Corona life
Do you know someone with an autoimmune disease? How about an elderly person or a young child who either is developing an immune system or whose immune system is breaking down from aging?
I think we all can name one, two, or more people who we know that fall into any of those categories above.
If you're reading this, you'll learn that I have an autoimmune disease. At the age of fourteen years old, I began developing symptoms for what was confirmed two years later as Crohn's Disease. In my own words, Crohn's is basically a disease of the intestinal tract that causes inflammation. If you have this disease, you are prone to getting other autoimmune diseases as well. For myself, I not only have Crohn's, but I also have plaque psoriasis, which is when your good cells in your body are attacked, causing your skin to regenerate more dead skin cells than normal. This produces scaly, itchy, inflamed skin on the outside. It is very uncomfortable, embarrassing, and frustrating.
As a way to treat these two diseases, amongst the other medical issues I also have on the side (folliculitis, asthma, PCOS, scoliosis, etc.), I have to give myself a shot in the stomach every two weeks. I know it sounds gross, but just trying to be realistic in every way possible. These shots are much more painful than your typical flu shot in your arm, and I have to hold the needle in for ten seconds.
My medication weakens my immune system, so I am more at risk of catching illnesses of any kind much easier than a normal person who has a healthy immune system. It is also hard for my body to recover due to my weakened immune system.
So tie that altogether and grasp your mind around it.
When you hear the president and his officials, the media, doctors, your family and friends, etc. telling you to stay home, they seriously and truly mean to STAY HOME. It's not out of making your life miserable, but rather, it's protecting you from making your life and other's lives miserable by catching the coronavirus (COVID-19).
I absolutely hate being stuck in my house. I got home from a spring break trip to Nashville having to be quarantined inside right away. Along with having to stay inside and literally go nowhere except for little car rides each day, I had to skip my medication day for a whole other two weeks as a precaution in case I was exposed over the trip. Why? Because of that weakened immune system I was telling you about.
I get you hate being stuck in your house too, probably with a bunch of crazy kids that you want to pull your hair out over or maybe you're by yourself and are homesick from being away from family and everyone you know. I understand. Seriously. Do yourself a favor and continue to stay home, or you are going to get more people sick, which will cause us all to have to quarantine even longer as a nation into the summer or second half of the year.
We all want our lives back, so I hope this post hits you deep in some way, shape, or form at the complexity of just my health situation alone. I hope this post causes you to realize who you could be impacting in the community. Love your neighbor simply by keeping put.
Also, take advantage of this time. Once we are finally able to be set free from the walls of our homes, we won't get a time like this back. Allow it to change your views on your spiritual life. Let it change the way you think about hygiene so that you can practice better habits in the future. Learn to just BE in the moment so that you can realize how you've been prioritizing things in your life and can make changes. We GROW through what we GO through. So, enjoy this time you've probably been longing for. The circumstances around it may not be what you expected, but none of us expected it. Expect the unexpected and embrace this time.
Oh, and don't forget: WASH YOUR HANDS AND STAY HOME.
Much love!
I think we all can name one, two, or more people who we know that fall into any of those categories above.
If you're reading this, you'll learn that I have an autoimmune disease. At the age of fourteen years old, I began developing symptoms for what was confirmed two years later as Crohn's Disease. In my own words, Crohn's is basically a disease of the intestinal tract that causes inflammation. If you have this disease, you are prone to getting other autoimmune diseases as well. For myself, I not only have Crohn's, but I also have plaque psoriasis, which is when your good cells in your body are attacked, causing your skin to regenerate more dead skin cells than normal. This produces scaly, itchy, inflamed skin on the outside. It is very uncomfortable, embarrassing, and frustrating.
As a way to treat these two diseases, amongst the other medical issues I also have on the side (folliculitis, asthma, PCOS, scoliosis, etc.), I have to give myself a shot in the stomach every two weeks. I know it sounds gross, but just trying to be realistic in every way possible. These shots are much more painful than your typical flu shot in your arm, and I have to hold the needle in for ten seconds.
My medication weakens my immune system, so I am more at risk of catching illnesses of any kind much easier than a normal person who has a healthy immune system. It is also hard for my body to recover due to my weakened immune system.
So tie that altogether and grasp your mind around it.
When you hear the president and his officials, the media, doctors, your family and friends, etc. telling you to stay home, they seriously and truly mean to STAY HOME. It's not out of making your life miserable, but rather, it's protecting you from making your life and other's lives miserable by catching the coronavirus (COVID-19).
I absolutely hate being stuck in my house. I got home from a spring break trip to Nashville having to be quarantined inside right away. Along with having to stay inside and literally go nowhere except for little car rides each day, I had to skip my medication day for a whole other two weeks as a precaution in case I was exposed over the trip. Why? Because of that weakened immune system I was telling you about.
I get you hate being stuck in your house too, probably with a bunch of crazy kids that you want to pull your hair out over or maybe you're by yourself and are homesick from being away from family and everyone you know. I understand. Seriously. Do yourself a favor and continue to stay home, or you are going to get more people sick, which will cause us all to have to quarantine even longer as a nation into the summer or second half of the year.
We all want our lives back, so I hope this post hits you deep in some way, shape, or form at the complexity of just my health situation alone. I hope this post causes you to realize who you could be impacting in the community. Love your neighbor simply by keeping put.
Also, take advantage of this time. Once we are finally able to be set free from the walls of our homes, we won't get a time like this back. Allow it to change your views on your spiritual life. Let it change the way you think about hygiene so that you can practice better habits in the future. Learn to just BE in the moment so that you can realize how you've been prioritizing things in your life and can make changes. We GROW through what we GO through. So, enjoy this time you've probably been longing for. The circumstances around it may not be what you expected, but none of us expected it. Expect the unexpected and embrace this time.
Oh, and don't forget: WASH YOUR HANDS AND STAY HOME.
Much love!
At Limit's End
What is your schedule like, or what position are you in right now, whether that be as a student, a worker, etc.?
I currently am a Junior in college taking five classes, as well as doing an internship in downtown Jax, FL, at a marketing agency, and with all of that comes a lot of time, effort, dedication, work, and much more...
...Notice in that list of words that I didn't include rest when it comes to all that is involved in a schedule like mine.
Over the past couple of weeks, a word that has just kept coming back to my mind is "pressure."
Personally, what pressure means to me is that it pushes me to my limit's end. I let so much build up or I bottle so much in, that the pressure eventually causes everything to explode. Explosion for me would look like stress, frustration, and lots and lots of tears.
There is also another kind of pressure that I think has an affect on me as well. When it comes to making decisions, communicating with others, and things along those lines, I let insecurity, other's opinions, doubts, and fears take hold, holding me back from pressing forward through the pressure. In the end, it just holds back so much pressure that also eventually explodes into a mess.
What does pressure look like for you, and what can you do to find a cure for it?
The biggest priority that I believe we should make in our lives is releasing all that is on our hearts to Christ (1 Peter 5:7). Instead of holding everything in and trying to do things out of our own control (which eventually tends to cause us to fail every single time in some way), we can give full control to God and not to anyone or anything else. In exchange for our pressure, problems, and cares, He will give us rest (Matthew 11:28-29). When the pressure pushes us to our end, it brings us to our beginning of giving everything over to God.
What I also find is helpful is going to someone about what is on my heart. For me currently, that is going to my parents, who are my biggest and greatest support system here on this earth. Talking things out with someone who has more experience than you do in different aspects of life allows you to get a better understanding on things, and it allows you to be able to think through what you are dealing with in a different perspective.
Don't let the pressure push you into a different direction or path that could lead into more problems, fears, etc., but rather, allow that pressure to point you to Jesus, your source of hope, peace, joy, and so much more in this life.
I currently am a Junior in college taking five classes, as well as doing an internship in downtown Jax, FL, at a marketing agency, and with all of that comes a lot of time, effort, dedication, work, and much more...
...Notice in that list of words that I didn't include rest when it comes to all that is involved in a schedule like mine.
Over the past couple of weeks, a word that has just kept coming back to my mind is "pressure."
Personally, what pressure means to me is that it pushes me to my limit's end. I let so much build up or I bottle so much in, that the pressure eventually causes everything to explode. Explosion for me would look like stress, frustration, and lots and lots of tears.
There is also another kind of pressure that I think has an affect on me as well. When it comes to making decisions, communicating with others, and things along those lines, I let insecurity, other's opinions, doubts, and fears take hold, holding me back from pressing forward through the pressure. In the end, it just holds back so much pressure that also eventually explodes into a mess.
What does pressure look like for you, and what can you do to find a cure for it?
The biggest priority that I believe we should make in our lives is releasing all that is on our hearts to Christ (1 Peter 5:7). Instead of holding everything in and trying to do things out of our own control (which eventually tends to cause us to fail every single time in some way), we can give full control to God and not to anyone or anything else. In exchange for our pressure, problems, and cares, He will give us rest (Matthew 11:28-29). When the pressure pushes us to our end, it brings us to our beginning of giving everything over to God.
What I also find is helpful is going to someone about what is on my heart. For me currently, that is going to my parents, who are my biggest and greatest support system here on this earth. Talking things out with someone who has more experience than you do in different aspects of life allows you to get a better understanding on things, and it allows you to be able to think through what you are dealing with in a different perspective.
Don't let the pressure push you into a different direction or path that could lead into more problems, fears, etc., but rather, allow that pressure to point you to Jesus, your source of hope, peace, joy, and so much more in this life.
WHAT'S IN YOUR CORE?
Yesterday I went to go see the new movie Overcomer that was recently released. If you have seen Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Courageous, Mom's Night Out, or War Room, you would know that this latest movie was also created by none other than the Kendrick Brothers.
The movie ties in a lot of personal stories, including a high school basketball coach whose team is falling apart, as well as a quiet, reserved student who grew up her whole life thinking both of her parents passed away due to drug abuse, when something turned that thought and belief around.
To say I left the movie without shedding a tear would not be the truth.
One of the most impactful scenes of the movie was when a blind, lonely, elderly man hooked up to hospital machines asked a question to the basketball coach. He said, "If I asked you who you are, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"
The dialogue went back and forth until he asked if everything on this earth (job/career, family, etc.) was stripped away, what would be at the very core of who the coach was.
This hit very deep for me.
After looking up some statistics about identity, I found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of all Americans find their identity first in their family. Two out of five Americans (38%) find their identity in religious faith. (https://www.barna.com/research/what-most-influences-the-self-identity-of-americans/)
So, just like the elderly man asked, let me ask you the same question.
Who is _______ ________? (fill in the blank with your name)
If your career was taken away from you, what would come next? If that next thing was taken away from you (say for instance, family or friends), what would the next thing on the list be? If we kept going and everything you said was stripped away, what would be at the core of who you are, and could that very thing sustain you and keep you going throughout your whole life? Or, could it be stripped away as well?
The coach's last identity on his list was his faith. He had placed everything else above his faith, but even though it was last, it was the very thing that was his foundation and never failed him. Once he realized how mixed up his priorities were, it broke him, and it took that challenging question for him to be re-molded by God into what needed to be his first identity in his life.
I pray that you can honestly search your inner self and realize what your true priorities are and how that affects your daily life (worry, anxiety, fear, stress, doubt, frustration, anger, etc.). If Christ isn't first, all of those things will take root in your heart, causing life to be more difficult and frustrating than it should be. If you try to take control, you will align your priorities in such away that when hardships come up, you will not have the best outcome you could possibly have if you haven't placed everything at the feet of Jesus.
In Him is peace, and in Him, He can do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Think about that. Exceedingly. Abundantly. Above. All.
Mind-blowing, right? But that is what our God is capable of.
Look deep, and find what is at your core.
Below, I have included a link to the scene from the movie that this blog post was based on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgqaGu9KlDw
The movie ties in a lot of personal stories, including a high school basketball coach whose team is falling apart, as well as a quiet, reserved student who grew up her whole life thinking both of her parents passed away due to drug abuse, when something turned that thought and belief around.
To say I left the movie without shedding a tear would not be the truth.
One of the most impactful scenes of the movie was when a blind, lonely, elderly man hooked up to hospital machines asked a question to the basketball coach. He said, "If I asked you who you are, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"
The dialogue went back and forth until he asked if everything on this earth (job/career, family, etc.) was stripped away, what would be at the very core of who the coach was.
This hit very deep for me.
After looking up some statistics about identity, I found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of all Americans find their identity first in their family. Two out of five Americans (38%) find their identity in religious faith. (https://www.barna.com/research/what-most-influences-the-self-identity-of-americans/)
So, just like the elderly man asked, let me ask you the same question.
Who is _______ ________? (fill in the blank with your name)
If your career was taken away from you, what would come next? If that next thing was taken away from you (say for instance, family or friends), what would the next thing on the list be? If we kept going and everything you said was stripped away, what would be at the core of who you are, and could that very thing sustain you and keep you going throughout your whole life? Or, could it be stripped away as well?
The coach's last identity on his list was his faith. He had placed everything else above his faith, but even though it was last, it was the very thing that was his foundation and never failed him. Once he realized how mixed up his priorities were, it broke him, and it took that challenging question for him to be re-molded by God into what needed to be his first identity in his life.
I pray that you can honestly search your inner self and realize what your true priorities are and how that affects your daily life (worry, anxiety, fear, stress, doubt, frustration, anger, etc.). If Christ isn't first, all of those things will take root in your heart, causing life to be more difficult and frustrating than it should be. If you try to take control, you will align your priorities in such away that when hardships come up, you will not have the best outcome you could possibly have if you haven't placed everything at the feet of Jesus.
In Him is peace, and in Him, He can do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Think about that. Exceedingly. Abundantly. Above. All.
Mind-blowing, right? But that is what our God is capable of.
Look deep, and find what is at your core.
Below, I have included a link to the scene from the movie that this blog post was based on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgqaGu9KlDw
CACTUS-ROSE CO.
One of the main tabs I want to give my time and attention to is the very one you are reading this post under: Lifestyle.
I believe investing in others and allowing God to use me to speak to others is very important, and I want to first off start this tab out by explaining the origins of where the name "Cactus-Rose Co." came from.
Coming up with a name was actually easy for me. After going on trip out west, (see more under the "Travel" tab) I grew to love cacti for some reason (even though I only saw two while on the entire trip). They are very unique plants that are very strong, and while scrolling through Instagram one day, I read some "advice" from a cactus:
A cactus retains lots of water, and it gets lots of sunlight as well. For us as humans, our Living Water comes from Jesus Christ, and He is the light that outweighs ALL darkness. In Him we find patience and peace, and our strong points can ultimately be accentuated through Him for His glory.
One of my favorite flowers is a rose. My grandma had rose bushes at the front of her house right on the other side of her porch. I would always look at and admire their beauty. After she passed away, my dad took some of her rose bushes and planted them in front of our house.
In Christ, we can thrive and bloom as a rose. Our vibrancy can be radiated from the life He gives us. Roses have thorns, and even in life, we will have many thorns in our sides.
So, put the two together, and you have Cactus-Rose Co.
I pray you will look in God's creation and in all aspects of life to find inspiration through Him and His mighty works. There is so much to take in!
I believe investing in others and allowing God to use me to speak to others is very important, and I want to first off start this tab out by explaining the origins of where the name "Cactus-Rose Co." came from.
Coming up with a name was actually easy for me. After going on trip out west, (see more under the "Travel" tab) I grew to love cacti for some reason (even though I only saw two while on the entire trip). They are very unique plants that are very strong, and while scrolling through Instagram one day, I read some "advice" from a cactus:
- 1. Get plenty of sunshine.
- 2. Accentuate your strong points.
- 3. Be patient through the dry spells.
- 4. Conserve your resources.
- 5. Wait for your time to bloom.
- 6. Stay Sharp.
A cactus retains lots of water, and it gets lots of sunlight as well. For us as humans, our Living Water comes from Jesus Christ, and He is the light that outweighs ALL darkness. In Him we find patience and peace, and our strong points can ultimately be accentuated through Him for His glory.
One of my favorite flowers is a rose. My grandma had rose bushes at the front of her house right on the other side of her porch. I would always look at and admire their beauty. After she passed away, my dad took some of her rose bushes and planted them in front of our house.
In Christ, we can thrive and bloom as a rose. Our vibrancy can be radiated from the life He gives us. Roses have thorns, and even in life, we will have many thorns in our sides.
So, put the two together, and you have Cactus-Rose Co.
I pray you will look in God's creation and in all aspects of life to find inspiration through Him and His mighty works. There is so much to take in!