Update 3
I spent time with the children this morning while Kim went to the hospital. We ate breakfast (they eat free in the hotel), went for a long walk, saw the Heinz Memorial Chapel and rode several times on a free carousel near our hotel before hitting the pool. We were blessed to be able to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo this afternoon, and enjoyed the family time.
This afternoon Virginia rested after getting a good workout in the morning. The physical and occupational therapists helped her walk to the bathroom and she sat up in a chair for about 1.5 hours. They have switched her pain medication from IV to pills and she is eating a little bit of food now. She remains in good spirits. Unless there is very rapid improvement, it looks like we will be in Pittsburgh through the weekend. We do not want to start on the trip home until we are certain she can handle it.
We had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant called Joe Mamma's. Seth and Shani enjoyed their pizza and when Kim took them to the restroom they returned to our table very excited about the "peeing statues" outside the facilities. Of course, I had to go take a look and they were very impressive.
On the recommendation of a friend, we had ice cream for dessert at a shop just down the street. As we left to go back to the hospital, we passed by a man who was begging. When I gave him some money he said to Seth and Shani, "Your daddy is a good man!" Big smiles appeared on their faces and they looked at me with the kind of prideful eyes every father dreams their children will have. Proverbs says that a generous man will prosper, and I feel very rich tonight.
Thanks for your continued prayers for Virginia's healing.
Update 2
Virginia rested well this afternoon. Her nurse told us that today was the day she would likely be in the most pain, and she should improve quickly from here. They have done a great job keeping her comfortable with the proper medication. She will see a physical therapist, and possibly an occupational therapist, tomorrow morning. If she is able to walk and do some basic things without too much pain, they will release her. So at this point we are planning on coming home sometime tomorrow.
She tried to eat a little for dinner tonight but wasn't very hungry and was not able to eat more than a few bites of bread and drink some milk and water. She continues to receive fluids via IV in order to prevent dehydration.
Thanks for your continued prayers for her quick recovery.
Update
Thanks so much for your prayers! Virginia had an MRI at 10:30 last night, but we have not talked with a doctor who has seen it yet. She looks much better this morning, with the swelling in her face reducing significantly over night – and she is in very good spirits. She is receiving excellent care from compassionate nurses.
They put a different neck brace on her today that is more comfortable and hope to have her out of the bed and walking some this afternoon. I don’t think they are going to do surgery, though we can’t say for sure until we speak with the neurosurgeon. It looks like they will release her from the hospital tomorrow morning and we will be traveling home.
I just received news that my twin brother’s wife’s grandfather died last night. Please join me in praying for God’s comfort for their family, and for God's protection as they travel from MO to OH.
We got a good night's rest and it felt good to run at the fitness center this morning - 4 quick miles. I'm enjoying time with Seth & Shani and we are making the most of the situation.
Please pray for Virginia
Last night after work, we started our trip to New Jersey to see Virginia's (my mother-in-law) sister and her family. Our goal was to make it east of Pittsburgh before finding a hotel, which we did. After a good night's rest, Virginia, Seth & I went to eat at the hotel's continental breakfast. I left them in the dining room and went to fill up the van with gas. When I got back to our room, I was surprised that Seth and Virginia were not back yet. About a minute later our phone rang and the person at the front desk told us that Virginia had fallen. She fell around 7:55 am and Seth went to the front desk to get help.
She missed one step in the dining room, stumbled forward and hit her forehead on a steel exit door. She did not lose consciousness but was in significant pain so an ambulance was called. One of the other guests at the hotel was an EMT, and he stabilized her neck and asked questions until the emergency personnel arrived.
She was taken to a local hospital, Frick Hospital near New Stanton PA. The CT scan revealed that she had two broken vertebrae in her neck. The doctor told us that she needed to be taken to Pittsburgh, and upon his recommendation we chose the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Presbyterian. After a 45 minute trip, we arrived around 10:00 this morning. She was in the ER until after 5:00 pm, when she was transported to a regular room. We are waiting for an MRI to be done, and then the doctor will recommend the next steps to take. We are believing and trusting that surgery will not be necessary. She is alert and has no paralysis.
I'm grateful for family and friends who know how to pray. I'm grateful for a wife who is unshakable due to her complete reliance on Jesus. I'm grateful for the people who will read this and agree with us in prayer for Virginia's healing.
God stuff
I had a great trip to CA for Brin’s wedding. He’s a pretty amazing guy who has taught me a lot about unconditional love. The weather was awesome and the whole trip was smooth, from the flights to the rental car to the hotels to the cool people I met.
I got a call on Saturday from a friend who invited me to speak at his church so I’m looking forward to ministering at Christ’s Church on July 9.
I got home Sunday morning, took a nap then help an open house. Last night we went to the BG City Park and heard a great band that played big-band era music. It was relaxing and enjoyable and we ran into some friends we haven’t seen for a while. We ended up talking and going out for ice cream. It was great to get caught up and celebrate answered prayer in each others’ lives.
The time difference and all-night flight caught up with me so I slept in today. It felt good to not feel guilty about getting the rest I needed. When I got to the office, I received a call this morning and will be listing another house so it was a fruitful day. It was cool to realize that while I was sleeping, God was working!
Kim hosted a Mary Kay party at our house tonight (which I volunteered her to do, breaking a very important rule in our house) so I played outside with Seth, Shani & Macee. Seth and I enjoyed several games of cornhole (that I got for Father’s Day).
When the party was over, church started with the Mary Kay ladies! We shared our faith stories and talked a lot about what it means to be the church. I think God is going to open some major doors for advancing His kingdom through the bonds that were strengthened tonight.
One thing I’m learning now is that Matthew 6:33 is really true. When we seek first God’s kingdom, everything else has a way of taking care of itself. I don’t know how or when God is going to take care of a few things in our lives but there is not a doubt in my mind that He will.
I have a very full day tomorrow and we’re leaving for NJ tomorrow evening. I hope to blog some while I’m gone.
Father's Day and Uzbekistan
I had a great day Sunday. It started with a 9 mile run in the hottest, most humid weather I've run in for a long time. I wasn't properly hydrated but thanks to the encouragement of Kevin & Mark I made it back home in one piece. The first five miles went quickly as we talked about the story of Jonah and God used these brothers to thoroughly prepare me to speak at a small church in Bradner.
When I got home from the church, I enjoyed a huge Father's Day surprise. Kim had a friend (Kurt) make me a corn hole game. She and the kids painted in and used BGSU Falcon stickers on it. Then she had the Falcon football team sign it. I hope to post a picture of it soon. I was shocked, and knowing how much work had gone into it made me feel really special. We enjoyed playing a while Sunday afternoon and I got a short nap before going to a Bible study with the team.
Today we received a call about two international students who needed a place to stay tonight. Of course I said they could stay with us. It was all part of God's plan and we were amazed to find out that Vladimir and Dimitri are from Uzbekistan. (Zakiya, who stayed with us last year is also from Uzbekistan, so we called her and she plans to meet us sometime tomorrow to help welcome her fellow countrymen!)
We ate a delicious turkey dinner, then introduced them to corn hole and smores before they headed off to bed. They hadn't slept in about three days so I'm sure they will sleep well tonight.
Tomorrow we will help them get an apartment and some people in our church have agreed to donate some furniture - a bed, couch and futon. I love being part of a church that meets needs so readily. It sure is fun to "be the church" and invite strangers into our home in Jesus' name. It was nice to find out that Vladimir is a Christian, and I trust that through our interaction Dimitri will experience the overwhelming love of Jesus and be drawn to our irresistible Savior.
I'm thankful for my heavenly Father and my earthly father. I'm also grateful to be a father to the two best children a dad could ever have, and to be the husband of a beautiful, godly, talented and intelligent wife who treats me better than I deserve to be treated.
What a week!
What a week! I knew I wasn’t going to have much time to blog, and I didn’t. Here’s why.
This was the best week I’ve had as a real estate agent. It was very exciting for me as several deals came together for both my clients and Tim’s. (I covered for him while he was on vacation.)
My clients had three accepted offers on house purchases and one accepted offer on the purchase of two lots. With the commercial lease and next week’s closing, these closings will move me into the next category of commission percentages, and that will be most helpful. I praise God for His provision!
Tim’s clients had three accepted offers on house purchases and one offer on a lot should be accepted by Monday. I’ll get a percentage of these transactions.
This week provided light at the end of our financial tunnel and I am standing in faith that God is going to get us out of debt.
I’ve had a great time this week with the family. Wednesday, my day off, I took Seth to basketball camp, and then played kickball and went fishing with Seth & Shani. I also enjoyed baseball games this week.
Church at our house was, once again, so full of life that it’s hard to put into words. God is really meeting with us.
Chris, Sara, Danielle & Erica came over last night and we had church again. Powerful prayer. Deep questions (which we didn’t mind not getting answers to). Shared life of Jesus. Accountability for attitudes and actions. We are truly blessed people.
I’m speaking tomorrow morning at a very small church. I think I’m going to talk about Jonah. I was reading his story this week and several things came to mind. Here are a few random thoughts:
God called him to go to Nineveh and he ran the other direction. I think the church often does that, too. Rather than going to the people in need, we have a propensity for spending as much time as possible with other believers, where it’s “safe.”
Jonah’s disobedience put the other people on the ship in jeopardy. I think rebelling against God always impacts more people than we think.
While the others on the ship were calling out to their gods who could not save them, Jonah was sleeping below deck. That’s a sad and convicting image, and one that, unfortunately, continues to play out in our world.
When Jonah finally repented and went to Nineveh, God used him. God will use anyone who will obey Him.
The people of Nineveh repented when they were called to repentance. God had already prepared their hearts for Jonah’s message. He still prepares hearts today.
Jonah was angry when God chose to spare the city because they repented. Though he learned the value of obedience, Jonah still did not yet have the Father’s heart. I guess obedience without love is better than disobedience, but it's definitely not as good as being motivated to obey because of receiving and giving God’s merciful love.
Thankful
Life has been such a whirlwind lately that I didn't realize how long it's been since I blogged. A lot of good things are happening, and I have a lot to be thankful for. Eucharist means "thanksgiving" and I readily admit that God is the Source of everything good in my life. Here is a random list of things for which I'm grateful:
Great stories of what God is doing in peoples' lives
The PowerHouse family
The opportunity to pass baseball with Seth today
Taking a nap
Hearing my wife pray
Small successes in my new job
The ability and desire to run
A friend to run with
Hearing Shani sing
Dave sharing his recipe for BBQ ribs
Neil Cole and others who are blazing a trail in organic church ministry
Cub Scouts
BG Pee-Wee Baseball
BGSU Falcon Football and godly young men on the team like KB, John, Willie, etc.
Email conversations with my brother this week
Mission trips
Laughter
We worshiped at a larger, conventional church this morning and it was good to see my friend, who is the pastor. He is doing a great job there but the experience caused me to wonder why big churches work so hard to feel small and small churches work so hard to feel big. Kind of ironic, don't you think?
We had an outstanding Greenhouse conference this weekend, facilitated by Mike Lyon adn Jan Ostendorf. I pray that many new churches will be born as a long-term result of their ministry here. They said a lot of great things but the one that spoke most loudly to me was that the goal of organic/simple church is to lower the bar of how we "do" church (ie no professional musicians, actors, technicians, etc. to entertain you) and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple. The more professional churches have become with how they "do" Sunday mornings, the lower the quality of disciples (consumers) that are being produced. Good food for thought.
The other thing that spoke most loudly to me was the need to shift my focus from planting churches to making disciples. In other words, get back to the cellular level of life. As all of us are actively engaged in making disciples, new churches will develop naturally. I've tended to get the cart before the horse before so this was a very good word.
A Night to Remember
It’s been a very good week so far on all fronts. Monday pm a few people in our church went to an informational gathering and fund raising event for a major outreach to NW OH youth next year. God is doing some big things and we are excited to be part of the Impact World Tour.
Today was Seth’s last day in 1st grade. Yesterday he received the outstanding artist award during the school assembly. Both Seth & Shani enjoyed playing with good friends who moved last year and were visiting us this week.
I enjoyed a great run and spiritual conversation with Kevin, a dear friend and brother in Christ and look forward to putting in some more miles tomorrow.
Things are shaping up for a powerful weekend as our ministry hosts an organic church planting seminar. You can download the flier at www.powerhousenwo.org.
I wrote two good offers for clients today that are very promising. I’m learning not to get my hopes up too much but I feel good about both offers making it through to closing.
Tonight was a night to remember. We dedicated Samuel (4 months old) to God in our church gathering. We studied 1 Samuel 1 & 2. Several people prayed for Samuel, his mom read Hannah’s prayer from chapter 2, and when we prayed a prayer of dedication everyone in our church put our hands under little Samuel as we literally and figuratively lifted him to God. The theme the Holy Spirit had for the evening was all about raising our children as a faith community. We were blessed to broach the challenging subject of shared discipline as a responsibility we have to each other’s children. Shani "read" a story for us, Seth & Shani served communion and the whole night was simply and overwhelmingly powerful.
It is indescribably liberating to be the church, and I wouldn’t trade places with anyone on the planet.
Graduations, Pentecost, etc.
The last couple days have been packed. I enjoyed a 6.5 mile run, Seth’s baseball game, three graduation parties, an open house, preaching at a Methodist Church, Cub Scout den meeting, and doing yard work. We sat around the chimnea last night and made smores and it was really good to relax a little. I was able to ride the motorcycle to Rossford to show another house tonight, and I really enjoyed getting out.
The boys who graduated are fine young men, and the thought of my own kids graduating came to mind. Each year seems to pass by more quickly, and it’s hard to imagine facing an “empty nest.” I’m glad that we won’t have to deal with that for at least ten more years, and I plan to make the most of them.
At the parties, we got to see a few friends from BG Naz that we hadn't seen in quite a while and it was nice. Even though we don't worship at the same location anymore, I sure hope that everyone still views us as all being on the same team.
Today is Pentecost Sunday and I enjoyed preaching about the work of the Holy Spirit. (This was the third church I've preached at in three weeks, and I’m having a great time with these opportunities.) Jesus called him “The Spirit of Truth” and said he would convict us of sin. I talked about the difference between conviction and condemnation. The discussion we had at the church that meets at my house on Wednesday played an important part in my understanding, and I think people were both challenged and encouraged today.
At the end of the week, I got an accepted offer on a house that will close this month, and things are shaping up nicely for the Organic Church Planting Seminar we are hosting on June 10. It promises to be a good week.
