Gregory Boyd called into question my entire view of dealing with evil and spiritual warfare. Rather than rationalize evil, Boyd encourages us to confront it. “Jesus never once appeals to a mysterious divine will to explain why a person is sick maimed or deceased. In every instance, He comes against such things as the by-products…
Category: General
In order to complete God’s mission, in the end, it is not a question of whether or not I am willing to go. Jonathan Lewis reminds us that… “…volunteerism has never been the deciding factor in furthering God’s mission. God will use His people to spread His message, whether they are willing agents or not.”[1]…
Mission sounds exhausting. But Tim Dearborn reminds us that “Mission was never intended to be an exhausting human enterprise. Mission is our privileged participation in the lifegiving action of the triune God.”[1] Rather, as we serve God in one place, the repercussions can reverberate further than anything we ever imagined. He encourages us as he…
John Piper points out the folly of waiting for some kind of mystical affection before we embark on the journey of mission. He says, “…don’t wait for a feeling of love in order to share Christ with a stranger. You already love your heavenly Father, and you know that this stranger is created by Him,…
Compassion is not enough of a motivation for the long-term: “Mission efforts which draw their motivation from compassionate response to human predicament will only go so far.”[1] For the reality is that… “… God’s global purpose is an ancient affair.”[2] [1] Steven Hawthorne.”Perspectives of the World Christian Movement” p. 61 [2] Steven Hawthorne.”Perspectives of the…
I wonder about my own heart. The past year, going through cancer, chemo, and remission, caused me to question how deeply my heart really is rooted in our great God. I wonder how willing I really am to follow God wherever He calls me. Johannes Verkuyl, using the prophet Jonah motif, elucidates the resistance I…
“Christians worship in thousands of different languages, use myriad instruments and musical forms, and pray in ways that can seem strange to their Christian brothers and sisters in other places. This diversity is a gift…” – p. 20, Howell and Paris, Introducing Cultural Anthropology
“As Christians, we are practicing a faith born in an ancient Middle Eastern context, first preached in a language (Aramaic) we do not speak, originally recorded in yet a different language (Koine Greek), developed among a multicultural minority in a now-extinct empire, passed through multiple European, African, and Asian cultures over thousands of years, and…
CT Scan Results are in…
Anxiety can creep in while I’m waiting for test results. “What if…” replays in my mind. I have been tested for so many things through the cancer process. The HIV test kind of plays with you emotionally. As I waited for those results, the dozens of times I’ve been bloodied playing sports came to mind,…
Results: COMPLETE REMISSION!!!
REMISSION: We met with our doctor and walked through the results of the past three scans: 2 CT Scans and 1 PET scan. The PET scan showed no sugar uptake. The overall result is that I am in COMPLETE REMISSION! This is great news. ANEMIA: Blood tests came back saying my hemoglobin levels are getting pretty…
PET Scan Results
(Français ci-dessous) As you can imagine, Martine cried. I am grateful. We feel like we’ve been slowly scaling a 14,000+ peak in the wind and rain. And though there is still a steep and painful climb ahead, we just caught a glimpse of the summit. Here are the (simplified) results from last Thursday’s PET Scan…
Grateful for Each Day
It was easy to overlook good days. Days when I felt physically and mentally sharp. Most days of my life, both physically and mentally, have been good days… until chemo started. For the first time in my life I have felt physically terrible and mentally foggy for weeks. I know there are many who read…
Eliminate Hurry
Today most of us will change our clocks to mark a new season, a new way to approach time as the sun shifts southward and temperatures rise.Maybe now is a good time to reflect on time, our approach to it, and our stress and anxiety as we interact with it. Am I hurried? Am I impatient?…
Knock Down My House of Cards
“God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a…
Breathe
I’ve run into so many people through this process who have either had cancer in the past, or have it currently. Either they encourage me, or I have had the privilege of encouraging them. It has been amazing. Last Thursday I had an echocardiogram. Leah, the nurse who examined my heart went through an extreme…
Becoming Darth Vader…
The NEXT STEP TO BECOMING DARTH VADER: 10:30am tomorrow morning they’ll install a port-a-cath into my chest. The tube (catheter) goes into my vein and will stay there throughout the chemo process. Rather than having to constantly stick needles into my veins for each procedure, they’ll use the port. I HATE needles. I nearly passed…
Voici ce qu’on sait: “T-Cell/Histiocyte-Rich B-Cell Lymphoma”
On ne sais pas beaucoup, mais nous en savons au moins un peu plus. Nous savons quel sorte de cancer que j’ai: “T-Cell/Histiocyte-Rich B-Cell Lymphoma” Aujourd’hui nous avons eu un rendez-vous avec le chirurgien qui a fait mon opération la semaine passée. Je suis en train de bien récupérer. Je peux même m’entrainer maintenant. Le chirurgien…
This is what we know: “T-Cell/Histiocyte-Rich B-Cell Lymphoma”
While we do not know a lot, we now have one big detail. We know what kind of cancer I have: “T-Cell/Histiocyte-Rich B-Cell Lymphoma” Today’s appointment was a followup with the surgeon. I am recovering well and he freed me to full activity. He shared the pathology report with us, but as is normal for a…
Surgery Went Well
I’ve made it home, now recovering. Still feeling loopy from the anaesthetic, so hopefully this makes sense: It was essentially another, more thorough, biopsy. The surgeon took out several whole lymph nodes from the base of my neck. We will have a detailed diagnosis of the Lymphoma within the next 3-7 days. The oncologist…
Cancer, Fear, Hope
I’ve had a hard time processing the hundreds of responses. The outpouring of love. The support. Thank you. Understandably, fear has been a prominent theme. Cancer is a word that has wreaked havoc on so many people and families you & I know and love. Am I afraid? Not yet. First of all, I do…
Minor Operation January 6th
Our meeting with the surgeon on December 24th clarified several things: Surgery will be January 6th, at 7:30am. We will have a detailed diagnosis of the Lymphoma as a result (3-7 days following the surgery). This will be an outpatient, relatively minor, surgery. It will take less than an hour. It is essentially another, more thorough, biopsy. The…
Rob Karch 