So I am at dinner with my good friend, Aaron, and I get a call.  It is from our Worship Pastor, Allen.  They have choir/orchestra practice every Wednesday night.  During their practice time, they also have a time of prayer.  Allen called to invite me to practice so the choir could pray for me and my family.  So I went.  Best decision I have made in a long time.

When I arrived, they were already in prayer.  I was humbled at the prayers that were being sent up on my behalf.  After they finished, Allen noticed that I was there and asked me to come up front.  He then asked the entire choir/orchestra to come up and surround me.  We then had some more time of prayer.  Wow, talk about a humbling experience.  I was just so incredibly blessed, I cannot really express it in words. 

After that time of prayer, Allen let me address the group.  I hope that I was a small blessing in some way.  I am just way too overwhelmed by the support that we get from our church family.  It is just crazy nuts!!

Anyway, Allen, choir, orchestra - I thank you SO MUCH for the support that you have been and will be for my family and myself.  A humble thank you is all I can say, but know that I was truely blessed beyond belief tonight!

Well, I find myself in a dark place again.  Had a very rough day, both physically and mentally.

It started off good with breakfast with Sandi and Carley.  We had a nice time.  I cherish these moments, for sure.  Then the day went downhill from there.

I had a bad reaction to one of my chemo drugs during my treatment today.  It was a reaction to Erbitux.  This is a drug I need, but not sure where we stand on using it anymore, due to my reaction today.

Then I got more bad news on the CT scan I had on Friday.  More growth AND new masses are showing up.  I have been in pain for a week now.  I would rate it an 8.5 on a 10 point scale.  Not fun.  The only way the pain will be alleviated or go away is if the chemo works to shrink the cancer.  Chemo has not done its job for me in the past, so we pray it starts working NOW.

I then had a not so positive conversation with my surgeon.  His selection of words and tone of voice lead me to believe that things are not good right now.  I think that the cancer may be a couple steps ahead of me, as there was a tone of concern and worry in my surgeon’s voice.

Anyway, I need prayer and a lot of it.  Pray as follows:

Have you heard the phrase, Life gets in the way of life?  Well it has happened to me and I am very late in getting this post up.

About two weeks ago, my sister hosted a benefit for our family.  It was just fantastic!!  It was held in my hometown of Sharon, PA.  It was so great to see so many friends and family.  Some of whom I have not seen in twenty years!!

The weather was not great that day, it rained horribly, but that did not dampen our spirits at all.  The food was great, the location was great, the company was great!!  They had a Chinese auction and auctioned off over 70 prizes.  Just nuts!!

So, to all who came, I thank you.  I thank you for the support that you have given to me and my family.  We were truely blessed that day, in so many ways. 

And to my sister, Jen, a HUGE THANK YOU for all that you have done for us.  Love you, Jen!!

Well, I think it is time to wrap up our series on perseverance.  As I noted in the introduction, perseverance is a way of life for me now.  These past three months have been rather difficult for me as surgery recovery has not been great.  Even to this day, I still have pain and discomfort on a daily basis, but I must continue to persevere and not let this get the best of me.

Perseverance and failure cannot coexist. Failure happens when you quit. When all is said and done, perseverance, is the ultimate success insurance. Nothing can take its place.  That is why I persevere everyday.  Failure is not an option for me.  Victory over this disease will be mine, as long as I continue to persevere.

This journey with cancer has opened my eyes and my heart to many things.  I have learned what I am made of and how strong (and weak) I am.  Everyday is a battle.  Everyday is a blessing.  Everyday I persevere.  Everyday, I get one step closer to victory.

Let me leave you with a few more quotes:

I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. Christopher Reeve

Never, never, never, never give up.  Winston Churchill

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.  Henry Ward Beecher

We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are. Tobias Wolff

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.  Harriet Beecher Stowe

It’s a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired, you quit when the gorilla is tired.  Robert Strauss

I hope that you have gained something from this series of posts.  It was on my heart and just wanted to share my two cents worth of thoughts on the topic and what it means to me.

Today is a special day in our family.  My niece, Kristen, is getting married.  She is marrying Marc, an incredible guy. 

Kristen lived with Sandi and I for about a year, when she moved up to the Columbus area.  It has been great to see her grow and mature into an wonderful young woman.  During that time, she met Marc.  They have grown into a great couple and I am very happy and proud of them. 

They are having an outdoor wedding today and the weather looks like it will be perfect for them!!

Marc and Kristen, we are excited to share this special day with you!  Congratulations and we pray that that your marriage will be strong and God focused.

Here are their Facebook pages.  Go over and wish them great thoughts on this special day.

Kristen’s Facebook page

Marc’s Facebook page

A quick update from my phone. We lost power last night around 6pm. Looks like we will not have it restored until Wednesday sometime. This could be an interesting few days, for sure. Wish us luck and pray for those in TX that have really been affected by Ike.

Perseverance and being Positive

So how many people out there think I am a cancer patient?  I see that hand, I see that hand.  OK.  Well, you are wrong.  I am a person just like you.  I just happen to have cancer.  I cannot be a cancer patient.  It has a negative connotation to it.  So, I choose to be a person first, having cancer, second.  See the positive spin on this?

Persevering is a very difficult thing for anyone to do.  If you are not positive, it almost becomes impossible to persevere anything.  From the first day of my diagnosis, we have been positive.  There are no other options.  Success is my only option, failure is not. 

Being positive is not easy.  There are days when I really need to psych myself up to be positive.  It takes energy to be positive all the time.  I must confess, I am not always positive, that is for sure.  On those days, persevering can be harder than usual.  I am human, I get down.  I get frustrated, I get angry.  This does not help me battle my cancer.  Being positive helps me battle my cancer.  Being in that positive state of mind makes me battle this disease harder and longer.

Another twist that I have tried to put on this is calling cancer a gift.  What, you say?  Yep, my cancer is a gift.  I just need to know how to use this gift and make sure my journey is a positive journey for everyone who is affected by it.  It is not fair to my wife or family if I am not positive about this.  If I am not positive about this, life gets hard on my wife and family.  Undo stress is put on them and things get difficult.

I am still trying to understand what to do with this gift of cancer.  Until we know what to do, Sandi and I are just planting and watering seeds.  We hope that these seeds of faith will be sown one day, for God’s glory.  We have been blessed beyond belief because of this and our prayer is that we have blessed others because of our circumstances. 

Am I happy to have cancer?  Not really!!  Not a big fan of cancer at all.  However, being positive about it has made the journey a little easier and more bearable.  Being positive and persevering, again, go hand in hand.  The power of positive thinking makes life just plain old easier.

Perseverance and your Posse

What you talkin’ bout, Stef?  What do you mean posse?  Well, in sticking with words that start with the letter “P”, this fit.  What I mean is FRIENDS.

Hands down, there is no way to persevere unless you have a strong support of family and friends.  To me, it is an impossibility.  I am a strong guy, but my journey is bigger than me.  Trust me, God is always there, but here on earth, family and friends are a must for me to get by during this chapter in my life.  Friends are there and WANT to be there for you.  You don’t have to go it alone!

Let me give you some examples.  The first call I made to a friend when I found out I had cancer was to Aaron.  Since that phone call, Aaron has been there EVERY step of the way with me.  From checking in multiple times a week to see how I am doing to being there in the hospital for Sandi while I was undergoing my surgeries.  Aaron challenges me and prays for me daily.

Then there is Dino.  He is there for me with scripture and prayer.  He challenges me through God’s word to ensure I am digging into it and seeing what God may have for me in His book.  He and his family are probably some of my biggest prayer warriors as well. 

My great friend, Troy.  He is there with a timely text message, e-mail, or phone call.  Always checking up on me to make sure I am doing ok.  Even though he lives in Arizona, he is never far away for me.

Then there is my buddy, Jim.  He calls weekly and gets updates from me.  He then sends out an update to a whole host of people.  By doing this, Jim is helping people have specifics to pray for me and my family.

These are just a few examples.  I could list many, many more.  We have had friends come over and do yard work for us.  Fix our fence.  Seal our driveway.  Countless people have brought meals. 

All of this said, these friends help me persevere.  They seem to have the knack of calling at just the right time, when I am having a bad day.  My spirits are then lifted after the phone call or visit. 

Perseverance, you don’t have to go it alone.  Reach back to those who are reaching out to you.

Proverbs 17:17a         A friend loves at all times,

Proverbs 27:17           As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Last night, Sandi and I had the opportunity to go see The Lion King, on stage at the Ohio Theater.  Thanks, Nick!! 

We had front row seats and they were just incredible.  This is a must see show.  The costumes, the music, the actors, the scenery, the choreography, EVERYTHING, was just unbelievably incredible.

My favorite actors were the little kids that played young Simba and young Nala.  My other favorite actor was the guy who play Scar.  He was fantastic. 

One of the better shows that I have ever been to.  Go see it if you can!!

Yep, my buddy, Aaron, over at Arms Wide Open is a S.L.O.B.

Check out what I mean by clicking here.

Congrats, Aaron!!