A Hanukkah Update

My last blog post was August 25, 2023—and I told you all about the storms we had recently had in Michigan. It seems that since then, we’ve had a few other storms, too, but of a different kind.

A week or two after the tornado, our family got sick with a very light case of Covid. I had a slight sore throat and only a low-grade fever for a day or so.

And an awful headache. The headache, however, didn’t quit for over 3 weeks. Kraig encouraged me to rest as much as possible, which is why I stopped sending out my morning Coffee Break emails.

Sukkot here in Michigan was wonderful, and I’m so thankful to report that I had only very light headaches while there, mostly at the beginning of the week. That was so nice!

When we got back home from Sukkot and I resumed work on my computer, the headaches returned with a vengeance. My wonderful functional neurologist, Dr. Rachel Sullivant at Insight Neurology, started to see me weekly because it was affecting my ability to do just about anything, including drive. She explained that infections can certainly cause our brains and bodies to become inflamed, and she encouraged me to eat a low-carb diet, get exercise daily, and most of all, to learn to “express” my vagus nerve better through lots of things like humming, singing, gargling, and various eye therapies. (For any others who might be struggling with headaches or migraines, I wanted to let you now that the herbs Feverfew and Butterbur have been the most helpful of all the supplements I’ve tried. I take one capsule of each every time I feel a headache coming on.)

It’s been hard to not to be discouraged. I have tried to concentrate on things that are a higher priority, such as my family, eating well, and getting good sleep, before anything else. That’s why I’ve once again been super quiet.

Things are slowly improving. Last Sabbath, I shared with all those at fellowship that I have officially started having more good days than bad days each week. That’s a huge answer to prayer!

I don’t really have anything new to report that I’ve written. However, since it’s almost Hanukkah time, be sure to check out the 72-page Remembering Hanukkah e-book Kraig and I wrote last year. We worked really hard to concentrate on the historical and biblical significance of Hanukkah, rather than any pagan or “fake” additions to the season. I hope you’ll really be blessed by it!

Here is a webinar Kraig and I presented on the topic of Hanukkah last year…

I also sent my own personal planner off to the printer last week, and I’ll be offering it for sale as soon as the copies arrive back—so be watching for announcements for that in another week! It truly helps me keep on track, especially when life is difficult or full of unexpected twists and turns. It’s a little different than most other planners, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it. (You can sign up for email updates here, if you’d like.)

We all have goals and dreams—and then there is the reality of walking in the path that the Father gives us. We want to always say, “If the Master wills, we shall live and do this or that” (James 4:15).

So that’s the news from the Elliott home! I love you all, and I appreciate your prayers for me and my family.

P.S. A few people have asked what kind of low-carb diet I have been trying. I have been using a modified version of Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution (although, no, I don’t have diabetes). I eat about 6 grams of carbs at breakfast, and 12-15 grams of carbs at each of my other meals and snacks. I allow myself unlimited amounts of raw milk, because it’s just so good for you! I keep track on my phone. I have one day a week where I can “cheat,” but that has been still under 100 grams for the whole day.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture in this blog post taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.