This week has gone well. The chemo recovery routine is about the same each week – some fatigue, a little bit of an upset stomach and then about a week after the chemo began, I start to feel better.
Beginning this Sunday, 1/29, I will be speaking at Life Community Church (see link below). This sermon series is based on Romans 12:1-2 and will run a total of 4 weeks ending on 2/19. Please come out and join us. On the last Sunday, 2/19, I will be sharing our story of God’s faithfulness during this journey through cancer. I would love to see all of our supporters come out especially on that Sunday. If you know of someone who is going through a tough time, this would be an excellent message for them to hear.
Please continue to pray for me. The next scan is on 2/6 with the results on 2/8.
Life Community Church link: http://lifefw.com
Friday, January 27, 2017
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Good News
Today I received round #8 of chemo. We received some really good news from the oncology nurse. Each time I receive chemo, blood is taken for lab work to determine if my body is capable of receiving chemo and if any adjustments have to be made to my treatment plan.
The nurse said that the labs today were “beautiful”. The liver is functioning well in spite of the cancer and the chemo. She also stated that it is “very unusual” for a patient receiving my chemo regimen to have gone this far (nearly 4 months) without having the chemo dialed back due to the side effects. My response was, “I’m praying a lot”. She then said, “Well, it's working! Keep doing what you are doing.”
There is nothing else to account for my success thus far except for prayer. If I am having “unusual” success, then it is because God is working on my behalf. I’m not involved in any other treatments or diets – just chemotherapy and God. So if the chemo is working better than it usually does, it must be God.
Thanks again to all of you for your faithfulness in praying for us. May God richly bless you as He has been blessing us.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
Psalm 145:1-3 (NIV)
The nurse said that the labs today were “beautiful”. The liver is functioning well in spite of the cancer and the chemo. She also stated that it is “very unusual” for a patient receiving my chemo regimen to have gone this far (nearly 4 months) without having the chemo dialed back due to the side effects. My response was, “I’m praying a lot”. She then said, “Well, it's working! Keep doing what you are doing.”
There is nothing else to account for my success thus far except for prayer. If I am having “unusual” success, then it is because God is working on my behalf. I’m not involved in any other treatments or diets – just chemotherapy and God. So if the chemo is working better than it usually does, it must be God.
Thanks again to all of you for your faithfulness in praying for us. May God richly bless you as He has been blessing us.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
Psalm 145:1-3 (NIV)
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Trip to Fort Myers
We were in Fort Myers, Florida last week. We flew down and rented a condo on the beach. We really enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures as we sat by the gulf each day. We felt so blessed to be able to get away from our routine in Fort Wayne.
The trip started out a bit melancholy when we arrived in Fort Myers on Sunday. As we drove from the airport to Fuddruckers, one of our favorite spots, we began to reminisce about our four-month visit to the area last year. That soon turned to sadness as we began to feel cheated by what cancer has taken away from us. We were “supposed” to be here for six months, not just a week. We were “supposed” to be living here, not just visiting. It was easy to feel robbed and cheated of what we were “supposed” to have.
Later that evening, as we talked about our trip, our attitude changed as we focused on how we had seen God’s hand at work on this trip. As followers of Christ, we don’t believe in coincidences. Instead, we choose to believe that God has once again demonstrated that He is with us.
Let’s see how many ways we have been blessed on this trip. I paid for our gas on the way to Indy with a gift card our friends gave us (unexpectedly) for giving them some of our furniture we were getting rid of. When we checked into the hotel at the Indy airport, we were upgraded to a nicer, larger room at no additional charge. Our parking at the Indy airport was free, because we had earned enough credits from prior flights. We flew Southwest Airlines and forgot to check in exactly 24 hours ahead of time. We were concerned that we might not be able to get seats together on this full flight. There were about 117 people ahead of us on the plane, but one of the exit rows had two seats together. I had the very seat on the plane that I would have selected if I could have picked any seat. When we checked into our condo for the week, we were upgraded to a more spacious room on a higher level with a better view than the one we paid for.
We can focus on what we don’t have or we can choose to focus on how we have been blessed. Our circumstances did not change between the time we felt robbed and the time we felt blessed. Only our attitudes changed.
In addition to our time relaxing on the beach and eating some delicious food each night we were able to meet up with some friends we met last year in Florida at the campground Bible Study. They were gracious enough to come to Florida early so we could spend some time together. What a blessing they were to us as they encouraged us and prayed with us. Thank you Allan and Jo Ann for your support.
I couldn’t help but be reminded after we left Allan and Jo Ann that God has called us to live in community – not in isolation. We met this Godly couple because we chose to join a Bible Study. If we had not joined the study we would likely have never met them. They would not have been able to use their gifts to bless us and we would have missed out on a blessing. To be honest, I don’t remember anything that I learned in that study of Galatians. I do remember, however, the impact that several of the people in that study had on us.
This is one of the reasons our church attendance is so important. God’s gifts were given to build up the body of Christ. We can’t use our gifts if we are not connected to the body. It is difficult for the body to minister to us when we are disconnected from the body. When I stay away from church it means I can’t use my gifts and others miss the opportunity to use their gifts to minister to me. Ministry is also lacking if I rush into church just before it starts and leave as soon as the pastor dismisses the congregation. We are called to be connected to each other in Christ.
Another round of chemo starts tomorrow. February 6 is the date for the next scans. We are praying and believing for significant improvement over the prior scans. Thank you for praying with us.
The trip started out a bit melancholy when we arrived in Fort Myers on Sunday. As we drove from the airport to Fuddruckers, one of our favorite spots, we began to reminisce about our four-month visit to the area last year. That soon turned to sadness as we began to feel cheated by what cancer has taken away from us. We were “supposed” to be here for six months, not just a week. We were “supposed” to be living here, not just visiting. It was easy to feel robbed and cheated of what we were “supposed” to have.
Later that evening, as we talked about our trip, our attitude changed as we focused on how we had seen God’s hand at work on this trip. As followers of Christ, we don’t believe in coincidences. Instead, we choose to believe that God has once again demonstrated that He is with us.
Let’s see how many ways we have been blessed on this trip. I paid for our gas on the way to Indy with a gift card our friends gave us (unexpectedly) for giving them some of our furniture we were getting rid of. When we checked into the hotel at the Indy airport, we were upgraded to a nicer, larger room at no additional charge. Our parking at the Indy airport was free, because we had earned enough credits from prior flights. We flew Southwest Airlines and forgot to check in exactly 24 hours ahead of time. We were concerned that we might not be able to get seats together on this full flight. There were about 117 people ahead of us on the plane, but one of the exit rows had two seats together. I had the very seat on the plane that I would have selected if I could have picked any seat. When we checked into our condo for the week, we were upgraded to a more spacious room on a higher level with a better view than the one we paid for.
We can focus on what we don’t have or we can choose to focus on how we have been blessed. Our circumstances did not change between the time we felt robbed and the time we felt blessed. Only our attitudes changed.
In addition to our time relaxing on the beach and eating some delicious food each night we were able to meet up with some friends we met last year in Florida at the campground Bible Study. They were gracious enough to come to Florida early so we could spend some time together. What a blessing they were to us as they encouraged us and prayed with us. Thank you Allan and Jo Ann for your support.
I couldn’t help but be reminded after we left Allan and Jo Ann that God has called us to live in community – not in isolation. We met this Godly couple because we chose to join a Bible Study. If we had not joined the study we would likely have never met them. They would not have been able to use their gifts to bless us and we would have missed out on a blessing. To be honest, I don’t remember anything that I learned in that study of Galatians. I do remember, however, the impact that several of the people in that study had on us.
This is one of the reasons our church attendance is so important. God’s gifts were given to build up the body of Christ. We can’t use our gifts if we are not connected to the body. It is difficult for the body to minister to us when we are disconnected from the body. When I stay away from church it means I can’t use my gifts and others miss the opportunity to use their gifts to minister to me. Ministry is also lacking if I rush into church just before it starts and leave as soon as the pastor dismisses the congregation. We are called to be connected to each other in Christ.
Another round of chemo starts tomorrow. February 6 is the date for the next scans. We are praying and believing for significant improvement over the prior scans. Thank you for praying with us.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Negative Thoughts
We had a great trip to Baltimore visiting family. We ate too much, stayed up too late, slept in…and in general, enjoyed ourselves immensely. There were times when it almost seemed like previous Christmas trips to Baltimore -- before my cancer diagnosis. Everyone out there has been praying so faithfully for Joan and me. It felt so good to hug them and offer my sincere thanks.
Today was my seventh round of chemo. Everything went well and we were done in just six hours. Everyone at Parkview has been so caring and professional. I am very happy with everything and feel very blessed to be getting my treatments there.
Despite the upbeat tone of my blog and other messages I send out, there are times when I deal with negative thoughts and doubts. I’ve learned to manage these and I want to share what is working for me.
It is essential (foundational) that I spend time in God’s Word and in prayer. It is also important to me to meditate on God’s greatness. Focusing on just how mighty, powerful, loving and concerned God is, keeps all my problems in their proper perspective. He is mighty and powerful and my cancer is small and weak in comparison.
There are still those times, however when negative thoughts creep into my mind, despite my belief that God will heal me. I refuse to dwell on the negative thoughts. As my pastor back in Ellicott City, Maryland used to say, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”. We absolutely can control what we think about. Sometimes I choose to just get busy with other things and the negative thoughts pass. Other times however, they linger. If I continue to struggle with negative thoughts, I start worshipping God. I go back to my foundational beliefs. I refuse to dwell on the unknowns in my current situation. I remind myself of how faithful God has been thus far. He even provided a house for us to live in before we even knew we needed one. When I remember His faithfulness in the past, I know my future is secure in Him, even though I can’t figure it out. To be honest, this is hard, because I like to figure things out.
I choose to rest in the confidence that He will be just as faithful in providing for us in the future as He has been in the past.
What about you? How do you handle negative thoughts?
Today was my seventh round of chemo. Everything went well and we were done in just six hours. Everyone at Parkview has been so caring and professional. I am very happy with everything and feel very blessed to be getting my treatments there.
Despite the upbeat tone of my blog and other messages I send out, there are times when I deal with negative thoughts and doubts. I’ve learned to manage these and I want to share what is working for me.
It is essential (foundational) that I spend time in God’s Word and in prayer. It is also important to me to meditate on God’s greatness. Focusing on just how mighty, powerful, loving and concerned God is, keeps all my problems in their proper perspective. He is mighty and powerful and my cancer is small and weak in comparison.
There are still those times, however when negative thoughts creep into my mind, despite my belief that God will heal me. I refuse to dwell on the negative thoughts. As my pastor back in Ellicott City, Maryland used to say, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”. We absolutely can control what we think about. Sometimes I choose to just get busy with other things and the negative thoughts pass. Other times however, they linger. If I continue to struggle with negative thoughts, I start worshipping God. I go back to my foundational beliefs. I refuse to dwell on the unknowns in my current situation. I remind myself of how faithful God has been thus far. He even provided a house for us to live in before we even knew we needed one. When I remember His faithfulness in the past, I know my future is secure in Him, even though I can’t figure it out. To be honest, this is hard, because I like to figure things out.
I choose to rest in the confidence that He will be just as faithful in providing for us in the future as He has been in the past.
What about you? How do you handle negative thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)