Some Great News!

Hey everyone, I know I blogged yesterday but I just had to share with you some great news that I recieved at the Dr. today. I went in for my followup appointment with my rheumatologist concerning my chemo. I had bloodwork drawn to see where my levels were. She was very excited to tell me that my blood work came back excellent and that my Lupus was in remission! The best part is that I had no protein spilling in my urine (which was the worst part of my disease) and that my kidney function was back to normal! It appears the Chemotherapy did it's magic! I am so thankful that God has helped me get through this and has placed his healing hand on me through this medical process. My doctor did put me on a new medication called Imuran to maintenance my disease but it appears I can now come off of the prednisone all together! And the best part, no more Chemotherapy for this guy!! Thank you all for your prayers these last six months, they worked. I will continue to blog on my life so I hope each of you will stay tuned. But for now, I am going to enjoy my remission!
God is Good!
KLN

Greetings from one Tired Banker!

What’s up everyone, I hope you have had a great weekend and you had a chance to checkout Icthus! I am exhausted from volunteering all weekend but it was a great experience and I even go to checkout some concerts. Right now I am sitting in my office watching it pour down rain and I couldn’t help but think about how God just seems to show up at all the right times. Today, the rain started out of nowhere. It was an incredibly sunny day with scorching temperatures when I left for my lunch then out of nowhere, this crazy storm popped up! Now in reality, God is always with us but we seem to “leave” him out of the picture when everything is going well in our lives and then run to him when we need help. I am just as guilty as anyone when it comes to this. I find myself praying less and seeking his word less when everything is going great. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 6 verse 9. It says “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. “ Basically, God never lets me down when I run to him but I seem to forget about seeking him when all is well. In the third chapter of 1st Corinthians, Paul talks about “mere infants in Christ”. “Brother’s, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready, you are still worldly”. Is this you today? Are you still a mere infant in Christ? I think I struggle with this daily. In order to switch to that solid food in Christ, we need to be immersed in his word daily and keep in constant conversation with him through prayer. God wants to hear the good stuff going on in our life, not just the bad or challenging things. Give him praise for his blessings and remember others in need. I think you will be surprised how much more fulfilled you will be when you run to him during the good and the bad of life.

In other news, my cat Chester goes to the vet this week to be “neutralized” (neutered). I hope this calms him down because he spends most of his time with me biting and being wild! Have a great week and I will catch up with you all soon.
KLN

A Crazy Busy Weekend Ahead

Hey everyone, I hope you are well and things in your world are moving right along. Its been a couple of weeks since I have blogged but Ive been busy with different things at the office and at home. First of all, I had my last chemotherapy treatment last Wendsday and all went well. My nausea was very limited and I was only out of work for two days. My next step is to go in for bloodwork and see how the treatment has effected my protein levels and my creatnine levels. I hope that my doctor does not recommend any additional treatments. If she does, I will have to really be shown some evidence that it will be worth it. As most of you know, the chemo has been tough on my body and my appearance. I am ready to get back to a normal routine of life without making concessions for treatment. Everytime I have been out of the office, I have had to find coverage for managing the branch and something has always gone wrong. I do appreciate my staff during these last 6 months as they have been tremendously helpful. Thanks to all of you and to the many people who have called, stopped by, written cards, brought food over, facebook messaged me,or just simply cared for me during my treatment. I could not have gotten through it without each of you.

This weekend promises to be a hectic and crazy weekend. Starting tonight I am "house sitting" for my friends as they are out of town in Pittsburgh. They have two dogs and two cats that I have to care for and let run around. I could stay at my apartment and just go over and feed and let them out but they need to have some time out of their kennel so I will probably just stay tonight and tomorrow. On Saturday I have to work at the Bank then I have a work day at the Icthus grounds preparing for next weeks festival. Then, I have to run back to the house and feed the animals. After that I am have a Harry Potter night with a friend of mine. Yes, I said Harry Potter. Let me just say, I have never been a fan and dont think I will start being one now but I promised her I would give it another try so I am. I will probably need a good bottle of wine to get me through! On Sunday I have church then a CBT softball game. I really hope we can get a win since we have yet to do it so far. Our team has come very close on several occasions but we cant seem to put the finishing touches to the other team.

Well thats it for now, I will update you next week as to my feelings regarding Harry Potter. Dont hold your breath, they probably wont change!

Kyle

A big Thank You to my staff at Andover!

Central bank does a really Cool thing by having a employee appreciation month during May. The month is filled with contests, giveaways, a branch lunch, employee appreciate their manager day, and my favorite, managers appreciate your employees day. Tomorrow is the big day that i get to express how absolutely thankful I am for each one of my staff members. I cannot put into words the kindest any sympathy they have extended me during my chemotherapy. Also I am so appreciative that they are a hard working staff that is focused on branch goals and the over all well being of the bank. I have been a success as the leader of banking center because of them. So, for tomorrow I am doing a cookout at the bank for my employees. On the menu are hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, and soda. Yes, I will be grilling out in a suit and tie during lunch! Stop by if you want a laugh. I have heard it said, you are only as good as the staff beneath you. For me, this makes me a most excellent banker. So in summary, David, Trish, Blake, Al, And Ben,I appreciate you!

A great weekend!

Has anyone ever had on of those blockbuster weekends? I just had one this past weekend filled with golf, poker, and friends. To be quite honest i think I had too much fun because i felt rough all day at work! I believe we all need those kinds of weekends to keep life pumping through our veins. We go from day to day doing the same old same old but never really slow down to enjoy the best things in life that God gave us. We find ourselves in the rat race of life and wake up one day and realize that its 20 years later and we have very few deep relationships to speak of. Essentially we are for the here and now of life! God calls us to live in community with others and this past weekend really reaffirmed this truth for me.

Coming up this week I have a bucket load of meetings and one on Thursday that is especially crucial, please be in prayer for that! I am still feeling great and am looking forward to my last treatment next Wednesday!

On another note, I got a new cat named Chester! Make sure you check out his pics on facebook.

KLN

My random thoughts and experiences from the past week.

Hey everyone, its been a week or so since I have blogged and shared with you my life. The main reason for my absense was my 5th round of chemo took place last Tuesday so I was pretty much out of it for the rest of the week. I have layed out below some of my thoughts and experiences from last week... Check it out.

1. Even though I am glad my chemo will be done after next month, I will miss the time I get to hang out with Adam at the hospital.
2. Earl Grey tea is has become my new best friend when Im battling nausea!
3. The Reds had an explosive week and for the first time in a long time, they are over the 500 mark. We will see how they do next week.
4. Even though my personal life has been rough, it never ceases to amaze me the amount I get accomplished in the office! I am a master at seperating business and personal life and landed several big deals this past week for the Bank.
5. I really really need to vacuum my apartment.
6. I heard it best in this past Sunday's sermon by Jon Weece.."God calls you to not look back but look up"! What an amazing thought. There is nothing we can do about the past and what we have done or has been done to us but we are called to look above to our Father and he will lead us.
7. Had a great Mother's Day. I thought about my Mom alot and wished she was still alive but I am so thankful that God placed my step-mom in my life.
8. I have an incredibly rude neighbor.
9. On Sunday, I ran into two people who I havent seen in ten years. It is amazing how we still recognize people after so long. I ran into one at Starbucks and the other at Baskin Robbins. I was very glad see them again and I am looking forward to catching up!
10. i love watching Youtube videos on my Ipad!
11. My office is filled with guys which means the conversations can lean on the inappropriate side!
12. God has blessed me with some incredible friendships, He knows the right people to put in our path at the right times.
13. I was moved by the honor and recognition of Officer Bryan Durhman. Driving through the town on Tuesday evening, I have never seen the amount of houses with their flags at half staff. Even though traffic was terrible due to the funeral procession, no one seemed to be bothered! We were honoring a man who gave his life for public service and his country!
14. CBT Softball lost again on Sunday! I know the first win is on the horizon!
15. Interesting conversation with an interesting person and possibly an interesting opportunity is ahead. Enough said.
16. I am a stronger person than I thought!

I have too many random thoughts to name but just wanted to share a few of the prevalent ones. As far as my health, I am feeling pretty good and thankfully the sickness from the last chemo has passed. I have one more treatment and then hopefully I am done. It will all depend on my blood counts. Again, thank you all for reading my blog and sharing in my life. I have many of you to thank for helping me get through this last 6 months of chemotherapy and I look forward to blogging well past my treatment and sharing some of the joys that I know are on the way! I have a feeling that the best days of my life are yet to come!
Until Next time,

Kyle L. Norsworthy

Lessons learned, but a Grace that is unfailing

Has anyone ever learned a really tough lesson in life? One of those lessons that is what I call "hard to stomach"? Maybe you have wronged someone and it shot back in your face and came full circle, or maybe you made a wrong decision and later turned out to be something that would hurt you in the end. I have learned a really important lesson this last week in my life, and even though I do not wish to share the specifics, I would like to expound on God's unfailing Grace that he extends to us in all situations. Romans 8:1 Says that "therefore there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus". This passage basically says that if you are in Christ and he is in you, you will not be condemned for your sins and wrong decisions. Now that does not mean we are free to run around and do whatever we please but it does mean that if we do fail, God forgives us with a Grace that is unfailing. His love is never too much out of reach for us. This gives me quite a bit a hope in my life right now as I am facing some really tough relational issues. Even though my heart is not settled and still hurts, I am secure in the fact that I belong to a God who is merciful and will always protect me and lead me back to a peace in my life. That peace may be some time in coming but I know it will eventually arrive. I have spent many of the past few nights in prayer and through that, God has brought me to several realizations, even apologies that need to be made to certain individuals. (I am in the process of doing that). I do not have regrets about what has happened because I believe God puts people and relationships in your life for a reason and I would never change the time I spent in the relationship because I love this person and always will. I encourage you to exam some of the situations in your life and think about the mercy God has extended you, maybe even realize some bad decisions in your life and learn something from them.

On to my health: I am doing pretty well this week with very few symptoms of my lupus with the exception of being extremely worn out. Most of this fatigue is due from the relational issues discussed above but with Lupus any stress can trigger a flare up in activity so I try to keep the emotions as easygoing as possible. I go for Chemo number 5 next Tuesday so I ask you to keep me in your thoughts and prayers for that. I will be blogging live from the session and describe my experiences as I go through the day so please check back for that. Again, like always, I appreciate you all for letting me express some of my most inner thoughts to you through my blog. Take care and God Bless.
I did want to share one of my favorite verses that provides me comfort:
Isaiah 53:2-5
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. BUT HE WAS PIERECED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS CRUSHED FOR OUR INIQUITIES; THE PUNISHMENT THAT BROUGHT US PEACE WAS UPON HIM, AND BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED.
Kyle