Odds are good that next Sunday night will be far different than this one. Tomorrow is the start of round five of chemo. It begins my week long regimen of steroids. I don't know if the chemo bothers me as much as the steroids. We will try a different approach this time to see if it helps any. I do pretty good at taking in fluids normally. Maybe a better idea is to try and drown out any side effects before they become to potent. We will try to avoid whining about this anymore. Let's just get this round behind us so we can start counting down to the last time.

This weekend passed very quickly. Friday was my trip to the doctor then on to the ballgame. News from the doctor is still good. My body is holding up to the chemicals they pour in me. Our kids won their game as well. Football takes a Friday night off this week before returning to run until the end of the season. This means that my job will be to take my youngest out for errands that afternoon. I stayed home yesterday to catch up on house stuff that fell through the cracks this week. Things always feel a bit strange when there is no game on Friday night. At least this is a good week for me to not have to try to film under the influence of the steroids.

Complaining is something that we do all too easily. My opinion is that some people are just professional complainers. Don't you know people who just are not happy unless they can find the negative in something? This bothered me as I started out in this career. Now it is just far beyond my ability to understand. No doubt that my experience with this is not spotless. We just seem to be wired as human beings to complain or worse while going through our days. It just always seems to me that believers could live above the level of this behavior. Reality is that those who raise the most ruckus seem to end up gaining the most attention. This is as true in church as it is in any other area.

It is true that even believers face perilous conditions. We are not immune from the common crises that happen. People can still let us down in various ways. Problems come at us in ways we could not imagine. The list is endless. We are told in scripture that we can rejoice regardless of our present state. We are also told that God will indeed take any situation to use it for His good. It just seems easier to dwell on the negative rather than let God mature us even through difficult times. Changing our behavior starts with God shaping our heart to fit His will. We learn to see through His eyes which is the real source of perspective. God is not sweating the details from moment to moment. You can discover the authentic power of joy by connecting to Him. Complaining never made anything or anyone better. Make the effort this week to adjust your heart to God before giving in to the negative. You will be in a far better place to follow Him into His presence. It just may make all the difference in your world.

Bro. Trey