5 years Cancer Free

I took my last dose of radiation and was declared "in remission" 5 years ago today. 5 years. Goodness, that's a long time.

They say if you make it 5 years cancer free, you are considered "cured." Cured sounds really good to me. I don't see Doc for a few more weeks, so it isn't OFFICIAL yet, but I feel fine, my voice is fine, and I have no reason to think that he will find anything questionable when he looks at my cords in a few weeks. So, I'm  going with "cured."

I remember so vividly asking God to walk with me through the valley when I was diagnosed the second time. I remember how frightening the unknown was. I remember how my heart sank when they told me that the radiation would cause me to completely lose my voice and "we hope that it will come back." I remember hating this road. I remember asking God "Why?" and not getting any answers. I remember thinking that it was terribly unfair to ask me to travel this road twice. I also remember asking God to use my situation to bring about something good. And he did. Because of that, I am thankful that I had cancer. It's one of the best things that happened to me.

I learned so much about myself and about God and my relationship with Him when I was in that valley. I learned that I am strong. I learned that God is trustworthy. I learned what it means when we say "God's plans are bigger than ours." I learned that God will allow pain and suffering and that His ultimate goal is not for us to be "happy."

Most importantly, I learned that sometimes things just stink. Honestly, there is nothing "good" about having cancer. When things stink we have some choices to make. We can wallow in the stink and be all "poor me" or we can suck it up and say "ok, this stinks. Use me so that something good will come out of it." When I don't focus on me and focus on what God is doing in the middle of the stink, well, I get to see Him work....and THAT's amazing. When we focus on what God's doing in the middle of our stinky situation and when we seek to be in the middle of what He's doing we are able to look back on the stinky bad situation and say "this really amazing thing happened when..."


Hugs!
K


 

Let Your Light Shine

Please join me today at www.leahadams.org on her Sharing Life series. Super excited about what Leah is doing on her website on Fridays. Please join us as we Share Life.

 

We all go through periods of time when our light flickers a bit. If we aren’t careful, our light fades so much that people think it has gone out completely.

Is that because there is no light left in us?

No, just like the lamp in my living room, our light won’t shine if we are unplugged! Every time my light has dimmed, I’ve been unplugged from the source of power that makes me shine. Every time, without exception, I have distanced myself from God, and, just like the lamp, I can’t shine without being connected to the power source.


Continue reading here

What does Commitment LOOK like?

Ask me anything you want about diet, health, losing weight, and exercise and I will know the answer.  I know all the rules, benefits, and drawbacks to all the most popular diets. I know exactly how many calories I should consume in a day. I can tell you how many points are in any given meal. I can tell you how to build muscle, burn fat, get lean, and get skinny. I know the proper way to lift weights, which muscle groups to work together, how long to rest, and what to eat/drink after a workout. I can give you a detailed breakdown of what to expect when you fast, and discuss at length the benefits of the practice of  Intermittent Fasting. I can have an intelligent conversation with anyone at anytime about nutrition, exercise, dieting, and overall health. I have studied it at great length. I've been a member of a gym for over 15 years. The membership I have gives me access to 3 gym locations so that I can workout no matter what part of town I am working in on any given day. I don't bother with these new pop-up gyms with the fancy commercials. "My" gym is full of meat head body builders. The pool is designed for swimming laps (not sunbathing). The air is filled with the sounds of clanging weights, and smells like... sweat and chlorine. There is a Physical Therapist on sight, but it does not have a spa.

 

Annnnnnd

 

I am 80 pounds overweight. That's no exaggeration. I am 5'9'', 43 years old, and I weigh 240pounds. My "normal" healthy weight is 160. Do the math. 80 pounds. Now, everything I told you about what I know about health and fitness is absolutely true and also not exaggerated. I KNOW how to be healthy, fit, and trim. I have all the tools at my disposal to be completely in shape.

 

But I don't apply any of it. I KNOW what to do...but I do the opposite. I WANT to be in shape, but I don't DO anything to make that happen.

 

I am bearing my soul, being brutally honest, and offering up my greatest insecurity for one reason... change the focus from exercise, health, and dieting to Church, Christianity, and Jesus.

 

I know too many people who can quote scripture, have been a member of a church for years, are on committees, do mission work, can give you the long list of the sins of the world, can tell you all the reasons God isn't pleased with you and the ways you need to clean up your life. They can give you links to sermons on You Tube, post scripture on their Face  Book and tweet encouraging thoughts throughout the day but there is no tangible evidence of Jesus in their lives. They are no different than me and the whole gym, exercise, diet situation.

 

The Fruit of exercise and healthy diet is excellent blood pressure, strong muscles, healthy heart rate, good cholesterol, good circulation, healthy skin, low body fat, strong bones, and a trim figure. The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

 

If I am committed to the things that I know will make me healthy, it will be obvious to anyone who sees me. It will be obvious that I am someone who takes care of her body. People will see it. I won't have to tell them that I am fit. It will be obvious. Same with a being Christian. If I am committed to following Christ, Committed to submitting to His Lordship, then it will be obvious to anyone who sees me. My life will be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit. I wont have to tell them that I am a Christian...they will know, by my fruit.

 

Now, just seeing that I am healthy will not make someone else healthy. I will have to invest time with them and help them along to become healthy. I will need to walk with them as they work toward becoming obviously healthy themselves. Same with a Christian. Just seeing that I am a Christian is not going to make someone else a Christian. I will need to invest time with them to help guide them as they get to know Christ. I will need to walk with them, guide them, encourage them and challenge them and they become obviously Christian themselves.

 

I know too many people who say about Church the things that I say about diet and exercise...

"I'm not getting any results"

In almost every case, their commitment to their relationship with Christ is much like my commitment to diet and exercise...they KNOW what to do, but they aren't committed to actually DO it.

 

In both cases, you don't get the full benefit unless you are 100% committed. 

 

 

I struggled with this month's post at Internet Café Devotions. I've been challenged recently with questions from people trying to make sense of how our God, who is defined by Love, would justify allowing "good" people to suffer...and why He would seem to bless "bad" people. It's hard for us to wrap our brains around.
So many things come to mind when I think about the apparent "unfairness" of God, namely the whole concept of Jesus and His Crucifixion and Resurrection, which we base our entire faith on. I cannot understand why God would sacrifice Jesus for those horrible people who screamed for His death, who mocked Him and spat on Him and beat Him and killed Him, but I am so thankful that He did...because in doing so, He also provided Salvation for me.
Even so, it seems somewhat "off" to say that God would intentionally allow His people to suffer...but again, so many things come to mind...Paul's life, The Disciples' lives, Job, and verses like "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8) and "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).
So, here are my thoughts, encouraged by my sweet friend Shellie, on

Why do “good” people suffer while “bad” people prosper?

 

 

Recently, a co-worker gave me a wonderful perspective on this dilemma.
Maybe the seemingly unfairness of “bad people” appearing to be blessed while “good people” suffer is evidence of God’s love for those who do not know Him.
MAYBE He is allowing unsaved people to be blessed now because HE truly understands how terrible hell is and knows that their eternal fate will be horrendous.
MAYBE  He knows that the only joy they will have will be in this life and so He, in His abounding love, allows them joy and success here on earth.

Continue reading at Internet Café here