Ugh...

It's a feeling that no one is a fan of.

And it's exactly how I felt when Dad's oncologist walked into the room on July 19th and told us that the chemo had lost its punch and there were tumors that were starting to grow again....ugh.

And then he said to my Dad that it was really great how well he had tolerated the chemo over the last three and a half years because most people who come to him in the condition my Dad was in only live a year...wait, WHAT?!? You mean to tell me there was a timeline??? Ugh...

It's not enjoyable being back at square one, trying to find a chemotherapy that will stabilize the cancer that has been eating away at my Dad since 2008...or at least that's when it was discovered. This will be his 5th type of chemo. Ugh...

I saw a picture on facebook recently that said "I wish cancer would get cancer and die!" Me, too...ugh.

In those moments on July 19th, I felt like a billion thoughts/emotions were swirling around in my head and in my stomach. I felt sick, and "ugh" is the best word I know to describe it.

And after a few minutes in the bathroom shedding the tears that I couldn't hold back and couldn't cry in front of my Daddy, hope became alive again...because the God I serve is bigger than all of this. He is bigger than all of my worries, my fears, my doubts, and He is bigger than cancer. And I have no other option but to trust Him. My earthly father is in the hands of my heavenly Father and I am begging, literally begging, Him to do His thing and bring healing. I am pleading with Him to show His power and His lordship over this awful disease. He just has to because I can't let my mind go to a place where He doesn't come through. I can't and I won't.

I can't lie. I don't like this one bit and I am scared. I am in tears as I type these words. But I am also comforted. I am comforted by the outpouring of love and support from my family and friends. I am comforted by the hundreds and maybe even thousands of prayers being prayed on my Daddy's behalf. I am comforted by the strength and tenderness of my husband. I am comforted by the faith of my Mom. I am comforted by the promises written in a Holy Bible.

After the tears were dried, this song immediately began to sing in my heart.



The first verse and chorus...

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near calm my fear and take my doubt
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

And I will...with every breath I have.

Because I love my Lord and I love my Daddy.


And I love my parents...more and more everyday.


And I LOVE my family! To the moon and back...

The Burdette-Sanders Wedding Shindig!

Our Northwest friends Wil & Mollie got married! These two are AMAZING! We love them so much!! They each moved here separately (Mollie is from West Virginia and Wil is from Mississippi) to help out fellow church planter, Russ, in Tumwater, Washington. God blessed them in the most wonderful way by letting them fall in love, how precious! We were super excited and couldn't wait for this day to finally arrive. We even made sure we were back from our Canadian vacation a day early so we could be there. :)

My friend Sarah and I got to hang out before the festivities. Love her!


And I got to spend a little time with my sweet Tesa, which was just perfect for me since this little girl has been out of town for a month! I missed her so much and she just melted my heart when she reached for me. Glad she remembers her Lissa!


They had the cutest ring bearer around, Kade!


Normally at a wedding, I am just giddy with happiness. I'm not really a crier, but these two wrote vows to each other that were just so incredible, I was blubbering. I wiped my eyes until I ran out of fingers!


Communion and prayer, precious.


Mr. & Mrs. Wil Sanders!


The wedding venue was incredible! Ceremony outside and reception inside the most beautiful barn. Mollie put so much into the details and it was absolutely perfect.

Of course these two would toast with coffee, that is so them!


Tara, Sarah, & I enjoyed our balcony view. :)


While our hubbies were into some serious conversation...


Their first dance, so sweet.


Then the dance floor opened to everyone and the Jenkins crew had a dance party!


Super fun night with my super handsome date! =)


Congratulations Wil & Mollie!!

Trust God!

My entire life summer time has always brought with it a week of Vacation Bible School! I attended every summer as a child and teenager, and then taught or served in some way as an adult. I love VBS! Being a church that meets in a school, we don't exactly have a building to host in, but God has given us such a blessing in being able to partner with another church in town so that we can bring VBS to our community.

This year our theme was "Sky." The Sky VBS theme verse was "Everything is possible with God." Mark 10:27

I had no idea just how much I would need that theme in my life.

Here are the main points for the week...

Day One - No matter who you are...Trust God!
Day Two - No matter how you feel...Trust God!
Day Three - No matter what people do...Trust God!
Day Four - No matter what happens...Trust God!
Day Five - No matter where you are...Trust God!

It was so much fun! I was really honored to be able to teach the first three days of lessons before I was leaving to go out of town. I enjoyed studying the Bible stories and presenting them to the kiddos - they were SO into it!

I was especially moved on Day Three when we were learning "No matter what people do...Trust God!" The story that went along with Day Three was the story of Jesus' arrest and trial. The room for the day was set up with a secret hallway with clues as to where Jesus had gone and the lesson was taught as if we were all really there as Jesus was being taken away and trying to figure out who/what/why he was taken.

It all became real when a few children, with tears in their eyes, expressed worry and concern over what had happened to Jesus and why he was being treated so harshly. At the end of teaching each class, I had at least one child from the group say, "I sure hope we find Jesus tomorrow. I'm so worried about him." And I realized that these children don't know the story of Jesus. They know who he is in the sense that he is God's Son, but they don't know what he did for them. I was humbled to be introducing them to Jesus for the first time. And I was also a bit envious of sweet Mary Ann, who got to teach the lesson the next day telling them about Jesus' death and then his resurrection. I sure wanted to see their faces!!

Here are a few pictures of our fun times!







Yep, that's my husband playing the part of the pilot. :)



I asked my friend Sarah's son, Sterling, what he thought about VBS and this is the happy face he made for me. :)


And here's the Kadester singing and dancing along to our theme song. Fun!


I know so many of you have faithfully prayed for us since we moved to Washington, and all I can say is THANK YOU! There are still so many who don't know about the love of our Savior, but we are sure trying to tell them. Keep praying and remember, No Matter What, TRUST GOD!! =)

Taste of Tacoma

This summer, after a pretty rainy week, we were itching to get outside so we took advantage of a very-cloudy-but-not-quite-raining afternoon and ventured over to a food festival that happens once a year called "Taste of Tacoma." Not really knowing what to expect, we quickly discovered that you can get any kind of food imaginable in this one location, seriously.



We immediately spotted what our taste buds were craving...


Happy, happy, happy!!


We enjoyed our very own alligator-on-a-stick and it was so yummy!


Ooooo...the deep fried everything cart! If I wasn't so full from the alligator, I would have loved some fried pickles!!


But instead, we opted for a funnel cake and headed over to the main stage area.


There was plenty of entertainment scattered around.



Then we stumbled upon a full on 80s Hair Metal tribute band who call themselves, "Platinum Spandex." Yes, I said that correctly.

Seriously kept wondering if this was really happening...



...it was! I think I giggled through most of it because it was that funny. However, there were some super serious fans in the crowd who were singing/dancing/moving oddly to every song. Great, now I'm giggling again. :)



Look closely, can you see the sign?

Of the nearly four years we've lived in Washington, I think 75% of my Wal-Mart trips are met with someone trying to get you to sign a petition to legalize medical marijuana. This guy was able to round up several signatures from the fans in this crowd. Funny thing, the people asking you to sign don't ever really seem like they have a "medical" condition...but who am I to assume? Geez...


Thanks for the fabulous people watching experience, Platinum Spandex!

We had a blast!