Me with Tim's Dad, Dec. 13thThe past week has been much improved after some difficult days the week before. Last Friday in late morning I had a frighteningly strong episode of anxiety and depression which left me in tears for about an hour. I gradually managed to calm down and realised I'd forgotten one of my minor medications that morning. I also think my psychiatrist was cutting that one down too fast so I've upped it a bit!
I felt better & better the rest of the day. Saturday was good the first half and mild the second half, then Sabbath was mild. Peter and Elizabeth had stomach bugs so we missed our church family night on Friday night and I stayed home with them on the Lord's Day while Tim & Isaiah went to church.
Monday I felt MUCH better. The rest of this week I've had only mild spells but mostly good. Plus my aches have lessened and my energy has increased - though I still have to do less than normal or I start hurting again.
Tim took off Tuesday afternoon because it was SUNNY (first time I'd seen the sun in over a week!!) and we went to Castle Espie, a wetland bird centre where you can feed seed to lots of wild ducks, geese & swans from around the world, including endangered species. The kids loved it! It's been over a year since we've been there - I think the last time Elizabeth was still in a stroller a lot and it was wonderful to see her enthusiasm added to the boys'! Isaiah says Castle Espie ranks with Legoland as his two favorite places to go because he loves feeding the birds! They are really redoing the place - adding a big new building and transforming more of the surrounding land into wetlands.
Elizabeth at Castle EspieI also got my test results back from the doctor that day and they were all normal. So I guess I either have ME/CFS or (hopefully) "just" a rundown immune system.
Wednesday Tim took off too. We went shopping in the morning and then as it was another nice day we went walking at Whitehead, a village with a lovely walk by the sea up to a lighthouse. We had fun but I was pretty tired and hurting a lot when we got home. Thankfully lots of rest alleviated the pain.
Thursday was the start of Tim's mandatory holidays. He gets off through January 4th!! It was wondeful to contemplate such a long holiday. We just relaxed around the house that day and the kids got their "holiday presents" (though we don't actually celebrate Christmas, and focus instead on New Year's, we thought it best to give the presents to them at the beginning of the holidays! Please don't think I'm offended at other people's celebration of Christmas, though.)
We hope to go up to visit Tim's family around New Year's - though the weather is supposed to get a lot colder around then so we may go up early next week if necessary.
There's a lot we're hoping to get done around the house as well as playing games and having fun! Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny again - I HOPE!! I think the light can play a big role in my mood and I want toget a "light box" soon to see if it makes a difference!
Hope you all are having wonderful holidays! Love & hugs!
10 comments:
Thank you for your update. Glad to hear of your vacation time and plans for the next week with Tim home. We are hoping to head to FL for a small vacation next month sometime - the first in a year and a half for us! Tom really needs the time off, he is such a dedicated worker. I look forward to the sunshine there and fun times with his side of the family.
Hello dear ! So happy to read this post! May I ask you why you don't celebrate Christmas?
Thanks, Amber! We're getting a lot done in the boy's room and our bedroom, moving things around, but I'm still not sleeping well at night lately and the constant cloud is affecting me I think. I hope you have a really good time in Florida - that's great! How's Tom's job doing? Is he getting more work? Love you all!
Hell, dear Isabel! :) You certainly may ask. :) We have several reasons. The main one has to do with the regulative principle of worship, which means worshipping God the way He wants us to as shown in His word. For instance, our church doesn't do dancing or drama in the church service as this has not been stipulated as part of worship in the Bible. So in the same way, we don't believe in celebrating religious festivals not stipulated in the Bible, including Christmas and Easter. God has actually already stipulated how He wants His Son's work to be remembered - through the Lord's Supper ("Do this in remembrance of Me") and the Lord's Day.
However, New Year's, Fourth of July (US), Thanksgiving (US), the 12th of July (here) and other national holidays are fine - they are like the Purim festival of Esther, simply national thanksgiving days for God's providences to particular nations.
There are other reasons too - for instance, the pagan origins of many of the Christmas traditions like Christmas trees. But it's not our main reason and it's too much to get into right now!! ;)
But I'm glad you asked! It's a lot to understand, so ask away if you have any more questions! :) Love you! Hugs! Hope you have a terrific New Year's!
Happy New Year! I hope you are feeling better! :)
Hi dear. I wish you a Happy New Year, with all my heart. I pray for peace, joy, love and health for this coming year.
Love
I just read your reply to my question! Thanks for it! I understand the stand-off traditions of pagan origin. I myself I'm not very comfortable with the consumerism which has almost dulled the Trye meaning of Christmas. However, being Catholic I suppose make it harder for me to understand not celebrating the bith of Jesus. But of course I totally respect your views dear sister!
Just one more question: you mentioned the Lord's supper. Do you do communion in your services? As Catholics we do, and we believe that in the host is the real presence of Jesus, body, blood soul and divinity.
Thanks, Holly! Happy New Year to you! I'm improving. It's slow. I still react to any more "normal" working day or longer walks, the fluey symptoms come back and I have to rest a lot for a good while to get my strength back. I plan to talk to the doctor soon about it! But the flu in general seems to have gone away.
Thanks so much, dear Isabel! I wish the same for you! Thanks for your other comments, I'll answer them soon, God willing! Love you!!
Dear Isabel, I'm getting a chance to respond to your other comment! I think it's hard for many people to understand why we don't celebrate the birth of Christ, whether Protestant or Catholic! It's not without much thought that we arrived at this decision! It reflects our deep respect for God's worship, rather than any disregarding of Christ's birth, which we of course regard very highly! EVERY Lord's Day and communion (Lord's Supper) celebrates His birth as well as all His death and resurrection! :)
Now to your question about communion - yes, we would do communion. Another term for it is the Lord's Supper. However, we wouldn't believe that it becomes His ACTUAL body and blood for two reasons:
1) When He said Take this, it is My body - He was right there present in His body, so this points to a SYMBOLIC rather than literal meaning.
2) The Bible is clear that Christ was offered ONCE - whereas if His body and blood were present each communion it would be as if He were being offered over and over again!
I think there are other reasons too but they escape me at the moment! ;) We do however believe that when we celebrate the Lord's Supper that grace from God is imparted to us, to help us grow as Christians, and that Christ's presence is with us in a very real way (just not in the bread and wine!).
I hope I was able to explain this clearly enough. Feel free to ask anything you want to, anytime! Love you!
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