Pre or Post Christmas transplant???

That is probably the timing now. Either right before or right after Christmas. Right now, I have been doing bunches of tests that my insurance requires for the transplant. Also, I have to get some dental work done as well before hand. Doctors just wants to make sure that there is absolutely NO CHANCE that I will have an open infection or anything that would be possible to be infected when I have no immune system to fight anything off with. So it looks like the next couple of weeks I'll be getting a couple of crowns and a couple of fillings to satisfy the requirements for the dental work. Today was alot of testing. First, I had to collect my urine for 24 hours. The kicker was that I had to keep it on ice the whole time. Oh man-if people only knew that the little Igloo ice chest i have been carrying around w/ me the last day and 1/2 was a cooler for my pee-they probably wouldn't have come so close! haha. Today I turned that in, as well as having a 30 min breathing test, some more blood drawn for labs, and a cardiac test where they draw out some blood, mix it w/ a radioactive substance, put it back into your blood stream and take 3 10-minute pictures of my heart w/ a camera to make sure my heart and all the ventricles are functioning correctly. Good times for sure. I was so ready to be done w/ that!

Besides just waiting on everything and getting tests done, things have been pretty smooth lately. Pain is gone this week and it seems like the Sprycel medication has me in a stable place before the transplant takes place.

I have received so many encouraging messages lately...on facebook, emails and here on my blog. Thank you to all of you. I love reading your comments and prayers and encouraging messages. My prayer request for this whole experience is that 1. God would be glorified thru this, 2. that people who don't know Jesus would come to know Him thru the story He's writing thru me, and 3. that I would continue to draw closer and closer to Him thru this whole process.

To be honest, it's not been easy or as "blessed" as I'd like to pretend. God is good, this I know for sure...however, there have been some very dark days. But it's in those times that He reaches down, touches my soul and reminds me to "suffer well."

I recently found out 3 people who I know of that are facing incredible difficulties. A pastor in the Dallas/Fort Worth community, Matt Chandler who is the senior pastor at the Village Church in Lewisville recently found out he has a brain tumor and is getting it operated on this week I believe. Friends of his that I know speak of his constant faith and his hope that God would be glorified in it. That he would suffer well. Wow-what an inspiring story.

Another couple I know recently found out that the husband has cancer. These are very good friends of our families from a long time and I am so saddened for this news. However, I have found it is in sharing our struggles and our stories that we realize we have faith that we didn't even know we had. God gives it to us just when we thought we had none.

And one more is a couple that my parents are very good friends with. He had to have stints put in his heart recently. During this time, they also were able to help me out by recommending doctors to me in the metroplex, serving me and showing generosity when they weren't sure what was going on with his condition. Wow.

I'm so amazed at all these stories of faith, struggle and difficulty. Even though these stories are heavy on the heart, they are also so encouraging to see people suffer well and become more like Jesus in the process. After all, isn't that what its about!?

Ok, enough "preaching" for now. God's in control. I don't know much else in this life...but I do know that...that He is good, and has a plan and purpose for everyone.

By His grace alone,

Luke