Family Discipleship

We have recently started two new habits in what I'll call "family discipleship" that God is using to bless each of us. For the past several months, we have been having a sermon discussion on Sunday afternoon. We encourage the kids to take some notes during the Sunday morning sermon, and James and I do as well, though it usually is a joint effort between us. If Logan is with James, I'm writing, but if Logan comes to me, the notes get passed down to James.

At some point in the afternoon, we gather the family together and go through our notes, asking the children questions in order to discuss the main ideas. We have found the practice to be a great platform for discussing key spiritual truths, bringing up examples of our own, or tying in other scripture that goes along with the sermon. It is encouraging to hear what the children remember from listening and to go over what was missed.

An exciting benefit we have discovered from starting this habit is that we are all retaining in the long run more of past sermons, and when we discuss the sermon of the week, we often tie in examples, illustrations, or truths from past sermons.

James and I are encouraged by the soft hearts we see in our children at this point in their lives. We haven't run across sighing, groaning, eye-rolling or other "How boring" type of behaviors. The children participate in and seem to enjoy our sermon discussions. It has even been a time when I get to "cuddle" one of the older kids on my lap which doesn't happen as often the older they get!

Sunday afternoons are often opportunities for a family bike ride or walk as well (though I often stay at home while Logan naps, because I feel all worn out on Sunday afternoon), but I like that we have added in this spiritual "discipline" to our routine which draws us closer together as a family and closer to our Savior.

The second discipleship habit that we have added is in our nightly family worship routine. We have begun using the guide Balancing the Sword to aid us in our Bible reading. Right now, we are reading through Exodus (Again-- in case anyone remembers that I read in Exodus with the kids at the beginning of last school year.) The guide includes 3-4 content related questions which James reads to us before the Bible reading and then asks the children to answer after we read the scripture aloud. We also pick one of the questions to read all of the related cross-references which often is a wonderful opportunity for tying the Old and New Testaments together.

When we read the chapter about Moses and the burning bush, we talked about how God wants and requires the worship of His people. The guide asked the question, "What did Pharaoh say was the root problem that caused Israel to ask to leave and make sacrifices to YHWH?" The kids remembered that Pharaoh accused the Israelites of wanting to worship God out of idleness, and we talked about how Pharaoh considered working for him more important that worshiping God. The cross-reference for the question included Matthew 26:8,9 ~ the story of the woman who poured out expensive perfume on Jesus, getting scolded by those present for wastefulness, while receiving commendation from Jesus Himself for her act of devotion. While the children did not grasp the connection between these scriptures on their own, the light dawned on James and me as we pointed out the similarities between the two stories. Just as Pharaoh discounted the Israelites desire to worship God, considering hard work more important, the disciples frowned on the woman's simple, yet extravagant act of worshiping Jesus, telling her that it would have been better for her to use the money from the perfume for the poor. We came away from our Bible reading with a renewed sense that our highest calling as God's people is to worship God. (And what an encouragement to continue faithfully in family worship.)

Guess what the sermon the following Sunday was about... Matthew 26: 6-13! Praise God for His grace to us! We thank Him for this demonstration of His love and encouragement to us through His Word and the timeliness of the sermon for our family! The pastor brought out the phrase "She has done what she could" from the parallel passage, Mark 14:8 and discussed how, though she was nothing in the eyes of the world, God made note of her, because of her worshipful, self-sacrificing act, done solely out of love for the Lord Jesus. The sermon drove the meaning of the passage deeper into our hearts.

For my family and any other readers of this blog, if you would like to pray for our family, please ask the Lord to continue to lead us into greater faithfulness in our worship and service to Him, that we would do what we can, simple though it may be, but out of love for Christ and with our eyes fixed on His glory.

Thanks for letting me share our joy in the Lord!

Remembering Anna Elise

As I posted earlier, the waters of Lake Ontario claimed the life of a young cousin of mine on Sunday. I did not know Anna well, though I am close to her Grandma, my Great Aunt, whom I lived with for a semester in college, and I have gotten to know her sister, Kristen more in the past year. Though her family grieves losing her greatly, they are not in despair, because they know that she is now face to face with her Savior Jesus, and because of Him, they have the hope of the Resurrection and eternal life.

Please visit the Syracuse RP Church website if you would like to read briefly about Anna's life and death and to know how to lift the family up in prayer.

Prayer Request

Please pray for a teenage cousin of mine who, while attending a church picnic today at Lake Ontario, was lost in the water. I'm not clear on the details, but the rescue effort has been called off for the night. Though humanly speaking, the situation seems without hope, please pray for her survival. Her grieving family most especially needs prayer support. Thank you.

*July 16 morning update*

The Pause in My Posting

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1: 2-4

I haven't been feeling well which puts a damper on cheerful posting. I'm learning to submit myself to what God has for me at this time. Feeling sick and frustrated physically is like getting turned to face a mirror so that I can see my own sins and shortcoming more clearly and where I need to trust and obey God more in my life. I also have been praying more for others, some who are suffering more deeply.
Please pray for me.

Prayer Request

Please pray for a cousin of my husband who is suffering a relapse of anorexia. Though she is a tall girl, her weight is down to 97 lbs. She is in serious condition with a heart rate of 30.

Prayer Request

I received the following email from the mother of a family in one of the churches in our denomination. Her husband, Micah, and toddler, Grady, are undergoing surgery to give one of Micah's kidney's to Grady. The mom is pregnant with her second child. Please pray !

Dear friends and family:

There is no way to thank you for the prayers and generosity you have shown to us over the past 17 months. It seems incredible that so much time has already lapsed since Grady was first diagnosed with renal failure. God has been very gracious to us and shown us great provision spiritually, emotionally, and physically in that time. We are rapidly approaching what we hope is the final hurdle in this medical challenge. Grady's kidney transplant in scheduled for September 26 at 8 a.m., just a little over two short weeks away.

Many of you have asked how you may pray and help and we are eternally grateful and know that we will never be able to express our gratitude. At this point there is really no way to plan for what kind of physical help we may need after the surgeries. But be confident that I will ask for help as the need arises. If one thing has happened to me personally in the past year and a half, my prideful and independent self has been forced to realize my need for others and especially the body of Christ. However, I do know how you can pray. There are many specific ways you can pray as well as a general God-glorifying and healthy recovery for Micah and Grady.

1. PRAISE! Grady and Micah will both be admitted into Children's Mercy Hospital on September 25 at 1:30 p.m. (We made them change the admission time so that we could attend church one last time as a family for what will probably be many weeks. Praise God -- the hospital staff was very respectful and accepting of our desire to put our faith first. That is a change because back in the beginning we were often looked at funny when our faith was mentioned. God is working.) The second part of this praise is that up until Tuesday we were expecting Micah's retrieval to take place at St. Luke's Hospital a few miles away. But, at the last minute, Micah's surgeon was given privileges at Children's and they will be in neighboring operating rooms and on the same recovery floor.

2. Both surgeries will begin at 8 a.m. They will remove Grady's two weak kidneys at the same time that they are retrieving Micah's kidney for transplant. This is of concern because if they are unable to retrieve Micah's kidney or something goes wrong and they are not able to use Micah's kidney, Grady will be left with no kidneys. Although his kidneys work poorly, they do still work to a certain degree and this has been very beneficial to his well-being over the past two years. If we have to continue on dialysis because of an unsuccessful surgery, dialysis will be much different and intense and Grady's overall health will probably suffer.

3. Grady will likely need a blood transfusion and we have been blessed with friends who have volunteered to donate blood on Grady's behalf. No one on Micah's side of the family is a type-match and no one on my side will be allowed to donate as I am a potential kidney donor should Grady ever need a second transplant in the future. Therefore they do not want Grady's body building up antibodies to my blood line. Again, we are so thankful for the friends who came forward to offer help in this way.

4. As with any surgery (both Grady's and Micah's), there is always a risk of infection, excessive bleeding, or death. Although very uncommon, these are possibilities that we must acknowledge. Bleeding is the greatest risk for Micah. The plan is to remove Micah's left kidney laproscopicly. However, if bleeding occurs, the doctor will pinch off the vessel and wait until they can completely open Micah up to fix the problem ... meaning a much larger incision and longer recovery time. Right now, we are anticipating that Micah will only be in the hospital for 2-4 days. He will not be allowed to drive for two weeks and will be off work for 4-6 weeks. The police department has approved him to use sick time for the entire time he is off work, therefore we will not miss any paychecks. Again, Praise God!

5. Micah's surgery will last approximately 3-4 hours; Grady's surgery will be approximately 8-9 hours. The longer someone is under anesthesia, especially children, the greater the risk that complications with their lungs arise. The surgeon assured us that the risk is not much greater for a nine hour surgery than a four hour surgery but the risk is there. Grady may possibly be on oxygen or a ventilator for a while after surgery but they do not anticipate this happening.

6. Grady has a much greater risk of infection because he will have much larger incisions than Micah. There is a possibility that Grady's left kidney can be removed laproscopicly. This would be the best outcome because he would have less incisions, less chance of infection, and ultimately less scarring. His right kidney will be removed through the same incision of his transplant.

7. The placement of the new kidney in Grady will likely depend on the size of Micah's kidney. Grady has reached a size (Praise God!) that if the kidney is small enough, it can be placed in his pelvic region. If the kidney is too big, they will place it in the front of his abdomen. The pelvic region offers more protection to the kidney as there are bones there to shield it. The front of the abdomen is more susceptible to injury.

8. After surgery there are two major risks, besides rejection, that they will be looking for -- blood clots and urine leakage. If urine leakage occurs (from the ureter to the bladder) they will have to reopen Grady and re-stitch the connection. If a blood clot occurs between the main blood vessel where they will attach the kidney and the kidney itself, they will likely not know this for a number of days. It is hard to detect and by the time it is detected the kidney is almost always unsalvageable. They will have to remove it and we will be forced to return to dialysis, but without any kidney function.

9. There is the possibility that Micah's kidney will never "kick in" and start to function for Grady. Obviously our prayer would be that not only would it "kick in" but that long term acceptance of the kidney is achieved and Grady will never need another transplant.

10. Grady has struggled with difficulty eating his entire life; the doctors attribute this to his renal condition. They have great hopes that his eating issues will resolve themselves after a successful transplant. However, he has made great strides on his own in the last few months. He is completely self-sustained as we have not used his feeding tube since December. He is trying to eat anything we will give him and is chewing lots. He has begun swallowing small amounts but not nearly normal for his age. Please pray that these issues will resolve themselves and that the progress that he has made will not be detrimentally interrupted by the transplant.

11. Finally, please pray for me. Two of the three most important people in my life will be in surgery at the same time. The third could be terribly affected if I don't remain calm myself. At this point in the pregnancy I am feeling quite good and think I am handling the stress pretty well. My OB is very understanding and helpful and quite prepared to offer any sort of aid that I might need. We have a second level 2 sonogram just four days before the surgery to determine that our little girl's kidneys have developed properly. At our last sono, the doctors felt sure that everything was normal but wanted to look one more time.

12. Pray that God will be glorified in the surgery, recovery, and every aspect of our lives as we go through this. We desire to be witnesses for Christ and feel that God has given us many opportunities to do this through this challenge in our lives. We may never know this side of heaven why God allowed this in our lives but I am confident that this situation has brought many people to their knees and for that we are very thankful. I know this has been a very long e-mail, and we really appreciate each and every one of you. You each hold a very special place in our hearts. May God be praised for His goodness and love!

James Returns

After a delayed flight, James returned home last night after a five day business trip to San Francisco. We're so glad that he's home. Granted he did bring home some chocolate-covered berries from "Chocolate Heaven" at Fisherman's Wharf, but still we'd just rather have him here with us.

On Monday, our phone rang one solitary ring in the afternoon. I thought that was strange. Later, James told me that he had walked all the way from Fisherman's Wharf, along the shore, across the Golden Gate bridge and back. He tried to call me from the middle of the bridge on his cell phone, but the battery died after one ring!

To change the subject... I have a Josi update. She had her scope performed yesterday and everything looked normal, but they did a biopsy to check for cells which would show either signs of reflux or signs of allergies. They will get the results of the biopsy next week. Josi is doing fine.

Eight is Great

Evan will be eight on Thursday. He informed me that in six more years, he will be fourteen... Aaaaaaaaagh!

Due to scheduling conflicts, we decided to celebrate his birthday early. We invited Mom, John's family and another family from church to come over Saturday afternoon.

Friday night, since I couldn't sleep, I decided to make a card. After a while, James came and helped me, because he couldn't sleep either. Evan tells us that when he grows up, he wants to live in a treehouse (the influence of My Side of the Mountain evident here) and be an inventor (maybe Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang). On the front of the card, we wrote: "For your birthday, we wanted to invent a CAKE EATING MACHINE..." Inside: "but then we realized: That's Why We Have YOU!!" I made a little collage below this of small scanned in pictures of Evan with cake at each of his previous b-days.

Matthew (the next day, of course) wrote in the card: "Dear Evan, Thank you for playing with me. I made a present for you, but it melted. It was made out of ice. Happy Birthday! Love, Matthew" Sophie wrote: "Love Sophie" and drew a little picture of herself.

When the guests arrived on Saturday, we put old t-shirts on the kids, supplied them with painting paraphernalia, and gave them sticks and driftwood from Mom's yard to decorate as whatever creature they could imagine. All the kids enjoyed this activity, but Michelle and Sophie especially spent a lot of time on the details. Michelle painted a woodpecker and a chameleon into existence. Sophie's stick morphed into a "moose"(?!) and Conner took offense when we mistook his kitty-cat for a lizard.

Of course, we ate cake and watched Evan open presents. We gave him an electronic snap-circuit set with which he can make "over 300 exciting projects". Right off, the boys put it together to launch a small plastic fan in the air. They also quickly figured out how to cause it to emit all sorts of loud annoying noises (James bought the present, not me! ...But seriously, I think the gift is great fun. John, Jms' bro., said that he wants one too.)

Angi ran out to buy some bottles for Josi. I came into the room as John was feeding Josi and saw her start to cry when she caught sight of the bottle. She suffers from reflux and may be developing an aversion to the bottle. I danced around and distracted her with toys so that she ate without fighting it. Prayer request: She is going into the hospital on Friday for a scope to see if they can find out what seems to be the problem and what possible solutions might be. Pray that the procedure would go smoothly, for peace for the family, and for a resolution to her eating difficulty. Thank You!