Caregiving

SandwichINK enjoyed being a part of the EldercareABC Blog Carnival last week. You can find my post with several others of interest, on such topics as “Can Seniors Go On Living at Home?,” “Medication Management,” and “Overcoming Loneliness.”

Very Interesting info – Couples have a lower risk of dementia!

Exercise can improve memory in a person suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Getting creative with your senior care is the key. Here are some great tips to help bring out your creativity.

Grandparents

Here are some excellent tips for grandparents to help their grandkids learn about reading!

For those of you who have autistic grandkids, here are two very helpful and interesting articles:

• Technology and Autism
• Protecting Your Autistic Child

Sandwich Generation:

Tech – For Business and Pleasure

• For all you Sandwich Generation Photoshop Geeks, here’s an interesting collection of Glow and Light Effect Tutorials in Photoshop:
• Remember yesterday’s post about my computer driving me crazy? I really appreciated the cute videos at Sugar Pine Realty!   They gave my senior mom and me a good laugh!

Family Friday at @HomemakerBarbi has an interesting post, Family Vacation Road Trip Planning: Breaks & Stops. Great ideas for a multi-generation vacation with your family.

Family Doctor Mag has some great Twitter health links.

If you or someone you care for is dealing with chronic illness, you’ll be interested to know that Rest Ministries announced the opening of their new bookstore.

WOW! Scientists have developed a mind-controlled wheelchair.

Have you ever thought of retiring overseas?

As you may know, some of my grandkids and I are spending the summer working on memorizing verses centered around the Fruit of the Spirit. Because of necessary travel, we’ve only had about 3-4 weeks to actually work on it, so we’ve stayed pretty much on the primary verse along with the verses for love, joy, and peace.

While we were apart, I was blessed to see that God is definitely using it in my life to encourage me! Isn’t it great how He will take what we give and multiply it back to us? Our peace verse, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee,” just kept coming back to me over and over, reminding me to make sure I spent time in God’s Word and that I stayed focused on it when worry would start to creep up.

Over the course of several years, I’ve had to deal with a wide variety of difficult situations. Of course, that is probably true for almost all of us, but it does seem to be magnified for Sandwich Generation caregivers, doesn’t it? Because we are so closely tied to so many people we love, we often find ourselves in deep prayer for different friends and family members, hurting almost as much for them as if it was happening directly to us. Whether it’s someone on hospice, a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease or heart problems, a friend’s child in the hospital, a family struggling with job woes, or something else entirely different, it causes us to cling all the harder to our beloved Lord and Savior.

As I was enjoying an extended time of prayer and Bible study last month, while praying for a couple of different people, God blessed me with a wonderful passage from 2 Samuel. I offer it to you for those times you will or do need extra encouragement as well.

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. “For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me; The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help {came} into His ears…the LORD was my support. He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.2 Sam 22:1-7, 19b-22

As I read this passage over and over I was reminded of two very important facts.

1.Our enemies are spiritual - “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:10-12

God keeps bringing this verse to mind. Over the past few decades, I’ve learned that whether you are dealing with illness, discouragement, finances, or anything else, it doesn’t matter. GOD IS IN CONTROL! I just keep reminding myself of that. It doesn’t change the situation, but it does help me keep my mind “stayed on Him!”

2. When the verse refers to “The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,” it’s easy for us to think, “that doesn’t apply to me. I’m certainly not righteous. I blow it all the time!” Ahh, but it’s not our personal righteousness, it’s Jesus Christ’s!

…to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. Romans 4:5

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10

Talk about STRONG ENCOURAGEMENT! I was so blessed by all this, I even sat down and hand wrote it all out to carry it with me and think about it through the day. I could have easily copied it and printed it from Crosswalk.com, but I wanted to use the handwriting to help fix it in my mind. Even though that particular day was extremely stressful, with seemingly “everything that could go wrong, going wrong,” God kept me focused on Him, kept me from stressing out of control, and truly kept me in His perfect peace. It wasn’t me, that’s for sure! We truly serve an awesome God!

I hope and pray that these verses will be a strong light and encouragement to you, along with the knowledge that God has me pray for all of you every day! And yes, I would truly value and appreciate your prayers as well!   Have a blessed Sunday!

CAREGIVERS:

Caregivers, here’s a great tip to help you take care of yourself. Another way to make sure you get your exercise is to take someone along on a walk with you. No one around? Use your cell phone. I now walk almost every day for 30-60 minutes and barely notice it since I am happily chatting away with kids and grandkids! I stay healthy physically and emotionally!

Deciding between in-home health care and assisted living? Read what other boomers have to say at Seniors for Living.

Check Out Flying With Disability Before Flying with aging parents or others with disabilities.

Those dealing with Alzheimer’s Care: Cognitive tests are the ‘first step’ towards an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Elderly adults being readmitted to the Hospital is a Medicare Issue. One that is becoming more and more common!

Excellent advice from ElderCareRN: Avoid monochromatic color scheme in a seniors home to reduce risk of falling and/or injury. Also, avoid clutter and have good light.

Check out the EldercareABC Blog Carnival for more excellent information to help you provide great elderly assistance to your aging parents.

GRANDPARENTS:

More fun 4th of July activities and printables for your grandkids at your family celebration.

Make some interesting popsicles for your grandkids and be the hit of the neighborhood.

SANDWICH GENERATION/BABY BOOMER GENERATION

With all the high-profile sudden deaths it’s time for an important reminder – are you ready to die? Are you taking care of your health property? Have you planned for your families? Including your elderly parents? Have you made a will or living trust? Most important of all, is your relationship right with God? Death can come at any moment with little or no warning. Don’t put off any of the hugs, kisses, and loving notes til tomorrow that you can do today! 

Good news from Prevention with yummy , healthy, and low-cal BBQ recipes

My home warranty company reminds us to use the dollar bill test on our refrigerators. Close the door on the dollar bill. Try to pull it out. If it pulls through easily, we may need to adjust the door or replace gaskets. Now isn’t that a fun money saver idea!

Moomettes Magnificents has her all new and updated contest and giveaway list up and running. Check it out if you are in the market for some fun and free goodies. 

Very Good News – The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. My God is my rock in Whom I take refuge!

For all of us Baby Boomers – Johnny Depp Wants to do a cameo in the 21 Jump Street Movie.

7 Refreshing Summer Salads at Homemaker Barbi’s. Yummy!

Google has created a new search portal where you can go to find out about community service and volunteer options and events.

The BBC is reporting that there is a strain of the Swine flu that “shows drug resistance” to Tamiflu. With this news and the fact that it isn’t going away as quickly as they hoped, we need to be extra careful as we monitor our aging parents and young grandkids!