In the Seams Interview

This week I was interviewed by David Heflin on a podcast called In the Seams. I invite you to listen as I share a little of my story with dysautonomia. I share about how it has impacted me, how my husband has been a help to me, resources that have been beneficial for me, and more. I even share about the origin of Cranberry Tea Time in case you haven't heard that story before! I hope this conversation will be an encouragement to you, especially if you are on your own journey with chronic illness or know someone who is.

You can listen in on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and more linked here.

In the Seams is the podcast for Broken and Mended, a ministry that serves those with chronic pain and illness. They provide both in-person and online support groups. If you are looking for support for your chronic pain or chronic illness journey, their website is a place for you to start to find that help and support. In addition to support groups, the Broken and Mended website also has a resource page and a blog that you will find helpful and encouraging.

I first met David Heflin, the Executive Director of Broken and Mended, through the Diamonds Conference that we have both been a part of. David was a pastor for many years, even while living with his own chronic pain and illness. I think you will enjoy reading (or listening) to his story and the origin of Broken and Mended here. I greatly appreciate his service to the chronic illness community through speaking events, Broken and Mended, and the In the Seams podcast.

Unstuck: Moving from Resentment to Resilience While Living with Dystonia

 

I first met Abigail Brown back in 2014 when we both participated in the 35th Anniversary Blog Contest for Joni and Friends. Abigail's blog post entry was my favorite! As we became online friends, I was impressed with this woman's determination to know God and to glorify Him in her life. I was challenged by the way she reached out to others with a humble heart of service. I was captivated by her artwork.

It has been a delight to get to know Abigail over the years and see the way her art and ministry have grown. And I am thrilled to share that Abigail's first book has been published!

Unstuck: Moving from Resentment to Resilience While Living with Dystonia is now available on Amazon and other favorite book retailers. I had the joy of reading a pre-release copy of Unstuck, and I enjoyed it very much! 

Abigail writes about her life and struggles with Dystonia. She shares how she overcame resentment and self-pity. This book will be helpful not just for those with dystonia, chronic illness, or disabilities, but for anyone struggling with self-pity because of challenges they wish they didn't have to face.

At the end of each chapter, there is a helpful section for reflection. Abigail asks questions for the reader to consider, and she spurs the reader on the action and change.

Unstuck is filled with Scripture, personal stories, thought-provoking questions, and helpful strategies, This book will help you to move from resentment to resilience in your life through whatever struggles you are facing. It is a book I benefitted from, and I plan to read it again!

If you want to hear more from Abigail, check out her website, her online art shop, and this recent interview! And of course, hop on over to Amazon if you'd like to buy a copy of her book!

Stacey Patrick: Gracefully Overcoming

Stacey Patrick

Stacey Patrick was a graceful overcomer. She suffered greatly with chronic conditions, but she always kept her eyes focused on the Lord. She loved Him. She loved His Word. She loved spending time studying the Bible and telling others about what she was learning. She grew in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Early Sunday morning, Jesus called her Home.

At the end of her life, Stacey battled with pneumonia and sepsis, among other things. With the complicating factors of POTS, her body wasn't able to fight anymore. The Lord gave her rest from her earthly struggles. Stacey is now in the presence of the Savior whom she loved so much. She is free of pain and suffering, and I rejoice for her. But my heart hurts for her family and friends who are grieving and missing her so much.

Stacey was a godly example to me of perseverance and faithfulness. We met through blogging years ago. We both lived with POTS and other chronic illnesses. We were both writers. We both loved Jesus. We both struggled through summer heat, and we would encourage each other in those hot summer months as we were "surviving summer." I struggled to keep up with communications in recent years, but Stacey was always there with encouragement in my inbox or on Facebook.

Stacey served the Lord right where He had placed her. She wrote books, she maintained a blog, and she hosted an online Bible study group. Her ministry extended far beyond the four walls of her home.

Stacey ran her race well. She will be missed greatly here on earth. I am thankful to know that she is with the Savior she loved so much. And I am thankful that we will one day see her again in Heaven.

Please pray for Stacey's mom and her family as they are missing Stacey so very much.

A Conversation with Sara Willoughby

Today I have my friend, Sara Willoughby, joining me on the blog. Sara is a blogger, author, and conference host. We first met through the online Diamonds Conference that she hosts annually. She is a gem, and it has been such a delight to get to know her over the past few years.

 

I am excited to share Sara with all of you today. After you read here, you are invited to click over to Sara's blog where you will find me chatting with her!

Hello Sara! Welcome to Cranberry Tea Time! I’m so glad to have you here with us today. Please tell us a little about yourself and your chronic illness journey. And please tell us about your book too!

Hi Rachel! I’m so glad to be here. I’ve been stalking Cranberry Tea Time for years now, and it is such a valuable resource for chronic illness warriors.

For those reading — I love dark chocolate, superhero movies, and adventures! I also am recovering from Lyme disease, MCS, and Toxic Mold Poisoning. I first got sick as a teenager, and it has been a long journey for my family and I. We lost friends, material possesions, and I lost my childhood. At fifteen, I was given a month to live, and it completely changed my way of life.

As I was struggling to reconcile my faith with my suffering, I started to look for resources online. I hadn’t found Cranberry Tea Time (or all the other similar resources) yet, and so I started writing my own blog about my experiences. Eventually, people started reading it and told me, “This is crazy, but I have the same battle!”

And from there, my first book was born. It’s called He’s Making Diamonds, and it’s about faith in God in chronic illness. I wrote it out of my questions — and how God met me in the middle of them.

Sara in Bosnia & Herzegovina

Where are you living now and what are you doing these days?

I’m continuing to write — I think I’d go crazy if I didn’t! I have several books in the works for future publication, and of course, as you mentioned the Diamonds Conference takes a lot of my time and focus.

However, one of my long-time dreams has been to serve as a cross-cultural worker. That was a dream that had to die when chronic illness became part of my life. But recenly, God has made it possible for that dream to be resurrected and redeemed, and I just moved to Bosnia & Herzegovina.

What are you learning right now in your walk with the Lord?

Lately, the question that’s been reverberating in my mind is, “What if God loved us as much as He says He does?” Because, friend, if we truly believed that and lived like it, that would change everything.
 
Reading the Bible, I’ve been noticing anew how His love is mentioned so constantly and described and demonstrated so gigantically beyond my comprehension. And all my life, I’ve just skimmed over it. “Yeah, he loves the little children, now how can I please Him?”

What if every time God’s love is mentioned in the Bible and described as “steadfast” “enduring forever” “abounding” and “perfect” was taken seriously. What if it is really that uncomprehendably wonderful?

If God loves you and me as much as He says He does, it changes everything. It means that we can stop trying to hard. It means that shame, fear, and condemnation have absolutely no power in our lives.

It turns every good deed into an act of worship rather than trying to meet some standard.

I know you’ve heard this a million times before. I grew up in the church, I’d heard it a million times too. But lately, God has been making this real to me in a way that I never understood before. He crazy loves you. He crazy loves me.

It’s turning my life and my heart upside down.

Sara when she was sick as a teenager

What are some Bible verses, books, songs, or other resources that have been especially encouraging and helpful to you in your life with chronic illness?

After I got sick, my favorite Bible verse became 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Sickness and suffering made me weak, but through that, I’ve gotten to see God glorified and experience His power more and more.

Some other resources . . . goodness, there are so many! I’ll share a few.

Books: Suffering Is Never For Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot and When Chronic Pain And Illness Take Everything Away: How To Mourn Our Losses by Esther Smith.

Songs: Diamonds by Hawk Nelson, Oh My Soul by Casting Crowns, and One Day by Christa Wells

Websites: Chronic Joy and Cassidy’s Heart

What are some of the good things have you seen come from the trials and suffering in your
life?

God has worked in so many ways in my life through my suffering. I’ve personally grown in compassion, world view, faith, hope, and boundaries. I’ve also gotten to see God use my story to encourage others and point them to Him. I’ve gotten to meet and love people I never would have otherwise. And God has opened the doors for my suffering to be a springboard to ministry.
 
But perhaps the most beautiful good thing I’ve seen is how suffering grew my intimacy with God. It allowed me to experience a closeness with Him that I never would have had otherwise. A closeness that came from honestly telling him everything — the good, the bad, the ugly, the angry, and the fearful. In that honesty came intimacy, and it is more beautiful than I can express.

That is beautiful. Thank you for being here today, Sara. It is wonderful to hear about what God has been teaching you over the years as you live and serve Him with chronic illness.

S. G. Willoughby is the author of He’s Making Diamonds: A Teen’s Thoughts on Faith Through Chronic Illness and the host of the Diamonds conference. She loves to write and have adventures. Sara is a TCK, a Lymie, and a dark chocolate lover. You can find her at sgwilloughby.com.

Grateful for 40 Years

November is my birthday month, and this year I turn 40, so we are celebrating all month long! I'm actually excited about turning 40. Not everyone gets this opportunity. While it might not be pleasant to have aging joints and aging skin and declining energy levels (along with a chronic illness), I recognize that it is a privilege to have more time on this earth to be with my family and to serve the Lord. 

We began birthday month celebrations on November 1 by taking a day trip to Split Rock Creek State Park here in Minnesota. It is a park I had been wanting to visit this year, and we hadn't made it yet, so getting to see the park for the first time was exciting. We enjoyed our family time at the lake, and we took lots of pictures of our fun afternoon.

As I celebrate turning 40, Sara Frankl and Kara Tippetts are often in my thoughts. These women both impacted me through their blogs and their books. Neither woman made it to the age of 40, the milestone I have been given to celebrate this year.

Sara Frankl had Ankylosing Spondylitis, and she lived in extreme pain every single day. She was completely confined to her small condo due to her illness. Yet she lived with joy, and she reached out to others from her small corner of the world. Through her blog, Sara showed me how to live a homebound life with joy. Sara was only 38 when she passed away in 2011.

Kara Tippetts fought breast cancer, and she encouraged many through her books and through her blog, Mundane Faithfulness. Kara turned 38 on the last birthday she celebrated on this earth. She told her friends, “I hope I live long enough to have wrinkles. I hope I live to see 40.” Kara died a year and a half before that milestone birthday she wanted so much to reach. She left behind her husband and four children when she died in 2015.

Turning 40 isn't something I take lightly. As I celebrate throughout this month, I am filled with gratitude. I am living long enough to get a few wrinkles and have some gray hair. I feel the weight of this gift.

I am grateful for the years I have had with my husband and my children. I am thankful for my life, my family, and the God who makes this life worth living. I am grateful for 40 years.

When Hope Is Scarce

I am pleased to welcome Bethany Rose to Cranberry Tea Time today. Bethany is a fellow Minnesotan, blogger, and spoonie. She has a lovely letter today for those of you who also live with chronic illnesses. In case you aren't familiar with the term "spoonie," those who are in the chronic illness community often refer to each other as "spoonies." It is a name that comes from Christine Miserandino's helpful story called, "The Spoon Theory."

Bethany will be speaking at the Diamonds 2020 conference this weekend. If you have a chronic illness, you will want to check this out! It is online, and it is free! Details can be found at the end of the post.

Photo by Guillaume Galtier on Unsplash

Dear spoonie,

Does your pain overwhelm you? Do the days seem endless? Do you wonder if you will ever find a way out? Is hope scarce?

Hope.

What a strange word, especially for those of us who wonder if the pain will ever ease.

A sweet girl told me the other day that during the worst days of her illness friends and acquaintances would frequently tell her, “I’m so sorry-I hope you feel better soon.”

The problem with telling us to “feel better soon” is that we both know it’s insincere. It often feels as if those who say this that don’t really care whether we feel better soon or not. That hurts. And as chronic illness warriors, we become finely attuned to the meaning behind common phrases like these.

With chronic illness, healing isn’t certain, and it probably won’t happen in the near future. It feels so empty when we hear, “I hope you feel better soon.”

Hope.

It’s so easy to lose hope when your day-to-day existence is filled with pain or exhaustion.

And it’s not just healing that we lose hope in. It’s also easy to lose hope in the goodness of God, and start to believe that life is just a series of tragedies.

Dear one, what can you do when you lose hope?

Throughout my illness, I have lost hope many times. And I have learned something which transformed the way I think about hopelessness.

When we are in a dark place, the solution is not to notice the darkness, to calculate how many more hours we must exist until dawn sprinkles sunshine on our faces again. Instead, when we are surrounded by darkness, we look up. For the night sky is peppered with stars.

I remember a dear friend messaging me, asking me, “When will this feeling end?”

I told her, “It will take time, but you will come out.

Take it one breath at a time.

Pause, and look at the night sky. It is vast, and it is wild, and it is not joyful. It has seen a thousand wrongs in the same moment as it saw a thousand rights. Look out your window. That ancient sky? Somewhere behind it is a Maker who will one day rip the sky apart to come and right every wrong.

You’re not alone.”

No matter what your illness is, God has not abandoned you. He will one day right the wrongs of this broken world. And if you simply look around, look up, into the sky, you will find small reminders of His enduring love.

Yet you wonder-how can I? My symptoms prevent me. Yes friend, sometimes our symptoms make finding reminders of God’s love harder. But that which is harder won is the more precious.

Perhaps you are a spoonie with light sensitivity. You can’t watch the sunrise, but you can close your eyes and go out into a garden or park. Inhale the scents. It’s winter now where I live in Minnesota, cold, frozen, lonely. You may think that winter doesn’t have a scent, but your nose will change your mind. Breathe deeply. What do you smell?

The first thing I notice in the winter air is the crispness. Then I smell underneath it the everlasting scent of the earth, quiet and strong, despite being stuck in winter’s icy clasp. I smell the earth, and I remember that God will bring spring again.

Dear spoonie, if we only hope for healing, we miss all the beauty God has given to us to relieve the bitter cold of winter. Yet if we choose to look up, we can find the little blessings which make a hard season of life bearable.

For we do not only hope for the relieving of our pain. Our primary source of hope is God.

“We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
    for our hope is in you alone.”
Psalm 33:20-22

He will not disappoint us. He may not take away our pain, but He will help us to bear it. And when we begin to doubt that He really is here with us, if we only look around, we will see a thousand evidences that His love for us is still as strong as it was the day Jesus bore both our sins and our sorrows on the Cross.

And though our pain seems to last forever, soon, it will pass away.

So dear spoonie, when we begin to lose hope let us look to God. Let us be in awe of Him. Let us find the little blessings He gives us each day. But most of all, let us cling fast to the knowledge that He is guarding us. He is keeping us. He is with us!

Dear spoonie, when hope is scarce, look up.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.” 1 Peter 1:3-6

Bethany’s name means “bright city on a hill.” This is her mission in life, to illuminate the beautiful things and shine God’s light where there was darkness. Bethany leads The Wilting Rose Project, a ministry of encouragement and truth for young women who feel their struggles make them worthless. She writes fairytales heavily inspired by her love of the forest, where she spends many of her mornings soaking in the uniquely Minnesotan beauty. Her blog includes more personal documentation of her battle the last few years with Lyme disease and Toxic Mold illness and her journey of healing.

What is Diamonds 2020? Diamonds 2020 is a free online conference for chronically ill Christians.

When is Diamonds 2020? January 23rd-25th, 2020

Who is speaking at Diamonds 2020? 16 awesome chronically ill warriors.

What does Diamonds 2020 cost? Nothing!

Where is Diamonds 2020? You can register for free at this link.

Review: The Long Goodbye

One of my favorite bloggers was Kara Tippetts. She wrote at Mundane Faithfulness about motherhood and her journey with cancer. One of the things I appreciated so much about Kara was her absolute trust in God's sovereignty and in His good plan for her life, even though it wasn't the story she would have chosen.

Kara passed away four years ago, and her story is now being told through a new documentary, The Long Goodbye: The Kara Tippetts Story. This documentary follows her journey as cancer slowly takes her. It is a sad story to watch, and yet it is also full of hope and beauty because Kara knew Jesus.

Some of my favorite scenes in the film were ones where Kara was spending time with her children in whatever way she could, even when she was confined to bed. Those moments were especially encouraging to me as a mom with a disabling chronic illness. I am homebound and have to spend the majority of my time resting in bed, so being able to catch a glimpse of another mom who was loving her children while exhausted and confined to bed was very encouraging to me.

Kara sought to be kind even when grieving and in pain. She had such a hard story, but she lived it well, and she trusted in Jesus through it all. She is an example of how to live well, and how to die well.

My favorite quote from Kara in this documentary:

The world says I should be angry, that I should be shaking my fist at God. I didn’t think at 38 I’d be battling cancer, but I am, and so I need to find contentment in that place. I want to be able to share this story that suffering isn’t a mistake, and it isn’t the absence of God’s goodness because He’s present in pain.

The documentary is very well done. I highly recommend it. It is sad and wonderful and hope-filled. It will help you to keep your eyes on Jesus as you persevere through whatever hard thing you have been called to endure.

The Long Goodbye

(If you are reading this in an email, you may click over to the blog to view the trailer.)

The documentary is available on DVD and digital. The DVD is my favorite of the two formats because it has bonus features with Joanna Gaines, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Ann Voskamp. You can find the DVD on Amazon, CBD, Barnes & Noble, and Lifeway. The digital version can be found on Amazon, christiancinema.com, Google Play, iTunes, and Vudu.

Photos are courtesy of Jay Lyons Productions.

Top Seven Blog Posts of 2017

Hello Friends,

Thank you for reading here at Cranberry Tea Time this year. Whether I know you in real life or not, I am grateful for you, and I am glad to have you as a part of the Cranberry Tea Time community. It has been a joy to write for you and to chat with you this year.

Do you want to know what your favorite blot posts were from Cranberry Tea Time in 2017? Here are the seven that had the most views this year:

• Marriage, Chronic Illness, Christ, and the Church
• Busy Hands: Matching Cowls
• The Gift of Time to Pray
• How to Pray for the Sick and Disabled
• Just a Little Update
• Oh My Soul
• The Best Surprise

I wish you a Happy New Year, and I will see you here in 2018!

Blessings and joy,
Rachel

Choose Joy Study Guide

Through her blog, Sara Frankl showed me how to live a homebound life with joy. If you've been reading here for long, you've heard me talk about her before. Sara had a big impact on my life, and she touched the lives of many others too. She was dearly loved by the chronic illness community. 

I never got to meet Sara in real life before she passed away, but I did have the joy of meeting her sister, Laura, last year. We have become friends, and Laura has been such a sweet encouragement in my life. One way she encouraged me recently was by sending me a copy of her new book!

In January of 2016, some of Sara's blog posts were published in the book, Choose Joy. And now I'm happy to announce that there is a study guide to go along with the book.

Laura Frankl Pedersen has written the Choose Joy Study Guide, and it is now available! This study guide would be a helpful resource for book clubs that are reading Choose Joy. It would also be beneficial for those who are reading Choose Joy and want to hear from Sara's sister and have good discussion questions to think about.

There is also a companion DVD available to purchase with the study guide for those who are interested in this option. Most of the videos are 3-5 minutes long, so this is a perfect length for those of us who struggle with fatigue and brain fog.

I am always challenged and encouraged when I read Sara's words. She has helped me to persevere, choose joy, and keep pain in perspective. Now Laura has encouraged and challenged me, too, with her words and thought provoking questions in the Choose Joy Study Guide.

It was Sara's desire that people continue to learn to trust God and choosing joy when life is hard. After Sara passed away, Laura carried on the Choose Joy ministry her sister had started. Little did she know, she would soon be walking her own hard journey with illness. Laura was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, and she has been so kind as to share her journey on her new blog, Gitz N Jo. 

Keep choosing joy!

Five Minute Friday: Play

It's Five Minute Friday! I wasn't going to write this week, but then I saw that the writing prompt was PLAY, so I just had to write! 

You are invited to join us over at Five Minute Friday this week, where we are all writing for just five minutes using the writing prompt, PLAY. This is quick and easy blogging. No over-thinking or fine-tuning. Just writing for five minutes.

I love to play. It is something many people probably don’t know about me. If you come to my house to visit me, I will be fairly quiet. I will probably be lying down on the sofa for a good portion of our visit. I will talk about life and normal mom and wife things. You probably won’t see it, but I love to play.

My son often talks about my inner 5 year old. He teases me that I’m actually 75% child. Because he sees the glee in my eyes when I talk about playing and how much I like it.

My kids know that if I had the energy, I would be going to the swimming pool with them multiple times every week in the summer, and that I would not be sitting on the side. I would be swimming laps for exercise and for fun. I would be going down the water slides and jumping off the diving board. I would be playing hard. Just for fun.

If I had the energy, I would take my kids to the park, and I would play on the swings and the slide. I would go for a walk or a bike ride with them. I would play because I love it! And because I love playing with my kids.

Our play now is usually something simple like a board game. But sometimes they see my delight for playtime by the gleam in my eye when I talk about fun things. I take joy in watching them play, even when I can’t participate.

I used to figure skate when I was a teenager. I dream of someday going to a local ice rink, putting on my old SP-Teri skates, asking for permission to take Cordell out on the ice with me, and then going out to skate. Even if my legs only last for 10 minutes. I would play, and it would be fun!

This body can’t do what it used to do. But one day on the New Earth, I am going to play and play and play! I will glorify God in my resurrection body by using it to work hard, swim, skate, and play.

Five Minute Friday: Blessing

Today I am joining the Five Minute Friday writers. We all write on the same prompt for just five minutes, and then we gather together to share our posts.

We used to gather at Kate's blog, but Five Minute Friday has a new home! We now meet on the Five Minute Friday website. You are invited to join us there.

This week the writing prompt is: BLESSING.

God's blessings are abundant in my life. I have been given so much more than I deserve!

As I count my blessings, I think of:

• a house that feels like a home
• a loving husband
• two children
• food
• an old van that keeps on running
• a wheelchair, walker, and seat cane
• running water
• toilet paper (this is seriously something I think about - I am so grateful for modern-day toilet paper!)
• clothes
• ice pack vest to keep me cool in the summer
• air conditioning in the summer
• heat in the winter
• medical care
• dental care
• family and friends who come to visit me

The blessings go on and on!

But if all of those things I just listed were taken away... what then? Would I still be blessed?

Yes. Because the most important blessing I have received is the gift of salvation. Though everything earthly be taken away, my salvation can never be taken away.

If salvation was all I had, I would have more than I ever, ever deserved.

Jesus suffered the wrath of God in my place. His righteousness has been credited to my account. I have been forgiven of my sins. My debt has been paid in full. I have been saved from the eternal punishment I deserve. I have been given an eternity I don't deserve, and could never earn, in Heaven.

What an amazing blessing!

What are some of the blessings you have in your life?

Do you know the blessing of having Jesus as your Savior and your sins forgiven?

Just a Little Update

Hello friends!

It has been too long since I have written here! About a month ago I accidentally stopped blogging. I had planned to keep blogging once or twice a week as I had been doing in the fall, but this winter I struggled to keep up with writing. Now it has been so long since I have written here that I’m not quite sure where to start. Maybe the best place to start is a rambling update letter.

Blogging has been hard for me lately. On some days I’m just too tired to blog. On other days I have more energy, so I do something around the house or with my family, and then I’m too exhausted when I go to bed to be able to blog. And then there are days when I have energy in my arms to type, but struggle too much with brain fog to be able to write well.

I like to keep my blogging limited to times when I already have to be in bed resting. I have a very limited amount of energy, and I don’t want to spend energy on blogging if that energy could be put toward my family. I want to be a wife and a mom to the best of my ability, even when that means letting my blog go untouched for a while.

Relatively speaking, my health isn’t too bad right now. I’m not doing as well as I was in the fall of 2016, but I think I’m doing slightly better than I was in the spring of last year. I am extremely tired on some days, and on those days it is a mental battle to push through the fatigue and make my body walk around the house. But I’m not crashing, so no need to worry that my lack of blogging is due to a crash. It’s just a combination of good days, bad days, brain fog, and needing to spend time with my family.

I do want to get back to blogging, but I think I need to keep it simple for a while. I am considering sticking with easy blog posts and more of the "old style" blogging. Blogging has become so professional, and I need to let go of the pressure to write mostly professional articles and instead just have fun with my blog and connect with others. Maybe there are readers out there who need to read a casual blog as much as I need to simply write a casual blog right now.

Due to brain fog I have not been reading blogs as much as I used to. There are several very good, encouraging, and helpful blogs that I used to read regularly, but the articles are so long that it has been difficult for me to read them lately. Maybe some of you also need encouragement, but are having a hard time keeping up with long blog posts too. If so, then maybe my need to write short and easy posts is just what you need too.

I will continue to write for The Irresistible Church blog occasionally. I will share a link on Facebook when my articles are published there. Later on I will republish them here on Cranberry Tea Time for those of you who do not see them on The Irresistible Church. Other than my articles for The Irresistible Church, I plan to keep it casual here for a while.

So if I haven't been blogging, what have I been doing? Last month I went out for a little adventure with my family to a state park. The pictures in this post are from that outing in early March. I thoroughly enjoyed the time out and about with my family! I think it took me a week to recover from those few hours out, but it sure was fun!

In February I went grocery shopping with Will. It is amazing how fun grocery shopping can be when you are usually stuck at home! I had a whole lot of fun! Last week I was able to attend William's 5th grade choir concert at his school. They did a fantastic job.

I spend some of my time and energy each afternoon training Frodo. He's still a puppy, so we still have some work to do. He is also dealing with fears and anxiety, so he's a little harder to take care of than the average Morkie. It's exhausting for me on my bad days, but I do enjoy Frodo's company. We all love Frodo, and we are doing what we can to help him.

I still crochet as I am able, and I have a couple of projects to share with you in the coming months. I also have some good books that I have been reading (very slowly!), and I hope to review them here on my blog soon.

The other exciting thing for me is that I have been doing some ancestry research lately. That has been enjoyable, and it is something I can often do even when my arms are too tired to type. I just need a mouse to click around.

How are you doing, friends? What have you been up to this spring? What kind of posts would you like to see here on Cranberry Tea Time? What would you find encouraging or helpful?

Blessings and joy,
Rachel

Author Q & A with Esther Smith {Plus a Giveaway!}

I am pleased to have Esther Smith joining me today to talk about her new book, When Chronic Pain and Illness Take Everything Away. Esther is a blogger at lifeinslowmotionblog.com, where she writes about faith and chronic pain and illness. Her blog, and her books, have encouraged me in my life with a chronic illness. I hope you will be encouraged by her too!

Thank you so much for joining us today, Esther!

Hi Rachel, thanks so much for having me!

How does chronic illness and pain affect you?

In a nutshell, my chronic pain affects my ability to stand, walk, and sit for long periods of time. When this first started to happen, I tried to push through and continue with my daily activities. But I quickly learned this strategy caused my condition to sharply regress. I had to learn how to rest and live my life without the unlimited movement I was used to.

It’s hard to explain how much physical limitations such as this affect every single area of life. I have to be so careful as I decide what commitments to take on, knowing my body can only handle being upright for a limited number of hours each day. This has placed significant limits on my ability to work, socialize, serve, play, and do regular chores around the house.

Just this past weekend, I tried to make it to a women’s event at church. I lasted a half hour and had to come home because I knew if I stayed it would affect my ability to go to work next week. Every day I have to make choices like this about what is most important, and in the process, so many wonderful things in life get pushed to the side.

What made you decide to write When Chronic Pain and Illness Take Everything Away?

I wrote this booklet because the physical limitations I described above lead to a lot of emotional pain and distress. They lead to a lot of questions and doubts and confusion. For me, it was confusing to see ways in which God had gifted me, and then feel unable to use these gifts. It also didn’t make sense that God would take away things he says are important – things such as being in community, serving others, and enjoying his creation.

I wrote this book because the losses of chronic pain hit me hard. And not just me. My friends with chronic pain and illness were experiencing the same things. I was struggling to know how to approach God and accept God’s will for my life in the midst of my losses. Writing through this helped me gain some understanding of what I was experiencing and how to move forward. And I hoped that what I was learning about grief would help other people in the process as well.

Grief is not an easy topic to read about. I wondered if people would be interested in a book about grief. But, in my heart, I knew it was such an important topic. And when people were ready to approach their grief, I wanted them to have a resource that would help them do so.

What is one thing that has helped you to deal with the grief that comes with chronic pain and illness?

In seasons of grief, I always find myself writing. Sometimes I journal. Sometimes I write a blog post. At one point, grief led me to write this booklet. Sometimes I write for my eyes only. Other times I write directly to God as a prayer journal of sorts. And at times I write for other people to see so that we can share our grief together.  

Whatever form my writing takes, it has become a way for me to process everything I am thinking, feeling, and questioning. As I write, I begin to make better sense of life. All the grief that has been building up in my head and in my heart falls onto the piece of paper, leaving me to feel a little bit lighter. Writing allows me to approach my grief instead of pushing it away or ignoring it. I believe that anything that helps us move through the grief in this way is a positive thing, and over and over again, writing has done that for me.

You mention in the book that Lamentations 3 is a chapter you turned to often in your grief. How did the words in this passage of Scripture help you?

I think this chapter gave me permission to feel deep emotional pain. It gave me permission to feel hopelessness and desperation. It mirrored some of my deepest fears – that perhaps God was shutting out my prayers, and perhaps he had walled me in and abandoned me. While rationally I knew these things were not true, sometimes it still felt like this was happening.  

I also liked that Lamentations 3 held a few verses of hope. It didn’t end with hope; hope was found right in the middle of the passage, a brief reprieve from the darkness. At times my life has felt like that. I wrote in the booklet that Lamentations 3 gave me just enough hope that I could still believe it. Passages with too much hope felt like a lie; those with no hope tempted me to think all was lost. Lamentations gave me a balanced view of both – in this life we find both grief and hope intermingled together.

What brings you joy in the midst of pain?

I could answer this question in a lot of different ways. But, what I have been focusing on lately is finding joy in the little things God gives me. A conversation with a friend. A favorite food or beverage. Eating a piece of chocolate. Buying a new book. Going to church. Getting out of the house for a short trip somewhere. These things do bring me joy. It’s easy for me to focus on all the things that I can’t do, so lately I have been trying to focus on the things that are still possible.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering self-publishing a book?

My advice is that you should definitely go for it, but don’t rush the process.

I worked on a full-length book about chronic pain for over a year. When I finished, a part of me just knew it wasn’t ready for publication. In the end I decided to take the best material from that book and repurpose it into several small booklets. I am so glad I didn’t publish that book and that I waited long enough to realize this was the right decision. I would have really regretted publishing material that wasn’t ready.

Self-publishing can be too easy. It only takes a few minutes to submit your manuscript. So, my advice is to go for it, but to wait. Wait until you know without a shadow of doubt you will be proud of the finished product.

  

Esther Smith is a counselor, writer and blogger who lives in Maryland with her husband. She blogs about life, faith and chronic pain at lifeinslowmotionblog.com.

Esther is giving away a copy of her book to a Cranberry Tea Time reader! The winner may choose either a paperback book or a Kindle version. To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below. The winner will be notified next week by email.

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Live Full, Walk Free {Guest Post and Giveaway}

I am delighted to welcome Cindy Bultema to Cranberry Tea Time! Cindy is an author, speaker, blogger, prayer warrior, and encourager. I met her through social media a couple of years ago, and the Lord used her to encourage me during some very hard days that year. She has been a blessing in my life, and it is a pleasure to have her here today.

Last month, Cindy's new Bible study, Live Full, Walk Free, was released. It is a study based in the book of 1 Corinthians. I enjoyed going through this Bible study in recent weeks. I learned a lot about the book of 1 Corinthians and the ancient city of Corinth. I was challenged and encouraged by the study and by Cindy's personal testimony.

Here is Cindy with a sneak peek at Chapter 2 of Live Full Walk Free:

Unite Don’t Fight

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
1 Corinthians 1:10

Bullying stinks!

I don’t know about you, but when my kids are the ones being picked on, Mama feels all the feelings. I’m talking anger, hurt, and, in this particular case, bafflement, at who was doing the bullying and who didn’t step in to stop it.

My youngest daughter had a bit of a lisp, and some of the boys on the school bus were making of her. They would tease her, call her names, and mimic her talking with her lisp, of course exaggerating. Spit actually flew from their middle school mouths to my little girl’s face!

She came home in a puddle of humiliation.

I wanted to climb aboard the yellow bus like a mildly deranged mama bear and have a swipe or two at those hooligans, but of course, I restrained myself. (I aspire to be sanely involved with my children’s conflicts.) I prayed for grace, forgiveness, and wisdom, because the main instigator was the son of a friend. Yikes!

And my son was a witness to what had been happening to his sister.

“Sweetie, what did you do when those mean boys were picking on her?”

My usually reliable son averted his eyes and lowered his head.

“Nothing.”

Sweet Molasses! I wanted to jump out of my skin. But motherhood is all about gulping those deep breaths and praying those ‘Help me, now!’ prayers. “Nothing? You watched your sister get spit on and you did nothing? Help me understand.”

Before he could respond, I kept going (as moms do):

“Honey, we belong to the same family—we are Bultemas. We stick together. Family doesn’t stand by and do nothing when our sister or our brother needs help. Family members take care of each other.”

I was trying to teach my son about family, about unity and how to pursue it in our broken, hurting world.

The bus drama with my daughter sparked negative emotions in me, but it was also an opportunity to remember I am called to pursue unity, with bullies and moms of bullies, and with my siblings in Christ.

“Unity” is kind of a churchy word, but like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:10, it just means agreeing with one another, with no divisions, no conflict. (“Division” in ancient Greek has a connotation of ripping or tearing fabric, so literally Paul begged the church members in Corinth to not be ripped apart.)

But…drama and conflict come up all the time—can I get a witness?

It pops up with friends, kids, siblings, and between husbands and wives. It flares on the playground, the workplace, the big yellow school bus.

We can’t avoid conflict, but we do get to choose how to deal with it. Do we make the rip worse or do we do all we can to mend, to heal?

When he wrote his letter, Paul knew the local church in this Greek city was a hot mess of overblown drama and bitter contention. Four cliques had formed—Team Paul, Team Apollos, Team Cephas (or Peter), and Team Jesus, a group which boasted that they were above all the petty squabbling. Each was sure they were right and everyone else was wrong. (Sound familiar in our current culture?) Church members were even suing each other!

I love how Paul writes his letter with a pastor’s heart, using family language. No less than twenty times Paul addresses his “brothers and sisters,” his “adelphos” in Greek. His loving yet firm tone is one we might use if we were going out for coffee with a sibling or a friend who had lost their way. “Oh, friend…I love you, but this has got to stop.”

Let…“there be no divisions among you,” Paul writes.

No drama.

No he said/she said.

No spitting on each other.

No hurting each other!

“…be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

Build each other up.

Gently, patiently, kindly.

At peace.

Get up ev’rybody and sing!

Okay, so that last line is not technically in the verse, but this whole discussion of getting along in the family of God gives me a flashback to fourth grade. The roller rink, my Shaun Cassidy satin jacket and bell bottom jeans. And “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge:

“We are family

I got all sisters with me

We are family

Get up ev-rybody and sing!”

Great song, and even greater message.

By the way, the instigator in my girl’s bus drama? With his mom’s encouragement, he came over and apologized, giving my daughter a bookstore gift card he bought with his own money. Grace ruled, and harmony was restored.

Life delivers many reasons to be at odds with our sisters (and our brothers). Let’s look for ways to be at one with them, instead. Let’s also look for ways to be family to each other, to stand up for each other as dearly loved daughters and sons of a Good Father. Because family takes care of each other, always.

Lord, forgive us for believing the lies of the enemy that tear us apart as your own children. Help us be peacemakers, drama diffusers, and restorers in every way. Thank You that you designed us for unity. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Cindy’s latest Bible study, Live Full Walk Free: Set Apart in a Sin-Soaked World was released in December 2016. Visit her blog to watch the study trailer, and download a FREE sample chapter and set of A-Z scripture cards: http://www.cindybultema.com/live-full-walk-free/

With nearly 20 years of ministry experience, Cindy is a popular women’s speaker, author, and Bible teacher. But don’t let her cheerful smile fool you—Cindy has endured single parenting, overcome bondage to addiction, and survived tragic loss. Cindy lives in Michigan with her husband and their four kids. Most days you can find Cindy walking her beagle Rocky, attending one of her boys’ hockey games, or serving hot lunch at her kids’ school. Connect with Cindy at www.cindybultema.com.

Thomas Nelson has offered to give away a Live Full, Walk Free Bible study book to one of you! You may enter using the Rafflecopter form below! The winner will be notified by email. Please note, this giveaway is open to US residents only.

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