September 31, 2012

     We had another beautiful Sunday. It was nice and warm, but not too hot.  Our service was    almost full with many visitors. There were 5 that where from the Philippines but were living in Saudi Arabia now. They were really nice folks.

     There was an incident before people were coming to church at the security gate at the      entrance to THLE. A man with his family in the car came to the gate, think the park was opened. He wanted to be let in because he said he had a message from the Lord to give to the people in the park. The guard tried to explain that the park was closed on Sundays but he      insisted he should be let in and pulled a gun on the guard. He was finally arrested. We are thankful that he didn’t know we were going to have a church service and decide to come and give his “message” there. God was certainly watching over his little flock today.

     One of the best things about today’s service was that our dear friend Ann Towers was able to be back with us. I have mentioned Ann several times and her journey with cancer for which she gives all the glory to God. She is a wonderful role model for us all. I thank God for her    testimony.

     All in all it was a fine day. Bible study was great, as usual. We are still in Exodus but we have reached the Wilderness Tabernacle. We move slowly because we have so many questions and get to talking about what we are learning. It is a wonderful time.

     Billy and I have been watching 3 movies I recorded on the Hallmark channel. We skip the commercials so it goes by pretty fast. It is a trilogy about the early west. I can’t remember all the names but the last one is “Loves Enduring Promise.” Billy can stay up a little later tonight because tomorrow is his day off so we will get to the end of the last movie soon.

     Tomorrow will be the beginning of a new month. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving next month because Joel, Carissa and little Landry will be here. It will be my first time to see him and I can hardly wait. Christmas will be here before we know it. That is the best time of the year.

     I am rambling so I’ll sign off now. Have a blessed day tomorrow, I know I will. It will be the day that the Lord has made,  I will be glad and rejoice in it.

Mary Margaret

The big “C” in me is Christ enabling me to deal with the little “c” cancer.”

Remember to E-mail me

angel8mmj@gmail.com

 

September 29, 2012

Dear Friends,

     It was a lovely day. I did a few things around the house and then went to the grocery store. Around her that would be Publix, the best store in the south east. I was looking at a shelf when someone came up behind me and put his arms around me and I turned to see Benjamin my youngest grandson. He is a produce clerk there and I see him often when I am in the store. He is a beautiful young man and it is such a joy to have a handsome young man like him come up and give me a big hug and not be embarrassed by hugging his grandma Mimi. That made my morning.

     This afternoon Dorean, Amanda and MacKenzie came to get me and we were going to see MacKenzie do her cheerleading way across town. Well, when we got there we were told that their game was rescheduled for two hours later. We bribed MacKenzie with a trip to Olive Garden, her favorite restaurant, to get her to leave and not wait around there in the hot sun. I can’t be in the sun anyway so that was fine with me. So we went to OG and had a delicious salad. Colton stayed with Aunt Donna so I dropped the girls off so they could catch the Florida State Seminoles game. They are the biggest fans you ever saw. I went to pick up our precious little Colton, Donna only lives a block from Dorean, and I got to hold him for awhile. During half-time Amanda brought me home and picked up her car. That’s it for my big Saturday.

     I found a passage that I had written on my blog some time ago. It is I Chronicles 29:10-13,

Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said,

Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory,

and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;

thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou are exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honour come of thee,

and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might;

and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee,

and praise thy glorious name.

     I get excited about verses and songs that glorify God, who He is and what He has done. I love to find ways to thank Him and praise His glorious name. These verses are a great picture of His sovereignty. Aren’t we blessed to have the God of the Universe reigning over us in all His power, might and strength.

What a mighty God we serve.

What a mighty God we serve.

Angels bow before Him,

Heaven and earth adore Him.

What a might God we serve.

We love to sing that at church and I shed tears of joy almost every time.

God bless you all.

Mary Margaret

The big “C” in me is Christ enabling me to deal with the little “c” cancer.”

Remember to E-mail me

angel8mmj@gmail.com

 

    

 

September 28, 2012

     I have been home most of the day. I did take a little trip to the store this morning, but have just been keeping myself busy around the house. I did try to get something useful out of my gift (this day the Lord has given me). In my Bible reading some verses took on new meaning to me. I love when that happens. I Corinthians 15:45-49 says,

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”;

the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

But is it not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust;

the second man is from heaven.

As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust,

and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,

we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

     All that was said for us to realize that someday we will not be as we are, if we are one of the chosen of God. When I look in the mirror now all I see is the dust that I am made of. There is nothing attractive about dust. The only thing good about dust, that I can think of is that it can be written on. (Like you sometimes see “Wash me” on the back of a dirty car.) We can write on ourselves a message to God that says “Wash me.” I know I need to write that message in my dusty self very often. But the day will come when the dust is no more and if I were able to look into a mirror in Heaven I would see an image of Jesus. At this time the only image of    Jesus I can project is in my behavior and sometime the dust gets in the way and His image is not very clear in my behavior. I am so happy that I found this today, a day when I really didn't accomplish anything else. Perhaps this was all He wanted me to accomplish today.

     It is once again time to start getting ready for bed. I still have to do the ten minute fluoride treatment on my teeth (I will have to do this everyday for the rest of my life) and the dentist added another little treatment for me to do twice a day after I brush my teeth. Suddenly, my teeth have become very important in my life.

     Have a good and blessed night.

     Mary Margaret

The big “C” in me is Christ enabling me to deal with the little “c” cancer.”

Remember to E-mail me

angel8mmj@gmail.com

 

September 27,2012

     I’m back again. I will continue with my progress of healing.

     About 3 weeks ago I was able to start back at my gym. It felt so good! I also started back doing Tai Chi. I take each day as a gift from God and try to honor Him in what I do. Of course, I am not always successful because I am still human.

     Perhaps you may remember in 1956 when 5 missionaries were speared to death by a tribe of Auca Indians in Ecuador. When Billy was in Bible College I read Through Gates of    Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, the wife of Jim Elliot, who was one of the martyred with the other 4.  I found some books on Kindle written since then and have been reading them and  getting such a blessing from them. I would like to recommend them as very good and inspiring reading. The Savage My Kinsman, Jim Elliot: one Great Purpose, Rachel Saint: A Star In the Jungle, Nate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer, Elisabeth Elliot: Joyful Surrender and End of the Spear. On the internet you can get updated information and the Saints. Nate Saint’s grandson, Jesse, is now with the tribe that killed his grandfather and there is much love between them. The story is amazing and a testimony of what God can do through a life that is totally        dedicated to Him. I hope you will read some of these books and enjoy them as much as I have.

     This week I had a special treat. On Monday Billy and I went to Lakeland which is about, 1 1/2 hours from here, to meet Beverly and Tom for lunch at Abuelo’s, a Mexican restaurant we meet at often. It was wonderful to see Beverly again, I haven’t seen her since early April. It is  always a treat to spend time with them.

     This morning I had an appointment with my Ophthalmologist and found out that I am going to have cataract surgery sometime in the next few weeks. There is a possibility that I won’t have to wear glasses afterwards. That will be amazing!

     Yesterday I mentioned the Word from the Lord about my experience not being a physical experience but a Spiritual experience. It has dawned on me that all of a Christians experiences should be Spiritual. We should live our lives each moment in the Spirit. I have heard others say that but the meaning and reality of it did not hit me until recently. I am a little slow at getting things sometimes.

     This evening I am going with Deanna to see my granddaughter, Rachel 13, play Lacrosse. She is very good at it. I haven’t been able to see her play because most of her games are during the day and I can’t get out in the sun. Last week I was able to go to a night football game to see her sister, Rebekah 16, as a cheerleader. She is a natural at it and so adorable. They are both in a Charter school. These are two very talented and brilliant girls. I am very proud of them, not for the natural abilities but for their love of the Lord and the way they live their lives.

     It turns out that there was lightning alert and a little rain at the practice field so the girls weren’t able to play. We didn’t even get out of the car. In Florida, when there is a lightning alert they don’t allow games to play. Florida is second only to an area in India in lightning strikes. We are very cautious about lightning around here. Anyway, we had a lovely ride to the field and some great conversation. Any amount of time spent with my girls is a prize.

     Goodnight my friends,

     Mary Margaret

    The big “C” in me is Christ enabling me to deal with the little “c” cancer.”

Remember to E-mail me

angel8mmj@gmail.com

 

    

 

September 26, 2012

    It looks like I have a lot of catching up to do since my last blog post so I will begin and see how far I can get today. I went back and check on my last few posts and found that I was not feeling quite up to my old self before radiation. At that point I still could not taste and had very little appetite. I had begun to have a strange thing happen when I drank cold water. It began with just a little bad taste in my mouth and gradually the taste became so foul that I couldn’t drink cold water. I found out by accident it wasn’t the water that was giving me the bad taste but the coldness of it. I couldn’t eat or drink anything cold without getting that taste. So I     began to drink only room temperature water and it was fine. That lasted for about 4 weeks and it gradually went away.

     At his point most of the side effects of radiation have gone away. I had a 6 week      appointment with the radiation oncologist and he said I was doing a remarkable job of healing.

It took just 3 weeks for my neck to completely heal. It was remarkable! I went to the dental oncologist and things were perfect. I had not lost any of the ability to open my mouth. I actually opened it farther than I did when she measured it before radiation. She was surprised at that.

     I am amazed at how quickly the side effects are vanishing. There are still some with me, but they are some that I can live with if I have to. The hair and eyelashes I’ve lost have not come back yet. I really do want my eyelashes back but I can live with the hair loss. There is still some phlegm in my throat and my nose and mouth are very dry, but not something I can’t live with if I have to.

     God has given me a thought for this journey I have been on. I was talking with someone the other day and the sentence came from my mouth that had never been in my brain. That has happened to me one other time. Something came out of my mouth without first going through my brain. What I said was that this experience I had been having for the past few months was not a physical experience, it was a spiritual experience. That sums it up perfectly. My spirit was learning, growing and being healed more than my body. That is truly exciting for me. It is something that I have needed for such a long time. God knew that and He used this means to work a miracle in my spirit. It actually began last year about 4 months before I even found out I had cancer for the first time. All the pieces have fallen into place. I don’t know if the picture is finished yet, but God will perform that work in me in whatever matter He chooses.

     This is all I am going to give you for today. I’m tired and my bed is calling me.

     Love to all of you,

      Mary Margaret

     The big “C” in me is Christ enabling me to deal with the little “c” cancer.”

Remember to E-mail me

angel8mmj@gmail.com

 

September 25,2012

   I didn’t realize it had been so long since I posted my last blog. Due to personal contact, e-mails and phone calls, I am going to continue posting to my blog. There really hasn’t been much happening in the Jones household. I take every opportunity I can to go see our little Colton. He is growing bigger and more beautiful everyday. I have had the chance to keep him several times and I just hold him and look into his precious face. It is like holding as angel in my arms. What a love he is!

     I have been reflecting on some of the things I have been learning over the past months. God has been teaching me so much to help me grow spiritually. As I look around I wish I could share some of the things I am in the process of learning from God with people I have contact with. I fear sounding pious or judgmental, but I want so much for the ones I love to have some of the blessings that come with knowledge from God. These thoughts have been in my mind and on my heart for several weeks and I have come to the decision that God wants me to tell you about them. I know I am taking a chance, but didn’t Jesus every time He spoke?

     One of the things I have realized is that it is not enough to know the Word of God, to learn it, to study  it, even to meditate on it. Those things we need to do, but most importantly we must LIVE the Word of God.  When we leave the presence of a stranger they need to realize that there is something different about us, something great, something they would like to have.

Over my many years of being a Christian I have been in many churches with many different people in various stages of their Christian life. I have watched as the leadership of Christian ministries have fallen in to terrible sin. Their lives were false, the only truth was their sin. I am reminded of a book that I read twice many years ago. It was In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. A group of people in a church pledged for a period of time they would make all their decisions based on  what would Jesus do in this situation? It changed their lives. Occasionally it cost them much and many of their acquaintances thought they had gone off the “deep end” of Christianity.

     Anyway, this book gave me much to think about. I have to admit that I did not take up the idea of the book and live it, even though it did impress me. Lately, though, I have been contemplating the fact that this is a good way to live. We Christians tend to turn away from those we know are living in sins. We “look down our spiritual noses” at them. I’m talking about people who do drugs or alcoholics,  homosexuals are a big target of our disdain, also unwed mothers and couples living together without the benefit of marriage. You know, sins are all the same to God. He does not see them at different  levels as we do. That idea is of our own making. We too ,sin but our sins are different than those we sometime judge. I ask the question, “Did Jesus ever send anyone from His presence because they were sinners? Didn’t He allow a prostitute to wash His feet with her hair. Wasn’t He condemned by the Sanhedrin for keeping company with Publicans and sinners? Isn’t the Gospel is for everyone? If a gay or a prostitute or even a Muslim should come to a place where the Word of God is spoken, would we deny them that opportunity? What Would Jesus Do?

     The day is coming when we are all going to have to live the Word or renounce it. Where will I stand? I pray for the courage to do what Jesus would do.

     Enough of my soap box epistle.

     I will post this as my “coming back speech to my blog.” I will take tomorrow to bring everyone up to date with what is happening in my very blessed life.

     I love you all.

     Mary Margaret

 

The big “C” in me is Christ enabling me to deal with the little “c” cancer.”

Remember to E-mail me

angel8mmj@gmail.com