Author: Jackie Confalone

I am a very active 67-year old wife, mother of grown children, & Nana to 3 grandchildren & 1 beloved grand dog. I live with 3 chronic illnesses: Lyme disease, Endometriosis, & Ulcerative Colitis. My Ulcerative Colitis journey began in 1982, my Endometriosis journey began in 1988, & my Lyme journey began in 2007. My husband & 2 children also have chronic illnesses.

A Letter to Doctors

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This letter has been on my mind and my heart for over ten years now. It is not an easy letter to write, and it may not be an easy letter for doctors to read, but I hope it’s an encouragement for all who do read it. I’m grateful for the men and women who … Continue reading A Letter to Doctors

Send ‘Em Packing!

~ Jackie Confalone ~ 2 Comments

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22) I love to go on vacation, but I hate the packing that precedes it. It was the Thursday prior to our annual beach vacation. Scurrying from room to room, I realized so many items were only partially packed and there were … Continue reading Send ‘Em Packing!

Recreate Summertime Memories

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 “Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land”            (Song of Solomon 2:12). Oh, the lazy days of summer and the childhood memories that each one of us has! Drive-in movies, catching fireflies, picking berries, sleepovers with best friends, riding bikes all around town, … Continue reading Recreate Summertime Memories

The Confusion of Chronic Illness

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“They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble” (Jeremiah 31:9). The fatigue and squeezing feeling around my heart had now been there for two weeks. So the questions began. Should I call my … Continue reading The Confusion of Chronic Illness

There’s Something in the Air

~ Jackie Confalone ~ 4 Comments

I'm on vacation at the beach this week with immediate and extended family, and I am loving every minute of it! Hence, the picture I use for my blog. I always feel better physically and emotionally when I'm at the beach, and I can sit for hours on the beach with the warmth of the … Continue reading There’s Something in the Air

The Phantom of the Illness

~ Jackie Confalone ~ 2 Comments

“For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 116: 8-9). My husband calls them phantoms. No, not “Phantom of the Opera.” The dictionary defines phantom as “a nonexistent person or thing, something elusive.” … Continue reading The Phantom of the Illness

The Promises of Psalm 16 Expanded

~ Jackie Confalone ~ 6 Comments

About a year ago, I was thinking about my life verse, Psalm 16:8, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” As I looked it up in my Bible with the surrounding verses of Psalm 16, the references to many other Scripture passages … Continue reading The Promises of Psalm 16 Expanded

30 Things About My Invisible Illness

~ Jackie Confalone ~ 6 Comments

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know 1. The illness I live with is: Ulcerative Colitis, Endometriosis, Late Stage Lyme Disease 2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 1982, 1987, 2007 3. But I had symptoms since: same year as diagnosed for first 2; who knows for last one? 4. … Continue reading 30 Things About My Invisible Illness

The Tablets of Our Lives

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The Tablets of Our Lives             Trying to restrain the tears in his eyes and the quiver in his lips, he prayed aloud as he held our son’s hand, “Lord, I pray he remembers his heritage as he builds his legacy.” And with those words, my husband and I released our 21-year old son to … Continue reading The Tablets of Our Lives