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