there goes God again

A couple of months ago I wrote about my friend Dana. She's 30 years old, and while 29 weeks pregnant with their 3rd child was diagnosed with a very rare form of lymphoma. It's a very fast growing cancer, and it had already spread to her bones.
Dana started chemo, and the next day went into labor with their 3rd beautiful daughter, Olivia. Dana has been a huge trooper going through chemo, healing from a c-section and trying to process all that was going on around her.
Last week Dana had a follow-up scan, and her body is CANCER FREE!! What a huge answer to prayer. My friend Noelle and I went up to the U of M hospital on Friday night and had the awesome opportunity of visiting with Dana. What a strong woman.

Dana is going to continue the chemo treatments, and will finish in March. Eventhough she is cancer free, finishing the treatment decreases the chances of the cancer returning.
Olivia is also doing well. She is home and healthy, and is a champ eater and sleeper! She is sleeping better than my kids did their first 9 months of life, and she isn't even supposed to be born until the end of this month!! Olivia is blessed with her mommy's strength! :)
God has done some big things this week and has answered a lot of prayers. I facilitate a women's Sunday School class/Bible Study at our church, and right now we are going through the book of Phillipians. Last week we talked about prayer, and we were encouraged to pray the way that Paul prayed. Even when he was sitting in prison awaiting his sentence, he would still pray for those that he loved. Our class committed to pray more this past week.
God has answered so many prayers for so many people. It is encouraging, and makes my heart happy. God always answers our prayers. It's not always the answer we hope for, but we always get an answer. This past week has been a week where God answered many prayers the way that people were praying for. I don't want to sound like a fair-weather Christian and say that because of God's working this week that I have committed to pray more. (sure I do that with the Minnesota Vikings, but not God...) However, God has used His working in the lives of friends and loved ones this week to encourage me, and convict me. God's strength is perfect, and He says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Seeing God work in so many ways this week has reminded me that I need to be faithful in my prayer life... whether God gives me the answer I'm hoping for or not.
Today in church we sang "Trust and Obey". I've known the song for probably 25 years, but singing it today brought tears to my eyes. (thank you pregnancy horomones) Obeying God is sometimes hard... especially when we don't know the outcome. But if we take that leap of faith and trust God to provide, as long as we are in His will, He will take care of us.
I am committing to pray more in 2011. Anyone want to jump on board with me??!!