A slight change of plans

So I have recently discovered something. I epically fail at keeping a blog...at least keeping it updated. It's not like I've been too busy or anything, I just haven't felt all that motivated to write.

As you can imagine, I am no longer in Oxford...so right now the title of the blog would be more accurate as "Abby's lack of Adventures in Loveland". It's been a really strange summer so far. If you had asked me a year ago, heck even at the end of the school year, what I thought summer would be like...I wouldn't have come close.

I somewhat mentioned previously summer started out rather uglily (that's probably not a word but it works). My cat of 16+ years passed away while I was at school (right before finals) and that was pretty rough. My grandma was diagnosed with fairly advanced breast cancer and suffered a heart attack. Another distant cousin was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer. And last week another one of my kitties was hit by a car (killing her and her unborn kittens instantly). So all in all, it's been rough but that's not the weird part of the summer.

The weird part is how God saw those sorrows and began to mend them (okay maybe it's not weird because that's just who God is, it just blows me away). Not a week after Marky died, two of our former kittens had kittens of their own. We now have seven of the most adorable little baby cats in the world. The pain of loosing Mark is still there but as my little sister said "Nothing mends a broken heart like a new born kitten". Now this next one is really a miracle. My grandma had been complaining of some classic heart attack symptoms and my grandpa (being a former EMT) recognized it immediately, called the ambulance and starting prepping my grandma for the ride to the hospital. My grandpa had her set up in a way that the EMT guys basically only had to put in the ambulance and drive. They rushed her to the hospital and almost right away they took her into surgery and performed an angioplasty. One of the arteries going to her heart was nearly 95% (that may or may not be exaggerated) blocked. The doctor said had they not performed the surgery when they did, she would have died (it truly was a miracle). They also learned that the type of breast cancer my grandma has can be treated with hormones and she might not need the chemo. The other two situations have had no immediate resolutions. Jayme starts chemo and radiation this week (y'all can pray for her and her family) and we still miss Georgy a lot but Mungu Anaweza (Swahili for God is able...I stole that from a friend's status, thanks Nate!). It just blows me away. I was feeling pretty helpless and I dreaded praying about these needs because I didn't want to admit to myself that it was as bad as it really was. That's where God came in too. I was at a loss and kind of rebelling against praying and God met those needs anyway. He is faithful when I am not.

Whew! I feel a bit out of breath after writing all that.

I was really dreading coming home for the summer. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my family and LOVE being around them but I was really going to miss my friends and the freedom I had at Miami. I thought all the friends I had made at the end of the school year would disappear into a cloud of smoke. In my mind summer was the place friendships went to die. Well, I was wrong (thank GOD...literally). Admittedly I haven't gotten to do much with my friends from high school, which is mostly my fault for not taking the initiative and that's a little different than I imagined. But the weird thing is the friends I made at Miami aren't going away, if anything those relationships are stronger than they've ever been (which, again, is not how I saw it). Who knew things like IM and Facebook would actually help me form real meaningful relationships? Strange...

Another thing that didn't go as planned is I didn't get a summer job (not for lack of trying mind you). But I'm not going to dwell on that.

This next bit will be a random praises. I finally got my drivers' license (the entire time I was entire humming "Jesus take the wheel" (which again is weird because I hate that song and country music in general) mumbling "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13) and we got a car, a nice little green Honda (named Carl or Carlotta depending on who you ask). We have a new baby boy in the family, my cousin James Anthony Diss Jr. was born at the end of June...the first Diss boy in 30 years.

Another thing that's been strange for me is how I feel. I feel different than I did a year ago. A good different I think. I don't know why and I really can't explain the how. Maybe it's all about growing up, I don't know...I'm at a loss.

So this summer has really been all about God's plans not being my plans and me learning His plans are the best.

I'll end with this (something that has been whispered to me throughout the summer) today:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. --- Jeremiah 29:11-13

Something Positive!!! HURRAY!!

I'm beginning to feel like this has become a bit an obituary (believe me that was not the intention) so I'm going to switch things up a bit and add some positive news.

Well to begin with, a week after our beloved Marky passed away the cats that adopted us had kittens. So living on our back porch currently are 7 of the cutest baby cats in the world. We need to find homes for all but two of them.


Another positive: The first Diss baby boy in thirty years was born yesterday. Ironically the last baby boy was his daddy and they share the same name, James Anthony.


I really don't have anything too deep today...probably because I've not been sleeping well for the past two weeks. My goal is to complete the update and add more tomorrow, when I have some alone time (of which I am in desperate need of...the introvert has been around lots of people lately and quite frankly it's exhausting).

When It Rains it Pours

Well this has not been an easy year so far. We have certainly been through the fire and unfortunately we have yet to see the end of it. Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times and we don't always understand why. It's been really difficult this year to see God's goodness in hard situations, but I know it's always there (always has been and always will).

Well here we go on our latest tragedies.

Without be too specific, I have found out in the last week that two family members have been diagnoised with cancer in the 3 and 4 stages. Please pray for them and the rest of my family. Pray for healing and for peace in this turmoil. Pray that God will use this to turn their hearts to him.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

Another lesson in morality

I can honestly say that this is a lesson I'm sick of learning. Today (May 1) I lost another special friend. My Mark (I wish the picture gave him justice) went to be with Jesus today. I never got to say good-bye and I hope he knows how much I loved him. Marky had been sick off and on for a while, but he always seemed to bounce back. This time, at the ripe old age of 16ish, he decided he was done fighting and wanted to see Jesus. This has been a rough year for us and our pets. Please pray for us...I don't even know what or how at this point, I just know we need it. Thank you God for giving us such a wonderful kitty and take good care of him. I love you Marky and will always miss you!

Merry Monday!!

Merry Monday everyone! Well that's something I thought I'd never say. It really is amazing the difference a day, writing, and wonderful friends can make. Yesterday, as you may or may not have noticed was a rough day/afternoon for me. There really is no specific reason why it was, it was just one of those days. So we shall move on from those types of days and look forward.

So as a brief update, things have been crazy. My roommate went off to boot camp in February, so I have been roomieless since then. I have my rooming assignment and roommate assignment for next year. I went to Colorado with the Navigators during Spring Break.

Now I will elaborate on the Spring Break. My goal for Spring Break was to draw closer to God and have a fantastic God moment. Well the God moment didn't happen...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I just felt very stale and tired in my faith; I wanted God to wake me up and make me have this amazing relationship with Him. When that didn't happen, I began to feel discouraged and anxious (the homesickness didn't help the anxiety...neither did the 22 hour van ride, the people were great but 22 hours is just too long). Although I didn't have a huge God moment He did show me some of the amazing people around me...people that I roomed with and spent that fabulous van ride with. I think I came out of Colorado with new friendships, and strengthen old friendships, that I probably wouldn't have discovered had I not gone.



The God moment I was craving came afterward. While there, Glen Eyrie (Colorado Springs, Colorado), I got a book from the Nav HQ's bookstore. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. I figured maybe I was having trust issues and that's why I was feeling stale. Well I started reading the book and one of the first things Bridges said was (more or less) if you don't trust God, you don't have a good relationship with Him (that was an aha! moment) and if you don't have a good relationship with him, you probably don't know him that well (hmm...) and if you don't know him it's probably because you're not reading his word and allowing two way communication (at this point I mentally gave myself a "coulda had a V8 donk"). Since then I have on average 5 quiet times a week and have never felt closer to God (glory be!). I have felt physically and mentally 10x better than before I left. It really is amazing, isn't it?




Another thing from Colorado that stuck with me is the verse Hebrews 12:2

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

This verse was explained by one of the speakers, Vick Black, at Glen Eyrie. He put the emphasis on "for the joy" and explained that we are that joy. I never thought of myself that way before and I absolutely love it. To think that God takes joy in me and that Christ died because he found joy in me, blows my mind. It's definitely become my favorite verse and whenever I have days like I did yesterday, I meditate on that and God brings me out of that funk.


I think that's all for now but I'll leave you with an old gem that I rediscovered today. "More" by Matthew West.

Take a look at the mountains
Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean
Far as your eye can see
And think of Me

Take a look at the desert
Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever
Where you go is where I am

And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you
I'm spelling it out one by one

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city
Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million
And you belong to Me

And I want you to know
That I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

Shine for Me
Shine for Me
Shine on, shine on
Shine for Me

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

(Chorus)
Than the sun
and the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you, yesterday and today
Through the joy and the pain
I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

And I see you
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

A Lesson on Mortality

Today I had to say to good bye to one of my best friends. We had to put our beloved puppy (okay she was 13, so maybe not puppy) Princess to sleep. She was beginning to struggle to breath and had stopped eating a week ago. It's hard but it's comforting to know God's taking care of her until we can get there. She's sitting in Jesus' lap right now, chewing on a t-bone, and enjoying a nice tummy rub from an angel. I can't write anymore right now, crying too much. I'll leave with some song lyrics, a poem, and a Bible verse.

Song Lyrics: Phil Joel, Passing Angel

We won't say goodbye
This is not the end we know
Truly all who live must die
But not all who live Have truly been alive

So, I will celebrate your love
Celebrate your faith
Celebrate your love
And the legacy you leave

We won't say goodbye

Poem (my roomie wrote this out for me and put on my desk, I balled when I saw it after getting back): Jan Cooper, Heaven's Doggy Door

My best friend closed his eyes last night,
As his head was in my hand.
The Doctors said he was in pain,
And it was hard for him to stand.

The thoughts that scurried through my head,
As I cradled him in my arms.
Were of his younger, puppy years,
And OH...his many charms.

Today, there was no gentle nudge
With an intense "I love you gaze",
Only a heart thats filled with tears
Remembering our joy filled days.

But an Angel just appeared to me,
And he said, "You should cry no more,
GOD also loves our canine friends,
HE's installed a 'doggy-door"!

Bible Verse: Matthew 10: 29-31

²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny^d]">[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Pray for healing of our broken hearts