Round Five + Recommendations

Updates: 

• I received my fifth treatment this past Monday and it was difficult. Each week is going to get tougher they say, and I believe them! 
• My doctor has scheduled my next PET scan for November 22^nd. This is the event we have been anticipating as it will show whether my treatment plan is working. 

Prayer Requests and Praises:

• Please pray all the cancer is gone by November 22^nd and the PET scan results come back clear! This would be a wonderful work of the Lord. 
• As I anticipate my upcoming infusion treatments, pray that I would have the right frame of mind, and the Lord would strengthen my body as they put the life-saving poison through me. 

What I am Learning: 

• People talk about the “shadow” that cancer can bring into someone’s life. It is a shadow that can loom over every day as you await results, live in between treatments, and go year after year wondering if the cancer will return. Living in the shadow of cancer is no way to live. It is not how the Christian ought to think. Instead, we can live in the shadow of his wings even when we walk through the valleys of the shadow of death. 

            He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1–2)

     Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

• I have been strengthened through a devotional called My Only Comfort that Jenny and I read almost every night. Here is a section from Lord’s Day 1 that is relevant for entrusting my soul and body to the Lord despite the dark shades of cancer. 

“My only comfort in life and in death is that I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, -but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that, without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head— yea, that all things must work together for my salvation; and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto him.”

What Has Been Encouraging: 

Due to my fatigue and sickness, I am not able to play with our kids like normal. So, a highlight of my day has been when we have “teatime” (often just juice or milk) and read a book together. We are trying to make our way through most of the Caldecott medal winners between now and February. For those of you with younger kids, here are ten of our current fan favorites: 

1. Hello Lighthouse by Blackall 
2. Madeline’s Rescue by Bemelmans
3. Crispin’s Rainy Day by Dickison
4. This Is Not My Hat by Klassen
5. We Found a Hat by Klassen
6. Read Aloud Bible Stories Volume 1 by Lindvall
7. The Lion and The Mouse by Pinkney
8. What Are Eyes For? By Wedgeworth 
9. God Cares for Me by Wetherell
10. The House in the Night by Swanson