Strength Renewed , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Shirley Corder

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110 pages

English

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Nothing can sap a person's strength and hope quite like a cancer diagnosis--unless it is the energy-stealing chemotherapy and surgeries faced in the fight against cancer. But one can find hope and strength in the pages of Scripture and in the experience of someone who has been there.Strength Renewed is an encouraging devotional for those living in the valley of cancer. Meditations combine Scripture and stories from the author's own experience and can be read in sequential order to move the reader through a typical cancer journey from diagnosis through treatment. Each devotion also stands on its own, so readers can go directly to the entry that speaks to their need. Each devotional includes a short prayer and a Scripture verse for encouragement.

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 octobre 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441239648
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0374€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2012 by Shirley Corder
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3964-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled CEV are from the Contemporary English Version © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled GNT are from the Good News Translation Second Edition. Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled Message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Neither the authors nor the publisher are engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in this book. Readers should consult their personal health professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from the text. The authors and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use of and/or application of any of the contents of this book. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.
To Rob, my husband and dearest friend, who never doubted I would survive my journey through the cancer valley. Thank you for your love, your encouragement, your practical help, and your unwavering faith in our heavenly Father.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments 8
Introduction 10
1. The Clock Is Ticking 14
2. Search for Peace 16
3. It’s Not Easy 18
4. I Wasn’t Born Brave 20
5. In Need of a Miracle 22
6. Let’s Be Real 24
7. Who’s to Blame? 26
8. Role Reversal 28
9. A Secret Weapon 30
10. The Writing on My Hands 32
11. Please Pray for Me 34
12. My True Value 36
13. You Still There, Lord? 38
14. Are You Not God? 40
15. A Win-Win Situation 42
16. Joy? Now? 44
17. The Bigger Plan 46
18. A Lion-Sized Gift 48
19. A Long Wait 50
20. Against All Odds 52
21. Trip to Heaven 54
22. The Clay Lamp 56
23. All One Body 58
24. Friends in Deed 60
25. Get Back on the Beam 62
26. It’s Too Much! 64
27. Long Toenails and All 66
28. A Work of Art 68
29. Unworthy, but Loved 70
30. Overcoming Challenges 72
31. Tattoos Are Forever 74
32. I Feel like a Grasshopper 76
33. A Strange Place to Worship 78
34. Bring in the Artillery 80
35. Time Out 82
36. I Feel So Alone 84
37. Company in the Storm 86
38. I Hate Roller Coasters! 88
39. Need to Focus 90
40. Over the Edge 92
41. Open My Eyes, Lord 94
42. Lymphedema 96
43. Where’s My Harp? 98
44. A Fishy Gift 100
45. An Unlikely Neighbor 102
46. A Good Hair Day 104
47. What Do I Want? 106
48. Write It Down 108
49. Learning the Hard Way 110
50. My Will Be Done 112
51. God, Where Are You? 114
52. Skateboarding 116
53. Hit the Dirt! 118
54. New Every Morning 120
55. Is There a Future? 122
56. Journaling with God 124
57. I Can’t Go On 126
58. Help My Unbelief! 128
59. Forever in Sight 130
60. Lousy Timing 132
61. Not the Way I Expected 134
62. I Need You 136
63. A Tough Decision 138
64. Running a Marathon 140
65. Friends Who Count 142
66. Snug as a Bird 144
67. Why Am I So Tired? 146
68. Teach Me to Fly 148
69. The Face in the Mirror 150
70. Unlikely Messenger 152
71. Sword at the Ready 154
72. Proud for the Right Reasons 156
73. Goodness and Love 158
74. Divine Roller Coaster 160
75. The Unappreciated Gift 162
76. What Do You Mean, “It’s Over”? 164
77. Starting Over 166
78. Angels Unaware 168
79. A Lesson from Nature 170
80. Tiny Steps 172
81. Live in the Now 174
82. Who Am I? 176
83. Absolute Guarantee 178
84. New Life 180
85. A Living Tapestry 182
86. Beware of the Little Foxes 184
87. New Values 186
88. A Time to Be Patient 188
89. Something Good? You’re Kidding 190
90. New Relationship 192
Finale: Live like an Eagle 196
Appendix 1: Helpful Scriptures 198
Appendix 2: Recommended Reading 203
Appendix 3: Help Them to Help Us 205
Back Ad
Back Cover
Acknowledgments
M any people traveled through the cancer valley with me. Others have accompanied me on the road to publication. I praise God for each one.
I especially thank the following:
Family and friends too numerous to mention. You know who you are. Thank you for all your prayers and for your love shown in so many practical ways.
My medical team. Thank you all. One of you warned me that you didn’t believe in fighting World War III with World War II weapons. You weren’t kidding! Thank you for your perseverance, your willingness to step out of the box, and your faith in God.
Cecil “Cec” Murphey, writer extraordinaire, for your encouragement and input into my writing life over the past ten years. If it hadn’t been for you, I doubt if I would ever have attended a writers’ conference in the USA, and Strength Renewed would not have been published.
Dr. Vicki Crumpton, Executive Editor of Revell at Baker Publishing Group. Thank you for recognizing the need for this book and for being prepared to take the risk involved in publishing an overseas author.
Members of Truth Talk, my online writers’ group: Yvonne Ortega, Geneva Iijima, and Wendy Marshall, thank you for your critiques and encouragement. Also thank you to Jan Kern for your help with my proposal and to Ruth Dell, Geni White, and Pam Corder for proofreading the finished manuscript.
Thank you, Ellen Tarver, for your enthusiasm and editing skills.
The editorial team of Revell/Baker. Thank you for sharing my vision and producing a book I know will be a blessing to many.
I wish I could take away the pain and emotional trauma that my husband, Rob, my daughter, Debbie, and my sons, Stephen and David, had to go through during my year in the cancer valley. But I thank God for your prayers, love, and support during those twelve long months. Thank you for hanging in there and for not giving up on me.
Most of all, I say thank you to my heavenly Father, who saved me for the second time, and who is turning all things together for good just like he promises in his Word.
Introduction
Those who hope in the L ORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31
W hen I received my diagnosis of cancer, I didn’t know anything about eagles. I wanted to renew my strength, but how do you wait on anyone, even the Lord, when you’re told you have cancer?
Over the following months, I learned much about eagles and even more about myself. I’m not naturally patient, but the eagle is, and so is the Lord. Gradually I learned what it meant to wait on him, and each time I did, he renewed my strength. Strength Renewed contains ninety meditations based on lessons I learned during my journey in the cancer valley.
When I was a student nurse, I studied the subject of cancer. I went on to care for patients at various stages of the disease. As a pastor’s wife I knew the havoc cancer brought to the families of patients, and I often became part of the support team. I saw the destructive power of cancer and the way it seemed to devastate not only the body but often the spirit too.
I thought I understood cancer. Yet on November 10, 1997, I discovered how little I knew of the physical, emotional, and spiritual roller coaster that cancer creates. It took three short words spoken by an uncaring radiologist: “You have cancer.” I’d heard those words before, but this time they were directed at me.
My first reaction to the diagnosis was to call out to the Lord. I knew I needed help from above, and I needed it right away.
I grew up in a home where my parents had a nominal belief in God. As a teenager, I attended church regularly and participated as a young musician and children’s Sunday school teacher. In my late teenage years I experienced a spiritual renewal. From then on, my faith grew. By the time cancer disrupted my life, my husband and I had been in full-time Christian ministry for twenty-eight years.
I know of people who came to faith as a result of cancer, and I praise God for them. Others, like me, were already walking with the Lord when the disease made itself known. Wherever you are spiritually, my prayer is that this book will strengthen your faith. If your relationship with God is still at an intellectual level, then I trust that as you work through these meditations, God himself will ignite the sparks of faith in you. Some people survive cancer without leaning on the Lord. I couldn’t have and I don’t believe you’d want to.
I also needed friends to keep me company during this difficult time, especially one friend who would walk through the experience with me. That person had to be someone who would love me no matter what I looked like, how I behaved, or what I said. He or she would have to be an encourager but also care enough to s