Wanna hear a story?

Want to hear a story? A truly amazing, once-in-a-lifetime story. A story about healing and Jesus and he still performs miracles to this day.

Read this story from Chantel, a friend in our BGroup, who is wise and brave beyond her years.

My name is Chantel Wiley. My husband and I have two daughters, Casey and Sarah. My husband Dustin was diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer when I was 7 weeks pregnant with our youngest daughter. He has been through 2 brain surgeries, Chemotherapy, and radiation. His tumor was diagnosed as an Astrocytoma. The first round of Chemotherapy and Radiation in 2010 failed to do the job. The cancer was growing more aggressively and jumped up a grade. After new Chemotherapy combinations over a year and a half, his cancer was in remission. This was February of 2011, when he turned 24.

Exciting right? He had cancer and then he was healed! Oh, but this story isn't over....

This past Deccember, 2012, we rushed Dustin to the emergency room due to severe vomiting and migraines. We found out that his cancer had spread to the center of his brain and now had transformed into a grade 4 Glioblastoma. The worst type of Brain Cancer a person can have. More aggressive than ever. Dustin was given less than a year to live in December.

Yikes! Dustin's cancer has returned. His cancer returned about 5-6 months after moving to Shreveport and joining our BGroup. We all celebrated when he found he was in remission! We were thrilled! And now not only did his world get rocked, all of ours did. We were all on this journey with Dustin and Chantel. When the Wiley's found out the cancer was back, it hurt us all. Dustin began another month of chemo, honestly with little hope. As a class we rallied around the family and prayed for comfort. We brought food and babysat anything to help out. It's strange. We all know our God is still in the miracle business, but it's like we never think we will see it. Or be a part of it.

The Sunday before Dustin's final scan, after 1 month of chemo, we decided in BGroup to pray for Dustin and Chantel and the family ton Wednesday and Thursday (the day of the scan and the day of the results). We each signed up for one or more hours to pray for the Wileys. The family was covered in prayer from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday morning through Wednesday night and same for Thursday. Ah-mazing.

After God's children came together over a beautiful, short period of time, prayers to heaven were everywhere you looked. Dustin had an MRI on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. The next day, when we thought we would hear horrible news, the doctors pulled up the scan and the tumor was gone, vanished..notttta. To God be the Glory. Giving our daughters and I more time with their Daddy, and his best birthday present ever :) February is a good month. We will continue to do Chemotherapy, and are not out of the woods..Brain Cancer has a really stupid way of sneaking back up on you when you aren't looking. So we need all the prayers we can get!  

Dustin's tumor is gone!!!! It is hard for us to wrap our little brains around that. It's truly amazing. I don't think any of us ever doubted God, or the fact that he could truly make this happen. But I don't think anyone truly believed it would happen. I'll be the first to admit, I didn't. Shame on me.

Thank you God for healing Dustin and thank you God for continuing to perform miracles, even when we don't believe or deserve it.

You can keep up with the Wileys and follow Dustin's story on their Facebook page.

Been a minute...

So, hello and goodbye January. Goodness, it has been a hot minute since I have blogged. Maybe I'm just recovering from the holidays? Yeah, it took a whole month....

So let's catch up...
Work- work is crazy good right now. Super busy, like I won't be able to come up for air until April, busy. But that is fantastic! I love being busy with work that benefits the community! It is also so great to work with ladies that love the Lord and always try to do the right thing.

School/teaching- I am not teaching this semester. Whew. I will guest lecture a class at Centenary in March. But other than that, no higher ed for me. (WOO!)

Junior League- Oh my goodness. THIS is why I haven't been blogging. Market is almost here!!! And it has been keeping me busy day and night! My placement has been Market Publicity. It's like a job on top of a job. But I know it will be all worth it when Market gets here. Want to join me for a weekend of super fun events and shopping?? Get your tickets here - http://www.jlsb.org/?nd=tnt

Chris- Chris was off almost all of January!! Crazy!! I say "off," but he did do some work, but he was home every night! What a blessing! Probably the longest we have been together (like days in a row) in a while. Since we've been married? Crazy! We were really able to hang out and be normal with each other. Go to dinner, cook dinner, etc. We also really got to know other couples in our BGroup (Sunday School class). It was perfect timing to where we could hang out and get to know everyone on a better level. It's easier to get to know other couples when my other half that makes me a couple is here. We had so much fun with the crew on New Year's Eve (minus Tyler and Aimee)

The house is great. No four legged (or two legged) kids running around. I wonder which will come first at this point. 

I am doing a new Bible study with a small group of girls. We just needed a change. So we are studying Malachi by Lisa Harper. I wouldn't say it is the greatest Bible study, but it at least let us start conversations with each other and grow together.

I was honored by the Young Professionals Initiative as a 40 Under 40 honoree. We got to dress all fancy and go to the event to be honored. (Yes this was in December. Did I never post about that?)

Me and my boo at 40 Under 40

The whole fam! 

Life is good and I've got nothing to complain about!

Wordless Wednesday

Gah. I love this man. <3

Why hello, 2013.

Gosh, where did 2012 go? I feel like the first part druuuuuuug on (while we were building the house), and now the last part just FLEW by!!

It seems like a lot happened in 2012, but I didn't blog about it to prove it. Hmm. Well, what can I say, it was a busy year! That's for sure!

Chris and I started building our house in 2011, continued in 2012 and finally finished is in July 2012! Whew! It was a long, exhaustive process, but we are so pleased with the results!! We feel so blessed to be able to come home each night to a house that is our very own!

That was the highlight of 2012, I'd say. Chris worked his tail off every other week at the rig and the other weeks at home. Poor boy. When he comes home, he never rests. I've got him tackling all kinds of projects when he's "off."

I worked my tail off at my old job, and my new job! I am so pleased to be working back at The Community Foundation and just look forward to how I can grow in 2013 and beyond with the organization.

I don't really have big plans for 2013, but I do have a few things I'd like to accomplish. I think a New Year's resolution is too much pressure. But as a blogger friend said, I do have some "intentions" for 2013 I'd like to accomplish.

• I want to enjoy 2013. Like, really enjoy it. I loved 2012 and all its excitement, but sister needs a break. From about October through December I had something to do after work almost every.single.night. That's just not normal. Or sane. And I was beginning to feel it. I want to cherish moments with hubby and friends and family, because life really is too short and could be gone before ya know it! 
• I want to save money in 2013. Who doesn't want this? But I don't want to save, just to save. What's the point in that? As the song goes, "You can't take it with you when you go." We spent a lot of money on the house and it is time to start building up the savings account again. I want to save for a trip. [Then go on the trip and start saving for another :)] I want to save for our future babies. How ridiculous to have to start saving for college before kids. I can't even begin to imagine how much that will cost?! Such is life... I want to save and build a fence. I want to save and make a double mortgage payment. I want to save and be wise with what God has provided us.
• I want to grow in 2013. Well that sounds odd, because I also want to shrink as a person! Haha! I want to grow and flourish in our marriage. I want to go beyond just the surface with my friendship. I want to get to know my friends on another level, and I want my friends to get to know me. Chris and I have a wonderful group of friends from church that we are just beginning to grow with. I can't wait to see what God has planned for the crew of friends! [Grow? Oh you thought I meant grow our family? Well, maybe that too ;)]
• I want to shrink in 2013. Seriously though. I know this is such a cliche New Year's resolution, but this ship has got to shape up, or it's going to sink. Ick. I don't even feel good about myself right now, and that is just no fun. I'll probably stay out of the gym in January and February because all the other crazy New Year's resolution folks will be in there, but I can and WILL start haulin' my butt around the block come January 1! (Shoot! That's tomorrow y'all!!) 
• I want to read the Bible in one year. Chris and I are going to try to tackle this one together! I think it will be so fun to read together and see what God can teach us. I also want to read for FUN! I honestly can't remember that last time I did that. Probably when the Twilight Saga was out. Yikes.
• I also want to charitable, loving, honest, responsible, caring and selfless. Ya know, just those few, small things.  

Wow! Writing all this made me super excited about 2013! I can't wait!!