6+ Years Ago! ....... Wow!

It is hard to believe that it has already been six and a half years since my cancer surgery.  I am thankful every day for the blessings of my beautiful wife and loving,caring family.  I am a man truly blessed.  I hate that we need to suffer to really appreciate what we have.  Through faith the Lord has carried me on wings of eagles and he has been faithful even when I am not.

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

(2 Timothy 2:10-13 ESV)

STOP! Take a pause and reflect on the ones that you love! You have no promises for tomorrow.

Our God is mighty and trustworthy

I was reflecting on the trials of three and a half years ago and I can only come to one conclusion...

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;  if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;  if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.

   —  2 Timothy 2:11-13

Another year has past! Over 18-months and still cancer-free. I had my scan in June and got the good news. Now my 49th birthday is behind me and I know that I am blessed beyond measure. I praise my redeemer for the time he has given me. He has redeemed me in this life and for eternity.
I saw this video the other day, and it truly puts into perspective The Truth about God and Cancer. Matter what the outcome of our circumstances is, God is God and we can never know the purpose of His ways. The best that we can do is accept it and willingly be a part of His plan.

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth. - Job 19:25 [ESV]

River of God - Costa Rica †††

River of God - Costa Rica †††

Well, the team left in the wee hours of the morning around 12:20 am headed for Chicago. They made excellent time and ended up waiting awhile before they could check in their bags. I received a call just before they left Atlanta. They had met up with the rest of the team there and were ready for their final leg into San Jose. They should be arriving around 2:20 this afternoon (12:20 San Jose time). Timothy & Kiery's oldest son Mark will be meeting them with the bus. I will send another update when I hear from them.

As I sit here during lunch on my 48th Birthday I was thinking about how good God is to me. I recently had my 6-month scan, actually back in July, and all is still clear. We had a little concern at first, when the CT scan showed some spots on my spine. However, the CT scan is inconclusive, so we did an MRI and found out that it was nothing to be concerned about. Our Lord is faithful and trustworthy! Praise His name!

Now I am looking at the opportunities before me to serve him in new ways. I am trying to look at how I may use my skills to serve the River of God mission and serve in my new role at work. I have been given an extension on this life and I know that I need to use it to share the Gospel message with people. I need all of my friends and family who are not committed to the Lord know that they have a decision to make that has eternal consequences.

Where will you spend eternity?
Heaven and Hell are real places! You cannot decide later where you will spend eternity. Choose now before it is too late! I beg you.

Please talk to me if you have questions.

Still Praising God!

Well, I went back to work on January 19th. I probably should have waited another week, but you know how it is. I had another doctor visit last week and the doctor said I am OK to resume most activities.

My Kidney is somewhere in Florida...

I donated the tissue to a research project that is studying these tumors, because they don't know what causes them. I did have a renal clear-cell carcinoma. The tumor was 11cm in diameter. (The kidney, tumor and fatty tissue around the kidney that was removed was all about the size of a football.) They tell me it was a major surgery. ;) At this point, there is no follow-up treatment required. (i.e. Radiation or Chemo) Thank you Jesus!

At this point I am just happy to be through the situation adn continue to pray that nothing else develops...your prayers will help, too! I want to thank everyone for the prayers and support. Chris and I have reflected on the entire event and it seems so sureal. We really had the strength of the Lord with us to carry us through. The Bible does not say it will be easy to follow Christ, but that he will always be with us.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.” — 1 Peter 1:6-9

With the love of Christ,
Blane & Chris

The pathology report is good!

Psalm 148
Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens!
Praise him from the skies!
Praise him, all his angels!
Praise him, all the armies of heaven!
Praise him, sun and moon!
Praise him, all you twinkling stars!
Praise him, skies above!
Praise him, vapors high above the clouds!
Let every created thing give praise to the Lord,
for he issued his command, and they came into being.
He set them in place forever and ever.
His decree will never be revoked.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you creatures of the ocean depths,
fire and hail, snow and clouds,[a]
wind and weather that obey him,
mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all livestock,
small scurrying animals and birds,
kings of the earth and all people,
rulers and judges of the earth,
young men and young women,
old men and children.

Let them all praise the name of the Lord.
For his name is very great;
his glory towers over the earth and heaven!
He has made his people strong,
honoring his faithful ones—
the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the Lord!

We are so blessed by a God who loves us and hears our prayers. I am so grateful to all of you, who have prayed for me. It is very humbling. I am truly blessed to have so many caring and loving friends and family members.

We heard to day from the doctor's nurse. She said that the report came in and another doctor read the report. The tumor was contained to the kidney. They took several lymph nodes and some surrounding tissue. There was nothing in the nodes or surrounding tissue, so our prayer that all is contained has been answered.

I feel so fortunate to have been through this trial. Many good things have come from this trial. It has been a blessing to go through it step by step and see how God has answered prayers every step of the way. Not knowing his plan, but knowing that He lights the way. (Psalm 119:105-108)

Pleae take a moment to offer a prayer of thanksgiving.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." — Romans 8:28

With the love of Christ,
Blane & Chris