Hola my friends! I have no idea why I decided to do this, but I saw it was an option, so I thought I'd be the guinea pig.

So welcome to my first rant/confession/grunt.

As most of you know I am battling brain cancer. Let me just say, not fun. Luckily, the Lord has been looking over my shoulder and I know I could be feeling a lot worse. Things are much different for me now. Meaning, I don't get to do many of the things I used to love to do. Surfing, hiking, woodworking, gardening, hell, even driving. It sucks. But, every day I try to do something to get me back closer to how I was. And I am grateful and proud of how far I've come since my two surgery's.

In case you haven't heard my story about me meeting God I'll give you the shortened version here:

For the first few months after my surgery I slept in the recliner on my couch. It was no bueno, but I didn't have much of a choice. I was a big pile of goo. Eventually I got enough function back that I could, sort of, walk and finally lay in my bed. After being back in the bed for about a month or so I had an experience. I was laying there, in the dark, and just thinking about this whole situation. Suddenly I was flying through space, like hyper speed in Star Wars, but it was only a split second. I stopped and everything was black. The only thing I could see were lights in front of me that were moving around in all directions. They formed shaped and colors I had never seen before. During this I also felt more love than I have ever felt in my life. I felt safe and loved. To my right, about 10 yards away, I saw a figure standing in a, for lack of a better term, doorway. He was obscured by the light and appeared only as a figure. Again, the feeling of love was overwhelming. I really never wanted to leave. We had a brief conversation, but I didn't use my voice. He just knew what I was thinking and I knew what he was thinking. Then, the last thing he said was "I will take care of you." And like a flash I was back in my bed. I looked around the room to make sure where I was and then faded off to one of the best night's sleep I have ever had. Since that moment I have progressively gotten better.

So who was this "figure"? I assume it was God/Jesus. I guess it could've been one of his Angels. I guess I may never know. What I do know is I am here and doing pretty well for all I've been through. The prognosis for my type of cancer is 12-18 months before death. Here I am 16 months later and feel better than I have since this thing started. How will this end? I don't know. I've asked God a few times for a miracle but in the end he has a plan and that is what will happen. Am I scared? Yeah, a little. The whole not knowing thing. But you have to trust his plan.

One of the greatest things to come from this is me becoming a better Christian and becoming closer to God. I used to fret about money, work and the like. But now I understand those are worldly things that I will leave here one day for something better. I've also gained a better perspective while I'm here. I am slower to anger and try to truly enjoy my time here.

So, to wrap up, I want to give you some advice: Be good to each other, be thankful for every second you have here, don't stress over little things, hug and love your family and friends and trust in God. Carry him in your heart, because with him all things are possible.

Here's to another 16 months for me God willing. And here's to you and yours becoming closer to the Lord.