Give thanks to God, for He is good, His love endures forever.
Prayers:
Please pray for me as I struggle with what I think may be remnants of SAD (not nearly so bad as it was in Ohio). I'm waking to tremendous, unnecessary anxiety and have free-floating anxiety through the day. It will pass with the return to work after the New Year, but it is terrible right now.
For Franklin's father that doctors are able to repair the damage to his back.
For Karen Marie Knapp as she recovers from her recent hospitalization.
For all the people who will get back into a church because of Christmas, to be inspired to come back to the Church
For the men and women of the American Armed forces who will not be able to spend this holiday season with their families, that this may nevertheless be a season of "comfort and joy" beyond their greatest expectations.
For Jane, Janet, Shirley, and for all for whom this season of the Nativity is a time of hardship and difficulty because of the pain of the past.
Special Prayer Projects:
(1) Chris Keith, the young lady whose biopsy went poorly got the results of that biopsy--carcinoma of the liver. The cancer is metastatic from colon cancer. Surgery has taken place to treat the colon cancer.
I paraphrase her mother:
"We [members of the family] are standing on the Rock and are rock solid. We are all okay and we are looking for a few prayer warriors to help us in this battle." Because this mother means so much to me for the great good she has done for my friends, I plan to stand with her and her family in this battle, and I invite you all to join me. Expect to hear about this on and off over the next few months.
(2) For Katherine's Mom as she undergoes chemotherapy--that the treatment is successful and her mother comes through this ordeal with a deeper sense of God's abiding love for her.
(3) For Katherine and Franklin, Christine and Gordon, Janet and Louis, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(4) From Davey's Mom: I am with child once again and could use prayers for a healthy pregnancy.
I welcome the addition of other requests via the comment box. Thank you for keeping this poor Carmelite employed.
Will pray for all, but especially your SAD. I recommend that you surf the Internet this week for all manner of cool aquatic, gelatinous, and diaphanous creatures!
Franklin's father is undergoing all sorts of tests this afternoon. We are not getting coherent information from Franklin's mother at the moment. Something about a stress test on his heart and some sort of GI tract test.
Thank you for your prayers!
I struggle with photosensitivity myself; you have my prayers!
SAD is killer - I had it in Southern CA so you can guess what it is like in NH!
I have found that full-spectrum light bulbs at my desk and headboard really help a lot, as does eating oily fish twice weekly (Tuna, sardines, anchovies, salmon). I have also recommended fish oil supplements to others with good results.
For the insomnia that often accompanies the depression, I have found that praying the chaplet of divine mercy and/or the rosary is very helpful - not that I fall asleep in the middle but rather that I am calmed from the free-floating anxiety.
You are in my prayers as well for this.
Franklin's father will not have surgery for his herniated discs. They found a "bump" on his kidney, which is cancer. He will return to the hospital in January to have the kidney removed. He should be going home later this week with physical therapy and pain killers to help with his back. He has one more test tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers.