Living What I Speak Of, Am I?

So last night I got home around 10:45pm. I made a phone call and then started to get ready for bed. I hopped into bed around 11:30 and closed my eyes in preparation for a good 7 and a half hour sleep. Moments later I heard an alarm going off outside. I looked out the window but didn't see anything so I started walking downstairs to see what was happening. As I was walking down the stairs, the alarm ringing was becoming louder and louder and I realized it was coming from within the house. This is stupid, I thought, I hadn't even set the alarm tonight. I frantically searched the house for the piece of paper with the codes written on it. Finally after a couple of minutes, I found what I had been looking for. I ran up to the alarm panel and punched in the code. The alarm stopped sounding, this was good.

Then the phone started ringing, it was Voxcom. "Is everything alright?" I heard coming from the other end. "We received a medical emergency alarm from you."

"Yes, I'm fine. I didn't press anything, I was in bed trying to sleep when the alarm just started going off."

"Oh."

But the two alarm panels kept on steadily beeping. Not a quiet beep but a beep that would keep a person awake if they were just down the hall from it. And so I told the lady from Voxcom that the alarm panel was still beeping and the trouble light was solid. And so for a few minutes she told me to try several different methods of reseting the panel. But nothing worked and she was getting frustrated and I could tell she wanted to end the conversation. And so she said Voxcom could not do anything else for me and that I would have to phone our actual alarm company because they were just paid to monitor it for Stealth Alarms (who left town or something). She said I would have to find a number on my own and call them myself. She did not have a phone number nor was she willing to help me find one. We hung up. Thanks Voxcom.

"I can't sleep with this freakin' beeping," I thought. "I'm going to have to do something about it." And so I did. I grapped a multi-bit screwdriver and went downstairs to the alarm control box. I started taking the screw out of the door hinge and the siren started sounding again--right in my ear. I could have sworn a person could hear it three blocks away. So I put the screw back in and went to the alarm panel on the main floor. I punched in the code but it didn't work. I tried again and again and again. Nothing. More alarm sounding.

One hour later alarm still sounding. By then I had managed to track down the number for Stealth Security Systems in Calgary or Edmonton or wherever their head office is. "We're sending a technician out."

One hour later. Still no technician. "This is stupid!" I have to be up in five hours. And so I went downstairs and ripped the wires right out of the siren. And you know what, it worked! I was about to rip the wires out of the alarm panels too but they miraculously stopped beeping seconds before I massacred them both.

And so the moral of the story is: excercise patience.

I need to work on that. And that is why God is not finished with me yet, as He says: "...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:6

Patience

As I look back on lessons learned in my life the one lesson that sticks out the most is patience. You can't enjoy life if you lack patience. There are countless experiences where, if patience is not excercised, frustration and anger will set in. God has repeatedly brought me through circumstances where I need to learn how to be patient or else I will not make it through. Why am I talking about patience? Well, we were kind of wondering if we were ever going to find out the results from dad's CT Scan (which was done on July 14th). It usually takes a week for the results to get back to the patient and so after a week and a half mom phoned and left a message with the head nurse. She phoned back only to inform us that dad's test results had been lost. And so dad will have to go through the whole procedure again. He gets to drink the yummy "scan juice" again which helps point things out in the body. Yes, we are all frustrated and dad thinks this is ridiculous, but we will get through this and it will seem like a distant memory soon enough.

Word On The Street

No word on dad's test results yet. Perhaps we will know by the end of the week? Business is going well for me as it is the end of the month and I am booked with people moving across town. Praise God for all of His daily blessings on my family and I!

Fargo

That's what I named my truck. She's a beaut. Takes me from 0 to 60 in minutes flat. Just kidding. But she is a V6 full size half-ton. She gets the job done. My first car, a yellow 1971 Chrysler Newport, I named "Big Bertha." I have never since seen a car that big before. I should have measured it. Big motor, she passed everything but the gas station! I think I tried to fit a football team inside once, they just about all fit. My next vehicle was a red '88 Chev Beretta. Great car and very reliable. She took me to North Carolina and back one year. When I sold her she had over 270,000 clicks and was still running great. Her name was "Flo" because one time the gas pedal got stuck. Vehicle number three, which I still own but is parked at my parent's, received the name "Blanche." That's french for "white" (or at least that's what I thought). She is a white 1990 Pontiac Sunbird, also a reliable car. Except for the anti-freeze that leaked all over my parent's garage floor. I'll have to get her fixed sometime. And so the pattern of "B" and "F" names continues with Fargo. She's a white 1991 Chev 1/2 ton, with a 4.3L V6. She has also been reliable for the amount of use I've gotten out of her in the last 2 months.

Anyway, we still await the results of dad's CT scan. We should know by Monday at the latest what has happened in his body during the last 6 months.

The Scan

Dad's CT scan is tomorrow! I've heard that these scans are not as effective as an MRI so pray that it will pick up any cancer that may still be around. God has brought us this far so we continue to place our trust in Him.

Mom and dad were in the city the other day as dad was getting laser surgery done to one of his eyes. It was done to repair some retna damage dad sustained during one of his lively youth group nights 2 years back. Pray that dad's eye will heal right and the problems with it will clear up.

Life and Death

My great aunt died a few days ago. She did not know the Lord as far as we know. She was crossing the street and was struck by a truck that was turning left. She died on the spot but was revived a few minutes later only to slip into a comma. A few hours later in hospital she died. Please pray for her husband, who we believe also does not know the Lord. Also pray for the extended family. Mom flew out to BC to be with the family for a few days. Dad is gaining strength. Not much else to report as we are waiting until the end of July for the CT Scan to take place. Praise God for the life he gives to us!