O Come Let Us Adore Him

Christmas...the word brings us memories of sleigh rides, skating, Santa and presents, family feasts and singing songs. It's a holiday that many people all around the world celebrate, and most of the aspects of Christmas have their roots in different pagan traditions. But for me, Christmas is more than trees and tinsel, lights and lists. Christmas for the Christian is a time to remember the birth of Jesus. It's a celebration of that point in time when God finally spoke after 400 years of silence. He broke through the heavens and came to earth in human flesh as a tiny baby, ending the centuries of silence with the small, frail cry of an infant. He was born in a stable surrounded by sheep and oxen, and placed in a makeshift bassinet softened with hay. There was a star that hovered over His birthplace, leading shepherds and kings to find Him. There were angels filling the sky, proclaiming the glory of the Lord. Yes, the night when God took on flesh and was born as a baby was a sacred and holy night, one to be remembered.

But there's so much more to Christmas than the baby in the manger. The baby grew into a young man who was found teaching in the temple, confounding the wise with His wisdom. He became a man who walked on water, healed lepers and blind and deaf people and raised the dead with a word. He was a man who was tempted in every way, but never gave in to temptation. Rather, He overcame every dart of Satan with Holy Scripture. He was bold as a lion when faced with the desecration of the temple, yet gentle as a lamb when He laid His hands on the children and blessed them. This God-Man lived a life of perfect obedience to His Heavenly Father. And when the time had come, He laid down His life and died on a cross, to make the perfect payment for the sins of His people. He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and then three days later He conquered death by rising to life again, never more to succumb as Lazarus did, but rather to live forever as the Holy King of the Nations.

So this year when I hear O Come All Ye Faithful, rather than picture the manger, I will picture the cross. This was the purpose of the manger, for God the Son to humble Himself by becoming a man, live a life of obedience, die a death to pay a ransom, and to rise victorious as King. I look forward to the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

DVD Review - Desiring God

The only thing better than reading Desiring God, is watching Piper speak about desiring God. This man has ministered God's grace and truth to me for years now, especially the years after leaving a wonderful home church and waiting to find our next home church. The video makes the themes and gist of Desiring God the book come alive with Piper's passion and zeal for the Lord. With quotes from great theologians like C.S. Lewis, George Mueller, Augustine and John Owen, Piper spurs us on to a desperate pursuit of our complete satisfaction in God for our joy and His glory. I highly recommend this video for personal use, as well as use in small groups, Sunday school and any other place you have an opportunity to show it to one other person!
May God use this DVD powerfully in creating God-exalters all over the world!

Book Review: When the Hurt Runs Deep

Kay Arthur nails suffering and the sovereignty of God in this wonderful book! How often have you wondered why a circumstance has come into your life, and how you would ever find the strength to come through? The answers to those questions are found all throughout the Scriptures, and that's exactly where she takes us to find them in this book. Through the stories of Joseph, Job and Paul, she demonstrates time and again God's complete control in every circumstance. In Chapter 4, she writes these words:

"Many people like the idea of having God or a 'higher power' around when it suits them, to help them with their stuff as long as He doesn't interfere. In other words, 'God is all right as long as He doesn't make any demands on my life...kind of a jolly old grandfather in the sky who lets me do whatever I want and never gets in my way.' "...I am pausing to say all this because I firmly believe that genuine healing is tied to a correct knowledge of God's sovereignty - His rule over everything - and His character."

In today's society filled with the false teachings of the "Name It - Claim It" prosperity gospel, Ms. Arthur's book rises above with the glorious fragrance of truth. God is not a genie in a lamp waiting to grant my every desire. Nor is He standing by, waiting to see what will come into my life daily and how I will respond to each situation. No! He is the Master Orchestrator, the giver and sustainer of life, the One who holds all things together by His will. When we learn that all of life is ordained by Him for His excellent purposes, that's when we can truly be free to live for Him in whatever He calls us to live.
This is a must-read for anyone who has faced any trial, from difficult parenting to the suicide of a loved one; it's for anyone who might be called to speak Truth into the life of someone in a difficult situation. It's for believers who long to know more about the character of the God who redeemed their life from the pit. In other words, its for everyone!
I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah for the purpose of this review.

Book Review: the Blessing

The Blessing, by John Trent and Gary Smalley (revised and updated)

This is a Christian parenting book. It's main idea is unconditional love and acceptance for your children. Instead of calling it that, although those words are in the sub-title, they call it blessing your children. If you're a parent and you've never read a parenting book, this is a good one. Bless your children by affirming them, loving them, valuing them. If you're a parent and you've read good parenting books, I think you'll do OK to miss this one. It's all been said before. Love your children.
I received this book from Thomas Nelson publishing for the purpose of this review.

RAI scan - June 2011

Well, the scan is done and it was inconclusive. It showed a large dark spot in my right jaw area. I've been having swelling, numbness and tingling in that area for 3 weeks now, so that makes it suspicious. I'm waiting for Dr. Bajpai (oncologist) to talk with Dr. Phillips (radiologist) to determine the next step. I'll either go back to see Dr. Dumas (ENT), or have further testing done to determine what is causing the symptoms. Otherwise the scan looked clean, with no uptake in my neck or chest, which is great news.
Thyrogen is an amazing medicine. I was injected twice prior to the scan. This enabled me to remain on my thyroid meds rather than go off them for a month prior to the scan. My TSH prior to the injections had been in the 0.2 range. Yesterday my TSH was 78!! And the only real side effects I've had are sleeplessness and fatigue. HOpefully my TSH will go back to the normal range pretty quickly.
So now I'm waiting to hear about the next steps...

Book Review: Untamed

Lisa Harper has a way with words. She takes gospel stories and rewords them as though they were happening today. For example, she rewrites John the Baptist's message to Jesus this way:
"Are you really the Messiah? I mean, good night, here I've been slaving away in the desert without wine, women or ESPN, and You're going to parties, hanging out with drunks and prostitues, and telling people to love those who persecute them. I thought You were going to come out swinging and spewing fire!" (Chapter 3, pge 51).
Yes, she maintained the essential gist of the message John sent back to Jesus (Mt 11:1-3), but adds an edge and some humor. Typically that's my own style of storytelling and writing as well. It engages people who might otherwise not be able to get through a study about the Messiah. It adds a little skin, makes Him seem more real.
The book is laid out in chapters, with questions at the end of each chapter. It could work well as a Bible study guide for new Christians. It is not theologically deep, but it does tear away the images of a Jesus in clean white robes who never sweat or got tired.
So it's not my favorite book about Jesus, but I believe it has a place in the church, where often times people shy away from a Jesus to whom they can't relate.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah for the purpose of this review.

Next things...

I've had very little going on lately in regards to cancer. I've been seeing my oncologist farily regularly, but nothing else. But next week is my follow up RAI (radioactive iodine) scan to see if there's any residual thyroid cancer. So I've been on the low iodine diet, which really isn't as bad as I made it out to be originally. Last time I had to do it for 2 months, but this time only a few weeks. And I've lost 10 lbs, which is a nice side benefit!
Ordinarily with this scan, I would have to stop all my thyroid meds for a month prior to the scan. That would make me extremely hypothyroid, which was a very unpleasant place to be - fatigue, hallucinations, memory loss (I almost forgot to include that one!) But thanks to a drug called Thyrogen, I don't have to stop my meds at all. That sounded like a good deal at first, but as I've read more about Thyrogen and understand how it works, it's a little scary. Instead of becoming hypo over the course of a month, I'll become hypo in just two little days! Yikes!
So my upcoming schedule is as follows:
Monday - Thyrogen injection
Tues - second injection
Wed - labs, then swallow the RAI pill
Thurs - a 2 hour full body scan at 11:00, then see my oncologist at 1:00 and get the verdict - to treat, or not to treat!
Fri - labs
If anything at all shows up on the scan, I'll have to have another high dose RAI treatment, which will mean 8 days in isolation again.
Along with all this, I've had a swollen area in my jaw for the past 3 weeks. My face is numb and tingly, and certain noises make my ear ring really loud. I've been trying to decide: dentist or doctor? I have no tooth pain at all, but it's a possibility. In my indecision, I've done neither in hopes it will just all go away. I'll probably stop in to see my doctor some time next week. Hopefully that's not related to everything else. Sigh...