R.I.P. Playoff Beard!! July 13 2008-June 13 2009

Remember my post from back in July about the "playoff beard" that I was growing in support of my best friend Mike? Well, I have great news! It's gone!! Mike is now cancer free--praise the Lord!!!! He should go home today from his surgery to correct his "innards" and life will get back to normal for my brother and best friend!! Thanks to all for your prayers & support!!!

Friends....

As I travel this old road called life, I learn more and more that we need to pay more attention to the important things. Important things like God, family, and friends. It breaks my heart to hear of friends or family having difficulties. I have one friend in particular that is going through a very hard time right now. Without getting too mushy, this friend is a really cool fella with a wide variety of awesome talents, as well as being just a cool dude. I won't discuss the who or why on the blog, but I will just ask those of you that pray to please do so for my friend. The Lord knows who he is, and He also knows his need, so please just pray for "Jeff's friend". Thanks.

A couple of updates....

Wow! It's been awhile. Well first, I want to let everyone know that Ashlea is home! she went home Tuesday and is undergoing physical therapy at a local hospital. Thank you for your prayers on her behalf!!

My best friend Mike is doing ok--he has three more chemo treatments to go!! I am ready to shave my playoff beard and he is too!! As soon as we win the "championship", I will get to shave this ugly old beard off!!! Maybe Michelle will videotape the shaving & I can post it...lol....naaa!!

I am still learning my new Rebel XSI camera--I'll post a couple of pics soon.....

Update on Mike...

I just waned to give you an update on my best friend Mike....
Mike has started back to work on a limited basis, and also started his chemo last week. Please continue to keep Mike in your thoughts & prayers as this is heavy duty chemo. He has to take this for 19 more weeks. It has been and continues to be a very heavy time for Mike and his fiancee Sally. Sally has been there for Mike in his greatest time of need. To Sally I say thank you for coming into Mike's life just in time to rescue him. You have been awesome and I pray that you two have a very happy life together. To Mike I say, hang in there, bro...you have lots of friends praying & rooting for ya! We'll get through this soon!! To all of our friends let me say a very sincere thank you for supporting our fund raising efforts for Mike, and especially thanks for your prayers during these difficult times. Please continue praying....

101st post...

Looks like a rainy day today! The other day Dan had a 100% chance of rain for Wednesday. Well, looks like his forecast verified! We can use the rain & it should make for a very pretty fall here in NE Oklahoma in the next couple of weeks.

Our benefit garage sale went very well.....we raised over $1,700.00 for Mike and this will help him greatly! Thanks to all who were involved!! This year has really been a heavy time for me, but especially for Mike. I am looking forward to the day when his doctor declares him cancer free!! And then I will shave my playoff beard!! YAY!!!

I spoke with Lanny Dean earlier & he and I want to organize a chaser gathering, so stay tuned for an announcement about a gathering sometime in November, just to hang out & visit about the perils of chasing, share videos & pics, & have a little fun...

Good afternoon,
Mike is doing well--resting a lot at home. He will get the staples removed this week. He is still in quite a bit of pain so please continue to pray for him. Please pray for Mike's financial situation as he has learned that he may have to start over on his medical deductibles. He was informed by his workplace that his deductible runs from September to September, meaning that he may have to start over paying his deductibles.

Our benefit garage sale is this Friday & Saturday for Mike!! Helen Underwood and Jerrie Walden, along with several others have volunteered countless hours sorting, pricing, and organizing this huge event. To them, I say THANK YOU!! And to those of you that we'll see Friday & Saturday, THANK YOU!! All proceeds from the sale go straight to help Mike with his medical bills. Also, if you would just like to donate to Mike, please let me know.

Also...our On The Edge youth group will be having a "Cram Nite" (youth gathering) this Friday at 7:00pm. We will have dinner, fun-n-games, and a message from God's Word. If you have youth-age kids (7th thru 12th grade), they are invited!!

Mike is at home!!!!

Praise the Lord, Mike is home!! I am so glad that everything has went so well concerning his surgery & recovery, I just know that he has had a Helping Hand, if you catch my drift...

He is resting and still has a long way to go, so don't stop praying.

Here is a picture of Mike so you can put a face with the name!

Thank you all again! Mike is very blessed with many friends!!

Great news!!!!!

Sally, Mike's fiancee just called with some awesome news!! Mike is doing really well. The doc says that he has NEVER had anyone recover so fast from this type of surgery! He may even get to go home tomorrow!! He walked three times yesterday and gets to eat a little real food today!! I can't thank everyone enough for your thoughts & prayers for Mike. Please continue to pray for him and for our fundraiser car wash on October 17th & 18th at the Verdigris car wash at Highway 66 and Gordon Road...if you have any donations, please let me know.

Update on Mike...

Good news! I just learned that Mike was able to get up & walk around a while today! He is pretty sore now, though. Please keep him in your prayers!

Update on Mike...

First of all, let me say thank you to all of you that have had your thoughts and prayers with Mike. He is in his own room as of Friday night about 10:00pm, and resting. Mike is still in a lot of pain, but when the doc checked on him yesterday he was very confident that Mike is doing very well considering the major surgery that he has just endured. They are considering sitting him up today. Once again, thank you for everything. It's a huge blessing to know that people are praying for him that he has never met. THANK YOU!! ...and don't stop.

1 more day...

Well, just one more day until Mike's surgery. His check in time was just moved to 10:00am from 9:00am. Tomorrow's the big day! I am still praying for a miracle! I will keep everyone updated as I get more info. Thanks for your prayers!!

Uncle Jeff!?!?

Well, I just got the news about my "widdl brudder" gonna have a baby!! Well, he's not, but his wife, Artie is. I am so excited about the first new Smith in quite a few years, and their first child!! Dave is like thinking "wow, a kid! That's pretty cool!" Congrats Dave & Artie, and I get to take the first baby picture of my new niece or nephew! Babies are God's greatest gift, besides Jesus. I'm looking forward to spoiling this little child, let me tell you!!

OK, 2 more days till Mike's surgery. I'm still praying that they will go in there and find nothing!! The doctors will be astonished, and I will tell them " Hey guys I got this little Book that explains it all"....

3 more days....

Some look forward to Fridays. I do as well. I am anxiously awaiting Friday. You see, that's the day of Mike's surgery. I know he's not looking forward to it, and I totally understand, but I want to see my friend declared cancer free and the sooner the better. I'm tired of seeing him hurting, and I often wonder why our loving Lord lets cancer run so rampant. Maybe it's to remind us that life is ever so delicate, and we all need to cherish this gift more than we do. Maybe He wants us to spend more time with our families. Maybe He just wants us to do Matthew 6:33......Seek first His righteousness, & His Kingdom, and wait for Him to do the rest....I dunno, but it's not good to watch someone suffer with cancer--especially when it's your best friend and his pain is your pain...
We are still getting things together for the big garage sale. If you have anything to donate, let me know, as all of the proceeds will go directly to Mike to help with his medical expenses. A big shout out to Jerri Walden & Helen Underwood & gang for organizing this!!!! Thank you ladies!!!
Well, that's all I got for now, I will keep you up to date as Mike goes in Friday...

Update on things....

Well, I have a lot to write about...so get ready for a long post, complete with frequently changing subjects, and lots of run on sentences!
First of all, an update on my friend Mike. He is doing ok, and he is scheduled for surgery on October 3. Please pray for him and for a speedy recovery. I will update you on his progress as time permits. We raised over $800.00 for him last Friday at Adams Creek Racing Complex!! I still am amazed at how generous people are. You see, hardly anyone at the race track knew Mike, until Friday. Thanks to Bryan & Necie Rainbolt, the track owners for hosting this event!! The playoff beards are in week 13, and looking pretty scraggly!! (is scraggly a word?)

We have another fundraiser for Mike scheduled on October 17-18. It will be a huge garage sale help at the Verdigris car wash at Hwy 66 & Gordon Rd. Come on out & buy lots of stuff!! Special thanks to Jerri Walden & Helen Underwood for helping us out on this project!!

Ok, on to other things.....
I just spoke with good friend & fellow storm chaser Lanny Dean. We talked about the possibility of doing some sort of storm chaser get together which has been in the back of my mind for a while. Lanny bagged (saw) 37 tornadoes this season!! He asked me how many I caught and I said.....ummm......errr......well.......2! I bagged two tornadoes in central Oklahoma on May 24. I did get to see a lot of tornado damage on 2 different Mission of Compassion trips, and that was enough for me. I have updated my links to include Lanny's blog and his storm chase tour website. For those of you that have said that you want to go chasing with me, if you really want to see tornadoes, book a tour with Lanny. He will get you to the "action", but hang on--it will be a wild ride!!

And finally I will try to post more pictures....I had several in the Rogers County Fair and took third & fourth place in professional photography!!

Miracles...

Well, the car wash was awesome!! It all started with rain moving in from the west and my asking God what He was doing. Did He want to wash the cars? apparently so but then the rain stopped & the sun came out. At the cars rolled in to get a wash, people were asking what we were raising money for. One generous fellow said that his wife was battling brain cancer & I heard several other stories about how God has walked with them during bouts with cancer. The day really was a big encouragement to Mike and I. Please continue to pray for him and feel free to post comments about how God has walked with you during hard times...

Car wash benefit for Mike coming Saturday!!

Well, Saturday is almost upon us, and so is the benefit car wash for Mike Borrell. Mike is doing pretty well, and is facing major cancer surgery sometime in October that will keep him off work for several weeks without any income. He does have insurance which is a big help in this situation, but as we all know, insurance does not pay everything.

Here’s the scoop. On The Edge youth group will meet at the church at 8:15 for doughnuts! We will have coolers loaded with water, and will take some folding chairs. I could use a couple of buckets, sponges, and car wash soap if someone can help me out w/ these items. Also we will need an EZ-up for shade. We will start the car wash at 9:00am and run it until 1-ish, depending on how things are going. We also have help coming from kids from Youth at Heart, and Woodlake Assembly of God. Thanx guys!!

So, everyone be sure & get your cars dirty and come on out & get ‘em washed for a great cause!! ALL proceeds will go directly to Mike, who is a ministry partner & best friend. Someday I will share a testimony of how big of a role Mike played in my coming to know the Lord, and how he has been a true friend throughout the years.

I will share more info on future events we have planned such as the Sept. 19th benefit race and the community garage sale on Oct. 17-18th as those dates get closer.

Playoff beard week 9...

Man I sure wish I could shave this ugly thing! The kids from the youth group say that it makes me look old!!!! AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!! I don't need any help looking old!

Mike is doing ok, his treatments have been over for a week now. He's in good spirits and he knows that his Maker is gonna see him through this. Our fundraisers for Mike are coming up fast! Here's a rundown:
This Saturday 5-8pm at Northpark Trinity Baptist church in Claremore. We will be taking donations in exchange for dunk tank "throws" ...

Next Saturday, Sept 6th at the new QT we are having a car wash. There will be kids there from On The Edge, Woodlake's youth ministry, and Youth at Heart from Comanche Park in Tulsa!! Come on out & get your car "professionally" washed & donate to a good cause!! All proceeds will go to help Mike through this tough time.

Friday Sept. 19th we will have a benefit r/c car race at Adams Creek Raceway starting at 7:00pm. If you race, c'mon out! If you just want to watch, it's free and we will be auctioning off a life sized Dale Jr cardboard cutout donated by a fellow racer. again, all proceeds going to help Mike with his medical expenses.

When Mike is told that he is free from cancer, we will shave our playoff beards--looking forward to that day!! Keep praying!!

Help for my friend...

Well, as most of you know, I am planning some activities to help offset some of Mike's medical expenses. For those that don't know what's going on, Mike is my best friend and partner in inner-city ministry and has been taking treatments for cancer. Mike is doing well, and he will be facing surgery sometime in September. Mike will be off work for some time and already the medical bills are piling up, so myself and other friends have come up with some ideas to help out...

The first of many activities will be a car wash held Saturday, September 6th at the new QT in Verdigris at the intersection on HWY 66 & Gordon Road. Several folks have volunteered to help, including some kids from On The Edge youth and some kids from Youth at Heart from Comanche Park Apartments (where we have spent time sharing Jesus with the kids) and many others. What I need from all of you is to bring your cars to wash & tell others about this event. This has the potential to substantially help Mike out with his expenses.

Also in the plans is a huge garage sale. I will be collecting items in the ol' yellow truck to store them. We will have the sale when it cools down a bit, probably in late September. If you have anything you could donate, please contact me...

I am working on other activities as well, and will keep you up to date! Thanks for all your prayers & help for Mike!!

God bless,
Jeff Smith

Playoff beard week 4....

Keep praying for Mike. I know God is working in his life...

Cancer really does suck

Well, my friend is starting an aggressive treatment for his cancer today. He has been in severe pain, lost a lot of sleep, and is just plain exhausted. Please pray for him. I know that he will emerge from this and it's not terminal, but still he is going through a lot....more than I could ever imagine. I also know that God can totally heal him, if He chooses. It's the fight of his life, and I am rooting for him like never before. Come on & join with me & help battle this ugly disease. I have some ideas for ways to help him, but I don't want to reveal them until I have more concrete plans.......
Help me stand in the gap for Mike.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...today is my birthday. Happy birthday me, huh?