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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

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,

Thankfulness Challenge

What a wonderful time of worship in song we had at church Sunday night! I am so appreciative of our newest worship leader (we have two) and the band under his leadership.

My friend Lori, who blogs at Musings of a Proverbs 31 Wannabe, has issued a challenge:

"I'm going to challenge you AND myself: from November 1 until
Thanksgiving Day, I challenge us to either post somewhere - my
comments section is fine! - or journal one thing a day you're
thankful for. Some days will be difficult to find something nice,
I know. :D But there's no better way to be in a place of gratitude
than to take the time to recognize how much we are, truly, blessed."

I'm going to take Lori up on her challenge - as long as I can remember to start on time and write a short post every day! Anyone want to join us?

Holding Faith,

Thanksgiving

gingram | 22 November, 2007 21:07

I have so much to be thankful for! My family, my home, my country, my salvation . . . but without God, none of this would be possible. I was thinking during our car ride home from my in-laws, where we had Thanksgiving dinner, that I am seeing glimmers of hope where my relationship with the Lord is concerned.

Let me explain: in my November 10, 2007 post, I noted that my husband's kidneys stopped working as a result of his cancer and that we endured 18 months of hemodialysis before his switch to home dialysis earlier this year. A lot went on in those 18 months including watching my husband grow weaker and more incapacitated due to his initial chemo, way too many doctor's appointments (Phil's oncologist at the time refused to believe that medication side effects were indeed that and sent him to doctor after doctor trying to find other explanations), preparation for a stem cell transplant and the procedure itself, five hospitalizations, three surgeries, navigating the disability and Social Security disability nightmare, taking over the household responsibilities Phil used to have, taking him to dialysis at least twice a week, sometimes three times and arranging transportation for the Saturdays I didn't take him, keeping the household running, and leaving our church of 16 years. During all this, my faith remained strong and vibrant. Yet when all this was over, and our training for home dialysis complete, my faith began to disintegrate. Not that I doubted my salvation. That never entered my mind. I was so utterly worn out that I just shut down, and I have not recovered. But a couple days ago, I experienced a bit of the excitement I used to have, a few brief moments of worship, a stirring of hope within.

On Wednesday evening, I purchased a fabulous album, the second vocal release by Gordon Mote, Don't Let Me Miss the Glory. Several of the songs resonated with me the first few times I listened to the album. Gordon's rendition of Steven Curtis Chapman's My Redeemer is Faithful and True is one:

[Psalm 103:17 - "But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children", ESV]

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]

(Steven Curtis Chapman and James Isaac Elliott)

Another song, which Gordon sang at the Gaither Give It Away Tour last month (accompanied by majestic nature scenes projected on the big screens at the front of the concert venue), was written by Joe Beck and Carl Cartee. Don't Let Me Miss the Glory has been described as "sweeping," but I would use words such as "majestic," "awe-inspiring," and "majestic." I especially like the reference to Lamentations 3:22 - 23: "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (ESV)

In the view from the mountain

There’s a story to be told

In the crashing of the ocean

There’s a power that no man can ever hold

All the stars in the heavens

Decorate your handiwork

Like a mighty choir, they’ve come to celebrate your worth

[Chorus] Don’t let me miss the glory

Don’t let me miss the grace

And all creation singin’

To the honor of your name

Don’t let me miss the wonder

Don’t let me miss the grand design

The lightning and the thunder

Lord, open up my eyes

Don’t let me miss the glory

In the cry of a baby

In the laughter of love

In the dance of the faithful

You will find the greatness of our God above

In the prayer of the righteous

In the beauty of your grace

In the brand new morning’s mercy

All your memory of my sin has been erased

[Repeat Chorus, Bridge, Repeat Chorus]

So much to be thankful for! Keep your eyes on the One Who is Faithful and True, marvel at His beautiful grace, celebrate His worth, delight in morning's new mercy! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!