Lovingkindness

As I stood in the kitchen making my every-morning- power drink with kale, blueberries, vitamins, and other goodies, my eyes were drawn once again to the chalkboard that rests on the wall above our kitchen counter top.

"It is because of the Lord's loving-kindness that we are NOT consumed, because His tender compassions never fail. 

They are new every morning; Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness, Lamentations 2:22-23"

When we first placed the chalkboard there we knew Stew wasn't feeling well, but it was before we realized cancer was going to be the enemy we would be fighting. We wrote down the verse He birthed in our heart, and it has been one of our life lines ever since.

 Each day it has not only been an encouragement; it has been a prayer. A prayer of pain mingled with hope in the rough days. (Like this week💕)
 A prayer of gratitude and praise to Him. A prayer for us to have eyes that see/recognize His loving-kindness no matter what.  And, a prayer for many many opportunities to share His loving-kindness with others. This verse, along with others, has reminded us that we have so much to be thankful for in our lives.

This morning though it pierced my heart in a different way. It filled me with gratitude, not only to the Father, but for you. For our family and faithful friends.

It reminded me of Colossians 3:12-"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience..."

Kindness: blessing, gift, gracious work, gratitude, deeds of devotion, unchanging love, loyalty, warm-hearted-ness, a willingness to show goodness from the heart to others, adaptable to the needs of others, gratitude.

What He brought to my remembrance was the truth that we have not only experienced His loving-kindness directly from His heart to ours, or from others we have met this through all this. We have been the recipients of it from you. You have allowed His loving-kindness towards you to bear fruit that has taken seed in us...through your prayers, words, cards, gifts, and presence in our lives.

You are part of His loving-kindness displayed to us.

Know that we do thank our God upon every remembrance of you.

Love,
Stew and Deb

Other reminders of His Loving kindness:



How Could I Ever Say Thank You: A song of gratitude to the Father

https://youtu.be/P3VUcPGLen0

From Stew (Gary)

Just a few words from me(Gary).

 Since the beginning of this journey I have wanted to go see another Steeler's game.  If you remember when we first began the blog, it was one of my things to hope for and a faith declaration that a year later I would still be here.

Well, it's now a year later and at this point we have no plans to go.  The thought of being on an airplane and everything that is involved as far as the amount of time, walking, etc. is more than I can do right now. It doesn't mean I am giving up the dream. It just isn't happening right now.  But, maybe later. It is just the beginning of the season. There are a lot more games to go.

We have been able to watch the games per Game Pass and have enjoyed them so far.(2-0). Go Steelers!

 I want to thank all of you who have joined me on this journey and am so very thankful for all your prayers and concerns for Deb and I.  We are so taken by your dedication, thoughtfulness, and quite frankly, your sticking by me for the long haul.

To this date it has been 14 months, 4 separate chemo regimens, 3 doctors, a ton of nurses/ care givers, and many prayers that have brought me to this point.  Some things that are going on right now to pray about are weakness in my legs, fatigue, abdominal discomfort, and headaches (some quite painful).

Although I have displayed manageable side effects, my body has also displayed resistance to the chemo.  Right now I am taking 4 capsules per day of a targeted therapy which could go on for up to a year or better, if it is working. At this time, we know that the cancer is still advancing. It will be re-evaluated in 2 months.

Medically, the best we can hope for statistically is remission (one in five), slowing down the progress of the lymphoma (one in five), and no effect to the cancer (three in five.) Please pray that this process will go well for me and that the side effects will be minor to none.  These are just the facts, but they are not where we place our hope. That is in God.


 My working days at a job are in the past, for now.  Now I get to do things around the house, take walks, do exercises with Deb (joy), and take naps when I need to.  I can still do most things that don't involve a bunch of standing or walking, as long as I take rests when I can.  I can always find a chair.  Most places I already know where they are. 


John 15:13 says "there is no greater love than one who lays down his life for another."In this journey  you, who are moment by moment laying down a portion of your lives for my sake in prayer that is ever increasing as time continues, are a witness of the Father who loves us all. Your commitment has not waned.

 I am in awe of that commitment, and so blessed and honored by your sacrifice of love.  Your faith-filled prayers, intercession, and willingness to battle even at the midnight hour are part of the reason we are still here a year later.

Thank you and may God richly bless you.

Love,
Gary (Stew)