Dusting Off My Bible: 1 & 2 Peter

Well, my Bible has been gathering dust for much of the past year or two. Since the accident, I've stuck with a few key Scripture verses, and read a few books of the Bible (Job, Habakkuk, and perhaps bits and pieces of others). My faith has been on a roller coaster through the trials and suffering that my car accident has lead to.

A dear friend of mine recommended that I read 1 and 2 Peter. I had my Bible open to 1 Peter for several weeks. A few nights ago, I felt compelled to sit down and read. I read 1 and 2 Peter, and they really touched me.

In 1 Peter, we are told that our faith in God will lead to a glorious inheritance and salvation. But, Peter continues...

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1:6-7)

God allows his followers' faith to be tested, so that we might discover our own weaknesses and His infinite strength. It is to increase/deepen our faith in Him.

Further in 1 Peter, we are told that "since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin" (4:1). Based on my study Bible and my own meditation on this passage, I think it is saying that physical suffering can equip us with a new outlook on life. Priorities may shift:  things that were once insignificant take on new meaning, while other things lose their value. Sinful desires become less alluring because we have learned (through suffering) to depend on Christ to help us through.

God gives us trials in a way to break us... but let me explain. Trials and suffering can bring us to the end of our own resources, and hopefully back to God. There is a shifting point during times of trial and suffering. When we reach that point, realize, and accept that ONLY with God can we get through this, things take on new meaning (even the suffering looks different). God wants us to place our complete trust and faith in Him. When we no longer have the strength and the resources to pick ourselves back up, we turn to God to lift us up.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still struggle with completely trusting in God to give me the strength to keep going with all of this pain. But, in my heart, I know that God will never leave me and that this experience is to bring me closer to Him. I don't understand why this happened to me, why I must be in so much pain every single day, why my life has been completely flipped upside-down, etc... (and I go through stages of denial and anger about it) but I long to honor my Lord. At my core, my deepest desire is to serve, honor, and glorify Him who gives me the strength and courage to go on. I don't know how, in the midst of all of this, I am supposed to praise, honor, and serve Him; but I can't give up. He has never given up on me, and I will not give up on trying to be His faithful servant.

Kerrie Roberts - No Matter What


© 2010 Jamie Valendy.

One Lovely Blog Award

Thank You WinnyNinny PooPoo at No Extended Warranty

This was such a surprise for being nominated for this the One Lovely Blog Award. Thank you so much for the encouragement and the award.

Here are the rules:

- Accept the award and post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

- Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. (if possible)

- Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Please visit the blogs that I've chosen to pass the award on to. They are all great!

1) Abi's Migrainous Wanderings by Abigail Addison
2) Adventures in Occipital Nerve Stimulation by Banner
3) A Rewoven Life by Susan
4) Chronic Warrior by admin
5) Final Trick by dyspatient
6) Free My Brain From Migraine Pain by admin
7) God Whispers by God Whispers
8) How to Cope with Pain by How to Cope with Pain
9) jasmine's cove by jasminepw
10) Migraine 365 by Jen
11) MigrainePuppet by Migraine Puppet
12) Migrainista by Migrainista
13) Mom Migraine by Mindy
14) Painfully Speaking by Jessica
15) Through the Words of Chronic Pain by A FIGHTER

The Hangover

I've been away with a bad migraine attack. Yesterday, as I was all medicated up with migraine meds, I watched the movie, The Hangover. Today, I'm living the migraine attack hangover. The headache pain has come and gone all day. I'm irritable, unbalanced, indecisive, and feel like I'm living in a fog. I'm hoping that this is just the postdrome, rather than the start of yet another migraine attack.

Treatment Options

A friend of mine, who I haven't spoken to in years, emailed me about my migraines today. Her husband had chronic migraines for years, and his pain was dramatically improved by getting a spinal cord stimulator (http://www.poweroveryourpain.com/sb/learn_about).

Another friend of mine, another whom I haven't spoken to in years, asked me if I had heard about neurostimulators (http://nomigrainepain.com/).

So, of course, I started looking into all sorts of different things online. There's so much information about spinal cord stimulation, occipital nerve stimulation, neurostimulators, etc...

There are sooo many different options. Does anyone have any insight into any of these (or other) treatment options for chronic migraines???

Rant and Rave

Better understanding of the phases typically involved in a migraine attack seem pretty useless to me, at this point... Prodrome... Aura... Headache... Postdrome... I have symptoms of all of these phases all of the time. I don't know where one migraine ends and another begins!

© 2009 David Madden Photography.

This is (and has been) taking a huge toll on me, as well as my husband. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful husband. He doesn't understand any of what I'm experiencing (he doesn't even get headaches, much less migraines); and, yet, he's there by my side to take care of me. It breaks my heart that this disease affects my moods (we're talking big-time irritability) and weight (a lot of weight loss, which I can't afford to lose), and causes him to worry about me. But I'm so grateful that he loves me, and that he tries to help me in any way that he can. I thank God every day for my husband.

Phases of a Migraine

There are 4 distinct phases in classic migraine:

1)  Prodrome
The symptoms of the prodrome phase typically occurs hours or days prior to the actual onset of headache pain. Prodrome symptoms can include:

• Fatigue or excessive sleepiness
• Frequent yawning
• Altered mood
• Irritability
• Depression or euphoria
• Muscle stiffness (especially in the neck, back and face)
• Food cravings
• Difficulty concentrating

2)  Aura
Not all migraineurs experience an aura preceding or accompanying the actual headache pain. The aura phase typically begins minutes or hours prior to the onset of headache pain. Aura can be visual, sensory, or motor in nature. Visual symptoms include:

• Blurred vision
• Appearance of floaters (tiny specks that float before the eyes)
• Flashes of light or color
• A blind spot or even complete blindness in one eye
• Double vision

Sensory and motor symptoms include:

• Numbness or tingling of the hands, feet, and/or face
• Stiff neck
• Weakness
• Vertigo or Dizziness
• Loss of balance
• Ringing in the ears
• Difficulty talking
• Slow thinking or confusion
• Problems with concentration
• Changes in mood and activity level
• Hypersensitivity to touch

3)  Headache
This phase is the experience of the headache pain. For some, the pain is a one-sided,  throbbing or pounding pain. For others, the pain is all over the head. The migraine pain typically lasts between 4 to 72 hours. "Status migrainosus" are headaches that last longer than 72 hours, and require immediate medical attention. This is the most disruptive of the phases, and migraineurs often stop all activity and remove themselves from certain triggers (light, sound, odors). The headache phase often includes the pulsing / throbbing head pain, as well as some other symptoms, including:

• Extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and smell (photophobia, phonophobia, osmosphobia)
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Increased pain with physical activity (such as walking or going up or down stairs)
• Blurred vision
• Scalp tenderness
• Stiffness and tenderness of the neck
• Problems with concentration
• Mood changes
• Vertigo, hotheadedness, and/or faintness
• Extremities feel cold and moist

4)  Postdrome
Some migraineurs experience symptoms after the headache pain has subsided. The postdrome symptoms may continue for several hours or even days. Symptoms of this phase can include:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Scalp tenderness
• Cognitive difficulties (difficulty concentrating)
• Mood changes
• Feeling "hungover"
• Head pain