Can We Retrain Our Minds as Caregivers?

The papers that I look back to hopefully cure the speed Roseburg. This is the show for you as a family caregiver that is great and I did to keep three souls this morning so I got a firm who listens and showed what I do to Keith Green souls I get a :-) because she simply give great player and that I am as well is that of found impact on me as a musician is a believer and so II love that song just do. You said I love that there's a lot that goes on the nurses Jesus rose from the dead and you you can't even get out of bed. Keith, you know, but it it's a point of changing our focus are we deluding ourselves or wheat or wheat, always thinking ourselves into misery or are we retraining our mind. Do not be conformed to this world be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And in this is what happens to us when we get involved in all this painted all the sorrow all this loss. All this trouble all this heartache.

All this bitterness all the shrinker if it has a debilitating effect on our ability to think and when we retreat our mind renew our mind. We focus on gratitude and the plight of others and and being able to be a source of encouragement to others, even in the midst of our heartache, you would be amazed what happens to you about the way the other so that we did today was to name them one by one count you many blessings he would. God has done together wrote the lyrics for this is name is Johnson open juniors ministry is a Methodist Methodist Episcopal Methodist Methodist will have the say that this will born in New Jersey. He also wrote another hymn that you may know, I'm pressing on the upward way new heights. I'm gaining every day. Still praying, as I onward bound Lord, plant my feet on state if you know higher ground. You know that you and this is Johnson open wrote that with this so obviously he had a thing going on in his life.

Lord, lift me up and let me stand by faith on Keynes tableland a higher plane than I have found Lord, plant my feet on higher ground lift by thoughts so you get to hear rooms that are embedded in our church history from the same God say the same thing basically which is to retrain your mind retrain my mind.

Lord retrain them and I love the second verse that would capture many blessings are you ever burdened with a load of care how many of you today are burdened with the load of care does the crossing heavy you were called to bear. Have you ever just put your head down on the table against the wall. It just said Lord if you have it as a caregiver, given time you will count your many blessings every doubt will fly and you will be singing as the days go by, but seeing as somebody who is checked out of reality that you are somehow ignoring the fact that this is going on in your life lesson but this is talk about dilution. We talk about retraining your mind to recognize yes this is painful yes this is hard, but Lord, lift me up and let me stand higher plane that I have found Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. My heart has no desire to stay were doubts arise in tears dismay, though some may dwell where these about my prayer, my name is higher ground. Now this is how we do it is caregivers easy.

There's no way I could do it really how do you know that what makes you so sure this is where I am today and I'm not dismissing how painful this is grace, and I certainly understand… She approaches the anniversary date of her rack 30 years ago this fall and even Scripture says 38 years as a longtime look at the gospel job when Jesus goes the pool by the with together. Been there for 38 years and 638 years and then the Scripture repeats it. He been there long time.

Anytime Scripture doubles down something you might want to pay attention.

Even Scripture recognizes is 38 years and it's a long time. Even Scripture recognizes something to you yet we understand this, we get it so will bid the conflict, whether great or small, do not be discouraged. God is overall if he's Lord at all that he's Lord of all, even broken links, even 81 surgeries even as color-coded early today. Her father just passed away.

He's even Lord over that he has conquered death so that we may live.

Does the cross seem heavy you were called to bear as a caregiver. It's okay for you to answer in the affirmative. Yes, it is that I know that what many of you are caring is overpowering that I know that what many of you caring right now will overpowering as time goes on. It's relentless sometimes is one of the more challenging aspects of the caregiving journey is that you can't get out in front of it it it is what you just have to just sit in the canoe and write down this river and hopefully don't hit too many rocks capsize because you're not to be paddling upstream, you're not going to be getting out of this any time soon or any easy way and is the relentlessness of never being able to say okay I'm done with this until you get to a funeral, but even then you're dealing with the residual impact of this I get all of this and yet I would still say to you, does the crossing heavy you are called to bear than count your many blessings every doubt will fly you will be singing as the days go by when you see Larry this says the cross you, you carry it in flip it just arose that you be seen somebody spent some time with that this this pastor spent some time with that particular thought of contrasting cross was see and I get that. And that's what I love to. That's why love to listen to my wife's because I know how difficult her life's as a teller, which she sings she's not broke the part of her that sings is not broke, and it it's it's it's there's something that happens is transformative.

I don't know how to explain it any better than that, but I've seen it or seen it so many times I've witnessed so many times that I cannot deny its reality and so I'm just offered to you what I have seen. My opinion is irrelevant. My experience is not and so I say to you right now is caregivers as fellow caregivers. Those of you who were hanging your head in grief, beating your head up against the door frustrated year. Your cussing and fussing. Everything else I would say to you what this Scripture be with this verse says so.

Amid the conflict, whether great or small, do not be discouraged. God is over. He has not forgotten you is not forgotten your name.

There are very, very difficult things that you find yourself in as I as I said in the emergency room over in Billings, Montana couple weeks ago looking at Gracie. How many times have I seen her in this place and you know your heart just sinks Lord, how much more this morning to go through it. If you allow yourself you can go down some very dark path of another show will tell you how I know this because I've been there done friend asked me the other day how this goes is taking care of aging parents that it's really really wearing on her pretty hard. She's done this lesson will have done it extremely well at times that of crashed and burned. But it but through this journey have learned that God is Lord, regardless that his faithfulness is not contingent on my discomfort or my my trouble. Gracie's trouble or anything else and there's a point when you when you've had the ample time I've had, which is three to have decades to work through this. It's a look at this, you start to see things I have the benefit of experience so I can see these things now that I could see before when you're in the throes of it, but I still need to be reminded. I have people in my life who reminded me of the six I have caregiver to go back and listen about shows a remote book that I was put this out of the podcast here later today was from the audio of hope because I forgot about this chapter of chapter 30 that they're going to fall and how appropriate is that my life they're going to fall your love with me this morning.

Caregiver hopefully caregiver.com will see next. Some of you know the remarkable story of Peter's wife Gracie and recently Peter talk to Gracie about all the wonderful things that emerge from her difficult journey. Take a listen Gracie when you envision doing a prosthetic limb outreach.

Did you ever think the inmates would help you do not in a million years.

When you go to the facility run by core civic and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on prosthetic limbs that you helped collect from all of the country that you put out the plea for and their disassembly sell these legs like what you have your own prosody and orange everything when you see all this makes me cry on their faces and I know what it is like someplace where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out the hospital. These men are so glad to be doing is one being said something good with my did you know before you became in a PT that parts of prosthetic limbs can be recycled.

Peg leg. I thought a wooden legs. I never thought of titanium and carbon legs and flexibly the legs and all that. I never thought about. As you watch these inmates participate in something like this, knowing that there helping other people all providing the means for the supplies to get over there. What is it just on the heart level. I wish I could explain to the world. What I see in here and I wish that I can able to come and say the this guy right here with that.

I never not feel that way out every time you know you always make me believe. I don't want to leave. I feel like I'm at home with them like that. We have a common bond that would never expected that only God could put together. Now that you've had experience with it what you think of the faith-based programs and courses. The golfers I think there is absolutely awesome and I think every prisoner out there that have faith-based programs because he return right at the man that are involved in this particular faith-based program and other ones like it, but I know this one car is amazingly great care is that that is me just has something to do with God want to donate and use prosthetic limbs, whether from a loved one who passed away or you somebody well-groomed you donated some of your own for the please go to standing with/recycle we