Team Martha

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ~2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Tuesday marks my fourteenth day of cancer treatment at Emory Winship.  As might be expected as I describe in a previous post, I'm beginning to experience some of the negative effects associated with type of radiation on the soft palate.  It's becoming more of a struggle to chew anything but soft foods, and even those can be problematic for me a certain times of the day.

We have several product on hand that aid in soothing my symptoms such as Biotene for dry mouth

and a concoction know as the Magic Mouthwash which I take three times a day.  It contains Lidocaine which temporarily numbs the inside of my mouth so it's easier to eat, swallow and take my prescribed pills.

To ease the redness and dryness of affected skin, I apply the Aloederma first and, once it dries, I follow it up with the Aquaphor for moisture and healing.

I don't know what I'd do without the relief these products provide.  And then there's this chewable supplement, Now's OralBiotic, that supports ear, nose and throat health.  While it's not a pain reliever, the reassurance it provides during this time is invaluable.

But one of the best assets I have during this journey is the incredible team of doctors, nurses, radiology techs, and receptionists who attend to me in ways that assure me I'm not alone.  And the undisputed leader of Team Martha is my husband and best friend, Danny!

Can you read what the shirt says?  In case some of the print is too small, it says: Team Martha - Somebody has to keep things running - Luke 10:38-42.  He orders this specialty T-shirt from Faith Wise + Co and keeps it a secret from me until he takes off his sweater in the Winship parking garage last week.  It's all I can do to keep my emotions under wraps!

When Danny shows it to the receptionist and several other people who are in the patient waiting room, it resonates deeply with them.  One doctor observes, "We're all a part of team Martha!"  Wow!  The comfort and support in that room are instantly felt, and my heart if cheered beyond measure.

And to all of my readers, know that you, too, are on my team as I can feel your prayers and love when you write in the comments section.  What a blessing you are!

Collectively, all of us who know the God of all mercies are on the best team one could ever hope for.  Because of Jesus' comfort, we are able to comfort others as He has comforted us.  Lean into Him and trust Him with childlike faith.  Our God will always come through for the good.

Amen!

Election Day in the U.S.A.

 

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ~Romans 13:1

The day this post publishes is election day in the United States.  Knowing that I'll be immersed in my cancer treatments on November 3rd, Danny and I make sure that we vote early, a perk we're so glad our state of Georgia offers.  We vote in person, of course, presenting our I.D.'s to the poll worker and signing our names to further verify that the info we provide is correct.  After the Covid nightmare, no more mail-in/absentee ballots for us!

Our state has several races that will affect our future going forward nationally.  But we also have to choose candidates for our state legislature and local county offices.  Danny and I refuse to choose blindly.  We do lots of research beforehand to we can feel confident about our final selection in the voting booth.  It goes without saying that our Christian beliefs greatly influence our candidate preference.

I'm proud of Georgia for enacting solid, common-sense guidelines for counting votes, too.  The machines might tally our vote electronically, but each is backed up with a matching paper ballot for added security.  That wasn't true in 2020, and there was lots of consternation and confusion about the sketchy outcomes that couldn't be independently verified.  I want to be able, as most citizens do, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our votes are our votes, free and clear.  This way, there's no room for hanky-panky by those who wish to create havoc and suspicion regarding election tallies.

In the days leading up to November 3rd, I'm hearing increased complaints from other states whose voter rolls haven't been purged in ages.  Therefore, there are people registered who have either passed away, moved to another state, or worst case scenario, aren't even citizens of this great nation!  And don't get me started on those states that mail out ballots, willy-nilly, to every address on file.  That's just asking for cheating, manipulation and downright fraud to happen.

Voting in our elections is an incredible honor and privilege and should be esteemed as one of the most patriotic actions we can take.  Integrity in our elections is tantamount to securing our nation's future and protecting the freedoms we hold dear.

If you live here in America, I'd love to hear how your state's voting process works and whether or not you feel confident in casting your vote.  And if you live in another country where voting is permitted, what has been your experience with your process?  I would love to hear about those in the comments.

No matter how you vote, may God in whom we trust continue to bless our nation and shed His grace and mercies upon us.

Amen!

I Thank the Lord for All of You

 

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you with all joy. ~Philippians 1:3-4

The day I post this, October 27th, I will be into Day 4 of my radiation treatments at Emory Winship.  So far, so good!  I did not expect to have any complications this early in the process and am so grateful that I haven't.  I'm sure I'll have more details to add the next time I post.

Danny and I are navigating this process a day at a time and truly enjoying our weekends when sleeping in for him, and taking a nap for me, are sincerely rejuvenating.  I feel like I'm back in the days before retirement when working five days a week was the norm.  Having a place to be each day and a mission to accomplish is keeping us on our toes and on the run.

The time that I would traditionally spend in reading your blogs, answering comments on mine, and getting my daily Bible study completed has been indefinitely upended, but I'm doing my best to adjust.  I think I speak for most of us when I say that routine is everything.  I'm simply having to get used to a new one from now until the end of these treatments.

I did find out, to my surprise and delight, that we will get to "skip" some treatment days because of the November holidays:  the 12th and 13th are for Veterans' Day and the 26th and 27th for Thanksgiving.  I may not be able to enjoy a traditional holiday feast this time around, but I will give thanks and rejoice in just being here.  And it looks like my last scheduled radiation treatment is December 9th.  Hooray!

So many of you have assured me that I am in your thoughts and prayers during these days, and I can't begin to tell you how deeply that moves and encourages me to bravely traverse this unanticipated journey.  I want all of you to know that I keep each one of you in my prayers daily, and I thank the Lord for dear, caring friends that He has seen fit to bring into my life.  You bless me more than words could ever express, but I won't stop trying to find them as long as I have breath.

Thanks for coming along with me on this crazy roller coaster ride called Life.

Amen!

Standing in the Need of Prayer

 

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. ~James 5:16

I've recently been diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer on the left side of my soft palate.  Catching it this early is most certainly good news for a complete cure down the road.  I will be receiving radiation treatments beginning this Thursday, October 22nd, at the Winship Emory cancer center in downtown Atlanta.  It has a reputation as being one of the best cancer treatment places in the entire country, which I find most reassuring.  Danny and I have met with the entire team who will be attending to me, and we are incredibly impressed by each and every one of the members.  We consider ourselves blessed to have this premiere institution practically in our backyard.

However good this news is, there are, indeed, some downsides.  This is where I'm standing in the need of your prayers:

• Radiation treatments are for seven weeks, five days a week.
• The daily travel to and from Emory is sure to be trying even though we can use the express lane of the interstate there and back.
• Symptoms such as dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, chewing, and any jaw movement tend to become more severe as treatments progress.
• Extreme fatigue may accompany the last several weeks of treatment and may last even when those treatments end as my body spends time to fully recover.

All that said, I will do my level best to keep up with your wonderful blogs during this time, but I can't guarantee how I'll feel as the weeks progress.  As for my usual posts, I'll try to give you updates when I can and let you know of the ways you could pray more specifically for the issues Danny and I are going through at the moment.

And don't forget to leave your prayer requests in the comment section here and on any future updates!  Your friendships mean the world to me, and praying for others and their needs relieves our own burdens and fears as we place everything in God's strong and most capable hands, knowing that He has carried us this far and is not about to let go of us now.  Praying is something I KNOW I'll have time to do, no matter what.

Thank you, dear friends, for being the awesome prayer warriors that you are!

Amen!

Picture Perfect

 

Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. ~Matthew 5:48

What in the world is that mound of white scraps pictured above?  Can you guess?  Here's a hint:  I just sorted, folded, hung up, and put away clean laundry in our bedroom.  Yes, the dryer sheet is there along with the ragged remains of a Kleenex forgotten on one of my jeans' pockets.

Rats!  I try to be so diligent when it comes to checking pockets before even throwing dirty clothes into the hamper.  Not only does the tissue get torn up in the process, but also has the annoying habit of clinging to any piece of clothing it possibly can.  Even when I think I've removed every last thread of Kleenex debris, I can be sure that one or two errant strands will show up where I least expect it.

Carrying fresh tissues in my pockets is something I've practiced since I was a young adult.  I recall my dad telling me that I should never, ever rub my eyes with a bare hand, but should always use a tissue to avoid transmitting germs from my fingertips to my eyelids.  Great advice that I've wisely followed.

Yet still, I'll occasionally forget to check and empty my pockets before starting a wash.

I admit, I can be a slow learner.  And I'm certainly not perfect, in any way, shape or form.  Leaving a stray tissue in the wash serves to remind me of that in a big way.  It's humbling, indeed, for someone like myself who loves to "get it right" the first time.

But when I stop to think about it, no one ever gets it right the first time.  Most of the daily routines in which we engage have been practiced and fine-tuned over time to the point where we aren't even consciously aware of what we do to accomplish the tasks at hand.  We simply do them.

And I think that is exactly what Jesus means in the verse quoted above.  When we live day after day in obedience to God, surrendering our all for His glory, we grow more and more like His perfect Son.  What our Father sees now is not an imperfect creation, but a beloved child made perfect through Jesus' loving and willing sacrifice on the cross for our sins.

For me, there can be nothing more picture perfect than that.

Amen!

A "Beary" Good Cause

 

Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. ~Matthew 18:5

Danny's mother, Mimi, loved to collect stuffed bears.  When she passes away in 2019, it falls to Danny to pack up her home and prepare it for sale.  He decides to store her favorite items and treasured keepsakes in secure Rubbermaid bins at our home, in the garage to be specific, hoping they might be of use and value to someone else down the road.

I was not aware that Mimi's bear collection was saved at the time.  She lived out her last days here with us, and I simply forgot that she had the bears at her home.  I'm so glad I didn't recall nor ask Danny about them, as their fate may have been to be given as presents to our three granddaughters instead of becoming a "beary" good cause right here in our own community.

Danny is cruising through Facebook when he comes across this advertisement.

For my non-English speaking readers, the text says, "Bears for Bravery - Teddy Bear and Stuffed Animal Drive - Supporting children in the Emergency Room and Trauma Bay at Kennestone Hospital - Oct. 1st - Nov. 1st - Collecting Donations Now!"

Immediately, Mimi's quaint, pristine bears come to Danny's mind, sweet bears that can fill a frightened and hurting child's heart with light, hope and love just when he or she needs it most.  Our Kennesaw Police Department is the location to drop them off so they can begin their noble mission of health and healing.  We do just that yesterday, and the look of delight on the officer's face is priceless.  What joy it gives us to have so many stuffed bears to donate!

And we can almost see Mimi smiling from Heaven, knowing her cherished bears are bringing courage and comfort to the very children who need them most.

Amen!

Every Purpose Under Heaven

 

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

This is our thermostat on Saturday morning.  Do you see the outdoor temperature?  Yes!  Fall is not only here on the calendar, but in the air, too.  Now, I know some of you who live farther north are accustomed to these cooler temps in September, but in Georgia, it's an entirely different story.  These morning lows are a much more common occurrence in October and November.

Does this mean we won't experience days when it feels like summer has made a comeback?  Of course not.  But when I look at the weather forecast 10 days out, every morning shows low temperatures in the 50s and 60s; the afternoons will see highs in the mild 70s and doable 80s.  Since Danny and I are both cool weather people, this is ideal for us.

Danny takes full advantage of these moderating temps to clean both of our decks, one on Friday and the other today.

Can you tell that the back deck is still wet?  You can also see that the leaves are beginning to fall; these are dull, sere and brown as we've been deprived of decent rain totals through the summer months.  Quite the unusual condition in our neck of the woods.

Other perks I enjoy in Autumn are wearing long-sleeve shirts and sweaters.  I much prefer to bundle up against the cold than endure the sweltering heat.  Cooler weather also encourages both of us to spend more time outdoors taking walks or enjoying time sitting on the decks, breathing in fresh air for a change, and observing the sun's shifting patchwork of light as it dances through the trees.

These last four months of our calendar year always awaken in me a deep nostalgia for days gone by.  So many sentiments and traditions packed into the year's last hurrah - Fall's arrival, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas - all with their own unique scents, flavors and celebrations unrivaled by any other time of the year.  Memories often bubble up unbidden as we prepare for each holiday to unfold.  Perhaps, these "ber" months should be named the Remember months.

That being said, I don't want to simply be content to lose myself in the memories, but intentionally make new ones going forward, carrying on the priceless traditions that we have treasured for years, leaving a bright legacy and future for our children and grandchildren.

Indeed, there is a season, a time and a purpose for every activity we undertake on God's beautiful earth.  May we savor each moment and thank Him for every blessing He sends our way.

Amen!