Changes and choices

Changes and choices

The last few weeks have been tough. School has been a challenge as once again I am taking math, which has never been a strong point for me. Last week I ran a red light and took out another car. Praise God no one was hurt though the car I hit had some real damage. It was surreal in a way as I slid into the other car that was also the same make, color, and model as my own! It was like hitting my self. The young girl was driving her mother’s car. I was thankful she was a sweet girl, as it took excessively long for the police to arrive and take our info. I was on the way to pick up the kids from school so had to call the lovely TES to arrange to get them. A coworker of hers was able to get them as she lived a few blocks away.

On top of all this, math class and Psych class are out of sync. One started a week earlier than the other did so I have to think on terms of one class being in week 1 and the other in week 2. This already has caused me confusion as I did week 2 assignments for Psych which was in week one. The teacher, (who found me on Facebook and we are now friends) was gracious. It turns out that she is also a graduate from a Baptist college. The class is on positive psychology so it should be interesting as I balance my theological views with the psychological views. It is nice to know that the teach is a believer as she will understand my struggles… and even better that she is a friend as she will see me on a more personal level.

Now, all last week I was thinking about all the reading and writing I was going to do this week and get caught up on things like adding Christmas music to my radio station…. Moreover, when Monday came, I was burned out! It is now Thursday and I am finally starting to begin to think on terms of writing. Today will also be the day to decide if iggyROCKS! will play Christmas music or not. Usually I upload a show and just repeat it the whole day so I am thinking that is what I will do again this year. I found last years show so I may just upload it. I am not sure why it is so hard to get the Christmas show going each year but it seems to be a chore every year.

I did finalize my decision to step down from leadership at Vineyard. I am just overwhelmed with school and other things. There are a few personal reasons, yet I will not go into those here. I am thinking on terms of starting a study at one of the coffee houses in town that is open to anyone. I am praying that God will direct me in this. Some of you may already know what direction this ministry is heading, and I need your prayer as many people will find this very controversial as well as not udnerstand what I am doing. I am also asking you to pray and consider helping me out in other ways as God leads you.

Other things I am attempting are trying to find a way to help get funds to some ministries in Africa. It seems PayPal and other such online businesses blacklist Africa. The only way to send money seems to be through Western Union yet even that is limited. I am doing a ton of research on all this, and think I may have to set up a PayPal account here in the states. Then I can send the donations to the ministries as people donate and designate which one they want. I am not that happy about handling the money but see no other way to get the donations to these that need it. I jokingly stated to Ivan who is the director at Afayo Foundation Uganda, that those Nigerians really screwed things up for the legit ministries in Africa… and he stated, “Yeah they have cause real problems for us.” (I am speaking of the Nigerian email frauds that have been going on for years now). If anyone knows of any other way, please let me know, otherwise I guess I will become an Unincorporated Association or Donor Advise Foundation.

On a personal note, it seems my gastric bypass surgery is still in the hands of the insurance company. There was a change in policy that now makes it that I need 6 months of weight loss management (WLM). Of course, the local WLM did not know of this change in policy so resubmitted my medical claim again. I should know next week if I would need to wait longer or not. I feel a bit in limbo over all this. For those of you who see this as new news, I decided that for health reasons I am going forward. There seems to be a lot of success in helping diabetes with the Gastric Bypass surgery as it seems to through the body in shock a bit and when is stabilizes things seem to kick in and work better. Since my condition with insulin resistance is not only making me fatter, but also hurting me in other ways, I decided to take the drastic measure to improve my health.

So please pray for me in all this as well as the regular family stuff and have a great Christmas!

I destroyed the indestructable G'zOne Boulder

Well, maybe not destroyed.

Here is the sad saga of my life with the cell phone upgrade.

I finally was able to upgrade my phone. 1st choice; the LG Chocolate. It was a nice phone and had a mp3 player in it... the family wanted to go swimming and I sort of have an aversion to the public display of blubber... Especially my own.

So we went... and low and behold in my pocket was my brand new cell phone.... dead.

So, we went online and found one that if I decided to go swimming again and take my cell phone it might have a chance on living. I received my brand new G'zOne Boulder. It was the orange one....

Today, it stopped working. Yep... For some reason it would dial out then freeze on that screen. Or I would poke around the menu and it would freeze. I tried everything and called tech support... who tried all I did... and now... I wait for my brand new replacement.

I am not even sure why I want a new one. My old one works fine and does most of all I want. It seems to have an aversion to water and not once has gone swimming or tried to clean itself in the wash machine. But, still here I am waiting for my upgrade.

Is there a moral in all this? Not that I can tell right now. LOL! Other than I seem to be one of those people that has issues with some electronics. Watches mysteriously lose time and I swear have started to run backwards on me.

So here I am... wondering if it is worth it even.

But... it is a cool phone and when I get it, if I swim or toss it into the wash machine... or walk through a sand storm... or decided to throw it against the wall... it should be fine. Unless I try to take the battery out to read that it was made by Casio.

Be blessed,

iggy

Strange day in deed....

It was such a strange day today...

First off TES is sick as can be. I think it is a cold but I feel so lost without her by my side. I feel like I am missing a major organ.

I went swimming yesterday. I really do not like public pools. I was told I could not wear a t shirt while in the pool... I pointed I that it was strange I could not wear a t shirt but a kid could show 6 inches of butt crack... strange rules.

Then I noticed that my brand new LG Chocolate was in my short pocket... after I was in the pool. I tried to dry it out... so now it is a brand new dead LG Chocolate... I finally could afford it with the upgrades... but now most likely will have to go back to my old phone. I am bummed.

Today we had a family reunion. As my mom was heading out to get the food, her car would not start. She cannot get the key out of the ignition sometimes so it runs the battery down. I jumped started her car and she was on her way.

I then received an email from Ingrid Schlueter of Slice of Laodicea. She wanted to apologize to me and wondered why I "hated" her so much. I told her I do not "hate" her... never have never will. I disagree with her on many things...

She stated it was because of my "parody" blog... which I pointed out I am harder on the emerging church and "attack" my own friends! I also pointed out I am writing from an ODM viewpoint... I hold up the standard they have set on others and point out when they fail...

Now, it is strange when someone who calls 14 year old girls, "painted girls of Sodom" and states other sick and hateful things, thinks that me pointing out that this is wrong as hateful. I find it strange that some will judge and condemn Richard Abanes for an alleged lawsuit threat, yet they have done that very thing in the past and have closed down a site. I find it strange that I point out that Chris Rosebrough threatened to sue Richard Abanes... and I am hateful for saying it is all hypocrisy... I think the real issue is that I am holding their standard up to them... and they are seeing it for what it is and see it as hateful... well it is a mirror of sorts for them and that was my hope. I hoped they would see their own hate back at them... from one of their own who holds to their standard and calls them on it when they fail.

I find it strange that while some misuse Jesus to judge and condemn others, though Jesus did not come to condemn us, but to save us... that when I point out how wrong that is, I am hateful...

I do not hate any ODM... I pray for them that they have God's best... and that they grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Though they constantly accuse me of not being a brother... I never call them less than my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Now I do appreciate her apology. And if I hurt her I am sorry, yet I suspect the hate whe sees is in me, comes from what she sees in herself... My prayers are with her.

OK, now back to the real world.

TES was too sick to go to the family reunion... so I gathered the kids and went... and as I drove there I felt like I could throw up... Sick to my stomach.

I helped get things set up and just felt worse and worse... I finally had enough and came home. I laid down for a bit hoping things would settle and fell asleep for 3 hours! I woke up and no one was home. TES had taken the kids for their "nap drive". It seems they only nap when we drive... so TES took them for a drive and them stopped somewhere and slept a bit herself.

It was a strange day indeed.

Oh... and this is my second time I wrote this post... the first was lost when my "IE" crashed.

Be blessed,

iggy

What we are doing... and what I need really bad!

What we are doing...


and...





What I need really bad!

Birthday Girl... Ciana the One Girl Revolution

Happy Birthday Ciana! The big 3! Mommy and daddy love you much.

If this famliy came to your church...

A Pregnant Man?

If this family came to your church...

"Despite the fact that my belly is growing with a new life inside me, I am stable and confident being the man that I am.

“To Nancy, I am her husband carrying our child - I am so lucky to have such a loving, supportive wife.

“I will be my daughter’s father, and Nancy will be her mother. We will be a family.”

Pray for Bridget Lambert

Janna and Bridget are coworkers. Please take some time to pray for Bridget.

Blessings,
iggy



Bridget Lambert

2:10pm Today

I've covered almost every prayer chain known to man, but I am asking you to pray for my best friend Bridget Lambert.

In October, after struggling with intense headaches for weeks, Bridget was admitted into the hospital. The doctors informed her that she had suffered from a pinpoint stroke and a blood clot lodged behind her left ear.

After almost two weeks in the hospital she was released and told that she would have to continue to take blood pressure medication as well as a high dose of blood thinner. They hoped that the clot would eventually dissolve in the blood stream and things would return to normal. Bridget has been unable to return to work (at the Billings Gazette) over the past 7 weeks and her short term disability is almost up. She has been extremely stressed about losing her job and having so many bills to pay.

On Tuesday she had an MRI and there was no change in the clot so they did a second spinal tap to check the pressure of her spinal fluid. The doctors did tell her that it was not as high as her initial visit but it was the only good news they could offer. They had planned to put a stint behind her eyes to try and relieve the pressure on her optic nerves to try and save her eyesight but the initial appointment eyesight has been deteriorating. We had all been hoping for some baby steps forward but instead she has had to take two big steps back.
Yesterday, Bridget complained of back pain and leg cramps/shooting pain so she was admitted into the hospital last night. The did another scan and found what they are calling "spontaneous internal bleeding" the size of a softball in her lower back on the left side. To reverse the affects of the blood thinner they are shooting her up with Vitamin K to help her blood clot to stop the internal bleeding. This puts her into high risk due to the stubborn blood clot. She is in a lot of pain and is very very scared right now.

Today she recieved the Vitamin K as well as a batch of platelets to hopefully stop the internal bleeding. Because she has been losing so much blood she has become anemic and they have asked her to consider a blood transfusion to refill her blood reserve. If she didn't take the transfusion she would risk bleeding out but by taking transfusion she still risks the chance of contracting blood born pathogens that could harm her.

Please please pray for healing and fantastic doctors to aid her in recovery. This has been a frustrating ordeal for her, her family and friends and she could use every prayer you can give.

Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours,

Janna

Janna and Bridget at the 2007 Relay for Life

Sorry for the delay

I have been really busy lately with work and other things. I am working on getting Romans 9 finished.

Here are some of the things I am doing.

I am writing a book... I do not assume it will be published... (except in Romania maybe... no joking).

I have been in contact with a wonderful pastor in a country east of Madagascar called Mauritius which I had never heard of before. He wants me to help him get more teachings on Grace. He is most interested in Major Ian Thomas books. I am collecting some things for him and some other items that I will be sending him. If you want to help let me know iggy@wwdb.org I am looking for teachers and books that are strong on grace.

I also am going to Great Falls this weekend to go to the Vineyard Church regional meeting. It sounds pretty fun. I had to pass on Soularize this year as I did not get my passport together in time... I hear N.T. Wright will be there... and there being the Bahamas... oh well.

I also was asked by a Christian radio station in Namibia (which is in Africa... yep I had to look it up myself), advise on how to add their station to their website as I have iggyROCKS! linked in the player to the right.

I have been slowly healing from the medication I was taking that was making me ill... Though the last few days I have had some major back pain which is why I can get a few posts out today.

So prayer is really appreciated.

I will also be teaching as Billings Vineyard on Oct 21st. I will be teaching on the Grace of God as we are going through Galatians.

Anyway, that is just a few things that are going on here with me.

be Blessed,

iggy

Sorry for no posts for so long... and yes I am OK! LOL!

I have been BUSY! So get off my back! LOL!

Just kidding... not about the busy thing.

Thanks for you concerns as some wondered if I was well.

ON THAT TOPIC...

I have had health issues in the past due to medications I have take for my diabetes and cholesterol.

One medication (this was a few years ago) made me feel like the "ambition" switch was turned off in my head... I could have cared less about anything... things took on a better viewpoint when i stopped that one.

Now I have found that statins like Lipitor and Tricore do not mix well with me.

I have had severe back pains... like my kidneys were trying to dig out of my back... and I really thought i was on my way for a hip replacement.... as my right hip when turned (never knowing when it would happen) would send waves of shocking pain that made me wonder if I was going to hit the ground... Not a good thing if you lift heavy objects at work like do sometimes.

So, recently I found out that I cannot take Tricore for my High Cholesterol... so I quite and my energy level has risen considerably and my pain has almost disappeared... (but being in my 40's... well you get the picture).

I do think that the reason i have had a chronic cough since mid July (I had the flue and then a bronchial infection... then a chronic cough and it still is going on!) Is that because of the Statin drug, my immune system was compromised a bit... i seem to be mending.. but even two time on antibiotics seems to not be getting this cough to leave... so I turn to you the reader for prayer...

Also on the topic of prayer my mother fell in the driveway the other day... she got pretty banged up... so pray for her also... she and I are also considering getting that stomach staple (they have newer ways now) for health reasons... though i may be better now with more energy from being off the "drugs".

THANKS!

There are some other interesting developments as i am in correspondence with another writer at Christian Research Network... and though I do not see this going to change how they attack others, do pray as I hope that there may be a softening of sorts. (The guy does not like how I treat Ken as a "punching bag" at CRN.info when I interact with Ken... but has yet to see Ken does this all the time with all he attacks.)

I am working on Romans 9... it is going slowly as i am trying to pick the direction and find the smooth stream between all the controversy on that chapter... believe me, I do not think I will clear that all up... though I do think my unique view may give yet another stream to look at.



So, that is the update...

Blessings,
iggy

My Baby Girl Turns Two!

It is hard to believe that my baby girl turns two today!

Happy Birthday Ciana!

Love,

Your daddy