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Todays Thoughts

-I just found out a friend of mine has cancer. At first they thought it was not too bad, come to find out it is stage 3. With her type of cancer at this stage, survival is about 50%. She has kids my girls age. I am not sure how to process this. What do you say? What do you do? Kinda puts my "bad" days in perspective. She is going to lose both breasts and have chemo. God, please be with her, comfort her and her husband. Heal her.

-I am doing a book club with some of my girl friends. We are starting with "The Love Dare" which is a 40 day challenge. I want to be excited, but then again I dread being challenged. This is pure laziness on my part. The more I learn about God and Love, the less I feel like I really know. The more I learn about love, the more I feel like I really suck at it. Sometimes I just want to hide behind my wall of "good enough". I want to hold on to my selfish nature like it is something to treasure. If I love like Jesus, I open up my heart, share all my possessions, trust God not to give me more than I can deal with. The thing is, God will give me more than I can deal with, it is what He does. That way I have no choice but to depend on Him. I am not brave. I like to be comfortable. God, give me courage to love like You, with open hands and no expectations. Lord, let me Love until I bleed.

-I have just made a discovery about myself. I (dare I say it "out loud"!?) like to exercise. Not that you will ever find me running, biking until it hurts (I will leave that to Kari) or any of that crazy nonsense. I like yoga, I do it 2 or 3 times a week. It works for me. I get into this "zone" I have always heard about and never believed. Not only that, yoga is kicking my ever-to-big ass. I am sore and I actually kinda like it. Maybe because my pants are fitting to big. I feel healthy (as I type this I am eating a Blondie)

-Politics are funny. They strike such an emotional chord. Everyone wants what is "right" and "Godly" and "best" but it seems we can't agree on what it looks like or how to get there.

-We have mice, again. Every year at this time we get them. We have caught 2. Otis just chased another one across the floor. ICK!!!!!

Comments

Elizabeth said…
Love your thoughts! SO glad you're digging exercise. I need to try a little yoga...We have a class here called "Body Flow" that incorporates a little yoga, tai chi (sp?), and some other stuff. I took it once and I have ZERO balance. And, I can't seem to chill. I'll try again.

Also, Politics ARE funny. Sort of. But daggone it if they don't get people acting NOT so funny. Sometimes it gets a little personal. I'm a bit over it.

Sorry 'bout the mice. Gracie would think they were flippin awesome. She likes rodents. The ones at Petsmart (hamsters, RATS, gerbils).

Have a great week....rest of it.
Kari said…
Several thoughts...

1) I did lunges four days ago and I still hurt today. Maybe it's not worth it to exercise. :-) But I am so proud of you for finding a good fit for your lifestyle and interest. And congrats on seeing results. That is so awesome!

2) Politics...oops...my eyes just glazed over...

3) It is a scary thing to completely rely on the Lord. It takes courage, risk, faith, and tears, but I promise from depths of my soul it is amazing! The comfort and peace you feel in knowing He has it taken care of and it no longer MY job to solve the problems is very freeing. Humility is the first step and it sounds like God is tearing down your wall. Let Him. And remember God only gives you as much as HE can handle, not what you can handle.

4) I am so sad to hear of your friend who has cancer. What a horrible, horrible thing to find out. I know God will use you to be a comfort to her. Just let her talk and know you're there for her...that's all she needs from a friend.

love you!
Jennifer McHam said…
Love your post, as always. I can't believe about Aimee. I am still in shock. We are praying, praying, praying. Please keep me posted. I know what you mean about faith, hope, and love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 - "Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." I try to remember that when thinking of all the "friendly political banter" too. I know we are all just trying to do the best we can and come to the best conclusion. Love you, your family, and your convictions - even if we don't always agree.
Jen
Shi Town said…
Hey Gretch. My best friend, April, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer almost two years ago. They gave her a 20% chance of survival. In fact, they told her to write a will and prepare for her own funeral. She was 24 at the time with a one year old boy. At the time, she didn't have a strong faith. So we began to pray. That's all we could do. She went through a year of chemo and radiation. She was deathly sick for an entire year. It was the hardest year of her life and also mine as I went through the pain with her. It has now been 8 months since she stopped chemo and every test has come back negative so far. The doctors are so shocked every three months when her scans come back because they have told her it WILL come back. God has proven faithful and has healed April. That doesn't mean the fight is over. She still has a long road ahead of her, but for now, she is learning to develop her own faith in God and she realizes that God has healed her. She is living life to the fullest like she never has before.

What I'm saying is I know the pain you're feeling. I know how hard it is to see a friend suffer. And I know how hard it is to trust God and pray. But like you said about God, he takes us to a place where we have no choice but to depend on him.

I will pray for your friend. She has a long road ahead, but hopefully she has Christ by her side to lead her. Let me know how I can specifically pray.
Reading Shiloh's comment really gave me hope about Aimee. I know that God is in complete control, but I can't help but worry--it is so scary!

Thanks for letting us in your head, Gretch! ;)

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