Saturday, April 26, 2008

Give Thanks to God!

Hello All! I just want to begin with this verse in Psalms 105:1-3 " Give Thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice..." That is just want I want to do! I want to thank my God for all He has done in my life and make it known to all! I received great pathology reports back yesterday regarding the little lymph node that was removed last Monday - totally BENIGN!! God has done a good work in me and will bring it to completion (Phillipians 1:6) I just want to shout HIs praises for the Awesome, Powerful and Living God that He is! Psalms 66:5 is another great verse for me to remember not only through my healing but all the things God continues to do in our lives on a daily basis. "Come and see what God has done, how AWESOME his works in man's behalf!" It can be so easy to forget all that God has done because we get so muttled down in the everyday rut of life and all of it's problems. But isn't that just what Satan would like - for us as God's children to forget all that the great and Mighty Creator has done for us since the beginning of time?? This past week I went to a Seder meal at church which was a terrific way of truly remembering ALL that God has done for us starting with the exodus of the Isrealites from Egypt to our present day! What a reminder of God's power, authority and knowledge. The Bible says that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13:8) I think at times I have been guilty of thinking that God has changed just because our times have changed so drastically. Before going through an experience with cancer I often wondered and I have heard other Christians state that maybe miracles do not happen anymore. I realized after going through the experience I did God opened my eyes to all His Glory around me. He DOES and don't let Satan fool you that God does perform great and mighty miracles everyday we just have to be open to seeing them. If He was the same God yesterday (performing awesome miracles back then) His word says that He is the same today (still performing those great miracles). I have come to realize that even though this world may be filled with tragic disappointments God is in control and knows all! I just need to allow my mind to be focused on Christ so that I have a direct connection with the Holy Spirit and can be led by Him. I am learning by doing this allows me to see on a daily basis God's miracles and awesome works! I am a living miracle and believe that He has allowed me life to give HIm all the glory! I thank each of you for always praying and loving on us! God certainly does rally the Saints when His kids are needing help! We love each of you and hope you are enjoying your weekend as a family!

Love,
Dana

Oh yes, I just wanted to update you on Mark's job. He did have his second interview on Monday. He spoke with the recruiter that he is working with and found out that the interviewer felt Mark had a great second interview and is reviewing all of Mark's materials (research) he brought in. We are just praying for God's will - He knows best! Please continue to pray with us for God's provisions!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

YAHOOO- GREAT RESULTS!

Hello Family and Friends,
Just had to report to you all that my 3 month check up with my Oncologist went well!! All my blood work came back looking good and clean - Praise the Lord!! Since the levels in my blood looked good I don't have to return back to the Oncologist for 6 more months and then they will repeat the blood work. I really had quite a bit of anxiety going into that place again. It is amazing how many different emotions and stages a cancer survivor goes through. At times I think "Hey, I think I am feeling like myself again in every respect and then another day comes and I am experiencing emotions and thoughts I never thought I could have. This is more than just a physical healing but also a mental one. I still haven't gotten the nerve to go back into the chemo room to visit all of my special nurses because it is to hard for me to see the other patients going through such pain. I really hope that changes because I would love to use my experience to encourage some one else in their battle! Not to mention share the hope of Christ with them. Please pray for me in this area :) There is a little nodule that I had found under my right arm pit that both my surgeon and oncologist think is benign or maybe just some scar tissue from the mastectomy but I don't want to mess around with it so I will be having that removed next monday at 9:45am. It's just an in office visit with a local and then it's done. It will give me a piece of mind to know everything is ok. Please pray for that as well - thank you. I have started a self Bible study on Fear and how it can hinder all that God has for our lives. It's amazing what I am learning. One thing I learned today is how our past experiences, big or small, should not cause us fear but rather reveal to us God's great power and protection through that experience. This past trials or experiences also build our faith for future events. The scripture used as an example of this is in 1Samuel when David approached King Saul about fighting the giant Goliath. King Saul told him that it would be impossible for little David to fight such a mighty warrior as Goliath. However, David tells King Saul that IN HIS PAST ( past experience) he killed a fierce lion and bear with his own hands to save his sheep. So because of his past experience with the wild bear and lion his faith was strong and build up in God trusting him to yet give him another victory. If David had not had that past experience or hardship he would not have been prepared to fight the giant Goliath. It was a great reminder to me that God puts things into our lives to prepare us for the future and to build our faith in Him! What an awesome God we serve. Oh yes, some of you have called about Mark's job. He did end up loosing his job a few weeks ago. The large pharmaceutical company did buy out his company and now he is without a job. He does receive a severance package for the next few months and we are praying for our Faithful God to yet reveal Himself again. WE KNOW HE WILL SHOW HIMSELF AGAIN!!!! Mark has a second interview with a company on Monday for a Spinal Orthopedic equipment position (medical sales) Please pray for the Lord's will.

Enjoy your day and families!

Love you,
Dana

Sunday, April 13, 2008

God's Goodness, Grace and Mercy!

Hello to all my family and friends!
I apologize for not keeping you all up to date the last couple of months. I have gotten several phone calls from friends in other states wondering what in the world is going on with me! I so appreciate all your concern, prayers, love and support. I had been having computer problems figuring out my blog account and just didn't want to deal with it as I am so not a "techy" when it comes to computers so I kept putting it off. However, I have realized that this is such a great way to keep everyone up to date with how things are going. Things are going great!! God's goodness, grace and mercy continue to amaze me and my family! I am feeling very good and strong. I have joined a cancer wellness program at a local gym and get to workout with a couple personal trainers a couple times a week to help get the blood flowing again and the muscles pumped up! It feels great. Last time I blogged I had made mention of an abnormal pap test. After I had a biopsy the reports still came back slightly abnormal but the doctor felt it was hardly enough to even bother with it. Yes!!!!! I just need to repeat the pap in 4 months and see how things are looking then. I am trusting that the Lord will heal that too :) I am really healing up nicely after the bilateral mastectomy. At times there are a few sharp pains that linger periodically throughout the day but for the most part I sometimes forget that I even had it done. I had noticed a small little "bebe" size nodule under my right arm pit and had my surgeon looked at it. He felt that because it was so tiny that it could just be a deep suture that cells have formed around and he wasn't worried. This Wednesday at 10:15AM I have my first 3 month check up with my oncologist. I have already done the blood work and I am trusting that God has healed me once and for all and that all my reports will come back beautifully! To God be all the the Glory!! May 18th will mark the one year date as to when I found out I had cancer. As I was working out a couple of weeks ago a thought crossed my mind and it was this " The Day God Gave Me Victory!" Actually that sounds like a great title for a book! I remember when I was first diagnosed some cancer survivors called their cancer experiences a "gift". Well, I still haven't gotten to call the cancer I had a gift but I will say that May 18th, 2007 marked the day that God gave Me Victory! Victory in so many ways! Healing over cancer, the building of my faith, the depth and intimacy of my relationship with my Savior Jesus, an incredible, awesome, intimate relationship with my husband, patience, kindness and compassion with people, healed relationships, beautiful friendships, and the list goes on! Had I not ever gone through this experience with cancer I am not sure I would have ever been able to experience these victories in my life and felt the joy and passion for Christ that I have now! The Word of God states that God works things out for the good of each believer. I know many wondered how in the world could any good come out of such a horrible event but as I review all God has done through this process it is evident that Christ's fingerprints were all over me EVERY step of the way! I am truly a different person now than I was before May 18th 2007 and still continue to grow in what God is teaching me. The victories still keep coming. Now that it's been a few months out I am realizing that I am healing more emotionally than I am physically. I am finding that Satan wants to have a hay day with my thoughts and try to convince me that every ache, pain, abnormal test and little bumps I find is the end of my life! It really has been a battle in mind to continue to focus on Jesus and what He has done in me and not believe the pile of lies I am being fed. I have never in my life dealt with so much emotional turmoil and fear. It truly can become a spiritual bondage. My fear is not dying because I know that being side by side with my Creator will be the best place in this world to be but it's not being here for my precious children and husband that drives me to my knees. I have dealt with a tremendous amount of fear in this area and am sharing with you today so you know how to pray. GOD WILL GIVE ME VICTORY OVER THIS TOO! God is showing me things everyday through His Word and counsel of others slowly break the chains of fear and anxiety. God's word tells us a number of times "Do not fear" and to trust and believe! God is truly a Compassionate, Gracious, Merciful and Loving God so why wouldn't I put my full trust in Him??? I look forward to reporting to you how God has given me yet another victory in this area! I had better wrap this up for now. Please continue to pray for God's healing physically, mentally and spiritually.

All my love to you,
Dana