In light of the house purchase, Nelson writes that he hopes none of his possessions will ever to go to his head or change him.

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October 5, 2022

Lord, you have done lots of miracles in our lives in the past year. The house, our son being born against all odds, and my cancer being healed against similar odds. They were able to match the chemo drug so my healing can be possible and not just putting off the inevitable.

Thank you for being so involved, Lord. Thank you for Annso and for her faith in you, for her willingness to follow me as I follow you. Thank you that you have given me the ability to pick the right paths as I follow you, that things actually do turn out in the end, because there sure could be other outcomes.

“Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die; their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live they count themselves blessed— and people praise you when you prosper.” (Psalm 49:16-18)

Well said.

People do praise you when you prosper. And man, how we live for that praise. But we have it plain and simple right there: “Do not be overawed when others grow rich…. for they will take nothing with them when they die.”

It’s a helpful and freeing command from God written right in the Bible for us to grab. And we are just buying a house. What a blessing. But I never want any of this stuff to go to our heads.

God gave us the money through his people, and he brought us to the house, and we are trying to live wisely, renting out most of the place and living in one of the smaller units. “The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)

That’s a picture of the blessing of God when it turns to material blessing in the life of his people. He brings wealth and adds no trouble to it. Who wants money or houses if it brings a bunch of fighting and trouble?

Thank you Lord for the blessing you have given us in the form of a little boy, a house, and all these people who faithfully pray for my total healing.

I sure can get distracted by the house and the family. Then when I’m in the hospital hanging on for dear life, I’m reminded how futile it is.

But I’m also trying to set Annso up so she could have a good life here without being destitute. And property and a good church is the way I see to do that.

I’d like to last as long as possible, which I believe will be quite a while longer, but until then, it seems good to set her up. I pray for Annso and Will, for their trip to Germany, for their health and that we can raise Will up to honor you, Lord.

I pray that you would protect his mind and his body from the modern teachings and garbage that will try to latch onto him. I pray that you would give him special wisdom to see things in your word and to get joy from obeying you.

I pray you would spare him years of rebellion where he has to try out all the sins and see what damage they cause like I did. I pray you would help him be smarter than that and to learn from the mistakes of others instead of having to punish himself.

I pray for Annso that you would give her more stamina and the ability to do what she’s doing, especially while I’m too weak and tired to help her properly like a good husband should. Help me to be able to help, to encourage, to do the things I can, to take the load off her.

“Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him. The ransom for a life is costly. No payment is ever enough.”  (Psalm 49:5-8)

What a great rhetorical question. You could almost write a poem like that. “Why should I fear?” That’s the title. And then you put every possible scenario you see in the Bible telling us not to be afraid, after that.

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“Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

In this journal entry Nelson expresses a desire “live like he’s going to live.” This philosophy has become a major goal.

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We have small group tonight, and have been trying to get plugged into life in Rochester as much as I’m able. We have some new friends, and most of them are from a great church we became part of right away.

From the first day here, I’ve been trying to do things that assume I’ll be alive and well, down the road. When I got a Minnesota driver’s license, I took the extra test and paid the extra money to get my motorcycle endorsement transferred over from my Hawaii license (right), even though I no longer have a bike. I’m sure I’ll get one at some point, and I want to be ready when that day comes.

Of course having a baby assumes a certain level of commitment and participation in life, but that doesn’t really count, because I didn’t know I had cancer when Will came along.

Annso and I got ourselves a 75 gallon fish tank with a bunch of African Cichlids in it, because everything doesn’t need to be about medicine, survival, and hospitals. It’s still amazing what you can get on Craigslist.

 And… if everything goes as planned, Annso and I will close on a single family home right here in Rochester that was made into a triplex some time back in the 50’s. We hope to occupy one of the downstairs units and a couple of really nice tenants already occupy the others.

It’s always been my dream to own a rental property, and now we just might be able to do that and cut our monthly housing payment in half in the process. God really does the impossible if you let him.

God really does take pleasure in looking out for the weak. He loves to help out the broken-hearted. If you read the Bible, you can find it everywhere. He takes the side of the lowly and the meek, while opposing the proud and the self-righteous.

In the goals I made while we started this fight back in May, one of them was to accomplish something every day that didn’t have to do with cancer or directly to do with getting well. The fish tank and the house came out of that plan.

It’s healthy, I think, to work on things that are not only about survival. Write down dreams and share them with God, then see what happens. He just might help you out in ways you’d never expect.

Annso and I are looking forward to life here in Rochester, Minnesota, even though it’s not a place I thought of living in a million years. Live Like you’re Going to Live.

When our time in Hawaii ended abruptly, I knew we were coming here, but not for how long. We figure it’s as good a place as any to raise our little family, and I need to stay close to the clinic… for a few years anyway. Might as well embrace life in Small Town USA. It’s been good to us so far.

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“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)

In the last entry, Nelson listed 34 items a father should teach his son. Today he adds seven rules of his own.

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October 4, 2022

And a few of my own:

• Have a real relationship with God; don’t try to piggyback on someone else’s, especially not your woman’s. In the end it will mean everything.
• Don’t carry a gun unless you know how to use it.
• Be humble, no grumble.
• Tip generously.
• Wake up every day before your family, and pray for them.
• Throw away your TV.
• Write down your dreams. I like that one. I would add, And speak them out, at least to yourself and God. I have seen them come true more than once, when I have done that without even realizing it.

5:30 pm

Today was the day we found out our house would close on schedule and we would get the financing! It was huge news to us, because we’ve been waiting on that and jumping through all sorts of hoops for months in this journey.

Thank you Lord for making dreams come true! We asked you to do it without any help from anyone co-signing or taking the burden from us. We wanted to get the loan for ourselves and not with the help of man. We wanted to do this as a couple, a little family, just us and you Lord. And this is the proof that you can fight our battles for us.

Thank you for making that dream a reality. I definitely had my doubts. I thank you for being able to try and get off this morphine, too. It’s a battle because I have these break-through tablets and have been cutting off the slow release pills, but it’s hard not to want to take the break-through pills. So far, I’ve been doing it. Coming off this stuff feels like a fever and a flu mixed together into one.

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“With God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)