Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Chronic Pain Conditions
Help and Encouragement for the Journey

Xrays, Bone Breaks and Canes, oh my!
My crazy 2020 year so far: An update on the RA journey

Things are Always Changing – Health Updates 2022
Fall ushers in beautiful changes as the leaves turn vibrant yellow and gold, then beautiful orange. Next, deep red (my favorite!) grabs a brush to

Predictably Unpredictable: Schedule Tips for the CDP
The digital calendar has got to be one of the greatest inventions of current times. No joke, I used to sync 37 calendars on my

The First Rheumatology Visit – What to Expect
If you’re like most chronic illness folks, you’ve been waiting quite a while to get in to see a Rheumatologist for the first time. The

How to Keep a Symptoms Log
Staying ahead of our chronic pain symptoms requires that we be engaged in our symptoms every day. Knowing when pain levels spike or when fatigue

It’s Been 10 Years
10 Lessons I’ve learned in 10 years of rheumatoid disease. Life was turned upside down but there’s still joy along the way.

Physician Burnout is Our Problem, too
Physician burnout is becoming a huge problem. We are losing great physicians, but we can help. Here are 10 steps we can take to encourage our physicians.

Health Updates – Oct 2019
It’s been a while since I’ve shared updates. See how 2019 has been – what a year, what a ride….

My First Guest Post is UP!
My first guest post is live! What a fun experience to write a guest post for my new friend, Emily Adams on her travel site, The Planking Traveler.

Why Is It Taking So Long?
New to the chronic illness journey and waiting forEVER for that first visit? Here are some tips for waiting well in the meantime.

The Undercurrent of Chronic ILLness
Often overlooked, the admin side of sick leaves us tired, frustrated, and even a bit defeated. Here are some things to avoid on the admin side of chronic illness.

Lessons from Our First 25 Years
25 years – thank You, Lord! The Lord has been good to us! What a full year it’s been. We are grateful, amazed by His

5 Special Skills Every Chrony Must Develop
A chronic journey sort of forces our hand to learn new skills and new ways of doing things. Here’s a slightly different take on 5 skills every Chrony must develop.

Waiting Well: 5 Secrets to Enduring a Long Diagnosis Process
As difficult as daily life with chronic illness and autoimmunes can be, perhaps the most difficult part of the journey is figuring out what the

No Trial, No Trust
My Fellow CDPs, there is often no other plea more gut-wrenching, more real during seasons of suffering than, “Please Lord, please… if You would, please

Loneliness, the Unexpected Companion of Chronic
Loneliness. This one slipped up on me. I didn’t see it coming. The sting of being on rest, taking it easy and officially out

The 5 Worst Things People Say to Me about RA
You guys have been there. Hearing the same comments over and over. Some you like, some are funny and some probably get under your skin

5 Schedule Tips for RA and other chronics
Once chronic descends upon your life, the word “pace” has a very different meaning. We used to laugh and just keep going, but now we

Why do this?
If you’re reading this, it means you’ve found your way to the new ChronicPraise community and decided to check it out. Thank you! Maybe

The Chronic Journey… another step
They told me blogging and writing and staying on top of it would be hard. Months like the past one make it really tough! I’m

Exercise and RA: Move it, Move it
Okay, Rheumies and AI’s… We know that exercise is good for us! Thirty minutes on the heat pad on the couch feels better…. but heat

Just Start… Chapter 2 of The Chronic Life
The journey continues…. Chapter 2…. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to write. Honestly, I’m just tired. So, so tired. Can anyone relate

Chronic Pitfall: Me-first-ness
Chronic will trick us to a place of self-first-ness. We get baited to go there all the time. I just hate it. It’s hard to

Newly Diagnosed? 5 Must-Do’s for rheumatoid and other chronics
Newly diagnosed? Wondering what to do? Here are 5 must-do’s for those starting the journey. Know your disease Once the shock of first hearing

6 Trusted Healthcare Sites for Chronic Illness
One of the things that embattles all CDPs is the temptation to spend hours all over the internet reading every single story that populates page

Predictably Unpredictable: Schedule Tips for the CDP
The digital calendar has got to be one of the greatest inventions of current times. No joke, I used to sync 37 calendars on my

Let’s Get Started! 3 Things I Learned Early On
“It keeps me alive – at least 37% of the time. Let me state that again… over one-third of my waking hours, I’m kept alive