first Sunday of Advent, A.D. 2008

The offering of a prayer:

Claiming God's Promises and Scriptures

As a child of the King I claim the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; here there is no conflict with the law. Since I live by faith and follow the Holy Spirit, I will let Him lead me in every part of my life. I will not become conceited or irritate my brothers and sisters in Christ, nor iwll I be jealous of any of them. I always put on the full armor of God so that I can stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the devil, and I use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle I will still be standing firm. I put on the sturdy belt of truth and body armor of God's righteousness. My shoes are the shoes of peace that comes from the Good News, so I am fully prepared. Since I need faith in every battle to stop the fiery arrows aimed a me by Satan, I will also put on my helmet and take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. I will pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. I will stay alert and be persistent in my prayer for all Christians everywhere, and I will also follow The Golden Rule in my daily life.

{Author unknown}

Health Update 9/28/08

Day 1 on the new regime was Wednesday starting with the dexamethasone (steroid). My blood sugar immediately took off for the high(er) ground. The blood sugar was high Wednesday and Thursday (Thanksgiving) then yesterday and, so far, today they have actually been normal... not normal for me but normal for normal people. It's so confusing! Anyway, I take the dexamethasone every seven days during the cycle.

I also started the coumadin and Revlimid on Wednesday. Since the Revlimid can cause blood clots I have to take the coumadin to keep my blood thin. I go in every week to have my blood checked. This week, it was a little early since I had only been on the regime for three days, but next week will be a full blood test.

Other than being extremely tired and pretty emotional I have been doing well.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving; I did!

Miracle on the 17th Green

"Miracle on the 17th Green" by James Patterson and Peter deJonge was originally published in 1996 so it is an early Patterson book. It is an easy and fast read with only 149 pages.

It is not "just" a golf book but a basic knowledge of golf will make the novel much more enjoyable. However, you don't have to have a golf history to enjoy the book.

The story is about a man unhappy with his life, attitude, and direction who is quite disconnected with his wife and children. It is surprising what and how he decides to do about his life.

Once An Arafat Man

"Once an Arafat Man" by Tass Saada with Dean Merrill is subtitled "The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life."

First, Tass Saada is the father of one of my fellow bloggers that I read on a daily basis, Ben Abu Saada. He is also the Worship Minister of Grace Church in south Overland Park, Kansas.

This is a MUST read for everyone!

This is Mr. Saada's biography and covers his life up to just months ago. For any Christian, Jew or Muslim it will open your eyes as to what has been going on and is currently going on in the middle east.

Although this book covers the time when Mr. Saada was a sniper with the PLO it is not a bloody, gory book. He does explain much about his and other Palestinians' feeling toward the Jews and the Fatah organization that Arafat started.

The forward for this book is written by Joel Rosenberg, another of my favorite authors.

Yesterday's Doctors Visits

Yesterday was the day to see the oncologist and get the results of all the tests that were run a couple of weeks ago.

The myeloma is continuing to grow at about the same pace it has for the past few months. There has been some changes in the bone lesions, in particular, one on top of my skull that has significant change and enlargement.

He had me stop taking Thalidomide immediately. The next drug to try is a newer one, Revlimid. As soon as the oncologist gets approval from our health insurance I will begin taking it along with a steroid and coumadin. I will take the Revlimid for 21 days and then off 7 days. The steroid will be taken one day each week. The plan is to try this regimen for 2-3 months, monitor the results and then make the decision to continue with it or try another regimen.

I also went to the endocrinologist. My blood sugars have been out of control for some time. They want to put me on an insulin pump which would eliminate me having to inject up to 8 times each day. We decided to leave things alone right now and revisit this issue after my first round on the new cancer regimen.

The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is not just a "chick" book although that is what it is advertised to be. It took me about 40-50 pages to really get into the story but then it became a page turner.

The story takes place in 1964 at the time that President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. It was a turbulent time that affects the story and makes one aware of how far we have come in the 40+ years.

The Sue Monk Kidd web site describes the book as follows:

Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her harsh, unyielding father, Lily Owens has shaped her entire life around one devastating, blurred memory--the afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Since then, her only real companion has been the fierce-hearted, and sometimes just fierce, black woman Rosaleen, who acts as her "stand-in mother."

When Rosaleen insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily knows it's time to spring them both free. They take off in the only direction Lily can think of, toward a town called Tiburon, South Carolina--a name she found on the back of a picture amid the few possessions left by her mother.

There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters named May, June, and August. Lily thinks of them as the calendar sisters and enters their mesmerizing secret world of bees and honey, and of the Black Madonna who presides over this household of strong, wise women. Maternal loss and betrayal, guilt and forgiveness entwine in a story that leads Lily to the single thing her heart longs for most.

The Secret Life of Bees has a rare wisdom about life--about mothers and daughters and the women in our lives who become our true mothers. A remarkable story about the divine power of women and the transforming power of love, this is a stunning debut whose rich, assured, irresistible voice gathers us up and doesn't let go, not for a moment. It is the kind of novel that women share with each other and that mothers will hand down to their daughters for years to come.

Cartoons by Rick McKee

Double Cross

Double Cross by James Patterson is another book in the Alex Cross murder mystery series. This one has a little twist to it in that two psychotic killers are loose. Not only are they killing the public but both are after Dr. Cross and his family. One of the killers craves an audience and the other is the mastermind from a previous novel. The mastermind is Kyle Craig, a former FBI agent, who has broken out of a super maximum security prison.

Although this is a good quick read like all of Patterson's books I don't think that it is one of his better books. Even so, it is still worth the read... maybe I've read too many Pattersons in a row without a break!