A Cancer Scare: The GOOD and MIGHTY KING Answers Prayers!!!!!!

Philippians 3:20-21: But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

The only reason I am writing all these posts is because I took the day off from work. Originally it was going to be an anxious day...I would be getting results back from a biopsy on my thyroid to see whether I had thyroid cancer or not. Thankfully, my doctor called last night to tell me the great news...NO CANCER!!!

As I said in the previous post, I have been on a low-dose fertility drug, Clomid, for the last 5 months. This month my doctor decided since nothing was happening (aka I wasn't preggers), she was going to up my dose from 50mg to 100mg. Well, the hormones hit me like a ton of bricks! I felt pretty rough this month. Last Monday, as I was adjusting my shirt near my neck, I noticed one side of my thyroid was larger than the other. I called my OBGYN who after seeing me sent me to get an ultrasound of my thyroid. Wll, the ultrasound showed a 3.1cm mass that was either benign or cancer. Yikes! Not what I expected, because my thyroid hormone levels were just fine. Well, Friday I went for a biopsy. It was serious...hospital gown, sterile blankets, heart monitor...wow. My biopsy results came back yesterday that it is a benign mass. Today at the ENT doctor, he told me it didn't form from the Clomid, but it could have been exacerbated by the surge of hormones. It may go away on its own, so we are going to schedule another ultrasound in 4 months to see if it's grown. It eventually may need removed, but for now, no more doctors visits! (Unless I'm pregnant with triplets after the double dose of Clomid!! JK...but we really would be okay with that! hah!)

Through this scare, the Lord has been so incredible and peace-giving. When it all happened, not only was cancer the scare but having to wait until after all the treatments to even try to get pregnant (minimum of a year). It's already been over 4 years of us desiring to have kiddos, 2 years since the miscarriage of Lil' Bean. Not that 29 is old, but in two weeks Dustin will be a year from 30...we just thought we'd have kids by now. But, you know what?! I am so, so thankful we don't. God has given Dustin and I an incredible marriage and so much time and ministry together, just the two of us (you know the song). We know He will bless us with a family one day--we are getting so excited for adoption and pregnancy--therefore there is no reason to worry about the future! We are super excited this summer though to begin the process of adoption. So maybe we'll be "pregnant" and welcome a baby in our home even faster than 9 months!

Sure, we have faith (about the size of a mustard seed most times-Matt. 17:19-20), but thankfully the mercy God gives us in not rooted in how much FAITH I, Kori Jo Nally, have! Faith is rooted in the victorious work my Savior has done (Eph. 6). I cannot praise my good Lord enough for the incredible news He gave us yesterday and today. He was merciful on us that I did not have cancer. He constantly showers us with blessings and I don't want to get caught up in my desires to miss His best for our life! Trials are a sweet gift from Him to draw us to His comforting love and to each other. Praising Him with all my heart! This Psalm really ministered to my heart this morning!

Psalm 86

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
² Preserve my life, for I am godly;
    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
³ Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
⁴ Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
⁶ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
⁷ In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    for you answer me.

⁸ There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.
¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    unite my heart to fear your name.
¹² I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
¹³ For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴ O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant,
    and save the son of your maidservant.
¹⁷ Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Future Plans: Vision Casting and Babies

Future plans...we're not sure! We will graduate together next May (I'm just waiting until I get my leveling classes done so I didn't have to reapply...plus it's easier on the families coming!). Whatever we do, we will be sent from our church, North Wake Baptist Church. We have brought to our pastors an idea of a potential church plant in Hendersonville/Asheville area? Or, the church on Hilton Head Island for revitalization. Hilton Head is a hard place to impact because of the vacation and exclusive mindset. Dustin would be Associate Pastor over Small Group, Counseling, and Discipleship. We LOVE the mountains so we're leaning a bit more toward Hendersonville, but my family is rooting for Hilton Head. Think the Georgia clan would rather Hendersonville since we would only be 3 hours away!!! 

A nearby lake in Hendersvonville

The beautiful mountains

Downtown Hendersonville (cute!)

The beautiful beach in Hilton Head

Hilton Head Island, Harbor Town

We'll see...We are taking a vision planning trip in the summer to Hendersonville to scout the area and see if a church plant or revitalization could be possible, as well as Hilton Head. North Wake says they are probably two years away from another plant (we've planted 5 in the last 4 years), so that would give us time to go through the church residency training. Very exciting!! Though we have no idea where or when the Lord is going to move us. We just want to be faithful to wherever he sends us! For now, we are most content in Wake Forest and North Wake and plan to dig in here until He says, "Go."

Dustin and I (along with the whole small group...and world it seems) are praying for the Lord to bless us with a little one. I have been on Clomid (low dose fertility drug) for 5 months to no avail. This past month we had quite a scare (which I'll share in another post). Everything seems to be fine physically, so we just continue to wait on the Lord.  It's hard at times having no kids with all the counseling we do both formally and informally...it would be a lot easier to speak to parents if we were parents!! haha But, the Lord knows. We are also beginning the process of paper work for adoption. Much more to come on that later!!! Through this journey of waiting to get pregnant and have a healthy baby, the Lord has definitely opened our hearts to adopting kiddos in our lifetime. So, pray for us that we would trust the Lord...and pray that He would bless us with a child soon! We're going to have a colorful family!! :)

Bottom line, we are so excited for all the Lord has planned! He is GOOD, all the time!

Exciting NEWS!!!! Writing, teaching, and PhD....

I have some exciting things coming up...Over Easter break I met with Dr. Alvin Reid to talk about my book and him introducing me to his NavPress publisher!!! So, I am working on my book proposal to be sent to NavPress early in June. Pray that this book is finally used as a way to spread God's Truth! Here is the brief description of the book:

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In a generation of instant gratification and a Just Do It mentality, preparation for things worthwhile has become sorely outdated. What if women began to prepare to meet their earthly prince as well as their Heavenly King? Life wouldn’t be about racing to the finish line, but a slow and steady marathon producing a life of Godly maturity and blessing. Inspired from the book of Esther, The Beautification Process: Preparation for Your Earthly Prince and Heavenly King teaches women the importance of discovering a life of purity, courage, and faithfulness as God commands. As both a theological and devotional book, you will learn:

• The importance of an intimate relationship with your Heavenly King
• Remaining faithful to the King of Kings by His power throughout your lifetime.
• Theological truth about singleness, dating, and marriage
• Why preparing to be a Godly wife is important before meeting your earthly prince.
• God’s design for women to be pure, courageous, and faithful.
• How to remain physically pure in a morally decaying generation.
• To grasp the final victory of an eternity with God

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Dustin and I are trying to figure out if this is the time to really pursue my writing. I have off two months this summer, paid, that I can try to get my writing and teaching ministry off the ground so that could be my job. Pray with us the Lord will clearly direct us.

Also, this Sunday, April 21,  our church's women's director asked me to teach the first of a 3-week study on biblical womanhood for Sunday School (called Life Change). I am both humbled and excited! If you missed my last teaching on suffering from last year's women's retreat, you can check it out here: http://www.northwake.com/womens-ministry-retreat-talks-2012/

Other teaching opportunities come from the women's director at the seminary, Denise O'Donoghue, to speak with Virtuous Pursuits (a women's speaking team at SEBTS) and teach BWI classes (female non-degree seeking students).

As for the PhD adventure....Since all the professors we speak to keep saying that I NEED to get my PhD...I am now on the path to trying to get in!!! I have 4 leveling classes (Greek I, II and Church History I, II) to get my MDiv Equivalent, since I only have my MA in Biblical Counseling. I will get those next school year. So I am signed up for a full class load next semester!! Exciting to be back. After these leveling class, I have to take a crazy hard standardized test...if I pass that...then I read about 10 books and take the SEBTS theology entrance exam. If I pass that and they decide they want me....then I'm in! hahahahaha Ridiculous! Currently there are no women PhD's in biblical counseling, so the door for my writing/teaching/counseling would be wide open! Which is so exciting. And after this school endeavor, I will be finished forever as a student! (Which I know many friends and family will be happy for!). So we will look forward to that in about 2-3 years. :)

Spring Changes...Light at the End of the Tunnel

So, let me try to fill you in on our lives here! Can't believe it is the end of April...I only have about 5 weeks left of teaching, which is very bittersweet. But, with an hour drive and work hours 60-70 hours each week it made the decision to leave a necessity. I am teaching 8th English, 11th American Literature, and 11th AP Language and Composition. Love it! I have learned over the last year that I am definitely called and gifted to teach. I LOVE teaching the younger generation and will continue however the Lord allows me to. Perhaps for now though, it is not in a school setting?? (Though I would love to teach Bible!).

My Amazing 11th Grade American Literature Class!!!

I told my principal at GRACE Christian School about a month ago that I will not be coming back next year, also talked to the faculty and my headmaster. They have done nothing but shower me with praises and tell me how much they will miss me. Incredibly encouraging, my headmaster told me that in his teaching career (he is about 60) he has never met a teacher with more passion to see her faith impact the students. It was quite a compliment, as that was my year's goal. I will miss GRACE very much, as they are the most incredible school.  He has given me the task of speaking to all our ladies at school about purity and intimacy with Christ either this year or next year (perhaps me being the Spiritual Emphasis speaker, along with a guy to speak to the boys). So the door is definitely still open with the school. It has been a long hard year, but I see light at the end of the tunnel!

As for Dustin, he is so ready to be done with this crazy semester. He is beginning to see some light too! He is taking Hebrew 2 and dying (figuratively...a bit dramatic)! He took Hebrew 1 as a J-Term and they barely covered half of what the normal Hebrew 1 semester class covered, so he has been playing catch up since day one. Besides that, he is loving North Wake's (our church) internship under one of our pastors, Jeff Doyle. North Wake has given him a lot of leadership. He will begin teaching Life Change classes soon and he is over a new ministry called, Sending Timothy. It is a ministry that joins with local churches that need pulpit supply. Since NW has so many pastor's in training, it would be a shame to keep that solid teaching only within our walls...so we are helping other churches in need. Pretty exciting! Dustin is also working at the seminary under Dr. Wade working with Equip. Equip is the ministry that works with churches all over the US to set up pastoral and counseling internships (for credit) from SEBTS. So his two jobs with NW and SEBTS overlap which is awesome. He is meeting many people and the Lord is growing his passion for the church and full time ministry! He has grown so much as a teacher and leader. Palm Sunday we went to Hilton Head, because the pastor of the Southern Baptist church there asked him to preach!! It was incredible to sit under his teaching!!! Check it out here: http://vimeo.com/63082129

Can't wait to see where the Lord leads us. He is still doing handyman work and doing great at that too. Just a little busy with two different jobs. We are reevaluating next job plans with me not going back full time at the school. So we'll see! But summer is coming...and there is light at the end of the tunnel!