The last few days have been really difficult for Cindy. She has had wave after wave of nausea and lost some more weight. She has been put back on TPN, which is protein and various minerals she receives intravenously. We are confident her weight will once again rise. Today, the slightest touch makes her sick. She needs to be still and quiet. Her chemo treatment last week was especially difficult. We take solace in knowing that she has only a couple of rounds to go before her next CAT scan. At that point we are praying that we will again get some very good news. Also, please pray for Cindy's mom, Barbara. She has been here most of the time since Cindy's diagnosis and surgery. Barbara has been an incredible asset in this struggle. I know she gets tired at times and yet she continues to be so positive and upbeat.
Our boys continue to do very well. They are excelling in school and seem to be happy and well adjusted. Of course they miss their mom terribly but they get to see her often. At night they pray the sweetest prayers for her. Last Sunday before our Westside church gathering Reid, our middle child and I went out to have a Mountain Dew at McDonald's. We were chatting about various things and he said, "You know Dad, we can't loose. We have God on our side!" He is so right. In his heartfelt statement he was sharing the essence of Romans 8:31 "If God be for us who can be against us." I know God is for us in this struggle and he is being glorified in ways we cannot even understand at the moment. We continue to be thankful for your support and prayers as well.
God bless you,
Kevin
Our boys continue to do very well. They are excelling in school and seem to be happy and well adjusted. Of course they miss their mom terribly but they get to see her often. At night they pray the sweetest prayers for her. Last Sunday before our Westside church gathering Reid, our middle child and I went out to have a Mountain Dew at McDonald's. We were chatting about various things and he said, "You know Dad, we can't loose. We have God on our side!" He is so right. In his heartfelt statement he was sharing the essence of Romans 8:31 "If God be for us who can be against us." I know God is for us in this struggle and he is being glorified in ways we cannot even understand at the moment. We continue to be thankful for your support and prayers as well.
God bless you,
Kevin
posted by Kevin Owen | 12:29 PM
13 Comments:
My Sweet Cindy...I'm sorry this last week or so have been so rough on all of you. Just remember,you've come such a long way, we're all still praying for you constantly and most importantly, our loving, all powerful and awesome God is still in charge. Let him (and in a lesser way all of us)hold you up to soar like an eagle until you're strong enough to do it by yourself.
I love you . . . Linda
Kevin, your son said it right. We do continue to pray the outcome will be as you want it.
Kevin,Cindy and boys : we are praying that Cindy's nausia will go away and she will gain some weight. We are praying for Bob and Barbara also .This disease disrupts so many lives. We continue to pray that GOD will give you strength to walk under this heavy load. Kevin I know that GOD is answering our prayers because I have rarely seen such love and devotion to Cindy and those three young boys. Your faith in GOD has not waivered. I am so proud of you Dad
Cindy,
You are still in our thoughts and prayers every day. We look forward to seeing you get well soon.
j
Kevin and Cindy,
I'm so sorry that you're having such a rough time, but I know what prayer can do. It has now been over 8 years since my aunt received the diagnosis of colon cancer. She has had numerous surgeries, chemo treatments and even some experimental medication. She has had many ups and downs, and her doctors have told her they don't know why she's alive. I know why she's alive. God can do amazing things. While her life is still disrupted from time to time with treatments, she is living a relatively normal life. I pray this for your family as well. We love you and continue to hold you up to our heavenly father. Love, Kristi
Yikes! It seems like this is a roller coaster ride for you and your whole family! Good week; not so good week; good week; not so good week....etc. etc. etc. Yet...through all of this, we KNOW that Our Lord is in that roller coaster car with YOU!
I can already see, for myself, the lessons you are learning and how this has made you grow, Kevin. You seem so much more "in touch" with people and their problems and your empathy is so much more evident than it ever was before. Your sermons have been electrifying! I'll bet Satan is screaming and ranting and raving and furious because he thought he'd bring you down...Instead you are UP....WAYYYYYYYYYY UP! We have all pledged that we will help hold you up too...with prayer, with service, with love and with constantly being mindful that because you are suffering, we are all suffering. We wait anxiously for the day when we can all REJOICE with you too! We love you more than you can know...Teri & Paul
Dear precious Cindy, Kevin, Chase, Reid,and Trey -
We are in prayer for all of you...we know that God is holding you in His hands and He is so faithful. We are amazed at how far Cindy has come through this battle...we pray that God give her strength, let her gain back the weight that she has lost, and totally heal her body.
We love your sweet family so much!
Sheryle and Tilden
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Kevin & Cindy...please know you are constantly in my prayers! I have been very silent throughout your illness but this does not mean you are NOT in my thoughts. It is just that I have had such difficulty dealing with your pain. Please know I am in constant prayer for you ALL. You are such an incredible example to so many people of God's presence. Love you All, O
It's amazing how the love of God occupies every corner of this situation. I am touched by the faith I am witnessing and it has strengthened me. Thank you for your constant communication to all of us so we might pray for Cindy's needs as well as others. To Bob and Barbara, we love you and miss you. The Wesson Family Spanish Fort Church of Christ
Kevin & Cindy,
So sorry to hear that the last few days have been difficult. May God give you strength, courage, and wisdom to face each day. May he bless you and your boys and carry you through this time.
We think of you often. It sounds like Cindy has a wonderful mother, and I'm sure you are thankful for her upbeat spirit and encouragement.
Hope this week has been better!
Ms.Owen and Pastor,
Thinking of you often, and pray more. I came across this today, and thought it would be appropriate to share. If I had a private email, I would have sent it that way. I pray your hospital experience is somehow blessing those around, as it did when you were with us at Pres downtown.
Yours in Christ, always
Amy Harris, RN
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,
"Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money ,notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD.Every moment, THANK GOD.
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