No Prissy Shoes

THE GIFT
Posted by Linda on Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 6:16pm
It is New Year's Eve. The gifts have all been opened; the wrappings thrown away. Maybe some of those gifts have even been exchanged. But there is one Gift that is new every morning; whose daily unwrapping brings fresh delight and unequalled joy. The Gift that was costly beyond imagination; more precious than any world's treasure; yet offered free of charge. JESUS. To each of us as members of this pink sisterhood, He provides all that we need for this difficult journey. He promises shoes that won't wear out for our wilderness wanderings (Deut. 29:5), and when we need it, even promises to carry us (Deut. 1:31) when the road gets too steep. We have just celebrated Him as the Wonderful Counselor; the Mighty God; the Everlasting Father; the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). But do we rely on Him to be these things for us as we walk our breast cancer journey? I want to. Let's see...Wonderful Counselor...That means I can take my decision-making and choices to Him and prayerfully ask for His wisdom. Mighty God...That means He is bigger than anything that happens in me or around me. He is mightier, so I don't need to be overwhelmed. I can really trust that He is my refuge and strength, a very present Help in trouble. Emmanuel. God with me. How about Everlasting Father? You long to show me Your tenderness, Your compassion, Your mercy. Help me, help us experience that anew in 2012. Prince of Peace. I want to know You as the Giver of my peace, Lord. In breast cancer, as in life, many things try to rob us of our peace. My prayer for this new year is that as we submit to God's greatest Gift, and His work in us, that His Peace, which passes understanding, will dwell in our hearts, regardless of our circumstances. Every day of our lives, for the rest of our lives, let us proclaim, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" II Corinthians 9:15 This will be my last blog post, but I would love to hear from you at any time! Please follow me on my Facebook page for No Prissy Shoes. Blessings, pink sisters! Linda God's love
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O.K....but How?
Posted by Linda on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 5:51pm
There are lots of bad days in breast cancer treatment. Sometimes we feel like the proverbial Job. I wish I could be a little more like Job in my responses, though. I wonder about God's choices and doubt His love sometimes. Not Job. He had some horrific days, and his reaction was to worship God! How could he do that? I'll tell you how. He was steadfastly grounded in two immutable truths - that God is sovereign, and that God is good. All the time. Period. In his mind, those facts were indisputable - regardless of life's circumstances. His security was not shattered because his foundation was firm. That is an enviable position, but not an unattainable one. Because just like breast cancer, it is a journey. A process from distorted views of who we are and who God is, to real keep-you-standing-when-the-rug-is-pulled-out truth. And the best part is that God just loves to walk us from one level of trust to the next, by being faithful in each ordeal! Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in your current distress and He will. THOUGHT: God tries our faith so that we may try His faithfulness. Anonymous THANKSGIVING: "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10 TIP: Chemo is very hard on eyebrows! A powder brush-on brow pencil (like Clinique) works the best on "bald" foreheads. Perseverance and equipping
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Real life
Posted by Linda on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 3:49pm
Well, I'm behind again. Behind in posting blogs. It has been a busy summer - high school graduations; dislocated knees; road trips for book signings, camp and college orientations. Real life. So let's talk about the realities of this life. The down-and-dirty facts of our existence...namely, that we got cancer. How do you deal with that theologically? Does it rock your world that a loving Father allowed this to happen to you? It shouldn't. We live under the misconception that God is our celestial problem-solver, need-fulfiller and wish-granter. He can and does intervene to help us, provide for us, and give us deep and abiding joy. But He does it with a greater, larger lens than we could ever imagine. Everything He does is predicated on His "big picture" vision, and His long-range, comprehensive view. Allowing us to endure cancer had eternal potential for bringing Him glory and drawing not only us, but others into a closer walk with Him. The question now is, will we trust Him to lovingly walk us through this hard journey? Will we fulfill that calling to praise and honor Him, even in the hard real life? Will we get over being mad at Him? Be real with God. He knows what you are feeling anyway. Let Him comfort and strengthen you as you walk this difficult journey. He longs to do that. THOUGHT: "When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer." Corrie ten Boom THANKSGIVING: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18 TIP: Ask your doctor about "magic mouthwash" if you have mouth sores from chemo. It helps! God's sovereignty, our perspective
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Bosom Buddies
Posted by Linda on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 11:20am
Yesterday, I spent the most delightful luncheon sitting next to a well-known author named River Jordan. She was speaking about her new book called Praying for Strangers. She talked about a new year's resolution she had made - to pray for a stranger every day - and the book that was birthed from that daily decision. It reminded me of a remark said to me early in my breast cancer diagnosis. I told a dear friend about my cancer, and she replied, "It's not all about YOU, Linda." It's not all about you. It is very natural and easy to get rather self-absorbed as we walk this difficult pink journey. But God's perspective is so much bigger than ours. Our lives intersect so many other lives, and His plan is to use each of us to comfort others with the comfort which He has given us. So as you are able, spend some time visiting with the other ladies as you wait for your chemotherapy, radiation, or yet another mammogram. Make some Bosom Buddies. Or talk to the technicians or nurses - they each have stories and worries, burdens they are carrying. Be like River Jordan and ask a stranger how you can pray for them. Regardless of how you feel, being a blessing to someone else will raise your spirits, too! So try it - it will brighten your day! Oh - and after you have read No Prissy Shoes, buy Praying for Strangers - and tell River that I suggested it! THOUGHT: "The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer." F.B. Meyer, quoted in Praying for Strangers THANKSGIVING: "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." II Corinthians 1:3,4 TIP: Ask your nurse about taking Claritin the night before your Neulasta shot, to help relieve your achiness. Perseverance and equipping
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Laundry rooms
Posted by Linda on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 10:55am
How appropriate was the room in which I was forced to hide…the laundry room. It was early 2007, and I had just finished chemotherapy, so I had a bald head. Actually, I had a bald body, and I looked and felt like an alien. I was recuperating at home when I was startled by footsteps at my front door, and the ring of the doorbell. So I hid – in the closest room where no one would see me – the laundry room. I didn’t want to be seen without my wig. I felt naked and vulnerable and ashamed. Sometimes I hide in God’s spiritual laundry room, too. I don’t like to admit my brokenness to Him. I try to pretend that my natural clothes aren’t tattered and threadbare. But He longs to tenderly cleanse my shame and replace my filthy apparel with glistening white garments. I want Him to do that for me this Advent. No more posturing. It’s time to be real. So, in that obedience, I’m going to kneel before Him, and ask that He cleanse me and dress me in His sanctified-Sunday-best so that I will be arrayed to meet my new King this Easter, unashamed. Because He is coming, and I am expected to be ready. THOUGHT: "There is no condemnation in My Presence, for I view you robed in My righteousness. Savor the delightfulness of your guilt-free existence in Me." Sarah Young THANKSGIVING: "Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life." Psalm 52:7, 10 (The Message) TIP: When storing your wig at night, turn it inside out! Perseverance and equipping
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