Prayer Insights/Pictures

Many, many people, from all over the city, state, country, and even other countries, joined together to pray and seek the Lord for my Mom's healing. Thank you.

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5. 

These pictures I found on the Internet give a visual for what the people 'saw' in their heart/mind through prayer for Mom.

The first day of chemo, my uncle prayed for Mom and a picture came to his mind of angels surrounding mom's chair. He texted that encouragement to her, and she was really blessed. That whole day she felt like she was wrapped in a cocoon, actually feeling a tangible peace and comfort.

My aunt spent some time in listening prayer, waiting on the Lord to hear any insights or receive any pictures. She got two. The first was a picture of the Lord turning prayers into heat-seeking rays, targeted specifically to cancer and pre-cancer cells in Mom's body. Her encouragement/insight was for Mom to actively receive those targeted rays, because sometimes it's hard for us to receive, but easier to give. So having a heart posture of "I receive, Lord, this gift of healing. I receive these rays targeting and zapping the cancer and pre-cancer cells, right now in my body, in Jesus' Name." 

(Why in Jesus' name? Because that's his title of authority and position as the Son of God, equal with God, because there is only One God; The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Moses, the Prophets. And His Name is the most powerful; over every aspect of creation.)

The second picture my aunt received was of Mom surrounded by an electric blue column like a huge MRI. My aunt prayed and sensed that the blue (Mom's favorite color) represented the encompassing presence of the Holy Spirit, God's presence, over, in, and around her life, through her faith in Him/Jesus. Signifing that he was working at the micro level as well as the macro level in her life. My aunt didn't know it, but about a year ago, my dad purchased a creative lamp set for my their renovated bedroom, which encluded electric blue columns (shown above) that hang over mom's head as she sleeps. Pretty amazing.  

   

My brother received a picture in prayer of a powerful lion standing beside Mom's bed, guarding her, ready to roar at anyone or thing that would attack or harm her. We know from Scripture that Jesus is referred to as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), a warring King of kings, adamant about protecting His Tribe/His Bride/His People. So we praise God for His tenacious love for His Creation, available to all, and experienced by those who receive His salvation. We must believe and receive the testimony of God the Son in order to gain access to God the Father. It's a full-package, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, gift.

I love how God reveals himself to man throughout Scripture. It's like he's pulling more and more of the curtain back over time. Exodus 6 says that God revealed himself as God Almighty to the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). And then he revealed his personal Name to Moses, as "I AM" or "Yahweh" when he delivered his people from slavery. Later, Jesus, born of the mysterious virgin-birth, from an overshadowing of God's Holy Spirit, so is called Son of God / Son of Man, makes claims that he and the Father are one, and that, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" (alluding to identity as eternal God or Yahweh, I AM, revealed to Moses in the burning bush experience). He says he's the fulfillment of Daniel 7, is Israel's king, and will come again in glory to set up his kingdom, the Kingdom of God, that will have no end.

So the One God, no other gods before me, Only God, reveals another mystery of his nature, that there are three aspects: Father/Son/Holy Spirit, which we realize after the Son becomes incarnate on the earth. So now we have a fuller picture of God. He's like a single-unit family: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Isaiah 40 records to Israel, "Here is your God! . . . His reward is with him." And in the last chapter of the book of Revelation, 22:12, Jesus says, "I am coming, and my reward is with me." The phrase is the same. Jesus is God, he's coming, and his reward is with him. Halleluiah He is good and loves, cherishes, highly esteems mankind. The Gospel, or Good News of Jesus Messiah is an amazing mystery revealed to those who believe.

Thomas, one of his apostles, after doubting says, "My Lord and my God!" The disciples worshiped him after he was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:53). You don't worship anyone but God, or you get in trouble for it. But every time in the Bible God revealed himself to man (like Exodus 34, he revealed himself to Moses) the people WORSHIP because He is WORTHY. One day we will see and fully know and understand. But for now, LORD God Almighty, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see and a heart to believe and follow You, forever.

Another time, some children gathered around my mom to ask Jesus to heal her. It was so precious. "Jesus, please take the cancer away." "I feel like Jesus is just, like he's ready and wanting to heal your mom. It's just a sense I get." "Please heal her, in Jesus' name." They prayed with such expectant and faith-filled hearts. He is ready and fully Able! Glory!

Here's a fun activity: do a Biblegateway search on the words, "Healing", "Heal", "Comfort", "Eternal Life", etc and see what verses, eternal words of the Lord, you find. Ask the Lord to help you believe in His Name and believe/receive His personal word. Ask Him to teach you about Himself or whatever else you want to ask Him. He wants to be found by us. That's why He made us. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7) In Jesus' Name. For His eternal glory.

Mom says, "So many classrooms at Heritage were full of children and youth, from pre-Kindergarten through high school, who, along with their families, were very diligent prayer warriors. James 5:16 says, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." So I want these children to know how much I appreciate their fervent prayers and let them know the victory He brought. To God be the glory!"

~written by Ericka

Praise God in the Highest!

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is [or, the only] one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

"We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done." Psalm 78:4 

Every day, this praise is true of the Living Lord.

Today, we see and taste it! :)

After receiving the diagnosis back in December, Mom's breast tissue and lymph node from the lumpectomy (even though there was no lump) came back clear, completely clear; no cancer.

Halleluiah!!!

We thank the Lord; who created Mom and loves her, who died and rose victoriously for her, and who walked with her every step of the way. And will continue until the end and on into eternity. Every morning of a big day in her treatments, He provided the exact word she needed. Often, the words came from a precious devotional called, Jesus Calling. (Mom highly recommends it for anyone walking through tough times. The text is as if the Lord himself is speaking to the reader with parallel Bible passages.)

Songs of deliverance surrounded Mom as family and friends wrote emails, sent cards, flowers, brought delicious meals, and just loved her. Many of you were also part of the prayer arsenal that the Lord stirred up to fight against this destructive disease, in the Name of Jesus, and we glory in His goodness and power and with-us-ness. We also want to thank the doctors, nurses, technicians, secretaries, liasons, insurance company, employer, janitors, drug researchers, pharmicists, and families of all these people, who served mom and our family so well.

Mom's hair is starting to grow back in. It's really pretty. It's looking peppery-grey-dark-silver, and it's really soft, like peach fuzz, and about that long. Maybe by Christmas she will be sporting curls. :)

The doctor said they'll continue with Herceptin and the estrogen drugs, and let her know July 9 (when she gets her stitches out) whether radiation will be part of the follow-up treatment.

The day I got the text from dad saying mom was cancer-free, I praised God outloud in the antique store I was in and told the cashier the good news. Then immediately thought, what if some families are right in the middle of it? I don't want my celebration to be a challenge for them, because I remember when mom was still getting chemo, some ladies announced their good news, and I remember feeling, "That's great for them, but what about my mom?" That same day, another lady got news that her cancer was back with more of it. She was really in shock and crying, and her husband was, too.

After listening to her, I prayed, not knowing what to do or say, and asked the Lord for wisdom. A question came to mind, so I asked, "If you could ask God anything, what would you ask?" She immediately responded, "To live longer. I want to see my grandchildren." I told her I would pray with her for that.

I went back over to where mom was receiving chemo, and opened my Bible. It flipped to the story of Elijah praying for the widow's son, and my eyes went right to the phrase where it said, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!" The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived." (1 Kings 17:21) Halleluiah!!!! I was so encouraged.

In the New Testament of the Bible, the book of James, written by Jesus' half-brother (same mom, different dads--God and Joseph), James, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says, "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." Just before that he wrote, "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to eachother and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:17,18, 14-16) I went back over and shared the Elijah prayer and God's raising up the son, telling her that I believed God would heal her, too, and would be praying for her.

Back to the antique store. After my outburst, I thought, I'll just see if anyone has cancer in their family and wants to pray for the Lord to heal it, because I'm pumped and full of faith of His healing touch and power from mom's good news, and that can be used to bless others. Well, the lady standing in line didn't know anyone in her family with cancer, but was happy for mom's report.

Later that afternoon, I stopped by the Vineyard church where I've been going, and found out one of the staff girls' daughter was just re-diagnosed w/ neuroblastoma, and it wasn't looking good. Great! Let's pray! (Not great that she has it, but great that we have a good Father who hears and who has compassion on all that he has made, and His Name means Healer, and that's one of the attributes He wants us to look to Him for, based on stories and testimonies in the Bible, and reading all the poweful work Jesus did against every disease.)

Interesting, this little girl's name happens to be Israelle, after the nation, and I've been praying for Israel, so it's double-special to get to pray for Israelle's healing, protection, and deliverance, full and complete. The meaning of the name, Israel, which was given to Jacob by God after they wrestled (Genesis 32:48) is, "They struggle with God and man and overcome." A Nation and People of Overcomers!

Yes, the struggle is there, but praise God, for the victory in Christ our/their Messiah. Not just for Israel but for the entire world, for everyone and anyone who believes in His Name --Our God's Name. It is constant. To the very end. Through any dark road. He is our Hope, our Light, our Salvation, our Life. How good is this Eternal God, the only God, who not only Created us, but also redeemed us and wants, yes wants, to be in relationship with us. That is something to praise Him for!

Thanks for your prayers, your encouragement, your special way of ministering to mom and loving her. May the LORD [Yhwh] bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, and give you his peace. (Numbers 6:21-27) That's a blessing from Israel's God, who is now my God, thanks to Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, My Savior, LORD of the entire earth. Glory! And he is returning, to rule and reign as King of all kings and Lord of all lords. The best leader, ever. It will be like the Garden of Eden restored; God dwelling forever with man. Heaven meets Earth. How beautiful. (Revelation 21:1-4)

Blessings! :)

Mini-Surgery: Lumpectomy / Biopsy

Tomorrow morning, 10:30am, Mom goes in for her lumpectomy.

We're kind of confused about it, because there is no more lump, praise God! But what we understand is that they're going to take out breast tissue where the lump was (marked by a titanium bead) as well as one 'sentinal' (or first line of defense) lymph node; to check for the presence or absence of cancer cells.

It's cool the advancements in technology: through radioactive scans, they can identify the exact lymph node that receives the first waste from the breast, so they know which one to remove to check. 

You know what we're praying for! Cancer free! Clear body, heart, mind, soul, amazing work of the Heavenly Father, wonderful Surgeon, Doctor, great Comforter. 

Thanks for joining us in prayer! 

Mom's hair started to grow back. She laughs about it, saying it's not much, but I think it's beautiful. We'll see if it grows in curly. :) 

Love and blessings to your families', in Jesus' name. 

Victory in Christ, Part 2

So the results . . .

Drumroll . . .

Here's what we heard in the doctor's office Thursday morning, May 24, 2012:

"Everything looks great. The scans show there's nothing. We're going do a lumpectomy, Tues June 19, to remove the titanium marker and scrape around it, biopsy the tissue, and we'll take out one lymph node to biopsy it. You have a lot to be happy about."

In the van ride back to the house, these two, no three scenes I'll remember forever:

1. Pre-Meeting: Mom walking in, her green shirt glittering in the morning sun. The color reminded me of growth, and I praise God for how she's trusted Him through this whole process, and that means a lot of sparkly growth. :)

2. Post-Meeting: Dad, after being pretty intense in the office, broke down in the van and shed tears, exclaiming in wonder, relief, and amazement, "That is great news. Wow."

3. When they got home, my Dad reached across and held my Mom's hand, as he prayed for her, thanking the Lord for His touch and this wonderful news. I wanted to record the prayer and hand-holding, because it seemed very significant to me, but I didn't have my camera. So you can imagine. It looked like one of those cards, where people get married, and they hold hands; two becoming one. Yes, they already are married, but this process bound them further in a very tender and unique way.

http://happyhomeandfamily.com/husband-wife-quality-time/
                                                                          

And I think this text from my Aunt Mary Alice (Mom's dear sister) and Uncle Norman, the one who writes funny emails that make Mom laugh, sums up how many of us feel: "I am so pleased at this outcome. Norman and I are jumping for joy. Love m a."

It's been a very special day to celebrate, May 24, 2012. Thank you for walking along this journey with us. Thank you for crying when we cried and laughing when we laughed. Thanks for being our O'Hana, Hawaiian for 'Big, extended family'. Lot's of love, The Smileys

Victory through Christ Alone

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and his righteousness. 
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. The words from this hymn come to mind when I think about what we heard today in the doctor's office.


(This version is beautiful. Hope it lifts your hearts, too.)

I'll back up. Last Friday, Mom and I went to get her final scans (MRI, mammogram, ultrasound), kind of like a student's 'final exams'. Only these scans would reveal how the full treatment (praise, prayers, chemo, etc.) worked and what she should do next.

Mid-way through chemo, Mom couldn't feel the lima-bean sized lump anymore.

When asked if she should still receive chemo, the doctor said, "Our 'route' is going to Chicago, so we don't want to get off half-way; we'll finish the treatments." She kept going; with her great attitude and kind heart reaching out to everyone she saw, encouraging, hugging, saying she would pray for them. It's been 'fun' too, in a sense, to have a full day with Mom, sitting by her, visiting with other patients, playing board games, listening to music, eating lunch Dad brings in, and receiving amazing care by the nurses.

Along with the chemo, we've been praying, and so many of you have joined in this 'battle cry' of prayers lifting to the very Throne Room of the King of all kings, requesting and speaking the Lord's healing over Mom's full body, and Mom has been 'receiving' those prayers by faith. So, really, it's been double-duty treatment: Faith + Medicine.

Here's another blessing that our wise and kind doctor pointed out, who is one of the most talented diplomats I have ever witnessed. (That's on his business card: a diplomat for cancer happenings.) He said, "You really have much to be thankful for. The type of cancer is triple +, which means that there are three positive ways we can treat it: chemo, Herceptin, and estrogen-removal."

I would personally add, 'quadruple +', prayer and belief that God is our Healer, like he described of himself: "If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees [thankfully we live in the time after Jesus Messiah fulfilled the requirements of the Law, and opened a New Covenant bought & sealed by His shed blood . . . so now we follow the Law of the Spirit of Life, Romans 7-8], I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

I found that verse by doing a Bible keyword search on 'heals'. There are a lot of verses about God healing all our diseases (Psalm 103), binding up our wounds (Psalm 147). And we read about the life of Jesus Messiah: healing the sick, casting out demons, and preaching 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'

He even brought dead people back to life; like the little girl who's parents' believed and said, "Yes, our daughter died, but could you come and pray for her? We know nothing is impossible for you Lord Jesus." Wow, that's big faith.

Bible keyword search: "heals" (www.biblegateway.com)

Anyway.

Scan Day: 
So Friday, Mom and I went to the scans. First: big MRI, where Mom said it was like you're slid inside a round hole, a giant doughnut-machine, and then for an hour, you hear loud ratt-a-tatt-tatting all around, like a jack-hammer. She endured.

Then we went upstairs and Mom got a mammogram, where they press, really tight, flat metal plates against your chest, and it's not too comfortable. She made it through. Then the nurse called her back for the ultrasound and allowed me to come back, too.

As the nurse ran the wand over Mom's chest, a black and white video showed on the screen. The nurse said, "I can't officially say anything." We looked together at the screen, and she kept looking and looking, but couldn't find anything. She could barely find the small titanium marker the docs inserted where the lump was when they took the initial tissue sample for biopsy.

That's right, was.

I felt like God drew back the curtains to show me a peek at what He had been accomplishing in Mom's body, and what we (everyone) had been praying and cheering for: complete healing in Jesus' Name.

Back in January, when Mom got the call from the nurse, saying the biopsy was cancerous, Mom's response was, "Bummer." She thought the results would be benign. But it was amazing that her family was right there (we were all in the van together, so really together, even though a few weren't able to be present). And then we were right around her own Regnier family, brothers and sisters, neices and nephews, whom she loves dearly. And one uncle Norman, in particular, who is walking a similar road, put his arm around Mom and cared for her really well, making her laugh with his emails. So, thank you, everyone for how you have walked with Mom, all in your own ways and methods of showing love--it's so beautiful.

There have been flowers sent annonymously, cards arriving in a continual stream, meals lovingly prepared, phone calls, text messages at just the right time, conversations, encouragement, and even if you've never personally talked to Mom, but have been part of this journey through your love and or prayers, we want to thank you. Really. You're part of our family's story along this road.

Next post: The results. :)

This Week: Post-Chemo Scan

So Mom finished her final chemo treatment.

What's next?

This Friday, she will go in for a re-scan of her chest to see results of the chemo, and to give doctors 'sight' for determining next steps of treatment. (Right now, she can't feel the lump anymore, so that's great news. We're praying and trusting the Lord for complete healing.)

1. Scans Friday (May 18)
2. Possible surgery (lump or mass/whole) in June
3. Radiation if there's a lumpectomy
4. Herceptin every three weeks (for 11 more doses, finishing by Thanksgiving :) starting Thursday
5. Anti-estrogen drug for maybe 5 years

The above 'regimine' is prescribed as a result of the original biopsy and character of her particular cells, and what is current medical knowledge regarding drugs/treatment. It's still a faith-walk. Sometimes it seems like everything is; our faith/confidence in is something or someone.

I love being around Mom because she simply believes in the Lord. Sometimes my mind can get full of combinations and possible scenarios and what we should do, and then I talk with her, and she has a way of 'simply trusting'. Then all my scenarios blow away, and I rest, trusting the Lord, too.

So thanks for praying for our family. The Lord is a wonderful Shepherd, to the Finish.

By the way, Mom really is doing great. She's had amazing sustained energy through the whole treatment, with no infections. Praise God. We've also been working on organizing projects around the home, which will be nice when everything is complete. (But the process is necessary and beneficial as well.)

Blessings and strength to your families, in Jesus' Name, who is the Beginning and the End, a stronghold in times of trouble, and our Redeemer.

Ericka

Ashley has another great blog entry: about vigils and being up in the middle of the night.

Wig Humor

There are many funny things that happen along the Way. So this post is dedicated to make you smile.

Because people enjoy laughing, it's amazing soul-medicine, and we're created in God's image, I believe God must have a sense of humor, too.

So here's the humorous wig story:

First I don't think we ever reported that Mom named her wig. When she was little, Mom had a doll named Gloria, with long, blondish hair. [Her sister Emily's doll was Susan and they were best friends.] So Mom dubbed her flowing hair prosthesis Gloria, in honor of her favorite dolly. And she carries a special double meaning--Glory to God!

A few weeks ago, Mom wore Gloria to school, like normal, and wore her driving home on the interstate, like normal. But it was stuffy in the van, so she rolled down the driver's side window, and then the passenger side. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew in. Before Mom knew what happened, Gloria wisked off her head flying free. Mom's stomach dropped; the worst wig night-mare was actually happening. Whipping her now bare head to follow Gloria's flight, Mom watched an early landing with Gloria plopping in the passenger seat. Whew! Glory to God! Keeping one hand on the steering wheel while trying to stay on the interstate, she grabbed Gloria and slammed her back in place before any more wind could scoop Gloria for a second flight. She rolled the windows back up and decided she could deal with stuffy.

I'm not sure if anyone saw this wig-episode on I-465, but Mom got a good laugh after it was all over, and was thankful she didn't have to pull over and hike on the Interstate to retrieve Gloria.

~Ericka