Thank you Lord

One of the greatest feelings is to see the reality of God's word come to pass. Today John went down to LA to have the scans on his head. It was the first scans since he started the new type of Chemotherapy. The scans were excellent, it is hard to even put into words how much joy it gives to trust God and to see Him come through in such an awesome way. Thanks you Lord, may Your name be glorified!!

Chris is almost finished with his two weeks of treatment. He is doing well, it always makes him tired, but he is sustained through our amazing creator. He was interviewed for an article in the Bakersfield Californian today. We think the article may be in Fridays paper, if so I will put a link to it.

Saturday is Relay for Life, thanks to everyone who has given so generously in support. Saturday is also Prom for Chris and Miheala, Photo's to follow of course.

Relay for Life

It has been a blessed last couple of weeks. Our family has been feeling well, we give all praise to our God for sustaining us.

Chris has officially accepted Cal Poly as the school he will attend in the Fall. He and John went to visit at open house this last Saturday. They had fun and checked out the campus housing. Miheala is busy getting herself sorted out for attending Bakersfield College. Hard to believe they will graduate in about 1 month.

John and Chris will both be participating in Relay for Life on May 5th. This is a fund raising event for cancer research. I have put their link below and hope that you might consider supporting them as they participate in this event. John participated last year, who would have guessed that this year he would be doing it with Chris?



http://www.acsevents.org/relay/ca/bakersfield/champion

Shall we Dance?

Well I am sure he is not ready for that, but Chris has been cleared to begin putting full weight on his leg. Praise the Lord!! It is truly God's healing that will bring Chris's leg back to complete restoration. He had an MRI of the leg also, and the report is that it looks good. It is hard to read because of the after effects of the titanium on the scan. Modern medicine is pretty amazing although I do wish to just read about it and not experience it, if you know what I mean.

See you in Heaven

Every so often there are unique people who touch your life, sometimes for just a brief time. That was true of a beautiful lady named Kathy Munt. I met her a couple of times over the years and then more in the last few months. She encouraged me many times through her prayers and total trust in our Lord. She went to be with our awesome God yesterday, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have known her on this earth and to know that she will be one of those I know when it is my turn to be with our God for eternity.

One of the first times I experienced her kind heart was being at the Cancer Center with Chris, she was there also, she left and returned later with a bag of energy and protein drinks for Chris. He was having a hard time, it was the first time he did his Chemo. She had her own health issues and went out of her way to bless us, it was a beautiful act that touched our hearts.

She had on this earth a peaceful spirit that loved the Lord. She trusted Him and was a demonstration of that to all who knew her. We will miss you here Kathy, but look forward to being with you in Heaven.

Appreciate each Day

The last two weeks have gone well considering, it is amazing how the Lord gives us strength for each day and you look back and see that without Him, well you don't know how you could have made it.

Mihaela went on a girls retreat for a couple of night during the Spring Break, she had a wonderful time. She took some pictures with her camera and we can see that she has an eye for capturing life in motion. You can see her pictures on her myspace, which I will get a link to on our blog sidebar.

Chris had of course his chemo, but he came through it feeling pretty good. A bummer of a way to spend the Spring Break, but he had a good attitude. John did his treatment on Friday and this time was not nearly as wiped out, which was an answer to our prayers. He is fatigued but still going to work. God just keeps giving all of us what we need moment by moment.

It is wonderful to be able to see each day in a different light. We are just grateful for the opportunity to enjoy life and for today, for now to know that we being sustained by the great Creator.

Marine Memorial

A family from our Church sent this very moving tribute to our Marines. Their son is going into the Marines when he graduates in May. I am so humbled when I am reminded of all that our young men are sacrificing. It puts our adversity into perspective. May we allow our God to remind us daily to lift up these brave men and the Lord to protect them continuously.

Take a moment to honor them through this tribute:
http://www.pcsuccess.us/yrg/farewellmarine_final.swf


Blessings, Dawn

Oh Yah, check out Chris's blog, he had a GREAT weekend!!

It's all in God's Hands

Need a little reality check, this will bring a little perspective. May we always remember those who are serving so far away. This last Sunday one of our pastors gave a testimony of how his son, serving in Iraq, had the Humvee behind him attacked by a car bomb. God saved them all, windows were blown out but non were severely hurt. God is so good. We thank you Lord when your mercy is so obviously poured out. May we be obedient whether we agree or not with the war, to lift our soldiers up and pray your divine protection over them.

http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm.

Trials of many kinds

My heart is heavy as I ask for this prayer request. I know so many have been lifting us up in your prayers and I hope you have not grown weary.

This week we had two doctors appointments, the first was for Chris. His appointment went well. His leg looks good and he will be able to start walking on it in a couple of weeks. He has to wait the full 3 months.

The second appointment was for John and his bi-monthly brain scan. This appointment revealed that the tumor that was removed last June has come back. It is small less than 1/2 inch, but of course we were not expecting this news. I truly believed that God had done his healing work on John, and am still believing that that truth will become evident in time. It was and is a hard new trial though. John began a new chemo treatment yesterday, Friday, that replaces the previous one.

We ask for your continued prayers, that we would through all this continue to completely trust our God, find our hope in Him alone. That John would continue to be healed by the power of our mighty God.

I think of the persistent widow who asks for Justice from her adversaries. Jesus told us to pray like this widow. Our family is going to keep praying for justice from this adversary, God is good and He is on His throne.

Thanks for your prayers, please do not hesitate to comment back, it greatly encourages us.

Blessings, Dawn

Daffodil Day

Today Chris received almost 200 Daffodil's from students and teachers at school. Chris had to wheel around with 3 big baskets of flowers. It was a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society and you could buy Daffodil's in honor of someone. Our High School won the highest number purchased. Wow, many of the flowers came with personal cards from those who bought them. What a beautiful blessing for Chris.

I now have 4 big vases full of Daffodil's. Looks like spring in the house.

18th Birthday

Today is Chris's 18th Birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!
Wow it means all our kids are now officially adults. Here are a couple of fun photos to see how they have grown into beautiful adults that we are so proud of.


Dan, Mihaela and Chris, you have made us so proud. You are truly the joy of our hearts. We love you so much, Love Mom and Dad.

Great Friends

As I was home all day alone today I spent some time cleaning up my e-mails. I never think to delete e-mails I have read so I end up with lots and lots of old e-mails. But as I was going through them I saved all the ones that have to do with praying first for John and later for Chris. I was overwhelmed with all the wonderful friends who have prayed for us and especially all that God has spoken through the voice of these wonderful people. I probably have not responded at times to what has been sent, but as I look I can see the thread of God's love coming through and especially the answer to so many prayers and reassurance through many tears that God truly does love us.

So thanks to all of you - It is a beautiful "journal" of God's faithfulness.

Blessings, Dawn

I Choose ...

Hazy (Spoken Word by Gabriel Lawrence)

Things are hazy and like life I live a dream
Knowing right to be wrong and wrong to be life
I fight
Whether there are many or few
I fight
Frustrated and complacent not knowing to turn left or right
I fight
Confused by the bright colors of battle
Changing spaces from boy to man I stand
Not settling for a life that has taken me
Neither songs nor alms but actions with purpose will take my breath

My breath tells me there's more to it
I have choices choices choices and decisions
That will shake me free
I want life abundantly
Abundantly living life through sacrifices that open doors to Awe
I want to breath a sweeter life than chocolate or strawberries
Or strawberries covered by chocolate
I want not to focus on trying to substitute my breath
With guilty pleasures
But rather supplying my inhaler with Awe

Choices choices choices and decisions
Which allow collisions to create beautiful master pieces fueled by purpose

You see we are born and then we die
But somewhere in between we live
Submersed by choices choices choices and decisions
That often times can't be made in mind but heart
And somewhere between soul and spirit we breath
Until we reflect Awe
In Awe I will give life the greatest most like sweetest adventure

I choose to live life

And even if it's hazy I choose to breath in Awe
I choose to chase daylight until it isn't a savings time
But the remainder of a life well spent
Awe yeah

Now I can see

Back at School

Chris finished his week of Chemo last week, it was such a blessing as he did very well on it. It was suppose to be a difficult combination of drugs, but praise God for His faithfulness, Chris overall has felt well, just fatigued. He went to school today and although I am sure he will be exhausted I know he is happy to be there with his friends.

God has been so good to us. His mighty power is what makes each day such a joy to live. I have a couple of prayer requests beyond our family.

1. For a dear lady Kathy who also has cancer, that God would completely restore her body. She has been suffering greatly and we pray for God to redeem her to her family as whole in body and spirit.
2. For my neighbor, Jim who I just spoke to and has bladder/prostate cancer. I am sick of this disease. May God use this to bring Jim to himself.
3. For another neighbor who has a disease called Huntington's Chorea, a debilitating disease that will claim her life early if God does not intervene. She has triplet daughters and a son. May God do what only He can do, heal that which man can not.

Thanks for your prayers, we cherish them.

Portrait of God's Peace

A friend sent this to and I wanted to share it with those who need to believe God, and need to know that He truly is in control and has a plan far above our understanding to Glorify His name. I pray you are encouraged in whatever circumstance you need to trust God for. Thanks Susan, this was wonderful. God's word speaks!!

Portrait of Peace - John 11

How did Christ feel about Mary, Martha and Lazarus?
He loved them.

Which action of Christ seemed inconsistent with that love?
He didn't go to help them "in time."

Why was Lazarus sick? (Verse 4.)
For Gods Glory

Why did Christ apparently wait several more days before returning?
To prove to them who He was, and what God could do. To demonstrate Gods Glory.

For whose sake was Christ glad He was not there before Lazarus died?
He said, "For YOUR sake, so that you may believe."

How long had Lazarus been in the tomb?
4 days

What happened during those 4 days? (Verse 19)
Friends and relatives had gathered. (There was a crowd there to see.)

How did both Mary and Martha react to Christ's absence (21, 32)
They didn't understand His Timing.

What is the guaranteed outcome of "believing" God. (V 40)
Things will work out.

What effect did Lazarus resurrection ultimately have in the circumstances which surrounded the life of Christ (v 45-48, 57)
Many believed when they saw what Jesus did. However then they told the authorities, who then decided to go arrest Jesus.
That seemed like a bad thing, too, but actually it was in GODS perfect timing, and according to Gods Plan.

Wycliffe Dinner Theater

God I want to thank you for your many blessings. Last week you sustained Chris and the rest of our family, help us not to take your provision for granted. It is hard to not always be asking for something, but I do want to acknowledge the Lord's hand in everything we do and experience.

Last night I went to a presentation by the Wycliffe Bible translators Dinner Theater. It was very enlightening to watch and it humbled me as to the task these dedicated people commit their lives to. They said that God's word has not been translated into over 2500 heart languages. Wow!! Makes me wish I was better at languages, but I pretty much failed at German in College, only passed by the grace of the teacher.

I would encourage you to take a look at their website, if for no other reason then to just be aware of those who are actively trying to fulfill the great commission of making God's word available to every tribe and nation.

http://www.wycliffe.org/

Chris is on his second week of Chemo, he starts a new treatment with new types of Chemo. We are praying for his body to continue to be completely healed, that the treatment will not cause him to be sick and that his bladder will be protected, (this chemo can cause bladder damage). Last week he did well, he felt great on the weekend and did a Lord of the Rings marathon with some of his friends. Yikes that takes almost 12 hours to do all 3 movies. They started with the extended versions and realized that would take forever.

Thanks for your continued prayers, blessings, Dawn

Here we go again

Today Chris began his treatments again. He had a 4 week break which helped him get strong again. It is always a sad day, he begins the day feeling good and ends it feeling lousy. But the good news is that John had an met with his doctor (who is Chris's doctor also) and all the scans John had a couple of weeks ago look good. We were concerned about something they had seen on the thyroid, which did not show up this time. Everything else looked great. We praise God, He is truly blessing us with evidence of His hand of grace on our family.


Chris will start a new treatment regime, not sure what that will look like yet. We have an meeting with his doctor tomorrow.

Other good news, Chris has been accepted into USC, UCIrvine and UCLA, still waiting on Stanford and CalPoly. We keep asking him how he will chose which one to attend. USC and UCIrvine have offered him merit scholarships which was totally unexpected.

Mihaela had her last day of work last night. She was glad as it was taking a lot of her time, but I know she will miss some of the people she worked with, especially a certain young man.

Blessing Dawn

Minus One Car

Well what can we say, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Poor Mihaela was driving to get her brother a birthday card, and another driver ran a red light and hit her car. We are just so grateful for the Lord's protection over her, other than being sore she was unharmed. The car unfortunately did not fair as well, it is probably totaled as it is not worth what I am sure it would cost to repair it.

Dan's New Addition

Dan has a new addition to his life. He got a new dog from the "Cruelty Prevention Center ". Sure hope he is housebroke! He reminds me of the dog on MASK.

God's All Surpassing Power

Where to begin? It is hard to even put into words how God has performed the miraculous. Yesterday we went down to the doctors in LA to see what was going on with the scan that showed lesions in Chris's lungs. After visiting with the doctor he sent us to get another scan, when we returned he invited us into his office to see the scan on his computer. THE SCAN SHOWED NO LESIONS!!! It was the most amazing moment. We were just floored, I was literally, at the news. He went through the scan with us on the computer, which is really cool if you have never seen one, and the lungs were clear of anything abnormal.

We are of course praising God, telling anyone and everyone of how awesome our God is and that He has done the miraculous. We have no doubt that those lesions did exist and that God with his divine healing touch caused them to disappear. How cool is that.

We do not know if Chris will start his chemotherapy again on Tuesday, Monday is a holiday or not. But we are fully confident in God's awesome love for us, your prayers have been what has moved the hand of God.

Praising and Praising again. Love Dawn, John, Chris, Mihaela, and Dan

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

Never Underestimate My Jesus

I wanted to give you an update on Chris, I know that you are praying for him and our family. It has been a very interesting time for us the last couple of weeks. We got the report back about the cancer that was removed from Chris's leg. It was not as positive as we had hoped, the necrosis (death of the cancer cells) was 60%. We had hoped for 90% or better. Also a spot lower on the femur bone was confirmed to be a metastasis of the cancer, but the bone marrow was removed to put in the titanium bone.

Last week we received further news that was disturbing. It seems that a CT scan taken in December had showed nodules on Chris's lungs. For some reason this had not been shared until last week. It could mean that the cancer had also spread to Chris's lungs along with an abnormal liver scan. We do not know yet what these various things mean. But I do know that God is in control and we are claiming that God will perform miraculous healing on Chris that can only be attributed to Him and for His Glory. We are asking for prayer for the following:

1. That through all of this our faith would remain strong and strengthened. That we would not waiver on believing God for His divine hand on Chris and our family.
2. That God perform the miraculous in Chris's body, that the doctors would see God's miraculous work and Chris would be a living testimony to our Awesome God. That this time of testing would prepare Chris for a long life of harvest for the Lord.
3. Chris would grow in faith and character as He perseveres through the unknown and trusts God.
4. That the upcoming scans would show Chris's body already healed. They would compare the Dec scan and see that Chris's body is restored.

We want to thank everyone who has stood with us through this. It has been very difficult at times, but God has always given us His hope and we are standing firm in His promises.

Blessings, Standing in Faith for the Miraculous.

Dawn

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Romans 5:2-5