Friends For The Journey

Dear friends,

Thank you for your prayers. We had a wonderful thanksgiving with our family and now I am finishing up my last week of classes for this semester. Tonight, after my class on the history of childhood, we have our weekly “god”-party on our back patio with our young friends from the bar in Homestead and my graduate students friends from the university.

Yesterday I dropped Deb off at the hospital for her chemotherapy on my way to the university. The oncologists has eliminated one of the drugs, at least temporarily, from the mix because of concerns about her kidneys. Debbie told me she was starting to have pain in her chest and in the backbone where the tumors are, but that the pain went away after the chemotherapy. This gives us the impression that first, the chemo is working, but also that it is needed.

She is doing pretty good today, getting ready to go next door to babysit for our second daughter, Jessica, who is nearly ready to have a baby.

We were reading from Psalm 119:65-72 this morning.

65-72 Be good to your servant, GOD;
be as good as your Word.
Train me in good common sense;
I’m thoroughly committed to living your way.
Before I learned to answer you, I wandered all over the place,
but now I’m in step with your Word.
You are good, and the source of good;
train me in your goodness.
The godless spread lies about me,
but I focus my attention on what you are saying;
They’re bland as a bucket of lard,
while I dance to the tune of your revelation.
My troubles turned out all for the best—
they forced me to learn from your textbook.
Truth from your mouth means more to me
than striking it rich in a gold mine.

We sometimes tend to wander all over the place, but God is good and he is the source of good, and he is willing to train us in his goodness. ALL of our troubles can turn out for the best! Amen and ‘thank you’ oh God!