Staying In My Lane

I'm posting this from my hotel room in Manhattan before I head into a day filled with not so fun tests, scans, sedations, procedures and recovery. The chemotherapy pump that was installed in my abdomen to deliver cancer-killing drugs directly to my liver is malfunctioning slightly and a team of doctors are going to repair it today. I am just now recovering from three days of systemic (full-body) chemo which ended on Friday. I was strong enough to make it in to church and it was amazing as usual. It's next to impossible to have a bad week when you get to be led in worship by Jay Boykin (and team) and led in Bible study by Pastor Todd Mullins along with the most amazing church family on earth! If it sounds like I am biased, I am. Christ Fellowship is flat out the best place this side of Heaven. New York on the other hand, not so much. Under any other circumstances I would probably LOVE this place but too many bad memories now and maybe too many people! We were in crazy traffic the whole way from the airport to the hotel and our driver, like most of them, drove a little more aggressive than I would have....constantly changing lanes and trying to figure out a better route to avoid more traffic. (as I write this, the sound of the constant horns of New York traffic have invaded the room at 6:30 am! 6:30 am!) The trip to the hotel reminded me of the text we have been camped out in...Hebrews 12:1-2. By the way, did you know that the reason we offer coffee at Christ Fellowship (and we allow it in the sanctuary at the Royal Palm campus!) is because God drinks coffee? It's in the Bible! "Hebrews"! Get it? "He...brews.?! haha...just kidding!

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." The Holy Spirit inspired the author to tell us to not only run, but to run with perseverance and stay on the course that has been set up for us! Huge! Life-changing instructions! God not only cheers us on to keep going but also reminds that the path we are on is no mistake! It's not an afterthought...it's been "marked out for us." As I run this race, I tend to look at other runners and their course wishing sometimes I was running in their lane. Maybe I saw less hurdles or hazards...maybe from my perspective it looked mostly downhill. God wants us to stay focused on the life He has planned for us. Todd Mullins just finished a tremendous sermon series encouraging us to do just this by studying Joseph's life in Genesis. Click here if you want to check it out.

As I prepare for a tough week, and maybe a tough remainder of the year, this is huge to me. I must persevere because this course has been marked out for me by God. Whatever you are going through right now...if you feel like your course in life seems to be mostly uphill...or if you see that you have twice as many hurdles in your lane than the person in the lane next to you...just run! Don't compare your life's problems to other's problems...or lack of them, just run! And keep running for God's glory! He won't put anything in your lane that you can't handle! (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Stay in your lane, don't let up, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other! Love you all!

Watching my weight

That phrase means something completely different to me today then it did even a year ago (and 30 pounds ago)! I used to make sure that I wasn't gaining to much weight...now, I make sure I am not losing too much weight. Never thought I would see the day! Last month I was hospitalized for about two weeks because I couldn't bounce back from a chemotherapy treatment. My side effects of sickness and appetite loss weren't dissipating and I had lost twelve pounds in ten days...not a fun time! My weight was already very low and this brought me into a weight range I hadn't recalled seeing since Middle School.

Fortunately, through relationships at our church, God has connected me with one of the leading oncologists in South Florida but also, the world's leading oncologist for my particular type of cancer (at New York's Sloan Kettering Cancer Center). They were able to restore my health and diagnose the problem. The internal chemotherapy pump which profuses my liver with potent chemo drugs for two weeks at a time was profusing some of those drugs right into my stomach. I will be traveling to New York at the end of the month to have a procedure (pray that it is not extensive surgery) which will repair the leak. I will also be having another CT Scan so please pray that the results come back and I continue to be cancer-free!

While all this was going on, I was thinking of my blog and all you who actually read these posts. I didn't think many were reading until many of you started asking when the next post was going to be written. Sorry, it's been too long! I will now commit to post some sort of update and devotional thought at least every week. As God instills my heart and soul with precious wisdom from His Word as I go through this trial, I will attempt to pass it onto all of you. Or as I say to my church family at Christ Fellowship all the time, as God hits me over the head with a two by four of truth, I will be happy to extend the same to you! Sometimes it takes a two by four like cancer to get my attention!

God tells us to watch our weight, believe it or not. And I am not referring to the passages on gluttony (which tends to be a weakness of mine by the way). I'm speaking of our spiritual weight. As we continue our look at Hebrews 12:1, Paul (remember, I think he wrote it) says, "let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely," (ESV). Runners and racers of any kind attempt to increase their chances for victory by being as light as possible. As we find ourselves in this arena of life, surrounded by a crowd of heroes who have competed before us, we are encouraged to lighten up and remove excess baggage.

I've never seen a marathon runner with a back pack of equipment. I've never seen a NASCAR competitor towing a U-haul trailer behind his race car. Yet we do this in the race of life...sins and spiritual clutter can weigh us down and exhaust us. When we are carrying sinful habits with us, we cannot become the champion God wants us to be. God's grace gets us in the race...hey I like that...but once we are forgiven, we decide how much glory we can give our Savior by running to win! It's hard to bring positive results for your sponsor if you are pulling a U-haul around the track. I love that he refers to two different types of baggage...outright sin and just weight. Some things are not sin but still weigh us down. Our priorities can get out of alignment and we can become less streamlined. Our attitude can be less than ideal and we can stop performing at a high level.

One way this terrible disease has richly blessed me is in getting streamlined and shedding excess weight (both physically and spiritually!). My priorities are clearer then ever before...my God, my wife, my kids are the most important things in life. My attitude is not based on what I am called to run through in this life but Who I am running it for! People constantly seem amazed by my positive attitude...its because of Hebrews 12:1-2. If you are struggling and weighed down in this race of life: remember what we've covered: (1) You're not the first to run this race and experience hardship...there is a "cloud" of spectators who have gone through the same stuff before you, (2) lighten up...if you are feeling overly fatigued, it may be that you have a sin habit, priority misalignment, or bad attitude backpack that is weighing you down. Throw it off and run with me for the glory of our Sponsor!

I love you guys! Thanks for reading, praying, and just joining me on this road trip! I promise to give you more frequent updates and posts! Sorry, but I didn't think there were that many interested. Glad you are!