Middle of the river

It's been awhile since I've written in here...once again, mostly because I've just haven't felt real well and have been trying to manage pain, nausea and fatigue.

SO...let me try to catch up:

*After the cement surgery I spent the next few days sleeping...a LOT. The surgery was a great decision and the outcome was good...just took awhile to recover.

*Week of Feb 20 I finished the radiation treatments...13 all together. Mary went with me on day 12 and saw the big machine and the cross on the ceiling. On Day 13 we began quietly celebrating that last treatment. My friend Elisa dropped off the picture of the baby Lamb in the arms of Jesus. She said the Lord told her to pass it back to me (we had passed it back and forth). Lamb? Hmmm...the theme continues. Then, a wonderful box of cool "Hope" T-shirts from my sweet friend Kimberly, (who walked the Komen last fall and raised money for this battle), arrived on the day I finished radiation.Thank you, thank you. So cool. Then I received some beautiful flowers from my parents! My sister-in-law,Susan, made a delicious dinner. Then our little ravens (neighborhood children that we love who belong to some dear friends of ours), stopped by and "fed" encouragement to us, a tray of beautiful goodies. So much love. Finished with radiation!

The next few weeks brought more friends stopping by, more food, more encouragement...all a blessing. A dear friend from high school days, Darrel, came to town to have dinner with us, which was great.A friend from Michigan days, Barry, sent a box of awesome shirts from a race his wife Michele had run for the 26.2 with Donna Marathon. Thanks! In the meantime, Tom and I continued to try to get a pattern going with the medicine. Managing pain. Finding food the I could eat and keep on my stomach. Trying to stay ahead of the nausea and other issues. Really...a circle of management. I had friends take turns sitting with me to help me get around, get simple tasks done, etc. SO grateful for their gift of time! Some friends have stopped by specifically to pray for me, which means so much. I've had friends sing to me...hymns and worship songs that really encouraged my hope and resolve. One exciting moment I asked Tom to take me to the Bull Dog for Sunday lunch....a VERY famous restaurant, :-) much loved, in Bald Knob AR. I had a little bit of catfish and I was SO grateful that it tasted good !!!
My big outing in weeks!!!

Last week I had a difficult and discouraging week. It kind of crept in slowly and peaked out on Wed. I called in some troops, made long distance calls, and asked for lots of prayers. The day really did SHIFT...the darkness in my thoughts shifted to hope and joy. The perspective changed to Jesus's viewpoint rather than my own view. There IS hope in Christ Jesus. I felt my vision change as they day went on. I was praising God for rescuing the battle that was in my mind.

NOW...we are approaching the big day of seeing our Vanderbilt oncologist again. We've prayed and prayed and asked others to pray with us and for our family. We also have asked for people to pray for our doctor to have wisdom and knowledge from the Lord, that he would know what to do next to fight this cancer. Specifically, that this appt on Thursday morning would all go well.

That's about it.

There are two stories that I LOVE about going into battle. One is David standing in front of old Goliath...no fear, boldness way beyond his years and telling him exactly how this was going to come down. " You will lose. I will win. By the power of the Living God!"
The other one is the story of Joshua crossing the Jordan River. He gives a speech in Joshua 3 and says to them over and over and over again "Do NOT be discouraged. Do NOT be afraid." THEN the priests were sent into the water first, stood in the water and waited to see what was going to happen. Nothing really happened until they marched into the river. Their job was to just STAND there and watch God move. He moved all right. Shwooosh...the walls of water went UP and they were on dry land! The whole nation of Israel walked across dry land. This was not a repeat of the miracle at the Red Sea. God likes to changes things up. Surprise us with fresh stories to tell the world.

SO...tonight...I am in the middle of the river. (Aren't we all royal priests now?) Waiting to see how He will move this time. I trust Him. I love Him. I will move forward with Him. I want to follow Jesus...wherever He leads.

Thank You Lord for one more day. For one more day of love, strength and joy...all from You given to me by Your children. I love You. Good night dear Friend. You are truly My Everything.
Your daughter,
Lisa