Well HI again!! :) It is a beautiful time of year here in the St. Louis area. Fall is rapidly approaching, and leaves are starting to turn. Should be yet another beautiful fall.
I came up with this title because you can NEVER lose when you have God on your side. I know that may sound trite, maybe even a bit of a stretch for some of you, HOWEVER, I know for a fact that it is true.
I had my 3rd PET scan this last week. As strong as my faith has been, I must admit, a bit of apprehension had crept in. This whole thing of being "sick" is new to me. I guess one reason might have been that a friend who had a "similar", but not exactly the same, bout to mine, was just found to have lung cancer. The one major difference is that I was told I have this P16 gene that apparently allows for the cancer to have a better rate of healing with no new disease taking place, and as far as I know my friend did not have that gene.
The great news is that GOD still is the winner and cancer is STLL the loser! Simple as that. God wins, cancer loses. There is no disease on this planet that God cannot heal. So if that is the case, why do some get healed, and some do not. To that question, I do not have an answer. Im just very grateful that that He blessed me with healing. Im still believing for "complete" healing, meaning that I still have a few minor issues such as dry mouth. Though the Dr says that may never be 100%, I gotta believe that God will bring full restoration. As this point it is an annoyance. I have about 80% of my taste back, even though the Dr's said that it would take 6+ months, it has only been about 9 weeks. They are pretty amazed at that. They are also believing that it was all them that did the healing, I keep telling them that they were just the tools used by God. :)
Im also experiencing a bit of fatigue still. Of course I try to overdo, and when I do, I pay the price of being tired for a few days. An example is that I just did a sound install in CA and put in 4 very long days and now Im just tired! HOWEVER on the up side, I was able to do it! I had my "crew" helping me and that is all good. Im also riding my bike again. Im up to 15+ miles, and that is almost where I was when all of this happened. In fact, next Sunday, October 7, Im riding 25 miles in a bike ride called Pedal the Cause. It is a fundraising ride to raise funds for cancer research. 100% of the funds raised stay here in St. Louis for cancer research. If anyone reading this would like to donate to my fund raising efforts, I would greatly appreciate it. Here is the link: https://www.pedalthecause.org/donate_cart.jsp?MemberID=17912
I for one, and pretty surprised that I feel up to riding after only about 10 or so weeks out of radiation. I started riding again after about 3 weeks or so after the last radiation. Here again, GOD is the winner. It is only thru HIS strength that I have been able to do what Ive been able to do. Im not bragging or anything like that, Im just very blessed to be able to do things. The Dr did give me 100% release to work out. In fact he knows that Im participating in the LIVESTRONG program at the YMCA.
Lots of things going on, lots of changes. One of the biggest changes, and one Im not unhappy with, is my weight. I had gained a bit of weight before all this started, and that has actually turned out to be a good thing. That means I had plenty to lose, and lose I did. Ive lost quite a bit since January. Im down under 200 really for the 1st time in about 40 years, going all the way back to my basic training days. LOL NOW if I can just put some muscle on this frame and keep the weight where it is I'll be in the same shape I was then. Workin on it!!
Stories about life in general, politics, where I have been, where Im going, what I like to do.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
LIFE AT 61 - GRATITUDE OR GRUMBLING??
I know that the title may just catch some of you off guard. HOWEVER I've been thinking a lot these days about a lot of things. Im doing pretty well according to the doctors, better than they ever expected at this point in the recovery process. I feel good, Im back riding my bike again, life is good.
So why the title. It was brought to me this morning by a good friend, Terri, in one of her daily posts. I had been thinking about this whole thing for awhile now, and she gave me the push I needed to write. WHY gratitude over grumbling??? Well 1st of all it is a WHOLE lot easier to be around someone who is positive and NOT negative. A negative person pretty much always seems to be grumbling about something. I KNOW this, because at one time, I was there. I would just find reasons to moan and groan about something. I was miserable, so I was making everyone around me the same way. I was a piece of work!! Part of the reason I was that way, is because I had put negative people in my life. I finally realized that who your friends are, is who you are. VERY hard to admit, but so very true. I had a decision to make and I finally eliminated most all of those people from my life. The ones that I did not completely eliminate, I greatly reduced my time around them, making me a much nicer person to be around. :) Just ask my family!!
One thing I have been thinking of lately, is WHY did God choose me to heal. There are LOTS of people that need healing. Anything from that dreaded C word to other diseases. So why me? I really have not found that answer yet, but here is one possible reason. From the minute that the Dr told me what he "thought" it was, to now, I have not for one minute thought that HE would NOT heal. In fact whenever Im asked about how Im doing, or how I feel, or what is the prognosis, the 1st thing I say is that GOD has healed me. I usually get a very strange look, then usually a snicker. BUT that is OK. God knows and that is the big deal!! That might sound like a bunch of "stuff", but the Bible is pretty clear on this. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and Life are in the POWER of the tongue, and those who LOVE it will eat its fruit!" I think this pretty much says it all. I believe we do have power over what we say and how we say it. Ive been tempted lately to start having some doubt about things, especially after hearing about some that have had issues with disease coming back, or needing additional treatment. Here again I dont know WHY, but I do know that when God heals, he COMPLETELY heals!
On another subject, but really goes hand in hand with this, is should we not try to be a blessing to someone on a daily basis?? That does not mean go out and give someone money or whatever, but it might. What would happen if you just picked up someones check at a restaurant? Or if you saw someone struggling with getting a load of groceries in their car and stopped for even a minute to help them load up? How about the single mother next door who needs a tank of gas? These are just a few ideas that you can use to be a blessing. YES some do involve money, but mostly you can even just say a few nice words to brighten someones day. THINK before you SPEAK! Just be aware of surrounding and be aware of that little voice that might tell you to do something. It just might be God whispering to you. You never know who you might help, it MIGHT be an angel in disguise.
So why the title. It was brought to me this morning by a good friend, Terri, in one of her daily posts. I had been thinking about this whole thing for awhile now, and she gave me the push I needed to write. WHY gratitude over grumbling??? Well 1st of all it is a WHOLE lot easier to be around someone who is positive and NOT negative. A negative person pretty much always seems to be grumbling about something. I KNOW this, because at one time, I was there. I would just find reasons to moan and groan about something. I was miserable, so I was making everyone around me the same way. I was a piece of work!! Part of the reason I was that way, is because I had put negative people in my life. I finally realized that who your friends are, is who you are. VERY hard to admit, but so very true. I had a decision to make and I finally eliminated most all of those people from my life. The ones that I did not completely eliminate, I greatly reduced my time around them, making me a much nicer person to be around. :) Just ask my family!!
One thing I have been thinking of lately, is WHY did God choose me to heal. There are LOTS of people that need healing. Anything from that dreaded C word to other diseases. So why me? I really have not found that answer yet, but here is one possible reason. From the minute that the Dr told me what he "thought" it was, to now, I have not for one minute thought that HE would NOT heal. In fact whenever Im asked about how Im doing, or how I feel, or what is the prognosis, the 1st thing I say is that GOD has healed me. I usually get a very strange look, then usually a snicker. BUT that is OK. God knows and that is the big deal!! That might sound like a bunch of "stuff", but the Bible is pretty clear on this. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and Life are in the POWER of the tongue, and those who LOVE it will eat its fruit!" I think this pretty much says it all. I believe we do have power over what we say and how we say it. Ive been tempted lately to start having some doubt about things, especially after hearing about some that have had issues with disease coming back, or needing additional treatment. Here again I dont know WHY, but I do know that when God heals, he COMPLETELY heals!
On another subject, but really goes hand in hand with this, is should we not try to be a blessing to someone on a daily basis?? That does not mean go out and give someone money or whatever, but it might. What would happen if you just picked up someones check at a restaurant? Or if you saw someone struggling with getting a load of groceries in their car and stopped for even a minute to help them load up? How about the single mother next door who needs a tank of gas? These are just a few ideas that you can use to be a blessing. YES some do involve money, but mostly you can even just say a few nice words to brighten someones day. THINK before you SPEAK! Just be aware of surrounding and be aware of that little voice that might tell you to do something. It just might be God whispering to you. You never know who you might help, it MIGHT be an angel in disguise.
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