In His Image
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27
There are lots of things that give me cause for anger. They are mostly things that are not commonly thought about. Things such as self-centeredness, greed, lying, abuse…. That sort of stuff. So, for instance, if someone cuts in line to get ahead, it’s not the fact that I am behind one more body that angers me. It’s the selfish nature of the “gimme, gimme, me first” heart that really ticks me off. Granted, by God’s grace, I do not act out in that anger. I give it to the LORD and am guided in peace. Still, these things itch my anger buttons. Another thing that gets those buttons super itchy is when folks who know better do more to cause harm to those that trust them than they do to help. I’m not sure if that makes a whole lot of sense, but you’ll see what I mean if you read on. In fact, I am inspired to start this new section of my site, titled “In His Image”, to address these itchies, share some personal tales, along with prayers and hopes to help others. What I am going to share here is mainly about two-leggers, but can absolutely be applied to our four-legged companions as well. So, get comfy. This is already starting to be a wild ride.
What am I talking about?
Yeah. I am angry. I will try to the best of my God-given ability to explain why/what about over the upcoming weeks and months. It’s too much to do in one post…
This first post on what has been going on recently (since February this year) is a bit difficult to start. So much has transpired in such a short time that it is a cumbersome task to articulate the first things first. You know? The stuff that grabs your attention and holds on to it so you keep checking back for any weekly updates. Should I terrify you with the awful first? Or dazzle you with the greatest things? Or ramble onward about all the stuff that has pissed me off just today, not to mention the past several months? Let’s see how this works for you…
The love of my life, under Jesus Christ my Savior, is Jamie. My husband. The incredible, great guy with whom I really did not want a romantic relationship in the beginning. I was just fine on my own with my dog! Single for about 11 years when we met, this guy bursts into my life declaring, “Man! I could steal you!” before I even had the chance to see his face clearly. That’s the first day we met and, once I stopped fighting it, I could see God’s hand that brought us together. Once I stopped struggling against that, I was sunk. In the most glorious and beautiful ways, I was entirely sunk and taken in by that OMG smile. 
Jamie is “that guy” that everyone knows they can on. He is the one always willing to help and somehow always figures out a great way to do so. He’s that guy that can become almost irritating to others with his always positive, can-do attitude. He’s fun, confident, loves the Lord and is just plain down to earth, so to speak. Not that others need to hear this, but I must say it… He is…ummm…very well built, too 😉
My husband is that guy that never smoked, doesn’t drink or take any illicit drugs. He was never on any prescription medication either. Jamie is not fond of the bar scene, but was active in sports and worked out three days a week for the past forty-some years of his life. Yup. He is damn near perfect.
But…
Yeah. So, here is the inevitable “but”. A few months ago Jamie was diagnosed with cancer. A tumor found growing in the right side of his neck and inward to the base of his tongue. In addition to that, his kidneys are not loving life. Over the past month he has come within an inch of death twice.
For now I will reserve all the info and my comments as to the why and how this could have happened to someone so healthy and fit. I will also, for now, reserve comments and observations as to our experiences with the medical industrial complex. In fact, I am going to be posting much about these two topics, along with updates on his progress, here at APupStop and at our sister site, Uncommon Knowledge. Here, I will try to focus on what we chose to do as far as treatments, with regular updates on progress. I will also be posting some videos on our Video page occasionally. On Uncommon Knowledge, I will likely focus more on the medical industrial complex, along with other things that tick me off 😉 Either way, I will share links at both to each so you can keep up on all the information we share.
For now
This post is merely an intro to what I believe will become life-changing for us and others. Well, it already has been for us, but will continue on. I believe that nothing touches the lives of God’s children unless it goes through His fingers first. That’s not a cliche. Just like when satan challenged God over Job (Job 1), that dirty creep could do nothing without the LORD’s permission (“permission”, for want of words). And look how hundreds of years later, Job’s life is still an example for us.
With my whole being, I believe that is, in part, what God is doing with Jamie and me. As we remain in Christ and grow in steadfastness, He will use our experiences as examples to others.
So, I truly hope you all check back regularly. You can sign up to receive an email when new news is posted. You can also, if you desire, click the “Donate” button. Between the kidney issues and the cancer treatments, Jamie has had to take considerable time off work. Anything donated will be used for his treatments, to continue this site, alongside helping with mounting expenses on top of our regular bills, etc. Anyone that knows someone with medical issues understands, I’m sure, so I’ll not bore you with details. This entire process is incredibly humbling in pretty much every way.
{Donation form deleted 12/9/2024}