Is it or is it not cancer?

Day #1

Okay… so you get a call from your mother.  “Your dad has pain in his shoulder.  It is so bad he cannot sleep through the night.  We are going to the city to get an MRI done.  Michael, I am worried that the cancer has come back.”

BAM! Fear… doubt… it all comes flooding back.  This cannot be happening again.  Quick word of prayer – please God…

Day #2

email from mom, “The doctor called on the MRI and said it was a bone spur, they are going to do surgery on the 30th at Regional… “

BAM! Relief… joy… quick word of prayer – thanks God…

“You Decide” by Fireflight

Another new song (again – at least to me) that I found the other day.  This is thanks to Ida’s website  If you follow her link know that it is Norwegian.

“You Decide” by Fireflight

Fiction and Reality collide
Faceless and so busted up inside
You’ve been searching you’ve been crying out,
Will you be destroyed by all your doubt

You decide
Who will you run to
Wrong or right
There is no reason
For you to hide
Only love can change your life
You decide

God is calling out to you again,
Let Him pull you, let Him take you in
From the fear that swallows up your life,
Will you stay the same or will you fight

You decide
Who will you run to
Wrong or right
There is no reason
For you to hide
Only love can change your life
Only love can change your life

Every day you hold on to your lonely broken heart
It’s tearing you apart
God is calling out to you just let healing start
Will you open up and let Him in

You decide
Who will you run to
Wrong or right
There is no reason
For you to hide
Only love can change your life
You decide
You decide

For some reason I cannot post a link  to the video, so here it is kinda cryptic – just add http:// to the beginning:

video.aol.com/video-detail/the-healing-of-harms-fireflight-you-decide/3360199910

 

 

 

Philippians 4 – thanks

A passage I came across today… thought it was worth sharing:

Philippians 4: Thanks for Their Gifts

 ¹⁰I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

 ¹⁴Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. ¹⁵Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; ¹⁶for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. ¹⁷Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. ¹⁸I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

 ²⁰To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Pride and life

A nugget from the book I mentioned below.

“God alone knows how to humble us without humiliating us, and knows how to lift us up without flattering us.” – Professor E.M. Blaiklock from New Zealand.

I know this is something I struggle with from time to time. At least the second part of that sentence anyway. I have a pride issue – and it comes out in force at times. I want to be great at what I do. I want to excel. I want to be recognized for what I have done. The problem with all this is the word “I” is central to each sentence. I cannot do all of this alone. I simple cannot. God is in control and always has been. He gives the talent to excel. He allows me the opportunity to shine. He should be central to my thoughts – not the word I.  I should be saying thank you – not look at me. 

So there are times when I set back and realize, like today, and I am not the center of my universe and I am a work in progress.   I love knowing that He is working on me and molding me into a shape He has in mind.

What about you… thoughts?

Walking from East to West

This is just another step along the way of understanding my wife’s culture, her understanding of my faith, and her understanding of her own faith.  This book has been recommended to me by a friend and I have started to read it.  Ravi Zacharias is originally from India and learned about Christianity through missionaries.  I have only just begun reading it, but I can already see some new points of understanding.

The background – as you know my wife did not grow up in India.  She was born in India and her parents moved here when she was 5.  But… that culture, that eastern way of life is/was her life even in the United States – home life was Indian life.  I can see how challenging it must have been to move back and forth between school life (American life and friends) and home life (Indian life).  I am sure that this is especially true as we grow older.  Parents and grandparents are growing older.  2nd generation children are starting to be more “American” than “Indian” (or at least 1/2 Indian).  All the while, she is feeling like our children do not understand the richness of life that Indian culture offers.  That she may have missed a piece of life along the way that will keep her close to her parents even after they are gone.

These are all my thoughts.  Not hers.  But as I read through this book, I can appreciate her struggle. 

Baby steps in this process.

Just another wake up moment in my walk…

Okay, so many of you know that my wife is not Christian.  She believes in God, but not Jesus.  You know that this has been a struggle for me over the past few years.  You also may know that I have been praying for strength and support.  Saying this, I came across this article that hit me between the eyes.  This is the second time recently that this topic has been put in front of me… so I guess this is one of those moments I need to pay attention.

The following paragraph is from an article written by Anna:

“A pastor once asked my grandmother how soon after the children get there does she try to convert them to Christianity.  She looked at him straight in the eye and said, “First, I give them a safe place to live with comforts most have never known, this includes three meals a day, clean clothes, and a warm bed.  Then, I hold their hands and hug them as often as possible.  I tell them that they are beautiful, wonderful, smart, valuable children and that they are precious in the eyes of God.  I let them know that the past is the past and they are new creatures, they have a future and will be educated.  I help them learn to forgive their families and actually pray for them.  Pastor, I don’t try to make them into Christians, I just show them the love of Christ.”

 

It all comes back to love.  Why am I so set on converting her?  Why am I struggling with this so much?  Love is the answer.  Love is what Jesus asked us to share.  He didn’t expect me to convert someone to a religion. 

 

Wow… just some things to think about.  This might be the beginning of some additional post… comment if you feel the impulse.