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It is funny, in the Fall when we took Chris to Cal Poly we were sad, sad knowing we would miss him, but at the same time excited for him as he embarked on a whole new phase of his life. That made bring him home yesterday that much sadder. It was so difficult packing his room and seeing him say "goodbye" to the wonderful friends he had made. Not fair really, but then we are learning that life in this world just isn't fair. Praise God we can look with eternal perspective, although that was little help yesterday when our emotions were barely in check.

Chris will have the surgery this Friday, the 25th. We ask for your prayers, that Chris would be so completely protected, there would be no surprises and that all cancer would be removed. That the doctors would have the wisdom of God. But especially that we would have total peace of God, trusting Him and not doubting or being fearful. Lord grant that we would be Salt and Light!!

So often I wish we could just see into the future ~ the earthly future. But thankfully the Lord does give us the eternal future. It is already known, may we glorify His name as long as we are here.
Blessings, ~ Dawn

I am your hope...

As I sat and praying this morning, "I am your hope..." was the overwhelming word I got from our Lord. It has been one of the most unsettling weeks of our life. We knew going into it that there was going to be huge challenges emotionally. It is hard to believe after living through each day that today we can still find joy.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Chris had his doctors appointment. It was filled with disappointment and praise. Disappointment that the cancer has returned, praise that it is not in his lungs and that we will not have to amputate his leg. To get a clear picture it is best to read Chris's blog at www.kooseefoo.com. We are so grateful for the strength that Chris has going into a new challenge. However make no mistake, until the surgery, we will still be contenting for our God to intervene and bring about complete healing. He is Jehovah Rapha

Today, Thursday, John had his appointment, remember I said this is quite the week. Unfortunately the new chemo he was doing over the last month was totally ineffective. So we switch to a new one again. This is of course a big disappointment also, but the praise is that the new chemo is reported to be easier to take. We pray that will be true.

Now for a huge blessing in the midst of all this. First, before Chris went to his appointment, a group of wonderful friends came to pray over Chris. It was a beautiful time of intercession, next several ladies stayed with me almost all day and we prayed in earnest for Chris. And then today, I received a call from a team here in town that want to come and pray over Chris and John for healing. And then later I got a call from one the young people who has been part of our "family" Brooke, she and many of Chris's friends want to do a fast and prayer for Chris tomorrow. I am so humbled that these amazing young people know just where to go on behalf of their brother, to the throne room.

And what is most amazing for me is that in the midst of all this, I do feel the peace of God. I know that Chris and John have a destiny of service to God and that the enemy can not intercept that. So we continue to trust, trust because God is our hope...

~ Dawn

We wait for the victory

It has been awhile since we have posted. Time just seems to slip away. We are still in the midst of the battle for victory in our family.

Over the last month John has been doing a new type of Chemo, he has had to take pills for 21 days and now has a 7 day break.

The immediate pray need for us is for Chris. During the Christmas break he noticed a lymph node in his groin area had enlarged. There is concern that it is a recurrence of the cancer. We of course are rebuking that and praying for complete restoration. However scans are showing something is not right.

This is discouraging for us, we are struggling to keep our faith strong and believing God for his healing promises. The enemy is certainly trying to fill us with despair. Chris goes to see his surgeon on Jan. 9, where we will get some answers from the doctors perspective and John has his monthly scan on Jan. 10. It will be a stressful week. We covet your prayers, that we would remain steadfast in the Lord, seeking Him with all diligence, would believe Him for the victory and not allow the enemy to steal our joy.

May you be blessed, John and Dawn

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103: 1-4

What God told Logan

Be Still

This was posted on a friends blog, just watching it calmed my spirit.

Taiwan Toilet Restaurant

A friend sent this to me in an e-mail, it was to good not to post.

Have you ever been sitting in a restaurant and wondered: “Gee, why do they place toilets in a separate room?” Or … when taking time away from dinner to dispose of some hazardous waste, have you thought: “I’d much rather eat in here, how homey!” Well, if you are among the 3 non-institutionalized people who have thought this, now there’s a restaurant for you:



Yes, those are toilets IN the restaurant. Bowls are also shaped like toilets, dessert dishes like bidets/urinals, and dessert itself is … well, let’s just say it’s shaped like something you wouldn’t want to leave in the goat feeder for long. Apparently Japan doesn’t hold a monopoly on Asian zaniness. Here’s a few other pictures:

Showers on the wall? They didn’t miss a detail::



Toilet bowl ice cream, hmmm …


Hopefully they cleaned the sinks first


Apparently the first Taiwanese Toilet Bowl Rrestaurant was so popular that they opened a second one … who knows, maybe this will become the next big global franchise. 10 years from now, instead of visiting the Golden Arches, you might just be stopping into the Poo Poo Palace!

San Fransisco Street Light

Years ago my father gave me a street lamp from San Fransisco that my Grandfather had that is supposedly from the time before the San Fransisco 1906 Earthquake. It is copper and probably originally was gas. I had it for a long time, and then my father took it back because I had not done anything with it. Well last summer my father returned it to me, he had cleaned it up and put it back together. A friend of mine, Duke saw it in the garage and offered to finish it. He did an amazing job of mounting it and putting the glass and light kit in it, as well as some soldiering. Today he delivered it to me. I am so grateful to him, what a blessing. It looks pretty cool in my backyard. Thanks Duke and Dad.

Visions from Akiane

This video is so wonderful. May we be filled with such beautiful visions of our amazing God.

Military Ball

Chris took his friend Emily to her Military Ball last Saturday night. They had a really good time, this is the third year they have gone together. I was especially proud of matching Chris's shirt and tie to her dress, which she looked stunning in.

This is the "Zoolander" look. If you haven't seen the movie you will probably not understand, and but the look here is perfect.

The Mayflower Compact

For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
Psalm 61:5 (NLT)

RECOMMENDED READING

Psalm 61

This weekend marks the anniversary of the Mayflower Compact, drafted and signed on November 11, 1620. It marked the first time in recorded history that a group of people freely of their own volition established a covenant to create a new civil government of their own.

Unfortunately, many Americans have forgotten it was done in the name of Christ, and its words are seldom found in textbooks or public tributes.

The Mayflower Compact says, in part: "Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic . . . ."

America's greatness is due to the deep convictions of her founders, including the Pilgrims who landed on her shores for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith. Praise God for the heritage enjoyed by all who love freedom!

Have Faith in God

Jesus answered and said the them, "Have faith in God" Mark 11:22

I found this to be truly a daily discipline. To have faith in God means to know God, to know God you can not ignore spending time with Him, and to spend time with Him, well that means SPENDING TIME WITH HIM. There is no way around it, period. I think I used to believe that you could have faith without spending the time. I now realize that was a shallow faith, easy to have when life is good. But in a storm that kind of faith fades to hopelessness, unless you chose to seek the one who your faith is based upon. The Faithful One - God Almighty - Al Shadday

So what is faith?? I like this statement by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

"Faith is holding on to the faithfulness of God and as long as you do that, you cannot go wrong.
Faith does not look at the difficulties.
Faith does not look at itself or at the person who is exercising it.
Faith looks at God.
Faith is interested in God only, and it talks about God and it praises God and it extols the virtues of God.
The ultimate measure of the strength of a man's faith, always, is ultimately the measure of his knowledge of God. He knows God so well that he can rest on the knowledge. And it is the prayers of such a man that are answered"

I pray I will be such a man (or woman)!!

"Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations" Psalm 119:89-90

He Knows the Way we Take

Each month is such a test of who we believe, God or doctors. So far God has not let us down, doctors, well they are not quite so reliable. But because we trust in our Lord, the rest is momentary noise.

John had his latest scan, right now a monthly ritual, and as the doctor from LA said "Maybe a little worse, but not much worse", now what does that mean??? Never mind this was a text message from the doctor (I thought only the under 30's used text messaging as the main means of communication). So we go back to what we know is true, God is totally and completely for us, and we believe that He is going to answer what we believe is His will. To heal John. It may be that the signs of the tumor are always there, but that is physical. However the spiritual evidence will be in John living a full life.

"I waited patiently for the LORD and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth-praise to our God, many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:1-3

Be Inspired

God is so amazing! How He can take the most difficult things in life and turn them into a testimony for His glory. Check out Chris's blog entry.

What happens when I don't pay attention in church

Insight from Chris

Okay, so I got hooked up with a group on campus called Intervarsity. They're definitely pretty much awesome.

The event they are hosting this week (Monday all the way through Friday) is called Impact 1, and it is about AIDS in Africa, specifically the children that are orphaned and/or infected by HIV. The basic gist is that we have a tent that you go through, following the life of one of three children. As you go through, you are guided by an MP3 player and really get an intense image of what life is like for them. I went through one of the tracks today... I'll hit the rest tomorrow.

To say the least, it was intense. It's definitely hard to express. If you're here at SLO, go check it out on Dexter Lawn.

I'm signed up to help out with it - specifically, the response team. Response team is invite-only (my small group leader invited me) and our job is to talk with people afterward about the experience.

Yesterday was our response team training (8 hours... by the halfway point it was starting to sound like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL_-1d9OSdk ) Basically, we're supposed to talk about the spiritual, emotional, and practical aspects of things. The general script is we start out talking about emotions, then talk about the spiritual side of things (what does God think about this?), try to share the gospel, and then talk about practical ways to try to help out.

Throughout the time, I kept thinking to myself, "Is this really what we want to do?" I spoke to other people there, and pretty much everyone agreed with me: the script is stupid. I kept having flashbacks to Blue Like Jazz, a book that definitely questions your thinking, and about what the author of that book said about this: people won't listen to you until they believe that you genuinely care (love) about them. And that is most definitely true.

So here's what I'm going to be there to do: talk about the AIDS crisis in Africa. Talk about what we could do to change it. If they're open, I'll talk about what God has to say about it - about how we, as God's people, are responsible for doing God's work in this world. We are his hands and feet, not a bullhorn. I'll suggest to people the few ways that we have set up for them to contribute to helping if they want. But first and foremost, I'm not going to be there with an agenda on my mind. The most important thing is showing them that I care about them, that they are real to me, and that I, as a Christian, am not there to condemn them.

And this is the thought that most of the people in Intervarsity had - no scripts. No agenda. Just be there to have a real, casual conversation with people. The only plan I really have is let the holy spirit do His thing. My job is to present the Gospel if people are open to it - saving them is God's.

So those are my thoughts for the night. Looks like Tuesday night I'll actually be spending the night with my small group on Dexter lawn. How cool is that?

Farewell Sweet Girl

This morning John and I had to take our sweet Taco to be put to sleep. She had been ill for the last 6 weeks or so and it finally was obvious that she was in pain. It is so tender how God gives us precious pets to love and care for, they truly become a part of who you are. Taco was often a brat, but we loved her for her spunky willfulness.

I do wonder if our pets will be in Heaven with us. I know they have no soul, but I firmly believe that animals are if not in Heaven certainly on the New Earth. Otherwise where did that white horse Jesus rides in on come from? Also there are some interesting verses in Genesis when God makes covenant with Noah.

"I will demand an accounting from every animal" Gen. 9: 5

"I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you-the birds, the livestock and all the widl animals, all those that came out of the ark with you-every living creature on earth" Gen 9:9

Taco, you were a faithful companion, you gave us unconditional love (how often should we be more like our pets?) We will miss you greatly sweet girl.

Spending time with God

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted anything. Oops!

This morning I decided that before I did anything I would go through a prayer guide from GodTV. It is an excellent guide with lots of scriptures. I was convicted during our Ministerial Study Program last night (a study John and I are doing to be better prepared for ministry) about the disciples inability to stay awake with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. As I read about how they kept falling asleep I knew that I would have done the same and in fact do do the same thing. I get distracted so easily that to sit for very long I feel I have to do something else.

So rather than read the paper and check the e-mail, I would sit down and go through this prayer guide. Oh how hard it was, my mind would focus for a while and then would wander to some undone task. I can relate to Martha so well, I think she had ADD like me. But I was able to go through the guide and was very blessed. I hope to make it a habit - put God first each morning before everything else.

Blessings~ Dawn

This is the confidence we have....

There is no doubt that walking in faith, which is defined in the word of God as "being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you can not see", is not easy. Even as things do not turn out the way we hope for we are still confident of the goodness of our God.

I was reminded to day that the Lord has confirmed 3 times the word "he shall not die, but live and proclaim the might works of the Lord" Psalm 118:17, over John. No matter if the physical scans do not show complete victory over this cancer yet, we believe with confidence according HIS WORD that that victory will come. The journey has been long, and without a doubt we are tired, but as with the persistent widow we will cry out day and night for justice, and will believe that our God will bring that justice.

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." 1John 5:14-15.

Joy and Sorrow

It is amazing to me how you can have both great joy and great sorrow all at the same time. This last weekend Chris came home to go his friend Emily's 18th birthday party. We were so full of joy to see him. He was very tired, the last couple of weeks had been filled with so many activities, more than he had done in the last year probably. We feed him and "babied" him. He looked really good, healthy and excited about school. We give all the praise to our Lord, He has truly blessed our son and answered so many prayers.

But the weekend also had deep sorrow, Joshua, a dear 16 year old young man, that we had met while Chris was getting his treatment had gone to be with the Lord. It is during these times that you have to dig deep and believe that God truly is Good, and that somehow in His sovereignty it all makes sense. The memorial service was so beautiful, God was truly glorified as we worshiped our amazing Lord. Joshua's life was so beautifully remembered, and his love of the Lord was evident. He is having a great time with his God. Please keep his family in your prayers. He leaves a wonderful mom, Pam who loves the Lord, as well as two sisters.

Dreaded this for 18 years

That is how John put it. We took Chris to Cal Poly in San Lous Obispo this weekend. The air there is so clean, the sky so blue. Made us want to move there also. It was fun to be at the campus, the students were all there with their families moving in. Chris' dorm room was much nicer and bigger than we thought. The big encouragement was that Chris' roommate seems to be a very nice young man. He was very anxious to be helpful, and was organized, unlike Chris. We think he will make a good roommate. Chris was excited but unsure how the rooming with a stranger was going to be like. They have a refrigerator filled with drinks and a snack bookcase with all sorts of midnight food items and an XBOX and Wii, so they are set with entertainment.

This week is WOW week, or Week of Welcome. Something Cal Poly has been doing for many many years. Today Chris sent a text to tell us he was going Kayaking, so it will be a week of fun. Just pray that Chris will keep up his strength and not over do it. This week will involve the most exercise he has had in almost a year.

We continue to perservere

Well today John had his scans again. The news was not what we had hoped. Last time there was a significant improvement, but this time it showed that the tumor area was more active, meaning the cancer is trying to come back. John will begin another type of treatment on Monday. The good news of that is that the new treatment is not suppose to make him as sick. They will do it for a month and recheck. Meanwhile we are going to try to get a referral to UCLA. We truly do not want to chase "cures", but we want the God of the Universe to be our divine healer through whatever means He lays before us.

We really are so grateful for all the prayers, we will not give up.

"Do not be lazy. Be like those who have faith and have not given up. They will receive what God has promised them." Hebrews 6:12

We will not surrender anything to the enemy, but will receive what has been promised which we believe is a long life, complete healing and restoration. We are still anticipating and waiting for complete victory, and that victory will for the Glory of the Lord.

Blessings, Dawn