thread for middle age to older Christian women.
Comments
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IntoLight - praying your tummy thing is just simple irritation easily dealt with. I understand your concern - I have a 'lumpy thing' in front of my arm pit on the cancer side.
( (See my onc on the 13th)Nancy what great news! The Lord does answer our prayers and I am so grateful with you! Thanks for the encouragement it gives all of us. From hands to kitties to survival at stage 4 the Lord hears our petitions and cares deeply about each of us.
May the Lord bless you in a special way as you worship Him tomorrow.
Ade
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Just had to share tonight's sunset with you. His majesty is declared in the heavens.
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My trials these last months has drawn me closer to God. I have really been trying to practice the presence of God through out the day and it has been awesome. When I miserably fail at things it takes me less time to get back into His presence.
As I was watching a sermon on TV today I just had this revelation that what if we really expected the impossible to happen. What if we actually believed the promises God has given us and acted on that. What if ..........................you fill in the blank. Ask God to give you the faith to believe in your what ifs.
I just have this feeling that we put such limits on what God can do in and through us that our own humanness gets in our way. What mighty things could we do for him if we stepped out of the boat and believed He would carry us.
I know that in my heart one of my biggest desires is that I could use my photography for Him. I want to be able to give to charities in a tangible way. I sold my first 2017 Butterfly Calendar and was able to give a pretty large sum of money to this charity. I am praying for God to use my photography for another project and I just don't have a clue yet what this will look like. I am a nature photographer so that limits some things.
Chris, I am a believing that these spots on the PET scan are irritation and will go away with the meds.
Ade, your sunsets are gorgeous.
Hershey are you still out there. How are you doing?
Have a great evening dear ladies of faith.
Love
Nancy
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Teka. LOL I don't know if this was a joke or you have NO IDEA how scared I am of bees. I was just telling a friend how difficult it was to take pictures of that peach poppy because this very large bumblebee apparently thought I had invaded it's territory and was making my life most miserable as I about had a heart attack every time it tried to intimidate me!!!
Believe it or not I still take pics of them on flowers but I usually have a fast exit plan which was not the case photographing this poppy. It was in a rock garden and I imagine I was not supposed to be up in that area. The flower police never told me to leave so I didn't. However I had a lovely chat with a little girl who commenced to pick one of the poppy buds and then ask me if I thought it was poisonous. Life if full of humor.
So Teka, I will NOT be making a bumblebee calendar.
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Bandwoman, thank you for your intriguing post. I actually read an earlier post from someone who said she has never prayed for healing although of course she wants it. I think that is part of the problem. Why don't we pray for healing? A better question is why are we afraid to pray for healing? Jesus clearly states that we should ask for anything believing in His name, and He gave His disciples power to heal. I attended a healing service this past summer where God clearly touched me through another believer. I am not going to get into all of it here, but I encourage women of faith to believe in the healing touch of God. I have many people praying for my healing. I need to believe it for myself as they do. Sorry if I rant...this has been on my mind for some time. I just post this as food for thought. May God lovingly guide us all.
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I'm stage 4 with multiple mets....the only reason I'm still here is because of prayer. 😀
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Hello dear ladies,
I have not posted for awhile, but I do read all of your posts and pray for everyone daily. My calendar of late has been full of appointments: oncologist, surgeon, blood draws, chemo class, heart scan, CT scan. I have a bone scan on Monday, another appointment with the oncologist on Wednesday, and port placement on Friday. Tentatively, I start chemo on the 12th. In between all the appointments, I manage to continue working and getting my garden planted (it's been a very, very wet spring). I haven't pulled the trigger yet on getting a wig, wig supplies, scarves, etc. That part feels very final to me.
Thank you, everyone, for your prayers. Blessings on your week!
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Chris, please feel free to call me Nancy. I know God is doing a work in me and I just feel very stirred up and have for awhile. I know I want to have all that God has for me so that I can in turn bless others. I think that is really the key as I see it. He blesses us and gives us gifts not so we can hoard them ourselves but to in turn bless others with the blessings he has showered on us.
I believe the Bible for what it says. I take it literally and stand on those promises that are throughout the Bible. I believe our measure of faith in believing is key as the word says if you have faith as a mustard seed......................I think that each person must find their path when it comes to how they deal with their cancer. I have to say that I thought very differently before bc than when I actually got it.I was very much into alternative medicine and so doing the traditional route in therapy I pretty much went kicking and screaming initially. I believe that God can move and heal whoever he chooses to and I also believe He can work in tandem with the medical teams that work for us. I don't think any one of us can say why some people are healed in this earth and some get their healing in heaven. In the great scheme of eternity I think it will be a very minor issue when and where each received their healing in the end or should I say in the beginning.
Teka, I think I have heard my sister talking about petting the bees. My niece and her husband raise bees on their farm in Iowa. My scare with a bees nests and getting stung a few times as a child left me with this fear into adult life.
Hershey, I hope you got your answers from your MO and obviously you have your plan in place now. We will be praying for you as you go through this time. Many of the ladies can help you along the way.
Take care dear sisters and have a good night.
Love
Nancy
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Hershey, may your treatment go perfectly as the LORD does His work in your life in all areas. May His peace surround you and His strength fill you.
Ok, about the bees! As many of you know, the killer bees from Africa are here and they are mating with the American honey bee making for a very nasty and potentially lethal combination. Locally two dogs were attacked and killed in a man's yard! These meanies don't even need provocation. One landed on James and I told him - "Just be calm & don't move." He did - and the stinker STUNG him anyway! Just sayin'...
Nancy, my hubby & I have definitely been drawn closer to the Lord too. Perhaps not just because of illness in both of us, but because maybe the days are drawing nearer to the Lord's coming and He wants all of us to truly get serious with our faith and walk in Christ. I have unshakable faith that He is ABLE. But I know that in His sovereignty He sometimes says no to healing for reasons only He knows. I must pray without ceasing but submit to HIS perfect will in every situation. That was a hard lesson to learn. He says that we receive not because we ask not and He certainly desires for us to come to Him with our thanksgivings and petitions in faith that He hears, He cares, and He will answer according to His will for us. Bottom line I guess is that His love for us is unfailing and we lay our requests at the foot of the cross in full confidence that He is God and we are HIS.
James has found a supplement in an article online that just MAY relieve many of my se's so that if it works I might not have to stop the meds after all. THAT'D be answered prayer!. It should come tomorrow so I have one week of trial on it before my onc appointment and THE discussion. IF it helps me I will surely share the info with you.
Ellen we love you!
Blessings upon your week!
Ade
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Okay Ade. Now you really have me freaked out
. Maybe I won't be photographing any more bees!My AC guy is on the way so I am going to have to run. I would love to hear about the supplement you are trying.
I saw a very interesting program on Israel yesterday. I will have to share later on that one but it mentioned scientists having cures for diseases there and the US was not allowing them access. Interesting huh?
My verse in my mind today is" Acknowledge Him in all they ways and He shall direct they paths."
Have a great day. Yes, Ellen we love you.
Love,
Nancy
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Lord, open our eyes and our hearts to you this day. Help us to listen and be quiet before you. As terrorism and evil surround our earth we know these are signs that your word mentions would happen in the last days. Keep us safe from the evil and let us pray for the families that have lost lives in England and around the world. I know you don' t want us to live in fear but you want us to have boldness in a world that mocks everything we stand for in You. Guide us and direct us in the ways that you would have us go both collectively and individually. Help us to always be kind to one another as we never know what the people around us are going through. That smile and act of kindness could be the thing that prevents that person who has lost all hope from ending their life. Help us to begin with our own neighbors and show your love to the world. This world is starving for your love and looking for it in all the wrong places. Help us to be that beacon of light. Lord, we praise you and thank you for what you are doing in our lives and what you are going to do. Help us to not lose heart but give us that strength and grace we need for THIS day. Help us to live in day tight compartments never looking back with regret or looking forward with anxiety. We ask that we could feel your presence this day and give us the hope that nothing we do today is too hard for us to handle together. Amen.
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Hi ladies,
Thanks for the love and prayers. I'm doing well overall; I no longer take Celebrex for joint pain and most days, I feel pretty good. I'm still on Tamoxifen and generic Effexor, but don't have problems from those except some fatigue. Much better than the Arimidex, at least for me. Jean, how's your hip recuperation going?
I would appreciate your prayers for our ministry. My husband has been asked to preach at a local church several Sundays, and has an appointment tomorrow with their Pastor Search Committee. Praying for God's guidance..not sure what will be covered in this interview, so we've had some discussions here about certain aspects of ministry. I won't be going with him, so he wanted my input.
My daughter is getting married in September and I'm getting excited for her. We met her and her fiancé last week for dinner and Clyde talked with them about their ceremony. Now to find a dress...I'm sure you can relate to the difficulty of finding something reasonably priced and appropriate for an outdoor wedding when you are older than 40!
I read your posts and pray for you all daily. I don't post often because my BC story is now one of dealing with Tamoxifen rather than surgeries and treatments. I've passed the three year mark from my last diagnosis and thankful each morning for being given the gift of life. Praying for all of you...for well being, for peace of mind, for strength, for wisdom in decisions, and for you to feel the love of Christ every moment.
Hoping all of you have a wonderful evening and rest well. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!
With love, Ellen
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Nancy - sorry to scare you about the bees. Probably these bad boys aren't up your way - yet. We in southwest TX live in the land of 'bite-you stick-yous'. We have a Mojave rattlesnake in our region (James has had several close calls) that if you are bitten you're meeting the Lord in about 4 minutes. The other rattlers you can survive. So - you LOOK where you step day AND night around here. Our acres are full of cat claw bush - also called the 'wait-a-minute' bush. Its stickers are curved just like a cat claw and if you tangle with it you will be a while getting out of it. Then there are the grass spurs and goat heads all over the ground. We don't do barefoot here. The javalinas are a pain when they come into our yard wanting the deer corn and you don't mess with a herd of them - OR the huge wild Russian boars (seldom seen except on ranches). The tarantulas are ugly (and BIG) but they really won't hurt you. The scorpions will, but not fatal. We do have a huge herd of mountain goats called aoudads further up in the canyons and we do have mountain lions. Yes, this is the 'last frontier' - but I feel God's peace here.
AMEN to your beautiful prayer. It ministered to me right now - thank you.
Blessings,
Ade
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Ellen, I will pray for God's will for your decision on the church and that the interview for your husband will be revealing. My husband and I have been in that situation and I know how difficult that can be. God always led us in the right direction.
Ade, your post makes me thankful to live in San Diego. I can even leave the screen open to the patio! My biggest fears are sharks and the homeless. And I am extremely afraid of bees: little ones and big ones.
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Ellen, I have been praying for Clydes meeting tomorrow and pray that if this is the door God is opening for you that it will feel right in your spirit.
Ade, some of the things you mentioned I have never heard of. LOL Javalinas??? I did come across a garter snake when I was in this rock garden photographing the poppies. That was the extent of the wildlife. In the fall I had the opportunity to actually feel like I was chasing a coyote. I was walking in an isolated path and a coyote came out of the tall grass in front of me. I could see it was scared of me so I just kept walking towards it. I imagine that if several of his brothers decided to all come out of the grass I would be in trouble but thankfully that didn't happen. It was pretty weird and this coyote kept looking back at me to see if I was still walking towards it.
Oh MY GOSH. i just saw a very large spider crawling on the wall. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I have to deal with that but it is too high up.
This photo was one of the weekly winners in our newspaper photo contest and it appeared in the paper today. I was so tickled.
Have a great evening dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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I "shot" this javalina in our front yard. They are of the peccary family, (not pigs)
have tusks, can be quite mean, can kill a dog,.. and they STINK!
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On our property - UGH!
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Nancy - congratulations on getting your hummer in the paper! It is lovely - and they're SO hard to capture! Don't you live their tiny chirp? Hope you "took care" of that spider on the wall. Oh I HATE them!
Ellen - praying for God's PERFECT will!
Blessings upon your day!
Ade
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Oh my gosh. This is like the Discovery Channel. LOL They look like wild boars. They look really big. Ade, what are those smaller animals?
Yes, it is a challenge getting hummers in flight. I spent a solid two hours on the hard concrete hiding behind garbage cans to get this pic and many others. It does take a fast camera and certain settings to get these pics to come out. I was using a heavy long lens on a tripod and I was actually pretty close to the feeders at this nature center. I can hear them coming before I see them. I will get my hummingbird feeder up today. I just started last year and it was the best almost free entertainment ever!
The spider is on the loose
. I use Raid very sparingly and only if I have to. It started moving really fast and was clear up to the ceiling. I sprayed and it fell and ran into my bathroom and then I have no idea where it went. I discovered a baby robin in a nest in my burning bush as I was getting my front yard ready for flowers. If I hadn't been out there when Mama bird came to bring food I would probably have never noticed it in this dense bush. I peeked inside and saw one little mouth and didn't want to bother it so left it alone. Meanwhile in the back of my house a robin was busy getting a worm and Cammie was attacking the patio glass door to get at it. I wonder if that was the Mama.
I have my surgery at noon on Thursday. I told the nurse I was more nervous about this surgery than any other of my major surgeries because I have had such horrible experiences with local anesthetics. She said you should feel nothing. I am thinking what should and what really happens to me are two very different things. So I would appreciate your prayers in the removal of this cyst on my back. This will be the second time and hopefully the last it will ever be removed again. It grew back and I am sure my bs will have wide margins as he is used to doing for his bc patients.
Ellen praying for Clyde today.
Have a great day dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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If I am not mistaken, the smaller animals are baby javalinas. I remember javalinas to be mean-tempered creatures. You would smell them coming through the brush before ever seeing them. They have quite the musky odor.
Nancy, I will pray for a successful, pain-free surgery on Thursday.
Wishing you all a lovely evening.
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Hi ladies,
A quick update on Clyde's meeting today; it went well, but no decision made. He has a background check sheet to complete, and has been asked to preach there Sunday. They are taking their time to make sure that everything is covered, and today's questions were on his positions on certain issues and what he sees as strengths and needs. Still waiting to see where this goes. They did ask if I would be involved in the church and he assured them I would, particularly with the choir.
Thanks for the prayers...praying for all of you. BTW, I'm not weighing in on the animal issues. I don't pet bees and I jump at the sight of a lizard (I don't harm them though.) We have lots of animals and birds here in North Carolina, though I don't think we have javelinas...haven't smelled any!😷
God bless you all with a restful night!
Love, Ellen
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Hershey you get the prize! They ARE baby javalinas! I used to think they were cute until I realized how very nasty they are when grown up. They are so nasty that if one of their own herd gets injured they will cannibalize it! How bad is that!
Ellen we pray God's PERFECT WILL concerning your hubby and this pastoral search committee. God knows the perfect match for you.
Nancy, I hope you get that spider before he surprises you - I have had TWO run across my face in bed lately!!!! That's the stuff heart attacks are made of! I have had MANY cyst surgeries from age 15 on, from behind my ear, to my back waist, to right beside my nose (that one took 4 surgeries!). It won't be as bad as you imagine. May the Lord grant you His peace now and throughout the surgery, may you have NO problems with the local anesthesia, and may it NOT need repeated ~ in Jesus' Name, Amen
James & I went to our first Cowboys ballgame (minor league here in Alpine) with our son & his 2 older daughters (9 & 14). It was a double header starting at 5 p.m. and the second game ran extra innings and lasted until nearly ONE a.m!!!! WHOA! However it was wonderful! We were in the highest row where the breeze was, had awesome stadium (not bleacher) seats, and sharing the experience with Aaron & girls was SOOO much fun!!! James went out of the stadium to get a ball and all of the team signed it for our grandaughter! Today is rest day until church tonight, but that was great!
Blessings on your day!
Ade
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Hello dear ladies,
I am getting ready to go to an MO apt so will have to make this brief. Thank you all for your prayers. After talking to another surgery nurse I think this recovery is going to be a bigger deal than I had anticipated so I am trying to figure out all the heavy lifting things I can do now that I won't be able to after tomorrow. I am so thankful God gave me the grace and efficiency to grab up all the flowers that I did and give me the strength to get them planted. I am still waiting on a tree to be planted and that has not worked out according to plan but it will happen eventually.
Hershey as your chemo journey is almost ready to begin we will be lifting you up in prayer that things will go smoothly and that the treatments will do their intended work.
Ellen, praying that if God wants these doors opened for you and Clyde that He will make that known to you and that you will have peace in whatever decision is made.
Ade, good for you for having the energy to sit through a double header and having a great time with your son and his girls will be some special memories for all of you.
Faith, I continue to lift you and DH in prayer as you make the last round of graduations. I pray that when you get home and rest you can look back with gratitude that you were able to make these special events for your grand children. I am sure they appreciated the effort and will always remember you and DH being there for them.
Aurora, if you can tell us when your treatments are coming up then we can pray for those awful SE's. I am glad they do go away eventually.
Chris, I will pray for complete healing for you. We appreciate you joining us in this little online community of prayer supporters and encouragers.
Jean, how are you doing in your recovery? How is Alexia doing with her new job? Did your find your missing cards?
Joanne, continued prayers for you and your family as I know just because the trial is over it is not really over for the kids and for Rachel and for you.
Lita, how are you doing?
Mags, praying you are having a good time in MO.
Angie, how are you doing? I miss your posts.
Bev, still praying for you and Dave.
Char, if you are still reading know I still pray for you. Praying school is either over or coming to an end and praying God gives you that extra strength you need to help with your Dad and for DH. Are you still training?
I do have to run and I apologize if I didn't mention all of you. Take care dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I will be praying for your surgery tomorrow and for a smooth recovery. Thank you for thinking of others.
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Thanks Chris. My MO apt today turned into another whole thing. I ended up having to have an ultra sound stat because of a possible blood clot in my leg. It was a false alarm and am thankful for that.
So much for getting all things done before tomorrow. Oh well. Just grateful I didn't have to add another thing to my health concerns list!
For the ladies who know my swan story I visited my swans today after the US so I was obviously not too concerned with this! I saw this lady looking on the other side of the pond and there was Mama swan with six fluffy little babies in the water. I was so excited and sure wishing I had my camera with me. This lady said she thinks they hatched some time last week. For some reason today was very nostalgic as I drove to the cancer clinic. It brought back a flood of emotions from 2014.
I''ll check in with you after this procedure is over tomorrow.
Love,
Nancy
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Hoping everyone is having pain free days and enjoying one day at a time. Nancy I will be praying tonight and tomorrow all day for the surgery been a 100% success and for your recovery to be smooth.
My treatments are on fridays every two weeks and my next one is the day after tomorrow and two weeks after that and so on. Also tomorrow evening I'm having a sleep study to determine the type of CPAP machine I'll be getting and I'm feeling anxious about it. I'm afraid it'll be too cumbersome and I won't like it. Please pray for peace of mind.
But tomorrow it's your day to be the recipient of prayers in your behalf and I'll certainly will pray.
Aurora
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Aurora, praying for your sleep test. Some of the people I have known with the CPAP devices talk about how much better they feel after a good night's sleep. I will pray that you can get used to it and pray for peace of mind about it. I have now written down your schedule for chemo treatments. I didn't realize you had them so often. Will be praying for that treatment for Friday as well. Have a good night.
Thank you for your prayers.
Love
Nancy
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Nancy and everyone, thank you so much for all your prayers for our three graduation trips. They were sorely needed and felt. My DH caught a bad cold just as we got to Idaho and I wasn't sure he was going to be well enough for our six hour drive to the last graduation. But we made it and suvived to tell the story. Now if I could just get some sleep all would be well.We were glad we were able to be there but I have to say, I came home exhausted and I'm still trying to catch up on things and get some sleep. For some reason my sleep has really been disturbed lately, I'm just not getting a good nights sleep which is not helping me recover at all.
I do have a prayer request for another young woman, 31 years old, just diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Her name is Amanda and she is the niece of one of my fellow choir members and it's very sad and complicated by insurance and money issues. So please add her name to our long list. I just hate how this disease is striking so many very young women. It just doesn't seem fair.
Nancy, I'm sorry I'm so late to post this but I'm still catching up on things so I hope you read this before your surgery but please know I will be praying that all goes well and it's much easier than you're expecting with complete healing. Please let us know how it went whenever you are up to it.
Love, prayers and gentle hugs for all,
Faith.
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