Totally Well For 3 Years Now! :)

Three years ago God healed me of ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome using something called the Lightning Process. It was a huge relief and also a huge shock to suddenly be well after 15 years of illness!

My last blog update was around the time of my one year anniversary in February 2011, so I thought it was about time for another one!

Quite a lot has happened since then...

In April 2011 I got a job! I started working part-time at the Probation Service as an Administration Officer for 23 hours a week. It was a huge shock to the system going back to work after such a long time and adjusting to getting up every day and going to work was a bit of a challenge. It was a temporary job which was only supposed to be for 2 months but ended up lasting for 5 months until September.

I kept going along to my computer course at polytech while I was working and completed the course in November 2011 and received the certificate :)

In my last post I mentioned doing some Spring cleaning. I had just finished cleaning the bathroom in October 2011 when it was discovered that there was water under my flat and problems with moisture and mould. I had to move out immediately. I stayed at Mum's for about 2 - 3 weeks while I packed up my flat (I had a sinus infection at the same time!) and then moved into another flat at the same address while they fixed mine up. It ended up taking 7 months and I moved back into my flat at the beginning of June 2012. I now have a brand new kitchen and bathroom and new paint, wallpaper and carpet in the rest of it :)

In the meantime I got another job. At the beginning of 2012 I started working in a call centre as a customer services representative. It is a very busy call centre and a very challenging job and while I thought the last thing I wanted to do was to take calls all day, I'm actually really enjoying it. Working with really nice, supportive people helps :) I have been working about 40 hours a week (sometimes more) since June 2012 and I have just started learning the admin job so that I can be a back-up for the admin lady if she is away. I started off working there part-time and going to full-time work was another adjustment, finding that I had very little time to do other things! :)

I am still walking as much as I can when I can fit it in but had to give up going aqua-jogging in the mornings when I started working full-time.

I have also changed churches and am now going to the same church as the rest of my family. I'm really enjoying the church and it means I get to see some of my family nearly every week.

So my life has changed a lot in the last 3 years, going from doing virtually nothing to working full-time. God is good and I am so grateful to Him for giving me my life back :)

Debbie :D

ONE YEAR FREE of ME/CFS !

Here I am at the one year anniversary of when the Lightning Process started working for me as it stopped M.E. in its tracks! I can still remember the moment I felt my body relaxing as the process began working and the next day playing with my hands during the seminar as I realised how relaxed they were! I remember the text I sent on the bus in the morning saying "I think it's working!" And I remember the moment I realised that God had been promising me for years that He was going to heal me and He was finally doing it!

If you've been following my blog you'll have some idea of what I've been doing over the last year. I began walking straight away and now I go aqua-jogging twice a week (which I really enjoy) and try to do a walk on the other days. I also usually go for a walk with my sister in the weekend. Recently I've been increasing the length of my walks but am often limited by time!

In April last year I started a computer course at polytech. We've just had a 2½ month break and are just getting going again for the year. I still have a few units to do to complete the course. I'm really enjoying that too! Although this week we were learning about what happens when you open, edit, print or save a file and how the "input device", the CPU, the RAM and the "output device" all interact. Do I really need to know that? :-\

One thing I won't have mentioned (because it was a secret) is that I had the crazy idea to do some sewing for myself and then to do some for my sisters for Christmas. I haven't done much in the way of sewing for a long time and had forgotten how time-consuming it was! It worked out okay though and I got it all finished about a week before Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, it was nice to be able to go to church on Christmas Eve and to be able to do some cooking for Christmas dinner and enjoy the day with my well mother :) and other family members.

I'm getting along to church nearly every week and am becoming more involved there.

I "fired" my home help lady about 2 weeks after the LP seminar in February last year and have been doing all my own housework since then. I've also been able to keep more on top of the garden and the roses got a good prune this year.

I can also wash my own car - something that I had to get help with when I was sick.

Now that the secret sewing is out of the way, I have started on the big Spring clean. I've started in the kitchen and am gradually making progress. I did the oven the other day and am glad that's out of the way for now!

And in September last year I started job-hunting. It's a bit of a challenge. There's not a lot of jobs out there and lots of people applying for the ones that are there. I've had a couple of interviews, but no new job yet. I'm still working from home doing phone surveys and am trying to leave the situation in God's hands, knowing that He's got me covered. I've applied for another 3 jobs recently, so here's hoping! and praying!

In December I had an out-of-town funeral to go to. It was so nice to be able to drive that far (4½ hours each way) and feel fine the next day. I also managed to catch up with a few friends while I was away which was really good.

On the 5th February I went to my niece's engagement party and got roped into helping to make sandwiches, etc. in the afternoon as well. I got up and went to church the next morning, something I definitely wouldn't have done before. I wouldn't have been helping out in the afternoon either because I would have been saving all my energy for the party which would have been quite exhausting for me. It would have taken me a few days to recover.

My Mum (who has also recovered from M.E. using the LP this year - see more about her in my last post) was also at the engagement party. She is now running around everywhere and enjoying her new life. She seems to be doing a lot of shopping! She is enjoying being involved in a new church and doing things with the ladies there.

Just to give you some idea of how different my life is from a year ago - on Tuesday this week I got up at 7am and went aqua-jogging, came home and did the laundry, tidied, dusted & vacuumed the flat. On Wednesday morning I got up at 7am again and went to polytech for 3 hours. After that I looked at some things in Farmers, then came home and cleaned the bathroom. I went for a 43 minute walk in the afternoon after mopping the floor. On Thursday I did the grocery and other shopping, some gardening, swept the back and front porches and went for a 48 minute walk. This morning I got up at 7am again and went aqua-jogging for half an hour. I came home and did washing and vacuumed my car and washed it!

Before the Lightning Process seminar this time last year I was sleeping until 10am and getting up much earlier than that was a huge effort. I had a home help lady to do my housework, so I wouldn't have done any of that except for the washing. I definitely didn't do any exercise - the most exercise I used to get was walking around the supermarket or the Warehouse! I wouldn't have been able to go to polytech regularly and definitely not for 3 hours and I wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough to cope with the study. I would have also had short-term memory problems to deal with which now are a thing of the past (either that or I've forgotten about them!). I would probably only have gone out once during the week to do my grocery shopping and maybe 2 or 3 other things while I was out. Then I would have needed to rest for a few days, hoping to make it to church on Sunday and if I did make it to church I would need to rest for another couple of days before doing the shopping!

If you know of anyone with ME/CFS (it's called CFIDS in the States) please let them know about this or feel free to put them in touch with me. I would love to see more people set free from that awful illness that robs people of their lives.

I am so grateful to God for leading me to the Lightning Process. It has definitely given me back my life!

6 Months since Lightning Process seminar

Ok, so here I am after 6 months of being well! Woohoo! I have just read through my last blog post that I did 3 months after the LP seminar and realised that I have made quite a lot of progress since then :)

I am now doing my regular house cleaning in 2 days instead of a few. And I have been pruning the roses in my garden. Still have a bit of work to do there, but I'll get there - gardening is not my favourite thing to be doing in life!

I've also sorted through a few boxes and my wardrobe and got rid of a lot of stuff including old clothes that I never wear! More boxes to go through but no hurry yet!

I have washed my car a couple of times. The first time I felt a bit tired afterwards. The second time I didn't even notice it! :)

One of my nieces told me recently that I'm looking skinnier! :D

I have hung the bright orange curtains in my kitchen and they really brighten it up :)

As far as exercise goes I have discovered aqua jogging and I really enjoy it :) I've been going 2 mornings a week. I also went for that walk on the cape with my sisters and my brother-in-law. My youngest sister said she'd take me up the easy hill but I decided we could go up another hill which turned out to be steeper than it looked! We managed it though and I really enjoyed walking in amongst the pine trees. Even though it's in town it feels like you're out in the country when you're walking there. My other sister and I are going walking nearly every weekend and we've been up there a couple of times since. We've also been to the local gardens a couple of times and one time I enjoyed having a swing with my nieces :)

I am now going to polytech twice a week and am really enjoying my computing course. Have done 3 units so far and have just started on one using Microsoft Access databases.

I'm still getting to church most weeks and am getting to know people in the church that I didn't know before :)

I played pool with Dad again and won 2 out of the first 4 games - not bad considering he's so good! He beat me at the next 4 though! I also played pool with a certain LP trainer who shall remain nameless ;) He asked me to be kind when I mentioned this, but I'm not sure how to say that we played 4 games and I won them all, kindly! hehehe It's nice to know that I've still got it :)

I'm still working at my phone survey job, but have started on my CV and am hoping to start looking for a part-time job here in town soon :)

In June I went to Dunedin for a shopping trip one day. I don't know how long it is since I last did that, but it's been a looonnnng time. I had lunch with a friend and then went shopping for a couple of hours before driving home again.

I mentioned at the end of my 3 month blog post that I hoped to have some exciting news to share with you soon. My Mum had ME/CFS for 26 years and was housebound for 17 years because of it. In May (3 months ago) she learned to do the Lightning Process too and is in the process of getting her life back! She is going walking for 15-20 minutes most days and I've been taking her to the supermarket for the last few weeks and she has been doing her own grocery shopping. This morning she walked around to my place, stayed for a coffee and then I took her for a drive. She has an EFTPOS card now (she couldn't get into the bank to set up the pin number before) and is enjoying being able to do things for herself. She went to a plant nursery the other day and got some new plants for her garden. It is so great to see the transformation that has come about because of the LP. She is like a new person :)

I'm still having "Look at me God - you did this!" moments. I've written in my journal on 30th July "I nearly didn't recognise myself this morning! I got up at 8am on a frosty morning and was singing as I was driving into town at 9am to go aqua jogging!"

As I'm writing this I have had the flu for 11 days and I am missing my new life! It sounds funny but I have been enjoying it so much! I've heard some people have had the flu for 3 weeks, but I'm hoping it won't be that long since it seems to be clearing up slowly... The good thing is I know that now when I get the flu I can recover from it in the same amount of time as healthy people because I'm one of them now! It will no longer drain my energy for months at a time. And there's no chance of it turning into ME/CFS again because I have the LP to deal with that! I'm looking forward to getting back into my exercise, polytech, etc. again this coming week :)

Until next time,

Debbie :)

Three Months since the Lightning Process seminar!

Ok, so it's 3 months already since I went up to Auckland to attend the Lightning Process seminar and I am still making good progress! I have just been looking through my journal at all that I've been doing and I noted down a list of things....

It's interesting that one month from the seminar I had the flu. 3 months from the seminar I'm getting over something like a cold. I had an irritated throat this week but it seems to be coming right now.

I cancelled my home help lady 2 weeks after I came home and I have been doing my own housework since then. I have progressed from dusting & vacuuming one room a day to doing 3 in one day! And I noticed there was a day when I cleaned my bathroom after having done the shopping! All this would have been completely unheard of when I had ME/CFS!

As well as the housework, I've tidied up the garden a bit (I'm not really very enthused about gardening) and just pulled all the dead leaves out of the iris this week and sprayed the weeds. I seem to have caught up on all the cleaning jobs (like windows) that I wanted to get done and I'm about ready to start sorting through all my stuff and do some "decluttering", before spring cleaning :)

I'm also feeling ready to wash my car myself and would have done it this weekend except for the weather! This was something I used to ask and pay my nieces to do...

I have been cooking myself something nice to eat at the weekends. I used to be really slack about cooking at the weekends and would usually resort to having toast due to my lack of energy. But now that I'm actually getting hungry, toast just isn't really enough! I think I've lost a bit of weight too and am looking thinner in the face :)

I've been doing a bit of sewing - I shortened some sleeves that were too long on a couple of tops that I bought for last winter. I purposely left them until after the LP, hoping I would have more energy :) I've also turned one long curtain into 2 short ones for my kitchen because a cord on the venetian blind in there decided to break just before I went up to Auckland. I just need to get some things to go in the track to hang them on so I can hang them up to get the length right and then I'll finish off the hems.

And I'm still walking and enjoying it! After my long walk on the beach I might have mentioned that my sister is taking me on a walk around the cape next time she comes down, so I've started climbing hills! I've also done some FAST walking a couple of times - I didn't do anything fast when I was sick! And in the last month I've walked to the supermarket and back twice.

Also in the last month I have:

1. Had my oldest niece around for tea and taken my nieces to watch their mother (my sister) in a local Repertory Society play.

2. Been to the movies twice in one week! I saw Home By Christmas and Mao's Last Dancer. When I was in Auckland for the LP seminar I saw Mao's Last Dancer advertised and decided I wanted to go to the movies to see it when it came here. I have the book and really enjoyed the movie :)

3. Started a National Certificate in Computing course at Polytech. I've been going for a couple of hours once a week. I've just finished working through my first unit and have an "assessment" (I'm guessing that's a nice word for a test or exam) this week. It's supposed to take about an hour.

4. Done Communion at church - minus the anxiety which was a part of my illness and which kicked in big time last time I did it. It was so wonderful feeling totally relaxed while I was standing there speaking! I am soooo grateful for the Lightning Process!

5. I was a driver for Meals on Wheels for 3 days one week.

6. And last Saturday I played pool with my Dad for the first time in 13-14 years! We played for an hour and a half and I even managed to win one game with a really good shot. I was very pleased with that :) Dad's really good (he taught me to play snooker as a teenager on a full-sized billiard table at home so no comments about a "misspent youth" thank you!) and I was just pleased to be able to stand for long enough to be able to play! I love it and will be working on getting more practice :)

So my life is starting to become more normal! I'm working at least 2 hours a day when I can on my phone survey job too :) (Just had 2 days off this week because of my throat).

I'm also getting along to church nearly every week :)

And in amongst all this I'm praying and trying to sort out where God wants me to be heading. I know He'll show me at the right time...

That's about it, but it's likely I'll be doing another update soon with some more exciting news - I hope!!!

Until then,

Debbie :)

Two Months since the Lightning Process seminar

Well, it's 8 weeks since I did the seminar. I've noticed that time is going slower for me now that I'm fitting more in. It just seemed to fly by before when I was doing hardly anything.

And people are saying I look different! I think my face lights up when I'm talking about the Lightning Process and telling people that I'm well.

This photo was taken last weekend. I went to the beach with my sisters and nieces and we went for a long walk. I think it was probably about an hour but (to quote one of my sisters) "we weren't power walking" because we had a 2 year-old with us who was stopping occasionally to play in the sand and was having the time of her life. She wasn't the only one! I'm experiencing such joy and excitement that I'm able to do things like this now with my family. M.E. was such a horrible thing to live with and it was really hard not being able to do as much as would like to with my family, especially with my nephews and nieces as they were growing up. But now it's like I've been set free to be me!

I am still working about 9 hours a week doing my phone survey job. This last week I've been calling businesses and it's been nice to be working during the day and to have my evenings free. This week I'm starting a course at the local polytech working towards a National Certificate in Computing. I think I'll be doing the Level 2 course and depending on how often I can get there (it's self-paced) it could take me a year or two to complete. I'm thinking since I've been out of the work force for 15 years it would help to have something to show I'm up-to-date on my CV. Actually it would also be helpful if I had a CV - something else I need to work on!

This Friday night I'm going with my nieces to watch their mum (my sister) in a local repertory play. She was really good in the last one she did and I'm sure she'll be great again.

On Sunday I've been asked to do Communion at church. I've done it a couple of times before and it's nice to have been asked again now that's it more likely I'll be able to make it to church! And I've volunteered to be a driver for Meals on Wheels three days next week.

I've noticed that I don't seem to be needing as much sleep now, probably due to coming off some of the medication I was on. I think this medication was causing me to have nightmares and I just noticed the other day that I haven't had any for a while, so that's good! Instead one night I had a dream that I was para-sailing and then flying! Woohoo! In some ways I feel like I'm flying now!

It's so nice feeling like I have a life again. Sometimes it's the little things I notice like being able to pop out to the supermarket without having to think about how much energy it would take. I'm using more petrol because I'm getting out more and I'm really enjoying walking. My youngest sister says next time she's down she's going to take me on a walk around the cape which will involve hill-climbing! So I'm planning to start walking on hills now so that I'm ready for it!

One Month on from the LP Seminar already!

Ok, so here I am doing my update one month since the Lightning Process seminar. I am still doing amazingly well! I sat down and looked at my journal today of all I have been doing in the last month and it is just wonderful that I am now able to do whatever I want to without paying for it later.

This last week threw up a new challenge for me. On Tuesday I was emailing Ian (LP trainer) and I mentioned to him that I thought I was feeling a bit tired and that I thought I needed an early night. I realised a while later when I was started feeling achy and then developed a sore throat that the "feeling a bit tired" was actually "coming down with the flu"!

This has been a challenge for me because 15.5 years ago my M.E./CFS began with the flu and whenever I have had the flu over the past 15 years it has really knocked my energy levels for months at a time.

But I am so grateful I now have the LP to help me deal with it. The flu symptoms only lasted a couple of days and were gone by Friday morning. When I realised I had the flu I began taking garlic oil and echinacea straight away and picked up some vitamin C the next day and started taking it. I have also been taking it easy - no walking or doing anything strenuous until I feel I am over the flu! And I took some time off from my job. And I am feeling good! Yesterday morning, when I was lying in bed and feeling fatigue in my back and thinking that this was how I would be expecting to feel after the flu, I did the LP and it went away! This morning I found myself repeating my old pattern of "I'm probably feeling this tired because of all I did yesterday" and once I realised this and did the LP I began to feel fine again. The Lightning Process is still amazing me!

I am planning to be working again on Monday. And I'm looking forward to getting back into walking again soon because I have really been enjoying it. I was just at the stage where I was thinking of increasing the lengths of my walks when I got the flu, so hopefully it won't be long before I'm doing that!

I am actually glad I have had the challenge of dealing with the flu sooner rather than later. Because I can already see that I can recover from it quickly as my body is now behaving normally. Someone even congratulated me on having the flu - (there's a first! lol) - because it means my body is acting as it should be!

Last night I had a visit from a friend from out of town. I took her down to Subway to get our dinner and I had a 12 inch sub! I'm still finding it funny that I have an appetite!

I think I have gotten over the shock now of the sudden and major changes the LP has brought about in my life and I am looking at setting some more specific goals to achieve the things I am wanting to do now that I have my life back. But as you can see I haven't really worked out yet what "tired" means. For so many years I was so far beyond wiped out or exhausted and it's great that I'm not going to be feeling that "tired" again. Now it's a matter of learning what it's like to be healthy again! And when I am tired from now on it's only going to be a matter of having an early night or getting more sleep! So strange but wonderful!

I have already bought myself a new digital camera and will be able to have more fun with it than I had with my old one because I can go to more places to take photos!

Enjoying my new life,

Debbie :D

Two Weeks since the Lightning Process Seminar

Well, it's 2 weeks since the seminar and I'm feeling great! Yesterday I sent Ian an email with my two week's worth of successes and it was long! I am so excited to be able to do anything I want to do without paying for it later.

I've been walking nearly every day. I'm keeping it to about 20 minutes at the moment, but I'm already noticing strength in my legs - like they actually want to be walking! Today I took them for a treat ;) I went for a walk some of the way around the cape and they got a good workout going up and down hills :)

I've also been going out most days - something new for me after only being able to go out 2 or 3 times a week on a good week!

This week I went to see my doctor. She was really excited for me and she gave me a prescription so I can start coming off some of my medication :)

I also sat down with my pastor and explained about the LP to him and answered his questions. He wants to be ready for questions from people in the church!

The day after I got home from my trip I started working and have increased the amount of work I'm doing by an hour a day.

We were asked to keep a journal for the first couple of weeks and I think I will probably carry on with it. A couple of days ago I stopped and read some of it. All I could think was "Wow! I did all that one day and woke up feeling fine and did all that the next day and woke up feeling fine and did all that!!!!!"

I'm still coming to terms with my new life. Of course I knew there would be quite a few adjustments to make but I don't think I expected the change brought about by the LP to be so major and sudden! There's a reason why it's called the Lightning Process! It's probably going to take me a bit longer to develop a new routine but with the extra hours I'm working during the week, the weekend is actually feeling like a weekend now!

I'm getting through my to do list for today. This update was one of the things on the list. I'm going now to do some ironing and to make a birthday card for my little niece, Faith, who will be 2 years old next Saturday...

Until next time....

Debbie :D

More Info and Helpful Links re Lightning Process

If you would like to read my friend Richard's story you will find it here on Ian's website: http://iancleary.com/?p=56 and this is it written from his mother's perspective: http://iancleary.com/?p=122

Ian's website is a helpful one http://iancleary.com/ so if you want more info you will find it there or on the official website: http://www.lightningprocess.com/

If you are looking for more detail of what is taught at the seminar this is a good page on a different website: http://www.everylife.co.uk/pages/lightning-process/--how-does-it-work.php

If you are a Christian reading about the LP (or even if you're not) don't be put off by some of the terms they use. They talk about "self-hypnosis". There was no hypnotising of anyone. We were all in total control all the time. Really it was just remembering something and visualising it. I was totally comfortable with everything we were taught to do and at no time did I feel uncomfortable with any of it. I believe God led me to do this so He could heal me (He uses doctors too!) and I am well now!

They have been having success with the LP in England for 10 years treating conditions such as ME, CFS, FMS & PVS and similar conditions such as MCS and Adrenal Fatigue, etc. It also works for Anxiety and Depression. Some private health insurance companies in England and Norway are considering funding the LP for their patients and if you live in Norway and have ME, CFS, etc. the doctor will most likely refer you to the LP!

If you live in Australia or New Zealand, Ian is the only LP Practitioner in this part of the world at the moment. He has a list of seminar dates and locations on his website. He only began seminars in NZ at the beginning of last year and has only been doing them in Auckland so far, but is hoping to do one in Christchurch soon and can also do the seminar by arrangement at your home if you need him to do that. It costs a bit of money but I think it was worth every cent and the trouble that it took for me to get to the seminar.

If you have ME/CFS, Fibro or anything similar, please look into it. There is a lot of negative stuff on the internet about it that simply isn't true, e.g. we did not have to sign a legal document saying we wouldn't talk about it! We were told we can say anything we like. Phil Parker (who developed the LP) is becoming aware of the rumours and is planning to put more info on the main website.

And if you have any questions, please ask me or I think you can contact Ian through his website if you want to.

Debbie :D

My Experience with the Lightning Process

I will start at the very beginning because it's a very good place to start (to quote Julie Andrews!) hehe

I left home on Sunday 14th Feb and drove up to my brother's place near Christchurch (approx 3 hour drive). I stayed with them for a couple of nights before flying up to Auckland. The first night at my brother's place I didn't have a very good night's sleep and was relieved to be able to blob and watch the Winter Olympics all day Monday with my sis-in-law & niece. And there was figure skating on which I love to watch :)

On Tuesday morning I was packing to leave for Auckland when the lady I was staying with in Auckland contacted me to say she would pick me up from the airport. This was a relief to me as the trip was stressful to someone with ME/CFS and it meant I could cancel the shuttle I had booked. I used a wheelchair at the airports to save my energy on the way up to Auckland although when I had to walk a long way after being dropped off at the Chch terminal and had to stand at the help desk for ages while the lady hunted down a wheelchair I was beginning to wonder if there was any point! Upon arrival in Auckland my lovely hostess Tanya was there to meet me. Tanya and her husband Bruce were really loving and generous hosts. They looked after me really well and also fed me very well!

On the Wednesday morning I caught the bus from right outside their house (yes God arranged my accommodation!) and arrived at the church where the seminar was being held in plenty of time. There were 5 of us ladies attending the seminar and I think 4 of us were Christians. The first day was really long - 9am to 5pm with a break for lunch and a short break in the middle of the morning and afternoon. However Ian, who was teaching the seminar, was really easy to listen to and I was surprised that I managed to concentrate all day. On the first day we were taught an abridged version of the Lightning Process and were sent home with our own goals of what we wanted to accomplish that night using the LP. My goal was to go for a walk along the street and I did that even though I hadn't noticed any results yet. It wasn't until I was in bed that night and I did the process that I began to see results. And that was pretty quick really! I realised that my body was really relaxed and I was thinking "I think it's working!" and began to get excited. I woke up during the night in pain, did the LP and the pain all disappeared!

Wednesday was one of the hottest days on record for Auckland. It was 28C/84F with 100% humidity which made it feel like 35C/96F. It was a really long day for me, catching the bus at 8.30am and sitting in the seminar from 9am-5pm. At lunchtime I walked down to a cafe with 2 of the other ladies for lunch and walked back again up the hill. I was hot by then and remained hot for the rest of the day! After the seminar finished I stood in the sun for at least half an hour waiting for the bus. Normally this would have been a completely exhausting day and I would have been so tired the next day that I would have been feeling sick and tired and would have had to spend the day resting on the couch. It probably would have taken me a few days to recover. BUT because I was using the LP that night, I woke up feeling fine the next day! Oh, and I didn't mention that the house I was staying in had stairs and a very steep driveway and the seminar was also upstairs! I was amazed at how quickly I was seeing results and so excited. On the bus on the Thursday morning I was texting people, saying "I think it's working!"

On Thursday the seminar went until 4pm and I hadn't done as much walking that day so I planned to go for a walk that evening along to the shops to buy myself an ice-cream. When I got home Tanya said she was thinking of going for a walk along to the shops that night to buy me an ice-cream! So we went together! Thursday was the day we were taught the full process and I was amazed to notice changes immediately. After I had had my turn at doing it at the seminar I sat down while the next lady was taken through it and I suddenly noticed that my hands were really relaxed and I hadn't really noticed before that they weren't. I guess it was something floating around in the recesses of my mind but I hadn't really consciously thought about it before.

Friday was an interesting day. To start with Ian asked us to get up one by one and talk about the positive things that we had done or noticed in the past 24 hours. As I was talking I was getting really excited. When I finished Ian said "Who is this imposter? What have you done with Debbie? You're all bubbly and excited." Those of you who have known me a long time will know that that's the real me. But to the people in that room it was a bit of a surprise! And it was the same for all five of us. We all had huge positive change using the LP and we could see it on each other's faces.

After the seminar finished on Friday at 3pm I walked down the road to Newmarket and met up with a friend that I hadn't seen since 1989. It was really good to see her and she was the first person to tell me about the LP last year not long after we met up on Facebook.

When I got home that day I talked to my friend Richard (the friend who did the LP last year) on the phone which was really encouraging because I had been feeling a bit anxious about going out and having to do the LP on my own.

On the Saturday morning my friend Christine (from Bible College) came down and took me out for brunch at Mission Bay. It was a lovely day and I had a nice meal and felt like we could have talked for hours. It was sooo good to see her. That afternoon the shuttle picked me up to take me to the airport. We got there pretty quickly because there were only 2 other people to be picked up on the way. At the airport I had time to check in and visit the bathroom before meeting my friend Marlene. It was nice to be able to tell the lady at Auckland airport that I used the wheelchair on the way up but I was fine now and didn't need it! And I was pretty relaxed when I realised the gate number on my boarding pass was different from the one on the departure board! After waiting in line at the help desk to ask the lady about it and then not given any help, I decided to just head in the direction of the gates which were in the same direction to start with anyway. Just when I came to the point where we had to go one way or the other there was an announcement telling us which gate to go to. I had a lovely flight home with a window seat :)

Upon arriving in Christchurch I was very relaxed. I picked up my car keys from information, collected my luggage and headed out to find my car in the carpark. I had left my car in storage and the company closed at 8pm on Saturday night (my flight arrived at 7.50pm) so they had left the car there for me to pick it up. They are doing major alterations to the airport and there was a map with my keys telling me where my car was parked. I think I was a bit disorientated because of the alterations but I stopped and asked a lady to point me in the right direction and then had no trouble finding it. I drove from the airport to my sister's place and her dog was really pleased to see me, probably mainly because he had been at home by himself all day and she was still out when I arrived! I had a late night that night and decided to wait until Monday to drive home, rather than risk driving while I might be feeling sleepy. On Sunday afternoon I went for a walk around the block in the hot sun with my sister & her dog. Then I went to her church that night. I was standing up and singing and clapping and moving to the music. I don't know when I was last able to do that! I woke up feeling great the next morning and headed into Chch to do some clothes shopping before driving home in the afternoon. I managed to get quite a few clothes that were on sale - woohoo! - and some card-making supplies while I was there. I needed new clothes if I was going to be going out more!

I woke up the next morning feeling fantastic and walked around to my Mum's place to see her. Later that afternoon I started working and have increased the hours I'm doing on my phone survey job. Wednesday morning I called in to see Dad, then went for a walk in the local public gardens and took some photos. On Thursday morning I took my car in for its 6 monthly warrant of fitness check and instead of sitting at KFC eating my lunch, I went walking down the main street and back for half an hour! On Friday I did some gardening and Ian phoned me to do some follow-up. And I went around to visit my sister in the afternoon for a while. This morning I went for a 20 minute walk along the beach and have decided I will try to make that a regular weekly thing.

I am well now and know that I can do anything I want to without paying for it later. It will probably take a while to build up my stamina, but I've started walking and it's only going to get better!

I'm planning to see my doctor this coming week and my pastor wants to hear all about it. This is the beginning of a new life for me and I've decided to do things that I enjoy and will be following God's leading into what He has for me in the future.

After a long time of not doing mornings I suddenly have this new life where I'm waking up at 7am rearing to go and it's really quite strange! I think it's going to take some getting used to, but I'm loving it!

I can't thank God enough! And when I think back to my days at Bible College and see that God put Richard and I in the same cell group, only God knew how He was going to use that 17 years down the track!

Thank you so much to all of you who were praying for me. I really did need it and I really do appreciate it :)

Looking forward to the next phase of my life!

The Very Excited and Renewed Debbie! :D

P.S. Will do a new post with helpful links for those of you who want to know more...

Lightning Process Update

It's happening at last! Finally I have the confirmed dates for the Lightning Process seminar and I've booked my flights. I'm flying up to Auckland on Tuesday the 16th February and the seminar begins at 9am the next morning. It is a 3 day seminar and will all be over before the weekend when I am hoping to catch up with some friends that I haven't seen for years while I'm up there. I fly south again on the Saturday evening and will probably stay with my sister or brother for a night or two (which I'm also planning to do on the way up) before driving home.

So I'm excited and hoping it will mean the end of ME/CFS for me. Please pray for me over the next few weeks that I will be as prepared as possible for the seminar and that it will work for me! I really do believe that God is leading me to do this as a means to His healing me.

Although we're having a really cold summer here at the moment, Christmas Day was really warm (about 29C/86F) and it was just perfect for our BBQ at Dad's place. I enjoyed spending Christmas with my family and it was especially nice to spend it with my nieces :D

My brother and his family arrived in NZ on Boxing Day and we have finally been able to meet my new sister-in-law and niece in person. Little Jasmine is gorgeous and I'm looking forward to getting to know her and watching her grow. It sounds like we'll be seeing plenty of them. My nephew from Australia is coming over this week and they'll be bringing him down to visit us soon. It will be good to see him too :D

So the countdown is on - 5 weeks to go until the LP! Woohoo!

If you would like to read my friend Richard's story about his recovery from ME/CFS using the LP you can read it here: http://iancleary.com/?p=56

God Takes Care of the Details

I have been meaning to write this post for a while and I just wanted to show you that I have finally got around to it! hehe

And you might be wondering why I've changed the background of my blog again, but someone was having trouble reading it and I hope this will be better :)

Anyway, God really blew me away with the amount of little details that He took care of for my trip to Rarotonga and the wedding and I have wanted to write it all down so that I have a record of it before I forget! I'm sure that other people (like my sister & new bro-in-law) could talk about the details he took care of for them too, but I can only write about the ones I know about...

At the end of October/beginning of November last year I took my new car for a drive up to visit my sister near Christchurch and did some shopping while I was up there. The 2 main items I bought were some new summer sandals and a new summer skirt. At this stage I had absolutely no idea I was going to Rarotonga. I could see that my sister and her boyfriend were probably going to get married, but I was expecting that they would get married here at home and I also wasn't expecting it to happen as soon as it did :)

So when they got engaged on the Sunday before Christmas I was pleasantly surprised, but when they told me the wedding was going to be in Rarotonga and that they wanted me to be there, I think I probably went into a state of shock and to be honest was quite overwhelmed at the thought of travelling to a beautiful tropical hot paradise with a chronic illness that leaves me with very little energy. I only had a couple of days to decide if I was going or not because they wanted to book the tickets so that they got them at a special price. I felt that God wanted me to be there (and of course I didn't want to miss my sister's wedding!) so I said I'd go. At this stage I had people telling me to get a wheelchair at the airports and I thought I'd probably be ok without one (little Miss Independent strikes again). I thought my sister would have already booked the tickets the day before, but I woke up on Christmas Eve remembering standing in long queues at Auckland airport years ago, and decided a wheelchair would be a good idea to save me lots of walking and standing in queues, which can be even more tired than the walking! I contacted her and it turned out that she hadn't booked the tickets yet - praise God! It meant she had to spend ages on the phone booking the tickets instead of doing it online (thank you!), but she managed to get the wheelchair booked for me and it turned out to be the best thing, because if I had had to do all that walking I most likely would have been in pain long before I got to Rarotonga and might not have recovered in time for the wedding. You can read more about the wheelchair and the special treatment we received in my post "The Wheelchair made all the Difference" here http://debbiesdoodlings.blogspot.com/2009/04/wheelchair-made-all-difference.html

Ok, so the tickets were booked on Christmas Eve and then we had Christmas. Some time in January we found out that our holiday house was booked and that I would be sleeping in the lounge, most likely on a mattress on the floor. I knew that this would mean not getting enough sleep and started to freak out a bit about travelling over there, being exhausted and having to cope with a lack of sleep for the week. Around this time, while I was freaking out ;) God gave me Isaiah 41:10 which says "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand". He also said that He would take care of the details and I hung onto these promises from Him, trusting that He would do what He said. When we arrived at the house we found that there was actually a bed set up in the lounge and that my sister and her fiance hadn't needed to get a mattress from the other house for me as they thought they might have to.

Another detail about the house was that it was so close to the beach. We just had to cross a rugby field to get to the beach. And the best man's sister lives in Rarotonga and she had booked the house and got it much cheaper than what they usually charge because she was a local :)

Ok, so back to me in NZ getting ready for the trip & wedding. Once I knew about the wedding, I soon realised that the gold strappy sandals I had bought up in Christchurch were perfect for a wedding on the beach. I was a bit concerned about a dress to wear for the wedding. I wasn't expecting to find anything here in town that would be suitable and was thinking that I might have to pay someone to make me a dress. One day I walked into a shop to buy the wedding present (which I got for half price) and there was the dress! And it was in the after Christmas sale! It even fit me without me having to shorten it, which if you have ever seen me in person you would know is a miracle! I was so shocked at finding something so suitable that I asked the sales assistant if I could return it if I changed my mind! LOL! And then I realised that the necklace and earrings my sister had given me for my birthday that year went perfectly with the dress! God is amazing! My other sister (not the one getting married) walked into another shop in town and got herself a dress for the wedding for $20!

So that was my outfit for the wedding taken care of. Before we went to Rarotonga, Dad had been planning to hire a scooter (which is what most people do over there) so that they could go right around the island and see everything. But when we arrived and he saw how hot and humid it was, he decided an air-conditioned car would be much better, so he went and hired one. While I could have gone on up to town on a bus with my sister to do some shopping, it was much better for me that Dad could take me shopping in the car. It saved me a lot of walking in the heat which would have been quite tiring for me. Thank you Dad! And thank you to God for providing this mode of transport for us! It also meant we had the car for the morning of the wedding, so we didn't have to walk from where we were staying to the restaurant which was down the beach, but quite a bit further from where we went swimming. It would have been a hot walk!

It is very obvious that God has brought my sister & new brother-in-law together. It is also very obvious that He was arranging everything for the wedding and for those of us attending it. Someone said that it stopped raining 5 minutes before the wedding and I can tell you that it didn't start again until we were sitting at the table in the restaurant for the reception and it was heavy! We had sunny weather for the wedding ceremony (I felt like I was melting while we were waiting on the island for the bride to arrive!) and then it clouded over and cooled down a bit.

Something else that happened involved 3 couples who were my sister's friends who also went to the wedding. They all booked their own accommodation, not knowing where anyone else was staying, although they probably knew the wedding was on Muri Beach. It turned out they were all staying at the same place which was right at one corner of the rugby field, i.e. the rugby field between our house and the beach!

One couple had a beach front room. Another couple had a problem with their booking and they were upgraded to a beach front room. The other couple mentioned that they had stayed there 4 years ago for their honeymoon and that this was their 4th anniversary and they were upgraded to a beach front room too! Wow, God was really treating all of us!

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the skirt I bought in Christchurch. Well, I was sitting here thinking what am I going to wear while I'm over there? I had a couple of singlet tops but they really only went with a pair of shorts that I took with me. Maybe I was being blond or something, but one day when I was shortening my new summer skirt it clicked! It was perfect for Rarotonga, even looking a bit Rarotongan (I have named it my Raro skirt), and it's 100% cotton, including the lining!

It has always been a dream of mine to go to a tropical paradise like Raro, and I saw this trip as God giving me a desire of my heart. Of course, it wasn't just about me, it was more about my sister & new brother-in-law, but I just wanted to write about what I saw God doing for me and others regarding the trip. He is a faithful God and He will provide all that you need to accomplish anything He is calling you to do. Praise Him!!!