In the Hospital Again

Dad is in the hospital again.  He was admitted on Monday and we have spent much time there since then.  My husband took the day off and let me spend the whole day there yesterday.  He is fighting another blood infection but this time he has a skin infection on his elbow and his foot.  The doctors are concerned about the skin infection.  He is in good spirits but has not had much of an appetite.  Please pray for the skin infection to subside and for the swelling to go down.  An orthopedic surgeon saw him yesterday and said they may have to lance the area to drain the fluid.  We are hoping that they will not have to break the skin since his platelet count is always dangerously low.  Thank you for your prayers.

Bringing Her Food From Afar - Chicken Salad Sandwich




Looked so good that I took a bite before I could take a picture!

 

Shred that leftover rotisserie chicken from previous meal.  (About 2 C)

Chop up any fresh herb you may have in your refridgerator or any dry herb you may have in your pantry.  This a lemon thyme that I have growing in the garden.  (A few sprigs fresh or 3/4 tbsp dry)

Mayo (To your own liking.  I like lots of mayo so I put about 1/2 C)

Chopped green onion (2 Tbsp)

Dried cranberries.  Or any other dried or fresh fruit: grapes, chopped apples, raisins, strawberries.  (1/3 C)

Seasoning salt (To taste) and I also added curry powder (1 tsp)












Mix it all together and enjoy on your favorite bread.  We had it with salad and Red Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato soup.  Enjoy!

Backyard Before and After

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:7

Before:

After:



The flowers are called Nemesia, drought tolerant and easy to grow.
There is also a lemon thyme and cilantro in the back.




In the back is a blueberry bush and along the bricks are pepper plants.




Rosemary, parsley, basil and lavender can be found amongst the flowers.




This is our strawberry patch with onion plants amongst them to combat garden pests.




Our first fruits.



Tomato, squash, bell pepper and cucumber.





Raspberry bush.




There are some seedlings in the middle and of course our wise old
owl to scare the birds away from the berries and tomatoes. 






Depth of Earth

My Mother has always kept a beautiful garden.  I often thought it was strange that she referred to all of her plants as females.  "She is so happy here in this spot!"  "She needs a little more water."  "She needs to be fertilized this week."   Now that I am gardening, I completely understand.  These plants and flowers need so much tender loving care and maintenance.  They are living creatures who, in return, give you joy as they smile back at you with their blooms. 

I attended a free tomato class at Armstrong Garden Center.  Almost every Saturday morning they offer a class on growing tomatoes, container gardens and maintaining roses.  With gardening being new to me, I needed all the advice I could get about getting started and this was a great resource.  They taught on preparing the soil, the root system of the tomato plants, how to maintain the soil with nutrients and fertilizers, insect control and other topics pertaining to tomatoes. 

The parallel to maintaining a healthy, fruitful relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and maintaining a garden is so similar.  I am learning so much about both.  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty...Matthew 13:3-8. 

The phrase "depth of earth" touched me as I pondered this scripture.  My heart needs to have depth of earth so that the word of God could go down and take root in my heart.  I struggle so much with the preparation of my heart.  There are stony areas that need to be worked out and areas where bitterness chokes out God's love with thorns. 

Lord Jesus, please give me a depth of earth in my heart so that You word, Your love and Your understanding will penetrate deep and allow me to apply Your precepts to my daily life.  I need You so desperately so that there could be change and growth in my life.  Thank You. 



Here is what our garden looked like before.
Tomorrow I will show you what it looks like now.

Delighting in Another Day of Life

Psalm 139:16...Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.  And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. 

Beloved Family and Friends,

When I think about today's date and see how far the Lord has brought my Dad, I marvel and rejoice and acknowledge that we have a mighty and powerful God that knows our frame and knows our days.  It was 4 months ago today, that the doctor told my Dad that he gave him days to weeks of life.  No prayer, concern or even the smallest of thoughts has escaped the ear of our loving, heavenly Father...nor gone unaddressed.  Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers for my Dad and Mom.

A couple of weeks ago, my Dad was having high fevers.  At this point in his Leukemia,  his immune system is so compromised, that he is instructed to go to the ER if his fever exceeds 100.3.  When he finally went into the doctor's office the following day for a blood transfusion, they told him that he needed to go to the ER and that he sounded as if he had a lung infection, possibly pneumonia.  Tests came back clear of pneumonia but he was kept in the hospital for nearly a week to make sure that the bacterial infection in his blood stream was completely clear.  He was given very strong antibiotics intravenously, which essentially fought the infection for him.

 

He has done well since he has come home from the hospital.  He had a platelet transfusion last week and will be having a blood transfusion tomorrow.  He has been receiving blood or platelets about every other week as he has been getting weaker and weaker.  He also has quite a loss of appetite.  Please pray for continued strength, a good appetite and the ability to enjoy his days with my Mom and the family.
 

I apologize for the delay in sending this message to you all.  Thank you so much for your love and care for our family.  It is truly a blessing and a pleasure to be part of a family of believers who live out the message of the gospel of Christ.

In Christ's love,
Girl Delighted

Falling Behind

My Father was in the hospital this last week.  He had an infection that was caused by bacteria in his bloodstream.  I have not been able to get to the computer.  I have so much to share about God's mighty power in the life of a person with Leukemia.  Also some projects...my garden is doing so well, I have painted some furniture and I'm going to recover another ottoman.  Will be back soon.

You Have Reached Our Automated System

Thank you for calling....  You have reached our automated system...  Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed...  For English press #...  For account information press #...  For directions and hours press #...  To speak to a customer service representative press #...

We are all familiar with this phone call.  It's the never ending maze that we have to find our way through just to get some information.  For me, this call ended up lasting about an hour and a half.  Not because I was on hold waiting for my call to be answered in the order it was received, but because I had the chance to share the gospel with the person on the other line.

I was pleasantly surprised when I spoke to Diondre.  He was cordial and helpful and actually seemed enthusiastic to give me the information that I needed.  I was sure he was a believer, and after complimenting him on his service, I asked.  He gave me the answer that I have been hearing more and more these days.  He respects all religions and all walks of life but has not come to any solid conclusions for himself.  I asked him if he was raised with any particular religion and he said that he was raised in the Christian church.  Upon asking him why he did not continue with his church he gave these three reasons:

1. The hypocrisy of the church
2. Authenticity of the bible
3. Christianity claiming to be the only way to heaven

The next hour gave me the occasion to demonstrate to him that we are all sinners and are continuously going through the process of sanctification.  The church naturally has the semblance of a group of hypocrites because we are all "works in progress".  Authenticity of the bible led to the mention of the Trinity and how the Holy Spirit works through us despite our human deficiencies.  God was able to work through the authors of the bible to bring us His word by His Spirit, the Spirit of God.  I addressed his final objection by explaining that religion is man's attempt at reaching God.  At its core, each religion requires its followers to do certain actions so that one may find a right standing with God.  They are all similar in that they require one to discipline themselves to achieve righteousness.  The bible teaches that we surrender ourselves to God by "confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).  Salvation comes not by what we do, but by what Jesus Christ has done for us, and by His power we become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:7).  It is something very different from a man-made religion, it is God's way that He provided for us to have a relationship with Him.  Even to those who have not had the opportunity to hear the gospel are being reached out to by God through His creation. 

By the end of the conversation there was no certainty that he was persuaded, but I did give him the challenge of reading the book of John on his own by sincerely asking God to reveal Himself through the pages.  He said he would read it but that he couldn't promise me that he would read it right away.  I told him that I would be praying and asking the Lord to send him another indication that it is He that is ultimately seeking to woe Diondre to Himself.  Diondre reassured me that if he saw another sign that he would be compelled to read. 

Lord, I pray that you would send another sign to Diondre to show him that You are seeking him.  Please give him that change of heart that can only come from You to seek You.  And may he find You in the pages or Your scripture. 

Overcoming the World - Rhema Marvanne

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world...John 16:33

I remember feeling the heat of the the long summer days as my sister and I chased butterflies in our backyard.  My Mother would call us in from outside to wash up for dinner and we raced to the front door as we heard my Father's keys unlocking the door.  We couldn't wait to kiss his cheek and ask him how his day went.  Then we would all gather into the kitchen and enjoy the delicious meal that my Mother had prepared.  Things were so simple then.  The world seemed so wonderful in those days.  If you had told me that there would be tribulation, I would not have understood the meaning of that word. 

Now that I am an adult, I have a better understanding of what the word tribulation means.  Not only can I define it, but I could relate to you the heaviness that the human heart endures during the process of tribulation.  I also understand that children are not exempt from tribulation, and that by God's grace, I did not suffer through hardship in my childhood. 

The good news is that through Jesus, we could have peace and joy in the midst of difficulty and pain.  By putting our trust in Him and believing that He has a plan for our lives despite the loss we have endured.  God's word has so much to say about this topic and we find comfort in familiarizing ourselves with the different examples.  I recently stumbled upon an 8 year old girl who lost her mother to ovarian cancer.  Rhema Marvanne has an extraordinary singing voice and she uses it to encourage others to trust in the Lord in their difficulties. 

Lord Jesus, thank You that You have overcome the world and that we have peace despite our pain and suffering.  Please continue to use Rhema mightily for Your kingdom.  Just like Rhema, help us to see that we could have joy and peace in the midst of tribulation.  We pray that You would continue to bring Your peace to the people of Japan. 

Committed Relief Japan

The earth trembles beneath their feet.  Waves completely engulf them.  The searing pain of loss.  The bitter sting of harsh weather.  The stony ground on which to slumber.  The looming threat of nuclear crisis becoming unmasterable.  Some moments seem too overwhelming to delight in. 

Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I...Psalm 61:1-2

In moments of uncertainty, of fear, of loss...when our hearts are overwhelmed, we can come to the Rock that is higher than us.  Jesus Christ is that Rock. 

But what happens when crisis strikes and you don't have that Rock? 

This contemplation reverberates through my mind, my heart, throughout the day.  The stark reality is that 0.1 percent of the population of Japan professes Christianity.  This means that in the face of disaster, less than 0.1 percent of those affected know where to turn. 

Please pray for Japan.  Pray for the Lord's mercy upon them.  That He will manifest Himself to them even if they have not known Him.  And pray for those that do know Him, that they will have the supernatural ability to reach out and touch those around them through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Our church has a relief organization that has responded to natural disasters all over the world since 1995.  Kobe Earthquake in 1995, 9/11 response in New York, Thailand Tsunami in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in  2005, just to name a few.   We are currently praying about how to be involved with the crisis that is happening in Japan.  If you would like to get involved you can visit the Committed Relief website here.  There is information about how donate to the relief efforts through their site.  Their goal is to offer aid and assistance, with a long term desire to minister to the people of the areas they reach out to. 

Prayer for Japan

I lived two years in Japan.  Two very short years that made a very large dent in my heart.  I went in obedience to a still, small voice I heard in my heart that asked me to leave my home, my Father and my Mother, and all things familiar, to follow Him.  Not only did I fall deeper in love with Christ, but I fell in love with the people that He asked me to dwell amongst.  So it is with ardent affliction that I receive the news of what has occurred there. 

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Although I cannot be there in person to offer relief, I know that our Heavenly Father will pour out His comfort upon the people of Japan.  Our church is currently praying about how to get involved.  Join us in prayer as we await leading from the Lord.