Women's retreat in Enid, Ok.

Hello just want to let you know that it is not to late to register for the awesome retreat at First Baptist Church in Enid.  It is a retreat that the Heartland Woman's Ministry has put on for years.  This year will be another great year with a great speaker and break out sessions!

SAVE THE DATE: Heartland Women's Ministries hosts its annual Women's Retreat on March 8-9 at First Baptist Church. Open to women of all ages and denominations. Guest speaker this year is Miss America 2007 and News 9 anchor Lauren Nelson. Register before Feb. 17. Call 234-2512 or go tohttp://www.facebook.com/HeartlandWomensMinistries for more details.

I will be doing one of the breakout sessions as will seven other woman.  You will be able to choose three.  My topic is 'The Importance of Chocolate'.    Hope to see you there!!  Oh by the way, I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!

Philippians 4:4

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

The Journey Continues:A quick update 01/24/2013

So many of you are still praying 3 years and 4 months later.  Thanks so much!!  I don't know how people can manage to go through cancer or any other life changing event without the prayers and support of others!!  We are so BLESSED!!

Richard's chemotherapy yesterday was uneventful.  It did leave him feeling tired.  He has already headed to work this morning after eating breakfast.  He is so strong but that is because of the Lord.  His strength is from HIM!  His white blood counts were down yesterday so the chemo has wreaked it's havoc.  The good thing is that by this point on the other chemo regiments he would have already had to have taken shots to bring his counts back up.  His counts are still within the normal range at 5900!!


Thanks again for the continues prayers!!

Psalm 118:23-25

New International Version (NIV)

²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵ Lord, save us!
    Lord, grant us success!

The little puppy with a big name

We got a new puppy in November.  We have had him since he was six weeks old and he will be four months old on February 4th.  You can see from the picture that he is a wiener dog and if you look close you might see a bit of mischief in the eyes.  Samson is his name.  He barks like a big boy but runs at the first sign of trouble.  Sometimes he has trouble making the right choice.  The other day he was running back and forth between Richard and I but could not make up his mind which one of us would be the right choice so he just laid down in the middle.  Samson being the puppy he is doesn't always make the right choices.  If something is left laying on the floor it will be chewed and sometimes destroyed.  He sometimes makes the wrong choice about the place to go potty.  We have hope that he will soon learn to make the right choice.

There is another Samson born long ago.  You can read about him starting in Judges 13.  He too had trouble knowing what choice to make.  He almost seems like he walked into trouble on purpose. It seems that this Samson was also full of mischief.  He sometimes made choices that led him into big trouble.  Most of the time he was able to get out of that problem but one of his last choices led him to blindness and imprisonment.  His last choice led him back into the arms of God.

Where do your choices lead you?  Are you led into trouble or into the arms of God?

Will you choose truth or will you just lay down in the middle?

John 14:6-7

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know^[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Proverbs 8:10-11

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Choose my instruction instead of silver,
    knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹ for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.

The worst part of my colonoscopy

There were many parts of getting ready for the colonoscopy that stand out in my mind but there is just one thing that stands above the rest as the worst part.  Just for the record it was not the  projectile vomiting.  It is worthy of mention here though.  I think that I was worried that I would not finish all the water I had to drink in the hour that was allotted so I was drinking that water at a very fast pace. All at once the desire to throw up was imminent.  I jumped up from the chair in the living room and ran.  I turned the corner as the vomit expelled from my mouth at a speed and force that probably broke the sound barrier.  It hit the wall and bounced back and dripped off of me as I ran into the bathroom.  I made it to the sink before more of that vile stuff erupted with more throw up flying onto me.  I finally made it to the commode as the last bit of puke sped out of my mouth into the stool and all over me.  No, that was not the worst part!


The worst part was not that my husband took pictures of me and then posted them to facebook.  It was not the fact that the surgery room was full of males.  It was not the fact that I was going to be in twilight zone. Twilight Zone was a good thing!  It was not the drinking of the vile, nasty tasting liquid.  It was not the sitting on the toilet for hours.

The worst part of my colonoscopy was that after several hours of my colon being cleansed that very delicate area where you wipe was raw, broken, bleeding and very, very sore. The cleansing wasn't over either.  I had another hour and a half of hot, molten liquid erupting across that very tender area.  Than I had to do all over again the next morning.  I didn't throw up the next morning because I paced my drinking of the liquids but I did have the very sore area  again.  That was the worst part of the colonoscopy.

I told the nurse about this problem.  She told me that next time(next time?) to lather that area up with a cream or ointment that would cover and protect.  She said to cover that area before even drinking the liquids.  It would already be in place to protect from that hot, molten liquid.

Sin is just like the projectile vomiting.  Sin will leave a vile, nasty taste that will eventually come spewing forth.  It might seem as though it is hidden but sin will leaves its mark just as the vomiting left its mark all over me. I was able to clean the vomit up off of me and the floor but I will always remember what happened that night before my colonoscopy.  Sin will leave a raw, bleeding brokenness that results from hot, molten transgressions. Sin can be unforgettable.

The good new is that there is a Cover for sin!  The Cover took our broken, hot, molten transgressions as His own. He became broken for us!  Lather your life with the Cover for protection!  All have sinned and come short of the glory of God but if the Cover is accepted the sins will be Covered!  


That Cover is Jesus!  Have you accepted the protection?

1 Peter 2:23-25

New International Version (NIV)

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,”^[a]but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Colossians 2:13-15

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you^[a] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.^[b]

COLONOSCOPY

Just so you know, yes I will write about anything! In the past I have chosen boogers, shoes, my blank mind, roosters and today the subject is colonoscopy.  Spell check doesn't even recognize the word but that doesn't make it not real.  It is real and it is going to happen to me tomorrow!

Today I am drinking, drinking and drinking.  No solids allowed.  Right now I am sipping on a nice hot, juicy cup of chicken broth.  I am pretending that it is fried chicken in a cup.  I have heard from veterans of this procedure that the fun begins later today.  I have to drink something will clean me out.  Then I have to do it over again in the morning.  My colon will probably be cleaner than it has been since I was born.

Then at eleven tomorrow a doctor, while I am in twilight zone, will go in with a rotor rooter and make sure that my colon is okay.  He also mentioned some kind of digital exam that makes me shudder when I think about it.  I am so glad that I will not remember but if I do I will post about it.

Did you know that I have been rotor rootered before.  Not the colonoscopy kind but a deep cleansing kind. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, He rotor rootered deep and cleansed my soul.  Some people don't recognize Jesus but that doesn't make Him not real.  He is the truth, the light and the way.  He is waiting!  It is not a cleansing that will make you shudder!  Are you ready to have a colonoscopy of your soul!  The fun can begin now but the real fun will begin in Heaven.  Hope to see you there!

Psalm 62:1-2

New International Version (NIV)

¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

This is the Day

What are you going to do today?  Are you working, playing or just goofing off?  While you are doing that what are you going to do?  Do you do it with a smile or a frown?  With me it sometimes depends.  Sometimes I greet the day with a frown or a sigh.  I just want more sleep, more time to myself, etc, etc.
Sometimes I forget what the Lord has done for me.  I need to remember each day and rejoice!!
What about you?  What are you going to do this day?

Psalm 118:23-24

New International Version (NIV)

²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

The Journey Continues:Chemo and Dr. visit

Just a quick update for those of you that are praying and wanting to know how chemo day went.   We were on time, got taken back quickly, blood work done and then waited for white blood count.  It was good!  It was even better than last time!!  So they gave him his premeds and than the chemo.  He had just a little itching when the chemo was over but only about five minutes.  The doctor's appointment also went well.  We actually got to see the doctor about two and a half hours early!  He will do two more chemos and than have a pet scan.  The nurses and doctor as always were amazed that Richard is still working.  They should have him figured out by now!   :)

Thanks for the prayers!!

Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

¹ Lord, hear my prayer,
    listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
    come to my relief.