All Things Work Together for Good

"O church, arise and put your armor on; hear the call of Christ our captain; for now the weak can say that they are strong in the strength that God has given. With shield of faith and belt of truth we'll stand against the devil's lies; an army bold whose battle cry is "love" reaching out to those in darkness.
Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet, as the Son of God is stricken; Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet, for the Conqueror has risen! And as the stone is rolled away, and Christ emerges from the grave, This vict'ry march continues till the day ev'ry eye and heart shall see Him.
So Spirit, come, put strength in ev'ry stride, Give grace for ev'ry hurdle, That we may run with faith to win the prize of a servant good and faithful. As saints of old still line the way, retelling triumphs of His grace. We hear their calls and hunger for the day when, with Christ, we stand in glory." (Getty and Townsend 2005)

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God...And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself interceded for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:18, 23-28

I am having my 5th chemo today and will have the last one on Dec. 22. I will have the Neulasta shot again tomorrow because my white cell count was still marginal. My hemoglobin is low so I am taking the alfalfa tablets (6 a day). They give me horrible nausea and heartburn but I need to do all I can to keep it up to avoid a blood transfusion. I was thankful this week to read the verses above that remind me we really don't know what to pray; our prayers are imperfect. But we have the gift of the Spirit to intercede for us according to God's perfect will. And God's plan works together for our good. Thank you as you join our Intercessors, the Spirit and our Risen Lord, in prayer for us as I continue to pray for you!
I am scheduled to see Dr. de Brux next week and hopefully the radiation oncologist soon. Dr. Gococo is still contemplating the electron radiation at some point and has some reservations about surgery without more consulting with Rippon, de Brux, and Wilcox. Hopefully by my next chemo we will have a game plan and be ready to start the next step in 4 to 6 weeks after my last chemo. Thank you for praying for all my doctors as they put their heads together to come to a decision. I know that the answer will be from the Lord!
"When faced with trials on ev'ry side we know the outcome is secure. And Christ will have the prize for which He died, an inheritance of nations."