Happy Thanksgiving My Proverbs 31 Friends

I've thought all morning what I can be thankful for this year. I talked with the Lord quite a bit about it! There's just too much to be thankful for, so I chose to thank Him for my friends in whom I see Proverbs 31 being worked out in their lives.I'm thankful for...

Dana, my good friend with whom I have a special friendship that never ceases to amaze me as we have seen many different phases of life for the past five years. I know I can trust every corner of my heart with her. A wonderful blessing! She truly lives out much of Proverbs 31, but especially "She looks well to the ways of her household." - Proverbs 31.27 and her earthly reward, I see, is "[her husband] praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."" - Proverbs 31.28-29

Mindy, whom I've known the least amount of time of all my friends, but with whom I share much in common. I'm thankful to the Lord who continues to strengthen our friendship though we live states apart. I'm grateful for the vast knowledge the Lord has given her and discernment about how to keep our bodies healthy. The Lord has given her a generous heart that yearns to see the hurting suffer less, wanting more of God and less of her. "She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy." - Proverbs 31.20

Renee H., a long distance soul sister with whom I share a great deal in common regarding our "geeky" ways with books and anything we can get our hands on regarding doctrine and evangelism. We can go for months without talking on the phone then pick up as if we hadn't skipped a beat. That's a huge blessing! I admire the strength the Lord has given her in times of trouble and thank Him for granting her endurance. "She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong" - Proverbs 31.17

Betty, a woman after God's own heart. I thank the Lord for her love for Him, her testimony before this lost world, and her humility and gentlesness. Her gentle words to opponents of the gospel humble me and make me want to be more like her. "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." - Proverbs 31.26

Sarah, a good friend who I can count on when I have good day or a bad one. I thank God for her transparency and diligence in warring against sin wherever she finds it in her life. Tired of being decieved in life about her Lord and how He works, she is diligent in keeping her life loving the law of the Lord, staying faithful in her fear of Him. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." - Proverbs 31.30

Marla, another long distance friend from whom I glean much truth. Most of us show many struggles in many areas if we look to Proverbs 31, but if there ever has been a woman whose life shows all of Proverbs 31, I would say that it has been Marla. The Lord has blessed her with much joy and such a carefree spirit, one who has a wonderful balance of grace and truth that it's difficult not to covet the gifts He has given her. "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." - Proverbs 31.25

Angela, the woman I look to for godly advice about how to be a wife. I'm thankful for the wisdom God has given her as she has grown so much in such little time. I'm thankful for the gentle rebukes she gives me because she wants my best before God and my husband and for the many hours we spend on the phone laughing, praying, and just chatting. She truly is a picture of "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain." - Proverbs 31.10-11

The Lord has blessed me with many other friends, but I would be here all day typing if I listed them all. I have not forgotten anyone... Julie, Patte, Loretta, Rhonda, Terry, Shana, Deb, and others. You're all a blessing! Having all these friends, now that is something to be thankful about for sure! I asked God three years ago when He forgave all my sin, past and present, to give me friends since I had not known friendship with other ladies for over fourteen years as a false convert. Well, I had one friend, Dana, with whom I shared our false convert ways! The Lord granted Dana salvation at the same time He did for me, so He continued our friendship which has grown deeper.But most of all, I'm thankful to the Lord who has the power in a word to create big things like galaxies and small things like me. I'm thankful to Him for answering my prayer for friendships, but in bigger ways than I thought to ask. I'm thankful He did not choose to look at me when deciding to make me born again, but He looked at His Son so that I would never get the credit for salvation and so I would be continually be kept in awe at His awesome works. I'm thankful that He keeps His promises and will make me endure to the end while the road is bumpy and narrow. And I'm thankful to Him for granting me friends who will walk this path with me."

I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." - 2 Timothy 1.12

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

Love,Tamara

011 Encouraging Letters

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November 13, 2009
011

Several people have sent emails to me saying they are praying for my recovery and for endurance for me. Some have given me Scriptures and wonderful words to hang onto while enduring the long days of suffering with the adrenal problems.

In one email, a brother in Christ wrote to me:

"Thanks for sharing. I don't understand all the stuff but I've been trying to explain to my wife that years of drinking and meth and smoking weed has an effect on the body and that doesn't get fixed just because we have a regenerate heart. Diabetics don't quit insulin when the Holy Spirit comes in, so those of us who have physical ailments need to deal with the consequence of sin in general, and often our own sin is what caused the physical changes that pain us today so much. I was reading in Answers magazine the other night about how the brain creates connections and drinking and drugs will mess those connections up, that's at least one reason why we can love the Lord and want to be sober, yet still have thoughts or even cravings for drugs or alcohol.

Thankfully, my spirit is such that I do not succumb to these temptations, by the grace of God, for a while now.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about all the bad advice you get. It's sad to me how people are so influenced by our society (professing Christians, I mean). Psychology, psychiatry...all based on lies. Lies meant to put people in the prison of self and ultimately keep them from a knowledge of the grace of Christ. Sad. I've been diagnosed bipolar twice, all I needed to do was quit drinking it turned out. That's even before salvation, just quitting that terrible behavior changed my diagnosis.

We love you Tamara and are happy you are in our lived, (me and my wife). I trust your suffering doesn't compare to the glory to be revealed in you, and I know you already know and cling to that.

God Bless you.

Now that is what I call encouragement! I thank the Lord for people like he and his wife. A thousand words of bad advice and being told that my illness is due to psychological reasons rather than physical ones are nothing in comparison to true, loving words from a friend. It's like a healing balm, a foretaste of what the Lord has for me once this body fails completely.

And another came yesterday from a dear friend:

You have been on my mind alot lately and I was reading my daily Spurgeon I
thought about you and wanted to pass it along...love you!

"The trial of your faith." --1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God's strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise Him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

May the Lord bring a peace and grace that only He can give to you if you are needing it today. He says He will not break a bruised reed nor put out a smoldering wick.

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,

Tamara Slack

008 Part 2 of Chapter 4 "Patient and Family Responsibilities"

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November 7, 2009
008

Here's more of the story of one of his patients who was a pastor from Part 1 of this post (book notes in brown, my notes in black, without that bad, complaining attitude I've had:

"At other times, he had became so weak that he had to spend two or three days flat on his back in bed before he could carry on with his work." (pg 71)

Stop! This so reminds me of Charles Spurgeon's problems with depression. You can read the "Anguish and Agonies of Spurgeon" HERE. Continuing on with the book:

"He was, however, as are so many CFS patients, a definite overacheiver. As soon as he was able to get out of bed, he was out working on church duties, giving lectures in different parts of the country, attending parishioners and planning new projects. Since he lived about six hours from our Clinic, it was not possible for us to see him frequently, so every attempt was made to find a physician in his local area who was knowledgeable about CFS. As previously reported, those who would accept him as a patient seemed to have little knowledge of CFS, and those who were knowledgeable refused to accept him as a patient... He had to give up as many of his external church duties as possible and delegate wherever possible his internal church duties. Eventually, once he was able to regenerate his system, he could gradually return to his various duties. However, I do not believe that even under the best circumstances he should ever return to the full intensity of activities he was fulfilling when I first saw him. Admittedly, such an opinion is not what a patient wants to hear. In fact, this patient has had a difficult time accepting our diagnosis of CFS. Nature has a way of helping truth, however, and once he again fainted during church services, he had little choice but to accept the condition." (pgs 71-72)

"Probably the most common question asked me by those with CFS is, "Will I ever be normal again?"

His answer, in part:

"Your problem happens to be a weakness in the neurohormonal mechanism. Luckily, it is one we understand, one we can control, and in most instances one we can correct. It is necessary, however, for you to live more cafefully in regard to the various stresses of life than the individual with a stronger neurohormonal mechanism, somewhat in the same way that the individdual who has inherited a mild diabetic condition must watch his diet so that he does not ingest too much sugar." (pg 75)

"Unlike the true neurotic or basic nonachiever, the adrenal victim wants nothing more than to be able to do all the things his friends and relatives are extolling him to do. The fact is, he is physically incapable of accomplishing these tasks and will remain so until the basic underlying condition is remedied." (pg 76)

"... the most well-meaning friends and family members hasten the development of this disease. In fact, from my many years in treating this conidtion, I have concluded that the most difficult to resolve and the most prolonged of all stresses imposed on the CFS patient are those place there by friends and amily who are truly trying to be helpful." (pg 77)

What family and friends can do: Understand, Encouragement, Reinforcement.

"Friends should let him know that they understand his problem, that they appreciate his suffering, but that with the proper treatment and care he will improve. They should let him know that although he will have ups and downs - for this is the nature of the condition itself - he must not give up, but must continue his treatment... There is no end to the value of encouragement for the CFS patient, no end to the need for constant assurance that he is going to get better... When friends and relatives ask what they can do to help the new CFS patient, I reply that there are three things which they should give in full measure: encuoragement, encouragement, and more encouragement." (pgs 80-81)

"Because of the lowered blood pressure, and therefore lowered nutrition and oxygen available to the brain of the CFS patient, he has difficulty making decisions and discriminating among types of thearapy." (pg 81)

"if he becomes quiet and withdrawan, if his eyes start to look somewhat vague and glassy, he is being exhausted." (pg 85)

"He needs encouragement in the same way that a woman in love wants to hear the words, "I love you." A woman can never be told "I love you" too often, nor can the CFS patient be given too much encouragement. Even if you have told the patient an hour before that he is going to be all right, tell him again because it is on these words that he must live during an important part of his therapy program.... Let the patient know that he is on the right road." (pgs 87-88)

This last paragraph reminds me of how much Chrisitans need to hear the gospel over and over again. We don't hear it once, repent of our sin, and never need to hear of God's love and forgiveness for us. No! We need to remind ourselves of the gospel daily, sometimes hourly as we journey through this life before being with Christ. I think it's the same thing when someone we love is very sick. We don't try to ignore the problem at hand, nor do we brush it off and change the subject. We comfort, try to understand, and encourage. We don't give the Law, but Grace!

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,
Tamara Slack

006 PART 1 of Chapter 4 "Patient and Family Responsibilities"

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November 1, 2009
006

Continuing with some words from "Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000" by Dr. Gerald Poesnecker, I have to say this is one good chapter! It's called "Patient and Family Responsibilities" and has already helped my husband, Roger, and I to see what we both are supposed to be doing during healing of this illness. I sure thank God for him! It's a rough road, but he is staying the course with me. One of my good friends agreed to read this chapter when she gets time. That's one of the most comforting things - to know I have a friend who will support me by doing her best to understand how best to do so. You know who you are if you are reading this - know I love you and thank God for you! Quotes from the book are in brown. My notes are in black:

"The patient with this problem is usually intelligent, highly motivated, responsible, with a great desire to achieve. The difficulty is that he has neither the glandular nor the nervous strength to carry out these deisres and ambitions... Put yourself in his place for a moment, and perhaps you will see the degree of frustration that is produced by his condition. You are an individual of intelligence and character. You have desired to do useful and productive things with your life, and yet every time you attempt to do something, you become more and more exhausted. Every attempt at productive activity is met with strange nervous anxieties or, as one patient put it, "agitated depression." The only thing that even remotely seems to help is rest and withdrawal from all the fascintating events of life. You are like an athlete who is trained to run the hundred-yard dash, but who collapses after a few yards each time he attempts to run. Soon you stop trying and wonder if there is any sense in training or in trying to accomplish anything because fatigue, anxiety and failure have become the essence of your existence. Here, of course, is where your friend and family come to your aid. They entreat you: "Now, come on, don't be lazy. Keep going, keep trying," they tell you. "It's all in your mind. Tell yourself you are going to succeed and you will." The more of such admonitions and encouragement you receive from your family and friends, the more guilt you accumulate when you are not able to accomplish what they extol you to do." (pg 77)

If you are reading this and do not have Adrenal Syndrome (CFS), please, never take your health for granted. Use it for the glory of God... it is a gift I wish I had.

"Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) requires more patient cooperation and responsibility in its mastering and cure than any other medical condition known to me... The physician, no matter how accomplished, cannot cure CFS by himself. All honest treatment of CFS requires a great deal of work and dedication on the part of the physician, the patient, and especially those around the patient, both friends and family." (pg 65)

"It is not always easy for the CFS patient to comprehend his condition as readily as a more stable person might, because by nature CFS causes mental clouding, poor concentration, and inferier memory rentention." (pg 68)

"To understand the patient's difficulty, let us reconsider the nature of the condition, the nature of the CFS patient and the advice of the various physicians the patient may have consulted before us. In past years, most of these patients had been diagnosed as neurotic or just plain lazy. But they know that something is really wrong with them, and so most have fears that some strange, undiscoverd disease is gradually eating away at their vitals." (pg 69)

"Just yesterday, one of my CFS patients told me how she startled a surgeon, who had just told her she had breast cancer, by saying, "Boy, am I glad that's all it is, I was afraid it might be another manifestation fo CFS." "After all," as she asserted to me, "They do have a treatment for breast cancer." (pg 69)

One word about the last two statements above: EXACTLY!

"I once had a young minister from Pittsburgh as a CFS patient. His condition had become so severe that he had fainted in the pulpit while delivering a sermon. This reaction, not all that uncommon in CFS patients, occurred because his low blood pressure delivered a deficient amount of oxygen to his brain." (pg 71)

The story goes on about this pastor, but I want to stop at this point and note that in all the years I've seen doctors (which has not been in the past few years because they just want to send me to psychiatrists and not treat the real problem), they always said that my low blood pressure is fine, nothing to worry about. Why then have I always been faint? Why have I fainted? Why is this okay? It's not. It's dangerous and yet the medical community thinks, "Oh, well it's not high blood pressure, so you are better off." They ought to read their own material. Here is what the Mayo Clinic says in part:

for many people, low blood pressure can cause symptoms of dizziness and
fainting or mean that they have serious heart, endocrine or neurological
disorders. Severely low blood pressure can deprive the brain and other vital
organs of oxygen and nutrients, leading to a life-threatening condition called
shock.

The first time I fainted was when I was 11 and it was even in a hospital. You would think from 11 on, someone in the medical field would test my endocrine system or heart. Now I have a competent doctor and he and I are working on getting my blood pressure up so that I can get oxygen to my brain. I know these posts are long, so I'll stop here and move onto the rest of this pastor's story in tomorrow's post and finish up the rest of the portions of Chapter 4 too.

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,
Tamara Slack