Thanksgiving

Today we are thankful for family and friends, our country that sets aside a day to be thankful, and our God who loves and cares for us so well. We are thankful for Susan's oncology visit yesterday and another good report. Her MRI once again showed no tumor change and a smaller blood clot than six weeks ago. An area near the tumor lit up more than usual with the contrast agent; but Dr Nghiemphu believes it's due to Susan's lower dose of Decadron, the steroid that counters brains swelling. We will continue her slow Decadron taper, cutting her 2mg dose in half every other day. Susan's blood counts look okay, so she's cleared to have her third cycle of CCNU chemotherapy tonight – quite the Thanksgiving dessert.

Overall, her condition has improved slightly. She has better strength from more consistent therapy with Cynthia, although she still needs lots of rest, needs an occasional recovery day, and struggles with word-finding and vision when she's tired. Also thankfully, she still enjoys being sassy and threatening me with bodily harm if I don't treat her well.
We are thankful for glorious Thanksgiving services this year at church, celebrating the God who has given Emmanuel a rich heritage, an exciting mission in the city, and a promise-filled future. We heard amazing stories of grace, salvation, and transformation from new and long-time Christians alike. We were drawn into rich worship with the worship team and 80-voice choir, once again solidifying Thanksgiving as my favorite church service of the year. Each year as we reflect on the service over Thanksgiving dinner, I wonder how next year could be any better. Somehow, the next one surpasses the others. God is so good.
This morning as we were getting ready for church and Lexie's radio carried Christmas music throughout the house, I recalled hearing recent complaints about Christmas decorations and music invading too early, even closer to Halloween than Thanksgiving. No one can deny the commercial side of Christmas and the hollowness of the holidays when reduced purely to profiteering. But what struck me this morning was the joy of the music, pent up for 11 months, once again arriving to remind the world God sent his Son to bring life and hope to a people trapped in darkness. This Christmas, may he find a place to abide in every heart.