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Film at 11...

A couple of verses to ponder...

Hey, Gang,

Eddie & I were chatting this morning, & that chat prompted me to post these two verses and share a bit of my heart. The verses were always special to me, but have become much, much more so since Nov. 05 when my own oncologist quoted them to me on my first ever visit to him after my cancer surgery. In context, it was a very holy moment that marked forever my spiritual journey & my thinking about intensely difficult medical situations. Enjoy!

Mike

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:1-3a

(back to Mike)
Whatever comes our way, we can not only rest, but utterly revel in the presence & promises of our Lord. Would you rather be challenge-free without His presence in your life? Not me. Not Eddie. And, I 'spect, not you either. As followers of Christ, each of us has been called by name; we are His. He will be with us.

Note: God may or may not answer our prayers in the way we pray them. He may or may not "fix" what we're praying about in the way we want Him to "fix" it. But here is truth:

--He has called us by name!

--we are His!
--He will be with us!

And one day, praise God, we will not have to wonder, nor wait on a prayer answer, nor worry about medical stuff, parenting stuff, job stuff, & all the other stuff. Until then, brothers & sisters, press on in complete confidence that our Lord is present with you and that He knows you. After all, what else could we really want? Or need?

And keep praying!
Mike

Inadequate Words Concerning a More Than Adequate God

Before I begin, please know that I am an almost 50 - year -old baby - boomer who does not quite appreciate the power of the computer or has mastered it in the very least of ways. That is why I am grateful for guys like Mike Madaris who somehow got snookered into keeping everyone concerned updated as to the process of my biopsy surgery and subsequent reports.

Overwhelmed. Humbled. Grateful. These words all describe my heartfelt feelings when I think past these past couple of weeks and the time that you have taken to pray for, love, and reach out to my family and me in so many tangible ways. You have been "in the skin"evidence of the sufficiency of God's grace in my life.

Psalm 9:1 - 2 says, " I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O, Most High."





I am so blessed to have the privilege to know intimately a Sovereign God who is the Creator of everything. He is surprised by nothing and is in control of all of my life's circumstances regardless of how big or small I think they might be.





From the very beginning I have seen my God as work at every turn and His strength is and continues to be perfect.



More later...

Eddie B.

"I'm So Thankful..."

Those are Eddie's words about his situation.

Lymphoma is the diagnosis.

It is a form of cancer. However, if one is going to have cancer, this is a much less-bad form than others. All of the doctors involved are very optimistic, as are the Bakers.

So, here's the process from here onward:
--post-op MRI in the next week or two to check size & shrinkage of the tumor.
(BTW, "shrinkage" was used multiple times today by the doctor...prayer plus medicine is a good combo!)
--the results of that MRI will help determine treatment options.

How to pray?
1. Thank God for medical technology & expertise!
2. Thank God for a clear diagnosis!
3. Thank God that it's lymphoma and not something worse!
3. Pray for Eddie & Carol & the boys as the treatment begins. Hopefully this will be in the next couple of weeks.

There's still a process to go through, but it's a very optimistic process.

Eddie's spirits are great. He said that God has been around every bend in this road. Again, I quote: "I'm so thankful..." (not the typical cancer-diagnosis response; thanks for praying!)

Eddie & Carol send love & appreciation to all of you prayer warriors.

Keep holding them before the throne! Remember, the diagnosis is the beginning of the next part of the journey.

Like Eddie & Carol...and you...I am,
In His Amazing Grip,
Mike

OK, prayer warriors...

...it's time to pray and to prepare to shift gears in our prayers.

Tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., Eddie & Carol will hear the lab results in Jackson.

He was already scheduled to have some post-surgery stuff done, and they have set up an appt. at the same time with the neurosurgeon, who will go over the lab results with them.

I am not being cagey here & withholding results. I don't know them. Neither do Eddie & Carol.

But they will know tomorrow. And the next phase of this journey will commence.

I spoke with Eddie tonight, and his spirits are great, all things considered.

Pray without ceasing! Eddie sends love and thanks to all who are holding him before the throne during these days.
Mike

One of the hardest things to do...

...is to keep waiting.

We are wired as do-ers. Most of us are not very good wait-ers. (Or maybe you're not like me this regard...)

Please know that news will appear here as soon as there is news.

And please...please...please...stay at your post with assigned duty of praying for Eddie, Carol, & the boys. After all, Eddie--not anyone else--is the one awaiting these slow-coming lab results. Meanwhile, Carol's trying to minister to him, while holding down her job at Wm. Carey. Andy's planning his wedding while pursuing his college degree. Austin's prayerfully seeking God's will about life after college graduation next May. Ben's still figuring out how life outside the nest of home--9 hours away--works. In other words, prayer is much needed for the Baker tribe.

So, again, my friends, please keep holding them before the throne. We serve a God Who loves it when we acknowledge our complete & utter dependence upon Him & Him alone. Like in this situation.

Much love and more appreciation than my meager words allow,
Mike

Don't slack off!

I'm well aware that there's no news here.

That's because there's no news from the lab yet!

Please keep praying for Eddie & Carol & the boys. Waiting for medical results is no fun. Waiting this long...for very important medical results....

Thanks for continuing to pray! Please do so.