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April 06, 2005
Blessed...
I don't have time, nor the passion to blog today. I just wanted to thank God for how blessed I am. I got to go to my THIRD U2 show last night in the past 2 weeks. I got to hang with friends there- old and new. I drove to and from the show in a car that I own and don't even make payments on. I have two of those. I frankly, do, so many things- that most of the people on this planet would never dream of doing. Many people on this earth are oppressed today. Many will die of hunger, of a disease called AIDS that they did not sin to catch, of terrorism, in disgrace. I sit here in a beautiful house and worry about WHAT to eat for dinner, not IF I'll get food and water. I have a loving church family that most Christians would die to have. I have the dream marriage. I have, I have, I have...
Nate and I spent the day yesterday- hanging out in downtown LA. We did some work. We brainstormed. Theorized. Hung out. Mostly, we talked about Jesus, and how far short we fall of His Glory. We talked about how much better each of us could be at loving our wives. We talked about Africa and how we see the need, but don't really know what to do about it. We talked about how we are insulated in our comfy little homes and have NO IDEA about how the world lives. We can't even relate to 3/4 of the people in our OWN country. We both have had that point driven home, during our cross-country travels, lately.
Maybe it's just one of those days. Maybe the truth is getting unbearable. Maybe it's a Wednesday afternoon funk. I don't know??? What I know is that I'm blessed... way beyond what I deserve. One of these days, I'll get up and do something about it. Today, I'll start- simply by giving thanks... for a change. It sounds pretty lame to me, but maybe that's all I can give... for today.
Posted by chasyrdrmz at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2005
I WILL SING, SING A NEW SONG...
OK, OK... I know you guys are probably sick of seeing my mug shot and Bono's on my blog. But, there is NO other picture that I have seen lately, which describes what I feel right now. Check out the above picture again. There is worship and reverence going on. There is a solemness that needs to be reserved for an occasion like this. I have lived my life for the last 30 years, looking for those places where the supernatural touches the natural. Where divinity touches humanity (thanks Picasso). When it happens to you, you are blown away. For today, just FOUR short weeks (which seemed like a year) after being diagnosed, GOD HAS HEALED ME OF CANCER!!!!
Stage A. Pure Seminoma. Looks like it was contained to the testicle.
WOW. Just WOW. It's pretty much over. Yes- I will probably continue to be poked and prodded in the year to come, but for now- it looks like the cancer is HISTORY!!!
My blood levels have not come all the way down. I have to go back in 3 weeks to make sure that they fall all the way. I may need some minor radiation in the future. I do have a small hematoma where the testicle was- which should be destroyed by my body over the next few weeks and months. I do have some pain in the incision still. BUT, I AM FREE. JUST AS THOSE TEARS RAN DOWN MY FACE THE OTHER NIGHT AT THE U2 SHOW, I HAD A STRONG FEELING THAT WAS JESUS, TELLING ME THAT HE HAD LED ME OUT OF THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. Now, I stand in victory, because in JB, I'm nothing but a normal, everyday hack- but in Jesus, I am MORE than a CONQUEROR.
As my great grandpa Bateman prophesied last week, "you were chosen to bruise the head of Satan". God has showed Himself in POWER.
I'll write more later. I'm off to the Pond to see the boys from Dublin and thank the Lord for His indescribable gifts!!!
"You set my feet upon a rock, made my footsteps firm. Many will see. Many will see and hear."
"I will sing, sing a new song, I will sing, sing a new song"
Posted by chasyrdrmz at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)
Big One Today...
Today is my check up with my doctor. He will have disected the testicle that they removed and found out which type of cancer (if any) was in there. This determines the next step(s). Honestly, I'm not looking forward to getting poked and prodded, but, this is a one day at a time process:)
I'm feeling pretty good. I have two or three spots that are really tender and still cause me a lot of pain, but, I'm trying to be mobile for most of the day. Yesterday- I didn't stop going from 9 to about 6 and kind of paid for it at night. That's allright- I got a lot done. This surgery, etc., is causing me to really get organized as far as our money, time, projects, etc.
Our little sis, Heather, is coming out on Saturday- for a whole week! Jen and Heathy should have tons of fun next week- hitting Disneyland, the beach, Hollywood, Malibu, etc. How many times can one write "ETC" in one posting? Anyway, I'm hoping to be healthy enough, not only to work quite a bit, but to be able to drive the girls all over SoCal:)
God has been faithful. There have been a few ups and downs emotionally- but the beauty of God is that He does not change. This allows my highs and lows to be tempered a bit and not last for too long. I'm sure that coming off of my insanely fun Anniversary Trip, was one reason for the lull. Another one was going on the internet and reading some sad stories of some other testicular cancer patients. It kind of puts a lot of fears in you that you DON'T need to be thinking about! But, I'm going again to U2- tonight with my brother and Tuesday with Nate and Dave Luds. Should be really fun. I'm just eating up that book by Smith Wigglesworth that I was writing about a few weeks ago. Man- this guy was not only used by God to do miracles and healings. He not only brought TONS of people into the Kingdom. But he has SUCH a hunger for the Word of God. It's really awe inspiring. This guy's attitude was- if it's in the Bible, I'm standing on it. Man- to have that kind of faith! It's what I am shooting for everyday, as I- at the same time, realize how lame I am;) Actually, it's kind of cool that God created us with so far to go. It always leaves us hungry for more!!!
Thank you to everyone reading this, who has been praying. I fly under the covering of your prayers! Please, keep it up! Pray for a complete healing and for a grace to put up with any future procedures. Pray for Blue Cross to continue to come thru and pay for everything. Pray for my mortgage business to prosper, during a poor interest rate cycle. Pray for a quick healing from this past surgery, that I can get back to working out and running and my many projects at home. Jen and I love you all!
Posted by chasyrdrmz at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)