UPDATE: car vs. garage incident ... SBC scholarship recipient ... 2-years cancer-free

Nearly four months have passed since this blog was last updated - Jan. 13, when Jim had cellulitis in his right leg. On May 8, while re-reading that day's post about endurance from Hebrews
12: 1-2,  I was reminded of what we should remember ALL THE TIME. Guess that's why we continue to be works in progress.

MINISTRY  We have continued to minister to folks from the Wilton Baptist Church. ... Ron and Carla, Archie, Harry, Don and Anna.  Harry Martin, who was near death last summer, but wasn't ready to leave this world, was given an extension until God took him home on April 20. (We last saw him on the morning of April 19.) By that time, he was ready.

Plus I have stayed in contact with Shirley and Judy, meeting for lunch and a movie once a month.

We continue to serve the very small congregation at Lincoln Street Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, preaching on Sundays. Our friends Ron, Carla and Shirley from WBC surprised us by visiting a couple times. Fourteen attended for Easter - 5 members, 7 visitors and us - breakfast and worship.

We continue to be much involved with our family. Our grandson, Austin enjoyed Awana / Cubbies at Calvary Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids, on Wednesday nights.  This fall he will start kindergarten.

PITFALLS OF DIARRHEA  March 11, Jim started dealing (or not) with diarrhea. It came and went. A visit to the doctor showed it to be a bacterial infection, so he was put on two different kinds of antibiotics plus Imodium to take when necessary. It took a week before there was improvement and he felt like eating. The problem redeveloped April 4 and he was back on antibiotics and Imodium by April 6. The second round of antibiotics took care of things in short order and the problem has not returned.

R & R   We enjoyed a little R & R for two days in LaGrange, Mo., leaving right after Easter services and returning home April 18. We also visited Jim's longtime friends from Hannibal-LaGrange College days, Billie and Wilma Knight, who recently moved from their home in Pleasant Hill, Ill., to the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy.

CAR VS GARAGE   On April 21, we had a major incident with our garage. Jim, who often does what he thinks needs to be done, regardless of whether it is wise to actually do so, got groceries and mowed both the front and back yards. He was definitely tired. Then he picked me up from work at 6 p.m. On the way home, he noticed his right leg fell asleep; he couldn't push the pedal to go faster, but then it seemed okay. And he didn't have any problems stopping the car, but when he got to our driveway, he could not stop the car - and so drove it into the closed garage door. No one was hurt, but we needed a new garage door and our mini van repaired - back window was out, front windshield was badly cracked, hood was dented and had multiple scratches, fender was dented, antenna was broken off.

We needed a car to drive, and fortunately, we did not have to rent one. I put out an SOS on Facebook and through the Immanuel email, and Marie and Bob Kenward offered us the use of an extra car they had. The car was delivered around 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, and at the same time, Bob said he could fix the lawn mower that needed repair after being hit by the car.

As time went on, our insurance company decided our mini van was totaled because to repair it (over $5,000) was more than 70 percent of the value of the vehicle - we elected to buy it back and have it repaired for a couple thousand less. So after paying the deductible for both car and homeowners insurance and buying back the vehicle, we settled up with the insurance company.

We are hopeful we will have the car back by Friday afternoon, May 12. Since mid-week we have been told it was nearly done - they were working on detailing. We are to have the garage door trim replaced Sunday, assuming the weather is cooperative, and the door will be replaced as soon as the ordered piece comes in and can be scheduled.

DOCTOR'S VISITS   On April 25, we visited our chiropractor, Dr. Jeff Mitchell, who suggested Jim visit his primary doctor. There was some thought the leg weakness could be the result of a stroke. On April 28, we visited Dr. Todd Butler. Preliminaries showed Jim's BP was rather low, ranging from 78/46 to 90/50 after three tries. Various tests showed he had right leg and foot weakness, but elsewhere he was fine.

NO STROKE   An MRI of Jim's brain was scheduled for May 1 - results showed he did not have a stroke.

NO PINCHED NERVE   Then an EMG was scheduled for May 9 at the Neurodiagnostic Lab on sixth floor of St. Luke's. He had this same test in 2011, when he was diagnosed with a stroke. The test/procedure involved using needles. The test did not give an indication of what was wrong, only what wasn't - all peripheral nerves looked healthy. The weakness was intermittent vs. constant, and Dr. Smith, who evaluated results, did not think it was a pinched nerve. He suggested seeing a neurologist, and if Jim was going to drive, to use his left leg when braking.

NEXT STOP NEUROLOGIST   On Thursday, May 11, we visited our friendly neighborhood M.D., Dr. Todd Butler (whose 50th birthday was this day). Jim's BP were more on the normal side - 98/56. Dr. Butler also suggested seeing a neurologist. In years past, Jim has seen Dr. Krain, but that wasn't feasible this time around. We have an 8 a.m. appointment scheduled for July 14 with Dr. Thomas Rogers.

We celebrated our 26th anniversary on April 27. Lilacs were in bloom. Friends George and Jani Ford joined us for lunch in the Amanas.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT   On May 4, Jim learned his name was on the second round list of $1,000 scholarship recipients to the SBC Pastor's Conference and Annual Meeting June 11-14 in Phoenix. Applications were sent out via the SBC Voices website. Whoever submitted applications first were given the opportunity to attend. Jim is among 60 smaller church pastors to be given this opportunity, thanks to a plan put in play by Iowa pastor Dave Miller, 2017 Pastor's Conference president, and his group and the generosity of larger churches, individuals and businesses who donated funds.  

2 YEARS CANCER-FREE   Friday, May 12, marks Jim's second anniversary of being cancer-free. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on Feb. 19, 2015.

a new year begins

Today is nearing the end of the first day of the New Year of 2017.

Health-wise it has been relatively quiet.

In mid-October he decided to reduce the amount of Midodrine he is taking. Midodrine helps to increase his blood pressure. He has been taking 3 pills three times a day. Now he takes 2 pills three times a day. He has had infrequent episodes of shortness of breath, but he does not relate it to the decreased amount of Midodrine. But I always take note of it when he mentions it or I notice he is breathing harder.

Jim had two doctors visits in December.
... lab work followed by a physical at Dr. Butler's office was Dec. 13 - results were good. His weight, fully clothed, added a pound, so he checked in at 139.6 pounds. His blood pressure continues to waiver - 84/60. Thyroid remains normal. Labs showed no abnormalities.

... a CT scan of his chest was ordered by his cancer surgeon, Dr. Parekh. It was done Dec. 13 at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids.

... a visit to Dr. Brooks, his rheumatologist, was Dec. 21. He finished his 5-year plan on Reclast, a once-a-year IV regimen for osteoporosis, last year, so this year the doctor decided two shots annually would be the plan. Insurance approved it, and Jim had the first shot Dec. 28.

... bone density scan was Friday morning, Dec. 23.

Ministries
We continue meeting with friends and members of the church Jim served at in Wilton as interim pastor (1-year through the end of August 2016), keeping up-to-date with news and sharing Scripture and prayer with each other. Sometimes we get together for a meal or a movie too and always lots of visiting.

Since the last Sunday of November we have started serving as "interim" for the interim pastor who is recovering from back surgery at Lincoln Street Baptist  Church, a small church in Mount Pleasant.

We have a new website that we have named Glorify GOD Ministries. GOD stands for Go His Way, Obey His Commands, Do His Will ... Glorify His Name. That is our goal. We both liked the name, so I put something together. You can look at it here: http://glorifygodministries.blogspot.com/  It includes Jim's sermons since March, links to my blogs, his resume, contact information, about us, how to be saved.

We are considering the possibility of incorporating Bible study with our visiting and have ordered a book on "Hearing God in Conversation: How to Recognize His Voice Everywhere" to review.

House Work - indoors, outdoors
Jim felt well enough to start cleaning the basement in mid-October. We have talked for more than a year about cleaning out the area underneath the stairs and putting a lot of our Christmas stuff in there. So he started and finished in relatively quick order. The things he found were interesting to both of us, but a lot of stuff was pitched.

He mowed the yard himself much of the summer and when Christina and the boys came over to rake leaves this fall, he mowed and mulched the yard.

One day in mid-November when the temperature was comfortable, he put up our outdoor Christmas decorations and decorated the lamp post. He took them down today without any problems.

It has been an eventful and sometimes troublesome 2016.

But now the slate is wiped clean and a new year begins.