I'm Ba-ack!

So much has happened since my last post! I've been in the hospital and home again, spent 2 weeks in the ICU in an induced coma and another 2-3 weeks in a regular room before being released. I have had to learn how to feed my self and stand up, and am learning how to walk again.

Still spending much of my time in my bed, but I am starting to get around either with my walker or electric wheelchair, and doing a little cooking in the kitchen. Rachel and I went to the OKC Zoo this week with our friend Jan Deeg and had a great time.

O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  ~Psalm 34:8

I'm Blessed!

Blessing for today: no chemo treatment - hooray! It's actually next week.

Oh, give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, and his mercy endures forever!
I Chron. 16:34, 2 Chron. 20:21, Ps. 106:1, Ps. 107:1, et. al.

A quick update: I've had 14 radiation treatments and two chemotherapy treatments so far; my third treatment is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8. For a long time, I slept all day, which was such a blessing! Now I can hardly sleep at all due to a dry cough that has been with me for several weeks, and has gotten progressively worse.Am going for a blood transfusion this morning

Counting to Pentecost...

I am counting. Counting the days to Pentecost, written about in Acts Chapter 2, in which the believers were all gathered in one place, there were tongues of fire seen, the sound of a rushing wind was heard, and men were confused about hearing others talking miraculously in their own languages.

Pentecost is also a Biblical Holiday, or Feast Day, a festival given by God ("...these are My appointed times,..." says the Lord in Leviticus 23:2). In Hebrew it is called Shavuot, or "Weeks".

Leviticus 23:15    And you shall count to you from the next day after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete.   :16  To the next day after the seventh sabbath you shall number fifty days.

The sabbath mentioned here is during the week of Passover, or the feast of Unleavened Bread. The counting of the fifty days to Pentecost / Shavuot starts there.

This year I am using a special calendar for counting to Pentecost (Shavuot):

It's from a great resource book for families by Sue Mortimer, A Complete Guide to Celebrating Our Messiah in the Festivals. 

The book is loaded with information, craft ideas, songs, games, family discussions, and in this section, a fun recipe for cheese blintzes - yum! Available from Eagle's Wings Educational Materials.

http://www.eagleswingsed.com/





Yesterday, April 17th, was my birthday, and I want to thank everyone for their birthday wishes and special gifts of love. I had a very special day!


Wow, the colors, fragrances and busyness of spring! Rachel says the pear trees have lots of fruit; the lilacs have bloomed, we had some in the house (the fragrance was wonderful!); the irises are starting to open and the peonies are coming up. Indian Paintbrush is everywhere, the spirea bush in front of my house looks like a bride's train, friends have planted raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and flowers in the front garden box; Rachel is planning vegetables in the boxes out back. We have had a gentle rain over the weekend, and the plants are all taking on a fresh vitality. I feel so blessed, to be able to experience it all. Thank you, Heavenly Father!

(Hos 6:3)  And let us know, eagerly strive to know the LORD, His going forth is sure as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.'

I am scheduled for a heart test this Friday the 23rd; chemotherapy is tentatively scheduled to begin the 27th.

Papaya

A friend sent me an article about Papaya fighting cancer. A University of Florida researcher and colleagues in Japan, in a report published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, documented papaya's anticancer effect against tumors of the cervix, breast, liver, lung, and pancreas. They are using an extract and a tea made from the dried leaves of the plant.

I enjoy having fresh papaya for breakfast. Fresh fruit, given by God.  And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed - to you it shall be for food; Gen 1:29 

"Don't Waste Your Cancer" by John Piper

A dear friend sent me this article, and it was an encouragement to me to keep my focus on what God is doing through and with cancer, and not on the odds; on seeing it as something that He has allowed for a purpose in my life. On facing and thinking about death, but also praying for healing and making a a decision to live each day; on treating sin casually. A link to the article online is here:

http://www.crosswalk.com/1383847/

Pink dianthus. I love flowers, herbs and plants, and a wonderful friend has given me some awesome ones for the garden.







The chemo oncologist says I have to begin some treatment by the end of this week. She wants to do a heart test first. My back is feeling stronger, although I'm still wearing the brace and using a walker. I can stand and walk some without the walker, though, just a little wobbly.   :-)

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, in order that I might learn Thy statutes.
The law (instruction) of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Psalm 119: 71-72

A Special Blessing: My Sister and Niece come to Visit!

My sister Karen and niece Danielle came from Ohio for a visit several weeks ago; I had not seen them in 15 years, so it was great to spend time "catching up." We talked with the girls about our growing up, and things we remembered about our grandparents' place in Ohio, which was a special place for both of us when we were young. Karen and Danielle found interesting things about this strange land called Oklahoma: cactus plantings in peoples' front yards, cricket-shaped oil wells in peoples' backyards, herds of long-horned cattle pasturing along Highway 81, and the scary trees at night that line the road I live on (they are scrub oak and were heavily damaged in the January ice storm, so they do look pretty grisly at night). They all had fun trying new recipes in the kitchen, and Adrienne and Rachel made several kinds of home made pizza for them. All too soon it was time for them to go home, but I will keep the memory of their visit for a long time.

Psa 34:8  O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.