Dear praying friends and family,

Do you know I’m blogging for three reasons: Prayer. Declare. Share.? Have you checked out the “About” page? Because…

As my final chemo treatment approaches (Tuesday), I’m super reflective and need to write about all three, so I’m posting in four parts: 1. A Year of Drought  2. Forever Side Effects  3. Girlhood Dreams  4. Lifelong Prognosis. Unless…

Writing becomes impossible. Remember chemo #3?

Better: Carpe Diem! A  steroid-induced dance with productivity.

Worse: Bruised and exhausted from the wired-tired mosh pit.

“By Faith Becky…” What’s up with that?

By faith Becky… is my response to beloved Bible teacher Beth Moore’s invitation in her Bible Study  Believing God to imagine adding my name to the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith.” (I need this life-giving-changing truth burned in my heart and mind – again and again. I’ve done this same Bible study at least 5 times! Yes! That good!)

The “Hall of Faith” isn’t a list of fairy-tale, religious do-gooders, but a list of broken-world, faithful God-believers, who faced the fact of their own brokenness and often heart-wrenching, impossible circumstances – choosing to believe God’s faithful power over their own foggy perspective.

Ever since that Bible study, my life is the ellipses – By faith Becky…

Hall of Faith Hero Abraham: Facing the Fact. Strengthened in Faith. Glory to God. Fully Persuaded.

 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:19-21

Will you join me (and Abraham!)?

But God…

“The Shield of Faith”

In my Writer’s Workshops at The Greenhouse, we begin class with “The Shield of Faith,” a Bible verse I select for the week.

Why?

I want to give students a good gift. I can’t give everything they need, but one thing I know: But God!

So my students and I spend time becoming more and more aware of the common-to-man-temptation to act on what we see or feel rather than on what God says.

Then we wrestle with the truth,  “But God… .”

Our last “Shield of Faith” verse every school year is:

“But God…”

said, knows, raised, promised, has shown, chose us, gives more grace, comforts, had mercy, is stronger than…, will never forget, redeems, has surely listened, is the strength of my heart, is my King.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

And I want to give you a good gift.

What are you facing that you need to wrestle, lift your Shield of Faith, and believe “But God…”?

Coming Soon! Facing the Facts – Parts 2-4

In the next few days, I’m hoping to post Forever Side Effects, Girlhood Dreams,  and Lifelong Prognosis. I want to show you some of my own “But God…” wrestling matches. Because:

I need you to help me with your prayers.

I need to declare His faithfulness.

And I need to share strength, comfort, and encouragement because we each face our own (perhaps less visible) suffering – our own “year of drought.” (Jeremiah 17:8)

Thanking God for you! And praying we know Him as our powerful Promise Keeper– more and more.

Love, Becky (His.Princess.Warrior.)

(Who, by faith, is facing the fact that battling breast cancer #2 is definitely a “year of drought,” yet believes God’s promise of blessing as I trust in Him.)

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
 They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8