MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN

These are my parents.  

 

This picture of them was taken Saturday afternoon in Houston, Texas.

You might recall that my mother had surgery on Thursday to remove two cancerous tumors from the left side of her liver.

The surgeon met with us following the surgery.

The largest tumor in her liver is gone.  He couldn't fine it.

The other small tumor he removed, but it wasn't cancer.

THANK YOU JESUS!!!!! 

We are praising God and telling this story to EVERYONE WHO WILL LISTEN!!!  And I want YOU to share this story as well!

It is difficult to live a life of faith.  There will be doubters.  Sometimes you will even wonder yourself.  Trust me, I have had days of feeling like my faith was small.  Even some who call themselves "Christians" will look at you strangely when you talk about praying for God to heal someone with cancer.

I'm here today to remind you that JESUS CHRIST SITS ON THE THRONE TODAY AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.

HE STILL HEALS.

HE STILL SAVES.

HE STILL FORGIVES SIN.

So don't give up friends.  Don't ever give up on healing, don't give up on your loved ones salvation.  Don't give up on Jesus.  His timing is perfect.  Keep praying and asking God and then TRUST HIM!!!!

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR MY MOM!!!!!!!

WE AREN'T GONNA QUIT IN THE MIDDLE OF A MIRACLE!!

My mom has one tumor near the middle of her liver that they feel is cancer, but since last Thurday's surgery was done laparoscopically, and the tumor is so small, he felt it best to wait and remove it when he does the second surgery in April. During that second surgery they will remove the entire right side of her liver which has some small scattered tumors that are difficult to remove individually.

We will be heading back to Houston in 10 days for a procedure to block off the blood flow to the right side of the liver, so please be in prayer for that. 

JOIN US in praising our Lord for His healing Power. 

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

THANK YOU JESUS!

THANK YOU JESUS!

THANK YOU JESUS!!!

PRAISE YOUR HOLY NAME FOREVER!!!!!!!!!

 

We Have An Answer

My mom will have stage one, of a two-stage surgery, on Thursday, February 16th.  The surgeon will remove the tumors in the left side of her liver, and do a portal vein embolization (I had to ask too), cutting off the blood supply to the right side of her liver and forcing the left side of the liver to grow and regenerate.  She will be in the hospital 3-5 days, and then she will stay in Houston another week at the hotel resting so the doctor can keep an eye on her.  They will then send her home for a month to recover.

We will then make another trip back to Houston for the second stage surgery, removing the entire right side of her liver, which is where the small scattered tumors are located.  They feel this is the best way to make certain they get all of the cancer.

I hate for mom to have two surgeries, but they feel two smaller (relatively speaking) surgeries will be easier on mom than one big surgery, and the two surgeries will be more effective at making certain they get all the tumors.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!  

WE ARE THANKFUL TO HAVE A PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD.

Please keep my mom in your prayers.  Pray for safe travels for our trips to Houston.

Above all, thank the Lord for answered prayer.  

This has been a long road, and we aren't finished yet.  But praise the Lord HE has never left our side.  He is in the midst of all this and I know that He is working.

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!!!!!

Decisions Decisions

This evening 50 of the finest minds in medicine will meet at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas.  They will be discussing, among other patients, my beautiful mother.

They will make a decision as to what the next "step" is going to be in her treatment plan.

There is an option for surgery to actually cut out the tumors from her liver.  The surgery is "big" as is the recovery.

There is an option to do ablation.  Which is a fancy word for zapping and burning the tumors.  It is an outpatient procedure with very little recovery time.

There is an option for more chemotherapy.

I am reminded of II Chronicles 20:12.

"For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

We don't know what to do.  This trial we are going through is unfamiliar territory.  

I would ask that you agree with us, asking God to guide the minds of those 50 physicians tonight as they discuss my mom.  We want God's will, whatever that is.

We are choosing to trust Him.  Whatever their recommendation, that is what we will do, so we need God to guide them in their decision making.

They will meet tonight, and they will call Wednesday morning with their recommendation.

Please join with us in prayer.  We continue to ask for healing in Jesus name.  

Thank you!!!

 

We're Back From Houston!!!

I feel as if Down On The Farm has become a chronology of my mother's health, and prayer requests.  There are plenty of blogs out there full of recipes and cute home decorating projects, and maybe one day I can get back to throwing a few of those in around some pretty weighty subjects, but for now, I just can't go there.  And that's OK with me.  I hope it's OK with you, and if you've hung around here this long I hope you will hang around a little longer.   

I KNOW THAT GOD HAS A PLAN!!!!

We got FANTASTIC NEWS in Houston!!!  The tumors have SHRUNK.

LIKE BY HALF.

The oncologist was amazed.  The results were better than they expected and we say 

THANK  YOU JESUS!!!!!!

So we met with a surgeon on Friday and he is absolutely convinced he can do the surgery on the liver (you might recall mom was diagnosed with colon cancer in August that had spread to her liver).  It will not be an easy surgery, and the recovery will take awhile.  

He is taking mom's case before what they call the "Tumor Board" which is a group of 50 MD Anderson doctors who discuss all of the cases, and all of the particulars of each case, to come up with the best recommendation for each patient (this Board meets on Tuesday, February 7th, so specific prayers for God to guide them on that day would be awesome).  My mom is 79 years old and she just took 7 rounds of chemotherapy so she is pretty weak.  Although she has been off of chemo for 3 weeks and is already beginning to feel better and get some strength built up.  We are so thankful that she is feeling good.  It is nice to see a smile on her face :)!!!!

We are "on hold" waiting for a call from the surgeon's office as to whether or not the "Tumor Board" recommends surgery. We should get a call on Wednesday February 8th, and surgery is already scheduled for February 16th if that is their recommendation. And the recommendation will be based on mom's overall health and whether or not they believe she is physically able to withstand the surgery and the recovery.  The surgeon is confident, but due to mom's age he wants to discuss it with other doctors.

Here's the deal.  Surgery is our best chance for my mom to beat cancer and move forward with a normal life.  If you read the statistics, there is a good chance the cancer will return at some point.  But there is a chance it won't.  If surgery is not an option, then we begin what the doctor refers to as "buying time."  There are other treatments, and they are much less invasive than surgery, but they are just that . . . treatments . . . because the cancer is still there without surgery.  Treatments just put off the inevitable.  

WE WANT GOD'S PERFECT WILL IN THIS SITUATION.  WE NEED DIVINE WISDOM.  JUST BECAUSE THEY RECOMMEND SURGERY, MOM COULD DECIDE NOT TO PROCEED WITH SURGERY AND JUST DO THE TREATMENTS.  

I ask that you would PLEASE once again lift our family before the Lord.  We want His will, no matter what that is.  We need to know if we should proceed with the surgery if that is the recommendation.

And while you're praying I ask for your prayers for my beautiful cousin Cammi.  Cammi is 33 years old, a wife and mother of 4 beautiful children, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer last week.  She starts chemotherapy tomorrow, February 3rd.  She needs a touch from Jesus.

I CAN'T THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR MY MOM AND MY FAMILY.  As always, I have days of being very positive, and days of feeling pretty overwhelmed.  I know that God is in this, and I trust Him, but I am human.  I want to take this all away, and yet I believe God has set this path before us.  I want to bring glory and honor to Him.

Thank you for your prayers!!!!

More Prayers Needed and an Update

I really appreciate those of you who keep reading my blog.  If you've stuck with me this long, you must love Jesus tremendously.  And I hope you do, 'cause I have more prayer requests.

Sadly, tragedy has struck again in our area.  A family we know lost their 9 year old son last week in a tractor accident.  I won't go into the details, they aren't important.  What is important is that parents have lost a son.  Two sets of grandparents have lost a grandson.  Where there were three brothers, now there are two.  This family is devastated.  I wonder why on earth this happened, and there is no answer.  The funeral was yesterday.  Please lift the Rush family before the throne of grace.  They need comfort and they need peace.  The entire community is heartbroken.  

A lady in our community lost her battle with breast cancer last week.  Her funeral was this morning.  She was 62 years old.  I don't know her well.  I hope she knew Jesus.  Please keep the Horton family in your prayers as they need comfort.  No matter how old you are, losing a parent is hard.

Speaking of parents, I'll update you on my mom.  After having really a pretty great week last week, Saturday morning we took her to the emergency room with severe stomach pain.  The ER physician ran all sorts of blood tests and everything came back normal (praise the Lord)!    But knowing her diagnosis he wanted to do a CT scan of her abdomen just to make certain there wasn't something there that would have caused such sharp pain.  He came into the room after the scan and said "Good news, the CT scan didn't show any abnormalities in her abdomen.  And by the way, those tumors in her liver, THEY ARE SMALLER!"  The chemotherapy (she has taken 7 of 12 treatments) IS WORKING AND SHRINKING THE TUMORS!!!!  So while we still have no idea why her stomach was hurting (she has felt fine ever since!!!) and I have no idea why God wanted us to spend HOURS at the emergency room on Saturday, WE ARE PRAISING THE LORD THAT THE TUMORS ARE SMALLER!!!!!

We are heading to MD Anderson in Houston tomorrow.  Mom has blood work and a CT scan on Wednesday, and we meet with her oncologist Thursday morning to hear the results of the scan and see where we go from here.  If you recall, they are hoping the chemo has shrunk the tumors to the point they can operate and remove the part of the liver where the tumors are located.  THAT IS OUR PRAYER.  If the tumors are small enough, they we meet with the surgeon Friday morning to discuss the details of surgery.  If surgery isn't an option, then we are praying there are other treatments available that can help.

If you're still with me after another pretty heavy post, then I ask that you agree with me in prayer for God's perfect will for my mom.  We are asking for healing and we are believing for healing in Jesus name.  We know that God is a loving God and I don't believe He brings sickness upon His children.  But we also know that we live in a sinful, fallen world.  And bad things happen to good people every single day.  We believe that God has allowed this to come into her life, and my family's life, and we want Him to use this for His glory.  We want others to see Jesus in us.  This is not an easy path to walk.  As I've said before, we want this "cup" to pass over us.  But in the meantime we want to serve Him and ask that He uses us.  We want to be His light shining in Houston, Texas 'cause nobody is at MD Anderson because they have a sore throat.  It is full of people with a very serious disease.  They all need Jesus.  Praying that we can be His hands and His feet and His voice while we are there.

Thank you thank you thank you for your prayers.  We feel them.   We ask for safe travels down there and back, and a good report. We ask for strength to walk down this road in peace.

Please remember the Rush family and the Horton family.  They need prayers.

Keeping my eyes on Jesus.  I hope you do the same.

He is the only way.

Small Gestures

So Many Need Prayer

First off I want to say to everyone that I'm really sorry I don't post much on here anymore.  And I'm sorry that when I do post it seems to be rather "heavy."  It's been awhile since I posted something that was light and happy, and this post is gonna be pretty heavy too.

On Saturday a dear blogging friend of mine lost her husband in an accident on their farm in North Central Missouri.  In an effort to maintain her privacy, I won't link you to her blog, or give the name of her blog.  However, as I am a person that likes to pray for others by name, I will share that her name is Tammy and she needs your prayers.  I've been married for 31 years, and the thought of losing my husband, well, my mind won't let that thought take hold.  Her husband's death was sudden.  There was no warning.  No way to know that the words they spoke to each other that morning before he left the house would be their last.  I know that Tammy is a Christian.  And as Christians we don't mourn as those who have no hope.  We have the hope of eternal life in heaven with Jesus.  

A week and a half ago a girl that I went to high school with was in Southern Missouri celebrating Christmas with her husband's family.  She got up that Saturday morning to walk her dog and somehow fell down an embankment and broke her neck.  She was 56 years old and left a 15 year old son and a husband.  I hadn't seen this girl in years, and we weren't really friends in high school as she was a few years older than me.  I don't know if she knew Jesus.  I hope she did.  If she didn't, well, the Bible is clear what happens to those who leave this world without Jesus as their Lord.  Heaven is real, but so is hell.  And there is no end to either.

If you're reading this, and you don't know Jesus, and I don't mean know ABOUT Jesus, I urge you to give your life to Him.  Knowing Him means serving Him. It means you live your life trying to keep His commandments.  It means the fruits of the Spirit are alive and well and EVIDENT in your life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).  It doesn't have anything to do with attending church, although if you love Jesus attending church is near and dear to your heart.  It doesn't have anything to do with being baptized.  Baptism without repentance just means you got wet one time.  It means being a doer of the Word, not just a hearer.  It means your life is changed.  Old things have passed away.

If you don't know Jesus, read the book of Luke.  Read the book of Acts.  This will tell you Who Jesus is, and show you how those who live for Him are to conduct themselves.  Knowing Jesus isn't about praying the "sinners prayer" and then going back to the way you were.  It isn't about just "accepting Him," but about forsaking the world and forsaking sin.  It's about trusting Him.  

We never know how or when our lives will end and I've just given you two examples of people I know who have left this world unexpectedly in a 7 day time frame.  If you don't know that you know that you know that if this morning was your last sunrise, you would spend eternity in heaven, then this is the most important thing you will read. I urge you to make Jesus the Lord of your life TODAY.

If you do know Jesus, then please keep Tammy and her son and her extended family in your prayers.  They need a touch from Jesus.  They need peace and comfort for the days ahead.  

I have so many friends who are hurting.  So many friends whose parents are suffering with cancer.  These people need healing.

My mom will take her 7th chemotherapy treatment tomorrow, the last treatment before we head back to MD Anderson the end of this month for another CT Scan.  We are praying for a GREAT REPORT and we are believing for healing.  My mom has done her best, but chemo is rough.  She continues to feel weak and sick and she continues to lose weight.  She needs your prayers, too.

Thank you all for hanging in there with Down On the Farm.  I know I don't post cute pictures of exciting DIY projects much anymore.  Or send you pictures of cows and turkeys.  But with all the tragedy and sickness surrounding so many people I know, and all the evil in this world, my heart just can't seem to do anything else but ask for you to agree with me in prayer for all of those who are sick and hurting.  Pray for our country, and for our new administration.  THEY NEED THE GUIDANCE OF GOD.  God is the only thing that will make America great again.

God bless you all and God bless America.