Day before Surgery

Surgery is less than 24 hours away. Walking down the hall to the break room I was asked twice, “are you ready?”  The answer honestly is yes/no.

I not ready for the pain. I am not ready for the disruption to my life. I am not ready for my wife and son to see me in a weakened state. I am not ready to have to depend on others to do simple tasks for 3 to 4 weeks. I am not ready to deal with the finances. I am not ready to wait to see if they got it all out. For these, I am not ready!

I am ready for “I AM”.  I am ready to see God work through my wife and son to minister to me. I am ready to watch as friends love on us. I am ready for God to continue to show me how precious life is. I am ready for the day when the doctor says, “you are cancer free!”  I am ready for “I AM”. Why do I keep saying that? I am ready for Jesus to show off. I am ready for the peace to grow, like only the peace He provides can. He is called I AM! He is the God of the past, present and future. Yes in the past He was there and in the future He will be there. Most importantly thing right now is that He is now, I AM! Not just I was or I will be, He is now.

James 1:2-4 says:

2Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

I have underlined “so let it grow”, because that is our responsibility. I am to allow this to grow my faith.  When? NOW! He is I AM.

Thank you for your prayers, gifts and support during the difficult time. My friends and family are unbelievable!

In Him

Mike

All my fears, All my dreams, Held in Your hands

So everything in life seems to have a theme song. We are naturally motivated by music, whether it is for our home team, favorite TV show, movie, or etc. Even in our worship we have songs that we sing and songs that we “feel”. In this time of battle and trust I have found such a song. Read these lyrics and then go buy the album!

"Sovereign"

© Chris Tomlin - Burning Lights Album

Sovereign in the mountain air

Sovereign on the ocean floor

With me in the calm

With me in the storm

Sovereign in my greatest joy

Sovereign in my deepest cry

With me in the dark

With me at the dawn

In your everlasting arms

All the pieces of my life

From beginning to the end

I can trust you

In your never failing love

You work everything for good

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

Sovereign in the mountain air

Sovereign on the ocean floor

With me in the calm

With me in the storm

Sovereign in my greatest joy

Sovereign in my deepest cry

With me in the dark

With me at the dawn

In your everlasting arms

All the pieces of my life

From beginning to the end

I can trust you

In your never failing love

You work everything for good

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

All my hopes

All I need

Held in your hands

All my life

All of me

Held in your hands

All my fears

All my dreams

Held in your hands

All my hopes

All I need

Held in your hands

All my life

All of me

Held in your hands

All my fears

All my dreams

Held in your hands

In your everlasting arms

All the pieces of my life

From beginning to the end

I can trust you

In your never failing love

You work everything for good

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

Website: http://www.christomlin.com/burning-lights . You can order the CD or go to iTunes directly from the site. Also you can find more information about the tour.

What is your current theme song? Notice I say “current”. I believe God gives us new songs for new seasons in life.

Thanks for your prayers! 

Mike

Between Now and OK

When I thought of 2013 I thought the toughest things I would face was turning 40 and figuring out what to buy my wife for our 18^th anniversary. Then January 26^th happened.

January 26^th I went to have my yearly physical. My job pays for us to have a complete physical every year as a part of our wellness plan. During the ultrasound of my throat they found a lump on my thyroid. The Dr. assured me this was common and not to worry, but recommended me to see an endocrinologist. Wednesday, February 13^th I met with Dr. Amanda Cunningham. She explained everything to me and then performed another ultrasound. She then informed me that the lump was fluid and solid, which meant the solid had to be biopsied. She took a sample and then went to check to see if she had enough for the pathologist.  She returned to explain that it did not look good and that she needed to biopsy the lymph nodes as well. She called me on Monday February 18^th to tell me that the biopsy had come back to reveal that cancer was found in the thyroid as well as the lymph nodes. 

Cancer! Remember  the hardest things I had to face this year? No problem on those now.

My first response was fear. Then peace. You know the peace the Bible refers to as the peace that passes all understanding. See God had shown me over the weekend that it would be OK. Now my only issue is “between now and OK”. That is my theme. I know He has this planned out. I know He will provide. I have already felt the love from family and friends. It is the time “between now and OK” that is not going to be easy.

I am going to have my thyroid removed and all the lymph nodes on the right side of my neck.  A 5 to 6 hour surgery and 2 to 4 day hospital stay.  This is not going to be fun!

So why am I telling you this? Number one is to encourage you to have a yearly physical. Number two is to pray.  Pray that God gets the glory from this. Pray that healing comes. Pray that provision will be there. Pray for my bride and son to trust Him. Pray that I not be too much of a baby during the recovery process :-).  I cannot tell how thankful I am for people who have already reached out to my family and me. God truly provides!

In Him

Mike

Breasts? Interesting topic!

The title might have gotten your attention and it might have offended some. You will understand as you read.

October is Cancer Awareness month. Most recognize it as Breast Cancer Awareness month. As with every topic now, this month will bring its share of controversy. Everything will happen this month, from people criticizing Susan B. Komen supporting Planned Parenthood to some groups finding this month ok to flash their boobs to bring attention to breast cancer. I know that it is a sensitive topic and don’t want to offend anyone. Campaigning or complaining about your favorite group is your business, but don't forget the need. Find a group or organization that raises money for or supports in some way breast cancer or cancer awareness and do your part.

I watched my mother-in-law die of cancer that started as breast cancer. I helped take care of her during that time. I was the one that took her pulse to “declare” her dead the day she left this world. So it is VERY personal to me. So you may ask, “Mike what do you do?” Good question and I am glad you asked. A few years ago I found out that many cancer patients frequently need platelets, a key component in the blood for clotting. That is when I started donating platelets. I might not give money to an organization during this month, but so far I have given 11 units of platelets this year.

My point? Don’t just wear pink! Don’t just talking about breasts! Do your part to help in some way! If interested in doing what I do, contact Lifeblood at www.lifeblood.org.