Jan 9-20 Scott health update

My heart is full of gratitude for undeserved grace. I awoke this morning with a downcast spirit wondering what today would hold, what would the doctor say about my recent treatments, but as I turned my focus to God I was overcome with thankfulness for his provision over the years.

Later this morning I was informed by my doctor that I have experienced a good result, she was very pleased. Now I will enter the quarterly follow up which is standard after treatment.

 Recently I read about how life is learning to steer through battles and blessings. Pastor Rick Warren talks about 2 separate tracks that we need to navigate, one being the track of blessings and the other being the track of trials.  At any given moment in life, there are usually blessings but also battles to face. Rick experienced this during the success of his book “the purpose-driven life”. At the same time though, he endured trial with his wife’s cancer battle. This resonated with me. While health challenges have been a huge part of our lives, God’s blessings have been bigger. The lessons learned and the things we have experienced despite health challenges have truly been a blessing from God. So while it has been very, very hard at times, a significant lesson has been to place our identities in what is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, which is God. Health woes have at times been our identity and that is when we have struggled most. It is such a slippery slope. Keeping our focus on God even when the track is challenging is where we know we need to keep our focus and identity. This is a lesson I seem to have to keep being reminded of. Sometimes I feel like I have repeated grade 1 many times.

There is a story of a person reminiscing about their life and wondering why if God walked with them were there at times only one set of footprints at times. God replied to that person saying the times when there was only one set of footprints were the times when he (God) carried them. I believe that to be my experience over these past several months. He carried me, and also my family. There were only his footprints during that pathway experience of my life.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

As the old hymn says…..

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed
Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long

Oh what a Savior, wonderful Jesus
Oh what a Savior, wonderful Jesus
Oh what a Savior, wonderful Jesus
Oh what a Savior, wonderful Jesus

Death could not hold You, You are victorious
Praise to the risen King
Death could not hold You, You are victorious
Praise to the risen King

Oh what a Savior, wonderful Jesus
Oh what a Savior, wonderful Jesus
Oh what a Savior, wonderful Jesus
Oh what a Savior, Wonderful Savior

Great is Thy faithfulness

Thinking a lot about who God is these days. I think one of the biggest obstacles that Satan uses today is the obstacle of distraction. There are so many things to distract us from our heavenly father.

Yet when we are in need we are reminded of his faithfulness and our need of him.

Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

 “Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”

  Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

    “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

His way is perfect

Psalm 18:30 ESV
This God - his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

He is more than enough for me and yet as I look back and even now, it is so easy to fall into the trap of doing things on my own strength. The devil is prowling around, buzzing in my ears. I have this picture in my mind when I pray for God's strength and protection against the evil one, of the devil being kicked to the curb like a wild dog. I know my God is stronger, bigger and wants to "be a shield for all those who take refuge in him". I am so thankful for that.

This God - his way is perfect.....while sometimes it is easy to get frustrated with the health journey we have been on over the last 14 plus years, I find it important to remember a few things.
- we (mankind) chose to sin, which brought upon us sickness, death, and hardship
- he has always pursued us to make a way for a right relationship
- God sent his son, the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation
- his desire for us is to become more Christ-like as we journey through this life
- he has a plan to further his kingdom

So am I deserving of better when I chose to sin? I am in awe though of his willingness to pursue me and grant me the gift of salvation. I am ever thankful for all of the undeserved provision through our difficult journey. So many things have been provided to make the burden lighter.

I am reminded of this song today.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending, bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blest;

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Scott health July 6, 2019

Here I am on this gorgeous July Saturday Morning listening to the encouraging tunes on Positive Life Radio", recovering from my most recent chemotherapy session. As written in my last blog entry my cancer was slowing creeping back. On May 30th I was informed that I needed treatment. I am so thankful that while the cancer presented much differently this time, it is the same cancer and is contained to my lymph nodes. 
Just the same it is disappointing. Nobody lines up saying pick me to go through cancer and treatment. We had hoped to take a long summer trip with our beautiful teenaged son and daughter. The unknown can also lead to a myriad of questions and what-ifs that when dwelt on for too long can lead down a long slippery slope. Sometimes I find myself going down this slope. There are really only 2 options, ride it to a rocky and painful bottom or grab your saviour's outstretched arm before you slide too far. I am so thankful for my Jesus; for the peace he has given me, for the encouraging words he brings me through others, his word and prayer, for the medical staff he has surrounded me with and for my family and friends. He always goes before us. I am reminded of that in so many ways but here is an example. Last fall we contemplated selling our RV trailer knowing that our camping experience was changing with our oldest child's weekends being consumed with part-time work. We tried selling it in the fall. No real offers. Tried again in January and it was quickly sold to a nice family at a fair price. God does go before us and knows our needs. Perhaps that example seems trivial, but it is one thing less to worry about this summer and we praise him for it.

Here is a sample of scripture that ministered to me yesterday

Galatians 2:20
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

As I wrote this the song playing in the background was
through the valley of the shadow, I am not alone, you will go before me, you will never leave me .........you bring healing to my soul
By Kari Jobe

As always, appreciate your prayers

Scott Health 2018 lymphoma status

Here I am, just past the 6 year mark in my cancer journey. This a journey that started with 6 initial treatments for non Hodgkin's B cell follicular lymphoma followed by a 2year maintenance program consisting of chemo every 3 months. That ended in February 2014 and since then I was monitored every 3 months before graduating to every 4 months for  a year or so. Things appeared to be going very well and then during my scan check in the summer of 2017 I was informed that some of my lymph nodes were measuring on the high side of normal (2cm). This meant some cancer growth and of course brought up the what now question. What lays ahead? I had been told at the start of the journey that several chemo treatments may be involved over a period of time to manage the cancer, but still one is never quite prepared for bad or in this case reoccurring bad news. I was in the midst of becoming a partner at work, which my wife and I both really felt was God leading. So why then, why would it be creeping back into my life then? That is an answer I don't have, but what I do know is that ever present health challenges in my wife's life and in mine have had a way of increasing are dependence on God that is not easily possible without some kind of challenge. God has increased our faith during these tough seasons and has provided in ways only he can. The apostle Paul prayed that his thorn in the flesh would be taken from him, but it never was and I am sure that his faith was increased as he had to depend on God to meet his needs. My wife and I push forward, both with very uncertain health futures, but with a very certain future in eternity. This is a  future guaranteed by the blood of Jesus and our acceptance of his free gift of salvation.
More recently I was checked again and while there have been signs of lymph node growth, they were thankfully very minimal. Its always interesting who is placed in our lives. We are ever grateful for Dr T and her cautious approach. She is kind and thorough in her follow-up and detail of what could lay ahead. Aside from a complete healing, treatments such as chemo and a stem cell transplant could lay ahead.
God is sustaining us, maybe not always as we prayed, but he always is and we are very thankful for the people he has used along the way.


Our lives are His to work out His will for His honour and glory.

Elizabeth health 2016

Here we are in Oct 2016 and I am learning we are never out of the woods and simply have to enjoy the months strung together where Elizabeth ( and I ) enjoys good health. A typical year since 2009 for my wife has involved multiple stays at the hospital for bacterial infections and residual effects from the many surgeries she has had for flesh eating disease, gull blater removal, twisted bowl, and strep A. To say this has been a stressor in our home, marriage, kids lives would be a considerable understatement. However to say we have not enjoyed God's abundant provision would be even more of an understatement. He has been their each step of they way helping us when we reach our limit.
Elizabeth's latest diagnosis is diverticulitis, a very painful inflammation in the bowels. Again we turn to our God for refuge to lead us through this latest jungle. Satan is there every step of the trail, throwing thistles, whipping branches and other obstacles in our path. We trust God to increase our faith and thank him for sustaining us.

Identity crisis

Many of us face an identity crisis. Who are we, what defines who we are? I have been considering this of late and can see that my joy often swings to the tune of the events in my life. Should my joy be based on what I experience or in who I am as a person saved by God's grace? Often I wallow in the mire that is work stress, health stress & worry, my kids challenges with friends and school and so on and so forth. It creates a real yoyo effect when my joy is based on such fleeting things.
As a Christian I know that God want me to find my Joy in my identity, which is a sinner saved by Grace (his sacrifice for my sins). My identity is that I am a child of God, not that I am a cancer survivor, what kind of dad or husband I am. This is not who I am, but rather are my experiences, which should flow through the filter of my true identity.
By definition Joy is ; a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone
By definition Identity is; who someone is, the name of a person

: the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others
Below is a link from a pro basket ball concerning his identity;
"My Identity Is In Christ, Not In Basketball" -Jeremy Lin

When my experiences flow through the filter of who I am in Christ and the vast array of things he offers me to face life's situations, should I not have a sense of peace and joy in any situation. Should I not feel peace knowing God is at my side, and joy because he is working out his purpose in me. These are questions I ask myself as I deal with anxiety and fleeting joy. Yes I should be thankful for my recent good health check, but should that define who I am? Should my performance at work define who I am? Sadly I find that it often does and I believe that I seldom experience the Joy that I should because of my identity crisis and what defines me v.s. what should define me.
Here is what the bible has to say about my identity (https://www.biblegateway.com);
2 Corinthians 5:17New (NIV)
¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
John 15:5 (NIV)
⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Galatians 3:26 (NIV)
²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,
Colossians 3:(NIV)
²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
1 Corinthians 6:19-20(NIV)
¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
These verses describe who I am in Christ and what God desires of me. The following verse describes how God wants me to approach him when I am in crisis; Ephesians 3:12New (NIV)
¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.


TILL I MET YOU" by Laura Story
He Will Not Let Go" by Laura Story (with lyrics)
Perfect Peace - Laura Story (lyrics)
Learning My True Identity In Christ with Rick Warren