Just Taking Notes
Nov. 19, 2007 - Dave's Cancer Fight
My husband has been employed with the same company for nearly 11 years and for 10 of those years he has worked 1-2 levels under the same man, Dave McCalley who is in his mid-forties. This year my husband has had a much more intimate work relationship with Dave and his respect for him has increased though my husband has always had great respect for this Christian man who is the son of a well known pastor here in town.
I am not fully informed, but from what I can remember my husband telling me, about two years ago, Dave began experiencing severe pain in his neck area. Cancer was ruled out and he was diagnosed with Trigeminal neuralgia, street name- "suicide disease". Just 2 weeks ago he was to have surgery performed to ease the pain and suffering of this horrible condition. However when he woke from his anesthesia, he found that the surgery had not taken place because of last minute complications. Within a day or two he learned that he has a difficult to diagnose stage 4 cancer, giving him a mere 50/50 chance of surviving.
This week he began treatment for his cancer which will last several weeks. I believe it is a clinical study treatment (or maybe that will come later). He has started a blog, Dave's Cancer Fight, for all to follow his progress. Please pray for him and his family as you read this and in the coming weeks when he comes to mind.
This has hit my husband rather hard. Dave is the third person in my husband's department to get cancer in the past 3-4 years. Tom did not survive his cancer and left his wife with 2 baby boys to raise. Mary had a bilateral mastectomy and is in remission and doing well.
Our mortality is staring us clearly in the eyes and, it is not easy to face.
Praise God this is not the end and that we have hope of eternal life with our Saviour. I praise God that he can take something so terrible and use it for His Glory. I know that no matter how Dave's condition leaves him, that he will glorify God in it all. |
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Oct. 31, 2007 - Reformation Day
Oct. 19, 2007 - Blessings from heaven
My husband and I fell onto the Dave Ramsey wagon Jan 15, 2007 and have been going strong ever since. My husband calculated that it would take us 18 mos to be out of debt. We were debt free an just 2.5 months, not so much because of us but because of God's provision. Some was already provided, some came unexpectedly (like the biggest pay bonus my husband has ever received) and some was plain hard work and commitment.
Over the years, I have seen God's mighty hand work strongly in our lives when we take a step of faith or just simply obey Him. God reward's us not because we deserve any reward at all what-so-ever, but simply because he is a God of justice and love.
Since we made a real commitment last January to living debt free and to living by a written budget for the rest of our lives, I have seen God bless us richly and I want to share some of what He has done for us here to encourage others, namely you, the one who has taken the time to read this far.
- God enabled us to get out of debt very quickly
- If all goes as planned, we will have our 6 mos emergency fund saved up by Jan 15, 2008
- When we needed a new dryer and we were prepared to buy a good used one from another family, God had them give it to us for free instead
- We have received 2+ cords of free firewood through Craigslist. An entire oak tree was delivered to our driveway last Jan when our neighbors had it cut down.
- After I agreed to cut the grocery budget by 30% and toughed it out for several months, God opened a door for me which gives out FREE food which has been pulled from Wild Oats market. Amazing!
- The kids really wanted to do something for a vacation this year so I agreed that we could go to a local theme park if we could save up all the money by selling stuff we found on the curb. We did it! And had a great time.
- When we had no funds to go out for my birthday and we planned to hire a sitter for a couple of hours and have a free date, God had my mother give me cash money and had my brother and sister in law offer to sit for us as a gift. We had a great date.
- A good friend at church thought of us many times and through her and some of her friends I have received a 10lb organic chicken (yes 10# is right), a calf which provided 100lbs of meat, 4 bushels of tomatoes, and 2 large coolers of beef.
These are some of the things the Lord has provided for our family, not because we are good, but simply because He loves us and I believe that He blesses those who are faithful. I am not faithful in all things, not even close, but we have been faithful in keeping our commitment to staying debt free and living by a written budget and I could not be more blessed as a result.
God is Good |
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Sep. 14, 2007 - A glimpse of God's holiness
I do not write much about my inner workings because it is so deeply personal, and I am so poor with words that I feel like I often misrepresent myself. My husband is a perfect complement to me in this way. Today however, I just need to get some thoughts out so please bear with me as I mutter out of my heart a little.
My husband and I recently started up our Bible study group 2 weeks ago after taking a little over a year off. Our warm up study before tackling a book of the Bible is RC Sproul's Holiness of God DVD series, a six week course. So far, I have watched the first session 2 times which deserves to be seen another 2-3 times before all of Dr. Sproul's words really sink into my thick head.
I am utterly sinful, completely selfish, prideful, critical and generally unloving. Makes you want to be my friend, doesn't it? Why would a HOLY God choose to save me? My prideful flesh would answer something like "Why wouldn't He?" It is only when we truly begin to understand God's Holiness that we can truly see our depravity. I am just beginning, after 16 years as a believer, to fear God and see His holiness.
After our guests left for home, and we were settling into bed for the night, I wanted to discuss the lesson with my husband, as I had missed most of the discussion time while tending to the children. Due to the fact that he was stressed over many things and on edge because of some of the discussion with our small group, and I was overly sensitive and hormonal, we ended up fighting and saying hurtful things to one another, most unintentionally though. It was a good fight. Refreshing and cleansing in the end. For me a much needed release and bathing in the Word by my husband. Humbling too. He is a good man with a good heart. We understand each other just a little better now.
There are times I look inside myself and hate what I see. I am ugly. I know I am saved by grace and that God loves me unconditionally, but the sin that I carry and enslave myself to is heavy. Oh, how I long for heaven, too be free of this mortal body and its sin, to be eternally in God's presence.
In the meantime I must press on, live daily by grace, be dead to sin and live for Christ, to take up my cross and follow Him- no matter the cost, no matter the pain, no matter what comes my way. My job here and now besides loving the Lord God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving my neighbor as myself is to love my husband and to train up my children for God. It is by far a harder job I could have ever imagined. |
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Aug. 28, 2007 - Maturing in Christ
God, using marriage and children, has greatly changed my husband in a good way. Believe it or not, there was a time when anything out of sorts was enough to drive him crazy. After all, he married me so I could keep his life in order, so he says. Little did he know, when we were first married, that I would give him 6 boys plus 2 girls. Six boys are a handful. They are loud, messy, territorial, active, loud, messy, dirty, wiggly, loud, messy and impulsive. Did I mention that they are loud and messy.
So I should not even need to mention here that our home is not "crisp", using a term a dear friend of mine has coined, nor even tidy most of the time. No, my 1200 square foot home is very much lived in. Lived in by ten people day in and day out. Imagine my horror when a crisp, out-of-town friend who has never seen my home dropped in one day by surprise with her 2 daughters and extra-crisp husband.  I was ashamed.
I can empty the dining room of its contents, scrub the goo off the floor and walls, knock down all the cobwebs enveloping my ceiling fan, scrub the mystery foods off table and chairs, put everything back into position and within 48 hours it looks as if it has been years since it was cleaned. Rinse and Repeat. That is my entire life.
My husband has come a long way. He now tolerates the mess, dirt, legos, dog hair and piles of laundry (clean and dirty) better than I do. As long as I remember to hang up his work clothes and clear our bed about once a week, he is happy. If I want to wash the remaining dishes after the kids are in bed, he will tell me to let them wait so we can visit and get to bed early. How sweet is that? Though my response once would have been, "But you don't have to face them in the morning.", God has changed my perspective over the years so my response sounds more like this. "Thanks honey, I did not want to wash them anyway. Let's go upstairs."
I am glad we are not the same immature, prideful, selfish, critical, irresponsible, milk fed believers we were 13 years ago. Now we are eating some juicy meat so we can see more clearly all our sinful behavior and attitudes. If only we could be perfected this side of heaven. Immortal, Invisible, God only wise.
I really look forward to streets of gold. |
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