Female in Motion

Ephesians 4:32 (KJV) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Unbroken (by Laura Hillenbrand) is a book about the amazing life of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic athlete turned bombardier airman during World War II. After a plane crash, Mr. Zamperini survived starvation and shark attacks on a life raft, only to be captured by the Japanese army. He was held prisoner for several years and endured unspeakable cruelty. Upon his return home, he struggled with flashbacks and alcoholism, until a chance encounter at a Billy Graham evangelistic crusade. Reverend Graham was preaching on the power of forgiveness and Louie took it to heart. He forgave his torturers and made a trip back to Japan to share God’s good news. There is power in forgiveness. In fact, God has a number of blessings that He will give us, if we only open our hearts. Psalm 32:1 promises us that we will be blessed by God when we forgiv...

I received the results of my PET scan from my oncologist yesterday afternoon. I have no evidence of cancer anywhere in my body. Yay! What this means to my treatment, remains to be seen. I will be vigilant to get all the facts from every avenue. Thanks so much for being faithful to think and pray about me, and for encouraging me with emails, cards, phone calls and Facebook messages. You are the hands and feet of Christ to me, always carrying out His work here on earth. May God abundantly bless each one of you!  And now, it's time to celebrate!

(This is the first of a three-part series on forgiveness.)   Genesis 37:19 (KJV) And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.        Joseph of Canaan grew up with 11 older brothers. He was a shepherd in the fields of his father, Jacob. Joseph's big brothers didn't like him much, because their father spoiled him. One day, Joseph told his siblings that he had a dream in which they all bowed down to him. That went over well! They all teased him, calling him "The Dreamer."      Following his father's request, Joseph visited his brothers in the fields and brought them supplies. Conspiring together, the older boys threw him in a pit, then sold Joseph off to a nomadic tribe passing through, and told their father that a wild animal had killed the young shepherd. The nomads sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt, where he became a servant to a wealthy family.       As if all this wasn't jolly enough, Jose...

     In the book of Ruth, Naomi left Bethlehem with her husband and two sons. There was a famine back home, and they decided to move to Moab. When she returned, ten years later, Naomi was a widow and childless. She told her old friends, "Call me Mara, for the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me."      When Naomi returned to Bethlehem she had nothing, except for a beautiful daughter-in-law, Ruth. Women alone had difficult lives in Bible times. The pair were destitute, so they resorted to gleaning food from the edges of fields. It was common practice for wealthy farmers to leave a little on the sides for the poor. Naomi was at her lowest point.      Don't call me Mara. God has spoiled me rotten! Several people have labeled me "strong" lately. I don't feel strong at all. In fact, most of the time I am a fraidy cat. That's the point. On my own, I have no steely resolve,  just a soupy puddle of melted chocolate and high-fiber...

 While reading Facebook this morning, I was surprised at the amount of posts from young mothers, overwhelmed by the load of cares placed on them, and I thought of this poem. This is for all of you, young mother, mother of teens, empty nester, Nana, Granny or Grandma. God bless you all, and Happy Mother's Day! A Mother’s Midnight Prayer Lord, Help me remember, when I feel it’s a chore, the time will come when I’ll hold her no more asleep on my chest (the crib refused, the blanket, the pacifier, gone unused). What better place is there to lay her head than against my heart, my arms her bed? For infants grow up and leave us behind with only memories left to remind us of midnight walking and predawn rocking, of soft, helpless babies unable to sleep. So, Lord, make me patient and keep me awake while I cradle this child, and don’t let me take for granted the moments I spend in the night with this baby — Your gift, my joy, my delight. c. 1998 by Jan Du...

John 20:27 (KJV) Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.      I spent a good portion of my life covering a large surgical scar on my right arm. Wearing long sleeves all the way through a Kansas summer is not for the faint of heart. I just couldn't handle the questioning looks, or the off-handed comments. Covering up, I could protect my scar...and my heart.     It's not my only scar. I have a small spot on my leg and one on my back. Those used to be moles that were suspicious, so a surgeon biopsied them. They were benign. I have two tiny dots on my belly. Those are from my laparoscopic hysterectomy last year, and then there's the c-shaped scar on my left breast. I went through two invasive biopsies there. Also, benign.      My two latest scars are on my right breast and under my right arm. I had breast...