Sunday, July 8, 2007

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July week this week. We have had a great couple of weeks here. Let me share what has been going on in our family. On Tuesday, June 26, we were rejoined together as a family for the first time in about 3 weeks. Elizabeth came back from her choir tour that day and it was such a great blessing to have her back. Because of all the rain we have been having here, we were concerned about the weather for their return flight. We prayed during the morning that day that the Lord would cause the weather to be clear until they had landed and were safely home. The Lord was gracious to answer that prayer for us. The area was clear and free of rain between 1-2 pm. As soon as we drove out of the parking garage to leave the airport, it began to rain and it rained so hard I wasn’t sure we were going to make it home. Isn’t God so good? He cared about my concern over that detail of Elizabeth’s trip and graciously answered my prayer. Again and again He proves Himself worthy of my complete trust in His control over every detail of our lives. I’m so thankful to have my family back together again. We spent the rest of the week catching up on all the details of her trip and listening to her and Sarah share their stories of their first choir tours. It was great fun and a wonderful time for all of us. On Sunday evening, we spent our worship time listening and singing along with the Chapel Choir as they presented their home concert. Chapel Choir Home Concerts bring back many wonderful, special memories for Lamar and me. This one was the best yet because our own daughter was a part of these special memories this time. At the end of the concert it is always a tradition to have all the alumni of the choir come join the current choir in the loft and sing The Battle Hymn of the Republic. This year we were able to stand beside Elizabeth and proudly sing along side her, sharing this special time together with her. I can’t even adequately express how special it is to have our kids where they are and to be part of this very special church that means so much to us. What a blessing it has been. Well, there wasn’t much going on at our house last week. On Tuesday, we went to Frisco with Aunt Keby and Uncle Timmy to see some fire works. We had a perfect view and were close enough to enjoy the fire works. On Wednesday, we spent a few hours at Main Event playing video games with a game card that a nice family gave us on our way in. It had about 3 hours worth of time left on it, so we were able to have some fun without having to spend any money! That was a real blessing as well. We grilled out at our house, had a nice time together as a family, and ended the evening watching fire works together. We were planning to go camping Thursday – today, but our reservations were canceled because of too much rain. We spent Friday evening and half of the day on Saturday on a special Passport to Purity weekend with Elizabeth. Sarah and Jonathan went to spend the night with Aunt Keby and Lamar and I got to focus our attention on Elizabeth. It’s hard to believe that Elizabeth with be 15 years old this week on July 10. She is an incredibly special young lady and she has blessed my life in so many ways. She shared with me just recently how much Jonathan’s illness and what we have experienced with that has changed her life. She is such a wonderful girl and I am anxious to see what God is going to do in her life in the years ahead. We stayed at a hotel in Dallas and spent Friday even and Saturday morning going through 5 different sessions that will prepare her for the years ahead of her. Then we spent a wonderful time having lunch at Antares, a restaurant at the top of Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas. After lunch, we got Sarah and Jonathan back and spent the rest of the day swimming at the hotel, eating dinner and walking around at the Galleria. While we missed having the opportunity to go camping together, we enjoyed spending the time together away from home, even though it was short. This next week will be a busy week for us as we will be in VBS at First Baptist every morning. We are looking forward to it.
Jonathan is doing well. We are enjoying our slow pace this summer. He has been doing pretty well with his sleeping. He has not had a sleeping pill since June 1. This past week he has woken up several times during the night, and I’m not sure why. He will do this two or three nights in a row and then go one night without waking up at all. I am just keeping my eye on it and continuing to watch his progress with this. I hope you will continue to pray that he will overcome this completely and that I will have the wisdom to know what needs to be done. Jonathan is also doing well with his diet and exercise. He finally moved the scale again this week and lost 1 more pound. We were very excited. Please continue to keep this in your prayers and pray that he will continue to see progress as he works so diligently each day.
I want to share with you some thing that you can pray about specifically this next week. After spending time searching and calling different endocrinologists, we finally have an appointment. We will be going back to Children’s Endocrinology on Thursday, July 12 at 12:45 to see Dr. Melissa Ham. Dr. Ham was the first doctor we saw in the emergency room when Jonathan got sick. She was also the first doctor we talked to in the early morning hours before the sun was up shortly after Jonathan suffered his stroke. I will be honest with you and tell you that I am not looking forward to going to this appointment this week. We have not been to see an endocrinologist since December because of various insurance issues and changes that have taken place this year. God provided enough supplies and insulin and made it possible for us to get through all these transitions until we had permanent insurance again. Now we must see a doctor to get new prescriptions. There have been many changes that we have made with Jonathan’s diet, exercise, insulin amounts, etc. over these last 6 months and most of it is backwards from what the doctors would tell us to do. I am fearful of what they will have to say. Because of Jonathan’s unique circumstances, I have always desired to find a doctor that would look at Jonathan as an individual instead of the status quo way that all diabetics are looked at. I am afraid that I’m not going to find that here. I feel as though God has opened this door for us to go back to Children’s, even though I tried to find another door to go through instead of this one. Every door I tried was shut. I know that God is in control of Jonathan’s doctors. Please pray that I will trust Him with this. This is very hard for me. Pray that we will be a witness to Dr. Ham as we meet with her. Pray that she will be exactly what Jonathan needs. Pray that we will not run into any difficulties or obstacles. Pray that I will be open minded to their care and the information I receive from them. Pray that I will not be defensive but that I will acknowledge God and honor Him in my conversation with her. Pray that I will not fret or be anxious about this, but that I will trust my God who is faithful. Because we are going to VBS this week, they are letting us take the diabetes class that you are suppose to take before your doctor visit in a couple of weeks. Also be in prayer for Jonathan as he goes to his Scottish Rite visit on Monday, July 16 at 9 am. I have no idea what to expect at this appointment. I am praying that God will provide a way for Jonathan’s foot to be corrected without surgery. Above all, I want God’s will to be done. Please pray that God will give me the grace to accept that will, especially if it is not what I am asking for. Pray that I will not be anxious about this appointment either. You would think that as much as we have been through, the incredible things that God has brought us through and the amazing prayers that He has answered in our lives that it would be easy for me to trust Him with these issues that are coming up. I wish I could say that I’ve got that down real well, but the truth is that I am bombarded with anxious thoughts as we approach these appointments. Knowing that you are praying for me, for Jonathan and for the doctors that we will be seeing brings me a great deal of comfort. So thank you for praying for us about these upcoming appointments. Thank you for checking on us, for loving us and for lifting us up in prayer. You are a blessing to us. I look forward to sharing with you all that God is doing in our family as we continue our journey through this experience. Thank you for making the journey with us. We love each and every one of you.

Philippians 4:6-7 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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