Tonight, I Ask For Prayer

Tonight, I'm blogging to simply as you for prayer.  You see, I had a rough visit to the doctor today and am kind of down tonight as a result. I am being heavily attacked by Satan and could really use your prayers for God's peace on my life.

 

My oncology doctor has been offered a position at Penn State as the Director of their cancer clinic.  This is a wonderful opportunity for him and I am thankful for the time I was able to spend as his patient.  In the period until they find a replacement, Dr. Carlisle, my former oncologist, who retired this year, is coming out of retirement to help care for Dr. Hohl's patients.  I very much respect and trust my current doctor so it was hard news for me to take that yet again I will be switching.

 

Because of how much I respect him, I asked Dt. Hohl his opinion of what he would recommend if all continues to look good on my brain scans (my next scan is in March).  He said that with my aggressive form of brain cancer, he would like to see me continue chemo for an extended time (potentially through next April), since my body is handling it well and if finances would allow.  But he is concerned if I stop chemo too soon another tumor will resurface quickly. So, it seems as if I might be continuing chemo for awhile longer. Of course, this is not the course that I must definitely take and depends of many factors including my scan in March and Dr. Carlisle's opinion. 

 

I am struggling tonight most of all due to the the stress of the financial burden that continuing chemo for another year would place on us.  We are currently paying $300 out-of-pocket each month for my five nights of Chemo on top of a substantial insurance premium.  We are simply not mathematically able to put $300 in our monthly budget for the next year.  However, I MUST trust that God will provide every need, including this. 

 

Although I'm just slightly overwhelmed this evening at all of this new information, I knew directly what to turn to: Godly Friends and God's Word.  Right away after returning home from my appointment, I tore open my Bible and dug deep into the Word, as well as emailed some important Christian mentors asking them to pray for me.  I know that I must fully turn this situation over to the Author of this story!  Please pray for me to do just that. 

 

In closing, I end with some verses that helped me through tonight:

 

"Submit to God and you will have peace; then things will go well for you." ~Job 22:21

 

"The Lord gives his people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace." ~Psalm 29:11

 

"But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm." ~Proverbs 1:33

 

"Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he's done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hears and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

 

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." ~1 Peter 4:12

Dear Danielle

Dear Danielle,

I truly feel like God brought you to the middle of nowhere so you could find not only your husband, but also your best friend.  Our friendship was definitely crafted in Heaven and God was probably laughing hysterically as He directed our lives to find each other.   You know, He has that sort of sense of humor.  I know that because He created people like you and I!  :-)

I am so thankful that I have you in my life!  We've weathered many storms together and I love knowing that I always have a trusted friend to vent to, a shoulder to cry on, and a pal to laugh hysterically with.  You are one of the most loving, compassionate people I know; you're always thinking of and doing nice things for others and I truly admire this quality in you.  You challenge me to be a better woman; challenging me in my weaknesses and holding me accountable when I need.

You are a wonderful mother, wife, and friend and I am so proud to call you my best friend!!  I look forward to many more years of laughter, tears, and love!  May God continue to bless our friendship!

Much love,
Alicia

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Day 4

Today I am so thankful for my bestie!  We share so many similarites but are also so different.  I'm open and immodest while she's more private and modest.  I'm often loud and outgoing while she's often quiet and reserved.  But we're both givers and love Jesus passionately.  We both have a heart for hurting people and try our hardest to be wonderful wives and moms.  We are both deep thinkers, which sometimes gets us into trouble as we think deeper about some situations than we need to.  :-)

We spur one another on, smack the other in the face with gentle honesty, and listen to each other with a loving passion for the other's opinions and desires. 

I am so blessed to have this amazing woman in my life and thank God everyday for bringing us together!  I love you, Danielle! 

Faithful in Prayer

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  (Romans 12:10-12)

In this verse in Romans, it speaks about our commitment to one another and how in that commitment we need to stay devoted to prayer.  Pray for one another.  Prayer is so powerful.  In our leadership roles for FOCC, Danielle and I remained very faithful in our prayer- that God would give us the right board members, that our 501c3 would get approved, that we would receive monthly sponsors and find the right location.  Christ has blessed this organization because of our commitment to serving one another through prayer.  We have also remained loyal to each other by praying for the others' family, struggles and sins, careers, and patience.  You've heard the saying "A family that prays together stays together," well I firmly believe this holds true for friendships also.  "The friends that pray together stay together."  I am thankful that I have a friend who prays for me, encourages me, listens to me vent, and gently smacks me in the face when I need it. 

In the coming weeks, I will be super busy putting the final touches on my full-time employment at FOCC in order to jump on board with another fabulous organization- the Alzheimer's Association.  Preparing paperwork and training my team members on day-to-day functions will be stressful and will keep me busy, but I know that my best friend is there in the background cheering me on and more importantly praying for my strength, patience, and spiritual walk.  I am so glad that I have such an amazing accountability partner, and although we have not spent much time together this week, I deep-down still feel her presence as I go through my day. Thank you for praying for me, Danielle.  Know that I am praying for you too.  I love you and thanks for being my best friend! <3
God bless,
Alicia

2012 Goals

1. Meet with God. Pray more. Study more.
2. Do Dave Ramsey's baby steps.
3. Make 'dating' Travis and priority.
4. Snuggle often with Lucas.
5. Take more pictures of Lucas and I.
6. Be a great friend to Danielle.
7. Make changes, not excuses.
8. Have fun. Smile lots. <3

Day 10

Challenge: A picture of the person you do the most crazy things with.

Alicia and I have been friends since we were in 5th grade and have been with each other through good times and bad.  She is crazy and silly, so when we're together it is a blast.  We graduated high school together and now will walk through our second graduation cermony together in May!  She keeps my life fun and is always there when I need a friend to cheer me up or just chat with!  I love you, Alicia!