


“We got our miracle.”  


What a testament! Even in her fresh state of grief, she knew through his illness, family members came to Christ who might not have otherwise, and that her husband is now in Heaven with Jesus…completely and eternally healed. 


If you know my story, you know that God completely healed me and my purpose on earth is not yet finished. Through my healing, I pray that “a thousand sermons will be preached” (or written), but for others, it’s through sickness and death that healing takes place, and a thousand sermons are still preached. 


God is in control of it all. God knows our hearts. Embrace him in sickness and in health, and whatever purpose God has for your life will be fulfilled. 


From my heart, 
Celeste




Filed Under: Beating Depression, Chronic Illness, Fighting Your Fears, Have an Eternal Perspective Tagged With: , ,

How is Your Heart Condition?

7 August, 2011 by Leave a Comment

What if everyone could read your mind?

Your boss is giving you specific instructions on how to handle a delicate matter at work, and all you can think about is that piece of spinach caught in his teeth.
Your friend is pouring out her heart to you…again…and all you can think about is “what stupid mess has she gotten herself into this time?”

It would be quite difficult to keep a job or maintain a friendship, wouldn’t it?

We’ve all seen some television show or movie that added this twist to make things interesting. God, in his infinite wisdom, created us in such a way that we can’t read minds, but as a relationship develops, we can begin to understand certain things about the people we know well. No one, however, can know exactly what we are thinking all the time except God. He has a closed circuit television hooked up to each and every one of us. He always knows our thoughts, and always knows the condition of our hearts.When God looks into your heart, what does he see? I’m sure glad that when he sent his son to die on the cross for our sins, because when we are forgiven of our sins, we are also forgiven for the condition of our heart. But when I stand before God someday, despite all my imperfections, I want to know that I did my best to improve my heart condition.A few days ago, I blogged about Sunday’s sermon, “Following Jesus a Day at a Time,” and the ongoing questions concerning the baptist belief of “once saved, always saved.” So let’s take it one step further. We realize that salvation is a gift that we cannot work for and do not deserve, but can only accept. Once we accept Christ as our savior, we must then pursue him…always.

I know you’ve all heard “what goes in, must come out.” What we put into our minds…and our hearts…is what comes out. We want to protect ourselves from bad television, movies, music, etc…and not put ourselves in tempting situations, but no matter how hard we try, we cannot protect ourselves completely, because we live in a fallen world. What we CAN do is fill our minds with the good stuff…the God stuff. Uplifting music, good friends, worshipping with fellow believers, sharing Christ, reading the Bible, praying and listening…all of these empower us and give us the defenses we need against the bad stuff.

Let me give you a challenge that I gave myself…when you make your “to do” list for each day, write over to the side just three things you will do to improve your heart condition. Whether it’s music, bible study, specific prayer for someone…whatever…commit to yourself and God that you will do those few things on your list each day. Continue this for one month, and see where you are. If you can give God these little invitations into your heart, he will begin to work there, and I promise with a genuine effort, you can’t help but be changed. In one month from today, you may have greatly improved your heart condition!


From my heart, 
Celeste

Filed Under: Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , ,

Do you get it?

6 August, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Have I told you lately how incredible it is to be made brand new in Christ? Well, until September 25th, 2010, I really had no idea. I was saved when I was seven years old, and I did all the things that a good lil’ southern baptist girl should do (or shouldn’t do), but I just didn’t get it. The weird thing is, though, that because I didn’t get it, I didn’t know I didn’t get it. Get it?

I went to church. I prayed every day. I read my bible. I went to bible studies. I would see people like Beth Moore or Joyce Meyer speak, and I would always be amazed at the passion they had for Christ. I truly just thought my personality was different and I didn’t express myself they way they do. What it boiled down to is I didn’t truly down deep, to the core, feel like I needed Christ. My brain knew I did, because I’d been taught all my life that Jesus is the only way. My heart, on the other hand, could not simply “learn,” it had to “feel.”

I don’t know whether it’s because I’m stubborn, my sinful human nature was too strong, or it was simply God’s plan, but I had to endure some pretty tough stuff to realize how much I needed God and how much he wants me. I believe wholeheartedly that accepting Christ as your personal savior will get you a ticket into heaven, but to have a full life on earth, you must not only accept him, but pursue him…constantly.

When I was seven, God wrote my name down in the lamb’s book of life, and secured my reservation in heaven. But on September 25th of last year, he made me brand spanking new! Now I know some of you who are reading this are thinking…”here’s another one…thinking God is the answer for everything.” I promise you I had those thoughts about people all my life…until now. I’m not saying God is the only answer for everything, but I promise you that if you invite him into every situation in your life, he will meet you there. Good or bad, happy or sad, you will never be alone. I just want to share a few areas in my life that have changed since I let God be God, and welcomed him into every part of it.

My depression is gone…completely and totally gone.
My migraine headaches are minimal, and when I do still have one, I can handle it.
My seizures are completely gone.
I am free from the prisons I kept myself in…fear, dependence, worry, guilt, failure…and the list goes on.
I have a much more eternal perspective…a new “destination” in life that I actually think, read, and wonder about.
The act of forgiveness is no longer such a struggle. There is such a freedom in letting go of a grudge and letting God handle it. (I hesitated to list this one…God may test me on it!)

Now those are some pretty big areas right there…but what I did not expect were the changes in the seemingly insignificant areas in my life.

Meal planning and cooking are easy. No longer the daunting tasks they were.
The heat of the summer has not bothered me at all compared to summers past.
The housework gets done when it gets done. Not a single soul that walks into this house cares if I have a sink full of dishes or a basket of clothes to fold.
Exercising and losing weight is not the overwhelming goal it used to be (although definitely a long term goal).
If something on my “to do” list doesn’t get done, it’s okay. I just move it to tomorrow’s list!

Do you see where this is going? EVERYTHING in my life is easier. Now I see why Beth Moore teaches with such passion. When you can finally “get it,” you will know it, and you will be compelled to share your joy with anyone and everyone who will listen.

From my heart, 
Celeste

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America on Drugs

4 August, 2011 by 3 Comments

Bear with me here guys, this is a long post, and this comes from years of being a pharmacist and the personal experience of being a patient…but for anyone on an antidepressant or other “brain” drug, you need to read this:


Your Brain on Drugs…no, I won’t be showing you a picture of a fried egg, though I must say it’s a great analogy! We know street drugs fry your brain, that’s a no-brainer! (Sorry =o)
I’m talking about prescription drugs…and not just the “controlled” ones. I’m talking about all of the psychotropic drugs prescribed in the United States today. As a pharmacist, it has made me crazy to see this huge increase in my years in this industry. As a patient, I fell right into the trap. Let me give you just a few statistics from reputable sources to put it in perspective for you…


A study was done by the American Medical Association from 1988 to 1994, during which time the visits to a physician for depression increased from 10.99 million in 1988 to 20.43 million in 1994. Visits for stimulant drugs increased from .57 million to 2.86 million. In a much more recent study, the Centers for Disease Control the percentage of people who use five or more prescriptions drugs increased by 70% in the last 10 years. It’s obvious to me that this increase is largely due to the increase in psychotropic prescription visits. 


Our society is in danger. Real danger. Christians and non-Christians alike. Many physicians  are prescribing narcotics, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and other miscellaneous psychotropic drugs like candy, and do not realize the true danger they are putting their patients in. Different doctors and different pharmacies lead the way to missed information and drug interactions. Doctors cannot possibly keep up with all of the drug interactions possible between the thousands of prescription drugs on the market today. Even as a pharmacist, I ended up with a potentially life threatening drug interaction that my doctor(s) and pharmacist missed. I had not been working in pharmacy during the time Cymbalta was approved and put on pharmacy shelves, and due to an interaction with my migraine prescription medication, I ended up in a state for 24 hours where I did not know what was real and what wasn’t. I didn’t know if this world was real, or if I was dead or alive. At one point, I did not know David was my husband. Marlee was laying next to me in the bed and I actually asked David if she was dead. It was the scariest night of my entire life. I know this sounds crazy, and even when I was in the midst of it I felt sure that I would wake up in a straight jacket staring at four white walls!  


When my reality began to become more clear, due to my pharmacy training I knew what happened. I immediately began researching the medications I had taken, and quickly discovered I’d experienced serotonin syndrome. Now I must say should have known the possibility of this interaction, but in this case, my brain was, well, sick. Seizures, migraine, depression, and medication did not leave me in the mind to catch these things…my doctor and pharmacist should have caught it. I know that when my prescription was filled, the pharmacist was required to manually override a drug interaction possibility, which means they just overrode it by habit, without really looking, or just neglected to mention it. Last summer,in a total of approximately eight days working as a relief pharmacist, I called doctors on four separate occasions to warn them of this exact same interaction. All four times the prescriptions were changed. 


This incident is just one of millions that happen daily. While there are definitely patients that require psychotropic drug therapy, these drugs are widely overused. I’m not sure why doctors feel so much more comfortable prescribing these drugs now than in the past, but where therapy was once first course of treatment, doctors now tend to give the drug first, to “dial things down” before therapy is started. Once the patient gets the prescription, they do not want to follow up with expensive therapy. Our society of immediate gratification and prescription drug advertising on every venue possible lead us to the “quick fix.” After all, “Depression Hurts, Cymbalta can help.” Right? 


Due to the depression I experienced during my years of seizures, my doctors kept trying to get me to take an antidepressant. I finally conceded and began taking Cymbalta. If I wasn’t miserable before, I sure was then! After about a month on the Cymbalta, I felt horrible and was still depressed, so I decided I would wean off of it. Ha! Now that was a joke. The “non-addictive, harmless” antidepressant was everything but. I know you have all seen the commercial for Cymbalta, but in my research I stumbled across a youtube video that really makes the point.  It is a little on the extreme side, but only a little. 


Depression hurts, Cymbalta hurts more


Before I conclude, let me just say this…there is certainly a need and a place for antidepressants. We have just come to rely on the quick fix of drugs way too much. If you happen to be on Cymbalta and doing well, Yay! For me, many of the side effects of Cymbalta were front and center. As patients, we have just become too trusting:


First,we trust our doctors to know everything we need to know. No one can know everything. 


Second, we expect our pharmacists not to be too busy to counsel us every aspect of the drug, but they can’t control the 15 people waiting on prescriptions at once (and I can assure you, the chain pharmacies push the limit on the number of prescriptions allowed per pharmacist), nor can they control the hurry we are in to get out of the pharmacy.


Third, we trust the FDA not to put anything on the market that could harm us. It is sad we cannot depend on our government to keep our best interests at heart, but unfortunately, the almighty dollar often takes priority.


And yet, we are not trusting enough in God. We don’t believe and trust that God is all that we need. I know I used the verse on this prescription in another post, but it says so much. When God created the earth, and created man to inhabit the earth, he gave us everything we’d ever need. With so much emphasis placed on the synthetic psychotropic drugs available today, we lose our focus. We need to think simply and eternally at the same time. More talking, more prayer, more God. Put God at the head of your medical team, and let him lead you in the very best way to restore your mind…for eternity. 


From my heart, 
Celeste

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Filed Under: Beating Depression, God's Pharmacy, Living in Faith, Managing Prescription Drugs, Overcoming Addiction Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How to Explain Sex to Your Children (1+1=1)

2 August, 2011 by Leave a Comment





I chatted with someone today that prompted me to repost this blog from my old site…I realize it’s a little off my current topic, but nevertheless…


Parenting is a tricky business, and our society doesn’t make it any easier. A few months ago, driving down the road, the innocent voice of my Marlee-girl springs from nowhere, “What is sex?”


Now, I knew it was an inevitable question because I have a 17 year old as well. No matter how hard we try to postpone the dreaded conversation, kids hear the word “sex” all the time.


Television.
Movies.
Friends. 
Siblings. 
And yes, Church! 


Due to the casual manor in which teens regard sex, pastors are commonly preaching what God teaches us about sex in the Bible. Our pastor at Brookwood, Perry Duggar, recently commented about this in a sermon. The reason we so often hear, “everybody’s doing it, “is NOT a reason to dismiss the dangers of premarital sex. The complacent attitude of our society makes it increasingly more difficult to distinguish christians from non-christians regarding sexual promiscuity. This is unacceptable. 


God specifically tells us as christians, we should be set apart from worldly things. We are to be IN the world, but not OF the world (Deuteronomy 7:6, 2 Corinthians 6:17). He calls us to be a peculiar people (I love that word, “peculiar”). 


Okay, back to the question…”What is sex?”


Giving myself time to think, I used the old answer-a-question-with-a-question trick…”What do you think sex is?” This way, I avoided telling her something she didn’t know yet, and might not be ready for. 


She replied, “When two married people lay in bed together naked.” Then, as an afterthought said, “I don’t think I will ever want to do that.”


First, I reassured her that she should not want to do that…yet. God created us to journey through different seasons of life, and how we feel about things will change. 


Second, I gave her an analogy to help her understand why God created sex in the first place. This may sound strange at first, but if you can take the “dirty” out of sex, and think of how God originally intended it, hopefully it will make sense. 


“You know how God created mommies to have babies grow inside their tummy and then feed them from their breast right after birth?”


“Yeah?”


“This time at the beginning of a child’s life is a very important bonding time between a baby and it’s mommy. The baby has been inside his mommy’s tummy for 9 months, and now as he starts life, he has the security of his mommy created partly by the skin to skin contact he has while nursing.”


“Okay?”


“When a man and a woman get married, God tells us that they are to become one flesh. They leave their mom and dad and leave their childhood behind (Ephesians 5:21). They are supposed to remain connected in that special way throughout their lives. They are bonded together in the promise of marriage, and that bond should never be broken.” 


[Marlee leaning forward in the back seat with ears perked up and eyes wide open!]


“So when two people get married and plan to spend the rest of their lives together, they should give themselves completely to each other. No secrets, no shame, no one else, two together, forever.” 


“Just as a baby’s life begins bonded to his mother, a man and woman leave their mother and father, and through this special bond called “sex,” begin a new life as husband and wife.”


Marlee seemed to understand and accept that answer, and I put off telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth a little while longer. 


As I instill these truths from God to all of my children, I pray that they will learn the value and importance of sex inside marriage, and the special bond created through commitment of a husband and wife for life. I pray that my children and yours choose the path God has laid out for them. Mistakes will be made, and I praise God for the merciful and forgiving God he is. He can redeem those mistakes, but mistakes often have consequences. We don’t want our children to have to learn lessons the hard way, do we? Whenever I can teach them to avoid learning lessons the hard way, I do. The bond that a husband and wife share is theirs, and theirs alone. It is an intimate connection that should hold them together, forever. 


From my heart, 
Celeste


p.s. Well, I just posted this today from an old blog, and just tonight, a few hours after my post, Marlee says, “Mommy, how does sex make you have a baby?” So I guess I didn’t postpone the talk too long! It was late, though, when she asked, so I told her it’s not a quick answer, and takes a little time to explain, so she said we’d talk about it tomorrow…hmmm.

Filed Under: Parenting Tips Tagged With:

Sunday Summary…Following Jesus One Day at a Time

1 August, 2011 by 1 Comment
Hmmm. What does it take to truly feel clean…to be clean?
I’m so glad God made a way to cleanse us from our sins so we don’t have to go through this! If he hadn’t, and wickedness was in the form of hair chemicals, it might look something like this video:
                                                             I’M CLEAN, I’M CLEAN!
This morning at Brookwood, Fenton Moorhead preached a sermon he entitled, “Following Jesus a Day at a Time.” I went into it thinking I would hear a sermon beginning with “Begin every day with Jesus…” but to my surprise, I saw Jesus in a new light. No matter how old the Bible is, there is always more to be learned. Even when I have read a verse a hundred times, God can still teach me something new.
When saved, we often pray a sinner’s prayer repenting of our sins, asking Jesus to forgive our sins, and to come into our hearts as our savior. Our sins are as far away as the east is from the west. Gone. Forgiven. But what happens the next time we sin? Even though we are saved, we still possess a sinful nature. We are led by the Holy Spirit, but we’re in a battle of good and evil. No matter how “good” we try to be, we still sin. Daily.
I remember a conversation between my Church of God raised husband and his grandfather…
“Grandpa, if the Church of God believes you must ask forgiveness of every sin, will you go to hell if you die before you get a chance to ask?”
“Yep.”
“So if we were riding in this car, and you saw a woman and lusted after her, and then we crashed and died, you’d go to hell?”
“Yep.”
Now, being raised a good ‘lil Southern Baptist girl (sinless as long as I didn’t cuss, drink, or dance, lol), this is not what I was taught. Thank goodness for the “once saved, always saved” southern baptist theology, right?
Well, after today’s sermon, one of those little lightbulbs came on…I don’t think it’s about being “once saved, always saved,” or damned to hell for any sin we forget to ask forgiveness for. It’s about knowing what salvation really means…For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) NLT
When we can realize and admit that salvation is not something we can work for, buy, or even deserve, but only accept…a gift from God that we must only accept. We must be honest in admitting that without the grace of God we would be nothing. But by his grace and our faithin him, we accept the gift he gave us when he sent his only son to die an excruciating death as the penalty for our sins…all of them.But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. (1 John 1:7-8) NLT

So…God knows our heart. We cannot hide anything from him. As long as we remain honest to ourselves, remembering that we are sinners, and at the same time we are living in the light of Jesus Christ, he will constantly and consistently cleanse and make us new, and we can continue following Jesus a day at a time.
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