Mom Diagnosed with Cancer

About every 6 months my husband has to have a CT scan to see if he is still free of cancer. His next CT will be September 5, 2009. Again we are praying that there will be no evidence of new cancer.

Last week we learned that my Mom has cancer. (The photo with this post is my Mom & Dad who will be married 55 years this fall.) For months now she has not felt well, but we never dreamed that it would be cancer. She will be seeing an oncologist in a day or two. Surgery and chemo are in her near future unfortunately. Please pray for her and our family. It's times like these that we just have to trust that the Lord knows best and believe that God is good all the time. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths," Proverbs 3: 5-6.

Remembering One Year Ago

One year ago today my husband was in the fight of his life. On July 31, 2008 it was Day 22 post transplant and still no stem cell engraftment. Charlie had a Care Page that I posted on almost daily to keep friends and relatives informed. The following is a post from July 30, 2008:

Today's bone marrow biopsy was painless for Charlie. Praise God!! He did feel some pressure but that is all. The staff here did a great job in giving him the proper medicine to deaden the pain. They also allowed me to be at his side. Once again, Charlie's tough bones bent the instrument that they used to extract the marrow. We should get some answers starting tomorrow. It will take 3 days to get all the results. Tonight Charlie also received the immune globulin that will boost his immune system. Charlie's primary oncologist told us today that she looked up data on slow engrafters. There have been some of their patients engraft as late as Day +35. She believes that Charlie is just a slow engrafter. She also said that out of the approximately 1400 stem cell transplants that they have performed here only one person didn't engraft. She said that she doesn't believe that Charlie will be no. 2. His doctors and nurses all say that he is doing so well in all of the other areas of healing. All of this was such an encouragement to us on a most stressful day.

When I remember what God has done in the healing of my husband, I have to rejoice. The Lord was with us through the entire battle. I am convinced that HE will be with us through future battles also.

Summer is So Wonderful This Year

Summer is so wonderful!!! When you live in Northern Indiana you learn to appreciate the warmth that summer brings. The plants in our garden are growing rapidly. We have enjoyed lettuce, broccoli, beets, spinach, chives, and two tomatoes already. More types of veggies are on the way.

Thinking back on what we were doing last year at this time, I am even more thankful than usual for the simple pleasures of life. Last July my wonderful husband was having a stem cell transplant that kept him in the hospital for 37 days. There was a point when we didn't think that his stem cells would engraft, but God did a miracle in his life and caused the stem cells to start making new cells again. Now one year since the transplant Charlie says that he feels as though he has never had cancer at all. He is working a full-time physically demanding job, playing golf, and most importantly, working as a layman in our church.

When my husband was going through his health battle, I have to admit that I thought that God was preparing me to either say goodbye to Charlie very soon or HE was preparing me to care for a disabled husband for the rest of his life. Boy, was I wrong. Praise God I was wrong!!

Still in Remission

My husband Charlie is still in remission and enjoying life. At his last check-up his blood counts revealed all is normal except his platelet count which is still a bit low. This might remain that way for the remainder of his life due to the extreme chemo that Charlie received for the stem cell transplant that he had almost one year ago.

Recently we were blessed to be able to visit our son, daughter-in-law, and 2 grandsons in Arizona. One year ago, I would have never dreamed that this would be possible. What a wonderful God we have!!!

The Chill is Gone

Having spent most of my life in South Louisiana, I have not experienced too many cold winters. Now that I reside in the cold Midwest, I have experienced truly frigid temperatures. This past winter was probably the coldest I have ever experienced in the twelve winters that I have lived here. Our coldest day this winter had an actual temperature of -25 degrees F. and there were many more days that were almost as cold. It is now late April and we are now finally truly warming up. Winter's chill seemed to not want to go away this season.

Cancer's cold chill never seems to end either, at least from the time of diagnosis until remission. Sometimes it seems as though there will never be sunny, warm days ever again, but I am writing this to tell you that it does end. Sometimes the Lord chooses to take our loved one to Heaven taking his/her suffering away. This is perfect healing that only God can do. Sometimes cancer allows our loved one to remain here on earth, but with an altered body. So many people that I know and love have undergone cancer treatment that has left them with other conditions or diseases. The last and best result of cancer and the treatment for cancer is total remission with little or no new condition or disease. The result of my husband's treatment was this or so it appears.

Believe me, I realize that cancer can come back with a vengeance so I live with that thought in the back of my mind every day. I am now also thinking of a friend that had lymphoma that almost killed him almost 20 years ago. To this day the lymphoma has never returned. For now, my husband is well. He returned to his very physical job just one month after having a stem cell transplant. God has truly done a miracle. Winter's cold chill is gone and so is cancer's cold chill in our family.

Pesticides & Other Toxins in our Food

Pesticides are one of the most likely causes of lymphoma. There has been an increase of lymphoma in America in recent years. Could it be that we are allowing too many pesticides in our foods? I believe that it is. My husband who has just battled Stage IV lymphoma really didn't eat what most would call a bad diet; in fact, I believe that his diet contains more vegetables than the average person's diet. I have noticed that more and more of our fresh produce is coming from other countries. In my search to improve our family's health, I came across a wonderful blog that included U Tube videos that I would like to share with you. Please listen to Dr. Rima Laibow, M.D. speak on what is happening to our food supply. A trade commission called Codex is behind what is happening. On December 31, 2009 all countries will have to comply with their standards which are not healthful to us at all; in fact, they are very harmful. This is all part of the one world government coming very soon. You can hear the videos if you go to http://no-more-meds.com/2009/01/ . If you want to go to Dr. Laibow's website, it is www.HealthFreedomUSA.org. Let me say this, I am a born-again Christian that believes that the one world government is just about set up. I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ (all those born again) will be raptured out before the 7 year tribulation where the Antichrist rules, but we don't know how far away that time is. Meanwhile, I want to feed my family the best way. I never thought that cancer would invade our home. I thought that our good diet of plenty of veggies would protect us. Boy, was I mistaken. I hope that you listen to the videos and go to the doctor's website where she can guide you on how to inform your politicians of what is happening. Some of them may not even realize the implications of Codex. God-willing, we are going to grow the biggest organic garden ever this spring and keep praying that lymphoma doesn't invade our family again.

Hope with Jesus

"If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning," Psalm 130:3-6.

Sometimes Satan tries to discourage the Christian by reminding them of their past and present iniquities. Because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour those iniquities are forgiven. Verse 3 of Psalm 130 reminds me of that. All men, women, boys, and girls are sinners. None of us would stand if God would not have sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Thank God I believe that he did die on the cross for me personally. His precious blood covers my sin. He sees my sin no more. Psalm 130:4 tells me that there is forgiveness with him. Thirty years ago I made a decision to trust Jesus as my personal Saviour. I became a daughter of the King. You too can become a daughter or a son of the King.

A previous post on this blog included God's Plan of Salvation. I copied and pasted some of the original post here in this post so that you would not have to go looking for it:

I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS MUCH EASIER TO RIDE OUT THE STORM WITH JESUS CHRIST. HE BECAME MY SAVIOUR IN 1979 AND CAN BE YOURS TOO IF HE IS NOT ALREADY. WHAT IS TO FOLLOW IS WRITTEN BY OUR PASTOR. PLEASE READ IT ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T HAVE 100% ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL GO TO HEAVEN SOMEDAY WHEN YOU DIE. IF IT TOUCHES YOUR HEART IN ANY WAY PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

You've Got a Friend In Jesus!
GOD LOVES YOU! He wants you to know how to spend eternity with Him in Heaven after you die.

Do you know if you died today if you would be in Heaven tomorrow? You can! To go to Heaven, you must be SAVED. That means you have been born again, or born spiritually. Let's see if you qualify to be saved.

First, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God?

Secondly, do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins?

Thirdly, do you believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead three days after He died?

If you answered "Yes" to all three questions, you are qualified to be saved, according to the Bible.

The Bible teaches that you and I are sinners by birth. Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

The Bible further teaches that there is a penalty for being a sinner - namely, death in Hell. Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." I don't like that, but that's why I'm telling you how to be saved. I don't want anyone to go to Hell, and you don't have to go to Hell.

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, paid your penalty of Hell for you. Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Because we are sinners by birth, we have no perfect sacrifice to make for our sin. Even our best efforts are stained by sin, so that no matter how good we try to live or how hard we try to make up for our sins, we fall short of what a holy God requires. But, Jesus Christ is perfect, and His death on the cross was a perfect sacrifice for all of our sin, and God will allow Jesus' sacrifice to pay for all our sin.

The Bible teaches that we must receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour by faith. John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Much like a bride and groom receive each other when they exchange vows, you and I must receive Jesus Christ, trusting Him to forgive us of our sins and trusting Him alone to take our souls to Heaven when we die.

Salvation is not found in a church or a good deed or in baptism or any religious act. Salvation is found in a Person, and that Person is Jesus Christ.

Would you like your sins forgiven? Would you like to know you would go to Heaven when you die? Would you like to be SAVED? Let me help you receive Jesus Christ right now.

"Dear God, I admit I am guilty of being a sinner in Your sight. I am sorry for my sins. I believe Jesus Christ is Your perfect Son and that He died for my sins and rose from the dead. I want to be saved. I want my sins forgiven, and right now, I receive Jesus Christ and trust Him to save me. I believe You love me, and I ask You to forgive me of my sins and to take my soul to Heaven when I die. I trust You, and I thank You for saving me. Amen."

Congratulations! And thank you for allowing me to share this good news with you!
Pastor Jack Schaap

Through my husband's illness and now through my health struggles I have looked for hope in the Word of God perhaps more than I have ever in my life. With rapidly changing times and uncertainties in this world and in our personal lives, how can anyone ever not trust in the Lord. "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning," Psalm 130:5-6. If after reading this blog entry you made a decision to trust Jesus to forgive you and take you to Heaven someday, please email me and let me know. I write this blog to glorify the Lord and would love to know if it is helping anyone.