thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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Jo: My prayers go out to you dear sister. You are so right to say it is okay to not be strong...for a God can be strong for you. Dear Father, You know the needs of your dear child Jo and you are able t meet those needs. I pray that you give her relief from her pain and that you allow the flap to continue to heal without any more issues. Lord be with her and uplift her. In Your most precious Name I pray, AMEN
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Praying for you Jo. Love, Jean
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JO-5 prayers going up for you. Dear Heavenly Father please be with JO-5 as she goes through this journey. May Your love healing and peace be with her surround and comfort her and may she feel Your presence and know your love. In Your Holy name I pray. JO-5 I hope your road to recovery and pain free begin soon!
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Jo, Glad that you were cared for today and there was no pain. I commend your desire to glorify Him and your lack of resentment. Amazing grace. Praying for living muscle. Lord Jesus, please place your healing hands on Jo's muscle and breathe into it continued life. Love, Jean
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Love you JO-5 and God loves you even more! You are such a blessing to all of us and we continue to pray you through this.
Phyllis
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Dear Joanne! I have been thinking and praying about you all day!! May you feel better each and every day!!
Hugs and Blessings!!!
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Good Morning ladies, I thought I would check in from work before I get my day started. I already had to return home to get my radio and fixed myself a large pot of coffee. I feel like someone has deactivated my energy switch. I went for a walk yesterday for my fitness break and my knees hurt so bad, but I will continue to thank God and bless his name for all of these aches and pains and will strap on my gear and go walking again today God willing. It is truly a blessing to be 5 minutes from the office when I forget things.
Kath I am sorry to hear about your friend Todd Foege, it is always hard to lose someone close that we have connections with. We know that death in this body will occur but it is always hard when unexpected and people are considered to be in the prime of life. I will continue to pray that the family finds comfort in the things that God is showing them through this process, at times it is hard to receive when faced with such sorrow but time does help us all to either except or be content with what is to be.
Nancy I like the idea of the anniversary of ending active treatment, congratulations next February I wonder will I remember that on the 20th I had that last chemo treatment. I suspect I will since I am still have SE's. I am thinking of joining a support group not far from the apartment I am just not sure how I would be with direct interaction.
I know God is directing me to something, I just have no idea or where it is. I met the young lady who brought our house and her parents 2 Sunday's ago and I know it's no coincidence that her dad is a cancer survivor and that the apartments in which we moved into are the same one's they lived in over 20 years ago. He gives us little bits of things at a time because he knows our mind cannot handle knowing all that is to come and all that we will have to go through without shutting us down. I am slowly learning that taking things day by day and asking for his continued guidance is the only way to make sense of the crazy that is this life. I was wrong when I thought I controlled anything. Happy Tuesday Ladies!!
Always in my thoughts and prayers.
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Good morning prayer warriors,
I have been reading the posts as they come in. It breaks my heart to know of all the situations that are going on with many of you. I continue to pray for you and continue to believe that GOD IS IN CONTROL no matter how grim it may look from our human perspective. To try to understand that God uses our pain and suffering for His good is not something we like to embrace. We want to live a pain free life. I know I do. I know that is however unrealistic and not really what God wants for me or for you. It is a mystery how God works but that is where we have to trust Him no matter what. When I think of the faith that Noah had building that arc when all of his surroundings told him that was just pure craziness I find inspiring. I take great inspiration in Joseph and all of the suffering He went through at the hands of his own brothers but He did not lose faith. I love what Anita said on a post recently. She said only half the story is told meaning that our life here on earth is only but a breath in the scheme of eternity. Again our human minds have trouble grasping that but nonetheless if we believe what the word of God says then it is so. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. I chose this banner today to hopefully give you some hope today in your situation. As I have shared in the past one of my favorite scriptures is "And this too shall pass." God give us the strength to endure while we are in the midst of that situation that is breaking our heart or causing us to lose our joy and our hope in you.
Love,
Nancy
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Sorry to have been out of the loop. Been with Todds family since Sunday planning services, reaching out to the community (he was a leader in our community), arranging counseling for his daughter, etc.
Jo, prayers prayers prayers. I continue to read daily and pray for all of you. I am feeling much better physically and I give God the glory. He is with me, and all of us at every moment.
I had given Todd Jesus Calling a long time ago and was able to pull up for his mom many texts I had from him where he would comment on a good reading and I know that brought her peace. She also reads it.
Gentle hugs and much love
Kath
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Hi Prayer Warriors,
May I ask a favor please? I am scheduled for a LX wSNB on 07/23/15. Please pray for clear margins and no node involvement.
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Jo, Rejoicing with you about your good news. Praise our God who answers prayer. Love, Jean
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Nancy,
I enjoy your words and wisdom, but have to admit that I do have difficulty understanding that God uses our pain and suffering for His good. I know and believe that God is in control and we are not. However, sometimes I have a problem because I have had so many challenges in my life......very difficult circumstances, and now Breast csncer. I mean why? Why does God choose all this happen to me and I look at others who I know very well and have not any any, or very few, minor challenges. I try to understand and think that God has a plan for me, even at my age. It is just really hard when I have so much pain and agony going through this chemo, and , as we all know, there are no guarantees with any of this. I have one more round to go and would appreciate prayers that it is no worse because this round has been very painful. I am on Coumiden so no pain meds.
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Here's the latest picture of my daughter with my great granddaughter Valentina. It still is amazing to me that my daughter is a grandma.
They are on the walkway over the Hudson River. God is so good. Love, Jean
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Dear Mysunshine!! Yes, indeed Our Lord is in control and He loves You very much!! Our pain and discomfort does draw us closer To Him, as we need His comfort, but He does not enjoy our suffering!! I will pray for your last Chemo treatment, may you feel Our Lord's presence and His Healing Hands!! He is the Great Physcian! God Bless You!!
I would so appreciate all of your prayers, as I am having a procedure done on Thursday to remove a squamous cell skin cancer from my back! Thank you so much!!
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123JustMe, mysunshine, JO-5 (great news!), Kindegarten - praying for each of your needs. Our Lord is indeed in touch with each of us and will, in His time, let us have all the answers. Yes, it is difficult but as Kindergarten says, our trials draw us closer to Him and in that alone is comfort. He will not let you down. Please sit a moment and reflect on Him and his utmost goodness as His peace envelops you.
Blessings and prayers being sent to each of you.
Phyllis
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Thank you Kindergsrten, and, yes, I will pray for you.
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Good evening ladies,
Kath, I am so glad that you were able to help out so much with Todd's family. It is so heart breaking and I am glad you were able to be so present in a very real and practical way during this difficult time for them. I am so glad that you were able to share Jesus Calling with him and that his texts regarding that gave peace to his mother. You are amazing and God has certainly used you to touch many lives from your generosity including mine. I am so glad to hear you are feeling better.
123Justme, I pray that everything goes well for you on the 23rd with your surgery. I am not sure what LX is? Are you having a lumpectomy with SNB? We can certainly be praying for you and for clear margins and NO lymph node involvement. I know the beginning of this journey is scary but you will have a lot of support here with all of the strong prayer warriors here.
Joanne, sooooooooooooooo glad that things are looking better today. Continued prayers for all the medication challenges and that you will continue to have pain control and ability to sleep. Hang in there dear sister. This will be over soon so you can get on with the healing process.
Sheangel good to hear from you and that you are moving one foot in front of the other. Sometimes when we are battling fatigue or pain or whatever we can ask for the strength for one more step, and then another and another. Keep on, keeping on.
Kathy, praying for a painless procedure for you on Thursday and that the surgeon can get all of the skin cancer with NO complications.
Lynn, I am posting something for you below.
Jean, Valentina is so adorable. She is really growing fast. It seems like just yesterday she was born. I hope you are doing better with the femara.
Debbie (foots) thanks for continually blessing us with your inspirational posts.
Phyllis, you are a great encourager and I appreciate all of your words to everyone.
I continue to pray for all of you. I know some are in very tough situations right now. God is in control no matter what things look like.
I saw a pain specialist today and will be starting some PT hopefully soon. The good news is that the xrays I had today look like it is a muscle issue. A big sigh of relief there as my neck situation was so scary and I was afraid this might be a similar situation. I will be going back to my mom's at the beginning of August so not sure how all of this is going fit into my schedule. All in God's timing.
Have a restful evening everyone.
Love
Nancy
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Kath, I am sorry to hear about your friend Todd. Continued prayers for the family and friends for comfort and peace in this time of sorrow.
Jo, praying for you -- a quick recovery, adjustments to the medications and praising God on the good news from the PS. I continue to ask God to envelope you in His presence and during your quiet time that He speaks a wealth of wisdom to you that you can then pass on.
123Justme, welcome and you will certainly be added to the prayer list. Keep us updated and let us know how you are doing.
Anita, how are you. Praying for you dear sister.
Lucy, Anita, Debbie (Ireland), praying for treatments to be effective, minimal SEs and decisions that are facing you.
Ellen, praying that all went well with the engagement
Debbie (Foots), beautiful prayers and miss ya dear friend. Will PM you soon.
Nancy, again words of wisdom love the post. I like Sunshine have had so many difficult challenges in my life -- very difficult circumstances that I can firmly say were not brought on by me. I have had to learn that God will use my life and my circumstances (rather good or bad) for His glory. Yes, it is hard at times but I as I look through the rear view mirror I can say with a certainty that this too shall pass. I can say for certain that God will get the glory out of everything we do base on my experience. It may not pass as I expect but according to God's plan. I look through the rear view mirror often and see how God has used me (and others) as examples of how to trust in Him and know that this "temporal" life even though so important to us is only a cosmic sliver of eternity. Over the past few weeks I have had to go into my quiet sanctuary with God as the lingering SEs from treatment and Tamoxifen and a cold hit me pretty hard. I also went into that sanctuary when hit with the BC diagnosis and many, many times during treatment and after. I personally ask the Lord what is my assignment this time -- because I have been hit with so many varying circumstances in my life. I am not saying it is easy or digestible but that I continue to lean and trust in the Lord. When I get in that tough spot, where my flesh wants to take over my thoughts, actions, words and deeds. I ask the Lord to show Himself to me, stronger than ever before, to envelope me in his peace and love and show me how to continue to give Him the glory and praise when I can't find the strength or will to help me to endure. Again that it is not easy. I may cry until my eyes are bloodshot, my heart maybe broken, I may be physically hurting, mentally exhausted - but spiritually I am there and I ask to rest in His bosom and lean on the relationship that I have with Jesus that my spiritual strength does not weaken. I also know that even though I have been through rough spots in my life there are those that have been or are going through tougher challenges and God then guides me to intercessor prayer. Yes, this too shall pass. I love that God has surrounded me with praying women on this board that understand that when we ask for prayer it is not a light thing and they go before the throne of grace for me when I may not be able too.
I love Anita's signature line -- love across the miles. So becoming as prayer reaches across the miles.
Love and Hugs,
Angie
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Lynn,
I spent part of tonight listening to this sermon again just for you. I mentioned this to a friend recently and I said this is one of the best sermons I have heard in a long time. I am feeling lead to share this with you and certainly to anyone else who has a good chunk of time to listen as well. This sermon is really about having a relationship with Jesus, but he has some great visuals that talk about Adam and Christ that really spell out the nature of sin. Why this sermon? The reason the Lord brought this to my mind is because we all have cancer and any other illnesses because of Adam's original sin that tainted this fallen world we live in. I have never seen a more simplistic and yet profound demonstration of just what that means to us now. Jesus does not relish in our suffering at all but He does allow it to happen to us to draw us unto Himself. The reason that Jesus was born into this world and died on the cross for us is so that we could have a relationship with Him. The closer we get to Him the greater our joy even in suffering. It is a paradox that no one can explain but certainly can experience. I hope you will allow yourself some downtime to grab a cup of coffee or whatever and take time to listen to this sermon. I go to this church and it is a huge church with many pastors. You may have to scroll down to reach this particular sermon. The series was Rise Above and the name of the sermon is Religion vs. Relationship by Pastor Michael Escamilla on June 7, 2015. This was his last Sunday to preach as he is going to Texas to a church there I believe. I have been a Christian for almost 43 years this month. I still found this sermon helpful. I hope this helps you and I will continue to pray as you continue your chemo journey which I know is not easy. Hang in there dear sister.
http://www.calvarynaperville.org/calvary_church/sermons
Love,
Nancy
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Hi Angie,
I just saw your post after I already posted mine which took some time. I can so identify with what you are saying. I have even had people say to me you must have a dark cloud that follows you everywhere. Not a pleasant thought but God has brought me through one trial after another. I have also had friends tell me that I have shown perseverance through all of these trials. That is a testimony and I believe God is looking for those servants who reflect Jesus to this fallen world. If we had only a path of roses and puppy dogs in our Christian lives what kind of testimony would that be? The world needs to see us in our suffering still shining brightly for Him. I agree that the Lord will use these things in our lives. We can't always see it while we are going through it and we may not have a clue how our lives have touched those who are quietly watching us in the background that we may never know about or see, but I know the world watches us. It doesn't mean we have to go through this life with a fake plastered smile on our face either. We have to be real and real people get discouraged and frustrated and scared and I think the world needs to see that as well. You as a pastor's wife probably feel like you are on display for everyone to see and that cannot be easy. I continue to pray for you as you try to get your life back to normal. I think there are many of us trying to do that and finding that it is probably more challenging that we had expected. When we get to heaven we will realize what a short and fleeting time we had on earth and that the glory that is set before us will absolutely be beyond our wildest expectations. Thank you for your insight and your determination to be a light to the world. God bless you dear sister.
Love,
Nancy
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Good morning ladies. I had a banner to paste here and the site has changed the way you post pictures and it is not working. Hopefully I can ask the moderators what the problem is. It is way past my bedtime. Hopefully we will figure this out. I hope this day is an awakening for all of us to the richness of knowing God. I pray that you each have an unexpected blessing as you go about your day. Look for it. I am believing you will find it.
Love,
Nancy
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Up at 4:30am. Thinking about next winter and how we will manage with mine and hubby's disabilities. Trying to leave the future in His most capable hands. I'm still getting a lot of pain, especially when trying to move after sitting for awile. I was exhausted yesterday and took a long nap after seeing some friends for lunch. Too tired to exercise. Hope to do better today.
Dear Jesus please be with all my dear sisters here this day. Love, Jean
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Good morning to all. I am still dealing with a bladder infection. Was on an antibiotic for 7 days that I found out yesterday does not get rid off the bacteria I have. Started a new antibiotic yesterday but the one antibiotic that cures the bacteria I happen to be allergic to. So please pray that this one will work. I get my port tomorrow and see my MO Monday but don't think I can start any treatment until this infection is cleared. My youngest daughter got her check up at MD Anderson yesterday and she is cancer FREE! Praise to God! My Whitney my daughter was diagnosed with Adencarcenoma last year at age 25. It was on the vaginal wall. She is doing great!
Jean your daughter and granddaughter look so happy. Great picture. I will keep you in my prayers and hope your pain eases. I know the concern for the future can be overwhelming I pray peace for you. God is definitely on control.
Nancy I pray for for your pain to ease. I am a massage therapist and have seen a lot of muscle pain. Please keep moving if possible it helps. Prayers for relief.
123justme I am praying that your margins are clear and nodes are clear.
Kath my prayers are with your family during the loss y'all are facing. May God be with you and your family and comfort your grief.
Angie thank you for the beautiful post!
Kathy prayers that your procedure goes smoothly on the 23rd.
Joanne I am so happy for the positive results for you! Our God is Healer!
Thanks to each of you for sharing and caring! Have a very blessed day everyone!
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Good morning ladies,
I read your posts with interest this morning...I could relate on so many levels!
Jean, I've been the non sleeping early bird for three days now. Had sad thoughts last night about the friends and family who battled cancer bravely before meeting the Lord. Asked for the Lord to remind me to praise Him that they are in Heaven, whole and complete. I still haven't found the best way to deal with the knee and hip pain either...Loved the pic of your daughter and Valentina...going to see Cal and family tomorrow for an overnight trip, and again next weekend while Sarah goes on a Girl Trip with her mom and sister.
GretaGirl, just went through a mild UTI a couple of months ago. I haven't taken an antibiotic in quite some time so imagine my surprise when I discovered that insomnia was a side effect. Combine that with the insomnia from Arimidex and I was getting No more than 5 hours of sleep in two days. Hope your new one works for you..quickly!
I did get good news yesterday. My colonoscopy revealed no polyps this time and I don't have to return until 8-10 years. The prep for it seemed worse this time, but at least the anesthesiologist did better than before. Praising the Lord that nothing was found in this area.
Well, time to drag myself to the shower to get the day started. I will say that colonoscopy prep and sleepless mornings have given me more time to pray, read, and realize God's goodness in my life
God bless all of you richly as you bravely battle what this disease has brought your way. You are all ladies of grace and witnesses to God's power.
Ellen
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Good afternoon prayer warriors,
I have been trying to post this picture since very late last night. Not sure what the hitch was but it is working now. I had an amazing example of this scripture this morning. I have been extremely upset over an issue that was beyond my control. I was waiting for a contractor to reach me and I had been given the phone number wrong not once but twice to try to reach him. I am under a tight deadline with this issue and I was in panic mode. I just said Lord I do not have peace at all and I am going to drive myself crazy. I invite you into this situation because I am doing everything I can and it is not working. I need your peace because I certainly don't feel it now. I was praying all this in the bathtub. Some of my most spiritual times happen there. LOL After getting out of the tub I tried a search for this contractor. I didn't know the company name or where he was located. I found him instantly. Thank you Jesus. I called him and he said I was just about to call you. Long story short he can do this work for me within my needed time frame and I was so relieved and thankful. Cast your cares on the Lord. It is so much better than spinning your own wheels in your own effort.
I will write more later. Take care and I hope everyone is having a good day.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, about my worry about next winter, your post helped a lot. I believe Jesus just told me "It's not winter yet so why are you worried!" He makes me laugh at myself sometimes. Our blessed dear Lor, thank you. Love, Jean
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Jean,
I am glad the post helped you. It is amazing how we can get ourselves so wound up and in a frenzy BEFORE we realize what an effort in futility that is. The Lord is just waiting for us to invite him in to every single circumstance we have to deal with. I also had the added blessing that tonight I had to drop my new car off and get a loaner for a day so they can add the extra stuff to it. My day was chopped up with apts and I needed to prune some tree branches plus it rained also. When I got home from the car dealer it was almost dark but I was able to get a lot done in a short amount of time and get the bags to the curb. Things just go so much better when we can pray at the beginning of our day and ask the Lord to help us with what we need to get done. And yes there were those days that there was just not time to get what I wanted done and I had to accept that.
I understand your concern about shoveling. I cannot shovel either and have to depend on neighbors so I understand. Hopefully you will have a chance to hire someone to help out long before you need it so you can have peace of mind.
Greta, sorry to hear you are still dealing with the bladder infection. Are you familiar with probiotics? I would suggest you take some after you are finished with the antibiotics. You might want to run that by your MO to be sure it would be okay. Much of our immune system is in the gut where the good bacteria get killed off from antibiotics and taking probiotics restores some of that good bacteria back where it should be and strengthens the immune system. For years I saw a myotherapist for my fibromyalgia and it was really, really helpful. Because I am now retired and my new insurance is not so generous with these type of things I learned to swim my last year of teaching in 2010-2011 and took up lap swimming so I do understand the importance of moving and for me the weight bearing is not always so good for me. There is an organization here that gives free massages to cancer patients. You can only imagine how booked up they get because of that. I have only had one but would sure like to sign up for another one. They allow patients years after treatment to still get them which is pretty cool. I know you will be starting your treatment journey soon. I have been praying for you.
Ellen, when I worked with my myotherapist she would teach me how to do trigger point therapy on myself and I did a lot of work with a tennis ball and it really does help a great deal. I just need to keep it up. I will be doing PT hopefully soon so I can share what type of exercises they give me for home. I pray that you have a great trip to see little Cal. Glad they are now quite a bit closer. That will certainly help. Enjoy and have a safe trip. Glad your colonoscopy went well and a good result.
Kathy, we will be praying for your skin cancer removal for tomorrow and pray that all of the bad cells will be removed in a painless manner.
Joanne, still continued prayers for you to have good pain control and that you can rest well while you allow the antibiotic to do it's work. Hang in there. This adventure is about to come to an end and we are praying for a speedy recovery so you can put all of this behind you.
Lucy, are you okay? It seems like a long time since we have heard from you. Have you made a decision on which treatment plan you are going with?
Anita, how are you doing dear sister? Love across the miles to you. Have you started a treatment plan yet?
Debbie (foots) praying that you can breathe tonight and that the heat will let up for both you and Faith. Love seeing your posts.
Kath, praying for strength for you as you deal with all of these things that have happened to make your life even more busy and stressful.
Have a good night everyone.
Love
Nancy
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Thank you so much, Nancy!!
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When you feel under attack put the armor of God on. Remember that He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world.
Have a wonderful day prayer warriors. Praying for all of you dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Hi everyone,
I just want you all to know I read this thread everyday, and pray for each and everyone of you, that the Lord takes care of all your needs today and always. I'm sorry I can't remember all your names to address them all personally like Nancy. Wow you are amazinzing. Except I don't like that last picture you posted either. Poor birdie.....I hate snakes. Ugh!
Jo, I don't know what to say. I feel so bad that you have to go through this. Prayers go out that our God will keep his healing hands over you and hopefully you will get on with this process of having it put behind you.
I had surgery on Monday, and all the Necrosis was removed. I'm so glad I made this decision because the surgeon did such a great job of rounding out my breast . The original lumpectomy surgeon didn't do such a good job. They called today saying no cancer was lurking under all the dead tissue. The biopsy showed there wasn't but I was a sceptic. I should know better and to trust.......but when you go through so much as we have it is hard.
Please include me in your prays for my healing as well. I would appreciate it a lot. Well will all get passed our adversities.....
Hugs to all of you,
Artsee
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