“Whatever the future holds, it will be worth nothing if there is no joy.” (John Naisbitt, Mind Set!) Our long-term future prospects are full of joy, since Jesus has opened the way to heaven. But Naisbitt isn’t talking theology in this book, only our prospects in this life. Still, he’s right. The future may hold pain and loss and deep grief, but Jesus’ promise to fill us with His joy (full joy) still stands. I think our gravest danger lies in diverting our attention from Him to bad news. Wrong focus --> less joy!

Today we received the printed report of last week’s CT scan. First, the good news: “The liver, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, gall bladder, and adrenal glands appear normal.” Thank You, God!

The rest of the report describes the size and location of a large number of growing tumors, compared with last August’s CT scan. They are implanted throughout the abdomen and pelvis: up, down, right, left, front, and back. The ones that were present in August have increased about 50%, one of them now almost an inch. The new ones are still small. Some lymph nodes are larger than a half inch; I don’t know how serious that is. There’s more, but I think this is enough detail. I won’t stop trusting and I won’t stop fighting, but it looks like we’re moving into a new phase of the battle. Please pray for Chuck and the rest of the family. We all need to hold on to joy and hope and courage, Fully Relying On God. I need prayer to recognize true priorities. Meanwhile, I’m healed for today.

Pray also for Dr. Boyd to know how to advise us when we see him Thursday morning. Your love and prayers mean so much to us.

Love,
Carol