The Hours of Night: November 2013

Thursday, November 14, 2013

The Confused Man-Recovery Continues #9

The Hours of Night

The Confused Man in Recovery #9

Here I am dealing with life once more. We should join a club. It's 2 am and finally taking time to reflect on my skin cancer diagnosis. My limited knowledge tells me that there is a good chance that it will not kill me and the doctors will remove it this week, the soonest I could get a reservation, ha. I hope there is a hot tub.

The "thing" is on my nose, it became visible about 6 weeks ago. I understand that this is not the worst kind of cancer but that word all by itself is frightening. The surgery is called Mohs with a pretty good success rate (98%). God is making sure I keep Him close in times like this. I really appreciate His presence. That is exactly what our devotional (Jesus Calling) has been about for the entire month of October. I thank God for everything in my life and I will become more like Him as He teaches me not to fear but to trust and have faith in His promises.

Our trees are gone and the house doesn't look that bad, to me at least. Now it is new fence time. Did I tell you that I am listening to the Canadian Brass, they are wonderful, I love trumpet playing. These musicians are amazing. I was a music major with emphasis on trumpet performance for my freshman and sophomore years in college. It was after taking trumpet lessons the summer between my sophomore and junior year that I made the decision that I would never meet my expectations in music.

Every day during that summer school session, I would spend my spare time wondering around the halls of the Art School. I still cannot figure out why I didn't pursue getting a degree in Art. To get better at anything there is no secret, just do it and then do it some more and then more and more and more.

I am very satisfied with how much artwork I have done and had the chance to sell some of it. As long as I stay away from trying to lead my life without God He helps and guides. I have been seeing short glimpses or getting past the confusion. I am a long, loooooooooonnnngggggggg way from winning that battle. Lately ourchildren have been such a great pleasure. They are tremendous young adults. We pray that God will continue to work in their lives to guide them into having joy and feeling positive about their life. I am very scattered this morning. If you will forgive me for the shortness of this entry, I will just say hi to some of my friends. I thank God for friends and family every day.

Here is something new, I bought 85 golf balls from a thrift shop here in town for 20 cents each. Now I can play again. I understand that they cost as much as $5 or more each.

My magic mirror has been accumulating many pictures in its memory and I am going to release some of the pressure by sharing them with you.

I see Howard and Linda up in Portland, I will be emailing them soon. Need to check on his new book. Sorry it has been so long. I also see Virginia and Jim back in Kansas. Wow, have you been getting more handsome and Virginia has always been beautiful and smart. I don't mean that you aren't smart Jim but facts are facts. I don't think men would get by without smarter women as partners. I truly hope that you guys are doing OK. I also see Shirley, do you think she would deliver some of her brittle out here to California.

I'm afraid I am mixing this blog with my facebook and it is starting to confuse me again. The actual pictures of me and my exploits will be coming in the near future. I love all you guys out there in cyberland. Posted on 11-14-13

Saturday, November 2, 2013

The Confused Man in Treatment #8

The Hours of Night

The Confused Man in treatment #8

Treatment can be so comforting and with a positive side effect of clarity. Hard to believe isn't it? My confusion has become a part of me for the last two and a half years. But so it is with me. I am trying to get on solid ground and from there I will amaze you, I will astonish, I will astound you, and most of all to many of you I will surprise and shock you. It shall be my one and only task. You will be proud of me, I assure you.

Today I am home with my wife and watching six of our trees slowly come down, with a little help from Mario, Jose and Gerald. Mario works for a landscape contractor and he and his brother and a young helper trim and remove trees on the side. Deb and I didn't see eye to eye on the extent of the renovation of the outside of our house but we finally came to an agreement that she will have the last word on anything inside the house and I will have the final say when it is on the outside. My job is almost over and hers is just beginning. Now who is the smart one?

Alright, alright, in unison, Debbie, she is the smart one, no contest. Sorry Dave, you say, but that is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

As I am writing this the tree crew is almost done for the day, all that is left is the cleanup. These guys are amazing, everyone knows what to do, nobody gets in the way of the other and they waste no extra steps or effort to do anything. They are scheduled to work tomorrow on the final and largest tree we have. It will be a little more difficult because of its location, right in the middle of two houses which are only about 20 feet apart.

So much for treatment, it was boring and I knew all the stuff they were teaching anyway. I decided that I would just live life the best I could with the help of an honest, thoughtful and pleasant looking woman. Then the thought hit me, why don't I do it with my wife, Deb. She is honest, thoughtful and is much more than pleasant looking, in fact she is very attractive.

Next day. I have not finished with this blog yet. A small, soft voice talked to me this morning. It was just before we started our devotions. I know that it was the Holy Spirit. The voice and the devotional for this morning reminded me that I am to let God work through me. So that's what I did. I asked Mario if I could pray for them and right away we all formed a circle with arms around each other and I prayed for safety today and thanks for safety yesterday. It was truly God in the form of the Holy Spirit.

I don't know if it would have made any difference if I had not prayed with them but that is not my call. I am to obey when God speaks, that's it. We ask God so many times to speak to us, at least I do and I don't want to miss a blessing.

The next agenda item is to brush off my magic mirror. There are a lot of my friends that I need to connect with again. Friendships are the spice of life, next to a spouse. I just had a thought, they are Spice Merchants.

See you soon.