Avera Cancer Gala and Lance Armstrong

This past Friday night I was blessed with a "Fancy Nancy" night and the memories of attending the Avera gala are engraved in my heart.  A special thank you to S for the opportunity, to M.D. for giving me the opportunity to wear a fancy dress and to J for the little black bag.  Here are some pics from the evening!

Lance Armstrong on the big screen!



S--friend and breast cancer survivor, L--S's friend (and now our friend too!), me, and C--friend and breast cancer survivor

The night was inspirational as well as beautiful!  It was so much fun to see everyone so fancy and celebrating the opening of a new, absolutely spectacular cancer center.  Prior to Friday evening, I really wasn't that familiar with Lance Armstrong's story and vision.  I vaguely remember checking out the Livestrong site when I was first diagnosed and being encouraged of his success despite having advanced cancer.  In his speech on Friday night, Lance not only shared his story...he issued a challenge.  A challenge that has begun to haunt my days.  He shared with the audience that one of his physicians explained to Lance that he could either go out the back door of the hospital and pretend cancer never happened...get back on to your former life...OR....you can go through the front door--for the whole world to see....to share your story....to support and encourage....to make a difference in the world of cancer!

When I was first diagnosed, I remember thinking (after the shock of hearing those life changing words) "Okay--let's get this treatment done, so I can get back to my life!"  UMmmm, yah, it's not working like that--Cancer isn't who I am, but it is part of my life journey!  Now, the challenge...what does my "front door" look like? 

Friday Fun Things

Happy Friday!  A bit of randomness going on today!

Update on hysterectomy recovery:  I started back to work full time this week, working from home--it has been going good, still have to take a few random "cat naps."  I am up to walking 15 minutes at a time and my activity is increasing--doing dishes, making meals, etc....as long as I don't lift over 10 lbs and pace myself, I do really well.  Regarding menopausal symptoms:  a few warm flushes, one "hot" flash when I yelled at the Vikings and "knock on wood" that's about it, so praying it stays that way.

When I am not working, I have been spending a fair amount of time reading, pondering and praying....I truly believe there is a purpose for all things and I heard an interesting radio clip the other night that is really tugging at my heart.  Ron Hutchcraft had a segment titled "Survivors to the Rescue." He shares

"A person is saved from a deadly situation and they instinctively go back to help save someone else. That's exactly how lives are saved eternally. The rescued are supposed to turn around and be the rescuers. When they're not, they make it out, but they leave others to perish. It's not supposed to be that way.  If someone rescued you spiritually by telling you about Jesus Christ, then the eight words in our word for today from the Word of God are personal orders from God to you. Jude, verse 23, simply says, "Snatch others from the fire and save them." The implication - you got snatched from the fire, now go back and get someone else."  I keep wondering where does my cancer journey play in this and how can I offer encouragement and support to others who find themselves on a this path.

Last night was a tough night sleeping and for once it wasn't do to health challenges....it is because tonight someone asked me to be their guest at the opening of our new cancer institute....Lance Armstrong is the guest speaker and it is a "gala" affair!!  What an exciting opportunity...and a big thanks to S for the invite, to MD for rescuing me with a dress so I don't look like Heidi from the Hills" and J for the clutch.  (Last Friday I almost cancelled out because of nerves, unworth, etc...decided to cover it all in prayer...and it all fell into place.)  Wouldn't it be cool if I actually got to meet Lance?  Although I haven't been a Lance "groupie". He was an inspiration to me while I endured the rigors of cancer treatment.  I am planning on posting pics this weekend.

In bloggers world I received to interesting emails this week.  The first email stated that my blog is mentioned in their blog on breast cancer sites.  How cool is that?  Here is the link to Navigating Cancer.  The other email I received this morning and it was a post of the top 15 breast cancer sites, if you are interested here is the link:  15 Inspiring Breast Cancer Blogs

I would like to leave you with a quote that I read on a post at Journey Beyond Breast Cancer this week. 

“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

~ W.M. Lewis

Book Review: The Prophecy Answer Book by Dr David Jeremiah

Although prophecy is often beyond my thinking, I really appreciated the handy, pocket size book recently written by Dr David Jeremiah. The Prophecy Answer Book helps the reader to understand past events while explaining events prophesied for the future. The layout of the book is a question and answer format that is easy to follow and understand making this an ideal book for group bible studies, discussions with your teen children or travel topic. Dr David Jeremiah uses scripture in his answers, allowing the reader a documented reference. This is a great reference book for beginners and advanced students of prophecy. *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255