a great idea!
I’ve almost forgotten how to cook. Lean Cuisine and I have been hanging out for the past three years while Richard was in grad school. I long to cook again, to experiment with new recipes, use fresh ingredients, and see if the ole’ girl can climb back up on the foodie wagon. (more…)
and the winner is…Duchess!
Thanks for your comment. Please e-mail me and I’ll pop your autographed book in the mail.
Blessings,
Suzie Eller
Fresh brewed review
Thank you, Pattie, of Fresh Brewed Writer, for this review!
A recent statistic said that over 80% of Christian teens abandon their faith for a season. Author T. Suzanne Eller says, “As someone who has ministered to teens for a long time, I believe that teens leave a support system only to have to find out what they believe, as opposed to what they’ve heard in a sermon or celebrated as a family.” Making It Real starts that journey now, rather than later so that they are not one of the 80% who aren’t sure what they believe anymore. Whether the reader is a first-time Christ-seeker or a seasoned believer, the book is for teens wanting to know God on a personal life-changing level. (more…)
Winners! More giveaways…Carol Kummers won the Overcoming Migraines and Headaches by Lisa Morrone and Kim won a copy of The Woman I Am Becoming (one of mine!). Congrats, ladies!
Some of my Proverbs 31 Ministry friends are also hosting giveaways on their site. Check out:
test results are in
I saw the 479 area code flash on my cell. I usually don’t answer calls I don’t recognize, but this one triggered something. Where had I seen that area code before?
It was the breast center calling to share the results of my BRCA1 genetic test. Melissa and I had traveled to the genetic counselor and I had made a decision to go through with it after hearing what this knowledge would mean for my girls, and my son.
If I had the gene (I was diagnosed with breast cancer and mestasis at 32, went through chemo, radiation, and two surgeries and had a 40% chance of surviving 5 years), it carried some heavy connotations for my daughters, and also for my son I discovered.
Leslie and Melissa are in their twenties, and as they approach the age I was when I was diagnosed, we knew that we needed that information.
The counselor shared that it would mean that they needed to be vigilant (which they are) about mammograms and MRI’s on a yearly basis, but also that if I was a gene carrier that all my children needed to be tested. If they carried the gene, it meant making heavy decisions such as removing breast tissue or a complete masectomy and removing ovaries after family planning was complete. For Ryan, it meant that he would need to be tested for other types of cancers, and that any daughters he might have would need to be tested.
The reality is that thousands of young adults and women are weighing these choices when presented with positive test results every day.
I held the cell in my hand tight when I heard: “We have the results,” the counselor said.
“They are negative. You do NOT have the gene.”
1000 pounds rolled of my shoulders.
If the answer had been positive, we would have faced that as a family. But it’s not, and that means that though my children still need to be vigilant since mom was diagnosed young, that there is no BRCA gene buried in their or their children’s DNA. No heavy decisions, and I’m glad we made the decision to test. We don’t have to guess anymore.
Why did I get breast cancer at the age of 32? I’ll never know. A percentage of the population is diagnosed with no family history and no gene. It was random.
I’ll never trade that part of my history, for it was a time that I learned to trust God implicitly, and so did my children because it was their momma that was sick…
That same momma is grateful beyond words today.
treasure map
The car whipped to the curb. Dad jumped out and picked up the “treasure” he had spotted on the side of the road. It might have been an old hammer or a bag that looked like it contained something of value. All I knew was that I was as excited as he was to see what he found!
I’m am my dad’s daughter. I don’t have time to treasure hunt as much as I would like, but I love, love, love spening an afternoon strolling through an antique shop or hanging out at an estate sale. I love to look through old books and old costume jewelry, and sometimes I even bid on them.
But this is where I’m also my dad’s daughter. If I win the bid, I don’t usually hang on to it. I love the thrill of putting it on Ebay or Amazon and seeing what it might bring. I might lose a little. I might gain a little. But sometimes I discover that my $10 purchase was a huge success. It was a treasure!
Recently I bought two photo albums that had pictures and ticket stubs from the 80′s. I was a young mom in the 80′s and I definitely wasn’t hanging out with any cool rockin’ bands, but something said, “this is valuable”. (more…)
Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker columnist, and author T. Suzanne Eller shares how to live free when you've felt broken, how to nurture family regardless of the obstacles, and how to deepen intimacy with a relevant and life-changing Savior.
