Thought you would find it interesting.
For market analysis, click here to go to the report on my website:
http://www.smithbarney.com/pdf/marketcommentary.pdf
Sandy Vantrease
Financial Advisor
-----Original Message-----
From: gepatty@aol.com [mailto:gepatty@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 11:44 AM
To: Vantrease, Sandra [GWM-SBPVTC]
Subject: Fwd: Laura Black
This is the email from the young mother with cancer I told you about on the phone this a.m.
I found her message and testimony one of the most compelling I have ever read/heard/seen.
Pass it on if you wish and please pray for her.
Love,
Gail
-----Original Message-----
From: michele barfield
To: gail patty
Sent: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:11 am
Gail--Laura is a friend of my daughter-in-law, Kerri. You were ever-present in my mind, as was Casey, when I read this. . .oftentimes we simply need to be "refreshed" . Love, Michele
Lynn and Kim-
Hey! This is the e-mail from Laura Black that I was telling you about. She is 32 or 33 years old and has 3 young children. Laura had breast cancer while pregnant with her third child and was cured. Now it has come back in both lungs. Without God’s intervention, she probably has two years to live. You can see by reading her e-mail what an amazing perspective she has on her circumstances. Katherine
From: Laura Black
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 7:53:01 PM
So far so good. I’ve started taking the Tamoxifin instead of the Femara. It’s making me really tired, but other than that, no side effects. Is it working? I hope so! I won’t know until June 12th. My next CT scan is scheduled for June 11th, the day after my Dad’s 60th birthday. Wonder what he’ll be wishing for when he blows out the candles this year… maybe a convertible?
Today, one of my friends asked me to share the gospel in one of my emails. At first I was reluctant. It’s really funny because writing usually comes so easily for me. But how do you write about the most important parts of your being? Are there any words for that? Whatever I write, I know will be trivial and inadequate. My fear keeps me from sharing because I just feel like there’s no way to explain what my relationship with Christ means to me. And after all, I’m sharing so many things that God is doing in my life right now. Isn’t that enough?
Then I opened up my TableTalk for today. (I know, I know… It all comes back to TableTalk!) It said, and I quote, “The distinction between witnessing and evangelism is important because it is easy to think we are evangelizing when all we are doing is bearing witness to the Savior… Testifying to the work of God in our lives bears witness to what Christ has done for us; it does not by itself give the content of the Gospel…”
So with trembling hands, an untrained mind, but a trusting and prayerful heart, here goes…
The story of salvation is really quite simple (and at the same time, the description I’m about to give is grossly inadequate). First there was God. God created man without sin. Satan tempted man and man sinned. Man tried to cover his sin by hiding behind leaves – a plant sacrifice. That was not sufficient. Once man enters a sinful state there is a separation between him or her and God that can only be closed by a sacrifice that costs something. So God killed animals and gave Adam and Eve the animal skins to cover their sin. That begins the “crimson thread” that runs throughout the Bible. The continuous pattern throughout the Bible is man sinning and thus falling out of relationship with a Holy God who can not be reconciled with sinful man. So how can man enter into a relationship with God? In order to come back into relationship with God, a blood sacrifice is required.
Then God sent His Son to earth -- His holy, perfect Son who was without sin. When Christ died, all of the sins of man were laid upon Him. His blood covered all of our sins. That’s why we no longer perform animal sacrifices. There is no need. Christ’s sacrifice covered the sins of man. Christ bridged the gap between sinful man and a Holy God. Christ created a way for man to get to God. That is the story of salvation, but that is not salvation. Salvation is not knowledge of Christ. Salvation is not knowing that Christ is God’s son. Salvation is relational. I know George Bush. I know he is the President of the United States . I know who his parents are. I know who his children are. But I have no relationship with George Bush. If you asked George Bush if he knew me, his answer would be, “no” even though I know who he is.
The same is true of God. Having a relationship with Christ is not about knowing about Christ. It’s not about saying that you believe that Christ is Lord. It’s about making Him Lord over your life. It’s about letting your actions show that He is the Lord over your life. Not because those actions are what save you. No, salvation is a free gift from the Lord. But because you want to do those actions because you are so in love with the Lord. It’s about the end of you and the beginning of something far greater than you. It’s about a hunger to know Him better so that you can be in fellowship with Him. It’s seeing his rules and laws as a beautiful path for your life rather than as restrictions to be followed. It’s knowing that God is good even when life stinks. It’s believing that God has a purpose for your life even when you see none. It’s hope when there is none. It’s light in the midst of darkness. It’s joy in the midst of pain. It’s contentment in the midst of need. It’s trust in the midst of fear. It’s life in the midst of death. It’s everything. It’s every breath you breathe in. It’s every cell in your body calling out to Him. It’s primal. It’s enlightened. It’s truth. It’s trust. It’s a reason for waking up in the morning. It’s comfort when you sleep at night. It’s a rock. It’s a fortress. It’s not a way of life. It is life.
On a more personal note, a relationship with Christ is peace in the midst of cancer. It’s asking for a miracle when medicine has none. It’s trusting that I’m going to be okay if that miracle never comes. It’s trusting that my husband is going to be okay if that miracle never comes. It’s trusting that my children are going to be okay if that miracle never comes. It’s knowing that my children were God’s before they were mine and will be God’s after they are mine. It’s praying for a cure, but trusting in my God. It’s hope in the shadow of the valley of death, and joy in the shadow of Heaven’s gates. It’s the moments when terror is replaced with tranquility. It’s the moments when tears are replaced with smiles. It’s the moments when anger is replaced with love. It’s the moments when doubt is replaced with faith. It’s the moments when darkness is turned into light. It’s the moments when tiredness is replaced with energy. It’s the moments when I feel privileged to be in this position. It’s the moments when I thank God that when He had a job to do, he thought of me. It’s the moments when I sing a praise song that I haven’t thought about in years. It’s the moments when my house is filled with laughter. It’s the moments when I’d rather be in this place than anywhere else in the world. It’s the moments when I rejoice because even cancer has to bow to the feet of Christ. It’s the moments that I am glad because God has given me a ministry that I never thought I would have. It’s the moments when I know, that I know, that I know that ALL things work together for good for those that love the Lord. It’s the moments like this one, right now, where I do something that I never thought I could because His strength is made perfect in my weakness.
It’s the relationship that I hope everyone that is reading this has. And if you don’t, it would be my great privilege to pray with you so that you as you enter into that kind of relationship with Christ. My email address islauragblack@yahoo.com and I would love to give you a call and pray with you. I don’t have all the answers, or even most of them. But I do have connections with people that understand the Gospel far better than I and they would love to answer any questions you might have.
For His Glory,
Laura
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