It's been a while....and this I know.

Whew.  It has been a while...long enough that I had to ask my husband how to find my blog again.  :)  Kind of half kidding...I was just thinking out loud and he reminded me what it is called.  My brain has been on different matters recently.

During the past couple months, we spent countless hours at the pool while making new friends, drove over 4,000 miles to hug family we hadn't seen in too long while also meeting some relatives for the first time, I spent a glorious weekend with dear friends and zero parental responsibilities, and drove another 1,000 miles to the mountains for an amazing week of family camp.  I think it's pretty amazing that all of this happened despite what kind of shape I was in last winter.  God is good.

The first thing I learned this summer:  (I mean really learned.)  That God likes me.  I always knew that He loves me, but I really, truly understood that He actually likes me, too.  :)  I'm not sure if you can relate, but it is very possible to love someone while at the same time not quite liking them....that sounds harsh (and there may be some that can't relate to this at all...skip to the next paragraph, please :)), but it's a true phenomenon.  And to a certain degree, I always knew God loves me because, well, He's supposed to - He's God and I'm His kid (Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so...), and that's what you do when you have a kid, right?  But deep down, I may have wondered at times, if He actually delighted in me...in other words, 'do I make Him smile?'  Yet one thing after another happened - little things and big things ( lining up with what I happened to be reading in the bible about how He regards us as His inheritance...because He loves and likes us that much!!!) - that it almost seemed like He kept whispering to me, 'do you know how much I enjoy you?'  And that's what relationship with Jesus is like.  You can believe in God and still not have a relationship with him...but a relationship with you is what the God of the Universe desires.  Because He likes you that much.

Second, cancer does not define me.  It sure did a number on me last winter, is definitely part of my story and I have the scars to bear, but it does not nor will ever be what defines me.  My scars are kind of lame (can't say I fought off a shark or something like that), they still hurt a bit and there are a bunch, but they don't define me.  His are the scars that define me.  The only scars worth anything in my opinion are of the ones who died for me on the Cross because again...He likes me.  During our week in Colorado I started to let go of my physical scars and shame...it's a work in progress, but the scars have no hold over me.

And third, it's in the storms that we draw closest to Jesus.  Last winter was a big storm in our lives.  I admit it's left me a bit gun shy and nervous about this fall....I have my big CT/PET scan coming up soon and probably three more surgeries/procedures (oh, and did I mention a dental appt???  I absolutely dread going to the dentist.).  Yet, it was during that crazy storm where I saw one God sighting after another.  It was during that storm that I saw the angel.  The warrior angel.  And though I would never have willingly chosen to weather that storm, I would never trade what I learned about Him.


We've got a full fall lined up....to include teaching more classes, possibly attempting a low key sprint triathlon at the end of September (depending on when my surgeries are) and praying for clear CT/PET scan results (thank you Lord, that it will be clear!).

The next nutritional topic that I wanted to mention was about fat.  The good fats that your body thrives on and the bad, inflammatory ones to kick to the curb.  In the spectrum of how interesting I think fat is, it falls somewhere between MTHFR, micronutrients and the microbiome....in other words, I really like learning about fat.  :)  stay tuned for more on that.....

But on a more serious note, and the main reason I wanted to write another post is that we have been asking folks to pray for a little 4 yr old boy named Justus.  We know his family through a few degrees....they were very involved with Young Life and wrote a book called Going Public which really helped us in our decision regarding public school vs continuing to homeschool, which obviously ended up being a huge grace for us.  Justus has been in the hospital for going on 21 days with viral encephalitis and is still in an induced coma.  We can only imagine what an intense storm this is for his family.....his grandfather has been posting daily updates on his status and how to pray.  Please take a moment to read about him here and their God sightings and prayer requests.  Recently, two well known members joined TeamJustus!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/743508859110720/  Please join in praying for TeamJustus!