A bucket list. Do you have one? Everyone who wants a heart filled with hope needs a bucket list. Its a list of things you would like to do, things you would like to see, and places you would like to go in this life. A couple of years ago my wife and I took a weeks vacation in Hawaii and we went horseback riding through an inactive volcano. It was an incredible experience that we thoroughly enjoyed. It had been on our personal bucket list for years.
Being told that you have a disease that is incurable can really take the wind out of your sales. It can make you want to close the windows, pull the curtains and crawl under the sheets. It will make you stop thinking about the future if you let it, so don't let it.
Don't let yourself get so focused on the pain of the now that you no longer see the joy of the future. Jeremiah 29:11 tells me clearly that God knows the plans he has for my life so if we are still here then God still has a plan and that involves a future.
So start thinking about a bucket list. This will make you focus on your future and that is the beginning of hope, and hope can be a powerful force that will help us battle a powerful disease.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Making Plans
If you are like me and are facing a major health crisis then it is time for you to start making plans. Everything in you will want to stop looking forward in any way, but don't do that. When I was diagnosed with P.D. 20 months ago a voice started in my head trying to convince me that my life was over, but you can't listen to that voice and have any hope.
Jeremish 29:11 nlt "For I know the plans that I have for you", says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
If you are facing Parkinsons, Cancer, Heart Disease or another serious illness you will need hope just to face the battle and no one can have hope without plans for the future so please, start making plans.
Jeremish 29:11 nlt "For I know the plans that I have for you", says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
If you are facing Parkinsons, Cancer, Heart Disease or another serious illness you will need hope just to face the battle and no one can have hope without plans for the future so please, start making plans.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Isolation
We had a dog that has been with us out on our farm for many years. His name was Barkley and our entire family loved him very much. My wife used to joke about him that he looked like he was put together with spare parts. He was a loyal and important part of our lives and we hated it when he got sick.
We knew that he was sick because he crawled up under the edge of our shed and wouldn't come out. Ever since I was diagnosed with P.D. I have had to fight this same tendency because there are times when I just want to stay holed up at home. I have to continually remind myself that isolation is my enemy.
When you want to build a fire you have to stack a lot of wood in a pile because the fire will go out if the wood is scattered. You can't keep the fire of hope burning if you spend too much time alone so get up and get out today. Keep interacting with people and you will feel better.
We knew that he was sick because he crawled up under the edge of our shed and wouldn't come out. Ever since I was diagnosed with P.D. I have had to fight this same tendency because there are times when I just want to stay holed up at home. I have to continually remind myself that isolation is my enemy.
When you want to build a fire you have to stack a lot of wood in a pile because the fire will go out if the wood is scattered. You can't keep the fire of hope burning if you spend too much time alone so get up and get out today. Keep interacting with people and you will feel better.
Monday, August 12, 2013
A powerful message of hope...follow this link
A powerful message of hope. Please consume at your earliest convenience. Healing cancer from the inside out by Dr. Colin Campbell.
/www.loftcinema.com/film/healing-cancer-from-inside-out/
Contagious
As we have been battling Parkinsons and heart disease for over 20 months I have become convinced of one important truth and that is that "hope" is contagious. When I hang out with positive, hopeful people I feel better about myself and my future...really I actually feel better after I have been around positive people. There is a real, measurable difference in our responses to different kinds of people.
If you hang out with angry people you'll want to fight about something, and if you hang out with disappointed people you'll want to complain. This is true because attitudes are contagious. Knowing this has led me to be on the lookout for positive, hopeful, forward looking people.
If you are determined to be a "grumpy Gus" please drive on by my house.
If you hang out with angry people you'll want to fight about something, and if you hang out with disappointed people you'll want to complain. This is true because attitudes are contagious. Knowing this has led me to be on the lookout for positive, hopeful, forward looking people.
If you are determined to be a "grumpy Gus" please drive on by my house.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Terrorism and our health
Parkinsons and heart disease are a lot like the terrorists who attacked our nation on 911. When they flew those planes into the world trade center buildings was not when the war started, it's just when we realized that we were at war. This was when we woke up, developed a battle plan and started to fight back.
The day I was diagnosed by my Neurologist with Parkinsons was not when the war started. The disease had been working against me for at least a year or more already. This past March I had a heart attack and went through quadruple bypass surgery but the day of the initial heart attack was not when it all started.
Many of us spend years ignoring the telltale signs that we are at war already. We want to pretend that we are safe and everything is alright until it's not and the building is coming down around us. If you have grown up eating the standard American diet then you are already involved in a war whether you realize it or not.
Perhaps it's time for all of us to wake up, develop a plan, and start to fight back.
The day I was diagnosed by my Neurologist with Parkinsons was not when the war started. The disease had been working against me for at least a year or more already. This past March I had a heart attack and went through quadruple bypass surgery but the day of the initial heart attack was not when it all started.
Many of us spend years ignoring the telltale signs that we are at war already. We want to pretend that we are safe and everything is alright until it's not and the building is coming down around us. If you have grown up eating the standard American diet then you are already involved in a war whether you realize it or not.
Perhaps it's time for all of us to wake up, develop a plan, and start to fight back.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Encourage Others
When you are battling with disease and hopelessness you can't afford to keep you on your mind. I was diagnosed with P.D. twenty months ago and then had a heart attack and surgery in March, but we will not allow our lives to be defined by this alone. Our lives should be marked, instead, by purpose. When you lose the ability to see your purpose, then you begin to just drift through life.
We live in a world that is very self consumed, but we can be different. Every day that I wake up I can choose to focus on myself or on others. This morning we went to visit some friends who live 90 minutes from our home. The wife of this couple just got home from the hospital last night and we wanted to spend some time loving and encouraging them. My wife is at lunch visiting with another friend who is struggling with some real financial troubles in their home.
No matter what we are going through right now there are people who are going through worse situations. Hebrews 10:25 nlt tells us to "encourage one another." Encouraging others changes my focus and connects me with purpose. This is just one way to battle disease and hopelessness.
We live in a world that is very self consumed, but we can be different. Every day that I wake up I can choose to focus on myself or on others. This morning we went to visit some friends who live 90 minutes from our home. The wife of this couple just got home from the hospital last night and we wanted to spend some time loving and encouraging them. My wife is at lunch visiting with another friend who is struggling with some real financial troubles in their home.
No matter what we are going through right now there are people who are going through worse situations. Hebrews 10:25 nlt tells us to "encourage one another." Encouraging others changes my focus and connects me with purpose. This is just one way to battle disease and hopelessness.
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