Life!

I don’t usually make a big deal about New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve never participated in the Word of the Year blogging trend.  New Year’s Day seems like a good time to start a goal with a twelve month cycle, such as reading through the Bible in a year.  However, most resolutions seem to me to be more applicable as daily life-style choices.

This New Year’s Day, however, I find myself very much contemplating lifestyle choices and what changes may be on the horizon.  It’s a matter of timing, really.  During the last two weeks of 2015 I received a cancer diagnosis and underwent two surgeries.  So, I am naturally starting 2016 with a certain level of new resolve.

In 2016…and every year thereafter, I choose life!

It’s not a new resolution…actually it’s been a daily choice for most of my life.  But current circumstances make it a fresher, newer, stronger resolution.

I’ve lived most my life with an awareness of both the brevity and fragility of this life.  Life is full of unknowns and unexpected turns.  We have much less control than we tend to assume.

The cancer diagnosis doesn’t change the unknowns, but it does put them front and center for me, right now.  My prognosis is very good.  I have every reason to expect a long, full active life after completion of treatment.  At the same time, there are numerous unknowns.

Right now, the right side of my lip sags, my right shoulder sags, and my right arm is weak.  No, it’s not a stroke…just post-surgery status.  Most likely, some or all of these symptoms will improve or disappear with time.  But there are no guarantees.  I’ve adopted an attitude of hopeful acceptance…I hope it improves, but see no reason to enjoy life any less if it doesn’t.

I still have radiation treatment coming up.  I don’t yet know exactly how that will play out…how often, how intense, how long, or how uncomfortable…nor what long-term effects may linger.  My intent is to make prayerful informed decisions then leave it in God’s hands.

I also don’t yet know what lifestyle changes may be required.  Advice from family and friends include everything from never drink another glass of wine to never eat another dessert…everything from slow down and taking things easier to throw myself into continual positively energetic activities.

Overall, I think I’ve lived a fairly healthy lifestyle thus far, and can’t see anything to point to as a source of cancer.  Post-diagnosis certainly merits more careful assessment.  I’m certainly willing to make whatever changes are likely to result in improved health.  I am not willing to live in unnecessary fear.

I choose life!

For me, choosing life means choosing Christ.  Jesus said,

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)

Yes, Lord, I believe!  I believe you are life.  I believe choosing you is choosing life.  I believe choosing life means choosing you.

I choose life! I choose Christ! Click To Tweet

I choose faith over fear.

I choose hope over despair.

I choose joy over sorrow.

I choose thankfulness over complaints.

I choose righteousness over sin.

I choose love over selfishness.

I choose forgiveness over bitterness.

I choose health over toxicity.

I choose life over death.

I choose godliness.

I reject Adam’s covenant with sin and death from which Christ has redeemed me.  I embrace the new covenant with God which Christ has enacted on my behalf.

I choose life!

 

Your thoughts?

Faith – Love – Joy

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This past weekend was such a precious time with family! In reflecting on the sweet memories, three themes stand out…faith, love, and joy. Usually, when our family does a weekend getaway, it’s planned weeks or months in advance. This time … Continue reading

Fear Not

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Although I am not a horseman, we do own several horses and I do enjoy working with them.  Do not assume this means I know much about horses…I don’t…but I enjoy learning.  🙂 One of our horses is a little … Continue reading

God’s Step Family

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Step families are not the same as nuclear families.  They’re just not. Sometimes we expect them to be the same…which usually leads to frustration and disappointment. Every family has its own unique dynamics.  In a nuclear family, children born into … Continue reading

Christ’s Love is a Choice!

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[Reposted from March 2012, with minor edits] And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but … Continue reading

Waste of Divorce

I frequently hear people express the post-divorce regret of waste. Wasted years, wasted love, wasted effort, wasted prayers, wasted emotional investment…seemingly, all for naught.

Most of us invest several years in our marriage relationship prior to reaching the point of divorce. As we encounter issues, we work harder, pray more fervently, and seek counsel, all with the goal of healing and improving our marriage relationship. If all the hard work pays off in a healthy marriage relationship, it’s counted a wise investment. But when it doesn’t work out…when we invest that much of ourselves into a relationship, over several years, and it all ends in divorce…it seems SUCH A WASTE!

To read more, click HERE

I’m guest blogging today, with Beth over at Messy Marriage.  Won’t you join me over there, for her Wedded Wednesday link-up and a chance to win a free copy of my book, “So You are a Believer Who has been through Divorce“?  Just click HERE.

Hannah ~ Trusting God with Our Children

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[Republished from October 2011, with minor edits] Most of us are familiar with the Bible story of Hannah, mother of Samuel.  Though barren and childless, she prayed and believed God would give her a son.  Hannah is often held up as … Continue reading

Extraordinary Service

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Last week, I had the great honor of participating in my father’s funeral…the celebration of Papa’s homecoming! I know that phrasing sounds unusual…but it was an unusual service…an extraordinary service, really! I’ve attended a fair number of funerals over the … Continue reading

Coming Home!

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Papa as a young soldier in WWII Henri Pote (October 15, 1924 – November 2, 2013) Yesterday evening, my father, Henri Pote, went home to be with Jesus.  His last hours in this life were spent peacefully, at home with … Continue reading

Covenant Abuse

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…to love, honor, and cherish, from this day forward, so long as we both shall live… The solemnity and vision of those sacred marriage vows still raise my head a little higher and leave me in a reflective mood every … Continue reading