Life Is Ever Changing...this one is a long one

Seems that every year brings new challenges along the way. Just when I think that I have a good flow going on how to handle my walk with the Lord, my kiddles (yes, even my now 18 year-old Grace is still considered a kiddle in my mind), my marriage, my friendships, and my work, there seems to be a shift that happens each year. And this year I have a SENIOR in the house!

So proud of my gorgeous Grace 

The past year (2022) brought a whole new level of trials for our family. We've all been growing spiritually at different rates and getting excited about all that God has planned for those who are seeking and serving Him. In July we scrapped and saved to go to Las Vegas (of all places) to be present for a deliverence meeting that a minister I had been following for 2 years was holding. Daniel Adams and his wife Heather have been used by God to bless SO many people with their ministry The Supernatural Life. As a family, we prayed and prepared for whatever God had planned for each of us. (This was a trip that we turned into a vacation since it replaced our annual trip to visit my family in Southern California, so along with the church meetings we planned to attend, we made sure that the kids got to visit all of the hotels and play the midway at Circus Circus.) 

My little Mr. Energy (now turning 8 this month) has such a pure passion for God, he prays with classmates on the playground all the time...even the ones that tease him about his faith. (Extremely proud momma right here!) He couldn't wait to see people get delivered from demonic oppression and have their lives changed. He still says that he wants to be a demon slayer like the ministers we've been following. (YES!!) Our now 16 year-old, Rose, had a massive deliverance that surprised all of us. My beautiful daughter had an encounter with God's power that set her free from a number of oppressive spirits that fought like mad to stay attached to her, screaming and writhing on the floor while two amazing women continued to battle for her release and command those nasty demons to release her. Our precious Grace was delivered from extreme burdens that she had been carrying & burying deep causing depression and anxiety. Her constantly trembling hands were steady when we left the meeting...for the first time in years! The change she experienced caused her to share with everyone of her friends when we got back...all of whom were amazed at the change in her. My husband had his shoulders healed, completely pain free with greater range of motion when we left. And this Momma's heart was thrilled to see the ones I love so dearly receive freedom.

My beautiful Rose running around with me.

That was in July...on August 20th my husband suffered a stroke at the age of 51. To say that I was blindsided is an understatement. To say that this has been a test of his and my faith is equally an understatement.  He had walked into the bedroom to go take a nap and within minutes walked back out to let me know that he didn't feel right. (Speach was starting to slur, his gate was dragging on the right side and he was having trouble getting his fingers to respond correctly when scrolling on his phone.) Blood sugar was through the roof unable to get a reading on his monitor (it only read "hi") and blood pressure was so high that I had to shut off the monitor as it just continued to pump air into the cuff to increase pressure.Thank God that He helped me keep my mind focused to get him to the ER immediately...where I found out that symptoms had actually started 5 hours prior to my knowledge! 

A blood clot was the culprit that caused damage to several areas of his brain. Three days after being addmitted to the hospital he was discharged to a rehab facility where they worked him 4 solid hours each day to get his brain to start making new connections. It was heart wrenching to see my Prince Charming fighting to regain his speech and movement and to have to be strong for him and my kiddles. Let me tell you, I had MANY breakdowns before the Lord with tears streaming down my face. HE, He is SO good! His precious presence wrapped me in comfort and peace like nothing I had ever experienced before. (And I have had A LOT of experiences with Him.) 

My hubby continues to do rehab at home, despite injuring his right shoulder (which had delayed much of his progress and will require surgery short of a miracle), and keeps his outlook on a possitive level. He is alive. He could have been dead. We could have had our March 6th 19-year anniversary come and go without being able to celebrate another year together. But instead, God has blessed us with more time together.

The blessing in desguise is that during a routine sonogram to check why one level of his liver numbers was off...2 tumors were discovered! One on each of his kidneys. The larger one was determined to be roughly the size of a golf ball and the other the size of a large marble. Fast forward to getting released on October 5th and multiple calls for appointments to get evaluated during home-rehab...official diagnosis came back (after we insisted that the doctors do a biopsy) as Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. Surgery was set for March 2nd for the less impacted kidney...which had to be rescheduled due to the ridiculous weather pattern that came into the Nevada Sierras. Snow unlike anything that we have experienced in the 14 years that we have lived here...which meant no way to get through any of the passes to Palo Alto, California. 

Snow Day for Mr. Energy! Got him off the Xbox and into the SNOW!

We are now getting ready to make the journey, and praying that the weather system HALTS the snow & rain while we make the trip there and back, with the new surgery date of March 30th. Thank God for family that will be able to stay with our kiddles while we're gone, keeping things as normal as possible during their Spring Break.

So, here is what I have been praying during this crazy past 3 months since the official diagnosis. I'm asking for the miraculous to happen. If we've been told to boldly come before the throne of God and make our petitions known with praise & thanksgiving, then I'm going to do what the Bible says: "God, I thank you for your mercy and favor over my husband's life. I praise You for exposing what was hidden even in the manner that it was done. Cause every cancer cell to complete it's life cycle, die and dissolve away! I declare, in the mighty name of your son Jesus Christ of Nazareth, full restoration of every function of his body. Full restoration of everything that has been taken from him this past year. Let this be a testament of Your power, mercy and grace that we can share with the hospital staff we will meet." 

Because he was the primary breadwinner in our household, and we lost roughly $3,000 in monthly income, we established a GoFundMe account to help with my husband's medical, rehab, and some general living expenses. You can read about his battle and see updates on his recovery on that site. If you feel compelled to give, pray, or share the link with others...Thank You!