It is 4:00 AM, October 28th. Today's blog will be somewhat brief mainly because of the hour. I completed my sixth round of chemotherapy yesterday and was very glad that my viral infection was resolved and did not further delay my treatment schedule. The week of chemo went reasonably well and I am now getting ready for the remaining weeks of the treatment cycle, meaning the aftermath of the teardown and rebuilding going on which I have mentioned in previous blogs. One of the complications of the chemo is sleep disturbance. Normal sleep patterns are interupted and you can be awake for long hours at night unable to sleep. I sometimes joke that I often get up at 4:00 AM because I'm wide awake, but have trouble getting up then if I haven't been to sleep yet by that hour. Such is the case today. I am getting ready to go to bed because I haven't been to sleep yet. Usually when that happens, I finally manage to get to sleep in the early morning. Looking on the bright side of the subject, you can get a lot done during those sleepless hours, so I often go in my office at home turn everything on and work while Barb sleeps. I've been working on the church's 40 Days of SHAPE campaign for this spring and am excited about the materials and content and their potential impact on our personal lives, church body and community. I have been reading in Romans, and 1st and 2nd Corinthinians and have found much encouragement and support from so many verses. God has been wonderfully ministering to my heart and I am eager to share with you what God has been sharing with me through the process.
Pastor Dan will be preaching in the AM services tomorrow morning and as always I am ever so greatful for your prayers and love.
In Christ,
Mel Brown

Good morning to all on this Saturday, October 21st. What a wonderful time of the year it is with all of the magnificent signs of fall in full evidence - the beautiful multicolored assortment of leaves on the trees, the freshly dropped leaves coloring the ground, the crisp cool autumnal weather with frosty mornings, and the general feel of fall in the air. It is important to take the time to fully enjoy and appreciate each and every day given to us by God and make time to notice all the nuances of people, places and things in our lives. The full application of Psalm 118:24, This is the day which the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, is reflected in the following comments taken from numerous commentators and commentaries about rejoicing and being glad each God-given day:
1. Each day has a suitable delightful aspect which should cause a high degree of joy
2. Each day has a case for comfort, hope, and seeds of joy
3. Each day has grace to enjoy fellowship with Christ which should produce intense delight and gladness
4. Each day should be a thanksgiving day for joy
5. Each day should be a spiritual day received by man to be joyful
6. Each day is a feast made for laughter
7. Each day should be to rejoice in His honor and our advantage
8. Each day we should overflow with joy
9. Each day we should endeavor to make it both happy and pleasant
10. Each day should produce gladness because He has shown His mercy
11. Each day ought to create joy and gladness because of the blessings of grace, peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation
12. Each day should be joyful because it is distinguished by God's favor
13. Each day should be solemnized to the honor of God with great joy
14. Each day should be a continual feast kept with joy
15. Each day is a day for service which should produce joy and gladness
16. Each day is sanctified by His glorious presence and work and is by His appointment
17. Each day should be observed with great thanksgiving and rejoicing
18. Each day should be lived without mourning or murmuring because the Psalmist provides a double reason to be glad in the Lord
19. Each day should lead to double joy - rejoicing in heart and glad in face both in secret and in public
If these are not adequate reasons to rejoice and be glad for/because of each day the Lord has made, I suggest focusing on the Psalmist's emphasis on our personal choice in the matter. He said, "We will rejoice and be glad in it." It is in our hands, we choose to rejoice and be glad or choose not to. What a wonderful verse the Psalmist has given us for each day of our lives - we have only to put it into practice every day and what a difference it will make those days we do.
Lord willing, I will be preaching tomorrow AM in both services. My viral infection is gradually improving and if there are no further complications, I will begin my sixth and final round of chemo on Monday. Thanks for all of your prayers and please continue as I enter my next round that I will not have complications.
By the way, my hair is beginning to grow back. I thought it might grow back thick curly and black like it was in my youth, but alas, it is thin, gray, and straight. Oh well, I will rejoice and be glad anyway and call myself "the silver eagle" instead of the "the bald eagle" :-)

Love in Christ,
Mel Brown

Good morning on this 14th day of October. After having a bad week because of the chemo as discussed in last week's blog, I started having chilling and fever early this week. My Dr. ran tests to determine if I had evidence of infection and check my blood cell levels. He concluded that I was suffering from a viral infection and that my blood cell counts were good. So I have been fighting a cough and congestion most of this week. I'll see the Dr. on Monday to check on my progress and determine if I will have my sixth and final round of chemo then (if I'm not completely over my viral infection, the week of chemo will have to be postponed). I had hoped to preach tomorrow but will not be able to do so because I am not yet over my bug. Please pray that I will recover quickly from this viral infection and that it will not develop into a secondary bacterial infection. The good news in this process is that my white cell count revealed that my immune system should currently be strong enough to fight this off and I am getting ever so close to finishing all my rounds of chemotherapy (I'm eagerly anticipating completing that final treatment cycle).
Pastor Ed will be preaching tomorrow and if my chemo is postponed for a week, Lord willing I'll be praching the following Sunday, October 22nd.
Please make every effort to be there tomorrow to meet and hear the children from the Gilgal ministries who will be with us in all of the services throughout the day and to support the spagetti luncheon fundraiser after the 10:45 AM service to assist the tsunami orphans with their many needs.
All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). God doesn't promise in this verse that all things are good but that He will make all things work together for good. Somehow He will use this latest setback accordingly.
There is a silver lining in my recent loss of all my hair - I was able after so many years to throw away my Head and Shoulders shampoo. Folks have been asking what I'm using now - Mop and Glow.
Thanks for your prayers - hope to see you very soon.
Pastor Brown

Good morning on this beautiful fall morning of October 7th. Perhaps it would be better to wish you God morning instead of good morning because every morning is in reality a God morning, and regardless of the season or weather, is one to be fully experienced and appreciated in God.
This has been a rough week. The numerous symptoms associated with the chemo's negative results on the body which I mentioned in my blog last week have been strongly present throughout this week. I responded by taking some of the many remedies prescribed by my Dr., but nevertheless had to weather the the more extreme fatigue and resulting discomfort. Some of the treatment cycles are easier to tolerate and some are more difficult and I've found it impossible to predict which will be which. You can only be thankful for the easier ones and work hard to endure the difficult ones. In fact I found myself on numerous occasions during the week reading the blog which I posted last week both to lift my spirits and focus/refocus my attention on the things I needed to be doing to help my attitude and channel my thinking in the right ways. It was a week that put the principles to the test in the crucible of life and drove me to practice what I preached. It is interesting how God so often has a way of doing that, isn't it? Well the good news is that the suggestions are good and work well providing we work at them to ensure that they are worked into our lives. To be as James suggests, A doer of the word and not merely a hearer only, deceiving our own selves (James 1:22). So last week's blog turned out to be prescient of what was to come by predicting some of the things I would have to face during this second week of my fifth treatment cycle. As next week approaches I eagerly find myself looking forward to my body's rebuilding process which usually means fewer symptoms and much more energy.
Thank you especially for your many prayers - I assure you they have sustained me throughout this past week and I couldn't conceive what it would be like without them.
Pastor Ed will be speaking tomorrow morning and, Lord willing, I'll be preaching the next Sunday, Oct0ber 15th. I'm really looking forward to seeing you all then.
The other day I came to a definit decision about my wardrobe while I remain hairless - I will never wear a turtleneck sweater because as the turtleneck collar extends to my bald head, it makes me look too much like a roll-on deoderant stick!
Pastor Brown