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: , , ,

If I’d only known…

19 October, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I am a fixer. When someone opens their heart to tell me their struggles, I automatically go into problem solving mode. Whatever the problem, big or small, my brain goes into overdrive and I just know I can solve it. If it’s a subject I know, like medicine, good. If it’s a problem I know nothing about, I try to learn how to help or find someone else who can. I believe this characteristic is part of the reason God allowed me to go through seven years of a whole bunch of stuff. I want to share with you two very important lessons I learned during my seven years battle with grand mal seizures, migraine headaches, and severe depression. 


First, you never truly know how people feel until you have walked in their shoes.


During my first fourteen years as a pharmacist, I struggled with wanting to help my customers with their medical issues. I could tell them all about their medication, side effects, drug interactions, etc. What I did not know, however, is how they felt. I dispensed antidepressants, pain medication, anti-anxiety medication, and sleeping pills every day, but couldn’t understand the desperation they felt in their quest for relief. Well, God had a remedy for my problem. Beginning with migraines and then a seizure out of nowhere, followed by pain and depression, I received first hand training in empathy.  



Second, no matter how much you want to help someone else with their problem, they must be ready to help themselves.



This one is frustrating. Now that I am on the other side of my struggle, I can see so clearly why I struggled so long. I had to learn the hard lessons myself. I was given advice time and time again to improve my health. Some good, some bad, and some just far-fetched and silly. The advice of the Godly people around me was good advice, but I could not or would not receive it.  For whatever reason, I had to learn the lessons myself. God let me get to the end of myself before I could completely and honestly surrender myself to Him.I am still a problem solver, but I go about it in a little different way. Instead of trying to fix a problem, I try to help find a solution to the problem. The solution starts with Christ. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 (ESV)I now find myself older and wiser. It’s a shame those two traits go hand in hand. If I’d only known then what I know now…


From my heart,

Celeste


Filed Under: Living with Purpose, Real Relationships, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: ,

Mustard Seed Miracles~My One Year Anniversary

25 September, 2011 by 1 Comment

Today required two prescriptions. The thing is, they seem to interact with one another. As a pharmacist, I always do my best to warn patients about interactions between their prescriptions, but this interaction is a tough one. You see, one year ago today, God healed me completely from migraine headaches, grand mal seizures, and severe depression. He healed me from the addiction of constantly chasing anything and everything for a cure. He showed me that even though Satan had a hold of my brain, he (God) was stronger…I only had to allow him to be. That’s where the interaction comes in…


Matthew 17:20 instructs us to have faith just as much as a grain of mustard seed, and we can move mountains. Yet John 4:48 tells us, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” How can those two exist at the same time? Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is believing in the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Yet unless we see we won’t believe? So how do we get that mustard seed of faith?

For the seven years I suffered, prayed, and pleaded with God for an answer, but I was really depending on myself, on science, or on whatever else came my way. I jumped on every bandwagon that passed by with both feet, only to have my feet swept out from under me again…literally. The grand mal seizures took care of that. I was a Christian. I was saved. I fully believed that if I died I would go to Heaven. So why did I rely on science, nutrition, acupuncture, ‘hocus pocus,’ or whatever to fix me?

‘Faith the size of a mustard seed’…wow. ‘Unless you see you will not believe’…hmmm. God divinely inspired those who wrote the books of the Bible. They wrote about what they saw, and there are so many miracles in the Bible. But they happened such a long time ago. What about now?

I believe miracles happen every day. I think that we all know someone who says they have experienced a miracle, and I believe they have. They just didn’t happen to be divinely inspired by God to write in what would be the greatest book ever written.

I’d like to think that I had faith as much as a grain of mustard seed, but it sure was a long seven years to grow that mustard seed! I knew of miracles in the Bible that I learned growing up, but somehow, since these were recorded in the Bible, they must have been more “miraculous” than the miracles I’ve heard in my lifetime. They weren’t. They just happen to be the ones that are recorded in the Bible. We see those “signs and wonders” every day. So why do we not believe? Or if we say we believe, do we really, truly, down deep believe? I think that’s the “interaction” I experienced between these two prescription verses most of my life. I believed in my head, I just don’t think I believed in my heart. I “knew” Jesus in my head, but I didn’t “feel” him in my heart, at least no to the extent he wanted me to.

So today, being the one-year anniversary of my very own miracle, I can tell you 100% for sure that miracles do happen. The change in me that happened from going to bed on Friday night September 24th to Saturday morning, September 25th, was nothing short of a miracle. I knew it. I felt it. I felt Jesus deep inside me, more than I could even imagine was possible. My family, who had to live with me every day for those seven years, will be the first to tell you it was nothing short of a miracle! (My hubby says it was his miracle, not mine =o)

I wish I had a prescription to give out for a miracle. Wouldn’t that be easy? But I don’t, at least not exactly. I certainly could never compare myself to those God appointed to record what is written in they bible, but I am working hard to learn to write for him. I pray that those who may not have seen quite enough ‘signs and wonders’ to have the ‘faith of a grain of mustard seed’ might gain a little more faith in the wonder-fullness of my miracle.

Thank you Jesus!
From my heart,

Celeste
Filed Under: Beating Depression, Freedom in Christ, Miracles Do Happen, Overcoming Addiction, The Power of Prayer, 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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:

Distractions

18 July, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Housework. Laundry. Dishes. “UUUGGGGHHHH” (as Charlie Brown would say). I go from one task to the next, room to room to room, putting up, washing, repairing, scrubbing, etc. When I have all of these tasks on my mind that I need to accomplish, I think by brain goes into “shutdown” mode. I will be in the kitchen doing dishes, when I suddenly remember my favorite jeans need to be washed for tomorrow. I go to my closet to get my jeans, but instead I remember that I need to take clothes to the consignment shop on Friday. So I begin to gather those items, but I have nothing to put them in. So I go to the laundry room to get a bag, and I see the empty cat food bag on the counter and must make a note to pick it up when I go to the store. When I go to get a piece of paper to write it on, I see the stack of bills that must be paid today or they will be late…I think you get the picture! I run around like a mouse in a maze, and never get anywhere! Distractions are one of the devil’s greatest tools.

I have always said that I wish I could write messages to myself on the back of my eyelids so I get a reminder every time I blink! Maybe I could stay focused. Maybe? 

How often do we say that we are going to spend more time praying? We have the best intentions, but as soon as we let our mind go elsewhere, Satan is armed and ready with distractions to keep our mind so busy we forget to pray.  I need to write “God” on the back of my eyelids. Our busy lives take away our time and attention from God, who deserves and desires it most of all. Since the beginning of this year, I have made a special effort to remind myself constantly that God deserves my attention. God loves my attention. God demands my attention. We should not be in the habit of only talking to Him before each meal and at bedtime. How would you feel in this were the only times you spoke to your children every day? Do you think that you would be very close to them? Would they know the unconditional love that you have for them? Probably not.

Well, I have worked long and hard to find a solution to this problem. Now I am quite sure I should patent this idea, but I suppose I could go ahead and share it…

Neon colored post it notes. 

I really wanted to be able to stay in an attitude of prayer throughout the day, so I simply wrote “God” on a bunch of hot pink post it notes, and scattered them throughout the house where I will see them on a regular basis. 

On my alarm clock.
Above my kitchen sink.
On my washer and dryer.
On the dashboard of my car.
On the bathroom mirror. 

It worked! Every time I saw my hot pink reminder, I prayed. Before long, I didn’t need the notes anymore. When my alarm clock goes off, I pray (although it may be after the first couple of times I hit the snooze button). I pray when I get in my car. I pray when I am getting dressed in the mornings. You get the picture. These daily tasks are “linked” in my mind to those post it notes, and therefore to my prayer time. Habits are formed after repeating them for around 2 weeks, so before long, my direct line to my heavenly father was connected all the time.

What do I pray for? Sometimes I have a specific need or praise, but I often just talk to him about whatever I am thinking. I will tell him all of the tasks I am trying to get accomplished. I ask him to help me remember all the tasks that must be done! Your brain is never still, it’s always running. No matter what is going on in there, God wants to hear it. When you don’t know what to say, just listen. He has plenty to tell to a willing ear.

Your prescription for today says, “You must love him with all your heart, soul, and might. And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and first thing in the morning. Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house!”

I knew that God wants us to always be in an attitude of prayer, but I didn’t know the post-it notes and eye-lid writing were biblical! God does not want us to be “lukewarm”. God does not want our leftovers. He wants ALL of us!

I challenge you to try the same thing. Begin to make God a priority in your life, bringing him into your every day tasks. I promise he will reveal himself to you more and more, and your relationship with him will grow. So go ahead, go get those post-its!
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Filed Under: Simplify Your Life, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , ,