The pain hit hard.

I told my husband, “I don’t know whether I want to apply heat or just scream.”

Seven months prior, the pain started lifting. The saying, “You don’t know what you got until it’s gone,” can also apply to pain. I didn’t realize I was in pain until it started going away.

But, that December, the pain returned quickly. Sore, stinging, tingling pain throughout my arms and legs. At that time and the previous three years, the cause of pain was unknown.

The symptoms initially came on so slowly. I easily adjusted to them being “normal.” Pain combined with insomnia, exhaustion, an uneasy stomach, and brain fog left me not functioning days to weeks and even months. On those occasions, I got out of bed in the morning and prepped our family for the day. Once they were out the door, I moved to the couch and rested until school pick up time. Keeping up with laundry was a major accomplishment.

During those quiet hours sitting with my comfort dog Kash, I prayed. I pleaded with God. I begged Him for answers and relief. On occasion, I cried and yelled at God too. I requested strength, patience, and comfort. Anxiety and depression set in, as they do with chronic illness and pain. Practicing gratitude usually helped in such times. When it didn’t, I turned to scripture.

At one point, I longed to read scripture about God’s healing. At the most challenging times, I needed to read scripture of others praising God. God’s Word gave me hope.

While connecting with God through prayer, praise, and scripture, I journaled in discounted college rule notebooks. Sprinkled throughout my prayer journal notebooks are flower doodles and designs for guided prayer journals.

God connected me with the right practitioners to officially diagnose me with severe gluten sensitivity and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. With their help and direction, the pain subsided significantly. I feel well, most days. And I’m officially deemed “in remission.”

As I healed over the last year, the desire grew to create a journal that helps others pray, read scripture, and praise God daily. The very things that kept me going in a most challenging time all in one place. I combined my doodles and prayer journal designs with scripture to create Psalms of Praise Prayer & Bible Reading Journal.

Spending daily time with God helps me through challenging times and fills me with joy.

No matter your season, I pray that spending daily time with God becomes your normal and blesses you too.

If it’s your desire to spend daily time with God through prayer, scripture, and praise, Psalms of Praise Prayer & Bible Reading Journal was created just for you!