Sing Over Me

Numbers are still looking good and the next check-up is in two weeks.
I've had this song bouncing around my brain for the last couple of weeks so I thought that I would share it with you. Second Chapter of Acts put it on their Far Away Places album around 1987. Below is a link and below that the words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k2Kz2vg8y4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLD8F819568BD0BDA1

God is good all the time!!
jim

Sing Over Me
(2nd Chapter of Acts)

Look out my heart the wind is blowing again
It´s time to batten down the broken parts
Look out my heart debris is flying around
Confusion wants to shake your solid ground

Storms may come along and winds may blow
Raging tempest will come and go
But I´ll hide in the shadow of Your wings

I´ll hide in the shadow of Your wings
And listen while You sing
I´ll hide in the shadow of Your wings
And listen while You sing over me

Sing over me (2x)
Sing over me oh Lord, sing over me...

As I´ll hide in the shadow of Your wings
And listen while You sing
I´ll hide in the shadow of Your wings
And listen while You sing over me

Look out my heart
The wind is blowing again...
(read Psalm 91 and Zephaniah 3:17)

An Update

We saw the Oncologist last week and all the cancer numbers look really good. The DVTs (blood clots) "have resolved", I thought that was an interesting way for them to say that. My arm is well on its way to being completely healed from the bicycle accident. Though I will have little railroad tracks for a while (stitch tracks) and maybe left over blood staining (only time will tell).

It is interesting to me how we learn things in life that we really would not have chosen if given a choice. I would not have signed up for cancer, for the drugs, for the surgeries or the sickness. But most of all, I would not have signed up for the awful ugly stresses and situations that it put my wife through. But it has been a good adventure; a good adventure only because God is a Good God.

I started this blog in response to family and friends. In response to their prayers and cares. This blog has been a record of a faithful God, of trials, prayers and miracles. This will most likely be my last post but we would continue to request your prayers. Prayer that there would be no need for another blog....

God is good all the time!!
jim

Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning great is your faithfulness. ESV

You just have to laugh

Last Tuesday I had to go to the Cancer Center for a Heparin shot. It is an anticoagulant that they shoot into my port. The nurse, seeing my bandaged arm, asked me what happened. So i began to relate the story of the bicycle accident, 'Harry' the hematoma that was going to need surgery the next day and the dumb cough induced rib injury. She starts to chuckle, apologizes but continues to chuckle. I told her it was O.K. because it was all kind of stupid and sometimes you just have to laugh. My story wound down and she told me, "here comes a pinch -- one, two three" and proceeded to inject the needle into the port. I meant to ask her why she thrust the needle at 2 instead of 3 but I never got around to it -- because she missed. She missed the port. now I'm laughing and she is horrified and apologizing. She has to get another 'port pack' and when she comes back she is still apologizing. And I asked her, "did you listen to the story that I just told you?" The stupidity of it all, it only stands to reason that the nurse would miss the port.

The surgery on my arm appears to have gone well except that it looks like a shark bite. He was able to clean out and close the area but it looks like a shark took a bite out of my arm. Now I have to create a story to match.........

God is good all the time!!

jim

Psalm 8:9 O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Dumb and Dumberer

Sometimes things that happen are painful but so stupid that you just have to laugh. Well there was the whole bicycle accident on March 16th. In the mean time Pam has had an awful bronchial virus, that she is still fighting. I don't know if I caught it from her or if it was just my turn but I started coughing. And last Wednesday I coughed so hard that they think I tore the cartilage that attaches the ribs to the sternum. Which would mean that I have a rib or two out of place. It was all probably weakened by the March 16th fall but it all just left me shaking my head (and trying very hard not to cough).
The hematoma on my left arm apparently needs to be worked on. It has quite the nasty 'old dead black skin' covering. The plastic surgeon will remove that, clean it out and try to stitch it closed on Wednesday.
Please pray that Pam gets well, it's been two weeks, and that the surgery goes well.
God is good all the time!!
jim

Psalms 139:13-14 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. ESV

Multi-racial

So the bruises from the bicycle accident keep growing. A friend from work called to check to see if I was up and about. I told him that I was multi-racial all by myself. (Keep in mind that I'm still on pain medication....;o) My arm alone is black, red, yellow, pink, brown and purple. I'm not sure what people group purple might represent but its there.
My left arm is now bruised all the way from the left pectoral muscle through the arm pit and down to the palm of my left hand. It's quite colorful. The pain in my chest muscles and around the nasty hematoma has kept me on pain meds. But I'm not pushing the 'every 4 hour' limit like I did at first. I will see our family doctor again on Thursday.
A very good friend of ours is having fairly serious eye surgery tomorrow. Would you please be in prayer for Kim?? Thank you.

God is good all the time!!
jim

Psalms 8:1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. KJV

What does it mean when.............

What does it mean when your handlebars go one way and your tire goes another? I'll answer that in just a second.
It occurred to me, as I sat down here to type, that this blog has been mostly about my health or lack thereof. I told God yesterday that I would really prefer that ill health not become my new normal. When one goes through a lengthy health issue and after a few years there appears a 'light at the end of the tunnel'; that one usually hopes that things will just get back to 'normal'. But it is really hard to remember what 'normal' was and what to hope 'normal' will become. (Don't you love it when I wax philosophical....:o) (Uh, keep in mind that I'm on pain medication.)
Pam bought me a new bicycle for Christmas. A classic Schwinn bicycle. Upright handlebars, fat seat and coaster brakes. It looked really neat as it sat in the garage, a shiny bright blue, just waiting for a warm enough day for a test ride. Wednesday was that day. I got the smoker cleaned out and put away. Pam fixed Reuben sandwiches for supper. I had prepped the bikes a couple of weeks ago, so I checked the tires and everything looked ready. We ate the sandwiches, cleaned up the dishes and headed outdoors. I was first to the garage and headed down the hill of our front yard. It did not take long for me to discover that when the handlebars go one way and the tire goes the other chances are really good that you will end up on the ground. Or in my case on the sidewalk. I thought that the handlebars were tight and correctly in place. Apparently I assumed incorrectly. It pretty much took out my left side. Left knee, left elbow, left hand, left shoulder and left side of my head. Problem -- when you are on Coumadin you bleed really well. All of the above parts were bleeding except the shoulder.
We got the bleeding under control and headed to the ER to make sure that nothing was broken. (Bonus -- when you are on Coumadin and bleeding the ER nurse moves you to the front of the line.) And, to make a long blog shorter, nothing was broken. But I was left with a very impressive hematoma (no - this dude is way too impressive to be called a bruise). When two doctors look at your injury, suck wind and say, "ooh, that looks nasty". Then you can trust that it looks nasty. I don't think that I have ever had such a variety of color ranging from red to purple to black.
Surgery was considered to drain the blood because it swelled to about the size of a pear but after a day the swelling seems to be going down. And very few right minded surgeons want the challenge of opening a pocket of blood on someone who has been on Coumadin for any length of time.
Anyway, I would appreciate prayer: 1) that I won't be such a bone-head and I'll check all the parts next time and 2) that the pain and swelling will subside soon.

God is good all the time!!
jim

Psalms 113:2-3 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised! ESV

Groundhog Day Eve 2011

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. I'm pretty sure that there won't be any Indiana groundhogs climbing out of their holes to look for a shadow. Most of their holes are going to be iced over.
My last check up was this past Tuesday. All the numbers are just where they are supposed to be or better. We are praising God for good news!!
We created this blog in 2008 to communicate everything that was going on with the challenges that Pam and I were facing, and as a forum to ask for prayer. There have been many adventures over the past 3 1/2 years. Many of you prayed and God answered those prayers. There are no words to tell you how much we have appreciated each of you who has gone before the Throne of God on our behalf. Thank you very very much!!!
We go forward trusting that the cancer is gone and will not return. At this point in my care, I will see the Oncologist every six months to follow up and do blood tests. Either later this summer or next fall we will probably do another scan.

So I will update this blog every month or so; or whenever there is news.

Please keep praying. Pam's mom is continuing down the Alzheimer's road. (She was really confused yesterday.) And we would really like the cancer to not return. We are leading a new Small Group whose main focus is a Biblical marriage. So there are many ways that you can pray for us and we really appreciate you taking the time to pray.

God is good all the time!!
jim

Colossians 4:3 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, ESV