The Dream Center of Alton

09/03/2024

If you have a friend or in a committed relationship with someone that has chronic health issues please please please
Do not commit to being there for them and not be there. understand that that person may not be able to do anything for themselves for weeks. And when they depend someone to be there for them and their not it can turn their life upside down
My story....
I didnt ask for my body to fail. And when my doctors couldn't figure out whats wrong they made me feel like it was all in my head. But the pain is real and the shortness of breath cant be denied.
So they scheduled me an appointment with 3 or 4 specialist because this is out of his "pay grade". And then I had to wait 4 months to get into the specialist. In the mean time I was in pain, hard to walk or stand, unable to breathe, exhausted and reminded of the many changes in me for no reason or apparent reason. Not being able to do important task at work that only a year before, I had no problem doing. I am an active, productive and ambitious person and to all of a sudden not to be able to do those things without assistance is very debilitating emotionaly. Always pretending to be doing better than than I am until it no longer works and people notice something is wrong. Lack of motivation, wanting to lie down, taking medication that doesn't work, having a whole pharmacy on top of the nightstand. And then the 4 month wait is over and the appointments with the new doctors and series of test begin. And no matter how strong I think I am or want to be. How much I have prayed because at this point I still didn't know what was wrong with me. I felt so vunuarable waiting for the news.
Then the moment comes when they tell me what I have . 3 terminal lung diseases, plus an autoimmune disease that makes it hard for me to get rid of infections. Accute neuropathy and an out of socket ankle that has fused that way. The ankle can be fixed. But the other is with me for however much time I have left. I find have mixed feelings: I'm unusually calm, I kinda have a peace about it, I finally know what I have, but how do I deal with it? How am I suppose to feel , what am I suppose to do. What does God expect me to do. So I do the only thing I know how. I pray..a lot. I know God isn't done with me yet and as crazy as it sounds. I know there is a blessing in all this.
But then I had to begin the process of letting friends and family know.....and after that initial talk with each of them5, cricketts just dead silence. ( Except my mom) I knowb nobody knows what to say to someone in this condition. So they shy away. And I totaly get it. It's a reality nobody wants to talk about, including myself.
The truth of the matter is, this a result of the lifestyle I led for 40 years. The damage was done a long time ago. I did this to myself. God has blessed me with a pretty clean life for the last 18 years and has allowed me remain fairly healthy during that time, It just took 18 years to catch up with me.

This is my truth and that's why I'm sharing it! And also to stop any rumors that are floating around. A lot of people could sence something was wrong, but did not know what it was.
So they begin to assume things and usually the wrong things.
People don't understand
Silent and invisible diseases do exsit. I have been sick for a long time. Nobody including myself really knew it. And by the time it came to the surface and became evident, it was pretty much late to do anything about . However, I am not giving up, I know God has this. I have the best team of Doctors from Washington University I could ask for. They assured me they can increase my life expextancy and more importantly my quality of life with these cutting edge treatments they have me on. I have to say they have helped a lot and I have seen a great deal of improvement. So I have commited to doing whatever it takes to stay active and live life and enjoy the best God has for me.
I just need people to understand that:
*I move slower that I use to and I'm late for everything, but thats nothing new.
*I am not lazy, but I know I appear to be
* I am not angry but sometimes cranky with pain and can seem a bit snippy.
* And sometimes my beathing and hacking can be a bit annoying. So if you can overlook those things you will see me no different than you saw me before. My biggest fear is people treating me different and me becoming a burden and dependent on others. So I am praying for complete healing. But , I am also praying for the lesson and blessing God has for me through all this to be revealed to me sooner than later.

07/31/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/HWDhcVe5gZ2ixkpc/?mibextid=09Vj1W

06/06/2024

05/25/2024

04/29/2024

Regional Prayer Summit
You don't want to miss this event!
Register Now
Here.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/regional-prayer-summit-tickets-734473589277?aff=oddtdtcreator

04/10/2024

Awesome story..

You have to read this till the end.Not the ending I expected

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road but, even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she looked worried.
No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm?

By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.' Well, all she had was a flat tire but, for an old lady, that was bad enough.

Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two.. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need and, God knows, there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed and, Bryan added, 'And think of me.' He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to get a bite to eat and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.

The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that, even being on her feet for the whole day, couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude.
The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan. After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back.

The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something was written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills. Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it?

With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.... She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'
There is an old saying... 'What goes around comes around.' Today I send you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine. God works in mysterious ways and sometimes puts people in our lives for a reason.

Don't delete this. Don't return it...
Simply, pass this on to friends, I just did..
~ Credits goes to respective owners

04/09/2024

Just listed a bunch of cards. Check out my page..

04/09/2024

https://www.facebook.com/RiverChurchAlton?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Join us every Saturday at 5:00pm and every Sunday morning at 9:45am and 11:20am