Hi Friends,

My brilliant plant to send out a newsletter last week while I was visiting my family in Oregon fell short. I've been feeling EX-HAUS-TED as I am sure many of you are too. Weather changes, schedule changes (i.e., no school for kids) and those irritating things called illness in our lives can really mess with the plans, huh?

So. . . at last hopenotes is here and don't worry, I am going to send out another one by the end of the week because I just have too many resourceful goodies I want to share to get much further behind.

I won't bore you with details, but if you could keep Rest Ministries in your prayers it would be appreciated. I am trying to get ready to leave again for the Christian retail show July 10th in Florida as well as plan Invisible Illness Week. I have no energy (and even lack some enthusiasm) plus, this is the tightest money has ever been for our ministry. Personally, I'm feeling it too! We are trying to eat out a lot less, clip coupons, only buy necessities, and drive less. Watch the next newsletter for some ways to share how you are finding ways to cut your costs.

Also pray for our many volunteers who are coping with ill spouses, cancer, grand babies who are sick, etc. Despite the setbacks in their lives, I've never seen such an amazing group of people who stand firm in God's love and continue to share it with others, despite their own losses and pain. You all amaze me every day and I am blessed to call you my friend.

This isn't a request for you to send money when you are just trying to pay the bills and for your medicine, but it is a request for you to pray for God to provide in whatever way He sees fit. I've seen Him do it many times. He knows our needs to keep the ministry going and He's in charge. So thanks for lifting it up to Him!

Thanks for all your prayers,

Lisa Copen
Rest Ministries Director and Founder

Yes! I can make a donation to help Rest Ministries continue their outreach!

Lisa is Attending Christian Retail Show
Lisa leaves for Fluoride in a couple of weeks for the International Christian Retail Show in Orlando. First she will be attending a Christian writers women's group annual retreat. She will also be mentoring for CLASServices for the two sessions of Book Proposal Blitz. The plan is that her parents will drive from Oregon to San Diego 7/7 and 7/8. Then 7/10 Lisa and her mom will go to Florida. Lisa's husband will have to be working overtime a lot so Lisa's dad will hang out with Josh. Pray for all of them! With Lisa's rheumatoid arthritis and her mom's diabetes they aren't the best of travelers and Josh has loads of energy to keep "Papa" on his toes! Lisa will be signing books, meeting with media, talking with publishers, etc. It's a time of networking and gaining new relationships.

Invisible Illness Week Being Planned
In case you are wondering... we are starting to update the web site and pull some things together for National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. We will be having our "chat seminars" this year as telephone seminars, where you can call in and listen and participate. Lisa will be ordering updated brochures and other items in the next few weeks.

With everyone trying to save money, we want to be good stewards and not purchase a bunch of stuff no one is interested in, so watch for an upcoming survey to tell us what you would be interested in purchasing. We want to have items available that you want (brochures, pins, bumper stickers)!

Did you know our web site has hundreds of pages of information? Lisa is nearly done with a complete overhaul of the web site and we'll use this place to let you know about pages, articles and other resources you may not even know exist on our web site!

Hard to Find Books Now on Rest Ministries Niche Sites

Whether you are a spouse who has an ill husband or a parent of a child with a chronic illness you will likely find that the page at our web site now has a wide array of books available from Amazon.com. "Many of these books are a great resource but are often hard to find," says Lisa. "We hope by taking your recommendations, reviewing them ourselves, and more, we can offer you some terrific support that you may not be able to easily locate otherwise."

And with every purchase Rest Ministries gets a percentage too, so you are helping us out as well. There are book recommendations for pastors, doctors, nurses, caregivers, and even those wanting to reach out to chronically ill friend.

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Have you visited the new Rest Ministries web site yet?

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Be sure to visit our Sunroom to join in for some excellent discussions!

Is life overcoming you…or are you overcoming life?

That was a question that seemed like a no brain-er to answer many years ago. You see, I was one of the most conceited, arrogant, self-centered girls there were. It was all about me, me and me. I was convinced the earth and everything in it, revolved around me. My physical image and material things meant everything to me. I elevated myself on a pedestal, knowing I was the best thing since sliced bread. So yes…you can say I thought I was overcoming life – no problem.

But I would soon find out that the life I thought was reality and what was actually real, were two entirely different things. It was a merciful awakening! It was a severe mercy! But it most definitely was not either of those things when the crisis hit.

My world, my false perception of the perfect world, was falling apart. All I could think at the time was that God (who I didn't give the time of day to) had let me down. "What did I do to deserve this?", "Why me?" Again...everything was "me" focused.

> read more here

> Click here to submit your own story

"Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person. Don't tell your neighbor "Maybe some other time" or "Try me tomorrow" when the money's right there in your pocket. Don't figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor when he's sitting there trusting and unsuspecting."

Proverbs 3:27, The Message

Do You Have a Pile of Shoes You Can't Wear?

When you have an illness, sometimes you end up with a closet filled with shoes that were never bearable for more than 5 minutes on your feet. Now, instead of letting them pile up and feeling guilty about spending that money, you can donate your new or “gently worn” footwear to Shoes4Soles, a Nashville-based nonprofit that organizes the donations of footwear, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Soles4Souls has donated more than 3 million pairs of shoes since its inception (one pair of shoes every 28 seconds). Send your new or gently worn shoes to one of their warehouse facilities. (Plus you'll get a tax write off--for shoes! Who knew?)

FDA Approves Cymbalta
for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia!

Eli Lilly and Co. announced the FDA approval of Cymbalta (duloxetine HCI) June 17, 2008, for the management of fibromyalgia. This makes Cymbalta the second medication ever to be approved for fibromyalgia, following Lyrica's approval in June 2007. Read this article by chronicpainconnection editor, Karen. Also check out "An Overview for the Newly Diagnosed Patient" from the National Fibromyalgia Association.

Webcast on “Disaster Preparedness
When You Have an Illness or Disability”

This is a live webcast on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Central. Lex Frieden who is leading the webcast is chairperson of the National Council on Disability, president of Rehabilitation International, and chairperson of the American Association of People with Disabilities. He is credited with defining and pioneering the concept of "independent living" in the early 1970's.

It will discuss community responsibilities for disaster preparedness and emergency planning with regards to people with disabilities. Each community is required to consider the needs of people with disabilities in their local emergency planning. These plans are supposed to be coordinated with the county, state and federal levels of government. Mr. Frieden will discuss:

• how people with disabilities must be involved in the planning process
  
• how to develop plans that accommodate people with disabilities
  
• best practice models for community preparedness
  
• how the Americans with Disabilities Act impacts planning and execution
  
• and resources available including http://www.disability911.org
  
  
• To link to this webcast and download accompanying materials
• For instructions on how to access a webcast

> Have something silly to share?

People are always asking, "How can I help Rest Ministries?" With the internet, it's easy to help spread the word. With just a few of us working together to write a review someone or "Stumble Upon" an article, Rest Ministries can gain tons of exposure without having to spend a dime! We'll share a suggestion here each week, where if you can take a minute it will help us reach more people!

Did you know it's EASY to refer a
friend to Rest Ministries?

Since our site when LIVE with the new updates 3 weeks ago we have had only 5 people use our new referral service. Since we're paying a few bucks a month to have a quality service (no ads, no spam, etc.) we want to make sure you know about it!

Look for the button (see below) on nearly every page and click it to have a pop up message appear where you can enter in as many friend's names and emails as you'd like. You'll find it in the top left corner right under the bookmark button on every page.

And just so you know... we have no idea who you invite. All we get is a statistic that shows which pages on our site were "sent to friends" and how many times, so your privacy is complete!

Thank you!

Did you know we really need your prayers? In the last few months we've had volunteers who have suffered heart attacks, lost their home, lost a loved one, had additional illnesses diagnosed and more.

Our ministry is blessed, but at the same time we have computer crashes, administrative issues and all kinds of things that just remind us that though God is in control, the enemy desperately wants to slow us down! We have a great list of things you can pray for us about for 2008. Print it out here and stick it in your Bible or on your fridge, and remember us, okay? It's very appreciated!