What I Chose to Leave Behind
Books can represent signposts on my spiritual journey. I recently went over our bookshelves because they overflowed with books. They got to that point on account of the generosity of others who wanted to pass on books that we might like to read. I didn ’t want the bookshelves to look so messy so I began a purge. I first asked God to show me which books I no longer needed so that I could bless other people.There were books that had been significant at a particular stage in my spiritual journey. They had assisted me in attaining emotional and spiritual healing after a devastating event that changed the course of my life on...
Source: The Dance of Life - February 5, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer Life experiences My Spiritual Journey Reflections Source Type: blogs
Weighing the Worth of Expenses
I like to have the satisfaction of money well-spent. I like to have something worthwhile to show for the expense so I was not looking forward to spending money to remove a tree. I wasn ’t gaining anything except peace of mind. The fir tree stood over 60 feet tall, right between two outbuildings – a shed and a studio. The last windstorm left the tree with a decidedly-curved trunk that was leaning toward the studio. It wouldn’t take much for the top portion of the tree to fall on the studio’s roof should we get another such windstorm.We have had a similar tree removed in the past year because it was between the studi...
Source: The Dance of Life - June 12, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Life experiences Reflections Source Type: blogs
Photos of Short Hair
To go along with my post "Short Hair - Part Two"Short curly hair after chemoShort wavy hair (Source: The Dance of Life)
Source: The Dance of Life - September 23, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer hair Life experiences Source Type: blogs
Short Hair - Part Two
Hair or the lack thereof is an expression of our individuality. When I was undergoing chemotherapy and my hair began to fall out I found it very traumatic. When I had finished my chemo treatments and the hair began to grow again I longed for it to grow quickly so I would look like me again. My hair grew back curly and then the curls softened into waves when my hair grew longer. I recently discovered pictures of my hair from that time and I had wondered why I had not kept it that length since I liked how it looked.I knew that I needed a haircut and I had to do something with my hair. I felt as if the long sides were like do...
Source: The Dance of Life - September 13, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer hair Life experiences Source Type: blogs
Outdoor Sounds From An Open Window
Hum of a lawnmowerTweeting of birdsChirpingTrillingLow sound of tires spinning on pavement;as time goes on the volume increases.Dog barkingRoad constructionMetal clinking, scrapingSounds like a giant staplerLoud humming like a droneSirens – Police? Fire?GO train’s horn blows announcing it is coming to townChildren walking home from school – talkingA man walking a dog stops to talk with someone and is warned about another dog on a different streetRain sounding like persistent dripping as it hits the eaves trough and downspoutHorn beeps as a car is lockedBeeping as a truck backs up (Source: The Dance of Life)
Source: The Dance of Life - May 13, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Life experiences Source Type: blogs
Something MYSTERIOUS
The topic for this month's writers' group was "Something mysterious". I had the idea of doing an acrostic which would include something I think is a mystery for every letter of the word mysterious.Movie genre - could be murder mysteryY & X chromosomes – what determines the combinations? Spiritual rebirth – how it happensTaste preferences – why some people like rock music while others prefer country musicEvolutionary “gaps” – if evolution is true – what about the missing links?Recollection of memories – why we remember random memories and not othersInterpol – warning on DVD’s about...
Source: The Dance of Life - March 12, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Reflections Source Type: blogs
Life Lessons
A phrase from a song was going over in my mind “my will to live is for You”. It is from the song You Surround Me by Brian Doerksen on the album You Shine. I was thinking how God does surround me. He gives me the will to live; and not to just live, but live for Him. The words for the song include the Gaelic words and their translation. The English phrase is “my whole will to live is for You, You’ve awakened me to know” the translation of the Gaelic is “You gave meaning and sense to my life; You’ve awakened my heart”. I can’t live “my life” without God. My life can be my physical life or all that transp...
Source: The Dance of Life - June 11, 2014 Category: Cancer Tags: cancer Life experiences My Spiritual Journey Reflections Source Type: blogs
A Sailing Metaphor
At times I could compare my life to sailing. There are times when life is going along smoothly. There are birds in the sky; the sun is shining; there is a gentle breeze. I know the direction in which I am headed and it is mostly effortless. I am propelled by the winds of the Spirit. I might have to make some minor adjustments in my behaviour or attitudes, but mostly I am being carried along; gliding across the water, hardly creating any waves. I am not in a hurry; I am enjoying the journey. I soak up the sun and feel the soft breeze on my cheek. I have to go with the wind. My sails are raised high and they are full of the ...
Source: The Dance of Life - March 19, 2014 Category: Cancer Tags: Reflections Source Type: blogs
Family Day Weekend Snippets
Frequent communication with family membersA desire for diagnosis and proper care for ..Mother-in-law in hospitalIce-fishing trip today with father and son, and a friendLooked after daughter's dog for an afternoon while she visited a friendYesterday saw ultrasound pictures of our future grandchildDinner celebrating our daughter-in-law's birthdayAll my children togetherYet my son-in-law was unable to join us as he had to work (Source: The Dance of Life)
Source: The Dance of Life - February 17, 2014 Category: Cancer Tags: Life experiences Source Type: blogs
Obeying God's Leading
A new interdenominational Bible study session was starting at the end of January, but I had sensed that I was not to be a part of this. At the time I didn ' t have anything else that I was going to do in its place so I needed to trust God was leading me and I was praying for Him to use my spiritual gifts. < br / > < br / > In early January I was impacted by the Lord during the Sunday morning service. I sensed His touch, but I did not yet have an impression or direction. On account of this sense of God ' s touch I decided to go to the church for " In The Stillness " , which is a time of worship, prayer and waiting on God. A...
Source: The Dance of Life - February 7, 2014 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: My Spiritual Journey Waiting Source Type: blogs
Obeying God's Leading
A new interdenominational Bible study session was starting at the end of January, but I had sensed that I was not to be a part of this. At the time I didn't have anything else that I was going to do in its place so I needed to trust God was leading me and I was praying for Him to use my spiritual gifts.In early January I was impacted by the Lord during the Sunday morning service. I sensed His touch, but I did not yet have an impression or direction. On account of this sense of God's touch I decided to go to the church for "In The Stillness", which is a time of worship, prayer and waiting on God. As I sat before the Lord tw...
Source: The Dance of Life - February 7, 2014 Category: Cancer Tags: My Spiritual Journey Waiting Source Type: blogs
Getting Lost & Then Finding My Self
< span style= " font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; " > I was prompted by a blog post to look at this topic [*] differently and apply it to my true self getting lost in the process of dying to self. I came to faith in Jesus when I was a young teenager. At the time I was beginning to discover and develop into who I was as an individual. I was taking university level courses with the aim in mind of pursuing further education. I also took a creative writing course one semester since I desired to write. < span style= " mso-spacerun: yes; " > & nbsp; < /span > I took interpretive dance classes for several years and I eve...
Source: The Dance of Life - November 13, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer dance Life experiences My Spiritual Journey Source Type: blogs
Getting Lost & Then Finding My Self
I was prompted by a blog post to look at this topic [*] differently and apply it to my true self getting lost in the process of dying to self. I came to faith in Jesus when I was a young teenager. At the time I was beginning to discover and develop into who I was as an individual. I was taking university level courses with the aim in mind of pursuing further education. I also took a creative writing course one semester since I desired to write. I took interpretive dance classes for several years and I even had an opportunity to do interpretive dance in a Christian setting which I enjoyed. We moved and then life got b...
Source: The Dance of Life - November 13, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: My Spiritual Journey dance Life experiences cancer Source Type: blogs
My Ovarian Cancer Journey
Ovarian Cancer has been described as "the disease that whispers". Looking back I heard the whispers, but I did not know what they meant. The summer of 2007 I noticed that I had a small "pot" that was hard, but I did not do anything about it. I thought that I would mention it when I had my physical in the fall. Others had noticed my "pot", but at the time had only thought I had gained some weight. While we were at a cottage, I started to experience indigestion and bloating. I went to my family doctor when I returned home. She had initially thought that I might have a blocked intestine so she put me on stool softeners ...
Source: The Dance of Life - September 16, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: Life experiences cancer Source Type: blogs
Hope - Hanging Onto God with Patient Expectation
When I define hope I usually put it in the context of my faith in God. I may say "I hope so" when something is stated to possibly happen. But the underlying theme is my belief and confidence in God's ability and His sovereignty to accomplish the things I am trusting Him for.I am learning how to hang onto God more patiently while still maintaining my expectations. God does have a time and a season for everything under the sun. That includes the things I hope for. I may not receive them in the way or form I expected, but my hopes are often realized when I get to the heart of the matter.God knows my heart and the longings I h...
Source: The Dance of Life - August 15, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: Reflections Source Type: blogs
