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It has been almost four months to the day that Laura entered the hospital. Enough time has gone by that Laura's scars have started to fade a little, which I'm sure she understandably likes, but I don't.  To me, the scars are an Ebenezer or reminder of the faithfulness of our King. That moment in our life is something that I don't want to forget. Yes, it was scary but I am so thankful the way God was glorified during those handful of weeks. Seeing how the church rallied around Laura and dedicated themselves to intercessory prayer was humbling to see. We got to witness God's sovereign hand at work by having us at the right place at the right time and had us in front of the right people at the right time.  The scars remind me of when I had never felt more love for my wife than I had ever felt before. The Lord used that time to show me how valuable she is. He showed me how much he loves her and how important it is to be faithful to the commands he has given every husban

                  We had out second oncology appointment this week. We were hoping to get results back from genetic testing, but we will have to wait until the next appointment. However, we did get one major blood test result back. It was a test to show the MTM/mL (mean tumor levels) levels in her blood.  It came back showing there were no molecules of cancer in her blood stream. Obviously this is a tremendous praise report and relief. This is one of the tests we were waiting on to figure out her post treatment and the need for chemo.  Unless the Oncologist finds more abnormalities in her blood or future Imaging, prayerfully she will not have to go through that process. A silver lining that we were told though is that if she does have to go on chemo it wont be an aggressive round of it.   She also had her first appointment with her PCP. We were blessed to see how much she was on top of things. I would hope that this is standard practice, but we were so glad to see how much time her doc

    .. He is strong. This morning I took a shower while sitting, got cleaned up (also while seated), dressed, made myself some breakfast, & then started feeling dizzy & faint.  I've been laying down & am experiencing some shortness of breath.  I think if it weren't for this anemia I'd be feeling a thousand times better.   I want to feel strong again.  Another opportunity to learn & practice patience. This sudden illness has been a wake up call for me.  It showed me that I have no control from one day to the next, only God has ultimate control, & life is potentially very short if God does not intervene.  He determines the length of our days.  You can go from feeling totally normal & strong to incredibly weak & in pain.  Realizations like these prompt some personal questions: What kind of life am I living?  How am I using the time God has allotted for me?  Am I living right?  Am I living well?  Is there anyone I need to forgive?  Is there any

Hello dear friends. I have not updated for a long time. To me though, no news has been good news.  However, we have gotten some great news recently from the oncologist. We had asked you all to pray for Laura’s CEA numbers. As a reminder, a CEA number represents tumor markers which are substances that are made by cancer cells, or the cells response to cancer. A normal number is 2.5 and when Laura was tested before her surgery she was at a 65. After surgery she dropped to 51. Not to long ago, at Laura’s first oncology appointment we were told that her number had dropped to 8! This is a huge answer to prayer as it shows a trend in her body for these markers to normalize.  We are waiting to hear back from her genetic testing. This will have a large impact on her future care. Depending on the results of this test will decide on whether or not she will go through chemotherapy. We are obviously praying that she will not have to go through that. But we will trust in the Lord no matter the dire

Good evening friends & fam! Thank you all for your constant love, support, and prayers.  I am so grateful to have each and every one of you.  What a precious gift from God that you all are to me. My consultation with the oncologist went well today.  By God’s grace the cancer did not spread to any of my 28 lymph nodes.  My doctor explained that the inflammation surrounded the cancer in my colon in such a way that it couldn’t spread anywhere.  I’ve never heard of that before, so either it’s a God ordained miracle, or it’s the way God created our bodies to protect us.  I am grateful for this and amazed by it.  God was already taking care of me before I was even aware of the existence of any cancer in my body. My oncologist will determine whether or not I need chemo or other treatment based on several tests: they are running a couple tests on the cancer they removed, which will take a couple weeks; they did blood work this afternoon to run a couple specialized tests on my blood; once I

Good morning! Today is my brother's birthday.  I've missed so many birthdays while being in the hospital or recovering.  Happy birthday Brandon!!  I love you and miss you! I am tired but starting to catch up on my sleep.  Some nights I rest well and other nights I don't.  Last night I didn't rest as well as I had hoped.  I've been doing well eating my bland diet of mostly eggs, toast, bananas, fruit cups, yogurt, chicken and rice.  If I get too adventurous, my digestive system gets mad.  Thank you to everyone who has brought meals and groceries - you all have been such a blessing.  The refrigerator is packed with groceries, and we all know that food means love.  I've loved seeing you all and chatting with you.  Seeing people makes me so happy. My arms are finally starting to heal where my three IVs were.  Thank you for praying for my right arm!  I can get it mostly straight now - praise the Lord!  I was worried I might be stuck with a T-Rex arm forever.  My pray