I’m also thinking about writing a book on my own. A wise man once said “The only book not bought is the book not written”. I’m going to see if I can prove him wrong.
As if that is not enough, I had a GREAT idea for another book that I could co-author with a certain preacher friend of mine (who I won’t name) but SHE (oops!) didn’t seem too excited about this idea. When I have some time, I might pitch the idea again. I think its brilliant (and no, I’m not talking about a book about me... although that would be brilliant too). This idea is more along the lines of a Bible Study type book. But that’s all I’m willing to say about it right now.
As for the post for today...
I think I’ve talked about this on here before, but I want to talk a little more about it. What I’m talking about is the “church” that protests at funerals (mainly military funerals). As you know, I’m not a huge fan of protests... but that’s not the reason I am against this. I can’t help but think of the words in Ecclesiastes 3:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
a time to hold ‘em,
a time to fold ‘em.
a time to walk away,
a time to run.
(I think that’s from the Country Music Version of the bible).
Anyway, my point is that a funeral isn’t the time to protest. My other point is that there is a time to hate. I’m not one who usually “hates”. I dislike... but usually don’t hate. I do, however, think it’s healthy to have something you really hate. For me it’s Coastal Carolina University. Other than that, I don’t really hate. Now, I have something else to add to the list. People who do what these people do are bad enough... but the fact that these people do this under the cover of being a “church” disgusts me. First off, I question if this really is a church. It’s made up of about 50 or so people, almost all related to the “pastor”. Just because you call yourself a church, doesn’t make you a church. This group sounds more like a cult than a church. Of course, this cult is protesting because they feel the US is being too nice to gay people (or something like that). I’ll be honest, Homosexuality is a topic that I struggle with. I don’t really agree with it, but I’m not ready to condemn homosexuals. We had a real preacher talk to our Sunday school class about a year or two ago on the subject. I was hoping she would tell me how to feel but all she did was ride the fence. I get that there are strong feelings on both sides. I’m not going to debate the issue of homosexuality. What I AM going to debate is the issue of when and where people should protest.
If this cult protested day and night outside of the Capital Building or the White House, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. If they protested states that allowed same-sex marriages, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But to protest at a funeral just ain’t right. And the signs that these people carry! Don’t even get me started on that. A father of a fallen solider sued this cult for protesting his son’s funeral. He won. Then the ruling got reversed because the court said the protest by the church (their words, not mine) was protected under the First Amendment. As you know, the First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. Now, anyone over the age of 18 with even half a brain knows that “freedom of speech” doesn’t give you the freedom to say any & everything you want. A prime example is you cannot yell “fire” in a theater (unless, I’m assuming, the theater really is on fire). Freedom, you see, is a tricky thing. With it, I believe, comes responsibility. This cult has proven to me that they are not responsible with the freedom they have been given. What they do is pick on people who are hurting. This cult sits on their high horse and kicks people while they’re down. The fact that they call themselves a church is even worse. Why? Because there are people in this world who are looking for a reason to not believe in Christ. Because this cult goes around calling itself a church, there are people who are going to say “See! That is what Christianity is all about! I knew it! Don’t talk to me about Jesus when these people supposedly follow him”. That might be what I hate the most about this situation. My first thought in all of this has always been to shoot one of the protesters. Note, I didn’t say kill them... just shoot them in the arm or the leg. I go back to something Coach Hatley once told me about coaching (something, he said, Coach Port had passed on to him) and that is you don’t have to punish everyone. Just pick someone and make an example out of them. I think this advice would work in this situation. You don’t have to shoot all of them.... just make an example of one of them. That, at least, is my first thought. So I did what I should do for everything... I turned to the Bible to see what it suggested. As you know, I am a big fan of Paul (the one in the Bible and the one in the Beatles... but here I’m talking about the one in the Bible). There is a verse in Romans that I is on my mind a lot (Romans 12:9). Had I just stuck with that verse, I think I would have been ok. But I kept reading through Romans 21. Here is what it says (with my comments):
9Love must be sincere (no problem). Hate what is evil (CHECK! Boo Coastal Carolina! And someone grab my gun... we’re going protester hunting); cling to what is good (Check! Go Eagles!). 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love (ok). Honor one another above yourselves (What? Has this verse always been in here?). 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord (sounds good to me). 12Be joyful in hope (Go Cubs!), patient in affliction (I’m a Cubs fan), faithful in prayer (No problem). 13Share with God's people who are in need (I give). Practice hospitality (ok).
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Hmm... this isn’t really going where I want it to). 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn (so at least this cult is wrong too). 16Live in harmony with one another (this isn’t really me). Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited (Haha... wait, he wasn’t kidding?).
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil (crap). Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody (uh oh). 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge (Aw man!), my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." (Now THIS I like) 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
So it doesn’t look like my “just shoot one of them” idea is going to work. However, this is a perfect time to again bring up my (not so new anymore) favorite song, Pray for You. I’m sure some of you still haven’t bought this song (like I told you to do), so I will quote some of the lyrics (to give you an idea of what it’s like):
I haven’t been to church since I don’t remember when
Things were goin’ great ‘til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do
He said you can’t go hatin’ others who have done wrong to you
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them
I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know wherever you are honey, I pray for you
I had something else I wanted to talk about today, but I don’t remember what it is now. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
Chase Towne Update (all from his dad or mom):
Since the last time we spoke, there have been a few updates on Chase. Here they are now (in order, I think):
From 3/30: Chase is asleep in his bed at home tonight. He will report to the "mountain house" in the morning. The actual surgery is scheduled for 10:50am. After surgery he is scheduled to spend the night in the PICU and then hopefully a few days with his angels in 7B. After dinner tonight unprovoked Olivia announced "I gonna give Chase lots of hugs cause I love him and gonna miss him while he is at the hospital." Please say a prayer for a loving sister, skillful surgeons and God's speed and protection for our miracle baby! Thank You, all of your thoughts, cards, phone calls, and prayers are felt and appreciated!
From 3/31: Chase is safe and resting in the PICU. It was an extremely long day. Of course things were running late at the hospital. The anesthesiologist did not take Chase back until 12:30pm. It was almost 2pm before the actual surgery started and it took the full 4 hours. By the time he was settled in the PICU so we could see him it was 8pm. When we saw him he grinned a big grin. Poor guy has 5 tubes and at least 10 wires coming out of him and has to feel bad but found the courage to grin for his mom and dad. What a fighter! It was a brief visit (20MIN) and then downstairs for a "quick" hour long MRI. Then back up too the PICU and hopefully to finally rest after a long day. Chase handled everything in stride, the surgery went off without complications. The surgeon was able to cut out all of the tumor on the bottom side and most of it on the top side. The top side was near a large vein and had a lot of scar tissue from the chemo. So he was not able to remove all of it b/c of this large vein. They will be able to tell more after the pathology of the tumor is done. God willing all that is left in Chase's skull is DEAD scar tissue. We have been unbelievable blessed so far on this journey so for now we will celebrate that Chase is safe and resting. Hopefully in a few weeks we can all celebrate that there is no "live" growth in Chase's skull. Please keep Chase in your prayers that recovery is speedy and painless as possible. Thank you for the UNBELIEVABLE support of our Miracle Baby.
From 4/1: Post-op stinks! Chase slept for about 5 hours last night. He woke up at 4:30am (Thursday morning) and has been miserable ever since. They have tried more and less of all of his pain meds but nothing seems to take the edge off. About an hour ago (10:30pm Thursday night) they started a new pain med and he is finally sleeping. Hopefully this will be the right "mixture" to get him some relief. Chase got all 5 of the surgical tubes and drains removed today. They think some of his discomfort is some of the drainage fluid may be spinal fluid which would cause headaches. Not to mention he is cut from just above his left ear all the way over to just above the right ear and had a piece of his skull removed, and then reattached. About the only smiles and grins today were when Christine got here this morning and when we let Chase and Olivia "talk" on the phone. Chase got pretty excited for a few minutes when he heard Olivia's voice. As I reread the above it sounds pretty negative, today was definitely a tough day, However when I look to the left and to the right of Chase's bed here in the PICU and see the other patients, We are still blessed. Not to mention Chase is handling all of this pain much, much better than his dad would. Christine and I both would take all of his pain if we could, but I am man enough to admit Chase handles it better than I ever would. Please pray for some relief in pain for our Miracle Baby!
From 4/2: Hey everyone, Christine here. Chase is doing a little better today. He is resting in his own room with no alarms and no whistles!! Thank you, Thank you. They will only check him hourly now, so maybe he will catch up on some much needed rest. He is still on a Dilaudid pump, but hopefully they can wean him down tomorrow. Once he was in his room, he took a long nap and then he wanted to head to the atrium. That was a sign that either he was feeling better or feeling some good pain medicine. He even ate a "Dot Dog" for lunch. (see pic) He was so exhausted that he fell asleep sitting straight up eating his chicken and broccoli. Olivia came to see him this afternoon, but he was a little crabby from his nap. When he would cry Olivia would say " it's ok, Chase, sister's here now." Oh, it makes me want to cry! So sweet. I just want to wish everyone a Happy Easter in case I do not make another comment this weekend. Somehow EVERYTIME I try to make one, the computer malfunctions and it gets erased before I have posted it. I have built up a little anxiety posting comments because it always gets erased and whooooo that makes me very angry! I say computer, Chuck says I'm the problem. Ha Ha. Please be safe and enjoy the weekend. We feel especially grateful this weekend and thank God everyday for all of you. Happy Easter! Love, Christine
From 4/3: Hey, Christine here. Happy Easter to us!! Hopefully the Easter Bunny will be visiting us at HOME! Doctors said he was doing so well, that we could be discharged. Of course it didn't go as smoothly as we wanted. We were actually leaving the hospital and Chase was telling all the nurses’ good-bye and blahhhh...he threw up all over the counter and floor. Ugh! Back in our room we went. Dr. came and felt comfortable enough to let him go, because he wasn't showing any neurological abnormalities. He just said to watch him very closely. He did not move very much when he got home. Hopefully, with a full nights rest, he will be more energetic tomorrow. Olivia was soooooo excited when she found out the Easter Bunny might visit tonight. Of course we will remind her tomorrow what the real meaning of Easter is. Thank you for all the prayers. We are sooo blessed to be home again and all together under the same roof on such a special day. May God Bless all of you. Happy Easter Love, Christine
From 4/5: As they say a picture is worth a 1000 words. The latest pic reflects the last 48hrs at home. The scar on his head goes from just above his left ear in a rainbow shape over to just above his right ear. Chase has not left one of our laps for very long since he has been home. He did help Olivia find Easter eggs yesterday morning, briefly. It is hard to tell what he wants or needs as he can not tell you. The one thing he does communicate is he does not feel well. Olivia continues to take good care of him. She even pushed a stool over to his crib and crawled into bed with him this morning, in a effort to console him when he was crying. It is tough to see him feeling miserable, but I guess we will enjoy the "holding" time for now. Hopefully in a few days he will be running with his sister. Please pray for some relief for our Miracle baby as he battles thru this recovery! Thank you!
From 4/7: Hey everyone, Christine here. Today is a new day. Chase is still very tired, but again the pic speaks 1000 words. He was out playing with the hose which he loves!!! We also got the results from pathology and from what Chuck and I can understand, the tumor they removed from Chase's head was classified as a ganglioneuroma. We are pretty sure that if the chemo works correctly, the neuroblastoma turns into ganlioneuromas which are more benign tumors. The oncologist was very pleased with the results, but said we will know more after his scans next Thurs and Fri. I hope my understanding of all this is correct, because I am ecstatic about the news. I don't want to jump the gun until after scans, but I am one happy Mommy today!!!! Thank you everyone for praying for my baby through all of this. Love you all, Christine
From 4/11: Chase has enjoyed a nice weekend at home. He has just about recuperated from surgery. He still has trouble sleeping thru the night and his stamina is still not 100%. Other than that he is a 20 month old baby boy trying to grow up and fight cancer. We have been praying for strength and we got it. He goes hard following his sister everywhere, including the top of every slide and swing. Chase just had his skull opened up and still has stitches in his head. So Christine and I have been doing a lot running, swinging and sliding, keeping up with both of them to ensure he does not bump his head. This is not a complaint, nothing makes us prouder to see his smile as he comes down the slide. We hace enjoyed the down time, but it is back to business next week. Monday, Chase goes to clinic for a check-up, then he will have scans on Thursday and Friday. Please pray for our Miracle Baby as he starts a busy week of appointments and scans.
From 4/13: Just a quick note to let you know Chase is doing fine. Clinic yesterday went well. Blood counts looked good and incision looked good. Chase will have a full day of scans on Thursday and Friday. Then on Saturday Chase and Olivia are supposed to be in their Uncle and Aunt's (to be) wedding. It will be Monday or Tuesday next week before we get the results from scans. It will be an anxious and busy weekend. Please say a prayer for patience and safety for Chase as he undergoes another round of testing. Thank you for the continued support of our Miracle Baby!
Cleveland Cavs Update: Just great.
Chicago Cubs Update: The Cubs are 4-4 after beating the Brewers today.
Pittsburgh Steelers Update: Big Ben... Oh Big Ben... (as I shake my head).
James Island Trojans Update: The Trojans are 14-4 (3-1) heading into their game tonight vs. Stratford.
Don’t forget to checkout my spin-off blog I thought you might like this. It has funny emails that have been forwarded to me by friends.
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