Holding Faith

One woman's spiritual journey through life, hanging on to faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the author and finisher and perfecter of that faith. " . . . that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith . . . " (I Timothy 1: 18c, 19; ESV)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Daily Blessings #'s 23, 24, 25, 26

#23 - Honestly, I don't remember much about Sunday. I was able to eat some of Sarah's pizza, which was great after so many days of an upset stomach.

#24 - Grace needed to go to the After Hours clinic, but I wasn't up to driving, so Sarah drove through a very wet snowstorm, and safely.

#25 - I felt well enough to go out with Sarah to do some errands. We believe we narrowly missed an accident. I have tried to have a different perspective on being slowed down when driving for some time. You never know.

#26 - Thank you, Lord, for the promise of eternal life to those who trust in Your Son.

This has been a difficult month, with making a treatment decision for my husband, having a cold, then a stomach bug, and dealing with a nasty reaction to a medication. Then today we found out that my only surviving grandmother had a massive stroke. The prognosis is unknown. In all this, though, God has remained by my side, He has remained faithful and true. I think those are the things we need to remember every day of our lives.

My Redeemer Is Faithful And True

(Steven Curtis Chapman and James Isaac Elliott)

[Psalm 103:17]

As I look back on the road I've travelled,
I see so many times He carried me through;
And if there's one thing that I've learned in my life,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

[Chorus:]
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
Everything He has said He will do,
And every morning His mercies are new.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My heart rejoices when I read the promise
'There is a place I am preparing for you.'
I know someday I'll see my Lord face to face,
'Cause my Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

[Chorus]

And in every situation He has proved His love to me;
When I lack the understanding, He gives more grace to me.

[Chorus]

Holding Faith,



Labels:

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Daily Blessings #22

Today I am thankful for the changing seasons. Although I dislike winter's cold and snow, I love the crispness of new-fallen snow, the beauty of a red cardinal against the white snow. And as much as I'd love to have summer all year round, I think eventually I'd get bored and long for the changing colors of fall, the spring flowers, and yes, even the beauty of winter.

Holding Faith,



Labels:

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Daily Blessings #20 & 21

#20 - My hubby's birthday. I am so thankful for him! Since I wasn't feeling well, we ordered pizza and wings. It was nice just to be together.

#21 - I am thankful to be feeling better! Also for a semi-warm house. (It has been unusually cold - 22 on Friday!)

Holding Faith,



Labels:

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Daily Blessings #17, 18, & 19

It's cold and virus and flu season. Yeah, you guessed it: I've been sick.

#17 - Phil and I were invited to share dinner with my parents. I was really tired, and the coffee I'd had earlier in the day left me jittery. (Usually, I don't even know I've had caffeine; sometimes it leaves me a little wired, but this reaction was extreme.) It turns out that was actually good: it had been snowing off and on, although the roads were clear. Until I hit a bridge, going 40 mph, and suddenly became aware that people were stopped. The car slid, and Phil kept saying "Hit 'em", which I interpreted as him wanting me to hit the car in front of me, which I thought was strange. Turns out "Hit 'em" meant "Hit them", meaning the antilock brakes! I think I pumped the brakes out of habit, but the important thing is that I was able to get over in the shoulder of the road and stop the car. For that, I was grateful. (Especially since last January we had an accident with a deer . . .)

#18 - I had been nauseated when I went to bed, but woke up definitely sick. My hubby took good care of me, listening to me moan when I got a fever, and Sarah stayed with me while we watched the first four episodes of season one of Stargate Atlantis. (Our first DVD from the Netflix gift membership we got last year. Yeah, we were slow to activate it.)

#19 - My fever is gone, but I'm still not feeling 100%. But I'm thankful that my fever is gone, and that I'm well enough to sit in the recliner.

Holding Faith,



Monday, November 17, 2008

Daily Blessings #15 & 16

#15 - Sarah and I spent another wonderful afternoon together. I got some Christmas shopping done, and found some items at the mall that saved us extra stops on the way home.

#16 - Two blessings: first, we got to church, and Pastor Tom had a great message which was perfect for our situation. Second, day two of the new chemo drug, and Phil is still feeling ok.

Holding Faith,



Labels:

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Daily Blessings #14


#14 - Since my husband was kicked off our good health insurance and onto Medicare (solely because of being on dialysis), we've been faced with a lot of medical bills that we've had to try and get help to pay. It's humbling. Today's blessing is that we didn't have to pay anything for his new chemo pills. Thank you, Lord.


Holding Faith,



Labels:

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Daily Blessings #12 & 13

#12 - For another day to be alive and serve my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

#13 - For my friend, Cheri, with whom I get together to cross stitch a couple of times a month.

Holding Faith,



Labels:

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Daily Blessings #11

My blessing for November 11 is that we finally made a decision about my husband's next cancer treatment. I am thankful for organizations like the International Myeloma Foundation (we called their hotline), for the wealth of information on the Internet, and for Phil's oncologist.

Holding Faith,



Labels: ,

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Daily Blessings #10

Today I am thankful for music. I find that music soothes my soul, and God often speaks to me through good, Christian music.

I was listening to Hillsong United today. One of my favorite songs from their With Hearts as One/The I Heart Revolution CD is Joel Houston's Where the Love Lasts Forever.

Your mercy found me,
Upon the broken road,
And lifted me beyond my failing,
Into Your glory,
My sin and shame dissolved,
And now forever Yours I’ll stand.

(Pre-Chorus)
In love never to end,
To call You more than Lord,
Glorious friend.

(Chorus)
So I throw my life upon all You are,
‘Cause I know You gave it all for me,
And when all else fades,
My soul will dance with You,
Where the love lasts forever.

(Bridge)
And forever I will sing,
Lord forever I will sing,
Of how You gave Your life away,
Just to save me, Lord You saved me.

With You, where the love lasts forever.




Holding Faith,



Labels: ,

Monday, November 10, 2008

Daily Blessings #9

Today I am thankful that God has allowed man to discover various medications. I've been miserable with this cold - terrible sinus pressure and pain, which I managed to get some relief from with Sudafed and pain medication.

Holding Faith,




Labels:

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Daily Blessings #8

Today is one of those days when it's difficult to find blessings. I'm tired; my fibromyalgia is acting up, making even doing the laundry difficult; I still have a cold, and I'm miserable. But I didn't have to make dinner because Sarah did, I'm married to a wonderful man, and God is still God. What more does a gal need?

Holding Faith,



Labels:

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Daily Blessings #7

My blessing from today (or yesterday, depending on how you look at it) is that I got to spend the afternoon and most of the evening with my daughter, Sarah. We haven't been able to do this too often now that she babysits three days a week. We went to the new Hobby Lobby, and did errands. We also shared a pizza at Sam's Club - they make terrific pizza!

Holding Faith,





Labels:

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Daily Blessings #6

Today I am thankful I did not visit my mom after her surgery yesterday. (The surgery went well, so thank for praying.) That probably sounds like a strange blessing, but I have come down with a nasty cold; it would have been awful to pass it on to someone trying to recover from surgery. It still amazes me sometimes how God orchestrates everything, like having Mom leave the hospital yesterday before we could get there

Holding Faith,





Labels:

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Daily Blessings #'s 4 & 5

Last night, I went to bed early because I wasn't feeling well, so I missed my blessings post.

#4 - My husband, with whom I enjoyed dinner at a local Mexican restaurant on Tuesday night.

#5 - The wonderful doctors that my husband has. His nephrologist (kidney doctor) and oncologist are caring and compassionate, and spend the time needed with us at appointments.

Holding Faith,





Labels:

Pray for My Mom

Please keep my mom, Kathy, in prayer as she has surgery on her shoulder this morning. The extent of the surgery is yet to be determined. One thing's for sure - recovery will be long and difficult. Thanks.

Holding Faith,





Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Daily Blessings #'s 1, 2, & 3

Well, I blew it. Again. I forgot that I was supposed to start my friend, Lori's, Thankfulness Challenge on November 1. So, without further ado, here are days 1 - 3:

1. One of our utility bills' monthly budget payment was set to nearly double. We were able to pay off what we owed them, but still the monthly payment was to be $47 higher than it had been. Today we called to make sure our large payment had been credited to our account, which it had, and the woman Phil spoke with told him that the new budget amount would be 0nly $17 more than what we had been paying. Hooray!

2. Our dear friends, Luke & Jennifer, had their first baby on Monday - a little girl named Aubrey Grace.

3. We decided to get someone to plow snow for us this year; with both of our daughters working, and both Phil and me dealing with health issues, it seemed a good idea, even though we'd have to come up with the money. But before Phil could call the man we'd decided to go with, we received a call from someone else who told us that he found a note in his door today saying that they would be paying the cost for him to plow for us! We have received several anonymous gifts this year, and are so humbled and thankful for them. God is so good!

Holding Faith,





Labels:

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Value of a Life

Tuesday is election day in the United States. For many, this election is not about issues; rather, it is about electing an idea. It is about the opportunity to put a "black"man in the White House.

I will not presume to tell you who to vote for. But I'd like to bring your attention to one issue - the value of life.

The following editorial ran in our local newspaper on August 3, 2008. It is by conservative columnist, Cal Thomas.

THE PRICE IS (NOT) RIGHT


image
THE PRICE IS (NOT) RIGHT

By Cal Thomas

Tribune Media Services

Most inhumanities start small, like the beginning of a tsunami, but then build, as they head toward inevitable and unstoppable destruction.

It is difficult to pinpoint the precise beginning of the cultural tsunami that has devalued human life. Did it begin with the subjugation of women? Did it begin with slavery? The Nazis made their contribution with the Holocaust and Josef Mengele’s hideous human experiments. Surely unrestricted abortion added to the growing list of inhumanities.

Now we have the next wave. Randy Stroup is a 53-year-old Oregon man who has prostrate cancer, but no insurance to cover his medical treatment. The state pays for treatment in some cases, but it has denied help to Stroup. State officials have determined that chemotherapy would be too expensive and so they have offered him an alternative: death.

Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law allows taxpayers to pay for someone to kill Stroup, because it’s cheaper than trying to heal him. How twisted is this? Some have called this a “chilling” corruption of medical ethics, but medical ethics have been in the deep freeze for some time. The American Medical Association, which once strongly opposed abortion, now buys into the “choice” argument despite Hippocrates’ admonition that physicians make a habit of two things — “to help, or at least to do no harm.”

How much is a human life worth? Body parts and bone marrow can fetch some pretty high prices, but a human life is more than the sum of its body parts. The reason this is important is that the federal government is now placing a price tag on individual lives and if government ever gets to run health care from Washington, bureaucrats will start making decisions similar to the one made for Randy Stroup.

Various government agencies contribute estimates for a concept known as the “Value of Statistical Life.” Like housing prices, the value of life has gone down in the eyes of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA says human life this year is worth $7.22 million. That’s a drop from its previous estimate of $8.04 million. The Department of Transportation calculates the value of human life at $5.8 million, an increase from $3 million. At the Consumer Product Safety Commission, human life is unchanged from the last estimate of $5 million.

According to The Washington Post, several federal agencies have come up with figures for the dollar value of a human life to analyze the costs and benefits of new programs they believe will save lives.

Saving lives is the announced intention, but if government gains the power to determine when a life is no longer “worth” saving and orders the plug to be pulled or the death pill to be administered, then what? This is the future of the socialized medicine that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Democratic Party wish to impose on us.

In a culture that values all life, difficult decisions can be made about a life that is at an end and should be allowed to “go.” That is a far cry from having a government bureaucrat or panel of “experts” play God and decide, based on cost alone, when your or my life no longer has value in the eyes of the state.

How we view and value ourselves affects how we view and value others. If we are mere evolutionary accidents with no moral value greater than cole slaw, then we quickly begin viewing others as part of the vegetable family. But if we are something far more special, even to the point of having a Creator who has “endowed” us with value beyond that of gold, silver and paper money, then should we not be treated as such, even by the state?

The Randy Stroup case won’t be the last of its kind. Just as Jack Kevorkian’s illegal assisted suicide preceded its legalization in Oregon, so, too, will Randy Stroup be the test case in what amounts to mandated medical euthanasia ordered by the state.

When pro-lifers warned about the “slippery slope” more than three decades ago, they were dismissed as alarmists. Not anymore. Their prophecy is now being fulfilled.

(Direct all MAIL for Cal Thomas to: Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, N.Y. 14207. Readers may also e-mail Cal Thomas at tmseditors@tribune.com.

(c) 2008 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.


Frankly, this scares me. There are many proponents of government health care, who claim it would eliminate the problem of the uninsured, and give access to health care to everyone in the country. But when has a government program done what it was designed to do, and in a fiscally responsible manner? The Social Security program is in trouble; FDR's "New Deal" pushed this country into deep debt; the Welfare program is fraught with waste and deception. Why do we think that universal health care, funded by our government (i.e., you and me, through higher taxes), will really do what it is supposed to do? I'm afraid that there would be many more Randy Stroup's - people with curable illnesses who are denied care simply because it's going to cost too much.

My husband has Multiple Myeloma, which is a cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. Although it is treatable, and new drug therapies are being discovered every year, the disease is ultimately fatal. And MM is an expensive disease to treat. One of the most popular treatments is a drug called Revlimid, which costs in excess of $6000 per month. Can you imagine the federal government paying out $72,000+ a year for one drug for one individual, especially if the patient will ultimately die? And what about when another drug must be added to Revlimid . . . we're talking tens of thousands of dollars more.

What is the value of a life? Who decides who gets treatment, and who doesn't? Do you want a bureaucrat in Washington playing God, denying treatment to my loved one or yours simply on the basis of cost? When you step into the voting booth on Tuesday - and preferably before you do, stop to consider the candidates' views on the value of life. Then vote accordingly. You never know if you'll be the next Randy Stroup.

Holding Faith,





Labels: , ,