Christainese

My friend sent me this video and I thought it was true, sad and funny all at the same time. Enjoy!

Something good I stole from Chad

Something I read at captainestes. I liked it so I thought I should post it. If you don’t read Chad’s blog you should!

http://captainestes.blogspot.com/2009/05/be-here-now.html

In Her Own Words

My daughter, 14, is in an advance drama class in school.  One of her assignments is to give a dramatic monologue.  Her topic of course moved me.  I am very proud of her and wanted to share it.  It is always interesting to get a child’s perspective on things like suffering and death.  Please keep in mind as you are reading that this is her rough draft, so there are errors.  It’s titled Cancerous.  Enjoy! 

 

 

Cancerous

In my life, there’s one word that has impacted me more than I ever thought a simple word could. Cancer, a word no one wants to hear, but a word that changes lives every day. It was also a word I’d never given any thought to, until October of 2003. While visiting my grandma, they pulled me and my two younger brothers in to a room and delivered the news no seven year old wants to hear. “Mommy has cancer”. At first I didn’t believe it. How could she, she didn’t look sick. But sure enough, my mom had Breast cancer. After a surgery to remove the tumor and surrounding lymph nodes, she started treatment. For six months, two Wednesdays a month, she had chemotherapy. Then after the chemo, radiation. It was funny when she finally decided to shave her head. My poor little brother didn’t like it very much, he was only three.

It’s been five and a half years almost and my mom is officially considered cured. But there are still times when I think of what would’ve happened if things hadn’t gone so well. And that’s when it feels more like a dream than a reality.

So my mom was cured. Isaiah Rodriguez wasn’t so lucky. Izzy, as we called him was one of my brothers best friends. I’d just started the sixth grade, my first year of middle school. It was supposed to be great, but in September of 2006, we got a call from Isaiah’s dad saying he was in the hospital after fainting while on a walk. We all waited with bated breath for his diagnosis. And then we got it.. Izzy had a form of leukemia most rarely found in children. The new shattered not only my family’s world, but the world of our small church. We were scared, mad, sad and anything else associated with finding out that a nine year old boy had a rare cancer.

As was expected, he started treatments. Chemo and radiation. After a while he was bald, not that he let that get to him. Little Isaiah was as alive as ever, even with doctors telling him he might not make it. After a year of praying and hoping, we got the news we’d been waiting for, it looked like the cancer was going into remission. We couldn’t have been happier, and just in time for summer.

But the happiness was short lived, only two months after the wonderful news, we go dreadful news. The cancer was back, full force. And this time his chances were very slim. Doctors said he could only have months left. But that wasn’t going to damper Izzy’s spirit. He fought with everything he had. And to the astonishment of everyone, he made it through the summer with signs of improvement.

However, the cancer had other ideas. Isaiah fought infections and illness. The chemo didn’t help since it only made is immune system weaker. But even that couldn’t stop this now 10 year old. He was determined to stay alive. In honor of his fight, our church through a barbaque call “burgers and Buddies”, where very happy, but a still sick, Isaiah played air soft, hung out with buddies and we all enjoyed our time with the little warrior.

Then things took a turn for the worst. Isaiah was hospitalized with pneumonia and we were told he probably wouldn’t make it through the night. And yet again, Izzy amazed us all with pulling through against all the odds. One week, two weeks, he was determined to prove the doctors wrong. Finally he could go home, but he still needed a mask to help him breathe at night. We all had faith in God and the little man to pull through.

Just a couple weeks after being home however, things took a turn for the worst and we knew it was the end. Though trying to stay hopeful, the reality started to sink in.

Then on the morning of July 3, 2008, we got a call with the worst news we could have gotten. Isaiah had died that night. He was only 11. Our small community mourned the loss of an amazing little boy.

His funeral was held later that month in San Diego, California, where he was buried next to his grandfather.

Yet, even throughout the whole ordeal, we always had hope. And out of the pain and misery, a new dream was born. The dream that one day, kids with leukemia would have a cure. And even to this day, The Overcome organization brings home to families fighting this horrible disease. Overcome was started by Isaiah’s father and is will keep Izzy’s story, his hope and his fight in our hearts.

Now I’ve reached the most current time when cancer has impacted my life. Just a few months ago, grandfather was diagnosed with blood cancer.

So that’s how cancer has impacted my life. And I know that the future could always have more in store for me. But I’ve learned that if I have faith, hope and good friends and a strong family around me, I can get Through anything.

 

 

The End

 

Can you say deadbolt?

I found this story both funny and very, very scary. I can relate, well sorta. When my daughter was 2 she snuck out her window while she was to be napping. Luckily for me it was daytime and our nieghbor watch the whole thing. I think the parents of this little guy need a deadbolt…..or maybe duck tape! Just kidding, a deadbolt probably couldn’t keep him in the house. )

Happy Thanksgiving

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I have so many things to be thankful for. I have an amazing family. I am surrounded by great friends. I have a church community that continues to stretch me in ways I didn’t think were possible. I have new friends I have had the honor of getting to know online and hope to meet in person someday. I also have my life. It was 5 years ago yesterday that I started my chemo treatment for breast cancer. So, yeah I have many thing to be thankful for.

What are you thankful for?

Shout Out

Hey, my new, well actually kinda old…well it’s a long story, freind Theresa is new to blogging and I told her I’d give her a shout out.  Go check out her blog at http://eyesofhope.wordpress.com/.  Give her some love,she’s feeling pretty lonely in California.

Just Amazing

I have no words to express how I feel about this video.  I would love to have your feed back.

My Thoughts on Lakeland, Suffering and Maybe Some Other Stuff.

There is a lot of buzz in the blog world about the Lakeland Revival right now.  I really have not followed it because I really could have cared less.  I did question a friend when she expressed a desire to go.  At that time I was praying for God to heal Isaiah and wondered out loud if God could not show up in Idaho.  I now am in the loop about this so called revival and really wish I wasn’t.

I read Bill Kinnons post on C Peter Wagner distancing himself from Todd Bentley after he had an affair.  I encourage you to read his post here, it is brilliant as always.  That post spurred me to check out what was going on in Lakeland.  I wish I hadn’t because what I saw made me want to vomit.  In one video on Youtube a man with stage four Colon cancer is brought on stage and Bentley runs across the stage and kicks him in the stomach.  The man falls to the floor and Bentley says he had to do what God told him to do.  In another video he is telling the crowd about how God told him to kick an old women in the face. What god is he serving???  I am stunned that it took him cheating on his wife for people to denounce him.

My husband told me about an old legend about the Apostle Peter. The legend goes something like this.  Peter was in jail and some how escapes.  As he is running from his cell, he has a vision of Jesus walking back into his cell and that Jesus was going to die for him again.  He realizes then that Jesus didn’t suffer so he would not have to, but because of Christ suffering he is invited to join in the suffering.  He then returns to his cell and tells his captures that he is not worthy to die like his King and is crucified upside down. 

My friend Mark talks about how we are invited to share in the suffering of Christ, and that we as followers of Christ take on some of the worlds suffering.  This I understand.  I have spent the last two years in the mire with my friend, crying out to God to heal his son.  I have watch videos from Invisible children about the plight of Africa, I have faced the possibility of not seeing my children grow up as I battled breast cancer.  Life is hard, full of suffering and we get to share that burden as Christs followers.  I am trying desperately to make sense of it all and wrestle daily with the painful truth that this is it, this is life and that you hold those precious moments of happiness close to your heart because they may not come too often.

So, how do these things relate?  Maybe they don’t, but I will try to pull it all together.  I don’t serve a god who sits in heaven and hands out candy, nor a god who tells someone to abuse people.  The church, not all, but alot has turned God into pimp or a drug supplier.  Is that Jaded?  Probably, but I think it is true.  People sit in churches with plastic smiles on their faces complaining about the air conitioning, or that the worship was bad today.  How is it that people flock to a guy like Bentley?  Because we want an easy fix, we want to feel good, not have to work too hard at this Christianity stuff.   But, the God I serve invites me share in the suffering.  The God I serve is somehow there as a father screams in agony as his son draws his last breath.   He is there as children in Africa are left alone because their parents have died of AIDS.  I don’t claim to understand why my God doesn’t stop all the worlds woes, but I say yes to the invitation to share in these sufferings, to bare some of it somehow.

Someone like Bentley is left unchecked, put up on a pedestal, exaulted, and as is often the case those same people who put him there are horrified when he tumbles down.  I hate what Todd Bentley has done, but he is right now suffering and the people who were his supporters are now turning their backs on him.  I pray that God touches this man in the middle of all his pain and shows His true self to him. 

I choose to see God in the ordinary.  I choose to see God in the pain, in the sorrow and in the joy of everyday life.  It is not glamorous or pretty, I may not be famous, but I will meet God and have the privilege of sharing in the suffering.  I choose to live my life in community with other on the same path.

Here are a few links to post you may find interesting

Kingdom Grace

Sonja

Brother Maynard

Rickard

An Emotional Tribute For Their Friend

We had a celebration of Isaiah’s life on August 12th for those who were unable to make it to San Diego for the funeral.  At the end Mark, who officiated, asked people to come up and share stories of Isaiah. After an adult led the way, some of Isaiah’s buddies bravely told stories, through tears and quivering chins, of their friend. It was beautiful to watch and to hear these young men ages 11, honor their friend who they dearly miss. It was so fitting that they, one by one shared memories that are seared into their hearts forever. I think it was the beginning of healing for these sweet young men. I know that there are many hard times for all of us ahead, but it is a good start.

Here is a pictures of some of Isaiah’s buddies the night they said goodbye to their friend.

Evolution of Dance

This gave me a much needed laugh. It’s six minutes long, but worth sticking it out to the end. Enjoy!