Day 5

If Psalm 143:8 was my journey verse, then Matt Redman's "Never Once" was my journey anthem.  It is now my ringtone so that every time my phone rings, I am reminded that God is Faithful. 

 I have been waiting two years for him to release a new album and on September 24th, Your Grace Finds Me was released.  There is no disappointment in this album for me.  It is running music, it is driving music, it is praising music!  For today's post, I wanted to share one of my favorites from this new album, "I Need You Now".

Or Click here to find it on iTunes.

Day 4

There is an attribute of Jesus that has such great importance to me since two years ago when I walked through my treatment process.  The book of Matthew in the New Testament is full of stories about Jesus healing the sick. {We happen to be studying Matthew this year in Bible Study Fellowship International (BSF) so I am really excited.}  Many came to Jesus with faith that He was the One that could restore their health. Some came with all the faith in the world and some came with that of a mustard seed.

On one of the evenings before my biopsy that confirmed that I did in fact have breast cancer, a group of our friends all came to our house to pray.  We prayed that there would be no tumors to stick a needle into. We didn't pray that prayer just to say it, we really believed that God could do that.  I still believe He could have. But I also believe He uses other means today to allow for healing.  There are amazing minds at work in the field of medicine and advances that were certainly not available in the days that Jesus walked the earth.  

Sometimes the healing comes in the provision of a superb team of doctors that have the perfect blend of compassion and knowledge.  Sometimes the healing isn't physical at all but comes in the whispers of God when we seek him in our distress.  Sometimes the healing comes in the love poured out on us from the community around us.  And sometimes the healing comes when He chooses to take us from this world to enjoy heaven and His Presence forever.

{Today was a reminder of my physical healing through my friends at the Breast Center during my survivorship follow-up appointment. I got to bring a lil power in pink along with me.}

 

Day 3

This handsome man in the pink shirt is my husband, Blake. Yesterday he got dressed for work and realizing what day it was, he came down wearing this. Seeing him in his bright pink UnderArmor was a reminder that I am blessed beyond description to be walking through this life with him. We have been married 10 years this past May, and with every year I am assured that God knew exactly what I needed in a spouse when he gave me Blake. I have blogged about my man before here, here and here, oh and here too.

I have talked about him being the wind in my sails but for our family (please excuse my nerdy anatomical reference) Blake is like the spine. I got the heart part covered, Koa is the brain and Kalea is without a doubt the funny bone. Sure he supports us financially but with his wisdom and understanding of what is truly important, He is at the core of our mission as a family to think like Jesus, be thankful in all circumstances and love each other and others effectively.  

Day 2

This verse has great significance for me.  It became my journey verse as I walked through some of the scariest days of my life. It even made it onto a t-shirt designed by a sweet friend.  And although I still cling to the message of this verse, there is more to it.  

It was Tuesday, July 26, 2011 and I had just had a mammagram and ultrasound that revealed two masses in my right breast that the Radiologist believed was most likely cancer.  Suddenly my future, my life became a question mark. And as I cried out to God, Psalm 143:8 were the words He gave me.  I took them in and made them personal to my life because in my hour of need, The Lord had met me there with these words.  

Today I am reminded that yes, each new day of my journey His unfailing love was undeniable and yes there was not one dreaded step of the process that He didn't show me the way I should go.  But I am also reminded that I have a very Personal God who knew my situation and knew what I needed in that moment. Most importantly, I am reminded that He still does. 

31 Days to Think Pink/Day 1

With a flip of the calendar to October, the world around me turns pink and suddenly I am taken back.  I am taken back to a very difficult time in July 2011 when I was 33 years old with two young children and facing the diagnosis and treatment of Breast Cancer.  It was a time that I would never trade because it proved more valuable to me than I could have ever imagined. And for that reason, I have vowed to never forget it.  

It just so happens that Breast Cancer Awareness month coincides with a challenge from The Nester to write for 31 Days on topic of my choice.  Last year I accepted the challenge and wrote about 31 Life Lessons Only Cancer Could Teach.  

It was a game time decision (this morning, in fact) but I would like to accept that challenge once again to use the month of October to "Think Pink" and be reminded of all the gifts that surround me every day. It may be a picture, scripture, a quote, my own thoughts, a story, but my hope and prayer is that it will all relate to "pink".  So please join me on this adventure!  And remember to do your self-breast exam, get that mammogram, or have that concerning symptom checked by a physician. 

Day 1/Intro
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
Day 29
Day 30
Day 31

Two Are Better Than One...

It's been 30 years, 31 to be exact. We met the very first day of Kindergarten when she provided the assurance I needed to let go of my mommy's ankles and join circle time. She moved away with her family when we were twelve, and I was left to figure out the middle and high school years without my best friend at my side. Fortunately, there was always summer, and it could never come soon enough. Whether we were vacationing at Disney or Lake Powell or just visiting in Annapolis or Atlanta, for a month every summer I knew what is was like to have a sister.

The college years flowed into the graduate school years, and it became harder to spend the time together. We married in the same year and took on the anticipated role of maid of honor for each other. Within a year of one another, we gave birth to our firstborns and started the blessed journey of motherhood. With so many obligations, so many distractions from our friendship, it seemed only natural that we would reserve summer and vacation as our time to reconnect, only now it is about two families and eight people connecting.

She has made the extravagant sacrifice of rising early on vacation to take in the sunrise with me. We find our place in the sand and immediately I see the clouds. I desire so much for God to meet me and my friend here this morning. We wait. We pray. Then as though they have been given their cue, the clouds that stood in the way begin to move. The glory of the Sun is unmistakable yet again.

I realize that this is a divine moment, a reminder that we have traveled many years as friends, and God has been faithful. He has sustained our bond, and most likely without Him, we would not be sitting on this beach together this way. It is also a call to continue on, to bring our families together, to make memories, and pass on this legacy of lifelong friendship.

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 NASB)

An Instagram recap of our vacation to Topsail Island, NC 

Matilda Jane cuties

Rainy beach day

Fun in the raft

 Time for Fireworks 

Happy Independence Day

Love this Family

Sunny beach day

Island Delights

The Long Trip Home

Recap of the Beginning

One of the most beautiful things about Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) International is that it is a place where ladies from all stages of life and many different denominations come together to study God's Word. The pearls of wisdom being thrown around the place are incredible.

For this reason, it is extremely difficult to summarize all that I learned through this year's study of Genesis. But as I sat in our final meeting of the year listening to stories of women whose lives had been touched by these first fifty chapters of the Bible, I felt desperate to formulate my own bottom line from my study of this great book and these great characters.

Genesis opens with life, specifically the creation of all life, and ends with death, specifically the death of Joseph, one of the greatest characters of the Bible. We barely have time to enjoy the description of how God so graciously sets all of creation into being before humanity's sinful nature comes into play. From the various genealogies, we learn about the formation of a family, God's chosen people, also known as the Patriarchs. There are stories of men and women living with expectant faith and willing obedience (Noah, Abraham, Joseph), but just as many stories of those who couldn't seem to heed God's warning and were consumed by their own sin (Cain, Lot, Simeon).

Toward the end of the sharing time at our final BSF meeting of the year, a 90-something lady by the name of Claire (come to find out she is a long-time BSF participant) made her way to the front. I was inspired as she struggled to get to the microphone with her walker to share what she she had learned. She said something that has helped to sum up the study of Genesis for me, “The Patriarchs weren't perfect, but there was progress.”

Genesis is full of mess-ups and mishaps but God's Grace, when we choose to accept it, has the power to redeem it all. One of the main purposes of Genesis was to reveal and record God's plan of redemption from the very beginning. Adam and Eve messed it up for us all with a bite of the fruit and Judah defiled his daughter-in-law, Tamar but this did not keep God from choosing to send his only Son to earth through the line of such sinners. The cross was in the plan from the very beginning and He used His people, despite their failures to bring it all about.

Favorite “Pearls” from this year's teaching: 

• Light is God's answer to darkness throughout scripture. 
• We were created to find our fulfillment in our work by sharing in God's work.
• Accomplishments without faith have no eternal value.
• Every year of our life counts.
• God's timing is not my timing, but it is still perfect.
• God will not allow wickedness to go on forever.
• Noah's children were born into “the weird family”.
• Expect what you do in moderation to be done in excess by your children.
• Passionate faith results in intimacy with Christ, the fullness of the Spirit.
• Take a minute to build an altar of what God is doing in your life now.
• Don't look at our circumstances and make conclusions about God. We can create bad theology.
• A spiritually mature person takes the initiative to address conflict and makes personal sacrifices to resolve conflict.
• The disciplined person is always prepared. 
• God meets us where we are not where we should be.
• You have to trust what you know and expect God to take care of the rest.
• God holds nothing back; therefore, we should not hold anything back from Him.
• Write God's commandments on your own heart and then inscribe it on the hearts of your kids. Help them to think Biblically. 
• God answers specific prayers with specific answers
• The way we respond to what is going on is way more important to God than what is going on.
• Man's sin can never frustrate the will of God, but it can fulfill it.
• The proof of a changed life is the work of God being carried out through us.
• A good friend mourns with you, a best friend rejoices with you.
• God-focused people are able to handle success.