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Blog Carnival #35: Let's get spiritual: Faith, religion & chronic illness

this edition of the blog carnival was curated by Editrix Jenni

We asked, and you weren't shy: What role does your faith, spirituality, religion, etc. play in your life with chronic illness? Here, 15 writers give you their perspectives. Take what works for you; there's room for every perspective here at ChronicBabe.com.

*the image to the right is called Post Angel, by a ChronicBabe named Christa Barnell, who we profiled a few years back. This print hangs in Editrix Jenni's home office, and gives her a great deal of peace.

Rachel from Tales of Rachel writes about Whatever Helps. She finds comfort in acceptance and meditation, and praying when she needs it most. (She's @tailsofrachel on Twitter.)

Jennifer at Understanding Invisible Illnesses talks about seeing God's Grace in Bad News. She's got her faith to carry through the tough times.

Ever felt like you wanted to "speed up that trip to heaven" because you were in so much pain? Even those who have a strong faith foundation can sometimes be tempted to consider suicide to just. . . stop . . . the pain. Lisa at Rest Ministries tackles this topic without holding back in "When You Are Tempted to Speed Up the Trip to Heaven," a three part series (part 2 and part 3). (She's @lisajcopen on Twitter.)

meditate Shruti of Lifestyles of the Ill and (Mostly) Blameless says we spend so much time debating religious faith and being judged by each other or friends/family for our faith or lack thereof, but we forget that we need to have faith in ourselves too. Read We Gotta Have Faith. (She's @chr0nicbookwork on Twitter.)

If God knew her before she was born, he must have known she could handle all these chronic illnesses. That's what Lynn of Foggy Chronicgal tells us in That's Not God's Plan.

"God Punishes Bad Children" - or, Why You Have Heart Disease takes a deeper look at the views of many faiths on why people get sick. This one's guaranteed to get you talking. Carolyn at Heart Sisters is making us think.

Editrix Jenni has a particular fondness for this post by Barbara at Le Femme Chronique: Mindfulness and Chronic Illness. There are some great ideas here for anyone to consider.

Feeling "Flawsome" is a Work in Progress, by Kathy at FibroDAZE, is all about the idea that "God don't make no junk." It's hard to argue with that!

Helena at Chronic Marriage shares 10 ways that her faith helps her through the tough times in The Glue That Holds My Marriage Together. (She's @ChronicMarriage on Twitter.)

Judith at Creativity to the Max writes about Living with God, Aliens and Pain. This one's worth for the illustrations alone, but dive in—good stuff to think about.

Religion may be for some, but Rachael at Offbeat Follies prefers a nice mix of open spiritualism and science. It's A-OK to agree to disagree! She tells us more in Chronic Illness and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Sometimes chronic illness affects religious beliefs; sometimes it's the other way around. And sometimes, they develop independent of one another. This is Ms. Rants' story of how that happened, in Religion and/or/with/Versus Chronic Illness. (She's @CIRants on Twitter.)

reading At Nip Pain in the Bud & Let Your Soul Blossom, Shannon has had her Faith Renewed by More Than Just Coincidence. We're glad to hear it.

Dana at The Abundant Life writes about her experience with Christianity in Faith and Chronic Illness. Her faith has allowed her to see positive in the negative. It has changed her from a dark, negative person to someone who still has joy, despite her circumstances. (She's @yayitsdayday on Twitter.)

At The Purpose of Pain, this anonymous blogger writes about Accepting Illness Through Faith. She believes that God is in complete control over all things, including her illness. Knowing that this is not a "fluke" but a part of His good design for her life brings her great hope and purpose.

Wow. So many wonderful perspectives on faith, spirituality, religion and science. Great carnival submissions, babes—thanks! You sure got thinking and I know I'm not alone. XO Jenni

Give us some feedback...

We love running our blog carnival! But maybe there's room for improvement, so we want to hear your suggestions. Let us know what you think of this edition in the discussion down below in our comments section.

... and join us next time!

Want to participate in the next blog carnival? Our next edition is scheduled for Monday, October 3. The theme: The perfect gift. If you could receive one gift to help you through this life with illness, what would it be? It can be tangible or intangible, something for you alone or something for you to share. Tell us why you want this gift, how it would help you, and how you might come to get it (if there's a scenario that someone might read and help you, write it!).

If you want to participate, send us your name (as you would like it to appear), the name of your blog, the name of (and link to!) your post, and a 1-2 sentence description of the post. PLUS: Give us your Twitter handle, too! We'll let you know if you're accepted. Send all that to chronic babe @ gmail dot com. The deadline is Friday, September 30 at 10pm CST.

Posted: 9/12/2011 in Blog Carnival | Also posted in: Announcements

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