Feasting on Faithfulness

"Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and YOU WILL BE SECURE, FEASTING ON HIS FAITHFULNESS." Psalm 37:3

A dear friend bought me the Passion Translation Bible and I cannot be stopped. It is amazing. It's like meeting all of my old friends for the first time all over again. SO HAPPY. 

This verse just about sums up this past week. Feasting on faithfulness. Feasting is the hilarious reality that took place the entire time Cade was getting fluids for his round of chemo. He devoured two peanut butter and honey sandwhiches, two oranges, an entire Jimmy John's, etc. It was amazing. 

I took a faith-filled friend of mine to chemo, and then Chad and Cade ended up having to stay the night in the hospital after all to make sure Cade got the eight hours of post-treatment fluids he needed, but even that was a gift. I sent Chad this song and this message to listen to, and he did and we both felt so refreshed the next day. During the week we stayed with Cade after his surgery I kept thinking about when Jacob was running away from his home in Genesis 28, and he sleeps on a rock and has a dream about a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Besides the fact that the hospital bed Cade and I shared was an actual rock, it also felt like every night I was meeting with God in a new way. It became a place where looking back, I feel what Jacob said when he woke up, "Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it." 

I did not know God could encounter humans this much. I feel like our family is standing in that part of the ocean where waves just keep coming. Crash after crash of new mercy, new goodness, new promises, new hope, with no sign of stopping. I am amazed. 

Besides being so swollen afterward that his cheeks were like squirrels, Cade has done amazing. He didn't get sick, he didn't miss a beat, he actually kind of increased in tricks with Haven. During one particularly awful afternoon where all he did was harass her, he confessed to me, "Mommy, I can't stop laughing at her." Yes son, I can see that. Praise the Lord for normalcy.

Multiple times a day, between me nearly losing my mind trying to separate Cade and Haven before they rip toys apart or rip each other apart, I just say out loud, "Thank you Jesus." I am amazed at how God is answering our prayers. 

Back up, I am amazed at how God basically feeds me ideas to pray for, and then delights in answering them. I am serious. Every week, I find myself full of faith for just specific things to that week. I don't go big picture, I just go week by week. What do I believe for this week, God? I feel like I am playing a board game again as a little kid, when the adult is feeding me all the right moves and helping me win. I feel like God is saying, "Ask me for the winning hand, Charis." He is literally teaching me how to win. ITS LIKE HE WANTS US VICTORIOUS OR SOMETHING. 

Reminds me of that verse in Isaiah 30:18: 

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,

And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.

For the Lord is a God of justice;

How blessed are all those who long for Him.

He is just really really good. Have I said that? I feel redundant, but I can't help it. Remember when Moses asked if God would show him His glory and God said, "I will cause all of my goodness to pass before you,"? His goodness takes a long time to pass in front of us. I am front row seat right now. 

We have two weeks off before our next round of five-day treatment, and we are so thankful for the break and for how well Cade is doing. We go tomorrow for some blood work at a closer hospital, so we are just praying that Cade's hemoglobin levels are high enough that he doesn't have to get another blood transfusion (if activity level is indicative, his levels should be totally in the clear.) And we are praying his white blood cell count goes back up. We gave him an at home shot that ought to boost those levels by the end of this week, so I am praying it works doubly fast and that everyone stays healthy in the meantime. 

Thank you all for praying for us. I told some friends of mine that I think our life as a family should have a "made possible by" sign on it, and list about a million names. If you are praying for us, you are on that list. We are basking in the goodness of God to hear and respond on behalf of people who pray. Thank you thank you thank you. 

If you want to leap into a really fun way to read the Bible,  here's a link to purchase the Passion Translation Bible. 

And if you want to really be in for a sob fest and a treat, this new record by Cory Asbury is for you.