Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Wednesday!  All is well here at 811. 23 treatments down 11 to go.  Tomorrow there will be a regular treatments, ultrasound and a restaging for the final ten treatments.  The final ten treatments are called a “boost.”  The boost will focus the radiation precisely at the tumor sight.  It will be similar to the first day of staging back in May, but a shorter time.  My prayer for tomorrow is to have the strength to endure the staging process and for God to be present and sustain me.

Dear God, Thank you for hearing my prayers. Lord, let me hear you. Please speak straight to my heart, O Lord I wait to hear your strong voice of peace and assurance.  Lord, thank you for hearing my voice whenever I call out to you. You know I am anxious about tomorrow. I know you will be with me. And Lord, thank you for blessing us with Casey for 24 years. He helped fill our lives with incredible joy and not he experiences complete joy for all eternity. We will miss and love him so much. Thank you for helping us to have wonderful, funny and precious memories. I love you Lord. In Jesus’ name amen.

Today Casey would have been 30 years old.  I miss him. I miss kitchen dancing. I miss his silly voices that always made me laugh. I miss his amazing voice that would sing Happy birthday to me in Italian I miss my son.   It is the first time it was just Bruce and I to honor the memory of his birthday. Growing up the kids got to choose do we go out or do I cook at home for their birthdays. For Casey it was usually my cooking. So tonight we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and red velvet cupcakes.  Funny memories of his fiancé pulling out his beard at MD Anderson after he had begun chemotherapy, watching the Texas/OU football game at our house one year and we all wore UT shirts (It was before I was a Frog.) and he came out of his room wearing his OU shirt and proclaiming that all of us were wrong!  And even though we miss him so very much and thinking of him on his birthday brings tears, we really love remembering the things that would make that beautiful smile pop and hear his laughter ring.

The scripture study for tonight is about seeking God. Seeking God brings His sweetness into my heart. It does not matter if I seek him in the morning or in the evening and in between.  When we seek God we open ourselves to have conversation with him. I go to God with my hopes and dreams, my requests and longings. Perhaps you do the same. But how often do we simply sit quietly with a heart open to waiting for God to speak?  Do we have hearing hearts with the simple intent for listening? Active listening requires that we quiet ourselves and listen without interrupting, without adding to the conversation and only hearing God speak to us through the intercessor; the Holy Spirit. Listening is hard and takes practice. So my friends when we pray let’s still speak to God and then try practicing a time of listening and see what God has to say waiting expectantly for God’s replies to our prayers. 

“In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Psalm 5: 3

“I will listen [with expectancy] to what God the Lord will say, for He will speak peace to His people.”

Psalm 85: 8

Take joy in the journey and take the time to listen to God.  Wear comfortable shoes, get some sleep and think pink.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene