So Undeserving!

SO. MUCH. GOOD. NEWS!!!!

God is SOOOOO good!!! Praise God through Whom ALL blessings flow!!! First and foremost, I'm going to be a Grandmother!!! Yes, I know you have probably already read it on Facebook or in an email, but I don't care! I'm so excited! A new life. Wow! For the last three generations on Neal's side, his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother did not live to see their grandchildren. With all that has happened with me, that was certainly a concern. I certainly hope to change that cycle. Even Neal's step-mother did not live to know her grandchildren. She saw her first grandchild, but unfortunately passed away a couple of weeks after he was born. I am one happy lady!!

Secondly, I received more really good news yesterday. The MRI showed that there are no new tumors in the brain, and the ones that were zapped by the radiosurgery are shrinking! Yay me!!! I can't hardly contain myself. Did I mention that God is SOOOOO good!!!!

A new chapter. A new definition of me. Retired Gifted Education Specialist. But mostly, GRANDMOTHER!!!

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

He's rejoicing over me with singing right now! Can you believe it? The Creator of the Universe is rejoicing with me! He saved me; He often quiets me with His love; and now He rejoices with me! I am SO undeserving, yet He does it anyway. My God is SOOO good!!!

A New Definition

(Written February 13, 2016)

Thursday, February 4, 2016 marked the last day I will ever teach in a public school classroom. It was quite emotional. Since then I have been completing a lot of paperwork pertaining to my retirement. I've been busy with that and haven't had time to really think about the aforementioned fact. But let's concentrate on the positives.

1. I didn't have to worry about whether or not schools would be closed this week because of snow. That was nice!

2. I have more time for me. Time to do things that I rarely had time for before. Movies, theater, volunteering, and girl stuff!

3. Neal and I can travel when school's in session. We plan to go places that we've always wanted to explore. Israel is at the top of the list.

4. I will have more time for my personal children and eventually grandchildren. Oh what a day that will be!

5. I can do things when I feel like it and not when I have to. When I was teaching, I didn't feel like doing anything after school or on the weekends. I was usually extremely tired or had a bad headache. I haven't had a really bad headache since the last day I taught, and I haven't been as tired. Yes, I'm fatigued. but nothing like before.

6. Hopefully, the extra rest will help my body fight this cursed disease.

7. I can spend more time with my Savior. When your body hurts as bad as mine often does, reading and studying is just not in the cards. When I have a really bad headache, my eyes hurt and I have trouble concentrating. But I don't want to just read and study; I want to do. I want to walk with Him as we minister to others. I don't know what that will look like, but I know He has a plan and will reveal it to me in time.

So, like I said before, this isn't the end; it's only the beginning. The beginning to a new definition of me. For the last 14 years, I have been Cindy Thompson, Gifted Teacher; prior to that, I was Cindy Thompson, Pampered Chef Kitchen Consultant/Director; and prior to that, I was Cindy Thompson, Math teacher. All during that time, I've been wife and Mom--two absolutely cherished roles. Those roles have been granted to me by my Savior. I'm so thankful that those roles will always be a part of my life. They are a part of my definition, but they do not complete my definition. My Jesus completes me. He will provide a new definition of me that will knock my socks off. He always does.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:11