Final Diagnosis

Apparently a test coming back negative is actually a positive. Huh? That is what I said when my mother called me today. Apparently when you do a myriad of tests only one coming back negative is actually a positive in the diagnosis. The specialist at the University Hospital in Utah called my mother today and walked through the test results and has diagnosed her with Churg-Straas. She has stopped taking the chemo drugs and the cough returned so was discouraged but the doctor never wanted her to stop taking it. So they have put her back on the medication and he has set a new appointment for her in November. And these follow-up tests will be covered by insurance.
Thank you all for praying for my mother now I ask you to continue to pray that the medication will heal her body. That she will continue to trust in the Lord for her daily strength and she will continue to have joy in the midst of this trial. It is a huge praise to have an accurate diagnosis and a course of action to try and heal her body.

When it rains is pours

I wish I had great news to report but sadly I do not. All of the tests have come back negative which translates to a lot of time with no results. The doctors still do not have an answer to my mother's now over 2 year old cough. On top of it the insurance company is denying other testing that the doctors are requesting to attempt to diagnose it. Add to this that things at my mother's job as a nurse are not going well at the moment either. And then add to this that if my dad's area does not meet its goals in 60 days he will loose his job. Pray for James 1:2-5 for my mom and dad. Also pray that the Lord will give them both comfort and peace in the knowledge that our Lord loves and cares for each of His children and will sustain them in any and all situations.

Success and Patience.

First of all, thank you all who prayed for my mother. I just spoke with her on the phone and the procedure went well. The doctors were able to complete the tests and take several biopsy's of her lung tissue. My mom is tired but glad to have it done. Now patience is needed once again as we all anxiously await the test results (which they should have by next week some time). They are on the way to the airport to catch a flight home so she can sleep in her own bed tonight. Pray they can make the 5 pm flight home so she can rest. Please continue to pray with me that a resolution and an end to the pain and discomfort would come quickly. For a son, it is hard to see you mother in pain and not be able to fix it. But we have a Great Physician and Comforter. Thanks again for your prayers and concern for my family.

It's a waiting game

My mom and dad arrived back home from Utah late Monday night. The doctor took a lot of tests. The other doctors have her on so many medications it is hard to get some accurate readings so he is taking her off the medications over the next three weeks and then they will be going back down to Utah for some more tests. So for now it is hurry up and wait.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragements. My mom says she can tell so many people are praying for her and is so grateful.

Surprisingly Chicago

And it was just that. I wish I could have described the look on Frank's face when he arrived home to find me, Gary, the best friend, sitting at the kitchen table. Words can't describe it so I have inserted the picture below -- worth a 1000 words. He was so surprised he could barely put two words together. Frank said that he didn't recognize me at first with my longer hair and tan. He said his first thought was "who is this Dominican Baseball player my wife is dating." :) LOL (and I did) After about 10 minutes by himself Frank was able to compose himself and return for some fun. We stayed up until about midnight catching up on everything from new friends, old friends, jobs, ministry, family and the like. Best friends are great for catching up on life.
Day two was the best day for me. We cleared out the guest/office/cat/storage/junk room. While Fonzell went through the boxes and sorted out the junk from treasure, Frank and I began to tape. After the tape was done and the tarp was down the paint came out. It took us about 3 hours to do the room. . . actually about 4 but that included a reward run to Dairy Queen for blizzards 2 1/2 hours in. Hey, painting is hard work and it always helps to have a yummy promise of a goal met. It was so great to be apart of the new baby preparations. It was a high honour for a soon to be "Uncle Gary" to contribute.
Friday and Saturday we spent tooling around Chicago and Geneva. There was a giant kidney bean in Millennium Park, great views from the skyline boat tour. Dinner at the Italian restaurant was great. Geneva was a cool town also. The working windmill was very impressive. But was most impressed me was just being able to hang out with my best friend and his wife. Saturday night completed the days of surprise with a final surprise Birthday party for Frank back at the house. I cooked up a story about seeing his place of work and being able to get pictures on his truck (included, don't I look truck driverish???). After everyone yeld surprise Frank turned to me and without hesitations stated emphatically "You sit on a throne of lies." It was at that point I laughed so hard I snorted.........yeah I snorted and right in front of 20 people I never met. I am great at first impressions.
All-in-all it was a blessed time with great friends and a refreshing relaxing 5 days. I was just sad to see it end. The time was priceless and God was good to allow it to be a time of refreshment and energizing for all of us.

Friendship to me!!! A male perspecitve.

1. When you are sad -- I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on mountain dew.
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you
3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.
4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every chance I get.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick -- Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever the heck you have.
8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy butt.
9. This is my oath.....I pledge it to the end. "Why?" you may ask; 'because you are my friend.'

Friendship is like peeeing your pants,

everyone can see it,

But only you can feel the true warmth.

Heading to Utah

I spoke with my mother on the phone today. Though she sounds as if she has been smoking 3 packs a day for 20 year she is in great spirits and actually is feeling better. And by better she means not as horrible as the day before. When you have been sick as long as she has the term "better" is very very relative.
On with the update. My dad will be driving my mom down to the University of Utah on Sunday the 10Th. They are currently not sure what to expect or how long she will be down there. They do know they have and appointment with the specialist at 8 am on Monday morning. I am not sure how long the testing takes to get results but as soon as I know you will know.
Please pray for comfort as they travel and that the skill and wisdom of the doctors would prove profitable. Not knowing for sure if the doctors know what she has has been frustrating and somewhat discouraging. Pray also for a continued heart of hope and joy in His sovereign plan being accomplished and my mother and father go through this trial. Hebrews 12:2

Undeservedly Blessed

I am really taken back by the amount of care and concern is being focused my way concerning my mother and her Churg-Strauss Syndrome. I have people whom I barely know asking after her and letting me know they are praying. Don't get me wrong, this is a great thing, just a bit overwhelming and, I don't know why, but unexpected. I say "I don't know why" because Placerita Baptist Church and those who attend are an amazingly loving and caring family. I have seen them be this way towards so many others. It has just taken me by surprise that the person is now me. I am so thankful to the Lord because of it and humbled by the loving God I serve ministering to me and my family through his church. Enough about me, lets get to the update on my mother.
For the past 3 to 4 years she has had a cough that comes and goes. The doctors have prescribed various medication and they have all been focused on the symptoms, which they have relieved temporarily. Ever since she returned from England in January the cough has come back and with a vengance. Many of you may remember that early last year she was hospitalized becuase of her cough and her current situation has her close to that state again. Even last spring they doctors missed the diagnosis.
So what is the diagnosis? Well after a lung biopsy and some blood tests they feel she has Churg-Strauss syndrom. Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is an extremely rare disease that results from inflammation causing injury to organ systems. The areas most commonly affected by CSS include the nerves, sinuses, skin, joints, lungs, intestinal tract, heart, and kidneys. Almost all people with CSS have increased numbers of “allergic type” blood cells called eosinophils. Eosinophils can be found in elevated numbers in the blood and often in tissue biopsies in people with CSS. Some of the most serious manifestations of CSS are related to the presence of vasculitis. What is vasculitis? Vasculitis is a general term that refers to inflammation of the blood vessels. When blood vessels become inflamed, they can only react in limited ways. When inflamed, the blood vessel may become weakened and stretch in size which can lead to aneurysms, or become so thin that they rupture resulting in bleeding into the tissue. Vasculitis can also cause blood vessel narrowing to the point of closing off the vessel entirely. This can cause organs to become damaged from loss of oxygen and nutrients that were being supplied by the blood. And for my mother the organ of choice is her lungs.
The current therapy of high doses of steriods and now chemo drugs has not been working. God in His providence has my mother working for a medical group that has connections with specialist at the Univeristy of Utah. They are currenlty working on sending her down there to get the help and proper medical attention. At this point my mom is in good spirits and keeping a God center focus. She sees the blessing and hand of God in having her work for doctors with the connections they have as well providing so much help from her own local church body.
Even so this disease is taking its toll on my mother. She is tired and weak and is looking at what things to cut from her schedule. Now for those of you who don't know, my mother is just like me in the number of events and ministries involved in. We both just love to serve the Lord in His local church and it is not easy for us when we realize something has to go.
I would covet your prayers for a continued God centered perspective during this time, for my mothers health to improve and that when she does meet with the doctors they will come up with a successfull treatment.
Again, thank you for your inquiries.................and don't stop asking! I wouldn't trade your love and care for a second.

Fire, Fire, Shirts on Fire

Well there is nothing like one of the people in your camp group catching on fire to remind you of just how fragile this human body we have is. Yes, you read correctly. A large group of us headed up to the Sequoia National Forest last weekend and had a total blast..............well except the part that one of us caught on fire. I will spare you all the details, but suffice it to say it involved the desire to burn ants, the desire to catch it on film, and a Styrofoam cup of white fuel. Yup, that is a recipe for disaster if I ever read one.

We all did learn that our God truly is good in the midst of trails. The person who got hot burning fuel dumped on him was wearing a fire retardant shirt. If the cup of fire was thrown in the other direction it would have caught 6 women on fire instead of one person. The burns ended up being 2nd degree and isolated to small area on the chest and stomach. The recovery, though painful, will only be very uncomfortable for a few days. It also encouraged all of us to heed that little voice in our head that says......"what your about to do is completely stupid so you shouldn't do it". And I am pointing the finger at myself also, I haven't set someone on fire yet, but done my fair share of stupid stupid things.

Humble Pie

It has become my belief in recent months that the Lord created the game of golf to keep all men humble. And I do mean "all men". If you are reading this and a golfer you know exactly what I mean.
This past Monday I was able to be apart of The Master's College annual Robinson Ranch Golf Tournament Fundraiser (I know that is a lot of words, but it describes what it was). For me personally this is one of the funnest parts of my job. I get hang out with students from 6 am to 9:30 am as we set up for the tournament. It seems so crazy as we stuff bags with books and prizes, load golf carts, arrange tables, direct golfers, check people in, give directions, and basic meet and greet sorts of things. I am amazed at how such craziness is so well organized. Once all the prep work is done most of the students head out to different holes to give away prizes or watch to see if someone gets that illusive hole-in-one.
I got the pleasure of sitting on a hole that gave away some sweet Callaway golf balls. They had the TMC logo on them and were the new tour series. Plus if someone got a hole-in-one they would have gotten $25,000. So as far as holes to sit on I got one of the cool ones. People love getting gifts, well at least I know I do, so everyone is super nice no matter how bad the golf game is going. This is the second year I have been partnered up with Lindsay Talbot. She is a little blond ray of sunshine from Alabama and we have a blast chatting with all the players. This year it was especially hot and there was not shade in sight. We gave a quick call to our support team and 20 minutes later a golf cart came around the corner carrying a huge patio umbrella. Kent Haney came to save the day. It was a site to see. We had this large table staked with golf balls, two folding chair, this massive umbrella and Lindsay and I sitting under it sipping Snapple and listening to Casting Crowns.
Okay, you are probably wondering about the humility part. I'm getting to that............I need to set the scene. Now, the hole marker stated that it was 135 yards to the pin. But in golf that doesn't always mean it is exactly 135 yards. If it is up hill for instance it plays more like 139 to 142 and then there is wind and temperature to be considered. So as part of my job I was to inform the players of this tactical information. After about 3 or 4 sets of golfers coming through you start to sound like a real expert and that you actually know what you are doing.
Here is where humiliation comes into play.
A particular set of golfers arrived at the hole and we did our ceremonial chit chat and then I gave my tactical briefing. The first couple of players hit really well and since the play from the best placed ball, the last guy offered me to hit. I quickly informed him I had only been playing for about 3 months and we not very good. He kept insisting and stating over and over that he knew I really wanted to hit. So I finally gave in. Now, it is bad enough being a beginner and not hitting well but add to it the pressure of 4 very good golfers watching you. Now, I only really play with a 7 iron. I don't know why I just seem to be able to hit most balls well with a 7 iron. Well as my luck would have it, I was given a 6 iron which only added to the awkwardness of the situation.
So there I am up at the tee with a 6 iron in my hand and a crowd of semi-pro golfers watching me along with the little ray of sunshine, Lindsay. So I addressed the ball, pulled back, swung with all my might................and took a 3 inch divot out of the green. Humiliation abounded as they all broke out into laughter. Being undaunted by this early defeat I again addressed the ball, pulled back, swung with all my might...........and made contact. You would have thought this was the positive point in the story. Guess again. The ball bounced off the lower tee and sailed far to the right and into the pond. Laughter again broke out and as I turned most humiliated I locked eyes with Lukas the photographer who had happened onto the hole as I was up to swing. Though I don't have the photo's yet, he assured me he has the entire episode of humiliation on film.

Venice Beach

You know those people who live in a place where are the tourist go and never see the sights themself. Well, when it comes to Venice Beach......that was me. I have lived here in Sun Southern California for 11 years and never set foot on Venice Beach. I had heard it was a place where there were a bunch of weird people, cheap t-shirts and sun glass, and tattoo parlors. Though an interesting sight to see I thought not a place I cared to go.

That is until my best friend and his wife came into town last week. They were both appalled, being ex-So Californians, that I had never been to Venice Beach. So Friday I took the day off work and we headed to Venice Beach. I was promised a show of strange individuals, cheap souvenirs, and funnell cake. I must admit I was most excited about the possibility of Funnel Cake.

Well, we saw some sights and I soaked up the culture. I resisted the temptations of cheap souvenirs and sun glasses but was sucked in by the tattoo's and after very little prompting took my place among the ink branded. My mom would be so proud.

I love food!!!

Most people who know me know that I have an enormous love for food. Any food. Most food. All kinds of foods. I love fine restaurants with a items on the menu that you couldn't pronounce even if you had "hooked on phonics". I love going to Jimmy Dean's and getting fried zucchini, I love going to foster freeze and getting two corn dogs and a chocolate chip shake. I love it all......well except liver. (Parents tried to pull a fast one on me when I was 8 and get me to eat it, I wasn't about to eat it then I am refuse to eat it now.) Although, I do enjoy a good goose liver pattie.......I know, seems hypocritical. And except for green peppers. I call them the selfish vegetable cause no matter what you put them in when you have finished all you can taste is the green pepper.
And it is this love for food that has grown my love for cooking food. At first it was just a fun thing to do and to be perfectly honest I think I loved the attention it got me. Come on, who doesn't make a big deal about a single guy who can cook well...it is rather rare. But for whatever reason I started down the cooking path the end result is that I love it. I spend my free time reading cook books (Jamie Oliver is my new favorite) I find myself in conversations with people about different ways to cook certain meats, how to spice things just right. I love planning the meal so everything comes out at the correct time and hot and ready to eat.
God gifted me with a sensitive palate. And like the mouse in Ratatouille I love paring flavours together. Over Christmas break God really put on my heart to be more hospitable and have people over. So now I have once again started up my hospitality night and it is a great adventure. When I present the menu for the evening to my guests I always end with this disclaimer "I have not cooked this dish before so the meal could end up being pizza or taquitos from the freezer" But therein lay the adventure.
I must relate one near disaster a few weeks ago. I had left work an hour early so I didn't have to rush like usual. I had all the side dishes done and ready for the oven, the appetizers were in the fridge waiting for company to arrive. My last step was to pull out the pork loin, roll it in the herbs and stick it in the oven. So I opened the fridge to grab the pork and realized that the pork was in the freezer still. So with 30 min before the guest arrived I was at the grocery store buying a second pork roast. Yeah that was fun. Fortunately the guests were running 15 min behind that night so they would have been none the wiser had I not had to relate the humour of it all to everyone.
Anyway, all this to say that in the blogs to come I will be sure to relate many of the adventures in cooking of this amateur Gourmet.

The Mind of God

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but recently I have found that a picture simply elicits questions which require more words. What am I talking about you ask? Check out this picture:

See what I mean.............everyone is now asking the question in their heads "How did that happen?", "Where did it happen?", "Are you okay?". I could go on. The one question that keeps popping into my head is "What is God's purpose in this?". I will come back to this question once I've finished answering all of yours.

So what happened? Well, I was driving back from a Financial Aid Directors meeting at Westmont college. I had just called my boss and explained how bad the road conditions were and that I was going to miss the mandatory staff meeting because I was going to drive slow and be cautious. Literally two minutes later I am changing lanes on the 101 freeway to get out of the spray of an 18 wheeler when my truck went into a spin. I did two or three 360's. I then spun into the guard rail. The impact sent my truck into a reverse 360 spin which sent me towards the side of the road and then a cliff down the mountain to the ocean. God gave me back control of the truck in the middle of the freeway. I then pulled into the median and got out to check for damage. Another car pulled off in front of me to check on me. He said it was amazing driving and was shocked no one got hurt or other cars involved. My response was "Praise the Lord."

As I checked the damage my mind quickly processed that where I was in the center of the freeway that I was now a target for the next person that hydroplaned. So I jumped back in the truck and got off the freeway at the next exit. This is where the excitement of the story end. The rest is just the details of CHP conversation and insurance company claim reps. Though let me take a moment to give praise to Ameriprise insurance company through Costco. I have been treated so well, so quickly and so professionally. They truly understand customer service.

Now back to MY question. "What is God's purpose in this?" At first glance it sounds like a very spiritual question but I was convicted that I wanted to see a purpose greater than the one that already occurred. I just spun out of control going 50 MPH on the freeway and bounced off a guard rail. I was not satisfied with the fact that God had already demonstrated His power and protection in my life and the lives of others. God isolated me on the freeway when I started to spin and no other cars were involved. The front of my truck hit the medial not the side or back which would have been more dangerous since the truck could have flipped. And I was not injured in anyway. Though God may have more planed in this adventure I need to be content with His purpose being more than I will ever know and understand. I need reflect on His provision and control in my life and pray that if he has more to reveal about Himself or teach me through this that my heart be open and sensitive to His instruction. To God be the glory.

McDonald's Hot Apple Pie

I must confess that I was deeply saddened years ago when McDonald's stopped deep fat frying their apple pies and introduced the baked ones. There was something about that crispy fried bubble exterior and the hot luscious apple pie filling center. It forever ruined my McDonald's dining experience. Until, that is, I began traveling overseas and to my delight I found that the McDonald's in every other country but the good ole US of A still deep fried the bad boys.



So while I was in Cambridge, England doing some antique book shopping I spotted out of the corner of my eye that American icon..........yes.......the golden arches. My heart leapt within me and I knew that soon and very soon I would have that wonderful Hot Deep Fried Apple Pie goodness. The strange thing was that I felt the most American in the middle of England when I was eating my deep friend apple pie.