Luehrs Line --------------------: Oct 1, 2012

Monday, October 1, 2012

September Joy Dare

725. Gardening
726. Late nights outside
727. BBQ's
728. Grass
729. Fresh Flowers
730. Box Tops
731. Sunflowers
732. Squash
733. Fresh peaches off the vine
734. Breeze early morning
735. Fresh zucchini bread from oven
736. Sun tea
737. 1st Day of School
738. Nip in the air
739. The garden
740. Corn Chopping
741. Dustin!
742. Hair
743. Time
744. Garden goodies
745. Smiles to a stranger
746. Canned dill pickles
747. Discipline moment
748. Seed to fruit - amazing
749. Artwork on fridge
750. Sunrise
751. Family vacation photo
752. Wall art
753. Big hand on the clock
754. School bus
755. Hummingbirds
756. Pain
757. Self-control
758. Tough love
759. Refuge
760. Higher Place
761. Law of the Spirit
762. Lavender
763. Lesson Notes
764. Baby blanket
765. Tree by the river
766. Map
767. Dustin's creations
768. Joy & tears
769. Peanut butter & jelly
770. Cake & ice cream
771. Meals
772. Prayer
773. Chores
774. Rotten Bananas
775. Old scar healing up
776. Lawn mower
777. Towels in cupboard
778. D's nose
779. Honesty
780. Sharing each others burdens
781. Encouragement
782. It's not @ me
783. Free to receive
784. It's all about faith - Believing in Him alone
785. Instant + i____.
786. Knowledge
787. Connected
788. Brakes on white truck
789. Cucumbers in the garden - slowing down
790. A coffee mug
791. Morning - alone Birthday with Jesus
792. Front porch sitting
793. Sunday afternoon nap
794. Dog kisses
795. Pockets filled with rocks
796. Half eaten graham crackers
797. Laundry
798. Bills paid
799. Canning plum jam
800. Heart to grow in truth
801. Cucumbers still coming out of the garden
802. Love
803. Soccer jersey "Coach"
804. Change - again & constant
805. Addressing bullying
806. A toddler
807. A stray dog
808. Chickens
809. Sewing projects
810. Books
811. Dust
812. Pearls
813. A smile
814. The Sun (SON) Glory

Day 1: Rejoice

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

Celebrations can vary in their styles and ventures. You don't have to have the biggest party or the largest reception hall with the greatest number of guests in attendance. No an audience of One will do for me. Just knowing that today is a new day that the Lord has made just for me to enjoy. So enjoy I will. The warmth of the fall sun reflecting off the golden leaves flapping in the tall trees makes me smile. I take a deep breath and exhale. I'm alive. I'M ALIVE. Yes my past haunts me as I sit still in my recliner this morning, reflecting on chemo poison trickling through my veins. But I celebrate because I am an over-comer. I drink deeply the light of the morning and embrace what may come before my path today. Be happy and show it to the world around you. I smile more. I laugh more freely. I love more unconditionally. I live in the moment for that is all we have. Time to rejoice and celebrate once again all He has done.

I'm Alive by Peter Furler

31 Posts in the Month of October

I am taking a blogger's challenge. Today I will start a 31 day challenge to write on one topic for the month. Each day will be a new post within this topic.

Read More here to join the fun!

The drum roll please...to announce a topic for this 31 Day Challenge...

31 Ways to Celebrate Beating Cancer -

Things I've learned after facing the biggest challenge in my life. How my outlook on life has changed my heart and purpose here on Earth.

Stay connected -- links to each day's postings!

Day 1: Rejoice

Day 2: Embrace Serenity

Day 3: Simplicity Counts

Day 4: Lessons in Waiting - Part 1: Hope

Day 5: Lessons in Waiting - Part 2: Strength

Day 6: Lessons in Waiting - Part 3: Attitude

Day 7: Letting Others In

Day 8: Log-in to the Logos

Day 9: It's All Small Stuff

Day 10: A Clean Cup

Day 11: Blessed to Bless

Day 12: Courage

Day 13: Bring Beauty In

Day 14: Extravagant Love

Day 15: Be Pepared

Day 16:Conquering Perfectionism

Day 17: How to Answer the Question of Why

Day 18: Laugh

Day 19:

Day 20:

Day 21:

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My Cancer Story

Many have asked me how long have you been sick? When did this all begin? Tough questions even for me to answer...all I can say at this point is I finally found some Doctors who listened to all my symptoms and did something about it. Late in April 2011 I went to see a family practitioner who sent me to a GI specialist for a colonoscopy. This resulted in a diagnosis on May 13th, 2011 of cancer in the colon. The extent was unknown at that point in time. I had to wait until Monday May 16th, 2011 for a CT scan. Then wait till Tuesday for an appointment with the surgeon, who would later remove the colon. I was informed of the biopsy results: adenocarcinoma. The CT did not show any signs of the cancer spreading to other organs (praise the Lord). In fact the CT did not even show the tumor. It was estimated by the GI Doctor to be the size of a golf ball. So surgery was scheduled for May 31st, 2011. Surgery was successful. They removed about a foot of the sigmoid colon and 20 lympnodes. I had to wait again for lab results. On June 2nd, 2011 I was told about the lab results. The tumor had evaded through the colon wall. Two out of the twenty lymph nodes tested positive for cancer. This elevated the stage of my cancer to 3 B. This is when I knew chemotherapy would be necessary. Recovery from surgery went well. GI functions are returning on their own and pain was easily controlled. I had my first appointment with the oncology team at MSTI (Twin Falls) on Friday June 17th, 2011.

I started chemotherapy on July 13th. The plan was set to give every two weeks for infusion treatments of poison. Sounds great on paper. The reality is this: chemo drugs deplete the body of healthy cells as well as potential rouge cancer cells. Keeping this schedule of every two weeks has proven to be difficult. On my off weeks I get my blood levels checked. This is to determine if it is "safe" enough for me to get chemo again. Safe...uh...it's poison right? Anyway chemo treatments have come and gone now, twelve in all. I finished up with my last round on January 27th.

On January 29th 2012 I had a CT scan. My oncology doctor said everything looked fine. No cancer detected. Doing the party dance! I am officially on the other side of living cancer free. I am celebrating in many ways. This has been the hardest thing in my life to do. Not to mention to try to balance so called "normal" life at home on the farm.

As far as the future goes with my health I have a few more doctor appointments scheduled. I will have another colonoscpy in May. For now, it is just watch and monitor my blood work and pray cancer doesn't return. Prognosis is good and I am believing and trusting in a mighty God. He is faithful!

Fast forward seven years -- 2018! Still cancer free! After many lab tests, blood work and CT scans so far no cancer detected. Miracles still happen everyone!

Favorite Quotes

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do. Helen Keller

"Every good work should be a revelation of the glory of God. What makes the good deed an act of love is not the raw act, but the passion and the sacrifice to make God himself known as glorious. Not to aim to show God is not to love, because God is what we need most deeply. And to have all else without him is to perish in the end. The Bible says that you can give away all that you have and deliver your body to be burned and have not love (1 Corinthians 13:3). If you don't point people to God for everlasting joy, you don't love. You waste your life." John Piper ---Don't Waste Your Life

"Surrender is the key that unlocks the vault of God's best and deepest treasures." Charles Swindoll

"You can't move people to action unless you first move them with emotion. The heart comes before the head." John Maxwell

Spiritual growth is a conundrum. The key to spiritual growth is developing healthy and holy routines called spiritual disciplines. But once routine becomes routine we need to change the routine. Why? Because sacred routines become empty rituals if we do them out of left-brain memory instead of right-brain imagination. When we learn how and forget why we start going through the motions spiritually. Mark Batterson

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. --Reinhold Niebuhr

Luehrs Line --------------------

Monday, October 1, 2012

September Joy Dare

Day 1: Rejoice

31 Posts in the Month of October

It's About Time

Prayer Requests

Praise Reports