Christmas With Cancer

It was scandalous – that thing she did on impulse.  Never had such a move been executed under our roof.  I remember feeling almost fearful in my little five year-old heart.  I didn’t quite know what to make of it.  I only knew FOR SURE that if I had done it myself, there would be a swift and severe spanking.  But when the parent commits the crime – well, that was new territory for me and I just stood there in front of the Christmas tree completely bewildered.  I didn’t understand it until she started laughing and hugging me.

The Christmas tree in my childhood living room was silver – adorned with white lights and bright blue ball ornaments.  There was a spotlight shining on the tree from about two feet away.  The spotlight had an electric rotating cover on it.  Anybody remember those?  The cover was hard plastic and had four colored sections shaped like pie wedges.  As the cover slowly rotated, the tree appeared to change colors: red, blue, green, and yellow.  To me, it was magical and wonderful and I felt rich in all the ways that mattered.

My understanding of my reality was very limited at age 5.  I didn’t know my mother was critically ill with cancer.  And I especially didn’t know that by the next Christmas, she’d be gone.  What I DID know was that when she walked up to the Christmas tree and pulled out a gift that was beautifully wrapped for my cousin Becky in Florida and began ripping the paper off - all crazy like – something must be terribly wrong.  But then she started laughing, and pulled a spiffy new outfit from the box just my size (my cousin and I were twins at heart.)  She impulsively decided in that moment that she wanted to see her own pig-tailed daughter in that outfit, and it suddenly occurred to her that she had the power to do just that.  So she did.  And I have never felt more spoiled or more loved.  I can see the whole thing in my mind like it was yesterday. 

My mother knew what was important when you are celebrating Christmas with cancer.  She chose love and joy and to be fully present in the moment.  And that choice left a legacy.  I certainly don't hit the mark every single time, but thanks to her - I keep the beauty of a life lived that way in my mind and heart.  It's my goal.

Cancer came to our household for Christmas again this year.  We gathered at the farmhouse in south Georgia, as is our tradition, all eighteen of us.  Keaton was feeling good, thanks to a reprieve from so many of the harsh treatment drugs, for at least a season.  You know what we did for four solid days?  We chose love and joy and to be fully present in the moment.  We ate like pigs, we played cops and robbers on farm vehicles, we went for jogs on the dirt roads, and we visited extended family.  It was a gift of time together.

You see… when you celebrate Christmas with cancer, it’s important to focus on the WITH, not the cancer.  Christmas is God WITH us, Emmanuel. 

Jesus entered our mess of a world, not just to save us from hell – but to save us from a life of misery – no matter what we’re facing.  And I don’t say that flippantly.  There are people out there facing A LOT.  One of the most impactful things I read this Christmas season was an article on the enormity of God “WITH” us.  The writer stated simply that the best way to wrap our hearts around the “with” of the season is to spend some time reflecting on without.  Now THAT is something we all have experience with in this fallen world.  Keaton knows what it is to be without perfect health as a teenager.  I know how it feels to be without a mother at age six.  Single moms know the struggle of raising kids without a spouse.  Parents in Newtown know the pain of being without their kids this year.  If we understand the pain of without… we can begin to be grateful for the gift of God WITH us. 

How does it work?  This “with” thing?  How do you take it off the pages of scripture and bring it into your reality?  How does a sermon become something that actually soothes – actually makes a difference?  How do you celebrate Christmas with cancer and REALLY choose love and joy and be fully present in the moment, rather than fret and lose the moment to fear?  

There’s a one word answer… surrender.  It’s bending the knee and telling God you really, really need the “with” part.  It’s acknowledging a need that you can’t fix alone. 

And it’s confessing that you need other people to help light the way.  That’s one of the great privileges of being a Christian.   You weren't meant to travel the road alone.

In Keaton’s case… it’s the Gray Bracelet Brigade.  There’s work to be done gang.  Keaton’s MRI is THIS Thursday morning at 6:30am. (Dec 27^th)  Prayers are needed.  If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know the specific prayer request: for the brain tumor to continue shrinking and for the other “spots” to be conclusively labeled as non-cancerous.  Thank you for praying!

But what if YOUR cancer this Christmas isn’t the physical kind?  There are all kinds of “emotional cancer” – bitterness, the ache of loss, the sting of rejection, loneliness, or just plain feeling lost in a big world – to name a few.  For any of you reading this who are feeling the pain of without, my prayer for you is that the WITH of Christmas, Emmanuel, will enter your struggle and bring His comfort.  You do your part: bend the knee and open your heart to hope.  He’ll be faithful.   "O come to us.  Abide with us.  Our Lord Emmanuel."

Merry Christmas everyone, and remember to pray for Keaton!

Joy to the World

I love the early mornings, especially this time of year.  I love coming downstairs when the rest of the world is still and quiet and dark.  And I love tiptoeing around the corner at the bottom of the stairs where I am greeted by the soft light of the Christmas tree.  My heart floods with all the TRUTHS of Christmas.  He really IS the "light of the world."  And more importantly, He really IS "God WITH us."  Those truths tend to get drowned out by the noise of our modern traditions, don't they?

In the glow of the Christmas tree lights in the early morning stillness, I am able to re-calibrate my mind.  I can put the reality of last night's decorating fiasco behind me.  (Do you remember decorating your tree with LOTS of help from your kids?!)   The tangled cords of lights threaten to strangle the joy right OUT of you.  The fighting over who gets to hang what "special" ornament is louder than the Christmas music I have playing on the stereo.  And how did EVERY ornament get to be "special?"   

But in the stillness of morning, I am able to remember that God won't ask me how perfect my Christmas tree looked in 2012... but He might ask me how perfectly I enjoyed the gift of time with my children.  I can see it - the wisdom of THAT question - in the early morning light.  And I am thankful that His mercies are new every morning.  I think back to last evening and remember the fun parts... the boys re-living Christmases past and dancing around the room to their favorite Christmas songs.  And then there's my youngest - our natural comedian - climbing atop the step ladder to lip sync "Silver Bells" as though he were Bing Crosby incarnate.  It really WAS a fun night.  I can see it now.

I wanted to give you an update on Keaton's MRI and his time with the medical team at Emory yesterday.  Frankly, I needed a night to sleep on it before I could sort through my emotions.  It was a bit like Christmas tree decorating.  Parts of the report were tangled up like strands of lights, but in the clarity of morning light, I am able to see the GIFT of the medical report.  It's the "first gift of Christmas" for you Polar Express fans out there.

Keaton's tumor is shrinking!!!  I don't often prefer the official medical terminology in most cases, but in this situation I do.  The doctors phrase it this way: "We are pleased with the progress in the destruction of the tumor."  Destruction is a GREAT word!  There is a meeting on Tuesday to inform us of the treatment plan to finish off that tumor.  

The MRI was a bit pesky.  There are a couple of new spots on the brain, but the doctors feel quite certain that those spots are NOT new tumors - but rather just patches of "radiation residue."  Keaton will have another MRI in two weeks to bolster that theory.  So that's the prayer between now and then!

As you know, cancer "treatments" are done with very strong drugs.  Anything strong enough to kill cancer cells is bound to do some "collateral damage."  The radiation, which DID shrink the tumor, has also caused some mild brain swelling.  The doctors gave Keaton some steroids to help with THAT, and so we continue to move forward!

I've been studying the Passover from scripture lately - an odd thing for this time of year, I know.  As I was listening to a podcast on the topic from one of my favorite Bible teachers, he said, "We don't spend NEARLY enough time thanking God for all the things He causes to PASS OVER us."  I think about that this morning in the glow of the Christmas tree.  And my gratitude RISES as I think of the medical report we COULD HAVE GOTTEN yesterday.  "The tumor is growing despite our best efforts."  By God's grace, THAT report passed over us.

You know what I've found to be true - not just true at Christmas but ALL the time?  As gratitude RISES, so does JOY.

We've looked at a few characters from scripture as we've chronicled Keaton's journey though cancer.  Gideon, Nehemiah, and King Jehoshaphat.  Here's what THEY did when God caused bad outcomes to pass over THEM:

Judges 7:15 "Gideon worshiped God."

Nehemiah 12:40 - Nehemiah organized a big ole Praise and Worship service! "The two choirs gave thanks.  The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away."

2 Chronicles 20:27 - "Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.  They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lutes and trumpets."

Want some more JOY in your world this holiday season?  Spend some time giving THANKS.   I am thankful for all the prayers offered up by those who proudly wear the colors of Team Keaton.  And I am unspeakably grateful that we have a God who delights to answer the prayers of His children.  Please don't stop.  Let's pray together that the MRI two weeks from now will confirm the theory that there are NO new tumors!

And in the stillness of this morning, Thank you Father, for the first gift under my slightly-lopsided Christmas tree:  "We are pleased with the progress in the destruction of the tumor."

Thanksgiving in the Country

 Thanksgiving in the country is good for the soul.  We spent time with family and intentionally slowed down.  We went for walks in wide open spaces and took time to actually BE thankful.  

Personally, I just looked UP alot.  We've been waiting on Keaton's MRI to let us know where things stand.  Waiting is hard.  Scripture has helped me understand that we are actually waiting on God.

Lamentations 3:25-26 "The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."  (sometimes you just need the old King James version of a verse.)

Here's what that verse looks like in the land of dirt roads:

Keaton's MRI has been moved UP to Thursday 11/29/12 at 4:30pm.  If you see this in time, we'd love it if you would send up a prayer on his behalf.  Keaton and his parents will meet with the medical team on Friday to get the results.

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  Wait for the LORD, be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." - Psalm 27:13-14

Worship Is A Weapon

Worship is a weapon.  I learned that recently.  Never thought of it quite that way before, but now that I have – I like it. 

“Well you can keep your little church songs lady… I like my Smith & Wesson in the weapons department.”  That’d be a fair and logical response, just in case it floated through your mind.  But here’s the thing, your Smith & Wesson won’t help you fight FEAR.  You need Worship in your holster to defeat THAT enemy.

The frustrating thing about FEAR is that it keeps coming back from the dead.  I’ve had seasons in my life when I’ve memorized enough scripture to SPEAK to the fear when it would rise up in me – and I’d slay it that way.  But a few weeks later, the enemy would find new life and threaten to overtake my joy… again.  We have different words for it, because afterall… who likes to admit FEAR?  We call it “worry” or “anxiousness”, but at the root of those things is plain ole FEAR.  We fear things we believe we cannot control.   

That happened to me this week.  A couple of events intertwined and caused FEAR to rise up.  I could feel it in my throat.  It has a wrench-like effect.

The first event was a very joyful one!  Keaton finished his last radiation treatment on Tuesday!!  I am absolutely astounded by God’s faithful care of Keaton during those treatments.  If you’ve been following this blog, you know that Keaton not only “endured” the treatments… he dominated them!  He kept up his schoolwork, and kept pile-driving defensive linemen into the turf as Flowery Branch kept on winning football games.  Keaton did not just “dress out” with the team, he played and contributed key blocks that resulted in touchdowns.  Only God could make that happen after 30 radiation treatments, along with chemo!!  When those “OBVIOUS” God-moments happen in my life, the old hymns I learned as a child in the little country church on the county-maintained road, come flooding back to my mind.  (But only the 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th stanzas – we never sang the 3^rd.)  “To God Be The Glory” is the tune I keep singing when I think of Keaton’s progress thus far though treatment for Brain Cancer.

So what’s next for Keaton?  We wait.  For medical reasons that are too lofty for my simple mind, it takes about 5 weeks AFTER the last radiation treatment to get an accurate MRI of the brain.  So sometime in early December, we’ll find out what’s going on with the remaining brain tumor.  Obviously, the prayer is that the tumor will have suffered the same fate as opposing defensive linemen!  Please join me in that prayer.  Never doubt that your prayers make a difference!

The second significant event of my week happened today.  I attended the funeral of one of my two “old lady mentors”, (as I have always affectionately called them.)  These women stepped in to love me and disciple me during a time in my life when my religion didn’t seem to match my reality.  They met me for coffee every Wednesday for almost a year, and poured their wisdom into my life.  I love them both so much.  But today, “Miss Wanda” and I said goodbye to “Miss Sandra.” 

Sandra died of cancer.

Cancer took my mom when I was just six years-old, and now cancer has taken one of my “spiritual moms.” 

The throat constricts from the grip of FEAR.  Cancer is powerful and hateful.  The five weeks that we now have to wait for news of Keaton’s progress in actually DEFEATING cancer, threatens to be a very long wait.  

Five weeks is a long time for the throat to feel constricted.   EXCEPT. THERE.  IS.  A.  WEAPON.

Those of you who know me well, know that my favorite character in scripture (other than Jesus) is a rather obscure king from the line of Judah, King Jehoshaphat.  He’s listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1.  I don’t have room in this post to list all the reasons WHY he’s my favorite, you’ll just have to take my word for it.  King Jehoshaphat understood FEAR, but more importantly, he understood how to use his WEAPON.

You should know up front that he was a good king.  He had a servant’s heart and he did his best to take care of his people.  He even put an educational system in place to make sure EVERYONE had access to learn about God – not just the elite priests and Levites.  And right in the middle of being a good king, a nice guy, and a good father to seven children,  – disaster struck.  It didn’t happen because God was displeased with him.  It happened right smack in the middle of a very obedient time in Jehoshaphat’s life.  Three enemy armies banded together in an attempt to conquer the nation of Judah and specifically the capital city of Jerusalem. 

King Jehoshaphat’s first reaction to this bad news was to bow his head and pray privately to the one true God.  He did not order the trumpet blast which would have signaled the troops to assemble and he did not head to the “Situation Room”.  He prayed.  THEN he sent word to all the people in the surrounding areas to fast and pray.  He wanted to inform his people not only of the crisis, but also solicit their prayers.

Turns out King Jehoshaphat had a support system similar to Team Keaton.  When the people heard the news, they not only complied with the request from the king to fast and pray… they CAME to Jerusalem to be physically near their beloved king.  Words cannot express our gratitude as a family to all of you who wear the gray bracelets.  You are treasured.

King Jehoshaphat faced the crowd of loyal subjects who had gathered – men, women, and children – and he led them in a time of corporate prayer.  Did he feel FEAR?  I imagine he did.  His prayer is written in scripture in 2 Chronicles 20:5-12… you should read it!  But the last line of his prayer sums it all up beautifully, and it’s one I have texted repeatedly to my sister-in-law through this family health crisis.  “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

Sometimes in life, it feels like an army is coming against you.  Cancer feels like an army.  A failing economy feels like an army.  Divorce feels like an army.  The pressure of college life feels like an army.  A five week waiting period for test results feels like an army.

And sometimes in the face of those “armies” we just flat out don’t know what to do.   King Jehoshaphat understood that.  I love how the bible is timeless. Something that happened to a real person THOUSANDS of years ago is still speaking into my circumstances today.

After King Jehoshaphat finished his prayer with that famous line, he simply stopped talking.  He did nothing but continue to stand in front of the assembled masses.  Scripture doesn’t tell us how LONG he stood there in silence, but I’m thinking it was long enough for some people to get squirmy.  I’m thinking it may have SEEMED like five weeks.  But the king did not feel the need to fill the silence with platitudes.  I think that was a gift to the people.  (The best thing Job’s friends did for him was to sit with him in silence for a week.)

“THEN” – that’s the word scripture uses to break the waiting period.  Then a prophet spoke up with a word from God.  God actually answered the simple, honest prayer of the king.  I love that.  Here’s a summary of what God said, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours, but God’s.  Tomorrow march down against them.  Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you.”

What happens next in the story BLOWS MY STINKIN’ MIND.  You know how God said “tomorrow march out against them?”  Apparently, the people just bedded down for the night and went to sleep since it wasn’t “tomorrow” yet.  Can you IMAGINE that?  Three armies are on the move in your direction, and by morning they will be camped outside your city wall.  THAT is a throat constricting moment, yet the people rested… AFTER A TIME OF WORSHIP.  Before hitting the hay, Jehoshaphat held a big ole worship service right there on the lawn of the temple.  Did it mean the people were in “Pollyanna mode” – completely in denial of the approaching armies?  Nope.  They knew all about the armies.  They just had faith in God’s promised deliverance.  Worship is a weapon.  FAITH and FEAR can’t occupy the same space.  When the focus shifted away from the “vast army” and onto the powerful God – rest replaced anxiety.

The next morning, King Jehoshaphat bet the farm on God.  There’s a time to have a Worship SERVICE, and then there’s a time to assemble the troops.  In the morning, Jehoshaphat obeyed God’s order to “march down against them.”  As he was explaining the battle plan to the troops, he executed a VERY unconventional strategy.  Rather than putting the shield bearers up front, like all other Commanders would have done, Jehoshaphat decided to put the  choir  up front.  That’s right – the guys in the long robes - armed only with a song.  You see, Jehoshaphat understood that WORSHIP is a way of life… not just a service you attend.  As the good guys marched forward into battle, they were SINGING “Give thanks to the Lord, his love endures forever.”

Did they feel any FEAR?  Probably, afterall it  was  three against one. But they CHOSE faith.  FAITH and FEAR can’t occupy the same space.  They marched forward into circumstances they could not control, singing praises to God.

Did God respond to that?  A little bit. Scripture says “AS they began to sing and praise” God showed up BIG TIME.  He basically threw the three opposing armies into confusion and they turned on each other and destroyed themselves.  “When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.”

So am I REALLY saying that I HONESTLY believe that all I have to do is sing a little song every time I get scared of something, and my circumstances will change?  No.  I’m not saying that at all.  If that was the case, Sandra would still be here.  But I AM saying that singing praises to God helps renew my belief in God’s power to sustain me through WHATEVER may come.  And THAT pushes my FEAR right out the door.  It isn’t a trick… it’s a weapon against fear.  Fear keeps you from really living.

So, how we spend the next five weeks is a choice.  I think King Jehoshaphat makes a pretty compelling case to choose FAITH.  That song he directed the choir to sing?  Chris Tomlin is still singing it.  It’s called FOREVER.  Put it on your playlist, and when you feel the grip of fear on your throat… use your throat to belt out the same song that the choir sang as they led Jehoshaphat’s troops into battle.  Let’s pray that God will do to the cancer cells in Keaton’s body exactly what He did to the three opposing armies… “no one had escaped.”  Worship is a weapon.

And Sandra… Wanda and I are really going to miss having coffee with you.  But we’re going to choose worship as a response to the fear of loneliness.  Why?  Worship is a weapon.

Mighty Warrior

One of my very favorite moments from my very first mission trip happened in a remote village in Guatemala.  The medical clinic was in full swing, but for some reason that day there were more healthy children than sick children.  The kids were full of life and energy and curiosity.  They weren’t used to seeing gringos, so they swarmed around us waiting for us to DO something.  With the help of a great interpreter, we settled the kids down and got them to sit on the ground in a semi-orderly fashion.  I stood on top of a makeshift “stage” (a few cinderblocks hastily arranged on the dirt) and told them one of the greatest bible stories of all time.  It’s the story of a serious underdog overcoming staggering odds.  Who doesn’t like THAT?!  The kids were mesmerized, as the interpreter did her best to imitate my southern drawl.  They cheered from a raw place deep inside them when God showed up in the story to help a people who were seemingly defenseless.

I kept having flashbacks of that moment as I sat in the bleachers at Flowery Branch High School last night.   As the cheerleaders raised the traditional giant banner for the home team to burst through as they entered the field of battle, my mind began to review the story of Gideon.

After Moses led the Israelites (God’s chosen people) out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved for 400 years, a guy named Joshua led them into the Promised Land – a land the bible describes as “flowing with milk and honey.”  Life was good.  The Israelites seemed invincible – you could say they were in their “teenage years” as a people group.  They were strong, the land was good, and life was great!

But life can turn on a dime.

The Israelites encountered an enemy stronger than them.  The Midianites.  They were a particularly repulsive and nasty enemy.  They didn’t fight fair.  They allowed hope to soar in the hearts of the Israelites, because they would fade into the background while the Israelites worked hard in the fields to grow their crops.  Life almost seemed normal for a season.  But just as the crops were ready to be harvested, the Midianites would swoop in with overpowering force and steal EVERYTHING.  Crops ravaged.  Hope destroyed.  Land devastated.  This happened over and over again.  The Israelites were weary of the cycle.  Giving up and NOT planting a crop would mean certain defeat.  They would starve to death.  But planting the crops began to seem futile because of the Midianites.   Finally the Israelites prayed to their God.

Cancer and the Midianites have a lot in common.  Both are nasty.  Both are relentless.  Both fight dirty.

But God has always delighted in showing up and showing off where man’s attempts fail.  Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His power is made perfect in our weakness.  As if to underscore that statement, God chose a very unconventional method to answer the prayer of the Israelites.

There was a guy named Gideon.  He was just a guy trying to survive in a tough set of circumstances.  In fact, when we first meet Gideon in the pages of scripture, he is literally hiding in a hole in the ground trying to grind enough wheat to make a few loaves of bread for his family.  He had somehow managed to harvest some wheat before the Midianites swooped in to steal it all. 

The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon – while he was in the bottom of a pit and said these words:

“The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior!” (Judges chapter 6)

Gideon had a pretty funny, and very human, response to that.  “Really?  Coulda fooled me!  Well then Mr. hotshot Angel, tell me THIS...If the Lord IS with us, as you say, why has all this happened to us?  Where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about – you know, the Egyptian plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the battle of Jericho – ALL that.   Where is God NOW when we need Him, Mr. Angel?” 

Ever thought those thoughts when your circumstances weren’t the ones you’d choose?  I surely have.  “Lord, why has all this happened to us?  We’re the good guys, remember?!  We don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we don’t cuss (much).  We go to church every Sunday.  We pay our taxes. We vote and even watch the stupid debates.  We love our neighbor as ourselves. Aren’t you keeping score up there? Why did cancer hit OUR family – and why did it have to be BRAIN cancer?  How about Big Toe cancer instead?  Intellectually and spiritually, we know better than to ask those questions.  But emotionally… we just go ahead and ask them anyway.  It’s human.  Thankfully, God is bigger than our silly questions.

I love what God said in reply to Gideon’s questions.  “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.  Am I not sending you?”

Gideon (as paraphrased in the little-known and seldom-quoted, “Aunt Marybeth Translation” of the Bible): “The strength I HAVE?  Are you crazy?  Don’t you know I have a huge scar on my head that I now have to cover with a bandana because my hair is falling out?  Did you FORGET that I am 22 radiation treatments deep into a 30 treatment regimen?  How about chemo?  You DO remember the chemo, right? – Exactly WHAT strength is it that you mean? And by the way, it’s pretty funny that you called me a ‘Mighty Warrior’ earlier… in case you haven’t noticed, I’m hiding in the bottom of a pit.  Nothing warrior-like about that.  You should think about submitting for a voluntary drug test, Mr. Angel of the Lord.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”

Most of the time, we’d rather stay safely hidden – and our strong preference is for God to just go annihilate the enemy by Himself while we passively watch.  But that’s not the God of the Bible.  Over and over again, He required plain ole humans to go out and FIGHT… in the strength they had.  

Keaton is #70

Remember that guy Nehemiah, who built the wall in the last post?  He said something AWESOME in Nehemiah 8:10.  He said, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord IS your strength.”

When we renew our minds, and we stop questioning God and instead trust Him to lead us through the valley – when we obediently fight and trust Him to supply what we lack, God SHOWS UP.

Gideon’s story is spread over a few short chapters in the book of Judges beginning in chapter 6.  You should go read it.  It’s got underdogs and villains and bloody battles and miracles.  Better than any novel.  How does the story end?  Well, I’ll let you read it from a real translation of scripture, as opposed to the Aunt Marybeth version… but it ends something like the final scoreboard from last night's game:

 Good Guys:  54     Bad Guys:  14

It was a great night of football.  Keaton displayed the strength of the Lord.  In the bleachers, we laughed, we cried, and we celebrated the fact that the Joy of The Lord IS our Strength.  We watched a true Warrior do battle on a football field, when the enemy tried its best to send Keaton to a pit.  (Based on the amount of chemo and radiation and active cancer cells in his body, the enemy figured Keaton would be home on the couch listening to the game on local radio.) 

The enemy figured wrong.  “The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior!”

Enjoy these shots from the game.  And keep praying for Keaton!

Keaton's youngest cousin, Delk, was cheering him on!

Keaton #70 and His Fellow Warriors

Sorry #8, The Joy of the Lord is My Strength!

Keaton Clapping After The O Line Mows 'em Down.  Even I could have scored thru that hole!

Staying Loose Between Offensive Series

On The Sidelines After Yet Another TD!

The Cook Boys Swarm the Field to Find Keaton After The Victory

Post Game Huddle With The Coach

Fans Showing Some Love to KC

Proud Grandparents!