12-30-08 - Health Update

Sorry to disappoint, but this is not the Jollette - yep, it's me, David, aka Jolly.  I know that many of you were enjoying her updates and were hoping that she would just take over the blog, but hey, you're still stuck with me.

Here's a pic of me and the Jollette in case you are wondering what she looks like - beautiful ain't she!

I hope to describe more of what the last week has been like and some of what I have experienced and maybe I'll do that over the next few days and weeks, but for now I just want to say that I am overwhelmed with gratitude to all of you who have prayed for me and my family this week and who have left encouraging notes.  Each day when I was in the hospital the Jollette would come and read me comments left here and on Facebook and the comments were tremendously encouraging during what was without doubt, the hardest week of my and my family's life.

Adversity tends to bring out the best in the body of Christ and this week I have been witness to and recipient of love and support I couldn't have imagined.

The pic above is great and shows me smiling - I'm a pretty good actor because shortly before that was taken I had been crying.  The night before my surgery (12/23) the elders came over to pray for me and while they were praying for me I heard singing out on the front lawn - it was about half the church coming to sing carols to us.  They all came in and sang some more and prayed some more and I lost it while they were there - I'm not sure when I have been as moved by a display of love like this.  And that continued through the week - I had a constant stream of visitors and phone calls at the hospital, and that along with reading comments and e-mails has lifted my spirits all throughout the week.

So please, if you are reading this and have prayed for me and my family, give yourself a pat on the back since I can't be there to give you a hug, as an expression of my thanks.  If your family or church or some other group has prayed for us please let them know that their prayers have been felt and I deeply appreciate them.

As to my health I am feeling exponentially better now that I am out of the hospital.  I'm eating more every day.  Yesterday I walked about a hundred yards up the street and came back.  Today I made it around the block once in the morning and made it a couple of hundred yards up the block and back on a separate walk this evening.  Pain is still an issue so I am still regulary taking pain medication.  I'm hoping to back down on this soon.

I still don't know when chemo will start.  I have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow morning and I assume we will discuss that  then.

I'll offer some more thoughts on God's faithfulness to me during this time in later posts but for now please be assured that all of you have been agents of God's faithfulness and again please accept my deepest gratitude. 

My theme passage for now is Psalm 46 and my theme verse for now is Matthew 6:34:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I know I face an uncertain future so this verse has taken on new meaning for me - please pray that I'll live it and find joy in Christ and His blessings on a daily basis.

Comments

[Darryl Dash]

It's great to see you blogging. You're in my prayers, and you've been in my thoughts frequently in the past week. Thanks for the updates.

[Sam Osborne]

I know we all have been more than happy and willing to help bare you and your family's burdens. We are all members of the Body of Christ; united in love forever through the good times and the bad.
Great to have you blogging again, Jolly!

P.S. - I ask only one thing from you, David: cheer as hard as you can for the Gators!

[Tara Barthel]

SO good to hear from you, Pastor JollyBlogger! (Although, yes, Jollette is both beautiful and a great writer.)

Hooray for walking around the block! That's huge after major surgery.

We will continue to pray for you and my blog readers are praying too.

Sending your family love from snowy Montana!

Your friends,
Fred, Tara & Sophie

[Jackson]

Death has been defeated. That is important for us all to remember.

[Stacy L. Harp]

Amen..and praise HIM for His faithfulness to you and your family Jolly :) - I have been praying for you and it's so great to hear from you directly again. I will pray that He will give you His perfect peace during this time and that you will be a silent witness to all that He is doing around you. Watch what He's doing...you might be surprised.

[Stacy L. Harp]

And I can also see why you are a proud Papa :) Beautiful young lady you have there.

[David A. Porter]

It is times like these that I wish we had eyes to see the angelic realm. For all we know, there were scores of angels interceding, comforting, and guiding. Can you imagine!

God on high, hearing the prayers of intercession, knowing full well his right and perfect plan for you, bringing you, as his truly beloved son, his love in wondrous and mysterious ways.

Draw near David, you are a child of the almighty God, and he is displaying his love for you in magnificent ways.

I look forward to hearing more from you, and of course will keep you, and your family in my prayers.

[Mark Daniels]

David:
Thank you for taking the time to update all of us. May God keep encouraging and blessing you and your family.

Psalm 46, huh? It's the inspiration for 'A Mighty Fortress.' I knew you were part-Lutheran!

God bless you and yours.

Your Friend in Christ,
Mark

[David A. Porter]

It's me again. I just finished listening to Dr. John Piper's annual call to prayer.

It was powerful, and his ending with Zechariah was describing right where you are, in the fire of God's mighty purification system.

Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/9h9kw9

I pray that God will bring you miraculous healing, and in so doing, the blogosphere may see the wondrous glory of God!

Who better than a Jolly Begger (Blogger) like you and me.

[Angie Sutton]

Hi, David! Yes, it is great to see you blogging again! I knew that would be an important, good sign--that you are back at it. And yes, I've been a stealth reader for years (couldn't figure out how to post a response, altho I often wanted to)! You do look great in that pic (as does Jollette, of course). I pray God will give all of you peace and comfort as you go through this, and I know He will. I had a little health scare myself in 2007 and I was so blessed by His faithfulness--He truly gave me courage and everything I needed which didn't think I would have on my own. I figured it was my turn to have health problems, but it wasn't then. It did show me, tho, that health is also by grace--some have it and some don't. We don't earn it (altho there are some things we can do to improve/protect it), and He sovereignly allows some to have it and some not. We don't know how long we will have it, but it will always seem like a short time. I pray yours improves quickly and for a very long time. I know the Lord is going to be faithful to you, your family, and your church and is going to use this in amazing ways! As Tozer says, He is perfectly wise, and we wouldn't do things differently if we could! With love and prayers from us in OP, FL! Yes, I'm telling everyone to pray for y'all, too! And Renee and I will be praying together at 4:00ish today!

[Bonnie]

Glad you are home and feeling better. Good to "hear" your voice again although it was wonderful to "meet" the Jollette as well. You've got a wonderful family and support system there. I continue to pray for you all; you've been an inspiration to me through your blogging and the GodBlogCon and I look forward to hearing more.

[Kinnon]

David,
Jollette is a great JollyBlogger Jr - but none of us are ready to stop hearing from the truly Original JollyBlogger, any time soon. Rest well and know you are in many, many peoples' thoughts and prayers.

[Milton Stanley]

Glad you're home, David. Please give our thanks to Jollette for the updates. The Stanleys continue to pray for you and all the Waynes. Peace.

[Mike LaRusch]

David,

Thank you for being an example of what it means to have a right understanding of God. You are an inspiration and are in my prayers.

[chris]

David...I don't know you, but I've had your blog on my reader for a while now. I just wanted to say that I'm praying for you, and I admire the faith and courage that you (and your family) are facing this trial with.

Love in Christ from rural Tennessee,
chris

[jlordby]

Know your mom....will be praying and holding you up in prayer. God IS GOOD all the TIME.

[chrisdat]

David - What a joy to see you back on the blog. Your daughter did a great job. We out in the blog ether may be distant - but close in the Lord. It is a privilege to pray for a brother in Christ and his family. Have a blessed New Year - and our prayers are with you. Thank you for your testimony!!!

[TulipGirl]

Praying for you and yours, with the challenges 2009 is bringing.

[Dwayne Forehand]

Glad you are feeling better. Your daughter must get her good looks from her mom. ;)

[Lisa]

David,

We recently find out about your difficult circumstances and have been praying for you and your family ever since. Praise God, HE is the answer to your every need. I have some knowledge of what you are experiencing since I have been dealing with stage 4 breast cancer with metastisis to my liver, lungs, spleen, bones, and various lymph nodes for about a year and a half. I want to remind you that you are not without hope. God has been MY hope, my peace, my wisdom, and everything I have needed as much as I have allowed Him to be. It has come progressively as I have exercised the little faith He planted in me and it continues to grow daily as He "helps my unbelief"(Mark 9:24). I know the fear that says that you're not going to make it and God is teaching me to "walk by faith, not by sight" and "to take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ"(2 Cor. 10:5). It is difficult but do-able with the help of the Holy Spirit. I want "to comfort you with the comfort that I have received"(2 Cor 1:4). Cancer has changed me and I am no longer the same person I was B.C.(before cancer). Praise the Lord, He has taught me the importance of relationships and love, of obedience and boldness, and so much about Himself that I may never have learned otherwise. I am also experiencing Christ as my Healer! I have been receiving treatment at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America since Nov. '07 when my local doctor had given up on me. My recent scans in Nov. no longer show the cancer in my lungs, spleen, or bones. Only a small tumor in my liver and one lymph node and I'm hoping that the scans I have Jan 14th will no longer show those!! I want to urge you to ask God for great wisdom and guidance to know what steps you need to take to be healed. I would also encourage you to go to the CTCA website http://www.cancercenter.com/and see what they have to offer. I believe that God led me there as I sought His wisdom and guidance and I am experiencing wonderful results. He may have a different path for your healing but I wanted to share what He has done for me through CTCA. I believe that a positive, faith filled confession is important to healing, and to life, and often confess out loud so that my enemy and my spirit can hear it, Psalm 118:17 "I will not die but live and declare the works of the Lord". Because "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God"(Rom. 10:17). We will continue to pray for you, Lynette, DJ, Michael, and Rebekah as you go through this difficult trial and I am confident that you will experience hope and peace as you "seek first His kingdom" everyday. Please let me know if I can share any more encouragement or info with you (only because I have had a headstart on this journey). Love to you all, Lisa Irby ([email protected])

[kris]

I am new, today, to your blog. I followed you here from Christian Skeptic. My mom was diagnosed with a fatal disease 7 1/2 yrs ago. I still remember the dr's telling us she had 2 rs with the last being horrible, unless she got a heart lung transplant. We did not get the transplant, though we were on the list for a while. God has truly sustained her. He has used her illness as a testimony to our body of believers here in Katy, Texas. She is defying all the odds...

Keep the faith, Finish the race...

btw: my mom praises God for this thorn as it has brought her closer to Him than she had ever been.

God bless you,

Kw

[Adrian Warnock]

God bless you David. Maybe we can get a dose of you AND a dose of jollette? Its great that you are back. When you are up to it, I will defintely visit with you on the telephone soon.
With Love,
Your partner in blog crime

[karie]

Pastor David, I've enjoyed reading your blog posts. I am praying for your complete and miraculous recovery, also for strength and comfort for you and your family. God bless you and yours in 2009!

[bad]

I am praying for you. God bless and keep you and yours.

[Julana]

She gets her good looks from her Dad. :-)

Glad to hear you're able to get out and about. It's great that your church has been so supportive.

God be with you. Dealing with the medical system can be a little overwhelming at times. Hope you continue to have good support from your church.

Thank you for the update.