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hopekeepers
Magazine Updates
We
are in the processing of deciding how to proceed with
our magazine. We keep hearing wonderful things about but
with the economy, no one is advertising! We will keep
you posted. Many magazines are shutting down right now
(sadly, especially Christian ones) and we don't want to
do that! We may substitute the complete magazine online
in a digital format and just print the minimum necessary
to get by. We'll keep you posted, but yes, the last issue
was Jan/Feb/March that shipped in March. We aren't particularly
happy about the delay either (yes, Lisa does lose sleep
over it) but we do want to honor your trust and gift of
supporting us.
Don't
forget! You can get a complimentary issue by ordering
anything in our
store (even a $.50 item) and we'll stick one in
your envelope. Even if you already have one it's another
one to drop off at your local doctor's waiting room.
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Did
you know... this newsletter is posted on its own
blog! Each section is posted separately under
different categories and then the whole ezine is
also posted as a text file.
This
means you can search fast for what you read in a
previous issue, get a Widget to put it on your own
web page or blog and also comment on the articles...
which we hope you will do!
>
Click here to see it
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Do
you want to share your testimony or story? Do you
have news you think would help others? We'd
love to hear from you!
>
Submit content
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Hi
Friends,
I don't know exactly where to start, other than to say
thank you for all of your prayers for me. I have been adjusting
to getting up at 6:30 (despite sometimes getting to sleep
by 4 a.m.) as Josh has started Kindergarten. He likes it
but it's a long day (8-2:20). All seems to be going well
with his teacher understanding some of the sensory processing
issues and you'd be proud of me. I have a schedule on my
fridge just like Super Nanny suggests!
I've been working around the clock on National Invisible
Chronic Illness Awareness Week stuff and it's been exciting
to see how your enthusiasm has spread throughout the internet
and beyond. Information about our blogging badge is below,
but havingdaily
guest bloggers at our site as well as people all over
the net blogging about invisible illness is so fun!
What I want to remind everyone who receives this newsletter
is to please pray for II Week and the lives we can touch
through it. As a Christian organization that started this
week, we basically can reach out to anyone and share the
same experiences about living with an illness that is invisible.
But we also have the opportunity to show them what Jesus
is like through how we cope with daily pain.
I've gotten a few emails from people that were unhappy
a CHRISTIAN organization was behind the campaign, and I
just kindly write them back and say that we aren't hiding
that fact. What the 5-year-old in me wants to say is, "Well,
we thought of it first! So like it or lump it, but that's
just how it is." (Please kindly pray God will use me
and Rest Ministries despite my childish attitude sometimes.)
But when people are in pain, they just may be interested
in hearing how you deal with it. Don't hide the truth--
the struggles, and the strength you find, (and where you
find it.)
Thanks personally to Rhonda Sawtelle who started a prayer
for me in the Sunroom this week. Satan is working overtime
right along with me and he got me good Friday night with
my shoulder freezing up pretty badly despite gobs of drugs,
creams, patches, etc. I DO need prayer desperately right
now, so I thank you in advance for asking for protection
for my body, my family, my computer technology, my home--anything
that has the potential to slow the Lord's work down.
I see God working overtime too, so I am not feeling overwhelmed,
just a bit annoyed that I can't do all I want to do sometimes.
I think most of you can relate. At the bottom of this you'll
read a bunch of responses from people about the "hardest
part of living with illness is..."
I love you, friends,
Lisa
Copen
Rest Ministries Director and Founder
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National Invisible Chronic Illness
Awareness Week Promotion Going Strong!
We are so excited about all of the speakers we have for Invisible
Illness Week. These will be posted this week at the website.
Thanks to the efforts of many of you we have had a lot of
people finding out about us through the "blogger badge"
that shows you are blogging for II Week. This can be placed
in your social network, blog, web site, MySpace, etc. You
can find the code here. You can also get the logo code
there for your web site!
If you haven't yet visited our blog
for Invisible Illness Week, you're missing out! We are
having daily guest bloggers, articles, ways to help spread
the word and more. Lots of you have been wonderful to answer
our surveys, give your feedback, and tell others and we'll
be posting some of our prize winners this week from random
drawings! See
the cool prizes here.
Some Guest Blogger Posts:
Media Releases So Far...
(you have permission to reprint these anywhere)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
 Congratulations
to Friend of Rest Ministries Featured in Paper!
Cindy LaFreniere shares, "I was interviewed
by my local newspaper last week and they did a full
page feature story on me about living with chronic pain.
I'd like to share it with all of you so that you in turn
can share it with others to help them. Anyway, if you're
interested, please let me know. Thank you and God bless:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
hopekeepers Member Starts a Ministry Newsletter
Jolie Taylor, 34, was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about
a year ago. She has been married for 11 years to her wonderful
husband Scott and they have an eight year old son named
Austin. She shares, "This has been a very hard year
for all of us. I have bounced from doctor to doctor, searching
for the one who will understand. I have been a part of a
hopekeepers
support group here in Charlotte for the past year. I
don’t know what I would do without the support I have
received from people who truly understand. My faith in God
allows me to do things I never thought were possible. It
is hard living every day in pain. Through my pain, I have
discovered a gift of writing. I started a newsletter for
people suffering from chronic illnesses. I have touched
people through my writing. I know that the Holy Spirit gives
me the words to say. When I read what I have written, I
realize that the Lord is not only speaking to them, He is
speaking to me."
To receive a copy just drop her a note at ShiningStar@carolina.rr.com
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Share your experience, story, testimony about living
with an invisible illness in our Sunroom.
We've set up a special group in the Sunroom just for II
Week.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
Download
a banner
or button for Invisible Illness Week. Check out the
cute animated logo with the flowers growing for our theme
"Hope Can Grow From the Soil of Illness."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
Thanks to Hillary who shared this in the Sunroom
When Your Hut is on Fire
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small,
uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue
him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none
seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to
build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from
the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day,
after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little
hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt
the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was
stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out,
'God! How could you do this to me?' Early the next day,
he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island!
It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?'
asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke
signal,' they replied.
The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get
discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't
lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in
the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next
time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.
It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of
God.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
It's Not Too Late to Let Your Pastor Know About II Week
 We
have a template
all ready to go that you can edit and send out. Even if
he just let's you have the "rack cards" available
on a resource table... hey, it's a step and maybe next year
will be a bigger step!
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Richard and his wife Selpher are
Pastors and Missionaries in Kenya. They are on our mailing
list and have offered great prayer support for Rest Ministries
despite their own challenges. Richard recently wrote to
me (Lisa) when he received the first new issue of Hope Notes...
I encourage you to visit
their web site and read more about their ministry. There
are also some wonderful photos of their ministry. I asked
him to share more about what is going on in their lives
so that we could pray for them as well. His response is
below.
Dear Lisa,
So sorry for the sickness [you have experienced]. We have
been remembering you in our prayers-- as our prayer team
is always in prayer for all saints and the prayer requests
sent to us every Saturday.
We had wondered as to what happened to Hope Notes as they
have always encouraged us. I have been busy all through
due to the refugees in our church that came running for
help when we had trouble clashes here soon after the presidential
elections were announced last year on the 30th December
2007. God has been good to us as we have in this time of
trauma had to believe God for victory.
God bless you and look forward for your kind reply to us.
Pastor Richard and Selpher,
http://www.thekingsrings.com/kings_pages/richminsterchristian/
==================================
Dear Lisa and friends,
Greetings from Kenya again! It may have taken
some time to reach to you again but I just wanted to let
you know and celebrate with us the victory and miracle the
Lord has done to our family during our time of silence.
You may understand that Kenya has been facing some great
difficulties and civil wars have been the talk of Kenyans
and the whole nation had been immersed in the fire of conflict
due to the disputed presidential election results that were
announced on 30th Dec. 2007.
The story of Kenya falling apart was that top story to
almost every country’s newspapers, radios and church
pulpits in the whole world. During this time, the house
we were staying in was set on flame the day we were at the
church holding the Sunday services and we lost all things
in that fire. Praise God that our family was protected by
God. A few of our friends were told of this story but we
withheld it from others. Soon after things had began settling
down, we had to get to the bank and the bank gave us a soft
loan and we bought a small farm in Bungoma city. We had
to construct a house and now we have moved in there.
After the conflict we learned a lesson of staying amidst
your own people, the people of your own language, as Africa
is full of ethnic wars. This is a true story in Africa for
due to many tribes and the colonial government divided the
lands in tribal basis, when they went back the governments
that took over after them again favored their own people--chasing
people in a place and forcing people of their tribes there--
so this is a continuous problem in the African lands...
>
read more here
We need your stories! We know many of you have shared them
with others in different areas of our web site. Please share
a bit about yourself, what illness is teaching you, your struggles,
whatever!
>
Click here to submit your own story
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 "Blessed
is he who is kind to the needy." Proverbs 14:20
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 Are
You a Pet Lover? You'll Love This Story
In the true story, Gracie Comes Home, by Diane
Dike. Ph.D., a broken little Italian Greyhound is rescued
from a life of loneliness in a animal hospital in Colorado.
Diane, who suffers from a rare, incurable blood diseases,
nurtures Gracie back to life. Gracie rescues Diane right
back by becoming her service dog. This story inspired the
founding of Second
Chance with Saving Grace, a non-profit organization
dedicated to encouraging people to live victorious lives
and educating them on disability awareness as it pertains
to the use and treatment of service animals. Gracie
and Diane make a difference in the world by visiting schools,
children in hospitals, prisoners, churches, civic groups,
and other organizations with a message of HOPE and encouragement!
Be sure
to visit her web site and if you live in the Edwards,
CO area, check out her speaking at an event along with guest
singer, Michael W. Smith
Want to Pray for the USA?
Join the Presidential Prayer Team for free and get weekly
updates on what's happening in Washington and who to pray
for. Visit their web site at www.presidentialprayerteam.org
for updates on the election, foreign relations, and more.
It also keeps you up to date on health and medical programs
that are being discussed in congress which impact your life!
Is Your Medication Not Working?
Did you know anyone can report a medication failure to the
FDA’s
Medwatch program via an easy form to fill out or you
can call 800-FDA-1088 or FAX 1-800-FDA-0178. You should
try to have the lot number, expiration date, and basis for
suspecting failure should be included. And keep samples
of the drug in case they are needed for testing. You can
also find out about side effects being reported for different
medications.
 A
majority of Americans believe that God can intervene when
a family member is dying, according to a new survey
University of Connecticut researchers found that 57
percent the people they polled believe God can save a dying
family member. They also found that more than 20 percent
of doctors and medical workers felt that God can change
a hopeless situation.
Read
more.
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 Coming
Soon!
Seriously...
Lisa is excited to get to this awesome form of ministry
outreach this fall. Now that her son is in school,
she can actually do some recording without you hearing
race cars in the background!
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Log on at the Hope Endures web site to hear the broadcast. You can either listen to it online, with your MP3 or ipod player, or... you can call a phone number and listen to it over the phone. Stay tuned... because once we have a selection of shows they will also be available on CD. |
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Thank you to our
kind friends who tell us how Rest Ministries is making
a difference. We share this with you, not to toot our
own horn, but because so many of YOU ARE our ministry!
Your kindness to strangers in the Sunroom, your answering
prayer requests, writing devotionals, or encouraging devotional
writers... You are all appreciated and we want you to
hear just how much God uses you ever day!
 It's
always exciting to see your name in lights... but it's
even more exciting to see chronic illness
given more awareness by our much-loved ministries like
CBN.com
. Here are a few articles they have on their web site.
If you happen to drop by, be sure to contact them
to say "THANK YOU for mentioning chronic illness!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
I am Phyllis in Meridian, ID and have enjoyed
your ministry for years. I have not responded to any comments
however today I feel I must say to all of you how very
much your articles have encouraged me. I had an accident
in November, 2001 and have recently fallen and broken
my hip. The accident changed my life as it left me with
chronic pain and other health issues. However, I thank
God everyday that He has been with me and granted me MANY
BLESSINGS; ONE BEING YOUR MINISTRY. May God continue to
bless you and yours. With love, Phyllis
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
Sheryl Smith, Splashes
of Joy Coordinator, shared some good news with us!
"I wanted to tell you that I copied and sent a devotional
to my friend in prison as I thought it would encourage
her. It was the one by Anna Popescu that began "One
of my favorite places to spend time is at the coast..."
She liked it so well she submitted to their Christian
newsletter in the prison, The Spirit Inside. It
was published on the front page in July as a devotional
from Splashes of Joy with Anna's bio. Just thought you
would like to know just how far some of your devotionals
go and who they influence."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
Rhonda shared, "I wanted to thank you
for allowing me to be a Guest Blogger for National Invisible
Chronic Illness Awareness week (Aug 19, How
Should the Chronically Ill Respond to Well-meaning Christians?
Do They Even Realize What They Said?). I've been
blessed to read the comments not only on the Invisible
Illness site, but on my blog page in the Sunroom. It's
been encouraging to hear how people plan to share the
information with their church and others, to help change
the perspective of how people view people with pain and
illness. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to share
my thoughts with others and help make a positive change
for those living with chronic illness and pain. Thank
you for allowing Guest bloggers and for offering so many
different topics."
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When all humor seems to disappear, we can
always rely on cat jokes. This one says, "No, it's
not that bad yet. So far it's just raining cats."
>
Have something silly to share?
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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!
Head
on over to the Invisible Illness Week blog and check out
the categories for
Resources for Online Networking . By taking a survey,
you help us create news for press releases. By commenting
on a blog somewhere about illness and mentioning II Week,
you could potentially send hundreds of people are way!
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| Take
our Poll! Some weeks we will have a poll and whenever
we do we will randomly choose a winner and mail you
a book or other special gift. |
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"What's the hardest part of living with a
chronic illness?" we asked and you answered...
We'll share more soon!
 My
own perceptions of myself. Some days I feel almost
normal and then I think maybe I am getting well. I
look in the mirror and expect more of myself even
though I am well aware of how I feel on many other
days. I have a hard time balancing fighting for my
health and leading as normal a life as possible. -Sheryl
The hardest part of living with an invisible chronic
illness is that people don't believe that you are
as sick as you say you are. -Carrie
Is to be left behind from my family. (Especially
during the summer trips!). I am unable to travel or
enjoy most activities, so my hubby takes the kids
out to enjoy their summer." -Kelley
"One thing that's really bothering me right
now is the looks I get when I pull into a handicap
parking spot with my state-issued PH plates and get
out with my three kids and walk into a store. I do
NOT LOOK SICK in any way and I feel like people are
judging me, thinking I'm abusing the plates, maybe
questioning if they are even mine." -Jennifer
"Missing out on so many activities because of
your illness. Your healthy friends say to you let
me know what I can do for you, but you don't hear
from them. You make the most of the days that you
have because you know it is a gift from God and it
is to be treasured and you do not when it will be
gone." -Carla
"Being able to do the same things other people
your age are doing. I'm only 24 and have had this
illness since I was born. I've never been able to
run and play sports like the other kids my age. I
always had to sit on the sidelines and watch."
-Erin
"Having more dreams than I have physical ability.
I'm learning how to chase my dreams in different ways."
-Kathy
"Unrealistic expectations of me. My current
family and extended family "angry" that
I can't do the things I used to do." - Mary Ellen
Our last winner of a free book was
... Carrie at ccrews2003@...
We'll get it right out to you, Carrie!
Thanks for
your comments. We loved the following...
"I have only been a Christian for seven
years and I am glad that I have my firm foundation
to support me during my rough times. I don't
know what plans God has for me, but I know
that "He will use my pain to birth my
passion" as Beth Moore put it."
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Take
the Poll - you could win a prize!
We'll announce the weekly winners here too.
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 Ask
Rosalind
Joffe, author of a new book and chronic illness
coach on careers, a question! She will be presenting
at II Week and would love to hear any work-related
questions you have. What do you tell a potential boss
during an interview? What is you can no longer work
full-time but want to ask you boss about working part
time at home?
Send
them in!
>
Answer
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Take
a Past Survey
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You
can still answer our past surveys! It helps us a lot
as we use your comments, suggestions, etc. to write
articles, educate churches, etc.
>
View Past Surveys
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 "The
purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to useful,
to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it
make some difference that you have lived and lived
well."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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 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! | |
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Biz Stuff | You are receiving this email because you signed up for hopenotes, the email newsletter of Rest Ministries which serves the chronically ill. (In case you're confused, it's different than hopekeepers Magazine which we publish and is a real 64-page magazine.) If you want to be removed from receiving this ezine again instructions are below. Thanks! This is delivered free via e-mail to subscribers every week. We encourage you to distribute this newsletter freely and ask only that you not change its contents. - Subscribe to this newsletter, hopenotes.
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the very bottom of this message for the link!
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- If this email was forwarded to you by another email recipient and you would like to subscribe to the hopenotes weekly newsletter, click here.
Rest Ministries, Inc, PO Box 502928, San Diego, CA 92150; (c) 2008 Rest Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Is the text too small? This simple trick works on any web site and
definitely is handy! To read our newsletter in larger print, first
click here to get the "web version." Then just simultaneously
hit Ctrl and the + sign on your keyboard (So Ctrl, Shift and +).
Repeat as necessary to get it to be the right size. To make text
smaller, hit the dash or minus sign ["-"] instead of "+".
To get back to normal, hit Ctrl plus 0 [zero]. This works in both
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