Andrea Gressman

My takeaway from my daily devotional which focused on Proverbs 3:5. Trust God with all your HEART and MIND (this is the “lean not on your own understanding” part). This means that we don’t meditate on our problems, wrapping our minds around the problem over and over again - we hand it over to God and trust Him with it. He will keep our path straight. He has an excellent track record of keeping my own path straight - something I cannot say for myself. When we don’t trust Him with our hearts and minds and continue to meditate on our problems instead of God it only causes negatives in our own lives - one of which is stress. Stress is toxic for us in many ways - specifically our mental and physical health. But God has the perfect solution to protect us in both areas - hand it to Him. Let Him work it out on our behalf. Stop thinking we have to be the world’s problem solvers. When the “worry” starts to creep into our minds push it away. Tell yourself you refuse to worry about...

In my last post... Seven Years ... I talked about where I was at in the present. Definitely some mixed emotions. It is hard not to get stuck in the reality of my situation and knowing how much closer I am getting to my higher risk of a secondary cancer. It is really hard in fact. Sometimes it takes some work to let the "grateful to be alive" trump the "what if I am diagnosed again." I am just being real here.  In my pursuit of wanting my "heart of gratitude" outshine all the doubt I thought it would be helpful to reflect on where I was 7 years ago. I blogged continually during my treatment. I am so thankful for this record in so many ways although it is so hard to go back and read sometimes.  Funny story... someone actually reported my blog as being "offensive" on Facebook and it was banned from being posted there. So that is when I had to come up with another one and to be honest, that was really disheartening to me and  I had two blo...

Today marks 7 years of being “cancer free”. It is hard to describe how I feel about it - I have such mixed emotions to be honest. I posted a lengthy post on my personal Facebook page and I felt it fitting that I share it here as well. 7 years ago today I was declared “cancer free”. The truth is... once you are diagnosed you are never really “cancer free.” It remains apart of your life. If I am being honest I would tell you that I battle fear daily. Most of the time I can keep it in check but I do have my days - especially when I hear of a friend being diagnosed or even worse, when they lose their battle. Those moments are hard. The last 7 years haven’t been easy. I have dealt with extreme fatigue - especially the first 2 years into remission, I struggled daily to get out of bed and with 4 small children that was not a fun place to be. I have dealt with criticism that I “didn’t bounce back” quickly enough. The expectations of others that the day I was done with trea...

For a while now I have been out of the habit of writing. It went from something I did every single day (most of the day as I was being paid to do it) to less and less to where I wouldn’t write anything for weeks at a time. I don’t quite know why it became so hard for me other than I just got burned out. I have an alarm in my phone that I have had for years and it simply says, “Time to Write.” But day after day I ignore it. This actually makes me quite sad that I have gotten to this point because writing was like breathing for me at one time. Now I am feeling the urging to get back into it. Not necessarily from me. But definitely from the Lord. However, I have so much doubt. What if I can’t do it again. I have tried to commit to this so many times in the last couple of years to just give it up again. I feel like it isn’t fair to my audience. Well, this week I was reading a devotional and it was talking about our own willpower and how if we rely on that alone we will fa...

Recently I found myself in this place.  I don't really know how to describe it.  I felt like I was just completely closed off.  Like I had experienced so much heartache and pain in my life that I was just done.  I was done feeling.  I was definitely done being hurt. And if anyone had hurt me in the past - well I was done with them too.  After all, they had proven to be unsafe, unhealthy, and toxic to my life.  Why would I want to keep exposing myself to that?  I found myself in this place. And I didn't like.  I desperately wanted peace. And in my desperation I thought if I removed all the people that were robbing my peace... If I built those walls... If I just don't let them in... Somehow I would find peace.  But I was experiencing the exact opposite. And I was slowly beginning to give up on the idea that I could ever experience the type of peace I desired on this side of Heaven.  Several months ago I as invited to a conference and ...

When you lose someone you love. Someone you deeply cherish.  You covet the little pieces of their lives that they have left behind.  The sweet memories.  A handwritten note.  A precious gift.  All of these are treasures.  These are bitter but mostly sweet.  For you are sharply aware of the magnitude of the pain of their loss. But remembering their love outweighs the sadness of that moment.  How sad it would be. Tragic in fact.  To live life beyond them. Without these messages of love from them.  My precious girt has outgrown a gift from her papa who passed last March.  But before we parted with it we spotted a special little addition he had added when he gifted it to her.  A "spoiled" license plate.  And he was one of her biggest spoilers.  It was fun to remember how he used to love on her so. 

Sweet baby Cayse is 17 months old today.  It seems like just yesterday that he was born.  I have loved every moment with this little man.  It has been such a gift.  He is beyond precious.  It is so fun watching him grow and learn each and every day - seeing his little (big) personality develop.  I am so thankful for my number five.  My beautiful boy. So blessed.