It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Winter

It's snowing right now! I love it! I've been waiting for it since we moved here. When Alexander saw it he asked me "Mom, are we going to put up our tree now and get presents?"

Wow...

Wow, it's been awhile huh? Sorry about that. I have a very good reason though.

Well, we moved to Butte! I know it was fast and unexpected, but sometimes that's how God works. We knew without a doubt God wanted us back here.

The day after we got here Derek's grandmother passed away. It was peaceful, but hard nonetheless. We are consoled with the fact that we know she is in heaven. That was followed by an intensely busy week.

Just today I finally got internet! I was going through withdrawal. That's probably a good thing though. I was also trying to find a job. I'll be working while Derek recovers. Which I'm happy to report I got the job I interviewed for on Friday! God has blessed us abundantly.

Derek is doing very well. He gets better everyday. His appetite has improved and he seems like he has more energy. He still gets fatigued, but it seems less frequent.

The kids are doing very well. They love being able to play outside in the yard. We feel such peace here. I know the Lord is working.

I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I will be more regular, hopefully you are all still reading this.

Thank you for the continued prayers and support. It's greatly appreciated.

"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

God Bless!

Great News and Some Bad News...For You

Hello all! Sorry about the lack of updates, there hasn't been much to report and what I needed to report I wanted to make sure of the facts before I informed all of you.

Would you like the good news or bad news first? Since this isn't an interactive blog I will make the choice for you. I was trying to be nice in letting you think you had a choice when in fact you don't. I always want the bad news first, then the good news assuages any negative impact the bad news had.

From the blog title you probably gathered that this is bad news for you. I'm ecstatic and feel very positive about the new direction God is taking my family, you however, may not feel that way. We are moving back to Butte! Like I said we're very excited for it, we will miss all of you terribly, but we know this is the direction God is taking us right now. One day God just whispered upon my heart that we needed to go to Butte. I talked to Derek about it and he prayed and felt that yes that is the direction the Lord is taking us. Then we got some news that Grandma Kay (Derek's grandmother) isn't doing well health wise and we want to be there for her. I know you all probably feel blindsided by this; we did too. But this is a positive thing. I feel so encouraged by the Lord and Butte is somewhere we enjoy living.

Now for the good news. We had a conference with Derek's doctor yesterday. It was the end conference. The doctor officially used the word remission. They did 3 different tests to see if they could find the original degenerative cell that caused the myelofibrosis and in all 3 tests they couldn't find it. Now Derek's body needs time to heal. His liver and kidneys took a beating from the chemo and medication, but they are on their to healing. His spleen will continue to shrink as well as the new cells eradicate the fibrosis and make room for even more cells to grow. I was so encouraged yesterday to hear that he is in remission. It's my new favorite word.

We are leaving Seattle, but this journey is far from over. Things are uncertain as with every new journey, but one thing I am certain of is that God is directing our steps and is with us every moment.

Thank you all so much for your prayers during this trying time. We appreciate it more than you know. If you want keep coming back. I will continue to update you all on our lives and the progress of Derek's health. God has certainly blessed us.

"21And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
22He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people." Exodus 13:21&22

God Bless!

Despair

What happens when despair threatens to overtake every fiber of our being? When desperation mars our feelings and decisions, it infiltrates and spreads like a disease. It’s the disease of hopelessness.

One of the definitions of disease is listed as:

Any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society.

You can guess how this fits in. Despair, hopelessness, desperation and all feelings like it are a morbid condition for us Christians. They prompt us to make bad and rash decisions. Decisions we wouldn’t have otherwise made if we had prayed, read our Bibles, and spent some quiet non-verbal time with God.

¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, ²⁰who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. ²¹By Him ye believe in God, who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. (1 Peter 1:19-21)

That our faith and hope might be in God! There is never cause to feel desperate or hopeless if our faith and hope is rooted in our never changing, all powerful, loving God.

It is hard, I must admit, when the circumstances staring us down are grim. That’s when our minds need to immediately focus on God. We need to condition ourselves as Christians to have God be our foremost thought when anything good or bad happens.

How do we condition ourselves? It is like any other conditioning method. If we want to run a marathon we don’t simply enter ourselves and go there on race day with some Gatorade and expect to finish. It takes months and months of hard work and training to prepare for something that big.

In our walk with God, we need to condition and train by being in constant communication with Him. Praying, reading, and meditation are all essential. I find myself thinking I have everything under control. I run ahead of Him only to find I am out of shape and have to stop for a moment to catch my breath. That stop I took cost me precious time, time I could have spent in communion with Him. Instead I end up playing catch up, pouring my remorseful, sinful heart out to Him. It’s a setback that should have never happened. I took my eyes off the prize and had a false sense of confidence that I could do it on my own. We all know what happens when we attempt things on our own. I’ll leave you with this.

²⁴Know ye not that those who run in a race all run, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain it. ²⁵And every man that striveth for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.²⁶I therefore so run, but not with uncertainty; I so fight, but not as one that beateth the air. (1 Corinthians 9:24-26)