An Update and a Promise

Good morning stamping friends!

I want to take a minute to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you for your support, prayers, encouragement and kindness in the past week since we got the news about my Dad. You have blessed me and comforted me more than you will ever know and I can't thank you enough for your beautiful hearts! So many of you have been through similar trials with loved ones and your words of encouragement just lifted me in amazing ways. You've said that you've been blessed by my strength and faith, but truly my friends - it's YOU who are blessing me!

I'm still a bit numb from it all, but it's getting better and I'm putting one foot in front of the other each day and maintaining 'normal' - such as it is - as best I can. One dear friend shared this truth with me "It may be a surprise to you, but it's no surprise to God." Knowing that and holding on to that truth keeps me sane - God is completely in control and He is walking right by our side during this trial. I was talking with Emma yesterday and asked her how she was doing and she shared this with me. She said "Mom, I cried really hard for the first time last night about Grandpa. I love him so much and I don't want him to die." I said, "Emma honey, I don't ever want you to cry alone, I wish you had come and gotten me." And here it is folks - she said "Mom, it was really late and you were in bed, and besides, I wasn't alone." Oh, how it blesses me to know that Emma feels the presence of God with her right now and knows that He's with her even in her darkest moments. That brings me such joy, I can't even express it. Don't we serve an awesome God?!

My Dad had his first chemo treatment yesterday and it went very well. In fact, the doctor has given us a slightly better estimate of his "time" which was a joy to hear from him. For those of you who are praying for him, please pray for the following things: 1) that he can handle the nausea that will happen due to the chemo and that it won't weaken his resolve to fight; 2) that he won't get an infection or illness during the chemo - the doctor said that is the most dangerous thing for him right now; and 3) that his spirits will remain high and optimistic. It helps that my Dad is a natural optimist, he's awesome like that, we just want to keep him focused on the positive, hopeful things.
We feel your prayers my friends, and know that you are standing with us in faith! I am thanking God for you every day!

Now, for my promise - I am headed down into the studio now to stamp for the first time in over a week. My mojo was simply non-existent these past days, but I'm determined to put stamp to ink to paper and create again. So, I PROMISE that I'll have something pretty to share with you later today. Keeping my promise will force me to stamp and not just stare at the table.

Stamped blessings to you all!!! Here's another video that spoke to me this past week - I hope it blesses you today too! There are no pictures, just words - but as you listen and follow along, I pray that you'll see the love of Jesus in them and feel his presence with you.
~~Robin