Pushing on, Stretching out Practicing Discipline and Being Thankful (A Chronic Voice May 2021 Linkup)

This month I am taking part in the May Linkup for people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. This linkup is hosted by Sheryl, founder of the blog A Chronic Voice. She provides 5 writing prompts to use to share updates on life in general but also may include the aspect of disability. When you have a chronic illness or disability it will make an appearance in every part of life. Here are my responses to this month’s prompts.

Pushing

There are several things that I am pushing myself to do and I have started working on some this month and I am starting some soon. I am pushing myself to learn new things.

I hope to resume my journey to learning braille. I know the basics but I want to improve and I need a review. I know half of the alphabet but the second half has been more challenging for me to memorize.

I am also pushing myself to learn Greek. I am using the Textus Receptus to learn. I use a screen reader or an audio Bible to study as I am visually impaired so this has been an adjustment for me in learning a new language but I am becoming more familiar with words the more I listen. I have also found some lessons on youTube that are helpful. I will be posting more about this in an upcoming post.

I am pushing myself to exercise more. I have fallen into a rut the past few months and have not been exercising at all. I want to begin walking at home again.

Stretching

I am stretching out when it comes to my blog and poetry. I hope to be able to be a full time blogger in the future. I have made two YouTube channels, one for my poetry and one to go along with this blog. I am very shy so this is a stretch for me but it is time for me to just do it. I hope to improve my poetry site and start a mailing list and grow my audience all around. It may be a stretch for me but sometimes you just have to aim for big dreams.

Here are my YouTube channels if you want to check them out.

Discipline

I want to be healthy and step away from the candy. I have already explained that I want to exercise more but I also want to eat healthier. I have recently been eating too much candy and I must stop.

I also want to have a daily schedule that will give me set times to study braille and Greek as well as to work on my poetry and on this blog and on YouTube and all that goes along with that. I have a lot to keep track of and I need to stay disciplined to get it all done.

My Christian faith is very important to me and I want to be disciplined in this area as well in reading my Bible and praying and spending time with God. I set time apart in the morning before I do anything else and at the end of the day.

Text on image says I can and I will in bold letters

Preserving

Well I am preserving my sound mind by staying close to God and keeping myself busy and also by loom knitting. I am used to being at home most of the time but sometimes it can get frustrating. I would like to go for walks but my neighborhood does not have accessible areas which is to say that you need a car to get around and I do not feel safe walking on my own.

Thanking

I am thankful that I am in good health and my family is in good health. I am thankful to have a home to be in even if I do not get out much. I am thankful to be able to blog and reach others with my story.

Some extra thoughts

I hope that your May went well. Feel free to share your answers to these prompts in the comments below. Thank you for reading.

Reflections: Take Life one step at a Time

Image shows mountains under a sunny and slightly cloudy sky and a silhouette of a person walking along the path. Text on image reads take life one step at a time — Photo (not including the text) is by StockSnap via Pixabay

Planning is a wise thing but sometimes we can take planning too far. We want to have everything set for the next 10 or 20 years. The thing about life is that it has its curve balls. When we think too far ahead it can make us begin to worry about what can go wrong.

It is good to think ahead and have an over all plan but it is also important to be flexible.

I have learned that it is easier to trust God and take life one step at a time. It is good to have a safety net whether that is food or money but God should be the main safety net.

Matthew 6:25-33 KJV — Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

So take life one step at a time and trust God to help you along the way.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2021 Theme Reveal

A to Z challenge theme reveal — Image Source: A to Z Challenge

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is a challenge to blog each day in April except on Sundays. The challenge is to use each letter of the alphabet per day. Day 1 you would blog about something related to letter A and go on from there. The extra Challenge is to pick 1 theme to base your posts on.

The theme I have chosen is life with low vision. I will give you a glimpse into what it is like to live with low vision. I think there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the blind and visually impaired community. I hope that my posts can help to educate others. I want to give a disclaimer that every person in the blindness community is different and these are my experiences and should not be generalized. This said, I think we can all learn from each other and every experience counts.

I want to add that my regular blogging schedule will be resuming again in May. My next post will be on April 1st to begin the challenge.

I hope that you will follow along and if you have a blog that you will join in.

Life Lessons from “Claire | The Documentary”

In honor of Women’s history month I want to highlight the life of a young woman that has made me reflect on the value of life, her name is Claire Wineland. She was born with Cystic Fibrosis and sadly her life ended at age 21 but she left us all with important life lessons when it comes to the way society treats those that have a disability. I would recommend that you all watch the documentary on her life.

One of the main messages that Claire tried to get across to everyone is that people should not pity those that are sick or have a disability. She shares from her point of view how this only makes the situation worse and makes life harder. She says that people that are sick or have a disability need to know that they are “more than just a cause for charity”. She also says that what kept her fighting on was that she had a purpose in life and goals to accomplish.

Text reads as people with disabilities we have to make our own paths in the midst of a close-minded society

I completely agree with the point she makes. I have a disability myself and the last thing I want is for people to feel sorry for me. I also believe that it is important for those that have a disability to be given the opportunity to follow their dreams and to have high goals. Many times people with disabilities are looked down upon and not much is expected of them as they are immediately written off. The disabled community needs to lift each other up. The truth is that you have to believe in yourself first and it should not matter what other people think. I have learned that you have to stand up and advocate for yourself when you have a disability and you have to create your own path when society does not open one for you.

Another important message that Claire shared is that you have a purpose and you have a valuable contribution to make even when you are sick or disabled. You do not have to wait for a cure, you are valuable just the way you are. I think that we can let the opinion of others shape our thoughts and life and we stay stuck in that hole that is made by others. We have to find it in ourselves to rise above the negative views and show them what we can do.

This has taught me to appreciate the life that God has given me and that i must use the time he gives me to make the world a better place. I may be visually impaired but I have a purpose. I have valuable contributions to make. I should not spend my time here feeling sorry for myself, instead I have to push on and give the best I have to offer. I am a Christian so for me that means I can share the gospel, I can pray for others and so on. I started this blog to encourage others through sharing my story along with helpful tips. I do not want to just watch my life go by and waste this gift God has given me.

I hope that this will encourage you today. I believe that you have something of value to give even if you are lying in a hospital bed. I believe that if you are alive today you have a purpose so do not give up on life for it is a precious gift.

Reflections: True Love

Love, this word seems to be thrown around a lot. When we hear the word love we probably immediately think of a romantic relationship especially now in February with Valentine’s day coming up. The truth is that love is much more than that. There is the love of a parent, the love of a brother or sister or the love of a friend. The most important love of all is the love of God.

When you do not feel love from anyone you can find that love by looking to God. For God loved you first.

John 3:16 KJV — For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

A relationship will not provide the love that truly fills your heart, only the love of God is enough to fill your heart. The only way you can love another person is if you truly experience love yourself and that is only found in God. People think they can find it from within or from someone else or from material items but none of that works.

Any love that you have in you was put there by God. The way a mother loves her newborn, that love comes from God, when a husband truly honors his wife, that comes from God.

God is the source of true love and running from him will only lead to tragedy at the end. So for those that feel alone today please remember you are not alone. God loves you and wants to fill you with his love and prepare you to give that love to others around you.

I hope that you look to God first for love instead of continuing to look in all the wrong places and he will lead you to the best place you should be in life.