Coming to the Still Waters

     I am thankful for progress.  In light of that statement, I kind of laugh at the discharge instructions from the my surgery that I would not be able to drive for 2 weeks.  I don't think I will be driving for quite awhile.  I truly am dependent on others right now.  I have more energy and probably have pushed myself a little too much a couple times this last week.  It sure was good to walk part of the golf course with Jason on Sunday.  The packing and repacking of the wound is the hardest now.  We will be seeing a stoma and wound nurse soon to get more attention to those areas.  The wound healing will be crucial to the chemo treatments that will slow down the process.      1 John 2:28-3:10 is our passage for this Sunday.  Sunday's call to wait on the anointing of the Holy Spirit was well received and I am anxious to hear of God's touch upon peoples' lives this week.  This passage starts with a great de...

     Another trip to Grand Rapids to see the surgeon and we came out with good news.  The infection is at bay and going away.  They removed what was left of the packing and showed Stephanie what to do each day with re-packing the opening.  He also gave the okay for me to start chemo in 2 weeks which will allow me to get done by the end of the year if my body can take it.  I am sleeping more at night and even though I am still moving pretty slow I do feel physically better.  The care of the stoma has been a challenge but I think we are getting the hang of it.  Praise the Lord for a good report and a good day.  I go back to Grand Rapids in 3 weeks for another check up.      After the trip to Grand Rapids we headed over to Spring Arbor to see Jason.  I think this was as good for us and it was for him.  It was great to have dinner with him and get him some weekend food at the local grocery store.  Students ar...

     Well, the last one is off to college and we didn't shed any tears on site but when we got home it hit us.  God sure has given us some great years of having children and raising them.  Each one brings us such joy and we so look forward to the returning home times.  I am so thankful that Stephanie and I have a relationship that is beyond the kids.  It may be a sad day but we share that together.  This is definitely a new chapter for us as a couple and we are looking forward to it.      Sunday went great.  Our numbers have been down because of the summer months but the services have been good.  People told me that I was moving around quite a bit while I was preaching like I never had the surgery but I definitely could tell you that I did.  I am thankful for the passion that God gives me over His word to share with His people.        We are covering 1 John 2:15-27 this week.  On the ini...

      Well, I have been out of the house a couple times this week.  I sure walk a lot slower but it is good to be out and about.  We are getting things ready for our last child to head off to college next Monday.  Our house will get a little bigger next week and definitely quieter.  We might just have to have over Jason's friends on the weekends to bring in the craziness.  It sure has been a pleasure to raise our children.  Each one is so unique and so loved by us.  We have on our calendars in bold letters and circled the holidays when they will be home.        I am continuing my transition off of the pain medications.  I look forward to being just back on tylenol and motrin to handle everything.  My diet is more normal now as I drink, drink, and drink some more and chew, chew, and chew.  Soon I will be off the antibiotics and taking care of my bag will go through another transition.    ...

     Review of 1 John.  1st test of a "real" Christian - the incarnation of Jesus.  2nd test of a "real" Christian - confession of sin.  3rd test of a "real" Christian - obedience to Jesus' teaching.  I learned today that the word "keep" when it says "keep His commandments" means not just to dutifully obey because you could do that with a begrudging heart.  That word "keep" means to observe, to be watchful of, to be guarding as a precious thing.  So I am not "just" to keep His commandments but observe them in a way that I am so thankful for them and holding them as precious to my life.  I would be at a distinct disadvantage if I did not have them or obey them.      John throws out that word "liar" again over the idea that you could say you are in the light, right with God, but say it is okay to hate your brother at the same time.  That would be open disobedience to the command to love one another and...

     Sunday went off well but I was very tired when I got done and probably slept more that afternoon than ever.  This video was a great way to talk about false teaching that we have touched on in 1 & 2 Peter and 1 John that has crept into our world and also into the church.        I am now unto 1 John 2:1-14.  Test #1 for a real Christian is what is your view and reality and hold on the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  If you hold to anything less than He is the Son of God who was with God in the beginning and was made manifest in the flesh to die for our sins and our only Savior who rose on the third day and is coming back again, then you are not a real Christian. Test #2 for a real Christian is what is your view and reality and action to sin.  If you hold to anything less that it needs to be confessed and there needs to be a continual walk in the light, then you are not a real Christian.  You can not run on the attit...

     This might be short and sweet but we want our prayer warriors to know how much we appreciate what you are doing for us.  The follow-up with the surgeon required an in-office surgery to open up the incision some more to drain more properly.  I don't have the pain of pressure of fluid now but I have some new incision pain to deal with.  I did get more sleep last night and I have been sleeping throughout the day today.  More sleep than I have gotten in a long time and I thank God every time I wake for it.  We will be taking another trip to see the surgeon in a couple weeks to see how things are going.   So God bless your weekend.  It has been a wet one here today.  Stephanie has been busy around the house and we are so thankful for each other's presence.  Tomorrow is the Lord's Day and He has laid on my heart the sermon for the morning. Adam

     The key verse in this passage is verse 9.  Let me type it here with stops along the way. If we confess our sins, (that is that you agree with God about what He says about anything, here talking about sin) He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (our confession is not what forgives us, it is Jesus who is faithful that does it) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (the word of cleanse in the Greek is where we get the word to catheterize, having had this done very recently let me expound - to be catheterize is to have someone outside of yourself, help you drain of a possible poison within you - Jesus is the one outside of us who helps drain us of sin) All of our excuses in v. 6, 8,  and 10 are just that.  Ecc. 7:20 says, "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."  We can think that we can get around sin by committing it with the fall back that I can just clean it up later.  We can think that ...

     My sister got me a comic book a couple birthdays back named "Adam".  I thought this was me now except that I can't sit down.  I have been on the computer a lot lately to keep my mind going.      Another successful change of the colostomy bag and base this morning.  It is still a little scary doing this and caring for the stoma but I am thankful to be able to do this.  I feel like a got a little more sleep last night or I went back to sleep quicker than previous nights.  I still take a mid-morning nap and an afternoon nap and then an early evening nap so I think I am getting a whole night's rest just spread out throughout the day.        The sermon has come along nicely this week and I am feeling more prepared for Sunday.  Sermon thought for the day:  A "real" Christian makes it a practice to confess sin rather than cover it up.  I think there will be 4 or 5 tests that we will...

      Her name is Toni and Stephanie and I are so thankful for some more eyes watching what is going on with my wound.  I have learned to take a couple pain medications before she comes.  Her assessment is that things are healing but for me to be patient in my progress.  She happens to be the same nurse that came to the house back in 2006 when the boys came home from the hospital from the car accident.        I continue to work on my sermon for Sunday on 1 John 1:5-10.  The first test to see if you are a "real" Christian is found in verses 1-4.  Do I recognize the reality of the incarnation of Jesus?  Do I accept that He was from the beginning, that He was made manifest to us in human form for people like John who heard and saw and looked upon and touched?  Do I acknowledge that the reason for His coming was for the forgiveness of sins and also the opportunity to have a personal relationship with Him?  What is...

     I was visited by an old friend today.  We both have changed quite a bit.  It was good to hear his familiar laugh and talk about the "old" days.  Similar stories to share over the years of being in the ministry.  As I look back, I see that God has been preparing me all along for the place I am in right now.  Sometimes a minister's position can be a very lonely spot and a place where you feel that your house is made of glass but I have found out that you can add to that feeling or choose to to make it differently.  I don't regret getting close to those in the congregation.  Close enough to really know them and love them still and for them to have the challenge to do the same with me.        My first run through of 1 John 1:5-10 today.  Garbage in and garbage out is not so true in the computer world.  There are times the computer gets slower and slower because little bytes of information are left behind...

     I was able to preach this Sunday, yeah!!!  I was definitely tired when I got done but I was thankful to continue to preach and teach the word of God to this congregation, our family.  It was an intro to the book of 1 John.  A look at the author that yielded someone much different from the Scripture writings than the picture we have depicted of him in the Last Supper painting.  John is so black and white in this book that I pray that we have some black and white revelations in our lives.        God is my healer.  I know that I am taking pain medications for what I am going through but my prayers to the Lord, I am convinced is what allows me the rest I need in the face of the pain.  Every time I wake, I thank Him for the rest He has given me.  My main prayer physically is for the incision on my bottom to heal properly and the infection to go away.        We are preparing for the departure ...

     Here is a new video update of just me.  Steph and Benny are doing some school shopping this morning so I thought it a good time to bring all up to speed.  I have had a couple of days that were much like the other (remember that from Sesame Street?) so I am deeming that good.  A little bit of a routine to this ride is welcome.  I can't believe that I have not sat down in 3 weeks and it might be 3 more before I can.  God continues to answer our prayers and I thank Him so much for the comfort and wisdom that He gives me.  I hope you have a great Saturday.  All the windows on the house are open so the outside can come inside.      Next week includes a trip to Grand Rapids (6 hours round trip) to see the surgeon.  Long but I will be glad for him to assess where I am at in this process.  Continue to pray for my body and mind to heal to my new way of life and thanks so much for being a friend of us. Adam

     A visit to the oncologist this morning yielded a lot of answers.  If a certain lymph node that was enlarged when I was first diagnosed would not have been there, I would be done with everything right now.  But...because it was, I will need to continue with as much of the 4 months of chemo that my body can take.  This will start on August 29th if my body is ready and the infection is gone and I am healing up properly.  He was very optimistic from the reports that my chances of reoccurrence are low and my success rate is very high.  Thank you God for hearing all those prayers.        Nights are the longest for me.  I have yet to have a full night's sleep.  One of the antibiotics is really messing with my digestive tract so we are trying to counteract that.  I have lost any weight gained when I was off the chemo but that is okay.  My appetite is small but I do have one.  The pain is pretty localize...

     I will probably be putting a lot of posts up for the month of August.  It gives me one more thing to do that doesn't involve the rest of my body.  I was in to see my doctor today to check the infection site and all seems to be going in the right direction.  I will be on antibiotics for about 3 weeks and the drainage might be up to 6 weeks so I need to get used to this adult diapers for awhile.  I have been logging 1 Masterpiece Classic a day so I should be able to keep a conversation up with my daughter.  Tomorrow is a trip to see the oncologist and see when I will go back to the infusion center.  I know it will not be next week.  I still am not able to sit down.  I am either kneeling, standing, or laying at this point.  I knelt at the dining table last night to be able to eat with the family.  Thanks continually for your prayers and support. Adam

     I finished by birthday present book "Erasing Hell", subtitled - what God said about eternity, and the things we've made up - by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle.  This is an excellent book in response to Rob Bell's book "Love Wins" that came out earlier this year.  There was no question in my mind about this issue but Francis and Preston go through step by step, scripture by scripture that evidence of hell but do not lose the compassion that you need when you study and talk about this subject.  Chapter 7 was the most powerful for me.  After looking at hell through more academic eyes they go into a chapter titled, "What does this have to do with me?"  They cover the passages in Scripture that deal with racism, greed, misplaced assurance, false teaching, misuse of wealth and degrading words to a fellow human being as the things that the scripture says is worthy of hell.  These are things that easily happen within the walls of the church. ...

      This is definitely a different birthday than I have ever had.  I really need to keep my mind going because there is not much I can do with my body right now.  Boredom sets in and so I look for things to read and research on the internet.  Physically, I feel that I am doing better.  It is hard to imagine a day that I am not wear adult diapers and watching a sheet that has my pill regiment on it.  The home nurse says that all is looking well and to keep up the good work.  I truly feel like my life has stopped and I fight that it means it also has no meaning right now.  Lord help me to see how You can use me in the state that I am.      I learned today that the Gospel of John was written for unbelievers to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Epistles of John were written to the believers to have a deeper confidence in their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  1 John has 3 goals. 1.  1.4 - that our joy...