Thursday, December 30, 2010

Warm Surprises!

You know, I've been showered with so many blessings in the past two months, that I have to say, it's impossible to keep up! I want to send "thank you" notes to everyone, and I'm realizing I'm in over my head. Please know, I am grateful to all of you!

I was able to be home for Christmas, and it's this smile and my little girl making love to her M&M candy cane that makes it all worth it. That's my little Chelsea who's three. I don't usually post pictures of my kids on here, just to keep some privacy, but I couldn't resist this one. Isn't she cute? tee hee! Definitely worth coming home too!


Okay, now my oldest (SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD), is hurt that I didn't include the rest of the "varmints." So . . . here's a "cute" picture of the others. ALSO worth coming home to! (Happy now, Whitney?)


Say "hello" to Kirsten on the left and Whitney on the right. Aren't they CUTE?


And this is my Aaron. Yes, the ONLY BOY. Poor thing. But, as you can see, he had a GREAT Christmas this year.

Thought it might be nice for all of you to see "who" you've been praying for. xxx

Moving on . . . .

Another blessing came in the form of a quilt. I got to take it with me during my last stay in the hospital. But this isn't just "any" quilt. It's a quilt with my book on it! And it's signed by my writing friends who are praying for me. Several of them wrote scriptures on it, prayers, and encouraging words.



I was literally wrapped up in prayer, scriptures and love!

Allow me to share what happened with this quilt while I was in the hospital undergoing my last round of chemo. I emailed the following letter from the hospital to the ladies who made it:


Last night was rough. I’m in the hospital, and they just hooked me up to a two-hour infusion of chemo, and after that would follow the 22 hour infusion of chemo (which I’m still on now). After my husband left (he so wanted to stay the night but couldn’t), I just bawled. I didn’t tell my hubby because then he would have stayed and that wouldn’t have been good. He’s missed too much work as it is. So, I talked to God and asked Him to please sit with me because I felt so alone. I asked Him to listen and FEEL the infusion with me as it was poisoning my body, to hold me close in His arms throughout the night. During all this, I wrapped myself up in the quilt you all gave me and started reading the verses you put on there.

What a blessing!

I came across Cecily’s verse taken from Isaiah 43:1-3 and the last in 5a “Do not fear, for I am with you.”

I’m crying as I write this. I can’t tell you how much I needed that last night! I just can’t tell you . . . and now I can’t type from crying.

Just know, I love you all so much. Thank you for loving me too.



So . . . it was a wonderful Christmas being surrounded by loved ones and all the blessings that come with family and friends.

I'm doing well after this chemo run. For some reason, this one didn't hit me as hard as the last round. I expect to crash, perhaps next week, but we'll see. Right now, I'm strong, so I'm enjoying it while I can. 

Love and hugs to everyone, and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

THE MASTER'S WALL on the SHELF at Loveland's B&N


Thanks to Candee Fick, I have this lovely picture of my book on the shelf at the B&N in Loveland! And just look who my book is keeping company with! Francine Rivers' Lineage of Grace! How cool is that?! LOL

I just thought I'd share this good news before I let ya'll know I'll be going into the hospital on Monday for another five days of chemo. Assuming all goes well, I'll be able to go home on Christmas eve. Pray that'll happen. I want to watch my kids open their presents!

In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you! I pray you'll have a wonderful celebration with family and friends. This is a picture of a Christmas market. Reminds me of the Christmases in Europe. Miss those German Christmas markets. They were so "cozy."

There's another special something I want to share. I'd share it now, only problem is, it's not on my camera or computer yet! When that happens, I'll let you in on the "warm" surprise I got this week.

You'll hear from me sometime after Christmas.

Hugs to all of you!

Monday, December 13, 2010

TAKE MY HAIR, NOT MY FRIEND

By Wendy Chorot



Nothing could have prepared me for the gut-twisting pain of discovering my best friend was diagnosed with stage 4 T-cell lymphoma. I have never experienced such raw, hyperventilating terror as the realization of what she will endure sank into my heart. Brain tumor, chemo, radiation, baldness, bone marrow transplant—these are not the things I want for my friend. And they do not sound like plans to prosper and not harm.

I am grieving a loss, though my friend is very much alive and fighting this battle with courage and godly strength. I am grieving the loss of what used to be, the loss of what will never be again. Just recognizing the various stages of grief in myself angered me. I suddenly hated the idea of putting scientific labels to the things I was feeling. I wanted to change the stages of grief from denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance to stomping, screaming, seething, shock, and suffering.

I have hated the sun for shining when I’m hurting so much. As part of the stomping stage of grief, I’ve asked God why it’s not possible to divvy up the treatments among family and friends so that one fragile little body doesn’t have to endure it all alone. God keeps reminding me that she’s not alone. And He loves her more than I do.


After the cancer tornado ripped through my heart, I stood in the midst of destruction and combed through the debris, realizing that cancer could not create a loss of what mattered most—our relationship. Cancer can not take away the friendship we’ve worked so hard to build and maintain.  

And that’s when I realized that cancer will never win. It prowls around like a roaring lion, but its reign of terror is limited. My friend will be healed. Whether or not her healing takes place on this side of heaven, that’s up to God, but cancer will not win.

Some may think the decision to shave my head was a hard one. They would be wrong. I have felt “bald” in my heart since my friend’s diagnosis more than a month ago. Before the chemo took her hair. Shaving my head just brought the physical baldness together with the emotional baldness. Take my hair, it means nothing to me. But my friend?  She and I need to grow old together. We need to sit in our rockers and laugh about the time long ago that we were bald together. Yeah, take my hair, but my friend, I need to hold in my arms a little longer.







 Thanks Nick The Barber (American missionary serving in France).

Monday, December 6, 2010

He was, He is, He always will be

I have to say that (what's in the subject line) because only God is certain, only God is stable, only God is unmoving. And I need that right now. I may sound repetitious because I mentioned this in my post below, but it's a mantra I've been chanting quite often this last week. I've been so sick. They said this round of chemo would be "light." HA! What a joke! The "harsh" chemo was the one that was "light." I went home last Thursday, and only now (Monday) do I have even a little bit of energy to write this post.

This picture depicts perfectly how I feel. I realize the boy is holding the hammer that pierced Jesus, but just the look of him is exactly how I feel.

It got so bad on Saturday, they had me come into the hospital to check my blood. So, instead of my hubby hanging up Christmas lights on the house with the kids, he and I were left sitting in a waiting room for four hours, only to learn later that the nurse went home and forgot about me! After hunting them down, another nurse came (clearly embarrassed), said my blood levels were fine, and I was just short on potassium, so she gave me two horse pills. Needless to say, I was so UPSET on top of feeling miserable! I wanted Saturday to be a nice day for my kids, and this ruined it. But after talking to my mom, she reminded me it's not going to do any good to get upset. So . . . we cancelled some things on Sunday and Karsten (my hubby) hung lights on the house with the kids and decorated the porch, and I'm happy.


As miserable as I feel, I can understand why patients get nasty. I could have gotten nasty on Saturday. I certainly felt like it. But I reigned it all in and slapped a smile on my face, not wanting to be difficult. But I'm still angry. I can understand that nursing is just a job, where you punch in your hours on the time-clock and go home. But when you're a nurse, helping dying, sick people, how can you afford to be careless? How can you forget someone who's suffering? Why can't we take this type of job as seriously as if they were in the army? I mean, think about all the protocol that has to be met before one can move forward to the next "project." Think of how perfectly a bed has to be made, how perfectly the shoes have to be polished, how perfectly pressed the uniform has to be. Boy, if it's not perfect, there's trouble. Why can't a nurse have a check-list that they have to run through to make sure they saw all the patients they were supposed to see before they LEAVE the building? And this was the head nurse, the one in charge, the "big boss" so to speak! Whatever you call them. I'm not familiar with the terminology.

I understand nurses are busy, and probably even short-staffed. Who knows. But if you're going to have this type of a job, please take it seriously. Please don't forget us sick people who would much rather be home (like you) spending quality time with their family.

One nurse came in to my room the other day last week (these are all young girls, early to late twenties): she had been wondering when she was gonna get her lunch break. It was going on 2 pm. Well, I don't blame her! By the time she did take her lunch, she pranced into my room later, saying, "I can't believe my life." Apparently, she had to cut into her lunch break to help a patient who was having an emergency. I asked her, "Oh, is he all right?" She stopped and hesitated, then proceeded to tell me that the patient was doing a little better now. sigh

Hmm, missing lunch over feeling like you just might literally DIE, which is worse? Forgive the sarcasm. I hold nothing against this sweet nurse. She was wonderful. I just feel like something is "wrong" or "off" about all this. Please don't misunderstand. I know I'm at the best hospital there is for treating this type of cancer. I'm just sad that we can't do a better job at these things.

Anyway, I hope to post something more pleasant in the upcoming days. All I know is right now, I can't seem to get on top of this latest chemo trip. My sis keeps telling me about Medicinal Marjowana (see, I don't even know how to spell the word. This is so NOT ME). I used to roll my eyes. But now I'm wondering if it might be worth looking in to. All I can wonder is how long I'm going to have to feel so miserable.

I know, I know. One day at a time. One day at a time.

It gives me hope to talk to other cancer survivors who are living normal lives. Makes me believe my life will one day be normal.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

In God's Hands

I go in for another round of chemo treatments this Monday (tomorrow). I'll be in the hospital for five days. For some reason, the hospital blocks off some sites, like MY BLOG!

"How RUDE! I've never been so INSULTED in all my life!"

So . . . that's why I'm writing to you all now. If I don't reply to your comments, it's because I can't. I might still be able to read them, but we'll see!

I've had a number of people share survival stories with me. It's been very encouraging. And it made me realize, I'm not terribly afraid. Sure, I go in with a bit of angst in my heart for what I'll suffer while in the flesh, but nothing terrifying. I think it's because I KNOW I'm in God's hands. I'm trusting in that. He's my Protector, my Savior and my LOVE. He died for me, so why wouldn't He be with me during this time?




God is the One Who has numbered my days on this earth. I belong to Him. He's in control, not me, and not anyone else. He'll use those around me to either prolong my life or to end it. It's HIS CHOICE.

So . . . what better Hands could I be in?

Here's a song that really speaks to me these days. I'd like to share it with all of you. Click on the image below:



What's funny is, I discovered this song just a few weeks before my diagnosis, and I played it over and over again! It's brought me such comfort. Simply because HE IS, HE WAS, AND HE ALWAYS WILL BE, and I AM HIS!!!

I love You, God!!! xxx

Friday, November 26, 2010

What a day . . .

I shaved my head. I cried while we did it, but it's good to finally have it done and over with. Clumps of hair were falling out, so it was time. I should take a picture of myself in my wig! Here it is:






Here's a funny: My ten-year-old son was begging me to see my bald head all day. When I finally got ready to show it to him, he said, "Finally." lol Such a "boy!" And his reaction: "Weird!" *shaking head* I was worried about my three-year-old, Chelsea. I was afraid it might scare her. She walked into the room when I was showing my husband (after he got home from work), and she looked at me with a quirked eyebrow and said, "Mommy," in a tone that said, "What'd you go and do?" Then, Daddy picked her up and held her up to me. She just got a new batch of stickers from my boss's Sunday school class and held them up to my face saying, "I got new stickers!" Then she proceeded to stick one on my head! LOL That was her only reaction to my bald head. For her, life is normal and just fine. I'm so glad she wasn't scared!


AND THE GOOD NEWS is my aunt hosted my book signing at Mardel's today. I couldn't go because I'm not allowed (doctor's orders) to be around a lot of people for fear I might get sick. Well, my aunt sold ALL 30 OF MY BOOKS!!! I PRAYED for this! Thank You, God! xxx 






God has great timing, don't ya think? :-) Thank you to all those who bought it, and THANK YOU AUNT DEBBIE for hosting it for me!!! xxx Debbie is the one in the dark sweater and blue-green scarf. Isn't she cute?! She's the best!!


P.S. Don't forget the post below. I need your help coming up with questions for my book discussion in January!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

I need your help!

Did you all know, my book THE MASTER'S WALL won the January 2011 ACFW Book Club pick? This means if you're a member of the ACFW Book Club, they will be discussing my book at the end of January. This is HUGE, and I'm so excited to be a part of this, and I hope to see all of you there!

Now, I need your help.

They gave me the opportunity to come up with my own questions for the group to discuss, and I need folks to help me do that. I feel completely empty of ideas, so I thought it'd be good to ask those who've read THE MASTER'S WALL to tell me what you think would make great discussion questions.

So, if you have some ideas, please leave them in the comments section. Remember, I need TEN!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Why I use YAHSHUA and not YESHUA

In THE MASTER'S WALL and in YAHSHUA'S BRIDGE, you'll notice that the Hebrew name of Jesus I use is Yahshua and not the more popular term Yeshua. Some of you may wonder why. Well, the biggest reason is because I prefer to be as accurate as possible in my writing, and as unpopular as the term "Yahshua" is, it IS THE MOST ACCURATE to the original Hebrew language.

Please allow me to quote from Dr. Lee Warren, B.A., D.D.


How Did the Name Jesus Originate?

By Dr. Lee Warren, B.A., D.D. Edited by Dr. Michelle Huff
(c) 2001 PLIM REPORT, Vol. 10 #5
Feel free to copy and circulate this article for non-commercial purposes provided the Web site and author are mentioned.

http://www.plim.org/_themes/blends2/blesepa.gif
Introduction


Over the last ten years that the Power Latent In Man SHOW has been on cable, we have done 12 shows on various aspects of the Sacred and Holy Name of our Heavenly Father and His Son. The Power Latent In Man SHOW was one of the first shows (beginning in December 1990, on Chicago Access cable) to introduce the true and sacred name Yahweh and His Son Yahshua and uses them on a regular basis. The PLIM REPORT has also published over 6 articles on the true name and they are on the public side of our website. See http://www.plim.org/truename.html.


Today many Christians and others assume that the Greek name Jesus was the original name of the Savior who was Hebrew.  If one does the research, one finds out that it is impossible for the Savior’s name to be Jesus.

 What is the intent of this article?

The intent of this article is to investigate the origin of the Greek name Jesus and its erroneous transliteration of the Hebrew name of our Savior Yahshua.  Our Saviour’s Name in Hebrew is    


(read from right to left). The English name “Jesus,” which later employed the letter “J,” is a derivation from Greek “Iesous” and the Latin “Iesus” version.


This name “Jesus” commonly used in Christianity today did not exist and would not be spelled with the letter “J” until about 500 years ago. This article will also discuss the grammatical errors involved in the transliteration of Yahshua into Greek and Latin, which radically changed the form of Yahshua’s name.





Another error that will be discussed in this article is that  “Yahshua’s name was not known to most translators at the time. Jewish Masoretic priests, around the 6th century A.D., created the name Jesus by changing the vowel point from the letter “a” to “e” in the Tetragrammaton YHWH. This resulted in changing the pronunciation from Yah to Yeh.

The priests continued the tradition, which was in effect at the time of the Messiah, of teaching the people that the name “Yahweh” was too sacred to pronounce, and to speak this name was blasphemy and punishable by death.  Most people and lower level priests were initially taught to say “Adonai” when they saw the name “Yahweh” or the tetragrammaton written.

PLIM recommends a number of excellent websites that provide extensive research on the name. (Note: This is not an endorsement of their dogma.) The Assembly of Yahweh has an excellent article that deals with the letter J called “THE MISSING J” http://www.yaim.org/missingJ.htm. There is also another website with an article entitled “Our Saviour’s Name” http://www.iahushua.com/ST-RP/name.htm and see http://www.yahweh.org.


 Does the Letter “J” exist in Hebrew, Latin or Greek?

The answer to this question is no. In fact, there was no letter ‘J’ in  any language prior to the 14th century in England. The letter did not become widely used until the 17th century.

The Encyclopedia Americana contains the following quote on the J: “The form of ‘J’ was unknown in any alphabet until the 14th century. Either symbol (J,I) used initially generally had the consonantal sound of Y as in year. Gradually, the two symbols (J,l) were differentiated, the J usually acquiring consonantal force and thus becoming regarded as a consonant, and the I becoming a vowel.

It was not until 1630 that the differentiation became general in England.” Note in the original 1611 version of the King James Version of the Bible there was no “J” letter in this Bible for because it did not exist. James was spelled Iames. Jesus was spelled Iesous.

In the Hebrew alphabet there is no J letter or sound and it is shown follow: Read form right to left.”





The Greek alphabet shows that there is no letter J or sound.

Now the Oxford English Dictionary shows the derivation of the name “Jesus” as follow: “In ancient Latin Jesus is spelled Iesus, in ancient Greek (I-ee-sous), ad. late Heb. or Aramaic yeshua, Jeshua,for the earlier y’hoshua, Jehoshua or Joshua (explained as ‘Jah (or Jahveh) is salvation’: cf. y’shuah ‘salvation, deliverance’, and Matt. 1.21”

Here we see that in the ancient Latin and Greek languages “Jesus” was spelled with the letter “I” for there was no “J” in either of these languages. In Hebrew we know there is no J letter. So Jesus was originally spelled Yeshua, and y’hoshua. Note: Here the Messiah’s name was spelled in Hebrew two different ways due to the tradition of the Masoretic priests. They did not want to pronounce the sacred part of Yahweh’s name, so they changed the ‘Yah, to ‘Yeh, which will be discussed later in this article.
Webster’s New World Dictionary confirms the Oxford World Dictionary, but it shows the derivation of “Jesus” correctly transliterated in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew using the letters “I” and “Y,” showing that there was no J used in these original languages when the scriptures were translated into them.

“In Late Latin Jesus was original spelled Iesus; In Greek it was spelled Ièsous; and in ancient Hebrew spelled  “yÈshÙa,” which is a contraction of yehÖshÙa (Joshua), help of Jehovah < yÀh, Jehovah + hÖshïa, to help.”


Did the angels speak in Hebrew?

In the so-called New Testament of the Bible there were two instances where an angel and the spirit form of the Messiah appeared to humans and spoke to them in Hebrew. First, Gabriel spoke to Mary regarding her unborn son. Since Mary was Hebrew of the tribe of Judah (Lk. 1:27), Gabriel had to communicate to her in the Hebrew tongue, her native language, not Chinese or Greek, for she would not have been able to understand him. “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with Elohim (God). And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS (Luke 1:30-31).” As shown in the Hebrew alphabet, there is no J in Hebrew (see alphabet on p. 8). So the question is what did the angel Gabriel say that the baby would be named?  It was impossible for him to say Jesus because Jesus is Greek for Yahshua.

In another instance, the Messiah appeared in spirit form and in a vision, to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-7) and spoke in Hebrew Paul described what happened. “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks (Acts 26:14).”

Paul asked this spirit, “Who art thou, Lord (Acts 26:15)?” The Messiah replied, “I am Jesus [in the King James Bible and most English Bibles] whom thou persecutest.”

One thing is clear. The Messiah knows His name and as was stated and repeated throughout this article it is impossible for him to have said Jesus as it is translated since Yahshua spoke to Paul in the Hebrew tongue.

Pontius Pilate wrote the name of the Messiah in Greek, Hebrew and Latin above His head on the cross when the Messiah was crucified.  Luke wrote the following “… an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS (Lk 23:38-39).”

Traditionally,  most crucifixes (especially Roman Catholic)  have the Latin initials of the Messiah as follows “INRI,” which means “Iesus Nazarenus, Rex, Iudaeorum”. [Note: there is no letter J (for it did not exist at this time.)   This is translated into English and means “Jesus of  Nazareth, King of the Jews.”]

The French philosopher, historian, and religious scholar Ernest Renan stated in his book, The Life of Jesus, that the Savior was never called Jesus in His lifetime. Renan based his conclusion on his archaeological trips to the Holy Land in searching for inspiration and materials on the Savior.


  What is the derivation of the name “Jesus”?

Any good dictionary will show the derivation or the history of the translation of Jesus through the various languages. All agree that the word “Jesus is a transcription or a copy of the Greek name … which is a derivation of the Hebrew Ieshoua, a common Jewish name” according to the book The Names and Titles of Jesus by Leopold Sabourin, S.J.


 Is there an explanation of the error Yeh from Yah?

Now that it is clear that the Messiah’s name was not spelled with the letter J, there is another error that must be addressed.  Many misspell the Messiah as “yÈshÙa,” (which is a contraction for “yehÖshÙa.”).  The error is that it does not have the “Yah” part of the Father’s name in the translation.





In the King James Version of the Bible,  Psalm 68:4 clearly reveals  that the shortened  form of the Father’s name is “Jah.”  King David writes: “Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name JAH…” Since there is no j in Hebrew then “Jah” should be spelled Yah or Iah. So yehÖshÙa should be spelled yahÖshÙa.

The error of changing Yah to Yeh is due to the manmade tradition of the Jewish priests. Their reverence for the holy name caused them to believe that it was too sacred to pronounce.  So they changed the vowel points from a to e in the Tetragrammaton YHWH. This changes the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton. The letter “a” was the correct vowel to be inserted between the YH obtaining YaH. This is short form of the sacred Name is in Yahshua.

To prevent this pronunciation, the priests changed the vowel points from an “a” to the “e” obtaining YeH.  This is how the letter “e” came to be in the Savior’s name “Jesus,” resulting today in the Jews spelling his name YEHshua.

Now the same error is explained in the Biblesoft’s Strongs New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.  It spelled Yahshua’s name with the letter e Yehowshuwa‘ (yeh-ho-shoo’-ah); or Yehowshu‘ a (yeh-ho-shoo’-ah); from OT:3068 and OT:3467 OT:3091; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader: -Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Now the ancient Greek use their alphabet to write and pronounce the “IE” as the shortened form of Yahweh’s name “Yah.”

 What is the Importance of “ous” or “us” in Jesus’ name?

Now the “ua” ending in Yahshua’s name in Hebrew when transliterated into Greek is feminine singular, which presents a problem.  Thus, it necessitates a change when transliterate into Greek (so the reader in Greek could determine the gender of this name).

What most people do not understand is the ending “us” of Jesus name was setup to denote this in the transliteration into Greek and Latin. The “ous” and the “us” ending in the Greek name “Iesous” and the Latin name “Iesus,” respectively, denote the masculine singular gender in Greek and Latin respectively.

In most languages there are endings that denote gender as well as endings that denote singular or plural. (For example, in English we just add the letter ‘s’ to make a noun plural as in boys or girls. In Spanish gender is denoted by the last vowel of the word, such as chico-boy and chica-girl.)

Only the letters “Jes” in “Jesus’ name has any relationship to the Hebrew name Yahshua for the letters “us” denote gender.

This transliteration that observes Greek and Latin grammer further adds confusion to other errors in the transliteration of the name Yahshua.  Latin and English had  already seen  the results of the Jewish Masoretic priests changing the vowel points.
Finally, it also should be noted that Greek has no “sh” sound as in Yahshua Hebrew name.  To denote this “sh” Hebrew sound in the Greek, the letter “s” is used.

Thus, this article has examined all five of the letters in “Jesus” name and showed their derivation from Hebrew, Greek Latin and English.
 ***

So, there you have it. :-) I hope this explains why I prefer to be "different" or shall I say "accurate" in my use of the term YAHSHUA over YESHUA. 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

I stand amazed: How God has blessed me through YOU

(Forgive me as I've not been able to reply to all the comments. Thank you so much for all your encouragement!)

***

Before my debut novel released, I asked God to be my publicist. You see, I was already suffering from MS and would get tired very easily. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do as much as other authors in marketing my book. I said to God I’d do all I could, but would He please do the rest.

Well, on November 1st, the very day my book released, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer (T-cell Lymphoma). It was so aggressive, they immediately admitted me into the hospital and started me on their heaviest dose of chemo treatments. I can’t even begin to describe how I felt. Sheer joy of having my first book published, and sheer terror of a life-threatening disease.

When my ACFW writing friends, family and church family heard the news, they rallied around me with prayers, prayer chains, cards, CDs to listen to while in the hospital, flowers, and promotion of my book (including filling in for me for the book signings I will miss!). My husband was so touched, he told me I was surrounded by legions of angels. And you know what? He was right. :-)

God heard my prayer. He knew what was going to happen the day my book released. And He put it on the hearts of all of you to come to my aid. I have chills as I’m writing this. If you just Google my book, THE MASTER’S WALL, you will see what God has done through all of you. My book goes on for pages and pages on the Google search engine. PAGES! Not just the first page! It’s even ranked at number 21 of highest ratings on Amazon for historical romance. My book was published through a small press, so what God has done is close to a miracle. I have tears in my eyes as I share this with all of you. And all I can say is thank you. Honestly, “thank you” isn’t enough for the gratitude I feel, for the love I feel. The first months of a book’s release are critical, and I not only had to cancel my book signings, but everything else I had planned for promotion. Had I been well, I never would have accomplished what God through YOU has accomplished for me.
 
Thank you for allowing yourselves to be used by our heavenly Father, and for giving me great pleasure during this frightening time in my life. This has helped to give me confidence that I am truly in God’s hands.

I thank God for all of you.

Lots and lots of hugs in Him,

Sandi Rog


P.S. If you’d like to share this “thank you note” with others, please feel free to do so. I can’t keep up to personally thank all those who have helped.


Thursday, November 18, 2010

Prognosis Update

I spent all day at the hospital today, and I feel I should fill you all in on my prognosis.

We saw Doctor Myint who is my oncologist. Here’s what he said:

I'm at Stage 4 Cancer with T-cell Lymphoma. It's very aggressive. I have to undergo six chemo and radiation treatments (that's five days in the hospital every three or four weeks, can't remember). I go in again on November 29th. He worked the schedule out so I could be home for Christmas (I'll go home on Christmas eve after my last treatment). He says at the end of all my chemo treatments (which will end up being approx. four and a half months), I'll be admitted into the hospital for a full month for a bone-marrow transplant (the cancer IS in my bone-marrow; he said there were two different things they were looking at in the bone-marrow. It wasn't in one part, but it WAS in another). They will "flatten" my bone-marrow during my stay in the hospital (destroy it; this will be the worst of the treatment, he said), and then reintroduce my own stem cells back into my body.

Good news: he says this will also likely put my MS in remission!!! I knew of another doctor doing this method on MS patients (one in Chicago). Turns out Myint WORKS WITH THIS GUY and they both made the discovery together!!! So, he said, while he can't "officially" say he's treating my MS, he actually WILL be. I was so wanting to do this with the doc in Chicago, but there was no guarantee I'd get in for this treatment, so I didn't sign up. I'm amazed that Myint was part of that same team of doctors! It gives me hope. I was thinking how horrible it would be to deal with cancer and then when that was done, to deal with MS.

Anyway, he said  his staff was shocked at how aggressive this cancer is and that it's a rare form of cancer. But because they've tackled it right away, they feel positive they'll be able to get rid of it. He said it responds positively to chemo and radiation treatments. So . . . He also said he WILL give us a copy of the FDA report which states that I got cancer from the MS drug I was on. He says it’s several MS drugs that can cause this, and not just the one I was on!

Anyway, it was hard news to receive, but I'm feeling positive and encouraged--especially with the MS news! Pray my body is strong enough to endure the treatments. So far, God has given me His strength to get through this. Pray that continues! My kids are counting on it. 

I'm exhausted and feeling lousy, otherwise. :-)

One last thing: they say the first few months after the release of a book are vital. Well, this all happened just as my book released, so I won't be able to market it the way I'd like. I asked God to be my publicist and take care of it all for me. I can see Him doing that already, but I don't want Him to get bored with it and move on to something else, lol. :-) Will you pray He'll continue that work for me? Thank you! xxx I have to laugh, because several of the doctors and nurses know about my book. Some have even bought it! I was passing out bookmarks from my hospital bed. I debated setting up a table for signings. :-)

Oh, and am I scared? Yes. I can't believe I'm in this fight. I'm taking things one day at a time to keep my sanity.

If you don't hear from me in reply to emails or whatever, please don't take it personally. I try to read everything, I just can't reply to everything. I might put updates on my blog on occasion. 

Hugs in Him,

Me

Sunday, November 14, 2010

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey all,


This is Daniel DeGarmo with DeWard Publishing Company.

I'm sure all of you are aware of
 Sandi Rog's latest battle (with cancer - Type T-cell Lymphoma) that just began last week. As you can imagine, she's devastated, especially considering the timing of all this as her first novel, The Master's Wall just released last Monday.

Well, considering we are a small publishing company and can pretty much do whatever we want, my business partner and I have agreed to donate an additional $1 per book to a Fund that I'll be setting up this week.

Just so no one thinks we are being shady about the whole deal, this is above and beyond the royalties that Sandi (and her agent) is already incurring with every book sold. The purpose of this fund is to help out Sandi's family (husband and children) while she is laid up fighting for her life.

What I need from you is simply spread the word. For every copy of "The Master's Wall" that is sold (including Kindle and Nook) we will donate $1 to this Fund. I'll also be setting it up so that it can receive regular donations if anyone is interested in just helping out financially.

I hope to have more information to share in the next day or so but at least for now I would ask that you would do whatever you can do direct people to buy Sandi's book.

Sandi has been copied on this email.....Sandi..Please forward this message on to anyone you think would help us out in getting the word out.

The same goes for you if you've received this email.
I want to close by lifting the following prayer up on Sandi's behalf:
Father, I lift my sister before you as her body has been stricken with disease.
You know, O God, that she has used her gifts to glorify You and spread your wonderful message of grace and love.
It is my humble plea that you would bring her healing and complete recovery. I know You can do this, You are the Great Physician.
Please bring Your Spirit into her home as her husband and children continue to live life without her there. They need You.
May all that is done bring You glory as our God and Father.
In Jesus' name - AMEN!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Dan

Monday, November 1, 2010

Official release of THE MASTER'S WALL!

It's time to celebrate because TODAY is the official release of THE MASTER'S WALL, both as a print book and for Kindle!

Amazon already sold out of my book, so now they're listing is as "out of stock." sigh But you can still order it from there by clicking on "new." And DeWard is offering a two week sale of it for $9.99! That's for all your online shopping.

If you'd rather go to a brick and mortar store like B&N, you can do that too!



He fights for his freedom. She fights for her life. Together, they fight for each other.
                                                                            

Monday, October 18, 2010

GIVEAWAY with Golden Keyes Parsons

You know, I had this wonderful and talented lady, Golden Keyes Parsons, on my blog before, and I must say, it's a pleasure and an honor to have her here again for a giveaway of her latest release WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE.

***


Bridget is in love with one man...and promised to another.
Amid the liberty and promise of the New World, Bridget Barrington and Phillipe Clavell fall in love. But nothing about their love seems possible.

To pay for the Clavell family's passage from France, Philippe, a former member of French royalty, worked as an indentured slave to the Barringtons. Bridget is the heiress of the prominent plantation.

When Bridget's parents discover the budding Romance between their daughter and their servant, they quickly orchestrate her engagement to an older, more advantageous match. But Edward Moorehead has a secret. And he's anything but a good match for Bridget.

Separated from her true love and in danger from her betrothed, Bridget must rely on God to deliver her from darkness into light.

Gold Keyes Parsons is an author as well as a popular conference and retreat leader. Her first series is the highly acclaimed Darkness to Light trilogy. She and her family live in Texas.


***

Since I've conducted an interview with Golden before, I thought I'd have her answer a few simple questions this time.

Golden, thank you so much for joining us! We're honored to have you as our guest. We're also excited about your latest release, WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE, the third book in your Darkness to Light Trilogy.



Golden, you have a fabulous way at capturing the era of the times, at pulling your readers into the heart of the people and culture in your storytelling abilities. Will you please share with us what inspired this last book in such a fascinating series?

    You, of course, are aware that the Darkness to Light series is based on my ancestors who were French Huguenots fleeing the persecution of the Catholic government of Louis XIV in 17th century France. The concluding novel, Where Hearts Are Free, was inspired by the actual events that my ancestor encountered upon arriving in this country and had to sell her sons to redemptioners to pay for their passage, as her husband was washed overboard on the voyage to America with all their money on his person. That's what actually happened to the Clavells. In my book some of the details are different, but the scenario is the same.

Wow. What an experience to witness the loss of your husband under such tragic circumstances! This leads me to my next question. How did you come up with the characters for this book? 

    The characters carry over from the previous books, except for the female protagonist. My editor asked me to come up with a new female protagonist for the concluding book. That was difficult for me, but I finally decided to make her the love interest of the oldest son in the family. After I did the character sketch and read back over it, I realized I had described my granddaughter! So, I really like Bridget. :)


Tell us what you hope readers will take with them after reading WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE? What is the "take-away factor?"

    God is faithful. He will make a way if we trust Him. There are some pretty "gritty" scenes in the book. But I wanted the reader to know that even though we might think our life is in shambles with no hope of redemption, that God will redeem it and restore the years that the locusts have eaten. We serve an awesome God!

Thank you so much, Golden. It was a pleasure and an honor to have you visit us.

If you are interested in being put in a drawing to win Golden's latest release, this wonderful book WHERE HEARTS ARE FREE, please leave a comment with your email address below written like so: sandirog at gmail dot com. 

Good luck to those who enter!

Friday, October 8, 2010

A HINT OF WHAT'S TO COME!

Just typed THE END to Book Two in my Iron and the Stone series!! This is Yahshua's Bridge which comes after The Master's Wall. Yeah!!!




A HINT OF WHAT'S TO COME!







YAHSHUA'S BRIDGE
(BOOK TWO)

Theme: Enslaved by sin. Set free by Christ.







An amethyst stone draws him to his past. 
An elusive maiden draws him to his future.


Alexander is born into slavery under an abusive master: 
a master of his own flesh and blood . . . 
a man he will never call Father. 
Determined to break away from his master’s hold, 
Alexander devises a plan to purchase his freedom. 
But what's he to do 
when he finds himself shipped off in shackles to Egypt, 
disappearing from the lives of all those he knows and loves?



The city of Cappadocia where in ancient times it was whispered that Christians hid in safety from Roman tyranny. 
It was called the Underground City by day, and the City of Lights by night.
WHEN THE WORLD SAYS YOU CAN'T, FAITH SAYS YOU CAN!