Tips to a happier you in 2012~Have Faith

18 February, 2012 by Leave a Comment

From the moment I had my first seizure, I tried to hold on to this verse. 

Having peace in God in the midst of my world of seizures, addiction, and depression required much faith.

Faith is belief in something that cannot be seen. Having faith is a decision based on life experiences, which are different for everyone. 

I became a Christian when I was seven years old. I went to church, did Bible studies, and said my prayers. But something was always missing. 

Is it possible to have faith in someone you don’t really know?

I knew about a lot about God, but I didn’t know him personally. For seven years I struggled with my demons and with God, questioning his plan and his purpose. I pleaded with him to help me understand my situation—why all of this was happening to me. 

It took seven years for me to get to the end of myself. It was then that my desire to know him overcame the desire to solve my problems. 

Once my greatest desire was to know Him, my life changed overnight. He healed me completely of the seizures, depression, and addiction. 

Now for the sciency stuff: 

Research conducted at Duke University and the Durham VA Hospital has shown that individuals who pray, read scripture, or participate in regular religious services are less likely to suffer with depression than non-religious control subjects and achieve remission more readily if depression does develop. 

This type of research is really a no-brainer to me, as it would be to most Christians. 

What this study could not evaluate, however, was faith. It is the people who pray and read scripture that will have faith, and faith is essential for happiness. 

If we get to know God—build a relationship with him—it will be much easier to trust his plan, for He has overcome the world. 

Making the conscious choice to get to know Him and have faith in Him decreases stress, reduces anxiety, and relieves fear…all of which decrease the amount of cortisol and increases the amount of serotonin we have in our bodies.

My hubby loves the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” in which Steven Covey describes our circle of influence and our circle of concern. 

Our Circle of Influence encompasses those concerns that we can do something about. They are concerns that we have some control over.(1)

Our Circle of Concern encompasses the wide range of concerns we have, such as our health, our children, problems at work, the amount of government borrowing, or the threat of war.(1)

When we have faith in a God that has already overcome the world, we don’t worry about those situations in our Circle of Concern. We put those concerns in His hands.

There is much happiness to be found in faith. Faith gives you freedom. Freedom from worry. Freedom from fear. Freedom in knowing that God has everything under control. He’s got this!

I challenge you to get to know Him. Ask God to help you get to know Him. Search for Him. Just be ready. When you find him, your life will never be the same.
From my heart,

Celeste

Filed Under: Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Making Changes, Miracles Do Happen, The Power of Prayer, Tips to a Happier You, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Post it!

6 February, 2012 by 7 Comments
New Year’s Day 2008~
This is it. This year is going to be the year. 
I’m going to read my Bible more and pray more.
 I want to be a better person. Closer to God. 
New Year’s Day 2009~ 
This is it. This year is going to be the year. 
I’m going to read my Bible more and pray more.
 I want to be a better person. Closer to God. 
New Year’s Day 2010~
This is it. This year is going to be the year. 
I’m going to read my Bible more and pray more.
 I want to be a better person. Closer to God. 
Are you getting the picture? Have you made similar promises to yourself and to God only to fall asleep while you’re praying on January 3rd? And sleeping too late to get up and get your Bible read before getting the kids up for school? 
I did this year after year after year. 
But then, on September 25, 2010, God revealed himself to me in a very real, miraculous way. He reached his loving arms down, gently scooped me up, and saved me from my pit of seizures, addiction, and depression. I now knew and loved Him in a way I never had before. I was smitten. 
From that moment on, I knew I could never live without Him. But I also knew that Satan would do everything he could to make me forget to pray. He would do everything he could to make me the estranged daughter of my Heavenly father. So I put the almighty post-it note to use. Not just the yellow ones, either. NEON colors. 
I placed them on:
•   My bathroom mirror
•   The dash of my car
•   My washer and dryer
•   Above the kitchen sink
•   On the refrigerator 
                         
…And simply wrote “God” on them. 
So, every time I put on makeup, drove my car, did laundry, washed dishes, or ate, I remembered to have a conversation with God. It’s been shown that if you do something for 15 days in a row, it becomes a habit. Once I did this for a few weeks, I no longer needed the post-it notes.
Now, with the post-it note in mind, go back and read the prescription verse for today. “Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house.” Who knew post-it notes were Biblical? 
So this week’s “make a change” is to improve your spiritual walk and your relationship with God—get to know your father as you never have before. And believe me, this one will change every single facet of your life. It has mine. 
From my heart,

Celeste
P.s. Don’t forget to keep doing last week’s change—keep drinking your water!
Filed Under: Beating Depression, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Simplify Your Life, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Where Medicine Meets Faith

18 November, 2011 by 4 Comments
Today on “Dr. Oz,” he had Joel Osteen as his guest. The title of this segment was “Where medicine ends and faith begins.” If you’re reading this blog, you probably know God gave me a miracle after years of failed medical attempts at healing. This particular subject holds a spot very close to my heart! 
I was excited to see such a mainstream show confront such a controversial topic, but honestly, I was left disappointed. The main message resulting from the interview was there is power in prayer. I wholeheartedly agree! But as came through in the show today, Joel Osteen is a “feel good” preacher. He believes in happiness and prosperity, and that anyone who believes and has enough faith can achieve just that. What I did not hear on the show today was the will of God. God has a plan. He is in control. For his children, God has promises that he will bestow, but not mentioned by Rev. Osteen today was that we may not see those promises until we reach Heaven. 
I realize this was a secular show, and I’m sure Dr. Oz had the network guiding him in what he could and could not say, but I was disappointed that the subject “when everything fails” didn’t come up. So if we die, do we assume that neither faith nor medicine worked? No. This brings me to one of my favorite quotes by Max Lucado: 
“The ultimate aim of healing is not just a healthy body but a greater kingdom. 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.”
And to that I add this…even when he does not heal us while we are here on earth, he completely heals us when we die. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)


Even in death, God has a plan. The experience of losing someone often leads other to Christ.

Prayer is important–essential actually to our spiritual walk. But God already has all the answers, doesn’t he? God has already promised us that he has a plan and a purpose for us…a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29/11). When we pray, he restores us. Praying helps us to remember that he is God and he has us in his hands. It helps us to fight the evil influences this world has over us and have faith in him. Prayer doesn’t help God be a better God, but it helps us to be better children.
I have blogged on this subject several times, and I think as Christians, it is vital that we live on this earth with an eternal perspective. Yes, what we do here is important because while we are on earth, we are laying up our treasures in Heaven. What are those treasures? People—the people that will be in eternity beside us. I’m attaching links here of the other blog posts I have on this subject:

Life is Good, Eternity is Better
In Sickness and in Health

It all boils down to your heart. Only God truly knows your heart. He alone knows your faith, your love, your struggles, and your trust in him.
I love the PRAYER acronym on today’s prescription. I will leave you with the scripture that supports it’s meaning. 
P ~ praise ~ Yours, O LORD, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. (1 Chronicles 29:11-12)
R ~ repent ~ If my people … will humble themselves, pray, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear their prayer… (2 Chronicles 7:14)
A ~ ask ~ Ask, and it will be given you . . . knock, and the door will be opened for you. (Matthew 7:7)
Y ~ yield ~ …your will be done…(Matthew 6:10) and …not what I want but what you want. (Matthew 26:39)
E ~ expect results ~  …approach the throne of grace with confidence. (Hebrews 4:16)
R ~ return often ~ The prayer of faith will save the sick. (James 5:15)


I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on the subject! 

From my heart,

Celeste






Filed Under: Beating Depression, Chronic Illness, Fighting Your Fears, God's Pharmacy, Have an Eternal Perspective, How to be Happy, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , ,

Who’s behind your mask?

31 October, 2011 by 3 Comments

Have you ever seen the movie, Point Break, with Patrick Swayze? I’ll never forget it. Not because Patrick was in it (though that was memorable), not because of the surfing and huge waves in the movie, but because of those stupid masks they wear at the beginning to rob the bank. There are four robbers, each wearing the mask of a US President. Doesn’t sound like big deal, right? For whatever reason, those masks completely freaked me out! I had nightmares about them for weeks!


I used to love scary movies. Halloween has never bothered me…haunted houses, scary masks, trick-or-treating…I loved it all. So what was it about the masks in that movie that disturbed me? 

They weren’t scary masks. They were masks of good people, worn by some seriously not good people.  

I’ve spent the last five days at the Christian Communicators Conference at Lake Keowee, South Carolina– Twenty-four women in one house who all want to be speakers. Can you imagine? We had to have scheduled quiet time every day like preschoolers, and preschoolers would have probably been better at being quiet than we were! But I digress…

I was so blessed by the transparency of all of these women. After only four days them, I’d made a connection with each and every one. They wear no masks. We are all women who have gone through different struggles in life, all trying to use our experiences to help others in similar situations. No judgment. The blood of Jesus Christ covers us all. No need for judgment. 

Once we can accept the gift of the cross that God gave us through his son Jesus, there is no need for masks. 

No need to worry about being judged by others. It’s only God’s judgment we need to worry about. Go back and read the verse on today’s prescription above. As Christians, we are to be ourselves; unashamed of our past or who we are, because we are covered by the blood of Christ. He calls us to share his truth with everyone, but how will they believe if they cannot see the work he’s done in us? 

In the movie, the robbers chose those US President masks to hide so they would not be punished for the crime they were committing. If they did not have the masks, do you think they would have robbed the bank? If they knew everyone would see who they truly were, wouldn’t they have been more likely to obey the law and act more honorably? 

It’s time to shed those good masks. Masks of deception. They may look good from the outside, but they also prevent you from healing on the inside. God calls us to be transparent and unashamed.

So when Halloween is over tonight, take off those masks for good! 
From my heart,

Celeste


Filed Under: How to be Happy, Living in Faith, Making Changes, Real Relationships, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Flavorful Life

10 September, 2011 by 1 Comment
Whenever I read or hear this verse, I can’t help but think of Grandpa.
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.
He’s actually my grandpa-in-law, but I’ve always thought of him as my grandpa (I met my hubby when I was 13, so he’s been “grandpa” for more than two-thirds of my life!)
Whenever we have grandpa over to out house to eat, you’re guaranteed to hear this conversation:
“Pass the salt please”
(Shake shake shake shake shake shake shake)

“Is this stuff coming out?”
(taste)

“Is this real salt or that fake stuff you always use?”
(taste…shake shake shake shake)

“This isn’t real salt”

“When are you going to get the real stuff in this house?”
Grandpa just does not like sea salt. He wants the “real thing.”
He has led a full, happy life, and if too much salt is the only thing threatening his health, let him have it.
Grandpa has always lived a life of service to God and kindness to anyone with whom he comes in contact. He’s spent his life sprinkling his salt on all those around him and therefore has lived a very “flavorful” life.
A life without Jesus is not satisfying. No matter what you try to substitute, Jesus is the “real thing.”
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? (Luke 14:34).
Today is Grandpa’s 98th birthday. If I make it to 98 years old, I hope that my life have been spent sprinkling my salt on others and reflected on as a flavorful life.
Grandpa is still making sure his salt tank stays full so he can continue to sprinkle it’s contents until he needs it no longer. We are taking Grandpa to dinner for his birthday tonight, and since we are going to a restaurant, I’m sure the salt will be the “real thing.” And even though we are eating Italian, don’t think for a minute you won’t hear, “Pass the salt please.”
I now keep “real” salt in my house… just for Grandpa.
From my heart,


Celeste
Happy Birthday Grandpa!
Filed Under: How to be Happy, Just for Fun, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose Tagged With: , ,

Dr. God

7 September, 2011 by 1 Comment
 


     We have always heard God referred to as “father,” but how often do we really think of him as our father? Our daddy? It’s hard because he is not tangible. We cannot touch or hug him. But when he created us, he gave us the ability to have faith. We just have to tap into it. With faith, we can use our imagination to imagine him sitting on the sofa with us talking; sitting at the kitchen table while we do read our Bible; wrapping his arms around us when we are hurting. All we have to do is take the step to go there.
     Now let’s take it a step further. God is our father, and he wants us to talk to him and get to know him just as we would our earthly father. But he is also the great physician. Our great physician. So why do we rely so heavily on doctors and medicine to help us? I’ve quoted this before, but it definitely bears repeating:
     “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.”~Max Lucado
     When I had my first seizure, it was a total shock. It came completely out of nowhere. Here was my thought process: “What in the world happened to my brain and why? How am I possibly going to keep from driving for 6 months with three kids? Well, maybe somehow this is God’s way of protecting me from an accident or something.” Then, after a few months I thought, “You know, David and I have gotten to spend much more time together since I haven’t been able to drive. It’s really been good for us.” I was looking for what God was teaching me. But then, after I had the second seizure when I broke my nose and ended up with sinus surgery, my focus shifted. Rather than rely on God and look for what he was teaching me, I began to try to figure out how I could fix myself. The ‘sciency’ pharmacist in me began to search for a cure. That’s when the snowball turned into an avalanche, and for seven years I was lost…searching…in all the wrong places. 
     As a child, we need our daddy to “make me feel better.” As adults, whether our dads are still with us or not, we must rely on our heavenly father to make us feel better. Well, God is not only our father, but also the great physician. We can rely on him for comfort in times of need, but we can also rely on him for healing. He WILL heal us if we accept, love, and get to know him personally. But here’s the catch: God has so much good stuff in store for us, but it may not be here on this earth. He has perfect health for us, but it may not be here on this earth. We will have to endure tough stuff while we live in this world. He tells us in John 16:33: In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. He will heal us, but it may be through death and entrance into heaven. 
      We think of our lifetime as lasting forever, because our human brains cannot comprehend eternity. But in reality, the span of time we spend here on earth is like a drop in the ocean compared to eternity. The sooner we can focus on the bigger picture, accept what we have here do what God wants us to with it, the sooner we can find peace, contentment, and happiness in our life here because we know it’s in preparation for bigger things to come. I’m not saying to just accept bad things as your fate in life…we just can’t have a victim mentality. I’m just saying if we take what God has given us, and look for ways to use our life for him, we will find peace and will be rewarded abundantly. 
      So let’s rely on God, our heavenly father, our great physician, to lead and guide us through whatever we are going through. Use his words to find comfort and healing. Imagine his loving arms around you and his peace flowing over you. I have Marlee imagine Jesus wrapping his arms around her every night when she is in bed saying her prayers. Please don’t roll your eyes…I know, it might seem silly to some. But if you can just do what he says when he tells us to “Be still and know that I am God,” the intangible will actually become tangible…real. If you are still enough and quiet enough, you can feel him. 
     “Be still…”
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Filed Under: Beating Depression, Brain Functions, Chronic Illness, God's Pharmacy, Living in Faith, Overcoming Addiction, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , ,

What I learned from Rudy Giuliani…

6 September, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago, David and I went to a big motivation seminar held in downtown Greenville. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Rudy Giuliani spoke about something that’s
fascinating and frustrating to me these days…the “almighty” internet. 
With the invention of the internet, we have “knowledge” at our fingertips and it travels faster than we are capable of dealing with. Computer knowledge is necessary to live in this century. It’s here, and it’s here to stay. The problem is, however, that we have stopped thinking for ourselves. We are becoming a manipulated society. 
One of the problems I have with this computer generation is how we are becoming so accustomed to immediate gratification. With health issues, it is frustrating because as patients, we punch in our symptoms on the keyboard and the computer generates a list of possibilities. Within an hour or so, we have diagnosed ourselves! Let me give you an example of a pharmacist “friend” of mine…
She was seven months pregnant, had an eight-year-old and four-year-old also, and a husband who happened to be out of town. After work, she went to retrieve her children, and her mom commented about a “bump” on her forehead. She had thought it was just a weird zit! In a panic, her mom said, “You call the dermatologist in the morning and you tell him you have to be seen immediately! That looks exactly like what Nita’s daughter had and it was melanoma!” 
Well, since she was a pharmacist, she knew to just look it up on the computer and she would see it was nothing. SO…after getting the kids to bed, she finally sat down at the computer around midnight. By 1:00 a.m. she was convinced that she was dying of melanoma and would be leaving her husband with three kids to raise alone. That made for one long, sleepless night. 
Anybody had a similar experience? I’m sure you’ve realized that that “friend” was me. As a pharmacist, I should have known better! The sad thing is I have gone to the computer more than once for my need for immediate gratification, and more than once I’ve come to the wrong conclusion.
To keep us thinking for ourselves and not relying on Sir Google, Mr. Giuliani suggested five things we must do to keep our minds active and maintain our ability to think independently:
1) Read books–have a basis to make your own decisions. Don’t just read other people’s opinions about what they’ve read. 
2) Listen–to other people. Seek advice from people you look up to and believe in. You can become a leader by learning from other successful people. 
3) Take notes–never stop writing. Write your thoughts, goals, lists…keep the parts of your mind active that make you an individual.
4) Take five minutes every day to just STOP–relax, pray, stop your world for a few minutes.
5) Most importantly, we must care and love other people. The computer tends to isolate and disconnect us from people. Sure we have Facebook and email, and they are great ways to communicate. But they don’t allow us to see the heart of people or minister to their needs. 
Coming from the person in charge of NYC when the twin towers were hit on 9/11/2001, I wanted to listen.  The Rudy Giuliani I watched handle that chaos and tragedy obviously had standards and values in place that helped him. While he relied on computers and statistics to help New York recover from that tragedy, it was his willingness to listen to people one on one and his compassion for them that made the difference in those months after September 2001. He prayed and asked God’s guidance in knowing the right steps to take. He relied on his heavenly father for wisdom and instruction. While it was one of the toughest times our country has endured, I consider Rudy Giuliani a man of great character and principal, and someone to learn from. 
I thought his “five things” were very interesting. I find myself doing all of those things these days, though I would have never put them together in a list on thinking independently. I realized, though, that during my seven years of depression, I didn’t want to do any of those things. I didn’t want to read books to because I just wanted to mindlessly watch television so I didn’t have to think about my world. I got to a point where I didn’t want to seek advice of others because I was convinced it was hopeless. I never thought writing things down would help me, although I’d been told to try it more than once. I prayed, but it was selfish prayer. I was too busy being self-absorbed in my own pity party to worry about anyone else long enough to actually do something that required effort. 
I wonder now how much sooner I could have overcome the depression if I had made the items on this list a priority? Hmmm…
From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: Beating Depression, Handling Stress, How to be Happy, Living in Faith, Making Changes, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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:

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: , , , , , , , , ,