Bring on the Noise!

My friend Kerri recently asked me to write a guest post for her blog because she's decided to use her blog as a platform for friends to share their stories during National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.
I know it seems everything has an "awareness week" nowadays, and to be honest I'm kind of excited about that. I think giving people the chance to use their voices to educate others about whatever they are facing is a good thing. I've heard and seen complaints about the amount of "noise" created by awareness campaigns on Twitter and facebook and other sites but sometimes I wonder how many millions of people would still be sitting in silence and suffering alone were it not for the advent of social media and all of its awareness. I say bring on the noise!

The blog post I shared with Kerri's readers is a bit snarky, but I still wanted to share it with you all here to give you a little glimpse into another part of my world. I'm not always sunshine and rainbows, remember? Sometimes I'm sunshine and sarcasm, and that's okay.

So here's the link if you're interested in reading:

guest post | "but you don't look sick!" - living with multiple sclerosis

Be sure to check out the rest of Kerri's blog. There's some fun stuff there, and there are more stories from people who live with invisible illness. Be sure to leave her a comment to let her know you stopped by!

Do you live with an invisible illness? Are you participating in National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week in any way? If so, you're more than welcome to leave a comment and share links, stories, etc.

Until next time, may you be blessed - and inspired to pass it on!

Oh, Hail!

It's Wordless Wednesday!

(And it's hailing like CRAZY outside! 

Hubby caught some!)

 

Until next time, may you be blessed - and inspired to pass it on!

Fall, Fabulous Fall!

Fall's almost here! You have no idea how happy that makes me. If you could see my happy, it would be terrifyingly large, like one of those big T-Rex statues at a natural history museum. That's right, I'm so happy today it's kinda scary. Here's what's making me happy this week:

I may live in a podunk town where not much happens, but I feel so blessed to live on property where I can take my kids out to see their granddaddy's garden full of pretty pumpkins and fodder shocks, or where I can open up my door and look across the road to see heavenly sunlight beaming through the trees. 

What's making you happy today?

Until next time, may you be blessed - and inspired to pass it on!

Wacky Wrap-Up Revisited

Whew! Last week was a whirlwind and I'm happy to say that both emotionally and physically things are looking up. Something fun happened to me and I want to share it with you and revisit the blog post it all stemmed from.

I subscribe to Redbook Magazine and I also follow them on facebook and Twitter. Several months ago they asked (via facebook status update) what kind of quirky coping mechanisms we readers use when we need some calm in our lives. I shared my "Wacky Wednesday Wrap-Up" blog post with them in the comments section of that status update. One of their senior editors emailed me not long ago and asked if she could quote me in their October issue. Of course I said yes! I got my magazine in the mail today and sure enough I saw my little quote. While it's not as amazing as having an article published, it's still lots of fun to see my own name in print in one of my favorite magazines. (And it's a great excuse to remind you to go wrap up in a warm blanket - right now if possible!)

I hope right now, somewhere in this world there is a woman who is discovering (or re-discovering) the "aaaaaaah calm joy" moment of wrapping herself in a blanket fresh from the dryer thanks to this little quote.

What "aaaaaaah calm joy" moments have you experienced lately?  

(Please share in the comments section.)

Until next time, may you be blessed - and inspired to pass it on!

What Sunflowers Do

Today has been a tough day. My six-year-old has an upper respiratory infection, I'm not feeling well myself, and emotionally I'm just kind of spent. After a long day here at home and an early evening spent at the local urgent care center with my son, I pulled into the driveway and I was reminded of the joy underneath all this yucky stuff when I saw the pretty yellow sunflowers my mother-in-law planted on our property this year. I'm so grateful for those yellow sunflowers tonight. I'm grateful for my Yellow Joy Machine traveling buddies. I may not feel all super-dee-duper joyful this evening, but I'm turning toward the light because I know that 

"Weeping may last through the night, 

but joy comes with the morning." 

(Psalm 30:5b, New Living Translation)

Keep your face to the sunshine 

and you cannot see the shadow. 

It's what sunflowers do. 

- Helen Keller