Twenty-Two Days later....

I'm seeing the "goodness of the LORD in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13).
Being a kidney transplant donor has been one of the most 'dramatic' things I've ever done in my entire life. I am recovering at wonderful, remarkable pace...and for this, I am most thankful.

All of my body functions are performing as expected...normally. My chest hair (which was shaven off HALF of my abdomen and chest) is returning....thanks alot, doctors! The laparascopic incisions (all four of them) are practically healed and unnoticeable now. The larger (4 inch) incision is healing very nicely, and itches just a bit. I can deal with it!

If anyone had even hinted, one year ago, that I would be an organ donor, I would have laughed them out of the room! But, the LORD knew that I would need this experience in my life...and that I would become a kinder, wiser, more obedient son through all of these "events."

The LORD knew that I would need this experience to help me develop a "compassion" that I had often read about--and had even spoken about--but had never experienced first hand.

This was a "life-changing" experience for me. As my great friend, Pastor Charles Butler, so accurately reminded me, "You were not a patient man, but the LORD is developing that quality in you..." And yes, HE did...and is still completing it.

Back at work, hoping to get my appetite back in full force (eventually), and learning to "trust and obey"....waiting for God's next assignment in my life.

But it won't be a kidney donation. That one is behind me.

A Prayer for today

O Father,
I magnify Your name this wonderful day! I rejoice in the fact that I can call You "Father" and know that I am Your child. My heart is overwhelmed when I contemplate all that You have done for me, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I am so completely helpless on my own...but You haven't left me on my own. You have sent Your wonderful Holy Spirit to fill my life...to lift my head, and to restore my soul. You have made a way through the wilderness, and have provided refreshing streams in every desert of life. You have given sight to my blinded eyes, and courage to my fearful heart. All of these things, Lord, I realize and acknowledge have come from the goodness of Your hand.

I want to ask You, Lord, to touch people this day. Lord, my friend Melanie, whose son has been diagnosed with brain cancer....touch him this day, I ask of you. Show Yourself to be the HEALING JESUS that Your Word proclaims You to be, and that all the evidence proves You are, indeed.

Lord, I am specifically asking You to touch people concerning organ donation. O God, if You had not touched my life, I would never have experienced the THRILL and BLESSING of being an organ donor. It was YOUR hand, and YOUR grace, and YOUR provision...I can't thank You enough, precious Lord.

Help me to love you more this day. Help me to worship at the feet of Your Son, Jesus. Remind me to "rest my case at the Cross"...knowing that everything I need has been provided in that wonderful place.

In the powerful name of Jesus,

Amen.

I Am A Man

Sung to the tune of Finlandia

I am a man created in God's image
Of Adam's race, now marred by pride and sin.
But through God's Son, Lord Jesus Christ, my Saviour,
I am a man who's now restored to Him!
The Mighty God who made me has redeemed me,
Now I'm His man, for Jesus reigns within.

I am a man appointed by my Saviour
To show His love in all I do and say!
His Holy Spirit is my source of power,
To live in light and point to Christ--the Way!
Lord, fill me now, and help me seize this moment,
As as Your man, I'll serve your cause today.

I'll be a man who walks with God in worship,
I'll be a man who walks with men as friend.
I'll be a man who loves and serves God's family
I'll be a man on whom God can depend!
Lord Jesus Christ, my King and my Commander,
I'll be Your man until my life shall end.


**Thank you, Pastor Jack Hayford for giving us such an inspiring and anointed text. This is a great challenge in my life.

Why?

I was in my friend Kevin's van, taking a "road tour" of the fabled University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa campus yesterday, when I heard the awful news concerning the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas. A mental health worker--a psychiatrist--killed 12 military service personnel who were preparing to deploy in service of this nation.

Why? WHY?
Have we become such a nation of "disgruntled" people that we can no longer follow the instructions of those we have SWORN to obey? Are we so BRAINWASHED with our own ideologies (terroristic tendencies are what I'm referring to here), that we can never see another point of view--without resorting to some type of violence?

Why did this military officer KILL those he was charged to lead and care for? Has the United States of America deteriorated to the place that NONE of our "freedoms" (religion, press, speech, etc) are worth defending anymore--not to mention "exporting"?

WHY?

God knew...

that I would

1) Need to develop much, MUCH better eating habits than I was currently using in the late Spring/Early Summer....

2) Get to the Cardinal Fitness Center (1/2 block from my apartment) and use that gym membership I had not touched in almost 9 months...but was paying for every month...

3) Lose 14 pounds...and get not only my body, but my mind ready for "the event"...

4) Lean on HIM and HIS wisdom, instead of my own--and I consider myself a pretty wise fella most of the time (therein lies my stubbornness)...

5) The surgeons that Bill George and I would both need...the nurses who would need to be on duty, and the people who would need to "be with us." He even knew that we would need to share a hospital room that first night, in preparation for our surgery....

I'm thankful that HE knows it all. Nothing escapes Him.

Expectations...Exceeding them...

I fully expected to be a "kidney donor" during the summer of 2009....certainly not in October 2009. God knew that if I had "my way about it" there would have been nothing but trouble. The last seven days have been almost blissful. Even during the "recovery period" from this procedure. The love and joy of God's Holy Spirit filled my hospital room, and I saw the "kingdom of God" at its very best....what a thrill to my soul. This is something I will never forget.

I fully expected pain after surgery....but not the joy that only Christ and being part of HIS WILL in HIS TIME can bring. God knew which surgeons Bill George and I would need. He also knew the nurses that would be so important to our "care" on Spain South Tower, Seventh floor.
All of these people were magnificent beyond description...many of them were the "face of Jesus" to me in the middle of the night--reminding me that GOD was in all the details of what happened.

I fully expected people to be around. What I didn't expect were the calls from all over the country...from Hawaii to Maine, and even from England, and the Middle East. People I knew, and haven't heard from in many years....and some I don't know, and will probably never meet...but all were overwhelmed by God's Spirit...and encountered Him in a significant way through "this event."

All I can say: To God be the glory, great things HE has done! I'm so humbled, amazed, and stunned that HE loved me enough to allow me to participate in what HE was doing. May it ever be so.

The tangible love of Christ...I have experienced it this week...

I have experienced the amazing, unequaled, immeasurable love of Christ this week.

Dr Bill George and myself both arrived in Birmingham, Alabama on Monday evening. We showed up at the UAB Hospital Admitting Office almost simultaneously. God made sure that we were in the same room for that day...because He wanted us both to see how MIGHTY and POWERFUL He was and is!

We had a parade of people on Tuesday...from around 9:30 a.m. until well after 10 p.m. that same evening. People from Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and all points in between...most of them knew Bill, and many knew me...but all of them knew and loved JESUS...that is all that mattered.

On Wednesday morning, I went into the Pre-op around 5:35 a.m. I was in surgery around 6 a.m. I woke up in my room around 1:15 p.m. with Marti and Anthony Stone, Pastor Charles Butler, Dr Robert Daugherty, and Tennessee State Congressman Kevin Brooks at my bedside...rejoicing in the LORD...and worshipping God for His marvelous hand in all of this!

Person after person was hearing how GOD had orchestrated the whole event, and how HE made sure the surgery was as textbook-picture perfect as it could be. I was completely awake...and realizing what a life-transforming event had just transpired...and how the LORD had been glorified in it all.

The people of God around the country, and around the world have been magnificent in their prayers, love, and good wishes and greetings to both myself, and our precious Dr Bill George and his wife, Nelda.

This was truly the Body of Christ--the people of God--at their finest....

I am humbled and exhilirated to be part of such a wonderful kingdom.

It is truly about HIM...His love, His will, and HIS glory.

From my heart: "What would you do?"

So TODAY is the day I've waited for almost six months now....I'll fly to Birmingham, Alabama this evening...spend the night with my friends (from college days) Dr Tim Stone and his wife Tammy (and their adorable children). Tomorrow morning, I will get up, shower/shave/dress myself, and go over to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital/North Pavilion. I will then check in as a patient (just confirmed that I already have a 'bed reservation').

On Wednesday morning, October 28, at approximately 7 a.m., I will be transported into the Surgery ward of UAB hospital, where I will willingly give my left kidney for transplant into one of the finest men I know.

The Lord's hand is in this...I'm not afraid of the pain, the recovery, any possible side effects, or the complications which (in all likelihood will not, but) could occur.

I am very, very, VERY excited about this "assignment from the Lord." I'm thankful that God spoke to me more than six months ago, on a Tuesday night when I was "surfing" FaceBook.

If you were aware that someone you knew needed an "organ" donation--and you could do it...would you?

Why? Why not?

I've lost my cell phone...HELP!

For the first time in EIGHT YEARS, I have lost my cell phone....I had almost 300 numbers in that little contraption. I am LOST without it...(I don't have any of those numbers memorized)...

So, if you would be so kind as to call me...or email me, or something, I'll have you number again...

Blessings.