Swimsuit shopping and some Bible time

Taxol #11 is complete! Only one chemo left! I am so excited about it I may not sleep for the next week. I wish I would have realized earlier how fun it is to do some Target shopping right after chemo. I feel great from the steroids and have so much fun. Today the focus of my efforts were swimsuits for Vegas this summer. I know my chest will change a bit in the next month or so, but I am keeping tags/receipts just in case. I found some cute tankini tops, but also decided to try on the most ridiculous swimsuit I could find. One that would showcase my back fat, muffintop, and gut rolls. I found the perfect one and tried it on. It was hilarious. I looked absolutely ridiculous and so...lumpy. And I was okay with it. I wish more women would find the humor in their body imperfections. It is liberating. Here is a version of what I tried on. I am NOT putting my dressing room picture on here!

And now for a major shift in focus. I've been told several times how strong people think I am. I don't see myself as stronger than others. I am doing what I have to do in order to get the cancer out of me and make sure it doesn't come back. I think most people would do the same thing. I have, though, found so many sources of strength in my weakness. I have leaned on friends and family for so much help - from house cleaning to meals to joining me for chemo and random texts, these people have been vital as I have gone through this journey. However, my greatest strength comes from God. Oh yes, I'm bringing up God again. The Bible has so many places where God's strength is written about. My favorite books of the Bible, though, are Paul's letters. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul says that he has a thorn in his side. He was probably sick. And here's what God told him:

But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I have also had times of anxiety, especially going into Taxol and then after #5, which is when I ended up on the oxygen. When I found myself really freaking out, I had to remember that I could lay those worries at the feet of God. Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by power and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And there were times when I couldn't pray. The words wouldn't come. I was miserable and all I could do was lay in bed. But I asked God to hear me:

...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we out to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.   Romans 8:26-27.

 

There's lots of good stuff in Romans. Here's a bonus verse for you that I highlighted years ago that just jumped out at me when I was typing the verses above:

 

...we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither life or death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39.

 

ISN'T THAT SO AMAZING!!!!

 

 

Well, friends, that's it from here! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!