Bring the Rain

This song really speaks of the way I feel about my Jesus (emphasis is mine):

BRING THE RAIN

by MercyMe

****************************

I can count a million times

People asking me how I

Can praise You with all that I've gone through

The question just amazes me

Can circumstances possibly

Change who I forever am in You

*

Maybe since my life was changed

Long before these rainy days

It's never really ever crossed my mind

To turn my back on you, oh Lord

My only shelter from the storm

But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray

*

Bring me joy, bring me peace

Bring the chance to be free

Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there'll be days

When this life brings me pain

But if that's what it takes to praise You

Jesus, bring the rain

*

I am Yours regardless of

The dark clouds that may loom above

Because You are much greater than my pain

You who made a way for me

By suffering Your destiny

So tell me what's a little rain

So I pray

*

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

*

Holy, holy, holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Please Do This

Yes, this is true per Snopes.com!

The Breast Cancer site needs people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn't cost you a thing.

Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know: http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/ Please tell 10 friends to tell 10 today!

And a final note from ME - Ladies, if you haven't had a mammogram....GET ONE! Don't even dread it. Put your big girl panties on and do it! They pale in comparison with what I'm facing. Thank the Lord mine was caught fairly early. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and they often reduce the price of a mammo. Do it today!

Getting Ready

To all ya'll who check this every morning to see if I've posted finally.... SURPRISE!!!! Happy Friday!!!

I am trying now to get everything in order before I will be out of commission for a couple weeks. Had pre-op doctor visit yesterday and they basically told me to do nothing for 2 weeks after surgery, and nearly nothing for 4 weeks. Now...there have been times in my life when I would have loved for someone to tell me that....but I'm not really looking forward to this. If you know me well, you know it's hard for me to do nothing for long periods of time. Who knows, maybe I'll get caught up on some reading!

I'm so thankful for you friends and family, your encouraging posts and emails and cards and hugs. It is what has gotten me through the past 7 weeks. As I said a couple blogs ago..I am a very wealthy gal!

Okay..for the hard part of this blog....

All my posts have been positive and that is truly how I feel the majority of the time. I am fully trusting in my Creator and am choosing to face this with a smile. However, I am human and there have been some "valley" days the past few weeks. I am still learning to deal with the magnitude of all that is to come.

My surgery is Thurs Oct 2nd and I should be coming home Friday...maybe Saturday depending on how I feel. I will have lovely post-surgery apparatus to deal with for a week or two. This will not be pleasant for me or those caring for me I'm sure.

Since there are people in life my who are basically taking OVER my life for the next few weeks (husband, doctors and sister-in-law-who-has-been-here-before-and-knows) these are the rules they've set up:

1. Visits to the hospital should be brief. If I'm not up to visitors, I have a pretty pink book for you to sign. PLEASE PLEASE don't visit me at anytime if you are sick or think you may be getting sick. Getting sick will set me back on healing and on my treatment plan....and I'm so ready to get this over with! If you see me with a face mask thingy on...it's me..not you. =o)

2. Saturday and Sunday (4th and 5th) will be our immediate family's time to regroup. This will quite an emotional time for us as you can imagine, and the only time we will have together alone before Todd and Zachary go back to work and school Monday. So an email or phone call will be the best way to 'visit'.

3. The cancer is at least stage 2 due to it being about 2 cm in size and at least one lymph node is affected. The plan is to get all the cancer and the affected lymph nodes out, then treat with chemo and possible radiation.

There are several other things I'm not comfortable talking about concerning my surgery and treatment plan. If you don't find your answer on these blogs, that's probably something I'm not talking about right now. Maybe later I can, but please bear with me and don't ask.

4. I totally understand the feeling of not knowing what to say about a situation like mine. Been there. Trust me when I say....do not feel like you have to find a deep spiritual meaning to all of this. We may never know...and I'm okay with that. So is Todd. God has given us His peace.

This is the path that is before me and I will walk it in joy. Please don't pity me - there are those in far worse condition than me!!! If you hug me and say you are praying for me...that is enough. Your love and prayers are what I need most. We can get answers in Heaven.

5. Please don't bring any food with celery in it. OKAY! OKAY! This one is mine, I admit! HEE HEE

The next 6 months are gonna be quite interesting. It is going to be very hard for me to not be around people as much as I am used to. So I am counting on your emails, blog comments and phone calls (between 9 am - 9 pm please) to stay in touch and brighten my days. This is so against my nature which is why I have people ordering me around now. However, I want to get better quickly and get this behind me asap as I'm sure you understand.

Whew!!! This has been the hardest blog to write other than the very first one. I'm going to find some CHOCOLATE now!!!

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

Some Pics of Interest

Due to popular demand, I am posting some pics of recent events:


This is my friend Cherish - we went hat shopping...then to DQ for Blizzards! YUM!

My Bestest Buddy (since 7th grade!) Teresa and I went to IHOP one day:

Todd and I went to a Phillips, Craig and Dean concert (plus surprise appearance of Paul Baloche) with Valerie. But Valerie wouldn't let me take her pic, so here's the guys:

Here's a great pic of me and Val:

Now for......The infamous Wig Hunt!

Here is Rhonda laughing at Rachel (aka Cousin IT):

Ruth is seeing if my wig can be fixed in an "updo". (It can) Gerry, the sweet store owner and a cancer survivor, looks on. Rhonda is also quite excited as you can tell!

This is the best one! Rhonda modeled some hats for us:

Here is my lovely pink wig and my pink Longhorn hat my hubby got me (sorry you Aggies!):

This is a side view of my wig:

Shawn and Pat came to visit and we went to Posado's. YUM!

Pat and me goofing off:

Well, that's all for now, folks! Hope you enjoyed!

Proverbs 14:20: ".... the rich hath many friends." I am a very WEALTHY gal!

Love to all
Norma

I'm never gonna be famous either!

I have a dear friend, Linda Elms, who is a dedicated blogger and inspiring writer. I was just introduced to her blog yesterday, and one blog really spoke to me. She was writing about changes in her life and how, although she knew they were in God's Will, she still felt "shaky". Her daughter-in-law gave her these words of wisdom that I LOVE: "If God fails you and Dad, you'll be the FIRST ones He has EVER failed, so you would become FAMOUS!"

So, my dear friend...I agree....we'll never become famous. HE IS FAITHFUL!!

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Phil 1:6

I love this song....

HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength,
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me;
No great success to show, No glory on my own,
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know . . .

CHORUS
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone;
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong;
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.

We can only know
The power that He holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes;
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end.
He hears our humble cry and proves again . . .

SURGERY DATE!

Yes! FINALLY!! Thursday, October 2nd at 11:00 a.m. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers that day.....but also the day before. Those who know me well know I am pretty sentimental and that will be a "last day" for me. I should be going home the next day, then chemo will start 2 - 3 weeks after that.

So, we've finally got this train off the dirt road and on the tracks!

The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. Psalm 138:8

Hair!

Monday was a FUN day! My sister-in-law Ruth, Pastor's wife Rhonda, and Friend Rachel (also sister to Rhonda) went to a wigshop in a nearby town and I bought me some hair! It looks like a lot of hair for me, but remember I still have hair under there. Once there's not any then it won't be so poufy. Here's a pic:

The Wind

As hurricane winds blow around the US, I am reminded of a quote I love. "It's not the direction of the wind, but the set of the sail that determines your destiny." Centuries ago, the sail was the only power ships had. If sailors only relied on the wind blowing in the direction they needed to go, they would rarely go anywhere. However, those men would set the sail in a way they could even travel against the wind. They didn’t let the wind determine their destiny.

So basically it comes down to this – we all have a choice. We can sit down and have a pity party on the poop deck. We can bemoan the fact that we can’t stop the wind and whine about how life isn’t fair. Or we can put the teacups of pity back in the cabinet, and head to the masts. Nope, life isn’t fair. We can’t change the wind, but we can change the set of the sail.

Right now a strong gale is on my sea of life. It’s easy to just give up and let it throw me around…and who knows where I’ll end up. I would be lying to say I’ve never had a pity party. Doubt, Dread, Anger and Fear always show up bringing snacks. But I’ve learned to invite Jesus…He always brings Hope, Strength, Grace, Comfort, Peace, Healing, Joy and Love. It’s really hard to have much of a pity party with them there! Plus Doubt, Dread, Anger and Fear seem to always make a fast exit! (taking their sour punch, broccoli and celery sticks with them. =o) (adapted from “Throw Yourself a Party” by Missy Morrow in Praying Through Cancer)

The hard part is getting up and walking to the mast. But it’s always worth it. The sweetest victories are the ones we work the hardest for. We don’t have to be at the mercy of the wind and end up a shipwreck. We can take control of the sail and head for the horizon!

September Already?

Happy September! Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend! We did for sure. Our good friends, Shawn and Pat, came to visit and we had a blast! I even have a cute new brown hat now. Thanks, Pat!

Not a lot of new news - I have one more appointment on Sept 11th, then they will set my surgery date. More waiting, but at least I'm able to get some things in order before my world changes completely. Mom used to tell me, "In your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19)

Yes, I am still working, but on light duty. TJC and my fabulous bosses (Paul, Tracey and Tina, et al) have been so good to me. I am truly blessed to have such a great place to work and wonderful people to work with!

Many of you may not know we moved in April, so if you have Bama as our address...that ain't it. Email me and I will give you our new addy. tnzlawson@yahoo.com (that's also our new email!)

A preacher friend of ours sent an encouraging email reminding us the clouds that cover our life right now are temporary. Even though it is out of sight, there is a bright beautiful blue sky above us. How poignant as Gustav has brought us a layer of clouds and rain...but wow does our grass look good! (Todd says he's been in the rain so long he's starting to mildew.) There will be beauty from the rain...if I can keep from drowning in a puddle! lol "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Well, hope you all have a fabulous day!