WOW!

What a week! An emotional rollercoaster for all invlolved! After the brain chemo on Monday dad was on a downward spiral. To put it bluntly--he went loopy. We didn't know if or when he would ever come out of this state. The doctors and nurses wouldn't give mom a straight answer. They were really worried but didn't know what to do. But mom knew what to do. Her and Christy went to dad and started praying over him. Saturday night they committed dad to God and requested complete healing of his mind. Sunday morning dad was back to normal! What an answer to prayer! A complete turnaround! Praise God!

You know, God is in complete control over this situation. He is Sovereign over dad, mom, me--He is Soveriegn over you. Whether or not you acknowledge or even see what He is doing in the world and in your life. Our sin blinds us, we put up walls, and we hide from God. He's there waiting, having already accepted you for who you are, for you to decided to come to Him. To acknowledge that there is no one like Him.

Yes, our sin blinds us to the actual reality. I don't live life with blinders anymore because of what God has done in my life. It is true that the penalty of our sin is death (eternal separation from God)(Romans 3:23). And is order to appease God's wrath against the sin in our lives there needs to be a sacrifice made ("without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin"). Jesus Christ is that sacrifice. He took our sin on himself and shed his blood on the cross, in our place. We don't have to be eternally separated from God anymore....

If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Just thought I would share with all who read, family and friends alike, the best news I've ever heard. Would you at least think about what I've said? Any questions give me a shout.....

dc_talk22@yahoo.com

All I Could Do...

Just talked to dad, he's very incoherent and really mixed up. It's hard to talk to him. He said he has little short term memory and all he has been doing the last couple days is lying there. He said he can't focus on reading or even praying, his mind is just so affected by the drugs. I prayed with him and that was about all I could do.

Urgent Prayer

Dad has another blood infection. He's had the hiccups for 4 days, I think because of the combination of drugs and so they are giving him drugs for that (so he can get sleep) but they don't seem to be working. Also, he's really confused right now....his mind is mixing things up and it's frustrating. Thanks for your prayer.

1st Round: Phase B

Aggressive chemo started up yesterday. The doctors have now said that this is Phase B of the first round of chemo. It will look somthing like this if everything goes as planned:
1st round: Phase A, Phase B, rest
2nd round: Phase A, Phase B, rest
3rd round: Phase A, Phase B, rest

I don't know how long the rest periods will be (originally they were supposed to be 4 weeks). The rest periods will be at home and then beack to RUH in S'toon for each round.

I phoned dad yesterday. He sounded pretty weak as it was the first day. But he was up and around and watching TSN.

The prayer requests from my last posting still stand. As well as anything else you can think of. Praise God that He cares for all! (even the sparrow.....Matt. 6) I also praise God that He has made Himself known throughout this situation! One cannot deny the existence of God and His personal relationship with me, because of Jesus Christ, if they have experienced what I have....praise God for that realization and Truth!

Back to Square One?

Well, here goes.....One doctor thinks dad has Large Cell Lymphoma and two doctors think he has Burkitt's Lymphoma, so I guess it is the latter. Dad caught a taxi this morning to take him over to City Hospital to have surgery done. The taxi was late so he missed his scheduled surgery. So he waited for 6 hours until they could fit him in. Gotta love Saskatchewan. They put a shunt in so that his bile will drain normally. They had a tube in there draining it until this point. They took him by ambulance back to RUH (Royal University Hosp). The doctor said they aren't doing an MRI now because it's too costly and takes a while to get in to get one so they will do or did a CT scan. He says it is just as effective a scan and can see if the cancer has spread anywhere else (we still don't know for sure). They want to start aggressive chemo again either tomorrow or Saturday. Oh and dad has been losing hair. So that is that.

Pray dad doesn't get more infections during this round.
Pray that he'll get good sleep.
Pray that his body will be strong for this next round.
Pray especially for the chemo that goes into the brain once during this round. The doctor wasn't specific on the risks of it.
Pray for mom as she is stressed with having to drive everywhere. Pray that she will be strong through this next round of chemo.

Good Behaviour And More!

The other day they let dad out on a day pass for good behaviour! He went to my sister's place and visited with family and friends. It was so good to hear he got a break from the hospital! Now it's time to wait. He is waiting to hear back about an MRI that was supposed to be done. Surgery for Tuesday is cancelled until Friday now. And so they cannot start aggressive chemo until the surgery is done.

For those of you that don't know--I'm part of the Sexsmith Curling Club. It's my first year of it and I love it! We won our game tonight so we move on to the championship game for our division next Monday. Also, the Women's World Championships start this week in Grande Prairie (10 minutes away) and our Curling Club is the practice rink for the teams. On Wednesday night I'm going to watch Sweden and Japan practice and on Thursday is Finland and Italy. I'm really excited for this! Who woulda thought curling could be this fun!

Surgery

On Tuesday dad is having surgery to remove the needle that currently goes through his liver and the end of the bile duct. It has been draining the bile as the tumor was blocking the bile duct. They can't cut him open because his platelet levels are not high enough so he would bleed to death. So they are knocking him out and going down his throat. His white blood cell count and platelet count are rising daily. My grandma and aunt are visiting for a few days. Not much else is new. Crunch time for school is here as we head into the last month.

New Diagnosis!

Mom writes:

The docs told Lyle today (Mar. 8) that he does not have Burkitt's Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It is reclassified as Large Cell Lymphoma. I think this is good news but we don't know too much about LCL. The docs now don't have to be as aggressive in the chemo as they thought they had to be with Burkitts.

His white blood cell count went up to 3 today (it should be between 4 and 11)and he is feeling stronger. Praise God! He is scheduled for an MRI sometime this week to see if the liver and bile duct are functioning properly. The bile duct drain is still in until the MRI test is done. This test will also show how much the tumor has shrunk and if there is any more cancer anywhere in the body. They may have to put a shunt in to drain the bile duct. This would be put down his throat and into the bile duct area. There is a chance of bleeding and since his platelets (these control the blood clotting) are registering at 18,000 and should be between 150,000 and 400,000 they are quite low. Please pray about this concern. Lyle's Mom and sister, Gail, are flying to Saskatoon tomorrow (Mar.9) from Vancouver Island.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you, for I Am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:1b-3a.

We thank each one of you for praying.

-Diane

The Church Body

I would just like to say that I am very grateful to those people in my parents' church who have been there for my parents. And not just my parents' church but other churches across Canada, the U.S., and I have heard of people from New Zealand and other parts of the world praying for my family. A thank you goes out to our family members also as you have been a huge support for us thusfar. There are many people who have phoned, visited, helped out in many different ways, prayed, and have just said words that are encouraging. Thank you! I would like to see the entire local church body come behind my parents and help in any way that they can. My mom especially could use a lot of help right now with many different things that she just can't do. It's frustrating that I can't be there right now to help out and so I depend on others to take my place there. We all need each other because each of us has different skills and gifts. Take these verses as an example of the role of the church:

Romans 12:4-8 says, "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

Thanks again to everyone who has been an encouragement to my family and I. Every little bit is appreciated. I would encourage everyone to find a church and experience the joys and also learn from the frustration that come with being a part of a group like this. I have learned an unbelievable amount of things from the churches that my family has been a part of throughout my lifetime. If I had a chance to live someone else's life, I wouldn't take it.

PS - It is really become a struggle to stay focused on my school work. I could use some prayer for that. Thanks.

Power In Weakness

I have been reading a few passages of Scripture lately. I am analyzing them and praying. I recorded scripture and my thoughts and prayers below.

First off, I Corinthians 1:25. Even though it applies to non-Christians and their lack of understanding God, I think I can apply it to my situation, or can I? I don't know if I am stretching this verse to fit my situation like so many Christians do. Am I just another verse-stretching-Christian? I do not know. But here it is: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." I feel so unwise and so weak right now, God help me!

2 Corinthians 12. Paul was having visions and revelations from the Lord about a man who was caught up and taken to heaven. He goes on to say in verse 7, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." I feel as though my dad's physical sufferings are my own. When he hurts, I hurt. I know that God wants to teach me something through this suffering that I (and my family) are going through. Paul identified that God did not want him to become conceited because he had these visions and revelations. I am trying to figure out why my family and I are going through this. What is God trying to teach me? Have I been conceited in something the Lord has given me?

Paul goes on to say, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" Wow! God let that rein true in my life. Holy Spirit, help me to realize that your grace is sufficient for me! It always has been! God, your power is made perfect in my weakness! Let this be true in my life, Father!

Paul says, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Amen! Father, I want to boast in this hardship, this difficulty. I realize that it is not because of the Gospel that I am suffering but all the more be glorified so that I may suffer because of the Gospel!

These are my prayers. I just wanted to share them with you. I feel so weak right now but God is doing His work in me.

Prayer is what we need

-Pray for dad and mom as dad sees that a major decision regarding his health is going to have to be made. Agressive chemo keeps getting put on hold due to various things happening (blood infection, other infections, blood pressure, etc.). Dad says there is a cycle that he cannot forsee getting out of as they start aggressive chemo but them something else comes up. Is this God saying He does not want dad to continue with chemo? I don't know. There are other options--natural cures that mom has researched and seen to work. I'm not saying that this is what is going to happen. Just options. Dad says, "so pray for Diane and I for God's wisdom to know how to respond to somehow break through this cycle."

-Pray that dad will develop better sleep patterns!! He has not been able to get more than 3-4 straight hours of sleep at night (due to various reasons). It is affecting his healing and treatments. Dad says his whole system is under strain from lack of sleep. It is a major concern.

-Dad has lost a lot of strength and the strain on his mind from needing to make decisions is wearing him out.

-Pray for mom as she deals with things that need to get done in the church and at home.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. We all need God's wisdom in this time.

I pray now that God will grant all of you wisdom and understanding, peace and joy, and hope as you concentrate on God and His amazing Goodness to His people. Praise God for this trial and the testing of our faith! Praise God that He is completely Sovereign, though I often choose not to acknowledge Him for this!

Sask. University Paper Publishes Explicit Jesus Cartoons

On March 2nd the University of Saskatchewan's Campus Paper, The Sheaf, published some very controversial cartoons depicting Christ engaged in indecent acts. At the same time, they refused to publish the infamous cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. What message is The Sheaf trying to send its readers by doing so?

My friend Derek is keeping up with the publicity these cartoons are receiving:
http://derekbturner.blogspot.com

You can write The Sheaf by visiting their website:
http://www.thesheaf.com/

Solitary Confinement?

Mom writes:
Lyle has now been banished to solitary confinement (a room of his own) because of bad behaviour......actually it is because his white blood cell count is so low and they don't want him contacting any bad germs and viruses. He's a bit disappointed because he likes being with the other patients (he had 3 in his room). He has a staff infection in the blood and I think he still has a bladder infection or iritation of the bladder. He's on strong antibiotics right now so he's feeling quite weak and has some dizziness as his blood pressure keeps going up and down. When he walks he tends to lean to the right as he's off balance. He doesn't seem to be retaining water as much (from his knees down). He'll probably be in the hospital for awhile yet. On March 2nd he has been in hospital a month.His Mom and Sister are flying to Saskatoon (from Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island) on Thursday, March 9 until the 15th.It will be wonderful to see them.Thank you Lord that everything is in You're control. Praise God!

Please pray for my mom as she is busy planning 2 funerals and won't be able to get away to see dad for a few days.

Infection

Mom wrote me today....

"I talked to Lyle about 9:00 am today (Thurs). The docs tell him he has a staff infection in the blood and he also still has a bladder infection. His white blood cell count is down as well. He has had 9 days of straight chemo now and 1 more to go and then a couple days break and then the doc will assess his situation. He's suppose to get 4 weeks off from chemo and maybe come home but the infections would have to clear up first. He's feeling quite weak and shaky."

"When situations look difficult, I'm so glad that we serve a God who can do the impossible and we can trust Him with absolutely everything. Praise God! He is so faithful and merciful! Thank you all for your prayer support!"

From me....
I've started meeting with a member of the staff at PRBI to help discern my future. The whole process is revolved around finding my strengths and interests and seeing what kind of work would suit me best, then committing this to God. Later in the process we will be joined by one or two of my closest friends and 2 other staff members to analyse everything we have come up with. After one meeting many strengths and ideas stand out in my mind and also some weaknesses that I need to deal. Please pray that I will give things over to God and that He would see me through this process with a clear path to my future. Thanks all.