Good morning everyone,
This is Jon writing to you this beautiful Saturday morning! I just wanted to share some thoughts and bible verses from the new bible study that I began today. The thoughts, ideas, and verses that I am going to share are certainly relevant for the stage of life that I am going through. However I am confident that we all can benefit from God's word, because we all have our own challenges that we must deal with each and every day.
The book I am studying is entitled "Always True---God's promises when life is hard" by James Macdonald. Now you must also know that Mr. Macdonald is a fellow cancer survivor which drew me to his work. My study today focused on the fact that God is a promiser. "A promise from God is an assurance He gives His people that enables them to walk by faith wile they wait for Him to work. Today we believe; tomorrow we receive. When God promises something you can believe and act on it." What a blessed assurance that is! To know that what God promises, He follows through on. It might not be our timing but it is His timing. The hardest part about all of this is waiting according to Macdonald is the gap between believing His promise, and receiving the fulfillment of that promise. Life would be much easier if the fulfillment of His promises came much quicker :)! However Macdonald states, that while we wait, we learn to trust God, and He builds our faith. Otherwise, we would never truly rely on God. We would simply keep relying on others, circumstances, and ourselves. Never a good idea!
As the chemo drips into my body, I am praying that likewise, God's word would drip into my heart. I pray they will do the same for you:
Deuteronomy 31:6 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."
Isaiah 40:31 - "They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mont up with wins like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
Jeremiah 29:11 - (My life verse) For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not harm you; plans for a hope and a future."
John 14:14 - "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."
John 14:27 - "Peace i leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
Philippians 4:19 - "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Wow! 1,000 t-shirt goal reached!!
This is Jon writing. All I can say is praise the Lord! I am truly humbled by everyone's sincere generosity toward my family and I. You will never know how much we appreciate your love and support! I am at a loss for words right now, so for those that know me, that truly is a miracle. We could never repay everyone, but you can be rest assured of a couple of things. First and foremost, God is rejoicing with us in this victory. His will is being done and His word will reach so many untold numbers by the simple act of wearing a t-shirt and telling a story. This is truly a victory for God's family! All I can say is we are all GODSTRONG!
Ephesians 3:20
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"
Ephesians 3:20
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"
Starting High Dose Chemo
We ate out one last time last night at Hard Rock Cafe and walked around the city. We had a great time celebrating the night before Jon's chemo.
Let me quickly update you on the neighbor situation. We had a "meeting" with the 2 lady's below us last night (a daughter and her elderly mother). The conversation did not go well. Jon started it off and was very nice, told them our situation and told them we are trying our best to keep our kids either gone or quiet. The daughter in particular was not very receptive. So I of course was getting more and more mad. Then I started crying and asking them if they had a clue what it was like to "fight for your life." I explained that our kids do not have much of a mom or dad present in their lives right now and we are all doing the best we can. Honestly, they didn't seem to care much about any of that except the "thumps" and screaming they hear. So I was too upset and pretty much just left. Jon of course was awesome through the whole thing as usual. But it was funny when he told them we do not expect our kids to be perfect because no one is perfect except Jesus Christ. They didn't seem to want to hear about that either. Do pray I can calm down and make them cookies and be a witness.
Jon is currently sitting in a private room receiving his fluids. The nurse has come in this morning and drawn labs. We are waiting for results and then the chemo will be ordered. (We just got results--PTL all his tumor markers are NORMAL!! So pray this high dose will knock this cancer down for good) We will be here until about 4 or 5 today. He will receive the one drug, Etoposide over a 2 hour period. The carboplatum will be given over 30 minutes. He will also receive pre-meds. And then 4 hours of fluids.
These are the things we are praying for:
1. That God will guide each nurse, doctor, pharmacist, etc that is in charge of handling his care.
2. That God will get glory through this. Jon is taking EVERY opportunity to share with people he comes in contact with about His Savior. Jon was already amazing before this but I've seen God work in his life and CHANGE him. It has been awesome to watch and he will surely never be the same. Good lesson for all of us whether or not we are faced with a potentially fatal disease. Share Christ with others!!
3. Jon will feel minimal side effects and the ones he has can be controlled with meds.
One thing that I'm learning is what it means to help others and reach out! I will never pass up another opportunity again. All of you have been amazing. Jon is SOO encouraged by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers you all have sent his way. This is a HUGE encouragement to him. He is amazed at the response with his shirts. What a blessing that over 800 people will be standing with him through this (and we know there is more than that that are not ordering shirts). I know I keep the money being raised on the DL but we are also grateful for that. I don't think it is any secret that this is a huge financial cost and Jon is the breadwinner of the family--and obviously not currently working. This obviously helps to keep him stress free which is our goal:o)
I will leave you with one thing:
This is what Jon received in the mail the other day! He was very happy! He also received a personal email from Chuck Pagano. It was so encouraging and uplifting. Coach Pagano (Head Football Coach for the Indianapolis Colts) talked about his faith through his cancer ordeal (he was treated at IU about a year ago). In it he states that a close friend of his told him to ask God to heal him each morning and night. Then the friend told him to start thanking God for healing him long before he was ever in remission. So let's start THANKING God for Jon's healing!!!!
Let me quickly update you on the neighbor situation. We had a "meeting" with the 2 lady's below us last night (a daughter and her elderly mother). The conversation did not go well. Jon started it off and was very nice, told them our situation and told them we are trying our best to keep our kids either gone or quiet. The daughter in particular was not very receptive. So I of course was getting more and more mad. Then I started crying and asking them if they had a clue what it was like to "fight for your life." I explained that our kids do not have much of a mom or dad present in their lives right now and we are all doing the best we can. Honestly, they didn't seem to care much about any of that except the "thumps" and screaming they hear. So I was too upset and pretty much just left. Jon of course was awesome through the whole thing as usual. But it was funny when he told them we do not expect our kids to be perfect because no one is perfect except Jesus Christ. They didn't seem to want to hear about that either. Do pray I can calm down and make them cookies and be a witness.
Jon is currently sitting in a private room receiving his fluids. The nurse has come in this morning and drawn labs. We are waiting for results and then the chemo will be ordered. (We just got results--PTL all his tumor markers are NORMAL!! So pray this high dose will knock this cancer down for good) We will be here until about 4 or 5 today. He will receive the one drug, Etoposide over a 2 hour period. The carboplatum will be given over 30 minutes. He will also receive pre-meds. And then 4 hours of fluids.
These are the things we are praying for:
1. That God will guide each nurse, doctor, pharmacist, etc that is in charge of handling his care.
2. That God will get glory through this. Jon is taking EVERY opportunity to share with people he comes in contact with about His Savior. Jon was already amazing before this but I've seen God work in his life and CHANGE him. It has been awesome to watch and he will surely never be the same. Good lesson for all of us whether or not we are faced with a potentially fatal disease. Share Christ with others!!
3. Jon will feel minimal side effects and the ones he has can be controlled with meds.
One thing that I'm learning is what it means to help others and reach out! I will never pass up another opportunity again. All of you have been amazing. Jon is SOO encouraged by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers you all have sent his way. This is a HUGE encouragement to him. He is amazed at the response with his shirts. What a blessing that over 800 people will be standing with him through this (and we know there is more than that that are not ordering shirts). I know I keep the money being raised on the DL but we are also grateful for that. I don't think it is any secret that this is a huge financial cost and Jon is the breadwinner of the family--and obviously not currently working. This obviously helps to keep him stress free which is our goal:o)
I will leave you with one thing:
This is what Jon received in the mail the other day! He was very happy! He also received a personal email from Chuck Pagano. It was so encouraging and uplifting. Coach Pagano (Head Football Coach for the Indianapolis Colts) talked about his faith through his cancer ordeal (he was treated at IU about a year ago). In it he states that a close friend of his told him to ask God to heal him each morning and night. Then the friend told him to start thanking God for healing him long before he was ever in remission. So let's start THANKING God for Jon's healing!!!!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
PTL...We have great news!!
Jon went in this morning and had his catheter placed. He did very well with the procedure.
The nurse then took him to the Apheresis area where they would collect Jon's stem cells. He was prepped and given a little "education class" on the procedure.
A little side note and funny thing: They had me sign the papers in addition to Jon because he was still under the influence from his procedure. And Oh boy, was he being a VERY talkative, funny guy!! He told the nurse he felt like he had drank 4 shots. We were laughing! He has NO idea what 4 shots feels like. The nurse was still laughing about it when we left.
In simple terms, to collect stem cells, they take blood from you, divide it and put back in what they are not using (they are collecting the immature stem cells from the bone marrow). The machine does most of it, but the nurses actually stay in the room the whole time. It is an interesting process for sure. The nurses are literally watching over the machine and Jon the whole day. Everything went very smoothly. So smoothly that Jon does not have to go back in tomorrow. They collected enough today! He gets the day off! I'm so happy for him. He will start his high dose chemotherapy on Thursday. We are praising God for this great gift of a day off before he starts this process!
We definitely have a funny story but serious prayer request. Not even 24 hours after we moved in to our apartment, the police knocked on our door. He said the neighbors were complaining we were too loud. I wasn't there, but my mom said the boys ran to the door and waved to the police. We were all super stressed after we found this out because we really cannot get kicked out! My kids can get out of control, but they are darn cute:o) Honestly, they have been fine, you know just a little jumping around every once in a while. I wanted to make a peace offering and take them cookies and sorry notes from the kids! Jon wants to go knock their heads off.
So unfortunately tonight I got an email from the company we are renting from. The people below us want us to move to another apartment. Now do ya'll know what it would take for us to move?? From Thursday until next Friday or so neither Jon nor I will be around. We do not have enough man power AND we have totally settled in. Jon says he is going down to talk to the people below us tomorrow. Please pray they will be understanding of our situation. Please pray God will change their hearts and not be annoyed by my wild and crazy kids that have NO idea how to act in an apartment setting.
Your support has been amazing. The shirt sales are out of this world! Jon is SO excited and I canNOT wait to start getting in pictures of you all in your GODSTRONG shirt. I am making a HUGE collage poster of these pictures and putting it on Jon's wall! That will go beside his autographed poster that Coach K sent him today!
All of you are amazing!!
I'll leave you with this adorable pictures. By the way, I'm writing these blogs super late these days, so forgive me if there are mistakes!!
The nurse then took him to the Apheresis area where they would collect Jon's stem cells. He was prepped and given a little "education class" on the procedure.
A little side note and funny thing: They had me sign the papers in addition to Jon because he was still under the influence from his procedure. And Oh boy, was he being a VERY talkative, funny guy!! He told the nurse he felt like he had drank 4 shots. We were laughing! He has NO idea what 4 shots feels like. The nurse was still laughing about it when we left.
In simple terms, to collect stem cells, they take blood from you, divide it and put back in what they are not using (they are collecting the immature stem cells from the bone marrow). The machine does most of it, but the nurses actually stay in the room the whole time. It is an interesting process for sure. The nurses are literally watching over the machine and Jon the whole day. Everything went very smoothly. So smoothly that Jon does not have to go back in tomorrow. They collected enough today! He gets the day off! I'm so happy for him. He will start his high dose chemotherapy on Thursday. We are praising God for this great gift of a day off before he starts this process!
We definitely have a funny story but serious prayer request. Not even 24 hours after we moved in to our apartment, the police knocked on our door. He said the neighbors were complaining we were too loud. I wasn't there, but my mom said the boys ran to the door and waved to the police. We were all super stressed after we found this out because we really cannot get kicked out! My kids can get out of control, but they are darn cute:o) Honestly, they have been fine, you know just a little jumping around every once in a while. I wanted to make a peace offering and take them cookies and sorry notes from the kids! Jon wants to go knock their heads off.
So unfortunately tonight I got an email from the company we are renting from. The people below us want us to move to another apartment. Now do ya'll know what it would take for us to move?? From Thursday until next Friday or so neither Jon nor I will be around. We do not have enough man power AND we have totally settled in. Jon says he is going down to talk to the people below us tomorrow. Please pray they will be understanding of our situation. Please pray God will change their hearts and not be annoyed by my wild and crazy kids that have NO idea how to act in an apartment setting.
Your support has been amazing. The shirt sales are out of this world! Jon is SO excited and I canNOT wait to start getting in pictures of you all in your GODSTRONG shirt. I am making a HUGE collage poster of these pictures and putting it on Jon's wall! That will go beside his autographed poster that Coach K sent him today!
All of you are amazing!!
I'll leave you with this adorable pictures. By the way, I'm writing these blogs super late these days, so forgive me if there are mistakes!!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Let it begin...
Good evening everyone,
This is Jon writing tonight. I felt it only fitting, that on the eve of the beginning of this process, that I post some thoughts as we embark on this process. Let me first of all begin by thanking everyone that has, and continues to pray for us. You will never know just how much it means to me and my family that you support us in this way. As a follower of Christ, we as a family strongly believe in the power of prayer. Jesus asks us to lay everything at His feet, and without a doubt, you as brothers and sisters in Christ have done that unfailingly.
I was telling Donna tonight, that it truly is hard to believe that we are about to begin tomorrow. It almost seems surreal. It feels like we have talked and talked and talked about what has to happen in order for us to begin this process, and now it is finally upon us. I must admit, that the human side of me is very scared about what is to follow. I am anxious about how this treatment is going to affect my body and the symptoms that will be associated with this line of treatment. I am fearful of what the end result might be after it is all said and done. I am wary of how this entire process is going to effect our kids. I worry about that might, my wife is running herself ragged to take care of me, while at the same time attempting to adequately provide for our kids. I am acutely aware of the financial strain that this process is placing on our family. Yet, I am reminded that God has been in the process since day one, and He will be in this process until the very end. From the day I was born on November 8th, 1976, my Father in heaven knew that on September 3rd, 2013, I would be starting one of the greatest struggles of my life. He also knows the eventually outcome. It is comforting to know that Jesus while on this earth experienced, and felt first hand all of the apprehensions, and fears that I am currently going through and feeling. He empathizes with us through our struggles. But ultimately, I am filled with courage to know that Christ went through something more grueling than any human will every know, as He bore the sins of the world, and died on the cross for us, even while we were still yet sinners. He overcame death so that we might have life everlasting. Hallelujah! It is in this comfort, that I will rest. Knowing that as each passing day goes by, His will, not mine is being accomplished. It is in His comfort, that I will find peace.
Let me also thank all of you for supporting us in our pursuit of the sale of our GODSTRONG t-shirt. What an amazing show of love and support. I was asking Donna how in the world have we sold almost 500 shirts? I don't even know that many people for crying out loud! However, I realize that it is a testament to the strength of character of those that we call our friends and family, and the body of Christ. Most importantly, the more people we have wearing these t-shirts, the more potential mouth pieces we will have to tell our story so that God can infiltrate the lives that need to be touched by Him. I would also be remised to not thank you all for the financial support that is associated with the purchase of our GODSTRONG t-shirts. Words can't adequately describe our incredibly grateful the Strebe family is for your support in this manner. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Finally, let me publicly thank my biggest fan, and support, my beautiful wife Donna. She will never know how much I love and appreciate her support throughout this grueling process. I have no idea how hard it must be to see her spouse endure this process. While at the same time, trying to keep it together to take care of three small children under the age of four. Truly amazing! To understand the details that had to be met, in order for not only this trip, but the next three months to be pulled off effectively and efficiently is mind boggling. And yet, she did it. We have two beautiful apartments that are literally walking distance to the hospital. She has weekly activities that encompass at least 5 days a week for our kids. She has meals planned out, as well as schedules of people who are visiting us over the course of the next 2-3 months. I also wish each of you could see our kids bedroom. All three of our kids are sleeping in the same room, and the attention to detail that Donna put in to making our kids feel like they are at home, and in a place of safety and comfort is amazing! She is truly the most remarkable woman I have ever met. And to think that God has blessed me with a best friend, a wife, and the most incredible mother of my children all wrapped into one, is nothing short of a miracle. I truly don't deserve her, but am eternally grateful for her love!
Watch this short video some friends made for Jon.
Click here to show Jon support with his T-shirts
This is Jon writing tonight. I felt it only fitting, that on the eve of the beginning of this process, that I post some thoughts as we embark on this process. Let me first of all begin by thanking everyone that has, and continues to pray for us. You will never know just how much it means to me and my family that you support us in this way. As a follower of Christ, we as a family strongly believe in the power of prayer. Jesus asks us to lay everything at His feet, and without a doubt, you as brothers and sisters in Christ have done that unfailingly.
I was telling Donna tonight, that it truly is hard to believe that we are about to begin tomorrow. It almost seems surreal. It feels like we have talked and talked and talked about what has to happen in order for us to begin this process, and now it is finally upon us. I must admit, that the human side of me is very scared about what is to follow. I am anxious about how this treatment is going to affect my body and the symptoms that will be associated with this line of treatment. I am fearful of what the end result might be after it is all said and done. I am wary of how this entire process is going to effect our kids. I worry about that might, my wife is running herself ragged to take care of me, while at the same time attempting to adequately provide for our kids. I am acutely aware of the financial strain that this process is placing on our family. Yet, I am reminded that God has been in the process since day one, and He will be in this process until the very end. From the day I was born on November 8th, 1976, my Father in heaven knew that on September 3rd, 2013, I would be starting one of the greatest struggles of my life. He also knows the eventually outcome. It is comforting to know that Jesus while on this earth experienced, and felt first hand all of the apprehensions, and fears that I am currently going through and feeling. He empathizes with us through our struggles. But ultimately, I am filled with courage to know that Christ went through something more grueling than any human will every know, as He bore the sins of the world, and died on the cross for us, even while we were still yet sinners. He overcame death so that we might have life everlasting. Hallelujah! It is in this comfort, that I will rest. Knowing that as each passing day goes by, His will, not mine is being accomplished. It is in His comfort, that I will find peace.
Let me also thank all of you for supporting us in our pursuit of the sale of our GODSTRONG t-shirt. What an amazing show of love and support. I was asking Donna how in the world have we sold almost 500 shirts? I don't even know that many people for crying out loud! However, I realize that it is a testament to the strength of character of those that we call our friends and family, and the body of Christ. Most importantly, the more people we have wearing these t-shirts, the more potential mouth pieces we will have to tell our story so that God can infiltrate the lives that need to be touched by Him. I would also be remised to not thank you all for the financial support that is associated with the purchase of our GODSTRONG t-shirts. Words can't adequately describe our incredibly grateful the Strebe family is for your support in this manner. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Finally, let me publicly thank my biggest fan, and support, my beautiful wife Donna. She will never know how much I love and appreciate her support throughout this grueling process. I have no idea how hard it must be to see her spouse endure this process. While at the same time, trying to keep it together to take care of three small children under the age of four. Truly amazing! To understand the details that had to be met, in order for not only this trip, but the next three months to be pulled off effectively and efficiently is mind boggling. And yet, she did it. We have two beautiful apartments that are literally walking distance to the hospital. She has weekly activities that encompass at least 5 days a week for our kids. She has meals planned out, as well as schedules of people who are visiting us over the course of the next 2-3 months. I also wish each of you could see our kids bedroom. All three of our kids are sleeping in the same room, and the attention to detail that Donna put in to making our kids feel like they are at home, and in a place of safety and comfort is amazing! She is truly the most remarkable woman I have ever met. And to think that God has blessed me with a best friend, a wife, and the most incredible mother of my children all wrapped into one, is nothing short of a miracle. I truly don't deserve her, but am eternally grateful for her love!
Watch this short video some friends made for Jon.
Click here to show Jon support with his T-shirts
Sunday, September 1, 2013
We made it!
I got several text on the ride asking, "how is it going?" So this is what I sent back.
I hope that gave you a good laugh and a glimpse at our lives. Sorry mom! I just had to add that video--too funny!
The ride was actually pretty good. Our longest drive was Saturday and the kids actually did very well--except for the screaming episode! We arrived in Indianapolis Sunday afternoon. A former high school classmate met us with his son and a friend to unload. What a blessing! It definitely helped Jon out because he is still so tired from this last chemo round.
The kids are super excited to be in Indianapolis and living in their new "condo." They are all sleeping in the same room and it is SO cute. We made their beds with bedding we brought from home and they were very surprised when they walked in the room. Luke brought his favorite picture to put by his bed. He totally gets what is going on. When we were back in Bluffton at home, he came out of his room with a picture of him and Minnie Mouse and said, "Can I take this to Indianapolis? I like looking at it while I'm in bed and I want to be able to have it in my room in Indianapolis." He gets that we are going to be here for a while.
We are having a great time figuring out "city" life. It is SOOO different than what we are used to in our small town. I always feel very safe where we live. This is extremely different. We are living in a safe area but you walk outside and see homeless people walking around. I wouldn't mind if it were just Jon and I but having 3 small children is a whole different story. So my mom and I went on an "adventure" today trying to find a grocery store. We found on our IPhones that there was a Kroger very near the apartments. We were beyond thrilled until we pulled up and this is what we saw. For those of you who do not know what a Kroger is, it definitely is NOT this. It is a nice, huge grocery story. This gave us a good laugh and we kept driving! Not the grocery store we were looking for.
Here are the kids at Spaghetti Factory. The benefits of city life. We love the restaurants, shopping and activities that are available!
I wanted to leave you with this. Jon's favorite basketball team is Duke Men's Basketball. Coach K is his favorite coach. He has always wanted to go to a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It is a small arena and very difficult to get tickets for. Jon actually had tickets for a game 9 years ago but it was the day he asked me to marry him and he gave them up! So, I hand wrote Coach K a letter explaining Jon's situation with his cancer and chemo/stem cell transplant. I told him that our friends had told us Jon needed something to look forward to at the end of this. I mailed the letter on Tuesday. On Thursday morning I get a phone call from Durham, NC. It was Coach K's administrative assistant. She explained that she had just opened up my letter and read it. She told me to call her at the beginning of December and we could see how Jon was feeling and she would work out getting him tickets! Coach K is a very famous coach and there is no doubt that he gets lots of letters everyday. They all go through his administrative assistant and his website also stated that he is not signing autographs right now. The fact that she read the letter and then took time to call me was amazing. Jon is SOOO excited and it truly gives him something to look forward to! God is good even in the small details of life.
Help us get the word out with the GODSTRONG t-shirts. The support has been amazing. Jon cannot believe how many people will be supporting him by wearing his t-shirt. It means more than you could know! Thank you because it is lifting his spirits.
Click below to buy a T-shirt for Jon. Again, I don't care about the money. I want Jon to realize how many people across all the states are supporting him! It is amazing!
BUY A T-SHIRT
Quick update
We made it to Louisville, KY. Everything went great. We will drive 2 more hours in the morning to Indianapolis. I have a friend that got some college guys to help us unload. I will write a longer post when we get there.
God has kept us safe and we are thankful!
God has kept us safe and we are thankful!
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