Warmth Provided

Nothing like a cuppa PG Tipps, in a Sedona mug, no less, and Jan Karon's latest book to knock the chill off a cool October morn. A glorious morn. 
With book in hand, it was like going home to "heartwarming" Mitford with Father Tim & Cynthia and Dooley& Lacey all there----that was just on the first 65 pages. And a new name has me wondering, "who is Jack Tyler?"

Just opening Come Rain or Come Shine had a Ray Charles tune playing in my head.

"I'm gonna love you like nobody's loved you, come rain or come shine" used to blare forth from the HiFi at 2211 So. Virginia St.

It also had me remembering Mama Davenport throwing her little head back and having her short frame stand tall as she said, "We will get these flowers picked TODAY for Mrs. ? (a sick neighbor) come rain or come shine.

In other areas of life, that "come rain or come shine" idiom seems to speak to folks needing a little "secure" encouragement. 

No matter the weather, rain or shine---in any of life's situations, I'm there for you. 

".....for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Those words provide warmth for the hearer. 

Grace for the Cure

This morning's paper was pin! I love it when the world recognizes the need for a cure for cancer, especially breast cancer.

Race for the Cure is what man is doing to meet the financial needs for research in that endeavor.

As I read the ad, the script R, glanced in part, looked like a G to me. 

Grace for the Cure---what an eyeopener.

While man "races" for the cure, God provides grace for the journey.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness...."

 (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God's grace and power---so needed to those walking and even stumbling in this hard place today, while waiting for their own "cure" protocol.

"The Wait"

I'm typing as I sit in the "gowned waiting area" at the Methodist Hospital Breast Center. Trust me, gown is a loose term---real loose! Though one lady across from me seems to have on a deluxe model which actually has some oomph in the fabric and it actually covers her torso.

It's the waiting that is hard. My turn next.

Just a week ago I was at a different doctor for a biopsy and then came the real wait. Waiting for test results. Two days later a  "good" report was given. Today a different scenario but same need for waiting.

3D  screening complete. Doc will review. Please return to the waiting area. 

Just a month ago, my dear friend was in this place and a "wait" ensued after diagnosis of "biopsy needed" was given. Results showed cancer. More waiting as an MRI was ordered. Results showed more cancer on a different side. More waiting. Surgery needed. Doctors needed to coordinate their schedules. More waiting. Surgery schedule for 3 weeks later---therein was the real waiting. Surgery seemed successful with post-op positive indicators....BUT.....more waiting  needed for the official results.  

So what does one do while she waits. Pray. That's the easy answer, yet it's hard to do when one is right in the midst of the wait.  A wait filled with concern. A perfect time for intercessory prayer.

"Mrs. Liles." Diagnostic needed. Enter darkened room for further pictures.....two places on the left breast.  A least the "goop" is warm. 

Four years ago I had observed women in this situation in a  Waiting Room Angst blog entry.
As I wait in this dark place, it helped to go back and read it.

Ultrasound complete. Please wait in here until the doctor can review.

Renee returns. It's okay. Pretty sure it's a benign cyst.
You may go now....We'll just WAIT and watch.

Breakaway

Will post as soon as I can breakaway from the "tyranny of the urgent!"

10/3/15
Obviously the "tyranny of the urgent" never loosened its grip. Those said urgencies, great or small, have to be attended to----in this case, think family needs of the moment, (feeding, clothing, bathing, cleaning up vomit)

Distractions that need our attention taking us away from our intended goals. I was committed to getting this entry written in a timely manner. Now I don't even remember why I needed to breakaway.
I think I've done this before---or at least lost my original commitment to distraction. I know I did in September 27, 2014.

Maybe the month of September is more about urgencies getting in the way than breakaways occurring.

Tea With Thee aka PB&J

Thanks to Kristen T. for a *new perspective, encouraging me in searching Scripture (Acts:17:11) praying for me, praying with me and on Thursday serving me tea.

Times with the Lord for me are usually accompanied by a cup of tea. Location rarely varies. Times can vary. Accoutrements vary. (different tea blends, different Bible translations, different journal, different devotional books, different colored pens)

But.....Kristen *cuts to the chase with her simple PB & J. Sarah Young espouses the same simplicity, which she used when writing Jesus Calling.

P (pen) B (Bible) & J (journal) So simple. So palatable.

A daily P B & J----it's good for the soul. I'll take mine with a cup of tea, please. 

FERVENT

Fervency in one's prayer life is marked by great intensity, along with the ardor of a loving heart.
For me, nothing "ups" the fervency of prayer petitions like the needs of a loved one, especially when they are unable to pray for themselves. That's when Roman 12:12 returns to my prayer radar.

I pray that the suffering saint, undergoing a lengthy surgery, has the strength to be patient in the midst of intense pain with rehab to follow----a time of great affliction. Prayers that she and all of their family can count on the "hope within" to bring them joy.
I, and other prayer warriors, then can step up to the plate and fervently petition the God of the universe for mercy and the continuance of that goodness as He works out His plan on the loved one's behalf.

Be patient in affliction, joyful in hope, fervent in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

Fervent prayer! What a responsibility. What a privilege!

mIStake

BIG mIStake made by Sprite. The company now advertises with the "the world IS yours" quote.

But God's word says, "The earth's is the LORD'S and the fulness there of, the world and they that dwell therein. (Psalm 24:1)
Coca Cola's thinking is mISconstrued and a common mIStake in the world's thinking.

WAR ROOM

"War Room" is not a compartment in my mind but a movie with tiered seating at local theaters. Elnora and I went to see it on "our" day.

Otis Sanford's title of his recent Commercial Appeal article "Some Folks can Benefit From Seeing War Room" said it well. War Room, "a commercial film about repentance, forgiveness and devout Christianity speaks volumes about our deep desire for harmony and racial reconciliation at a time when both are sorely missing in our society." (O. Sanford) As the lights came up, Mr. Sanford spontaneously hugged total strangers sitting in front of him, & they hugged back----because as he stated, "it seemed the right thing to do."

Mr. Sanford hugged a stranger. I hugged Elnora---it seemed the right thing to do because regardless of our skin color, "we be family" as Ashley Bryan says.

War Room, a huggin' kind of movie for both family and strangers!

MELTDOWNS

How can one FINALLY sleep through the night, without a single sleep aid, wake up refreshed for the first time in recent memory and then.....have 3 meltdowns before 10am?

IMPOSSIBLE. It should be impossible for one seeking to serve the Lord.....but it's what happened.

It's also embarrassing. To make matters worse, as I printed off my grocery list and my "teaching" list, I lost them in the computer room as I was looking for another list. I sat and literally "cried" out to the LORD---the tearful kind of crying out.

Answering friend JoLynn's phone call, I acknowledged that I was heading out the door for the grocery (prep for said trip was a BIG part of meltdown #3) and that I was in such a pitiful state that I hoped I wouldn't have a meltdown on aisle 7. BTW---In "my" Kroger, aisle 7 is the "tea aisle."
Who knew? I didn't......but for sure it's a hangout aisle for me.

I could just hear it over the Kroger intercom. Meltdown on Aisle 7---Clean-up needed!"

That was it----clean-up was needed. So.....back to the prayer chair before I walked out the door. 

After all, Wednesdays, on my weekly schedule, have always been "Weeping Wednesdays," a time of confession. 

Create in me a clean heart O Lord and renew a right spirit within me.
(Psalm 51:10, ESV)

Faithful spirit. (GWT) Loyal spirit. (NLT) Resolute spirit. (NET) Right attitude. Right spirit. (KJV)(ISV) Steadfast spirit. (NASB) 

Right spirit is the antithesis of a meltdown.

"S" Word

At our home, there are two "S" words we work hard to avoid.

The first S, is shut-up. Tho I addressed shut-up in a previous blog, it was not quite in the same context. 

We try to avoid this  S word by substituting a more acceptable "hush."

The second  S,  "stupid" seems totally out of place as a noun, especially when referencing a human being with such a moniker.

Other "bad" S words that come to mind are sucker (as in gullible) and sin---yet, sin is ever present and needs to be labeled for what it is. 

BUT....two recent quotes have me realize that even S words with bad inferences can be necessary for emphasizing truth, especially to ones with "dull" hearing (aka not having ears to hear) as a way of getting their attention.

For believers....."Sin does NOT make things more interesting; sin makes us lose heart."(2 Corinthians 4:1 & 16) (C. Huffman)

A sinner can repent, but STUPID is forever; . (Billy Sunday)

So.....listen up----I certainly did.

Hum-m-m-m......sin (the unrepentant variety) and stupid----maybe those two S words go hand-in-hand.