Catching Up

It has been a while since my last post. Sorry. But I do want to let folks know I'm fine and still here! I'm truly living in one of those blessed seasons right now. Life is good. Family is good. Church is good. Health is good. I can honestly say I have no complaints. Nothing worth mentioning, anyway.

So let me catch you up on the best of the best in my world! In my family world, both my parents are in good shape for the shape they're in. Daddy is 84 now and Mama is right behind him and will turn 84 in November. They celebrated 58 years of wedded bliss and every other emotion that comes with 58 years of being married to someone in June. I think they'll make it! My brother and his two sons are all doing well and thriving where they are each planted. My husband is doing well, so is the drugstore and we'll celebrate 35 years of wedded bliss and everything else in November. Our two children are thriving and so is our son-in-law. And our two grandchildren are the reasons the sun rises and sets like clock-work. Our granddaughter began Pre-K 4 in August (where has the time gone?!) and our grandson is taking his first steps...watch out world! He's coming! My church is thriving and growing in missions! We recently helped send a youth to El Salvador on his first mission trip, AND we are sending a young woman from El Salvador to college so she can earn her teaching certificate and fulfill her dream of opening her own school to teach English and Spanish! I'm so proud of everyone in my life I could bust!

In my melaworld things are also happening! The FDA fast-tracked approval of Merck's PD-1 inhibitor, Keytruda! That opens a much needed door for so many! Yes, it still has rather rough stats like all our treatments so far, BUT!, the stats aren't as rough as some. It will be a life-saver and game-changer for so many who, right now, NEED a life-saver and game-changer! We're excited! Plus it opens the doors for other such drugs to go ahead and be released. Now if we can just get the prices down!

Also big news is the Melanoma Research Foundation is, RIGHT NOW as I type, sponsoring the first-ever Pediatric Melanoma Summit! And the timing could not be more perfect as September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Many of my Facebook friends and their children are there right now and I cannot wait for their pictures and videos to start being shared! I hate there's a need for this, but I am so grateful that since there IS a need, that MRF has responded and is stepping up to meet that need.

So, as I catch you up and share my season of blessedness, I encourage you to look for the blessings in your life. They are there. Promise. And protect the children in your life. I would be remiss if, during this month, I didn't remind you that every day in the USA alone FIFTY children will be told they have some type of cancer. FIFTY families will find their world rocked and turned upside down. EVERY SINGLE DAY. JUST IN THE USA ALONE! Put sunscreen on them, every day. Watch their diet. Make sure they exercise and get fresh air. Don't smoke around them. Spend time with them. Love on them. None of us have any guarantees, not even our youngest. Make sure they know God.

God knows them!

Sure each day has a stumbling block or two . That's life. Nothing is perfect. Not even my season of blessedness. It's not perfect, but it sure is good. And I'll take that. The stumbling blocks are manageable for now. I know that can change in the blink of an eye and catch me unaware. That's life as well. And I'll deal with the changing of the seasons when it happens. God is in the changing seasons and nothing that comes my way will catch Him unaware for He never blinks.

He has proven Himself faithful and trustworthy in the past and I have no doubt He will always prove Himself faithful and trustworthy! I can handle THAT, too!

So, I'll handle what I can and trust God to handle the rest and to handle me as I handle what I can...or try to handle what I think I can!

Right now I am thankful for this season I'm in. God's got it.

What more can I ask?

charis!