Sunday, March 24, 2019

God Uses Stress to Draw Us Closer to Him

I would never say I am "happy" about stressful situations that pop up in my life. No one is happy about stress. But, I am always grateful for how God uses these situations to draw me closer to Himself.

Life has been crazy busy for me ever since my surgery in January; not really anything earth shattering; its just been one thing after another that has come up. Sometimes it has been a good kind of busy, and sometimes not. Regardless, the busyness and stress these past few months has been distracting me. It has made it harder for me to take the time I need for sitting and "de-compressing" in God's presence.

Last Monday, I shared those thoughts in an e-mail to David's mom, as we often keep in touch about things going on in our lives. Then, a few days later, God used one of my recent stress factors (i.e. car troubles), to get me alone with Him. You see, David's car was no longer safe for him to be driving to work and he had been using my van. So, my mom graciously allowed me to use her car to go to a scheduled checkup with my surgeon. Mom's car did not have a working radio or CD player. So, since I was alone in the car, I was able to use my travel time to pray and sing praise songs to my Lord. It ended up being refreshing for me to have that alone time with Him - because the Joy of the Lord is my strength.

I AM GRATEFUL:
  • for being able to share my heart with David's mom, and my mom as well. They are both great listeners.
  • for the use of my mom's car when my car was unavailable.
  • for the lack of music in mom's car. 
  • that my mom was willing and able to stay home with EL while I went to the appointment.
  • that I was able to have some alone time with God.
  • for stressful situations that remind me of my need for God.
  • for the strength God gives me when I need it most. 

Oh, and, I'm also grateful that David was able to find a good deal on a "new" car that will also provide much better gas mileage as he drives an hour to work each day.

God is good ALL the time.


Sunday, March 10, 2019

Mack Brock: COVERED


Mack Brock has been a  worship leader for 15 years, and his greatest passion is to lead people into a heightened awareness of the presence of God. 

I'm excited to announce that Mack's newest album, "Covered," will be released on March 22nd, and it can be pre-ordered here from Amazon or iTunes:


NOTE:  When you pre-order the EP album, you will also get the digital single of "I Am Loved." 
Watch and listen to the lyric video here, especially if you are feeling un-loved. This is a reassuring worship song that reminds us how we are welcomed by God just as we are. We can go to Him and He will accept us with open arms, because we are loved by Him:




Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this product information. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I will receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

I'm Beginning Arimidex Tonight

Yesterday's appointment with my Oncologist went well (once we finally got to see him, that is. We ended up waiting 2 hours past my appointment time before he walked into the room!)

The doc quickly went over my lab results. There were 3 of them:  Estradiol, LH, and FSH. Two of them showed I am post-menopausal. The third one showed inconclusive, but the doc said that one was the least reliable of the three. So, based on the lab results and all the other evidence, he said he is 98% sure I am post-menopausal. If not completely, then I'm almost there. So, he felt comfortable prescribing the generic version of Arimidex for me, and I will begin taking it tonight at bed time.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I was concerned I was going to need another surgery to have my ovaries removed in order to force me into menopause (if I already wasn't). But, now, that doesn't need to happen. I am extremely GRATEFUL about that.

The side effects of the med do not thrill me - things like increased risk of osteoporosis, increased risk of high cholesterol, increased risk of blood clots, bone pain, hot flashes, fatigue, mood changes, nausea, etc. - but the risks of NOT taking it are a little more bothersome to me. So, I am going to give it a try. Some women have very little problem with it; so hopefully that will be the case with me. 

I will see my doc again in 3 months to discuss how I'm doing. I appreciate your prayers, and will update you when I can.



Sunday, March 3, 2019

Not Done with All Treatments Yet

If you've been looking for a new post from me, I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Between my recent surgery and also getting Mom moved in and settled, life has been extremely busy. (Yes, if you haven't already heard, Mom had decided it was time for a change, so the family worked together to make it possible for her to move in with us.)

Things are finally beginning to slow down for now, so I wanted to take this lull time to update you with my recent visit to see my Oncologist. 

On February 20th, after my second checkup with my surgeon, I had a consultation with my Oncologist. I received some GREAT NEWS from him, which is, I will not need any chemotherapy or radiation to treat my cancer this time around! He said the left-side mastectomy surgery was all that was needed for this one. So, we are very grateful for that bit of news.

However, it has been recommended that I begin taking a daily medication called Arimidex. 

At first, the doc said I would not need any meds; but, as David and I began to ask questions, and we all discussed my case further, the doc ended up changing his mind.

It was decided, the most recent cancer (left side) is not really a concern anymore, because it was non-invasive. But, the previous cancer (right side) WAS invasive. So, that is the one we still need to be concerned about. That is the one that has a potential to return - to metastasize - to another part of the body. It could still come back into the small amount of tissue that remains after surgery, or come back in the lungs, or in the bones, or somewhere else. So, that is the one we need to continue addressing.

Then, it was decided we needed to know for certain if I am past the menopause stage, because Arimidex is most effective in post-menopausal women. So, labs were drawn to help determine this. At this point, the results are inconclusive, and I'm not exactly sure why. I have another consultation coming up this Tuesday to discuss it more, and we will determine the next step in the process.

Of course, I was hoping for no further treatments at all, but I know it could be a lot worse.

I AM GRATEFUL:
  • I don't need chemo or radiation.
  • For an involved husband who asks a lot of questions.
  • For good doctors.
  • For modern medicine.
  • For family and friends who care about me and will continue to pray me through.