God's Beauty

This morning I am, yet again, in awe of the natural beauty that God has created. Looking past the barren landscape, I am captivated and enamored by the frosted winter wonderland before me. Accompanied with the radiant glow from the rising sun, tingeing the sky in hues of light blue and yellows with added brilliance of pink reflecting upon the flowing river alongside my commute to work, I am spellbound. I have never seen the river look so pink. It took me so much by surprise and took my breath away. It became a reminder that we choose the beauty in our lives. Instead of focusing on the lifeless barren landscape and unclean roads, I focused on the beauty greeting me this morning. And boy, what a BEAUTIFUL morning it is. God Bless and Have a Blessed Day!

Quoted source:
www.philipchircop.com/post

How Could I Forget?!!!

Seriously, how could I forget this momentous day?

How could I forget that this was the beginning of my new normal. A new journey yet to be discovered.

It's been quite a journey of unknowns but isn't that typical of any journey?

I just know that this journey is the one that counts the most.

It's meant to be full of laughter.
It's meant to be full of love.
It's meant to have periods of grief.
And it's meant to have periods of pain and sadness.

This journey is meant to remind me how great it is to be alive.

It's meant to be a reminder to embrace all that life has to offer because it can change in a second.

It's great to be alive.

I still can't believe I forgot this day. Maybe it's because I'm finally healing. It has been seven (7) years since I received the greatest gift of all....a second chance.

This day I celebrate my 'new' normal.
This day I celebrate my amazing, selfless donor Andrea W.
This day I celebrate me and I keep rockin' on. 🤘

Seven Years Ago the Prepping Began...

Seven years ago, life was quite different than it is now.

As I look at this picture, I reflect on how unknown the outcome of the stem-cell transplant would be.

I was beginning my preparations for my sct which would take place in five days.

So many things helped me through one of the biggest battles I would have to face.

My faith gave me peace.
My family gave me focus.
My stubbornness wouldn't allow me to quit.
My grit made me determined.
My weakness gave me the anger to fight.

Cancer gave me the knowledge that whatever I set my mind, body and soul to, I will win!

Here I am seven years later, celebrating this new normal with a life of up and downs, challenges and ease.

I appreciate the small things of life and I embrace the big things.

Even though I'm in remission, cancer is still  in my life every day. It's not something I dwell on but something I am reminded of every second of every minute of every day. It is and will always be a part of who I am today. As awful, disruptive and evil cancer is, it has shaped me into a better person who is passionate about life, and loves deeply.

God Bless and Keep Rockin On

Keep It Movin'

One of my biggest struggles since cancer has been the loss of my strength and the decrease in my lung capacity.

About a month or so ago I began an INSANITY class. I admit I was worried. It's a lot of energy and motion and I didnt think I could do it. But I was wrong. So wrong.

Two things I have learned. #1 I may never be able to be as fit as I was before cancer. My body may never fully regain the strength I once had because of my treatments and side effects. And that's okay. #2 INSANITY is insane and it is what you make it. I do all modifications. And even though I modify, I still work up a sweat. I'm usually drenched by the time we are done. It's very satisfying and I feel accomplished and energized after those 530 am workouts.

Also, I have recently noticed something about myself. I have noticed my range of motion is becoming more and I am actually starting to add more speed which I couldn't do at the beginning because of my lung issues. And although I'm still struggling with strength, I'm 'keeping it movin'.

This has been so rewarding. And I want to continue because if I'm seeing progress now, I'm looking forward to a better, healthier and stronger self.

This 'new normal' has been a wild ride of ups and downs and I wouldn't have it any other way.

God bless and keep it movin!

Why Do I Pray?

The above picture was posted on FB.
I'm not aware of it origins so I'm unable to give credit to it's producer.

Anyway, when I read this post it made me think, wow, thats sad. What has happened to make this person feel this strongly?

I agree that 'in my thoughts and prayers or 'sending thoughts and prayers can appear to be over used.
Some days I feel like I've said it or posted it a hundred times but even though I have posted it more than I thought, it doesn't take away from my genuine conviction.

There seems to be a misconception as to what prayer is.  Especially with the most recent post. It's portrayed that prayer is always asking for something and praying to a God that allows what we believe to 'bad' things to happen.

It's rather ironic that my son had a homework assignment at Sunday school. He had to search the internet for the 5 types of prayer and have a discussion about those prayers.

As you can see not all prayers are asking for something. We adore and bless him, we offer him our thanks and we praise his glory. And yes, at times, we ask for his intercession on the behalf of others and we petition for ourselves when we feel we need him. But even though we pray for an outcome that doesn't happen, doesn't mean God failed us or our prayers were unanswered. God does things in his own time. I believe too many pray for an immediate need which in life doesn't always happen. Things take time. For those people who mock or ridicule others for believing in prayer says more about them then those who pray.

Sometimes when I pray, it's just to pray because it gives me comfort. Some people turn to nature, turn to music, exercise, etc to feel better. Others turn to prayer. Why is that a bad thing?

We live in a society where some believe we should all think the same, remove labels, and believe fully in the science in things. Why? It appears to me that for those who think this way are the disillusioned ones because if it doesnt fit in their  ideals then all others are wrong. It's called narrow-minded thinking and it's not life.

We are not robots. Everyone has their own belief and ideas. If we all thought the same our world would be a bland place. Imagine putting a halt to all those creative minds just because tbey thought differently when creating something or making a decision on a particular conflict whether in a disagreement or a type of project.

Just something to think about. Prayer means many different things to people and because of our free will, we should be able to think and express that without being attacked. It's okay to disagree but to ridicule others for what they strongly feel, says more about you then the other person.

So in closing, yes, I say GOD BLESS. I celebrate God in my life post cancer. I fully embrace this new journey he has blessed me with. And I thank him for his love.


5 Types of Prayer Image source
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/17/eb/b8/17ebb876abbd5b5eb5046467b1d1255a.jpg

Each New Day and Finding Your Peace

Hi all, my blogs are getting fewer and fewer but when I'm moved by something or someone, I have to blog about it. So here I am again speaking with a little 'peace' of my heart.

Each new day brings something new. Each new day can be a good one or it can start out to be a bad one. Typically, you can choose which way that day goes. Some days when it starts out not so good, I either wallow in my misery and I'm pissed off at the world. Or I open my eyes to the beauty around me by enjoying the simple things.

Most recently, meaning this past summer, I have discovered a new love. A simple love. I always thought it was the love of the beach. But this year we decided on vacationing at a lake. Keuka Lake to be specific. And while I was not happy because I would be missing the beach, I was blown away by my reaction to it. The lake took my breath away. It gave me such peace. I realized that my love isn't so much the beach vs. the lake. It's the water. The ebb and flow. Some days it can be calm much like ourselves or it can be crashing waves and tumultuous just like our lives. It truly represents the ebb and flows of life. And no matter how those ebb and flows come, they give me great peace. My love isn't beach or lake, it's being out in nature and experiencing the beauty of water. No matter what form that water comes, it provides a sense of peace. I can be on the beach all day, just sitting in a chair while the waves play at my feet, or I can be on the boat and be soothed by its rocking motion. In either scenario I'm either trying to absorb all the natural beauty of the water around me or I'm closing my eyes and being content with where I am. Water is my natural therapy. Being in or near water has such a calming effect and is my escape. Is my peace.

With all the chaos cancer has created in my life, I have finally found my peace. I truly believe we all have something that brings us peace. Don't hold yourself back from new experiences. I almost said no to something that gives me the peace and joy I crave. Being on the water, especially at the lake, is not like anything I have ever felt. It feels as though I found my home. It's my place.

The warrior in me is finally ready for some peace, and of course, it will keep rockin on!

So go and allow yourself new experiences because you just may find the peace you've been looking for.

Lucky To Be Alive

Wow, the cure is out there. And we keep getting closer.

Statistics say that there is a 1 out of 4 chance of a sibling match and a 1 in a million chance of matching with a total stranger.

So let me just day, in 2010, there were 4 million donors in the U.S. and not one was a match for me. My brother was not a match either. The odds were stacked against me. My transplant team decided to seek an international match and my chances of finding a match were becoming less and less. Fortunately, my SCT team  found two (2) 100% matches.

It seems like a miracle that I'm here.  I'm so truly blessed. Thank you Andrea Wanderer, your gift of life will never be forgotten or unappreciated. You have given so much more than life, you have given my children their mom, my husband a wife, and my family a friends a lifetime of building more memories.

God Bless!!! Make the most out of each day. Accentuate the positives and rid yourself of the negative because life really is too short and you never know what's around the corner. Make the most of it!!! And ...keep rockin on 🤘

Click on the link to read the article
https://futurism.com/?s=Lab+grown+stem+cells

Becoming My Own Champion

I'm back!!!

It's been a long time since my last post. Life has been so busy that I just haven't had the time to sit and write but I'm taking the time now.

I finally decided to go back to Weight Watchers to try and get some kind of control on my weight. Since my stem-cell transplant, I began having issues with my thyroid and had gained 30lbs in just a year. I seem to have stabilized but I'm just not happy with my weight. 

I finally decided the time has come to do something about this extra weight.  Even though I am scared, because what if I can't lose it? I'm afraid of failure because when I put my mind to something, I want to see it through. But my body is so completely different than I was before cancer that I'm almost scared it's not possible.

But no one else can do it for me. I need to be my own champion and use all my warrior strength to achieve my goal.

So here's to health and fitness!!! Rock on! 🤘