Round Two... and Still Fighting Strong

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him." Dueteronomy 7:9

"And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee." Psalm 9:10

"O Lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." Isaiah 25:1

Praise the Lord, this past week was a good one! On Monday Shelly went to the hospital for an MRI to check the two spots on her liver that the doctor had initially discovered. The results came back on Wednesday - the spots are benign - completely harmless!

Shelly's mom and mother-in-law went with her to her second round of chemo on Thursday. They met with Dr. Huntsinger, the oncologist, before beginning the chemo, and she too had wonderful news for them! All of Shelly's lab work had come back with great results. Both her white and red blood cell counts were high and the tumor in her breast had started to soften as a result of the first round of chemotherapy. In the doctor's own words, the results were "awesome!" Praise the Lord!
Shelly again did well with the second round of chemo, but she was quite tired that evening after a very long day. She went back to the doctor on Friday morning for the shot to boost her white blood cell count. The doctor also adjusted her nausea medication in hopes of helping Shelly not feel so drugged.

Saturday was a special day. Shelly and her family went back to Knoxville, but this time for the "Race For the Cure." Shelly's sister-in-law, Dee, ran the race in honor of Shelly. While there, Shelly was interviewed, and her story ended up in the Sunday morning Knoxville News Sentinel!

Shelly was able to attend both church services on Sunday - a little tired by the evening service - but there none the less. Today Shelly reported that her energy level has been fine; still no nausea and no wooziness. Amazing! God is so good!

Many of you may know the song "God Wants To Hear You Sing:" the story of Paul and Silas singing praises to God after being beaten and imprisoned. For those of you that might not be familiar with it, I am including the lyrics in hopes that they will be a blessing to you as they have been to so many.

"Their chains were fastened tight, down at the jail that night;
Still Paul and Silas would not be dismayed.
They said, 'It's time to lift our voice, sing praises to the Lord;
Let's prove that we will trust Him, come what may.'

He loves to hear our praise on our cheerful days,
When the pleasant times outweigh the bad by far.
But when suffering comes along, and we still sing Him songs,
That is when we bless the Father's heart.

God wants to hear you sing
When the waves are crashing 'round you, when the fiery darts surround you,
When despair is all you see.
God wants to hear your voice
When the wisest man has spoken,

And says your circumstance is as hopeless as can be;
That's when God wants to hear you sing!"

She's doing just that! Shelly is singing the song that God has written just for her. And she is singing it beautifully! She is allowing God to portray Himself as "the faithful God" in her life.

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

Race For The Cure Slideshow

Picture of Beauty and Grace

This past week was very bittersweet. Tuesday morning, Mitch called and said that Shelly had started to lose her hair, and that it had been difficult for her. In Shelly's own words, "There is just no way to prepare yourself for this." We knew that it was going to happen, but just knowing did not make it any easier to deal with. We shed some more tears together, but by the time I got to see her that afternoon, she was completely composed and looking VERY "hip" in her black and white paisley bandana. She was at church Wednesday night, all smiles - a picture of strength. She continues to amaze us. We try to assure her that it's OK to be upset and it's OK to even get a little mad, but she just replies, "There's nothing to be sad about. God is taking care of me!" As she has from day one, she continues to be a blessing to each life she touches.



Finally, on Thursday evening she had Mitch shave off the rest of her hair. She told us on Friday morning, "Well, girls, it's all gone." (Still smiling.) "We let Luke and Molly watch Mitch cut my hair, and they thought it was so funny!" Another answered prayer... Shelly was so worried that it would bother the kids, but they are taking it all in stride. Praise God!



We had an incredible turnout for the Hat Party on Friday night. It was a blast! Shelly received many beautiful hats and scarves, and the entire evening she was portrait of beauty and grace. (Did I mention how cute she looks in a scarf?) All the ladies made hats out of tissue paper, and a few were brave enough to model them. At the end of the evening when Shelly stood up to say thanks to everyone, there were tears all across the room... but these tears were bittersweet. Somewhat bitter... tears of grief over what is lost and what is to come, but mostly sweet, because of the sustaining grace of our Heavenly Father. Once again Shelly stood and said, "I know that I am supposed to be sad because I have cancer, but I just can't be, because God is with me and He is not going to leave me."



"For He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The lord is my helper, and I will not fear!"



Thank you, everyone, for praying. Don't stop. Round 2 begins this week. Pray that Shelly will once again have no nausea, and that she will not catch a virus while her white blood cell count is low. Your prayers are being answered. Continue to take them before the throne!

Hat Party Slideshow