Can't believe it's nearly another year done.......

This year has been a whirlwind and needless to say I will be glad to see 2008 leave and a brand new year come. Lots has happened since the last post, but then it feels like it's been routine. Mom only has 2 more chemo treatments and then she'll start radiation. Nana has started her weekly treatments and should be finished mid-February. It's been amazing to see how family and friends have rallied around mama and Nana and the rest of us. I am making it, some days are better than others. God continues to stretch me and I know it's for a reason but I don't really enjoy it!:) I am looking forward to Christmas and some time off to spend with the family. Don't take your family for granted, because none of us are guranteed tomorrow.

Here are some pics of recent happenings.

Girl's Weekend to Boone, NC

Homecoming game with Kendra

Meghan's Wedding!!!!!

THanksgiving

Hannah's Graduation

Amazing Song

I went to see Fireproof this past weekend while up in Winston-Salem, NC visiting Kendra, Meghan and Angela. The movie is good and I know will be used by God to help restore marriages. The one thing that really stuck out to me from the whole movie was a song that is by John Waller called While I'm Waiting. The lyrics of this song is my life right now.

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting I will serve You
While I'm waiting I will worship
While I'm waiting I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait
I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

One down, five to go....

Mama made it through her first chemo. I went home on Friday after work and just hung out with mama and daddy. Mama had her chemo on Thursday and had to go back to the doctor for a shot to increase her whiteblood cells on Friday. She didn't feel well on Saturday. She ran a low grade temp and just felt like crap, but no throwing up. She was better today though her and I laid around and didn't make it to church. Nana seems to be doing well. She had her chemo on Friday and I've talked to her for a few minutes today and she sounded good. Dad and I did some small projects around the house. We put up two new light fixtures, one in the kitchen and one in the entrance way. Now we won't hit our heads when we walk through the front door. I did get a good laugh in this weekend, the kind of laugh that makes your sides hurt and you can't catch your breathe. Too bad it was at dad's expense!:) He was trying to find something in the garage in the dark and busted it! At first I thought we were going to have to make an ER visit, but he was fine and thus the laughter began! This week I am heading to Winston-Salem on Thursday after work to hang out with my best friend Kendra! I can not wait. It'll be a good time away from everything where I can just have fun and laugh and just try and forget about all the things going on in my life! Just have to make it through four days of work!!

No words

There are no words for the past week of my life. What we thought would be a simple surgery for my mom ended up being extensive and the doctor found more than we were barganing for. My mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer about two weeks ago. She had a hysterectomy on Tuesday and the doctor found that it had spread to one of her ovaries but her lymph nodes were clear, praise the Lord!! I honestly do not know how I survived each day of worrying and watching my mother in pain both physically and emotionally. Let's just say it's a testimony to how God gives you strength when you have nothing left. I know God has a reason for all of this and we are trusting in Him but sometimes you just want to sit in the middle of the room and yell THIS SUCKS! God wants all your emotions and hurts and joy and I have given Him every bit of my emotions this week. My God is big enough to handle all of this and more. Praise Him! As I go back to work tomorrow I pray that the Lord gives me the peace to be away from my family for a couple weeks. I must put it in the Lord's hands daily. Jesus help me, hold me up, strengthen me, in your name, AMEN.

Lots going on

So I have been very busy in this month of August. I got to spend an amazing weekend in Asheville with some amazing hilarious women!:) We had so much fun and laughed 75% of our awake time during the few days we got to spend with each other. Why can't Winston-Salem and Anderson be neighboring cities?

I love these women!

The next weekend was spent in Columbia attending wedding festivities for Brooke and Ned. Brooke is a friend from grad school. It was so good to see some of my classmates I haven't seen since we left Charleston. It was such a beautiful wedding too. Here are some pics.

This past week has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. Over the past 10 days or so I have found out that my nana has been diagnosed with breast cancer and that my mom has had some test come back not so good as well. Nana has had her lumpectomy and seems to be recovering well. We will find out pathology reports Monday so then we will know what the next step is in her treatment. Mama goes to the doctor on Friday. Don't know why it seems to all happen at once but I know the Lord has everything under control. We don't understand it but we trust in Him.

WOw....it's been a long time!

Yeah, so I have been slack about the whole updating thing. I have thought about it quite often but just haven't gotten around to it! Well, I had a blast in Kentucky. We saw 8 people come to know the Lord and saw many people helped. We also just loved on the kids all week. I ended up helping in the 1st-2nd grade class more than doing the sports camps. I met many new friends which I am excited about!! One of the girls was my age and single so we hung out all week. God knows what He is doing that's for sure. I was worried it was going to be me and a bunch of retired elderly couples, but even though there were lots of them (of which I love and had a BLAST with) God knew Rhonda and I would be on the trip together and be able to start a friendship! Yeah God!!

I've gotten my bridesmaid dress fitted for the wedding I am in in a couple weeks in Columbia. This weekend I am going to Asheville with Kendra (my best friend) for her 30th birthday weekend!! I am so excited! THis morning I spent at church with the children (well 2 of them came) and the leaders of Wednesday children's activities decorating for Christmas in August. We are collecting items to send to a missionary in South Carolina to help in his multi-housing ministry. We got everything done! Shelly and I went and told them we wanted to renew our lease here. It's SOOOO hard to believe we have been here a year! This time last year I was freaking out about taking my boards. God has brought me a long way and taught me a ton along the way. God is good!!

Blessed

This past weekend I had to work on Saturday and on Friday unlike most of the other people in this country. On Saturday morning I was at work and I had one of those good God moments. As I was wrapping up my treatment of my many patients, I had one patient that made my soul smile. See, this patient is a 98 year old little lady who still plays the piano for her church every Sunday morning. She's been asking us to bring the piano in the gym so she could play it. At the end of her treatment I wheeled her over in her wheelchair and let her play. With her wrinkled hands and weathered eyes, she sat there and played hymn after hymn. I thought to myself how amazing to be her age and still able to play that well. Not only the music but her sweet aging voice singing sweet hymns to our Lord just fed my soul. I could have sat there all day and listened, but at last, she had to go and get her some lunch!;) It's times like those that I am glad that I went into the profession I did, so I could meet amazing people with so much wisdom and love for the Lord.

I leave on Saturday for Kentucky for a mission trip. I am excited to just have God time and be able to be used by Him to maybe make the kids' summer a little brighter. Pray that things go well and smoothly and that the people are receptive to His love and His word.

Results

So nothing showed up torn on my MRI. Maybe I need a psyc consult now as there appears to be nothing wrong with my shoulder. Yeah right. So I am glad it came back negative but it is frustrating to not know an answer.
On a different note, it's the Fourth of July and I have no plans. I worked today so it was like any other day with just a little red/white/and blue thrown in every now and then. Hoping to get to Calhoun Falls this weekend sometime to meet Mr. Baylor! My friend Carrie had her baby last Saturday and I haven't gotten to meet him yet! Well, I'm going to enjoy my afternoon and get ready for work tomorrow! Later!

I made it!

So I made it through the MRI without any incidents. I had to wait an hour before the actual test. Let's just say it's not something you want to do every day. It was a bit like a coffin but I just closed my eyes and thought about staying as still as possible so I can get out of there as soon as possible. Besides having to go braless as I walked down the hall to get the test and having my arm fall asleep because my elbow was compressed against the side of the machine, it went well. So now it's just a waiting game to get the results.

MRI

I will be having a MRI tomorrow at 12:30. Be praying I don't freak out and get all anxious in the little tube!

VBS and Wedding

My week has been crazy. Here are some pics from the week.

Slackness

SOrry....I am so slack with the whole blogging thing. Anyways, let's see what's going on. Well, I am hoping to have an MRI scheduled soon for my shoulder to maybe see what is going on with the dumb thing. I am continuing therapy and popping some aleve when I need it. My Aunt Gail has been in the hospital for a week with kidney problems. She got to go home today but she has to return to the hospital next Wednesday to have one of her kidneys removed because it's not working at all and the doctor thinks it probably has never worked. So I will probably be heading to Florence/Bennettsville next weekend. Pretty major surgery so be praying for her!! Mom and dad are coming up this Saturday for a friend's wedding. They'll spend the day with me in Anderson and then we'll go to the wedding in Pendleton and then they will head on back home. OHHHHH....I have been teaching Vacation Bible School all week to a class of 12 1st grade girls. Lord help me! I have been so tired when I get home all I can do to function is collapse in bed and drag myself out of bed in the morning. Things are going alright at the job. We will be short staffed a lot in July/August but I am thinking that's at every work place with everyone taking vacation so I am trying to keep a positive outlook on things. I have started a Bible study with a lady at my church. It's a Beth Moore study (A Heart Like His) and it's been good so far and we aren't even through with the first week yet! My mission trip is coming up so that's exciting. Hoping and praying that everything will work out with this whole shoulder thing. Grrrr.....stupid thing. Anyways....other than a few not so fun things, life is pretty good. Hope this post finds you and yours doing well. Til next time!

Pics from Vaca

Well, vacation has come and gone and soon I will be back at the daily grind of things. I really enjoyed the Outer Banks and just a time to relax and not worry about anything. I would highly reccommend going to the Outer Banks if you like a place where there isn't a lot of that commercial stuff. I head back to Anderson tomorrow and back to work on Tuesday. I go to the doctor on Wednesday. We'll see what he does next. I'll try and post some pics later.

Man it's windy...

So the wind has been fierce today, especially on the third floor apartment building. Anywayssssssss....update on the shoulder drama. I went to the doctor on Thursday. He didn't say much, had some xrays done but nothing showed up. He gave me some anti-inflammatory meds and got me some therapy. I start therapy for my shoulder tomorrow. I have to go back to the doctor the week after I get back from vacation. We shall see what happens.
Went to Gaffney to see Jacklynn's recital. She did good. She improves each year! Got to see the family. This time next week I will be chilling at the beach with the family!:-) I can not wait!!!!! Five days of work.......few laps for cancer at Relay for Life......baby shower...home.......BEACH!!!:)

Prayer Request!

So I don't know how many of ya'll will read this in time, but I have a prayer request. I go to the doctor tomorrow for my shoulder. It's the first step. Don't know that I'll find out anything but just pray everything goes smoothly if ya will! Thanks!

Highlights of my weekend

So this past weekend I really had no big plans and I enjoyed that! I went out to eat with my lovely roommate Friday night and ran into Casey (girl from work) and her husband David. Then Saturday I got my hair cut. It's now more shaped up and doesn't look like a big helmet on my head. Shelly worked Saturday, so when she got home, we went to grab some food and headed to the mall. I needed to go bra shopping. As the women reading this blog, you know how time consuming and frustrating that can be at times. I also go two shirts for summer, so that was exciting. AND I got it all on sale and ended up saving about the same amount I spent. I am loving having a JC Penny near me! Today I went to Sunday School and church. It was senior adult Sunday and there were all kinds of special things during the service. After church I headed on to the grocery store. I ran into Casey again! She said I was following her, but I do believe that she has it backwards.:) I got home and just chilled, watched a little Gamecock baseball on TV, which by the way they won! GO GAMECOCKS!!! Then I went to church tonight for my last small group of the semester. I really have enjoyed the small group. Most of the people in there could be my mother/father or should I say grandmother/grandfather, but they are awesome people with Godly wisdom who want to share the love of Christ with others through missions and I love it! I went out to eat with some of them tonight. They are fun and so sweet to invite me. I am getting WAYYYYYY excited about our family beach trip that's coming up in two weeks. We are going to the Outter Banks for a week, all four of us plus Margaret (pretty much my future sister-in-law) and Maggie!!! Kendra is coming up for a few days as well. I am looking forward to getting away and just chilling with the family for a while. John is going to summer school so we have to squeeze in our family vacation before he has to get back down to school.

It's become very evident over the past few days to me that even though I had a mountain top experience a few weeks ago, if I am not daily seeking and relying on Christ, then I lose focus and start to doubt and go back to my fake earthly confidence. (read previous post if you haven't) I look at the necklace we were given our last day on our walk and I am reminded about what it resembles. Many times this past week I wanted to just scream at the top of my lungs or just sit in a puddle of self-pity tears, but I did neither. Instead I put my nose to the grinder and made it to the end of the week. Christ doesn't call us to just "make it" til the weekend. He calls us to be a light for Him and rely on Him. Christ is counting on us but I often forget I must count on Christ for ALL things. Even the little details of a hurting shoulder or difficult patients. There is always a reason. Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6......................................................

WOW, what a weekend.

This past weekend I went on "Walk to Emmaus" in the New River Valley in Virginia which is in the mountains and absolutely beautiful country. I wanted to share what all I learned and felt during my journey.
This past weekend was truly amazing and so difficult to put into words. I felt the love of the body of Christ like I never have before. There were people all around me there loving on me, serving me, praying for me and they didn't even know me!! I had a glimpse of what the Lord wants of His church, to love and encourage and serve each other so that we may go out and love, encourage and serve the lost in this world. There is really no way to describe how loved I felt throughout the weekend. It continues to blow me away 48 hours later. Not only was God's Agape love shown more real to me, other areas of my life were put into check you could say. When I first moved to Anderson I knew in my heart and my mind that the Lord wanted me here. Come May I will have been here 8 months. Over the past eight months, slowly I have began questioning the Lord as to why He has me here. Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed my job, roommate and Anderson in general but I continued to seek what the Lord had me here for since I always want to be in God's will. For the past few weeks I have really been talking and sometimes yelling at the Lord and asking for Him to reveal to me why I am here or just give me a peace. God had placed people in my life right up to the walk talking about listening to God more than talking to God. How our relationship is a two way conversation. Well Duh Elizabeth, if you ask a question you have to listen! On Friday evening I wrote in my prayer journal and prayed telling the Lord, ok I am going to shut up and listen. After surrendering to Him, boy did He give me an answer fast. Over the next two days, through the talks by lay people and clergy, through communion, through prayer time, through other pilgrims in the walk and through the letters from family and friends the Lord answered me. He told me that I must have confidence in Him to work things out. See, I was asking and searching but having no confidence that He would reveal His plan for me. When we don't have confidence in our Lord, we aren't trusting Him. One verse kept coming to mind.........Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all of your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." I am now trusting and having complete confidence in our Savior that HE WILL show to me why He has me here and I will take that step of faith with the Lord's confidence, not my own fleshly fake confidence, when He wants me to step out for Him through my church, my work, my family, my friends, my community, and wherever else He will lead me in this adventure called life. As I continue to process these past three days and bask in the love of God, I pray that I will grow each day closer to our Lord. I pray this same prayer for each of you. Without Him there is nothing. I'll wrap up this LONGGGGG blog with a quote from this weekend........"Are you standing on the promises or sitting on the premises?"

The good, the bad and the crappy

So let's start with the good. I went to church last night and was really blessed by some of the women in our church. There are two that are a little older than my parents but oh do they love missions. To find people that are about doing and going is always exciting. I know God has me at that church for a reason and as time goes by, it will become even more evident.
The bad is that Shelly my roommate was in an accident this week. No one was hurt, but her new car and the other girl's car. God really was all over her and protecting and lavishing her with His grace. The ugly right now is work. Just about my whole case load is sick and on contact precautions. For those who might not understand, they have to be seen in there room for therapy while I, as the therapist, have a gown covering my clothes and gloves, so as not to get germs on me to spread any where else. Just a lot of junk and crap (literally) at work right now. This too shall pass! I must focus on the good and the blessings because all in all, they certainly out weigh the bad and the crap!:)

Newness

So I am going on seven months living in the upstate. At times the newness has worn off and at other times I feel like I just moved here. My job is getting better each day as I learn more and more about this occupational therapy stuff and the whole time management thing. I work with great people who make me laugh most of the day. If my coworkers aren't making me laugh, then I usually have one or two entertaining patients. I think my roomie and I are getting used to this whole new roommate deal. I've joined a church up here. It's small, but the people are great. It hit me today that there is no more living to the next thing or the next place. Being a student for so long, it's become habit to live somewhere for a year or so and move on to a new place or new dorm. I'm not planning on moving any time soon. It's nice in one way but it makes the newness wear off real fast. I say I don't plan on moving, because you never know where the Lord wants you. So as I try to become an upstate savy resident, I continue to seek what the Lord has for me here in Anderson while I hope to share what's going on in my life on this new blog.