“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
~Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV~
From James Rimes
Please pray for Susan. She has rapid moving strep throat and is very uncomfortable. Thanks for praying.
My sister, Julie, asks that as we pray for the family of Mr. Phillip Gray that we especially for for his son’s family. Julie lived near Phil and Leanna for many years. Now, Leanna is battling cancer.
From Dwayne Wilson
Tricia and I leave on a 10 day mission trip to El Salvador on Saturday. Sharing the gospel with school kids, giving out clothes and care packs, and 2 days installing water purification systems in homes. I’ll miss being in the USA for the 4th but duty calls!
I’ve watched Dad this past weekend and through this week absolutely enjoy having his grandkids here. This past weekend, all eight were here. Through this week, my four were here. We leave tomorrow. I’ll be back Monday without them. Erik comes in for the weekend.
As you read in an earlier post from Dad himself, he also was overjoyed to hear that he didn’t need his boot anymore, could bear weight as he wanted on his left arm and left leg, and could move from his walker to a cane. That’s what he hoped for. That’s what he got. He threw his boot in the back of the truck, similar to what he did with the neck collar.
His grandkids and grand news definitely brought a lot of smiles and relief this week. But Mom’s condition and the difficulty she faces on the road ahead set in this week more than ever. Especially for Dad. Mostly because of a meeting we had with her doctor, nurse, case manager, and therapists Wednesday morning.
It was a refreshing change. To actually be in on her plan of care. To actually talk to a doctor openly who isn’t retreating out of the room. To actually dialogue with the nurse proactively. We didn’t get much of that at Mom’s other place, if at all. That was refreshing to actually be invited to the meeting of all of them, which happens every Wednesday.
They told us that they wanted to begin to get the neuro-surgeons talking about replacing the cranium piece. That would be the surgeon that actually did the original taking off, as well as one from Ochsner and one from Orlando who may put it back on. Not sure yet – whether it will happen before Mom transfers to Orlando or after. Probably before. Would be the best for Mom.
They told us that her swallowing should get better and better. It seemed to be more of an attention thing than a physical thing. She gets distracted if there are a few people in the room or if the TV is on, etc. She has been doing better since the meeting and since we have been trying to cut out distractions during feeding time.
They told us that her bedsore will take at least three to six months to fully heal. It is showing progress and new growth, but it is still one and a half inches deep. That is hard to imagine, having a one and a half inch hole in your body. A magnet for infection. She has several bugs in it. It is not even along enough in its healing that they could do a graft to move it forward. They are treating it aggressively. It is a major holdup to her therapy and to her comfort.
They told us about her left arm and left leg. They may never be the same. There has been an onset of stiffening in them over the last week, especially in her wrist and arm, in spite of heavy attention given in therapy. Will she be able to walk? Will she be able to hold with that left hand? Too early to tell. Difficult news to hear.
They told us she will probably be here for at least three more weeks, if not longer. They fully understood the goal of getting her back to Orlando, and we are thankful they are working with us to that end. There are a lot of factors to consider that must be addressed before we can even act on moving her anywhere. Please pray for her.
On a very cute and positive note, Abby and Jen took Mom some mashed sweet potatoes Wednesday night (last night). Mom loved it. She had had mashed sweets before. But not from a two year old. Abby loved it. Mom did, too.
Abby sang Mom “You Are My Sunshine.” Mom was delighted. Abby told Mom to get better so they could play together at Mom’s house. Mom said she wanted to, too. Soon. Mom told Abby she really missed her and her Mommy (my wife, Jen). That meant a lot to Jen. They ate and talked for a bit. Mom was very with it. Abby and Jen were great medicine.
Mom has her good days and her bad days. Both cognitively and physically. We are just thankful to have her alive, but it is not easy to hear her talk with such lack of clarity as she does from time to time. Please pray for her healing.
Reality has set in. Gonna be a long process, longer than any of us prepared for. The inconvenience on us is nothing compared to the inconvenience on Mom. The inconvenience of being hit by a man who shouldn’t have been driving. The inconvenience doesn’t matter. Walking alongside the woman who gave her life for her husband and two boys, no matter what. That’s what matters.
Reality has set in. The reality is we have the blessing of getting to know Mom all over again. We have the blessing of watching a miracle happen before us. We have the blessing of seeing a beautiful woman blossom again. And I’m not just writing that to try to sound positive or super spiritual or anything fake like that. It’s for real. It’s reality. It is what it is, and how we walk in it is key.
Father, please help us to continue to trust your love and goodness, help us see the beauty of what you are doing in restoring Mom, and may we walk through this loving Mom and listening for Your cues along the way.
And may Your reality settle among our reality. Thanks for being so near.
-jason
KOMpray
Kids on Mission Pray
Prayer requests
“Let the little children come to Me, and don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,” Luke 18:16b
My house helper and my friend Here’s a special story from East Asia. I hope you like it! It seems as if it’s been forever and a day since I met our house helper. She has a name, but to me she’s just Ayi, which means “aunt”. I met her a year ago and we gradually became friends. She comes to our house five days a week to cook, clean, and help us learn the language. Ayi is petite—about 4’10”, with black curly hair. She also has a beautiful singing voice. Our landlady told us about her and she has helped us ever since. At first, my language was pretty limited and I didn’t understand Asian culture at all. Ayi took a liking to me and she was a great help in answering questions for me. She took me with her to the meat market and the vegetable store when I didn’t have school. I really wanted Ayi to be a Christian. SO…I showed her my bilingual Bible. That’s a Bible with two languages on the same page. Ayi taught me the characters from her language and I could read the letters in mine. Ayi always said, “We don’t believe this in this country” and changed the subject. I was very sad, but I kept praying for Ayi. I prayed and I kept on studying her language. A friend came to our city and talked with Ayi about Jesus and she became a Christian that day. I was so happy! All I could do was cry and thank God for being such a loving God. I hugged Ayi and told her I was very happy. Now, Ayi is a happier woman and she reads the Bible and prays every day. Her beautiful voice now sings hymns and spiritual songs in our home. I just thank God every day that I met Ayi. Please pray for house helpers and language helpers—pray that they will come to love Jesus just like Ayi does.
MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FROM MISSIONARY KIDS
Dear God, Please help my friend get better. Please help the Japanese people believe in you God. JOSEPH, age 7 ½ (Pacific Rim)
Please pray for my mom and dad, and my brother. And help the Germans know Christ. Thank you. VICTORIA, age 6 (Western Europe)
Please pray for Michael. He’s in the Iraq war. ANNABELLE, age 6 (Central Asia)
Please pray for the people of Madagascar. Even the ones who believe in Jesus have beliefs tied to their ancestors. It is very hard for my family and quite frightening in October, when the people parade the bones of their ancestors around town. None of my friends at school are Christians, and it is very difficult to be a light in the darkness. Thankfully, more and more missionaries seem to be coming to Madagascar. LYDIA, age 13 (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)
FINDING OUR SELF-ESTEEM
A story is told about William “Speedy” Morris, who was head coach at La Salle University from 1986 to 2001. As the story goes, during a year in which LaSalle was having a pretty good season, Coach Morris was shaving one morning when the phone rang. His wife answered it and called out to him that Sports Illustrated wanted to talk to him.
Coach Morris was excited that his team was apparently about to receive national recognition in this famous sports magazine. As a matter of fact, he was so excited that he cut himself with his razor.
Covered with blood and shaving lather and running downstairs to the phone, he tripped and fell down the stairs. Finally, bleeding and bruised, he made it to the phone and breathlessly said, “Hello”?
The voice on the other end asked, “Is this Speedy Morris”?
“Yes, yes!” he replied excitedly.
Then the voice continued, “Mr. Morris, for just seventy-five cents an issue, we can give you a one-year subscription to Sports Illustrated.”
We are often disappointed to find out that someone else doesn’t think we are as important as we think they ought to! Paul had something to say about this:
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3)
We’ve heard a lot in the past couple of decades about the importance of boosting the self-esteem of children in school, with the idea that getting rid of low self-esteem will help children to be happier and have better grades. And I fully appreciate the fact that some children (as well as some adults) do have poor self-esteem and view themselves as worthless, which is a bad thing. Paul doesn’t say that we need to have a poor view of ourselves, just that we need to have a “sober” or “sensible” view of ourselves.
But it seems to me that a bigger problem in our society is high self-esteem – people who think of themselves as more important than they truly are. Strangely enough, I don’t hear anyone talking about that problem! But Jesus did. He spoke a lot about the need to develop an attitude of humility, and he let us know that we find a right view of ourselves by seeing ourselves as servants. Jesus not only taught that view of self-esteem, but he demonstrated it.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5)
Father, help me to find my self-esteem in you. Because of your sacrifice on my behalf, I understand my great value in your eyes. But forgive me when I try to elevate myself over others around me who are equally as valuable. Help me to develop the humble attitude of a servant. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Have a great Friday! Thanks for praying. Your prayers mean so much to so many!
Anna Lee
The Prayer Link 