Your Light Will Break Forth

 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. — Isaiah 58:8

On Friday, Abby had an interview for a job with Pt. Loma Nazarene University.

Today she did a PowerPoint presentation for some additional people there.

And then they offered her the job!

She will be an Enrollment Counselor for Graduate and Professional Studies.

She picks up her computer tomorrow and starts her training on Monday.

For now she will only go to the campus once or twice a week.

She will work remotely the rest of the time.

Best of all, she will be working at the Mission Valley campus, just 15 minutes from our house!

Her hard work has paid off.

To God be the glory.

Your Light Will Break Forth Like the Dawn

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. — Isaiah 58:8

Today I had lunch with the Director of Planned Giving for my alma mater.

Randolph-Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia.

She was out here on vacation and also spent time visiting a few of us.

It was great to hear about the things happening back at the college.

Students will be back in person this fall.

Back in the spring they were in a hybrid model, with some learning from home and others on campus.

Last fall they were all online, learning from home.

My friend Phebe Westcott is retiring as alumnae director for the college.

This is her last week at Randolph.

They only got about 7-8 applicants for the job.

And none of them were alumns, so they are continuing to advertise the position.

God tells us that His glory will be our rear guard.

His light will break forth through us, like the dawn.

 

 

Strong in the Lord

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. — Ephesians 6:10

I have had many people praying for me over the last year.

Those prayers have given me strength.

And God has provided healing for my cancer.

I am not strong in and of myself.

But in the Lord and His mighty power, I have strength to get through this.

Thanks to all of my friends, family and neighbors who have been lifting me up in prayer.

I am grateful.

 

 

God Has Done Great Things for Me

Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. — Psalm 66:16-17

Thursday my boss gave me my semi-annual review. 

I really enjoy working with her; she has a lot of marketing expertise and is a strong advocate and supporter of me and my team.

She had hip surgery last month and is working at home as she recovers.

God is healing her more and more each day.

We are looking forward to her return.

God is healing me each day, too.

His healing arms surround me and strengthen me. I don't have the strength to climb Cowles' Mt. yet, but I do walk around the hills of our neighborhood 1-2 miles a couple of times a week.

The Lord Heals

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. — Psalm 30:32

Thursday I completed my fifth chemo treatment. Just one more to go!

After that I'll start radiation.

And I'll continue Herceptin IVs every three weeks, but that should be closer to an hour instead of the four hours it takes now.

Our friends have been calling and texting their prayers and words of encouragement.

We feel covered in love and wrapped in God's loving arms.

And our garden is blooming.

God is healing, and we are thankful.

God Our Strength

Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre. — Psalm 81:1-2

They say music has healing powers. I think God created music that way: to calm the savage beast, relax our hearts and minds, and help us praise him when words alone are just not enough.

Doctors even recommend bringing music to chemo sessions. Research shows that it helps the treatment go more smoothly, and I can attest to that. 

Thanks to Abby for helping me find the Pandora stations that keep me relaxed and pain-free while undergoing my treatments.

Here's the hat I wore to my chemo treatment on Thursday. It was a hit. Another lady asked for the website so she could get one, too. TLCDirect.org has lots of fun styles and some great sales in the clearance section. 

Kaiser even had their catalog in the chemo suite for people to browse through while they have their treatments. 

Next week I'll take a free nutrition course at Kaiser for best practices and foods to eat while on chemo. I have a good start but am hoping to learn even more.

Sing for joy to God our strength!

Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodius harp and lyre.

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Hike

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. — Psalm 121:3-4

Los Peñasquitos Canyon

Yesterday some friends and I headed out to Los Peñasquitos Canyon for a beautiful morning hike. 

The bridge was out so we were not able to cross the river, but with all of the rain we've had recently, the grass and plants were growing tall and green. And the water was higher than it had been in a while.

The day started out chilly and cold, but warmed up as the sun came out and we started moving. 

One friend who joined us had had a lumpectomy last summer followed by radiation and is doing well. Her cancer is gone for now, and we are rejoicing.

Another friend's mom has been diagnosed with non hodgkins lymphoma and is undergoing chemo now. She will have her second treatment this week while I have mine. As we walked we talked about how it's especially hard because she lives halfway across the country and has been having a rough time of it with lots of nausea and fatigue. 

There's really nothing her daughter could do if she were there, but it's hard to be so far away and watch your mom suffer. It's hard to be close by and watch your mom or mother-in-law suffer, too.

God is watching over each of us, and He will not let us slip out of His reach.

He will neither slumber or sleep. When we turn to Him, He is ready and able to respond. What a comfort!



 

Pathology Report Praise

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. — Psalm 146:1-2

Card of Encouragement

Today the surgeon called with my pathology report. My cancer is infiltrating (invasive) ductal carcinoma, and the margins are clear. This is the most common type of breast cancer. I am thanking God for this news that they appear to have removed it all.

 

They also removed 3 lymph nodes and found a small spot of cancer in one of them. I'm thankful that they removed the one with the cancer! 

 

So they will direct the radiation to that lymph node area as well. That will start after I'm completely healed from the surgery, about a month from now and may last 5-7 weeks. 

 

The surgeon does not need to remove any more lymph nodes, which is also wonderful.

He thinks I may need chemo later, just to make sure that all of the cancer is removed.

 

The oncologist will call me to go over next steps, and I'll meet with the surgeon next week to confirm that I'm healing well.

 

I'll also be heading in to work tomorrow and Friday. That will feel good after working at home this week.

 

This is the card I received yesterday from our good friend Edna who has been praying along with everyone else. She doesn't have a computer, so I'll be calling her with these results.

I am blessed and overwhelmed with all of the prayers and support.

 

Praise the Lord!

A Day of Rest

Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave. — I Kings 8:56

Torrey Pines State Park and Beach

God has given us times to rest. That's really hard for me. I want to get up and move around and do something.

Anything other than rest.

But God rested, too. And He asks us to take a Sabbath day of rest each week.

And when we're healing, God gives us the space and the extra time we need to rest and recover. 

Last night we had a chance to rest and relax with friends over dinner.

Today the rain has stopped and the birds are singing outside our window. The world is at rest.

Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him; do not fret. — Psalm 37:37

Peaceful Vistas

We will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. — Micah 4:5

Torrey Pines State Park

Over the past few days, as I've explained to others how wonderful I feel and how quickly I seem to be healing, their concern is that I might be anxious as I wait for the pathology report. 

I'm certainly hopeful that the cancer has not spread into the lymph nodes, but I'm not anxious or worried. And I'm not sure why. But I have  a deep sense of peace that goes beyond anything I can understand.

I feel a calm assurance that God is in control. At the same time, I realize that I'm not in control and can have no impact on the future. But somehow knowing that God's got this means I don't have to worry. Whatever the outcome, I'm still in His hands. He'll see me through it all.

So my prayer is that God's will be done in our lives and that Kirk, Abby and I will be able to give Him the honor and glory no matter what the next steps may be.

Torrey Pines beach as seen from above is a favorite spot for our family to hike. The waves lapping up against the shore and the beach areas butting up against the cliffs provide such a scenic view of creation and the beauty around us. We are blessed to live near these awesome vistas — these reminders of God's love and care.

We are at peace.