Okay, friends, I am SO EXCITED!

Today is another first for me!

It's my first day to have my first guest writer!

And of course it's only appropriate that it should be my "mentor"!  

The one who allowed me space on her website for several months and then gently nudged me out of the nest to fly solo!

Even though, Shelly, and I have never met face-to-face, we have chatted on the phone several times and we "talk" every day (many times throughout the day) by way of Facebook messaging ... thank God for technology!

She has taught me so very much about writing and living life with a chronic illness.  

She and I share the same illness, Intracranial Hypertension (IH), and, oh, so much more!!!

I thank the Lord for bringing Shelly into my life.

As her life continues to get much more difficult with a second diagnosis poured out on top of the IH, I still see her...

Loving her Saviour  

Praising her Saviour  

Trusting her Saviour  

Serving her Saviour  

Glorifying her Saviour

She is a precious gem of a person who loves the Lord, loves her family and loves others.

She has written on a subject known to many who suffer with chronic illness.  

So let's see what my Bestie has to say.  

I am sure that you will enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed writing it!!

Oh just one more thing before I give it over to Shelly.  

I knew she wouldn't probably want me to do this,
but this is MY site so I'm going to do it for her!!

Shelly has written THREE books!!

"You're Chronically Ill ... So Now What?"
Devotionals through the first thirty days of a chronic illness"

"Your Loved One is Ill ... So Now What?"
Devotionals for those that care for the chronically ill."

"Hopeless:
Thirty uplifting devotionals for the chronically ill
who struggle with depression and despair."

You can find all of them at Amazon.com
And I HIGHLY recommend all of them!!!

Okay, now you can read
what Shelly has to say for today

 

"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep:
for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety."  Psalm 4:8

I love Sleep.

It's not the fickle kind of love,

not puppy love,

not the kind that dims with time.

But Sleep, it does not love me back.

I guess you could say I'm Sleep's stalker.

I follow it around everywhere it goes,

trailing it like a master detective.

It doesn't make a move that I don't know about.

I hide in its bushes

with my binoculars,

jealous of those it loves,

studying them so that I can woo Sleep back to me

where it belongs.

Sometimes I send Sleep notes

made from newspaper and magazine clippings.

I've tried both pleading and threatening,

but Sleep seems unaffected by both.

I've written it sonnets,

sent it roses,

sang it songs.

I've even resorted

to trying to win over its friends.

But Mr. Sandman refuses

to visit anymore.

And Winkin, Blinkin and Nod

sailed away without a backward glance

in my direction.

I'll tell you this,

this love I have for Sleep...

it's the kind that never gives up,

not ever.

You can call me a dog with a bone

if you want to,

but I will never give up my fight

for sweet Sleep.

Arf.

Heavenly Father, please grant some blissful sleep to those of us who share the agony of insomnia. Thank You in advance. In Jesus' Name, Amen...

Shelly Hendricks is a wife and mother of 2 amazing kids. They live the good life in South Louisiana. She is a writer for God's glory. She also suffers from Intracranial Hypertension and a Primary Lateral Sclerosis, among a myriad of other issues mostly stemming from these two. She had brain surgery in 2012, to install a VP Shunt, and had a revision in January 2014. Though her condition continues to deteriorate, her spirit is constantly focused on eternity. Disability has been hard to deal with, but she depends on God for all strength and hopes to encourage others on this journey, through her writing and her books.

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May God Bless You,

Barb