4 Dilemmas Illness Support Group Leaders May Discover

Have you read Lisa’s new article, “4 Dilemmas Illness Support Group Leaders May Discover.” She was delighted to receive this comment on it over at Scribd (a great place for articles to read!) The article was
also recently featured this week at MyQ10: Pharmaceutical and Medical News Blog.

“You know many people could benefit from your wisdom. Lawyers, doctors, social workers and others are in this situation of receiving complaints all day long – it is their job but can take a toll on them if they are not prepared by the Divine Hand or by this type of discussion. I’d like to see more of your work as you post online.”

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We are honored to be able to receive messages like this! Wow… “Thank you so much for starting this site. It has saved my life. I have been sick for 8 months and still don’t have a diagnosis. I have heard everything from MS to cancer. My bloodwork came nack that I do have arthritis inflamation. I know you suffer from the same disease. Thank you again for giving me hope.” -H

Beyond Casseroles Debuts New Look!

Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend is at the printer with a new cover! We are hoping to make it appear brighter and more fun and be used more in OUTREACH to people who don’t know the Lord. We received some wonderful endorsements that are included, and will also make it available for nonprofits or churches in bulk (100+ copies) to be ordered with their own logo, leader’s message, etc.

We are currently low in stock, so if you order, be aware that it may be 2 weeks before it is shipped. If you want to make sure you get the new cover . . . wait for an announcement here and you will also see the new cover on the order page.

Invisible Illness Week Being Planned

In case you are wondering… we are starting to update the web site and pull some things together for National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. We will be having our “chat seminars” this year as telephone seminars, where you can call in and listen and participate. Lisa will be ordering updated brochures and other items in the next few weeks.

With everyone trying to save money, we want to be good stewards and not purchase a bunch of stuff no one is interested in, so watch for an upcoming survey to tell us what you would be interested in purchasing. We want to have items available that you want (brochures, pins, bumper stickers)!

May 12th is National Fibromyalgia Day

Fibromyaliga impacts the lives of thousands, but is also a secondary illness for many people who have other chronic illnesses too. So we wanted to make sure you knew about May 12th. Find out more info at the National Fibromyalgia Association web site.

Quotation – About Church

When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, ‘I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,’ we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness.

It is important to think about the Church not as ‘over there’ but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer.” – Henry Nouwen

Share our video with your pastor

Would you like your pastor to understand the illness ministry is needed, growing, and even beneficial? See our 4-minute promotional video at YouTube and click on the envelope where it says “Share.” Or you can also send a person the link on our actual web page at http://www.admin-video.htm.

Now is a great and introduce the subject that National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is September 8-14, 2008. Perhaps you and your pastor could brainstorm some ways to create more awareness in the church in order to better reaching out to people who are hurting silently.

For example, you could write an article for the church newsletter; share your testimony; kick off a HopeKeepers group; or have a resource table outside after church that week. For more ideas see “Minister to the Chronically Ill: 20 Ways in 20 Minutes” or “6 Ways a Church Can Show the Chronically Ill They Care.”