All clear on the doctor front...

My oncology visit went well and uneventfully today. Thank you to those who have been praying for me!

My adrenal adenoma has not changed, so I am hoping that means no further follow-up there. I am on "regular maintenance" which apparently means another doc visit in three months, and a breast MRI in 6 months. (I HATE that test...)

Now I have a little break until my regular physical in about 3 weeks. Seems to never end...

God's perfect timing

Today as I walked in the back yard beneath the blossoms of the apple and pear trees, the air was alive with birds chirping and bees buzzing. It was a lovely reminder that Spring has sprung, and that God's timing is perfect in all things. Winter is over and Spring is here. And Winter was not too long, after all.

Another reminder of God's perfect timing today was a lovely tea I was able to have this morning with a young mom. She is the daughter of dear friends, and I had the privilege of watching her grow up in our church. But what a privilege to see her today: mature in the Lord, an excellent wife and mother, and as sweet-natured as ever. What a treat to spend a little time with her and see the fruit of her parent's love and God's calling in her life! And we talked a bit about blogging. You see, she is also among those who find catharsis in processing their lives through writing for others to read in the blogosphere. You can read her words here, though she is in the middle of a move, and may not write much at the moment! She talks honestly and movingly of the struggles and blessings of following the Lord in a fallen and broken world. And she has adorable children to boot.

And speaking of God's perfect timing, I am off to the oncologist tomorrow to obtain CT-scan results and discuss life. I'd appreciate your prayers.

On the road again...

Some of you have asked recently if Tim is still running. I am happy to say that he is! After a rather tragic final season of track last Spring, he was plagued by injuries (things like broken toes), and pretty busy with getting married, moving, and starting a new job. The last few months he has settled into something I never thought I'd see him do: rising early at 5 AM to run! That is a necessity as Tuscon summer arrives with its heat. So Tim is once again running and training and setting goals. We'd appreciate your prayers that the Lord would bless his endeavors, and keep him injury-free for a while!

Whatever happened to Sundays with Jean?

Well, the reading and marking of wonderful quotes through Calvin's Institutes continues on schedule, but I have been Providentially hindered from posting those quotes the last few Sundays. And today I am in the airport with my dh, heading on travel with him for a few days. Jean is with us, but he is in my suitcase, which is checked. If I had him with me, now would be a lovely time to post some quotes, but instead, I'll just offer this lame excuse...

My least favorite book of the Bible...

Does it seem slightly blasphemous to have a least favorite book of the bible? There are books that are hard to read because their content is convicting (like James) and there are books that are hard to read because I don't understand their context as well as I wish I did (I'm thinking of Jeremiah, or many of the minor prophets. But then there are books that are just hard to read. The one I always struggle with is Leviticus. It is long, repetitive, and has to do mostly with the ceremonial law which Christ fulfilled and which is no longer incumbent upon me. So, whenever I hit Leviticus in my regular reading, it is tough going for me. In my two year reading program, which I have basically been keeping up with, I have suddenly found myself a full 14 chapters behind!

So today, as the snow melts from our Spring snow yesterday, I am trying to catch up in Leviticus. And as I do, I am asking myself, "What does God want me to see here? What is He telling, not just Old Testament believers, but me as well?" And here are a few of my thoughts.

*God is a specific God. He is not an "anything goes" God. And when I am an anything goes gal, I'd better be careful.

*God is serious about sin. I am far less serious about sin than God is, and when I am justifying my sin, or can't even think of what my sins are, I am on dangerous ground.

*God is so serious about sin, and so holy, that he even requires payment for the sins that are committed unknowingly. When I think about my sins, if I committed them without knowing I was committing them, I tend to think that is a good excuse for God to sort of wink at me, and remind me to do better next time. But no, God requires the shedding of blood for the remission of all sin-- that I do knowingly, and that I do without realizing it is sin.

*Praise be to God that Jesus shed his blood once and for all, for every one of my sins. It is not that God no longer cares about those sins mentioned in Leviticus, but that Christ has satisfied the justice and holiness of God.

Not All the Blood of Beasts by Isaac Watts, 1709
Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace
Or wash away the stain.

But Christ, the heav’nly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.

My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While, like a penitent, I stand,
And there confess my sin.

My soul looks back to see
The burdens Thou didst bear
When hanging on the cursèd tree,
And hopes her guilt was there.

Believing, we rejoice
To see the curse remove;
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing His bleeding love.

Softball and beauty

On the left, you will see my young friend, M. I was invited to watch her play softball yesterday, and since the game was near my home, I thought I'd head over to watch. Now, I am not naturally a softball fan. I don't believe I have ever watched a softball game, and I haven't played in one since high school, and even then, it was never willingly. When I did play softball, I tried to place myself in the spot least likely to draw a ball towards me. Not so with M.

M's mom is a good friend of mine. She was a pretty amazing softball player in her day, too. Neither M nor her mom "throw like girls": a skill at which I can only marvel. And M. is an 8th grade home schooler, the youngest of 5 children, who auditioned for and plays catcher for our high school varsity team as its youngest member. She has lots of courage and skill. But even more, she desires to play for God. She is nothing short of an inspiration to me.

So, as I watched yesterday, I saw softball from a whole new viewpoint. I remember this happening when I saw Dave run in a race for the first time, or Tim run at Nationals, or our friend Katie throw the discuss. There is an ease and beauty, a fearlessness and grace in sports when they are done well, that is a wonder to behold. I not only watch M, but in my mind's eye I can see her mom out there, and it gives me a richer understanding of her, too. And today, I went to another softball game. I might even have to catch one over the weekend.

Of volcanoes and other providences

This morning I read an excellent post over at The Blazing Center. Among other worthy things, Mark Altrogge says:

We have no idea of the thousands of times God has spared us from falling into the devil’s snares. Let’s spend a few minutes today thanking Jesus for his providence that hems and hedges us in and keeps us from the pit of destruction.

As I read this, I started wondering about God's providential act of saving me and my family from things that would harm or destroy us. Could I think of examples? Well, perhaps the most remarkable family story happened in the weeks and months prior to Dave and my wedding.

Dave was in graduate school at the University of Maryland, studying trace metals in gases coming out of volcanoes (really, people study such things...) and he was very excited about a trip with a colleague from the USGS. They were to visit the newly-erupting volcano, Mt. St. Helens, in Washington state. This was May of 1980, and the colleague was named David Johnston. If you do a quick google search of David Johnston and that date, you will find that David Johnston was the scientist across the valley when St. Helens erupted, and he had time to say, "Vancouver, this is it," before he was buried under tons of burning, hot debris. If Dave had been with him, he would have surely suffered the same fate. But at the last minute, the grant money that would fund Dave's trip along with David feel through. There was great disappointment and gnashing of teeth at the time the funding fell through. But later we saw how God had providentially protected Dave. And Dave was still with some of the first scientific teams to hit the ground after the eruption, in late June/early July of 1980. As a matter of fact, he arrived in Ohio for our wedding right after his time at Mt. St. Helens.

God is always good to us, though we don't always understand so clearly what God is doing. I have a friend here who is always saying, when plans fall through, "You never know what God is saving you from." And that includes powerful forces like erupting volcanoes as well as subtler ones.

So don't be discouraged, Gentle Reader, when your plans fall through, or you can't get a grip on why things are happening. We have a great God who is working a plan for the good of those who love Him, and for His glory!