Faith. Encouragement. Prayer. Patience. Living with Psoriatic Arthritis

Two things happened on the beach that day. Sometimes the little things are the Big Things . Sunshine on my shoulders.  Oh how things change. I remember the days of sunning at the beach and staying out there for hours.  Of course, I did ridiculous stuff like only wearing Level 4 Sunscreen when I was younger.  Sometimes no sunscreen if I was tanning in the backyard with baby oil.  Really?  It was the 80's y'all - everyone was doing it! Still was so dumb though.  So as an adult I did become smarter about using higher strength sunscreen.  I used 30 SPF at least and sometimes higher. Since my PSa diagnosis and reading about Psoriasis you see so much conflicting information about sunning.  I have read - "Do not get burned - it will give you a flare - your body's immune system will attack" "Do get some sun - it's good for your skin" "Sun gives you Vitamin D - go outside" I could go on - but you have probably read some of the same a...

"These are a few of my Favorite Things" Royal Hojari Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) - imported from Oman  (I ordered from Amazon) So, these little nuggets are very precious.  No wonder the Kings carried it to baby Jesus.  But let me tell you what I like about them the most - the relaxation properties they have when you diffuse them.  Difusse this before bed in your home and you will sleep like a baby.  The best sleep ever.  It also has a great scent - I put a piece of the resin in with coconut or olive oil and dab a little on before bed if I am really stressed or in pain.  Do your own research and you will find many ways to use this resin from the Boswellia tree.  You can burn the resin and it has disinfecting properties when you do so.  I have tried that and it smells nice.  I would not burn this in my home as it smokes very badly.  I tried it on my porch.  I am excited to learn about new ways to use Frankincense an...

TAKE CARE OF YOU - YES, I AM TALKING TO YOU! This may sound odd, but I think it took getting the final diagnosis of Psoriatic Arthritis to realize that  occasionally it is okay to have a little "treat yourself" moment.  Also, it is okay to admit that you are not okay.  If those two sentences caught your attention, well then you might should keep reading . . .  My drive to work can take a while.  I only live about six miles from the office, but a morning commute can take 45 minutes.  So I have time to slow down and think.   I'm not going anywhere real fast.  I'm not multi-tasking.  It's just me, a car and some music . . . and some time with Jesus.   Recently while being stuck in traffic, I had one of those God wink moments.  It was injection day - what a difference a shot can make y'all! So I sort of have an incentive plan for injection day.  To take away my anxiety,  I remind myself that on injection...

I hit a wall. Literally a wall. I had to march around it.   I got nothing.  I read your cry in pain, saw newcomers to the disease.  Could offer some words of encouragement - but I just did not have any to give you.  I was ashamed of myself - I had stated from the beginning of my diagnosis that I would reach out to those hurting and experiencing this disease and offer all the encouragement I could muster up to give them. You see my PSa friends, I have a real heart for your journey.  I want to offer encouragement.  But at  times nothing comes to me to offer you. So I just quietly said a prayer for you when I read your posts in the support groups.   Until today - it came to me what I think someone out there needs to read. God puts you in a circumstance sometimes so that He has a chance to show you something powerful. Yep - I said it.  Struggled with that one.  But I know first hand that the diagnosis of PSa for me has been a...

HOME MADE PRODUCTS For help with Psoriasis on Skin and cleaning with products that will not hurt your skin! So, here we go - my experiments went well.  I was not very optimistic about a household cleaner that was 90% water cleaning really well - but it did.  I was not so sure that a homemade body wash could be so simple to make and work so well, without irritating my skin.   Since I was pleasantly shocked - I tried homemade furniture polish and laundry detergent.  Some nights my kitchen table looks like a science project with little bottles of oils and amber colored containers.  I thought it would be a lot of trouble - but it is so easy and I hope you will try it.  It is so nice to use products to clean with that do not irritate my skin on my hands.  Or laundry detergent that really cleans and will not irritate my skin.  So take a look at the recipes below, do some research on your own and if you learn something - please share i...

On my drive home today there was a story on a local radio station about how a father just did not know what to do with his daughter that was constantly chanting cheers.  She was always practicing.  Always jumping.  It was always READY, SET, GO!  I had to laugh - then I had one of those Jesus moments. A few weeks ago I was pondering the thought - what wins a game - defense or offense?  Now - you need to know that I do not know much about defense or offense in any game.  Just enough to be a spectator that cheers them on when winning and yells out a good "come on now, get in the game - you can do it!" when my team is losing.    However, I was a cheerleader growing up and one cheer stands out in my Mind - DEFENSE DEFENSE (CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP)  So when I heard this conversation on the radio it snagged my attention and reminded me of my defense or offense thought.  You see I was not really thinking about sports.  I was th...

I missed the PEACE Every year for Christmas my children would ask me what I wanted,   I would state very clearly "Peace on Earth."  Then I would follow it with "at least in my own house".  Please don't judge us - if you have a Christmas morning that landed on a Sunday, went to church and three family gatherings . . . you know exactly what I am talking about.  Mercy!   I needed a little bit of peace. I kept asking for Peace.  FOR YEARS!  Years later, my son and daughter-in-law gave me a coat for Christmas and I was so excited - it was a pretty coat.  But they looked at me and said "Look at the box!"  In huge letters on the box was a painting of a dove and the words PEACE.  Well done.  I totally missed peace written right on the box because I was focusing on the present.  We recycled that box and gave "peace" back and forth for a couple of years.    Recently I've realized that peace may be misundersto...

The deposit has been MADE! This week I was feeling pretty down. Felt like I was pouring out every ounce of energy I had in everything I was doing. . . I just needed to be filled up again.    While sitting at a traffic light, I realized I just don't know if I have enough to give today.  The word came to me  - DEPOSIT.  I said Lord, that is it - that is what I need - can you deposit in  me right now what I need.  I felt an affirmation.   I will never be overdrawn.   Later that evening I found this verse. . . I love it when His whisper will line up with His word and promises. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22   New International Version (NIV) 21  Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm  in Christ. He anointed  us,   22  set his seal  of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. The first installment . . . the down payment o...

"I'm Not Picking That Penny Up!" 2 Timothy 1:7  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. FEAR - what is your fear?  Living in fear will rob you of your greatest gift - the present.   So what are you fearful of my friend?  Failed treatment plan?  Loss of effectiveness of treatment? New symptoms?  Giving yourself shots, injections?  Spiders? Clowns? LOL I will confess, the other day I had to laugh at myself.   What us southern folk call a real belly roll laugh!   It was God's way of giving me a sound mind.    God has a unique way of getting our attention and can reshape our thought process if we let Him.  So I experienced God delivering me from a spirit of fear and bring to me a sound mind.  If for just a brief moment in time, all while laughing hysterically in the grocery store parking lot.  So here is what happened,  I spotted a penny on...

Most of all this is a story about prayer.  It is not any work of my own doing, but the work of our Heavenly Father.  All the credit and glory goes to God. So, here we go -  It was getting bad folks.  The day I received the blood work results, Xrays, and consultation at my Arthritis Clinic . . .I had to make some quick decisions.  I was told about treatment options and given the aggressiveness that Psoriatic Arthritis was showing, it seemed liked going straight to a biologic treatment was needed.  Either by infusion or injection.  So what in the world is a biologic?  Before I could even ask I was told what it would cover with the disease and then that next lovely part - "let's talk about the risks and side effects".    At that moment I had to believe that God had lead me to the right place to get the right diagnosis to get the right treatment.  So many unanswered issues with my health may have just been resolved. The pro...

Ok - I know, Essential Oils are all trendy now.  I have known for years the benefits of a few.  But when you have to find ways to boost your immune system and do some research - you will be directed down the essential oil, herbs, vitamin pathway for sure.  I've been trying the herbs and vitamins. My friends in the Psoriatic Arthritis Community know all too well that you have to fight off infections because your immune system is compromised with many of the treatment plans.  And if you get too sick, you cannot continue your treatments!  So this is important to keep trying things that might help.   So here is the latest thing I have tried and quite frankly, I was shocked at how well it works!  Read up on all the news about THIEVES - yes just like a thief.  There is a back story to this blend of oils and you can research for yourself, but legend has it that the blend protected grave robbers from getting sick while they were stealing item...

What good is your car when it runs out of gas - Well - a nice place to take a nap! In doing some research tonight, specifically about rest - which we know is important - we often push ourselves to a melt down. But we feel guilty when we do not get it all done. I found this scripture - and inserted my translation! Don't judge me folks - I am keeping it real. Psalm 55:6 New International Version (NIV) I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." My translation - Oh how nice it would be to fly away as peaceful and quietly as a dove (with no one noticing) swiftly (right now) and take a nap. How quickly can I get some! CAN I GET AN AMEN?  But really friends - we push until we are out of gas sometimes and then we are worthless to ourselves and anyone else.   I'm guilty as charged on the pushing through side and often feel even more guilt when I say - "I'm not cooking tonight"  or "those chores can wait".   ...

April 15, 2018 “Meet Psoriatic Arthritis” Saying hello to Psoriatic Arthritis for the first time.  Here is the first impression - sneaky, illusive, moody, temperamental, and the most destructive person you will ever know.  That is how I would describe the disease if it were a person. My story, may be much like yours.  Symptoms for years, confusing symptoms, would come and go.   A rash here, a bad neck, lower back pain, irregular heartbeat, irritable bowel syndrome,   eye inflammation, dry eyes and I could go on - but you get the picture. None of the symptoms ever consistent enough to be explained.  There goes our elusive and sneaky friend. But then one day Mr. PSa took over for too long and for good. Just like an enemy wears you down until you are beaten. Your friend turns out to be your opponent - and has become your worst enemy.   That is when you fight back. But how? For me it meant doing some research. It also meant some s...