Please go to my sister's blog to see her good news! Thanks for your prayers for her!!!
www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
My Sister
After more spots were found on her lung recently, Missy will be having another PET scan this Friday morning at 9:00 am. Please pray that the doctors will be able to identify these spots and that they won't interfere with her progress! THANK YOU!
I'm not sure when we'll get results...possibly Monday.
www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com
I'm not sure when we'll get results...possibly Monday.
www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Encouraging Message
Do you need peace in your life? Feel like you need to know God more than you do, but somehow you doubt...you fear...you can't let go of your own ideas. I have been there. I've done all those things, and trust me, nothing feels sweeter than letting go of my fears that are surrounding me and trusting that there's more to it all. Our loving Heavenly Father knows my life, and he is controlling the "Bigger Picture" that I so easily lose sight of.
Please read this...a message written by Pastor Rick Lawrenson of Nags Head Church, North Carolina. He is also the father-in-law of Tricia whom I posted about yesterday. What a great reminder that I needed to hear...
"Human nature is finite as is our natural comprehension of life and all that goes with it. When life throws us curves it is our natural tendency to react with anxiety and fear. That's normal.
This morning I'll sit at a table and peer out over the Atlantic Ocean. A relatively few miles away will be the extent of my ability to see. The horizon in my sight is the limit. But I know that the ocean goes much farther to my east - all the way to other lands in Europe and Africa. I just can't see them. It was that limited vision that brought our forefathers to the conclusion that the earth was flat, and that if you ever hit that edge of the world you would fall off.
How silly is that theory to us today? But it was a real, natural conclusion because of their limited sight and experience. Then one day a "new world" was discovered and the fear of falling from a flat earth was vanquished by new vision and the experience of standing on a previously unseen soil.
How is it that Nathan and Tricia can hear the words "cancer" and "lymphoma" and not have their spirits plummet into angst? When people ask me and I tell them and then say, "But this is just a bump in their road", they look at me like I'm nuts. It's the "C word for Pete's sake!".
That depends on the size of your picture; on whether or not you think the boundaries of your ability to see are the edge of your world or that there are new worlds to discover. Tricia and Nathan's picture has been greatly enlarged by two factors: faith and experience. They've gone over the horizon more than once, trusting in Someone whose vision is infinite to lead them. And they've discovered that however fearful that next step may be, there is a new world beyond what they can see.
Don't let the horizons in your sight fool you. Hoist the sails, take the risks and turn over the wheel to the Pilot who sees eternally.
The picture is bigger than you think."
*Copied with permission from the website of Rick Lawrenson (www.nagsheader.blogspot.com)
Please read this...a message written by Pastor Rick Lawrenson of Nags Head Church, North Carolina. He is also the father-in-law of Tricia whom I posted about yesterday. What a great reminder that I needed to hear...
"Human nature is finite as is our natural comprehension of life and all that goes with it. When life throws us curves it is our natural tendency to react with anxiety and fear. That's normal.
This morning I'll sit at a table and peer out over the Atlantic Ocean. A relatively few miles away will be the extent of my ability to see. The horizon in my sight is the limit. But I know that the ocean goes much farther to my east - all the way to other lands in Europe and Africa. I just can't see them. It was that limited vision that brought our forefathers to the conclusion that the earth was flat, and that if you ever hit that edge of the world you would fall off.
How silly is that theory to us today? But it was a real, natural conclusion because of their limited sight and experience. Then one day a "new world" was discovered and the fear of falling from a flat earth was vanquished by new vision and the experience of standing on a previously unseen soil.
How is it that Nathan and Tricia can hear the words "cancer" and "lymphoma" and not have their spirits plummet into angst? When people ask me and I tell them and then say, "But this is just a bump in their road", they look at me like I'm nuts. It's the "C word for Pete's sake!".
That depends on the size of your picture; on whether or not you think the boundaries of your ability to see are the edge of your world or that there are new worlds to discover. Tricia and Nathan's picture has been greatly enlarged by two factors: faith and experience. They've gone over the horizon more than once, trusting in Someone whose vision is infinite to lead them. And they've discovered that however fearful that next step may be, there is a new world beyond what they can see.
Don't let the horizons in your sight fool you. Hoist the sails, take the risks and turn over the wheel to the Pilot who sees eternally.
The picture is bigger than you think."
*Copied with permission from the website of Rick Lawrenson (www.nagsheader.blogspot.com)
Tricia Lawrenson
This couple has inspired me tremendously... and they are in need of your prayers now. The day I came home from the hospital after losing Tyler, I came across the blog of Nathan Lawrenson. His wife, Tricia has cystic fibrosis. She was on her way to receiving her potentially life-saving double lung transplant when she found out she was pregnant. She was able to carry their baby girl to 23 weeks when surgery became necessary to save both the baby and Tricia. Their baby Gwyneth has thrived and is out of the NICU now, and Tricia received her double lung transplant. However, now Tricia is experiencing PTLD (post transplant lymphoma disorder), something very common to transplant patients. I'm not sure yet of her prognosis, and she just started her chemo treatments today for her cancer. This couple has inspired me to put my faith into action and to trust God no matter the circumstances going on in my life. Please pray for them right now... and if you need some inspiration in your own life, check it out...
www.cfhusband.blogspot.com
www.cfhusband.blogspot.com
Monday, June 16, 2008
Father's Day...A Reflection
I'll admit it, folks. I was dreading it.
More than I was dreading Mother's Day for myself.
As most people, I'd rather not see someone I love with their heart hurting. I just hoped and prayed it would not be too sad for Mike. Oh...Father's Day happened to fall on his birthday too this year. Did I mention that? Double whammy. It actually turned out to be a pretty good day after all. There were so many times though, that I couldn't help but imagine what this day would have been like... Mike having his first Father's Day and birthday while showing off our baby boy. It could have been so different, but this is how it is now. Acceptance of all this has filled us. We prayed for God's peace in our lives, and we got it. It's not peace that everything will always be fine and dandy, but it's peace knowing that we will make it through.
Let me tell you, Mike was an awesome father in his 6 days. So proud to be a Daddy! I'll never forget waking up after my C-section, groggy and blurry-eyed, to a photo of our beautiful boy that Mike was holding for me to see. The memory of Mike reading Tyler his first story...I wish I had gotten video footage of it, but it's forever engrained in my memory. "I'll love you to the moon and back," Mike said. And somehow I knew, as I watched in tears, that that was the only time we would get to read that story to our son. But ohhh so much joy.... smiles that come to our faces even now as we remember those times.
I'm grateful for some of the random friends at church Sunday that wished Mike a happy father's day. That meant a lot to him. We understand that most of the time, people don't know what to say...and that's okay too. Trust me, we've been on that side of things before too. To us though, Tyler will always be a part of our family. Yes, we've been able to let go of some of the pain that once overwhelmed us. But that doesn't mean that we let go of Baby Ty, of the fact that we are his Mommy and Daddy...that will always be. Time moves forward and takes us and life to new things, but this will always be.
And Mike will always be the greatest Daddy I've ever seen.
More than I was dreading Mother's Day for myself.
As most people, I'd rather not see someone I love with their heart hurting. I just hoped and prayed it would not be too sad for Mike. Oh...Father's Day happened to fall on his birthday too this year. Did I mention that? Double whammy. It actually turned out to be a pretty good day after all. There were so many times though, that I couldn't help but imagine what this day would have been like... Mike having his first Father's Day and birthday while showing off our baby boy. It could have been so different, but this is how it is now. Acceptance of all this has filled us. We prayed for God's peace in our lives, and we got it. It's not peace that everything will always be fine and dandy, but it's peace knowing that we will make it through.
Let me tell you, Mike was an awesome father in his 6 days. So proud to be a Daddy! I'll never forget waking up after my C-section, groggy and blurry-eyed, to a photo of our beautiful boy that Mike was holding for me to see. The memory of Mike reading Tyler his first story...I wish I had gotten video footage of it, but it's forever engrained in my memory. "I'll love you to the moon and back," Mike said. And somehow I knew, as I watched in tears, that that was the only time we would get to read that story to our son. But ohhh so much joy.... smiles that come to our faces even now as we remember those times.
I'm grateful for some of the random friends at church Sunday that wished Mike a happy father's day. That meant a lot to him. We understand that most of the time, people don't know what to say...and that's okay too. Trust me, we've been on that side of things before too. To us though, Tyler will always be a part of our family. Yes, we've been able to let go of some of the pain that once overwhelmed us. But that doesn't mean that we let go of Baby Ty, of the fact that we are his Mommy and Daddy...that will always be. Time moves forward and takes us and life to new things, but this will always be.
And Mike will always be the greatest Daddy I've ever seen.
Friday, June 13, 2008
New Blog for Melissa!
I felt like I wasn't doing my sister justice, just posting a snippet for her every now and then on this blog. So, she now has her own blog that I'll be running for her. I'm excited about this, because I really hope that each and every comment will be a source of encouragement for her. And it will be a good way to keep everyone updated on her progress. Please check it out, and feel free to drop her a word, even if you just want to say hi!
Hope it can give even a glimpse of the awesome person she is!
http://www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com/
Hope it can give even a glimpse of the awesome person she is!
http://www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com/
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