Today's Great Joy

Today, I have the joy of having my daughter, Ann, as my amanuensis (scribe and "inspiration").

This week, our daughter, Rachel, husband Mike, and kids, are vacationing at Myrtle Beach, S.C. They are enjoying their time there, and Ann has taken a leave of absence from her work on the left coast to be with us in Atlanta for a week and a half, or so. We anticipate Joern's arrival at the end of the week.

During this week, I have had a number of occasions to use the new van, you see pictured, above. We have gone out for lunch, for walks, and even a picnic. It has a motorized ramp that slides out the side door, through which I can maneuver up into the vehicle. In the front passenger area, there is a locking mechanism which secures the wheelchair into place. I feel quite comfortable and secure riding in this van, but I must admit that I occasionally have words of caution for my driver --"Look out!"

I have a few family announcements to present:

1. An engagement: Our son, David, recently presented his girlfriend, Laura Chambless, with the rock. She accepted his rock, and set a date for the blissful event --October 20, 2007. We are happy about the forthcoming expansion of our family.



2. A new house: Yesterday, we ventured in my new van, to David's new, and first house. I was there to observe the flurry of activity, of cleaning and moving. I stayed out the of way (as best I could). Dave's new house is close to his work and is in a nice neighborhood. We were quite pleased and surprised, according to God's providence, that some old friends, Michael and Misty, live next door.



3. A trip: On Wednesday (through Friday), I will be making the longest trip I've made in the past year+. We will be traveling to St. Simon's Island, on the South Georgia Coast, where Laura's folks (Phil and Ouida) live. There we will be looking into wedding event plans. When we get back, I will let you know how our trip went.

My dreams are coming to pass. I was praying that God would not take me Home before experiencing some of these milestone events. This coming Sunday, we are celebrating birthdays! My grandson, Alex, turned 2 on 30 April. Mike and I will be celebrating our birthdays in the coming week and a half.

As a tip for caregivers, I mentioned in a recent post the benefits of ground flaxseed. Kathie has been taking this with me. She has been doing so for the lowering of cholesterol. An interesting note, Kathie went to the doctor last year, and came away with a prescription for the drug Zetia. She went to the doctor 6 months later, and upon being asked the question "Have you been taking the drug?", she answered,"No, I am doing a natural regime." With dismay, the doctor said, "I guarantee you, your cholesterol has not been lowered." Kathie had her cholesterol level measured, and it was 32 points lower! The omega-3 oils in flaxseed are, indeed, very good for health (and regularity).

To return to the mentioning of Old Friends (i.e., long term friends, with no inference to age[wink]). I recently requested that the book Knowing God, by J.I. Packer, be picked off the shelf. It has been many years since I last read this book. If you've not read it all, or it has been a long time since reading it, I would highly recommend the reading thereof. You have already heard me state in previous posts, that the ultimate goal in life is to know God and to learn to walk with Him. If someone would ask, "Have you heard from God lately?", you could say, "Yes!" if you have been prayerfully reading His Word, the Bible. Jesus said, "My Word is Truth" (John 17:17). In this day, when many people believe that there is no absolute truth, or that truth is an individual matter, we need to hear from Jesus. He says that there is no truth apart from Him, and that Truth can only be fully known by knowing Him.

To encourage you in your walk, I would say to you, "Get to know God!" It will first prepare you for meaning in this life, and ultimately, it will prepare you for the World to come, where Christ reigns supreme. Packer's book, is really a Biblical guide to a deeper discovery of the person and nature of our Heavenly Father. He tells of the access we have to the Father, by the means of His Son, Christ Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. I have seen God afresh, and with renewed discovery of the vast dimensions of God's work on our behalf. One thing that is quite amazing to me about God is this: He chooses us, in spite of our desperate unworthiness, to be in a relationship with Him as His adopted sons and daughters. And that He, if you would, allows us to set the proximity of our relationship to Him. He does not force Himself upon us. He tells us, "If you will draw nigh unto Me, I will draw nigh unto you" (my paraphrase of James 4:8). Drawing near to God to accomplish this goal, we need to fight our natural (fallen) inclination, which is to run and hide. Isaiah (53:8) writes "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. "

Again, drawing on thoughts of Packer, there are two words that describe the Mount Everest of truth in scripture, and by so doing, describe the full truth of the Bible. The two words are: Propitiation and Adoption. The first word, propitiation (Hebrew kapporeth) is used four times in the New Testament. Propitiation is a word that has to do with atonement, it is the work that Christ has done on the cross, to cleanse us of sin. And with that, propitiation carries the meaning, that Christ, in dying for our sin, dealt with the Father's anger and wrath against (human) sin. It is the work of propitiation, accomplished by Christ Jesus, that has brought mankind into a position in which we are made acceptable to God, and set into His family as adopted children.

I will end here at this time, and will comment on this in future posts and conversations, but for now, you can look for me on the road to life Eternal, captured by these two Mount Everest words. These words, which cause me to, proverbially, click my heels in the air with joy, because of what God has done through His Son, Jesus, for me, and if you have this faith, for you, as well.

Goodbye for now, and may the Lord richly bless.

My rationale for this little blog

Hello everyone. Thanks for following with us so far. My blog writer and motivator is Rachel. My purpose in writing is really two fold. First, is to inform all of my friends and relatives of our ongoing situation and update you on my thoughts and impressions that come to mind as I journey down the tunnel of ALS. It's been a time to realize the fruits of a life of faith and how they are not mere words. I've truly realized that Christ is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). My second objective is to give some assistance and inspiration to those, who like myself, suffer with incurable illnesses. And, to give their caregivers some tips on what we've learned in the 4 years since the onset of my ALS symptoms.

Even before the onset of ALS, I made it a practice in my adult life to take natural vitamins and supplements. When I started having symptoms we did a lot of research and we tried many holistic treatments. Just to mention a few, we tried the Makers Diet, Dr. Day's regimen, juicing of organic fruits and vegetables. Then we went to using distilled water and adding minerals. I was on a six month experimental program with supplements from Manatec. I tried fasting, which incidentally left me quiet light. I never did gain that weight back. That one was probably not a good move. There are a number of other things we tried as well. Although none of these programs helped me in my condition with ALS, I say somewhat jokingly that I am probably the healthiest sick person around. I thank the Lord that I virtually never get colds or the flu!

I am currently taking 60mg of Pyridostigmine three times a day. I learned about this from a fellow ALS sufferer in MI and it really does give me energy. It excites the nervous system. I've been taking this for about two years. The second thing I'm taking is fresh ground flax seed. I take a tablespoon every morning with my breakfast in a 4oz. glass of orange juice. This, along with three stewed prunes has kept me from having a common problem that many ALS patients deal with.

New Thought ...

Another thing that I believe is helpful is taking an ounce of VIBE. It is a pure mineral source that is obtained through Eniva. I'm sold on this product as it preserves my health. I firmly believe it has helped slow the symptoms of the illness. Having had several friends come and visit us recently, and anticipating a number more coming here in the upcoming weeks, we really do thank God for the people He has put in our lives to encourage us in this journey. It is wonderful to have cultivated such wonderful friendships during my life. It sure can go a long way to have people stand with you when the troubled times come. I've told my kids in their growing up years when they have complained about not having friends that you have to be a friend to have a friend. There's someone out there in your world who wants to be your friend. For sure as a believer, to quote an old hymn, you have a friend in Jesus (What a friend we have in Jesus).

This spring we've had Bill and Carol from Tupelo; Gary and Jill from ND, Milton and Sue from WI, my sister-in-law Sue from MN; Ardel and Lois from WI. Next week we'll be seeing Roger and Peggy from WI and Karl and Becky from WI. We have really enjoyed having everyone come and have had a lot of time to share and reminisce together. Through these Christian friends, we've come to experience fresh and new what friendship is which, is discovering the uniqueness of Christ in our fellow brothers and sisters.

I'll talk about our new mini-van purchase we just made.

Have a very Blessed Easter!

Today I finished a book called Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. It's Published by Crossway and edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. I thought it was a very meaningful book about dealing with suffering, whether it be applied to a personal experience, or gaining a better understanding of suffering. It goes a long way to give a clear picture of how to deal with suffering and view it. I would greatly recommend it to anyone who wants help dealing with the issues of suffering and pain. Two of the writers are quadriplegics.

In Gods providence, I'm thankful for the wife and family He's put in my life and giving me care and support in this ever deepening valley. At this point of my ALS, everything from my neck down is affected. I'm on a bi-pap machine most of the time. A bi-pap is a non-invasive air pump. I wear it in my nose during the day and a face mask at night. Fortunately, when I'm on it I can talk and communicate well. I enjoy visits from friends and talking on the phone with my headset on.

To give a short history: four years ago, March 2003, was my first sign that I had some trouble. I had weakness and some muscle pain in both my left leg and right arm. It came on quite suddenly and up until that time I had 58 years of wonderful health. It took 9 months of doctors visits to finally come to a diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). As a 58 year old I was a rather typical ALS patient as 2/3 of patients are men usually in their 50's.

A year ago, January, we moved into a home that we share with our oldest daughter and her family. My wife and I live on the terrace level and we had it designed for complete wheel chair accessibility and a ceramic roll-in shower, which, has proven to be of great help and benefit. I really like the shower which, has two shower-heads. One is an overhead rain shower and the other is a wall-mounted shower head that can be hand-held. My shower is a welcome end to the day. The first of next week, I'll be getting a handicapped Chrysler, Town and Country. I will be able to drive my wheelchair right into it and we can get away from the house, periodically. I have a motorized wheelchair which, until now, I have not been able to ride for long periods of time because it could not hold my bi-pap machine. However, last week our friends Milton and Sue came and he rigged a platform to hold my bi-pap and we ordered a battery so that I can now be much more mobile.

Each new weakness brings new challenges to cope with and overcome. Life is, for sure, a moving target. But, with God all things are possible!

Until next time...

The Great Adventure of Life

Not too ago I was reading a popular news magazine and saw some words that appeared, not out of place, but rather, outstanding. I read the phrase aloud to my wife and handed her the magazine to read for herself. After a few minutes she said that she didn't see the words that I had spoken to her and handed the magazine back for me to reread. I did reread it and to my surprise the words were not there! Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I surmised that God was showing me a great truth. Which, I know personally all too well. These are the words I read: Hell is... Truth discovered too late.

The question of "what is truth?" is perhaps the most debated question of our time. At Jesus' trial before Pilot, the Roman ruler, (as the disciple John records in his gospel), in response to Jesus' statement that He is the Truth, Pilot stated "what is truth?" and ended the conversation. The response to that statement is in my estimation the difference between eternal life and eternal death. Which is why I call this blog A Great Journey. To me the most worthwhile aim of life is the journey to discover that Jesus is the Truth. It is important to be on the right path of life because 1). There is only one right path - Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6. 2). If not now, one day we will all face crisis and adversity. The question will be "What do I have to bear me up, to encourage me on and to give me strength and hope?" I have found that your journey with Christ and the good times will be the only things that will be supportive in the bad times. So, you cannot wait until the bad times come upon you. This is the fruit of a life of faith.