BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

               BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

     While gazing at the beautiful skyline of Houston in the distance, my husband Steve and I felt relaxed, rested and serene. How we got to the setting is a thrilling story, one you must hear.

     The previous day on the airplane flight to Houston I was musing with God, reiterating to Him how much I was anticipating the next brilliant composition He had arranged for us to enjoy, possibly on this trip. The words to a song came to mind, "His mercies are fresh every morning." I began to think how his blessings are also new every morning, his promises are firm every morning and on and on.

     We have experienced many magnificent miracles in our lives and we are sometimes overwhelmed by the genius of His mind in originating the events and planning the orchestration of them so that we are struck with awe every time when we see them unfold.

     On the plane trip my husband was a little nervous about taking another blood test, a chest x-ray and another CT scan in order to chart the progress of the chemotherapy cocktails he has been receiving for the past six weeks. However, he was excited, too, to see Our Heavenly Father's hand prints displayed in such a way that we could not miss them. We are forever in awe of His acts of love shown toward His children. When this event unfolded it went beyond our wildest expectations.

     When making the reservations at the suite hotel in Houston, Steve had requested a particular configuration of the suite we had enjoyed on the last trip which was only six weeks in the recent past. That room was what I would call a studio suite because it was a huge room with two queen sized beds, a TV viewing seating arrangement with a love seat and coffee table. It had a full kitchen and a huge bathroom. The room had served us perfectly and we requested the same type of room for this particular stay.   The reservation clerk had told him that there were other requests for that type of room, also, but that she would do her best to accommodate us.

     After the flight we were picked up by the hotel shuttle service and transported to the suite hotel. At the check-in counter we were told by the young lady in charge that there were no more rooms like we had requested, but that we were getting two connecting suites for only ten dollars more than the price of the studio suite.

     Steve and I looked at each other and laughed in a kind of a Hallelujah laugh, sharing the realization that this was one of God's kisses to us, another one of his surprises that He sneaks in when we least expect them.

We expected something thrilling but we didn't anticipate anything of this magnitude.

     When we entered the connecting suites we were delighted, thrilled and in awe. Steve had his own bedroom and full bath, plus an apartment sized kitchen. I had my own bedroom and full bath. The connecting living room and kitchen area was perfect for us with the large couch and flat screen TV, office desk with Wi Fi connection and a fully equipped kitchen. A shuttered door led outside to an 8 by 16 covered balcony which contained a patio table and chairs and two lawn chair recliners.

     Steve confessed to me that having two bathrooms met the desires of his heart because he was concerned about my ability to get enough sleep in a studio suite because of his frequent trips to the bathroom after consuming the huge amounts of water he is instructed to drink after the tests. Sure enough, the desires of his heart were met without his asking for them. He had his own bedroom and bathroom. I was not disturbed at all.

     I remembered that on our previous stay at the hotel I was intrigued by the huge balcony that I could see from our studio suite, and I wondered what the rooms are like that led to the balcony. Here we were, finding out first hand what they are like, and we were enjoying their luxury for three nights.    
     Previously, Our Heavenly Father must have made note of my curiosity about the rooms and in His generosity arranged for us to nestle down during this trip in the connecting suites. The scriptures say that He knows what we need and desire before we even ask. This blessing was evidence of the truth of that particular scripture.

     We reveled in the evidence of the abundance of God's love and power.
During our stay we spent every morning drinking coffee and reading the morning paper seated at the table on the balcony, also gazing at the beautiful skyline of Houston.

     We both felt completely rested when the three days were over, even though we had to meet several appointments on those days. The layout of the connecting suites was perfectly suited to our needs.

     Yes, His mercies are new every morning toward His children. We are so fortunate to experience His mercies and His blessings, all part of our privileges that come from being His children.

     I know that the joy we had from being on the receiving end were reflections of the joy that Our Heavenly Father experienced in being able to provide such a wonderful surprise for two of his children. Just think, he did the same type of blessing for a multitudes of His other children at the same time.

     It just blows your mind; doesn't it!

CHEMOTHERAPY HAPPINESS

                                 CHEMOTHERAPY HAPPINESS

      Finishing the first round of chemotherapy was a momentous day for my husband. He hadn’t sailed right through it, but he has made it through with some good days and some bad days.

     Many friends and relatives had contacted us to find out how it went, if he got sick, if he lacked energy and if he had experienced all of the usual maladies that afflict chemotherapy patients. In order to answer their queries but so as neither to bore them with minute details nor to speak negatively about the experience, I sat down and decided to write a short silly song describing the events of the past three weeks. When a dear friend expressed sympathy for us, I had quickly commented, “Some days are crappy and some days are happy,” and left it at that. When I began to tap into the creative part of my brain for words to rhyme with crappy and happy, they began to flow readily. This is the song that came together that day:

Chemotherapy Lamentations

Some days are crappy,

Some days are happy,

We have to be snappy

To turn crappy days to happy.

We learned that a nappy

Changes crappy to happy.

We wake from the nappy

A happy Mom and Pappy.

     I sent emails and letters to the inquisitive friends and relatives quoting the newly written silly song, hoping to show the caring ones that it wasn’t a bed of roses, but that we had finished the first course of chemo in a good mood and with some humor.

     The weekly Bible Study that I attend met the day before the beginning of the second course of chemo, and I felt that I needed to meet with my friends for encouragement and prayers. I needed an emotional boost as well as needing a few hours away from the cancer scene at home, though it had not been as depressing as I had anticipated it would be.

    When we all gathered together, my friend Marcia commented on the song I had written and proceeded to tell us about an experience she had had that would blow our minds. The tale involved the fact that she had read to her husband the song I had written to fill him in on what was going on at the Allen household during the chemo adventure. Marcia told us that immediately after reading the song to her husband their phone rang and a friend related something that required Marcia to find a certain book. Marcia knew that she had the book but didn’t know exactly where she had put it. She looked in obvious places to no avail. For some reason the thought came to her mind to look in the drawers in the bureau in the dining room. She did and could not find the book in any of the logical places in the drawers.

     She began to leaf through a plethora of greeting cards that she keeps on hand in one of the drawers to send to people, birthday cards, sympathy cards, friendship cards and others that fit many occasions.

     Toward the bottom of the drawer her eyes fell upon the front of a card that she had no memory of buying. The front of the card showed a dog in a bent over position straining to release excrement. Then in the lower part of the front of the card it showed the same dog with a grin on his face and saying, “Smile.“

She opened the card and the inside inscription read, ”Better to be happy than crappy.”

     Marcia knew immediately who should be the recipient of the card.

     As normally happens at our weekly meetings, we all ended up laughing hysterically, knowing that the card was a confirmation from God to my husband and me, alerting us to the fact that keeping a happy attitude relieves the crappy days of depression.

     We were all laughing at the anticipated reaction of my husband Steve, that he was going to think that the card added emphasis to the chemo song in a funny way. Were we ever wrong!

      I rushed home and gave the card to Steve. He read it and was struck with awe at the miracle of the card, that Marcia had a card in her drawer at home that said the same thing that I had written in a silly song. All he could say was, “I’m in awe.”

     I left home to go to the grocery store, anticipating the new and varied menu we would again have as his appetite came and went, ebbed and flowed for the next weeks. Driving in the car I was musing about his reaction to the card, which was not what we expected when the ladies sent it to him. Then the insight of God came to my mind. He said, “You didn’t know I was sending a message to him; did you?”

     That insight deserved a big, “Wow,” from me, which is often an unusual exclamation of praise to God that I find coming from my lips. Then I gave God another contemporary act of praise by asking Him, “How do you do that? How do you do these marvelous things for us?” I didn’t expect an answer because I know it already. It’s because he loves us so much.

     A miracle? Yes. Almost too astounding to believe.

     A message? Yes. Steve told me that the next morning at the doctor’s office he told a lady who was receiving chemotherapy infusions at the same time, “You can either be crappy or you can be happy.’ I believe God got his message across.

I’m still thinking, “How did you do that, Father?” I’m not really asking to see the working behind the scenes of how it happened, I’m merely exclaiming my amazement that He is able to keep us in awe of His miraculous ways.

     He never ceases to thrill us with the way He works. I just never expected Him to use a pooping dog, but He did and it got the message across.

THE ADVENTURE GOES ON

                                      THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

      The first day of my husband's chemo ended up being a perfect day. I wish you could have seen us before we left to go to the doctor's office for the appointment which was set for 8:00. Even though I had made a chart, a list, and set all the meds out in order on the cabinet, we were like two ants scurrying around wondering exactly what came next. But he got the right meds taken at the right time.
      His appointment with the oncologist involved the doctor's wife, a pediatric oncology doctor, putting the first two meds into the port and inserting the line into the port which was eventually connected to the 72 hour infusion. The doctor's wife told my husband that she had to quit as a pediatric oncology doctor, couldn't handle the emotional hurts from losing patients.
     An infusion pump kit and med pack were supposed to be delivered within an hour after we got home from the doctor's office where he had received the first two chemo injections. Then we were supposed to call the oncology home health nurse who was supposed to hook the med pack and the pump up to the line in the port. That all worked out, the calls to the right person.
     Everything looked like it was going smoothly until the home health nurse noticed that there was no fanny pack sent to carry the infusion pump and med pack around my husband's waist so that he could be mobile during the 72 hour chemo infusion process. She called the oncology pharmacy supply in Tulsa and told them, and they said one would be sent out immediately.
     After signing all the papers, volumes of them, Michelle, the nurse, started working to hook up the pump and meds to the port. She couldn't get the pump to work properly. She and my husband both worked on it, locking and unlocking both locks over and over again, taking the batteries out over and over again, trying multiple ways to get the pump to work. The same error message kept coming up on the contraption. Michelle called the pharmacy supply in Tulsa again about the pump and the person on the phone coached her on how to get it started, which she already knew.
    They went over and over it as she did what the person told her, with my husband helping as an observer/patient. No luck. So the pharmacy supply in Tulsa said they were locating another pump and bringing it here in 45 minutes. At this point I was glad that I obeyed that inner voice that told me to have lunch for us early. Michelle had already been here approaching an hour.
     While waiting for the pump to be delivered, I mowed the front lawn and left my husband and Michelle to get better acquainted, talking about Weight Watchers and kids, etc. The 45 minutes turned into an hour and a half, but finally two ladies from the pharmacy supply came, apologized over and over again for what we all perceived was a faulty pump. One of the ladies began experimenting with it and found that it had the same error message. She took the batteries out, reprogrammed it, locked and unlocked it and, voila, success. The problem was not the pump. It was very hard, taking a lot of muscle, to turn the lock button all the way around to lock it.
     The ladies apologized over and over for the problem. I kept reiterating that the pump needed some alert written on it saying that it is hard to lock completely and the nurse must really use strength to lock it so she could get it started pumping. They agreed to put a note on the pump for nurses and patients in the future.
     My husband was getting a little tired by this time, but the ladies wanted to ask him about the cancer, his operation, etc. Ah, ha, now I was beginning to perceive the reason for the delay. My husband told them highlights, then he told about the surgeon saving his life. I jumped in the conversation (smelly as I was and still in my lawn mowing clothes) and told them about the miracle of the surgeon ordering the CT scan which showed the areas of cancer, about the surgeries, etc., thus saving my husband's life. We told them all about the surgeon telling me about the remembrance of his professor in med school who was athletic like my husband but found out in a CT scan he had liver cancer. So we told them how that memory crossed the surgeon's mind when he palpated my husband's hernia and the nodule in the groin area, and that that was what led him to order the CT scan.
     One lady quickly said, "I know who gave him that thought." I told her that I do, too. They both were thrilled by the story, saying it was a true miracle over and over again.
      I followed the two pharmacy ladies to their car while Michelle successfully hooked Steve up.
      Both ladies raved about the miracle, so I filled them in about the surgeon sending the path report back for a second testing after the path doctor said no malignancy was found. They gasped when I told them that the surgeon instructed the lab on the second testing to test for the most rare cancers because the tumors looked too funky to be benign. I told them the path report came back saying that the cancer, in fact, is a rare kind that only 200 people a year have. I then told them that MD Anderson confirmed it in their path report.         
       The ladies were thrilled again.  Both women asked if we minded if they tell that testimony. They needed our permission because of the nurse/patient confidentiality. I gave my permission, telling them that my husband had told a Tulsa lawyer the same story the day before when the lawyer called to see how my husband was doing. The lawyer had also asked my husband if he could tell the miracle story, to which my husband gave his wholehearted permission.
     One of the ladies said it sounds like they are all going to cover Tulsa with the miracle story. They left blabbering and jabbering about the miracle.
So, all things work together for good.
     After telling some of the miracle story, my husband was rejuvenated when the pharmacy ladies and Michelle left.
     It seems to me that the pump problem was an act of God so that the women could hear the story of the miracles. The two pharmacy ladies left walking on a cloud after hearing about God's miracles in this adventure.
     The wait was worth it! The patient certainly was not injured by it, although he told me that first day of chemo seemed like it was a week long with so many things going on.
     God doesn't toot His own horn, but we can certainly toot our horns for Him. It's called praise. When we tell others about God's miracles, it's like tooting a horn. It's kind of like having a parade for Him because He is so good.
     I'll join a parade for him every time.

GOD WHISPERS IN OUR THOUGHTS

GOD WHISPERS IN OUR THOUGHTS

     Major surgery was scheduled to be performed on my husband on July 12th, 2010. In fact, it was the second one in a two month period. Events leading up to that particular surgery were filled with God-incidences, not the coincidences that strange events are often called.

     A hernia in his left abdominal area was noticed by my husband in February, many months before the first surgery of June 9th. Also a strange hard nodule had appeared in his left groin area. His urologist in a large city advised not to have anything done about them unless they started being a bother to him because they were not serious. That seemed like good news. Little did we know what was going on inside my husband's body.

     The area around the nodule did become bothersome, so my husband asked his primary care doctor at his yearly checkup if he should have it checked further. That doctor set up an appointment with a surgeon for a consult, just in case the hernia needed to be repaired immediately.
     I went to the appointment with my husband at the surgeon's office. After my husband told the surgeon about the history of the two bothersome areas, the surgeon said he needed to palpate the two areas, which he did. It took all of two minutes.

     The surgeon commented, "I'm setting you up for an appointment for a CT scan in the morning. Is that convenient?"

     That was shocking news since we had been led to believe that the two areas were not any problem unless they became painful.

     At the followup meeting with the surgeon after the CT scan we heard more shocking news, that being that my husband had a nonfunctioning kidney and he needed to have surgery to remove a tumor on his testicle, as well as the hernia repaired. The surgeon said my husband needed to see a urologist and suggested a particular one for whom he had great respect.

     After an informative meeting with the urologist, the first surgery was scheduled. That surgery resulted in repairing the hernia and removing the left testicle because of the presence of a carcinoma. More surgery was scheduled later to remove the left kidney, the ureter tube leading from the kidney to the bladder and any other suspicious looking lesions.

     During the second surgery on July 12th, which was anticipated to take an hour and a half, well into the third hour a nurse came to the surgery waiting room, called me into a conference room and said the urologist who was assisting the surgeon wanted to talk to me. They had discovered multiple cancers in the left abdominal area.

     I was expecting to hear that the surgery was over, but the urologist came into the room with perspiration pouring from his forehead and began our conversation by asking me if I knew why the surgeon ordered a CT scan at the initial exam. I was clueless. The urologist said he was just curious.

     Then he proceeded to tell me that he had removed the cancerous kidney, the ureter and its large tumor, also a small part of the bladder. He said he had also removed multiple tumors from the adrenal gland and multiple tumors from the abdominal area. He asked again if I had any idea why the surgeon had initially ordered the CT scan after just a routine palpation of the hernia and the nodule. I became curious also.
     Then the urologist told me that he had to return to surgery since the surgeon was probably finished with his exploratory exam of the affected area. He informed me that the surgeon would be out of surgery to consult with me in a few hours.

     I was shocked at the extent of the cancer, but the urologist assured me that he and the surgeon had done a thorough job of removing all of the cancer; that, in fact, the surgeon was also removing a portion of the bowel because of a tumor on it.

     After another few hours the surgeon came to the surgery waiting room, sat down beside me and told me in detail everything he had done in the extensive surgery, telling me that the "mother" of the cancer seemed to be in the spermatic cord, which he had removed.

     I took the bull by the horns and asked the surgeon the same question the urologist had asked me, why did he order a CT scan at the first office visit?

     The surgeon began telling me his reasoning. He said that when he palpated the two areas at the initial exam that a thought came to his mind about his favorite professor in medical school, one who taught oncology. The surgeon commented that the professor was a tall, athletic, robust man like my husband. He related that the professor began to feel listless and weak, so he ordered a CT scan which showed that he had multiple cancers in his liver. The quick remembrance of that professor is what led my husband's surgeon to order the CT scan rather than just passing off the two areas of concern as normal problems for a man the age of my husband.
     The act of ordering the CT scan saved my husband's life. It showed the areas of major concern, the nonfunctioning kidney, the blocked ureter and the tumor on the testicle.

     I know for a fact that God is the one who whispered the memory about the professor in the mind of the surgeon. Then the surgeon acted upon the suggestive thought that my husband's problems might be more extensive than it seemed. Indeed they were.

     If the CT scan had not been ordered, the cancers would have grown until it was too late for my husband to recover from any treatment.

     As it turned out, my husband recovered from the extensive surgery quickly. Both doctors referred to my husband as amazing, a marvel and the strongest man they've ever seen because of his rapid recovery.
     The pathology report identified the type of cancer as a rare sarcoma of which only two hundred people are diagnosed a year. The surgeon ordered a consult with MD Anderson doctors. The oncologist at that hospital recommended traditional strong chemotherapy, no radiation, and said that the chemo will cure any remaining small cancers. Then he told my husband that he will not die of cancer.

     We know that the conclusion would have been different and it would have been devastating if the CT scan had not been ordered by the surgeon. It was the first step toward saving my husband's life. The second step was the extensive surgery performed by the urologist and the surgeon, being cautious to remove all visible tumors. The third step is coming up, which will be chemotherapy. The chemo which will do the final sweep of killing any remaining microscopic tumors.

     My husband owes his life to God's divine intervention in the matter. God whispered the memory of the professor into the mind of the surgeon. The two doctors assisted in saving his life with their diligence.

     Thank you God for your wise whisperings in the mind of the surgeon.

     Thank you Dr. Robison and Dr. Daniels for taking the time to remove all the tumors, thus saving the life of my husband.

     We can even thank the chemotherapy for being the final gift of God in completing the life saving activities.

GOD'S ORCHESTRATION

                                            GOD'S ORCHESTRATION

     We have experienced the orchestration of God's beautiful symphony of events in thousands of different situations, but we never cease to be amazed at his efficiency and expertise in each and every series of circumstances.
     The situation in the current instance relates to my husband's diagnosis of cancer in multiple parts of his body, the miracles surrounding the diagnosis and the two operations, his speedy recovery from the surgeries, and then the events relating to our trip to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
     We had anticipated staying at a particular hotel in Houston, but we took the recommendation of the patient advocate information and decided to stay at the MainStay Suites. That particular hotel proved to be the right one. It was relatively new, had a wonderful breakfast which is much more varied than other suite hotels provide. The staff was congenial, efficient and helpful.
     Before leaving home my husband and I had talked about visiting Lakewood Church while in Houston because we had had a wonderful miracle experience at the church 19 years previously. Revisiting the same church was not a priority in your minds, just a passing thought.
     When we arrived at the MainStay Suites hotel we noticed a sign that said that anyone who wished to attend Lakewood Church could sign up for a shuttle. That seemed to be an accommodation that we had not expected from the hotel, which also provided shuttle service to MD Anderson medical buildings.
     My husband inquired about the shuttle ride to the church and was told that we should be in the lobby at a certain time and a driver would take us to Lakewood Church. That seemed simple enough.
     We showed up at the appointed time and the driver showed up a few minutes later. He engaged us in conversation during the ride to the church by inquiring about our satisfaction with the hotel, whether we enjoyed the free breakfasts and amenities, whether the staff was efficient, etc. We gave glowing reports to the driver and he seemed pleased. He told us that he, in fact, is the owner of the hotel and was glad to hear things suited us so well. My husband and I looked at each other and smiled, thrilled at God's orchestration of providing a driver for us who is the owner of the hotel.
     The hotel owner, who was acting as shuttle driver, said his part of the ministry of the church is transportation. When he drove into the huge parking garage he began looking for a parking space, which is very often hard to find since the church normally has 16,000 attendees on Sunday morning. He drove to the front of the bottom layer of the parking garage, began looking for an open spot, and noticed that a spot at the very front of the bottom level was vacant. He remarked that it was the prime parking spot and he had never seen it vacant, especially that late in the morning. It was the first spot closest to the entrance to the church. He continued to remark about the miracle of it being vacant, and so we told him about the parking spot angel that we have and that we were not surprised at all about its availability.
     We continued to tell him about God's angels having specific ministries for God's children. He was intrigued, but still amazed at the choice parking spot he had found.
     We followed him to the huge sanctuary telling him about our visit to the church 19 years earlier where God confirmed to me through John Osteen's mouth that I had been healed of cancer. He again was intrigued and asked me if I wanted Dodie Osteen to pray for my husband. I told him sure.
     He told us to follow him, which we willingly did. He led us through the long lines of people who were waiting to get into the huge auditorium, leading us to the bottom floor, telling the ushers that Dodie Osteen was going to pray for my husband. The head usher led us further through throngs of people, pointing out three chairs on the seventh row from the front. We took our seats and gathered our thoughts, amazed again at God's orchestration of getting us to the service in a car driven by the owner of the hotel who made it possible for us to have seats close to the front.
     Joel Osteen opened the service, after which the worship team leaders led the people in worship music. Then he said that their prayer partners wanted to pray for anyone who needed healing in their bodies, healing of relationships or prayer for other needs. The head usher motioned for my husband to come up the aisle to the front, motioned for me to join my husband, and we stood there for only a few seconds.
     The usher led us to a young woman who asked if my husband needed prayer for healing to which he answered, "Yes." Dodie Osteen came over to us, asked where we are from, told us that her husband had preached one time in our town, then asked if my husband wanted prayer for healing of cancer. Again he told her, "Yes." She began to pray for him, commanding that any remaining cancer would leave his body and then she prayed that God will give him supernatural strength during chemotherapy so that he would have no side effects from it. She had no way of knowing that that was a concern, the side effects of chemotherapy. We went back our seats with tears of joy in our eyes and smiles on our faces.
     God's orchestration continues to amaze us. How He accomplishes what He does is a mystery to us; but we are like kids, we continue to say that our Dad can do anything.
    Thank you God for your divine orchestration.
    Thank you for providing the owner of the hotel to be our chauffeur.
    Thank you for proving to the owner of the hotel that you care about small things like parking spots.
    Thank you for the authority you gave Dodie to command any remaining cancer to leave my husband's body.
    Thank you for the word of knowledge that you gave to Dodie about strength during chemotherapy.
     Thank you for your surprises that we encounter every day that prove that you are the Loving Father who provides everything your children need.
     Thank you for surprising us with your wonderful orchestrations.

A BUNDLE OF JOY

                                          A BUNDLE OF JOY

     I've heard of small bundles of joy, meaning newborn little babies who come into our lives to bless us and bring joy. I've never heard of an adult bundle of joy. But my husband and I met one in Houston at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The meeting was a chance encounter, but I told her that there are actually no chance encounters where God is concerned.
     I was taking a long walk on the Sky Walk between buildings while my husband was in a series of tests, and a small vibrant woman who was pushing her walker remarked to me that I looked so pretty in my green blouse. I thanked her and continued my speedy walk.
     Later, after my husband completed the first portion of his tests, the two of us went to one of the many hospitality rooms for cookies and coffee. We got refreshments from the hostess, then we sat in chairs by the door. We had also obtained a blanket in which my husband wrapped like a cocoon, because every health care facility sets the room temperatures low, low and lower. He was freezing.
     Into the same hospitality room walked the same woman who had commented on my green blouse in another part of the medical complex a long way from this particular hospitality room. She took a seat in another sitting arrangement but quickly noticed me in my green blouse and again commented how pretty I looked.
     We exchanged pleasantries about our favorite colors and then my husband joined in the conversation when we began to talk about grandchildren, one of our favorite subjects. It evidently was her favorite, also. We bragged on our grandchildren; she bragged on hers.
     Suddenly we started talking about another of our favorite subjects, God. We shared testimonies. She had wonderful ones and we had wonderful ones. She talked freely in her conversations about God's miraculous events in her life and we filled in with the astounding testimonies of God's presence in our current situation, which was Steve's operation, the removal of the cancer, and the reason for the appointment at MD Anderson. It is the king of cancer treatment centers of the world, as proclaimed by Steve's surgeon.
     The bundle of joy announced that she is a 25 year cancer survivor. I chimed in that I am a 19 year survivor. We had both been treated at MD Anderson. She began glowing as she related the events of her unfortunate ordeal which eventually had wonderful results. I shared my same miraculous results with her, sharing the miracles that God had performed in my life.
     Soon she had to leave the hospitality room for her doctor's appointment for a checkup. We hugged and remarked together that there are no chance encounters, that we both knew that our meeting was arranged by Our Loving Father to enhance the faith that Steve and I already had relating to his tests, the findings and the treatments.
     That particular day we needed to hear the testimonies of the bundle of joy to enhance our faith relating to our current situation. God arranged my wearing the green blouse that attracted her attention on the brief meeting in the Sky Walk. Then He led the three of us to the same hospitality room in the same building, of which there are many, many similar rooms in the medical complex. She took a seat near us before she noticed me sitting there in my green blouse that she had previously admired, after which the sharing of testimonies began. Her joy was contagious in the midst of serious events in the lives of all the people in the room, on the Sky Walk and in the huge medical complex.
     She brought to mind the scripture that says, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Steve and I left that hospitality room with stronger joy and stronger faith. I call it an infusion of faith and joy. The sharing of testimonies does that, infuses new faith and joy into us.
     Steve completed the next tests with a great attitude after the infusion from the bundle of joy. Those chance encounters are like kisses from Our Loving Father. It amazes me how He arranges them, but I'll welcome them every time,. 
     I'm still thanking Him for delivering joy to us from an 80 year old Bundle of Joy. She's probably continuing her ministry of distributing joy to other people in her small Texas town and wherever she travels. She told me that she was a cheerleader in high school and college. She's a cheerleader for God now. Her current team always wins. I'm glad we're on the same team.

STANDARD SETTERS

                                           STANDARD SETTERS

     I always tried to figure out the meaning of the scripture that says, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, God will raise us a standard against him." In my human mind one time I figured out that that standard was a flag that God would spiritually put in front of us that told the enemy to stop right there.
    That's logical and I banked on that for years. Yet, bad things happened to my family and me.
     There were other things I reasoned in my human mind, like the practice of speaking God's written Word and the enemy can't touch the situation. It worked some times but not always.
     Today I have a more meaningful revelation from the Holy Spirit for my husband and me.
     Cancer was found in the entire left lower quadrant of Steve's abdomen. The doctors suspected cancer and had even removed a malignant testicle and sperm cord a month ago. Their intent in the present surgery was to remove a non-functioning kidney and the ureter tube and a small portion of his bladder. They didn't anticipate the extent of the cancer when they opened him up to do their job.
     When we were in the pre-op room waiting for the time for him to go to the operating room, both doctors who were doing the surgery came in at the same time. My husband and I had discussed previously what we were going to say to them. He said he was going to tell them to operate on him like he was 30 years old instead of 74. I said I was going to tell them that they are going to operate on a man who is in the top ten rankings of swimmers in his age group in the U.S. and he wants to be the number one when he's 100. My husband frowned but I knew that, if given the opportunity, I would say that.
    The opportunity presented itself when both doctors came into the pre-op room. My husband was prevented from saying anything because he was taking a pre-op breathing treatment and had the breathing pipe in his mouth puffing away. My opportunity was there, so I emphatically stated to the doctors that they have a man who is not like other men, that he is a champion swimmer and in the top ten in his age group in the U.S. I continued to profess to them that he wants to continue to swim and become the number one swimmer when he's 100.
     They left the pre-op room and headed to the operating room, saying, "We'll do our best."
     When they got into his left abdominal area they found that he had malignant tumors everywhere in the area from above the kidney all the way down to below his groin area. They were up to the job. What they thought would be an easy operation that would take an hour and a half actually took over five hours. They poked and probed and cut and sewed until they got all of the visible cancerous tumors out of his body which took many more hours than anticipated.
     The doctors called him an amazing man and a marvel man because he won so many swimming gold medals while carrying around all that cancer in his body. They were amazed that he never had any pain, never had any blood in his urine. He was always the picture of health.
     During the operation they took out many, many tumors successfully, along with some organs. His prognosis was excellent. The doctors said there was a possibility that he might have radiation that will target the cancerous areas and that he certainly would have chemotherapy, which provides the last clean sweep to rid his body of all the microscopic tumors that were impossible for them to see. He took the news as if it was no big deal.
     While thanking God one morning it came to me, surely by the Holy Spirit who is the Teacher, that if we had not spoken his goals to the doctors before the surgery that they would have seen the extent of the cancer while operating, thought about his age, and they would have closed him back up and told him to have chemo and radiation and he probably would have died in a short time.
     The fact that we set the standard for them, to treat him like his body is the body of a 30 year old, and to fix him so that he will be number one in swimming competition when he's 100 years old, those comments set the standard. We spoke them out verbally to the doctors and they aimed to please, determined to treat him like he is forty years younger than he is, and to fix him so that he can get back to competing in swimming and winning gold medals until he's 100 years old.
     We spoke the standard and they performed the actions that would bring the standard into being. They could have closed him up without removing the large amount of cancer, but they didn't. They cleaned out the multitude of tumors, taking hours of their time to fix him, probably with other patients waiting for their services. The task didn't look too ominous to them when they were reminded of the standard we had set for them, to fix him so he can still win gold medals. They were up to the task and did their marvelous work, led by God's angels, I know.
     We can set our standards low or we can set them high. In this situation we had set our standards really high and the surgeons brought it into being.
     The scripture became real to me by this experience. The enemy had come in like a flood in the form of cancer. God impressed us to tell the doctors the standard that we expected. They did it according to our desire.
     When we speak words revealed to us by the Holy Spirit we are proclaiming our standards every time, and God's working angels will bring the standard into being.
     Knowing that a standard is really a goal or a desire or a wish or a prayer that is filled with faith, it will become a reality.
    My standards are perfection in every area of my life. I'm not standing for anything else.
    How about you?