My Story~Prescription for Addiction (On video!)

I’ve been awol for awhile now. Miranda got married in May and I spent about 9 months planning the wedding. I’ll show you some pictures in an upcoming blog post 🙂 I’m so proud of Miranda and Jamie and all they’ve accomplished. But it definitely takes a village!

We also spent quite a bit of time traveling this summer and I’ll be sure and send some pics from our trip as well. But in this post I’m getting back to the root of the reason I started this blog initially. Hopefully I can get back to a regular schedule but no promises. Getting back into the blogging/writing groove isn’t easy for me, but I need to do it now before Grandkids come along!

Okay so I’m about to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the miracle God gave me on September 10, 2010. Today, I’m still amazed. And so very thankful.

When He first healed me I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about it! My family got a little tired of hearing the same story over and over, but God gave me the story and I had to share it. No, we’re not in Bible times and don’t experience the miracles God did in the Bible, but miracles happen every day all around us. We just have to keep our eyes and ears open.

Once I began writing, everyone said I’d need to be able to tell my story in front of groups in order to promote my book. So I proceeded to take a much dreaded communicators conference.

I promised God I’d share my story when asked, and I’ve been asked three times to share it in public. The last time was in front of a group of high school kids at church. I’m a small group leader and the church wanted us to share our stories with the kids to allow them to get to know us better. So I actually recorded it, and though it’s not the most professional recording, it’s my story. Hope you enjoy watching and I pray that you get the message from it God would desire for you!

Just click on the link below and know that miracles do happen!

Prescription for Addiction

Brave~Hoda Kotb’s new inspiring video with Sara Bareilles and Cindi Lauper

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I happened to catch The Today show this week and Hoda had a story that just made my heart melt. Cancer is very close to her heart since she’s dealt with it, so she decided she wanted to make a video to raise money and awareness for cancer. She had the idea to mix Cindi Lauper and Sara Bareilles that will make your heart melt. I just had to share it, so here it is:

If you’d like to donate to pediatric cancer research, you can go to Crowdrise.com/hoda. Having two friends whose children have pediatric cancer makes me realize just how close it is. It can happen to anyone, but even though they may be suffering now, Christ has already overcome the battle for them. The family I wrote about a few posts back illustrates that so well. They have taken every opportunity to let the light of Christ in spite of, through, and beyond cancer. God is always in control. We live in a sinful world, and sometimes we must suffer, but Jesus is right beside us holding our hand through every step of the way.

Josiah, the friend of Trevor’s who is battling leukemia (click here to read what I wrote of his story) and his family have been amazing how they have used his battle with leukemia to witness to those who don’t know Christ. They have been one of the bravest families I’ve seen struggling through this disease and give it to God at the same time.

[Tweet ” “So parents and children alike, where any disease is involved, we must be BRAVE.””](Feel free to tweet!)

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(This is a photo of Josiah’s friends with their orange bracelets on in support of Josiah. Printed on them is John 11:14.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond the horizon

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Why God chooses to heal some people and not to heal others is always a heated question. Especially when it comes to children. No parent should ever have to watch a child die, yet it happens every day.

I always think of a quote by a friend of mine when considering the gifts of my children. “God doesn’t give us children to make us better parents, he gives us children to make us better children.”  He gives us our children on loan to raise until he’s ready to bring them home to Him. But death seems so final. As humans we think of everything as having a beginning and an end. God has no beginning or end, and our lives, regardless of how long they are lived on earth, have no ending. We are eternal beings. Since we can’t actually “see” eternity though, death feels final.

During the seven years I was sick with seizures, depression, and addiction, I was ready for The End. Obviously, God wasn’t finished with me yet. He chose to heal me. My healing…somehow…is part of his bigger plan. The death of a child is also…somehow…part of his bigger plan. Honestly, I don’t even feel equipped to write about a loss so horrific, and I pray it’s not part of any bigger plan in my life.

When God healed me, part of His healing was to give me an eternal perspective. Although I’d been taught that our life on earth is nothing but a drop in the bucket of time as compared to eternity, I never really got it until God reached His all knowing hand down to me and pulled me from my pit of despair. As a result, I’ve shared my story—every fun little detail—in order to further His kingdom. I’m thankful He chose to teach me through me and not through one of my children. In this case, though unbeknownst to them, my children work daily to  make me a better child of God! (You know how people tell you never to pray for patience because God might just give you something to strengthen yours?)

I’m currently reading thebook, “Fly a Little Higher” by Laura Sobiech. She lost her teenage son to osteosarcoma…a very difficult form of cancer to defeat. While being in a Christian writer’s group, I’ve met numerous women who’ve lost children. The word that comes to mind first is “brave.” To survive, to live, to move forward seems as if it would be impossible after the loss of a child. Yet God has given all of these women a supernatural strength to move forward, sharing their stories to give us a little glimpse of Heaven, as their children are all waiting there with open arms. In no pain. Happy. Wrapped in the warm, never-ending light of Jesus.

When I was approached to participate in this blog tour, I was hesitant, because I wasn’t sure I had time to get the book read. Then I learned I didn’t have to have it all read, Thomas Nelson just wanted blog posts on topics similar and then somehow linked to the book. But I got the book a few days ago and began reading.

It hits a little too close to home.

Zach, the 9th grader who learns he has osteosarcoma reminds me a bit too much of my own 9th grader, Trevor. They both just happen to love their friends, playing frisbee, and the guitar. Before Zach died, he was able to record a few songs he has written, one of which was an answer to his mom’s prayer—for Zach’s death to be for something big. One of the songs Zach recorded is called “Clouds” Though I haven’t had a chance to finish the book yet, I see where Laura is going, and God took me to a similar place during my illness. She says, “Hope is something much bigger than anything physical we may desire. It is about raising our eyes from a point on the horizon to the heavens and into eternity.” Oh, how I get that! I’ve written numerous blog posts about having an eternal perspective. Honestly, we will all die. It’s just a matter of when. So it’s eternity I look toward. I will live out this life on earth as best as possible, but eternity in Heaven is my final destination. I’m sure Zach waiting to see all the lives he has touched, guitar in hand.

Set your eyes beyond the horizon and aim to fly a little higher.

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I dare you to get through THIS VIDEO without tears…and with a little more hope.

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This post is part of the Fly a Little Higher Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with hundreds of bloggers raising awareness and giving hope to those with cancer. To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE!

Fly a Little Higher is written by Laura Sobiech, the mother of Zach Sobiech. Laura spent the last three years walking the road of cancer with her teenage son, Zach, and blogging about their battle with the disease. Zach wrote the song “Clouds” which hit #1 on iTunes the same week he passed away in May 2013.

Grab your copy HERE.

A new video with Zach’s family and friends has just been released if you’d like to see how they are doing a year later. Just click HERE.

“Unstoppable” by Kirk Cameron {…and a Facebook Friday Timeline Cover}

Last month I wrote a post titled, “Where is God When Bad Things Happen to Good People?” and gave my thoughts on that age-old question. Tonight we saw Kirk Cameron’s new documentary, “Unstoppable” in which he goes in his own journey after losing a young friend to cancer to answer that same question. While many of our conclusions were similar, one of his insights just…well…knocked me right upside the head. 

We know the Bible contains story after story of bad things happening to good people and we see how God uses them for His kingdom. But there’s one story I never thought of…and it’s the most obvious and answers the question better than I ever could.

What is the single worst event that happened in the Bible? And who did it happen to? 

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The brutal beating, tearing of his skin, nailing of his hands and feet to the cross, and the waiting…and finally his death. And all of that happened to the only sinless human being this world has ever seen. And why did all of those bad things happen to the best person? 

To save the world. 

 

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To make this photo your facebook timeline photo:

 

1. Click on the photo and a menu will come up where you choose “save image as.” (Use a two-finger click on the photo on a mac and right click on the photo on a PC)

 

2. In the window that comes up you can rename your photo and choose where to save it (I always save to my desktop, then move it later if I want to keep it.)

 

3. Then click save.

 

4. Go to your facebook page.

 

5. Put the cursor on your timeline photo, and you will see the option to “change cover” appear. Click on it.

 

6. Choose the option to “upload a photo.”

 

7. When you click on “upload a photo” your files will appear.

 

 8. Choose desktop (or wherever you saved your photo) and highlight your new timeline photo, then go to the bottom of the page and click “choose.”

That’s it! The image is already the correct size for the timeline cover.

Shoot me a comment if something doesn’t work. Wink

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“Change your thoughts and you change your world”~Norman Vincent Peale

 

One of the first non-fiction books I ever read was The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. I was in my first year of college at Clemson University, and I was hopelessly homesick. My mom put everything into my hands she could to help me through that first semester at Clemson, and that book was part of the package.

It’s a shame wisdom comes with age, but I’m sure it’s all part of God’s plan. That’s one of those questions I’ll ask Him someday.  From that first year at Clemson, through pharmacy school at USC, marriage, three children, too many funerals to count, seven years of grand-mal seizures and migraine headaches and addiction to narcotics, God has instilled much wisdom. My hubby has always said, “Hindsight is 20/20” and he is so right. Even after all of the struggles of life I’ve survived, I still need reminders to help remember what’s important in life.

I’ve always said I wish I could write on the inside of my eyelids, so I’d get a subliminal message every time I blink. So for the first ten days of the new year, I thought I’d share some of those “eyelid reminders” with you and remind myself in the process.

So join me for the next ten days for some “celestial” wisdom (celestial meaning “heavenly,” of course)…thoughts to renew your mind and so that you might be transformed to live a happy, God-centered life.

P.S. Sign up for your prescriptions to come right to your email so you don’t miss any 😉

As a bonus start to a blessed new year, here’s a free printable for your fridge, mirror, or wherever you might need a little reminder and join along with me as we go through these thought for the first ten days of 2013. SmileI’m thinking my bathroom mirror…enjoy!

Click here to download the free PDF printable: Click here to download your “Ten Thoughts” Printable 🙂

Ten LIfe-Changing Thoughts for a Happy 2013

 

The Eternal Prize


I know, I know. I said I was taking a break til next Saturday. But I guess the over-achiever-talks-to-much-excited-little-girl me just couldn’t do it. 
Last week I went to the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. The name in itself is quite a mouthful to say, but it fits the conference well. For one thing, it’s on a mountain. And believe me, we were all climbing a mountain all week. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. From the moment we checked in, there was one pace—the speed of light.
And I have to share my excitement with you. Awards night is the last night of the conference and my blog won second place! And to think, a year ago I didn’t even know what blog was. Little by little, I’ve learned so much over the last year. One small step at a time. 
When I came home from the conference Thursday, full speed ahead was still the pace because Miranda graduated from high school at 5:30. First of all, how am I possibly that old???? Second of all, yay Miranda!I am such a proud mama! She didn’t graduate Magna Cum Laude, or even Cum Laude—David says it’s more like Thank Ya Laude—but if you know Miranda, you know what will make her succeed in life. She has personality on steroids, and she loves the Lord. Grades? Not so much. She is all about people. God made her exactly who she is and I wouldn’t trade a 4.0 for any of it. So what if the titles of “biggest flirt” and “fastest text in school” don’t have the colleges knocking down our door. God has a plan for her. 


If you read the prescription verse, you’re probably wondering what it has to do with anything I’ve written so far. After my full week (including my stomach) I decided to go for a run this morning. If you read my blog regularly or keep up with me on Facebook, you know I started running in November of last year. It’s a slow and steady kind of sport. To get the best results, you must eat right, stay hydrated, and run regularly. About a month ago I ran nine miles! Yet today, I struggled to hit two. The busyness of everyday life, a stone bruise on my heel, and the writer’s conference last week has kept me from having a disciplined running schedule. Today, as I struggled to hit two miles, I was reaping the results of this last month. My goal is to run a 1/2 marathon someday. I really want that “13.1” sticker on the back of my car. It’s a great goal, but truthfully, I don’t know if I’ll ever make it or not. And that’s okay. 
As I ran this morning, though, the verse I used for today’s prescription verse kept coming to mind. That “13.1” sticker would be really cool to have on my car, but just as everything else on this earth, it will someday disappear. What does not disappear, however, is eternity.It is in our future no matter what. It won’t be okay if we don’t meet our goal there. How and where we spend eternity depends on what we do here to prepare for it. We need to have a disciplined running schedule. 

Earthly goals are great to have, but the eternal goals are the ones that matter. 
How are you preparing every day for your eternal prize? 
From my heart,

Celeste

Make-a-change Monday~Shift Your Paradigm


Do you know what a “paradigm shift” is? It must be a fairly important concept to understand. When I looked up the word “paradigm” in the dictionary to give you a definition, I actually found “paradigm shift” in the dictionary. I expected to find “paradigm,” but not “paradigm shift.” 

paradigm shift
noun
a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.
I believe the term probably became worthy of a space in the dictionary when The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey was published. 
Here’s the example of a paradigm shift he shares in the book: 

I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Saturday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly—some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.

Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. 

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, and even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing. 

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Can you imagine what I felt like at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently. I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. “Your wife just died? Oh, I’m so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?”

Everything changed in an instant. 

Did it give you chills to read that story? 
Not to completely stereotype myself, but I grew up as a Southern-Baptist-only-child-goody-two-shoes kind of girl. My life was wonderful. I succeeded at most anything I attempted, and I held myself to very high standards. You know…the perfectionist. While I am grateful to my parents for the wonderful childhood I had, being a perfectionist did not serve me well. 

When my world was turned up side down with the onset of grand-mal seizures and the following drug addiction, I spiraled into adeep depression. I really believe I could have handled the seizures and all the came along with them—no driving, no bathtub/swimming alone, bumps and bruises—but the fact that I “allowed myself” to end up addicted to pain medication was just too much. It was the infamous straw that broke the camel’s back. 

The thing was, when I finally admitted to the world that I’d had an addiction, so many people said, “Of all the people I thought could become a drug addict, I never would have believed it would be you.” And I say, “Me either!” 
Anytime I had to go to the hospital for anything (usually seizures, but once a bad stomach bug I picked up in Florida), I told them no narcotics because I had been addicted. Now, this was after I got off the Lortab. While I was still struggling, I welcomed pain meds at the hospital! Anyway, as soon as I was labeled an “addict,” I was treated differently. And no, it was not in my imagination. 
Its really funny—and yet not so funny—how God gave me a serious paradigm shift. For the first fourteen years I worked as a pharmacist, I was judgmental of my customers who came in every month for pain medicine. I didn’t want to be, but I couldn’t help it. I could not understand how they were so dependent and desperate for their pain pills every month. WOW did I get some empathy lessons. My perspective changed completely when I learned first hand how they felt. I found myself walking in their shoes. 
So my challenge for you today is to not be judgmental. Let God be the only judge. Know that no matter how a situation seems, there is always more than meets the eye. When you find yourself passing judgment, remember that God loves everyone, and he is the only judge. It’s very freeing to be able to love people for the messed up humans they are, and let God do the judging!
Don’t wait for something to shift your paradigm, shift it yourself.  
From my heart,
Celeste




The only physician who can save your life


This week I’ve been focusing on faith. If you didn’t read Saturday’s “Tip to a Happier You,” click here

I’m currently reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp…which will go at the top of my “Books that will change your life” list. She contemplates Luke 17: 15-19, where there seems to be some inconsistency in the scripture:
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Yes, thankfulness, I know. Next verse.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Wait. I trace back. Hadn’t Jesus already completely healed him? Exactly like the other nine who were cured who hadn’t bothered to return and thank Him. So what does Jesus mean, “Your faith has made you well”? Had I under interpreted this passage, missed some hidden mystery? I slow down and dig. I read Jesus’ words in Young’s Literal Translation, “And [Jesus] said to him, ‘Having risen, be going on, they faith has saved thee.’” Saved thee? I dig deeper. It’s sozo as being made “well” or “whole,” but it’s literal meaning, I read it—“to save.” Sozo means salvation. It means true wellness, complete wholeness. To live sozo is to live the full life. Jesus came that we might live life to the full; He came to give us sozo. And when did the leper receive sozo—the saving to the full, whole life? When he returned and gave thanks. I lay down my pen.
Do you see? This says everything about why I created Celestial Prescriptions. God is our great physician and is the only one who can truly save your life—your whole life.
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Where Medicine Meets Faith

Today on “Dr. Oz,” he had Joel Osteen as his guest. The title of this segment was “Where medicine ends and faith begins.” If you’re reading this blog, you probably know God gave me a miracle after years of failed medical attempts at healing. This particular subject holds a spot very close to my heart! 
I was excited to see such a mainstream show confront such a controversial topic, but honestly, I was left disappointed. The main message resulting from the interview was there is power in prayer. I wholeheartedly agree! But as came through in the show today, Joel Osteen is a “feel good” preacher. He believes in happiness and prosperity, and that anyone who believes and has enough faith can achieve just that. What I did not hear on the show today was the will of God. God has a plan. He is in control. For his children, God has promises that he will bestow, but not mentioned by Rev. Osteen today was that we may not see those promises until we reach Heaven. 
I realize this was a secular show, and I’m sure Dr. Oz had the network guiding him in what he could and could not say, but I was disappointed that the subject “when everything fails” didn’t come up. So if we die, do we assume that neither faith nor medicine worked? No. This brings me to one of my favorite quotes by Max Lucado: 
“The ultimate aim of healing is not just a healthy body but a greater kingdom. If God’s aim is to grant perfect health to all his children, he has failed, because no one enjoys perfect health, and everyone dies. But if God’s aim is to expand the boundaries of his kingdom, then he has succeeded. For every time he heals, a thousand sermons are preached.”
And to that I add this…even when he does not heal us while we are here on earth, he completely heals us when we die. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)


Even in death, God has a plan. The experience of losing someone often leads other to Christ.

Prayer is important–essential actually to our spiritual walk. But God already has all the answers, doesn’t he? God has already promised us that he has a plan and a purpose for us…a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29/11). When we pray, he restores us. Praying helps us to remember that he is God and he has us in his hands. It helps us to fight the evil influences this world has over us and have faith in him. Prayer doesn’t help God be a better God, but it helps us to be better children.
I have blogged on this subject several times, and I think as Christians, it is vital that we live on this earth with an eternal perspective. Yes, what we do here is important because while we are on earth, we are laying up our treasures in Heaven. What are those treasures? People—the people that will be in eternity beside us. I’m attaching links here of the other blog posts I have on this subject:

Life is Good, Eternity is Better
In Sickness and in Health

It all boils down to your heart. Only God truly knows your heart. He alone knows your faith, your love, your struggles, and your trust in him.
I love the PRAYER acronym on today’s prescription. I will leave you with the scripture that supports it’s meaning. 
P ~ praise ~ Yours, O LORD, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. (1 Chronicles 29:11-12)
R ~ repent ~ If my people … will humble themselves, pray, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear their prayer… (2 Chronicles 7:14)
A ~ ask ~ Ask, and it will be given you . . . knock, and the door will be opened for you. (Matthew 7:7)
Y ~ yield ~ …your will be done…(Matthew 6:10) and …not what I want but what you want. (Matthew 26:39)
E ~ expect results ~  …approach the throne of grace with confidence. (Hebrews 4:16)
R ~ return oftenThe prayer of faith will save the sick. (James 5:15)


I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on the subject! 

From my heart,

Celeste






Overcome the fear of dying

Let me start today’s post by saying that we all need to remember the families of those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. I lost my dad to lung cancer on October 25th of that same year. It’s hard to believe 10 years has past. I can’t imagine having lost someone in such a terrible, nonsensical tragedy. Watching my dad die of lung cancer was certainly not easy. Death is tough. Death is horrible. If we had the knowledge of how we were going to die, I don’t believe we could function with any sense of normalcy. The thing is, though, we all will die. Every single one of us.
Just after the twin towers were hit on that dreadful day, several of my friends called or showed up in tears, totally unsure of everything. What happens when we die? Why does God let such things happen? 
Why are we even here? How can we live like this? 
Do you know people who live in fear? I have to say that I’m preaching to myself here. Do you know that I won’t fly on the same airplane as my husband if we are traveling without the kids? I’m afraid of leaving our kids parentless if our plane were to crash, so we fly separately and meet at our destination. Now is that irrational or what? I’m not afraid to die myself, just of leaving my kids without parents!
When my dad died, it was the saddest experience of my life. I knew, however, that my dad would be spending his eternity in Heaven. While he was in the hospital, before we ever knew his prognosis, he said, “Whether I live one day, six months, or ten years, I have no regrets and I’m ready to go.”
And I knew that about my dad. It comforted me.  I’m thankful he said those words, but I knew that’s how he felt without even if he never said it. 
The other thing that strangely comforted me was knowing that my dad was not singled out to die. No one targeted him as a human being different from others who would have to experience death. It was his time, but death comes for everyone’s dad, everyone’s mom, everyone’s sister, daughter, son, friend…you get the picture.
I don’t mean to be morbid, just factual. We all are going to die someday, somehow. So how do we handle it?
We must have an eternal perspective.
I like the way my hubby thinks about life and eternity…
He draws a timeline:
                
Beginning—-[-]—>———->———->———->———->Eternity
                        ^^
                      life
We have a long timeline from the beginning of time to eternity, and eternity never ends. Our life is but one little “blip” in that long timeline. It’s not the short experience of life and death that we should fear, but how we spend eternity. How we live this short little “blip” will determine how we spend eternity…in heaven or in hell. As long as we have Christ as our savior, we have absolutely nothing to fear. In fact, in death we have nothing to lose; we can only gain. In Philippians 1:21, Paul tells us, For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Here’s what C.S. Lewis says on that verse:
“What a state we have got into when we can’t say ‘I’ll be happy when God calls me’ without being afraid one will be thought ‘morbid.’ After all, St. Paul said just the same. If we really believe what we say we believe–if we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a ‘wandering to find home,’ why should we not look forward to the arrival? There are, aren’t there, only three things we can do about death: to desire it, to fear it, or to ignore it. The third alternative, which is the one modern world calls ‘healthy’ is surely the most uneasy and precarious of all.”
I am afraid of leaving my kids without parents, and if feasible, I will probably continue to fly separate from my husband because it give me some peace of mind. But that is the human in me, and I know it’s not rational. When God decides to take me home, it won’t matter what I’m doing. He is in control. The only thing I can do to calm my fears is to teach my children to also think with an eternal perspective. I must teach them that God is in control, he has a plan, and we must only accept and trust him. 
We need to stop thinking that this life is all we have, and we must teach that to our children as well. We need to stop being afraid of death. If we have Christ in our heart, we have nothing to fear. There is no one, absolutely no one, that can take eternity away from us. Satan will try, I promise, but he has no defenses against Christ. I have to quote my favorite verse here again: In this world you will have trouble, but take heart [fear not], for I have overcome the world (John 16:33). We just need to make sure that whenever, wherever, however it happens, we are ready. Ready to spend an incredible eternity in a place more wonderful than anywhere we could ever even imagine! 
From my heart, 


Celeste

In Sickness and In Health


Now I have read this verse before I’m sure, but never has it jumped out at me as it did today when I was reading. Not only is God telling us that his word is all we need for our soul and spirit, but our joints? marrow? thoughts? heart? I looked up a commentary on this verse, and basically it’s pointing out that if we know the word of God, we have no excuses. God is able to search out all of us…right down to the differences between what we believe in our heart vs. our mind. I couldn’t help but see it even more literally. God’s word is alive and well, and can pierce into every system in our body. So shouldn’t all christians then experience perfect health if they claim the word of God? NO. This brings me to a quote from Max Lucado…”

“If God’s aim is to grant perfect health to all his children, he has
failed, because no one enjoys perfect health, and everyone dies.
But if God’s aim is to expand the boundaries of his kingdom, then
he has succeeded. For every time he heals, a thousand sermons are
preached.”

In sickness, in health, in happy times, in depression, in faith, in anger, in life, in death…God  is using us. God loves us. God is preparing us for our next purpose. God has eternity waiting for us. 


When struggling with a health issue, it is so easy in our nation to get on the computer, try to diagnose ourselves, and then put our diagnosis together with a drug we saw advertised on television, and the chase begins: the chase to find the right physician to listen to you, the chase to try and try again to find the right drug to fix you. We want to be fixed. Now. We don’t want to dig into God’s word and see what he might be trying to teach us, or even someone close to us.  


If you are battling any type of health problem, here’s the thing: you may be healed, or you may not. You may have a life long struggle ahead of you. BUT…if you continue to pursue God and seek out what his purpose is for your life, you can find happiness and peace in him. I firmly believe that if your desire to have a close, intimate relationship with God is greater than your desire to have perfect health, you will find peace. Seek your answer in God’s words to you, his child, in the most complete instruction manual ever written, the Bible. God’s answer for you may not be to grant you perfect health, but if you allow his words to penetrate your heart and soul, and let him to use you in whatever condition you’re in, you will begin to see things from more of an “eternal” perspective. My daddy used to love to tell me to “plan like you will die tomorrow, but live like you will live forever.” I thought he was talking about money, but now I see he had a deeper, more eternal, perspective. 


I have a friend whose husband recently died after a battle with cancer. He had so many people praying for him during his battle…praying for a miracle. At his funeral, I will never forget what my friend said as she hugged me standing beside his casket. 


“We got our miracle.”  


What a testament! Even in her fresh state of grief, she knew through his illness, family members came to Christ who might not have otherwise, and that her husband is now in Heaven with Jesus…completely and eternally healed. 


If you know my story, you know that God completely healed me and my purpose on earth is not yet finished. Through my healing, I pray that “a thousand sermons will be preached” (or written), but for others, it’s through sickness and death that healing takes place, and a thousand sermons are still preached. 


God is in control of it all. God knows our hearts. Embrace him in sickness and in health, and whatever purpose God has for your life will be fulfilled. 


From my heart, 
Celeste




Life is Good, Eternity is Better

 Life is Good
Eternity is Better

This passage in John 14 is a favorite of many. I consider it the comfort chapter in the Bible. Jesus knew that  his time on earth was coming to and end, and he wanted to reassure his disciples everything would be okay and he had it under control. Oh how I have clung to these verses for the last seven years. I claimed this verse over and over in my head, but I could not really feel it in my heart. 

While I worked so hard to find some cure for my seizures and depression, my focus remained on what I could do. How could I use my knowledge about science, pharmacy, and medicine to make me better? Me, me, me, I, I, I…God couldn’t get a word in edgewise! It wasn’t until I was completely and totally exhausted that I gave God a chance to say, “Hey, look what I can do for you!” Once I let go of control and let God be God, he began to show me amazing things. The many times I read these verses, I thought I “got it.” Heaven is out there somewhere for us to live an eternal life and we will be happy. 
Somewhere, someday…but not now. 

It is so easy to get wrapped up in the problems of this world…we certainly have plenty of them! But when we begin to compare our life here with the life Jesus has prepared for us in Heaven, do some of those problems seem trivial? We all must deal with problems on a daily basis, because we must live in this world for now. But in John 16:33, God tells us that yes, we will have trouble in this world, but he has overcome the world!
I recently heard Jeff Strueker speak at a writer’s conference. A former army ranger and subject of the national best-seller, “Black Hawk Down,” he challenged me to think about life and death, from a Christian, eternal perspective. He was faced with the harsh reality that he was walking into his death during a mission in Somalia, and had to put his “bullet-proof faith” into action. When he was commanded to walk into the most dangerous situation in his life, he realized that no matter what, he could not lose. If he survived the mission, he would get to return home to live happily with his new wife. If he did not survive, he would get to enter his eternal home, Heaven, and live forever in the presence of our living God! 

If we could begin to approach our struggles and fears in life with an eternal perspective such as this, how much better would we be able to handle our day to day problems? How much better would we be able to handle life and death situations? Jesus has our eternal home ready. He has taken special care to prepare a specific place for each and every one of his children. 


Life can be good and life can be bad. But if you know Jesus as your savior, eternity will be AWESOME.

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