A much needed update on my life..... my mother's dealings with 2 Cancer Tumours in her brain and much more!

Hello everyone, i'm terribly sorry for neglecting my personal blog so much: things have been pretty hectic lately. Between exams, projects, and many other tasks, it's been hard to make the time to keep this blog up to date. anyways, here's an excerpt from an update I gave to one of my friends that sums things up pretty good......

"By the way, my mother is doing much better now, having been able to go back to work in March/April/ May2007 and all.... However when she was on a trip to Australia with my Step-dad, during her 5th week, she had to go to the nearest Australian Hospital. The result? They discovered she had 2 Cancer Tumuours in her brain. But fortunately, they were able to stabilize the cancer while she was in Australia.

Upon arriving home in St.John's, she has to be rushed to the Health Sciences to get an MRI done... and this past Friday, she had both Cancer Tumours removed.. However, she still needs to get radiation done tomorrow, in order to ward off any cancer that may be undetected.

On a more random note, my mom converted to Roman Catholicism, after some experiences she had with "Our Lady of Fatima", during the early days of her cancer.... So ya, God has made her faith grow tenfold in the last year or so! I'm terribly sorry to have neglected my personal blog, but things have been going pretty fast lately."


On a more personal note, i've struggled with loneliness lately, seeing as i've been single since May 2007 and all. Despite having crushes on quite a few girls I know (and even trying to ask some to spend more time with me), my love life doesn't seem to be really going anywhere. Even though I aim to trust God in these things, I really have my doubts sometimes as to whether i'll ever find someone who'll ever want to go out with me! Sometimes I feel like i'm on the verge of giving up on 'more than friends' relationships all together!

Other than that, I really need to get back to reading the Bible more often, and praying more. I reject having spent too much time socializing this semester, and not enough time volunteering and studying.... But hey, i'm not alone in feeling alone sometimes, but I realize that university can be a pretty ambivalent place: both a place full of memories of new friendships, learning,etc... But large universities can seem impersonal and distant sometimes. Were it not for smaller groups like MUNCF (MUN Christian Fellowship), MUN Rights and Democracy and other groups, it'd be easy to become anti-social in university.

It can be so easy to just let our frustrations with this life get us down, but I was uplifted by a message I heard at Pathway Community Church in Mt. Pearl this past sunday. The message was about Joseph, the wife of Mary in Jesus' time. It is written that Mary became pregnant with Jesus by means of the Holy Spirit, as was prophesized in the Old Testament. Despite being a man of God, Joseph struggled between earthly feelings (wondering who get her pregnant, wanting to secreting divorce her, feeling she betrayed him, she's as they were engaged). But instead of allowing Mary to be stoned to death (the punishment for pre-martial sex and pregnancy in Jesus' time), Joseph was visited by an Angel of the Lord. As a result, he realized that Mary had done no wrong, and this was all part of his plan.

In the message given by the Pastor at Pathway, they pointed out several points...

(the following is a reposting of the message given at Pathway)

" The Courage of Joseph... Matthew 1:18-25

1. Joseph was a Man of Moral Courage

a. Joseph was an ordinary man

b. Joseph lived a morally upright life (Matthew 1:18-19)

Joseph was a man of morals, integrity, and God-fearing love

2. Joseph was a man of manly Courage

a. Joseph courageously restrained his anger and treated Mary with love

b. Joseph resisted societal pressure ( Instead of allowing Mary to be stoned to death, which is what societal custom caleld for, he'd planned on divorcing her in private. But after a visit from an angel of the Lord, he realized that a virgin birth was to fulfill the prophecies of old given by the prophets in the Old Testament. Despite the trials and temptations, he trusted God and helped raise the Son of God during his time on Earth!)

c. Joseph obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife (Matthew 1:20-25)

d. Joseph courageously protected Mary and the child whenever his life was in danger (Matthew 2:13-23) ( Joseph had to go against everything he was taught by his culture)

() When you say yes to God, you never know the magnitude of what God is asking you to do.

Principles to Learn:

I. Courage is required when we most need it.

II. Courage is cultiavted by learning that God can help us overcome anything.

III. Children need Courageous Dads!

IV. Wives Long for Courageous Husbands!"



Other than that, i'm just amazed at what God is able to do with 'Average Joe' people sometimes. I guess we all just need to remember that it's not about whether God can use ordinary people. but it's whether we're willing to trust that God is capable of doing extraordinary things with ordinary people who humbly serve Him, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And of course, thanks to Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection on our behalf!