Yesterday our church family, Southwood coordinated a celebration of our 22 years at Southwood. We were overwhelmed with the affirmation and privileged reminders of invested relationships. I was also able to preach for the first time in a year. It was a delight to be back in the pulpit, a passion that has been hard to not experience for the last year. To reassure people, we are not leaving right away. One thing we have learned in the last year, don’t make plans. Our primary goal is to keep Southwood encouraged and be available to people and whatever else is appropriate as well as help the transition to a new senior pastor. Our house is still scheduled to close on Oct 16 and Southwood is allowing us to move to the missionary apartment on the church property. Our daughter, Kristin and grandaughter Ranae are here with us to help with packing and the move. Long term plans are still to relocate to Texas but probably not for at least a year or so.
On Sunday night I started a new round of chemotherapy. It is basically a pill that I take at night on an empty stomach. I take 3 pills each night for 5 days and then take 3 weeks off. Another MRI is scheduled for later in Oct. at the completion of this round of chemo. Hopefully I will negotiate my way through this round as well as when I did the chemo with radiation.
I leave you with two items of encouragement for you from my message yesterday.
Dottie and I have used Romans 15:13 as our daily encouragement, especially as we leave to a medical appointment. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This verse with a definition of faith, helps keep us focused:
Faith is: my choice to make what God has revealed in His Word my truth and reality in spite of my feelings, circumstances, or culturally persuasive influences. Write these on a 3 x 5 card so that these reminders are portable and keep you focused on the presence of God.
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