God is able

Several people have asked that we share what we learn as we take this journey, and we are glad to do that. No one goes through any circumstance solely for their own personal benefit.

As I said before, we have seen God’s hand in this from the very beginning and have been able to rest in the knowledge that He was orchestrating every step. He has given us a peace about the “c” word that really goes beyond our comprehension. Even before we knew what the treatment options would be and what the prognosis would be (90% 5-year survival), God had already given us a peace and quiet confidence that regardless of our circumstances or outcomes, everything really was going to be OK.

A few days after the diagnosis was confirmed, I took a fresh look at a familiar passage. In Daniel, chapter three, we find the story of 3 Hebrew young men, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who had been carried off from Judah into Babylon. You may remember them better by the names they were given once there; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar had made a golden image 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, and ordered everyone in the land to bow down and worship it. Of course, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused, and were summarily brought before the King and given an ultimatum. Bow or die. Their answer to this command is one of the greatest passages of Scripture.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

You know the rest of the story…God miraculously saves them from the fire that is so hot the soldiers who throw them in are reduced to crispy critters in seconds. But that’s not the necessarily the best part of the story. The best part of the story is the confidence and boldness that God gives them to answer the king with such faith. There is no doubt that not only were they sure that God was ABLE to save them from the fire, but they also believed that He WOULD save them from the fire. But they added, as an addendum; But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

We know that God is ABLE to eradicate cancer from my body; and we also believe that He will. But we want everyone to know that even if He does not, we will not bow down to the fear and panic Satan wants to see in our lives. If God was faithful and good and trustworthy from eternity past (and He was), then He is still just as faithful and good and trustworthy today. God can and will walk us through this in a way that will bring Him glory, and hopefully will be an encouragement to many. May God bless you richly today as you press into Him.

As for me and my house – we serve the Lord.

God is still on His throne

Well, I never thought I would be writing a post like this, but here it is. To cut to the chase, this past week I was diagnosed with kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) in my right kidney. I will have surgery to remove the tumor (or possibly the kidney) on April 21st at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in Spartanburg, SC. The doctors are convinced that the cancer is confined to the kidney and that this surgery will be curative.

While the “natural” thing to do would be to focus on the negativity of this news, I can’t help but to marvel at how we have seen the Lord’s hand all the way throughout this entire process and in every aspect. The fact that this type of cancer is rarely caught so early, the placement in our path of 3 different outstanding Christian doctors who are well known and admired in their fields, to how this has already created numerous opportunities to witness and tell of God’s goodness… while it might seem on the surface to be “bad news”, we know that God is in control, that He is still worthy of our trust and that He is still faithful.

I’m not a “point and read” theology kind of person…where you just flop open a Bible and point your finger and that’s supposed to be what God is telling you. But yesterday morning, as I was waiting to go through my last test to see exactly what kind of cancer it is, I sensed a prompting of the Holy Spirit to look at Psalm 39. No, most of the time you will not find me reading my Bible in a waiting room, but I was sure that I “heard” right. I exited my email and flipped over to the Bible application on my cell phone and scrolled to Psalm 39. This is what it says in verses 4-7:

4 “LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. 5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah 6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them. 7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

God has given me a new window to look through. He has given me the glorious blessing of being reminded once again that this life is Oh, so short. Whether we have 5, 20 or even 60 more years to live…or maybe just a few more minutes…how will we spend it? Will you make a greater difference with the rest of your life than you have up until now?

We do ask for your prayers over these next few days and weeks. Pray first and foremost that God will be glorified in every situation and in our personal lives and testimony. Pray that God would give us opportunities to declare His glorious Name. And pray that God would confirm, strengthen and establish us as He guides us through these troubled waters.

Many blessings to you and yours!

Horse buddies

Yesterday when I was working with the team up at the Nehemiah Dorm, I noticed that Spices and Rolex were standing side by side under Rolex's favorite tree, taking a nap. Nobody had a camera, so I got a picture with my cell phone (hence the quality). About 10 minutes later I noticed that Spices had layed down, so I got another picture. About 5 minutes later Rolex had layed down too, so I got another picture. They layed there together like that for a while longer, and then they were up and off again, walking and grazing. Peas in a pod, like they've been friends for years. :-)

New Family Pictures

Our home church, Thorington Road Baptist, is doing a new church directory and we were so excited! Not only will it be great to get a bird's eye view of all our friends and new folks who have joined the church that we haven't met yet, but we were glad to be able to be a part and get a new family picture made. (We haven't had a professional portrait done since...well, it's been at least 5 or 6 years.)

But, alas, the appointments were all over with before we could arrive in Mtgy so we decided we would just go get one done anyway. While were were in Mtgy, we went to Wal-Mart (we're on a budget you know) and the young lady that was working there did a fantastic job. Or at least we think so. So, here they are, the 2009 Reynolds Family Portraits.

Snow pictures...better late than never

A couple of weeks ago we got one of the best snows we have had here. We got out and had some fun in it, and got some pictures, but hadn't had a chance to get them on here. Since things are starting to warm up and we may not get another snow that good, we thought we'd go ahead and share them with you. Better late than never...

Happy Heather

Weekend before last, our good friends Scott and Lamar came up for the weekend to do some work in the gym. While they were here, Lamar (who has owned and ridden horses all his life), got Rolex out in the round pen and started working with him. His patience and gentleness paid off, and before the sun set that afternoon, he had Heather atop Rolex in the round pen.

Now this may not seem like a big deal to you, but for us it was monumental. We had been wanting for Heather to be able to ride Rolex ever since we got him, but we had not really had all the ingredients in place at the same time - the time and opportunity combined with someone who was able to make that connection with Rolex and Heather.

Being a Thoroughbred, Rolex is rather...shall we say high-spirited, and he's also not really an "anybody saddle and ride" kind of horse either. But not only are we able to continue working with Rolex now at this very elementary level, but we have now also made a great connection with our new friends who are the equestrian ministry folks at a local camp ministry. She is willing to teach and work with Heather, and work with Rolex, and we expect that Heather will now get to come full circle with becoming a full-fledged horsewoman. Truly a "Happy Heather"...

Happy Snow Day!

Well, it wasn't exactly a blizzard... more like a 1/2 inch dusting. But we still enjoyed waking up to see snow this norning. It also wasn't enough to get the kids out of school or me out of work, but we did sleep in a little and Rachael made pancakes for breakfast(whole wheat so I could have one), so it was kinda like a Saturday. Hope your day is going well! Blessings!