Farmhouse fever or just plain fever?

What do all these pictures have in common?

I have no idea if you'll be able to guess or not... but if you guessed we must have been sick, you were right.  Why we cannot free ourselves from this fish hook of illness, I am with out an answer. 

Except for this: Can we ever free ourselves of anything?

With all my best efforts and knowledge-into-practice... the most I've come up with in the last two months is: near recovery.  He was gracious to allow us that much with out the need for medical intervention and He will take our healing from "near" to "full" in His good timing.

Not that I've been uncomplaining.  Whenever a new round hits, it is knee-jerk to cry from the depths of my exhaustion, boredom, impatience, "NO.  NO!  I refuse this!"

Do we have the option to refuse what is?

After my childish tantrum, I start. 

What do I know? What do we need? Pulling from the archives of my mind things we need to get going on to head off this life halting monster.  Sure, the sniffles provide a blessing in disguise... time to cuddle, and read, and hold your dear-to-yous.  Bronchitis and severe infections where your right eye swells shut from the pressure in your sinus' don't exactly promote the same bonding experience. 

THAT life halting monster.

I'm a believer in 100 years ago and even further back.  What did they do when they were consumed by a virus or bacteria? 

I got out my homemade Double-E Immune tincture (click here for quality herbs and how-to's), our essential oil arsenal (click here for 100% therapeutic grade oils), probiotics (click here see #5, but really, the whole list is right on), homeopathics (click here and here), oh wait... and WATER (click here, yes... really), not to mention raw garlic, garlic and onion chest poultices, aloe vera juice (highly nutritive), ginger baths, epsom salts, nettle tea, etc...  Then we got our sleep on!

(True, it hasn't been an over night miracle and it takes some effort, but we are winning the battle of sinus infections, bronchitis, and any other make-you-shiver-under-a-mountain-of-blankets infection you can think of with out the help of antibiotics.  And our immune systems are thanking us!  I will say too: Praise the Lord! that we live in a time that, when we can't get ahead of an illness naturally, we have the help of the modern way... no double standard about it.  Just a healthy respect for our bodies, God's creation, and the medical world.)

That was our weekend.  Supplements, oils, water and sleep... oh my!  And dishes that piled up and pretty much messes everywhere... and I missed out on an incredible God-filled women's event that our church hosts annually, but it turns out that the keynotes message was about the very same thing the Lord has been speaking rather boldly to me all week... I know I didn't miss a thing.  I have been in communion with God Himself.

...okay, maybe I missed a few gals smiles.

Now, today is Ben's first day off from his eight day shift and we woke up to a blizzard.  Hasn't snowed since his last four days off.  Not a single flake!  Isn't that amusing?  There is a reason it only snows when it's time to work on the house... just don't think I'll ever get to know what that reason is.  So here is me thanking God for the snow today.  There is, however, still no heat in the house and husband is, yet again, braving the floors in these freezing cold temperatures! So, as the children and I are warm in our bed schooling and reading for one more day, Lord willing, to recover and get well and B is out in the frigid temps... we will so humbly covet your prayer. 

Also, we think it's settled now.  Ben will work one more shift and then our two weeks of renovation madness will begin.

Extra time is always good...

Blessings to you!

Alicia Grace