It’s been a long time since I’ve posted.  Please forgive me.  It began with an unexpected diagnosis.  Since then I’ve had surgery and radiation.  Now I await on my Lord and the final test results to determine if there are any next steps.

One of the many blessings of this diagnosis is that I now have a new testimony to share with you.  I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is still in the miracle-making business.  I’d like to take a minute of your time to tell you about the miracle He performed for me.

Throughout my entire life, I have had extreme difficulty taking medications. Medication always made me sicker rather than better. Over the years, I grew to fear medicine.  In fact, after my breast cancer diagnosis, I told my doctor that I didn’t fear the cancer or the surgery or even dying… I feared the anesthetics and whatever medication she might prescribe for me if I survived.  Little did I know when I told her those words that God would make Himself known through those very fears.

Even as I write this, the story sounds absurd, however, it is the truth.  It actually began about ten years ago when God placed a dear friend in my life who is a research physiologist. While having lunch one day at a restaurant next to my dentist’s office, I shared with her that I became so dreadfully sick after a tenth of a dose of novocaine that I now had crowns put on without anesthetic.

She was intrigued and asked me a few questions.  Then she told me that I probably had a liver deficiency that kept me from metabolizing chemicals.  There was a test that would define my issues. But I never took the test because I was so healthy.

After my breast cancer diagnosis and as my surgery date drew closer, however, I knew I had to have this DNA testing done. We tried to locate someone within MD Anderson who could do the test but could not find anyone to help us. Just two weeks before my scheduled operation, God stepped in to help, and we found that my primary care physician actually carried the testing kits in his office. However, when the nurse took the swab, she warned  that it could take up to 4-6 weeks to receive the results.

Miraculously, just eleven days later… and 36-hours before my scheduled surgery, I received the test results. They showed that I did, in fact, have several genetic liver issues. I called my friend.  God stepped in with another miracle.  My friend told me that she goes to church with a pharma expert. Late that night, the two of them worked up an anesthesia protocol to bypass my liver issues.

It was proof again that God always shows up… maybe not when I want Him to, but He’s always on time!

In yet another miracle, the hospital anesthesiologists agreed to use this anesthetic protocol during my surgery. I am still on this planet because of it. My surgeon confirmed that my liver issues are so severe that had the anesthesiologist used the normal sedation on me, I probably would not have made it off the operating table alive.

My testimony is an example of God giving me what I needed most… not what I asked for. I had asked for the tumor to be taken from me so that surgery would not be necessary.  Instead God gave me the miracle of my surviving the surgery and now knowing why I have had so many problems taking medications.  It has been life changing. In Romans 8:28, God promises that He will turn all things to good for those who love Him… even a cancer diagnosis.

As I await my final test results, I admit that I fight the fear of what might happen if the doctors suggest my taking chemotherapy or some other medication.  To combat that fear, I stand on God’s Promises and reassure my heart with the knowledge that He has already shown Himself to be true.  He has performed miracles on my behalf to compensate for my liver weakness.  I praise God for Who He Is.  I know He will show up again… and I know it will be in a miraculous way.

Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-11 (NLT)

Since I received my diagnosis, I have been blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends.  Knowing that our God often comforts us through people (2 Corinthians 1:4), I have tried to keep attune to the messages He is offering me through my friends.

I have learned over the past several months the importance of attending to God’s Word.   One friend suggested the book Healing Promises by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland.  This wonderful little book offers hope and God’s Word on healing.  The Bible verses are also available in CD form (read by either Kenneth or Gloria).  I read, speak, and listen to God’s healing scriptures daily.

While studying God’s Word and listening to these tapes, I have learned that Jesus WANTS to heal me.  In fact, He has already paid the price for my healing, “By His stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

As a small example, I learned that I have been misreading Mark 1:40-42.  In this passage, a leper comes to Jesus and says, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus, filled with compassion, healed the man.  I have been praying those very words.  I learned, however, that in the NIV version, the translation reads differently.

A man with leprosy came to Him and begged Him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus was indignant.  He reached out His hand and touched the man.  “I am willing,” He said, “Be clean!”  Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleaned.

What was Jesus indignant about?  He was upset because the leper didn’t know that Jesus WAS willing to heal… to heal him… to heal me… to heal you. No longer do I have to ask, “If it is Your will, please heal me.”  I know it is His will!   Now that’s amazing Grace!

Do you believe in Heaven?  The Bible tells us that if we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior when we die, we go to Heaven to be with Him (John 14:2-4).  I’d like to tell you two stories that certainly made a difference in my life in how I view Heaven.

Larry and Viola were our neighbors.  This wonderful, elderly couple became like grandparents to me.  I loved them dearly.  Several years after they moved in, however, Viola passed away suddenly from  a stroke and heart attack.  Because Larry was in the early stages of dementia when Viola died, he moved to a care facility.  While there, Larry began taking other residents to his Lutheran church with him.  For the next year or more, Larry and I went out to eat together every month.  It was so fun deciding which restaurant to go to with Larry.  He always wanted to try a new restaurant to test their chocolate cake.

Over the next year or so, Larry’s dementia progressed rapidly.  He began to speak less and less about Viola.  The final six months of his life, Larry did not speak of her at all.

Larry sat in his wheelchair one afternoon, lost in the confines of his ever-diminshing world. One of the staff members looked up when Larry began to move more than he had in months.  Larry lifted up his arms and said, “Viola!”  As the lady looked on, Larry reached up, lips puckered to kiss, draping his arms around what appeared to be an imaginary neck.  Just as suddenly, Larry dropped his arms to his side and slumped in his chair, suffering a massive stroke.  We lost Larry days later but were comforted knowing without a doubt that he was with his beloved Viola who had come to take him home.   (The Bible tells us we will be with our loved ones in Heaven.  See 1 Corinthians 13:12).

The second story is about my wonderful dad-in-law.  For several years, Garrett had clung to this world in spite of ravaging pain. His love for Mary, my mother-in-law, was so great that they were inseparable.   It was as if he simply wouldn’t let go of life because he didn’t want to leave her.

As Garrett’s pain increased to an unbearable level, the family decided to call in Hospice to help him manage the pain better.  After a single dose of morphine, the following morning he was sitting up in bed, looking relaxed and smiling.  The following day, however, Garrett slipped into a coma.  We kept by his bedside, not knowing what would happen next.

I was with Garrett the morning he came out of the coma.  I asked him, “Dad, where have you been?”  He simply pointed up… to Heaven.

“Was it wonderful?” I asked.  I will never forget the incredible look of joy on his face as he closed his eyes and simply nodded yes.

Within days (and after yet another promise from the family that we would look after his precious Mary), Garrett passed from this world into eternity.  Although we still deeply miss him, we know where he is and, even better, where we will find him when our day comes.  Before he left this earth, Garrett gave us an amazing gift… a glimpse of Heaven.  I believe it was just like this song by Bill and Gloria Gaither:   Going Home

“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”  John 14:2-4

We welcome your comments!  Please let us know if you have had a personal experience with Heaven.

I have been an online missionary for several years with Godlife.com.  During that time, I have answered questions about Jesus from over 400 people from all over the world.  One of the questions I have been asked most is why Jesus came and why He had to die such a horrific death.

The Bible provides the answer.  It is so beautifully simple.  Jesus came so that we might have eternal life in Heaven with God.

Jesus came into a fallen world to pay the price for sinners like you and me.  His crucifixion on the cross paid our sinners’ debt in full to a Holy God.  Because of the  sacrifice Jesus made, we can take our place in Heaven as God’s adopted sons and daughters.

All we need to do is accept the gift of salvation that Jesus offers.  Pretty amazing isn’t it?  We accept that gift by turning from our sins (repenting) and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Once we accept the gift that Jesus offers, eternal life with Him is ours.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.

(John 3:16-17)

Dear Friends, Sorry we have been negligent in adding new blog posts lately.  We have been traveling across the country and have not had good internet service.

During our travels, we and a few friends  left many bits of art (like those pictured above) in hopes that someone would find a card and connect with us.  If you’re that someone, we welcome you!

If you have questions about Jesus, need encouragement, or just want to chat, we invite you to go to our CONTACT page and leave a message.  We can’t wait to hear from you!

In Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul tells us what love is.  His words give us an example of how Christ calls us to love and wants us to be loved.  If you haven’t taken the time to read it, I encourage you to do so.  It is a truly amazing statement about love.

I received an email from a friend of mine who is trying to help her daughter navigate her first attempts at dating.  She had found something on the internet that helped her.  She asked her daughter to take the words of St. Paul in Corinthians 13:4-7 and put her boyfriend’s name in it.  Here is an example:

John (my boyfriend) is patient, is kind.  He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud.  He does not dishonor others, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs.  He does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preservers.  

I hope that you can insert the name of your beloved into these lines and that it is how he or she loves you.  I also pray that you can insert your own name into these lines and that they reflect how you love.

Paul ends his discussion about love with these words, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (Corinthians 13:13).  In the words of the Cowardly Lion, I say, “Ain’t it the truth.  Ain’t it the truth!”

I have a dear friend who reminds me in dark hours that “God’s in charge.”  It seems too simple a comment… too innocent… but she’s right.  The highs and lows of living on this planet were foretold by Jesus when He said, “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world”  (John 16:33)..  I believe that when we get to Heaven, Christ will show us the tapestry of our lives and the beautiful gift we were given.

Over the years, I have come to realize that every lesson on this earth centers on love.  That’s the reason that Christianity makes so much sense to me.  It is built on the premise of love.  The Bible tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)

Christ told us that there are two commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Luke 10:27)

In our hearts, we know it is true.  Isn’t it love that brings inspiration?  The mother who lost a child to a drunk driver begins an organization to promote awareness.  The father whose child is abducted by a pedophile sponsors a law to protect children.  A wife forgives her husband’s murderer.  Parents help other parents whose children have the same disease.  A son rides hundreds of miles to bring awareness to breast cancer after his mother’s death.  A simple man who lost a daughter now helps lost souls.  Thank you… each of you… for your courage to love in spite of your pain.

Tonight I bask in starlight and love and ask God, ‘what are we that You are mindful of us?’ (Psalm 8).  Thank God, it is because He loves us.