We Have Our Savior!

Our music minister, Josh, picked the most perfectly beautiful Christmas program for us this year.  Oh my goodness, almost every song brought me to tears from the very begining.  It was like a great worship service every time we practiced and especially as excitement grew for our Mission Tour on the 10th!  Since Josh came to be our music minister last January, we are so much more than just a choir!  We are a mission group who go out of our comfortable church home and into God's world to spread the Good News and share Jesus and love with the world around us!  He and his family are such a blessing to me and our church.  On the 10th we loaded up and went to Franklin Tn to perform our Christmas Program at Dickens of a Christmas, a street Festival.  We had a wonderful crowd gather around as we proclaimed the Glory of Christ!  There were many people worshiping in the crowd as we sang it was so great to be outside singing to the Lord, what a powerful worship service it was.  After leaving Franklin we headed to Cool Springs Mall to eat an early dinner before heading on to the Nashville Rescue Mission.  I was to give my testimony at the Rescue Mission and I was nervous but had been praying for courage.  I was excited to be given the opportunity because I had been praying for God to continue to use my cancer for His glory.  As we walked around the mall after having walked around at Franklin, I grew very tired, very exhausted.  My legs and feet wanted to give out and I didn't know how I was going to go on for the rest of the trip.  I was fighting back the tears as I prayed to the Lord to rebuke the devil because I knew he was attacking me trying to keep me form giving God his rightful Glory for my testimony.  I rested as much as I could on the way to the Rescue Mission and continued to pray.  When we arrived, I was awe of the paintings and scripture on the wall of the foyer to the chapel.  We met with the volunteer coordinator, Matthew, who shared a little about the Rescue Mission and about himself too.  He was once a client there, and after many church services he didn't want to go to, he finally responded to the call of Jesus, now he works there!  We were split into groups and I went to the dining area while Taylor, Rae and Jim went to put packages together for the men.  I had caught my second breath and was feeling much better to be able to serve the men and go around talking to them and taking their trays as they finished their meal.  I was so touched by the stories I heard, and blessed by the kindness and appreciation they had for us coming to be with them and perform our program for them. One of the men prayed for me and my health before he even knew that I'd had cancer.  I was in tears again as he prayed a very long prayer getting off track sometimes but always coming back to healing me of any sickness, taking care of me and my body.  He was such a joy.  As we performed our program we were so blessed to see many of the men worshiping freely raising their hands in praise to the Lord!  As we sang the song before I was to go down to speak, I began to get sick again, my heart was racing so badly, I was hot and sweating and felt like I might just pass out, my stomach was a mess and I prayed.  I didn't know how I was going to stand up there in front of all these men, much less speak.  But as Josh introduced me, a calmness washed over me and as I began to speak it was like I was just talking to a friend.  God took over, and as Josh says, He showed up and showed out! I will never forget the evening I got to spend serving the Lord with my family and my choir family.  It was the best Christmas celebration ever!

Giving Thanks :)

It's that time of year where everyone thinks more often about giving thanks.  It has been the topic of discussion on facebook, Sunday School, church, and our WOM meeting.  It is wonderful that people choose this time of year to stop and "give thanks" for the blessings in their lives.  The most common things we are thankful for at this time of year are their families, friends, jobs, food, home, salvation.....hmmmm notice how salvation isn't usually the first thing on our minds.  The bible says "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1Thessalonians 5:18.  As hard as it was, and sometimes still is, I am thankful for my cancer.  I am VERY thankful for God's healing, but I would not go back and change a thing about the whole experience if I were able to.  My family and I are forever changed for the better because of our cancer experience.  We are all closer to God.  We are closer to each other.  We've received a thousand blessings in the form of answered and unanswered prayers.  We've learned how many wonderful friends we have out there who are now more like family to us than ever before.  This ministry was formed out of my cancer.  I know God used my cancer to reach other people.  I've had countless people tell me what a blessing or inspiration I have been to them.  It's not anything I've done...it's what the Lord has done. I'm sure there are countless others God has touched through my cancer that I don't even know about.  And I know that for the rest of my life, as long as I continue to be obedient to the Lord, he will use my cancer to bless others.  So what's not to be thankful for?  God can use the worst of circumstances for His Glory.  So even in the hard times, be thankful and obedient and listen to what God is trying to teach you and let Him use your trying times so that His will may be done. You will be blessed in the process!  Happy Thanksgiving :)

Looking Forward

As I recover from the last of my surgeries stemming from my breast cancer, I can't help but reflect on the past year as well as look towards the future.  I have learned so much, grown so much, changed so much, over the past year.  I don't want to go back to the same life I was living before.  I want to be healthier, fitter, more active.  I want to seek God's will in my life and make it a reality.  I want to take all that He's done for me this year and use it to grow His kingdom.  The big, BIG question is how.  Well I know to be healthier, fitter, more active I plan to start running.  As soon as I am fully recovered from this surgery I plan to start the Couch to 5K plan.  I have wanted to run 5k's or Fun Runs for years like my sister does, but have never taken the initiative to get started.  Now, I have something to run for.  I know there are multiple 5k's in our area to raise money and awareness for cancer, and I want to be right in the middle of them!  Figuring out God's will for my life and how to use what I've learned the past year is much harder.  I am at a cross roads in my work life right now as well because of an upcoming layoff.  I am faced with the question of where I will be working and making a living.  Will I go to another ordinary job, or will I finally find the career I've always wanted.  Can I go back to school to get my teaching certificate?  Should I go to nursing school so that I can work with cancer patients?  Will I ever get to the point where I can do speaking engagements as an inspirational speaker?  I've even considered writing a book.  I have all of this going through my head and trying to decipher what is My plan and what is God's plan is so hard.  Then I started to pray about it tonight.  Then I decided to write in my journal about it.  As I wrote, I prayed.  As I questioned, answers started coming.  Prayer is the answer.  When I was in a crisis with my health, with the big scary C word, I prayed.  I had no qualms about praying about it, giving it to God and trusting Him to fix it!  Why wouldn't He do the same with this new crisis?  After praying, journaling, praying some more, I began to read His word.  Here's what I read in Isaiah 12, "In that day you will sing:  I will praise you, O Lord!  You were angry with me, but not any more.  Now you comfort me.  See, God has come to save me.  I will trust in him and not be afraid.  The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory."    Trust in God with everything.  Go to Him in prayer.  Seek His face, His ways, His answers.

Dominican Trip

I prayed and believed and trusted in my God, my healer, my savior.....and he healed me.  He made me healthy again and he gave me just enough strength to return to the Dominican Republic to serve in His name.  Thank you Lord for allowing me to go back thank you for providing the funds, the strength and everything I needed to go back to minister to these sweet people who have blessed my heart.  We had another amazing team and we got to do a variety of things this year.  We fed a village and a nursing home.  We helped Nate with a youth night at the Juan Dolio church.  We did street evangelism in the capital, Santo Domingo, and gave out bibles and tracts.  I'm amazed once again at how hungry they are for the word.  Once they realize what we are giving out they all come running to get one.  We did VBS and played with the kids.  We gave out the pillow case dresses and tshirts that we made and it was so great to see the childrens faces light up as we gave them brand new dresses made just for them!  They loved them and were so thankful, many of them put their dresses on right then!  All of this was great, but was really touched my heart was working with Erica with her women's ministry, the Lily House.  Erica and some of the other women at Score decided a couple of years ago to reach out to the prostitutes.  They go out on Thursday nights and witness to them.  Their goal on those nights are to get a phone number and name so that they can begin a relationship with them.  The Lily House is a small but very cute apartment where the ladies can go to stay after they've accepted Christ.  There they are discipled and taught different ways to make a living a take care of their families.  We got to take two sewing machines to them and spend the morning teaching them how to sew.  This was a wonderful time.  They were so excited to be learning and they were so smart!  I wanted to stay there all day, and come back again every day!  We had such a great time teaching them, even a button hole was a big accomplishment!  Erica invited us to go out with them that night to witness to the ladies.  I was very excited and a little scared about this.  I felt like my testimony could be beneficial to one of these girls, but I had never shared my testimony so I was nervous.  I really wanted to participate in this so I prayed as we rode from one spot to another.  I knew I wanted to share when we met Julia.  Julia is a beautiful girl with the most precious smile.  She has a very hard heart toward the Lord though.  She seemed to be conflicted because she contradicted herself.  First she didn't believe in God, then she said she had studied the bible but it wasn't  for her because God hadn't done anything for her.  Then when we asked if she wanted us to pray for her she said yes, she wanted to get a passport so she could go to Miami.  I was able to share my testimony with her.  She said it was just my destiny to be healed of cancer, and I said, no, it was God's will.  Julia is forever etched into my heart, along with all the ladies at the Lily House.  I pray for her and them often.  The Lord was definitely hard at work while we were in the DR.  I pray he worked on the Dominican people as hard as he worked on me!  We go there hoping to be a blessing to and minister to them, but they end up doing the same for us!

Psalm 34

I will extol the Lord at all times,
his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
lut us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him.
And he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

I was asked to read this scripture to start the worship service off at church today.  I read it over and over this week in preparation, but this morning I was flooded with emotion as I read it.  At each line, I was reminded at how God has gotten me through my cancer journey.  I'm not strong enough on my own to withstand all that goes with fighting cancer, only with God can I keep the hope alive.   I sincerely pray that everyone who visits this website or recieves a cap honestly accepts Jesus as Lord of their life.  He has been so good to me.  He has carried this broken down sinner through what should've been the worst time of my life.  And though this year has been hard on me and my family, I would not classify it as the worst time of my life...the worst time of my life were the years I spent without Jesus.  If you don't know Jesus, I urge you to talk with a Christian friend, email me, or visit a local church and take the first steps to putting the worst time of your life behind you.  God Bless and love to all!

Thank you to Joshua for asking me to read this beautiful scripture, I was blessed by reading it.

Hope

Hope has become my word.  I claim it. I own it. I wish I had thought of it myself, haha! During the fear, the doubt, the worry, the sickness, the hair loss, the pain, the fatigue...what keeps me going is hope.  God given, peaceful hope.  First it was the hope that I would be healed.  After much prayer and reading God's word, hope for healing turned into faith that it would be done, that it had in fact already been done!  The word, Hope, still kept coming to my mind. God kept bringing it to me on rings and bracelets that people gave me for breast cancer awareness.  On a rearview mirror ornament my mom gave me.  And when it came time to think of a name for this ministry....hope was the only word i wanted to use.  Hope is what God has filled me with.  Hope is what I want to share with every cancer patient in the world.  Hope is Jesus.  Jesus gives me and you and everyone who will accept it Hope for a future with Him.  No matter what cancer does to this earthly body, because of my relationship with Jesus, I have the Hope of a future with him forever.  Do you have hope?

"For I know the plans I have for you," decalares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Faith as small as a mustard seed

While doing my bible study, I came across one of the scriptures someone dear to me shared when I was first diagnosed.  "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20  Although, I wasn't certain at that time how strong my faith was, that scripture lifted me up and led me to find out just how strong my faith actually was.  It helped me to put it all in God's most capable hands and was a moving forward point for me.  The first couple of days after being diagnosed I was mad and scared and didn't know how to turn to God other than to beg through prayer for healing.  I didn't know where in the bible to search for answers and for comfort.  God knew that and used many wonderful friends to help me with this, simply by sharing scriptures on facebook, on cards, on emails in phone calls, in books.  I'm sure people were just trying to give comfort, and they did, but more than that, they helped me learn to use God's word, while at the same time learning just how many loved ones I truly have in this world.  What's most amazing about it to me is that of all the many, many different friends who shared scriptures with me, no two people sent me the same scripture.  God is great :)