Saturday, December 29, 2007

GLORY TO GOD !!!

Praise God! Praise His holy, magnificent and wonderful Name!

Yesterday I talked to the nurse from my oncologist's office around 4:30 pm. She said "Mrs. Carr, the report came in today. The results were all negative. There were no malignant cells. There is no cancer!" YEAH GOD !!!!!!

I immediately called my Tommy and told him the news. We cried together on the phone and then he prayed over the phone thanking God, thanking God for this healing. From there I walked out of the bedroom at my parents house and told my parents and Betsy and Mary the good news. We all huddled together and Daddy prayed, praising God for this answer to all our pleas! We went on over to my sister's house where I poured out my news with joy and tears, and all of them rejoicing with me! It kept going...the joy, the tears, the thanks to God on through the night. I played some songs on my sister's piano and praised God with my family all singing and rejoicing with me. I could hardly get to sleep...then I woke up at 5 am, once again, with waves of joy flooding over me. I fell back to sleep and got up around 7 and both my sisters were up, so we processed it all some more.

This is so, so big. I can't even begin to explain to you all the depth of this news. And for right now I won't go into all the details of this healing story. For now I will say, like the blind man in the New Testament, "all I know is this"...in November they looked me in the eye and said "you have metastatic bone cancer"...and now, it is gone! I hope to get copies of all the reports and scans. I want to understand more and more...but, at this point, all I know is this... I have been rescued by the hand of the Lord God of all Creation. I am FULL...FULL of gratefulness and joy...the kind that overflows, just overflows. Praise to my God, who "by His wounds" has healed me.

O dear God...how can I thank You enough? I will thank You and praise Your holy Name all the days of my life, which I believe will be long, O Lord. Thank You for Your mercy and love and healing and salvation. You are an awesome God, awesome. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Biopsy update

The biopsy went well today. I had kind of hoped that somehow I would bypass even having to have the biopsy at all, but the Lord is in charge of this whole thing, so I am trusting Him with each step.

The surgeon went into 2 places: one needle went into my humerus bone at the socket and they took out some bone marrow, plus some cells from the surface of the bone; the other place was a sample on the scapula, from the surface of that bone. They didn't cut anything. There were just large needle holes and 2 band-aids left when it was all done.

I did fine, or so I was told. I don't remember too much. I woke up around noon and we left by 1. I slept ALL afternoon, but started coming back to alertness around 5 or 6 pm.

They told us I should probably hear the path results on Monday. SO...the drama continues.

Last week I wrote a new song...not surprising, the main topic of the song is "waiting on the LORD." :-) So, I will wait.

In the meantime we are heading to Nashville tomorrow to continue Christmas celebrations with my family. We are looking forward to that!


Psalm 130:5 "I will wait on You, Lord, my soul shall wait; and in Your Word I will put my hope."

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Tomorrow

Christmas was wonderful and will continue on Friday when I go to Tennessee to see my family there.

But...tomorrow is my biopsy. 9:00 am.

Thank you for your prayers and love and cover. The LORD is in control! Praise His holy Name, for He is my Strength and Shield and Fortress. Praise His Name.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Got my appointment

I finally got my appointment for the biopsy! They called Wednesday afternoon and said that the earliest time they could schedule it was December 27th at 9:00 am.
I had very much hoped that we could get it done BEFORE Christmas...which meant on Thursday or Friday. But she said the surgeon couldn't do it this week. So it is set... next Thursday morning.

There are lots of interesting things about this date. First of all...it was not what I thought would happen. I imagined and thoroughly planned out in my head that I would go in Thursday or Friday before Christmas. But, once again, God has His plan in motion, not my plan. Next Thursday will be just fine. Second...December 27th is Jesse's birthday, our oldest child. He will be 24 years old next Thursday. He will also actually be IN Arkansas for his birthday, and now for my biopsy. I am thankful Jesse will be around for this event. I think we will still be able to celebrate his birthday that evening, hopefully. The biopsy is outpatient, although I will be sedated that morning.

In my past blogs I mentioned some of the groups that have prayed over me, but I don't think I've even listed all the gatherings that have happened in the past 4 weeks. I have been soaked with prayer. PLUS...continously people say to me or write to me that they are praying. I've had SO many prayers!!!. The faith and hope in my heart has been filling up and even overflowing. Thank you so much for your prayers, thank you! Please continue to pray and especially mark your calendars for next Thursday. I am walking by faith, not by sight, with hope that the Lord will bless and heal me.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Hebrews 11:1. The dictionary says faith is believing something without proof.
Wow. We are praying with faith for healing.

Monday, December 17, 2007

update

I talked to the doctor's office Friday afternoon and asked about my appointment. She said the doctor was already gone and the nurse who handled my file was not there, so someone should call me Monday and let me know when I'll have the needle biopsy done.
She apologized a lot...but honestly, I'm fine with the delay. I totally trust God's timing on all of this, so it will go according to His plan.

Still waiting.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Tuesday

Right now I am in waiting mode, which is something I've accepted and learned to do over the last year. I'm waiting to hear from my oncology office. They are the ones who will make the next appointment for the needle biopsy. I should hear something today.

I wanted to update you all on my father-in-law. He went home on Thursday. He had been in the hospital 6 nights. He's doing much better, but the doctor wants him to stay in their apartment for 2 weeks with very limited visitation. The cough is improving but still there. He is 94 years old...but has kept the pace of a much younger man. This will slow down his schedule some, but it has not stopped him. The Lord is blessing him with healing...and we're grateful for that.

Tommy got the tree up last night and Mary and I worked on decorating it. Jamie helped drape the lights and put our homemade, traditional star at the top. We left a lot of ornaments for Betsy to hang. She will finish her finals today and be off until January from school.

That's all for now.

Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like the eagle. They shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Waiting.

Friday, December 7, 2007

The Orthopaedic Surgeon

I've been waiting for this appointment for 2 weeks. Tom and I went down to Little Rock this afternoon. When I walked in they wanted me to get an X-ray...which I thought was interesting since I already had the MRI and CT scan results with me.

I got the X-ray...praying the whole time.

Then the doctor came in. First he asked a few questions including "have you heard what the radiology report said?" I said yes, that the report said metastatic bone cancer. Then he looked and looked at the X-ray...didn't say anything for a long time. Then he said "Did you bring some other scans?" I said yes...and he went out to go look at them. He came back and said that it was hard to tell still what we are looking at and he thought that I needed to get a needle biopsy that is guided with a CT or MRI machine so they know exactly where to go in.

We told him my oncologist wanted him to try to determine the depth of the lesion but also to try and see if the arm is stable or does it need a pin to strengthen it. He said the arm did NOT need any pins...that is was very stable and fine.

This is all AMAZING. There was a question mark in his voice as he looked and discussed things...but he never said much. We felt very good about him. We'd been told by a friend that works in this area that he is one of the best in LR. He took plenty of time with us and was very thorough.

SO-O-O-O....the next step is on Monday my doctor will set up a biopsy appointment. The drama continues...

WOW. We are praising God! There are so many people who have been praying and even fasting for me. I am GRATEFUL and excited because I believe God is doing something really amazing. Our family is just taking one day at a time to see what God is doing and what His plan is about all of this.

Praise God!!! What a great day this has been! I am going to bed tonight with a joyful and hopeful heart...our God can do ANYTHING. I believe it.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Wednesday

Quick update...

My father-in-law is doing better, but still in the hospital. I have been staying with him in his room each night, which I am glad and thankful to get to do. I arrive around 9:30 pm and leave in the morning around 8:30 am when I tag team with some family members. Keep praying for him, please.

Tomorrow I go to meet with a lymphadema doctor who will evaluate my surgery arm and teach me how to be careful with it so I won't get lymphadema. I consider it an educational doctor's visit.

Then Friday is Pearl Harbor Day...Dec. 7th. It is also the day I go to the orthopaedic surgeon for his evaluation about my bones. I am not nervous...but ready to hear what he has to say. The Lord continues to pour His love over me and His peace. Yesterday was "gift day", gifts from the Lord delivered by the hands of others. I am so blessed.

I got another robe (I think the message is "you are covered, Lisa"), a loaf of poppyseed bread, more bananas, a stack of homemade get well cards from the Harding Academy 7th grade girls, 2 long distance calls from dear friends and 2 cards in the mail.

I am spoiled with encouragement and love from the Lord. What a sweet and awesome God we serve!

That's all for today. God is great...I am praising His Name!!!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Monday December 3rd

Wow! What a week! In one week's time so much has happened.

I left off with telling about my doctor's appointment last Monday. The way it was left with her was that she wanted me to see the surgeon so he could look at the scans and determine what is next. So we got an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon this Friday, December 7th at 3:00 in Little Rock. He will consult with us and analyze the scans. Possibly he will want to do a biopsy of some sort to determine what we're looking at.

That's the medical update. On the prayer front (battle talk) I have been on an amazing adventure. Since last weekend I've had someone call about coming to pray over me almost everyday. It just keeps coming up or someone calls the house or stops by. I think the Lord is sending prayer reinforcements to boost our family right now with hope and peace and faith. It's working. I feel SO full of peace that it surprises people when they see me. That is not me, that is God taking over inside my heart.

Tuesday night my friend Lisa stopped by to visit and pray with me. She also told me she had a friend named Tracy that was at a prayer and healing conference in Texas and that she might call me from there. Well, later that night, she did call. I've never met Tracy but she said she'd been praying for me all last year, so she knew who I was. She said the conference has a prayer time at the end, after the speaker finishes talking and that they also pray over cell phones for people...would I like to do that? I said "Yes!" I feel wide open to anything and anyone who wants to pray for me...but this sounded new and exciting.

So around 11 pm she called me back and said they were gathered around the phone and praying for me. I could hear noisy talking but not anything in particular. It was so humbling to have people in Texas praying for me in such a bold manner before the Lord! I definitely felt moved by the Spirit while they were praying...it was very sweet.

Then...Wednesday Harvey came back and 4 of my college age friends with him. They came over to the house at noon and prayed with me. As they were leaving a man that goes to our church that has had some difficulties in his life and is without a job right now stopped by to deliver food from my neighbor. I asked him how he was doing he said not well...feeling very down. So I asked him if my friends and I could pray for him and he said yes. He came on in and we all gathered around him and prayed. It was so interesting that he had just stopped by.

Wednesday night I went to the church building to talk to our elders about something else (they meet on Wed nights). After I spoke, they said "Can we pray for you again Lisa?" I said "Yes, of course." So all 16 or so men gathered around me and prayed for me...which was so wonderful...again.

Thursday was a day off. :-) I don't know why...but no one came or stopped by.

Then early Friday morning we got a phone call around 5:30am. Tommy's dad was in the emergency room at the hospital with respiratory problems. Tom went on over quickly. His brother Jim was there. They got him in a room and did tests and found some pneumonia in his lung. So I went over and stayed with my mother-in-law in the morning until around 11:30.

At 1:30 three women came over to the house to pray with me. It was interesting how that came about but I won't tell the long version. Bottom line is there was a woman named Cindy who felt the Lord leading her to come and pray for me. So I said "yes".
They prayed with me awhile...and it was a very amazing time of powerful prayer.

That evening all the kids were gone. I have to tell you about Mary. Mary is a BIG Hannah Montana fan...BIG. Well...a few months ago tickets went on sale for a concert in Little Rock with Hannah Montana. They were sold out in like an hour and it was a big mess. Lots more people wanted tickets than got them. Then about 2 weeks ago they opened up the sales one more time and they were snatched up again. We thought about trying to get it on the second time but we were a little preoccupied with all my medical news so just set it aside. In the meantime, Mary had been praying that somehow she could go to this concert. She never told us that, or we might have felt pressure to answer her prayer somehow. Last weekend we got a call from her school friend Hannah. Hannah's parents DID get 4 tickets and Hannah asked Mary to come with her!!! SHE WAS ECSTATIC! We were pretty blown away too. After Hannah asked her she said told us that she had prayed a long time ago that she could go. WOW! Isn't God SWEET???? And good? And tenderhearted! YEAH GOD! So she was gone Friday night and all day Saturday with her friend Hannah.

Friday night Tom and I had such a nice night, no kids home, watched videos. Life is good. Then I went to the hospital to stay with Papa, Tommy's dad, for the night shift. I insisted and totally volunteered. I told them I have a special gift of sleep (as my close friends all know :-)...if I wake up for something I can get right back easily. Tommy does NOT have that gift. :-) So I spent the night in the hospital in my father-in-law's room. My job was to help him and to pray through the night when I was awake. I felt so grateful to be able to help someone else since I have been the recipient of so much love and giving from others in the past year.

I met a nurse on the night shift that was a Christian. We somehow started talking about prayer. I told her what was going on with me, she said "Oh, I go to a special prayer meeting every Monday night in Floral (a tiny town about 40 minutes away. Can we pray for you?" And my answer was...."Yes, of course!" So, I'm covered for Monday. :-)

I'll skip to Sunday night. We went to our elder small group meeting...we were having a Christmas party. At the end the elder asked if the group could pray over me. I didn't know they were going to do that...but I said "Yes, of course!" So about 25 people there all gathered around me and prayed for me.

I'm telling you all this to tell you how AMAZING God is! He is sending mighty prayer warriors from different corners of my world here to come and pray, pray, pray over me!
PLUS...I KNOW there are hundreds, maybe thousands at this point that are all over the world praying for me, people I can't see, but I know they are doing it. I got a call last week...(maybe it was Thurs?) from a Nigerian couple, Zeke and Ory, that are our friends there. They said "Lisa, the Lord said he will heal you and that your life will be a living testimony to His love and power." That was good to hear.

What a ride! There's more but I can't go on and on.

I am beginning this week with hope and peace and anticipation to see what the Lord will do! Praise to God for His amazing love! To Him be the glory and honor in all of this!

To be continued...


"Find rest, O my soul,in God alone, my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." Psalm 62:5,6

"For the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord, He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." Psalm 33:18-22