“This is the confidence we have in approachingGod: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

1 John 5:14

This little bird has sat on her nest outside my closet window for at least a month.  I feel like I noticed her out there around the time my seizure occurred.  I’ve prayed for this bird… yes I have lol because I know the creatures lurking around and she isn’t that high off the ground.  Every morning I open my blinds to see her sitting there and then yesterday, I see three little baby birds moving around being fed.  If God will care for these small little animals, how much more will he care for you and me?

 

Had a fantastic weekend with my sister and family being here.  Blessed to have my only tribe with me on Sunday night.  The kids were gracious to walk around the loop with us before their dinner was warmed up and Scott and I just make a couple more loops around the block.  It’s nice for the two of us to just have some time alone and talk about all we’ve seen God doing in our lives.  Literally cannot walk enough too much to say.

Scott has been so good to me to make sure I am juicing enough.  We had been blessed by my Grandma Peterson, who was a health food person way before it was cool like it is now.  She had her own store in Nebraska and was teaching health decades ago.  She had given us her Juice Tiger as she was getting rid of things.  So we have been using it….until it quit working.  Scott quickly went to the store to get me another one and makes sure that I am loaded down on good veggies and some fruit.  Very thankful for how he cares for me.

Today treatment started up again.  Oh before I forget!  I got to eat some of my blueberries this morning with my sister’s homemade granola she made me!  I planted a couple blueberry bushes a couple years ago and this year they are so sweet and delicious – such a treat.  I enjoyed those as I sat and read my Bible this morning.

I was blessed after treatment to be picked up by my friend Tami Draper and she took me to the healthy nutrition zone for my “lunch” after treatment.  So blessed by her friendship and how she willing cares for so many and right now for me.  She has a heart of Gold and Loves the Lord and just encourages me in so many ways.  After she left, Scott’s cousin Amy Hubbard came over.  She has a garden so brought us some fresh veggies…yum and some of her jarred pickles.  How fun, right?  Just love sharing stories and life with her.

“The Name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.”   

Proverbs 18:10

Well guys if you are like me and have been loving some Hezekiah the last couple days…I won’t disappoint you.  But, I will tell you he doesn’t make it past today.  I’ve been a bit enamored with him, as you can probably tell and just look at his struggles and journey and have been really able to relate.  I feel like the Lord has really opened my heart to struggles and encouraged me to step deep.  He did the same today.

As I read these verses my heart hurt and I was sad… I felt like I was losing a friend.  Hezekiah had done so much to follow the Lord, he was safe inside the fortress of the Lord and then BAM……

2 Kings 20:1-3

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Hezekiah had done so many great things, yet he was told – you will die.  He cried out to the Lord and wept.  He asked the Lord to REMEMBER.  Not to SAVE him.  But to REMEMBER his heart and what he had done.  And then it says he got real… he wept bitterly.  The definition for Bitterly : in an angry, hurt, or resentful way.  He cried and was angry and hurt that God would at this point allow him to die.  Now that’s getting real with the Lord. 

This has hit me as I have read so many stories of cancer patients who have been hit between the eyes with this new reality and in the midst of the news, trying to figure out how to emotionally respond the “right way – is there one?”.  If you have been given hard news, look at Hezekiah and be encouraged and know that being honest with the Lord is what He desires most.  He doesn’t want us to come to Him and pretend, He desires hearts that will be real with Him.  He desires to BE with us and to HEAR us and then He does what ONLY He can… He picks us up, holds us and then He RESTORES.

2 Kings 20 :4-6

 But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard,^[a] this message came to him from the Lord: ⁵ “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’”

Isaiah is given something new to tell the King.  What comfort do I find in these verses:  the Lord HEARS us when we pray, He SEES what we are going through and he RESTORES us.  Take comfort and have assurance that when we truly humble our hearts and pour out our requests to the Lord he HEARS and SEES us.  Do you struggle to pray?  Do you wonder how to even start?  God doesn’t desire perfect words, He wants a heart that is REAL.  If you struggle on what to say, tell Him.  Don’t give up, press in and continue to pray and watch the Lord move your heart to line up with His and you will be praying in ways and for things you never would’ve imagined.  Trust me.  I’m amazed everyday.

Today on my FB and Insta page I shared the following passage in Psalms.  As we think about bringing our requests before the Lord it’s important and necessary for us to spend time with Him focused on PRAISE!  No matter what we are going through, we can praise Him.  No matter what.  Don’t make excuses that make you feel ok with complaining or living a praiseless life.  I had mentioned a few blogs ago, maybe (brain crazy) about how when I get the weird taste in my mouth and throw a lemon drop in my mouth, I wanted to be intentional about using that time to thank the Lord and to praise Him.  Think about your day…where could you be intentional to Praise God for who He is, what He has done, how you see Him working, His attributes, His promises… I could go on.  The way we see life, the way we live, the way we respond to people… our witness would just bubble over and out of us.  Today we choose to PRAISE LOUD and AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!

I wanted to share a couple of awesome reminders that I have been given that I get to wear around my neck everyday.  The first one I asked to have Psalms 140:7 on the back of a charm it says “… you shield my head in the day of battle.” In the front it says My Strength with a warrior arrow!  Love it!  The second necklace was given to me by one of Scott’s bosses, Janet.  She doesn’t know how much I love the truth of “BUT GOD” but, has always been a banner for me. With God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.  The second charm says Hope Warrior on it because that is my calling and focus for this battle I am in.  The angels are battling hard for me and Jesus continues to just hold my hand and minister to my heart.  I am so thankful.

So many of you have faithfully asked for and prayed for me.  Here are some needs that I have:

• I go in for treatment everyday at 11:30am.  So pray specifically for the radiation to break up and dissolve the tumors.  
• They have cut out my night steroid today.  So please pray that my brain cooperates and doesn’t decide to hurt or swell for fun.  I am really wanting to have less stimulation before bedtime.  I don’t need to be walking around … I probably need to sleep lol
• Prayers for my legs and cramping and a bit of weakness.  Now mind you nothing is going to take these soccer legs down…but I want added strength and to not be walking around the house with cramping.  I’ve talked with the dr and hopefully the added beverages they suggested will help.
• Continued prayers that all the poisons leave my body
• Pray too that as I am in treatment I remember all the people I am trying to remember to pray for.  I would be honored to pray for you or anything going on in your life. The Lord has given me 18 minutes where He and I can just BE and I want to be in the fight for you.
• The older three will leave for church camp at the end of the week.  I had planned to help, but with all of this, not going to happen.  So just pray that they are spurred on in their walk and take time to bless fellow students while there.  I am hoping to make a visit at some point.  Can’t stay away from my church teens…love them all too much

Many blessings and praises friends!  Love you all!  Super super close to the shirts being ready to be ordered and I cannot wait to see God’s TRUTHS worn around everywhere and the opportunity for us to offer HOPE and battle for hurting people.  All Praise to JESUS!

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” 

Jeremiah 33:3

While at the Museum of Discovery I saw this picture and I thought…never in my life would I have thought that something that was started back in the late 1800’s radiation would be a part of my life.  Yet her willingness to test and try is being used today to shrink/kill my tumors.  Thank you Lord for giving Marie the wisdom to begin this!

 

Weekends are a good break for me.  No appointments and just time to do some more normal type things.  We were extremely blessed this weekend because my sister, Alissa and her husband Randy (and their 4 kids) came for a visit.  My sister moved to Dallas a few years ago (is that right?????) and now we will go there for soccer tourneys and just to visit when we can.  Her four kids are under 5 and so they love to follow their older cousins around and do what “big kids do.”  My sister is also pregnant with TWIN girls!  So super cool how both of us will have twin daughters.  She is due the end of September.  So please pray for her as the girls develop that everything goes exactly as it should.  Pray for her as she and Randy desire to raise these kids to love the Lord most.

She was sweet to bring me some homemade oils to try and some really good homemade granola.  You wouldn’t believe what she can accomplish even with all those little in tow.  I got a little adventurous and we went to the Museum of Discovery Saturday for a couple of hours.  Course I love to watch the amazement of anyone who sees something they think is really cool.  For my nephews and niece it was pretty much every couple of minutes.

I have to admit, UGH I’m probably not sleeping the best so I was probably a little more tired than I wanted to be so when we got home so, yes I laid down for a bit.  We let the kids run through the sprinklers and try the slip and slide.  All the while I’m just taking it all in .. these are memories and moments we won’t get again and these kids grow up fast!

The clan left to go back to the hotel because everyone was tired – it’s hard to not nap!  Scott’s boss John Shrewsbury and wife Debbie, who live around the corner from us picked us up in their boat right before our neighborhood fireworks started.  It was a different view on the water and just a bit more restful than on the shore.  I am thankful that they have come to visit with us and pray with us about all of this. It’s great to know that Scott has such a special group of people that he works with.

I love Sundays…. I love them more now than I used to really.  I love to get up get in the Word and then head to church and worship.  To REALLY WORSHIP.  I love to see my kids worship, the other students worship… and honestly I just want to jump up on the pews sometimes and just spin around because the God of the universe has done so many amazing things in my life!  Don’t worry I restrain myself…a bit 🙂 HA

As I studied this morning…of course God wanted to teach me something and showed up to teach me.  I am so thankful for that everyday.  I literally lay in bed and try to be a good patient, rest a bit longer but, I’m giddy and raise my arm and say- in my head -since Scott may be asleep still, “It’s almost time…I can’t wait… here I am and I’m ready..bring it on!” I get up and start bringing my bag full of studying things, my water, coffee, my juice, my breakfast and my medicine and sit in the presence of the Lord on my deck.  It is the most glorious place on the earth for me.

That was all a side note to what the Lord showed me today… 🙂 . Get yourself a place, a schedule and a routine and expect the Lord to teach you something.  He wants to…trust me!

“Praise the Lord!  Sing to the Lord a new song.  Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.”  Psalms 149:1

I am still studying 2 Kings and Hezekiah, who I mentioned yesterday was in a bit of bind.  I honestly was a little upset with him as he was making deals with the Assyrian king to give him bits and pieces of the temple.  I thought Hezekiah, where’s the trust, what are you doing?  The Assyrian king brought his thoughts to the king and the people, mocking the Lord and trying to get the people to not trust Hezekiah as king.  Honestly, things weren’t looking good for the people of Judah.

Hezekiah got the report from his staff and his response …

2 Kings 19:1 “When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the temple of the Lord.”

He gathered his close team and sent them to Isaiah because he was in such distress about what was going on.  Isaiah sent a message back…

2 Kings 19:5-7 “After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah the prophet replied, “say to your master “This what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers.  Listen I myself will move against him…”

Hezekiah got messages from the surrounding kings and leaders basically questioning his thought to believe that God would give him victory.  They brought doubt and made him think.  So what did he do with this new information?  

2 Kings 19:14-19

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

¹⁷ “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. ¹⁹ Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Hezekiah’s response – Go straight to the Lord, humble himself, layout all his worries and  struggles and then he poured out his desires before the Lord.  I just love that his heart wasn’t “deliver us so that we succeed. deliver us so we win.”  But he asked to be delivered so that the kingdoms of the earth may know that YOU ALONE, LORD are GOD.”  Love this.  When we seek to be delivered from difficulty or hardship, why are we asking?  What if our prayers were like Hezekiah’s – SO THAT THE WHOLE EARTH would KNOW that YOU are GOD!  Lord make that our battle cry!

Isaiah blessed Hezekiah with words from the Lord to let him know what was about to happen going forward.  The word of the Lord was spoken against the Assyrian king and he was about to be brought down, hard.  His sons would eventually kill him.  But, before that the Lord promised a special warrior.  The angel of the Lord went into the Assyrian camp and in one night killed 185,000 soldiers.  Those that survived woke up and saw the corpses and decided it was time to get out of town.

The Lord sent 1 angel to battle an entire army.  I’ve mentioned on here before that I have a couple angels that are in my treatment room with me – I don’t know now, maybe the Lord has given me only one and that’s all I need.  I love to lay there and just imagine them doing what they do to battle my tumors and declare complete victory in the end!  I just love the picture of what is going on that I cannot even see.

Hezekiah had completely put his trust in the Lord and he knew that he himself could not be victorious.  He laid his requests before the Lord and surrendered his fears and desires and rested in the Lord’s hands.  He desired for the whole earth to see the Lord for who He is and that was his heart’s focus.  In the end he wasn’t asked to fight, God fought for him with his own angel and Hezekiah and the people were freed.

I shared this on Facebook this morning and Instagram but, it goes with this so well today and you may not have seen it.

This is me just on my bed raising my hand, jumping for joy and praising God!  I had not read this yet when I was already raising my arm in victory this morning.  I’m praising my Father all day, but I am also standing ready.  I am ready to battle anything the devil wants to try and feed me to turn me away.  The Lord has given me His Word and promise to never leave me or forsake me.  The devil will not have one moment of time…I am a determined warrior and this battle belongs to the LORD!

Thank you fellow warriors for your prayers.  I am blessed by all of you:

• Pray for my continued energy.  Sometimes ugh….I get tired.  I am asking for better sleep at night so I can be rested for the day
• Great peace during treatment this wee
• Continued flushing of all this junk out of my body.  I’ve noticed my face is probably retaining fluid some – so yes my face is rounder.  It’s just more Jesus in me… right?
• I have a full day of dr appts on Thursday.  So just pray that I ask the right questions and that everything is looking just like it should at this point.