thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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I took this pic at an outdoor concert at my church. It reminds me that even with clouds the SON is always trying to peek through. Yes, I intended that spelling. Look for the silver linings in your cloudy days because they will be there if you have eyes to see.
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DAY #36 OF 50 DAYS OF GRATITUDE
I am grateful for all the silver linings in my bc journey. I found that I had a ton of people that cared about me. I reconnected with some friends that I had lost touch with. I found a wonderful group of woman on this thread who have supported me throughout this journey. I have connected with some other photographers on a couple of other threads which has reignited my interest in photography. I have found that even though I live alone I am not lonely. I feel loved and supported and I feel closer to the Lord which is the greatest gift. I have found that God's promises are words we can stand on and depend on. He is faithful and his grace is sufficient for me. He is my portion. He is my refuge and strength. He is my strong tower. He is my fortress. He is my savior. He is my God. I am thankful for all of these things.
Lucy, I hope you found the post I mentioned on a PM. I like your idea of a prayer tablet. I am also on my church's prayer chain and I go to a huge church. They do divide them up or it would be a 24/7 endeavor. Our thread is getting large enough that it can be hard to remember details. I am praying that Sue's mom will reach out. I would love to get to know the woman who had two children who both became pastors out of her four children. I would love to learn more about Sue. Many questions with no answers.
I was able to swim my half mile today for the first time since getting back to swimming. This is only my forth time back so I was amazed at how far I could go. I thought I would have lost much more since I have been away from swimming for over seven months. I tried praying for you all. It is a little complicated because I count laps but I was able to do it.
Becky, I am praying that your knew treatments are going well and that they will be effective. How are you feeling?
Debbie, I am praying that your leg pain is still gone. I am so thrilled that you are in remission.
Polly, How is your lymphedema? I am praying your pain is still gone too. Are you still feeling good about your new church?
Anita, How are you doing? Has your sister been able to visit you? I know she was dealing with her husbands' health issues which made it difficult for you since she had been so helpful to you and was now staying by his side.
Mini, Praying for your surgery on Nov. 4 and for your husband's kidney stone and stent surgery.
Angie, when do you finish your chemo. It seems like it should be maybe another month? Is that correct? I hope you are doing well
Bev, I have been praying for Dave and for you. You will be ringing that bell before long. When exactly will that happen for you?
Sharon, Still praying for you even though I doubt if you have time to check the forum.
Char, I hope you survived a long week with your camp and all the other things going on. How is your training coming along? I know you mentioned your next race being the first week in Nov. Is that correct?
Deborah, Praying for you and for David.
Jean, So glad you are feeling so much better from your UTI. I used to get those really bad years ago and I can sympathize. Nothing worse until you get that relief from the antibiotics. Praying for Howard as well.
KateW I am asking for a miracle in your situation.
Vickie, I am praying for relief from pain for Melody and for peace for Cass as she faces her own cancer surgery. Peace for you and the family as well. I saw where you lost a son a few years ago. You have had your share of grief. You are a strong woman.
Lucy, I am praying for salvation for your family including your cute little granddaughter. Praying for strength for you as well. I think it is great that you and your sister are going to study James together. That will be powerful. Lots of good things in James.
Mags, I hope that this weekend you will be able to come up for air. You have had such a struggle and I am so sorry for that. I have continued to lift you up knowing it has been a really rough time for you.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Love you all,
Nancy
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Today I am grateful for sunshine after 3 rainy days. Grateful for hubby being able to go out with our son-in-law, grandson and our neighbor for some "guy time". Grateful for a friend coming by later to keep me company for awhile. Grateful for feeling well today. Grateful for hubby's encouragement last night when I was expressing fear about getting lymph node surgery after chemo. I was used to being the "strong Christian" and God showed me that now it is time to drop my pride and let hubby encourage me. Love, Jean
PS. One of the David's we are praying for is my oldest boy, my stepson, who's brother was killed in the 1988 Pan Am 103 Lockerbie terrorist bombing.
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Dear sisters, thank you all for your prayers. I have been trying to pray but my brain has been in a fog from this treatment. Last night I had another Costochondritis attack. It is a crushing sensation in the chest. There's nothing that really relieves it, DH heated a pack for me and that helps a bit, and I took two muscle relaxers. It's not muscles though, it's cartilage between the ribs. I've had it for about 6 years, but usually it manifests just as tightness. I have had a few flare ups that feel like I'm having a heart attack (my heart is fine). I knew that chest surgery could aggravate it, but I have had several bad flares since the mastectomy, and last night was so painful. I am still feeling sore this morning, and I'm hoping it doesn't flare up again. I hate how all this messes with my ability to think and pray. When my chest is hurting I can't make sense of anything. It just spins around in my head.
I really want to pray for you all. I really want to participate in our gratitude exercise. Right now I am in a state of mental confusion from this pain. Thank you all for your prayers.
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Jean, Praise the Lord you are feeling well today. Thanks for clarifying the other David we are praying for.
Mags, I am so sorry that your suffering continues. I think the fms is rearing it's ugly head. I suffered from Costochondritis in the past and I know how awful that can be. However when I would experience the crushing pain you talk about I would have a rib out of place. I would have to see a chiropractor for that. Have you ever seen a chiropractor before? I know at this point adding any other appointment would seem overwhelming but it is just a thought. I hate to see you suffer after going through all the other stuff. I will be continuing to lift you up today dear one.
Love
Nancy
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Oh Nancy, thank you for your post. I'm sure it is the FMS rearing its head. And I know I have a rib out of place, it has been since the surgery, but I don't have a chiropractor currently nor the energy to find one. If it continues into Monday I will see if I can get in to see my old chiro - she's the one who first diagnosed it. But she's quite a distance to travel right now.
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Thanks for all the prayers this last week had new chemo and SEs extreme constipation then the opposite, after magnesium Citrate....Yesterday started out throwing up, went for follow up appt, they gave me IV hydration saline and some steriods, I am achy still bloated ,,,,, I hope to get back to normal for a few days.I do appreciate all of you and love the posts and photos, it is lovely here will try to post a Northern nev pix... love becky
plus my ca 27-29 is really higharound 300, work chemo, prayers I know they will
the first picture is 1 /2 mile from our house second CA high sierras
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Praying for relief for you Mags and strength to go for the help you need.
Becky pics are gorgeous. Praying for the se's to subside..
Love, Jean
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Morning to all if you amazing women! I wanted to just send blessings to all if you earlier in the day.
Mags so sorry to hear of your latest issue. I have never heard of that affliction but it doesn't sound fun. Like Nancy said in addition to the current issues it has to be a tough few days. We will pray throughout the day for you sister. I found this picture and have been saving it for some special time so that time is today for you Mags...
Jean so glad to hear you are feeling better and that DH was able to get out on some guy time. That's always so important for everyone. I pray your visit with your friend today is blessed and filled with love and encouragement. We will pray for David.
Nancy yes I will be checking that posting today as I am just having some recharge time and chilling from a busy week. It is very wet and rainy here so it's a good day to stay put. So glad you can get out there and swim it's so good for you. Where do you go to do that? There is a health club in town and they have a pool and sauna and I used to be a member and really enjoyed them. The last few sentences of your prayer is what I pray every morning over my pill. God is so good.
Bestock I can so relate to the constipation. With the Avastin I am on every two weeks that is one of my SE's. I take stool softeners twice a day and senekot at night. When I started the pill in may one of the SE's was mild to bad diarrhea and so I stopped them both so I wouldn't make it worse and let a week go by and unfortunately in that week I was still so constipated it did some damage so that's why I am am on them daily. I have bleeding now if I don't have the softeners. Prolly TMI but that's my daily routine. Very nice pics, thanks for sharing. This is such a pretty time of year I just love fall.
Well today I am enjoying the chilling time at home and just relaxing. I am cooking lentils and going to make a very yummy comfort food dish for dinner. I took a couple of weeks off from my strict diet and got back on track. Figured I deserved the break but really do feel better when I eat healthy. It is one thing that Sue and I talked a lot about. She are a a lot of the same things and tried some of my dishes too. She knew how much I did juicing so she had dug her juicer out and started doing it again. She gave me what is a very special cabbage recipe that I will always remember and make now. I miss her.
Had our Relay For Life kick off party on Friday. So looking forward to all the activities that will get us to our relay in the summer. I wasn't able to help much as I was going through treatment at that time. It will be fun and I will be working on setting up my web page there today as well. Also reading today to get caught up. Well better post this as I am doing it from my phone and don't want to loose it. Still not getting my notifications so that is frustrating. If anyone can help me to see what I can so that would be awesome. I already have the page clicked to notify me. I will check on everyone a little later.
Have a blessed day Warriors...love ya all Lucy
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DAY #37 OF 50 DAYS OF GRATITUDE
Today I am thankful for spending most of the day and evening with a good friend from my church. We went to our local arboretum and just had a great time out in nature for the whole time. I had my camera and took a ton of pics. It was a great day with fabulous weather. I am thankful for my friend and for the beautiful day we got to share among God's beautiful display of fall colors.
Mags, I have been praying for you and I sure hope that you are feeling better this evening. I hope you can get some relief from this rib situation. To have a rib out and the inflammation on top of it is just way too much for one person to have to deal with plus the side effects of chemo. Thank God that this was your last treatment. I will be praying that you will be able to see a chiropractor to help relieve this awful pain. Maybe there will be one right around the corner so that you won't have to travel a lot to get to your old one.
Becky, Thank you for sharing your beautiful pics. I will be praying for these awful side effects. I am sorry you have to go through all of this but will certainly be praying that this new course of treatment will do it's intended job. Hang in there. Know we are praying for you.
Lucy, I love that banner you posted. It is so true. I am still praying over my cancer drug every night after taking the cue from you. The fact that I didn't have to stop it even though it looked like that rough patch I had for six weeks was caused by the drug. God is good, all the time.
I hope everyone out there that hasn't posted for a while is because you are out there enjoying this wonderful fall. Take care everyone and have a good night's rest. Except for Debbie it might be have a wonderful day!
Love you all,
Nancy
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Wow, lost my post and will have to rewrite later. I am grateful for today.
It is raining and a good day just to veg out and read.
Mags, praying for relief for you.
Bestock, praying SEs will remain manageable.
Hugs and Praying for each of you always,
-Angie
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Day #37 of 50 Days of Gratitude
I am grateful for this site and all the special women I have met and hope to meet. I love the ongoing support, encouragement and love we have on this board. I love the amount of faith we all have and what it means in our lives. God is so good in how He shows us He is with us on this journey. Praise Him and He gets all the glory.
Have a blessed and restful sleep tonight and I hope you are all able to make it to church to recharge for the week. Love you all...Lucy
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Somebody put Carol Burnett show clips on Facebook and I just love that. She is still around but not her show. Anyone remember that? So so funny.
We had an uneventful week here, and that's pretty good, isn't it? And it's been warm enough for the air conditioner. Good rest all.
Love,
Anita
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Newbie to the site....seems awesome! I'll be having a mugascan next week, then meet with oncology to discuss chemo the first week of November. (I'm 59....breaking rules here LOL)
I read a quote this morning that really hit home, and the church sermon today mirrored it (I love God winks....other people call them coincedences).
"Look for opportunities in your challenges".
So there. I'm now excited to meet new chemo friends, hopefully be an encouragement to them, maybe lead someone to the Lord. Hugs and Blessings to you all!
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Hello Sisters of Faith,
I survived my three days of game. It was cold and rainy for the most part but the kids were good. I had three boys go out on the archery range while we were shooting arrows. Praise God no one was injured. I am getting too old for this stress lol.
I ran 10.4 miles yesterday and was terribly sore most of the day. I then raked leaves, mowed grass and stated cleaning up some of my beds. After church today, we worked at my dad's and I closed up his pond and covered it for winter. He lost about 9 of his 12 fish last winter because of the freaky cold. He is down to three survivors so we shall see if hey make it through this year.
I have so much stuff to get caught up on from work and at home. I know it will get done but yikes it is a bundle. I have been praying for all of you and trying to keep up on postings.
So good to hear from Debbie. I keep you in prayer always. Mags sorry to hear about your chest issues and the spasms. I know that you must be pretty sore from it. Becky, praying for your treatment and that your SE pass. You are a real trooper.
To all of you, Lucy, Nancy Angie, Anita, Jean, Poly, Bev, Kate W., Mini, Deborahanne, Sharon and all, please know that you are in my prayers each day. I read your requests and ask God that he continue to meet your needs.
I am off to bed....it has been a very long week and an active one to boot.
Char
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DAY #38 OF 50 DAYS OF GRATITUDE
I am grateful today for Hulda Buntain. She has been a missionary to Calcutta for 60 years. She is the most incredible woman. Our church supported her and her husband who were both serving as missionaries to Calcutta for years. Her husband Mark died in 1989 and at that point they had served there for 35 years. They thought they were only going to be there for a year. When her husband died she said God isn't 35 years enough. Apparently not because she is still serving another 25 years later. She knew Mother Theresa and she said that years ago she said to Hulda that doing things for the Lord is not as important as the love that goes into the doing. Hulda was our guest speaker today in church and she told us of a absolute miracle that happened when they first started their building in Calcutta. I am in awe of this servant of God who must be in her 80's and still going strong. Today I am grateful for Hulda Buntain and all the people who give of themselves to the Lord for mission work. We know that you don't have to go to India to be a missionary for the Lord. We can do that in our own neighborhoods and towns.
Mags, How are you feeling today? I pray that the pain has decreased and I pray that the side effects of the chemo are getting more tolerable. I continue to think of you and pray for you.
Becky, How are you feeling today? I hope your SE's have subsided and continue to pray that your new treatment do their intended work.
Anita, I am glad you enjoy I Love Lucy. I do too. When I had my neck surgery and was in so much pain I couldn't sleep and I watched I Love Lucy in the wee hours of the morning and it helped take my mind off of my pain. She has been on in our area but I am not sure if she is on at present. Glad someone posted so you can enjoy her on FB.
Hi Redhead, At first I thought you were someone I had already met by a similar username but realized that it was not you. Welcome to this thread. We have people younger than you here so no strict rules. We love the Lord and pray for one another and when we have a need we request prayer. We would love to have another sister in the Lord on board! This is a positive and uplifting thread. I think you will realize this is a special bunch of women. Glad you found us.
I hope everyone had a good weekend.
Love you all,
Nancy
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Hi Redhead...sorry you have to be here for the reason you are but you're totally welcome regardless of age. There are many of us that are younger than 60. So what is a mugascan? we all love The Lord here so share all you can. Hope you find us encouraging and offering strength in times of need. You will find some amazing women on this board and strong too. Looks forward to more details of your journey. Let us know any prayer needs you may have other than the obvious. I had my first chemo on 11/25/13...wow that will be a year ago soon.
Have a blessed day...Lucy
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Hi Char,
Glad to hear you survived your days with the students! Teaching can be stressful for sure. I am glad no one got hurt on the archery range. I will pray for strength for you and that you can eventually get caught up on things. Hopefully you will get a good night's rest and be ready to tackle another week tomorrow.
Love,
Nancy
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Day #38 of 50 Days of Gratitude
Today was a sad day for our church as we arrived. One of our couples lost their 20 yr old daughter in a car accident at 6:30 this morning on her way to work. It was so hard to focus and not be affected by one of our church family and their grief. So today I am grateful for my two children and that they are healthy and strong. Thank you Lord for keeping them safe and protected. Thank you also for watching over my grandchildren and keeping them safe. Your loving arms protect them and give me peace. Love you Lord.
I ask for prayers for Clarence and Jennifer Allmendinger during this time.
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Lucy, Clarence was my Dad's name. I can remember that. Such a sad thing. I will certainly pray for them.
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Dear sisters, I will be so glad when this passes so that I can stop complaining. I am so thankful I can bring all this to you because I know that as much as they love me, my family are so weary of hearing all the griping, so I pretty much keep my peace. But I can't keep everything in (in more ways than one, unfortunately). I was up for several hours last night as the chemo hit my intestines with some of the worst abdominal cramping so far, followed by what I will call the Big D. I've taken my Lomotil and so far today things are calmed down. Doctor prescribed Bentyl for the abdominal cramping around round 3, and it has helped immensely, but last night it was bad. My breathing is a bit better I think, and the costo has calmed down for the most part, although I can still feel a tightening when I sit wrong so I will try to get to a chiropractor in the next day or so. My wonderful cleaner is coming tomorrow so I don't know if I can do it then.
Thank you all for your faithful prayers. I appreciate it more than you can know – I know how much worse this could be.
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Mags, I am so sorry you have had so much stuff going on. I am glad to hear the breathing is a bit better and the inflammation. You are going to get through this and you will be so glad to soon see all of this in your rearview mirror. I am still praying for you dear sister.
Love
Nancy
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Today I am so grateful for all of you dear faithful sisters, who lift me up in prayer.
Last week was a bit difficult with the uti, lots of fatigue and weird dreams that I believe were attacks from the enemy. I definitely overdid things on Saturday at a visit to curves. It is so hard to be weak and needy but this is exactly where God wants me so I can learn to trust and lean on Him rather than my own puny strength. I am such a slow learner. He is using this journey to teach me humility. A hard lesson but sorely needed by this formerly vain and prideful woman. Thank you Jesus for your patience and love. Love, Jean
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Spiritblessing....thank you for the shout-out
A mugascan is a test done on your heart to make sure it is able to handle the stresses of chemo....also creates a "baseline" to see if any damage WAS done to the heart because of chemo. All this "drama" has been dragging out since July's routine yearly mammo. I'll feel much better with a game-plan and end date....hoping to know soon! Hugs....Ginny0 -
Hi everyone,
I have been gone all day and got home this evening. Pastor Steve (Sue's pastor) wrote me back today. I had asked him about Sue's service and if her mom had any disabilities. I told him I was sending the posts to her mom and I shared my interest in meeting her in person. Below is his email to me. I wanted you all to see this as well.
Good morning Nancy....
Sue's mom is in relatively good health for her age. She was able to travel
here, not only to see Sue before she passed, but then back again for the
Celebration of Life Service. She and her son Bob stayed for about a week, and
took care of details. I'm sure she would appreciate a visit or contact at
least.I want to thank you for making the effort to contact me. It is amazing how
things work. I was able to share the thoughts of those in your support group,
and I think it was very comforting to the family to know that Sue had such a
group surrounding her. I am most grateful for your efforts and wish you all the
best in your process.Blessings....of light and love,
Pastor Steve
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DAY # 39 OF 50 DAYS OF GRATITUDE
Today I am grateful to fulfill a desire I have had for the last three and half years. I finally got to take a day trip to this big State Park which is about an hour and a half away from my home. Because of my other health issues besides bc I have not been in shape to take this trip. I knew it would be grueling and it was but still an adventure and a day of photography in an area I have never explored before. I also spent many hours out on Saturday with a friend in the outdoors taking pics and also yesterday at this large museum with a huge estate and many more photo opps. A couple of friends said I should look into this museum place as they display photography from the general public. I am also entering their photo contest so took many pics yesterday there. So to go today on this trip after already pushing myself the last two days was a miracle that I was able to do this. I knew it might be the last of the good weather so I jumped in and I am glad I did. When I made it up all of these stairs to Lover's Leap I was so pooped out I thought I will just jump and save myself the hassle of having go back down. LOL I was profusely sweating and one point and probably looked like I had just run a marathon. This little boy is coming the opposite way and he said hello pretty woman. LOL That little one has a friend for life now. LOL What a little flirt. Now why can't a get a guy my age to say that!
Still praying for you all. Mags how are you doing today? Still praying for relief for you.
Becky, Have your SE's improved any? Still praying for relief for you too.
Ginny, You might have missed my post but I did welcome you to our little praying family here.
I hope you all had a good day.
Love you all,
Nancy
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Hello Sisters of Faith,
Still digging out with work and catching up. I am in the start of after school intramurals. Today was inservice day so no kids just work. Leaves are falling and I am busy trying to keep up on the clean up. I am going to try and do some running on my school grounds after intramurals because next week it will be turning dark when I am done so if I can get a half hour in that would be great.
Welcome Redhead to our forum. It is always nice to get some new folks. I am sure that God has lead you here like he has with the rest of us. May you find comfort, prayer and fellowship here.
Mags: I sure hope you are feeling better. It sure sounds like you had a rough time and I am sorry for that. You can always come here to share what is going on. Who better to understand than those that are going through similar issues. I don't think other people get it and unless they are going through it they just don't know. So we are here for you to lean on.
Jean: Sorry for this rough round with you UTI and other issues. I am praying for you girl so hang in there.
Nancy: What a lovely note from Sue's pastor. I just can't believe she is gone. I still miss her so much and feel the void of her not being here. I know she is in a better place but like all of us, she loved life despite all she was dealing with and had every desire to fight this all the way. I know,......its God's plan for her and His timing. Does not make the loss any less sad for all of us.
Nancy, not to get paranoid because I know that Christians are always going to be under the eyes of others but are we being monitored for our vocal speaking. I know we should not use our full names but is someone causing problems. I know that that for all the times I have been on here I have never heard from a moderator and I saw the moderator speak up the other day when you expressed gratitude for this site. I was just curious.Just an update on Kate W. She got a chance to get away for a few days. Her friends are doing a fundraiser for her as well on Nov..22nd. You can see it below. If you have never read Kate's story it is very sad as to how she found she had cancer. Between moving and not having insurance, she was caught in the middle of all of this. If anyone is interested, feel free to make a donation. See below. Sorry it is so big, I just cut and pasted it.
On another note, my guidance counselor and I have been holding a breast cancer awareness day each October for the past number of years. We get donated items or purchase items and hold a drawing for all those that donated to our wear pink and jeans day at school. I am ever grateful to our staff for so generously giving to the Susan G. Komen Foundation each year. We raised several hundred dollars again this year. PS I won a pink bathrobe which I will probably put aside and re-donate again next year.
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Hi Char,
Thanks for posting the fundraiser for KateW. I had read some of her blog but I didn't go all the way back to see her beginnings I don't think because what you shared doesn't sound familiar. I didn't realize she had no insurance. I know how expensive it is having insurance. I sure hope the fundraiser is successful. That is wonderful that your school has been so supportive for BC.
To be quite honest I don't know where I saw the thread about being studied. I think it might have been a study by Carnegie Mellon Foundation maybe. No, it had nothing to do with the Christian aspect of it all. They were taking the pulse of how people responded when they asked a question that they needed answers of substance. It had to do with emotional support etc. I wish I could be more helpful. Actually the moderators have posted on this thread before. In fact it was right before I joined this thread. They were happy with the positive and uplifting stories I think. I am sure that there is a lot of stuff that goes on with the BCO forum in general. I know there are people that just want to cause trouble. When I first joined I got this snarky remark from someone and I thought what in the world prompted that. It had to do with my cat not me but it was a remark to me. I just ignored it and moved on. I know people get their feelings hurt when some people come on strong and give them the third degree on why they chose certain treatments. It is probably inevitable when you get thousands of women posting on a site as huge as this one is that there is going to be negativity especially for those who don't know the Lord. That is why this thread is such a haven from all of that other stuff. As far as posting full names I just know and was so much reminded in the search for Sue how much personal information that can be gathered and how the crazies that are lurking out there can use it for harm. I remember the police giving an assembly to our junior high students and they showed how little bits of info can end up alerting burglars or worse to your address. It was very frightening so they were telling the students NOT to ever post too much information about themselves. So that is why I mentioned that.
I hope you can get caught up with everything. I remember how tough some weeks were where you felt like you were underwater and just trying to keep above the waves. I am praying for strength for you and that every thing will eventually get done. Your race is Sat or Sun this week? Praying for that.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy,
Thanks for the information. My race is actually next weekend. Ready or not, I am going for it. My goal is to finish. I think that is a reasonable goal. No expectations. My big issue is my leg not holding up. My right one takes a beating because it is taking the brunt work for the left and my left knee feels like it's stacked on some unstable sticks and it is waiting for everything to give way. No pain, just a lack stability there.
Well...off to bed. I am grateful for my nice soft bed after sleeping on a cot for a couple of days. There is no place like home...amen.
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I knew that. I just have my weeks mixed up. So Sat or Sun of next week? Sweet dreams. I had both knee braces on today. I know exactly what you mean. I had so much leg pain in my good leg today because of my bad knee on the other leg.
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