"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3

It has been a week since the start of the last chemo. Malcom is struggling with a lot of different side affects. The neuropathy is bad. His hands and arms are very red (looks like he is burned). They are super sensitive to things (hurts to put his hands in his pockets) and he's losing the hair on his arms and hands. He's been aching as if he's coming down with a cold. These things in addition to the fatigue and "chemo brain" (inability to think or react quickly) tend to pull him down.

I was encouraged when he shared with me this verse in Isaiah. Here is a promise from God, the promise of perfect peace. Like many promises in the Bible, there is a condition to be met in order to receive the promise. "Who's mind is stayed on Thee..." How easily our focus can be drawn away from Him! Whatever that thing is that pulls your trust away from the Lord is the very thing that will rob you of peace to face every trial. In Malcom's case, he must concentrate on putting his focus on the Lord and not on the side affects of chemo. For me, I must focus on the Lord and not on the uncertainty of the future. What about you? What robs you of God's perfect peace?

I want to share some good news about our friend, Mike. Three weeks ago he was near death. But God has answered our prayers and lifted him up again. Today the doctor said the leukemia is going into remission. The last few weeks his father has been here in Springfield caring for him. We invited them to our home on Monday for dinner and enjoyed a nice evening together. The Lord gave us opportunity to speak of spiritual things. We really feel that his father is searching for truth. Thank you for your prayers as we seek to be a blessing to Mike and his family.