Prayer and fasting really change things!!! I would participate in corporate fasting to be obedient and to support the church and its ministries, but I didn't really understand the purpose of fasting. I read a book by Jentezen Franklin simply titled "fasting". It went over the purpose of fasting and different types of fasting and that Jesus fasted. Given that as Christians we are to be Christ-like, the fact that Christ fasted sets the example. I now begin each year with a 40 day fast. I am praying for my breakthrough and just God's blessings throughout the year. Even though I know that all things are possible with God, this time last year, there is no way I would have told you that my daughter would be healed of sickle cell disease. But I digress....
I am currently on a fast from some of my favorite foods looking to the Lord for the resources necessary to properly respond to the things that he has called me to do. I deliver newspapers in the morning. One, because the money is good, but also because it is quiet and I can spend time talking to God and listening for His response. I love my route for that. However, this time of year, I begin to drag and Saturdays and Sundays when I'm not also rushing to a full-time job, I tend to sleep later. Consequently, people may not get their newspapers on time. This has been going on for some time now. Last Saturday, while Clarke and I were visiting the University of Delaware, I asked my husband and Quentin to deliver my route for me. Needless to say, they did not do a great job. On Sunday morning, I was pulled into the office and given a 30-day warning!!! I couldn't believe it. I hadn't even been in the state!! I was mad at first, and pouty. But even then, my mind kept telling me to look for God in the situation. When I'm in town, the papers get delivered fine - just late. The solution is for me to get up earlier to finish the route earlier. On Wednesday night, this came to me - like a light going on; a real "a-ha" moment. My alarm clock is set for 2am, but I hit snooze 4 times and get up at 2:40. Wednesday, I was determined to get up at 2am. My plan was to get to the warehouse 40 minutes earlier, finish my route 40 minutes earlier, and GO TO THE GYM!!!!! This is something that I haven't had the time to do since Chandler's transplant, but I have been to the gym for the past 2 mornings. The time that I am praying and fasting for has been revealed to me. I praise God that what the devil meant for evil, God used it for my good!!! Pray for me that I will be able to maintain my desire to be an early riser, that I will be able to do all that God sets before me to do daily, and that I will continue to seek Him in every circumstance!!!

Chandler, my 4-year-old who underwent a successful bone marrow transplant 104 days ago (glory be to God), is a brat. And it's probably not her fault - as I've mentioned before, she's been spoiled by family and certainly by the hospital staff, but she's on her way to being 100% well and she needs to knock it off!!! She still isn't able to go to school, so she has a private tutor. The tutor told me that she is singing and enjoying stories and actually developing very well (YAY!!!!!) However, she is very argumentative and stubborn. If she is enjoying working on her leaf collage, she doesn't want to stop for story time. Depending on her mood, the tutor can't even get a "Good Afternoon, Ms. Allen". The tutor is great. She works with sick children all the time so she has a compassion and thick skin that I lack. One of the things that I am constantly praying about is for God to help me with my impatience and intolerance - I have no patience for stupidity and no tolerance for ignorance. Not saying "good afternoon" qualifies for either or both of those categories - if you're 4 or 40!!!! So, I'm trying to work with her, but who am I kidding????? These are the same battles that I fight every morning just trying to get her out of bed. So, please pray for her that God will remove the demon of stubbornness from her little spirit. Oh yeah....she likes to argue even when she is wrong - like about whether a crayon is brown or green. And yes....she will go on and on and be as wrong as 2 left feet. But we have to find the positive - she is not easily swayed by others, she is passionate about her beliefs, she is always up for a spirited debate. Hey...sounds like a lawyer in the making to me!!!!

The devil doesn't quit!!!! If you have overcome something, been delivered from something, gotten past something, or in any other way have been victorious, believe me he will be there!!!! As I may have mentioned, on July 16, 2009, my 6-year-old, Mason, donated bone marrow to his 4-year-old sister, Chandler. He was in the hospital overnight, she was in the hospital for 53 days. She had a few complications - some major, some minor along the way. With the chemotherapy, fevers, hyperpigmentation, and peeling skin, I didn't recognize my baby!!! I prayed to God to deliver her. Prayers were hanging on her wall and I petitioned the prayer warriors to lift her up. God brought her through!!! She is still on medicines and has a tube in her stomach for overnight feeds and medicine. We are in the clinic at least once a week, but she is jumping, dancing, and clowning around. She is back to herself.....which is good and bad.....We knew that she had sickle cell disease before she was even born. I have the sickle cell trait, as does my husband, so we had an ammniocentesis done with both pregnancies. Mason has neither the disease nor the trait. She was an emergency C-section. With each contraction, her heart rate would drop to about 70, so they had to get her out of there!!! STAT!!! (The devil must know that God has a mighty work for her to do because he was trying to take her out before she could even get here!!!) She was only 4lbs, 12oz. I used to joke that a bag of sugar weighed more than my baby did:( So she was pampered, coddled, and pet. As she grew older, we realized that her sickle cell was merely a condition of her blood, as it never stopped her. She would run with the boys, play with the boys, and fight with the boys!!! Suffice it to say, the extra attention made her what you would call "bad"!!! She was used to getting her own way, and hers was the only way. I had done a pretty good job of breaking her of that demonic spirit by the time she went into the hospital. But, the nurses and staff at Children's Hospital Boston (6 West) are so fantastic. They catered to her every whim - when it was feasible. When she was restricted to her room, the Child Life Specialist - Katie - would bring art projects into the room and play with Chandler for hours. It got to the point that she would visit Chandler last because she would be in there for so long. All the nurses loved her. There was a stocked kitchen at her disposal. She was the queen bee!!! Apparently, she got used to the royal treatment and expected it to continue once she made it back home. Welcome to reality, sweetheart!!!! She has started so many fights with her brother. Not a day has gone by that she hasn't cried about something frivilous. She is defiant and moody. She cried for so long yesterday morning because she wanted to stay at home yesterday - by herself - and I told her no. It occured to me that this is nothing but Satan trying to steal God's glory. You had to see her to appreciate what God has done for her, but if you just met her, all you would see is a bratty little girl. That is Satan trying to shift the focus from her healing to her behavior. Once I realized this, I prayed for God to release the demon that has a hold on her. She's gotten a few spankings over the past few days, but the good guys are winning the battle. At least she brushed her teeth herself this morning!!!! It may not seem like much, but at this point, I'm taking all that God gives me!!!!! Please keep my family in prayer, and I'll do the same for yours:)

I read something really interesting today. It's from another daily devotional. The author of this particular message was speaking about how we, as Christians, are to speak life into our brothers' and sisters' situations. When God delivers us from something, we aren't supposed to stick our noses in the air and keep it moving. God blesses us to be a blessing to others. If you have been delivered, you are to turn around and see who you can help out of that same mess. What a wonderful world this would be if each one would reach one. Someone who was hooked on drugs and was delivered from that demon should, with God's strength and guidance, be trying to help others who are looking to get from under that same demon. Too often we misinterpret God's mercy/kindness/deliverance as our own doing. We tend to get arrogant and forget where we came from. How is that Christ-like? Jesus spent the majority of his time with those that society had thrown away - the leper (Matthew 8:1-4), the blind (John 9: 1-12), the demon-possessed (Mark 5: 1-20). In each of these cases, Jesus shows His compassion and mercy on His child; in one case even saying that this person was afflicted by no fault of his own, but so that the power of God could be revealed. Let each of us examine ourselves and reflect on where we were and what we were doing before Jesus stretched out His hand to us. Find someone who may be in that same boat and let Jesus use you to bring another one of His children to salvation!!!

I begin each day by reading at least 1 chapter of the bible - this morning it was Nehemiah 4 - and praying. I wouldn't imagine descending the stairs without touching base with "my Daddy". I also subscribe to a few daily devotionals. One in particular, is the Streaming Faith Daily Devotional (http://www.streamingfaith.com/community/devotional/default.aspx?bhcp=1). This one has a weekly theme and each devotional revoles around this theme. This week (October 12 - 16) the theme is The Power of the Tounge. Needless to say, I was convicted by a few of the devotionals this week. In particular this biblical text -

James 3:2-11 (NIV) “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?”

Yikes!!!! So, I am on a mission - and I challenge you - to watch what you say to others. Let your tongue be used to build others up instead of tearing them down. As an old commercial used to say "use words that help, not words that hurt". I am very deliberate in my speech now. I want people to see the God in me in even my most mundane conversations. Imagine how the world would be changed if all God's children decided to use their Sunday tongues everyday!!! Like James said in verse 5, "a great forest fire is started with a small spark". In other words, it only takes one. I've decided it will be me!!

God is a good God!!!! (Yes He is!!!) That has been on my mind all day today. I am so busy at work - thank you God for a job!! It is so cold here - thank you God for a roof over my head, and a working furnace. I am so tired - thank you God for my babies and loved ones to keep me on the go. I have been praising God all morning. I can see the enemy trying to control my thoughts and invade my space, but I will continue to praise God not only for what He is doing, but for what He has in store for me. I began a fast last month - I don't even know the date. I gave up some of my favorite foods - pasta (including lasagna, macaroni & cheese, and spaghetti), sweet tea (McDonald's has the best next to mine and my mom's!!!), and trail mix (can eat an entire bag in 30 minutes - all 800 calories of it). Granted, I could probably stand to do without these things, but I want to focus on God and where He is taking me. I am praying and fasting for inspiration, resources to do all the things that He has placed on my heart, and just a closer walk with Him. He has shown me things, given me ideas that I hadn't considered before, and filled my heart with joy!!! So, I will press on, because the joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10b)!!!!

Honestly....where is the planet with 30 hours to a day???? Instead of bombing the moon looking for water http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/10/09/probe.moon.crash/index.html, let's find the planet that will accomodate my in-excess-of 24-hour-a-day schedule!! I couldn't make it to the Twitter follow up session on Tuesday(BUMMER!!!) I didn't have anyone to watch Chandler. Clarke was getting her hair done for her senior pictures on Thursday and Quentin was working. So Chandler and I went home alone and waited for everyone else to trickle in. Honestly, I can't remember what we did. (Note to self - invest in some ginko biloba!!!) Clearly, I should have gotten in the bed immediately, but somehow that is never how it works out!!! Wednesday was the college fair at Clarke's school. She attends Boston Latin School, which is the #27 high school in the country according to U.S. News and World Report http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2008/12/04/best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html?PageNr=1. It goes without saying how proud I am of her. At any rate, about 150 schools were there and we got to make some name/face connections with some of the admissions personnel of a few of the schools on her list. Thursday is Chandler's weekly visit to the Jimmy Fund http://www.jimmyfund.org/. If you live in New England, you know immediately what that is, but for those of you who are not so familiar, the Jimmy Fund is the pediatric center of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This is where we spend every Thursday morning as well as an occasional Monday morning - depending on the results of Thursday's lab work. I thank God for my job. As it turns out, I work 1/2 days on Mondays and Thurdays because by the time we get out of there and I get her dropped off to the sitter's and I get to work, it's 1pm. However, yesterday ran long because they changed some medicines and she got an hour long infusion of a new medicine so I missed work yesterday. Again, I should have gone straight home and climbed into my bed, but instead, I picked Clarke up from school and she took me to lunch. Today is Friday, which generally means youth service at church for us. Tomorrow is the SAT, so no lounging around then. Sunday is an informational session with USC, and Monday, the holiday, we're going to Syracuse for the day, which brings us right back to the start of a new work week. If you are close with any children of napping age, encourage- no, demand - that they get all the naps that they can because when they are someone's parent, employer, spouse, confidant, carpool driver, etc later in life, they will long for mat time at 1pm!!!!! Be blessed!!!!

What have I been doing for the past week almost that I haven't been to this blog???? As you can imagine, my blog time fits in between some other time. It happens to be a few minutes during my lunch hour that I post onto the site. However....I am an accounting and reconcilliation specialist and the first of the month is the busiest time for me, as my clients are wrapping up the previous month end. I'll have to be more cognizent of my time. It is my goal to post every day - at least during the week...I mean, after all, I am here!!! I have actually been very busy for the past several days. Clarke and I drove to Washington D.C. on Friday night. We spent Saturday at American University. It was a nice school, wonderful people, but she doesn't think it's for her. On the way back, we stopped at my dear friend's house in New Jersey. Although we speak nearly everyday, we don't see each other that often. It was really good to see her. On Monday (yesterday), Chandler, my 4-year-old daughter who is recovering from a bone marrow transplant, had an appointment with the gastroenterologist. She can't/won't take her medicines by mouth, so there is a tube in her stomach that I put her medicine into. It is the best thing ever!!!! We used to fight all the time about the medicines and by the time I got it into her, it would be time for the next dose. This new tube allows me to get her medicines inside her in less than a minute without any fuss. Anyway....she had that surgically placed on Septemer 16, and so this was her follow up visit. They said her site looks great. I was worried that there might be some problems with it because I'm supposed to turn it 1/4 turn everyday, but that hurts her, and since I feel that she has suffered enough for a lifetime, I'm not too eager to inflict any additional pain on her - especially not on a daily basis!!! I was really relieved and so thankful to God that they were pleased with how the tube and the site looked. She is recovering very well. I truly believe that you have a greater appreciaton for a person when you almost lose them. At any rate, the God that made her is the God who healed her. She is doing well and is back to her mischievious self. So you see, it's not that I was neglecting the blog.....I was out living the life that sustains it!!!