As I thought this morning about this day of giving thanks - it was easy to maybe complain to God, what is there to be thankful for today? But taking a moment to just remember my life I realized I am filled with gratitude, even though things are not as I would have ever imagined them, we as a family have so much to be praising our God for.
First, our lives. That we even were born is in the hands of our God, I am especially grateful for my sons and daughter. The miracle of their lives - the trust God placed on John and I to raise His precious children. I am grateful for my husband, for John, he has been my friend, my perfect match. We have been a team in pretty much everything we have done. I am grateful for all that God has blessed us with - great family, great friends, great churches, and abundance of love. Really we have so much to give gratitude for and these trial are something we give thanks for also, they have been used to refine us, to become more dependent upon our Lord.
Lord we give you praise and thank you for calling us to yourself. May our lives honor You.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Evening of Prayer
There are events that happen that make you pause and realize just how precious the people are around you. People you may not see everyday or even talk to very often. But when need arises they step up and it's just as if they had been walking right beside you all the time. They are the hands, feet and mouth of Jesus - His love. Last night we experienced that love.
Friends from our sending church, The Oaks, our new church, The Way came over to spend a couple of hours praying over our family and over John specifically. It was an amazing time of worship and prayer and reading God's word. Each person had sacrificed their time to come and spend it with us - we were humbled and felt peace. It was such a beautiful demonstration of the special love we have one for another that Jesus says will cause people to look at us - His followers.
I think one of the most moving times during the prayer was when John was asked if he had anything to share and He kept repeating that this was not about him - but about Jesus. I just prayer that whatever the outcome of this journey John's desire will be fulfilled, that the name of Jesus will be Glorified in such a way that those who do not know Him will be drawn to Him.
Friends from our sending church, The Oaks, our new church, The Way came over to spend a couple of hours praying over our family and over John specifically. It was an amazing time of worship and prayer and reading God's word. Each person had sacrificed their time to come and spend it with us - we were humbled and felt peace. It was such a beautiful demonstration of the special love we have one for another that Jesus says will cause people to look at us - His followers.
I think one of the most moving times during the prayer was when John was asked if he had anything to share and He kept repeating that this was not about him - but about Jesus. I just prayer that whatever the outcome of this journey John's desire will be fulfilled, that the name of Jesus will be Glorified in such a way that those who do not know Him will be drawn to Him.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Trust
Praise the Lord, He opened the schedule so John got the PET/CT done on Thursday, it was sent to the doctor in Newport. We hope to hear from that doctor on Tuesday. Meanwhile, we just wait on the Lord, He is good. A friend at our church gave me a little card with just one word, TRUST!! We continue to just trust in Him, He is always faithful.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Waiting....
Just an update, John's doctor in Newport Beach has asked for another type of scan, PET/CT so we are working to get that done quickly. So there is really no news yet. John is doing alright, tired a lot and very weak on his right side. Thanks again for your continued prayers.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
God is our Hope
It is hard to even know where to begin with this prayer request. As we have walked this journey with so many of you and with our Lord, there have been times of great joy and times of uncertainty. We have tried through them all to give God all the Glory, and it is our wish to continue to do so. With that said, last Friday we learned that the tumor in John's head has again began to grow. It has begun to cross over from one side of the head to the other. In the natural this is not good news.
We are not giving up our hope, but are trying to be practical also. If it is the Lord's timing to call John home to himself, then we want to be prepared for that. However we still know that God is more than able to heal John. He is Faithful despite the circumstances. God seems to keep us close to Himself by not making that future knowledge known to us at this time.
We have sent the information to the doctor in Newport Beach who did the last radiation treatments which God used to give John at least the last 5 month. We ask that you continue praying for complete healing if that is the will of our God, for wisdom for all of us as we face some decisions, and especially for our children, Dan, Chris and Mihaela. John has been an awesome father and has lead his children with faith and integrity. May this be a time where they allow the Lord to bring comfort and peace. Dan is coming home for awhile.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. Without each of you we would be lost, it means so much to know that you care and love us. We love each of you also.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Is really October?
How do the days go by so quickly? One minute it is the middle of summer, the next the pool is to cold to swim in. Life truly is short, and trying to keep up a blog really makes that even more obvious.
Lots has happened the last 6 or so weeks. Not sure where to begin. Lets see, Chris is off at Cal Poly. He is extremely happy there, evident by the fact we hardly ever hear from him. But we are so happy to see him there, giving God the praise for His mercy and grace over Chris's life. Chris did call a couple days ago wanting to know how to make "Gumbo". If I do say so I make awesome gumbo, so it was a pleasure to share the recipe with him.
John had been doing very well, until a couple weeks ago. He unfortunately had a seizure. This is the first one since the initial one a couple years ago when we discovered his brain tumor. It was a total shock but we believe it was the result of to much caffeine. Usually John is very careful about drinking coffee, but this day he had not only a couple cups of home brew, but then a grande of Starbucks. To much for his recovering brain. The result was an ambulance trip to the hospital, overnight stay and worse of all some significant set backs in how well he was doing. The good thing is that over the last couple of weeks many of the set backs are coming right again. A MRI scan showed the tumor is stable, which was a huge praise. So John is keeping a smile on his face, listening to the bible on his IPod and continuing to trust God for His provision and restoration.
The sunday before John had this seizure, he had spoke before our church about how he had felt discouraged and at times tired of the fight. But he had realized that it was not about him but about God. I believe the enemy came to steal that testimony, but God is restoring John and the testimony is even stronger. God will bring the victory - His name is to be exalted and He turns bad things into good things for His glory.
This last weekend was the Ladies Retreat for our church. Last year I was privledged to share but was unable to attend this year. However, I was prompted, by the Lord, to think about the teaching I shared and as I did God really spoke to me. So much has happened in the last year, and my message at the retreat was really about how we can believe and trust the promises of God. I realized that everything I had taught on I was challenged on through out this last year. I can see that as hard as it has been, and it has at times been heart wrenching, God has proven Himself trustworthy and true to His word. At times it has not seemed so, but today John is still with us, and Chris is back at Cal Poly. God has been true to His promises, we have been challenged on every side, and at times our faith has been very small, and at times I have forgotten my own words that I shared. But praise the Lord, He has not forgotten His word and it stands ever true.
Lots has happened the last 6 or so weeks. Not sure where to begin. Lets see, Chris is off at Cal Poly. He is extremely happy there, evident by the fact we hardly ever hear from him. But we are so happy to see him there, giving God the praise for His mercy and grace over Chris's life. Chris did call a couple days ago wanting to know how to make "Gumbo". If I do say so I make awesome gumbo, so it was a pleasure to share the recipe with him.
John had been doing very well, until a couple weeks ago. He unfortunately had a seizure. This is the first one since the initial one a couple years ago when we discovered his brain tumor. It was a total shock but we believe it was the result of to much caffeine. Usually John is very careful about drinking coffee, but this day he had not only a couple cups of home brew, but then a grande of Starbucks. To much for his recovering brain. The result was an ambulance trip to the hospital, overnight stay and worse of all some significant set backs in how well he was doing. The good thing is that over the last couple of weeks many of the set backs are coming right again. A MRI scan showed the tumor is stable, which was a huge praise. So John is keeping a smile on his face, listening to the bible on his IPod and continuing to trust God for His provision and restoration.
The sunday before John had this seizure, he had spoke before our church about how he had felt discouraged and at times tired of the fight. But he had realized that it was not about him but about God. I believe the enemy came to steal that testimony, but God is restoring John and the testimony is even stronger. God will bring the victory - His name is to be exalted and He turns bad things into good things for His glory.
This last weekend was the Ladies Retreat for our church. Last year I was privledged to share but was unable to attend this year. However, I was prompted, by the Lord, to think about the teaching I shared and as I did God really spoke to me. So much has happened in the last year, and my message at the retreat was really about how we can believe and trust the promises of God. I realized that everything I had taught on I was challenged on through out this last year. I can see that as hard as it has been, and it has at times been heart wrenching, God has proven Himself trustworthy and true to His word. At times it has not seemed so, but today John is still with us, and Chris is back at Cal Poly. God has been true to His promises, we have been challenged on every side, and at times our faith has been very small, and at times I have forgotten my own words that I shared. But praise the Lord, He has not forgotten His word and it stands ever true.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Yep we are still here
I am way over due in updating our blog. For those of you who read it - sorry.
So we have great news to start off with. Last week John had an MRI of the Brain ( I hope a day comes when I do not have to even type those words), the results were very good. Overall there was no change, but the change that was seen was good change, slightly smaller in some respects and the edema (swelling) was less. We were very grateful to our awesome God and to the doctor who had performed the radiation. John is doing well. Some days he is very tired, but we persevere, and in that we see improvement.
Chris is beginning to grow his hair back. The big question is what color will it be and what texture. He is getting ready to see his girlfriend off to Westmont College next week and then He will be off to Cal Poly a couple of weeks later. He is going to be one sad puppy when Emily leaves.
Dan was visiting last week. We really enjoyed having him - he always has a lot of energy and it is just a joy to have all of us together. I look at those time as such blessings. Dan taught us a new trick for our dog Petra. Fun with a laser pointer. It is riot, Petra will chase the laser all our house. I even took the pointer outside in the dark and she runs around like a wild thing, chasing it everywhere. What a great way to exercise her, just stand and point a little light. Its great. Reminded me of those people you see walking their dogs by holding a leash outside the window of the car while moving. Well I don't thing this is quite that bad, but close. However Petra loves it, and we just have to be careful she does not become obsessive.
So we have great news to start off with. Last week John had an MRI of the Brain ( I hope a day comes when I do not have to even type those words), the results were very good. Overall there was no change, but the change that was seen was good change, slightly smaller in some respects and the edema (swelling) was less. We were very grateful to our awesome God and to the doctor who had performed the radiation. John is doing well. Some days he is very tired, but we persevere, and in that we see improvement.
Chris is beginning to grow his hair back. The big question is what color will it be and what texture. He is getting ready to see his girlfriend off to Westmont College next week and then He will be off to Cal Poly a couple of weeks later. He is going to be one sad puppy when Emily leaves.
Dan was visiting last week. We really enjoyed having him - he always has a lot of energy and it is just a joy to have all of us together. I look at those time as such blessings. Dan taught us a new trick for our dog Petra. Fun with a laser pointer. It is riot, Petra will chase the laser all our house. I even took the pointer outside in the dark and she runs around like a wild thing, chasing it everywhere. What a great way to exercise her, just stand and point a little light. Its great. Reminded me of those people you see walking their dogs by holding a leash outside the window of the car while moving. Well I don't thing this is quite that bad, but close. However Petra loves it, and we just have to be careful she does not become obsessive.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Reconfirmed
Well we stand in complete awe of our magnificent God, to Him be all the glory.
Today we got apples to apples confirmation of the healing in Chris's lungs. The original scan that showed something was a CT scan, a PET was done which showed all was clear but Chris's doctor, who we give thanks to the Lord for, wanted to make sure and redo the CT. Well God just used that scan to complete the confirmation of His work and healing - IT WAS CLEAR!!
We truly are in awe of such wonderful news.
As for John, well things are progressing well. We have been working hard on physical, speech and occupational therapy. On Monday both his physical and occupational therapist said they are seeing great improvement. We have been doing exercises in the pool which is a great place to build strength. Next week we will redo John's MRI and I am confident it will continue to show God's healing also.
Blessings ~ Dawn
Today we got apples to apples confirmation of the healing in Chris's lungs. The original scan that showed something was a CT scan, a PET was done which showed all was clear but Chris's doctor, who we give thanks to the Lord for, wanted to make sure and redo the CT. Well God just used that scan to complete the confirmation of His work and healing - IT WAS CLEAR!!
We truly are in awe of such wonderful news.
As for John, well things are progressing well. We have been working hard on physical, speech and occupational therapy. On Monday both his physical and occupational therapist said they are seeing great improvement. We have been doing exercises in the pool which is a great place to build strength. Next week we will redo John's MRI and I am confident it will continue to show God's healing also.
Blessings ~ Dawn
Friday, July 11, 2008
We rejoice in God's goodness
First you have to read a portion Chris's blog, which was posted yesterday.
"I had the redo on the PET scan on Monday. Still waiting on results for that. A friend from Qatar came and prayed for me on Sunday, and through that this is what I got: Why am I always like "God will heal me when He wants to." That's dumb! God wants me healed. And I'm believing that. These scans are going to come back totally clear. I'm sure of it. And I'm not going to leave my place to retreat to (saying things like "God will heal me when He wants to") if they don't. Because they're going to come back good and it'll be awesome."
Today we saw the complete victory that Chris already believed for himself. The scans came back completely clear, no sign of anything in his lungs. We know without a doubt that there was stuff on his lungs and we also know this is a God miracle, as He healed Chris's lungs. We give Him all the praise and glory for this.
For anyone who reads this and does know if God truly heals or not, this is a irrefutable demonstration of the fact that God truly does heal and that He is good and loves us. We are also so grateful for Chris being able to believe in Gods provision before he saw the proof of it.
A dear friend sent this scripture to me.
"I had the redo on the PET scan on Monday. Still waiting on results for that. A friend from Qatar came and prayed for me on Sunday, and through that this is what I got: Why am I always like "God will heal me when He wants to." That's dumb! God wants me healed. And I'm believing that. These scans are going to come back totally clear. I'm sure of it. And I'm not going to leave my place to retreat to (saying things like "God will heal me when He wants to") if they don't. Because they're going to come back good and it'll be awesome."
Today we saw the complete victory that Chris already believed for himself. The scans came back completely clear, no sign of anything in his lungs. We know without a doubt that there was stuff on his lungs and we also know this is a God miracle, as He healed Chris's lungs. We give Him all the praise and glory for this.
For anyone who reads this and does know if God truly heals or not, this is a irrefutable demonstration of the fact that God truly does heal and that He is good and loves us. We are also so grateful for Chris being able to believe in Gods provision before he saw the proof of it.
A dear friend sent this scripture to me.
"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." Ephesians 3:16-17
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Cardboard Testamony
I was going to share the wonderful news of John's latest scan and God's wonderful provision, but I would like you to take the time to watch this video first, it is truly what it is all about. Our God truly is amazing and awesome. He can heal and restore us, He loves us so much.
Hopefully you watched and saw yourself either healed, restored or you realize the need for His great love to do so.
The Lord used the radiation treatments to truly Glorify His name in John's body. Yesterday the doctor said that the result could not have been better. The tumor was stopped, and had shrunk. No further advancement. We are so grateful, God has used many people and resources to bring this result and we know it is His hand. It is His love for us and we are overcome with just how much that is true.
Hopefully you watched and saw yourself either healed, restored or you realize the need for His great love to do so.
The Lord used the radiation treatments to truly Glorify His name in John's body. Yesterday the doctor said that the result could not have been better. The tumor was stopped, and had shrunk. No further advancement. We are so grateful, God has used many people and resources to bring this result and we know it is His hand. It is His love for us and we are overcome with just how much that is true.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Bracelets
A couple of weeks ago our church "The Way Fellowship" did something that really touches our hearts. They had bracelets made in support of praying for and standing together for victory for our family. The bracelets read "We are Champions" Phil 1:30." You're involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, ..." Which for our church was a declaration that they are joining us in our struggle and that we go through this struggle together as a fellowship. We feel so encouraged and so loved, and completely humble that God would care enough to give us such a loving fellowship of friends to walk this walk with us.
Expect the worst hope for the best!
This was the parting words of Chris's doctor in LA after learning on Wednesday following the 3 month check up that there is some suspicious things in Chris's lungs. I have been thinking about those words a lot and realize they are truly words of faithlessness. It takes no faith to believe in the worst. It takes no faith to even hope for the best, because in this context that hope is based upon a throw of the dice rather than the goodness of a good God. But it takes tremendous faith in our faithful God to believe Him for His best in light of "bad news". That despite bad news He will prevail because of who we believe God is.
"Surely he will never be shaken
A righteous person will be remembered forever
He will have no fear of bad news, his heart is steadfast trusting in the Lord
His heart is secure, he will have no fear, in the end he will look in triumph on his foes."
Psalm 112:6-8
Although sometimes it is hard to keep that steadfast heart...when we go back to what we know is true, God's peace again descends upon us and we are able to have no fear.
Our hope is on a loving God, we will believe this over the words of doctors or the pictures on a scan.
"But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD even as we put our hope in YOU!" Psalm 33:18-22
~ Dawn
"Surely he will never be shaken
A righteous person will be remembered forever
He will have no fear of bad news, his heart is steadfast trusting in the Lord
His heart is secure, he will have no fear, in the end he will look in triumph on his foes."
Psalm 112:6-8
Although sometimes it is hard to keep that steadfast heart...when we go back to what we know is true, God's peace again descends upon us and we are able to have no fear.
Our hope is on a loving God, we will believe this over the words of doctors or the pictures on a scan.
"But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD even as we put our hope in YOU!" Psalm 33:18-22
~ Dawn
Monday, June 02, 2008
Petra
Well we decided to get another dog, so we went to the SPCA and brought home "Petra". She is very sweet, active and happy. Unfortunately our other dog Shakespeare hates her. It is funny to watch, he actually goes out of his way to make a point of how much he dislikes her presence. Dogs are so much like people, so easily doubting and becoming insecure. Hopefully with time he see her as a companion and someone to play with.We were probably crazy with everything going on to bring a puppy into the house, but her joyful spirit lifts our spirits, and so far she seems pretty smart and not to destructive.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Dan and Nisha
Dan and his girlfriend Nisha came to visit. It was really nice meeting her. We very much enjoyed her company, she was funny and very smart, but what was especially nice was that she was very accommodating to our hectic schedule with John doing radiation and Chris finishing Chemo. Dan and Nisha did get a chance to explore the SoCal beach area which is always very interesting, a whole different lifestyle then mainstream America. They were able to do the Ruby's on the pier lunch, always a must.
John finished the radiation. We now wait anticipating that God will use it for His purposes. Chris begins his internship with Oxy this week. We are excited for him as he is very excited. Oxy has been very gracious to work around Chris's treatment weeks. God really has been good to us.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
New Treatment and a visit
This is an incredible busy week. Chris has a week of chemotherapy, never a fun time. Dan and his girlfriend Nisha have come to visit from Chicago and John begins the 5 days of Tomo Therapy at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. This is the second part of the new treatment plan that we believe the Lord has opened up to us.
John usually has claustrophobia in these machines, but he said that this time as he was listening to a CD of "Who Christ is", it gave him peace and it was also good because the technicians had to listen to it also as he had his treatment. Our prayer is always that God would be glorified no matter where we have to be in this process, so we gives thanks for even this small opportunity for the Lord's name and character to be lifted up.
In the midst of this Dan and Nisha have come to spend a few days with us. Originally we did not plan all of this chemo/radiation stuff to be going on while they were here, but even in that God has a plan. Dan and Nisha will have a chance to check out the beach scene and hopefully do some exploring while in Newport with John. Not perfect for them but thankfully they have been very flexible, and we are just glad to see them.
John usually has claustrophobia in these machines, but he said that this time as he was listening to a CD of "Who Christ is", it gave him peace and it was also good because the technicians had to listen to it also as he had his treatment. Our prayer is always that God would be glorified no matter where we have to be in this process, so we gives thanks for even this small opportunity for the Lord's name and character to be lifted up.
In the midst of this Dan and Nisha have come to spend a few days with us. Originally we did not plan all of this chemo/radiation stuff to be going on while they were here, but even in that God has a plan. Dan and Nisha will have a chance to check out the beach scene and hopefully do some exploring while in Newport with John. Not perfect for them but thankfully they have been very flexible, and we are just glad to see them.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Relay for Life
Last Saturday, our church youth from The Way Fellowship participated in Relay for Life. Bakersfield sponsors the second largest relay in the entire nation. Very big event. Friends from our church stopped by our tent site through out the 24hours of the event, taking turns walking around the track, fellowshipping and of course eating. Several even spent the night and walked in the middle of the night. It was truly a wonderful day being loved on and just watching everyone enjoying each other. Duke was the king of BBQ, he even went to another site and took up cooking for them.We want to especially thank John Mitchell and his wife Sally. They organized this event with the youth and God used them in a mighty way to not only bring support to the cause of cancer but to bring our newly forming church family together, where we could feel even more connected to each other. You are so wonderful John M. and true friend. Thanks again and again for all you did.
One of the more moving events is the light of the Illuminaria's. They represent people who are currently cancer free, fighting cancer or are in memory of someone. All the light are turned off and they line the track. It is a very powerful time. We pray for God's victory over this disease. He is our God who heals us.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Passing the Crown
Chris and his friend Emily went to the Stockdale Prom last night. If you remember Chris was crowned Prom King last year so he went this year to pass the crown to the new prom king. He and Emily made a smart pair. Emily was very beautiful and Chris was of course very handsome, even with a bald head. He wears it well.
Friday, May 02, 2008
So, what do you want to do?
So, what do you want to do? That was the question from John's Kaiser Neuro Oncologist. He basically was out of options of what John should do next. The tumor continues to grow and we have apparently exhausted all the usual protocols for this type of cancer. Which put everything into an interesting perspective. Surprisingly we are not worried about it. We believe that our God is always faithful and that if this door is closed, then we will trust He has already opened a new avenue.
As we have shared we are in a new direction and the attitude of the Kaiser doctor further confirms we are the right track. The Kaiser guy did not have a clue about the treatments we were exploring through Hoag Hospital and was unsupportive, which with his general "don't really care attitude" gave us peace that it was the right path.
On another note, Chris does not have a staph infection, but another type that came from being in our hot tub, his low immune system caused him to be susceptible. So that was good news, however the bad news is that the infection delays his treatment. Groan. The delay puts him having treatment while Dan is visiting and when John will be having his new radiation treatments. It is alway something.
As we have shared we are in a new direction and the attitude of the Kaiser doctor further confirms we are the right track. The Kaiser guy did not have a clue about the treatments we were exploring through Hoag Hospital and was unsupportive, which with his general "don't really care attitude" gave us peace that it was the right path.
On another note, Chris does not have a staph infection, but another type that came from being in our hot tub, his low immune system caused him to be susceptible. So that was good news, however the bad news is that the infection delays his treatment. Groan. The delay puts him having treatment while Dan is visiting and when John will be having his new radiation treatments. It is alway something.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A New Direction
Today John had the gamma knife procedure. This procedure was to stop the advance of the tumor. The area where the tumor is heading is radiated to stop it. The process went well, we started at 6am and got back to his dad's house about 2pm. The actual procedure only took 30 minutes, but all the prep took lots longer. The machine that does it is really amazing.
Part of the prep was to do a detailed MRI of John's brain which showed that the tumor was still spreading, the latest treatment was ineffective. The doctor we have met at Hoag Hospital, Dr Christopher Duma is really wonderful, seems to really care and gives a sense of peace with the new direction we believe God is opening. He suggests high dose radiation for the rest of the tumor, it is quite large now, and then follow up with surgery to remove what we hope will be a dead tumor.
As we know, it is all in our Lord's hands, we thank Him for the wonderful doctors He brings into our lives to care and treat John.
~ Blessings, Dawn
Part of the prep was to do a detailed MRI of John's brain which showed that the tumor was still spreading, the latest treatment was ineffective. The doctor we have met at Hoag Hospital, Dr Christopher Duma is really wonderful, seems to really care and gives a sense of peace with the new direction we believe God is opening. He suggests high dose radiation for the rest of the tumor, it is quite large now, and then follow up with surgery to remove what we hope will be a dead tumor.
As we know, it is all in our Lord's hands, we thank Him for the wonderful doctors He brings into our lives to care and treat John.
~ Blessings, Dawn
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