JOYNOTE!

JOY is the BEST Medicine! Hmmm....it's  not on sale at Walgreen's!

Sadly, I have not been singing notes of Joy lately! 

But God, had me start afresh in the Deep Creek parking lot with a message, seemingly just for me.....on a a license plate, no less.

It didn't have a melody, just a note! 

Think JOYNOTE! 

If a spiritual boost is needed, it comes from heart joy! 

Joy found in God's word.... (chara in Greek, simchah in Hebrew) 

• Boosts the psyche.
• Helps relaxation.
• Creates unity with other believers.
• Increases tolerance to pain/struggles allowed by God. 
• Did I hear a giggles aka "note" of laughter ⁉︎

God often fills us with joy through His presence----through His people.

His people rose to the occasion on my behalf. (texts, a memory from 2009, a devotional book in the mail, a neighbor's smile, a special cane to "lift" both my body and my Spirit, Pastor Buddy's reminder...."Keep praying it will keep you staying".....(implying importance of staying right where God has placed you) and shared prayers from prayer warriors, without a specific request from me.   

A cheerful heart is good medicine. (Proverbs 17:22a) Dispensed from the hearts of others NOT from RX though both Karen and Cassie dispense joy through kindness at the corner of 50-US 19.

Joy is more than a moment! Joy is a sustaining anchor seen on a license plate across from my handicap parking place! And.....not for the first time!

.....shout to God with cries of joy. (Psalm 47:1b)

Keep your eyes open for any JOYNOTE God might send you!

FLOUNDERING FORTITUDE!

STRENGTH diminishing! Why? What's the Source.....other than age or too much "me"?

Is it discouragement? Disappointment? Depression? Disease? Irritable-heart 

syndrome? 

Acceptance is the key.

This morning, the mirror on my chest clearly reminded me. "In my Face!"

Then, Scotty Smith's words for today re-emphasized the truth God already had  for me.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Two “I Am’s” + Three “I Will’s” = Deep Peace

NEW WORDS!

As we age it is not only difficult to keep our word bank relevant but it's even more difficult to understand all the new words the younger generations bombard us with daily. When I'm with 5 of my teenage grandsons, I have difficulty following their conversations often accompanied with hand gestures.

It's always interesting when the OED adds new words each year based on upticks in usage. This past week folks at Webster include "gaslighting" as a relevant new word addition, I had never even heard of it but my daughter had and she enlightened me.

Instagram post by my dear friend, MP, who speaks fluent German and French, https://www.instagram.com/shellphoenix/ reminded me, "Actions speak louder than words." Regardless of the language.

Hubby concurs as he shouted Faking!!! at the TV yesterday during the match between USA and Iran.

All words, new and old, as well as actions, should be grace-laced especially on the international stage.

CELEBRATE READING!

    Read a Book! With encouragement and permission!! TODAY!!!

Thanks for the reminder from dear friend and author, Michèle Phoenix, whose books I would read any day! 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Real "wordsmiths" have a way of saying the most with the fewest words.

My dear friend and MAC cancer mentor, Michèle Phoenix, has once again done just that.

CHOOSE: A MAP FOR THE JOURNEY

Hubby has always dubbed me, "Ms Rand McNally" as I have such an affinity for maps. In this age, most people are GPS "driven," Not I. I prefer a good ole big fold out paper map or at least an atlas. You see, I like to "see" where I am going. The big picture. It helps me plan ahead for possibilities along the way. i.e. rest areas. Always handy for an OAB lady to know locations of closest bath rooms. Also, I don't want to miss a quaint place along the way that might not show up on the expressway/main highway driven Global Positioning Systems.

Often, I think a spiritual map would be helpful. As topographical maps explore twists and turns and note steep hills, one is able to "plan ahead." The Bible certainly gives direction for the most important destination, eternity---though not quite as clear in the daily of life. I'm sure there is a purpose in that. Too much exact info might lead to worry and dread so God wants us to focus on His presence in each of one's "present" moments. So.....He's given us direction to his heart. The Bible a map of His sovereign will. God's Positioning System.

When we reach those difficult climbs in midst of hard places---when we're struggling through those hard places, God wants us to remember He is there. (Zephaniah 3:7)

By His Spirit and through His people, (Psalm 27:13) God is there to guide us and show us the way. (Proverbs 3:6)

To those fighting their way to the "top" or other side of the bad diagnosis, grief from the death of a loved one or chosen path of a wayward child, know God never leaves or forsakes His loved ones. (Isaiah 41:10)
Find fellowship with other believers on the same side of the struggle. (1 Thessalonians 5:7)
Choose to share your "map" of the same journey with them. (2 Corinthians 1:4)

As my friend, sister in Christ and fellow MAC cancer survivor, Michèle Phoenix, says, "When you get to the "top" remember to call down to those on the way up, not to give up because the view from the top is fabulous. It's worth the climb."

Frail-TEA

A tea drinker in a coffee drinking world----that can prove problematic sometimes. Even inhospitable. 

Irrational ailurophobia.

An "old lady" chosen to speak and teach.

Second guessing. Questioning. 

These frailties continue to pop up. Robbing me of my joy of warm memories of a land and people who touched my heart.

Frail-TEAs----a cuppa served from the pit, if not used for His glory. 

Praises for a BIG cuppa Turkish tea in my special "gift" from those who accepted me with all my frailties and loved me for who I am in Him. Served with remembering MP's quote made it all the sweeter. (Psalm 90:14)

My frailty is an act of worship when turned toward Him. (Michèle Phoenix)

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: Michèle!!!!!!!!!!

6/23/13 Michèle!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S 10 EXCITEMENTS! (Owen's perfect definition of exclamation points.)
Michèle Phoenix, with whom I share not only the 1 John 1:3 type of believer's fellowship but also the 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 fellowship which is shared by sisters in the faith on the same side of the struggle. Her MAC cancer journey began a year ahead of mine. She lived in Germany at the time, but God....brought us together using daughter Molly's relentless searching on the internet. Michèle even involved her choral students from Black Forest Academy----who "sang" from afar, songs of encouragement to me. We have sent met stateside 4 times and now that her ministry to MKs (missionary kids) has her living in Wheaton, IL I hope He blesses us with lots more meetings.

"Scar to Scar" celebration at Charlie Gitto's "on the hill" in St. Louis with Michèle Phoenix and her mom.

This weekend we met in St. Louis to encourage her as her book "Tangled Ashes," a great novel with a little mystery intertwined, is in the top three finalist for the ICRS (International Christian Retailers Show) "Christy" award. Being a finalist is BIG and I hope she wins----but regardless,  Michèle is the WINNER in my book as she has continued to live out 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7 for me.

St. Louis pix for Michèle & Sally.

BIRTH OF A BOOK

10/4/12 It’s Here!!!! My box from Books-a-Million was waiting for me when I came home last night. Michèle Phoenix’s long awaited novel, Tangled Ashes has been published by Tyndale. Having read an unedited version, I can tell you ---it is a must for your bookshelves!! 

This is my own review.....Michèle Phoenix weaves present day human drama in with WWII history. Architect/craftsman Becker arrives in the French village of Lamorlaye to begin restoration on a castle with a shadowy past while dealing with his own past. As always her characters resonate as they try to transcend their own flaws and weaknesses. The author gives insight into the Nazi occupation of France with it's hospital for the Fuhrer as an integral part of the story that lays the groundwork for a surprise conclusion. This book grabbed me at the beginning and held me til the end. Well-written....a worthy read!! 

Just check out this concise synopsis given by Michèle herself on YouTube. 

A MUST SEE of only 1 ½ minutes.

Can order with chance of a free book by clicking  link.

Michèle’s Morsels

7/1/10 One year ago yesterday, I met Michèle Phoenix stateside. The face-to-face / scar-to-scar meeting took place in Louisville, KY where my older brother Buddy lives. The timing, of her being there from Germany for a MI doc appointment, and me being there after a high school reunion weekend, was such a God-thing. Of course, the two of us (MAC victims) connecting at all, especially continents away, was miraculous in and of itself. Musing on all of this I as I read back through my journal, I realized that Michèle mentored me, albeit from afar, and it was her personal knowledge of the cancer and her spiritual grounding that God used to equip me to find joy in my journey.
My memorable morsels from Michèle:

• MAC (our cancer) is a gift we can embrace because it flows from God’s grace;
• Ceaselessly seek reasons to celebrate a life turned toward Him;
• Make note of kindnesses of strangers and the serendipitous occurrences that lend a ray of unexpectedness to your days;
• Acknowledge “Divine Winks;” (similar to my "glory bumps")
• Focus on God’s truths throughout your journey/dance;
• The Center of God’s will might not guarantee physical safety but it does offer utter fulfillment, purpose, comfort and peace;
• We are to each other a priceless gift from a tangible and intimately present God;
• Be a galvanizing inspirer and come to the rescue of others by using your first hand experiences to serve an eternal and invaluable purpose; (A-MEN!)
• In your “new normal” (cancer victim), continue to seek and lean on the One whose love redeems your pain;

Some of these morsels are found in her beautiful book, Postcards from the Waters Edge, which she shared with me early on in my cancer journey. It’s a book that continues to minister to me and one I can share with others who are now in the midst of their own cancer struggle.
http://michelephoenix.com/postcards-from-the-waters-edge/

One week from tomorrow in Nashville, TN where my younger brother, Bobby & his wife now have a condo (near their grands) Michèle and I will meet again. Such another God-thing!

GLORY BUMPS

“GLORY BUMPS”
11/8/09 Glory bumps……………an ljj e-mail informed me of this pithy term---2 short words with a big connotation. It’s similar to the goose bumpy feeling that one gets when reading a Hallmark card or a story that touches the heart. But “glory bumps” are more than that. Glory bumps are precipitated by an awareness of a “God thing” --- those incidences in our lives with a spiritual connection. God incidences--not coincidences! Glory bumps might result from seeing a miracle or a moving of God’s hand or just from experiencing the grand sense of LIFE that is beyond our comprehension/understanding.

That term, “Glory bumps,” has given me “pause to ponder” today. I have had more than my share of glory bumps these past 11 months. Here are a few of the earthly unexplainable incidences that come to mind and keep me all “a shiver” to the depths of my being.

MAC GLORY BUMPS

1. Michèle---a fellow MAC cancer survivor found by “my” Molly’s tireless “google” search before I even knew much more that the name of my very rare cancer---certainly not the extent of it. Meeting her stateside was a lifetime of glory bumps—one giganic glory bump in and of itself.

2. The Ridleys---Mary Flo and Dave who opened their home and their hearts to me in Dallas before God even completely secured my team there. (Thanks to Sally Klinke, a 1st Evan friend, and her “best friend” connection to Kari S. at Park Cities Pres in Dallas, who knows Mary Flo very well) The Ridleys continued to open their home for each subsequent surgery and for my bevy of nurses that accompanied me. I now call them friends---dear, dear friends.

3. My Team---only God leading Dr. Louis Carter from Africa and Dr. George Burruss from Memphis to a team in Dallas that went full circle from an original recommendation from Dr. Jay Burns (son Buddy’s friend in Dallas) to UT Medical, to Methodist Germantown, to St. Louis, Houston, Dallas Southwestern, and back to Dallas Baylor and Dr. Richard Ha at Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, office of Dr. Fritz Barton, Dr. Rod Rohrich, (friends of Dr. Carter) and their colleague, Dr. Burns---Buddy’s friend! What a full circle---one that truly reflects the hand of God!

4. Jesus Calling---the little devotional book by Sarah Young that has kept so many of my family, friends, and cyberspace acquaintances on the “same page.” My family tried, unsuccessfully, to find info about this special author on-line, but to no avail. But God………..through a forwarded e-mail from friend, Beth, located her for me. We have since been in touch (from Memphis to Nashville to Overland, KS and to Perth, Australia) Sarah has become a prayer partner and encourager. I hope I have become the same for her.

5. dotsydetails.blogspot.com---Last January, I didn’t even know what a blog was ---but God…………has used it as a way to connect with so-o-o many folks, both known and unknown to me. The blog has allowed others to view “my Dance” with all my missteps and challenges and to learn with me along the way.

6. Prayer---from the first one I prayed on January 10, 2009 after reading the Jesus Calling entry from that day. “Lord, if it doesn’t matter for eternity, may the storm that’s coming into my life not be cancer.” (It was very much cancer--a very rare cancer--so I knew it mattered.)

• Jeff White, pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian in Dallas, during staff prayer time “chose” my name and realized that he in fact, knew that name because Larry Liles had been his racquetball coach at UM. I now know what it feels like to be “be lifted up in prayer”---like a calm after the “glory bumps.”

• Surgery Day prayers at First Evan

• My name above Dr. Albritton's desk to remind him to pray.
  

• Muslim student telling me that she had never seen faith like mine.

• Worldwide prayer warriors---it would take pages to explain the breadth and depth.

• Brother Buddy and Charlotte being baptized Easter '09---it has mattered for eternity and that’s all that really matters.

7. Connections and Reconnections---distant family, my 4th grade teacher, life long friends, high school chums, college roomies, Rawls Hall folks, Pi Phis, former students (and their parents and grandparents) HHS faculty and staff, 42 years of education colleagues and new cyberspace acquaintances-----to name a few.

8. BEST possible outcomes for each surgery. The first prognosis was so grim that Larry asked the docs about tattooing me so that he would know for sure that he would be taking home his wife. I am indeed a “walking miracle” as Ann E. dubbed me. “The most astonishing thing about miracles is that they do happen.” G.K. Chesterton

9. Insurance coming through at just the right time on several occasions-----11th hour took on new meaning!

10. “Puddle Experiences”---a result of too many glory bumps at once—which reduce me to tears! The surprise from friends who lined the end of my street in March with balloons and posters to send me off on the first surgical part of my MAC journey, immediately comes to mind.

GLORY BUMPS, INDEED!!

MY REMINDERS OF GOD’S GOODNESS! I TREASURE EACH ONE OF THEM---THOUGH THE NUMBERS ARE TOO HIGH TO COUNT!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Encouragement for My Dance

This was not the blog I had started writing earlier today but it is the RIGHT blog. This e-mail came from Michèle---my friend from Germany, who is a year ahead of me in her microcystic adnexal carcinoma journey. She calls it her McJourney and she is the one who understands so well all that I go through because she has been where I am. She continues to encourage me and to be accepting of my humanity while she reminds me of the One who loves me---and as I had written earlier today, "in my weakness, He is strong." My journal jotting read, " a juxtaposition of my frailty and God's strength." As you read, may you be encouraged by her as I was.

Dotsy, I just read your blog. And about two hours ago, I finished writing a blog of my own that somewhat parallels yours. Mine is about the year-end emotional roller coaster of BFA, not necessarily about the emotional turmoil following the trauma of your last months, but the conclusions I write about work for both situations. Correction: the conclusions work for all situations, because they allow for human weakness and post-roller coaster emotional exhaustion and they point us toward the one immovable point in the constantly swirling "dance" of life.

It's a bit like ballet dancers who have to "spot" as they turn pirouettes. They keep their eye on one spot on the edges of the room and, while their body turns, keep their eyes anchored there, whipping their heads around only to reclaim that spot as their immovable point. The same is true for what we've been through. In a sense, we're locked in an emotional pirouette we can't control and we mostly manage to keep our eyes on that fixed point. But sometimes, during that fraction of time when we have to whip our heads around to keep up with our bodies, we lose sight of it. We flounder a little. We doubt a little. We wish a little that it were not so hard, not so long, not so wearying. We tap into the very real human side that God loves so much in us. And He says, "Look over here--turn your eyes back to the spot that has stabilized your world before. I can do it again. Turn your eyes back to me." And we do--as you will soon, I know. But I also know that there will come more spins, more losses of eye-contact, and even in those circumstances all we'll need to do is trust and wait for our revolving journeys to turn us around to that heart-position where we can claim His peace and confidence again. Please don't be too hard on yourself during these more fragile times. They're what remind us of our frailty so we can cling more firmly to His strength!

I'm praying for you right now, on the gorgeous evening in the foothills of the Black Forest. The valley outside my windows is cast in the day's final golden rays. It's my favorite time of day--my students and I call it "The Goldening." I'm praying for serenity and endurance.

Michèle

Bitty Blog

5/27/09,,,,an itty, bitty Blog----
This will be more like blog bullets as I update a little. Actually, the only coherent time I had today when I could blog, I had no access----our electricity was out for over 2 hours. Not good when a computer needs “juice.”

• • Grandaddy taken back to ICU at 4:30 a.m.

• • Playing catch up at work continued but minimal stress b/c Angie has covered for me for months.

• • Larry and son, Buddy, and grandson, Noah on a long anticipated “heritage” trip

• • My gracious principal allowed me to use my lunch time to spend the 12-1:00 ICU visiting time w/ Grandaddy.

• • Long nap brought some refreshment to a depleted body---no electricity took away all the distractions from phone to computer.

• • Michele, my MAC survivor friend from Germany, arrives in North America. The possibility that we might meet this side of heaven thrills my heart.

• • Received e-mail from friend,Shirley, expressing well the privilege of prayer.

“I know many of you have your own griefs and sorrows and pains and difficult situations going on and I am remembering to lift you up too! Nothing encourages me to remember to pray for others than when I have pressing prayer needs of my own!”

• • Bernie’s phone message---Hebrews 5:14, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” (NASB) THOTS---solid food=God’s word and practice = constant use/exercise of the truth—need to practice! Practice!! Practice!!!
• 
  
  

• • Phone call from Pickwick----the Texans and Larry saying, “Nite, I love you.”

Microcystic Adnexal Carcinoma

5/12/09 About Face The title for this entry is to facilitate a “google” search for someone who might have just been diagnosed with MAC and has no idea about this cancer---probably the doctor doesn’t know much either. It was my daughter Molly’s diligence in her google search that led her to Germany and “my” Michèle, whose journey with MAC is a year ahead of mine. She has been my encourager, reality checker, prayer warrior and friend. Nothing quite bonds people like being on the same side of a suffering. To have not only found a MAC survivor but to have found one who walked that long, daunting road of the unknown with God has been one of the greatest blessings of this “dance” of mine. I hope to become that for someone as well---plus, I can introduce him/her to Michèle and her journey and he/she can be really blessed. The sub title is the next step that I’m experiencing as I am getting ready to return to work next Monday. I’m not sure if I’m trying to prepare my HHS friends or myself. I know that the results are better than I, and my doctors, ever dreamed they would be. For that I am grateful. I know that I, by Dr. Ha’s recommendation, need a lifestyle change about sunlight---wearing a mask and hat or both are necessary. The mask is easier for quick trips involving sunlight. It also hides the mucus that easily flows from my “new” right nostril without me feeling it ‘til it reaches my chin. Dr. Ha says it’s because my mucosa went into shock during the surgery and is now waking up. And the lips it flows over have no feeling and never will---at least that’s what I understood from a nerve discussion we had. I also drool out of the right side of my mouth for no apparent reason and actually have lip exercises for that and other eating difficulties---all of which seem to improve weekly. I guess those “lip calisthenics” are working. At this point public salad slurping and cereal eating are out of the question but I can eat most anything in smaller bites, especially on my left/good side. I still use a straw for drinking---it’s just easier and more comfortable. I keep some with me at all times---they help me with heat---which I can’t feel as well. That’s the physical part. The other part deals with my new look---not bad, but different---maybe not even permanent. Those who know me think it looks great---what else can they say, right? Considering every other possibility it is good but lets just say I don’t relish having my picture made. I have seen others look askance and feel their discomfort. That’s the way society is---I’m praying that I will become more sensitive in a positive way to folks with disfigurations of any kind. Even now I see God’s great goodness in my unusual lips and flat nostril. As God would have it, I went to Michèle’s blog to see her latest posting. I “accidentally” clicked the bookmark that went to her June 12, 2008 posting---written just 2 days after her mohs surgery to remove her tumor. She has not had to have reconstruction. She is such a writer---I just copied a few of her words---on her blog, the words are interspersed with exquisite pictures and I will include the URL at the end (& as a gadget) so you can see the pictures for yourself or read more of her struggle with beauty, especially where weight is concerned. Read only if you want a real blessing! Thanks Michèle. Once again you have written words that are in my heart and have encouraged me as only you can. I, too, see God’s name written in my wound and to that I say, “A-men!”

• As I've spent so much time looking at the world around me through the lens of my camera, I've been prompted to think about beauty. Another factor in my beauty-musings might be the decidedly unflattering aspect of my own face these days, pictured here two days after my surgery. The word "ew" doesn't really do it justice--and I'm referring to the incision, swollenness and stitches, not to my lack of makeup!

• Is beauty the aesthetic tyranny of unachievable and unnatural standards tattooed on our subconscious minds by a media barrage of pictures and diet ads and clothing styles? Not only is flawless beauty promoted as a means to happiness, love and wealth, but the ads have increasingly gone one step further, demonizing aspects of the human (and female) anatomy that are the normal attributes of real bodies engaged in the aging process: wrinkles, cellulite, sagging appendages and shifting weight distribution.

• Beauty was in the kindness of strangers and the faithfulness of friends. More than ever, I am convinced that beauty is not about how a person looks. It is most clearly displayed in that person's motivations and how he/she touches the lives of others. (Psalm 27:13)

• On a spiritual level--an all-encompassing level, really--the ultimate beauty of my life has been in God's answers to the prayers of so many: in a smaller tumor than expected, in benign other "bumps" on my face, in a smaller wound than anyone had predicted and in an incredibly fast-healing scar. Beauty is in a faith that has allowed for peace despite the medical uncertainty. It is...and has been...in God.

We sang a chorus by Keith Getty on Sunday. One of the lines went: "Oh, to see my name written in your wounds." The lyrics moved me because they made me realize that it is actually His name that is written in my wound. And though I hope it will some day become less visible, each time I catch a glimpse of it, I am reminded of God's incredible sustenance throughout this McJourney. And there is great--GREAT--beauty in that. http://serenitymine.xanga.com/?nextdate=6%2f12%2f2008+23%3a58%3a1.700&direction=n Because this might not link from here, I'll add it as a gadget above Seeing God's Hand---then just a double click should open it. Also, once you've finished reading the 2008 blog entry, you can click on Serenitymine in the upper left corner & it will take you to a current one where she lists "rules for living" for her graduating seniors---a worthy read for all of us.

Kindness

2/24/09 “cuppa” kindness
Those who know me well, know that I like “sweet” tea with a big lemon wedge---none of that artificial stuff for me. But they also know that I am somewhat of a “hot” tea aficionado---maybe that accounts for all of those years of my love affair with England. Maybe that also accounts for all those years, as ljj reminded me recently, of serving a “cup of tea” to each student (1,000+) who came to the library during January---as a part of National Hot Tea Month. Of course, a good book was always part of the celebration and Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea was a favorite with the younger ones---and me too. 

I think I liked Mr. Putter b/c “he was old and his bones creaked” but he still took time each day to share his tea. He took his with sugar, Tabby took hers with cream and I take mine with both---actually preferring milk to cream, so it doesn’t overwhelm the tea flavor. (but never lemon for my "cuppa")

Prior to serving the tea, I’d make a big production of the tea tray and all the accouterments that made “taking tea” together so special. We discussed manners---sipping not slurping. Always, we talked about how special it was to sit and share with another person---an act of kindness of sorts---a way of saying I care about you enough to spend time with you.

In Grandaddy’s hospital room, I was jotting down these notes for the blog when a beautiful young nursing assistant in green scrubs came into the room to take care of his needs. I thought how familiar she looked to me----when you’ve been teaching 41 years, you see lots of familiar faces. Later I asked where she went to school. “Germantown.” I’m a Houston High gal so that didn't ring a bell, but then it “hit” me. “Did you go to Southwind Elementary?” I asked from behind my mask, which I have to wear anytime I'm at the hospital. “YES!” I reminded her that I was Mrs. Liles and the first words our of her mouth were, “You served me tea in the library! It had an orange taste and you made it just for us.”
Now over 10 years later, she’s returning the kindness to a member of my family as she cares for him and actually helps him sip his tea. We never know how our lives will impact someone else, but if kindness is involved, I think the benefit lasts a long time. Sadè is my proof.

In celebration, I’m having a “cuppa”--Jacksons of Piccadilly Darjeeeling--“the true classic of afternoon teas”--- in a my Queen’s china cup, with the pink rose design and looking up more kindness verses. As Michèle says, “Kindness is the fruit salad of spiritual gifts.”

Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Galatians 5:22,23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Colossians 3:12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
2 Timothy 2:24 The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,

Meditating Monday

1/26/09

I am choosing NOT to meditate on my tumor today---Big MAC attack is to be set aside so that I can fully focus on God's goodness:

Banana puddin' for breakfast---I'm actually trying to gain back recently lost pounds---my friends are "bashing" me about this new found "eat more" opportunity.

Allowing me to pray for others.

Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)----even in the dark times---make that especially in the dark times. Make mine a BRT---Belief, Rest and TRUST---I have the belief, I'm getting the rest so I'm slathering on the Trust---so it covers this whole Big MAC.

God's goodness is SO evident to me ----He has sent Michele into my life for such a time as this with words of encouragement---because she has stood where I am standing.

Words from her could encourage us all--"-I'm praying for peace and for an eternal perspective as you face the days and weeks ahead. I am praying for miracles too, whether they come through your surgeon's scalpel or through the Lord's all-knowing hand. "Prayer is the slender thread that moves the hand of God." (Corrie Ten Boom) His hand is moving even as I write..."