Category: Wellness For Life Articles

Making the best use of the time

Posted on by nfuller

What are we to do with ourselves during this corona virus lockdown? Sometimes we face tough decisions of whether to take a risk or not in leaving the house- a grocery trip or an essential medical appointment.  A few weeks back churches all over the country made tough decisions about whether to hold worship or not. Some met for worship in person, and others opted for online meeting opportunities. By last Sunday the decision was made for us. Staying home from all public gatherings was a mandate of the government, a part of obeying the 4th commandment to listen to government authorities.  We are to continue to follow government authorities unless the authority is against the proclamation of Christ- in which case we must obey God rather than man.  Now that the decision is made for us whether to stay home or be about in public- what is a person to do with the extra amount of time home bound?

In the last few weeks I have been speaking with people in counseling contexts about how to think of their current situation and often, how to make the best out of it.  In my own family I have experienced day by day a progression of forming new routines in an entirely new chapter in American history (one we hope is temporary).

Here are some thoughts and experiences of mine of how to make the best use of the time: (Ephesians 5:15-16)  “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”  My perspective is that more routine is better than less in dealing with difficult periods of isolation.

One: Prayer for our nation, prayer for our churches

Consider setting aside somewhat specific times in the day and week where you can be more routine in prayer than you might be with a busy work or family life schedule. In our time of need we come to our Father in prayer knowing our prayers are heard.

Two: Specific goals for your own life journey of reading the scripture.  In addition to extra time almost all of us have at present, opportunities for online devotionals and worship services or podcast Bible Studies are numerous right now.  www.issuesetc.org provides an excellent variety of experts on topics of theology and Christian applications to cultural issues.  www.cph.org  provides currently free downloads for Bible studies.  www.lutheranpublicradio.org  provides free sacred music 24 hours a day.  Hearing the Word proclaimed form others is the closest we can have to hearing God’s Word in worship.  Routine in hearing God’s Word can come in the form of a day by day reading plan.   

Three:  Stick with routines in daily life.  Try to get up at a similar time and not oversleep in the morning due to discouragement. Consider a schedule of daily chores and if there are old interests of yours to renew like reading, crafts, art work (with what supplies you may still have around the house.)

Four: Nutrition goals. Since trips to a grocery store are a slight risk, making good use of the food we have and not wasting or over eating just feels right.

Five:  Exercise. Walking, running, or cycling may be possible in your neighborhood to a certain degree without risking spread of disease.  Inside the home workout videos,  yoga, or other disciplines of strengthening your body are available on Youtube.

Six:  For those in family contexts, this is an ideal time to work on relational growth goals through the art of intentional conversations. Take this time to grow in your appreciation for each family relationship. Explore what organization and structure as family can be sharpened. For those with vocations of living alone, consider what opportunities you have for reaching out and caring for others through phone calls

Seven:  Introspection. Consider taking time for journaling where you can ground your feelings, become more aware of what you are feeling, reevaluate old routines and clarify your goals for new priorities.   Think critically about what routines have been like in your life and in our culture and what may perhaps change in your life when America “opens up again.”

Eight:  Distractions and breaks from news. Take time for entertainment or reading pursuits, listening to music, organizing parts of your living space.

Nine: Home improvement projects/ things you have been putting off (again if you have the materials already).

Ten:  Seek to learn a new skill.  Through online research there are bound to be some things you don’t know how to do and that you can learn for now or the future (homemade food recipe, art technique, gardening technique, furniture decorating strategies)

Mental Health and the Holiday Season

Posted on by nfuller

We have begun Advent as a church. However more pressing to most Americans is that we have begun the “holiday season” As it is many of us already feel too busy with daily life even before December arrives. How quickly the calendar fills up with Christmas cookie exchange gatherings, office Christmas parties, trips to see family members who are out of town, and if that is not busy enough someone you know is bound to have a birthday in December.  We shop, we decorate, we plan, we prepare, we feel stress, but we do not often stop and rest.  

The season of Advent helps us to see and ponder how Jesus comes to us as our King, in Old Testament Prophesy, in his birth in Bethlehem, and in the promise of his return on the last day. On Christmas we will celebrate the birth of the long awaited Savior.  For centuries and centuries God’s people waited for the promised of Eve’s offspring who would come to crush Satan’s head.  During the few weeks of December leading up to the Eve of the 24th we also can wait.  We can apply to our lives stillness and silence, clearing our thoughts and resting our bodies in preparation for our celebration of Christmas and the joy of the Word of God made flesh.    

On a holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas we also notice who is not with us. We think of and miss those who we have lost in our life or who we might be estranged from by the circumstances of our fallen world.  We may feel emotions of grief and loss mixed with cherished memories of times past.  For some it all adds up to a time of feeling like it is all too much.  Instead of a gift and thing to look forward to a holiday can become a bittersweet occasion. Some Christmas songs pick up on this such as “White Christmas,” which retells memories of those Christmas days past so fondly remembered- and now can only be dreamed of. The celebration of the birth of Jesus transcends who is and who is not with us, and can never be reduced to only a dream or memory of past joy. 

So what can we do to recover the joy of the holidays?  I have already hinted that the design of the church year is that Advent is meant to be a time of quiet and reflection. A time to repent and prepare our hearts for the love of Jesus.  It may serve you well to schedule time off work early in December to sort through feelings of loss that you encounter in the holiday. Likewise you might consider unplugging electronics from your daily routine and setting aside time on a daily basis to read the scripture during this time of Advent. 

You might also focus your thoughts on what the celebration of the birth of Jesus means for you in your life today. Instead of focusing on what you need to do to get through the Christmas Holiday, think instead of how the church’s celebration of the Word made flesh can bring renewed purpose and joy in your heart. Think of the how the coming of Jesus changes your life and changes our world. Read through the Beatitudes and give thanks for how blessed we are that God comes to us in love through Jesus, as he first did on Christmas.  If you struggle with loneliness during this time of the year you might find one friend who you can write a letter to or go out of your way to bless in some way.  

When it comes to mental health acceptance goes a very long way. As God’s own children, let us accept and cherish the time and season we have before us. Let us embrace the meaning of Christmas of 2019. Your brother in Christ, Pastor Fuller

Our disappearing community

Posted on by nfuller

An article by Tane Bellomo on the thefederalist.com provides a nice summary of the decline of community in American culture and the spiritual implications. The reference to C.S Lewis’ work “The Great Divorce” is a particularly moving illustration of how important the need for community is for Christ Lutheran Church as we has begun to communicate the message “We are Neighbors Together” Here is the text of the article:

How Economic Riches Have Destroyed The Wealth Of Relationships

Millions of people are just like me, isolated in the midst of a crowd, lacking a true community, and wondering, ‘Who are these people?’

Thane Bellomo

By Thane Bellomo

August 27, 2019

I don’t know these people anymore. I peruse my Facebook feed and smile at pictures of children I have never met and look closely at the faces of those I once knew. Sometimes I post things. And sometimes I get a “like.” This is what constitutes much of my community nowadays.

I don’t know my neighbors, and while I see people at work each day from my cubicle, I can’t say I am “friends” with most of them. We talk about our weekends and sometimes about the things that delight or trouble us, but I can’t say we are connected to one another in the deep way true friends are.

In spite of the fact that I work in buildings filled with people and live in a teeming city, I am often lonely. And many millions of people are just like me, lonely in the midst of a crowd and lacking a true community.

Neglecting Our Neighbors

If healthy communities are the organs of a healthy society, the statistics about the decline of American community are terrible and forecast an ominous future. Right now, a whopping 46 percent of adults report feeling somewhat or mostly lonely. Only 20 percent of people regularly spend time with their neighbors, down from a third of Americans who visited with neighbors at least twice a week four decades ago. Incredibly, now only 31 percent of people even know most of their neighbors.

We are also experiencing an epidemic of communal disconnection, with church membership and attendance declining from 70 percent in 1998 to less than 50 percent today. Fraternal organizations, once a central and connective feature of almost all communities, such as the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus, Scouting, and parent-teacher associations, have experienced incredible declines in membership over the last 20 years. And when was the last time you attended a community parade?

It very well may be that the cadence of modern life does not give way to building the deep connections that only meaningful time shared together can create. It does not provide for the mutual experiences that build shared understanding, empathy, and a temperance born of perspectives we cannot see — except through the lens of people whose motivations we deeply know to be benevolent.

Such things we may lose when we discard our sense of community or misplace it through lack of attention and care. Once upon a time, your community was important; necessary, even. In a very real sense, a community is a team. It is a group of people navigating the uncertainties and vagaries of the world together, lest nature’s blind happenstance overtake them. A community guards each other, cares for one another, is concerned for each other, and protects one another.

In the past, the community was necessary for the very survival of its people and families. And survival was the difficult task the community undertook together, with the skills and perseverance of each necessary for its success. What we fail to see is that perhaps the real fruit of that great endeavor, beyond survival, was generating the connection, fealty, love, and trust that nourish human happiness in ways that food, water, and shelter cannot.

Forgoing Our Duty to Community

Today, we are freed from the burden of community. Our fealty and our attendant duty to others is no longer required. We no longer need to struggle together to survive. Scientific and economic advancement allows us to live without caring for others, and without receiving care ourselves. We don’t need anyone. Because we don’t need anyone, we can live without the duties community once required.

At first blush, it seems a liberation. One can now do whatever one wants, whenever one wants. But like the newly minted lottery winner, we are not naturally very good at tempering our selfish desires. In the face of such freedom, we often eagerly discard the tempering force that duty provides, and in so doing, we forego the benefits of connection and belonging that fulfilling our duty to the community provides.

Like exercise, the personal benefit of fulfilling our duty to the community does not manifest itself immediately. It is only though the consistent fulfillment of those duties, in concert with others, that the fruits of belonging come to us — in the relationships forged, in the intimate knowledge of those with whom we live and die, in the sense of purpose we feel when our lives are connected to others about whom we cannot help but deeply care.

Indeed, it is duty that forces us to invest our time and energy in those around us. And it is in that investment of time and energy that we can harvest its benefit. But in a country where only 24 percent of people in urban areas know most of their neighbors, what social structure will replace the function of the community in fulfilling its traditional role in human flourishing?

In its absence, we find isolation, loneliness, depression, and even suicide. For all the material wealth we have, we are becoming a most unhappy and lonely people.

Losing Our Principles and Purpose

In addition to the loss of our sense of belonging and purpose, the decline of the community has led to a decline in our collective sense of principle and purpose. In a community, the deeply shared and intertwined histories of its people provide a presupposition of benevolence among its constituents. In other words, in a community, we know that those who differ from us are fundamentally good and decent people.

We approach disagreement with a sense of equanimity because we believe their motivations are good. We believe they offer their opinions with the community’s benefit in mind. In the absence of community, it is easy to see those with whom we disagree as not only wrong, but evil. Without intimately knowing them, we can easily fill in the blanks of their character with a narrative that paints them in the worst light.

As we atomize into individuals and away from community, our shared perspective is shaped not by the communal effort of, for example, caring for a widow and her children, but rather by what groups we resonate with on Facebook. That is a powerful difference. In such an environment, is it any wonder that we tribalize into ideological enemy camps and cast the worst possible aspersions upon each other in the echo chambers of our personal internet?

Creating a Lonely Living Hell

In “The Great Divorce,” C.S. Lewis described hell as a city where people begin to live further and further apart. They simply cannot stand each other and prefer instead to live as far away as possible from the annoying obligations they have to others. In the end, they live in a lonely hell.

While we may not live further apart, still we move away from one another. In the process, we create a freer but lonelier existence than the one we had. We may not describe this as hell, but I am struck by the fact that, given the choice, so many of us would choose not to develop deep and meaningful connections with those around us.

The community as a central force for human flourishing has been self-evident for thousands of years. In fact, it may be that we are biologically wired to function best in the environment that community provides. In its absence, we lose a sense of purpose, connection, and belonging, and we lose common values and principles that community requires and allows. In its absence, we are more lonely, more isolated, and more suspicious of one another.

In my travels across an internet that is fast becoming my faux community, I often am left asking, who the hell are these people? Who the hell, indeed.

Refreshing eats for the summer: Spinach Strawberry Salad

Posted on by nfuller

1 lb. spinach
1 pint sliced strawberries
2 oz. slivered almonds (Toast in oven @ 350 for 4 minutes)

Dressing (mix in blender)
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. sesame seed
1 T. poppy seed
1 1/2 tsp. dry minced onion – optional
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar or strawberry wine vinegar

Blend well

Add 1/2 c. vegetable oil

Blend well and enjoy!

~Recipe courtesy of Larry and Bonny Jones

The gift of music!

Posted on by nfuller

‘’Music is God’s gift to man, the only art of heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to heaven” (Walter Savage Landor).          

Singing or playing music on an instrument expresses our “soul” (mind, will and emotions). But music that lifts our hearts and our eyes to God in Judeo-Christian worship comes from another dimension within the believer-from his spirit, from a heart renewed in Christ, made in God’s image.

This worship does involve our “soul”. With my mind, I can speak/sing and understand the words; with my will, I can sing to my best ability, or just be silent; with my emotions, I can feel joy, be moved to tears, be strengthened in my commitments, express my love for and to God, be lifted in my faith. Paul, the Apostle, in 1 Corinthians 14:15, says, “I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray also with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will sing also with my mind”. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, in John 3:24, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”  I always wondered what Paul and Silas sang in their prison cell when the earth shook and set all the prisoners free from their chains! (Acts 16:25-34). Several people came to faith that day.          

Sacred music has its own language: that language is of the spirit. The Christian faith has always been one of much singing. Our roots remain in the Jewish songs of deliverance and praise to God. The Psalms have always been the songbook of the church. So many of our hymns are inspired by them.

In 1529 A.D., Martin Luther wrote “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. That was almost 500 years ago! Compared to most of the “Popular songs” that have been written over the past centuries, with their secular lyrics and tunes, this hymn and so many songs of faith have truly survived the “test of time”. “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is based on Psalm 46,” God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…”. These words and the hymn we sing in our time of unsurety are just as meaningful as when they were written.

“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Martin Luther, 1483-1546; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978

“A mighty fortress is our God, A sword and shield victorious; He breaks the cruel oppressor’s rod And wins salvation glorious. The old satanic foe Has sworn to work us woe. With craft and dreadful might He arms himself to fight. On earth he has no equal.”

“No strength of ours can match his might. We would be lost, rejected. But now a champion comes to fight, Whom God Himself elected. You ask who this may be? The Lord of hosts is He, Christ Jesus, mighty Lord, God’s only Son, adored. He holds the field victorious.”

“Though hordes of devils fill the land All threat’ning to devour us, We tremble not, unmoved we stand; They cannot overpow’r us. Let this world’s tyrant rage; In battle we’ll engage. His might is doomed to fail; God’s judgment must prevail! One little word subdues him.”

“God’s Word forever shall abide, No thanks to foes, who fear it; For God Himself fights by our side With weeapons of the Spirit. Were they to take our house, Goods, honor, child, or spouse, Though life be wrenched away, They cannot win the day. The Kingdom’s ours forever! “

(This article is inspired by Nathaniel Olson’s Hymns of Faith).

Melodie Gilbert, Organist, Christ Lutheran Church

Summertime stings, bites, etc.

Posted on by nfuller

Oh boy! Summertime has arrived. Time for fun, vacations, cook outs, and yes – the bites, stings of insects and spiders. Although mosquito bites are irritating and spider bites often stingy and itchy, the most common stings of concern are those from bees. 

Why? Because they hurt, and they can lead to development of allergic responses from the host whom they bite. No one is born with an allergy to bee stings. It takes exposure- and that occurs when the bee stings – bee venom is injected and the body identifies it as a foreign – an enemy and begins to set up an army against it, called antibodies. The first few stings give the exposure needed and then the body manufactures the antibodies which are stored away but rapidly deseminated  as more exposure occurs 

Somatic reaction is always bee species specific- one is allergic to only that bee specific sub group. 

Workers for the same bees will return to the same location every summer either because of the abundant food sources (flowers) or because of the hive they built. They will find the old hive, remodel it and set up house keeping. So one sensitized to these bees a previous summer may be at risk for scary reactions. Sensitization occurs by repeated stings (playing in the area of the hive everyday)  or by one big exposure, bee hive falling on one’s head- which by the way happened to me a few summers ago. Bee keepers are at a particular risk. 

The body can react to as simple as a reaction to a red welt at the site of the bite to hives all over to more serious reactions with wheezing, heart racing, tongue swelling, difficulty breathing, or cardiovascular collapse, The more times exposure occurs, the more serious the reaction can be as the body is set to attack the enemy!

If you are in the group of people who have begun to develop more total body reactions, you should be prepared and consult with your physician to provide you with an Epifer kit. It includes 2 auto injectables, pens of .3 mg of ephifren 1:1000 dilution which will counteract too serious body responses. The kit is expensive usually at least part covered by insurance- but is life saving. You should bring it to all outside events, camping hiking, bike riding. And you should have someone close to you who is capable of administering the shot if you are to sick.

Remember too as a prevention almost all bees stay out of defenses of their food source, their hive, and their queen. If you are working with a flower bed when the bees are collecting nectar just change your location they won’t .  If indeed these bees have built their nest in an undesirable location one should contact their county exchange and request who can move or relocate the hive to a better location.

Bees are a invaluable to our environment for pollination of flowers of crops, tress and the manufacturing of honey for food and medication.  Honor them, respect them and don’t mess with them.

Happy Summer!

Jayne Croghan MD

Don’t forget to play!

Posted on by nfuller

I read an article of Concordia Journal back in 2015 that was quite impressionable to me and energizing to read: “Faithful Witness in Work and Rest.” By Dr. William W. Schumacher

 Here is a link to the article:

Prior to reading this article I gave a fair amount of thought as a pastor and counselor about the balance between work and rest.  It is evident how too much work can lead to both emotional and physical depletion; and too much unstructured rest often leaves people feeling anxiety about lack of fulfillment and purpose in life.

I had not considered how aspects of work and rest can be combined through what he categorizes as play.   Schumacher views play as a corrective trend in our culture to reconnect work and pleasure. He sees play as the work we do for the sheer pleasure of it.   

I want to reflect in this post about what is the value of play, what often keeps us from play as a source of restorative use of time.

It is evident how the balance between work and rest can become out of synch easily.  The profit driven priorities of this world create many a workplace that demands more than we can reasonably give.  When a job is your sole source of financial revenue it is difficult to weigh your own self interest and health in balance with what your job demands. 

In other cases your employer may not ask from you more than you can give, but you may ask of yourself more than you can afford to give. You may find yourself taking on more overtime hours and responsibilities at work than you would like to give because you are fearful that you will be left behind if you are less career driven than your coworkers.  This may also connect with pride, pursuit of legacy, and a sense that your self worth and value in the world is determined by your career. Rest can resemble a luxury that feels beyond what you feel you deserve.

Often when rest is neglected enough, the times when we do rest we are so far gone, so depleted of energy that we seek passive forms of entertainment. Binge watch on Netflix for a while and then call it a day.  Exercise and playful activity seems just beyond what we are motivated for.  This feeling of low motivation is part of depression. Opportunities and possibilities are closed off by the mind before any other factor in the world closes it off to us.

What a different story our relationship between work and rest can be when we find time to pursue play.  Play may sound like something that is not fitting for an adult or a parent.  You may fear that you will be thought of as a child if you talk about a playful pursuit in your life. You may fear association of play as only for children.  Yet I invite you to move forward anyways in reconnecting with the spirit of play you likely had in greater degree as a child.

A father might play by engineering an elaborate race track filling up half the living room and down the hallway for hot wheel cars. All he needs to do is collect carboard paper towel rolls, toilet paper cardboard rolls, wrapping paper rolls and let his imagination and work ethic translate into a master design for the Saturday afternoon.   

One person might pursue play by redecorating the home or rearranging furniture.   Another person might build something in the garage or in the shop.  Personally I have never ceased to be amazed at how restorative it feels to throw a frisbee or hit a ball with a bat as far as my strength and coordination allows.

Play can be exercised by taking on cooking projects that experiment with taste preferences.  Or taking on an art project in order to create a card for someone you care about.

I believe the heart of play is a spiritual issue.  We can’t help but look at life circumstances differently when we hear Jesus talk about how much lighter our life can be in Him:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

When I try to make things or invent new ways for introducing play in my life I often think of how Adam and Eve were given stewardship over the earth, blessed with skills and abilities to be it’s care takers. Through his passion in the cross Jesus has reconnected me with God’s image. Jesus has reconnected me with the creativity and joyful wonder that humans were created with from the start.

I am not gifted at art. Yet through the desire to model something to my family about play and pursuit of wonder as an aspect of play I made this acrylic painting over the course of a few days of a preexisting drawing of peanuts characters.

In the years since I read Schumacher’s article I have at times asked counseling patients who are worn down or discouraged by daily life routines what room in their life they have for play.  Consistently I hear about pursuit of passive entertainment and leisure, but rarely about true recreation activities and pursuit of play.  I believe our American culture pushes us toward pursuit of entertainment so persistently that we can lose sight of all of the opportunities for play that await us.  Spring is here, Easter is here: happy play.

Refreshed By Travel

Posted on by nfuller
Image from Lancaster, PA

Worn by tedium. Refreshed by travel

Worn. We’ve all felt it at some point in our lives. Worn down by the weight of our obligations, and the mental strain they bring. 

Whether it’s a test you’ve got to pass, the stress of looming deadlines at work, or the tedium of taking care of the kids day after day, we can sometimes feel overwhelmed by all of the expectations. All the things we have to accomplish.

I tend to overcommit. And I can get so busy running from one obligation to the next that I wear myself thin. Church is the place where I find rest and nourishment. It’s where I see my friends who are on a similar journey – a journey of raising kids with faith in a world increasingly antagonistic to it.

Like many parents, my life in recent years has to some degree taken on the cadence of the school year. Each summer we’re looking for activities to keep our children occupied. And each Fall Break and Spring Break, we’re looking for a getaway that can educate, inspire and refresh us as a family.

So each school year my wife Michelle and I spend a great deal of time researching new travel destinations and evaluating them in terms of:

Historical significance

Cultural interest

Family friendly activities

This can involve online research and talking to relatives and school families about where they’ve been and what they did there. We keep an ongoing list of places we’d like to visit in time; as our 8- and 9-year-olds grow older, we’d like them to visit the different regions of our country and eventually take them overseas, as well.

Once we’ve selected a destination, we secure our accommodations. Then we create a spreadsheet of the attractions we want to visit, including the website, address, hours and costs. 

Freedom, faith and fun in Pennsylvania

A recent example of a trip that combined aspects of faith, history and family activities was a fall break trip we took to Pennsylvania.

If possible, we try to tie our trips into what our daughters are studying in school. Our second grader chose Independence Hall for a school project on U.S. historical landmarks; imagine her delight when she got to visit Independence Hall in Boston a few weeks after completing her project!

We spent months researching our Fall Break trip to Pennsylvania, and ended up breaking it into three segments: Philadelphia, Lancaster and Hershey. Philly would be the historical focus of our trip; Lancaster was a faith-building segment; and Hershey was all about fun.

An important educational aspect is to include all the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

In Philly, we walked, saw, and listened to a historical narrative of our county’s birthplace. We visited Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the U.S. Mint, the Betsy Ross House (she was commissioned by General Washington to sew the first U.S. flag), the Franklin Institute (Children’s Health Museum), and rode a double decker bus, ate Philly cheesesteaks at Reading Terminal Market, ran the Rocky steps at the Art Museum, and felt the fresh air on top of the spire of City Hall with the statue of Pennsylvania’s founder, William Penn. 

In Lancaster, we rode the steam engine train of the Strasburg Railroad while seeing and watching the Amish farm and harvest their crops. Then we tasted the fruits of God’s bounty in the delicious Amish restaurants. Lancaster is home to the Sight and Sound Theatre, Biblical Broadway, if you will. We saw the live production of “Jesus,” a spectacular show and our single reason for visiting Lancaster. Our accommodations there were at the Red Caboose Motel. You guessed it, we stayed in an old train caboose. Not the most glamorous accommodations, but unique and memorable, especially considering the spectacular sunset along the railroad tracks and the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. A day trip took us to Lititz, a small town 45 minutes away where we visited the Sturgess Pretzel Factory, the first pretzel makers in America. We all rolled pretzels and learned the history behind the reason they are shaped the way they are: to represent folded hands in prayer.

Our last stop was Hershey, home of America’s favorite chocolate. We enjoyed a tasting where we learning to be a chocolate paleteer, designed and formulated our own individual chocolate bar, took an historical trolley tour and learned all about the life of the company’s namesake, Milton S. Hershey. The following day we spent at Hersheypark®, the Hershey-themed amusement park that at the time was all decked out for Halloween – staying from when it opened until nearly closing time.

When we asked my 8-year-old what she liked best about the trip, she said “everything.” So for us this vacation was the perfect getaway from the demands of work and a hectic semester of school. In a matter of months, we’d go on our next family adventure – another break from the stress that seemed to come just in time.

Written by D.S.

Care For Our Feline Friends

Posted on by nfuller

As I sit here writing this newest Wellness For Life article, the sun is brilliantly shining, our family dogs are enjoying all the new smells of spring in the backyard, and our cats are relishing their naps in the warm sun.  Yes, our menagerie seems to be in fine spirits.  Even our houseplants seem to have recognized the change in seasons and have sent up new shoots and blooms. 

I am betting you too have noticed the abundance of green sprouting from your lawns, flowerbeds and trees.  Life is indeed bursting into bloom all around us.  We have just celebrated Easter, and soon this will be followed by Mother’s Day – two holidays which are often bursting with bouquets of beautiful flowers.  But why are we talking about flowers, you ask?  You thought this article was about cats, right?  Don’t worry, it is…

I am sure anyone who owns a cat (which allows you to live with them) knows – cats like to nibble plants.  Maybe you’ve found bite marks on your houseplant leaves, the occasional pinched off or shredded leaf, or maybe an all-out demolition of whatever you thought looked pretty.  The point is – not all plants are safe for cats. 

For this article, I would like to highlight a campaign put forth by the Pet Poison Helpline in partnership with the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association called “No Lilies For Kitties” – which is put forth to increase awareness of lily poisoning to cat owners as we head into lily season.

“Why are the Easter holiday and Mother’s Day two of the most dangerous holidays for cats? The answer is simple—lily poisoning. Exposure to common lilies such as Easter lilies, tiger lilies and stargazer lilies sicken and kill thousands of cats annually. What’s even more dangerous is that less than 30% of cat owners realize these common and seemingly “benign” lilies are fatal to our feline friends.” – www.petpoisonhelpline.com

Please feel free to visit their site to learn more.  To summarize their recommendations, it is important to know that lilies such as the Asiatic lily, Daylily, Easter lily, Japanese show lily, Rubrum lily, Stargazer lily, Tiger lily and Wood lily can cause kidney failure or even cause death when cats are exposed to any part of the plant, including the water the plant was in.  Many of these plants are very common not only in bouquets, but also as springtime blooms in our backyard flower gardens.  If your cats have access to the outdoors, it’s something to keep in mind when making sure your pet stays safe, happy and healthy.

What about my dog, you ask?  Dogs don’t respond to these lilies the same way as cats do.  If your dog should ingest these lilies, they might experience minor gastrointestinal (stomach) upset, but no kidney damage. 

If you think that your cat may have ingested one of these plants, be sure to call your veterinarian as soon as possible, or if after hours, your local emergency clinic.  Additionally, the number for Pet Poison Helpline (800-213-6680) can help you assess the severity of the situation.

For more information on safe flowers, other lilies to be aware of or just general interest, please visit www.petpoisonhelpline.com. 

Happy Spring to you and your pets!

Thanks for reading, be blessed, be well. – Dr. Karen Fuller, DVM, MS

Self-Care: Rest

Posted on by nfuller

Happy Easter Monday! During the season of Easter I would like to highlight the topic of self-care.  By self-care, I mean more than just pampering yourself with a spa treatment, retail therapy, or a night out with friends at Buffalo Wild Wings – I mean the overall sum focus on caring for your health, body and spirit. 

Self-care involves humility wherein we admit the limits of our bodies, recognizing that we depend on our Heavenly Father for all of our needs, including needs for physical rest, nutrition, and emotional rest.  Without taking self-care seriously, we profess that we have it all taken care of.  We may indulge the fantasy that we can ignore whatever limits we feel in our bodies for a later time when we will catch up with rest.  How common this is in the fast paced world in which we live!

As a mental health counselor, one of the most frequent problems I encounter is that of a lack of rest.  Often, reasons for struggling with adequate rest are multi-faceted.  On the one hand you may struggle with too much work and too much stress in your life.  Daily life tasks feel like they pile up and overwhelm to the point where you may feel tired, worn out and spent. 

On the other hand an equally troublesome cause of unrest is the strain you may put on your mind:  repeated automatic self-states of worry, self-doubt, self-punishment, and resentment.  All contribute to living too much in your head and feeling out of touch with your body’s natural calming rhythms.  As a result of this mental torment, you may feel quite tired even on a day off from work responsibilities. 

Come night time, mental unrest accumulated during the day can turn into racing thoughts at night, leading to difficulty falling asleep as a person tries to solve and think through the next day’s problems while lying in bed in a frustrating state of wakefulness.

Many a time people have asked me how it can be possible to feel so much anxiety first thing in the morning, before even encountering anything to be stressed or worried about.  When I am asked such a question I usually want to know more about what things someone was worrying about the previous evening and likely as a result also dreaming about.

What a contrast to this litany of worries do we find in the counsel of God’s Word.

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD make me dwell in safety.”  -Psalm 4:8

 Our ability to have true rest is very much tied with routine.  It is a routine of faith to lie down each night and die to the concerns of the day, entrusting all things even our very life to the safety Jesus gives to us.

We find rest in many of the daily routines of life.  God designed our bodies this way. It has long been a recommendation of the medical field that it is best to go to bed around the same time each day and get up around the same time each day.  Following such routines requires the humility of seeing our limits and responding with decisions to care for ourselves by setting boundaries of how much we will work on something in a day, how late we will stay up, and how much time we will allow for relaxation, good eating, recreation and play in order to manage the stresses of daily life.  Building up the ability to rest is a gradual process.  The various forms of media entertainment at our fingertips requires the ability to say no to one more Netflix episode, or one more quarter of a football game in order to say yes to whatever calling of service awaits you the next day.

“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

I wish you all peace and mindful rest.  ~Pastor Nick