St. Johns Wort…the miracle drug

I don’t know if I will be able to truly describe this but I’ll try.  I had been going through a depressed state for a couple months and couldn’t seem to shake it.  My doctor suggested trying St. Johns Wort as it has been proven in Europe to work and is, as she put it, just a slightly lesser dose than what she would prescribe in a regular antidepressant.  I ran, did not walk, to the nearest healthfood store and picked up a bottle for $7.99.  The first few days of taking it I felt really sleepy.  The doctor warned me that I’d feel a bit off balance for a while but it would even out….just as if I was taking something prescribed. 

Well, it’s been about 3 weeks now and I’m feeling fine!  I can tell the St. Johns Wort is working.  I am not feeling like I’m no good to anyone for any reason any more.  And the biggest thing I have noticed is that I simply cannot even force myself to obsess over the things that bother me anymore.  Goodness knows I’ve had more than ample opportunity to feel really bad about some things and my normal behavior would be to obsess over them.  It was like the hurtful feelings were a drug and so I’d obsess so that I could remain in those feelings.  Somebody here has to know what I’m talking about.  But now, when I am feeling hurt, I am able to move on.  When I try to obsess it just doesn’t work.  It’s like my feelings hit a table and refuse to go down any further.  I am amazed at how good I feel now. 

If anyone who reads this has any issues with depression and are not on prescribed meds for it already, I would like to suggest St. Johns Wort.  It’s certainly worth a try and it’s much cheaper than prescriptions.  And…..It works! 

Walking Testimonies

I think I’ve shared this before but I’ll share it again.  Many years ago when I was in my 20’s I began my journey to recovery.  Of course, at the time I had no idea that the process was beginning.  All I knew was that suddenly everything was turning upside down.  I was beginning to face certain abuses at the hands of my father and it was time to stop pretending that it didn’t really bother me or had not affected me in a negative way.  There were other things going on at the time as well and I was really feeling like the world was crashing down on me and I was completely powerless to stop it.  I remember praying as I was driving one day.  (Drive time is my favorite time for prayer. J )  I asked God, “Why do I have to go through this?”  As I prayed that prayer a thought came into the back of my head.  “Because you’ll need it someday.”  That was odd.  How in the world would I need this someday?  The notion was completely ridiculous to me at the time.  It’s not so ridiculous now.   

I have learned since that every experience of abuse, every bad choice I’ve made, every horrible and filthy thing I’ve ever done, has been covered in Gods grace in such a way that now I draw from those experiences to help others and show them that they can find healing through Christ.  Each of us have a unique set of circumstances in our lives that God can and will use to help someone else through the same type situation if we let Him. 

Consider this….that which we are ashamed of and embarrassed by now, may already be affecting someone else in a positive way because they see how we have gone through it and how our lives have changed for the better.  For instance, when you feel like everyone is snickering behind your back because they all know what you’ve done, think of that one person who isn’t snickering because they are in that very same boat and they are watching you to see how you’ve dealt with it.  You may be bringing someone to Christ just by how you are living your life in spite of the obstacles you face!  I don’t know about you but for me, that is one big selah moment!  Stop and think about that!   

For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” –Rom. 8:28

Pretty awesome!

As of yesterday we have been officially open a week.  Last Wednesday was pretty much me sitting around doing nothing but watching my little girl and the little boy I babysit.  Friday night rolled around and it was very slow as well.  We had a few people come in and talk and get to know us a little but it was nothing to speak of really.  Then Saturday came and it was quite a day!  About 9:30 AM the kids started filing in.  We had a Yu-gi-oh tournament and after that we had a Naruto tournament.  Our sales for the day were way more than we expected.  It was an amazing day with many of the kids sticking around until we closed at 9 PM.  These kids are very well behaved as well which really blew me away. 

Yesterday, exactly one week after we opened, I sat there pretty bored again for a while.  Then guy came in with his family and bought some things and as he was leaving he mentioned that a bunch of the kids from Saturday were talking about coming in later in the day to play.  And they certainly did!  Around 4 PM they all came in and hung out until closing and sales were really good again!  The neat thing is that these kids are all begging to work there with us, telling us how awesome the place is, and thanking us for giving them a place to play!  Oh, and I forgot to mention that the ages of these kids range from 10 to 20.  Most of them around 16. 

Anyway, just wanted to share this with everyone.  I can’t tell you how often people have asked how we are going to make money because no one could imagine how much these kids love the games or how much they would invest in them.  I’m in shock about it myself! 

If anyone had told me last year that we’d be opening our own business and having this much fun doing it I’d have said they were crazy.  I’m sure many people were thinking we were crazy for trying!  But it just goes to show that good things may come from crazy ideas!   

Sick but cute

I woke up at 1 AM Thursday morning to the sound of my little girl crying out in her sleep.  I checked on her and she was still sleeping so I went back to bed.  No sooner did my head hit the pillow I heard her cry again.  This time, she was awake, sitting up in the bed.  She was sick…..all over the bed.  :sick:  Bless her little heart.  I cleaned her up, cleaned up her bed, and began searching desperately for something to give her to settle her stomach.  We had no Sprite, no nothing.  I was just horrified for her because I remember how aweful it was for me when I was sick last summer after my surgery and I could find no relief whatsoever.  We both were crying. 

I finally found the anti-nausea medicine that was prescribed for me and I was so tempted to give it to her but I decided to call the doctor first.  Thank God I did!  I spoke with a triage nurse who reassured me that this was just a virus and gave me step by step instructions on how to handle it. 

She told me to not give my daughter anything at all to drink until she had not been sick for 2 hours and then exactly how much and what to give her from that point on.  The nurse explained that vomiting is the bodies way of getting rid of what doesn’t need to be there so that it can get better quicker.  Offering anti-nausea meds before it’s necessary will only pro-long the illness.  She gave me all the warning signs to watch for. 

My little girl and I camped out in the living room with a bucket and an old blanket laid over the couch just in case she missed the bucket.  She was so pitiful.  I’d stroke her hair and let her know I was here and that we’d get through this together.  One time she looked at me and said,  “Thank you.”  I prayed over her and she began to calm down.  She slept for a couple of hours and when she woke she felt much better so I gave her an ounce of water.  That stayed down so I gave her an ounce of apple juice.  Up it all came. 

I explained to her that every time she got sick she was fighting the virus and I told her how brave she was and how I was so proud of her for kicking the virus’ butt.  She looked at me rather puzzled and said, “Virus’ don’t have butts!”   

And there you have it.  My brilliant and beautiful little girl can be sick as can be and still have a great sense of humor!

So Exciting!

We weren’t quite ready to open last Saturday but we let people come in to meet us and see what we were doing.  About 8 families came by and they were all so excited that they won’t have to drive an hour away anymore. 

Yesterday, Wednesday, I had to be at the store by 11 to meet with the credit/debit card machine man and to accept a delivery.  It was a pretty quiet day and I was only supposed to clean some more, organize, and learn the register system.  Around 3 o’clock a man walked in with his son and they just wanted to take a look around and ask a few questions.  They were both so very nice and we ended up talking for an hour and half.  Boredom does that to you I suppose.  Anyway, they left and about an hour later in walks another man with his son!  The son was asking all kinds of questions that I had no idea how to answer.  Luckily, Paul had just called me to say he would be there in five minutes so I asked the boy to wait for Paul.  As soon as Paul walked in the door he started bombarding him with excited questions.  Paul was tickled pink!  And as it turned out, we made our very first sale! 

I really think this is going to take off!  And what frightens me most is that this huge space suddenly doesn’t seem huge enough!   

The Game Plan, The Beginning

April 2 – April 7, 2007

This is The Game Plan…..Just the beginning……..

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The Game Plan

Paul, my husband, had a dream.  He began talking a few months ago about opening our own trading card game business so that our son could have a safe, family friendly environment to play Yu-gi-oh with others whenever he wanted.  In our town the only place for the kids to get together and play is in the back of a bookstore, on the floor, for two hours on Saturdays.  While it’s safe, it’s uncomfortable for the kids to have to play on the floor and their time is so limited.  The kids would also like to participate in tournaments and win prizes and the only place they can do that is at least 50 miles away.  I figured Paul was talking about this being something we’d do in years to come.  Little did I know he meant now!   

That man got busy and got all the paperwork, all the ducks in a row, everything that needs to be done, done, to start this business.  I’ve just sat back and watched in amazement as the inventory piles in my home and he wheels and deals to get everything in order. 

Now we have our space.  It is an auditorium actually.  It has been used previously for wedding receptions and parties.  It has a full working kitchen and all!  It’s perfect!  Of course the previous tenant was not happy about having to move out so she left the place a complete mess.  Now I feel like my part really begins.  Cleaning!  Cleaning and then I will be running the place during the week while Paul is at work and he’ll be working it in the evenings.  Because it has all the comforts of home though, I won’t be in too much of a hurry to leave so I’ll be able to spend more time with him. 

It is surreal.  While I’m there, cleaning, trying to imagine what it will look like when we get all the inventory and tables and chairs in, it is almost like this isn’t really happening.  But it is.  I’m really very excited about it.  I will try to remember to take some pics and post them later. 

What I love about this is that if it doesn’t work, we tried.  We had the courage to step out in faith and try to do something better for our family and make a name for ourselves.  That’s something to be proud of.  I do, however, feel very confident that this is going to work and be quite successful. 

So, that is the Game Plan!