Home & doing well!

I am home, very comfortable...Everything went smoothly.
3 lymph nodes were clear, one was questionable, but pathologist said he didn't think it was anything to worry about.
Thanks for your prayers...And praise God for His faithfulness!

Blessings & love,
and remember, we are...

~NEVER FORSAKEN~

Gifts of silver and gold

Things are moving along quite quickly now, I am trying not to get too overwhelmed with all the little details.
The kids will be coming up Christmas night...Please pray for their safe journey.
You would think that I would be getting really nervous right  about now, but
the closer we get to Thursday, the more anxious I am to get it over with so that I can return home and begin the recovery process!
I should be kept in the hospital overnight, and return home Friday.
I hope to be able to type (legibly) soon after, so that I can post on here soon.
I am looking forward to time with family this week, so I probably will not be back on here until after surgery, so I would like to wish you all a very Blessed Christmas & a Happy New Year now!
And when I look under the Christmas tree this year, I see a big beautiful gift wrapped in silver...It has my name written on it, and it is the gift of LIFE!
Thank you my Father for this gift this Christmas...And thank you for the gift of Jesus given to us on that very first Christmas day! That is the gift I see wrapped up in Gold...The gift of ETERNAL LIFE!



Blessings & Love,
& remember, we are...
~NEVER FORSAKEN~

Surgery Next Week!

Just got home from the appointment with my surgeon.



I have the most common form of breast cancer, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.



I had chest x-rays and blood work done today.



This type is aggressive so we are being aggressive!



I will be undergoing a double Mastectomy on December 26th.



Pray that it has not spread to the lymph nodes...It has already began to invade breast tissue.



I told the surgeon that his job is to get it the H#LL out of me, and I will do the rest!



I will need chemotherapy...but probably not radiation...Standard is 6 months of Chemo.



Just when I finally got a hair-cut that I really like!



My surgeon answered all of our questions, and even offered to go along with us if we wanted to get a second opinion.



Thank you so much for your prayers…There is power in prayer.



Thanks to Brenda for leading me to this scripture:



The joy of the Lord is my strength…It got me through so far when I put it together with…In His presence is fullness of joy…the joy of the Lord is my strength…Jesus said: My strength is made perfect in weakness!

And thanks to my dear friend Deb who prayed with me over the phone this morning…God does not do anything part way…He does a perfect job every time.



Blessings & Love,

And remember, we are…

~NEVER FORSAKEN~

Praying for calmness

Oh how I hate to burden people with this especially at this time of year...And to worry my family so, is the hardest thing to deal with right now...My daughter is making wedding plans, and Christmas is just around the corner.

I really wasn't going to say anything...But the power of prayer and faith is needed when it is needed!

So, here goes...

The ultrasound found something suspicious…irregular borders on the lump…The surgeon may or may not do a biopsy tomorrow.
I hope they get it over with and not make me wait more than necessary…I have been waiting for 6 months already…(waiting for it to disappear…waiting for God to just take it away.)
Since that did not happen, I am trusting God with this still. Although I have questioned Him about what He is doing with my life just now…What am I supposed to be doing?
Weird thing is, even if it is serious…I feel a strange peace about this…I know that this human body is not perfect, that it can wear out, get old…change.
I feel like I am back in the Potters hand…not a bad place to be…but not so comfortable either.
I see a crossroad and I am standing idol until I know which direction I will need to go…I do not know the direction, but I do know the WAY…He walks with me…and he talks with me the whole time.
Even if it turns out to be nothing serious…after two scares in two years…I will stand and wait for direction still…Making some lifestyle changes in order to better care for this body that I thank the Lord for every day.
I did awake this morning in a panic…I am seeking the Lord today.
I deal with anxiety almost every day. (under normal conditions) I know that I can handle anything as long as the Lord equips me with His peace…But sometimes that shield falls for a moment or for an hour…And fear grips me.
I am praying for my fellow prayer warriors to help me hold that shield up now…Just like when Moses needed help to withstand in Exodus 17…

10Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.…

The nice receptionist called from the surgeon’s office today and actually told me that I could bring a teddy bear or anything with me tomorrow for comfort…I am bringing Jesus and my teddy bear of a husband!

JOHN 14:25, 26: "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
JOHN 15:26: "When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

And one of the things that the Holy Spirit will remind me about is this:


~Blessings & Love~
And remember, we are…
~NEVER FORSAKEN~

December Sky

As I sit on the floor of my bedroom I glance out the window. The clouds are heavy and they try  to veil the sun.
In the stillness below it is hard to tell if the clouds are moving, but when I look up higher, above the tall trees…I can see them slightly swaying as the clouds move ever so slowly.

The sun is always shining.
Although it seems like nothing is happening down here below…The wind is actively moving high above the trees..invisible yet evident in it’s effects on them and on the clouds above them…We have only to look up…Look higher up.
When you ask God where He is, or what He is doing because it doesn’t seem like He is very active in your mortal life down here below right now, perhaps you are required to look higher up…Look above your circumstances here on earth, and seek Him more in the place where your treasures are stored…He is active there on your behalf…sending His angels to and fro to carry your prayers and administer to your needs…He catches your tears in His bottle, and prepares a place for you …there…Higher above the trees and the clouds where the Son is always shining.

Psalm 56:8 (KJV) put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

~Blessings & Love~
and remember, we are…
~NEVER FORSAKEN~

Infestation!

This is the Nativity set that we have displayed in our home for many years. I know many Christians proudly, yet with great reverence display a Nativity set in their homes during this special season of Christmas as well. 

We do this in hopes of  helping to bring the minds and hearts of all who see it back to the real reason for this season...Jesus our Savior, the best gift God has ever given to mankind.

So when I recount what happened with this particular Nativity set over the weekend...You might understand my reaction to it.

Last summer we had an infestation of carpenter ants in the loft of our garage. Jeff sprayed some ant killer up there and it seemed as if it had worked its magic...no signs of the ants.

So, we dragged down the plastic totes containing our Christmas decorations this past weekend only to discover that the tote containing the  Nativity set which was packed carefully in its own little box and placed on the bottom of the tote had been infested with carpenter ants inside of it...because there was a crack in the handle area of the tote!

What is normally a pleasant experience...decorating for the Holidays, became a tedious chore to clean out all the little dead ant bodies from the wreath and other things. Some of which needed to be discarded...But what was really disturbing is the fact that the only place where the insects where still very much alive was inside that Nativity!  The figurines were covered...All except one...The little manger with the Christ child lying in it...Not one ant dared to crawl upon it... ha-ha!

Because you will not leave my soul in hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. Acts 2:27

Okay, so I do know that the figurine is only a representation of the Savior...and not to be worshipped or idolized...But, I could not resist the deeper meaning of this whole scenario...You see, the enemy has been trying to put fear and doubt into my spirit the past couple of weeks...as I am undergoing tests on a suspicious lump or(mass).

So when I first saw the infestation last weekend..it felt like the devil was trying to infest my very spirit with something horrible and sick...  and his latest attempt came yesterday during a point where I was in panic mode and totally stressed from a difficult day out running from one hospital to another in order to get a disk and reports put together etc...When I got home, all I wanted to do was go to bed and shut everything out for a couple hours...But first I had to reschedule an appointment with the surgeon whom my doctor referred me to...They rescheduled the appointment for next Friday (the 13th). The receptionist was relieved when I told her I did not care about the superstition associated with that date. (I know it is God and God alone who controls everything in my life).

So as I lay in bed last evening, my thoughts started to wander into dark places once again, and for a time I entertained them...But Jesus will not be shut out that easily! He is my Shepherd ...and I am one of His sheep that hear His voice...even amidst the growling of the wolf at my door...Now I can only hear Him  telling me to not be afraid...for He is with me always.

The Lord has been telling me in so many ways these past weeks that He is with me...He is the light in the darkness...He will never leave me nor forsake me...just like my user name declares!

Then, this morning there came such a clear and gentle voice telling me to go outside where the Nativity figurines were left and bring them back into the house....and as I wiped the snow away from the little manger I read it's inscription and smiled...

...and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”). Mathew 1:23


~BLESSINGS & LOVE ~

And remember, we are...

~NEVER FORSAKEN~