12/28 Update

Thank you so much for your prayer! We have truly felt your prayers and sense God with us at every turn. We made it to Houston and are settled in. Tomorrow and Friday we have full days of meetings with doctors, tests, and scans. Here are some updates:
 
Praise:
~Praise God for a special Christmas, with special memories made with family. Especially grateful that I was able to host Christmas in Columbia in our new home now that we have more space. (A dream come true!)
~Praise God that the bone scan from last Thursday indicated that there is no cancer in my bones!. Huge praise! (It was suspected in my sternum) At this time the only place it is confirmed is my right breast.
~Praise God for safe, uneventful travels to Houston and very comfortable accommodations
~Praise God for our incredible support system, including family and friends, and the kindness and generosity of many
~Praise God that He continues to remind me that He’s with me every step of the way, in sometimes very special ways.
 
Please Pray:
~wisdom for doctors to determine a clear diagnosis, with exactly what type of cancer this is and the extent of the cancer (Dr. Ross & Dr. Layman–changed doctors when appt got moved up)
~pray that the cancer is indeed confined to the right breast
~wisdom for doctors as they develop a treatment plan, and pray that I would be able to have most of my treatments in the Columbia area.
~pray for my children, for their hearts, that God’s grace would cover them in these days. They were sad for us to leave. Pray for my parents and Justin’s parents who are taking such great care of them.
~pray I remain DESPERATE for Jesus and continue to turn to His Word for comfort..not distracted by mindless activity or other things.
~pray for many divine appointments here in Houston – for people to encourage me and vice versa
 
Over the past week, I’ve been reading and reflecting a lot about prayer.
 
In his book, “Prayer”, Timothy Keller says: “Our prayers should arise out of immersion in the Scripture. [We] speak only to the degree we are spoken to. . . . The wedding of the Bible and prayer anchors your life down in the real God.” This resonated deeply with me.
 
My dear friend, Maria Currey, has offered to write a prayer guide: ACTS of Prayer, weekly on my blog, to guide you through Scripture saturated prayer. Her first entry is linked below. Use this as a resource to guide your time with the Lord. It points you to the Word, and guides you in prayer. I’ll continue to update prayer & praise here, and use my blog to share from my heart, as the words come.
 
We continue to feel wrapped in a cocoon of grace, and each one of you is a big part of that. I KNOW so many are praying for me, and each encouraging comment or note strengthens me! We are grateful.