It is Saturday, July 29th. I've had a good week inspite of fighting a cold/cough.
I'm gradually adjusting to seeing myself with no hair, but out of habit when I get out of the shower every morning, I still find myself reaching for the hair brush. Then I look in the mirror and think, you won't be needing this. Now all this has led to another potential problem - the bugs thinking of my head as their personal landing strip. Mayby I'll have to "grease the skid" so they will slide right on off! I mention it so when you see me tomorrow, you won't be shocked by my changed appearance. I've had a good energy level this week and succeeded in getting a lot done.
I thought you would appreciate reading this recent interview with Rick Warren, who authored the Purpose Driven Life book which we used in our 40 Days of Purpose campaign. His wife recently went through her second bout with cancer and became acutely ill during her treatment. This article has been a source of blessing to me and I hope will be to you also.

People ask me, what is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body--but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call 'The Peace Plan' to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments,WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD.

Lord willing, I plan to preach "Careful Instead of Care-full Living - 2" tomorrow morning. I will begin my third week of treatment on Monday. Thank you so much for your love, prayers, concern, cards and notes. I am very appreciative of each and every one. Lord willing, I'll see you tomorrow.

Good Morning
It is Saturday, July 22nd. This is the end of the second week following my second treatment, a precarious week characterized by low white blood cell counts, tiredness, and occasionally a little wooziness (now there's a technical medical term for you). Again the meds are controlling nausea and you learn to adjust to the other complications like pacing yourself and not overtaxing your energy levels for the tiredness, avoiding pathogens (germs) whenever possible (boy you should see me run when someone sneezes or coughs), and standing and moving slowly to handle the orthostatic hypotension (wooziness). All things considered, it has not been too bad a week and I, as always, have much for which to be thankful. Although my daughters, Lori and Cheryl, and their families have been on vacation together in Florida for the last week or so, and I've missed them much, I've appreciated the many e-mails, pictures, and phone calls from them while they have been gone. I certainly eagerly anticipate their return on Monday. Tim came last night to finish a couple of chores for me and we talked and watched a movie (comedy) together which is always enjoyable. Barb again faithfully fulfilled her role as my private-duty nurse, but her overtime pay is killing me (how much bowing and scraping can one stand). I especially appreciate that many of you at Edgewood have shared your faithful prayers with me and mentioned that you have added me to other's prayer lists be they friends, churches, or other groups. Again the cards, notes, and words of encouragement have been so important.
I have chosen the book of Philippians as my focus during this ordeal. I read it over and over, claim its many promises, attempt to follow its many principles, and turn its words of wisdom into prayers and personal petitions. It has proven to be an invaluable asset because its theme is how to have joy inspite of difficult circumstances. Its continuing themes of God working inspite of and through our circumstances, the example of Christ through His suffering, the constant need for attitude adjustment to see things from God's perspective instead of our own narrow focus, the importance of turning our worries into expressions of concern and prayer requests to God, and the all important principle of always practicing positive, Christ-like thinking have been powerful helps daily to me. I remember that WITH MAN ALONE many things are impossible, but WITH GOD all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
Pastor Dan will be speaking Sunday in both morning services and I still plan, Lord willing, to speak a week from Sunday on Philippians chapter four, part two of the message, "Careful Instead of Care-full Living."
Please continue to pray for my healing, strength, and complication-free recovery.
In Christ,
Pastor Brown
P.S. I wrote my column yesterday for the next issue of the Edgewwod newspaper. It should be delivered to your door within the next 2-3 weeks. Make sure you read that article, I think you will enjoy it. I know I sure enjoyed writing it.

It is 5:00 AM Saturday and I'm in my office/study at home providing this weekly update. I completed my second round of treatment yesterday and it went well. Having gone through the first round, I made some adjustments in diet, medicines, and schedule to better accomodate the process and it has been helpful. Other changes involve avoiding contagiously sick people (sometimes if we have staff sickness going around the church office, I go in early in the morning when no one is there and finish before everyone else arrives); minimizing stress as much as possible; and concentrating on getting through the treatment process with the attitude and focus of getting well. I look at each round of treatment as a round in a fight and know I need to prepare for it, then get through it and its bruises and prepare for the next round. I know I have four invaluable resources through this process: (1) The constant presence of the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised He will never leave us nor forsake us and always understands our every feeling and circumstance, (2) The finest of medical care I could ever receive to pull me through this dark tunnel, over the boulders, and out into the light, (3) An incredibly supportive family who are always there when I need them. Barb, my faithful private duty nurse who is always "on call" in the Brown residence. Daughter Lori, who lives in Davenport and is on summer break from her teaching duties which enables her to join me during my chemo sessions to fellowship and enjoy some personal time together. She also sees that I get very regular visits with her daughter, Kaitlynn, which always brightens up any day. Daughter Cheryl who comes with her family periodically on weekends from Chicago and calls regularly to see if I need anything. Those visits with her three children, Maelynn, Ryan, and Brendan give me great joy and , of course, something to look forward to. Son Tim, comes from Morrison a couple times a week to take care of some of my chores, offer any assistance he can and enjoy some wonderful times of sharing and fellowship. (4) The strong encouragement and support from the finest church family I could ever have, all of you who pray for me, offer comforting support through your cards and uplifting notes and verses, and are regularly encouraging me in so many ways.
Again I say thanks to all of you. What more could anyone ask than to have a recovery team like that!
Well, I now have no hair - I'm as bald as a cue ball. If I walked around with a lollipop in my mouth, I could pass for Kojak or if I put a ring in my ear, I could pass for Mr. Clean. Wait till you see me in my new hat! Meantime I'm trying to decide between the Elvis wig and the Ted Koppel look for my new hairpiece - relax, I'm just kidding.
Pastor Tim is scheduled to speak tomorrow morning, Pastor Dan next week, then Lord willing, I'll speak the next Sunday.
With much love and appreciation,
Pastor Brown

I will plan on updating this blog every Saturday morning to let you know how things are going. This has been a good week with my strength gradually increasing. If all goes well, I plan to be in church and preach the sermon on "Careful Instead of Care-full Living" tomorrow morning. Thank you for your continuing prayers and demonstrations of concern - I so appreciate each one. I begin my next round of treatment on Monday morning. Lord willing, I'll see you all tomorrow.
Love in Christ,
Mel Brown

It is Saturday morning, July 1st. I completed my first week of treatment last week and it went fine. The nausua is being handled well with meds and I'm dealing trial and error with the fatigue factor. I tend to have my energy early in the morning and try to make the most of it in those earliest hours. I am scheduled for my next week of treatment the week of July 10th. Barb has been my personal nurse and has taken very good care of me. Thank you for your prayers, cards and notes of encouragement - they mean more to me than you will ever know. It is great to be part of such a loving caring church family. On a final note, someone said, "When you start to lose your hair will you part it on the left or the right?" and I thought, neither because it will be departed.
Thanks again for your faithful prayers and concern.
Mel Brown