GO BECKY!!!

Okay, everyone.... a little prayer request.
My sister, Becky, is running a marathon today. It just started and she hopes to be done by noon. Pray that she'll have strength to push through and her body will be ready for this huge work-out!
Go Becky! I wish I could be there to watch you run through the finish line! Eli and I just prayed for you. Love you!

Hardship

I just heard some heart breaking news, and wanted to spread the news to pray! A sweet family we know just lost their baby at 31 weeks. They have one little girl who is Eli's age. I can't imagine the depth of their grief right now, so if this family comes to mind please pray for them.

Speaking of hardship, I forgot to post this earlier. Two weeks ago we had a guest speaker at church whose story was amazing. Talk about Rom. 8:28!!! Do we really know what 'for our good' means?!? Please watch if you have some free time.

a family to be praying for...

Being part of the email prayer chain at church is pretty hard sometimes. There are just awful, horrible things that happen to people. I got an email yesterday that just pierced my heart. I wanted to share it, so you all could be praying for this family, too.

"Please pray for Aly, the two year-old daughter of a coworker of mine, who was just diagnosed with cancer in both of her kidneys. One of her kidneys is much more involved than the other. Please pray for the chemo that they will be starting to be effective and that not only her life would be spared, but at least one of her kidneys as well. Her parents, Mike and Jenny, are also preparing to deliver twins that are due to join their older sister anytime."

Something to add to your prayer bucket...

My grandma is having surgery tomorrow. She has a tumor in her thyroid. Biopsies taken in the doctor's office were inconclusive due to the amount of blood in the tumor. At 8am tomorrow morning, her doctor will begin surgery to remove the tumor & do a biopsy. He told her that 90% of the time, these tumors are benign. That's obviously what we are praying for. As it comes to mind, please join us in praying for my grandma's surgery & biopsy results.

Poor Jonny

Poor Jonny is so busy! He has to work tomorrow (Saturday!) to get caught up. Coaching basketball was just too much to take on. He's so stressed out. He's already had to deal with parents who are upset about their child's lack of playing time & other similar complaints. It's the SEVENTH GRADE B TEAM!! Anyway, as we come to mind, please be praying for us as & especially Jonny as he tries to keep his head above water the rest of the term.

Happy Birthday, Grandma. I hope you had a great day! I love you!

Jim Rockholt Nov. 21,1930 - Jan. 8, 2009

I was eleven when my family moved to Klamath Falls, OR. Two of my first friends were Telena & Rachelle Nelson. They were cousins- double cousins. Their moms were twin sisters who married the Nelson brothers. I was intrigued by their family. We instantly clicked & became the best of friends. They, like many of the people of Klamath Falls, were born & raised there. They both continue to live there today, as they raise their own children. Their entire family on both sides live there. Aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents- they all live in Klamath Falls. This was so different than my family. I only had my mom, Becky & my grandma (Grandma didn't move to Klamath until I was in high school). I didn't know what it was like to have cousins or aunts & uncles. I didn't even know what it was like to have a dad... & three of my siblings lived far away. Because my family dynamic was so different I loved hanging out with Telena & Rachelle's family. There were always lots of people around.

I particularly liked their grandparents, Jim & Judy. They were the example of what I want my marriage to be when I'm a grandma. They were both in love with the Lord & in love with each other. You know how every once in awhile, you walk into the grocery store & see an old man carrying a bouquet of roses out to his car- that was Jim Rockholt. Don't you just love seeing that?! Why is it that people lose that passion & love for each other after so many years of being married? I pray that doesn't become my marriage. It certainly wasn't Jim & Judy. He loved his wife. He valued & honored her. She was his queen. They were best friends & spent every day together. They didn't even go to the grocery store without the other one. They were always going on road trips & little get-away vacations together. It was just a delight to see Jim & Judy's love for each other.

Jim was actually Judy's second husband. She lost her first husband about 35-40 years ago in a tragic car accident. She & Jim have been married for the last 20 years. My heart just breaks for her. I try not to let myself think of losing Jonny. I can't imagine what that must feel like, to spend every day for 20+ years with the same person, your best friend. To be so in love with this man & then gone... just gone. Wow. I know Judy is just crying out to the Lord for strength. If you think of it, join me in praying for her as she grieves the loss of a husband.... for the second time...

Jim was such a sweet, kind man. Our culture says that a lot of men become bitter, cranky & grumpy as they age. Not Jim! He was not at all unpleasant to be around. In fact, I enjoyed his company very much. I loved talking with him. Because I didn't grow up with a dad or grandpa, sometimes I feel awkward relating to men & talking with them. It's foreign to me. But not with Jim. He had Christ's love & kindness.

Jim also loved children. He used to work as a teacher & Principal. He was also blessed with lots & lots of grandchildren & great-grandchildren to lavish his love on. In fact, after Jonny & I had Eli we went down to visit friends/family in Klamath Falls for Christmas. Telena was living with Jim & Judy at the time. They were so excited to meet our new baby. Judy said, "Come sit with Grandma Judy." They even got out their camera to take pictures. That's the kind of people they are- kind, welcoming, & loving. They treated me like family.

Jim was also very humble & forgiving. He opened up his home when Telena & her two kids needed a place to live, not just for a week or month, but for two years! They graciously gave up their master bedroom & bathroom & took a smaller room at the end of the hallway. They didn't mind their life being interrupted with all the toys & noise that little ones bring. They welcomed & embraced Telena & her kids. Jim was also forgiving of people who had betrayed or hurt his family. He provided odd jobs around the house as a way for Telena's ex husband to earn a little extra money. Jim also made a little room up for him in the side room of their garage. He extended grace & mercy where a lessor person would have been cold & unforgiving.

I'm so glad I got to see Jim one last time nine days ago when we were in Klamath. I'm so blessed to have known a man of God like Jim. His life has ministered to me. I know he is so happy to be home with his Father. My prayer is that God would use Jim's passing to draw their family to Himself. I pray that Jim's love for Jesus would penetrate the hearts of all the unsaved who knew him & that they would turn to Christ & find eternal life in Him.

Pray For Our Brothers & Sisters

Check out this video from K.P. Yohannan, the president & founder of a ministry called Gospel for Asia. It's a reminder of how good we have it here in America. Its sad that religious persecution is so common in our world. Its amazing that the early church exploded in these conditions, and spent the first ~300 years in this kind of persecution. I think it was St. Augustine who said, 'The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.' We're praying for these brothers and sisters and trust that God is working this out for His Glory. What a reminder that this world is not our home. Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Here We Go...

It's time to leave for surgery. I'll post again when we have some news. In the mean time, pray, pray, pray!

Praying for Healing

Jonny's heart surgery is rescheduled for next Thursday instead of Monday. His surgeon & cardiologist spoke about trying a repair instead of putting in a replacement & the cardiologist would like to be present for that. He can only make it on Thursday. If the repair doesn't go great & if they don't think Jonny can get at least 15 years from it, then they'll do the replacement. There are pros & cons to both & the details would take too much time for me to type out. Basically, w/ the repair it would give technology 15 years to come up w/ an excellent replacement that would not require Jonny to take an anticoagulant.

We have just been praying for a miracle. It is not too much to expect great things from the Creator of the universe. He knitted us together for goodness sake, He is completely capable of healing Jonny's heart so surgery is not even needed. And that is exactly what we've been praying for. Our church has been praying for the same thing as well.

We often forget that God is the same as He was 2,000 years ago when Jesus walked the earth healing people left & right. Think of all the faith people had in His healing power. The women w/ the issue of blood just reached the tip of His robe w/ faith that that would be enough to receive His healing power. (Mark 5:24-29) Then there is the paralytic guy who was lowered through the roof just to get down to Jesus. (Luke 5:17-20) We could go on & on of all the people Jesus healed- all the sick, lame & lepers He healed. Jesus says all it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed & mountains will move. (Matt. 17:20) He was mighty, powerful & compassionate then & is no less today. James says that the fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:16) And that is what we are seeking. The blood of Jesus is the only thing that makes us righteous & gives us confidence to approach the throne of God to ask of such miracles. "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" -Heb. 4:16

The Lord asks us not to worry. He tells us to trust Him. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" -Phil. 4:6. We also want to be thankful for this oppurtunity to think about the things of the Lord & trust Him in a way we wouldn't have had we not have been in this situation. "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." -James 1:2-8.

Our heart is that God would be glorified through this event- whether His will is surgery or healing. We want Him to receive all glory.

Urgh!

We have a couple prayer requests... Eli & Jonny are both sick! I want these colds to be gone before the baby is born! And Eli hasn't slept through the night once since we moved in. We can't seem to get the temperature right in his room; its either too cold or too hot. He's peed through is diaper at least 3 times since we've been here, & has woken up screaming for me twice. All that coupled w/ his cold, a terrible diaper rash & the fact that his window faces the east & gets the early morning sun, we haven't been getting much sleep at night.

I'm getting a little worried about leaving Eli & then bringing home a new baby. He seems extra toddler-like these days :) That sounds funny, but I don't know how else to phrase it. He has these mood swings that range from extreme clingy-I want Mama to hold me at all times (like right now!), to hyper-Monster curiosity & activity, to throwing himself on the ground in an angry fit. He's got quite a temper & yes, I'm going to point fingers & blame that on Jonny. I guess he had quite a temper as a youngin'. :)

I had quite the experience at the DMV this morning. I had to renew my driver's license, so I brought a confirmation of residence from the US Postal Service for my proof of residence. They didn't accept that & wanted a utility bill. I don't have a bill b/c I pay our utilities online, so I went down-town to the utilities office & got a service verification form. I called the DMV to make sure that was acceptable. They said yes. I returned to the DMV, waited in line again, & got a new lady who said my form was not acceptable. The first lady looked over at the form & said it would be acceptable if I had it stamped & signed by the utilities office. So I left & returned AGAIN, got a third stupid DMV ticket & waited in line. And guess what happened, the third lady to help me said my form was unacceptable. First, she told me not to set my child on the counter b/c she didn't want him to fall (even though I had him right in front of my big 9 month pregnant belly w/ my arm around him!) I told her to check w/ the first lady. They started arguing & then she returned obviously upset & annoyed by me. By now, Eli was so tired of the run-around he started throwing his body back in my arms crying & kicking his legs. It was horrible! Then I had to go smile for my license picture. I felt like crying. Eli was a monster, the ladies were horribly mean & now for the next 10 years I have an ugly driver's license picture!

What a day! Eli's having a melt-down... I better go.

We're Moving!!!

I just got home from bible study, & I should be in bed taking a nap w/ Eli but I just had to post this real quick.

This weekend Jonny & I found a nice little house for rent. It's about 1200 sq. ft. & the rent is only about $160 more than what we're paying for our apartment & storage garage. We made an appointment to look at the house for Monday night & spent the weekend praying about the situation. To make this short & sweet- we liked the house, they liked us, it felt right. Jonny told me to give our 30 day notice today.

After bible study I got back in the car to drive home & write up our notice. As I'm driving out of the church parking lot, checking my voicemail, I get to a message from our realtor in Klamath.... someones made an offer.

What are you saying, Lord!? The same day we were going to give our notice so we could rent a small home, we find out someone has made an offer on our lot! So...do we buy a home instead? We have 7 more weeks before the baby is born.... We think we're moving- we just don't know where or when. If you think of it, pray for us!

Another Surgery for Ruby

Pray for our niece, Ruby's, surgery today. They will be trying to fix a leak that occurred after the last surgery. The hope is that she will finally be able to eat food after this one!

*Update*

Okay, so the intense pain I've been feeling since Friday night is a Kidney Stone. That's right, I'm 6 1/2 mos. pregnant & have a kidney stone. Lovely! We spent all day in Corvallis today going to appointments. This morning I got an ultrasound of my kidneys to find out why I've been in so much pain. This afternoon when I met w/ my OB doctor she told me they found a stone in my kidney. They sent me down the hall to set up an appointment w/ the urologist. We talked to him just briefly & he said he wanted me to try to wait a week & see if it passes on its own. (ouch!) Otherwise it may need to be surgically removed. I'll see him again next Tuesday. Meanwhile they prescribed me Vicodin. Jonny & Eli are at Costco filling my prescription right now. Jonny is going back to work tomorrow b/c he's running out of sick days. I'm going to try to take care of Eli w/ the help of narcotics. :) And my friend, Lindsey. Oh, also my doctor told me the results of my other ultrasound- from two weeks ago- a follow-up on a lump I found in my breast last Aug. is still there. It's condition is 'stable' & benign. If its still there after the baby is born, that too, might have to be removed. Sheesh... up until the last 9 months I thought I was a pretty healthy person! Thank God for Jonny's great job & health insurance. If you remember, try to pray that this whole kidney stone thing passes as painless as possible. Thanks!

Pray for Rian

This is a picture of our nephew Rian from his 4th birthday party last summer. Yes, that is frosting on his nose! :) Rian has to have surgery this Thursday on his eye to try to fix a Strabismus problem. Please be praying for a safe & successful surgery, wisdom for the medical staff during the surgery, & peace for their whole family.

Pray for Ruby

This picture is of Eli & our niece, Ruby. My sister, Amy, adopted Ruby from Liberia in June. She weighed less than Eli. She has come so, so far in the last 7 months. Ruby has a big surgery tomorrow to fix her throat that was severely damaged years ago. Basically the doctor will fix it so that she can actually eat through her mouth. The prepping for the surgery starts today. This little girl is awesome!! We love her so much, so join us in praying for her. :) (for more info on her check out my sister's blog)