October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 NOTE: THIS POST IS FOR MEN ALSO. 

Breast cancer, you may be thinking why is she talking about this?! I will tell you why.

Many women suffer from breast cancer every year. Some women haven’t been diagnosed in time.  They lose their battle.  For me, I was being monitored very closely, every 3 months with exams and films.  This was because of my family history and my health history, already having leukemia.  If it weren’t for this, it may have been too late for me.  You see my cancer was not detectable on physical exam.  It was too deep. The cancer was already invasive, meaning it spread beyond the original site.  Therefore it was also aggressive.  It was on the mammogram films that they could detect an issue.  

Because of early detection, I was spared the devastation of “hard” chemo.  I had surgery to remove both breasts, and that was it.  No radiation needed. I was tried on some oral medication but I could not tolerate the side effects.  

Why am I telling you such personal information? Because I care.  I know young women that were not yet the age for mammograms, they developed breast cancer. Found from doing self exams. And I know “older” women that do not bother.  They are playing with fire.  

Cancer is a devastating disease. It is not pleasant.  It is hard for all involved. It is painful physically and emotionally.  Please, please take this seriously. It takes 2 minutes to do a self breast exam.  

Now for men! This cancer shows no partiality.  Men get breast cancer also.  And it can metastasize to other areas of the body. And yes a mammo can be done on a male. It takes no time at all to check yourself. Include under the arm. 

Breast cancer is totally treatable.  But the key is early detection. 

Many of you are probably thinking what does this have to do with God, or faith and hope. Plenty! 

God has created us, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. You may say then why do we get deadly diseases? Because we live in a polluted, broken, imperfect world.  And it happens. 

Remember, God is always in control. Sometimes it is our own doing that blocks the will of God. Either way, why test the power of God?  Why ignore the simple things we can do to keep our health in check? 

I still have cancer. I still have spinal cord damage.I still have many health issues because of that spinal cord damage. Do I fret and blame God? Absolutely not! It is the mighty hand of God that has protected me and given me life.  I pray I always walk in the gratitude and thankfulness to our Lord Jesus for His love and hand on my life.

I encourage you faithful readers, take care of this vessel of flesh He has given you.  Do the simple steps that may save your life.  I care about you. And mostly our Lord God cares about you. 

“The Lord said: I will certainly set you free and care for you. I will certainly intercede for you in a time of trouble, in your time of distress, with the enemy.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭15:11‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

“For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11-13‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

A Year of Changes, Moving into a Year of Joy!

 This past year had its ups and downs. I truly believe we all could say this. Mine started one year ago today. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have surgery to remove both breasts. The fact that I have chronic leukemia complicated things. I already take Chemo for the leukemia, that limited the choices for the medication for the breast cancer. We had a couple options of oral medication I could take for the breast cancer. However, I could not tolerate any of those medication‘s. But still my chance of reoccurrence is fairly low. We will take that as a victory.Today is the one-year anniversary of the surgery, therefore making it one year in remission. 

All of this sounds overwhelming. But for myself and for my husband we were not overwhelmed. We always felt the Lord had me in his hands and He would take care of me. And He did take care of me. And He continues to take care of me every moment of every day.

There are so many of you right now living in fear over Covid. And whether or not to take the vaccine.

This has to be an individual‘s choice. What is right for me may not be right for you. It is difficult for many right now that do not want to lose their jobs because of no vaccine.I don’t agree that one should be put into that situation of having to choose between a vaccine and your job. I cannot imagine having to make a choice like this.

There’s so much going on in our country right now and in the world right now that is making our lives difficult. As I pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and understanding, I also pray that He somehow turns our country back to a God-fearing country. Home of the free and the brave .

I pray this for all of the countries in this world we live in.  That our Lord Jesus guides our leaders.  Even if they do not acknowledge Him as Lord, He can still influence them.  How? Because He is God Almighty. 

We, as the body of Christ need to be on our knees praying. We need to be interceding for our country and others.  We need to pray that once again we have God-fearing leaders who love Jesus Christ and choose to follow Him.  This is how we can see a positive change happen in this dark world. We all know that when Jesus returns He will light up this whole earth.  He will reign over all.  

My faithful readers, I pray you can grab ahold of the hope and joy we have in Him.  We don’t have to live in fear.  But instead in victory. For me, everyday is a victory.  I hang on to that.  God is with us!

We Are Called Children of God!

 “Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are! 

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:1‬a ‭HCSB‬‬

What an amazing Scripture this is. This boldly tells us of our inheritance.  We are the children of God. Sons and daughters. These are God’s words, telling us we belong to Him. 

Do we believe this? Do we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ?  We must have that faith, and that overwhelming feeling in our hearts, knowing we are children of the everlasting, living, loving, all powerful God Almighty.  

Not only are we His children, but He has a very specific plan with your name on it. A very well thought out plan.  He has designed this plan to go with our personalities, with our character, and with those very specific areas He has nurtured in our lives. 

You may be thinking “I’ve been there and done that, it didn’t work out”. Don’t blame that on God. While He has a plan, it is up to us to learn all we can about what God is calling us to do.  We must pray, study His Word, and seek counsel. 

And there is a very real possibility we mess up.  But don’t give up.  If God has birthed that into your heart, then He will help you learn and get it right. He will make you ready. 

Remember, we are His children. He will not leave us helpless.  Abide in Him and in His Word and He will continue to abide in us. His love is so great for us, His promises will come to fruition. 

Have a wonderful week faithful readers, basking in your Heavenly Father’s presence.

#beready  #abideinHim #Hehasaplan   

It’s Been a Few Months

 Hello to all of my Blogger readers.  It has been a few months since my last blog.  I am fine. I felt I needed a little battery recharge.  And I am sure most of you have needed the same. COVID alone is enough to wear us out. Not to mention work, home life and priorities, and on and on.  

I have had on my mind lately topics for my future blogs. Regardless how they start out or end, they always have one important factor.  That is: We never walk alone.  Jesus is always with us.  He guides us and protects us.  Every day, all day. 

I never expected the recovery from breast cancer surgery to take as long as it has.  I am healed fine. But I’m very fatigued.  It doesn’t take  much to wipe me out. And that fatigue definitely affects the brain. Oh my, I take a lot of naps, and sometimes it feels like I’m walking in my sleep.  

I know anyone who has dealt with cancer or any other major illness can relate. It is difficult.  But once again, the greatest revelation is Jesus is by my side.  

So as I prepare for my next blog, I pray for you all that you feel recharged. Let Jesus pour His Holy Spirit over you.  Feel the drenching of His love all over you. Amen

#Jesusreigns  #Weneverwalkalone #recharge #lifeisgood 

In The Shadow of His Wings!

 Have you ever seen an eagle with its wings spread out fully? Close up, in person? This majestic bird is massive, amazing, beautiful, powerful, breathtaking.  The wings span across to cover us in their shadows. This beautiful creature God created always amazes us when we see it.  Think about that. There aren’t too many other birds that bring us that amazement. 

God tells us in His Word that we are covered in the shadow of His wings. 

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:1‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Think about that, if we can be covered in the shadow of the wings of an eagle, how many are covered in the shadow of our Almighty God?  I will tell you, the whole earth.  God’s arms span around this whole globe. And this whole universe that He alone created.  

God knew we would endure troubled times. He knew we would face trials and tribulations.  He knew some of us would face and endure illnesses.  But above all of that, He knows we can be comforted, protected, and sheltered by His love for us. 

These are troubled times we are living in. A global pandemic, violence in every country, and the list goes on.  But God has not left us helpless. We have His Word. We have His Holy Spirit. And we can have wisdom, knowledge, and discernment from Him. Now more than ever we need to be in His Word, we need to pray and ask God to help us through these times. We must dwell in His presence.  

I pray for you all that you feel the comfort of God watching over you. He loves us all.  

Are we eating the food set before us?

 When we were babies we relied on our parents to feed us. As we grew, the goal was to become more independent and feed ourselves with what was provided. We began to grow and become even more independent and began to provide for ourselves. And we then ate what we provided for ourselves.And so we then raised our own children to do the same.

The same is true for taking what the Lord has given us, taking it in, digesting it, and let it nourish us and strengthen us. This is what the Word of God is to us. Spiritual food. God's own food for us. 

This never stops. When we are babes in our Christian walk, we rely on Bible teachings, Sunday sermons, teachers, study helps to feed us and nurture us. To make us grow and become stronger. Then we begin to grow and mature in the Word of God. We read the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit speaks to us. We have a greater understanding of God's Word. We use His word in every aspect of our life. 

Then we get lazy. We expect God to hand feed us again. We wait for the spoon to touch our lips. And guess what? We become weak and frail. We lose our concentration. We don't read the Word like we should. Then we are hungry again.

Do we really think this is what God had in mind for us, His children? I don't think so. He wants us to be mature, understand His Word. He wants to speak to us directly. He expects us to grow up and reach out and take those morsels on our own. He has provided them for us. He has placed them out in front of us. All we have to do is reach out and take them.

I honestly do not think any of us intentionally become lazy. I think we just let the business of life, our everyday duties get in the way. We have His Holy Spirit with us to poke us and prod us. Those gentle reminders. 

I encourage you all, faithful readers, reach out. The Lord has placed that food in front of us.Take it, it is yours. And it will make you strong, it will encourage you. 

Matthew 4:4

 But He answered, “It is written:

Man must not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.”

Open and Exposed

 “For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:12-13‬ ‭AMP‬‬

I have been digesting these verses for over a week now. When I  looked at the first part what really stuck out at me is “the Word of God is living”. Yes, living in us.  We know God is alive, and this drives home the point that the Word of God is alive in us as well.  That is a powerful thought.  Think about the power of the Word, and it is alive in us.  

I was stuck on that part of the verse for a few days. I’ve read this scripture many times.  But for some reason it really spoke this time.  As I went through the week, trying not to listen to much of the negative news on TV, I prayed for this power to rise up within me, and within my family, the church, and our country.  We have seen our country torn apart and ripped in two these last few months.  It seems like those liars, deceitful people, corrupt people were coming out on top.  They are destroying our godly values and our country.  They have cheated, and stolen from us.  The list goes on and on.   Then I dwelt among these verses, and became more and more excited.  Why? Because God’s Word and His power is alive in us. For those that love Him and serve Him, we have power.  We can speak power by speaking His Word. 

Then I thought of those people deceiving us.  How can they have victory? One reason is because we, the church, is idle.  We need to stand up, stand tall for what is right, what is honorable, and most of all stand tall for God.  Those serving the enemy cannot destroy us.  But we need to take an active role.  

Now let’s look at the end of those verses.  In verse 13, the Word says :

And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.”

All is exposed. All is revealed. That’s right, ALL. God knows our hearts. He knows what we are thinking. He knows what we are to say even before it leaves our tongue. 

So those people who are deceiving us, stealing from us, destroying our country are not getting away with anything. Whether it is today, or when they meet their Creator, they will be exposed and dealt with.  The Lord Jesus will deal with them. 

Therefore we do not need to fret over these things to the point that we become so angry that we sin to get even. The Lord promises to deal with them. 

But we should stand strong, stand tall, and keep that Word of God close to our heart, and alive in us. 

For God has empowered us and made us strong in Him.  We have victory in Him. 

I pray for you faithful readers that you grab ahold of these thoughts and stand tall and confident in our Lord Jesus.  For He reigns forever. 

 

Through the Ages of Time!

 Our world is upside down it seems.  We have a global pandemic, countries battling countries, countries battling within themselves. We are wondering who we can trust. Or who we should trust.  We are seeing our loved ones die too early from a deadly virus.  And now the virus is mutating into another strain. We place hope in a vaccine.  

Think about it, does this seem familiar?  Do you remember your grandparents talking about plagues, recession, wars? They thought for sure the world was coming to an end.  Now jump to the next generation., that of our parents.  They recall WWII, and the Korean War.  They recall the Great Depression, having to wear hand-me-downs, shoes that the soles wore off, rationing foods when they were school aged.  And the presence of Polio, Smallpox, Tuberculosis, and other illnesses.  Even losing young siblings to diseases like pneumonia.  What was happening to their world? 

Now we come to our generation. We remember the Vietnam War. Gas rationing. But through the use of vaccines, smallpox and polio was mostly gone. We still had measles and mumps, and chicken pox.  As for plagues or pandemics, I remember the Hong Kong flu.  My own father was so very ill from that. But as time moved on, the vaccines for those proved effective also.  

I also recall the racism and racial wars taking place in our own country.  We thought once again, what is our world coming to, our own country? Then things calmed down a bit. 

And the next generation comes along. Our own children. We are faced with terrorism attacking our own homeland.  Our children were going to war.  Some never to return home. Some never the same.  We began to see illnesses return. The Swine flu, some evidence of smallpox returning. Even tuberculosis.  And now we have this new pandemic, the COVID 19 virus.  Here we go again. And there is political unrest. There is fighting happening within.  Not to mention still threats from others.  

After all of these generations, have we not learned? Do you see the pattern?  There is a greater enemy involved here.  A spiritual enemy that does not want us to see success, and definitely not unity.  

But I have the best news ever! We have a power that is mightier than all others. The power of our loving God, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

8.   “Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. 

9.  Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. 

10. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of glory. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24:8-10‬ ‭HCSB

He is the King of glory. He will reign forever. He was, and is, and forever will be victorious. No matter how bleak things seem, there is always hope. Our Lord Jesus will not leave us helpless or hopeless.  

Call out to Him.  Reach for Him.  No matter what you face, grab ahold of Him, and never let go.   

Every generation will face their battles.  They will have viruses, plagues, wars, and on and on.  Until the day Lord Jesus comes back, we will face battles.  Why? Because the enemy, the devil, does not want us to thrive, and have victory.  These battles are as much spiritual as they are physical.  But we have the upper hand.  We have Jesus! 

A Loss For Words! Grief!

 These past several weeks our world has been rocked.  Actually the past year has.  For many of us it seems like it will never end.  We have experienced one hardship after another on a personal basis.  Our country has been rocked on a national basis.  Our world has been rocked on a global basis.  It seems none of us can escape this turmoil.  We may face different individual types of turmoil, but it still is turmoil.  

For so many it has shaken their faith. For others it has shaken their family, and others their jobs.  There is not a written handbook that gives you an exact roadmap of how to escape these hardships.  But there are many that give us suggestions.  

For me, the Word of God is my blueprint for life.  Through the help of the Holy Spirit, I can read and understand what the Bible is teaching me.  And through those teachings I can learn how to deal with the things in life that want to bring me down. 

As I have written before, I battle significant health issues along with 2 types of cancer.  My body feels the fatigue every day.  But it is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that empower me. I can fight, I will fight with my all.  I will not give up.  Now throw into the mix the COVID pandemic.  Oh my, I have to stay on my toes and be diligent about protecting myself.  I have to stay away from others.  I won’t mind telling you, I’m just plain tired of this.  I want to socialize. I want to be in church. I want to travel to see our son and daughter-in-law.  I’m done with it.  

But then yesterday I am reminded of how deadly this virus is.  Even to a strong and healthy man.  A wonderful man we know lost his battle with COVID.  

I was left with no words. I didn’t know what to say or how to respond.  Then I look at my circumstances and think, what do I say or how do I respond Lord?  I’ve run out of words to pray. And we grieve.  Is it ok to grieve? Yes! I believe God gave us the ability to grieve.  It helps to mend the aching of our hearts. And it reminds us we cannot go through this life without Him.  We need our Lord Jesus to guide us, strengthen us, encourage us, and heal us.  And when our time here on earth is done, we can move into eternity in heaven with Jesus.  Where the streets are lined with gold.  Where there is glorious singing to our Lord.  Where there is no more pain or grieving.  

Faithful readers, wherever you are in this world, it has been rocked. I pray you can find that help from our Lord Jesus. He will give you that peace and comfort you need. 

I pray for my country. That once again we can be united as a nation following God’s commandments.  

I pray for all of you grieving, the our Lord Jesus will comfort you and heal your broken hearts.  

We will prevail.  We will be victorious.  Stay strong my friends. Our Lord is always near you.  

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:17-18‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

Still Merry Christmas

 Most everyone is wishing others Happy New Year.  And believe me, I am ready to say goodbye and good ridden to 2020.  Oh my, what a year that was.  An awful year in so many ways.  But a beautiful year in other ways.  As much as I want to move on into the new year with a freshness and new beginnings, I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to Christmas.  When you think about it, it still is the Christmas season until January 5th.  

The twelve days of Christmas is also known as twelvetide , celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. You can look it up and read about the meaning and explanation of this celebration.  

Even today many remember this and choose to keep their Christmas decorations and tree up until then. Growing up, my Mom always waited until the 5th. 

With today’s lifestyles, usually both husband and wife work full time.  Therefore most are eager to get everything put away before returning to work for the new year.  But think about it, are the decorations what define Christmas? Absolutely not! Jesus Christ is who we celebrate and is the reason we celebrate. And Jesus is with us always. So we do not need a Christmas tree to know He is near.  Even though it is a pretty reminder.  

My point is, we can celebrate the birth of Jesus everyday.  He is always near, always with us.  Tree or no tree.  If you so choose to put away the decorations, or keep them up, Jesus Christ is alive in our hearts. His Holy Spirit lives in us. 

I pray that you all can look ahead to this new year of 2021 with great expectations, a renewed hope, a new vibrancy in your walk, and new promises from our Lord Jesus. 

“See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1:23‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.”

‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:16-17‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

I pray for you faithful readers, the this new year of 2021 brings you a life full of the love of Jesus.  I pray your walk with Him is deeper and more meaningful than ever before. Remember, He is always with you. You never walk alone.