Second Corinthians chapter one, verse nine is the passage I've chosen for my journey through prostate cancer. Although Paul was speaking specifically about the persecution he and other Christians endured for the Gospel, the emphasis is on the purpose. Persecution or trials of any form solely exist to make us rely on GOD alone, and not ourselves. They happen in order for us to exhaust ourselves of any self effort in order to realize that our total dependence should be on the One Who created, sustains, and has sovereign authority over everything, including our individual lives. One of the Lord's greatest pleasures is when we surrender all to Him so that He receives all the glory He deserves from us, especially those of us who claim Him as Lord. We must avoid using religious cliches and "christianese" to flatter God and make us appear spiritual to man. Yes, it is true – God is good all the time... But, is He good only when things are going good for me??? God is good because it is Who He is, whether our world is good or not. One of the hardest truths to swallow is the fact that prosperity and adversity come from the same Source.

To be clearer, God will sometimes break us in order to use us. A vessel broken by the hands of the Potter will often provide better service to Him because of a clearer understanding and greater reverence for the Maker. Broken or not, we must fully confess and admit to ourselves the words of the Lord Jesus: "...apart from Me you can do nothing."

Visit the blog archive and read from earliest to latest to get the details in chronological order.


3.05.2008

Part Seventeen: PSA update!

Last Thursday (2.28.08) I went to see my urologist for the first 6-month visit (after doing it every 2 - 3 months) for another PSA blood check. My beautiful, loving, anxious wife called this week (just 3 days later) to get the results. My current PSA reading is 0.017 - still undetectable!!!!!! Praise the LORD for His grace!!!!! Now, it's just a little higher than the last one 6 months ago, which was 0.011 and 3 months before that it was 0.012. But, still undetectable since it's equal to or less than 0.05! My next PSA check is in August and I will post the results then!
Posted by at No comments:

Part Sixteen: Prostate Cancer Advocates Conference

Early in February, I flew to Atlanta to attend an African American Men's Prostate Cancer Advocates Conference (whew! what a mouthful!). It was held on the campus of Clark Atlanta University, which is in the same area of Morehouse, Morris Brown, and Spelman - a pretty historic location! The goal of this conference was to raise awareness about the growing number of African American men who get diagnosed with prostate cancer more than any other race. There were approximately 30-40 attendees - most of which were survivors/advocates. There were also individuals who are involved in cancer research, oncology, and pharmaceuticals. For the goal of raising awareness, we decided to come up with a name, logo, and marketing campaign to spread the word about prostate cancer and encourage more research and greater national/global awareness. As some said, there is so much awareness about breast cancer and AIDS/HIV - and rightly so. There's just not enough research and awareness about prostate cancer, especially in finding out why so many African American men get it more than others. Since I'm a graphic designer and work in the field of communications, I let them know that the names that they were coming up with were way too long and just not punchy. I assured the guys and gals that I would come up with a name and logo/identity that would help get some attention. Actually, I had a name already that came to me in one of the earlier sessions. Little did I know that they would want to actually pursue a brand for this. I truly believe that what came to me was a gift inspired from the Lord. Now I just need to finish my report and designs to market it to the group and pray that they love it. I will post my finished concept and their responses when the time comes. (Click image above to view larger version. Special thanks to our bus driver for taking the pic for me!)
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)