Hello my fine friends!!

I know.  My blogging has been pathetic.  I am sorry for the long absence since my last blog.  I think that I had writers block subconsciously as I was working thru treatments and scans these past couple of months.

I have missed you.  I hope you feel the same….

Well, let’s get to it.  There’s a popular Christian song that goes, “Praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the evening, praise him all day long” and I have found that it’s a whole lot “easier” and perhaps even more joyful to praise Him when thing are going well.  However, how about those times when you find yourself just barely making it thru the day—is it easy then?  Heaven’s no!!  As I have been grinding it out this past year I constantly have to remind myself that I need to be thankful for “all things” and “all circumstances” because God has me right where he wants me.  He makes no mistakes and who am I to question the great I Am?  (My Lord and Savior)

However, I find this particular praise to be quite joyous and wonderful.  I just received my scan reports (MRI and CT) which have revealed some wonderful news.  Praise the Lord!  (PTL). If you will recall I HAD two pesky cancerous nodules in my right lung that had been wreaking havoc in my bronchial tube.  In fact, in the past 12 months I have had to have two procedures where the doctors had to go into my bronchial tube via a metal tube in my throat and laser out the renal cells so that I can once again breathe out of that lung. This my friends has not been on my top ten list of fun things to do in your time off!! :-). Anyway, the MRI has revealed NO EVIDENCE OF CANCER!  Please join me in cursing this cancer at its root in Jesus name so that it NEVER comes back.  Secondly, the MRI”s show that ALL 5 vertebrae lesions have either stabilized or shrunk with the exception of the Occipital lesion.  I will comment on this is a few moments.  Additionally, two critical vertebrae–C4 & T4 have actually begun the process of growing bone which means the absence of disease!!  Praise Him all day long!

While this is great news, we must not drop our guard!  We must continue to pray for complete healing.  I am reminded of several promises of healing in the Bible.

Below are a couple to chew on and memorize for those of us fighting disease or living alongside a friend or family member with any type of disease:

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us:  and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him”. 1 John 5:14-15.

And in Matthew 21:22  “All things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive”.

This is not to say we will get anything and everything we pray for.  It seems that only when our faith comes in alignment with God’s will our prayers are answered.  For those of us that have not always gotten answers there are two promises I think about. First, Roman’s 5:3-4 tells us “We glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation results in patience and patience results in character, and character in hope“. Then, in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.  Either way, healing takes place here on Earth or in Heaven—a win-win scenario.

In my last blog I told you about and wrote one of the Scripture Confessions I read everyday.  I thought is would be excellent to include another confession as getting healthy is all about “wholistic” health—health physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  Positive self talk (or confessions) help us start the day in a positive, health affirming mindset which is so critical for your recovery from any disease. God wants us to expect good things and think about good things.  In fact, in Philippians 4:8 we are reminded (encouraged) to the following:  “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things”.  Even the Apostles in the early ages knew that “right thinking” was the way to go.  This particular Scripture Confession is all about SUPERNATURAL STRENGTH:

“I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  The joy of the Lord is my strength, and His strength sustains me.  I am full of energy; I am vibrant and full of life and vitality.  God in me is stronger than any weakness in my flesh.  It doesn’t matter how I feel because I am not moved by feelings.  I speak supernatural strength, energy, and vitality to my body.  Weakness, tiredness, and weariness, I command you to get out of my body.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I have dynamic energy and indomitable strength.  I am undaunted in my faith; I am strong in the Lord.  I am courageous and fearless.  Greater is He that is in me than me that is in the world.  His strength rises up in me.  He puts me above my feelings.  I am strong in my spirit.  I am strong in my mind, and I am strong in my body.  My strength is renewed like the Eagles.  God increases my strength.  Therefore, I am not weary”.

There are others as I mentioned in my last blog.  You can get them either on Harrisonhouse.com or on Amazon.  Again, I would highly recommend this for anyone struggling with sickness in any of the four areas I mentioned earlier.

Finally, let’s talk about that darn bump on my head.  No, it’s not from Terry taking a frying pan to it, although I am sure at times she is tempted to do so.  This bump is known as an Occipital lesion.  This little devil wants to break right into my skull so it can have it’s way in my brain.  However, we are not going to let it.  This Friday, I meet with the Neurological Surgeon and Radialogist/Oncologist to discuss how we are going to wipe this troublesome little critter off the face of this earth!!  I am sure this has to do with my good ol’friend Cyberknife.  Pray that there is no collateral damage because I am already demented enough at this point in life.  I don’t need any more help.  🙂

Friends, I feel the need to share with you one more thing.  I was on a walk the other day and ran into a good friend.  We did the typical niceties and then she dove right in with some serious questions one in particular I thought was unique and highly unusual.  She asked me “what was the best thing that has happened to you since getting cancer”?  To me,  that’s like asking a leper what he likes about the leper colony—can’t imagine too much.   But then, as I searched my soul for a response it dawned on me God truly is blessing me through it all!  He is surely teaching me patience and humility, but perhaps more importantly, he is teaching me to find the good in all bad circumstances.  So, do you want to know how I responded to this great question?  I said there were three particularly good things he was blessing me with via the disease.  First, I get to spend a whole lot more time with Him by reading the Bible and praying each day.  Secondly, I am able to spend more time with my love of 35 yrs, something I definitely wouldn’t be able to do if I was still working full time.  Thirdly, it has been a blessing to spend a great deal of time with my kids and grandkids whom I had put on the “back burner” due to my busy work life.

The moral of this story is that no matter what you are dealing with in life—find the good in it.  Be positive.  Find God and praise Him for his wisdom, grace, and glory.  You might just find that “you are right where you are supposed to be” for the time being.

Please, if you would like to talk or communicate feel free to do so knowing that what we share is in complete confidence.

Sending love and sowing seeds of faithfulness,

Craig D. GILES, aka Papa G