"The House That Cleans Itself"

Some people like self-help books, some don't. I fit into the latter category. The other day I saw my bride Karen reading The House That Cleans Itself. Many thoughts entered my head; "Yeah right" ... "Run Ken, run!" ... "This is going to be good", and others. It wasn't long before I peeked and saw that step 3 was, "Involve the Household and Hang the signs". So much for the house cleaning itself. It looks more like a family project.

Karen and I did talk about an area where we each feel it is most important to have it clean and tidy. Mine was the livingroom, Karen's was the kitchen. My reasoning is that we can feel comfortable having people drop in. Karen's reasoning was much the same. Other zones in the house we can either close doors or we don't mind the "lived in" look. Okay ... that part was easy.

So ... what's next? I don't know for sure but step #5 has a ring I don't like, "Gather tools and Document Evidence". Are my tools safe and is the evidence about me and my tools? Future sections have titles that start with, Clear out ... Open up ... Neaten, Organize ... Verify ... Examine ... Record ... Take steps ... and The Checklist. Yikes!

When is the house going to clean itself?

"Come and see"!

One can't be in church leadership without thinking from time to time about outreach. Depending on who you talk to, outreach can be described in differing ways. We try to "program" it, setting up a committee and scheduling events and we set up study groups to teach people how to reach out to people. I've been there with everyone else, and I've been disappointed when you have a low turnout for an event or your plan doesn't work. So ... what's missing?

A recent discussion caused me to revisit the Gospel of John, first chapter, where Jesus began his ministry. John the Baptist was with two of his disciples when he saw Jesus passing and said, "Look, the Lamb of God!". The disciples left and followed Jesus. They then asked where he was staying and his response was, "Come and you will see." The introduction to Jesus was so simple. John the Baptist had prepared the way for Jesus, teaching his disciples about the one who was to come after him. What followed next is what really impressed me as an example of outreach. Jesus was calling his disciples, one of them being Philip. Philip found Nathanael and announced, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote ... Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael's reservations were met with Philip's invitation to, "Come and see."

I can't write into the text the excitement I believe was there for Philip. He just had to share with Nathanael what he had found in Jesus, thus the invitation to "Come and see." All of us who have a personal relationship with Jesus can point to a time and place when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. Do you remember the excitement you experienced when you made that decision? Is that excitement still alive in you? Do you share that excitement with those around you, your neighbors, workmates, playmates? When they ask you about your excitement, do you invite them to, "Come and see!"? Now that's outreach.

Anyone Out There?

Wow. It's been quite some time since I've written anything in this blog. Not a great start for a blogger. I don't even know if there is anyone out there checking for new posts ... oh well, I will find out I'm sure.

My first and only post was October 16. The experience Karen and I have endured together since that date has certainly been full of trials and tests. Karen's recovery from her cancer treatment has been slow. She has had open sores that required changing dressings three times a day. The experience was not pleasant for her nor was it enjoyable for me to have to inflict pain by having to change the dressings. God certainly taught us to persevere in spite of the discomfort, anguish and tears knowing that what we were doing would be best for healing in the end.

Karen and I returned to Houston December 19 to have the doctor who performed the procedure assess the level of success. Our prayer prior to going was that we would 1) receive a good report, and 2) receive direction with the wound care to decrease the level of discomfort and/or eliminate the pain and promote quicker healing. God was gracious and provided both of those in answer to our prayer. Dr. Ross told us that the treatment did what it was supposed to; kill the tumors in Karen's leg. Further, Dr. Ross told us Karen had a more severe reaction to the chemo and thus more difficulty with the open sores and slow healing of the wounds. A wound care nurse in Dr. Ross' office provided a different kind of dressing that is changed every three days rather than three times a day. The new dressing is a wet gel rather than dry gauze and is believed to promote quicker healing. Dr. Ross told us he would phone our doctor here at home and recommend some more aggressive therapy and further wound treatment. Thank you Lord for the answers to prayer.

This morning I had to change the wound dressing for the first time since our return on December 21. Karen experience no pain or discomfort and my untrained eye would say I see improvement in how the wound looks already. God is good. I know, although I may not have understood His methods, that God had our best in mind when we had to endure the three months of discomfort with the procedure and wound care. Karen and I have grown more than I can describe. We are reminded often in scripture to persevere to the end. It is in the end that we receive the reward of our hope ... that of salvation and an eternity with Christ.

God bless you all ...

Getting Started ... Late

June 6, 2004, my bride was diagnosed with stage three melanoma. That diagnosis changed my life ... mostly my focus. It's amazing how many things one takes for granted in life. I could start a long list but it's easier just to say I could include most everything on it. I used to always say my priorities in life were, 1) God, 2) Family, 3) Job, and 4) Church Service. I still have those in the same order and I believe with all my being it is correct. The only way I would change it now is as follows; 1) God, 2) Family, 3) Job, and 4) Church Service. I have found time and time again that if I focus on God everything else pales ... even the cancer.

It's now October 2007 and I've finally decided to start this blog. The Bride (my bride) suggested long ago that I might like to journal as we experienced this cancer journey together. I gave it some thought, although not for long. A journal, in my mind, was always something a girl kept and was more commonly called a diary.

So what caused me to change my perspective on journaling? I'll make a short story out of it. The bride and I recently traveled to Houston, TX for cancer treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Our time in Houston lasted about three weeks. Most of that time I was the ghost writer on my brides blog. It was a handy way to communicate with those at home, sharing our ups and downs, concerns and hopes. Most of all it provided a mechanism to share with others how gracious and faithful God was for us throughout our time there. I even found it enjoyable to write the blog at night after I had returned to the hotel room from the hospital. My ghost writing came to an end when we returned home and I gave the pen back to the bride. So ... alright, I miss the writing a bit. Okay, I miss it a little more than a bit. I don't know what flavor my blog will take and how often I will contribute to it. Only time will determine that. To those who complimented me on my writing and encouraged me to continue ... here you go ... I present to you Pops Professions.