Update? My Life, in a Nutshell...

My mom's chemotherapy continues...

She is doing rather well, actually. She only has one more session of chemo left, unless her next PET scan shows more "hot spots". We are praying that all of the cancer is gone. We have reasons to believe the cancer has vanished, but are still praying that the PET scan comes back clean.

Mom is exhausted, of course. Chemo destroys the cells of the body, good and bad. Her white blood cell count is critical after each session and she is, therefore, very prone to infection. She suffers from acute fatigue for 7 days following each chemo session. She is crashed today.

Keep praying.



I found a website that allows free music downloads. Today I downloaded "Robert Randolph and the Family Band Live at the Gothic Theater in Denver". The great thing is that the site is endorsed by the artists who post there. It is LEGAL! For those who don't know who Robert Randolph is, it is time that you did some research! If you like lap steel guitar and all of the trimmings, Robert Randolph is your guy. He has been voted one of the 50 best guitar players in the world by Rolling Stone Magazine. And...he is a follower of Jesus Christ! I first heard the band at the Cornerstone Festival a few years ago.

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My jobs have been keeping me from running. Oh, I squeeze in a four miler every now and again. But most mornings, after the radio gig, I am too tired to head out the door. And when I do head out (like yesterday) the runs are slow. I guess that is OK. At least I am maintaining a fitness base. I hope to run the Bolder Boulder this year. I've missed the last couple of races. The last race I ran was the Mile High City Half Marathon. Boy, I'm a loooong way from running a 13 mile race!

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My friend Dennis is recovering from a fire that destroyed his apartment. He is currently living in a women's group home (!) while we look for another place for him to live. His spirits are HIGH. Keep him in your prayers!

Ciao!

The Morning Guy

This was posted in a forum I frequent. It isn't my story, per se, but it is pretty close:

My prayer life is a shambles. Praying nightly has become a chore. It’s like work to pull a prayer out of me. Sometimes I feel like Cool Hand Luke… “I’m just talkin’ to the rain.” I’m mostly always uncertain of the worthiness of my prayer, of the poor wording or the selfishness of it. I try to think of everyone’s needs and pray for blessings for others but it ends up like merely calling roll – a cursory sort of thing – and I’m leaving out more than I could ever name. “Who have I failed to mention?” I ask myself, and I always can think of someone…I could stay up all night that way. I once, for a week or two, took down notes during the evening news so that I could remember to pray about it – but there is more that happens in the world than is mentioned on the news. I pray for those who suffer in obscurity. But to say that becomes rout too. Mostly I pray for myself. Not for material things but for wisdom and understanding and things like that but then I feel remiss for even that, knowing it is a vain thing.

Last night, in desperation, I prayed “Now I lay me down to sleep…” not knowing what else to do; to sort of start over from the first prayer of my distant youth. But then when I said “…if I should die before I wake…” I thought of the burden on my household my dead body would cause (I have no insurance). Then I fell asleep praying fervently. I suddenly jolted awake some time later (several minutes, maybe an hour) realizing I did not terminate the prayer with the usual “In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” And I felt as if I had been praying (I know not what) all along, unconsciously. I didn’t remember what I was dreaming but I was sure I had and I was worried that my dream had filtered into the prayer contaminating it with crazy nonsense that my dreams are prone to be made of.

I desire to pray more, but I don’t. I wish it were more of a pleasure but it isn’t. I need a long time to pray; time to decompress and think of what to say, perhaps an hour for a twenty minute prayer. That’s hard to do. I feel like my prayers are as filthy rags.

How is your prayer life?

The Morning Guy

Dennis Has A Dilemma

My friend's name is Dennis. He started a fire in his apartment on Sunday and lost all of his furniture and most of his belongings. His most prized possession--a photo album--is gone forever.

At the time of the fire, Dennis was assured that within 10 days, a new apartment would be prepared for him and he could return to his independent life. No so...

Yesterday we were informed that the complex that Dennis lived in will no longer accept him as a resident. He has been deemed "a risk factor". In effect, this makes Dennis homeless. He is currently staying in a women's (!) group home. Due to incontinence (he had his colon removed 4 months ago) it has been difficult to find a permanent home for him.

So...please pray that we can find a LOCAL men's group home for Dennis. It is important for him to stay in the area because he has a son who lives in a teen group home in a nearby town. If Dennis has to relocate to Lincoln Nebraska (as has been suggested) he will never see his son again.

By the way, Dennis attends a local church and is in the choir! His disabilities do not make him any less of a child of God.

The Morning Guy

Fire!

I have witnessed two fires in less than 10 days!

On New Year's Eve, while at a friend's house playing Pictionary, a neighbor's house burnt to the ground as we watched. It was surreal. In 30 minues, there was nothing left. Smoldering ashes.

Today, at 4 p.m. I received a call from G. asking me to come quickly to D.'s apartment. (I am D.'s guardian.) D. was smoking in his apartment and left a burning cigarette propped up in an ashtray while he went for a walk.

The cigarette fell onto D.'s recliner and started the apartment on fire. D. lives in an apartment complex with other mentally challenged adults. The entire building had to be evacuated. By the time I arrived on the scene, the fire was out and had been contained to D.'s apartment. After an inspection of the building, all of the residents were allowed to return to their smokey, but intact, dwelling places.

Everyone except D., that is. D.'s apartment and all of his belongings went, as they say, up in smoke. So I had to help the Red Cross coordinate a place for D. to stay, clothing, toiletries...the whole nine yards. D. will be staying in a group home for about 10 days until a new place to live is secured. In the meantime, the Red Cross helped us get emergency items such as shirts, jeans and so forth. It was a wild day, though. Poor D. Just when he was getting his life back in order. Now this. And he feels guilty for what has happened.

The Red Cross is going to run a story in the local newspaper asking citizens to donate furniture, pots and pans; everything really. D. lost all that he had and of course, had no insurance.

Pray for D.

The Morning Guy

Christmas Idea

You may or may not know about the four men currently being held hostage in Iraq. They are members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams and are witnesses for peace--nonviolent and unarmed. They were taken hostage a few weeks ago by a militant group of insurgents near Baghdad. They haven't shown up in any recent videos and the deadline given by their captors has come and gone. Needless to say, they need our prayers.

CPT also needs our money. They run on a very shoestring budget and this crisis has depleted their funds for the entire next year's operation. Here is what I am going to do: My family had planned to buy me a new bike for Christmas. I am going to reject that and instead, donate the money they would have spent on a new bicycle to CPT. That is how I roll...

Merry Christmas!

The Morning Guy

What Is Happening?!

It has been quite awhile since my last post. Will anyone read this?

Doubtful...

My grandmother passed away on December 4th. Today is her internment. I won't be at the cemetary. I've got to work. I did write her obituary, though. Grandma was 92 years old and ready to die. So, in hindsight, it was a good thing for her.

My mom came home from her latest chemo session on December 3rd and the next day, her mother died. Bad timing. My mom had been my grandma's basic caregiver for the last 10 years or so. Yes, it is difficult for my mom to have her mother die, but it is also a blessing that her mother died with a belief in Christ.

Now my mom can go on with her quest for healing...

Your absent professor of Truth,

The Morning Guy

Hair Loss

It's been awhile since my last post.

An update on my mom--She lost her hair this week. It started on Wednesday and by Friday, she was completely bald.

She has a great wig and a great attitude.

Keep her in your prayers!

The Morning Guy