Wednesday (4/30/2014)

Update:

Monday was a long day filled with medical appointments with encouraging news sprinkled throughout: 

My physiatrist gave me permission to begin short motorcycle rides.  She did manage to throw in a good zinger in granting permission.  I had told her as busy as my days were I was having trouble doing my exercises more than three times a week.  Her response, “How are you going to have time to ride your motorcycle if you don’t have time to do your exercises?”  Ka-Pow!  She is good!  “Yes, ma’am I will get my exercises done before I go outside to play.”

During my visit to the prosthetist, I got my work boots “fitted” to go onto my prosthesis.  She had to put a pad up in the toe of boot so that my prosthetic leg would be at the correct angle while I was wearing it.  My orthotic insert for my left shoe (my natural leg) also had to fit into the boot and still leave my foot enough room.  All that worked and now I get to test my boots walking around the yard at home to make certain there are any issues.  I do have to tie my left boot differently so that the prosthetic ankle can still flex.  Basically the bottom part has to be laced up tight and the top half of the boot has to be loose to allow the prosthetic to move properly.  Also, unless I have problems or need my leg adjusted, I don’t have any more appointments scheduled with the prosthetic lab.  So I might have one or two months until the next appointment there.  After how often I’ve been there over the last three months, that will be strange.

Here’s a short video of me walking with my first permanent prosthetic leg:  

I had some very encouraging news at the retinal specialist’s office.  Every appointment starts off with questions about my vision, “Any changes in your vision?  Improvement?  Sudden loss of vision?  Floaters?” and an eye test.  I told them that I thought my vision had improved and it has.  When I first went in to see Dr. Wu my right eye tested at 20/2300.  Following two injections, yesterday my eye tested at 20/40.  What a change!  Now that is with staring, blinking, and guessing on the test—but they were pretty amazed at how quickly I’ve responded to the treatments.  My vision is still blurry and distorted but Dr. Wu said that the vision test results gives hope for continued improvement.  So between the medical treatments and God answering prayers—I am making good progress.

After receiving the good news, it made receiving the injection in my left eye not seem so bad.  Still after the treatment, I put the eye patch on and we headed home so I could spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in bed.  On Tuesday morning, I had some ability to read for a short time; but the eye needed to rest for the remainder of the day.

I counted up the number of medical appointments that I have had from January through April:  Thirty-one.  Wow!  I think things will be slowing down in the coming months, but I have certainly gotten my money’s worth out of my health insurance!  I don’t even want to think about the total amount that I’ve spent on medical care since Thanksgiving Day 2013; but each time I get an eye injection, the procedure costs $1,500.  I will be doing two of those each month for the rest of my life.  And that is using the inexpensive drug—if I required the expensive alternative; the cost would be over $3,000 a time.  Unbelievable! 

Tuesday was a good day.  I was able to read some by about noon and it kept improving throughout the evening.  While I could not do much with my eyes, I managed to sweep and wet mop the first floor of the house (including the front porch).  I ended up spending the afternoon and evening in Altoona with the police and then the fire department.  It felt good to do some of the things I used to do prior to my amputation and to serve as a chaplain again.

Thought for the Day:

2 Corinthians 5:7  “We live by faith, not by sight.”

“Over the years I have run into many businessmen who make the statement, ‘Whenever I get things in order in my business, I want to get more involved in ministry.’ What are these men really saying? They are saying that as soon as they can get the amount of money that creates security, they will trust God. They are saying that what they have been doing to date has not been ministry. This separation of ‘work and faith’ is common among our culture. We fail to understand that life is sacred to God and there is nothing ‘holy’ and nothing ‘sacred’ in itself.”   [Os Hillman, TGIF Today God Is First, on-line devotional, 04/30/2014].

Each one of us, no matter what our vocation is, has an important task.  How we work and what we accomplish should all be a part of our life of worship.  In our minds we tend to separate “Sunday worship” from the rest of the “work week.”  Actually how we live everyday of our lives is just as much a part of our worship as what we do on Sunday if not more so.  You cannot separate the two.  God doesn’t just check in on us on Sundays—He watches over us 24/7.  And that is how we should approach life and worship too—24/7. 

Imagine that life is one big college class.  What kind of grade would you expect if you blew off the daily assignments and the weekly quiz, never attended class, and trusted your entire grade to the final?  Our entire life is an opportunity to live in such a manner that God is honored.

Colossians 3:23      “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

If you are a stay-at-home mom, do everything with a God honoring attitude.  If you are in sales, treat each customer with honesty and give your boss an honest day’s work.  If you are a teacher, remember that God has entrusted those young lives into your care—seek to nurture and encourage each one of them on a daily basis.  If you drive a garbage truck, do it with pride and have a “job well done” attitude.  Every job can be God honoring depending upon how we go about it.

You see, it is not just people who are employed full-time in Christian ministry who work for the Lord.  Each and every one of us actually do.  Some of us just don’t realize it.  Some of us just don’t work like it.  Wherever you are called to work; no matter what your job is; you should do it in a manner that pleases God. 

If the way you worked today was the “offering you put into the plate,” what kind of offering would you be giving God?  Give Him your very best.  Honor the Lord by the way you live each hour of each day.

Colossians 3:23      “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

Monday (4/27/2014)

Update:

I had a great time at Arrowhead Bible Camp’s (ABC) Archery Retreat on Saturday.  The weather was near perfect and getting to shoot my bow and spend time in the great outdoors is always wonderful.  The camp let me use my ATV on the 3-D course because of limitations on my walking.  I rode the ATV between the targets.  I’d get off the ATV, walk a few steps to get into the shooting lane, and after shooting then climb back up on the ATV.  My buddy, Ryan, took good care of me by pulling my arrows all day.  If they hadn’t of let me use my ATV, I wouldn’t have been able to shoot the course.  Thanks ABC!

After the evening meal, awards were given out for the 3-D competition.  I pointed out to the Camp Director that I could have taken advantage of a loophole in the competition instructions.  The rules stated that at each station, “the shooter must have one foot touching the numbered stake when shooting.”  I pointed out that I could have removed my prosthetic leg, placed it against the stake and then got as close as I needed to the targets so I could shoot a perfect score.  While my score wasn’t bad, it was obvious that I had not taken advantage of the loophole during the competition.  :-)  

After the awards, I spoke to the men about how my relationship with God was foundational to me maintaining a positive mental perspective throughout my live changing difficulties.  My challenge to them was to establish and build a relationship with God now so that when the day of disaster hits in their lives, they are ready to respond and overcome all obstacles.

Even being careful to not overdo it, I was beat by the time I got home and unloaded everything late Saturday night.  Being outdoors all day after getting up at 4:30 a.m. and then finally getting to bed at 10:15 p.m., I had absolutely no trouble going to sleep that night!

I had a good morning at church and a nice lunch afterwards.  I was really tired afterwards so I enjoyed a Sunday afternoon nap, worked on this Update and then spent time with my wife, Karen, for the rest of the evening.

On Monday, I have three medical appointments—a full day.  At 9:45 a. m., I have an appointment with my physiatrist, Dr. Schmidt.  I am hoping that she will give me approval to ride my motorcycle.  Then at 11 a.m., I met with my prosthetist, Leah.  This is a check up to see how my new leg is fitting.  I am also supposed to bring a pair of my work boots to see if they will work with my prosthetic leg.  Then at 1:45 p.m., I have an appointment with my retina specialist, Dr. Wu to get an injection in my left eye.  That will leave me unable to read until sometime on Tuesday afternoon.  Overall, my vision has been improving with treatment—so I will gladly put up with the minor inconvenience of my vision temporarily disrupted a day or two a month.

With my scheduled eye treatment, I won’t be able to post an Update/Thought on Tuesday (4/29).  My next post will be on Wednesday (4/30).

Thought for the Day:

I was born and raised in Missouri, known as the “Show Me” state. 

“The slogan is not official, but is common throughout the state and is used on Missouri license plates.  The most widely known legend attributes the phrase to Missouri's U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903. While a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver attended an 1899 naval banquet in Philadelphia. In a speech there, he declared, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." Regardless of whether Vandiver coined the phrase, it is certain that his speech helped to popularize the saying.”  [Jason Kander, Missouri Secretary of State website].

During my devotional time, I read John 20:24-29 about the Apostle Thomas refusing to believe the other Apostles’ account of seeing the risen Lord Jesus.   I’ve always thought of Thomas as the “original person from Missouri” because he wouldn’t believe their account of Jesus being alive unless he himself personally saw and touched Jesus.  I mean, could you really blame Thomas for being skeptical?  After all, how many people do you personally know who died and then rose from the dead?  Everybody who I’ve seen dead are still dead.  So for me to believe someone’s claim of seeing the resurrected Jesus Christ—I’d want some up close and personal time with what I would expect would be an impostor posing as Jesus.

I think this account of Thomas’ doubt helps lend credibility to the gospel account.  If everyone just quietly accepted the word of a few witnesses, I might have some doubts too.  Thomas’ doubts act as a foil for us to express our own doubts and wonder.

At the end of the account after Thomas examines Christ’s body and responds in faith, Jesus has these words to say, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 ESV).

Do you realize that Jesus is talking about us as being the “Blessed” ones?  None of us have had an opportunity to physically examine Jesus and to talk with Him and yet we are called to believe that He has risen from the dead and now is alive in heaven, having taken His place as God the Father’s right-hand man.  

How can we do that?  Is there a logical basis for our faith or is this all wishful thinking from a bunch of weak-minded people?  Without going into great detail here, I would submit that we have several solid reasons to believe.

The first reason is the testimony of the Bible.  You might wonder how you can trust a document that was written by those who believed.  The events happened so long ago, how can you trust that this isn’t some fictional account?  Many skeptics have tried to disprove the bible’s claims by studying the evidence and ended up becoming believers themselves.  Josh McDowell’s “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” is a classic book detailing the reasons why it makes logical sense to believe rather than to doubt.

The second reason is the changed lives of the disciples.  As John 20 reveals, the disciples were scared after Jesus’ crucifixion and were hiding behind locked doors.  Then a short time later they are out boldly declaring their faith in public.  Paul details a number of hardships that he endured for his faith including imprisonment and several attempts at being stoned to death.  Church history reveals that eleven of the twelve Apostles died as martyrs—proclaiming their faith until the very end.  If this was a hoax or conspiracy, someone would have cracked and recanted their story; but they didn’t.

The third reason is the existence of the Christian faith.  If you look at its meager beginnings and the odd against it; it is amazing that the Christian faith is going strong and continuing to expand.  With Jesus’ death, the fledgling faith should have died off; but instead it continues to grow and gather more adherents.

The final reason is a personal, experiential one.  I believe.  I know that God is real and He is alive from personal experience.  He is THE difference maker in my life.  I have seen countless evidences of His existence and involvement in my life.  And it is not just me.  There are millions of other people who would say the same thing. 

I know that all of this actually proves nothing; but it strongly suggests that people should personally do a detailed study the claims of Jesus Christ and the first-hand accounts recorded in the bible before they discount its validity.  I have no problem with a “Doubting Thomas” as long as they are intellectually honest and have actually taken the time to discover for themselves whether the evidence warrants faith in God.

So let me boldly declare that I have and I have decided to believe in Jesus and to follow Him.  Even this good old boy from Missouri has seen enough evidence to believe.  I am a “Trusting Thomas” without personally ever having laid eyes on Jesus (yet). 

Friday (4/25/2014)

Update:

On Thursday, I got a surprise call from the Prosthetic Lab saying that my new leg had arrived a day early; they wanted to know if I could come in and get it—you bet!  A doctor was traveling from Rochester, MN to Eau Claire so he brought my leg with him instead of having to ship it, so it shaved a day off of my wait.  After not wearing a prosthesis for several days, I had some fluid build-up (although my leg had been elevated and I wore a shrinker sock) so the initial fit was a bit uncomfortably tight.  But by the end of the day it was feeling fine. 

It is rather interesting testing the fit.  I am in a room with parallel bars. And I walk back and forth; back and forth for at least 30-40 minutes as two prosthetist watch how my leg works and how my foot lands, etc.  It is hard not to get a bit self-conscious.  I have to consciously work at ignoring them watching me like hawks and try to walk normally.  At the same time I tell them about any little feeling, pain, or sensation that I have to give them clues as to what is going on.  Occasionally they have me stop and they use an Allen wrench to make minor adjustments or have me put on another layer of sock to tighten up the fit.  Two or three times in the process, I take everything off down to the bare skin so they can check for red marks on my skin indicating pressure points.  On areas where there is muscle—excellent!  On areas where there is bone structure—wrong!  The whole process on Thursday took over 90 minutes.  I got a bag full of new sock of various layers to insure a tight fit and a number of new sheaths to use over the inside liner.  I have to carry several socks of various thicknesses with me wherever I go so I can make adjustments during the day as my stump naturally shrinks a bit.

I really like the way the new prosthesis turn out with the T-Shirt embedded in it.  One of my son’s quipped when he saw it, “He’s more machine than man…” a quote about Darth Vader on Star Wars.  It is pretty snazzy looking how it turned out.  This leg is appreciably lighter, stronger, and less bulky.  I tried my dress pants over it yesterday, it is still tight getting the ankle of the pants over the knee, but it much less strain and quicker to do now.  I also tried a few other pants and it is possible to get them on now two.  Although with needing to adjust the layer of my sock two or three times a day, I may need to have some pants slightly altered to make that change easier.  So I am very pleased with my new prosthesis.  I should be.  Just for the prosthesis (including the test socket) and fitting at the prosthetic lab my bill is over $15,000.  That doesn’t include visits to physical rehab for training by my therapist or visits to the rehab doctor.  As I told my wife, “I’ve taken up an expensive hobby.”

One sad note is I took my motorcycle boots in to the lab and found out that they won’t work with my prosthetic leg.  Bummer!  Next week, I take my work boots in to check their fit.  I was told that they should no problem.

Late Thursday afternoon I had an Altoona Fire Department event to attend.  The entire department was going over to a “meet and greet” with the Police and Fire Commission.  Afterwards, the department was on the agenda at the City Council meeting where there was a public swearing of the oath of office of a firefighter.  Nice ceremony!

I left there and went immediately to a Church Council (all elected leaders) meeting at my church.  We reviewed the budget in preparation for our upcoming Quarter Business Meeting and went over the plans for new handicapped accessible bathrooms and large storage area we are considering adding to our building.  It was a good meeting.

Friday morning I will be in an Elder meeting until about noon (that’s why the Update is so late in being posted).  Afterwards, I need to prepare for an early departure on Saturday morning.  On Saturday I will be leaving the house before 5:45 a.m. and not returning until after 8 p.m. to go up to our bible camp for a Men’s Archery Retreat.  I am the featured speaker after dinner.  Since I’ll be gone all day, I will not post an Update or Thought tomorrow.  My next post will be made Monday morning.

Thought for the Day: 

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.” The message is, “Hope to win, expect to lose, and live with the results either way.”  Isn’t that a terrible way to live?  John Maxwell says that successful people don’t think like that.

“Their attitude is never ‘sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.’  Instead they think, ‘sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.’  They understand that life’s greatest lessons are gained from our losses—if we approach them the right way” [John Maxwell, Sometimes You Win—Sometimes You Lose].

Maxwell quotes Hugh Prather who says, “I sometimes react to making a mistake as if I have betrayed myself.  My fear of making a mistake seems to be based on the hidden assumption that I am potentially perfect, and that if I can just be very careful I will not fall from heaven.  But a mistake is a declaration of the way I am, a jolt to the way I intend, a reminder that I am not dealing with facts.  When I have listened to my mistakes, I have grown”  [Maxwell, Sometimes You Win—Sometimes You Lose].

Wow! How many times have I beaten myself up for something stupid that I’ve done?  I make myself miserable because I haven’t lived up to the impossible standard of perfection. 

1 John 1:8    “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

I know that I will fail and that I will stumble on occasion; so why does it take me by surprise and sucker punch me when I do?   Nobody likes failure.  We all want to be successful and be thought of as successful by those around us.  We think that if people really know who we are that they will reject us; they will deem us unworthy of their time and severe relationships with us.  We are afraid that we will be left without a friend and no one will stand by us and support us.

So in an attempt to appear more perfect than we really are, we shade the truth or put a spin on any story that might put us in less than favorable light.  We toot our own horns and seek to make ourselves look larger than life.  The sad result is often just the opposite of what we hoped to achieve.  People often see through the façade of our make believe world and see us for who we really are--less than perfect people.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with being the best person that we can be; it just is rather ludicrous to even hope that we will maintain perfection throughout our lifetime.  Our best hope is to not stumble in such a way, that when we do stumble, as to ruin our good name and destroy everything that we’ve worked hard to achieve.

When we do fail, we need to own up to what we’ve done.  It is better to stand up tall and proud and take our licks than to try to hide and slide by on the sly.  All that accomplishes is further guilt heaped upon our sense of failure.  Yeah, it is better just to come clean and ‘fess up.

It works that way with God too.  We aren’t fooling anybody—especially Him.  When we mess up, as we inevitably will, instead of hiding from God or pretending it didn’t happen—we need to go straight to Him and ask His forgiveness, for His cleansing and for His strength to not fail again.

1 John 1:9    “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What I am grateful for is this—every time I turn to God, He forgives me.  No matter how many times that I mess up—He never gives up on me.  No matter what I’ve done, nor how often I’ve done it; if I turn to the Lord God—there is forgiveness and a fresh start.  Boy!  Do I need that!

Lamentations 3:21-23    “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.  The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Just knowing that my failures are not forever gives me the courage to stand up and try again.  I just mentioned to someone today that all of the greatest home run hitters in baseball also had the highest strike out rates.  They were not going to hit any home runs if they let their strike outs stop them from swinging the bat.  Imagine how they mentally had to deal with their failure and put it aside to be able to swing for the bleachers.  I want to learn from my mistakes; but I don’t want to let them define me or stop me from accomplishing all that I can or from becoming the best person possible doing the greatest good that I can achieve.  Don’t let you mistakes cost you the game either.  Keep swingin’ the bat.

Thursday (4/24/2014)

Update:

In yesterday’s update, I talked about being on a diet and how difficult it was to lose weight because I was on “insulation.”  I corrected it on Face Book, but did not send a correction by email.  It should have read that I was on “insulin.”  Apparently the silly auto-correct feature made a substitute and I didn’t catch it until several people commented on my diet. 

Being in the wheelchair full-time for the week is going well overall.  I did a 45 minute workout on Wednesday morning to try to ease some of the pain in my tendons and muscles from sitting all the time.  I also spent some time stretching out right before bed on Wednesday as well.  I’ll sleep better with everything feeling fresh and loose.  On Thursday morning I had to hit the floor mat again to relive the discomfort.  Having the prosthetic leg and being able to walk is certainly easier.  I have fewer limitations on my time and what I can accomplish.  Limited to the wheelchair I am much more dependent upon others to do things for me. 

I worked on the Fall Creek Baccalaureate Service both on Wednesday morning and then again for about 45 minutes in the evening.  I spent the afternoon at the church working on Sunday’s message and preparing for the Elders’ meeting on Friday morning.  After dinner, I worked on Sunday’s message and the sermon hand out until about 9:30 p.m. and then it was time to get ready for bed.  I still have some fine tuning to do, but I am basically done with the message right now.  One of the things that need to do on Thursday is to begin planning my next message series since I only have a few more sermons left in the Gifts and Stewardship series I’ve been doing.  I know that our Music Director would appreciate knowing exactly what I am preaching on as she plans the music.  For the last few months, I’ve basically told her, “I don’t know for certain.  All I know is that it will have something to do with God or Jesus or something like that.”  She has done a wonderful job despite my lack of specifics.

I was very thankful that I got home from the office before the rain started on Wednesday afternoon.  As long as it takes me to get out of the truck and up the ramp with the wheelchair, I would have gotten soaked. 

Thought for the Day:

I found this anonymous prayer on-line at thought it was worthwhile:

Dear God:

Enlighten what’s dark in me…

Strengthen what’s weak in me…

Mend what’s broken in me…

Bind what’s bruised in me…

Heal what’s sick in me, and lastly…

Revive whatever peace and love has died in me…

AMEN

No matter how “good” I am, I have found that there are always some pockets of “bad” or at least “not as good as they should be” within me.  As someone has quipped, “The room for self-improvement is the biggest room in my house.”  For all the positive there is in my life, I find a constant need to clean up and root out the negative.  At times it feels like my entire life is like a house made of playing cards—I’ve got everything delicately balanced and it’s tall and impressive looking now—But one little bump and the whole thing is in danger of crashing down.

There is a need for constant upkeep and routine maintenance.  Oil has to be changed regularly in your car.  Did you know that tires lose at least 1-2 pounds of pressure a month?  Check them regularly or you’ll be wearing your tires out prematurely.  Odd jobs around the house are always popping up.  Speaking of popping up—just watch, dandelions will soon show their yellow head in your lawn.

In general, the principle of entropy suggest that in every system there will be decline and degradation.  In the areas of spiritual health and mental well-being within an individual, we see this principle at work.  Unless maintained, a person’s positive attitude will be worn away by the harsh events of life.  Unless maintained, a person’s spiritual strength will weaken over time by temptation and evil.

If we use the illustration of our current spiritual health as the level of water in a bucket, certain things such as worship, bible reading and prayer can increase our reservoir.  At the same time, certain factors are constantly draining some of our spiritual vitality out of our bucket.  Pain, suffering, injury, busyness, indifference, disaster, death of a loved one, loss of a job, lack of rest, etc. will lower the level of our spiritual health.  Even doing good things have a cost and a negative effect over time.  We cannot give and give and give of ourselves without taking time to replenish what we have given away.

That is why a day of rest, a day off, a vacation can be so important to our health and well-being.  Spending some time out in the woods, especially in the fall, helps me to replenish my bucket.  For you, maybe it is an afternoon curled up with a book in front of a fire.  Sunday worship also replenishes my soul.  But just a once-a-week “fill up” isn’t enough.  My bucket runs dry if I am not working at feeding my mind and my spirit on a daily basis.  I read the bible and other positive, uplifting books and pray on a daily basis just to try to keep ahead of drain on my life. 

That reminds me of the story of the greatest violinist in the world talking about his need for daily practice.  Now I would think that if you were that good, your need for practice would be minimal.  This world-renowned man had a different view.  “I must practice daily.  If I skip one day, I notice my playing isn’t as good.  If I skip two days, my instructor notices.  If I skip three days, the whole world knows.”

Take some time today to work at refilling you bucket, or at least add a little bit to it so that you maintain your currently level, despite what draining events happen to you today.  Make certain that at least once a week you get a good filling so that you are to the point of overflowing—so that you are ready to face the week ahead.

In the book of Joel, God uses the picture of drought and destruction of crops by locust to demonstrate what the future holds for the nation of Israel.  But in chapter 2, God promises restoration in the coming days by picturing overflowing abundance.

Joel 2:24    “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.”

May your life and mine overflow with the abundant goodness of the Lord.  Don’t lose hope or faith.  Hang on and believe.  Strive to do the things necessary to keep you bucket full. Then trust in Him to provide for your well-being.

Psalm 27:13   “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.”

Wednesday (4/23/2014)

Update:

After finishing my reading and personal devotional time on Tuesday morning, I spent time with Ruth and Cody before they headed back to Chicago.  It was a great long weekend spent with them and the rest of the family.

This coming Saturday, I am speaking at our bible camp outside of New Auburn (Arrowhead Bible Camp) at a Men’s Archery Retreat.  The focus on my talk will be on how my faith has carried me through the events of the last five months.  At the retreat there are lots of targets, competition, and an awesome 3-D course to shoot throughout the day.  Although I am walking well indoors and on pavement, I’ve just started walking in grass and rough terrain.  That kind of walking takes a whole new level of energy and fitness which I have not yet achieved.  Thus I was given permission by the bible camp to bring my ATV so that I could ride the course.  There is absolutely no way that I could walk that far (even on pavement, it would currently be too much) so using the ATV will allow me to participate in the shoot and enjoy the day. 

But that means that I have to get my ATV out of winter storage (install the battery, get it running after sitting all winter, fill it with fuel, etc.), prepare the trailer to haul the ATV (pull it to the driveway, take the side walls off, put on the front guard) and this is the week that I don’t have my prosthetic leg, so I asked my son, Jon, to help me.  He was available on Tuesday, so we spent the afternoon outdoors and got everything ready to ride.  He did most of the work and I helped out here and there where I could.  For instance once Jon got the air compressor hose down for me, I was able to get the compressor going and air up all the tires by myself.  Even if I had my leg, there were a number of items that I don’t think I could have done on my own, like push the ATV out of the storage shed so I could install the battery.  I am so grateful for Jon’s help.  Jon also repaired the tailgate on my truck that became hard to open over the winter—it works smoothly now.  I am ready to hook up the trailer and load up the ATV for the weekend now. 

Karen and I had some time together after dinner on Tuesday and then I spent the rest of the evening working on my sermon for this coming Sunday.

One of the things I am working on is trying to lose weight.   Sitting in a wheelchair for four months didn’t help my waistline any.  Now that I am walking again that will help; I’ve been eating the right kind of foods for over a year, but now I’ve cut back on my food intake substantially.  Taking insulin makes it that much harder to lose weight—but I’ve got to shed some pounds and get my waistline smaller.  With my workouts, I have lost much of the fat from the rest of my body; but still have a ways to go, especially around the waist.

Thought for the Day:

They say that “Laughter is the best medicine.”  If that isn’t true; it is at least the least expensive medicine that we take.  Laughter is good for the soul.  It is good for our physical health.  Laughter is good for our emotional health as well.

I love to laugh and I find humor in many sources.  One of the deep veins of humor that I mine is my own life and the things that I do.  Here’s an example: I’ve never liked to put eye drops in my eye.  I struggle to stop blinking and actually get the drops into my eye.  One day I got something in my eye and went to the bathroom to get some Visine to wash the object out and take away the pain.  It was just about sunset, so there was some light in the room but not much.  I decided to leave the overhead light off because it seemed dumb to tip my head back and stare at the light while trying to keep my eye open to put in the drops.  So I got the drops and tipped my head back and started trying to get a drop in my eye.  Normally this might take me 3-4 tries; but on this day, apparently I couldn’t have hit the broadside of a barn with a rock from five feet away.  I tried numerous times with no success.  I remember thinking, “Why can’t I get a drop in my eye?  How bad of shot am I?”  It was just after that when I discovered my problem.  I had forgotten to take my glasses off so all the drops had splashed harmlessly against the lens.  Duh!  After I took my glasses off I still had a hard time getting the drops in because now I was laughing at myself so hard.

Job 8:21   “He [God] will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.^”

Luke 6:21   “…Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”

Some people will try to tell you that heaven is going to be dull and devoid of all fun.  As I read the bible, I realize that it is just the opposite.  We are going to have such a blast!  Heaven is going to fill our hearts so full with joy and happiness that it is going to bubble up inside of us and we will laugh with joy.

“We think of ourselves as fun-loving, and of God as a humorless killjoy.  But we’ve got it backwards.  It’s not God who is boring; it’s us.  Did we invent wit, humor, and laughter?  No.  God did.  We’ll never begin to exhaust God’s sense of humor and His love for adventure.”  [Randy Alcorn, EPM blog 10/4/2008, Laughter in Heaven].

The closest thing to poetry that I ever memorized in high school is this quote from Lord Byron, “And if I laugh at any mortal thing, ‘tis that I may not weep.”  I realize that there are many sad and harsh things that happen in life.  I’ve been the victim of a few of them myself.  I could choose to get all melancholy and cry about it; or I can find what humor there is in my situation and choose to laugh and enjoy what I can.  Laughter can be a very therapeutic alternative to deep depression and sorrow. 

Some people see the glass half full.  Some people see the glass half empty.  I usually see the glass as filled with laughter.  I admit that I am a goofball and that I enjoy a good laugh better than a long cry.  Through humor I can shake things off.  I can minimize the harsh reality.  With humor I can endure more difficulty and not let it drag me down.  I believe that God gave us humor to help us cope with stress and to endure life’s problems with a little more joy.  I am less brittle emotionally and more resilient by approaching life with humor.

As a pastor, I think that some people struggle with the fact that I am not more dignified.  They believe that somehow I bring dishonor on God by not being serious and decorous all the time.  There are times when it’s appropriate and I can be that way; but I am not required to act that way all the time.  I believe that people find me more appealing and approachable when I let my humorous side out. 

Like that old English proverb says, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”  My question has always been, “Why do you want to attract flies in the first place?”  But anyway, most people are not drawn to others who are acetic and bitter; they are drawn to those who are pleasant to be around.

My thought for the day is that finding humor in the world around you (and in your own life) will help enable you to deal with the stress and pain of life as well as attracting others who will help you in the difficult times that you face.  My hope is that you can find at least of moment of happiness today that will bring a smile to your lips and joy to your heart.

Tuesday (4/22/2014

Update:

Before turning in my test socket at the prosthetic lab, we made a couple of adjustments that really improved my comfort level.  I am looking forward to getting my new prosthesis on Friday afternoon.  Until then, I am wheelchair bound.  It is hard to go backwards in mobility.  I know that I can make it for five days—but I am looking forward to getting my leg back.  While I was at the lab, my prosthetist asked if I could walk without the parallel bars or my cane.  I thought that I could because I have taken 2-3 steps like that at home.  I had no problem walking without any assistance; I walked back and forth for quite some time.  Leah told me that my form looked perfect; no shoulder droop or swaying.  So I am getting very comfortable on my prosthesis and should continue to improve on a regular basis.  Here's the design that I am having embedded in my new prosthesis:

Jon helped me go pick up my motorcycle from the shop and bring it home.  They called me right after I turned my prosthesis in to the lab.  That was probably best because I would have ridden the motorcycle without my doctor’s approval.  I know that I could have done it—but I want to be very wise and not hurt myself by rushing my progress too quickly.  So from that stand point, I’m glad that I don’t have my leg this week—it removes temptation. 

Jon cleaned the garage and I sat outside in my wheelchair and helped where I could.  There is still a lot of sorting and putting away that needs to be done; but the big work has been accomplished.  I am very thankful for Jon giving up his afternoon; and to be fair, he made most of the mess in the garage working on cars last fall and this spring. 

Ruth along with Kate and Karen made a wonderful meal for the family Monday evening.  During the meal, David’s wife, Amelia, got me laughing so hard and long, that food was coming out of my mouth.  I haven’t laughed like that for a long, long time.  After dinner, Jon and David and I played Scrabble.  David has become a fairly aggressive player and even put Jon to shame tonight.   

Tuesday, I need to make good progress on my Sunday message and need to get some answers to several phone messages and emails that I left with people.  I also plan on doing a serious physical workout.  I probably should make some notes for my talk I’ll give at Arrowhead Bible Camp’s Men’s Archery Weekend. 

Thought for the Day:

Victor Frankl, survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, said, “The last of human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

Did you realize that your attitude is a choice?  “Our attitudes are formed by our experiences and how we choose to react to them.  Therefore, as long as we live, we are forming, changing, or reinforcing attitudes.  There is no such thing as an unalterable attitude” [John Maxwell, How High Will You Climb].

In our early years, our attitudes are preset by our personal disposition and by our family upbringing.  But as we grow older, we have more and more choice over how we respond to certain situations.  If we want to we can, over time, change our typical response.

Think of your attitude like the thermostat on a HVAC unit.  Maybe you are cold-natured so you set your thermostat to keep your house warm (what others would say is hot) at 78 degrees during the winter.  But after getting an expensive fuel bill for last month, you decide to knock the temperature down to 70 degrees.  It may take a while but after a time, your body will adjust to the new normal you have decided upon.  Eventually, you will think that the house at 70 degrees in the winter is fine.  Our attitudes are very similar.

Suppose you dislike politicians of any type.  The moment you see a TV advertisement, or a sign in a yard, or see campaign literature in your mail, your blood begins to boil. That is a learned response to certain stimuli—what has been learned can be unlearned.

Have you ever said something like this, “That person makes me so MAD!!!!”  Actually that person didn’t make you made.  Your response to that person or their actions may have been wrong, hurtful, or stupid; but you got mad all by yourself.  Nobody “makes you mad.”  You’ve chosen that response and over time you’ve reinforced that response so it is what happens when you see that person or encounter their special brand of stupidity.  That doesn’t mean that the other person’s actions are okay.  It just means you have the ability to choose how you will respond.

For instance, I used to yell at drivers who cut me off.  I would have an emotional outburst of anger, “STUPID!!!”  A little later I would often accidently do something similar to another driver and say to myself, “Sorry!”  That is when I realized that anger was the incorrect response to other people’s driving.  Fear and caution might be appropriate or even thankfulness that I managed to avoided an accident; but raging, burning anger wasn’t a productive response to those kinds of situation.

Ever get angry at your kid for being childish and spilling their milk at the table?  I quit getting angry when I realized it was a selfish response on my part to the inconvenience of having to do extra work cleaning it up.  I also realized that the best way to ensure your kid spills their milk is to react in such a way as to produce fear of punishment and anxiety over spilling the milk.  You can bet that they will be so nervous that their odds of spilling again have gone up exponentially.    Think about it.  Spilling milk is childish.  When you kid is young—what are they?  A child.  So a child is acting like a child.  What is there to be mad about?  We cannot expect them to act like responsible, mature adults all of the time (Hey, I don’t even act like a mature, responsible adult all of the time).  Kids will be kids.  Don’t cry over spilled milk.  Teach them and train them how to avoid spilling next time—but curb your anger—it’s often inappropriate and it definitely isn’t helpful.

Think of any event that gets an emotional response out of you: an injury, an accident, a flat tire, the washing machine breaks, being late to work because of someone else, being treated unfairly, or being cheated.  You get to choose how you will respond and what your outlook will be.

I know from personal experience that people don’t like to be around angry, spiteful, negative people.  So if you recognize those kind of attitudes in yourself why not do everybody around you a favor (including yourself) and choose to have a different attitude?

At first it will be a constant, mental struggle to not respond the way you always have; but give it some time and you will be sporting a brand new “tude.”

The bible says “Have this attitude in yourselves…” (Philippians 2:5) indicating that we can choose our attitude.  So take stock of your normal response and attitude about life’s difficulties.  If you don’t like what you find—change it.  You have the power to choose.

Monday (4/21/2014)

Update:

Ryan C. and I got out to Mouldy’s on Friday and they were able to adjust my sight so that I can shoot my right-handed bow with my left eye.  We had to remount the sight on inside of the riser, so I have some fine tuning to do for the various distances, but my shot groups at 10 and 20 yards were tight.  Yes!  Now that I can see both my sight pin and the target clearly, it was fun to shoot the bow again.  I am speaking at a men’s archery retreat this coming Saturday and I wanted to be able to shoot my bow—so it is perfect timing.  One of the things that I discovered is that my left eye has become dominate.  Prior to my vision problems a year ago, I was right-eye dominate.  Being left-eye dominate will help me as I learn to shoot my bow and my gun with my left eye.

Usually, it takes about 2 to 2½  hours at the doctor’s office to have my eye injection.  This time there was hardly anybody else waiting in line, so it ended up taking less than an hour.  I went home and slept the rest of Friday afternoon and evening during the worst of the discomfort.  Saturday by noon I could see fairly well with both eyes.  I did miss an event that I really wanted to attend; but by late Saturday afternoon I was feeling pretty good.

Getting up and getting ready in time for the 6 a.m. Sunrise Easter was a bit difficult.  I got up at 4:30 a.m. thinking I had plenty of time and ended up getting to church with only a few minutes to spare.  Fortunately, I had everything prepared for the service beforehand.  On Friday at Mouldy’s I saw Brian, a double-amputee.  We talked about the changes in our lives and the progress that we have made.  Brian mentioned that one of the things that his friends still don’t understand is that he cannot be ready to go anywhere at the spur of the moment.  It takes him at least an hour to get ready to go anywhere.  It doesn’t take me as long—but I can’t just jump into the truck and go (unless I already happen to be ready).  Don’t be disappointed if a disabled friend (or a friend recovering from illness) isn’t spontaneous anymore.  Build extra time into the schedule and try to plan ahead so that they can be included in the fun.

After Sunday lunch with the family, I ended up visiting with one of my firefighters in Altoona, went shopping at Gander Mountain (where I found a t-shirt to imprint on my leg), visited with one of my police officers in Fall Creek, chatted with a church member working out in his yard and then spent the evening with my wife.  It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

Monday morning I have to turn my prosthetic leg into the lab.  They are going to make my first “permanent” leg this week and then need my current leg to use as the basis of my new one.  Since I received my “test socket” (my current leg) we’ve reshaped some places, added cushion or pads in other places, and made numerous adjustments.  My prosthetist said that I am ready to have my first permanent socket made.  My test socket was made of plastic and fiberglass wrap.  My first permanent socket will be made of acrylics.  It will be stronger and lighter weight.  This leg will only last 6-12 months because my leg muscles will atrophy during this time.  What I call my “second permanent” leg that gets made for me after that should last about three years—it will be made of carbon fibers and be even stronger and more durable.   So for the next five days I will be without a prosthesis and back full-time in my wheelchair.  I am not really looking forward to that.  I have the loss of mobility and I have to work at keeping certain muscles and tendons limber despite just sitting all the time.  But that is the price of progress!  By Friday I’ll have my new leg and be up and walking again.  Yeah!

I did finally find a T-shirt design that I’ll have imprinted upon the leg.  Think of tattoos on a prosthetic limb.  I really wanted a scripture verse, but couldn’t find what I wanted on a T-shirt in the limited time I had.  So instead I have an American flag with a whitetail deer silhouetted on it.  I think it will look good!

This evening (Monday) all the kids and their spouses are gathering at my house for an Easter gathering.  This is the first time all of us will have been together since Christmas.  I am looking forward to spending the afternoon and evening with them.

Thought for the Day:

How is your prayer life?  Do you spend much time in prayer?  Do you feel like God listens to you and answers your prayers?  Most people struggle with feeling like their prayers are worthwhile.  Often times we just don’t know the words to say or how to put our thoughts and feelings into words.

Most of us make prayer out to be harder than it really is.  Prayer isn’t about using the right words or phrases.  It is talking to God.  It is expressing our thoughts, our feelings, our desires, and our requests.

Think about listening to your children when they are younger.  Did they have to use perfect English and use correct grammar to communicate with you?  No!  In fact if they did, it would be a little freaky.  Good old common everyday language is plenty fine.  It is the same way with God.  You don’t need flowery language or the exact right words for God to hear you and understand you.

I know in my own life that there are times when I don’t have the words to say what I am feeling.  That’s okay too because God understands our emotions and what we need without us putting it into words.

Here is the really cool part.  Did you know that both God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are praying for us?  How can it go wrong for us if God Himself is praying on our behalf?  The Son and the Spirit have to know how to pray—so even if our prayers don’t seem very good; their prayers have it covered!

Romans 8:34   “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

Hebrews 7:25  “Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Romans 8:26  “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;”

There is so much more that could be said about prayer—but the important thing for us to remember is that our prayers are being heard, so pray in confidence.

Friday (4/18/2014)

Update:

Thursday was a busy day.  I spent the morning writing and doing small chores around the house.  In the afternoon Ruth and I went shopping.  I went to the Christian bookstore for a while, and then we went to Sam’s and Festival Foods.  I used the cane to get to the door and then ride the motorized carts inside.  At that point I decided that I had to go to Scheel’s.  About half way through the store I ran out of energy and slowly made it back to the truck.  If I had a gas tank it would have been on E.  It is just another reminder of how far I’ve come so far but how much further I have to go in my recovery.  On a positive note, Scheel’s happen to have just restocked their shelves and had a few boxes of .22 Mag bullets; so I got a couple of boxes—haven’t seen that in stores for a long time.  Talk about the right place at the right time!

Ruth and Cody unloaded the groceries while I sat and recovered for a time.  Then it was time to leave to go to dinner before Karen’s play.  The State theatre has those long sloped aisles and I knew it would be a long hike to get from parking into the theatre and then the decline would be hard to walk with my prosthesis; so I brought the wheelchair to manage my energy levels effectively.

When we brought groceries home, I had backed into the driveway to make it easy for Ruth and Cody to unload.  After they did that, they took off to see Cody’s siblings.  When I went out to leave for the restaurant for dinner; I had to turn the truck around so that I could load my wheelchair.  I was already spent after fighting my printer to spit out the tickets for the play I had purchased.  I lost. It won.  I had to call the theatre and explain that I only had two of the five tickets that I had purchased on-line.  Aargh!

I had an enjoyable dinner with the kids who could make it. And then we went downtown.  I had one of the kids follow me because I figured parking would be tough to downtown—and it was.  I was glad that I had Cody and Ruth with me because the sidewalks downtown near the theatre are terrible.  I would have had to back up and get across several rough spots going backwards if I was alone.

I enjoyed the Easter drama.  The first act was especially strong.  The casting was excellent.  I saw a number of people I knew who attended last night.  Two more performances remain today on Good Friday.  I got home and ready for bed and was very glad when my head hit the pillow.

This morning I have to get my right—handed bow set up to shoot with my left eye.  My right eye is slowly improving but I don’t know if my vision in it will ever be sharp enough to hunt with again.  So this morning I am heading to the Archery shop to give right hand/left eye shooting a twirl.  I am speaking at a men’s archery retreat next weekend, so I’ve got to get my bow set up to shoot, so I can enjoy Saturday’s events.

Early this afternoon (Friday), I get another injection in my right eye.  I’ll go right to bed after that and won’t be able to do anything until noon on Saturday at the earliest.  I have a funeral of a friend’s father that I hope to attend on Saturday afternoon.  After that I will head home and make final preparations for Easter Sunday at church.

With my vision going wacko after the eye injection, I don’t think that I will be in any shape to post an Update on Saturday, I always skip posting on Sunday, so the next Update will be later on Monday because I have an early morning medical appointment.  Busy. Busy. Busy.

Thought for the Day:

Today on Good Friday, I think it is appropriate to tell you that the very most important decision that I have ever made in my life was choosing to believe in Jesus Christ. Let me tell you my story.

I grew up in a church going family (well at least my parents always dropped me off at church each week so I could attend).  I pursued my faith trying to get the most out of it that I could.  It just felt like I was missing something; that there had to be something more than just attending church and going through the rituals. I remember thinking in high school that God felt like a pen pal to me (I had a pen pal in France during high school.  We exchanged letters, audio cassettes and small gifts).  I knew a little bit ABOUT God—but I didn’t really know HIM.   I knew from my religious background a number of facts.  I knew that there was a God that had created me.  I knew that I was sinful and deserved punishment.  I knew that Jesus was “the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.”  But I had no idea what that meant or what to do with all the religious facts that I knew.  I took religion classes and even interviewed several clergy members that were family friends—I was looking for more than just a casual, Sunday morning relationship with God.  I was told by everyone I knew that I had it as good as it got.  So I sort of gave up my “God Search” for a time.

When I got married to Karen, we both felt religion was very important; but we came from different faith traditions.  I didn’t like her church and she didn’t like mine; so we church hopped for a while until we found one we both liked. 

The people at this church were friendly and caring and they actually read the bible and believed it.  I was fascinated by everything I was learning.  I remember thinking that these people seemed to have that something more that I had looked for earlier in my life.

One Sunday during the sermon, the pastor said something that really upset me.  He said that we could know whether or not we would go to heaven when we died.  I remember thinking it was an arrogant statement.  How could we know!  We had to wait until we died and then God would weigh our good deeds against our bad deeds.  If our good deeds were more—we would go to heaven.  If our bad deeds were greater—well we were headed to hell.  I was so upset that I asked to talk to him in private.  I told him what I believed and I asked him (in none too polite of a tone) where did he get off saying those kinds of things.  He asked me to read 1 John 5:11-13.

1 John 5:11-13   “And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.”

He asked me to read that last phrase again, “in order that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.”  Whoa!  The bible said you could know right now whether you were going to heaven or hell.   On what basis?  If you “have the Son”—you’ve got life.  If you don’t  have Him—you don’t. 

So I asked the pastor, “How do I get the Son?”  His answer was simple and direct, “You ask.”  He told me to pray—to talk to God—and tell Him all the facts that I already knew.   That He was God.  That I was a sinner.  That Jesus was the Savior and had died for MY sins.  And then ask Jesus to be MY Savior.  Not just the Savior of the world—but my personal Savior.

My pastor told me that getting to heaven wasn’t about doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things.  It was about having a relationship with God; and that relationship was formed by believing what the bible said about Jesus and receiving Him as my Savior (by asking Him to do it for me individually).

It made sense to me; but I wanted to think about it some more.  Sometime during the next few days I prayed as the pastor told me and started a relationship with Jesus.

What is so cool is that I finally got what I had been searching for during high school.  God was now more than a pen pal to me.  There was something more than just going to church and going through the rituals.  I had a relationship with God and that has made all the difference in my life!

This happened at the end of my freshman year of college way back in 1977.  Since then, just like in every other relationship, I’ve gotten to know God better.  That relationship started way back then has been the most important thing that has ever happened to me (my marriage to Karen is a close second).  It literally has changed my life for the better.  For me Easter is a wonderful time of the year as I am reminded to what lengths God will go to in order to establish a relationship with me.  Jesus Christ died in my place, so that I could be set free and enjoy a relationship with God Himself.

If you ever want to talk about your relationship with God, I’m willing to listen.

I’ll close with two verses that have been very important to me since the early days of my relationship with God: 

Galatians 2:20   “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.” (TNIV)

2 Corinthians 5:17  “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (NASB)