My new normal...

Tired bordering on exhaustion seems to be my new normal. The blessing is that God is constantly giving me the strength to keep going & do the things I need to. I'm hoping to hear when I go to Houston some time next week.

One step closer to Houston...

Today I was able to schedule the PET scan that my doctor here wants me to have before I go down to MD Anderson Center in Houston.  Now I just need to ask for prayers that my insurance will cover it.  It seems they are balking on that. I am so thankful for the staff at Cancer Care Associates who are still fighting with them on my behalf.  They are such a blessing!


Also I want to make sure all of you know what a blessing your comments & messages of support and love are to me.  I may not be able to respond to each of them, but they are such an encouragement & joy for me.  I can never thank you enough for that!

God is at work...

Last night as I was attempting to go to sleep, I was praying that God would reveal Himself to me throughout this journey so that I could share what He was teaching me.  As I was praying I heard, "I already have."  Suddenly I realized that over the last year He has been giving me scripture after scripture of His hope & promises.  I have been saving them in my phone.  I thought I might share them with you.  My prayer is that they will help you as much as they help me.

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. (Joshua 1:5 NLT)

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (1 Peter 1:6, 7 NLT)

"The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. (Zephaniah 3:17 NASB)

For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord . "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)

The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:14 NIV)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:2-6 NIV)

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:13, 14 NIV)

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV)

Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. (Psalm 142:6 NLT)

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)  I think of "temptation" in this verse as also meaning any trial or struggle we may face.

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NASB)

And so it begins...

Well, if you don't know already, I have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  It's a blood plasma cancer.  My doctor says that I barely meet the criteria for the diagnosis, but I do meet it.  He also said if he had to give it a stage, he would say I'm barely Stage 1.  In the next 2-3 weeks, he's going to have me go down to MD Anderson & consult with a good friend of his who is a specialist in multiple myeloma.  Then we will go from there.

I don't know what the next few weeks or months will hold, but I know who holds those next few weeks or months. Do you know Him?  He's my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.  He has me in the palm of His hand & that's where I plan to stay.  If you don't know Him, let me know & I'll introduce you.

I hope to be better about updating this blog than I was about writing in my diary as a girl or a journal as an adult, but we'll just have to see.  I may just end up posting when something big-ish happens, but my thoughts are that I would also like to post about what God reveals of Himself to me on this journey.

All I ask is that you keep me in your prayers.  I figure if enough people are bugging the Father about me, He'll eventually get so tired of us He'll give us the answer we want.  OK...maybe He doesn't work quite like that, but I do covet your prayers.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.  I'll do my best to answer them & if I don't know the answer, I'll try to find out for you.

Please know your love & prayers are sustaining me through this.  I have that "peace that passes all understanding" and I am so thankful for that!