Thanksgiving 101

"Thank God ! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits." 

Psalm 136:1 MSG

Whatever situation you find yourself in remember there is always someone that is in a more difficult place. Some things are life choices, other things happen because that's part of life. 

People tend to blame God when they get in the rough spots of life, but He is the only one that promises to stick by us through it all! His love never quits! 

I'm having some more side effects with this second round of chemo. My legs hurt, had a few bloody nose episodes, etc., but I have side effects because I'm alive! God will restore me and revive me! 

Holidays can be tough for a lot of people. Some have lost family members this time of year, some don't speak to family, some are sick, and the list goes on. Just hang on!

My prayer for you is that whatever you face today, during the holidays or any other day is that you would hold on to Jesus! His love never quits and He deserves all of our thanks! 

Rock Star!

"And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out." Matthew 16:18 MSG

Peter didn't start out like this. In fact, a lot of the time you can find him being less than stellar. I'm sure he tried Jesus' patience as well.

I can relate to Peter. I would get out of the boat even if no one else would. I would ask who, what, when, why, where? I also want to be the one who God looks at and says, "Rock. I will build on you because I know you can handle it."

While going through chemo, I told the Lord that I would love to be a rock star on this journey! If I could feel great and give God the glory, it would be a win, win!  It doesn't always work like that.

Sometimes I don't feel well and it's hard for me to be vulnerable and let others know I'm not feeling all that well. I've decided though, that it's not about how I feel, but how I handle myself. I can feel crummy, but handle others with care. That is being a rock.

My prayer for you is that as you journey through life, you will rely on the rock of your salvation to help you be a rock during and through your trials. If you let Him, God will use you and build on you.

Hair Today ... Gone Tomorrow

"Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

1 Peter 3:3, 4 NLT

Well, I won't have any fancy hair to worry about! I'm not saying that we as women shouldn't look nice and the Bible isn't either. I believe that it shouldn't be such a huge part of our lives that we forget that we are beautiful! We are God's handiwork! When we focus on the inside, we will naturally radiate beauty on the outside! I love to do my hair, nails and makeup. I also like to dress as nice as possible and when I do all these things, especially if I'm not feeling well, I do feel better about myself! In the same way, when we encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ, have a gentle or forgiving spirit towards others and show grace and mercy, we will sense God's grace upon our lives! People will notice that you look and feel happy. You will feel better about yourself and even in your trial, people will see Jesus through you!

My prayer for you is as you read these words that you won't get caught up in legalism about what you should or shouldn't wear, but that you would ask the Lord to clothe you with grace, mercy, kindness, empathy, etc. Hold your head high for you are a child of the king!

Infuse This!

"But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Acts 1:8a ~ AMP

While undergoing chemo, they draw blood and run tests to check your platelets, white and red blood cell counts, iron, etc. They discovered I was low on iron. My main iron level was at 19 and should be between 50 and 150. They explained that this has probably been a problem for a while, but I haven't had labs done in a while. This, however, could explain the fact that I'm always cold and tired.

We need our body to produce and maintain certain levels in order to have power and strength to do life. Since my iron was so low I had to have an infusion. I started to feel better the very next day.

In the same way, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us the power to live right. I love the Amplified version for how it states that power is also ability, efficiency and might!

The dictionary defines these three words as follows:

Ability: "Power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc."
Efficiency: "Accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort."
Might: "Superior power or strength; force."

Take a look at what this means on a spiritual level...we need the Holy Spirit in our lives like iron to function fully and completely! We won't die without it, but we can't live at our full capacity without it either!

My prayer for you is that as you venture through life, you will see and understand that we need the Holy Spirit alive and active in our lives so that no matter what we are going through we will have the power we need to accomplish what the Lord has set out for us. I'm thankful that I received iron for my physical body and I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit in my life during this whole process. He is the strength of my life.

Side Effects May Include ...

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5 NIV

I had an appointment yesterday that taught me all about chemo. Some of what I heard, I translate like this:

Side effects may include dry mouth, mouth sores, dry eyes, bloody urine or stool, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, lack of appetite and in rare cases, other cancers.

I sent this to my friend who is a chemo nurse supervisor and she replied, "Ha!!!  I know. But lucky for you, it does not include oily discharge."

This made me laugh! As I thought more about the possible side effects I am facing, my mind turned to Jesus. We are His "side effects." In fact, we caused His side to be pierced. Everything He went through, He did for us! Without us, He was the blameless, spotless Lamb Of God.

It's been a journey these past five weeks, but I know I can do anything when I hold on to Jesus!

My prayer for you is that as you go through life you would look to Jesus. You may not know why you are on your particular journey; and you may have been on your journey a long time without any answers. Know this:  If you can face your journey with a positive attitude, people will see Jesus through you and your struggle.

Bracelet From Molly

"Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT

Molly is in the sixth grade and attends the same church that we do. She is sweet, has the face of an angel and a smile that can light the room. Molly's mom messaged me one day and said "Molly would like to know, what is your favorite color?" I told her that I really like blue, but under my new circumstances, I am trying to embrace pink. A few days passed and I got a picture message of a blue and pink embroidery bracelet and then a text that stated Molly made one for me, herself and her mom. Molly and her mom were using them as prayer bracelets, a reminder to pray for me! About three weeks after my surgery, Molly's mom gave me my bracelet. I wear it every day! It reminds me that someone is praying for me.

Abby is a two-year old born to our family friends. Together they pray for me every night. My friend sent me a video of little Abby praying for me.

It's wonderful (and a little overwhelming!) to have so many dear people praying for me. And as I go to prayer for my own situation as well as for the needs of my friends, sometimes I don't know what exactly to pray for or what to say. When that happens, this song comes to mind.

Artist: 7eventh Time Down
Song: "Just Say Jesus"

"When you don't know what to say
Just say Jesus
The name of Jesus
If the words won't come
Cause you're afraid to pray
Just say Jesus
Whisper it now or shout it out
However it comes out
He hears your cry
Out of nowhere He will come
You got to believe in it
He will rescue you
Just call out to the way
The truth, the life"

This is just a portion of the song, but rings so true. (Hear the song-official lyric video http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=84LSLk3hfD4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D84LSLk3hfD4.)

God knows what's on our hearts and minds before we even say it. When we verbalize those things, that's when we build relationship with Him. Prayer is powerful!

My prayer for you is that whether you are two or ninety-two, that you can take your joys, sorrows, requests and worries to Jesus. Remember, if you don't get the answer you think you are looking for or the answer you want, don't stop praying. Go back and see what God has for you in this season. God didn't take the cancer away from me, but He allowed me to walk through this journey and has held my hand the whole time.

I Didn't Lose Anything!

"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!" Romans 8:15-17 MSG

I've had people tell me that I need to grieve who I was prior to my diagnosis. 

I will never underestimate the fact that this might be an issue for some, but it doesn't ring true for me.

I have not changed. I was diagnosed with a disease. My faith has not wavered, I'm not mad at God. I still love to laugh, etc.  It was not a death sentence and even if so, I know God is faithful.

I've also had people tell me to grieve the loss of my breasts. Again, I mean no harm if this is something you've struggled with. But, this kind of made me laugh because I didn't lose them, leave them somewhere, or lock them in a car; they were surgically removed to save my life! 

When I started this whole process, it was with good belief that I would not need chemo or radiation, so finding out that I now am facing a twelve-week process with four doses of chemo was difficult. It took me a moment to figure out why it upset me so, and I figured out it was because I hadn't really faced the disease itself. I faced the surgery like someone may face a gallbladder or appendicitis procedure, I go in they remove the problem and-boom-done! Chemo made it real to me that I had a disease. The disease has been removed, but I need to follow through to make sure it's nowhere else in my body. 

What I'm about to lose is my hair! In preparation for this I cut eleven inches off and donated it. My hair will began falling out right around my 40th birthday and Thanksgiving, but hey I'm alive! I have an unbelievable inheritance in Christ and He's with me in good times and hard times.

My prayer is that whatever you are facing--the good, the bad or otherwise that you will look to Jesus. He sees. He cares. Don't blame God if you're facing adversity. Ask Him to hold your hand. Ask Him what He might want you to learn or who He wants you to minister to in the process. Don't feel sorry for yourself. Instead, dig deep and be confident of Whose you are!