More Good News!

Gotta keep this super short. So many things to catch up on since we traveled to Pennsylvania for Adam's Grandma's funeral last week.  We returned home late Sunday & I am so proud of the kids. They did an amazing job in the van for the majority of the trip. So now that we've returned home, we need to get all the stuff put away. Ya know the suitcases (or in our house it was the Thirty-One bags), the laundry done & put away, the toys & other 'to do' things unpacked & put away. Wow, what a chore it is to pack & then return back to normal. But I wouldn't change it for anything. We had a wonderful time with our family, learned a lot of family history which was really cool & celebrated a very special, fun, loving lady that was nearly 103 years old.  Miss you Grandma! We will cherish the time we had with her as well as the time we had with our other Pierce family this past week.  Too short of time but super special!

The day before we left, I had my appointment & labs drawn. The nurse called me on Monday from the oncology office to tell me that the tumor marker number had dropped significantly again from 275 down to 148. I remember the doctor told us that the closer the number is to 0, the better. We are PRAISING God in all of this, and this is obviously no exception.  The crazy thing is that I am only taking 1 medication that helps battle the cancer.  Everything else is from the hysterectomy surgery which helped removed the hormones AND the BIGGEST and BEST thing....GOD, our ultimate physician and healer working on my body.  He is soooooo amazing. Thank you Lord for healing me!

I know that you  might feel discouraged in your life at times. It happens to all of us. When you feel that way, turn your eyes to God.  He is always there to help you through. He may not do things in your timing, but he knows what's best for you & wants the best for you.  Allow him to lead you to the place he wants you and follow his will.  One of the verses I pray over my body is Proverbs 15:30 because my bones were affected by the cancer.

Proverbs 15:30  NIV 

Light in a messenger's eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

Look, it's even on a t-shirt. :)  That's cool!


And if you need some healing verses, here are a few places that I have used. Joyce Meyer has a pdf that you can print. Someone actually sent me a pamphlet of these verses that I keep in my purse and read when I am waiting or need some extra God time because I am hurting or needing to get my eyes on him.  The pamphlet has the same verses on the FREE pdf. Print it out & read them each morning as your daily vitamins.  Andrew Wommack has several of the same verses in an audio file with some soft background music that you can listen to and learn yourself. God's word is what you need. His word is LIFE and TRUTH!

Have a blessed, joyful, & grateful day!

P.S. Don't forget to check out my friend Katie's Psalms Series by clicking on the link that is in purple. It's worth the time.  My guest blog post will be featured on Monday June 30th. So head on over and start reading the others today.  I'm posting a badge on the side of my page that you can also click to visit the Psalm Series.

Update on numbers!

I saw the oncologist on May 20th and they checked the tumor marker number as well as the estrogen level.  With the holiday last week I gave them some extra time to get in touch with me but didn't hear back from them. (figured it was a good sign, and besides, both the oncologist and I were sure that the numbers had gone down since the tumor size had actually decreased as well.)  God is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

I finally called to ask what the actual results were.  PRAISE GOD!!! we were right!  The last tumor marker # just before the hysterectomy surgery for April was 402.  The one for May was 275. Whoot whoot!  And the estrogen level was down below 10 which is also good! :)

Since being diagnosed at the end of Oct 2013 I have changed how I get out of bed in the morning.  Our bed frame is high so when I sit up, I can't touch the floor.  So before I set my feet on the floor, I pray to God thanking him that he has healed me, that he has taken any pain away, that I will allow him to guide my day, to make the day purposeful, and I've added for him to help me have grace for others.  This prayer changes a little each day as I grow in Jesus but I like that even if I am running a little behind schedule, I have not allowed it to be an option to skip this muy importante (that's very important) part of my day!  It sets the rest of my day in the right direction.  You should try it if you don't already.  It's worth it to fix one's eyes on Jesus.

Living with purpose and grace.

Can it really be that 3 weeks have gone by since my post?  I am having a hard time believing that has happened.  I am thankful that school will be out soon and my children will be home with me to help with chores and to have fun & make memories.  I do enjoy being with them & am looking forward to a new daily schedule.  One where I can sleep in until 7am but able to get my kiddos to do their chores & me do mine so we can have fun.  Explaining to them that if each of us do 30 mins of chores each day (might not even take that long) we will have 2 hours of work done each morning, which leaves us the rest of the day to do other things.  I have pinned a lot of fun looking things on Pinterest for some Summer Fun.  And I purchased the e-book 100 Days of Summer from List Plan It.  You can check it out for yourself.  They have not sponsored anything on my blog but I like to share things that are neat & that work & make life easier, simpler, more organized, purposeful and fun!  Every year I have these dreams of making a summer to remember for my family.  Do you know what happens?  We fly by the seat of our pants because I feel bad scheduling stuff but then we don't get to do as many of the things we were hoping to do.  The days fly by so quickly & before we know it, school is starting back up again & I have less time to spend playing & teaching my kids.  Well, this year will be different, because I am taking the steps and actions to make it actually happen & not just be a dream.  I don't want to turn around and have summer a third gone like I did when I saw that my lost post was already 3 weeks ago.   Does this ever happen to you for anything?  Yes?!  Glad I'm not the only one, however, perhaps you want to join us in making your days purposeful & count.  Leave us a comment & share what you want to do & what you think you could do to make it happen.  We'd love to hear!!!

Thankful Thursday: Thank you God for....

I am thankful that Adam has been on vacation this week.  It is nice having him home!  I kinda wish it had been next week though so that we could enjoy some time together as a family without the daily school schedule.  At least we've had the evenings. :)

I am thankful for family to hang out with this week.  We sure enjoyed spending some time with the Beams.  And for a mother in law willing to come over & help me finish catching up on the basement sorting I had in progress since October.  So thankful for the help & company.

Thankful that Adam was home to grill some super yummy steaks & make dinner while we worked on the basement Monday.

Thankful for friends & family willing to work to put together a benefit for us.  It just amazes me what the cost of medical stuff is even with insurance that is pretty good.  It will be scheduled for Friday, July 25th from 4-7pm Eastern at New Life Assembly of God church.  There will be food, face painting, a Thirty One Gifts consultant, silent auction, and I think we are having a bake sale as well as some balloon animals if we can get some people to do them.  It is not easy for me to ask for help or donations but in order to keep things going in the right direction, I am humbling myself & doing what needs to be done.  So if you can help out, donate something for the auction, can come & serve, set up , clean up, or anything like that, let me know.  I will put you in contact with the ladies putting the benefit together.

On Sunday, it became apparent that God wanted me to work on grace with others this week.  And reminded me of the grace that he's so willingly given me. 

Tuesdays verse of the day from my Bible app went right along with several songs I heard on Sunday & what the Holy Spirit was telling me that I needed to work on. Grace.

Romans 12:3  "For by the grace given me I say to everyone of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."

Here are more verses about grace:

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

John 1:15-17 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, "This is the one I spoke about when  I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'") 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

Proverbs 22:11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.

Acts 15:11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.

Romans 5:20-21 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased,  grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I know that I need to have grace for others, and myself just as God had grace for me.  Grace is being given something I don't deserve.  Here's my prayer. Feel free to use it for yourself too.

Dear Lord, Thank you  for giving me grace in so many areas of my life.  Help me to remember to have grace for others, even when I don't necessarily feel like it.  I know that having grace for others will speak Life and healing into others lives as well as mine.  Thank you for always loving me, even though I do things wrong (sin) more often than I'd like.  I'm sorry.  Help me to follow your will for my life and to love and help others as you call me to, especially my amazing husband and children.  In Jesus' name. Amen.