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The first of many finger pricks and pictures of Mom holding #BenBrave. Gathering facts is tedious. Often it involves discomfort due to fasting, finger-pokes, cuffs that squeeze uncomfortable sterilization swabs that sting, cold gels and even colder scanning tools, and loooooong waits. But after progressing over about 3 months from stomach flu, to pneumonia with dehydration, to anemia, and to possible enlarged spleen we had an answer! It was an 11cm x 8cm x 11cm mass next to #BenBrave's left kidney. Cancer type: Wilms tumor. The doctor was quick to add "this is treatable - operable" and even shared about a 2-1/2-year-old who had this and was now five, healthy and thriving. What a trooper! THOUGHT INTERRUPTION: You know, when you have a say in the care given, it is much easier to receive. The technicians would always ask this little guy which ...

#BenBrave finds a jungle gym at our local dairy store.  "It's a Wilms' tumor," said my son. "And OU Children's Medical Center has one of The. Leading. Experts. on Wilms' tumor." Once again, God provides and amazes us all. You may read about Wilms' tumors on the American Cancer Society website. Surgery is scheduled and my son said, "unleash the prayer warriors". Prayer Warriors Unleashed What would we do without prayer warriors?  To me a prayer warrior is someone who has a personal relationships with Jesus Christ, believes in the Triune God, and you may ask to pray for you And. They. Will!  Their belief is critical to this definition because it unites our faith in prayer. What's the point in praying to a god you do not believe in? I don't want to disparage other believers in other faiths, but there is power in unity and I personally qualify my prayer warriors to tap into that unified focus of faith. I don't know a...

Hope in Scripture is not wishful thinking. Hope is guaranteed delivery. But you have to believe it. Draw on it. Count on it like you do the money in your bank account. It is there for the usage. Makes me think of the movie "You've Got Mail" but it isn't cute, is it? Just remembering that fateful day in February 2019 starts the flow of tears down my face. My son called from the parking lot. "Mom," he says, "as the technician performed the ultrasound I saw this blackness." At that moment he knew his 20-month-old son had cancer. He told me the technician's eyes filled with tears. So, he asked about what she saw and she was quick to apologize for her "lack of professionalism." She said, "You see, I lost my mother to cancer just last week." What is a father to do? Well, first. He cries his heart out. The lamentation from my son was gut-wrenchingly heart-breaking. We cried together on the phone while I liste...