The last posting was about the positive results and that I was taking a break from Chemo treatments for one or two weeks.I felt pretty good and decided to take only one week. Now I am back on Chemo and almost finished my second week already, how time flies by.
One day at a time is easier said than done. I am one of those that tend to run ahead of myself and get hurt by it in the process. I had to experience this again last week when it became obvious that I over extended myself with the move from our old home to the new one. I felt pretty good and lifted some heavy stuff and in the process over exerted my body and now I am paying for it with a lot of muscle pain in the chest. I find it very difficult to watch everybody work and I do little or nothing.
We love our new home and new surroundings, each day it feels more like home. However, I realize every day that this earthly home is just a temporary home and not a day goes past that my thoughts wander to the future, only to remind myself to take one day at a time. I struggle at times with the text from Matthew 6:19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Dear friends, do you struggle with these things at times that all these earthly things will pass as quoted in Psalm 103:15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
Sure, there are exciting times and times that we cherish with family and friends, yet in all these things I so often see the temporal joy and realize that only real joy will be to be with Christ Jesus. One of those joyful messages we just received from our daughter Stephanie and her husband Chad that they are expecting a baby early next year. Great blessing against all odds, yet by God all things are possible. Will I see that joyful day? I do not know but I am praying that I will. So life goes on, one day at a time. For closing I want to share a beautiful poem written by Annie Johnson Flint.
One day at a time, with its failures and fears,
With its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears,
With its portion of pain and its burden of care;
One day at a time we must meet and must bear.
One day at a time to be patient and strong,
To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong;
Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrow shall cease;
It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace.
One day at a time - but the day is so long,
And the heart is not brave, and the soul is not strong,
O Thou pitiful Christ, be Thou near all the way;
Give courage and patience and strength for the day.
Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet;
"Yea, I will be with thee, thy troubles to meet;
I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve;
I will not forsake thee; I never will leave."
Not yesterday's load we are called on to bear,
Nor the morrow's uncertain and shadowy care;
Why should we look forward or back with dismay?
Our needs, as our mercies, are but for the day.
One day at a time, and the day is His day;
He hath numbered its hours, though they haste or delay.
His grace is sufficient; we walk not alone;
As the day, so the strength that He giveth His own.
Thank you for the cards, your prayers and cares.
John
Monday 27 August 2012
Friday 10 August 2012
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:29
Indeed the Lord is good; I did experienced this again yesterday when visiting my Oncologist in Vancouver. Words really fell short when I was given very encouraging news that after using a new type of Chemotherapy that is still in its trial stages is showing a change in my condition.
As soon as the Oncologist entered the room he wasted no time to tell me the following:
No new cancer growth was found anywhere. The cancer in the lung tumor showed no increase in size. The cancer that was found on my spine and ribs showed that it was less dense and showed signs that it was in the process becoming less intense. The biggest change was the cancer that was found two months ago on the Adrenal gland, it had decreased by 50%. The Oncologist commented that he found the result to be very good.
With that I went home for a one or two week break from Chemo so my body can take a rest from the destructive power of Chemo. Destructive on cancer but also on the healthy parts, and that I can really feel. The last weeks have given me some difficult days with little appetite, nausea and being very fatigued.
I look forward to this break and hope to enjoy this time. I have questioned myself, would I have written the same text above this posting if the results would have been the opposite and had the cancer shown progression. I gave that much thought and came to the conclusion that I would have used the very same words from Psalm 118. The Lord is good, and yes I would have giving Him thanks also for the negative results. God has the whole world in His hands, including your and my life and every minute we exist. Whatever God does is good. Pray much that you and I can submit to the will of God, and then we can have true peace in our hearts, a peace that passes all understanding.
Philippians 4: 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I want to thank you all for your continued prayers for me. So often I meet people at the most unexpected times and places that say, I want you to know we are praying for you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As soon as the Oncologist entered the room he wasted no time to tell me the following:
No new cancer growth was found anywhere. The cancer in the lung tumor showed no increase in size. The cancer that was found on my spine and ribs showed that it was less dense and showed signs that it was in the process becoming less intense. The biggest change was the cancer that was found two months ago on the Adrenal gland, it had decreased by 50%. The Oncologist commented that he found the result to be very good.
With that I went home for a one or two week break from Chemo so my body can take a rest from the destructive power of Chemo. Destructive on cancer but also on the healthy parts, and that I can really feel. The last weeks have given me some difficult days with little appetite, nausea and being very fatigued.
I look forward to this break and hope to enjoy this time. I have questioned myself, would I have written the same text above this posting if the results would have been the opposite and had the cancer shown progression. I gave that much thought and came to the conclusion that I would have used the very same words from Psalm 118. The Lord is good, and yes I would have giving Him thanks also for the negative results. God has the whole world in His hands, including your and my life and every minute we exist. Whatever God does is good. Pray much that you and I can submit to the will of God, and then we can have true peace in our hearts, a peace that passes all understanding.
Philippians 4: 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I want to thank you all for your continued prayers for me. So often I meet people at the most unexpected times and places that say, I want you to know we are praying for you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I recently read a devotion that included this verse that was written by Isaac Watts (1719) it touched my heart and it increased my hope, hope in Christ and his unfailing love for sinners.
Within Thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find Thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.
May the Grace of our Lord be with you, now and forever.
John
Within Thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find Thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.
May the Grace of our Lord be with you, now and forever.
John
Wednesday 8 August 2012
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Today I received an email from our dear friends in Cuba and the congregation with whom we worshipped when we visited Cuba.
These dear people are close to our hearts and with God's help and the help of total strangers we are able to supply them with Bibles and Christian literature. Staying connected with our friends has been difficult until today when we received an unexpected email. Things are slowly changing in Cuba, however this congregation is still worshipping in the open air because they are forbidden to build a church building.
Please pray for them as they often struggle in difficult circumstances. I want to share their email with you that our friends sent to us.
Dear friends, I am happy to hear from you again, we try to communicate in various ways which is very difficult here. Today we have asked the whole church to prayer and we raised a cry to the King of Kings for a complete healing for you, which we believe 100%, because Jesus already paid the price ... Remember that the Lord is with you and all of the church in Cuba is praying for you. Our meeting here was not by chance God has everything planned ... HE IS FAITHFUL. The literature has been a great blessing as it helped us in our preparation to share the Gospel.
We love you, we continue to pray, God bless
E. and J.
That is why I used this Bible text as heading.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Peace with God Through Faith
Romans 5
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
These dear people are close to our hearts and with God's help and the help of total strangers we are able to supply them with Bibles and Christian literature. Staying connected with our friends has been difficult until today when we received an unexpected email. Things are slowly changing in Cuba, however this congregation is still worshipping in the open air because they are forbidden to build a church building.
Please pray for them as they often struggle in difficult circumstances. I want to share their email with you that our friends sent to us.
Dear friends, I am happy to hear from you again, we try to communicate in various ways which is very difficult here. Today we have asked the whole church to prayer and we raised a cry to the King of Kings for a complete healing for you, which we believe 100%, because Jesus already paid the price ... Remember that the Lord is with you and all of the church in Cuba is praying for you. Our meeting here was not by chance God has everything planned ... HE IS FAITHFUL. The literature has been a great blessing as it helped us in our preparation to share the Gospel.
We love you, we continue to pray, God bless
E. and J.
That is why I used this Bible text as heading.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Peace with God Through Faith
Romans 5
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Saturday 4 August 2012
Grace, Power and Weakness
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9.
How beautiful if we can experience this each day, Gods Grace and Power and that even in our weakness we can see the work of Christ and find refuge in Him. For me there are times when these things appear through a fog, yet when the fog clears these things become clearer. One day we will know as it says in 1 Corinthians 13: 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Lately I have had my ups and downs, not just bodily but at times Spiritually. Specially when I feel very tired and not well I need to be reminded of the above text and others. The last couple of weeks the Chemo treatments have really taken its toll on my body. After 7 weeks of treatment I am ready for a break which I will get after 8 weeks are finished on August 6. The Chemo builds up in the body to the point that I have difficulty eating, sleeping, and feeling nauseous and extremely tired. However when I get a break for 2 days I perk up quickly, but 2 days does not give me enough time to recover. I am looking very much forward to my break of hopefully several weeks.
On August 7, I also hope to get a CT scan and a Bone scan to see what is happening inside of me in the last 2 months. We are praying for a positive outcome, but those things are in God’s hands. I still have much hope for healing because I know that what is impossible by men is possible by God. I look forward to receiving the results on August 9 and hope to post again that day or the day after.
Lately I have not been too faithful in posting. This is due to us getting ready for a move on August 6. It has been a busy time but thanks to God everything has worked out well. Thank you for your cares and prayers.
Be blessed and be a blessing
John
How beautiful if we can experience this each day, Gods Grace and Power and that even in our weakness we can see the work of Christ and find refuge in Him. For me there are times when these things appear through a fog, yet when the fog clears these things become clearer. One day we will know as it says in 1 Corinthians 13: 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Lately I have had my ups and downs, not just bodily but at times Spiritually. Specially when I feel very tired and not well I need to be reminded of the above text and others. The last couple of weeks the Chemo treatments have really taken its toll on my body. After 7 weeks of treatment I am ready for a break which I will get after 8 weeks are finished on August 6. The Chemo builds up in the body to the point that I have difficulty eating, sleeping, and feeling nauseous and extremely tired. However when I get a break for 2 days I perk up quickly, but 2 days does not give me enough time to recover. I am looking very much forward to my break of hopefully several weeks.
On August 7, I also hope to get a CT scan and a Bone scan to see what is happening inside of me in the last 2 months. We are praying for a positive outcome, but those things are in God’s hands. I still have much hope for healing because I know that what is impossible by men is possible by God. I look forward to receiving the results on August 9 and hope to post again that day or the day after.
Lately I have not been too faithful in posting. This is due to us getting ready for a move on August 6. It has been a busy time but thanks to God everything has worked out well. Thank you for your cares and prayers.
Be blessed and be a blessing
John
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