Archives

Fibromyalgia… The Cure Begins!

Jan3

"Fibromyalgia" By, Nancy Alexander

The Cure Begins…

I ended my last post in December, 2010, after telling you of the many struggles and pain Fibromyalgia brought into my life.  So, here I am now…the third day of a new year…so many changes…so many things are different.  I – Nancy Alexander – have a new life and an unbelievable, overwhelmingly happy one at that!

 

It seems very appropriate to start this New Year – 2011 – with a story of
healing, peace, joy, miracles, pain relief, and happiness as well as thoughts of "I can" instead of "I can't"!

I can even play in the snow with Lucas & Ava now!

Even my dreams for the last 30-plus years have been filled with visions, as well as nightmares, of what I cannot and would not ever be able to do.  Well…No More!!  Thank You God!

I am a different person!  I am being healed from Fibromyalgia — the disease which has no cure — and I am doing things with my family and my husband that I thought I would never be able to do or enjoy again!  I am enjoying life!  I am working hard at my business!  I am traveling again for the first time in many years.  I can go somewhere and sit for longer than 30 minutes!  I can go to movies with my husband!  And — best of all — I can go to church at my husband's side every single week!

 

To be able to go on vacations again — to the beach — the mountains — anywhere we want to go!  These are experiences I thought I would never be able to enjoy again!  The possibilities are now endless.  I can go up steps again.  I can walk on a treadmill.  We go to concerts, college football and basketball games.  I no longer have to sit at home while my husband enjoys these without me!  I can, and do, go with him!!

 

Our marriage and our love has been rejuvenated because a sickness such as the one I had kills the closeness between a husband and wife.  It almost killed us…we almost didn't make it.  This insidious disease came very close to ending our marriage of 38 years before we came across my "cure".  I know you may have heard about cures before but when you researched and read more about these "claims", their answers were just not what you were desperately searching for.  There really was no healing and no renewal of life, body, and soul.

  

 

I am writing this post today…January 3, 2011…to tell you a different story — a true story — one with a happy, pain-free and joyous ending. 

 

 

It all begins at the end.  God allowed me to sink to the bottom of the "pit" with no hope of a better life.  My husband and I no longer had a life together.  We were strangers in the same house growing further and further apart with each passing year.  Neither of us could understand my illness with all of its debilitating pain and strange peculiarities.  How could Steve understand what I was going through when I couldn't even understand it myself to explain it to him?  And then God reached out His hand to me and my husband — pulling us out of this "pit".  God is using this experience now in both of us.  We will cheerfully and "blindly" follow God's leading anywhere for any reason – as long as it is "His path".  

This blog, my website, and our story are reaching people from all over the world; people who are in pain and have no hope.  Well, your hope is within God.  He has poured His miracles down upon us by giving my husband a new heart, and a new understanding, along with an undying – cherishing, forever-after kind of love!  And me – well, I have a new healthy body along with courage built on a determination and strength that I never knew I posessed.  These miracles have left us both "speechless"!  But, at the same time, we are certain that miracles such as these cannot be "hidden" or "kept quiet".  This is a very painful, and personal story…but one that we feel God wants us to share with those who are desperately searching for the answer in their painful lives. He is using our time in the "pit" to help so many others.  So…that is why I am revealing so much of our journey to you.

 

 

I had put myself into the hands of so many doctors — dedicated, intelligent doctors, who could not help because they knew so little about Fibromyalgia.  But my first breakthrough was with a nearby women's hospital physician, who specialized in Fibromyalgia.  I found her myself and made an appointment.  She gave me a firm diagnosis — "yes, you definitely have a severe case of Fibromyalgia".  Then she wanted to try the same old drug regimen that every other doctor had tried, but nothing really new to offer.  I had the same reactions to these medicines again just as when I had tried them before…and eventually I gave into the fact I had been avoiding…she could be of no help to me!  I finally realized any relief…any cure…would come from my own determination and research — so my journey began!


 I was lucky to finally switch to our neighbor as our family doctor.  On my first visit to him, he told me up front, "You know much more about Fibromyalgia than I ever will.  I don't totally agree with everything you think may be causing your illness, and I don't totally agree with some of supplements you believe are helping you, but I am willing to treat you, refer you to any doctor you want to see, send you anywhere you want to go, and try any drug which your research leads you to believe might help."  I have always appreciated his friendship, his honesty, and his willingness to try things with me…he is still our doctor and a very good friend.

 

Now, let's move forward to what I consider the first of two turning points in my life, when I finally began finding help and answers!

 

My research saved my life.  It led me to a specialist in Atlanta, Georgia.  This endocrinologist practiced medicine about 2 hours from my home.  He is an older doctor – a very sweet man – whose specialty is diabetes and also Fibromyalgia, because he suffers from it himself.  I called his office wanting to know if he would do a phone consultation with me.  At that time — which was in May of 2006 — I could hardly ride in a car for 30 minutes.  So, I knew I couldn't make the two hour ride to Atlanta, Georgia.  He did agree to a phone consultation. 

    

This doctor with a strong faith in God, a kind manner and his knowledge was the first step in saving my life!  He understood everything I said; he understood all of my symptoms; and he understood why I was not getting better.  He even understood something I had noticed years before; that I had become extremely chemically and environmentally sensitive to everything.  Even cleaning supplies had to be chosen carefully.  Some clothes and materials literally hurt my body.  I had stopped wearing scented perfume or lotion – sometimes having to leave church or other event because someone sat near me with perfume or cologne on which made me ill.  Many smells and chemicals made my muscles much worse.  Weather changes such as storms or higher barometric pressure made me feel like I had been run over by an eighteen-wheeler!  I had even begun to notice that certain foods were a problem for me too, but I HAD NO IDEA…LITERALLY NO IDEA…THE PART THESE FOODS PLAYED IN MY ILLNESS!!

How God Has Used Me

Oct22

"How God Has Used Me" By, Nancy Alexander

Gratitude Because God IS Using "Little Ole Me"…

I feel a feeling of gratitude today because God is using me, yes…."little ole me".  I don't mean to sound surprised, and I don't mean to boast — but me?? — I have always trusted God as my savior – my Lord – involved in and orchestrating everything in my life… I grew up in what I considered an unhappy home… no abuse or anything drastic like you hear so much of these days .. just unhappy, and feeling unloved.  (I do know different now, but didn't then and couldn't understand as a child.) 

But, well, finally – now things are different!  The signs from God's leading in my and my husband's lives are bold, attention-getting, crying your eyes out, screaming to the top of your lungs, singing praises to the Lord… kinds of signs and "holy touches"! 

Me…Nancy…Nancy Alexander from Anderson, South Carolina (a middle-sized Southern town of not much significance) — who has never gone far away from home except for a few trips to Washington, DC, when my uncle was alive, or the wonderful cruise my husband surprised me with for our 25th anniversary — the Nancy who got really sick at 28 years old when she had two little boys to take care of, who had dreams of being a GREAT Mom — a beautiful, sexy, encouraging wife to a husband who adored, cherished, and looked upon none other — one who would make a difference in this world one day by touching lives, leading others to my Lord and Savior by being the sort of Christian that others admire — traveling through and praising God for this beautiful world that we live in (or) just being the "Matriarch" of our little family — being looked up to — honored — loved — overwhelmed with the hugs and kisses and "Mom, I Love You" stuff… this was what my dreams were made of and what I wanted more than anything else in this world!

I have found that God definitely has plans for us, and that He certainly answers prayer.  I know that my prayers have been answered, but God and I have had to engage in many breakdowns, talks and tears (mine), about the fact that he didn't answer my prayers and pleadings in my time, but in His — 30 to 35 years later.  (And, by the way…it took that same son, Matt, just recently to remind me that even though it has been sooo many years…God HAS answered my prayers!)  I now can and do Praise His Name for His faithfulness, steadfastness, and love because these answers to my hopes, dreams, and pleadings have been much more than I could have ever imagined.

Yes, His time is certainly NOT our time and His dreams for us and for me personally came at His "right time".  These dreams which are being answered now in my life, totally and completely take my breath away, with faith in God…dreams eventually are answered.  These answers are maybe not the answers we expect, but can be beyond our own imaginings.  I would not be the person I am today without the many years of being pruned by God; without going through the many impossible situations with health issues, family and life.  I tried so hard for so many years; I thought I would never be freed.  But… I now know that I would not be blessed with the experience I now possess with which I can help others I come across in this world (and notice… I did say world!) – without the many years of God's hard work in my life.

Don't worry, I'm not going to go through my entire life's story here, but I just want to tell you about a tiny little book:  "The Prayer of Jabez", given to me by my son Matt in 1990, and how it made such an impact in my life.  I knew I was in trouble and had known for some time… life was a "chore", life was not what I had dreamed, expected, and wanted it to be — my life was broken and filled with pain and hurt; I even knew that if I lived long enough, I would probably end up in a wheelchair.  I had come close to giving up so many times, but didn't have the courage or strength to even do that. 

Anyway, this tiny little book with the sweet inscription in the front from my son, Matt, led me to read it that day.  It is such a tiny book that it can be read in one day — but the words, and the meanings of those words have taken me many years to learn how they apply to my life.  This short prayer; "The Prayer of Jabez" has been prayed by me every single day of my life since I received it in 1990 — and on some days of turmoil and stress — more than once.

I began many years ago praying this prayer for me – myself first – to be healed; then, later on I changed the names, and prayed for Steve, my husband, and second my sons, Matt and Andy.  So every single night I pray this prayer four times.  As I lay my head down on my pillow, I began these prayers.  I could not sleep unless I did.  I used to pray them silently, until I realized that Satan cannot hear our thoughts, only our spoken words…so I started praying them aloud — I wanted him to know the strength of my trust in God.

The Prayer as I have prayed it:  "And Jabez called upon the God of Israel; Oh that You would bless me indeed.  That You would enlarge my territory, and that your hand would be with me; and you would keep me from evil so that I might not cause pain."

(or) 1 Chronicles 4:10
"Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that Thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast (territory), and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!"  And God granted him that which he requested." 

I knew these were powerful words.  I read the book several times, but when I would get to two specific phrases each time, I would find myself thinking… (how in the world would this ever apply to me…?).  That didn't stop me, though, and I kept right on praying.

The first phrase that I just could not understand was "That You would enlarge my territory", and the second was "And keep me from evil so that I might not cause pain".  God has now revealed to me exactly what each of these phrases means.  Each statement has changed my life in such amazing ways;  both for the good – but one involving anticipation and excitement, and the other – well, let's just say the other caused a great deal of pain.  But just for now, I want to talk about the first one — the one which brought unbelievable hope, praises, joy and excitement to my mundane life.

Each time I would stop and think.  Here I am… a woman with a finally diagnosed disease of fibromyalgia — and eventually celiac disease.  How in the world could God enlarge my territory?  For a while I could hardly ride in a car for 30 minutes.  A few times through the years when fibromyalgia released its terrible grip on my body and my soul for a short while, I could go a few places;  like Atlanta on several buying trips for a business I kept holding onto; or…there was that one time when I was able to go on a cruise that my husband surprised me with; and a couple of times through the years when I was able to make the 5 hour trip to Myrtle beach.

But, "enlarge my territory"!?…

Well, this is where I certainly did God an injustice!  I did not trust Him like His word commands us to do.  But, can you see how I would question; how could He enlarge "my" territory when I can hardly ride in the car for more than 30 minutes…I couldn't even go up a flight of stairs.  I could never visit all of the states in the United states as many people do (and I would love to do), and I certainly could not (even if the funds were available), fly to other countries.  To me, for many years, that was what "enlarge my territory" meant – to be able to spread the word of God far and wide to all the ends of the earth. 

Then, a couple of years ago, I picked up this little book again.  It had been lying on my bedside table for years just for the comfort it gave me to see it there.  As I picked up this book and started reading again, I flipped over to the chapter where it was talking about expanding my territory.  As I flipped through the pages, reading quickly, my heart started to flutter a little – I felt something in the pit of my stomach….I HAD BEEN WRONG!  Here they were talking about this applying to our everyday lives.  To people we come in contact with everyday. To businesses which needed God's help to grow and expand…but in His direction only. 

So, that night as I began to pray, I began to envision in my mind that – YES – God can expand my territory.  To my friends, my neighbors, and my business selling wreaths on eBay and the Internet.  Then, every night thereafter, I had those thoughts in my mind as I spoke the words aloud – instead of the negative and distrustful thoughts and words of doubt clouded with a little hope that had always hung around in the back of my mind. 

And now where do I begin?  How do I tell you the miraculous ways that God has enlarged my territory?  Well, my business is flourishing, but not in the way you might think — in monitory terms — although I have started to finally make a little money instead of just having a fun hobby that I excelled in and cost us a fortune!  Oh, but God is so good, his dreams for us are more incredible than ours could ever be!

My husband, Steve and I have just written a book for and about my business.  It is a book on how to do what I do — how to start an Internet business when you know nothing about the Internet — and yes… a list of every supplier that I buy from, and what I buy from each.  This is something that NO business owner EVER DOES!!  These suppliers and vendors are searched out and tested for many years.  In writing and selling this book, I am creating my own competition!

DO YOU SEE???? DO YOU SEE the point I am trying to get across here?  God's plan for me was not to become a successful Internet Entrepreneur merely making and selling wreaths.  His plan was not for me to just become a success filming how-to videos on wreath design (although that's a part of my life and business). 

HIS plan for me was to reach ladies (far and wide — "expanding my territory"), ladies who are and were just like me.  They are trapped in bodies that are weak and sick.  They have fibromyalgia or other health issues which have gone undiagnosed for many, many years….just like mine.  No one understands, maybe they have not found a Doctor yet who even believes they are "truly" sick.  They need hope, they need joy…they need a reason to get out of bed every morning…they need God's help and inspiration. 

I am so humbled… I am so overwhelmed… I am so overjoyed that God is using "me" to help these women!  In the last 11 days that my book has been for sale, we have sold over 50 copies!  I am receiving so many emails, it is not humanly possible to answer them all, from women all over the world who are desperate.  They are where I was so many years ago!  God is leading me to help them in ways that I cannot yet begin to fathom!  I could let this totally consume me, but I have peace and trust in God now that I know what "He" is doing, and is doing so well!  I am only along for the ride – along with my faithful, loving husband, and a renewed marriage – and we are open to do whatever God's will is for us!  We finally KNOW FOR SURE that "His will" cannot be matched by any earthly designs.

So…. "enlarge my territory"!?…      

Okay…. get this…. in the last two weeks, I have had people on my website from over "Thirty-Five" countries!  I have several "big" Internet Marketers" waiting for me to set my book up for Affiliate Sales so that they can sell it.  They believe in me…and my gift — my talent and they say my story has touched them deeply! 

 

So…don't tell me that God cannot enlarge your territory because he did just that to me — Nancy Alexander — from Anderson, South Carolina!

Thank You God…That I am Tired

Oct11

"Thank You God" By, Nancy Alexander

That I Am Tired…

Where Do I Start? I'll start where every good thing in our lives comes from — God.

 

Knowing that I can and do get up every single morning and put on the "full armor of God" fills me with such security and confidence.  It ensures that I can have a day filled with Happiness and Joy which come from God's grace.  Now, that doesn't mean that I don't have bad days, I DO!  That doesn't mean that I don't slip back into the past very often and have to battle with "the evil one", I DO!  That does not mean that I don't slide down that "slippery slope" quite often that Beth Moore describes in her Bible Studies, because I DO!



It does mean that I have a Father who loves me beyond words…He is always there in my life holding out a hand to pull me out and rescue me…He is always there to soothe my broken heart…He is always there pouring blessings and miracles upon me that I certainly do not now, nor ever will deserve.



He had to choose between his "two loves" when he sent his son onto this earth!  How could a Father choose between His two loves:  one – flesh of His own flesh, and the other – His children created by Him to love and worship Him, and that He could also love and cherish in return.



I am speechless…I am in awe…that He chose His son to feel our pain and give His life so that there could be an open pathway flowing between us and our Father every single second of every single day for the rest of our lives.



God has worked such miracles in my family that there are way too many to list, and way too many to go into.  But I will say that during these last two years, He has made His presence known to us in such a way that leaves me amazed!



My husband, Steve, and I have just completed an exciting project together which was totally inspired by God — there is no other explanation.  We found that we could work side by side at our computers, electronically sharing and writing on the same pages at once.  With my strengths multiplying his weaknesses, and Steve's strengths doing the same for mine…well, that is something so wonderful we were blessed to share!  We enjoyed these (literally hundreds) of hours together and finished with an e-Book, a project that we never would have guessed could come to fruition.  And, we ended up with ideas to write at least 10 more books!



You see, God's hand was with us in this from the very beginning!  He sent people into our lives at just the right time when they were needed:  Jim Cockrum from www.SilentJim.com (an Internet Entrepreneur), who is so well known because of his honest and knowledgeable style — and who also charges $700 an hour just for a phone consultation; Linda Joseph from www.WebTechEnterprises.com (our coach), a very smart entrepreneur in her own right, a patient God-loving woman, who has handled so much of the technical "stuff" we didn't know how to do, or have the time to learn; and John Ritskowitz from www.marketing-medic.com (an amazing copywriter whom we were so blessed to be able to work with).  And, no, we could not afford these wonderfully brilliant people God sent into our paths, but He figured out a way!



Today was the "launch" date for this new book: "Secret Vendor List", where I totally and completely reveal ALL of my secrets and suppliers I worked 25 years to obtain.  In the wholesale/retail world, this is just NOT done!  Each retailer researches, studies, walks the halls in the large National Markets looking for the best suppliers with the best prices.  You know…the ones you can really trust!  Those are so hard to find these days!  I have felt led by God for some time with a soft spot in my heart for my customers…there is an attachment with them which I cannot explain…some really need help and that help just may be me.  So many of them are at places in their lives right now where I was for many years, and that is not a very pleasant or happy place to be.



Through our work (together, side-by-side) on this 200 page book, plus two more smaller e-Books, Steve and I have been working into the wee hours of the morning, and then jumping out of bed with a start the next morning to complete this amazing task.  Last night was one of those late nights, and this morning…well, another early morning.  So much to be done; newsletters to write; web pages to be redone; older e-Books to be revised and rewritten, auto-responders to be set up, and so much more!



Now…the joys…and amazement come as I am watching the "stats" as people come to my website and my blog from all over the world – 20 different countries so far!  I am answering emails about sales and downloads…I just feel so humbled that God reached down into our broken lives two years ago and changed them in such amazing ways! He has a plan for us.  He has a path for us…and we will certainly, blindly follow Him on this path for the rest of our lives knowing more Joy and Happiness awaits us than we can begin to imagine!



This is why I can thank God that I am tired! 

Friends From Country Sampler Magazine

Sep19

"Welcome Friends" By, Nancy Alexander

Welcome to Our Friends From Country Sampler Magazine…

WOW!  What do I say?  How do I start this post?  This has really been a whirlwind of a week!  First of all I turned 60 years old.  And no…I didn't flip out because I did that a week ago.  I thought I would get it over and done with so I could enjoy my birthday! AND I DID!  Steve took me to Charlotte for a couple of days and we had a wonderful time. 

 

I started getting calls yesterday and receiving emails for wreath orders.  This is when I realized that the new issue of Country Sampler magazine was being put online.  I have an ad in this wonderful magazine under Ladybug Wreaths.  You can CLICK HERE to see it.  That isn't all, though, because my wreath and my videos will be in a room scene when the magazine comes out.  It is being mailed to subscribers right now, and will be in the news-stands Oct. 1st.

Welcome COUNTRY SAMPLER Subscribers!
It is GREAT to Have You Visiting With Me!

 

Here is a close-up picture of me with the wreath which is featured in Country Sampler.  They also are featuring all twelve of my instructional, how-to videos!  Exciting, huh?  Well, it really is for me.  I literally spend hours on this wreath.  I wanted to feature one that has our "Wild & Woodsy" look for which Ladybug Wreaths has become known!  And this one is HUGE!  It is really filled with flowers, berries, greens, a bird house, red birds, blossoms and more!  You can go to my website if you want to take a closer look at it:  http://www.ladybugwreaths.net/wreaths-2/

My newsletter is being emailed out as I am writing this post, so make sure you are signed up on my newsletter list to get your copy on a six (6) session series about Decorating Small Spaces!  Oh, and if you would like to see a copy of this week's newsletter (or any older ones) and were not on my mailing list, you can find them here: http://ladybugwreaths.net/news/

I featured a special section in this weeks newsletter about displaying pictures – you know – the ones we keep in boxes and want to display them, but just don't have room for frames everywhere!!??

Here are a couple of pictures of an idea I had to display some of my photos.  I just LOVE it!  Tell me what you think??  I used double sided tape and taped these wonderful black and white photos to one of my old windows.  Yes, I do stop along the side of the road and pick up any old windows I can find…. LOL…. Also, I purchase any I can at yard sales.  There are always wonderful uses for them, just as I used this one.  I have it propped into a corner of a small niche in our home is perfect for displaying some favorite photos!


 I really do want to thank all of my friends and customers for your emails congratulating me for coming back – yes…. I am BACK!!!  And for all of the congratulations about my health and overcoming fibromyalgia!  It is working!  I am feeling so much better!  God is so good and faithful!


I had a wonderful birthday and a very busy work week.  Steve (my hubby) and I have been still working frantically to finish my new eBook.  I can hardly believe that it is close to 200 pages long.  I know what everyone must be thinking…how can you fill up that many pages without adding lots of fluff?? Well, we absolutely did fill that many pages with so much valuable information that my customers will be swept off their feet.  I only have a few more pictures to add before we turn things over to our GREAT copywriter…so stay tuned!

Life is Wonderfully Exciting and Busy

Sep14

"Life is Wonderfully Exciting" By, Nancy Alexander

The Alexander Family has  New Addition!..

I must start this post with a picture of our newest addition to the Alexander family!  Wyatt Thomas Alexander was born August 7th!  He is so precious and absolutely PERFECT!  This makes our fourth.  I have always heard that being a grandparent just cannot compare with anything else — well, they were right!  Our four "grands" are the JOY of our lives!  We thank God for them every single day!  In the picture below, Ava Grace wants to unwrap Wyatt to check him out.  She thinks he is one of her baby dolls!  So SWEET!

I am very frantic, rushed, excited, and busy today.  But I thought this day was worth taking a few minutes to post in Nancy's Ramblings.  I'm sure most of you know by now that Steve and I are putting the finishing touches on my *SECRET* Vendor's Supplier list. 

 

"The FIRST Secret List of Floral Design Suppliers — EVER PUBLISHED!" 

 

We have worked more hours that we ever believed was possible.  We have had detours which stopped this process cold!  But we have had many miracles which have rejuvenated our lives, our hearts, and our work.  The last few months have been full of excitement, JOY, and work.  This eBook has taken on a mind of its own.  It has grown to be wonderfully exciting and is so full of pertinent information that my customers will just not believe it when they finally get their hands on it.  I can hardly believe how God has inspired us in so many ways.

We have talked to suppliers and gathered together information that I have collected over the last 25 years.  Each day I remember more and more exciting things that I want you to know that I did not know when starting my own business.  This information about going to market, about purchasing from wholesale suppliers without letting them know that you are a "newbe" to the business, will help you so very much!  Oh, how I wish I had been able to purchase a list like this one when I first started!!

I truly DO NOT believe there is a list out there right now like this one for sale, ANYWHERE!!  I want my customers and friends to have all the information in one place that I had to dig, scrape and search for in the many years I was operating a business.

Okay, enough about the book! Except, we should be finished by this weekend – for those of you who have been waiting and waiting and waiting!  I do promise you it will DEFINITELY be worth the wait!  Now… Many other exciting happenings are going on at Ladybug Wreaths…

 

I have an advertisement coming out in Country Sampler magazine.  It has already been mailed to subscribers and will be online at http://www.countrysampler.com by this weekend.  It will hit the newsstands starting October 1st!  I will have a huge wreath featured in a room scene along with information about purchasing and ordering wreaths on the opposite page.  Also featured are my instructional wreath-making videos.  So, take a look if you get a chance.  If you don't subscribe to the magazine, you can purchase one after October 1st, or you can go online to view their newest edition. 

This is VERY exciting for me as Country Sampler has 350,000 to 400,000 subscribers, plus 1,000,000 readers!  WOW, that literally takes my breath away!