December 24, 2013 Merry Christmas

December 24, 2013 Merry Christmas Life Discovery Ministries

Dear Friends,  It's hard to believe that Christmas Eve is here....today!  How grateful we are for another year of life. How grateful I am for you: your kindness, support and prayers. In the midst of your last-minute preparations I hope you can take four minutes to watch the video below. We showed a portion of this video at our Christmas dinner on December 2nd. It's worth repeating. May your Christmas be full of joy, love, and what matters most--The Greatest Gift. Love, Greg

How to Have the Best Christmas: The Greatest Gift

Prayer Update from Greg, Nov. 20, 2013

Prayer Update from Greg Olson      November 20, 2013 Chasing the Hem of His Garment....               "And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."   Matthew 9:20-21 (NKJV)  Greetings Family and Friends, It's been over four months since I've written. Summer in Phoenix is always long and drawn out. The days are oven-hot and nothing stirs unless it has to, including me. It's been a summer of uncertainty and waiting, trying to maintain balance of work, rest, self-care, medications, doc appointments, and most of all, listening and waiting on God. I've only succeeded partially in most of those thing! I did have another short bout in the hospital a couple months ago due to spiking blood pressure. Blood pressure is one of those things that the kidneys control, and because of my poor kidney function my blood pressure was totally erratic, causing me headaches, dizziness, and inability to think clearly. Four days in the hospital and lots of careful monitoring to help adjust my medications and I was back on my feet. I still need to monitor it every day, but it seems to have leveled off to an acceptable point. The other thing that's new is that I went ahead with the fistula procedure, which is a re-routing of the blood vessels in my forearm to accommodate dialysis should I need it. That was a hard one for me. I fought the idea of doing it for nine months, but finally gave in to my doctor's pressure. It takes several months before it can be used, and he is quite sure I will need it in the months ahead. Technically I'm in kidney failure now if you go by the numbers: 10% kidney function & 5.5 creatinine. But God...  My faith leans forward toward the seemingly impossible: life and healing for my kidney. I told Jeane just the other day that I feel like I'm "chasing the hem of his garment." I have always been intrigued by that story of the woman who chased Jesus down in a crowd just to touch his clothes for a brief moment. Even more intriguing is the response from Jesus. Crowded on all sides as he was, he knew he had been touched "because he felt the power go out from him." (Mark 5:30) Busted....and healed! It is this power of Christ as he walked the earth that drove out demons, returned sight to the blind, raised people from the dead, and proclaimed to people that their sins were forgiven. We, his followers, were told that we will do even greater things than he did. What is it about the church in 2013 that finds that hard to believe?  Maybe it's because our minds can't comprehend how something as intangible as faith can overcome medical statistics and outcomes, something we have grown to rely on here in 21st century America. That's what I've been pondering and that is my quest right now: To see and understand and experience the mystery of a God who heals. I look to the writer of Romans who speaks about a God "...who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist."Romans 4:17 I think that would include a healthy kidney. I do get overwhelmed, mostly because it gets so tiring to have to think about myself and my health all the time. Did I take those pills and check my blood pressure? Did I make that doctor's appointment? Did I drink my wheat grass today? Did I schedule in enough time to rest? Should I continue working full-time or am I just being unrealistic? I do notice I get tired faster; I don't have the energy to go all day and into the evening at full speed. That doesn't, however, keep me from trying (much to the dismay of my wife:-)) I find myself knowing and proclaiming that God can heal my little kidney and bring it back to life. Hebrews 11:1 tells us faith is "...being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." I live-one day at a time-with a hope that leans me into life, making plans, certain that God has a purpose even for this experience as he writes his story with my life. Jeane and I were talking to a doctor one day and telling him about the stage IV cancer being in regression without chemo or radiation or surgery. He shook his head in amazement. "Most people say they believe God heals, but they really don't," he said. We told him we didn't have that luxury right now. We were in a situation where we were forced to put Him to the test. And, friends, have we not seen God at work? Yes! Next month I go to MD Anderson for a six-month checkup on the cancer. I'll let you know the results when I hear them. Thank you again for your prayers and support. When one is struggling with a medical issue it can feel like you're all alone. I don't feel that way and I have you to thank for that. It is something that is very rich to my heart. Always forward, Greg

Prayer Update from Greg Olson

Hello Dear Friends and Family and Disciples of Christ,        It's time for a quick update. I have been back at work five weeks now and it has been over two months since I got out of the hospital on April 15th. The sepsis infection and joint inflamation (gout?) that invaded my body and made me so sick is gone, and the cellulitis finally cleared up completely. My leg was red and swollen for a long time but now it's back to normal. I'm feeling fine and I am really grateful for all the wonderful medical treatment I received at the hospital, as well as the wonderful "prayer treatments" from you! The biggest news is that my kidney function has held its own. My numbers are not great by any means, but they are slightly better than they were six months ago and I am not on dialysis! Who but our God could accomplish such things? Two weeks ago my kidney doctor told me he had never seen anybody who had only one kidney and whose kidney function was as bad as mine get off of dialysis after they'd been on it. (I had four rounds of dialysis while I was in the hospital.) He and his partners were sure I would leave the hospital on dialysis and stay on it the rest of my life. He and I have a running dialogue about the power of prayer and about God healing me. I still don't know his religious beliefs so it gets kind of interesting sometimes. I love it. While I was recuperating I had a lot of time to think about my journey. I am so overwhelmed with gratefulness for life. How is it, God, that you care to bother with me? The only answer is the simplest one: except for his great love. A few weeks ago I wrote a devotional called The New Normal. Since some of you don't get the weekly e-news from Life Discovery, I am going to re-print some of that article below: The New Normal Jeane was doing laundry yesterday and thinking about a project we had planned to do before I went into the hospital. She thought to herself, "We'll get to that when things get back to normal." It stopped her in her tracks: When will THAT be? When will we stop unconsciously holding our breath while we wait for the results of every X-ray and CT scan? When will we not whisper fervent, quiet prayers to heaven before every lab and blood test? When will we not lie awake in bed at night leaning into our faith and the promises of God when circumstances look bleak all around? When will things be normal again? Really, God? Do you mean we have to rely on You every single minute of every single day.....for our very lives? .....for every breath of oxygen that passes through our lungs? .....for kidneys to successfully filter toxins from our body one more day? .....for blood sugars to level out and blood pressure to normalize and that the cancer doesn't grow back? Is this detour not a detour at all, but actually the road? Is THIS the new normal? Friends, I would propose that this may be the case for all of us. Aren't we reliant every single day on the trillions of cells in our body to somehow function together as one to keep us alive? It is the God of Creation who speaks that into existence. Since the day he first heaved breath into nostrils of the adam-made-from-dust, and "man became a living soul," he continues to bestow upon us his life--ever breathing into a dying world and into these dying bodies. Shouldn't that be our "normal" anyway? "For by Him all things were created...He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."   Colossians 1:16-17 I think about the sustaining presence of God every day because I have experienced how quickly the enemy of life can try to snatch that life away from me. Many of you have experienced the same thing. It's just that when life is sailing along smoothly we often don't stop to think--or thank. We really DO, literally, rely on our Father God for each and every breath of life we take. So what am I saying? I'm saying the new normal is the old normal, but we are just more aware of it. We can see it more clearly now and greet it with more raised hands full of thanksgiving and more willingness to fight for the full life that scripture talks about and that Jesus died for. I end with my favorite definition of faith: Faith is living in the victory on the brink of disaster. Giving thanks with you and for you, Greg

Prayer Update from Greg

Greetings, Faithful Friends!   

I thought I would give you a brief update on my health journey since I returned home from the hospital a couple of weeks ago.

I am out of the hospital, but not out of the woods yet. My right leg is still not completely healed from the infection even though my white blood count is almost down to normal. The leg is still red, swollen and warm, but not painful. My doctor continued my antibiotics yet another week. What we don't want is for me to have to return to the hospital. I went in for an ultra-sound last week to check for blood clots again, but they did not find any. It apparently is just taking a long time to heal. I think it has improved from last week, but it's hard to say. I am supposed to stay off it and elevate it as much as possible...and rest.

I wake up with good energy each day but it lasts for only 3 hours or so and then I seem to wilt in body and mindful alertness. I have to take a long nap every day. Funny to say it but rest, rest, rest is the potion of choice, and for a person like me who wants to be on the go all the time that is a hard prescription to swallow.....but God rested too :-))

I am still inspired and compelled to call--by faith and prayer--my kidney back to life. I have not had dialysis since I left the hospital almost three weeks ago. My most recent labs indicated a creatinine level of 3.31, a filtration rate of 19, and a BUN of 36. This means that these readings are the lowest I have had in months and I am thrilled and blessed by the Lord and His People full of prayers for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I continue to pray over my kidney many times a day for its restoration.

This past week I met with my oncologist at MD Anderson and I had lab work done for him. He also studied the CT scans I had while in the hospital. My hospital CT scans showed that the 11 tumors are gone from my lungs except for 2 tiny leftover spots, 1 and 2 millimeters in size. They did not specifically take a CT scan of my thigh tumor, but scanned close enough to it to tell it was greatly reduced in size.

My oncologist stated that he would not do any follow-up CT scans until six months from now because my cancer had gone into such "regression" (his word). I can hardly put my joy into words!

I hope to return to work in two more weeks (May 20th) with my energy restored and with careful monitoring of my work hours and help from my great staff in the Spiritual Care Department at the hospital.

That's about it for now, friends. The faith journey continues. May you be blessed by it too. 

Prayers and Smiles,

Greg

A Note from Greg

I'M OUT: Home Sweet Home! Home yesterday--Monday--late afternoon and it was the best feeling to just walk into my house, walk around the yard, and sit on my own patio after 17 days in the hospital. I think that must be what it feels like to break out of prison! I was sent home on oral antibiotics for 10 more days and have a bunch of other meds and a strict diet to follow, but I came home without a port. (I consider that a major victory!) I will have blood drawn as an out-patient every few days and those results will determine if I will need to go in for more dialysis or not. We will be making those determinations a day at a time. I'll be taking the next couple weeks off from work to recuperate and regain my strength. Right now I'm still really tired and weary and a little slow in speech and thought because of all the drugs. The portion of scripture that spoke to me while in the hospital was when Abraham was told by an angel that he and Sarah would have a baby: 18. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God. Romans 4:18-20 (NIV) When I was in the hospital I felt led to pray for my kidney and call it back to life. As strange as that sounds, that is what I am doing. As we are praying for my kidney, that it will take over and be able to do its job, I have much faith and hope against hope that the Lord will bring it around. It may be close to dead, but my hope is that he will do it without dialysis. Thank you, friends and family, for your prayers and notes while I was in the hospital. Again I must say I am so humbled and overwhelmed by such gracious love of God from you all. You give me courage and strength. In his "story" and partnership with you, Greg

Prayer Report and Request

Well, we are on day 14 in the hospital and I must say it is getting old. Greg's sepsis infection is under control as well as the Cellulitis. His White Blood Count is almost back to normal. They might even be taking him off the IV antibiotics today and switching him to oral ones. The infection attacked both of his knees and one elbow so Greg could not walk or hardly move without severe pain for several days. The doctors never really agreed on what it was -- likely some type of reactive arthritis flare-up or a form of gout. At any rate, they finally added steroids to his IV's and that rapidly took care of the joint inflammation. He is walking very well and is almost dancing:-) His spirits are great and he is almost back to his normal self, joking and talking and enjoying a roomful of company. The nurses are awesome to put up with the commotion. Luckily he has a large room. Our challenge yet is with his kidney. The kidney numbers went down so low that he has been on dialysis for three days. Yesterday and today they stopped it to see if his kidney would be able to take over. We wait to see what will happen. There are some signs that the kidney wants to do its job. A couple days ago during dialysis the nurse told Greg that he was having a hard time keeping his blood pressure under control. He explained that it was really a good thing and not a bad thing because it meant that the kidney was still "thinking" and wondering where the blood was, so it was raising Greg's blood pressure to try to find more blood. Aren't our bodies amazing? Also, some of the kidney markers are actually up instead of down. A little mysterious. We will meet with the kidney doctor maybe tomorrow or Sunday. He is working with us to give that little diseased kidney one more chance for life. Because of Greg's medical history he is not a candidate for a kidney transplant, so what happens here is crucial as to whether or not he will be tied to a dialysis machine the rest of his life. Of course, never say never in the kingdom of God, but medically speaking when the kidney has the dialysis machine to help it, it sometimes says, "Great! Now I can relax!" and stops working. That's why these next few days and weeks are so important. We know the odds medically are not good and we won't be stupid, but a year ago Greg was sitting with a Stage IV cancer diagnosis and now one year later his cancer is significantly decreased (the latest radiologist report said, "near resolution" in his lungs!) with no chemo or radiation or surgery. Those odds weren't so good either, but we have a God who heals. Now if I were Greg I would give you a little sermon right now, but since I am not I will simply ask for you to pray in agreement with us. Greg feels he is supposed to pray and call this little kidney back to life. When he was at the MacNutt healing retreat this February one of the people praying for him saw a picture of his kidney being held up to God. As she watched it a little green sprout, or shoot, popped out of the diseased kidney...signifying life and new growth? So will you please pray with us that this little kidney will grow new life? We worship an awesome God and he is more than able. So unless he lets us know otherwise, we pray for life and healing and health because we know that is who he is. Thank you. Love, Jeane

A Note from Greg & Jeane

Dear Friends and Family,

What a rocky week it has been this past week, with blood pressures, blood sugars, white blood cell count and kidney function leaving us with a swirl of numbers and treatments and priorities to sort out. Greg is on day ten in the hospital. The roller coaster of ups and downs that has been our past week has culminated in a D-Day of sorts: The sepsis infection is not improving as it should. Greg's kidney function goes up and down, but generally down. The infection has raised havoc with swelling and pain in both of his legs (knees) so he has been unable to walk without the help of the physical therapists the past three days. The nephrologist is recommending dialysis unless his kidney function improves by Monday (yes, tomorrow). Removing the toxins through dialysis may likely give the infection a better chance to heal. We cannot let the infection continue, so anything that may help it heal must be considered. Normally this would be a temporary move to restore kidney function and improve overall health, but in the case of Chronic Kidney Disease, this could mean he is on dialysis permanently; hence our hesitancy to do it. However, it might be the best choice. We are discussing it with the medical doctors and with each other and also with God...well, especially with God. This is a set-back in body and mind and spirit and we are asking, "Really?! You have shrunk the 11 tumors in Greg's lungs down to only two tiny spots and you have decreased his thigh tumor by over half, and now this? Is this really a part of the story, God?" In the middle of it all we know that some things never change: Our God can do exceedingly great things. It's just that right now we don't think this is such a great thing, but we also know that we see through a mirror dimly. So we pray and look for clarity. And we trust in God's faithfulness. Ann Voskamp writes, "We give thanks in everything because we fiercely believe that Christ can redeem anything." Once again, thank you for your prayers, well wishes, and standing beside us certain that Christ can redeem anything. We will keep you posted. Greg & Jeane

A Quick Update on Greg's Hospital Stay Over Easter

Dear Friends and Family,   Some of you have heard that Greg is in the hospital again so I thought you would want to know the latest news.

Friday morning Greg woke up with severe chills and vomiting. When his fever topped 103 a couple of hours later we headed for the emergency room. We thought it was just the flu, but found out instead that he had sepsis, a systemic infection in his blood. He was immediately put on a broad spectrum of antibiotics and admitted to the hospital. They spent 2 days waiting for cultures to come back, trying to find out the exact nature of the infection and where it had come from. Late Saturday night part of the mystery was solved when his right leg started to hurt and became hot, red and swollen up to his knee. It turns out he had a blister on his little toe that had popped and allowed an entrance point for bacteria, even though the toe does not even look infected at all! (What a strange deal.) For you medical types out there, the red, swollen leg is Cellulitis. The good news is that the infection was finally identified as a Strep bacteria, which is better than a Staph infection and easier to treat. He was getting a correct mix of antibiotics all the while, so already his white blood count is going down instead of up. We had a scare with his kidney because the kidney function got worse with the fever and infection and one doctor was talking potential dialysis. We prayed for life to come back to his kidney. Thankfully it improved a little yesterday; this morning (Tuesday) his kidney was even better--back to roughly where it had been when he entered the hospital. We give thanks to God who brings new life on Easter Sunday and every other day! Of course when your body is busy fighting cancer the immune system is preoccupied with other things, and that allowed the bacteria to grow and multiply. We caught it early and doctors believe he is on his way to healing and is doing well. No word yet from the doctors when he will get out of the hospital. They want to see more improvement before letting him out. He is in good spirits and feels cooped up and is chomping on the bit to go. My apologies for not getting the word out sooner or responding quickly to those of you who have heard and texted. When your loved one goes into the hospital it's a full-time preoccupation--an energy-sucking thing--especially until the patient stabilizes and you know what's really happening. We hope your Easter was blessed with resurrection of new life from the risen Lord. Ours was! Thank you for who you are and for your prayers that move the heavens. Love, Jeane

Just a quick note from Greg...

Greetings Friends,

It was a busy week this past week:

I went for a 3-month checkup at MD Anderson which included a CT Scan and 3 MRIs. The results were good. The tumors were all reported as stable--no significant growth or reduction. We were a little disappointed that the MD Anderson radiologist did not take measurements this time. It made it harder to document any small decreases in size. (We shamelessly look for all the good news we can get!)

I also had an appointment with my nephrologist (kidney doc). The function of my kidney has continued to decline--a matter that is of serious concern for us.

Then I spent a three-night surprise stay in the hospital over the weekend. I had some shoulder pain that was shooting down my arm and into my neck. It got worse throughout the week. On Friday late afternoon I decided it was best to get it checked out, so I walked down to the emergency room after I'd finished work. Well, I guess you don't walk into an emergency room with pain shooting down your arm without some extensive testing, so a brief visit turned into a weekend hospital stay. They wanted to check for blood clots as well as heart issues. (Apparently having cancer puts you at a greater risk of developing blood clots, which I did not know.)

All ended well on Monday afternoon when I was released with a prescription for muscle relaxers and some Lidocaine patches. Turns out it was a muscular/nerve issue. Guess I have to sit up and pay attention to how I work when I am at my desk and in front of my computer.

I have to mention one of the neat things that happened in the hospital this weekend: When I was admitted they immediately took a chest x-ray to check for heart blockage. The radiologist compared this chest x-ray to the last one that was taken at my hospital (Banner Thunderbird), which happened to be my x-ray from December 2011--the one that first alerted us to the two largest nodules in my lungs. (Later the nodule count was upped to 11 after a CT scan found more, smaller nodules on my lungs).

Anyway, when the radiologist compared the two x-rays taken 14 months apart, his report stated that the nodules seen on the previous x-ray were "no longer identified. The lungs are clear." That means that the two largest nodules on my lungs are now too small to be seen on a chest x-ray. Praise God!

I am going away tomorrow, Wednesday, to Jacksonville, Florida for a prayer retreat with Christian Healing Ministries (Judith and Francis MacNutt). This was the same retreat that Jeane and I went to last January the week after we learned of my cancer diagnosis. We're so grateful for that ministry and the wonderful people there. We both believe that the retreat impacted us deeply and "set the stage" for how we dealt with the cancer. It set our minds and hearts in the right direction to deal with the tough battle that was ahead in the spirit realm as well as in the physical.

Returning to the retreat one year later is very important to me. It feels like a pilgrimage for me. I will be there to give thanks to God for his sustenance, grace and healing power that he has shown to us this past year. I will also be praying specifically for my diseased kidney. I ask for your prayers for its restoration and healing.

Thank you all for your love and prayers. It is so good to be a part of the family of God. May you be blessed with the powerful presence of his Holy Spirit in your life this week, and may you be overwhelmed by his great love for you.

"I am the Lord who heals you." Ex. 15:26

Greg

Psalm46

Psalm46

January 18, 1013

It was one year ago this week, 

on Friday, January 13th to be exact, when I sat in the office of the Pulmonary Specialist and got the diagnosis of cancer, stage IV. She was such a cool, perky woman to deliver such bad news. When she started talking about "quality of life" Jeane and I knew we were in for a battle.                                   

Cancer is just a word, no different from pencil or ticket or basket--a word that's book-ended by consonants with a couple of vowels thrown in. We didn't know much at that point, but we knew we would not give it power.

"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," said Jesus, "and unto God the things that are God's."  (Mark 12:17)

I work in a medical establishment and I have the greatest respect for modern medicine and for those who have a call to make it their life's work. I have high regard for the opinions of my doctors regarding my health--they know more than I do. And I'm thankful for all the support and care they give me.

But this kind of stuff? A life sentence? I'll take all the facts and submit them to a higher authority. It's God's call--not Caesar's.

We're all going to die sometime. But I was not about to let Satan steal one day from me before my time. This battle is one of those Paul is talking about when he says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against.....the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12)

One year later I get up every morning grateful for the air I get to breathe and the places I get to go and the people I get to spend time with. I'm grateful that I am feeling well and that the tumors have shrunk.

I pray for my kidney every day that God would miraculously sustain it. I ask for your continued prayers, too. This journey has been amazing, and it's not over yet.

Along the road I have experienced this truth in a whole new way: No matter what, God is with us. Psalm 46 opens with these words:

God is our refuge and strength,
   An ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear
      Though the earth should move.

Though the mountains shake into the heart of the sea,
   Though its waters roar and foam,
      Though the mountains tremble with their tumult.....
    
             ......Be still and know that I am God.

The first verse speaks to me the loudest: An ever-present help in trouble.
Ever-present. Very present. Always present.
No, really!
Always here. Always accessible. Always sure ground under my feet.
Not just a story or an idea or a theology, but God himself--with me ever!

Ever-present on the MRI table.
Ever-present in the oncologist's office.
Ever-present at 3 AM when the voices of cancer taunt and dance.
Ever-present when we storm the gates of hell with prayer.
Ever-present in the food I eat.
Ever-present in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
Ever-present in the still, small voice that speaks hope and life to me.
Ever-present when I step outside in the morning and feel the sun on my face for another day.

Ever-present.
The I AM of God.

With celebration and gratitude for this day,

Greg