Monday, April 27, 2009

Tammy's update

This will be a busy week for Tammy medically. We did more blood work today; have an MRI tomorrow and a lumbar puncture (nifty name for spinal tap) on Friday.

The blood work might help confirm our Lymes suspicion or indicate a few other possible illnesses.

The MRI is suppose to rule out any hip degeneration. We're thinking that will turn up negative and if so, it keeps pointing its finger at Lymes Disease. The more things that are ruled out, the more our Dr suspects Lymes.

The spinal tap is suppose to be able to give us more info regarding Lymes and possibly MS even though the procedure is not conclusive. Our new Dr. said there is a high percentage that we will not get the definitive Lymes diagnosis that we desire and will have to decide if we want to take on the risks of the Lymes treatment without that definitive diagnosis.

The Lymes treatment we are looking at involves anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months of IV antibiotics based on how her symptoms respond.

Pray with us that:
1) God heals Tammy and that God gets all the glory!
2) That we get a definitive diagnosis!
3) That God continues to give us boldness as this continues to develop our faith!
4) That God gives our Dr wisdom and discernment!

We appreciate your prayers! They are vital!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Exponential New Church Conference '09

Home now after the Exponential Conference '09. Great experience! Got to spend time with 2 other couples and learn lots from people like Erwin McManus, Francis Chan, Tim Keller, etc...

My head is full to overflowing with information that will take me a month or more to unpack!

It was so incredibly cool to be around thousands of other people from around the world who are passionate about advancing the kingdom of God through church planting!

We are part of this epic mission that God has to save the world! God desires that every person be given the opportunity to have eternal life! We have lots of work to do! There are many people around us who need Jesus.

Erwin McManus said something like this (my paraphrase) "Jesus did the most heroic act of dying for humanity so we could do the most heroic act of living before humanity!"

Time to live!

Monday, April 20, 2009

epic update

Tammy and I and 2 other couples are headed to the Exponential Church Planter's Conference in Orlando starting tomorrow. Pray about the following for us!

1) That we'll learn lots during our time there!
2) That we'll make great connections while there!
3) That God will continue to help us find the right worship leader to join our team!
4) That God will help us raise the necessary funds to get epic off the ground and on a steady foundation!



Tammy's medical update

Had an appointment with a new Dr today in Daytona - Dr. Warner an infectious disease Dr. He's trying to help us rule out Lyme's disease as the cause of Tammy's symptoms.

We prayed for a great interaction with the Dr and then for direction. We got both! Dr. Warner was very helpful and listened well to our story! He even read through the 3" binder of medical info we brought with us logging our 2 year journey. Very few Drs have ever read through our collection of reports.

The plan is for us to get a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) of which we're not looking forward to - especially Tammy. He also wants us to do more blood work and then to get an MRI of Tammy's hips to rule out some hip degeneration disorder. The results of all that will help us determine if IV antibiotics will be our next treatment approach.

Doing nothing can lead to more complications and Tammy's condition getting worse. Doing the lumbar puncture and IV antibiotics have their own set of unpleasant complications.

Either way God is still our Great Physician and is in complete control! We know our healing only comes from Him! He will heal Tammy when He's ready and how He chooses! Until then, we continue to follow the path He places before us!

Thanks for your prayers! We need them more than you'll know!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Dramatic twist ~ Easter

God's epic story took a dramatic turn over 2,000 years ago.

Jesus, the true Hero of the story, courageously charged the darkness to rescue those held captive by the enemy. Jesus knew the price for winning the battle against evil ~ He would have to die! But not only die ~ He would have to watch His Father turn His back and leave Him to die alone with the sin of the world on His shoulders. On top of that He would have to defeat the powers of death by returning to life.

Against the odds, on that first Easter morning, Jesus won the battle! He not only shouldered the sin of the world alone, He rose from the grave ultimately defeating death and the power of sin!

By placing our faith in Him, we are restored to our rightful place among God's family! What a concept! You and I have the opportunity to be joint-heirs with Jesus Christ! Part of God's royal family ~ with rights and privileges that only come to God's children!

Hard to believe and yet true all the same!

Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Can You Drink The Cup?

I've been reading a challenging book lately, "Can You Drink The Cup?" by Henri Nouwen.

Wow, what a challenging book about the depths of life!

Chapter 1 says: "Just living life is not enough. We must know what we are living. A life that is not reflected upon isn't worth living. ... Reflection is essential for growth, development, and change."

How are you doing at reflecting over your life?

Dig deeper into your life and discover the life God designed you to live!