The Journey Begins

Roxanne and I woke up in Jasper National Park on a beautiful morning in October of 2020. To be accurate it was October 12th, Thanksgiving Day in Canada. But it wasn’t just Thanksgiving Day, it was also our 18th anniversary. What an amazing 18 years. Even as I type this I realize how blessed I am to be married to an excpetional woman that loves me unconditionally. The autumn weather in Jasper was amazing. We had spent 3 days in Jasper over the long weekend but all great vacations must end and then it was time to head back to Edmonton.

The weather for the drive home was beautiful and memories of a wonderful weekend were played out in my mind. It was on the way home that I started to feel a pain in my right side. I had never had a pain like that before, but I thought maybe I ate way too much and and had too many desserts during the weekend. All the pumpkin pie was amazing!

Move forward another week and I still was not feeling good. Roxanne and I decided it was time I went to see our doctor. Our family doctor, Dr Deb is wonderful and appointments never last only a couple of minutes they are at least half an hour, and many times even longer. I have never liked doctors appoinments but she is a doctor that I don’t mind going to see.

She ordered some blood work and sent me for an ultrasound.

That is when the bells started going off.

Some of you are thinking Gord why are you telling us a story from 2020 in January of 2022? Well at this time I am ready and comfortable to share the story of the journey publically. Am I a good writer, no I am not. But I have decided that if I can encourage even just one person by sharing this story then this is what I have to do.

I have learned and fully understand that I am not on this journey alone, Roxanne is with me and so is God. It is my faith and trust in Him that keeps me smiling each and every day. There are people everywhere that need to hear that God cares and I want to share that through this story.

Some may stop reading because I am talking about God, but I trust and I believe that people will hear about God’s goodness through the story and our journey.

As I said the bells started going off, and then it was a CT scan ordered.

Before I share further I need to go back in time to 2014, when much to my suprise Melanoma was cut out of my right shoulder. Sadly too many sun burns in my teens and early 20’s led to the finding of the Melanoma. The surgery was very succesful and regular visits to see Dr. S-1 (There are many doctors I now see with their last name starting with an S, so I will number them) revealed no concerns whatsoever.

Six years of no concerns and the only time I even thought about the Melanoma was when I went for a follow up appointment. Visits with Dr S-1 were great as we talked about many different things and always had wonderful conversations. He is just one of many remarkable health care professionals I now work with.

Back to the CT Scan…It revealed a number of different concerns. We told Dr. Deb not investigate further and that it was best to reach out to Dr. S-1.

Within a day we heard from Dr. S-1 and he set up an appointment with himself and an onocologist. He knew Roxanne and I well enough that he could share the news over the phone.

As for the time line we were now in the middle of November 2020.

I think that is probably enough writing for today, as I get to go out and shovel some snow. I will try to write at least once per week and I trust that someone will find benefit from what they read. To those reading this, no matter who you are or where you are I want to remind you that God loves you so very much and He is never too busy for you!

Have an amazing day everyone, and thanks for taking time to read my blog.

3 YEARS….

I woke up this morning realizing that today was 3 years since I retired. What a joruney for the last 3 years. I will say that I was so blessed to be able to reire while in my mid 50’s. I just don’t know how time has gone so fast over the last 3 years.

I also realized that I have not written very much over the past 18 months, That will be changing as I have a story to share with all of you. Over the coming months I am going to share a story of faith and God’s goodness.

I heard a great expression this morning. The company Promises Performance BUT GOD PERFORMS PROMISES. There is so much truth to that. Even in 2021 God continues to Perform Promises.

We can never doubt that God is still in the Miracle Working Business.

One update I will give this morning is for the last 19 months I have been doing Facebook Live calls to encourage people and remind people of God’s love. Someone recently told me that I am close to 350 Calls. In my wildest imagination I would never have thought that I would be doing FaceBook live calls. I do realize that retirement allowed me to do these calls. I would not have been able to do them if I was still working. I know that the calls have been an encouragement to me and many others. I wonder how long I will continue with them.

Just a short post for today, have an amazing day everyone and remember God loves you so much and He wants the very best for you.

Where has the time gone!

My apologies for not writing in my Blog since March….For many of us the world has been upside down. But in our house we remain focused on what is important during this crisis the world has been go through.

In early March we went to Georgia for 6 days, and while we were gone so many things changed. Upon our return to Canada we had to self quarantine for 14 days. That sure was interesting, no opportunities to leave our home. Many of you were faced with the same thing.

It was during day 2 of our quarantine that an idea dropped into my mind and I know that the idea was from God. I went on Facebook live on March 18th to encourage all my friends. Giving a daily message of hope and inspiration.

Today was Day 111 of the “Live at 9” Facebook posts…. People are telling me that they are being encouraged and that is why I continue them to today. I am trying to remind people that the Lord is with us and that He will never fail us. The calls are between 10 and 15 minutes in length. For someone who doesn’t like being in front of the camera it has been interesting.

That is also the reason why I have not been writing the Blog, much of my spare time is used to get ready for the calls.

I have also started to mentor some individuals using technology to communicate and that has been an absolute blessing to me.

I know that this time has very difficult for many people, but I know that we are going to get to the other side. I don’t want to be the same, and I don’t others to be the same. During a crisis we can grow and I have seen so much growth in my life, and I thank God for that. I have realized more than ever that I want to be used by God to impact people. He is currently using the Facebook live calls and I am so grateful for that.

I know that God has big plans for all of us, we just have to be open and receptive to His leading. It’s July 8th, let’s use the last half of the year to really make a positive difference in the lives of people.

The 2 hips are now just over 15 months old and are doing great. I still will say without hesitation if you need your hips replaced, do both at the same time if the doctor makes that offer. With the “hips” being 15 months old I am reminded that I have now been retired for 20 months. I still am enjoying retirement, and I know I would not be able to do all the things I am doing if I was still working.

Yesterday I was on my hands and knees staining our deck for about 3 hours and did not have any issues at all. Another blessing from the Lord. Without the new hips there is no way I could have done the work.

I have also been spending more time with my parents as one never knows how much time they will have left. Roxanne and I recently took them to Jasper with us and everyone had a great time. Cherish every moment that you have with family. As for travel I think there will be lots of “Travel Alberta” vacations this year.

We are going to get through the Corona Virus, we are going to get through everything that is going on at present and when we do we can be reminded that God is faithful.

Psalms 126:5-6 (Passion Translation) tells us this, and we can always be confident that He will be with us.

⁵Those who sow their tears as seeds
will reap a harvest with joyful shouts of glee.
⁶They may weep as they go out carrying their seed to sow,
but they will return with joyful laughter and shouting with gladness
as they bring back armloads of blessing and a harvest overflowing!

I appreciate your time in reading today, and I do commit to writing on a more frequent basis.

Have an amazing day everyone and remember God Loves You So Very Much.

This is the day!!!!!!!!

This indeed is the day that the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it…. I shared the “BHAP” (Big Hairy Audacious Prayers) thought with a few people and they thought that it was great. So in our house going forward we will be praying Big Hairy Audacious Prayers). We serve a big God who is still in the prayer answering business.

With that in mind if you have any prayer requests, PLEASE send me a message. Roxanne and I will commit to praying for you daily.

Since I wrote the last paragraph our door bell rang, and it was a strong reminder that HE does answer BIG PRAYERS. Last spring one of our neighbors told us that they were wanting to have a baby but had not been yet successful in getting pregnant. We let her know we would be praying, which we did consistently. She eventually let us know when she was pregnant and this morning they brought over the little baby to meet us.

What a great reminder from the Lord of HIS goodness, and answered prayers. A powerful confirmation to me as I had started writing about prayer this morning, and then answer to prayer showed up at our door.

Once again if you need prayer send me your requests and we will pray for you.

Last week I had my 12 month follow for the bi-lateral hip replacement surgery. It was actually held at 11 months and I passed with flying colors. During one of the tests I walked at 1.79 meters per second which is one of the fastest paces they had seen. I don’t have to go back for follow for another 3 years so that is indeed a blessing. I also met 3 men contemplating hip surgery. I told them what I went through and I told them I could now walk any distance with no pain whatsoever…I told them I am now able to enjoy doing physical activities again. I am trying my best to walk at least 20 miles per week and I really enjoy being active.

Just a short post today and with the ringing of the door bell, I am reminded that this indeed is the day that the Lord has made. Trusting that all of you have an amazing day.

BHAP!!!!!!!!

Do you remember from the business world BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and how it is is vital to a company and the employees????

Two weeks ago at a night of prayer at our church there were 6 of us in attendance. Myself, Roxanne and 4 others. I don’t know why but I started talking about BHAG and all of sudden the thought came to me. BHAP!!! For a believer we need to believe in BHAP. We need to have that mindset when we pray. IT MUST BE BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS PRAYERS. We need to pray and then we need to believe God for the answer.

We need to believe that no prayer is too big for God. I have the 6 of us using the phrase BHAP now. I am wondering if this is something that can catch on? How many of you reading would say BHAP?

I have no idea where the original thought came from. Maybe it was myself and maybe God planted the thought in my head. Roxanne and I are choosing to pray that way going forward.

Not only Big Prayers, we also want to have Big Impact on People. With God’s help we want to make a difference in the lives of people.

What a way to start today’s Blog Post!!

I just finished driving my home from California, more about that in future writings. At this point I will say it was fun and memorable.

I flew to Palm Springs on the 29th, and we left on the 1st of February. Before we left Palm Springs one early morning I went for a walk and saw a robin. The robin was sitting in a tree enjoying the sunshine. Then I thought I wonder where that robin goes when winter is over? Does it fly to Alberta? Where does it go for the summer? I know it probably does not stay in Palm Springs but flies somewhere. Seeing the robin reminded me that it has a BHAG. It’s goal is so big, that little bird migrates. A small bird flies miles and miles and miles. It sets big goals and knows that it will achieve that goal. That confirmed to me that we need to have the BIG PRAYERS.

Watching that robin was a powerful lesson and I know that lesson came to me that morning from God. The bigger question is what am I going to do with that lesson?

Just a short post for today, but I wanted to share the story about BHAP.

Have a great weekend everyone, and I look forward to hearing from those of you who will start using the phrase BHAP in your life.

Thanks for reading today blessings to you.

Eating Healthy On A Cold Winter Day

A very quick post for today. Trust that everyone is having an amazing day. Roxanne and I have started the year doing a “Daniel Fast” that we started on the 6th of January. Since that time in addition to the prayer time we have been able to improve our diet considerably. I don’t even miss not drinking “Coke”!!!!!!

Last night’s dinner which I made was easy to make and very healthy. I wanted to share it with all of you. The taste far exceeded my expectations.

Ingredients.

Garlic….Onions……Mushrooms…..Zucchini….Red Peppers….Tomatoes…..

It was very easy to make and took very little time. The meal made for a perfect dinner.

That is another benefit of retirement, I have really enjoyed spending more time learning how to work in the kitchen.

Everyone have a great day, I have to get on the treadmill as I have committed to doing 20 miles per week of walking to enhance my recovery.

Have a wonderful and blessed day everyone.

10 Months!!!!!!

It is so hard to believe that today is exactly 10 months since the bi-lateral hip replacement. Time has gone so very fast. Yet in some respects it feels just like yesterday. Bottom line I have to thank The Lord so much for being with me during the recovery. With out a doubt that I would not have progressed this far or this fast without His help. I am walking far more now than I have in the past several years. I looked at my FitBit last night and it showed that I walked 25 miles last week. That distance included shoveling snow several times and I truly enjoyed shoveling the snow and was pain free. I really missed not shoveling snow last winter and am making up for it now as I try to do the snow of neighbors as well. Many have asked my opinion on hip replacements. I stand firm in my belief that because I needed 2 done, doing them at the same time the right thing to do for me. Everyone has to make their own decision, I made the right one for me. I look forward to the coming summer and being very active outside. I appreciate all the comments and support from all my friends during the recovery process.

In addition to being 10 months since hip surgery, today is exactly 446 days since I retired from RBC. I have learned to really love Sunday afternoons. While working, many Sunday afternoons around 4:00 I started feeling a little anxious as my mind started going over all the things that I had to do in the coming week. The joy of the weekend slowly disappeared thinking about the coming week. I know many of you have the same feeling as you have told me so or acknowledged it to me when I asked the question. Now Sunday afternoons are perfect. No concerns whatsoever about Monday morning. It is such a wonderful feeling. But it does also have a downside.

I truly do miss the freedom of not working for the Bank but I do miss one thing in particular. I really miss not leading and impacting people as their coach. Leading and impacting people for 30 years was such a wonderful blessing. I know I was a good coach, and I truly miss not coaching, impacting and leading people. I have come to the realization that I will never lead people again, and I will have to find different ways to impact people. I don’t know what those ways are yet, but I know I have to find them. For me to be truly fulfilled I need to impact people. I need to use the talents and abilities that have been given to me. Who knows maybe I will be able to impact just one person who reads this BLOG.

This past weekend Roxanne and I were blessed to be able to host the International Messengers booth at The One Conference (Previously called Breakforth). IM is the organization that we have gone to Ukraine 6 times with. We met lots of great people, heard lots of great speaking/music and had many wonderful interactions. Our neighbors to each side in the booth area were also fantastic. We were blessed to meet Eliud and Gina from Intercede International and Robb and Lois from Global Leadership Network. Both couples were absolutely dynamic and were a joy to talk to. We have met some new friends and you can never have enough friends. The weekend was so great being in an atmosphere where the name of The Lord was proclaimed everywhere.

I think I forgot to let everyone know that I am working part-time. I realized during my recovery that I could not just sit around the house so I am working as a part-time travel agent. It is lots of fun, I am learning lots and also closing some business. I will give more updates on this in the future.

I think it is time to go for today, and I know I have said it before but I commit to write on a more regular basis. I appreciate you taking the time read my BLOG. Have a wonderful and blessed week everyone.

One year and 16 days

I cannot believe that I have been retired for over a year. Where does the time go? It really has been an amazing year but I am realizing more and more everyday that time goes way too fast. Another birthday will is just around the corner and I do not believe that I am doing as much as I can or should be doing. Wow, how is that for a first paragraph after not writing in my blog for a very long time?

It is 6:00 AM Saturday morning and Roxanne and I are getting our hair cut. Yes I did say 6:00 AM. We have been doing this for a number of years as our stylist likes starting his day early. So if you need a good stylist in Edmonton, call Van at 780-951-3960. He is great at what he does, and is a great person. You would really like him.

Another WOW for today, one of my former colleagues from RBC just walked in. Small world, I will end for today so I can talk to visit with him. Please know I am back and will be writing much more soon. I know you all want to hear about the 2 new hips which are almost 8 months old. Have a great weekend everyone.

9 months!!!!!!!

Roxanne’s extended family get together July 23

I woke up this morning realizing that today is 9 months since I retired. Where has the time gone? It seems just like yesterday that it was November 1st. This really shows me how fast time really moves and I must be diligent in impacting people everyday. That is one of the things that I miss most about not working. I knew everyday while working that I had an impact on people. I truly believe that is one of my talents and gifts. I have the ability to impact people in a positive manner. Am I always perfect? No! But I sure try my best, because we have to use the talents that we have been given.

Wow, what a way to start today’s BLOG posting. Today is also 4 months and 11 days with my 2 brand new hips. Things continue to go well, and the healing and recovery is fantastic. For the last couple of weeks I have been telling people that I am feeling better now than I have at anytime in the last 2 years. I used to love to walk and then it became a real chore and not something that I liked to do. With these 2 new hips I once again love to walk. This morning I went for a walk, and according to the FITBIT I have walked 5000 steps so far this today. I will reiterate once again, that having the hip replacement was the right thing for me at this point of my life. I now sometimes wonder if I would still be working for the Bank if I had had the operation before retiring. I really did not realize how bad I actually was. I know it had been impacting my day to day activities. I have to say how thankful I am to the Lord for His strength during the healing process.

Speaking of steps, 2 weeks ago Roxanne had to go to Calgary for work. I decided to go and keep her company while she drove. Six hours in the car there and back and I did not have a problem sitting. The best part of the story, I went to the Calgary Zoo to spend the day. 15000 steps and I did not get tired. Seeing the zoo was great as I had not been there in 30 years. More importantly that day taught me that my healing was going well. At that time I was down to one cane, and for the most part I am only using it for my walks or when I will be away from home for a while. I am trying to get close to 10,000 steps everyday at this point in time. I am not always hitting 10,000 but I am sure trying.

Retirement has allowed me to do many other things that I was not able to do while working. Last week Roxanne had a couple of extended family events one during the week. It was great to be able to be out during the middle of the week and not have to worry about phone calls or emails. Roxanne has such an amazing extended family. I have enjoyed meeting everyone of them over the years. A positive trade off of retirement is being out during the week. Then last Friday I was able to take my parents and my aunt to Smoky Lake. It was a great day and we made lots of wonderful memories. Also you will see the picture of the pies. The apple pie I bought was the greatest pie that I have ever had. If you are ever in the Smoky Lake area stop in at Serben Farms. They have the absolute best food.

I keep saying that I will write the BLOG more often and I will, in saying that I appreciate all the people that are reading the BLOG. I trust that you are enjoying the story of The Retired Banker. Have an amazing day. Today I want to close by saying if you have any prayer requests let me know, and I will add them to my prayer journal and commit to pray for you daily. Take care.

Recovery Continues

Day 237 of Retirement, 95 days with the new hips

I have been very amiss in not writing since my surgery. Only one post since the surgery and that talked about the day of the surgery. Some have asked me why I was not writing, for that I must apologize. I found that I did not have a great interest to write while in the early stages of recovery. Now that I am feeling so much better I want to start writing again.

Thinking back to the surgery and my time in the hospital, I can confidently say that I was very blessed. The care I received in the hospital was AMAZING. My surgeon does not do the “anterior” approach so it was the standard hip replacement surgery. I also became aware while in the hospital that they would not have done the “2 for 1 Special” if the “anterior” approach was the surgery of choice.

I remember very well taking my first few steps the day after the surgery and how humbling the experience was. Very little energy and I did not go very far the first day. By the time I went home from the hospital I was doing about 100 steps. Of course using a walker the entire time.

Thankfully the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament started the day of my surgery so I was able to watch the 1st and 2nd rounds in the hospital. It was great, private room, big screen TV and food that was pretty good. (Although I did not want to eat very much). One of my friends brought me a bottle of Coke and it took me 3 days to drink the bottle. Those who know me well know that Coke is my beverage of choice.

A number of my former staff came to visit me in the hospital and we all realized that I did the right thing by retiring first and then doing the surgery. It was discussed that I would have been in the hospital and then at home working away on my “Blackberry”. I would not have slowed down at work and would not have taken the time to recover. With all those thoughts in mind I felt comfortable with the fact that I retired before surgery.

In the hospital they showed me exercises that I needed to do at home until the surgeon gave the OK to start Physio. Thinking back on it now, it was so hard to do some of those exercises in a minimal number, now they are easy and I can do them in great numbers.

A doctor doing rounds came in on Sunday morning, and told me how “brave” I was. She stated that she would never do 2 hips at the same time as she was afraid that she would fall down and that no one would be there to help her up. The Occupational Therapist and I were talking about her comments and he said “Gord if you fall down at home when you are alone phone the ambulance and they will come and help you up”. Thankfully I have not had to do that and if I did fall now I am pretty confident that I could get up on my own.

When I came home I ended up sleeping in the bonus room on the main floor for a few weeks as I was not yet ready to tackle the stairs using crutches to go to the bed room. I think it was more of an unwarranted fear, as when I started doing the stairs it was slow but easier than I expected.

Roxanne has been so amazing these past 3 months. I don’t know what I would have done with out her. She is PERFECT. The greatest care giver that anyone could ever ask for. She works all day and then is still eager to help me out when she gets home. She is an absolute blessing from the Lord

I got the OK to drive at week 7 from the surgeon. Roxanne went with me the first few times just to make sure. I did great and she was comfortable with me driving on my own. It has given me lots of independence and allows me the chance to get out of the house on a regular basis.

When we saw the surgeon at week 7 he said I was making great progress, especially for having 2 hips replaced. I started Physio at that time and they also say I am making great progress. However I have to continually remind myself that having two hips done is not the same as one and it will take longer to recover. The blessing is that I will not have to go back in for another surgery.

The picture at the beginning of today’s entry was taken on May 26th at the first Edmonton Eskimo game of the year. We were able to get tickets in the accessible section that day. I stood the entire game which was great. Since then we have sat in our regular seats for 2 games and everything has been great.

I think I will end for today, but for anyone reading this blog that is needing or contemplating hip replacement and you have the option to go for 2 at the same time that is what I would recommend. If you have any questions please let me know I would be pleased to answer them

Have a wonderful day everyone.