Thankful on Tuesday

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Thankful on Tuesday

Thankful:

  • Isaac is healing well.  He is feeling much better
  • Doug was able to take Ike to church on Sunday, for the hour of children's church.  He did really well for about 45 minutes.
  • Isaac's cough is almost completely stopped and his cold seems to be gone.
  • My cough/cold is gradually getting better.
  • I had a refill of an antibiotic here, from March when I had the same sinus/bronchial infection, so I didn't need to go to the doctor.
  • My costochondritis is clearing up – almost no pain over the weekend, just a little yesterday and today, and I think I just need an adjustment at the chiro.
  • My a/c is working well.  The near 100* temps have really warmed us up down here in central Florida!
  • The post-traumatic stress that I always feel after a hospital visit/surgery for Ike, seems to be waning.  It really does a number on me, emotionally and physically, when he goes through these things.  I do feel a little better today.
  • I was able to "attend" church over the weekend, via streaming video.  It is NOT the same as being there, but when being there is not an option, it is a HUGE blessing to be able to watch the services of my church.
  • The music was beautiful on Sunday and really ministered to my spirit.
  • I have wonderful friends who pray for me when I am not doing well.  They don't get tired of the seemingly endless things that "go wrong" for me and for Isaac; and they continue to pray for us.  It is a real blessing to us!

I am hoping that YOU can find many reasons to be "Thankful on Tuesday", too!  I'd love to hear about them!

Blessings,

Alesha

One Year in Heaven

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Just My Thoughts, Thoughtful Thursday

A year ago today, my friend Gail went to Heaven to meet Jesus.

It has not been an easy year.

I still miss her so much, and it seems hard still to believe that she is not just a phone call or an email away.

But today, I am just wondering…

What would you do to celebrate your first anniversary in Heaven?!!

Please don't be offended with my crazy theology here!  I realize that Heaven does not use our clock or calendar or almanac…God's time is so beyond our comprehension!  If a thousand years is as one day to Him, then one year's time must seem like a few seconds at the most.  I do understand and believe that!

But for today, I just need to believe that Gail and Jesus might be sitting on the bank of the crystal river, fishing poles in hand, a picnic basket nearby and a choir of angels with banjos and fiddles performing in a heavenly bandstand behind them, while Gail keeps times by splashing her toes in the water.

Just for today…that's what I need to think about; because when I think about her not being here it still hurts too much.

One year in Heaven…I know she must be having the time of her life; because really, when we arrive there, we will begin truly living for the first time in our lives!

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when trav’ling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

"When We All Get To Heaven" by Eliza E. Hewitt, 1898

Surgery for Isaac and Prayer Around the World

by ObtainingMercy, posted in How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, Thankful on Tuesday, What's Happening

Whew!  What a whirlwind 20 hours it has been!  Not even a full day – it's hard to believe.

Last night, Isaac would not go to sleep and we could tell that he was in pain.  Eventually we saw some swelling in his groin area.

We got him into the children's hospital as quickly as we could (around 1 a.m. this morning) and after sonagrams and x-rays, it was determined that Isaac had this condition.

They took him into surgery immediately.  Unfortunately, the condition had damaged the left side and it could not be saved.  Fortunately, the surgery was short and he had no complications.

We were sent home within 5 hours of his surgery.  He has been resting easy, with no complaining about pain or discomfort, since we arrived home.

I was so grateful for the many prayer warriors who stormed the throne of the Father on Isaac's behalf. 

  • It was amazing to have friends in the mid-west pick up the prayers as soon as we put it up on Facebook. 
  • They were soon joined by my west coast friends. 
  • It wasn't long after that before I heard from my friend in Japan who joined the prayer chain. 
  • Then my early rising east coast friends completed the circle, as they read and prayed for Isaac,
  • Followed quickly by another set of folks from the mid-west!

Isn't that just the most incredible thing?  We were amazed and awed to know that Isaac was being lifted in prayer all around the world.

We are – truly – so thankful for each of you who prayed for us!

Thank you!

Alesha

 

Who Needs Caffeine When You Have Adrenaline?

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

By way of review:

Isaac has this inserted into his abdomen. 

button

That little hole in the top goes down through the ballooned part, directly into his stomach, which is attached to the wall of his abdomen. 

Think of it as the earring hole in your ear.  The button fits through the hole.  (We call this hole a stoma.)  After the button is through, we use a syringe filled with distilled water to inflate the balloon.

We attach this tube into the top of the button.

Right angle feeding tube

We insert this syringe into the wide end of the tube (without the plunger),

Syringe

and pour his formula into his tummy. 

This morning, we found this laying at the foot of Isaac's bed!

button

He had pulled it out completely inflated!!!

Lest you think it was no big deal for us, let me tell you, this has NEVER happened before.  It has come out before, during feeding, but not inflated.  Usually, it is because the stomach acids have eroded the material and the water filling the balloon has leaked out, leaving nothing holding it in.  Since we were right there, we could replace it quickly.

If the stoma closes, and you can't get the button in, it mean emergency abdominal surgery.  We have no other way to get medication or nourishment to him.  If we try to give these things by mouth, he can choke or aspirate, leading to pneumonia.

So, you see, it was a true medical emergency.

God has created our bodies to be incredible healing machines.  Isaac's body knows that it isn't supposed to have a button in his stomach.  We have been told the stoma will immediately begin to close up when the button is removed.

We had NO idea how long it had been out. We had no idea how much the stoma had already closed.

We grabbed all of our supplies. (We keep the replacement kit right beside his bed.)  I cleaned off the area and could still see the top of the opening.

I said to Doug, "Pray!"  And he did!  Out loud! That was totally for my own personal benefit, let me tell you!

Praise be to God, that button slid right in…just a little resistence at the end…Isaac jumped, but didn't holler or cry.  I inflated the balloon and we were finished – just like that!

Whew!

And Thank You, Lord!!!

It all took about 2 minutes.

Afterwards, I thought "Who needs caffeine to wake up?  That jolt of adrenaline did just fine!!!"

 

Foto Friday

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Foto Friday

(alternate title)

"The Day I Found a Rainbow in My Mailbox"

Isaac has many friends. 

Mrs. Cheryl at Copperswife is one of them. 

She sent this fabulous rainbow of washcloths for him. 

Rainbow

Stripe

Aren't they lovely?

Wave

This one is my favorite…it might go "missing" from Isaac's stack and end up in mine!

Star

I just love this "star" one – it just screams "little boy washcloth" to me.

Thank you, Cheryl, for loving my boy.

🙂

~~~~~~~~~~

…And one more pic for Foto Friday.

This is the June picture on the calendar that hangs in our bathroom.

It makes me smile every time I see it.

June2

Of course, if you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you have EVERY reason in the world to be happy!

I Peter 1:8 – "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory"

Wishing you a Happy Weekend!

Alesha

Grace in Pain

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Uncategorized

I do not like pain.

In fact, this moring, I found myself looking up words to describe my pain.  (You can read about my condition in this post.)


  • per·ni·cious [per-nish-uhs]

–adjective 1. causing harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful.

  • in·sid·i·ous [in-sid-ee-uhs]

–adjective

1.intended to entrap or beguile: an insidious plan.
2.stealthily treacherous or deceitful
3.operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect.
  • per·fid·i·ous [per-fid-ee-uhs]
–adjective deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful

When you start looking up words like that, you realize it's time for some serious reflection!

I don't know about you, but when I am in pain – be it physical or emotional – it is rarely helpful for me to focus on that pain.

It is helpful, though, for me to busy my mind and my body, if at all possible, on other things, projects, studies, and people.

It is also so helpful to be reminded of how the Apostle Paul dealt with his pain.  Remember that his years as a missionary were not spent in ease.  He describes his life's experiences with the following words:

  • labors
  • stripes
  • prison
  • death
  • beaten
  • stoned
  • ship wrecked
  • journeyings
  • perils
  • weariness
  • painfulness
  • watchings
  • hunger
  • thirst
  • fastings
  • cold
  • nakedness

That's an incredible list, isn't it? 

And do you remember Paul's summation of his life of pain and suffering?  It's rather incredible, too!

 

II Corinthians 12:9-10 – And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Now I realize that my life in no way compares to that of the Apostle Paul.  My circle of influence is infinitely smaller than his, and I am no apostle, or preacher or missionary.

However, my role is still important.  I do touch many lives in my little circle. 

More importantly, though, is that the God of the Apostle Paul is my God too!

If God can use Paul's suffering to bring Himself glory, if Paul's weaknesses can highlight God's strengths, if God's grace was enough for Paul, then I know I can claim those promises for myself as well.

Today I will focus on God's strength, rather than my weakness.

I will look for His glory in the midst of my infirmities.

I will concentrate on His grace, rather than my pain.

Maybe you are hurting today, too.  I encourage you to try to deal with it Paul's way!  And let me know how it goes, ok? 🙂

Blessings,

Alesha

Thoughtful Thursday

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope, Thoughtful Thursday

I do not like pain.

In fact, this moring, I found myself looking up words to describe my pain.  (You can read about my condition in this post.)


  • per·ni·cious [per-nish-uhs]

–adjective 1. causing harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful.

  • in·sid·i·ous [in-sid-ee-uhs]

–adjective

1.intended to entrap or beguile: an insidious plan.
2.stealthily treacherous or deceitful
3.operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect.
  • per·fid·i·ous [per-fid-ee-uhs]
–adjective deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful

When you start looking up words like that, you realize it's time for some serious reflection!

I don't know about you, but when I am in pain – be it physical or emotional – it is rarely helpful for me to focus on that pain.

It is helpful, though, for me to busy my mind and my body, if at all possible, on other things, projects, studies, and people.

It is also so helpful to be reminded of how the Apostle Paul dealt with his pain.  Remember that his years as a missionary were not spent in ease.  He describes his life's experiences with the following words:

  • labors
  • stripes
  • prison
  • death
  • beaten
  • stoned
  • ship wrecked
  • journeyings
  • perils
  • weariness
  • painfulness
  • watchings
  • hunger
  • thirst
  • fastings
  • cold
  • nakedness

That's an incredible list, isn't it? 

And do you remember Paul's summation of his life of pain and suffering?  It's rather incredible, too!

 

II Corinthians 12:9-10 – And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Now I realize that my life in no way compares to that of the Apostle Paul.  My circle of influence is infinitely smaller than his, and I am no apostle, or preacher or missionary.

However, my role is still important.  I do touch many lives in my little circle. 

More importantly, though, is that the God of the Apostle Paul is my God too!

If God can use Paul's suffering to bring Himself glory, if Paul's weaknesses can highlight God's strengths, if God's grace was enough for Paul, then I know I can claim those promises for myself as well.

Today I will focus on God's strength, rather than my weakness.

I will look for His glory in the midst of my infirmities.

I will concentrate on His grace, rather than my pain.

Maybe you are hurting today, too.  I encourage you to try to deal with it Paul's way!  And let me know how it goes, ok? 🙂

Blessings,

Alesha