Absolutely nothing is rolling through my brain tonight. Creativity is on short supply after today. I will chalk it up to the holidays. If anyone outside of local people read this blog just know that our biggest town is a regional hub. People come from all over East Texas to do their shopping. Looks like everyone waits until my arrival in town to begin. You always expect traffic in a big city to be hectic. My shopping town is just as crowded but without having enough roads. Stress is not just about buying presents but includes dodging oncoming vehicles. Thank goodness that I arrived home safely. The bad news is the need to make another trip into town on Thursday. At least that journey is a good one.

My regular doctor visit was today. My doctor wants to see me about every two months for awhile. All reports are coming back clean. Even my bone marrow biopsy shows no sign of cancer. Blood pressure numbers were even very good for me. One drawback is dealing with the weight gain. Fifteen pounds or so need to be lost sometime in 2011. The reason for my Thursday trip is to do all of the paperwork to have my porta cath removed. Removal is scheduled for early next Monday. This is another sign of how well treatment worked. Right now there is a square lump up near my right collarbone. It is where the chemo or other drugs were inserted over the last six months or so. Taking this out will be another step toward moving past this crisis. I do know that my disease may not truly be eliminated completely. Now we move to managing my health so perhaps this illness will not reappear.

Thank you to anyone in my congregation that may sneak a glance at my writing. Christmas this year seems better than ever thanks to you. So many people worked very hard in musicals, meetings and other events of the season. I also received some great cards this year. One of my hobbies is to sit down to read these cards again as we take down the decorations. We also got some goodies to eat this time. Let me confess that many of them are gone. Sharing is a good thing but chocolate is essential. So let me just say thank you again in this public setting to all who help make the season bright.

People ask me sometimes if this Christmas will be better than usual with my remission from cancer. I really don't know the answer to that. It is still as hectic as usual. Most, but not all presents are under the tree. Music of the season is my constant companion wherever I go. I am sure there is a new appreciation for this time of year. But there is also an awareness that my health is not the single defining issue for me. I want my focus to be squarely on God for all of His goodness. Not every one hears good news while dealing with this disease. God is still good no matter the prognosis. Celebrating this unique holiday should be about more than circumstances. Don't get me wrong. I could not be more grateful for this physical expression of His kindness. But what makes life good is God's presence no matter what the conditions of life may be at a given moment. Perhaps my opinion seems odd but it is one of the lessons learned during this past year. May we all reach the point where God outweighs our situation.

Bro. Trey