The Lord Is Gracious

He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. — Psalm 111:4-5 

Today we had a fun visit with our 96-year-old friend Marie.

We had a chance to see the beautiful sketches she drew during covid, while she was house-bound.

And we reminisced and laughed together.

We talked about many things going on in the word.

And agreed that too much of the daily news is not a good thing.

She has enjoyed watching old movies like The Music Man - one of my personal favorites. 

God has provided for her and for us.

We are blessed by her friendship.

Do Not Worry About Your Life

I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  — Matthew 6:25

Today we got rain, lightning and even hail!

What a surprise after an 81 degree morning in San Diego.

Abby and I skipped our swim date since it was lightning frequently at our house and on my way home from work.

It's still raining several hours later.

This is probably the most rain we've gotten all year.

We didn't even have a chance to bring in our Plumeria plants.

Hopefully they'll survive the weather.

God tells us not to worry.

In fact, He commands it.

One of my coworkers had heart palpitations two weeks ago.

His cardiologist said his heart was fine, but it might have due to stress.

He had given up caffeinated coffee, but was told he could have 2-3 cups per day.

That was wonderful news.

But finding ways to destress will now be the challenge.

God gives us those coping skills in His Word.

Thank You, Lord!

Worship the Lord

Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. — Exodus 3:25

Today we are worshipping God on Livestream, since we can't gather in person.

Our services are recorded days or weeks earlier and then the music, pastors, prayers, sermons, and each section is spliced together into one service.

Our family usually watches together at 11:00.

God calls us to worship Him.

Sometimes it seems easier to worship the world He has created instead of worshipping the Creator himself.

When I begin to fall into that trap, I try to shift my focus to thank God for creating the entire world.

And to thank Him for creating each marvelous part of it.

God Give Us Our Food

All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. — Psalm 104:27-28

We look to God to provide our food.

All creattures look to Him to provide what they need.

He knows just what we need each moment of the day.

God has opened His hand to us, and has given us over and above what we need.

He has made sure we are satisfied with the good thing he provides.

This weekend I made bread, pizza dough,vegetable stock, and lasagna to take to our friend whose husband just came home from the hospital. 

God has blessed us.

We are grateful for His good and perfect care.

Happy Birthday, Victoria!

[God] makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. — Psalm 104:14-15

Today is my niece Victoria's birthday!

She visited us from Vienna last summer and we had a chance to meet her boyfriend, Max.

We had such a great time together, they are hoping to return in the summer of 2021 again.

Our guest room is at the ready!

Here she is on the top right next to Abby.

Max is just below her next to Kirk and Cameron.

We are thankful for family.

God makes the grass grow for the cattle and plants for us to cultivate.

He brings forth food from the earth.

The Lord gives us wine to gladden our hearts and oil to make our faces shine.

He also gives us bread to sustain our hearts.

God is great, and He gives us everything we need.

Happy Birthday, Victoria!

God Provides Food

He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works. — Psalm 111:5-6

Blueberry Coffee Cake

God provides food for us, even in the midst of the Coronavirus.

This is the blueberry coffee cake I made this past weekend.

He always keeps His promises and covenant with us.

God numbers the hairs on my head — there are more and more growing each day.

We are grateful to be healthy with a safe roof over our heads.

He has shown us His healing touch and the power of His works.

The Earth Is the Lord's

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. — Psalm 24:1

Saturday night we had the Rogers and Turner families over for dinner with Victoria and Max.

Everyone brought delicious food, and Kirk made Negronis and poured some fine wines.

Liz made her crowdpleaser freezer dessert plus corn with jalapeños.

We had a fun afternoon and evening catching up and laughing together.

We missed Tim, so sorry we didn't get to see him.

Sunday we will meet Victoria and Max at the beach — Windandsea or LaJolla Shores.

The earth is the Lord's!

Off to the Fair

If you love me, keep my commands. — John 14:15

This afternoon, I'll leave work early so Abby and I can go to the San Diego County Fair together.

Here we are back in 2016 at the fair, when we ran into our friend Sandy and her daughter Ana at the Alice in Wonderland exhibit.

This year the theme is the Wizard of Oz. That should be a fun one, too.

We enjoy trying some of the food, looking at the woodworking and art exhibits, checking out the yearbooks, watching the pig races, giving our opinions on the landscape competition, and going on the Ferris wheel and the skyride across the fair.

Abby hopes to try a fried Twinkie in memory of her grandpa.

Sometimes they have some good bands playing during the day.

Whatever we do, it will be a fun afternoon just hanging out together.

Kirk will be golfing with one of his buddies.

We are blessed with special times together, doing things we enjoy.

God Provides

The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. — Psalm 111:4-5

God is gracious and compassionate. He provides blessings for those who fear him. 

It is with great sadness that we announce Kirk’s dad's (Gary John's) passing. He died at his home in his bed at the age of 84. Dad was in reasonably good health, so this was unexpected. 

The photo with his niece Mary was taken at our home on Easter 2019. We celebrated with 21 family members and friends — a fitting farewell. 

We rejoice that he is now dancing with our Mom Rita, his mom Lucille, his brother Dale, and niece Lianne. We are planning a viewing at the San Diego mortuary in La Mesa (Erikson Anderson/El Camino Real) while Kirk’s brother and his wife are here on May 26. Service arrangements will follow this summer at First Pres. Church.

Abby has a final tomorrow night and another one Thursday. Her cousins Cam and Carly are also in classes this week. We are praying that they can finish well, even with this added stress.

Kirk and I took time off work today to begin the arrangements and make phone calls. We will both be back at work tomorrow and we will join Abby on Friday for her graduation weekend. We are looking forward to celebrating with family and friends.

Thank you for your prayers for dad and for our family.

He Is Risen!

Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” — Matthew 28:7

Today we will celebrate Easter with our family and friends. On Saturday this year, so everyone can get to church services and musicals on Sunday.

There will be 21 of us from the Rogers, Johnson, Turner, Stalder, Baker, Ameng, and Nichols families plus a few extras will come together for ham, cracker corn, party potatoes, deluxe salad, veggies, appetizers and desserts.

Fortunately we have some great cooks coming and bringing their favorite dishes — and ours!

A great time to laugh and catch up with wonderful people in our back yard and front courtyard.

The roses are budding and the sun will be shining through the clouds. A perfect day to eat outside and gather with family and friends who are just like family.

He is risen! He is risen indeed.

Taste and See

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. — Psalm 34:8

Today I will spend my lunch hour attending a class to learn about good nutrition and exercise with cancer.

I decided I should take it now, while I can eat and enjoy whatever they cook for us during the class.

The class at UCSD Health is just around the corner from where I work, so it was super convenient and no cost!

The title of the class is "Fighting Cancer with Foods and Activity," and I'm looking forward to coming away with lots of great tips.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

God Knows What To Do

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. — 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 The Message
 
Yesterday was my first chemo treatment. Overall, the day went really well. Abby and I went out for breakfast in the morning. iHop was the choice of the day.

Kirk's brother Kelly sent me this verse (in the Good News version) as I was starting the IV. What a wonderful encouragement!

I took Decadron the day before and the morning of. An hour before my appointment I took Cetirizine but will probably not need to take that one next time.

Then Kirk drove me over to the chemo suite where they gave me:

Tylenol 650 mg and Zofran (Ondansetron) tablets to mitigate headaches and nausea
Trastuzumab (Herceptin)150 mg IV around noon
Docetaxel 102.6 mg in Sodium Chloride IV at 2:30
Carboplatin 605 ms in DW 205 ml 10 mg/ml IV just before 5:00

They went really slow with the IVs to make sure I didn't have any reactions or nausea, which I didn't.

Kirk and Abby went to lunch and picked up lunch for me, which tasted really good. I will be losing my taste and my hair over the next few weeks so I was enjoying some of my favorite food.

We got home about six last evening and were greeted by these beautiful flowers from Brad and Peggy, created by Madison and company at Stem Floral Company. And we've already eaten half the snacks they brought for us. Very yummy and much appreciated.

So are the sweet cards, phone calls, texts, and information every is sending.

We are blessed. One down and just 5 treatments left to go for the chemo, every 3 weeks. The Herceptin IVs will continue every 3 weeks for a year.

God knows what to do, even when we dont.

At the Beach

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. — Psalm 124:1

Del Mar beach

On Saturday, my daughter came home from college for spring break! It's great to have her home.

We went to the beach for lunch after church on Sunday and enjoyed watching the sun, the sand and the sparkling water.

The hostess even found us a table near the beach. We especially relished the chance to catch up and talk as we enjoyed some delicious food.

Perfect timing to be together as a family just before I begin chemo.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Shout for Joy!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.  — Psalm 98:4-6

Flowers from Axos Bank Employees

Yesterday I drove back into work for the first time since my surgery.

I was overwhelmed with wonderful food including fruit, coffee cake, muffins, croissant sandwiches, a chocolate genache cake and two bouquets of flowers! Here's one.

One of my coworkers even lent me his ergonomic anti-fatigue mat so I could use it while standing at my computer. When I offered to return it that afternoon, he encouraged me to keep it for a week until I decided if I want to get one of my own.

I am blessed by wonderful people who kept asking about how I was doing.

After work, I met with my prayer accountability group, and they are such encouraging and supportive Christian women.

Thank you, Lord, for surrounding me with such a blessed support team.

Today we are shouting for joy!