Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
As some of you may know, we had a health issue in our family last week. Early in the morning, my wife was taken to the hospital by ambulance with stroke-like symptoms. This is the third such issue in just over a year. Severe weakness on the left side and the inability to walk or … Read More “Thankful For All of the Support and Prayers” »
The best news we received this past week was that Amanda was coming home. After almost a week in the ICU, it was wonderful to have her back home with us. That is not to say that she has fully recovered from her stroke. She is still walking with a walker and has weakness on … Read More “On the Road to Recovery” »
Saturday was a pretty scary day. As Amanda was beginning to prepare dinner, she seemed off. This is not unusual as she is still recovering from a concussion from a year and a half ago. But this was different. Soon after, Amanda had lost all strength in her left side and was unable to speak. … Read More “Thankful for Support and Improvement” »
I recently shared that I had made some changes that have improved my mental health. That change in my rhythm has really helped things. I had been experiencing quite a bit of fatigue. I literally could sleep for nine hours at night and still have a two hour nap. Part of that was to do … Read More “Good News: Feeling Better” »
So it finally happened. I tested positive for covid. This was a real concern early on in the pandemic as I have a compromised immune system. There was a real danger of what it could do to my lungs. Thankfully, I have received three doses of the vaccination. So now, when I did get it … Read More “Good News: Recovering From Covid” »
I have had a rough time for the past six weeks because of some lower back issues. This is not just a dull ache but sharp pain that is intense enough to make me pass out. It has been pretty rough. This has led to two emergency room visits to the hospital, as well as … Read More “Good News: Feeling Better” »
I have been struggling lately with extreme lower back pain. When I say extreme, I mean that it was bad enough for me to pass out last week. It is really affecting me. This could be a real problem with work. And to complicate things, I have two jobs: pastor at a church and chaplain … Read More “Good News: Thankful for Flexibility” »
I had a rough weekend. While doing some errands at the church with Amanda, I had a sudden attack of severe lower back pain. Now, I am in my mid-fifties and it is not unusual for me to have aches and pains, especially in the back. However, this was not just a twinge of pain … Read More “Good News: Getting Some Answers” »
My goal in this post is not to complain or even to share some overly personal information. There have been a number of people who have reached out to me recently, people I know in person and others. I have no intention of sharing here what is going on. There is stress in our family, … Read More “Good News: Considering Self-Care” »
It has been about a month since I was in my ATV accident and I fractured a couple of ribs. I will say that the first two weeks (and especially the first few days) were pretty rough. I never realized how painful broken ribs could be. But the past couple of weeks, and especially the … Read More “Good News: Recovering Well” »
In my previous Good News post, I explain about our recent accident and my thankfulness to just be alive. In this post, I will share some thoughts about what my recovery has been like so far. It has been difficult. It has been difficult in two ways. The first way is the pain. It is … Read More “Good News: A Recovery in Process” »
Over the past number of months, with getting my D.Min. finished, interviewing for a church, moving across the country, there are a number of things that I let slip. One of those has been exercise. Being in the military, fitness is important. While I can pass the minimum fitness requirements, I am not where I … Read More “Good News: Getting into Shape” »
I was sick this week (and still am). That is not good news. But in the age of covid, we cannot just push through the way we have before. especially as a pastor of a church, I cannot just show up sick for a service. Thankfully, I don’t have covid but I was still quite … Read More “Good News: An Unexpected Sunday Off” »
My Good News this week begins with some bad news. Last Wednesday, I was taken to the hospital by ambulance. What happened? Well, I was taking our cat upstairs to get her medication and I had to go over the gate that keeps our dog out. I fell and smashed my knee. It was an … Read More “Good News: Feeling the Support” »
I have a disease called sarcoidosis. I don’t often think about it because most days it doesn’t affect me. It would be easy to forget I have it because it is controlled by medication. Under guidance from one of my specialists, I went off my medication for two weeks before and one week after each … Read More “Good News: Thankful For Medication” »
I have mentioned in some of my recent personal posts that I had a flare of sarcoidosis. This was because of a planned pause in my medication. The results were not what we hoped. I had a few pretty bad days but thankfully the medication is doing its job. I had to start taking prednisone … Read More “Good News: Feeling Better” »
A number of years ago, I released from the Canadian Armed Forces reserves in which I had served as a chaplain. I released not because I didn’t like it but because of my health. I was looking at a non-voluntary medical release before I made my decision. The problem was the effects of my sarcoidosis. … Read More “Good News: The Last Step” »
Working out is something that is important to me, especially as I’m now in my 50s. I have been a part of a gym in the past. The struggle I had was that it took away from family time. I always felt guilty working out while leaving the family behind. Now we have a family … Read More “Good News: Family Workout” »
That is a strange title. But this is what I mean. I have a disease called sarcoidosis. I have been doing very well with it and have enjoyed the best health I have had in years. It has been so good that my doctor suggested I get off the low dose of prednisone that I … Read More “Good News: A Painful Reminder” »
Long-time readers of my personal blog will know that I have had some health struggles over the past couple of years. My main struggle is sarcoidosis. The main problems this has caused me include muscle and joint pain. In addition, the treatment for it has at times given me quite bad diabetes. Thankfully I have … Read More “Good News: Feeling the Best in a Long Time” »
In my first four months as a paid pastor, I gained about thirty pounds. This was the result of two things. One that I was spending much of my time getting together with youth at McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s. The other was that I was not getting much exercise. I was eventually forced to include … Read More “31 Days to Become a Better Pastor: Get Some Exercise” »
The past six months or so have not been great for me health-wise. My sarcoidosis has been acting up and with that, my diabetes. I don’t say this to complain. My good news is that I have been feeling much better. I have started swimming with the kids again on our regular Sunday night swim. … Read More “Good News: Better Health” »
My wife Amanda had surgery on Friday. The surgery she had was a gastric bypass, which is fairly serious surgery. Thankfully the surgery went well and Amanda is recovering. I haven’t seen Amanda since before the surgery and I’m eager to bring her home, but not until she has recovered enough for it. My Good … Read More “Good News: Amanda is Recovering Well” »
For the past number of months, I have been experiencing a sarcoidosis flare. This has been frustrating because my respirologist increased my dosage of prednisone to try and knock it into remission, but instead of relieving the symptoms, they actually got worse. In addition to not helping the sarcoidosis, the prednisone brought me back into … Read More “Good News: Feeling a Bit Better” »
I have no desire to be complainer when it comes to my health or any other issue. I’m generally a positive person and I’m thankful for all the blessings I enjoy. Having said that, I have a relatively rare disease called sarcoidosis. Many people have not heard of it or are vaguely familiar with it … Read More “Health Update” »
As I write this, it is the beginning of September. As a pastor of a church, in many ways this is the beginning of the ministry year. After a couple of months of a relaxed schedule, things are just starting again. As the ministry year starts, I’m reminded of how I need to intentionally remain … Read More “6 Steps I Take Toward Healthy Ministry” »
It was four years ago that my father-in-law came to our house and drove me to the hospital. I had been sick for some time and the walk-in clinic was not able to figure out what was wrong. The hospital was our last hope of finding out what was going on. At the time I … Read More “Good News: Four Years Later” »
The experience of people with sarcoidosis varies considerably. Many people diagnosed with sarcoidosis go into remission relatively quickly after treatment and never suffer another symptom. Other people are not helped by the treatment and the symptoms become so debilitating that they experience long-term disability. I’m somewhere in the middle. I have responded to treatment but … Read More “What Does a Sarcoidosis Flare-up Look Like?” »
It is easy to come up with Good News this week. A few days ago, Amanda had some surgery. It was a planned surgery and one we have been waiting for. It was serious enough for Amanda to spend one night in hospital. The surgery itself is Good News because it will solve some ongoing … Read More “Good News: Recovering Well” »
It might seem surprising that my Good News is that I’m thankful for my health. After all, I do still have sarcoidosis, diabetes and asthma. That doesn’t sound very good. However, everything is relative. Less than a year ago, I was taking eighteen pills and fours shots of insulin per day. I felt like a … Read More “Good News: Thankful for My Health” »
I have a disease that is called sarcoidosis. A lot of people have never heard of sarcoidosis. In order to increase awareness, I would like to share six things that you should know about sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that can attack many different parts of the body. Even though many online articles will … Read More “6 Things You Should Know About Sarcoidosis” »
In my last health update, I reported that I had developed diabetes after having begun a prednisone treatment for my sarcoidosis. It has been a while since then, so I thought I would give a new update. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that I am almost finished weaning myself … Read More “Health Update” »
A sermon preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction It was about thirty years ago. I was up early to catch a plane to go to Florida for March Break with my friends. I was pretty groggy, and my mother after waking me had started telling me about Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. My parents … Read More “Healing and the Prosperity Gospel” »
The last number of years have not been great with my health. My mid-forties hit me pretty hard. It all began with the sudden appearance of sarcoidosis, although I did not get that diagnosis until after I had been very sick for a number of months. For many people with sarcoidosis, the symptoms never appear … Read More “Health Update” »
Although I would not consider my recent diagnosis with diabetes good news, I must say that this week has not been without good news. I have had the shadow of diabetes over me for some time. My father had diabetes and so I have been watching my blood results with interest. There was always a … Read More “Good News: Getting Acquainted With Diabetes” »
I was told that my health would go down hill once I hit my 40s. I didn’t believe them. Why should there be something dramatic about this decade? Now I believe. About three years ago, I was diagnosed with a disease called sarcoidosis. For many people, there are either no symptoms of sarcoidosis or it … Read More “Good News: Thankful for the Health I Have” »
I don’t usually use my blog to report my day’s events but yesterday was something different. I had a simple plan for the day. I was going to a pastor’s workshop in Etobicoke, then I was going to find a coffee shop to start working on my sermon and then I was going to my … Read More “Doctor’s Calls and Hospital Brawls” »
As you may or may not know, two years ago I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. It has been a while since I have given an update. What is sarcoidosis? You are not alone in not knowing. Most of the people I talk to have not heard of it as it is a fairly rare disease. … Read More “Sarcoidosis Update” »
As of yesterday, I began having another sarcoidosis flareup (or that is when I began to notice it). What does this look like? My appetite has been down, I am more tired than usual (and I’m usually pretty tired) and my joints began to hurt. In fact, last night I had to get my cane … Read More “Thankfulness Can Be a Pain” »
I can almost guarantee that this good news post has nothing to do with what you think. It is true that it is about health and my physical state but it is not about running or pushups. As you may (or may not) know, I have been on a long road of recovery since being … Read More “Getting Some Exercise” »
Some weeks are easier than others to write my good news post. This was one of my easier weeks. We received a number of fantastic blessings this week. One of the most important for me has to do with Amanda. She had some serious health concerns recently. Having seen someone else with similar symptoms, we … Read More “So Many Blessings” »
So this has not been a great weekend for me. As I recently blogged, my sarcoidosis is now active in my eyes and is causing quite a bit of pain. In addition, the sarcoidosis is flaring elsewhere in my body. My chest hurts, my back hurts, my hip hurts, my knee hurts, my ankle hurts. … Read More “Light in Darkness” »
I have no intention of making this blog a place to complain about my health issues. However, sarcoidosis is so poorly known that I feel obligated to educate people about it. I recently blogged about sarcoidosis and this time I will share a different side of my experience. Most people have not heard of sarcoidosis. … Read More “Sarcoidosis: The Eyes Have It” »
I have told the story of how I discovered that I had sarcoidosis. At the time I was first sick, I was convinced that I had lymphoma and finding out that I had sarcoidosis was the best news in the world. When people thought I had lymphoma, there was a lot of concern about my … Read More “Sarcoidosis is a Pain” »
If you follow my good news posts, you will know that I have had some rough weeks where it was hard to find the good news. That was not the case this week. Here is a quick summary of things we are thankful for. They are in no particular order. We have seen some improvement … Read More “Piling On the Good News” »
I realized that it has been a while since I gave a health update and I do get asked about it regularly. For those of you new to this blog, here is a bit of my background. A year and a half ago, I became very sick. For many months, the doctors had no idea … Read More “Sarcoidosis: A Year and a Half Later” »
Today is my 46th birthday. My personality would lead me to look back on my life. However, I am making a choice to look to the future. I have decided to make some goals for this coming year. I intend to look back at this post and see how I did. Obviously, I could make … Read More “Birthday Reflections” »
For the last few days I have felt as if I am having a sarcoidosis flare up. What does that look like? I am more tired than ever. My usually energizing 20-minute nap does not touch my fatigue. I have also had some muscle and joint pain. A few time over these days, the pain … Read More “An Eye to the Past and an Eye to the Future” »
This morning I went to do my army physical. It is something called the FORCE test. Is it a super hard physical test? Probably not. A healthy soldier in their early twenties should be able to do it with no problem. But I am not in my early twenties and I have not been overly … Read More “The FORCE is With Me” »
I went for a run today. This was the first one in a long time, perhaps over a year. Why start now? It was not a decision to start good habits, it was because I have to do an army physical next week. I figured a run was as good a way as any to … Read More “I Have the Runs” »
For the last number of months I have been working only part-time at Faith Today. The reason for this was my health. My sarcoidosis was hitting me hard. While I had pain, the worst part was the fatigue and the mental confusion (likely connected). I just couldn’t keep myself together. Faith Today was nice enough … Read More “Full Steam Ahead” »
We are not the richest family. We do not have all the gadgets and gizmos. You probably won’t drive by our house or car and struggle with envy. But money is not everything. Last year at this time, I was sure that I was dying. I was walking with a cane and had dropped a … Read More “Thankful For What I Have” »
A year ago at this time, I was in pretty rough shape. I was in tremendous pain, I was walking with a cane and my weight was dropping rapidly. Worst of all, I had no idea what was wrong with me. All I had was fear. Now I am feeling much better and I have … Read More “Health Update” »
Yesterday was Vitiligo Day. What kind of religious or cultural holiday is that? It is actually a day of awareness for a disease called vitiligo. Basically vitiligo is a condition where the skin loses its pigmentation. It usually starts with the hands but can spread to any part of the body. The cause is unknown and … Read More “Happy (Belated) Vitiligo Day!” »
I had a follow-up appointment this morning to go over the results of my sleep study. I assumed that they would insist on CPAP machine but I was relieved to have them not even mention it. The best thing was meeting with a doctor who knew what he was talking about. The problem is that … Read More “Brain Trust” »
As you may know, my wife had a pretty serious health scare a while back. She had to take some time off work and even then was only able to go back part-time. Today, Amanda was able to go back to work full-time. She is still undergoing tests and we don’t know what happened, but … Read More “Full Time” »
I have noticed my days getting more productive. I went down in my hours at work because I just was not productive. But I find I have more concentration and am able to get more done. This is a very good thing. My plan is to go back up to full-time hours. I did not … Read More “Getting More Productive” »
So how am I doing? I get asked that a lot. I usually say “fine.”The truth is there is a cloud on the horizon. It was a year ago at this time that my sarcoidosis made itself known. I have had a pretty good winter and spring. But as the weather gets hotter, I am … Read More “Another Health Update” »
In Hitchens’ chapter “A Note on Health, to Which Religion Can Be Hazardous,” he continues his tirade against religion. This chapter is really just more of the same. Hitchens’ goal is not to offer a direct link between religious teachings and evil/suffering but rather to just show some of the worst moments in humanity and … Read More “Health, Sex and the End of the World” »
