Balancing Ministry N' Work

I am sitting here on New Years Eve reflecting on 2010 and thinking on how good God has been to me! This year has been an amazing year filled with dreams being fulfilled, lives changed, and interesting challenges. I started this blog on Dec 26, 2009 (roughly 1 year ago) not knowing what 2010 had in store for me. I believe God guided me that night to start this blog so that I would have a way to communicate the ups and downs and record His blessings. This blog has allowed me to share these things with family, friends, and many people I have never met. I started this blog as a way to journal what was going on in my life mostly for my benefit, but I have received comments about how this blog has encouraged others as they go through difficult times. I am glad this tool has allowed my story and my faith in Jesus Christ to touch people in need. Thank you Jesus for expanding my sphere of influence! Someone has recently told me that I am 'Always looking at the bright side'. With this po...

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Ours was GREAT! My Mother flew out to spend Christmas with us and we had a nice relaxing time. Last time I saw my Mother I was in a hospital bed recovering from my surgery. If everything had gone as planned in the hospital we would have spent a couple of days at our house in MI during her last trip. With the complications I had I was still in the hospital when she had to head back to CA. I was on the mend when she left and was just waiting for the spinal fluid leak to seal up. My Mom coming to see us in IA this Christmas was a blessing for the whole family. Not only was she here Christmas morning to celebrate Jesus but she also got to see first hand that I am doing just fine. This Christmas we have a lot to be Thankful for. Eventhough things have not worked out perfectly so far in Spencer with our House not selling in MI and us in a rental instead of a new home, we enjoyed ourselves. My Mom got to have a Christmas morning with the kids, which is s...

Here are my notes from the sermon I was blessed with sharing last weekend. I hope you enjoy and are blessed! Merry Christmas and God Bless! Most of us tend to think of this as a time to celebrate with friends and family, and many of us tend to get wrapped up in all the different aspects of the holiday. Family gatherings, giving and receiving of gifts, singing Christmas carols, and some extra time off work. While these things are great, we should take some time and reflect on the first Christmas. Let’s start our reading in Matthew 1:18 “18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Imagine being in Joseph’s shoes. He is engaged to a beautiful woman and finds out she is pregnant and he knows h...

WOW it has been a long time since my last blog post! It has been roughly 5 weeks since my last post, and I missed my 6 month post by roughly 1 week. I guess I have been busy. New Job and getting settled in our rental home has taken more time than can be imagined. Thankfully I am still feeling GREAT! I have been able to help paint, clean, un-pack, move boxes, move furniture, and more! God has given me the strength to do everything I have needed to do. My energy level is still not what it was before the surgery and I do have to take time to rest. I have found that when I push myself to hard I get weak and uneasy on my feet. As long as I pay attention to how I am feeling, I do just fine. Overall I am doing really good. Still get minor headaches but they do not slow me down. I also have all the energy I need for regular day to day activities. I am still very grateful for all that God has done for me this year! It is nothing short of a miracle that I am feeling so good 6 months after having...

Today is October 26, 2010 and I feel GREAT! God is AMAZING! Over the last couple of months I have talked about some of the ongoing side effects. 1. Dull aches on the left side of my head. 2. Excessive Tiredness. 3. Numbness/tingling in my legs. Two of the three list above are all but gone! The dull mild headaches that I used to constantly deal with everyday are GONE! It has been several weeks since I have had those dull aches on the left side of my head. This was a constant annoyance but never really slowed me down. I did not notice they were gone until I started thinking about this update. While I have been tired the last couple of weeks, I am getting used to a new job schedule and have my family crammed into a small condo like hotel room. So being tierd is expected. I cannot say that I have my pre-op energy levels back, but I am not slowing down. I still don't think I could handle both work and leading a church, but I am doing great! A lack of energy is not slowing me donw! You g...

Copy and paste the following into your web browser. (Could not get the hyperlink to work) http://www.ted.com/talks/stacey_kramer_the_best_gift_i_ever_survived.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-10-12&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email Thanks Mom for forwarding this to me.

It has been roughly 2 weeks since my last post. Life has been busy! Needless to say we are now in between where we left and where we will end up. My last post was written in a hotel room and so is this one. Last time I was in a room all by myself missing my family and beginning a new job. This time I am not alone and in a very nice hotel suite. Alexis and I are sitting at the kitchen table that seats six at our different computers. The kids are trying to go to sleep on the sofa bed and air mattress and the dogs are lounging around here somewhere. As I look at this suite, I realize that it is bigger than our first apartment from almost 15 years ago. Heck it might be bigger than our second and third apartments. While back then it seemed so large, now we are crammed in here. Thankfully we have a full kitchen, a separate room for Alexis and I, and free access to the indoor water park every weekend! This was a great find for our temporary housing. Today Alexis met with the realtor and sent ...

As I am sitting here in a hotel room in Spencer, IA setting things in motion for our impending move, I have been reflecting on this year. Exactly 4 months ago, on May 26th I went had brain surgery. If you have not read my thoughts on that time, you can go back and read my previous posts about it. Today it is hard to believe that I went through that such a short time ago. The scar is hardly visable, and most people I interact with have no idea it is there. The left side of my head aches pretty consistently, but it is so mild that I do not even notice it most of the time. The more tired I am the more I notice it. I have regained most of my strength and endurance, but tend to get tired now and again. Some days I take a 10-15 minute nap when I get home from work, and I have found preaching takes a lot out of me. I am getting used to the hearing loss in my left ear, but do struggle hearing in noisy environments. The most annoying thing is that I have a continuous ringing in my left ear. Thi...

For those who do not know, I have accepted a promotion and we will be moving to Spencer, IA! The position is the same as I have been doing in Jackson, MI but on a bigger scale. The sales for the factory in Spencer is 6 times more than in Jackson, and there are 4 times more people. My department will grow from 11 people to 18, plus two onsite suppliers that I will manage. It is a great opportunity for career growth. The last couple of weeks have been interesting! I have interviewed at 3 different factories and received 2 different offers. The positions offered and locations were both very different, eventhough they had the same title. The first offer came from Eden Prairie, MN which is Money Magazines #1 place to live in 2010. Spencer is a small town of 11K people surrounded by corn farms. Both positions were great opportunities, I believe that the Spencer position will be more challenging and offer some unique development opportunities. We are in the process of preparing our house for ...

This week I was given the honor of preaching! It has been roughly 2 months since I had to resign from New Life Chapel, and I have been missing sharing God's Words. It was exciting and moving! I felt God using me this last Sunday and believe that the message about 'Remembering Who Jesus Is' touched members in the congregation. I was blessed by their openness to us and the love they showed our family. Our kids really enjoyed thier time there. With all of the good, I need to remember the impact it had on me. After church I was blessed and excited, I was on a Spiritual High! A couple of hours later I crashed. My energy left and I felt very tired for the rest of the day. I am very thankful that today is Labor Day and I was able to sleep in. Having the couple of extra hours of sleep will have a big impact on how I feel today and this week. As much as I loved being used by God this week, I have to admit that my body is still not ready to do it all the time. After all it has only b...

The last couple of weeks have been real busy for me. Work has kept me hopping! We had an evaluation to see how well we followed company policies and had great results! I traveled to Iowa and Minnesota for a quick 3 day trip, and am about to head out on another quick 2 day trip that will take me to 3 states. Another exciting thing is that a local church has asked me to provide pulpit supply (fill in preacher) this weekend. It has been a couple of months since I have been blessed to share God's Words and I have been missing it. Really looking forward to being God's conduit on Sunday. Alexis has started the kids on the new homeschool program this week, which has kept all of them busy. They are excited and seem to be enjoying it so far. Pretty cool! With all of this going on I seem to forget that it has only been 3 months since my surgery. I feel pretty good most of the time but occasionally have bouts of fatigue. Nothing major but reminds me that I need to slow down sometimes. Bes...

Crossroads in life come when we least expect them. This time is no exception. After finding out I had a brain tumor, going through a 10.5 hour surgery, spending 13 days in the hospital, and being on the road to recovery, a crossroad appears to be approaching. Years ago, I was faced with a major crossroad that. It came when I least expected. I was surprised when I felt God guiding me to get my Bachelors in Religion. I was finishing up my Associates Degree and was planning on continuing on at California State University of Fullerton with a degree in Business or Math. I was not aware of the plans God had for me. Sitting at a Men's Retreat out in the wilderness, I heard God tell me to go another path. This was a major crossroad in my life. I could have continued on with what I had planned, or I could listen to God. Following God down that alternate direction has been wonderful. I have met so many people that I would not have known, I have shared His good news with people, and have real...

The biggest struggle I have now is remembering that I am recovering from surgery! Did you catch that? I need to remember that I had surgery! That is an amazing thing. What do I mean? Basically I get so busy with life that I forget I need to pace myself. I work hard and want to play hard, and then wonder why I run out of steam. For example, last week was a tiring week at work. Friday afternoon, I was tired. Mostly cause I did not sleep well most of the week. Well it was also the kickoff of Relay for Life here in Jackson, MI. I wanted to go walk, and so did Alexis and the kids. So after a work, we went. I knew I was tired, but it was for a good cause. When we got there we hung out for a bit with people from work and then the kids and Alexis signed in at their schools both. Then we started walking. First lap, no problem. Second lap started out great, and for the most part I just started getting tired. It was not until we were about 80% done with the second lap that I realized I was no lon...

The question 'Why?' is one that people who have major medical problems ask all the time. They question why this is happening to them. Why were they chosen to suffer. and much more. To be honest, that is not the why question I have been asking. I know that God allowed me to go on this journey so that others can be touched. I have talked to people who have been moved by what I have gone through and the faith in God I have shown. I have heard people say that seeing what I have gone through has made it easier for them to go through their challenges. I am thankful that God saw me as worthy, that He trusted me to be His vessel during this time. I feel honored to be used by God. Regardless of how tough this has been at times, I believe complete that God has been good to me. He has taken care of everything, and provided everything that I needed. The 'Why' question I have been asking has to do with how this has impacted my ability to serve Him. If you have been reading my blog y...

I have been waiting till I went back to work to determine if I agreed with something the Drs told me. They told me that while I was going back to work I would be very tired for 6 months to a year. They believe it will take that long to get back to where I was before the operation. They have told me that I should not work 2 jobs for a year, in my situation that would mean I could only work at Eaton or Pastor at New Life Chapel. I wanted to see how I did for a week or two before I made a decision on what I was going to do. I have been praying that God would give me the strength and endurance to be able to continue with both. This week has shown me that having brain surgery takes a lot more out of you than I wanted to believe. After 3 days of being tired, today (Thursday) was pretty bad. For the first time in over a month I have gotten dizzy several times and lost my balance. I have also been so tired in the evening that there is no way I would be able to spend time prepping for a Sunday ...

The week of July 19th was an exciting week. It symbolized a major step in my recovery, I was going back to work! It was hard to get back in the habit of waking up early every morning, but I was glad to do it. Monday morning was exciting seeing everyone for the first time in roughly 6 weeks, since we popped in for a quick visit. For the most part things picked up rather quickly and returned to normal during the first day or two. I was very happy to see that my team was successful in staying on top of everything while I was gone. While some of the team felt stretched, they kept all of the department metrics moving in the right direction. I was very pleased with the team as I looked over the data. Thank You, Jackson SCM Team! Overall work was uneventful, by Wednesday I was realizing how little energy I had in the evening. I was beginning to believe the Drs about not being able to work and do ministry for 6 months to a year. I did not want to believe it, but on Thursday as I was walking do...

God is Good! Today I met with the OTO (ENT) surgeon as my follow up to my surgery. He was very happy with my progress, and believes everything looks good. He pulled up the presurgery MRI and the MRI taken yesterday, and the 2.3 cm mass is no longer there. From what we could see and the MRI Dr wrote up, THERE IS NO TUMOR LEFT!!! PRAISE GOD!!! At this point in time, I do not see him again for 2 years. So July of 2012 (unless the Mayans are right or our Lord Returns) I go in for a follow up MRI and appointment with him. If at that time everything is clear I am done with the follow up. :) We talked about the leg numbness I have been feeling and he said that has to do with positioning during surgery. It happens to some people and I got the short straw. It will take some time to heal up. I need to keep walking and it will get better, just not over night. The other short straw I drew has to do with the ringing in my left (deaf) ear. The tinnitus or ringing was one of the signs I was having a ...

Even though I was spending part of my birthday at UofM Hospital, it was a good day. My darling wife made me breakfast and it was GOOD! My first appointment was with the Physical Therapist at 2pm. This appointment went really well. We talked about how I have been feeling and if I have had any dizziness recently. I told the only activity she had given me that caused any problems was while I was walking and turning my head to the right or left. It is not a major problem, but it does alter my step pattern. She had me show her what I was doing, and she agreed it was very minor and I was turning my head rather quickly, so it made sense. Told her I tried it on the treadmill once, and she said that was a big NO NO (I am paraphrasing). We went through a couple of the other exercises and she was very happy with the results. She game me another exercise to try while there, and it to was no problem. She then told me that I should be OK to drive. I told her good since I have been driving for two we...

Well today is a good day and a UGH day! First I am celebrating another birthday, but had my youngest remind me that I am 30 years older than him. Made me feel old. In a couple of hours I will be heading to the UofM hospital for a Physical Therapy Evaluation followed by an MRI. Not the best way to spend your birthday, if you ask me. I will found out the results tomorrow when I visit the surgeon. Please keep up the prayers and may God Bless You! Robert

I am now 6 1/2 weeks post op. Besides the slow start to my recovery due to the CSF Leak and the leg cramps after I got home, I would have to say that I am doing great! God has been very good to me! For 2 weeks now I have either walked around my neighborhood for 30+ minutes, or spent an hour or two walking around the mall or other stores. Getting out everyday has been very helpful in building up my strength and stamina. It is rare now that I take naps during the day and I have not felt exhausted for a while. The difference from where I am at today and where I was even two weeks ago is night and day! Thank you Jesus! This past week was hot and very humid so most of our walking was at the mall or some store, I even spent some time on the treadmill. On Tuesday I actually had my first outing without Alexis for the first time post op. I drove about 20 minutes to have breakfast with a group of local pastors. It felt good to be confident enough in my abilities to go spend some time with this g...

As I continue remembering my time at UofM, I am reminded of how Jesus was present in everything. This next and final phase at the hospital is not a pleasant one, it is one where I saw Jesus working. The decision was made that I was going to have a Lumbar Drain put in. A Lumbar drain is essentially an Epideral that many pregnant women have during child birth. With the Drain though they are pulling out spinal fluid instead of putting in pain killers. Needless to say, after my experience I have a LOT more respect for those pregnant women getting epiderals, IT IS NOT FUN! The difference being for those in childbirth this is the begining of relief for me it was the begining of a nightmare. Thankfully they let me get a good nights sleep with a 40% incline in the bed before we got started. The next morning after breakfast and a couple of laps around the floor, it was time to have the Lumbar Drain installed (sounds like a car stereo). The Dr. prepped the room as I made one last try at escaping...

Thought I would take a break between my rehashing my experience at UofM and post an update on how I am doing. Today is June 28th, 1 month and 2 days post surgery. I am not as far as I would like, but I am seeing the progress. First I would like to thank my in-laws. They went on the next stage of their journey and are in Canada, but they have been very helpful. To start they were here at the house taking care of our 3 children and allowed Alexis and my Mother to spend a lot of time at the hospital. I needed them there with me and I went through the ups and downs and it was only possible with my in-laws being at the house. In addition they spent the next two weeks helping out, so Alexis did not have to carry such a heavy load. They helped with the kids and many of the 'little' things around they house, that could easily have dragged Alexis down. Thank You Sue and Colin, your help is APPRECIATED! As of last week the leg cramps are mostly gone. Thanks to Alexis massaging my right c...

The next 4 days were days of waiting and intense discussions between the Neurological and ENT teams. The Neuro team believed this leak would close on it’s on, wanted to put me on Diuretics, and send me home. The ENT team wanted a lumbar drain, which the Neuro team had to do. Neither wanted to budge, and both were counting on the sample taken on Day 3 to tell them which way to go. Needless to say, we waited for 4 days to get the results of the test and only after going through a lot of frustration. Now I think the world of UofM, I believe that God used them to give me my life back, as without treatment things would have gotten much worse. Sadly the Drs and Nurses were not able to get answers on the test results. Even to the point where the head of the Neuro Surgeon team took a 2nd sample and sent it in. Sadly it took Alexis going to the Patient Advocate Group to get an answer about the test results. It was not the Drs or the nurses, the group that tracked the tests were not giving good ...

It was 2:30 am when I was transferred from the NICU to a regular room. I remember the NICU nurse being very frustrated that they were transferring me at that time in the morning. She was said something along the lines of, "This is UofM we should not be doing something like this, we should know better." As much as I appreciate her concern, my sleep patterns were not normal yet so it did not matter to me. The interesting thing is they were not moving me to the Neurological floor, due to over crowding. They moved me to a floor that deals with many other types of surgeries. Started out with a room to myself, but was eventually joined by a man who was on a morphine drip. He had some interesting things to say, and I don't think he ever stopped talking. At first they started me out on liquids, and my stomach was still a little uneasy. Then again that may have been due to what they were feeding me. Those who know me, know that I like a good piece of beef now and again. The first ...

I wanted to take some time to share about what God did for me during my stay at University of Michigan Hospital and my recovery since. This will be the first of several blog posts explaining things from my perspective. Some of my memories from the first several days do tend to run together, probably a result of the moraphine or other drugs used during the surgery. On May 26th, Alexis, my Mother, and I woke up early to be at the hospital at 5:30am. Those of you who know me, I am not a morning person and this was difficult in itself. Knowing I was going in for brain surgery made it that much harder. I remember joking with Alexis during our drive that morning that not many people probably drive themselves to the hospital for brain surgery, and that was exactly what I did that morning. When we got to the hospital it became very real for me, and what I was about to do scared me a bit. Thankfully I had faith that God was on my side and that He was going to take care of everything. He had tak...

It seems I find myself wondering how much energy things will take. Simple things that would normally not even be something I would think about seem to wipe me out. For example, Friday night we went to dinner at a local restaurant. We were there for about an hour and a half and I was exhausted. The family wanted to go to The Parlour for ice cream afterwords, but I had no energy. Had Alexis bring me home and her the kids, and the in-laws went. I sat on the couch turned on the TV then crashed. I could not believe that something as simple as going to dinner would wipe me out like that. Not having much in balance issues, so the weeks off that the Drs want me to take must be for me to build my strength back up. I had heard it would take some time, but I did not think it would be this bad. Heck I thought I would be back at church preaching by now, but I see no way for me to have the energy to stand up and talk for 30 minutes, let alone all the prep that goes into it. While it has been rough r...

Been home for about a week now, and have not really felt like sitting at the computer so this is the first real update. First couple of days home were great, felt good to be home and I was mobile. I even went into work on Thursday to say Hi to everyone. After the last couple of weeks I had, it felt good to go in there. Spent about an hour walking around talking to everyone and then Alexis and I had a quite lunch together which was really nice. After all that I was really tired and took a good nap. Friday that changed, I developed some series leg cramps. It was so bad I could not put any weight on my right leg. Knowing that I was low on sodium in the hospital and that potassium could also be an issue, I have been drinking Gatorade (YUCK) like crazy. I think the cramps are due to one of the meds they have me on, which is a diaretic combined with a water restriction. Not fun since I normally drink 4500 ML of water a day (6 big glasses) and I am limited to 1500 ML. Lots of heat and loving ...

Tuesday June 7, 2010 was an emotional day for me. I had been through the wringer and was trying to not let my guard down. I had been told on two other occasions that I would be going home, only to have problems and have to stay in the hospital. 7:00am Dr.s came in no leak, said I would be going home. Then I had an agonizing wait. 3:00 pm they finally came and removed the lumbar drain out of my back. That is one experience I never want to have again. 4:00 pm got in my Dodge and Alexis drove me home! It is so good to be home now! It is always nice to come home after a vacation, but this was NO vacation. The surgery was good, the waiting was a pain, the last 4 days in the hospital was unbearable. Now I am home! I keep saying that and it keeps making me smile. I will start writing more about my 'Medical Journey' in the next couple of days and am now looking forward to lots of walks with Alexis and the kids and I work to get my strength back. Thank You Jesus for ALL that you have do...

This is going to sound alot worse than it really is (you have heard that from me before). I am still in the hospital. Brain surgery was a resounding success. I seem to have developed a leak. (no my brains are not leaking out) It has taken time to determing exactly what is leaking and develop a path forward. We now have answers and everything is looking good. Please continue to pray for me , my family, the doctors, and all persons involved in this as we finish off this medical journey. In the next couple of weeks expect to see a more detailed accounting of my adventure. Thank you and God Bless. Robert

Here is what has been going on to date. (posted by Alexis) Wednesday - Surgery lasted 10.5 hours. they got all of the tumor it was a bit larger than they expected. It was just over 2 cm in March and it was now 3 cm so it has been growing. The docs are optimistic that he might be home by saturday. Wednesday - Chris our 12 year old has a compression fracture in his right hand from at a school field trip Wednesday. So Chris is now sporting a nice blue cast for the next 3 weeks until we go back to the orthoped. maybe we should paint a nice gold M on it? Thursday - spent alot of time resting. Trying to get out of bed and do the PT exercises. Robert is doing well. been up and about the room a bit today. We were transfered to a regular room at 2 am on Thursday night. Friday - Robert is eating!!!! Ok so its broth and jello and crackers but its eating!!! He is cleared to eat regular food whenever he is ready. Getting up and about on his own. Still a bit dizzy and nauseaus but looking at...

This is Robert's Wife Alexis posting an update. Robert came through the surgery great. It was an 11 hour surgery. They doctors came out and spoke with my mother in law, and I and said that they successfully finished. They were able to get all of the tumor. The balance nerve and the hearing nerve were both sacrificed but that was not expected. He is now sleeping quietly. I am heading that way myself. Sweet dreams and God Bless. Alexis

Ok, in 12 hours I will be on my way to the hospital. We need to be there at 5:30am for a 7:30 surgery. The surgery is supposed to take 10 to 12 hours, so it will be an all day event. I am still not looking forward to going through this, but I do know that God is in control. He has already taken care of everything and now I just need to go through it. I have the following prayer requests: 1. Please prayer for Dr.s Thompson, El-Kashlan, and Kileny. These are the three srugeons that will be operating on me. Please pray for God to gide them and their medical teams throughout the day and all those caring for me post op. 2. For all my family as they wait for news from the Drs. Alexis and my Mother will be at the hospital with me, and the kids will be at school and with my inlaws. I am sure their nerves will be shot. 3. For a speedy recovery. I would like to be at home resting as soon as Godly possible, and am looking forward to be up and moving around. Need God to carry me through this, as I...

Had my second and final pre-op appointments today. Day started good, we arrived early and were taken in early to meet with the Neurosurgeon. Spent about 45 minutes with the Surgeon's Resident. Went over all of the basic information and did a preliminary screening. Dr. Thompson then came in after reviewing all of the data. He said the screening appears normal and understands why I would not have had many symptoms. Based on the size of the tumor and the extent of the hearing damage, he confirmed that the planned surgery is the best course of action. He did talk about radiation, but based on only 10-15 years worth of data he does not recomend it for someone my age. Surgery is still on for May 26th. Next appointment was with the facial nerve Dr. who will also be in the operating room. He will be monitoring the facial nerve throughout the surgery. The test was kinda fun, in a sick way. Sensors were placed on my face and I was essentially tasered if you ask my wife. It was low grade but ...

The last few days have been interesting. Started off the week feeling really down about the surgery. Hard to think about going through all of this when I feel fine. Besides the hearing loss and ringing, I have no other symptoms. Still wasn't concerend about the outcome, just worried about how long the recovery would take. While going through this I kept praying and reminding myself that Jesus Christ is in control. After all He has made my symptoms next to nothing, I can wait to see what He will do next. On Tuesday I had my first set of appointments this week. I was scheduled for facial nerve testing, balance nerve testing, and physical therapy pre-work up. Got to UofM and both of the Drs for the facial nerve testing were called to the OR. Not a great start to the day, but we went with the flow. Thankfully we were able to reschedule the facial nerve testing to Thursday, a day I was already going to be at the hospital. The balance nerve testing had me a little nervous. I have heard t...