I'll be on blog radio next week!

Press Release:

Christian Organization Unites the Millions Who Live with Invisible Illness

Contact: Lisa Copen, Rest Ministries, 858-486-4685, rest@restministries.org

MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- Nearly 1 in 2 people in the USA live with a chronic illness and about 96% of the illnesses are invisible.* Rest Ministries, Inc., the largest Christian organization that serves the chronically ill, an affiliate of Joni Eareckson Tada's International Disability Ministry, is encouraging those with illness, as well and family, caregivers, and churches through their annual outreach event, National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, September 8-14, 2008.

This year the week features 20 workshops with well-known guest speakers who will be presenting and answering questions via Blog Talk Radio, September 8-12.

Speakers include:
• Leslie Vernick, author of The Emotionally Destructive Relationship (Harvest House, 2007)
• Julie-Allyson Ieron, author of The Overwhelmed Woman's Guide to Caring for Aging Parents (Moody, 2008)
• Lisa Copen, author of Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend (Rest Publishers, 2008)
• Jennifer Saake, author of Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage and Adoption Loss (NavPress, 2005) [Details on how to listen/join in this program are posted at Invisible Illness Week Conference Info. Jenni's session on "Medications, Illness, Fertility and the Desire for Motherhood" will air Tuesday, Sept 9, 12 p.m. Pacific.]


Lisa Copen, 39, founder of Rest Ministries says, "Since we began in 1997 we've found that despite the strong foundation Christians may have, illness can rock it. Feeling like no one understands how much your life has changed since a diagnosis can be more spiritually detrimental than the illness itself. It can make one feel isolated, misunderstood and even bitter."

Copen, who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia since the age of twenty-four explains why Invisible Illness week matters. "Those with illness do have to accept that other people aren't going to 'get it.' Only God understands. But it's nice to encourage peers and find strength in validating the mixed emotions. You don't have to explain why walking twenty feet may be impossible some days."

Rest Ministries extends their outreach about illness awareness to churches, providing materials to start up HopeKeepers groups, books, cards, tracts, etc. About 96% of those with illness may appear perfectly healthy on Sunday mornings, but may struggle to get out of bed the remainder of the week.

Ken Chambers, Director of Church Relations at Joni and Friends International Disability Center, says, "It is vital that Christians understand the emotional and spiritual trials of those with invisible disabilities, as well as those with visible disabilities. Rest Ministries is dedicated to educating churches to not only serve the chronically ill, but to involve them in the church body. I encourage church leaders to take advantage of the wealth of resources at Rest Ministries and to participate in the National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week."

Get involved by joining the hundreds of people who will blog about invisible illness on September 8th, attend a seminar, or tell someone who has an illness about the event. Typically, people with illness are unable to attend a traditional conference, so a "virtual conference" is widely anticipated. All seminars will also be recorded and archived.

See www.invisibleillness.com. Rest Ministries is at www.restministries.org.

*Source: Chronic Care in America, U.S. Census Bureau


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Press Release written by:
Lisa Copen
Rest Ministries, Director
HopeKeepers Magazine, Editor

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week
Founder & Coordinator



“HOPE CAN GROW FROM THE SOIL OF ILLNESS!”
This is the theme of 2008’s National Invisible
Chronic Illness Awareness Week in September.
Drop by and find out ways to encourage a
friend, be encouraged yourself, and spread the word.
http://www.InvisibleIllness.com and our blog
http://www.InvisibleIllness.Wordpress.com

Another school year

You will notice that I have decided to replace our kid's names with their initials here for their privacy. Since both boys have J. names, I'm going with "Big J" and "Little J" even through Big J is on the small side of his age and Little J is a chunk. :D

We are starting another new school year and you can follow our progress on our homeschool blog. Big J is going to move up from foil to saber in fencing this fall. He'll also try his hand at a round of golf lessons. R is going to try gymnastics at homeschool co-op and continue with her ballet. Little J just keeps us smiling with his expressions like, "Bye Alda-gader" for "See you later, allagator!" He will be attending the "big boy" preschool class for both hours at co-op this semester. Everyone's down with fevers and a tummy bug this week, but hopefully we will be back on our feet soon.

I've set up an new blog that pretty well ties together all my heart longings to help people in everything from infertility to illness to other life struggles. Would love your input on Harvesting Hope from Heartache™. I hope this blog will continue moving me forward toward my hope of writing a second book sometime in the future. I've also added Gurrlie Girl™, a beautiful line of Christian jewelry featuring Scripture bracelents and more, to my online sales lineup. Nothing new to report on the medical side of things for me, just still waiting for the rest of my test results from February before I can follow up with Dr. Peterson.

Rick's loving his new (since February) work with the RSCVA. We've made it away to his grandparent's cabin a couple of times this summer and Rick and I flew away all by ourselves for 3 night's celebration of our 16th anniversary earlier this month. This was our first time away, alone, just the two of us since Big J's birth and it was a wonderful time of refreshment! Rick's dad is undergoing cancer treatment and his grandmother went to be with the Lord earlier this month - a hard adjustment for all of us since the kids saw her on a weekly basis.

Tweeting on Twitter

I sometimes get overwhelemed with trying to post an "entire" blog entry here, so sadly there are huge gaps in our updates of daily life. But I've recently started "tweeting" and find those 140 character bites much more doable for regular updates on simple, daily life. Feel free to check in with me at http://twitter.com/infertilitymom for day to day life news about anything and everything from kids, family, my health, current writing projects, minieral makeup hints, what I'm reading/cooking/thinking...

http://twitter.com/infertilitymom

Have to share about my wonderful doctor

I found a neat and rather brief article about the wonderful doctor I've been so blessed to work with this year. If my health is of any interest to you whatsoever, please take a moment and meet Dr. Peterson.

Home Education Awareness Week

In light of recent concerns over the "legality" of homeschooling, especially in the state of California, I am delighted to share this recent proclaimation made by the govenor of the state of Nevada:

WHEREAS, the State of Nevada is committed to the education of our children and to upholding the values and goals that strengthen the family; and

WHEREAS, home-based schooling may be the fastest-growing form of education in the United States (at 7% to 12% per year), home-based education is also growing around the world in many nations; and

WHEREAS, there are about 2 million home school students in the United States; there were an estimated 1.9 to 2.4 million children (in grades K to 12) home educated during 2005-2006 in the United States; and

WHEREAS, families engaged in home-based education are not dependent on public, tax-funded resources for their children's education; the finances associated with their home schooling likely represent over $16 billion that taxpayers do not have to spend since these children are not in public schools; and

WHEREAS, home school students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents' level of formal education of their family's household income;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM GIBBONS, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, do herby proclaim March 30-April 5, 2008, as HOME EDUCATION AWARENESS WEEK.


To print out the Proclamation go to
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=5007

Answer to a Child's Infertility Prayers

For those who have read Hannah's Hope or who have been around HP/LIW for YEARS, you know our story about Big J's first prayer. Right around his second birthday he came to me, sad, asking for a baby brother or sister because many of his friends were having siblings. Having had 2 miscarriages that past year, his request broke my heart. All I could say was that Mommy and Daddy would love to have another baby too, but that wasn't up to us, only God knew His plans for our family.

I told J that he would have to "talk to Jesus about that," and he shocked me when he stopped still, threw his head back to look up at the sky, and matter-of-factly blurted out his first prayer: "Jesus, A-wa [how he said his at the time] need baby girl. A-wa please baby boy. A-wa bird!" and off he ran to play, leaving me teary eyed and mouth hanging open.

Within 3-4 months I was pregnant with R! From the day he found out I was pregnant, he never waivered on the fact that this was his sister and that she would be born safe and healthy and come home to live with us. (From the time we told him I was pregnant we explained to him that sometimes our babies get to come live with us like he did, and sometimes that leave Mommy's tummy early and go to live in Heaven with Jesus.) He was so adament that he wouldn't even let us discuss boy names around him, getting angry if we would. This was his baby sister that he prayer for and God sent!

Three years later he was equally adament that I was carrying his baby brother, and he was right. When ultrasound finally confirmed that Little J was indeed a boy, Big J's question in the car on the way home was simply, "So when am I getting my bird?"

Since he got his baby sister around his 3rd birthday and his baby brother around his 6th, we told him he could have a bird around his 9th. Well, he won't be 9 until December, but this month God has opened several doors and provided a beautiful cage and some leads on some birds. Yesterday afternoon we picked up a 2-year-old female Cockatiel names Sweetpea! (Sweetpea had a 1-year-old male cage-mate, with whom she shared no romatic interests, who may be joining us in a few weeks as well.) No, J isn't 9 yet, but God put him in my tummy 9 years ago next month, so I guess that counts.

By the way, if anyone has bird experience, we are open to any/all advice. We had thought we would have several more months to plan, research and prepare for these new family members, and I was only anticipating 1, not 2!

Cute Baby Updates

I don't want to leave the older kids out, but I'm not managing to keep a baby book so if I don't jot some Little J-isms down here, they might never be remembered.
Little J has started saying his name last fall. Just as Big J was "A-wa" (at least once he got past referring to himself stubornly as "Baby!"), Little J became "I-ah" for a while there. Now he is simply "Mine" as in, "Who's that cute little boy in the mirror?" "Mine!" as he grins and pats his chest proudly. :)

He's had "Mommy" and "Daddy" down pat for ages and much to his grandmothers' delights he can clearly say "Nana" (my mom) and has also started in with "Ga-ma" (Grandma Patty). A few months back he started calling his siblings by name as well. Surprisingly he got R very clearly right from the start, even with the "th" ending, though recently he's dropped it to simply "Roo," always said with great enthusiasm and volume! He made several different attempts on Big J's name until about a month ago when we were going around the family members and I made the mistake of pointing to Big J and asking Little J, "Who's this guy?" "Guy" has been Big J's official name ever since and Little J's not budging on this decision. It's so funny to hear him calling for them down the hallway, "Roo! Guy!"

He's determined to self potty train and is actually doing a really good job. We have some days with only one accident the entire day, totally on his motivation. Other days aren't so sucessful, but hey...

Last October Little J really discovered "Can-y" (candy) and I am forever finding him hiding/hording/eating lolly pops (or "pop-pops"). This week he came in before breakfast and asked me for "can-y". Expecting him to be utterly crestfallen by my explanation that I was going to make oatmeal instead, I had the biggest giggle at his reaction of, "Yeah! Oatmeal GOOD can-y!"

I know I had other funnies to share, but I'm drawing a blank now so I guess they will wait for another post. :)