The busy week has come to an end and I’m happy that we can have a day where the pace slows a bit. It’s not that things have been any busier than normal, but it’s that we’ve been trying to get back into routine again after a week of holidays.  It doesn’t help that we’ve been trying to get our bodies back onto their regular clocks. Then you throw in a 3 yr old that has a really bad case of bronchitis who has you up most nights, then I guess things really have been a bit busier than at first thought. Ahhh Yes!! Things are back to normal in the house!!

After having a week where my pain seemed to be a bit better controlled I’ve noticed that it’s been a bit worse this week. I’ve been trying to focus on staying more relaxed though, and cut off  the cycle before the pain gets more reved up. During the coarse of the week I found time to add a new feature to my site. It’s the new bookshelf that I’ve added. I really like to read when my pain doesn’t stop me. I find it to be a great way for me to reduce the amount of stress that I suffer from, not to mention it helps me to take focus off the pain. So what I’ll be doing is adding some of the books that I’ve been reading that might be of interest to you. I’ve been reading a lot of books with stories of inspiration, ones where you and I can relate to some of the mental and physical things that people have been though.  When you read some of these stories and what they’ve been through, you can’t help but be inspired.

When reading books like these you become exposed to the issues and different circumstances that these people face, which in turn helps you to think about different issues that you yourself might be dealing with. It also helps me stay aware of  the various roads that you can go down, when dealing with a crisis in your life. You also start to look at the way that your dealing with your specific crisis, and ask yourself if you need to address any issues yourself.  At the same time there is a real positive side to reading stories like these, in that you become inspired and motivated not to let your specific crisis rob you of your life.

When I was first diagnosed with CRPS I had a hard time finding ways to stay positive while I was dealing with the diagnosis, and as I was watching my body change physically and mentally. There were times when I found it difficult to motivate myself and to fight to change the things that were happening to me. I would allow negative thoughts to enter my mind, which would then cause me to question if I was ever going to get better! At numerous times my faith has been challenged, and many times I’ve wanted to let my guard down and give in. If God hadn’t been there during those times then I don’t know where I would be at today.

When I sit here and think about it, I very easily could have become depressed and withdrawn from everyone and everything.  I could have very easily throw in the towel and accepted that this is going to be my life. If you listen to what some of the doctors had to say about CRPS you may as well forget getting better, and accept things for what they are. So as time went by and I became more worn down it became easier to hear more and more of the negative, and less and less of the positive. Slowly you start to let all the negative seep inside and it starts to change the way you think and act. What a lot of people really don’t understand, is that there is a war going on inside your brain that even you yourself have trouble understanding! I’m just lucky that God has been there to fight for me and not allow the negative to take hold.

I’ve been able to learn things about myself  in reading these books that otherwise I may not have seen. They have helped me in staying positive and to know that my story can and will end in a very positive way. They help me to stay focused on keeping control in my life and to keep everything in perspective. Often we don’t realize how powerful a written word can be. It can have an enormous impact in a persons life and I’m finding it that way in mine. Picking up a book that inspires is a great way to block out the negative. The book I find to be the most powerful though and of  most influence is The Bible!