Living Well with PI-IBS/IBS
Last week, I got really angry. The Devil was working hard on my mind and spirit. I knew it, and yet I still let him get away with it. Over the last few weeks, two people I love dearly have faced scary, significant health moments. Another loved one lost her child. Our air conditioner broke. …
I have so many good memories involving special breakfasts. Every Christmas morning that I can remember, my parents would get up early and make the best Christmas breakfast - we're talking biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes...the works. One New Year's Eve when I was a teenager, we had the New Year's Eve …
This year, I've had a lot of help from some wonderful people. I've also had a second, significant chunk of wonderful people who have said variations of: "I want to help, but I just don't know what to do!" In my neck of the woods, the most common way for people to help is by …
Continue reading "“How Can I Help?”: When You Care About a Stomach-Sick Someone"
Did you know that the fastest growing species of bamboo can grow up to 35 inches per day? Yep...nearly three meters in one single day. Due to its rapid and invasive growth, it can get wildly out of control very quickly if it isn't reigned in and grown with caution. Bamboo and fear are a …
Oh, spaghetti and meatballs! My all-time favorite meal. And I never thought I'd be able to do them well again after going low-FODMAP. How wrong I was! This is my variation on a Fody Food Co. spaghetti and meatball recipe, and y'all. It is SO good. This recipe will make enough for four people, or …
I watched a video clip the other day. A preacher was speaking to his congregation about trials in this life, and he said: "I sense in the Spirit that there are people here, and some who are listening or who will watch this later, that you are on the edge of the thing you are …
Continue reading "“Hell Had a Huddle”: Enough Faith to Walk"
If you haven't picked up on it here and there, I really have a thing for the ocean. "When Oceans Rise", "Not-So-Smooth Sailing", being on a cruise when I first got sick... you'd think that meant I did NOT like the ocean anymore, but I totally do. Not even PI-IBS can crush that part of …
In the last year and a half, I've spent a lot of time thinking about self-care: what it is, what it isn't, and why we need it. Even before getting sick and subsequently having to overhaul my life, I'd begun my journey into self-care. In May 2017, I was a little overweight, a lot under-exercised, …
Continue reading "Why I’ve Begun to Care About Self-Care (And Why You Should, Too!)"
Prior to my PI-IBS diagnosis and low-FODMAP journey, I was quite the foodie. I loved trying new things, experimenting with cultural flavors, and enjoying tried-and-true favorites from my own family's kitchen as well the kitchens of local restaurants. Many of those dishes are basically impossible for me now that I'm low-FODMAP dieting, but I was …
I've never been afraid to be my own person. I guess God made me that way on purpose, because I sure have needed a "be yourself" mentality this year. See, there's a lot of judgment that goes into having a chronic illness: "It sure has taken you a long time to just get over it, …
IBS Takes Guts 