Author: ObtainingMercy

Unfortunately, Surgeries are Looming…

by ObtainingMercy, posted in How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, Prayer Request, What's Happening

Yeah, I know.  I'm not really excited about it either.  We've been to 4 doctor's offices in the past 2 weeks, and we've seen 5 doctors.  

Within the last 3 weeks Isaac has started having an entirely new kind of seizure.  He has also run an intermittent low-grade fever.

We've also known for about 7 months that Isaac's hip is dislocating about 50% out of the socket in certain positions.

So two of his doctors have recommended surgery:  the neurologist and the orthopedist.  The neurologist has recommended an implant that might reduce Isaac's seizures.  The orthopedist wants to do hip surgery.

As we told the neurologist about the orthopedist's recommendations, she told us that if he is having a lot of pain in his hip, that could be causing the new seizures and the low-grade fever!  Right, so my son is in pain, and I didn't even have a clue.  I'm feeling really terrible about that right now!

So, we'll be seeing the orthopedist again soon, to have more x-rays taken, and to hear his recommendations.  This surgery is quite invasive, and would mean 6-8 weeks in a full body cast or brace.  I told Doug that we would definitely need nursing help following that surgery!

We will not likely do anything about the new seizures until after we have resolved the hip issue.  If it is pain that is causing the new seizures, then following corrective surgery, they should stop.  Normally.  Ideally.  In the usual cases.  (Yeah…I'm not holding my breath on that one!)

Needless to say, we are not feeling very happy about these situations.  We hate to see new seizures, no matter what is causing them.  We feel horrible to think that Isaac is hurting all the time.  We loathe the thought of another surgery, especially because he did so poorly during the last surgery.  We abhor the idea of more equipment and gadgets being implanted in his little body. 

I was going to include links to the two surgeries so that you could look at them, but I just got overwhelmed while reading the sites and had to stop.  When it's time to go forward with them, I'll give you a better idea of exactly what will be happening.

I know that my God is in control.  I know that God has His hand on Isaac's life and ministry.  I know that God has allowed us to walk some very difficult paths so that others would see Him in Isaac.  I believe that Isaac causes people to think about God, and reconsider what they believe about Him.  I have witnessed folks response to the peace that Isaac has, and to the peace that God has poured out on us.

Sometimes I don't like where God leads us, but I know it is for my good and for His glory.  So "I will follow, follow, all the way" just like the old hymn says.  It will be very interesting to see God work through this next stage of Isaac's life.

We certainly would appreciate your prayers for wisdom as we make the decisions for which procedures to do, especially the one on his hip.  There are innovative doctors doing wonderful things for our kiddos, but they are not covered by Isaac's insurance, nor are they in the state of Florida.  We need wisdom to choose what is best, while considering all the factors involved.

Thank you, in advance, for carrying us to God's throne in prayer.

Alesha

Hope in Letting the Word Speak for Itself

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Uncategorized

Romans 12: 18-21

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceable with all men.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath:  for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink:  for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

I don't have anything to add to these verses.  They are pretty self-explanatory, I think.  They make for good preaching and hard living.  But if we walk in the light of these verses, we will have peace in our souls, no matter how we may be treated.

I would love to hear comments on how you have lived out these verses in your life. : )

Something New…Yet Very Old

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, How Great is Our God
What a wonderful blessing…I have a new Bible…

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…one of my favorite things in the whole wide world!

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This is only the fourth new Bible I've owned as an teen/adult.  I
earned my first reference Bible at the age of 16, I think.  I spent the
summer painting my dad's workshed in our backyard, and my "pay" was a
brand new green Schofield reference KJV Bible. 
I was thrilled to finally have a "grown up" Bible. 

I bought a smaller
black Schofield Bible while in college.  (I worked in the bookstore, so
I got a discount!)  Then several years ago, I bought a generic burgundy
Bible (still KJV) with no references in it.  That's the one I've used until now.

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I love the smell of a new Bible, the feel of it, the cleanness of it.

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I know it will not stay clean for long…my goal has always been to
have a dirty Bible!  By "dirty" I mean that I want it filled with notes
and references and marked up places.  I love to see watermarks from
tears and smudges of fingerprints all over it.  I like creases in the
cover and a frayed ribbon marker.  I want my Bibles to be a testimony
of all that God is doing in my life.

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I think I'm really going to enjoy this one.  It is a lovely burgundy
color.  (I do like my bible in different colors!)  It is a Cambridge
Bible (KJV).  It has no references and no concordance in the back.  I
would've preferred a concordance, but it wasn't available in this style
and size.  I don't like my Bibles to be too big for my hands, you
know?  I want it to be easy for me to handle.

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I cannot live without a Bible.  It is just too important to me.  It is not that I am super spiritual…it is because I am super needy!  I cannot get through a day without some kind of input from this Book that God has magnified about His Name (Psalm 138:2).  If it is that precious to God, then just consider how precious it should be to us.

I am so thankful and thrilled to have a new Bible…but I am even more grateful for the Words in that Bible.  They are not new.  They are ancient and yet they speak right to my soul today; and I am thrilled to know that when I need something for my day tomorrow, this Book will hold the answers that I need.

Hope in His Help

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

Romans 11:33-36

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things:  to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

There will be things in our lives that we do not understand.  In fact, we may go to our grave having never fully grasped what God was doing in a certain situation in our life.

We must, however, remember that God's wisdom and knowledge are so deep that we cannot know them.  We could search our entire lives and never understand His ways.

He is that much greater than we are. 

So why is it that we try to tell God how He should do a thing? 

I find myself constantly informing God of situations that need His intervention.  Or I go to Him in prayer, only to begin praying out my plan for how He could solve a problem.

What in the world am I thinking? 

Ah…maybe that's the problem:  I am only "in the world".  I am human.  I am not divine.  I do not have the tiniest inkling of the understanding and wisdom that God has.

Let's have the faith to stop micromanaging God.  Just let Him take care for things.  Take our hands off the situation, and with a heart full of hope in His promises, give it to our awesome God.

He has promised that He will work it to our good.  Allow this trial to work out a greater faith and trust in your heart as well. 

God, help us to leave it in Your hands.  Amen.

How to Hope

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

Romans 8:24-25

For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

How do we hope?

The above verses tell us that we "wait patiently for it."

I'll admit that is easier said than done!

But it does give us a goal, doesn't it? Sometimes it helps to simply know how to pray for hope.

Then there are times when we have no idea how to pray. That's ok. God has an answer for that too.

Romans 8:26-27

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

We must remember that God knows the future as well as He does the past. He knows what is in store for us in every situation.

When we have no hope, and we are not able to wait patiently, we can go before His throne and just simply "be" there.

There is no need for us to try to put into words the deepest longings of our hearts. He knows. His Spirit helps us.

He makes intercession for us. (intercede – to mediate between parties with a view to reconcile those who differ or contend.)

He brings our hearts and desires into agreement with the will of God; and He promises that no matter what happens in that circumstance that we are facing, it will work out for our best.

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We can hope in His promises, and wait patiently for His blessing, knowing that every situation in our lives will bring about His blessing and benefits to us.

God is trustworth, and we can safely place our hope in Him.

New Stuff at Our House

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Food and Drink, Household, What's Happening

We had a busy end-of-the-week last week, and as the result of being out and about, we have a few new tools for our house, our business and our boy.

The first new item:  deodorant.  No, it's not for me.  It's for Isaac.  {sigh…} : )

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This is a handy cleaner that we found for Isaac.  It is gentle on his skin, and can also be used on his hair.  I find this a real help on those days when I have to change him from head to toe, over and over.  (well, most days, really.)

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This is a handy little tool for the kitchen.  It's a salad spinner.  Not the pricey oxo one I had my eye on, but a cheapy one from Old Time Pottery.  We'll see how it stands up.  I was able to chop up romaine and spinach, throw it in there, wash it, spin it and store it in my lettuce keeper.  Very nice!

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Doug bought me this sketch book for my jewelry business.  Sometimes, it helps to see things on paper…and sometimes it would be nice if I could take a picture of the image in my head and transfer it to paper through some magical process. 

I am NO artist, and sometimes I can't even manage to draw what I'm thinking on the paper.  However, once in a while, I have some ideas that need to be jotted down before I forget them.  So I keep this pad by my bed for just that purpose.

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And THIS…ah, this little gem of a book has my creative juices really flowing!  It has wonderful projects in it, and gives step by step instructions for some techniques that I had not yet learned.  I am so excited to try some new things, and also to improve on some of the techniques that I use all the time.

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So, those are the new things in our house this week.  Oh, and I'll be trying to find the recipe for this new dish, so that it will be in our house, too:

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It's Spaghetti Primavera, and it was absolutely delicious!  Oh, and Doug's entree wasn't bad, either:

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Veggie pizza with eggplant and peppers.  He really enjoyed it!

Yes, in case you were wondering, we were able to go out to lunch on Saturday, thanks to Grammy!  We went to Carrabba's and had a wonderful time.

I'm wondering…is there anything new at your house today?  I'd love to hear about it!  Leave me a comment below. : )

Blessings,

Alesha

Hope in the Freedom to be Holy

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

Before we became Christians, we were in bondage to sin. I know it felt like "freedom" at times, but in truth, we were enslaved by our lusts and the desires of the flesh. We had no freedom.

Now that we have believed Christ, and have become new creatures in Him, those things that we were enslaved by should be dead to us. Instead, we should be alive to Christ and the desires that He has for our lives.

Romans 6~
[19]
I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh:
for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to
iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to
righteousness unto holiness.
[20] For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
[21] What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
[22] But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

  • The fruit of our lives before Christ was death.
  • The fruit of our lives after salvation are holiness and everlasting life.

We like that "everlasting life" part, but too often fail to practice the "holiness" aspect.

If you are continuing to practice the same sins that held you in bondage before your salvation, something is seriously wrong.

You
need to spend time in the Bible with the Lord to make sure of your
salvation; or you need to spend time in the Word to fortify yourself to
abstain from those sins. (Either way, time spent in God's Word is
profitable for us all.)

We will all face occasional temptations to return to the sins that used to hold us captive,
but with the living Word of God as our sword and the shield of our
faith, we can quench the fiery darts of the enemy and live a life of
freedom and holiness before God.