Chronic illnesses take so much from those who live with them. For me, the experience of adapting to life with incurable autoimmune disease has often been one of grief. (While some losses have truly been gifts, that is a topic for a different post.) This list includes several of the significant losses that I carry … Continue reading What I’ve lost to lupus: a partial inventory
The Way of Love: Learn
The Episcopal Church has recently released a Rule of Life for Christians called the Way of Love. The Way consists of 7 steps: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest. During the season after Epiphany, my colleague and I have been offering sermons on these steps, one each Sunday. Below you can find my … Continue reading The Way of Love: Learn
3 products that save my skin
Since my overzealous immune system attacks the glands that provide moisture to my skin, I’ve tried quite a few products that claim to put an end to flaky, tight, itchy skin. Most of them have failed, but here are 3 that I’ve found to actually make a difference, all made with ingredients I feel good … Continue reading 3 products that save my skin
Hannah’s trust
Sermon offered November 18, 2018, at St. Andrew's. I love Hannah's story and was grateful for the opportunity to preach on it. You can find the readings for the day here. (Choose the Track 1 readings.) Bonus: Check out this wonderful song based on this passage, from Torah scholar-fronted band Girls in Trouble.
Frog in a pot
You know how they say that a frog dropped in hot water will jump out, but, if it’s placed in room temperature water, it will stay there while the temperature rises, not noticing it’s getting too hot, until it dies? I’ve heard this isn’t true, but I can see myself in that frog all the … Continue reading Frog in a pot
3 Products that Save Me Spoons
Thanks to medication and lifestyle changes, my health is SO MUCH BETTER now than it has been in years. But that doesn't mean I get to forget about my illness or that I have spoons to waste. (If you're not familiar with spoon theory, you can read about it here, but in short: spoons = … Continue reading 3 Products that Save Me Spoons
The most supportive thing my wife has ever said about my illness
One of the hardest things about life with autoimmune disease for me is that when I’m in a flare, I don’t feel like myself. And it’s not just that I’m stuck in bed and get cranky. One of my primary symptoms is brain fog. If you’re not familiar with the term brain fog, it’s basically … Continue reading The most supportive thing my wife has ever said about my illness
Sharing the blessing
Sermon offered at St. Andrew's on May 13, 2018. We were celebrating the Ascension of Christ, the readings for which can be found here.
41 things I’ve learned since my diagnosis
The pros and cons of pretty much every EWG approved sunscreen. What SPF actually indicates. (Hint: it is NOT the amount of time you can safely be in the sun. Though hard and red experience had already taught me that wasn’t true.) How freeing sun-protective clothing can be. What a nephrologist is. (I should have … Continue reading 41 things I’ve learned since my diagnosis
A pit stop called Supposed-to-Be
I spent the first 25 years of my life plugging my ears and singing “LA LA LA LA” whenever my body had something to say. I had no interest in hearing its thoughts. Partially because its thoughts were occasionally, “Hey, you’re gay!” That was terrifying, because where I grew up, gay was pretty much the … Continue reading A pit stop called Supposed-to-Be
