Faithful and True…

Sarah continues to do remarkably well.  Her immunities and her spirit are continually strong and have helped her to do some of the normal stuff that makes life… life.  Last week, (Dec. 7-11) she went to school every day.  It was really good for her to be with her friends and to catch up on her schoolwork.  Then, last Saturday we spent some time with friends and went to see the Christmas Parade in Niagara on the Lake.  Fun stuff.

On Sunday, after a great morning at church I took Sarah to McMaster.  She went through Round #4 of chemo from Monday morning to Thursday this week.  And once again she did amazing.  She experienced just a little bit of nausea, and no other complications.  Her levels have been good.  The medical team topped-up her hemoglobin with a transfusion before she left the hospital.  Then we returned home Thursday night (the same night the chemo was complete).

We had a family day together on Friday, and then today a family friend took Abby and Sarah to see “The Nutcracker” at the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto.  They loved it.  They even got to meet Karen Kain following the performance.  Just one more demonstration of the outpouring of love and friendship we’ve experienced over and over again throughout this season of our lives.

We’re very thankful for friendship and for the consistent strength that God is demonstrating through Sarah.   It really is a testimony to God’s love and power.  When the whole story gets told – God will get Glory.

Praise and Prayer:

• We’re thankful for God’s incredible faithfulness and His answers to prayer.
• We’re thankful for so many that are continually praying and pressing-in for the touch of God on Sarah.
• We’re continuing to pray for a total miracle.
• We’re praying for strength and health and wellness spiritually, emotionally and physically for Sarah and our whole family.

Have a great Christmas everybody!

Be blessed,

Matt

Still Pressing-Forward>>>

Hey!

So – since the last blog, quite a bit has happened.

Recent Chemo

Sarah went through another round of chemo, which finished up last Thursday, November 26^th.  This round, the chemo was comprised of a different set of drugs and were quite a bit more tiring for her.  Initially she was doing well sleeping-it-off, but unfortunately the nurses accidentally missed giving Sarah her anti-nausea meds on time.  As a result, she was nauseous about 50-60% of the time for the rest of the next week.  We’ve discovered that we need to be very precise with the timing of her anti-nausea meds.

Home Again

Sarah was still able to come home on the final day of the cycle and she’s been with us doing well.  Her appetite and energy are back to normal.  And amazingly, she has kept her weight up – which we are very thankful for.  She also had an MRI this past Tuesday.  We are still awaiting those results.  In the meantime, she has been to the clinic twice and her blood work numbers are really good.

The strength that Sarah has displayed throughout this season is miraculous.  She went to school this past week on Thursday.  We initially planned to have her there for half the day – but she insisted on staying for the whole day.  She was having too much fun…

She’s a trooper.

Our Family’s Gratitude

All in all, we are very thankful for the strength the Lord has provided.  We continue to be blessed by the meals and cards and thoughts and most of all: the prayers of the Body of Christ.

Thanks to everyone who is following this blog and using it to pray with insight on our family’s behalf.

Praise and Prayer:

• We’re thankful for the continued strength the God is displaying in Sarah.
• We’re thankful for the ability to adjust to this “new normal” and find some rhythm.
• We’re continuing to pray for a total miracle.
• We’re praying for strength and health and wellness spiritually, emotionally and physically for Sarah and our whole family.

Thanks for checking-in, everybody!

Be blessed!

Matt

Quick Update

Here’s a quick update for everybody;

 

Thanks to all of you for standing with us in prayer.  We took Sarah to the “sick” kids hospital in Toronto yesterday.  She was prepped for a treatment that began this morning.  The treatment is a stem cell harvest, where they actually stimulate the production of stem cells in her bone marrow and then siphon her own stem cells out of her blood stream.  They intend to return them to her at a later time, following other treatments.

This harvest process can take anywhere from 6 hours straight, to a few days of 6 hour treatments in a row.  Sarah was hooked up first thing this morning, and they did full cycle of stem cell harvest.  Lisa just called me to let me know that Sarah’s harvest had given them more than enough!  Woohoo!  They’re coming home tonight.  Thank-You Jesus!

In other news, Sarah had some other tests done last week and the major tumor has shrunk.  Some other things that need to change in her body had remained the same as of the last report.   We’re believing for everything that needs to shrink and dissolve to be completely eliminated from her body, in Jesus’ Name.

God is answering prayer!

Sarah is also scheduled for another round of chemo this coming weekend.

Praise God:

• For the quick harvest
• For the shrinking of the tumor
• For the continued lack of symptoms from the chemo

Pray for:

• For a complete miracle in Sarah’s body
• For the shrinking of the tumor, the elimination of all disease in every part of Sarah’s body.
• Continued grace on us as a family as we walk this out together.

Thanks everyone!

 

Be blessed,

 

Matt

Latest Progress Report

Hi everyone,

Sorry for being late with this blog.  In fact – while I’m at it – I apologize for being so poor at returning calls and emails.  I truly appreciate you all; I just haven’t gotten to it yet.  I remain focused and purposeful in my daily activities and I am grateful to all of you for being gracious with me as we navigate this season.  We receive your love and words of encouragement.

We are so amazed at the faithfulness of the Lord.  We took Sarah into the hospital last week for her second round of chemo.  When Sarah and I left the house Wednesday night, she was kind of emotional.  She gave Lisa a long hug, and seemed to be holding back tears.  As we drove to the hospital, I decided to just let her be quiet, and I wrenched my arm around the back of my seat so that I could hold her hand (ouch).

After about 10 minutes of silence I asked Sarah what she was thinking about.  She said: “I was thinking: even though you and Mom have been taking shifts, God has been with me all the time.”

Selah.

We arrived at the hospital on Wednesday night because they like to hydrate her before treatment.  We’ve been trying to be proactive where we can, in terms of helping the healing process with the wisdom that God gives.  One key we felt that God has given us is that we asked the hospital staff to administer the chemo treatments in the evenings so that Sarah can sleep-off the after affects (ie – lack of appetite, nausea etc.).  The medical team had no problem with that, so we began on Thursday night.  Sarah did well.  She was a bit nauseous with the onset of each chemo treatment, but it did not last.  (For those who need a more graphic understanding – she vomited once a day, right after each treatment).

I was with Sarah Wednesday night through to Friday afternoon, and then Lisa came to be with her.  I had a leadership weekend with the Staff, Board and Elders of Lakemount.  (Which was fantastic, by the way! – wow…)  Then Sunday morning at Lakemount was an exceptional morning of hosting the Presence of God.  Prayers were being answered.  People were being touched by the Power of God.  I felt like I had been infused with God’s strength.

When I returned to the hospital, I laid my hands on Lisa and Sarah to give away all the good stuff that God had deposited in me over the weekend.  Then I noticed some familiar faces in one of the hospital rooms.  Turns-out there’s a young couple that we know from our time on staff at Faith Tabernacle in Welland.  Their little guy has been diagnosed with a disease as well.  I asked them if I could pray for him, and then laid my hands on him too.

Hey why not?  God can do it, right?

Lisa and I changed shifts and she went home Sunday evening.  I stayed with Sarah until Monday.  On Monday morning, the doctors came in to see her and ask me some questions about how she is doing.

The Head Nurse said: “Here’s the little girl who’s making us look like we don’t know what we’re talking about…” Haha!  Don’t you just love that?  Basically, Sarah has been so robust – her weight, her spirit, her counts – all so good that their predictions of complications are coming to nothing.  Yeah God!

Then the Nurse said; “Listen, we normally like to keep the kids here for another day following treatment.  But if Sarah keeps doing this well, you can take her home tonight right after her chemo.”

Haha! again.  They gave Sarah her chemo, then hydrated her for 2 hours and sent us home.

Sarah has been home with us since Monday night and is doing amazing.  She has lots of energy.  She’s had lots of time with her brother and sister because we’ve had them home from school this week.

Praise:

• Sarah doing so well with the chemo
• Her energy and her spirit being so strong
• Health in our whole family
• More time at home with the family

 

Prayer:

• A miracle of all disease eliminated from Sarah’s body.
• That her hemoglobin, platelets and her white blood cells will increase, in Jesus’ Name.

 

Thanks Everybody.

More to come soon…

The Lion’s Roar

Hi everybody!

In case you’re wondering where I’ve been: I’ve decided to blog just once a week now.   There was a time when daily updates were hardly keeping up with what was going on.  At this point, we’re experiencing some continuity and stability – and we’re very thankful for it.

So, this past week has been quite full.  Last Sunday was a great day.   In both morning services at Lakemount, the exact same prophetic word came from two different people.  “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is roaring over this House!” You may be thinking: “Yeah, so what does that mean?” Basically, it means that through praise (Judah) the Lion (Jesus) is bringing His people victory.  Sounds good to me.  Sounds really good!  It was very encouraging and life giving for all of us.  I’m looking forward to what God has in store in the days to come.

After preaching both services on Sunday I started to get back into the swing of things at the office.  At the beginning of the week I was at the District Conference for our fellowship of churches and I was helping-out by leading worship.  It was good to be able to report the faithfulness of God to everyone there, and it was nice to be able to take the opportunity and thank everybody for standing with us in prayer through this season.

Sarah’s Progress

Sarah has been home since Wednesday October 14^th.  She’s been doing amazingly well.  She went in to the clinic on Tuesday and her numbers were a little higher than expected (this is good).  So, we sent her to school in the afternoons for the rest of the week.  On Friday morning when we went to the clinic, her numbers were high for a healthy person (this is VERY good)!  We are so amazed at the faithfulness of our God.

On Thursday Sarah’s hair started to fall-out, (one of the side-effects of chemo).  She’s being very cool about it.  She’s looking forward to picking out some funky hats and bandana’s.  I happened to mention to her a couple weeks ago that if her hair fell out she could shave my head.  I wasn’t really sure if she even heard me, let alone if she remembered the offer, but it turns out she was really looking forward to seeing what I’d look like bald.

Well, no more mystery there.  I’m officially bald now.

She and the other kids shaved my head last night.  It was actually a lot of fun, especially because we decided to do it in stages.  We took the top off first and left a rim of hair on the sides.  It was a tribute to my Dad who has been rocking that look for about 25 years.  I’ll see if I can post the pics…

In the meantime, I now look like a UFC fighter.  Even if you don’t think I do – I’m warning you – I know karate.

How we’re feeling

Emotionally, this week has been very unpredictable.  Getting back to a normal routine feels very good in some ways, very weird in other ways.  There’s this part of you that feels like you should be so serious all the time and carry this burden with you heavily and noticeably.  “What kind of parent watches TV, or laughs at a joke in times like this?  You should pray all the time, and then read a lot of theology books…” Then there’s this part of you that wants to drink-in the feelings of normal life and live as though none of this has happened at all.

The Spiritual Dimension

More than anything – and I feel this in the depths of me – I believe that things should change dramatically.  There is a heightened fervor that continually increasing in my spirit.  Not just for healing in Sarah, but a passion to walk in such intimacy with Jesus that I resemble Him as close as humanly possible.  When I consider the ease with which the miraculous flowed from His life and how people would flock to Him in order to be touched or to touch Him, it stirs me like never before.

The weird thing is that I’ve been stirred-up about the miraculous dimension of the Kingdom of God for a long, long time.  I guess now I’m provoked by the necessity rather than the luxury of it.  Jesus didn’t perform miracles everywhere He went so that He could get a bunch of people to follow Him for a few years and then leave us to tough-it-out on our own, pining for the good old days.  He told us that we should do the same stuff.  He even gave His first followers a few trial runs to see what it was like.  And then they came back and reported to Him about it.  And it worked!

I feel that God is using this situation with Sarah to stir a passion for the release of the power of Jesus in many people, not just me.  Our church family, (Lakemount) has been so apprehended by the spirit of prayer that I know we can never be the same.  This is the new normal.  This is what it looks like when God’s people pray.  We lock onto something with such focus and determination that nothing can push us off course.

I feel the weight of this passion when I pray now.  I feel the force of many voices crying out to God with me.  I feel the tremors of the commanded blessing of God rumbling towards us. God is raising-up His Church to pray with forceful faith.  We are about to see incredible answers to prayer as a common experience.  We, like those first followers, are beginning to report back our victories of faith and prayer.

It’s going to happen.

Praise:

• Thank God for answering prayer about Sarah’s levels.  She’s doing great in each one – white cells, hemoglobin and platelets.
• Thank God for a great week of near-normal family life.
• Thank God for calling His people into deeper expectancy for Him to answer when we pray.

Prayer:

• For Sarah as she begins another round of chemo this Tuesday.  Pray for strength and no side effects.  Pray that the chemo is lethal to disease, and harmless to her.  Pray for Sarah’s levels to continue moving in the right direction.
• For Abby and Joey as they adjust to a week of rotating people picking them up from school etc.  Pray that they are able to find emotional balance in what appears to be upheaval.
• For Lisa and I as we are in and out of the hospital this week.  Pray that we have the grace, wisdom and favor we need in every interaction and decision.

Thanks everybody.  We pray that you will see Him at work in this situation and be drawn closer to His everlasting love.

Be blessed,

Matt & Lisa

The past couple days…

Hey everybody!

Sorry I’ve been away from the blog for a couple days.  It’s been for a good reason though: life.

Life has been pretty close to normal the past couple of days.  Thank-You Jesus!  We were fully discharged on Wednesday and we have been home since.  On Thursday we took Abby and Joey out of school and had a family day.  Because Joey’s birthday is tomorrow, we decided to do a little birthday shopping in the States.

When we pulled up to the border guard he asked: “Has anyone in the vehicle had a bone scan recently?” I thought: “Man is this guy prophetic, or just randomly asking a pertinent question?” As it turns out – the radioactive material they used in some of Sarah’s examinations show-up on some scan that they do of your vehicle while you pull-up to the booth.  Crazy, right?  There’s a miniscule amount of radioactive dye in Sarah’s body from like 5 days earlier and they can see it through the car!  Suddenly, I had the thought that maybe these guys were looking at me under my clothes.  Awkward.  It’s hard to cross your legs; answer questions and act natural all at the same time.

At any rate, our family had a great day all together.

On Friday morning we took Sarah to the clinic at Mac.  They ran some blood work to check her levels.  The results came back, and she is running low on white blood cells and hemoglobin (not low enough to tranfuse her though – so that’s good).  Her platelets are still doing well – in the healthy range.  Sarah’s been feeling great, just a little light-headed.   We’re declaring life over every cell in her body.

Being at the clinic was interesting, because it’s full of parents with their kids who have various health issues.  There’s a certain level of built-in community that comes with the territory.  For example, tips on how to fill-out forms, which nurse does the best this-or-that etc.  However, we could sense that there’s also community that’s built around sickness itself.  We understand why, but we do not want to participate in that.  For us, the treatments are a vehicle of healing, not a slowing of sickness.

Not to be rude or anything – but we’re not into broadcasting the diagnosis the doctors are working on.  Nor are we building our lives around Sarah and her treatment.  We do not have a new “hub” of family activity and lifestyle.  Jesus remains the Centre of who we are and what we do.  We’re watching the Kingdom of God come into our situation.  God wins; sickness loses.

We are so thankful for the peace the God gives, and the tangible Presence of God over our lives and family.  He is constant and remains our source of life, no matter what we’re facing.

In Isaiah 43:2, God says: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (emphasis mine).  The Presence of the Lord is enough.  That He is with us right now is amazing!  We don’t particularly like where we are, but we couldn’t do this without Him.  And this is our confidence: “we can do everything through Him who gives us strength.” (Philippians 4:13).

In Deuteronomy 31:6 God told Joshua: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I could go on – but you get the point.  God is with us.  God is for us.  Who or what could ever stand against us?  How amazing is our God?

Praise:

• For the sustaining Presence of God with us.
• For continued Sarah’s symptom-free life
• For the Grace on our family to enjoy some great time together.
• For the continued outpouring of love and support and kindness we are receiving at this time.

Prayer:

• For Sarah’s white blood counts and hemoglobin and platelets to all be at healthy levels.
• For a total miracle – all disease and unhealthy growth to shrink, disappear and leave Sarah’s body, in Jesus’ Name.
• For continued healing and preservation of Sarah’s sweet innocence.
• For continued grace for the whole family.

In all of this – we are seeing answers to the many prayers of God’s people:

We’ve had some great family time; we’re finding better balance.

Joey had a great birthday party last night.  I took him and some friends out for laser-tag and pizza.  So fun!

Lisa had some good time with just the girls.

Lisa and I are having much needed alone time in the midst of it all.

We’re thankful!

Thanks for checking-in everybody.  We love you!

Matt & Lisa

A near-normal day…

We took Sarah to school today.  The kids were so glad to see her and she was thrilled to be there.  The school has been so supportive – the teachers, the principal, and other parents – everyone has been great.  Sarah is in grade 3 this year, and it’s the fourth time that she’s had the same teacher (JK, SK, Gr.1 and now Gr. 3).  She’s really been looking forward to this year of school, so it’s so good that she could be there today.  We’re believing for more days at school in the near future.

So while Sarah was at school, I went to the office for the first time in… I can’t remember.  I met with the staff.  They’re such a great team.  Lots of support and so much talent and anointing.  It was just good to connect with everyone again.  We prayed together and celebrated the faithfulness of God through all that’s been going on.  I tried to get on top of some stuff; but time flies in the real world. I’m still behind on emails.  Oh well – I’ll get there…

Sarah was at school for the morning, and then Lisa brought her home so that I could take her back to the hospital.  When she got home she was buzzing and singing and being her normal silly self.  She loved being there.  We’re thankful we could send her.

I got her back to the hospital to test her blood levels and give her a treatment.  She was still in great spirits.  When we got the report on her levels, things were low except for her platelets.  So – we’re still praying for a healthy increase in the levels in her body.

Regardless, they still allowed us to come back home – not just for a leave – but discharged!  They gave us all her meds and taught us how to administer them.  I’m proud to say that I gave her a needle in her mini-port on the first try.  Add that to my list of skills.

We arrived home.  Some friends from Lakemount were in the garage tweaking my motorbike – sweet.  There were some friends that visited from the church; a few more that we missed when we were discharged; one that we saw just before we left; an awesome meal; gifts for all the kids; a hand-made quilt with many of Sarah’s friends signatures on it – and that’s just today!  We’re feeling the love – the whole family is – it’s such a blessing and a reminder of how good it is to be a child of God.

We’ll be taking Sarah back to the clinic at Mac on Friday and we’re hoping for continued home-time through the whole weekend.  She’s doing so well.  No symptoms.  No pain.  No nausea.  God is answering our prayers, everybody.  Thanks for standing together with us in faith.

Thanks for being here,

Matt & Lisa

Still giving thanks

Monday

Thanksgiving on Monday was a blessing.  Sarah was given a leave of absence from the hospital for the day, so we were all at home together.  It was so great to have her at home with us.  However, we missed having Lisa’s dad with us yesterday, as he stayed home with a cough (just to be safe).  We know that was a huge sacrifice for him – but we all felt it.  The kids love their Poppa.

Sarah didn’t feel like eating turkey, so I took it upon myself to eat more than usual.  It just felt like the right thing to do.  I also helped with eating pie.  To God be all the glory – I am just His servant…

After all the eating, I took Sarah back to the hospital last night.  She was nervous about going back because she knew that they were going to insert a mini-port in the back of her arm for a new treatment she’s starting.  When we got to the room, I managed to get her playing and being silly – so much so that by the time the nurse got to our room – Sarah had the hiccups.

I love it when she has the hiccups.

When the nurse gave her the needle Sarah barely even shed a tear.  She’s grown so much stronger in a little less than three weeks.  Back when we first got to Mac, Sarah screamed like a little girl (oh, wait… umm… she screamed like crazy?) when she got a needle.  Now she’s so brave.  She likes it when we call her a “trooper.”

After the needle, Sarah wanted to watch Jon and Kate plus 8; which I believe is all a part of how God is teaching me to grow in grace and patience.  Just another trial for me to overcome I guess (haha).  We snuggled, ate some popcorn and went to bed.

(I also watched a Star Wars movie – not sure which one because I’ve never watched any of them before.  It was pretty good, and totally realistic… especially the part where the teddy bears destroyed the state-of-the-art army with logs and rocks).

Tuesday

This morning we got up, had some breakfast and then went downstairs for another scan.  Lisa met us there and we agreed together and prayed throughout the scan (about an hour) that God would shrink and destroy everything that is not meant to be in Sarah’s body.  We then came back upstairs and awaited our next appointment.

We met with our clinic nurse, who told us that Sarah is doing “really, really well.”  And that some of her levels are “fantastic” – (there’s that word again!).  The clinic nurse really encouraged us to make the most of Sarah’s healthy response to treatment.  She even talked about Sarah being able to get out and go to school.

What?!  Okay!

We got back to the ward and requested a leave of absence again.  Wednesday is picture day at school, and we know that Sarah would love to be there. We didn’t know it would be possible.  But it is.  And she will be.

We’re all at home right now! We’re going to take Sarah to school for the morning.  I’m going to meet with her class before Sarah comes in so that I can talk to them about what’s going on, answer their questions and help put them at ease about their buddy, Sarah.

Lisa and I are so excited for her.  She will love it.  As much as there’s a part of us that wants to put her in a plastic bubble, and spray everyone with Lysol, we know that there is an emotional dimension to the healing process that is crucial for her as well.  Being with her buddies will be so good for her right now.

Normalcy.  Who knew?

Praise:

• We’re thanking Jesus for some good levels in Sarah’s blood counts.
• We’re thankful that she is home with us tonight and tomorrow.
• We’re thankful that she can go to school for a bit tomorrow.
• We’re thankful for the healing she is living-in, in this very moment.
• We’re thankful for the power of prayer and that God is fighting for her.

Prayer:

• That Sarah will be totally shielded from any incidents while on leave and especially while at school
• That her hemoglobin and her white blood cells will increase, in Jesus’ Name.
• That she will be able to stay at home with us for more days this week.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

There are brand new mercies at the beginning of each day.  Thank-You Jesus for how You love us.  We receive Your mercies for our lives.  Tomorrow will be a great day, in Jesus’ Name.

Thanks for being here,

Matt

Thanksgiving Sunday

Last night, Lisa’s Mom stayed at the hospital with Sarah so that Lisa and I could come home with Abby and Joey and spend the evening together.  We got up this morning and went to be with the family of God.  How refreshing was that!  We love Lakemount – our spiritual family – our church home.  It was wonderful to walk through the doors and hear the people worshipping and singing praise to Jesus.  We could feel the love from everybody just for stepping inside the building. It felt like a big group-hug…

Lis and I shared with everyone the latest what’s been going on with Sarah.  Then we all prayed together, worshipped some more, 4 of the staff tag-team preached, and John led Communion.  It was a great morning!  Food for the soul and the spirit.

We had to leave early to get back to the hospital and relieve Lisa’s Mom.  Lisa went to Mac and I took Abby and Joey with me to my parents for a Thanksgiving lunch with all the cousins.  Our family time is a bit disjointed right now.  I know we’re going to need to work on how to make it more consistent and as normal as possible.

To be quite honest, Lis and I are finding that it’s a challenge for us to balance the intensity of all that’s required in dealing with Sarah with the need for some plain-old normalcy for Abby and Joey. I find myself trying to just relax and be the Dad my other kids need.  I’m so “in the zone” with caring for Sarah, that the intensity I’m living in spills onto them for things like table manners and getting along well.  And believe me – they’re great kids!

ps – can I just say that it feels really odd for me to be talking about my kids online, when up until now I’ve been ultra-militant about not discussing my kids on the internet.  Now I’m blogging about them like nobody’s business.  But, I digress…

So yeah, a lot of other stuff seems like it’s just not nearly as important.  For example, last week following Sarah’s surgery, I was so wired that I couldn’t sleep.  So I thought I’d watch the news for the first time in like 10 days.  Top story?  Obama looked bad because he couldn’t get the Olympics to Chicago.  2nd story?  Letterman was messing around with a staff member, and fessed-up.  3rd story?  An earthquake in Asia that killed a few hundred people and displaced thousands of others.

What’s the deal here – do they rank these stories alphabetically or something?

That being said, I realize that the whole world isn’t surviving an earthquake, fighting a disease or engaged in some other weighty matter.  It’s good to get out and see life going on outside of a hospital ward and a half-empty house.  It’s the normal, everyday stuff that we all blissfully take for granted.  And that’s probably a good thing for the most part.  It’s good to be just living life.

But seeing as it’s Thanksgiving weekend, let me say: be really thankful for uneventful monotony.  Even the mundane has a happy rhythm all it’s own.  It’s a beautiful thing.  Enjoy it.  Be thankful for it.  Capitalize on it and choose to do something exceptional with it.

Just a thought.

Praise:

• We continue to be thankful for Sarah’s lack of symptoms while on chemo.
• We’re thankful for the Family of God.
• I’m thankful for the team at Lakemount stepping-up and ministering so effectively while I’m caring for my family.
• We’re thankful for our flesh-and-blood family and how God is using them to make the load lighter too.

Prayer:

• We’re praying for the continued decrease of everything that is not a part of Sarah’s divinely healthy body, according to Isaiah 53.
• We’re believing for her white cell count, her red cell count, her hemoglobin and platelets to all normalize to healthy levels.
• We’re continually declaring that the chemo is lethal to disease, but not harmful to Sarah in any way.
• We’re praying for rapid healing and a total miracle at any time, in Jesus’ Name.
• We’re asking God for help to provide balance for our whole family.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  Give thanks to Jesus – He’s good all the time.

Matt

Hunger and intimidation: The Showdown

Today was another great day.  Sarah is doing remarkable; literally.  We’re getting remarks…

Lisa stayed here last night and met with the doctor this morning.  I got here in the early afternoon and passed the doctor in the hall.  The doctor said to me with a big smile: “Sarah is doing fantastic!  I have nothing else to add or say.  She is doing great.”

When I got to the room, Lisa told me that the doctor had met with her earlier and she told Lisa: “Sarah is doing great.  I don’t know really what to tell you.  Do you have any questions?”  Nope.  No questions.  Sounds like the Hand of God…  Sounds like the report of the Lord being placed in the doctors mouth – (like we’ve been praying for).  It sounds good.  I like it when they use words like fantastic!

Sarah’s mood is great.  She is at peace and is as active as she can be in her room.  It was such a beautiful day that when I got here, I asked the nurse if we could take Sarah outside.  She said yes, so we got a wheelchair and hooked-up Sarah’s IV, got her a facemask and out we went for a walk.

We roamed around the empty campus grounds of McMaster University in the cool Fall air.  It was so refreshing for all of us, as it seems like forever since any of us have been outside for any length of time.  But especially for Sarah it was wonderful to be outdoors.  At least Lisa and I have been able to have some change of scenery as we’ve moved in-and-out and to-and-from the hospital and back.

As we were walking, we noticed a couple of deer in the front yard of a house across the street.  They stayed there the entire time we were walking.  I thought of Psalm 42, where the Psalmist correlates the thirst of a deer to an appetite for the Presence of the Lord.  It says:

For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.

1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.

5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God.

My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

8 By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”

10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

This Psalm feels fairly accurate for where we are:  we find ourselves thirsty for the one and only living God, in the midst of the taunts of the enemy.

The Showdown

Then as we continued walking, I noticed a fox at the end of the street we were headed down.  So, I quickly turned the wheelchair around and we walked the other way.  I noticed the fox was stealthily moving along the roadway behind us, tucking in and out, slinking along behind bushes and rocks.  I just kept my eye on him, watching what this little fox was doing making sure he wasn’t rabid and fearless of humans.  (I’ve probably watched a little too much Discovery channel…).

Anyways, we noticed the fox was moving towards the deer.  I noticed that they sensed him more than they saw him.  They looked up, and flicked their tails when he got nearby.  Then, when the fox came out into the open, the deer just stared the fox down for about 5-10 seconds, and ignored him and resumed eating.

The little fox cowered, and quickly trotted off into the woods.

Instantly, the Lord brought another Scripture to my spirit.  It was the words of Tobiah and Sanballat as they sought to oppose Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall.   They mocked the people for what they were building, and they said; “What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” Neh. 4:3b.

Faith rose in my spirit, as I knew that God was once again using His limitless vocabulary to speak to us.  I felt the Lord encouraging us to keep building the wall.  To keep pursuing His promises.  To keep believing for the breakthrough of His Kingdom here and now.  That little fox ran and cowered when the deer just ignored it and kept eating.

We are hungry and thirsty for the living God.  We are pursuing Him with all that we are.  No little fox will throw us off.  No little tormentor will intimidate.  Our God will fight for us!

Our God is fighting for us.  He is fighting for Sarah.  He is building His Church.  God wins!

“Lord – we are Your people.  See what the enemy is trying to do.  Consider his threats.  Search and know our hearts.  We are steadfast in our love and pursuit of You.  We trust in You, O God.  We trust in Your Word.  We know that You are faithful and You are strong.  Reveal Your Glory in our lives.  Breakthrough and scatter the enemy, in Jesus’ Name!”

Thanks for being here everybody.

Be encouraged.  Our God is fighting for us!

Matt & Lisa