Stepping Stones For Survival

Most moms make many sacrifices to help their children, to encourage and support them. Moms with breast cancer struggle to continue to parent their children.

Rhonda Lassiter is a single –parent mom with two sons in high school who play football. When she told her sons she had stage 3 breast cancer, one of them said he didn’t want it to change her.

Imagine the courage and determination it took for Rhonda to ask the nurse at her first chemotherapy treatment to hurry up. She had a game to attend and her own regular seat there.

How many breast cancer moms would finish chemotherapy at 3:15 pm and be on the road to their sons’ football game by 4:00 pm? Rhonda did it.

That breast cancer mom endured four surgeries and still didn’t miss a single game. What a cheerleader.

Imagine a breast cancer patient going from the recovery room to her sons’ football game. Rhonda wouldn’t think of missing a game. The team players wore pink socks in her honor. Arrangements were made for her to watch the game from her car, but she insisted on sitting in her regular place. That way her sons could see her.

Rhonda Lassiter suffers from nerve damage to her legs, which prevented her from returning to her job. She dreams of returning to work and getting her life back. With her fighting spirit, she will probably succeed.

Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega January 11, 2012

Luke 2:12: “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

I remember the excitement of being pregnant. Friends and coworkers gave me a baby shower. My mom sent money to buy a new crib. I bought other items to decorate the baby’s room.

When my mother visited to see her first grandson, she brought two suitcases full of clothes and things for the baby.

She had only the clothes she was wearing. We had to go to the mall to buy her clothes.

Yet the King of kings and Lord of lords did not have a beautiful new crib and lovely new clothes.

Verse seven tells us there was no room in the inn for Mary and Joseph. When Jesus was born, Mary placed him in a manger.

Do we make room in our hearts for Jesus Christ? Do we make room for him in our daily schedule? Do we give the Lord our best or our leftovers?

Dear God, help me make room for Jesus in my life. Amen.

Application: What will you do this week to make room for Jesus in your schedule?

Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega December 13, 2011

Merry Christmas. I won’t send a devotion next week. I will spend more time with Jesus.

My blog on addiction and domestic violence: http://www.yvonneortega.blogspot.com

Latest Recording: Listen to Yvonne Ortega teach how to pray God’s Word for our loved ones. Interview #68 October 25, 2011 at www.blogtalkradio.com/hope-for-the-journey

Lucas 2:12: “Encontrarán a un niño envuelto en pañales y acostado en un pesebre.”

Me acuerdo del entusiasmo de estar embarazada. Mis amigas y compañeras del trabajo me dieron un “baby shower.” Mi mamá me mandó dinero para comprar un pesebre nuevo. Yo compré otras cosas para decorar el cuarto del bebé.

Cuando mi mamá visitó a su primer nieto, trajo dos maletas llenas de ropa y otras cosas para el bebé.

Ella tenía solamente la ropa que llevaba. Teníamos que ir de compras para comprarla ropa.

Aún el Rey de los reyes y el Señor de los señores no tuvo un pesebre bello y nuevo ni ropa hermosa.

El versículo siete nos dice que no había lugar en la posada para María y José. Cuando Jesús nació, María lo puso en el pesebre.

¿Hacemos lugar en nuestros corazones para Jesucristo? ¿Hacemos lugar para él en nuestro horario diario? Le damos lo mejor o las sobras?

Amado Dios, ayúdame a hacer lugar para Jesús en mi vida. Amén.

Aplicación: ¿Qué hará usted esta semana para hacer lugar para Jesús en su horario?

Derecho de propiedad literaria © por Yvonne Ortega el 13 de diciembre de 2011

¡Feliz Navidad! No mandaré un devocional la semana que viene. Pasaré más tiempo con Jesús.

Grabación Más Reciente: Escuchen a Yvonne Ortega enseñar como orar la Escritura por su familia y sus amigos en la Entrevista #68 en inglés en www.blogtalkradio.com/hope-for-the-journey

Mi CD: “Esperanza durante el Camino del Dolor” se compra de mí.

The Spirit of Christmas is a collection of forty-two stories compiled and edited by Cecil “Cec” Murphey and Marley Gibson. The following is an interview with Cecil “Cec” Murphey.

1. Why did you compile and edit this book?
There are so many Christmas stories out there. People love stories, especially about Christmas. My earlier book called Christmas Miracles did so well my editor wanted another book on Christmas. This book was already in its third printing before it went on sale. That means, the store chains such as Barnes & Noble or Sam’s anticipated higher sales than the publishers.

2. Why do people like Christmas stories so much?

It’s the one time in the year that most people seem to pause long enough to reflect on life and think about others. Christmas also pulls many of us back to the best moments of our childhood.

3. What’s your favorite “best moment” of the past?

Instead of going back to my childhood, I reflect on the Christmas when I was in the Navy, had met and fallen in love with Shirley (and married her the following year). Months earlier I had become a Christian.

A group of us had a special Christmas dinner. Afterward, the others sat around the piano and sang. I stared out the window and thought about my life. “This is my first Christian Christmas,” I said to myself. I felt such a calmness and a quiet joy that I had finally understood the reason for the special date in December.
Just then, my friend John, who had a beautiful tenor voice, sang “O Holy Night.”
And for me, it was a holy night—and a memory that grows richer through the years.

4. What do you look for when you select the stories?
I want true stories with heart—stories that touch my emotions. For example, in the book, there’s a funny story about cats knocking over a Christmas tree. Another takes place in a post office when people were upset over long lines. One act of kindness changed the attitude of everyone there. A third story is about an American living alone in Korea at Christmas who felt alone until others opened themselves to her.

1. Since researching/writing A Christmas Journey Home, how have your thoughts/opinions regarding the immigration situation changed?
Telling this volatile yet touching story from both sides of the fence and putting faces on the people involved softened my stance considerably. My dad was an immigrant, though he came legally and worked hard to bring the rest of his family here legally as well. As a result, I thought the issue was pretty straightforward. Though I still feel strongly about protecting our borders and stopping the obvious crimes of drug and human smuggling, as well as terrorists who might come across to harm us, I now realize there is an individual, “human” side that must be considered as well
2. In the early portions of the book, Isabella finds she is expecting her first child. Most of us think of that as a joyous time, yet many of us have found ourselves in difficult situations that marred that joy. How were you able to relate to Isabella’s mixed emotions at discovering she was pregnant?
I was very young and far from home and family (except my new husband) when expecting my first child. My joy was tampered with apprehension, not to mention financial challenges, as we were very young and starting with nothing. Joseph and Mary had an incredibly difficult time as they awaited the birth of Jesus on that first Christmas, so the connection comes full circle—which I suppose is why many critics are calling A Christmas Journey Home a “modern-day Nativity story.”

3. Considering the vital part Isabella’s abuelo (grandfather) played in this story, is there someone in your own life who prayed for you in much the same way?
My German grandmother, Omi, was the only Christian in our family, and she prayed for all of us. She died at 90, having seen me, my brothers, and my mom come to accept Jesus, but not seeing my dad/her son do the same. But a loved one’s prayers are not constrained by time. Her son/my father came to Christ in the last week of his life, just after his 88th birthday. I rejoice to know they are reunited now around the throne of God! Also, my praying mother has now joined them, leaving us just after her 90th birthday this past August. What a legacy!

4. Miriam was a brokenhearted widow in a difficult situation. Were you able to relate to her in a personal way?
Having lost my parents isn’t the same as losing a husband, and yet it is still a painful time. I know so many who have lost loved ones recently, and each of us must make the same choice as Miriam: will we allow our pain to drive us away or toward the Father’s heart? It is a decision each of us must make many times during our earthly journey.

5. Francisco was not only devoted to his wife and unborn child, but to God as well. How do you think he reconciled such devotion with his willingness to defy the law and cross the border illegally?
This is, no doubt, the crux of the story. As Christians, where we do we stand when it comes to breaking the law in order to save a life? Does this illegal immigration issue compare to Christians who broke the law in Nazi Germany to save Jewish lives? I don’t know that I answered this question in A Christmas Journey Home, but I hope I left the readers with some new considerations to pray about after closing the last page of the book.

Luke 2:11: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

At age 3, my son memorized this verse and knew Christian Christmas carols.

In contrast, a child visited my home. I played and sang Christian Christmas carols. She didn’t know any of them.

I offered to help her make a Christmas card. She wanted to make one for Santa. She said, “I love Santa.”

As we talked, I realized she had no understanding of the reason for the season.

As Christians, we have the privilege of telling others why we celebrate Christmas.

When others talk about Christmas lights, Christmas cards and Christmas presents, let’s talk about the birth of the Savior.

Let’s have a Nativity set in our home. Let’s get ready to celebrate the birthday of our Savior, Christ the Lord.

Dear God, help me get ready for the birthday of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Application: What will you do this week to teach your children or other people why we celebrate Christmas?

Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega December 6, 2011

My blog on addiction and domestic violence: http://www.yvonneortega.blogspot.com

Latest Recording: Listen to Yvonne Ortega teach how to pray God’s Word for our loved ones. Interview #68 October 25, 2011 at www.blogtalkradio.com/hope-for-the-journey

Lucas 2:11: “Hoy les ha nacido en la ciudad de David un Salvador, que es Cristo el Señor.”

A los tres años, mi hijo memorizó este versículo y sabía los villancicos cristianos.

Por contraste, una niña me visitó. Toqué y canté villancicos cristianos. Ella no sabía ninguno de ellos.

Ofrecí a ayudarla hacer una tarjeta navideña. Ella quería hacer una para el Papá Noel. Me dijo, “Yo quiero a Papá Noel.”

Mientras hablamos, me fijé que ella no entendía la razón que celebramos la Navidad.

Cuando otros hablan de las luces de Navidad, las tarjetas Navideñas y los regalos de Navidad, hablémonos del nacimiento de El Salvador.

Tengámonos un nacimiento en nuestra casa. Nos preparémonos a celebrar el cumpleaños de nuestro Salvador, Cristo el Señor.

Amado Dios, ayúdame a estar listo para el cumpleaños de Jesucristo. Amén.

Aplicación: ¿Qué hará usted esta semana para enseñar a sus hijos o a otras personas la razón que celebramos la Navidad?

Derecho de propiedad literaria © por Yvonne Ortega el 6 de diciembre de 2011

Grabación Más Reciente: Escuchen a Yvonne Ortega enseñar como orar la Escritura por su familia y sus amigos en la Entrevista #68 en inglés en www.blogtalkradio.com/hope-for-the-journey

Mi CD: “Esperanza durante el Camino del Dolor” se compra de mí.

Mi libro: Puede comprar mi libro, Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer, (Revell) en las librerías, en amazon.com y en otros sitios en línea.

Imagine not having to undergo a mammogram to screen for breast cancer. Imagine a diagnostic tool that works in eight seconds without pain.

A team of British scientists at Micrimia, a company that began at Bristol University, calls their new screening tool, MARIA. The team says MARIA is safer, quicker, more comfortable and cheaper than traditional mammogram X-rays. It wouldn’t take much to be more comfortable.

The team also says MARIA can screen women of any age which is not true of mammograms because they carry a radiation risk. The new device also finds problems in breast tissue more easily, even if it is dense tissue.

The new breast-screening device uses anti-landmine technology. The team has already carried out three successful trials with 300 women at Frenchay and Southmead Hospitals.

MARIA stands for Multistatic Array processing for Radiowave Image Acquisition.

The woman lies down on a bench, and her breast is placed in a ceramic cup-shaped scanner. The scanner has sixty antennae which transmit radio waves through the breast and relay signals to a computer. Those antennae create a complete scan of the breast in eight seconds. Yes, that’s right, in eight seconds.

The signals can distinguish between normal breast tissue and tumors by picking up on the blood and water present in tumors.

The team hopes to have the device in production in three years and to have MARIA screening widely used in five years.

Psalm 69:30: “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.”

I find it easy to praise God’s name and glorify him with thanksgiving when I feel strong and healthy, when someone sends me a lovely gift, when my prayers get answered.

However, it’s another story when I feel sick and when I’ve prayed for years for someone’s salvation to no avail. As author Nancy Leigh DeMoss would say, at that time I choose to be a whiner or a worshiper.

At Thanksgiving, some of us sing the song, “Now Thank We All Our God.” I love the last three lines, “Hath blessed us on our way With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.”

Martin Rinkart, a seventeenth century Lutheran pastor, wrote that song in Eilenberg during the Thirty Years War. He averaged more than 4,500 funeral services at the height of the war. One of those was for his wife.

However, the first three lines tell us Martin Rinkart chose to worship. “Now thank we all our God, With hearts and hands and voices, Who wondrous things hath done.”

Dear God, I chose to worship you this Thanksgiving. Amen.

Application: For what will you glorify the Father with thanksgiving this week?

Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega November 22, 2011

My blog on addiction and domestic violence: http://www.yvonneortega.blogspot.com

Latest Recording: Listen to Yvonne Ortega demonstrate how to personalize Scripture to pray for our loved ones. Interview #68 October 25, 2011 at www.blogtalkradio.com/hope-for-the-journey

My book: Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer(Revell) is available at bookstores, my website and online stores.

May God bless you richly.

Salmo 69:30: “Con cánticos alabaré el nombre de Dios; con acción de gracias lo exaltaré.”

Es fácil alabar el nombre de Dios y con acción de gracias exaltarlo cuando me siento fuerte y sana, cuando alguien me manda un regalo hermoso, cuando mis oraciones se contestan.

Sin embargo, es otra cosa cuando me siento enferma y cuando he orado en vano hace muchos años para la salvación de alguien. Como dijera la autora, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, en ese tiempo yo decido ser una persona que se queja o una persona que adora a Dios.

En este tiempo de acción de gracias, algunos de nosotros cantamos la canción, “Ahora Demos Gracias a Nuestro Dios.” Me encantan las tres últimas líneas, “Nos ha bendecido en nuestro camino Con dones de amor sin número, Y todavía es nuestro hoy.”

Martín Rinkart, un pastor luterano del siglo 17, escribió esa canción en Eilenberg durante la Guerra de Treinta Años. Calculó el término medio de 4,500 servicios funerales en la parte más intensa de la guerra. Uno de esos servicios funerales era para su esposa.

Sin embargo, las primeras tres líneas nos dicen que Martín Rinkart decidió a alabar a Dios. “Ahora demos gracias a nuestro Dios, Con corazones y manos y voces, que cosas maravillosas ha hecho.”

Amado Dios, decido alabarte este día de acción de dar gracias. Amén.

Aplicación: ¿Para qué lo exaltará a Dios con acción de gracias esta semana?

Derecho de propiedad literaria © por Yvonne Ortega el 22 de noviembre de 2011

Grabación Más Reciente: Escuchen a Yvonne Ortega enseñar como personalizar la Escritura para orar por su familia y sus amigos en la Entrevista #68 en inglés en www.blogtalkradio.com/hope-for-the-journey

Mi CD: “Esperanza durante el Camino del Dolor” se compra de mí.

Mi libro: Puede comprar mi libro, Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer, (Revell) en las librerías, en amazon.com y otros sitios en línea.

¡Que Dios le bendiga ricamente!