God is a crutch!

Be a man! Man UP! Real men do...fill in the blank. Men don't cry. Our society has all kinds of rules that make a man. Some men (and women) reject God because they say that people use Him as a crutch and that it shows weakness. And they don't want to show that they are weak. Like most lies from Satan, there is some truth to this. God is there to be a crutch, and sometimes even a wheelchair, to get us through life. The lie is that you will be less of a person because you acknowledge that you need help, something we all know is hard for men right?. But if we were all transparent and honest we would admit that there are times that we do need help. Whether we are lost, can't put something together just right, can't fix the plumbing or your son is sick in the hospital and just as you think there is light at the end of the tunnel it turns out to be another train.

So answer these questions. Is a man really less of a man because he stops to ask directions? Does a man lose points in the game of life because he actually read the instructions? Is there some secret society of older men who sit around and deem someone less of a man because he doesn't know who the Cy Young award winner was from 1976, or even because he doesn't know what sport that it's for? If these are the guidelines for being a man, then there are a lot of women who are a whole lot manlier then me.

There is one thing that I find interesting in all of this. One principle that I find in the world's view of being a man is that a real man does things that are hard. Real men are strong and can lift heavy weights. Real men ride bulls and get up after being bucked off and trampled on. Real men arm wrestle. Real men get tattoos. Real men wrap up their wound and keep going. Real men play football. Over and over again we see that our society views real men as being able to do things that are hard, that are tough. Men want to do things that no one else can do. Lift more weight. Stay on the bull longer. Climb the business ladder farther. Have more scars. Shot the biggest buck. Catch the biggest fish. Have the most tattoos. Most men are chasing after one of these things. It's what drives them. It's what pushes them. It's what motivates them to sacrifice something to reach their goal. And that's the thing that gets me. Men are willing to sacrifice things in their life to attain something else. Sometimes it's their physical body, sometimes it's their family, sometimes it's their friends/coworkers. Rarely though will they sacrifice their own reputation as a "man." They will not sacrifice that in order to attain the only thing that will not turn into sand when they reach it. The one thing that most men will not do that no one else is doing, is to stand on their knees and ask for help. That is by far the hardest thing to do. It takes more strength to bow down than to pull a semi truck 100 ft. And the other thing is that other men can pull the semi truck 100 ft, big deal.

My point in all of this is that God is a crutch. Life deals us some pretty crippling circumstances and God is the only reliable crutch out there that won't ever buckle under us. If it seems that we have fallen on our face because the crutch is gone, it's not because He left us, it's because we let go of Him and tried to do it on our own. It's easy to worship God when things are easy and going good. And I will be the first to admit that it's hard, catch that men, it's hard to worship Him when things are going bad. But here is the Truth. God never changed. He is no different in the good times then He is in the bad times. The only thing that changes is our circumstances and God never promised us a pain free life. Even Jesus, who was God in flesh, perfect and sinless, experienced pain.

So if you are going through a difficult time in your life, no matter what it is, please don't give up on God. Use Him as your crutch and a wheelchair. Lean on Him for your strength. He is the only one who can truly make us strong when we are weak. Men, be a man and stand on your knees.

Home at last!!!

Home at last Home at last, thank God Almighty they are home at last. Isaac and mom came home last night after 8 days in the hospital. Isaac is doing great. He won't stop eating and he weighs almost 21 pounds. Thank you for your prayers. We have been blessed again by them and grateful for Isaac's recovery.

We give God the glory and thank Him for all of you who have prayed for us this last week and this last year and a half. With all that this last week had given us (Isaac and our car) God has taken care of our needs in ways that we didn't expect. Our car needed a new fuel pump which was a lot of money. We knew we could pay for it but other things would have to wait. James' mom picked it up from the shop and they told her that the cost was taken care of. Praise the Lord. We thank God for the person/people that He used to help us out.

If you remember one thing about our lives, please remember this. No matter what happens in life, good or bad, God is still God. He never changes. He never leaves us or forsakes us. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil. For God is with us.

No news is good news...right?

YES!!! Sorry it's been a couple of days since the last blog. The last two nights I, James, have been processing the four deer I shot in Kansas. That's a whole story in it's own. So, after work I've been dealing with deer meat until I go to bed. It's Friday night and I finally have time to blog because I am at the hospital now giving my lovely wife the weekend off of hospital duty. Speaking of which, I would like to take a moment to say that I have the most awesome wife. She has spent a lot of hours and days in the hospital with Isaac and this time with Ava as well and does an excellent job. She is an awesome cook. She is beautiful. She loves the Lord. She loves our children. She loves me and puts up with me. She even let me go hunting while she had the kids. Thank you Lord for blessing me with such a great wife.

Ok, back to Isaac. He's doing great. He started on formula today, although they are limiting the amount he can have to avoid dumping. He is back up to 19 lbs as of this morning. He took quite a walk around the loop on the floor and enjoyed it. Tonight he was walking all over the room and hitting the balloons our church got him. He had a smile on his face most of the night. He will stay in the hospital until the first of next week so that they can make sure his nutrition is on track. So that's the latest. Thank you for all of your prayers. They are greatly felt and affective.

Problem Solved

Sorry it's so late in updating the blog. I worked today and was going to update it when I got to the hospital this evening, but the computer was not working right. So, I just got home and will update it now.

Here's the latest. They did the gastrografin enema first thing this morning. However, it would not go in very far. Doc then decided not to torture Isaac anymore and wanted to sedate him and insert a central line and get a better look at what was going on. He found that the blockage was at the end of the intestine and quite a bit of stool was backed up so he cleared it out and was then able to correct the problem. When Isaac had his pull through surgery in July to attach the good intestine to his rectum the surgeon attached the intestine to the side of the rectum. In the last 6 months since surgery Isaac's rectum grew longer, causing it to push against the intestine and somewhat pinch it off. The surgeon was able to correct it with out surgery and now we wait and watch as Isaac recovers and his intestines rest for a few days. He is not allowed to eat or drink anything my mouth for a couple of days. He does receive nutrients via TPN in his central line.

Tonight while I was there I held him for about an hour. Before I had to leave he woke up more and was pointing and grunting at the TV, excited because a football game was on (that's my boy). He also got to play with his Diego velcro ball and board. He was throwing the balls at the board, which he enjoys doing.

Thanks for all your prayers. God is a great God and we have no doubt that no matter what happens in our lives He is Sovereign and always worthy of praise. "For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose." God bless you all for your faithfulness to Him.

When it rains it pours

Isaac is in the hospital again. He has been sick for the last three weeks on a off. He would have two good days and then the third day he would vomit and not eat much at all, then two good days and the third day bad again. We took him to his doctor this morning who had him admitted to run tests. Tomorrow (Tuesday) they will do a Gastrografin enema in order to determine what's going on. Right now they are calling it an Ileus. The enema will show if it is in fact an ileus which anyone can get from having a gastric virus and will correct itself. Or if there is some obstruction or if the section of intestine that is affected just doesn't work. Worst case, Isaac has surgery to remove that section of intestine. We won't know until tomorrow.

So on our way to Tulsa for his doctor appointment our van breaks down. The gas gauge has been acting up going up and down from E to F. When we left the house it said F but as we got further down the road it moved to E and then the van just quit altogether. So we but two gallons of gas in it and it still would not start.

Through all of this, God is still God. He is still almighty. He never changes, He never leaves us, He is always with us. Be praying for us that 1) the doctors will find the problem quickly, 2) the problem is minor and easily fixed, 3) for our family as we are separated with all our responsibilities, girls in school, dad working, mom with two little ones at the hospital, 4) pray especially for mom as this wears on her physically, not getting good rest, and emotionally, watching her son go through this again and not knowing yet what exactly is going on.

AVA JOELLE!!!!!!

Ava Joelle was born October 7th @ 11:17 am. She weighed 7 lbs 13 ozs and was 20.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great they will come home this afternoon. And Praise the Lord she is pooping. After Isaac I think we were more anxious about that then anything. Here are a few pics.

We made it home...finally. Yesterday, the surgeon talked to the nutritionist and she recommended switching formulas to one that's for kids over 1 yr. So, Isaac had to consume and tolerate 5 oz. of this new stuff before we could go home. We finally left the hospital around 4pm. It's so nice to be home again! Thank you to everyone who is and has prayed for Isaac.