abandoned to Christ.

Hello precious sisters!

A little over a month ago, I asked you for your fervent prayers and sacrificial giving to participate in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) in honor of my dear friend and sister in Christ, Laurie.

First, I'd like to thank all of you for your prayers and also for registering as a bone marrow donor with the NMDP.

Second, I'd like to share some FABULOUS news with you! I just found out several days ago that a sweet, precious 19 year old young lady is a near perfect match for my darling Laurie! We don't know when all of this will happen yet, but we are so grateful and so in awe of God's provision!

Here's the email she sent out:

My transplant doctor called this morning to tell me....

THEY FOUND A DONOR FOR ME!!!!!!!

It is CONFIRMED!!!!!

I will be going to meet with my oncologist on Sept. 11th to be first phlebotomized (draining of my blood because of the Polycythemia).... but we will be discussing the other more important news that I received this morning... all I know that this will all be happening before the end of the year!!
God is great and He does DELIVER precious people into our lives.. close by or from afar... I will not be allowed to know her unless she wants to know me a year after this procedure. Please pray for her health as she puts her own little body through so much to help a stranger... All I know about the donor angel is that she is a 19 year old female who matched 6 out of my 6 preliminary screenings... and has matched just shy of my more thorough screenings that have already been completed. (my sisters matched only 3 out of 6 to give you an idea how perfect she is!)
This all will be happening for her and I before the end of the year .. here is a great web site of details of "what to expect" Click here: Bone Marrow Transplant Information
I will keep you in the loop if you would like ... but I may not know anything else until... hmmm... I find it out!! ;o)
I love you all and I thank you for all your endless prayers and I praise Him ever day for what He has shown me during this journey and the roads that lie ahead... i hope from my experience a lesson of how precious one's life really is, is learned.
I know after reading this web site.. it will be a hard journey.. please continue to lift my family up in prayer.. our struggles that lie ahead of our separation as I recover in a hospital for a few months, my children for their own limited knowledge of this experience.. and the year it will take for my body to recover.. until I can return to my own feel-good self. Continued prayer for my mom, sisters and most importantly my husband who has been my rock that this journey may not be over just yet - but we continue to grow and educate our children the importance of family and friends and knowing that things will be okay.

She's got amazing faith doesn't she? What a blessing it is that God would grant me the privilege of calling her my friend! Below is a picture of her family. Aren't they just beautiful?

rejoice & pray with me,

There are many four letters words that can change the meaning or things. Like when you've watched a wonderful movie and then...suddenly, there it is...that four letter word that just messed it all up! And you think, "Now why did they do that?! It was a GREAT movie and they had to go and put that in there! That word didn't make the movie better! It made it bad! What a way to ruin a good movie!"

I hate when that happens. And to think, it was over a very small four letter word.

We often seem to look over the little things like that in our lives, don't we? I know I do! I'm always waiting for and looking for God to "give me a sign". I'm always looking for the parting of the Red Sea in a difficult situation or the pillar of cloud by day to follow and a pillar of fire by night to comfort and protect me in my fears.

"And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Him they asked Him to show them a sign from Heaven. He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. And evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah."
~ Matthew 16:1-4

In this passage, the Pharisees and Sadducees were testing Jesus and wanting Him to prove that He truly is the Messiah and they can trust everything He says. Jesus' response to them was that they were evil and adulterous to even ask Him such a thing. And here, dear sisters is where I found myself this morning. Evil and adulterous. Evil by asking God to do something that would only make me feel better, but would not necessarily be beneficial to anyone in the situation nor with the focus of pleasing Him or bringing Him glory. And adulterous because I choose to worship what my eyes can see over believing and trusting in all that He has said and I know to be true.

Jesus knows when we're most tempted to sin...it's often when we can't "see" the outcome. It's the "not knowing" that causes us to fear instead of trusting God and standing firm upon His truth - His spoken Word. And sometimes, it's just that we're just skimming through His Word, and not really meditating on it...so we miss this simple, teeny, tiny, four letter word that changes EVERYTHING! And what is this word? It's WITH.

"Then He said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with Me."....And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, 'So, could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
~ Matthew 26:38 & 40-41

Can you imagine? The King of kings, the LORD of lords, the Alpha and Omega invites us to watch WITH Him, to pray WITH Him. And why does He give us such an incredible honor? So that we do not fall into temptation. Jesus didn't command His disciples to pray for Him, He said, "pray for yourselves". I often forget this simple truth: God does not need me or anything from me. He is God, I am not. But He's given us a powerful gift -- prayer -- the ability to be WITH Him, abide IN Him and live THROUGH Him.

So today, I'm committed to be abundantly satisfied to be WITH my Savior, without requiring any signs or miracles to prove that He is worthy of my trust, devotion and love. After all, He IS, the Great I AM. Besides, is there truly any better place in all creation to be, than WITH JESUS? I know for certain there is not.

Will you join me dear sweet sisters and be WITH Jesus today? Just be, nothing more. For God calls us human-beings, not human-doings.

in awe to be WITH Jesus,

Today at "Live Well Wednesdays" our precious sister Darlene continues to bless us with fabulous, fun and creative ways to lose weight by honoring God first in our lives! I just LOVE that about her! Please be sure to visit her today to read her post as well as others who are participating in "Live Well Wednesdays".

Like Darlene, I LOVE to garden! And it is definitely a wonderful way to have some sweet, sweet quiet time with the Lord, as it seems I can hear Him better when I'm in the midst of His beautiful plants and flowers! But as she stated, winters-a-comin' so we gardeners have gotta get goin' out of our gardens and IN some where else to stay fit.

Darlene has a fun and creative way to do that....but you'll have to go visit her post to find out what it is! *wink* *wink*

For me, well, it may not sound too exciting, but necessary....can I get a drum roll please?

It's, it's.......HOUSEWORK!!!! Yes, what you've all been waiting to hear and I'm sure long to do each day! I know you dream about housework because you love it so much! I sure do! NOT!!!

Okay, the truth is, I don't mind housework and I do very much enjoy when it's done (I LOVE a clean house, it's so satisfying!), but I certainly do not dream about it. :-)

Just in case you're wondering, refer to the table below to review the stats on how many calories you can burn doing housework :

**The numbers listed are determined for a person who weighs 160 lbs. and involve themselves in each "chore" for 30 minutes. People who weigh more than 160 lbs. or work longer than 30 minutes will burn more calories than noted.**

Playing with Kids	192 calories
Cooking	96 calories
Mopping	112 calories
Dusting	120 calories
Grocery Shopping	190 calories
Making a Bed	94 calories
Ironing Clothes	190 calories
Vacuuming	196 calories
Washing dishes	144 calories

The thing that inspires me so much about this is that the ordinary always becomes extraordinary when given to the Lord. Everyone LOVES a clean house, but not everyone loves to clean one. Everyone LOVES to be believe they're right with God, going to Heaven and have a clear conscience before the Lord our God. But not everyone wants to repent (confess your sins, hate them, turn to God and love Him and all His ways) and get their hearts clean. Both are "dirty work"....but someone's gotta do it!

So, I propose to you today a different perspective on housework, that will not only benefit your body, but your spirit as well. Don't look at your housework as a mundane and necessary chore, like the world does, but look at it with the perspective of Heaven, as a child of God would.

As you clean your house today, pray (Psalm 139:23-24 and Psalm 19:14) and get your heart clean as well! Not only will you burn physical calories, but you will be burning away the chaff of your spiritual burdens as well!

No wonder God had King Solomon write in Ecclesiastes 3:13:

"Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil -- this is God's gift to man."

So will you join me in taking pleasure in all our toil today? A clean house and a clean heart....ahhhh, what a beautiful pair!

cleaning house and heart today,