Email Subscription to My Blog...Health Update...and a Card!

Hello, precious friends! First of all, as many stampers already know, Feedburner will no longer work as of July 1. Feedburner takes all the emails of those who have subscribed to my blog and sends out a copy of my blog post. We bloggers are all scrambling to find another way to continue to serve our wonderful subscribers. My techie husband reviewed some of the free options, and I am trying this one first. It's quite the learning curve and one I am struggling with, so please bear with me. You may receive two emails for my blog until the end of June. I have a new "subscribe" block at the top righthand corner of my blog for new subscribers. I have already exported the subscribers' emails from Feedburner and imported them to Mailchimp. We shall see how that goes. (Note: For some of my friends who are not familiar with blogs, please do not "reply" to the email. I do not receive it because it comes from a "service," not me. The only way you can "reply" or comment on my card is to visit my blog and leave a comment at the bottom of my blog post.)

In the meantime, it's been another long period of time since I've posted on my blog, and there's a big reason for my absence. In early-December I had my semi-annual CAT scan and bloodwork that revealed a localized recurrence on my cancer. Needless to say, this is not what we had expected or hoped for. However, it was not a surprise to God. Everything that happens is filtered through His hands, and He closely and tenderly holds us through it all. I can truly say that God has given me a peace these last two years that I cannot explain. I've had times of real discouragement, but only God can provide what no person or thing can give -- a closeness to Himself that is true comfort and assurance that He is always with me on this journey, even in the darkest of moments. 

I started a new regimen of chemotherapy the week after Christmas, and I finished my last treatment on Wednesday, June 2. Yay! My last bloodwork showed that the tumor markers continued to go down, so that is a praise and answer to many prayers. I will have another CAT scan and bloodwork on June 21, and then we will get the results on June 23 and find out whether I will have short-term or long-term radiation (as long as nothing else has changed). I already do not miss the chemo and look forward to regaining my energy. God has provided me with such wonderful medical care. The doctors and the nurses are amazing, and my infusion nurse Paige is such an amazing nurse who takes such good care of me. What a blessing she is! We continue to pray for all of our medical professionals, and we tell them we do. It's my desire that they will see Jesus in me and hopefully see how I respond as a believer to my cancer. My beloved husband has been so caring and loving through all of our journey together and has been Jesus to me.

We continue to feel so blessed to be lifted up in prayer by family and friends around the world. Thank you so much for making us feel so very loved!

I have found some wonderful songs that have encouraged me during my most tired and weary times. One is by Keith and Kristyn Getty, "He Will Hold Me Fast." Oh, what deep and real comfort that no matter what happens to me in my life, Christ my Savior will hold me fast. If you've not heard it, you can listen to it here. It originated from an old hymn by Charles M. Alexander in 1906 based on Psalm 139:10. Psalm 139 is such a rich and wonderful Psalm of David.

...even there Your hand shall lead me,

and Your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:10

What confidence we can have knowing that God is always with those who love Him -- and He is available to anyone who will ask for His help -- no matter how unworthy you feel. Jesus paid the price to make us right with God the Father. This verse should encourage us all as we encounter difficult times that He will hold us in His mighty hand. Everyone has hard times eventually, and God is available to all for strength to endure, comfort in our grief, and assurance of His love. 

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I have begun to color again, and it's been so relaxing and a blessing. I love to think about and pray for someone as I make a card, and the card below is a 50th birthday card for a precious friend at church. She is beautiful inside and outside, and I love her dearly. She loves peonies, so I enjoyed using different colors for the bouquet of flowers. I decided to stencil "wallpaper" behind the flowers and added a bold sentiment. It's a large image, so I am thankful for a set of A7-size dies so I could mat it with Purely Pomegranate and place on a white card base. Inside on the left, I stamped Proverbs 31:30.

Dear friends, I have missed you so much and hope to share more cards and the update after next week's appointment with the oncologist. Thank you for your love and prayers for us. Prayer is such a precious and powerful gift! May God continue to give peace, comfort, and strength to us all. May God Almighty be praised and glorified always! 

Blessings and love, sweet friends,

Stamps: Peonies (Art Gone Wild/Catherine Scanlon), Amazing You (Altenew), Precious Poppies (SNSS)

Paper: Solar White (Neenah), Purely Pomegranate (SU!)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Onyx Black (Versafine), Speckled Egg Distress Ink
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, A7 Layers dies (Waffle Flower), Woodblock Prints stencil (PTI), Mini MISTI, Gemini Junior die-cutting machine, Tombow Mono Liquid Glue

Techniques: Copic coloring, stenciling
Card Size: A-7