20 life lessons I have learned over the course of the last decade. In the last 10 years, I have been through it all. I have learned closely and painfully how precious life is. I have learned that life isn’t easy when you are healthy and is much more difficult with a chronic illness but following Christ allows you to see the lit path before you. Today, 10 years ago, I went states away following the lit path to have a surgery that was my only hope outside of christ performing a miracle. 10 years later to the day I look back to see that that surgery was my miracle. This was also a life event that changed everything about who I am, who I am going forward, who my friends and family are to me. and now we are a decade out. chronically ill, total pancreatectomy with auto islet cell transplant, pancreatitis, type 3c diabetes, diabetic life, chronic pain, neuropathic, neuropathy, migraine, narcolepsy, cataplexy, insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, anxiety, depression, splenectomy, appendectomy, surgery, hospitals, doctors, ready to be heard, feelings are validated, validation of pain, friend who understand , family understands

Event planning is one of my all time favorite passions and hobbies. This is how I planned my best friend baby’s shower and this is when I realized that event planning is something that i love. I love the details, I love the meaning, I love that it makes someone feel loved and cared for. I didn’t realize that event planning was such a labor of love and once I did it myself; I cant go back.

Never stop learning because there is so much to see and experience in the world. Whether you study plants, animals, travel, finances, it doesnt matter its always good for us to explore new things and learn how they fit into our lives. By learning these new things we are able to connect them with knowledge we currently have and grow on it. This is how we improve the world and respect others and how their knowledge makes them special.

My husband is someone who is always on the go. He loves having projects. He loves exploring the world around him. He loves building and creating things. He likes to be working on projects bt with my health I often cant keep up. I wanted to share my tips and tricks to meet in the middle so that you and your partner can still spend time together. Supporting each others hobbies and activities is important and vital to a successful relationship.

When I became chronically ill something changed that I never expected. It was how I planned my life. Not in the way you may be thinking in the sense of what I want to do and how to do it. It changed in the sense of how I planned trips and events. I had to plan rest days. I didn’t used to have to plan for my body to be unable to function for days after a trip or event. I eventually started calling it my 3-5 business day recovery plan. I thought I would share this with you in hopes that you and your loved ones may be able to understand each other better. As well as, maybe gibing you a new tip or trick to make life more manageable so you can feel like you are thriving not simply surviving.

Twenty six things that I have learned in my twenty six years of life. I wanted to share the things that I learned this past year as well as things that I have known but wish I implemented these things in more.

God is straightforward. God is clear when it comes to what He is wanting our next move to be. If you are feeling confused on a decision that is the work of the devil. The devil plants doubt in our hearts and minds. If he successfully makes us doubt a decision we had already felt so clearly with Christ than he is winning the power over our hearts not Christ. Think about how you make your decisions and what you feel when making those decisions. God’s timing not mine.

One of my favorite places in all of Israel was the Garden of Gethsemane. I love how I could feel the presence of my God so powerfully. This was where Jesus wept over what was to come for him. This was where Jesus begged his father to save him and find away for this to happen differently. However, when his father didn’t have that option He accepted the plan with grace. I pray that I stay like this for Christ. I pray that the decisions that I make and the life I live whether it involves health problems or not. I remember praying for answers on whether I should have my surgery and I remember Christ telling me that he wasn’t done with me. It was a hard and painful decision and there are days that i feel like I made the wrong call but I listened to my God so I know I am doing what I was called to do.

Packing for any trip when you are chronically ill can be a daunting task in it of itself. However, packing for a trip that is across an ocean and a 13-14 hour flight is a whole other level of difficulty. My goal in this post is to help you understand what to pack and how to successfully pack so that you don’t over pack but you have what you need. Packing for Israel was difficult but together we can achieve anything. This is a post that should help explain all that and be honest about it all. I hope this helps and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

I like to share the things I learn in therapy and one of the most recent things is “Expect & Accept”. I struggle when it comes with doing all I can to please those around me. I try to please them to a point where my own well being is no longer important. I focus so heavily on the other person whether or not their reaction or action was acceptable. This is something that I struggle with so much but we cant control people. We have to remember when people react we can prepare ourselves for this by excepting the possibilities and accepting that it is not our fault.

This is what our group did on our Israel familiarization tour. The reason I keep specifying that it was a familiarization tour is because of how much we did in such a short amount of time. However, that was the purpose of this trip. It was incredible. If you have any interest in going you need to read this israel Itinerary Blog. I will always say you need a guide. Not just any guide, but someone who is a local and knows the ins and outs of the country. It is tumultuous at times but it is the safest when you are with people who speak the language and know the area. THis is just an example of my trip and I would love to answer any questions!

What are your life mottos? What statements do you come back to when life is not going right? DON’T WORRY! I am sharing all of my tips and tricks for getting through life as someone who is chronically ill. These blog posts are for everyone though because whether you have a chronic illness or not you have had to face adversity at times. It is hard and it can be awful but hopefully with these tips it cane make life just a little more manageable. Assess, Adapt, Move on or in Michael’s case Overcome!

Goals. We all have them. Some of us may not have taken the time to sit down and realize what they are but if they did they would realize they do. This is all about the goals on the about page that I wanted to be a group experience. It is hard to complete things but working as a team can change the situation entirely. I want to achieve these goals together so leave your thoughts in the comments