For I know the plans I have for you..........

Plans, we make them every day, even as little as going to the grocery store. Everything is planned; we can’t do without doing some kind of planning in our life. I do the same, although I have to say that my planning does no longer include long term planning like I use to do. Yesterday this again became a reality for me as I plan, hope and pray for certain things, however God has His own plan set out for you and me.

This is the Bible text that caught my attention this morning and again made me aware that everthing is Gods plan, not ours. Jeremiah, 29:11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Myself and many other people prayed for me to be cured from cancer and I had great hopes that I would hear good news from the Oncologist, however, it was the opposite. As I mentioned in another posting, I had asked for a second opinion on my condition and to be seen by another Oncologist and asked to be sent to the Vancouver Cancer Centre, both requests were granted several weeks ago.

Our visit at the Vancouver centre started with an Oncologist from Australia who is here on a one year visit to study more on cancer. He said "I won’t forget you anymore; you are my first Canadian patient I get to see". He was very thorough and went into great detail with many questions. After one hour another Oncologist joined us, they both had studied the CT scan results and the treatment history of the last year. I was amazed that we were able to spend two full hours with two very nice and knowledgeable Oncologists. It was a very blessed and worthwhile visit where I learned a lot.

I was told that the cancer continues to grow, although not rapidly, there is growth and every time a little adds up to more each day. The Adrenal gland also showed an increase in size, both Oncologists believed that it was due to the cancer having metastasized to this organ. However, no definite conclusion was made and there is little that can be done about it. Surgery is not an option because the other Adrenal gland was taken away in July and every person needs at least one. I was also made aware that Kidney cancer is a cancer that is very unpredictable, able to flare up at any time and able to take over rapidly.

The end result was that I was given several choices. I could go back to my original Oncologist or more Chemo Therapy treatments or two more months without doing anything and take the “wait and see” approach. With the input and approval of both Oncologists I choose the option of two more months of no treatment followed by a CT scan. They both felt that it would be safe to do so; however, if complications would arise I can go in and see them at any time.

I also made the decision to continue my visits at the Vancouver Cancer Centre where I will be treated and/or advised by both these Oncologists. I believe this to be quite unique and see it as a huge blessing to have two Oncologists who are so knowledgeable and caring. This means a little further to travel but I am willing to do that. I must give a big thank you to those who treated me at the Abbotsford Cancer Centre with great care and love. We will continue to pray for the Oncologist at this Cancer centre who tried his utmost to make it all work.

Of course I would have loved to hear a different message from these doctors, but this is the way God is planning it. There must be a purpose and reason, otherwise it would be different. I am much at peace with it, so is Henrietta. No matter how difficult or intense the battle may become, if we enter the battle with Jesus we will always be victorious, even if it means death. 1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I know that many wonder how long I will fight this battle with cancer and how long I will possibly live. I can’t answer that question, however, I know and believe that God has this in His hands and I can say “Amen” to the text from Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

But what about you, are you going to see tomorrow? Are you ready to meet your Maker? Don’t take for granted that tomorrow is yours, God may have different plans.

Where you die—when you die—or by what means is scarcely worth a thought, if you do but die in Christ. Roland Hill (1744-1833)

The clip that I posted is one that I used before, I find it a powerful example and worthwhile to watch.
I thank you so much again for showing your cares and prayers in so many ways.

God bless you all.
John

 

Short update on today's CT scan results.

I know that many are waiting for the CT scan test results, therefore I will just write a very short and hope to give more details tomorrow.
We had a 2 hour visit with 2 Oncologists at the same time. It was a very detailed and blessed visit.
The CT scan showed that the cancer is still there and since the last scan in January it showed a slight increase in size of the tumors. It also showed that the Adrenal gland is slightly increased in size.

We and many other people had hoped and prayed for better results. However, I am not disappointed. God is good and blessed us again today with quiet hearts, trusting in the Lord.
I hope to be writing a more detailed posting tomorrow.
Wishing you God’s blessings
John

Lord, teach us to pray.

D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): I had often said that I had rather be able to pray like Daniel than preach like Gabriel. What we want is men that know how to pray, who know how to call down fire from heaven…I tell you, friends, some people’s prayers need to be cut at both ends and set fire to in the middle.

When it comes to prayer there is much to learn, that is why the disciples asked Jesus, Teach us to pray, Luke 11:1
The more I read about prayer the more I learn about prayer. Go here and read under the heading "prayer", what these Godly preachers of the Word had to say about prayer. It will teach you and me much more about prayer.
John

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

 

The power of Prayer

Henrietta and I were gone for a couple of days together and thoroughly enjoyed each other and the beautiful spring like weather. Upon return I received an email from a friend that had sent an email to our church family and friends. I want to share this email with you. There is nothing to add, the email says it all.It humbles me, knowing that so many people are praying for me and again will let me down at the feet of Jesus.

In Mark 2: 1-11 we read of one of the many miracles that Jesus performed when He was on earth. We see four friends taking a paralytic man and letting him down on a stretcher through the roof of a building right in front of Jesus while He was teaching the people.
I am looking forward to this evening of prayer and you are invited.

Dear Friends:
On Monday night March 26th we hope to have a time of prayer for our dear Brother John Van Woerden. As we all know John is and has been struggling with cancer in his body for many months and on Wednesday, March 28th, he will get the results of his most recent CAT scan. It has been laid on our hearts that we need to earnestly seek God’s face in faith with the needs of this brother.

We are all exhorted in James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
To us it may seem to be insurmountable odds, to the doctors it may also seem impossible but “For with God nothing shall be impossible..” (Luke 1:37 ) and “And he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God”. (Luke 18:27)

 We also know that we have a high priest in heaven that hears our prayers and will answer us if we come to him in faith, believing in his power to save “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).

We hope to meet at the home of Pete and Trudy Slootweg. Please join us for a time of prayer for John:
When: Monday Night March 26th
Where: 48430 Chilliwack Central Rd. Chilliwack
Time: 7:00PM

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

So let your light shine.

A father searched in a dark cellar for the leaking pipe while his son held a bright shining flashlight. Distracted for a moment, the son inadvertently turned off the light. The father said to the son “Shine your light” so I can see.

We have been chosen by Jesus himself to shine brightly for Him here on earth. Jesus said "You are the light of the world". A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14. We are living in a dark and troubled world that needs light, the light of the Gospel. God expects us to be this shining light, but before we can be the light of the world, Jesus must be the shining light in us.

There is great joy and satisfaction in sharing the Gospel. The 10 minute video in this posting is amazing to watch. It was taken in the Eastern Highlands of West Papua, Indonesia where the Kimyal Tribe lives. It shows how that after many years they received the Gospel for the first time in their own language with great joy. They are sustenance farmers who were untouched by the outside world until World Team missionaries Phil & Phyliss Masters brought the Gospel to their area in 1963.Phil Masters was martyred in 1968 when he and fellow missionary Stan Dale were killed and cannibalized by the Yale tribe. Over time the Gospel took hold in the hearts of these tribal people. The Kimyals have a great love and desire for the Word of God. The World Team missionaries that came after the Masters have been witnesses of this.

If you share the Gospel with others you too will witness great joy in people when they turn to Christ and you will rejoice with them. View this video here with full screen and with your sound on. It’s amazing how much joy the Gospel brings. Are you ready to share the Gospel?

As for myself, I am doing amazingly well. I feel good, eat well and sleep well and wonder if God is healing me. We all prayed for it and I can’t wait to get the results of my CT scan on March 28. It’s going to be a big day. We serve a great and mighty God.

Thank you for the many well wishes. God bless you all.
John

Thanksgiving Day in March

Yesterday was a big Thanksgiving Day full of blessings. God blessed us not only with a new born granddaughter as you can read in the previous posting but also with answers to prayer.

Our visit with our Oncologist started with him explaining the options we have and then stating his plan to continue on with Chemo treatments at 50% strength. At that point I told him that I wished to not go that route at this time due to getting very sick each time. I also shared with him that I serve a great God who does great miracles and that He can heal without Chemo treatments and that we are fervently praying for healing. He intently listened when I spoke about God. I need to tell you that my Oncologist is not a Christian and that I have shared the Gospel with him before and some time ago gave him a DVD with a powerful testimony from a Christian. After giving him my reasons and telling him that my trust is in Christ and not in Chemo he readily agreed to my request for a CT scan to be taken to see what is happening inside my body. I also requested to see another Oncologist at the main cancer research center in Vancouver for a second opinion, he also granted that request.

Today I received two phone calls, one to have my CT scan on March 22 and one to see an Oncologist at the Vancouver Cancer Center on March 28. This is where I will also receive the results of the CT scan. Everything is again falling into place and we thank and praise God for hearing our prayer and giving these blessings.

We also shared with our Oncologist the great blessings of receiving a new born granddaughter the same day we visited him. I asked if he had any children. He looked at us and said no, will you please pray for us that we too will receive children. You could hear in his voice that children were missing in his life and marriage. It shows that even the smartest doctors stand powerless when God speaks, yet we know that we can plead on Gods promises as in John 14: 14 If you ask me anything in my name (Jesus) , I will do it. We promised to pray for him and his wife and he thanked us for that. Please pray for him too so that he may see Gods power and surrender to Christ. This man is a very compassionate and caring doctor.

So we go on with renewed strength, renewed joy and renewed thanksgiving, looking to Jesus Christ each hour of the day. Life’s journey can be difficult at times, but God is with us and he can lift us above the circumstances for our good and blesses us daily with His nearness and grace.

I hope and pray that you also possess the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding; it will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:7. If you do not have that peace I can tell you that God is ready and willing to give you this peace because His promises are sure. Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I (God) will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Thank you for those who emailed or took the time to talk and give encouragements. You are a blessing to us.

1Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
God bless you.
John

A time to be born, with great joy we announce..........

With great joy and thankfulness to the Lord we announce the birth of our 7th grandchild, Maelle Anne Van Woerden. Parents Jeremy and Jules are rejoicing with us and our whole family.

Jules and Maelle are doing very well, they hope to come home today. Maelle was born on March 7 @ 11:37 PM, her weight is 8 lbs 7 oz ( 2827 grams)

To us as grand parents it was a very special day, there were times I wondered if I would see this day that I could hold this new born baby.  Again God answered prayer. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised.

Life without God.............

One year later

Exactly one year ago today my doctor stood across from me with tears in his eyes and said, John you have terminal cancer and one year to live, maybe a little more. After that my doctor sat down, looked at me and continued, humanly speaking there is no hope of healing for you, but God can do great things, pray for complete healing and I will do the same. How thankful I am to have a Christian doctor. It gave me much courage right from the start.

In the year that lays behind me I travelled through some deep valleys, mostly due to the Chemotherapy treatments but also at times bodily and spiritually, yet I can only say that God has been so good to me and Henrietta. You may think, so what’s so good about cancer. No, there is nothing good about cancer itself, yet it has taught me many things that I took for granted, it has also brought Henrietta and me much closer to God than ever before in our lives.

Never in my life did I encounter a serious illness and often took health for granted. I was never confronted with dying, sure I had some close calls, but even those never sank in as they should have. I thought about death and eternity and stood more than once at the graveside of a family member. Only 2 years ago my brother died at the age of 43, but it did not impact me as it did when I was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly it was me that faced death. Before I was diagnosed, I prayed at times that God would not take me from this life in the blink of an eye as some close family members died of sudden heart failures, God has granted my request. I doubt that there was ever a time in my life where I learned so much about God and His Grace as the year behind me. It has made me look at life through different eyes and I understand many Bible verses and quotations of well known people much better now than ever before. Here are some examples.

• LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Psalm 39
• Give us each day our daily bread. Luke 11
• If riches increase, set not your heart on them. Psalm 62
• That life is made up of years that mean little, and moments that mean it all
• That I have a great need for Christ; and that I have a great Christ for my need. C.H.Spurgeon
• For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16
• So teach me to number my days that I may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90
• I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. Psalm143
• We shall not go to heaven sailing along with sails swelling to the breeze, like sea birds with their fair white wings, but we shall proceed full often with sails rent to ribbons, with masts creaking, and the ship’s pumps both at work. C.H.Spurgeon.
• Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10.
• Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Mark 9.
• Out of the brass of trials God fashions trumpets of triumph. Millie Stamm
• And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4

These are some of the text and quotations that have been of much encouragement but also much to think on, and pray for, during my illness. A friend has a website you can visit here that has many beautiful quotations from Godly men.

This past year was a year where my faith was tried, at times I wavered and sank beneath the waves of life, yet God remained faithful and upheld me through it all. Many people gave me much encouragement and I am so very thankful for that. However there are decisions and situations when I stand alone and pray that God will help me and I know He will because we serve a faithful God. (1Thessalonians 5:24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.)

We are so prone to take our burdens to everyone else first instead of the Lord who strengthens us by His sustaining hand, we are comforted by Him and will find that God is the one who can solve our problems and lighten our burdens.

Recently I came across a beautiful story of an ant carrying a piece of straw which appeared to be a tremendous burden for the tiny insect. The ant came up to a small crack which it could not cross. It stopped for a few seconds, and then, with amazing intelligence, used the piece of straw as a bridge to cross the crack. Learning from this wise little insect, we too can use our afflictions as steppingstones. If we cast our burdens on Christ, and slip our hands into His, our adversities are transformed into victories.

On March 8, I have to make a decision whether to go back on Chemo or not. It may sound like an easy decision to make but it is not so for me. I get extremely sick from Chemo treatments; it does little good if I have to stop early into treatments. Unless a Chemo is offered that I can tolerate I can hardly see myself go back on treatments. I am praying for wisdom and answers from God. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Psalm 25:4.

I am doing remarkably well and I feel like a new person but cancer can be very hidden, on the other hand we are praying for complete healing so we should not be surprised but thankful and rejoice when God heals because of His promises. John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Sooner or later God’s will, will be revealed. The only thing that bothers me at times is the occasional fogginess of memory called Chemo Brain. You can read about here.

Thank you for your care shown in so many ways. My request to you is that you pray that on March 8 my Oncologist will send me for a CT scan to see if indeed the cancer is retreating so I can continue on without Chemo Therapy treatments. Only God gives healing and does not need Chemo to heal.

Every story has an end, but in life every ending is just a new beginning. Where will your new beginning start?

 

John