Big Fish

Well, sorry that it has been so long since we posted. I guess we could say life has just been busy.
The long list of our everyday lives has been added to in this Lenten Season. Listen to all this good stuff God has put on our plates:

1. Jody is in Godspell, I get to direct it as a community project. (Fun but I would rather be in it myself)
2. Soccer coaching starts next week for me again.
3. Coaching the Bible Quiz team in the Elementary paid off, we had 5 of the top 7 quizzers in the JR teams, and Nathan qualified and is practicing to go to nationals.
4. At church we are planning to add a new service as a once per month preview starting at the end of April. (That means meetings, planning, practice for a new praise team, communication with congregation and a lot of visioning)
5. As part of planning for growth and a new service we are adding technology to our worship space. (meaning more meetings, planning, discussion, and vision casting, then fund raising)
6. teaching and attending seminars and workshops aimed at church growth, adding services, leadership development, and starting new churches.
7. The church is working on a whole new web page. That means me doing a lot of writing of informational pages.
8. Of course the daily life of church and parishioners, a lot of prayer, and even a couple funerals.

As you can tell, all this is good stuff and we have a lot to be excited about. We would ask that you keep our community, church, and new service in your prayers as we move in faith into something very new.

Ok, that is all just excuses for why we have not written lately and I guess none of it is very good. I tell everyone, there is always midnight to get the important things done. So here I go.
Jody's last couple visits have been, as she says, "boring." That meaning that she has not reached the news that she has been waiting for. Part of her hopes with every appointment that the DR. is going to tell her that she has reached phase two of remission. Yet there is that fear in the back of her brain that is just waiting for a change in the way her body is responding. (I guess this fear has to be a very real part of everyday for anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer. Even if you have been in remission, I can't imagine that the thought of possible reoccurrence could ever completely leave you.) She is still hyper-sensitive to her body. She notices every bump, every tight muscle, every hot spot (not hot flash,) every cramp, pain, and sensation with contemplative awareness.
The good news is that she is still living in trust that God is at work healing her so she has a great measure of peace that undergirds her bodily awareness. And thus the "boring" as she calls it is the fact that the initial shock has worn off and most of life feels like it has returned to normal for her. (although our kids still fill every prayer with prayers for their mothers continual recovery and protection - praise God for thos kids)
So the question remains for most of you, "How is she doing? What have her test results showed?" Well, a week ago she took another FISH test which is a more detailed look at her DNA. This is the test that she took back in December/ January and found out she was 98% abnormal. Well, she is headed in the right direction, but not as fast as we had hoped. We got those results back and found out that she still 63% abnormal. As the eternal optimist I say halleluia we made a 35% improvement. Of course Jody will not be fully elated until she sees that number at 0% and is able to take the next test to confirm a full remission.

What can we say other that all in God's timing? As we continue to thank God for the treatability of this, and catching it at such an early phase, we also pray for patience and to accept what God gives us everyday.

We are praying for each of you as well, that God gives you patience for whatever is going on in your life. May you be filled with peace and hope, and remember that God will carry you through tomorrow.

The Shack - Believing God works all thing for Good

As a Church our Lenten Study this year is delving into the hotly debated book, The Shack. There is no doubt that it has a load of theology that is intertwined in a fictional book. And as with any human attempt at expressing the qualities of God, we must remember that we cannot get it fully right until we actually experience it and see God face to face. (I do however believe that this book offers a hopeful and well presented redemptive theology for people who have previously been wounded by the church and felt like God had abandoned them. *Actually I like the book a lot)
But I guess that is not why I am sharing about it in this blog. As I am digging through it and writing the questions that we will be addressing, one thought came out that I fully agree with, and believe is a breaking point for many people. At one point in the book Mack is interacting with the Holy Spirit (Sarayu) and they are dialoguing about his understanding of good and bad. Mack actually realizes that he needs to release his human judgment of what is good and bad because in his finite nature he could not know how God would eventually turn things. Sarayu continues one of his thoughts, "in one instant the good may be the presence of cancer or the loss of income - or even a life."
In truth we all hear people regularly sharing their hurts and pains. In fact many of us may on occasion bemoaning our own desperate situations. But in reality how do we know, or why do we believe that in the worst of moments God will abandon us. Or even worse why would we be so arrogant as to judge God as the one who caused that pain in our life.
I love this point in the book, and the theology that it offers. It basically reminds us of the fundamentals of scripture. God loved us so much that he took all of our pain, hurt, brokeness, and sinfulness to the cross for us. It is God's nature to redeem us out of pain, not to bury us in it.
So I hope you are all hearing these words as encouragment. Take heart whatever situations you face. God is hope, love, and peace for us when the waves of life turn against us. If you find yourself in one of those times, whatever you do don't bury your head in the sand believing that wave will overcome you. Instead look up with hope for God promises to turn all those terrible waves into the towel and basin with which Jesus will wash your feet.
In writing this I am stating without a doubt that God has already blessed us, strengthened us, healed us, and given our family hope through the presence of Leukemia in Jody's life. We know that not all the days will be easy, and that the future is unsure, but we do know that God promises to walk with us, and use the very source of our pain to bring about the best good for our lives. This is what it means for us to live victoriously. It is not that we are proclaiming our victory over the disease, but we are claiming victory through Christ in the way we respond to its presence in our family.
If any of you are struggling with issues of pain and believe you are alone. Remember God is with you, and let us know so we can be praying for you. With Christ we can all live in victory. Amen.