~Urgent Prayer~

UPDATE: I have talked with Brianna via text messaging, and she said her Mom, Joyce's lung are not working properly. They are giving her antibiotics. Apparently the problem is her body is not absorbing oxygen. Joyce is aware of what is going on. I gathered at this time, they are trying to find the cause of why her body is not absorbing oxygen. If I find out any more, I will let you know.

Thanks for all your prayers.

Hi All,

Earlier this week, I talked to my friend, Bri, who is Joyce's daughter. She had been hospitalized for pneumonia. She had just started on her 3rd type of chemo, as she was allergic to the second one.

I just received a call that the family had been "called in." Please pray for Bri as she travels from Oklahoma to Texas. Brianna has 2 sisters. I think Shannon may be in Texas still. But, Lindsey just had her baby last week and has been dealing with problems with her blood pressure caused by the preeclampsia. I'm not sure if Lindsey is physically able to make this trip right now.

I have a call into Bri, and will give you an update if/when I talk to her.
I have a call into Bri, but haven't been able to talk to her yet.

I know these girls will appreciate the prayers said on their and their Mother's behalf.

~Thankful Thursday~ Be Thankful~

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary
Because it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
~ Author Unknown ~

Thankful Thursday is hosted by Iris at Grace Alone.

Blessings!

~WFW~ Romans 5:8~

To find more Word-filled Wednesdays, visit 160AcreWoods
Blessings!

~Tempt My Tummy Tuesday~ Peanut Butter Cookies~

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

2 eggs – beat approximately 10 seconds
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the above 4 ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

After mixing first 4 ingredients, add dry ingredients. Add ½ bag peanut butter chips.

Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

These are the best peanut butter cookies, I have ever had. They are soooooo good!

Enjoy!

For more great recipe finds go to Lisa/Lana's Tempt My Tummy and all the others joining in.

~God's Demonstration~

ROMANS 5:8 NKJ ~
But God shows his great love for us in this way:
Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

There is no reason to say, "If God loves me, let Him prove it!"
He already has.

God gave a demonstration proving He loves you at Calvary --
where Jesus died a cruel death on a cross. He died, in your
place, suffering punishment you deserved, to set you free.

By dying for you, God proved He loved you supremely. How could
He love you more?

Jesus showed that He loves you more than He loves Himself.

JOHN 15:13 ~ The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends

Jesus gave His life for you. What more could He do?

1 JOHN 3:16a ~ By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.

Many people have a distorted view of God. The true picture of
God's nature is that He loves all the people of the world so
much, He was willing to suffer for their freedom.
Taken from Daily Devotion

If you remember, please say a prayer for my cousin's family today as they lay their love one to rest. And, tomorrow for Anita, and her immediate family as they lay my uncle to rest. Because of my job, I didn't feel like I could take off both days, and so I had to make a choice, and will be going to the funeral of my uncle. Anita has a big task ahead of her in getting her Mom settled where she will be closer to her. Her parents have insisted in the past to live independently. This has been approximately 3 hours from where Anita lives. My Aunt is unable to live independently by herself, so this has and will be a chore.

Then Wednesday, my cousin Sheila will be leaving to return to home. I haven't really been able to spend that much time with her since she has been here, but will tomorrow after the funeral. Please pray for safe travels for Sheila. She is also returning home to continue in the daily task of caring for her mother. So, please pray for Sheila, her sister and brother as they continue to care for their mother. It has been extremely difficult for them to watch their Mom become less aware of her surroundings, being confused, upset and not understanding at times what is going on. I don't think until you've been there, you could imagine how difficult it is, like in so many circumstances.

Jan/Gerald will also be leaving Tuesday to return to MD Anderson. She will NOT have an MRI this visit. It is her, as they put it, WELL-BABY visit. But, she will have an EKG, blood work and see her oncologist. Jan has been feeling good, except for some stomach issues. She is having problems with her vision and will be seeing the ophthalmologist soon to see if she can get this straightened out. This has been an ongoing problem, since even before she was diagnosed with GBM!

There is also a young lady at Mom/Jan's church who was diagnosed with cancer. She just turned 31. She has a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old. Her chemo is every other week, and it has really been hard on her. It is the highest possible dosing of chemo she can have. Yet, she still remains positive.

Update: My cousin's last blood/lab testing her blood counts were improved. We are extremely thankful for that. Pray they continue to improve.

As for Joyce, who has lung cancer, her doctors are very pleased because they were seeing improvement in her. She will be testing soon, but they were unable to feel her lymph nodes and felt the chemo/radiation was working.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. They are so very appreciated.

Have a great day!

~TSMSS~ You Reign~ Mercy Me~

I recently told you about my uncle and cousin, both with lung cancer. Well they both passed away early Friday morning. We will be celebrating my uncle's life Tuesday. Not sure about my cousin. I would ask you specifically to remember my cousin, Anita. She is an only child. It is hard enough with siblings and a mother who does not have dementia. I know the last 1 1/2 weeks have been so hard on her, and this is a hard road to walk. Her mother is still alive, I don't think can stay alone. Please pray for this transition to go smoothly.

Have a great weekend!
Blessings!

~Thankful Thursday! ~Praise~Thankfulness~

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ~

The meaning of thankfulness:

1. feeling gratitude: feeling or expressing gratitude. We must be thankful for small mercies
2. glad about something: glad or relieved about something

Has God blessed you?

Sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers the way that we think that he should answer them. God sees our situation much better than we do and we can trust that he always has our best interest in mind. We only see a tiny piece of the big puzzle and God has the entire puzzle in his vision.

Are there times when you do not feel thankful? Or, you have a hard time trying to think of what you are thankful for? Sometimes situations in our lives can make being thankful a difficult chore. Even in the worst of times we can find reasons to be thankful. Knowing that Jesus loves us and chose to willingly die for us is a very big reason to be thankful all the time.

Knowing that God is in control and that he has a purpose for our lives is another reason to be thankful.
God blesses us in so many ways and sometimes we fail to see or recognize His handiwork in our lives.

Do you have a place to sleep? Food to eat? Family? Friends? Car? Bicycle? A computer you are now typing on to join in Thankful Thursday. I want to choose to see the positive in all things. At least we have the opportunity to make Heaven our Home. We won't live on this crazy place called "earth" forever.

The greatest of all things is Jesus Christ. He paid a very hefty price for us! That should keep us thankful for our entire lives.

Update on my job~ It is a lot different than what I was used to. But, for the last week I've set daily goals and then a goal for the end of that pay period. I DID IT. I've changed a few things and it has made a huge difference. I'm so very thankful for that. I'm pushing up my goal for the next 2 weeks. I'm thrilled that with the gas prices that a tank of gas lasts me at least 3 weeks. Plus, wear and tear on my vehicle which I'm thankful for. (Not thankful someone keyed my car though).

Update on Mr. Ripley ~ I can see such an improvement in his leg. I'm taking care and retraining him not to jump up and especially off furniture. And, he is such a good learner. I've been getting him out every day and letting him exercise his leg and I think that is helping. He's also lost some weight, which is a big plus (I gained it). He has a very expensive front leg/elbow, so we are taking extra special care to get it healed. It has been 6 months since his last surgery. He got to got visit my sister's dogs the other night. One of them just pestered him to death. And, then they got in a contest of who could "mark" my Mom's yard the most. I'm so thankful that this leg is healing. And many other things as well.

See if you can find 5 things every day to be thankful for. It will change your life.

Blessings!