Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Thank you

I want to thank everyone that has read my blog and prayed for me.  Your prayers have not gone unnoticed.  Many things have happened since February 24 that can only be explained as God moving.  God hears our prayers. I pray that I am the best I can be for him. I am not one to go around and quote bible verses to others.  That is just not me.  Yes, I do read the bible every day now and want to learn more about our Lord and Savior.  I just want others to see that God is working in my life.  I am not perfect by no means, I am only saved by the Grace of God.  You don't have to change before you give your life to the Lord, you only have to accept that you are a sinner and that Jesus is the path to redemption in the eyes of the Lord.  If you have not done this already, I pray that you will give your life to Him.
Please continue to pray for me.  Even though right now it seems good, unless God chooses a different path for me, it will eventually start affecting me.  Pray for devine intervention for me and also pray for my wife and two boys.  As I said in the beginning God is going to do something amazing....believe it!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Day 42

Today was a great day... So much has happened.  I actually slept late today which was great.  Then I went and did what I said I wanted to do...got a tattoo.  Again, I dont condone this for anyone else, but I wanted something permanent that would symbolize my love for God and His love for me.  So I got a "seal upon my arm" as I said in a past entry.  It was alot less painful than I thought it would be.  So let me get to the important stuff.  Tonight we went to our church's Good Friday Service.  The service was very simple but very powerful.  It incorporated the reading of the crusifixion account as well as some video from the movie Mel Gibson did on Jesus a few years back.  It was so powerful in portraying what Christ went through for us to complete His fathers plan.  Everyone left very somberly and sad, which we should be on this day for having to make God resort to sending His Son to die on the cross for us.  After we talked a while, Kara went on with the boys to the car while I told a couple of people bye.  When I walked around the corner I saw Kara hugging Grant in the parking lot and Grant was crying.  I thought he may had tripped, so I went to see if he was OK.  I asked Kara if he was hurt and she shook her head and motioned for me to come over. When I got there, Grant was crying and Kara was trying to get him to tell her what was wrong.  He said that he was scared, and I thought that he meant that the video scared him since it was so graphic.  But he said something that caught us off guard.  He said he was scared because he was not certain that he was saved.  He was younger when he prayed to get saved, shortly after Ean was saved, so we have wondered if he did it because his big brother did it.  We explained to him that it is ok to pray again if he was uncertain to make sure.  We talked to him again about what it meant to be saved and asked him if he believed this.  He said that he did believe this.  So Kara asked him if he wanted to pray again, and he said yes.  So she led him in praying to be saved and to confirm that what he believes is true.  He felt much better afterwards.  I am so thankful for our boys and their openness to talking to us about things like this.  I am thankful for a Lord that sent his son on this day to die for every one of this.   I just pray if you have never prayed that simple prayer in which you admit you have sinned and you believe that Christ died you, then I hope you will do it today.  Your life will be so much fulfilling and the trials that we go through in life become so much more easier to go through.  So today Mourn this day that Christ suffered for us....but it does not stop with that.  On Sunday, rejoice in the fact that he rose again....He did this all for You!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Day 41....

      Well God answered some prayers that people were praying today!  We went to Duke to find out what treatment plans were for me now and got to meet alot of special doctors today.  We arrived at 8 AM and were quickly taken back to our first stop.  The Doctor came in and started talking to me about the tumor and asked if we had questions.  First I asked him what the name of it was and he told me.  He said that is was a rare type of a Glioma that is special in the fact that it is one of the slowest growing ones, more slower than that of the most common Gliomas.  Then he said that there were markers missing at the #1 and #19 DNA chromosomes.  He then proceeded to tell us that this made the type tumor I have even better because of this.  Then finally he said that this tumor was tested and found to be very sensitive to chemo, which makes it even better because when they treat it with Chemo then it will not take as much to treat it.  Of course the best news would be that God removed it from my head, but this news was just as exciting to me...To have a rare kind of tumor logically would mean to me that it would be harder to treat, but in this case it is better to have and then all of the DNA items to line up on the best end of what they could be is also amazing.  God is so Good!  No He has not chosen to remove the tumor from my head, but I got the next best thing. 
     So the doctor said that the first option for this tumor would be surgery if it is possible to remove a large enough amount of it.  I am waiting for them to get word back from the Neurosurgeon to see if he feels that is a good option.  If it is not, then what they plan on doing is to have be go back every 2 months to get an MRI and see if it has changed, and if it has grown , then look at doing treatment.  If it does not grow, then other than surgery they plan on no radiation or Chemo, until it is needed.  So as of today they plan on watching it and not doing anything until it gets larger, and since it has favorable  characteristics, will respond well, they believe, if and when they do have to treat it.  One of the doctors said that they have a lady that has one in the same location and type and she has gone 5 years without doing anything but monitoring.  So God has been working through your prayers (and mine) Just please do not stop praying for me now I have good news.  I need your prayers each and every day.  Thank you so much for praying, I appreciate each one of you even the ones I have not met.

Here is a song I have recently heard that has taken on a special meaning from all of this, please read the lyrics and reflect on your releationship with God today...Happy Easter!
10,000 Reasons - Matt Redman

Bless the Lord, oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

The sun comes up
It's a new day dawning
It's time to sing your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worshhip your holy name

You're rich in love and you're slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind
For all your goodness I will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find

Bless you Lord!

Bless the Lord, oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Soon my soul will sing your praise unending
10,000 years and then forever more

Bless the Lord, oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

Bless the Lord, Oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name (repeat 3x)

Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name (repeat 3x

Monday, April 2, 2012

Day 38...

Not alot going on right now.   Just waiting for my appointment on Thursday.   Please pray for me as I will have to start making decisions on what to do about treatment.  It has felt kind of normal the last week, which scares me.  I don't ever want to get to the point of the "everyday" again.  I am not perfect by no means but I want to be my best for the Lord at all times.  As I sit here in Jackson, Mississippi tonight I realize how much I miss my family and friends right now.  I am travelling on business and will be in Mississippi for the next two nights.  It seems like forever.  Funny how just six months ago I was runner up on a position at work that would have had me travelling 50% of the time.   God knew what I needed and made sure that I didn't get that job or other jobs that I applied for over the last year.  He knew I would not be able to handle being away that much.  I have been overwhelmed a lot over the last few weeks.  Overwhelmed that God would want to use a person like me to point to Him.  I have had several opportunities to share about God from my circumstances and I praise Him for giving the opportunity.