Floating Away to Lala Land?

I found this nugget this morning, I just wanted to share with you all. Sometimes it's so easy to get wrapped up in being a caregiver we forget about simple stuff out of the word. For me, I stay in survival mode so much, there's not always room for much else. It takes everything we have, every ounce of strength to make it through the day sometimes, who can think of anything else, right?

Few can understand how full our proverbial plate really is. From daylight to dark, there is something, someone, some situation making a demand on us - on our energy. Lately, with both of us taking our rounds being sick, sleep has been lacking. That makes for long days and nights. But there is something (someone) in the midst of the storm holding it all together - and it's not me. lol.

Actually, I lose it easily. I may look like I have it all together, but on the inside, I'm a big mess. My emotions are all over the place, I have fears, anxiety, self-doubt and the whole nine yards. But just like Jesus promised, He fills me with a peace that is beyond my understanding. I do not understand how we make it sometimes, you know? There is so much making demands on our energy, mindfulness, faith, strength, etc... every.single.day. And we somehow keep going. Day after day. Night after long night.

He is faithful.

So this morning when I found this verse in the New Living Translation (1996) I had the missing piece of the picture. Psalm 119:61 says this: Evil people try to drag me into sin, but I am firmly anchored to Your law. It's not so much that there are "evil people" dragging me into sin, but circumstances are always digging at me, trying to separate me (us) from the truth of His word. Our situations can be a constant soul-pain forever chipping away at our faith - if we let it. That's where the second part of this comes in - I am firmly anchored to Your law - or I'd like to say to Your word.

When we are anchored at the heart to His word, circumstance can't drag us under. When we hide His word in our hearts, it will come up and hold us, ground us, when we need it most. Those long nights when our loved ones are feverish and uncomfortable, the long days with no human interaction, the long evenings when it feels like there was so much more we needed to get done but didn't. When we are anchored to His word - it will sustain us. Ground us. Hold us down when our emotions are ready to float us away to lala land. (Maybe it's just me?)

Today, I will meditate on what it means to be firmly anchored to His word, and to Him. My thoughts will be about how He makes us immovable, grounds us in Himself and is faithful. I will look up the song, The Anchor Holds. And I will keep my thoughts on being anchored in His strength - rather than mine. My meditations will be on being anchored in His faithfulness and being grounded in His word. I'll be grateful for the word today as I trust Him for one more day anchored in Him. Will you join me?

Caregiver Burnout is Real

Do you ever just get too tired? Do you ever want to quit? Do you ever sit down for a whole 30 seconds and think about not getting back up? Ever? Who am I kidding? Sometimes I forget who I'm talking to. Lol. As caregivers, burnout is real. But the problem for most of us, is we don't get a break even in the midst of burnout, right? Let's face it. If we had a bit more help we might avoid burnout - but once we feel that we are in a season of burnout and stressed out - there's still no help. It's easy to feel stuck. I try to do a few things to avoid burnout and to cope. Someone told me one time that I had learned how to live even in the midst of the situation. I think she was right. I have learned to slow down and enjoy an afternoon cup of tea (or coffee!!!). I try to get outside as much as possible because sunshine and fresh air are essential to a healthy life. Some days that means sitting on the patio so I can see Chris in the recliner through the window. But I'

Part of the Crowd

I took Chris to our local minor league baseball team's game yesterday. I must say I give the ballpark an A+ on accessibility. The parking guys pointed me to a handicap spot right near the gate. And from there, I just rolled him in and found our accessible seating - which just means a chair beside an empty spot for the wheelchair to fit in! It was great. He could see fine and even though it was a bit loud at times - it wasn't too loud for him. What joy fills my heart when I find things to do that are positive. As we sat and watched the game, we became part of the crowd. We were all watching the game and cheering on the home team. We had one purpose - besides being entertained, and that was to support the local team. We all cheered when our guys made a play. We hooped and hollered when one of them stole a base or hit a home run. It was so amazing to be part of something bigger than us - to be part of the community. It made me think about the crowds who followed Jesus and the w

Ups and Downs

Maybe it's just "that time of year" for me, but I've struggled a lot the last few weeks. I still affectionately call it the caregiver's fog. Lol. Okay, maybe it's not-so-affectionately. I know I can share my true feelings with you guys because you get it. You understand the day-to-day grind of caregiving. The military has a saying about there being no easy day. I think we live in that reality. It's just not easy caring for another whole person, is it? Caregiving presents many difficulties. We can find ourselves alone, so very alone on this journey. It doesn't just go away. We don't just work through it. It seems to go on and on. There are lots of ups and downs - and that can be about every 90 seconds some days. Right? (smile!) As I've been working through this emotional maze the last few days, I turned my thoughts to Daniel. Let's take a realistic look at his circumstances because as we read his story in the Bible, we tend to glamorize i

Daily Devotions for Caregivers

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