God Is Great

Hello everyone. I know its been a while, but considering the circumstances, I think I am excused from blogging for a while. Hehe. Just a little update of how things are going in our lives.

My last post said that my dad was fourth on the regional list for a liver transplant. Well, that has come and gone, thank God. He was on the list for only 5 (or maybe less) weeks before he got the call. Six hours and many, many answered prayers later, I was told that my dad made it through with minimal complications. He had to go back into surgery two weeks after his transplant to fix some leaks on one of his major veins coming from his liver. But, he's doing fine and just as "dad" as usual. If I ever get the chance to meet the family of the young woman who decided to be an organ donor, I would like to tell them what a blessing she was to my family.

I found out that I have an overactive thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism as they say. The condition is where your thyroid makes hormones and those hormones increase the number of mitochondria in your cells, thereby raising your basal metabolic rate. This explains my excessive weight loss, fatigue and other symptoms. But...theres more. The doctors think my brain is missing a marker thats supposed to tell my thyroid to stop producing thyroxine. They think I may have whats called Graves' Disease. An autoimmune disease. Look it up.

Other than that, we are going great. Keep praying for us, as we all could use it. If you have any prayer requests, leave them in the comment box and we'll lift them up for you. Hope you all are going well. Here are some pics that you might like.

Remember: John 16:33 NKJV

 

4th on The List

Hello everyone. I just got a phone call from my dad to let us know that he got a phone call from the cancer center at C.U. Hospital. Bad news: it's cancer. Good news: out of 25 people on the transplant list, my dad is 4th. Praise God! So, this means that if the #1 guy (actually, the #1 guy is #25, my dad is #22) gets a new liver or something worse happens to him, the next person on the list gets one, then the next, and so on. It could be a matter of months for my dad. Let's just pray that it happens quickly.

Today is my dad's 50th birthday today. So he got some good news. We all did. Please keep praying for him and my family. I can see God moving in our prayers, so why doubt His power and stop praying?

Hope all is well in your where you're at! God bless.

Good News Among a Series of Bad

Hello everyone. I just thought I would put my thoughts and feelings down before I put up another mini sermon. I've been seeing a lot lately that there are many downfalls and hardships affecting us and those close to us. I do not know why this is happening all at once - although, I can only assume it's Satan trying his hardest to pull us away from the will of God - but I do know that it will only come more and more. Like labor pains of a mother getting ready to give birth to her child, so are the trials of this world: slow and unpredictable at first then faster and faster (albeit none less painful but more) until the fruition of the coming of Jesus.

I've said before that my dad has been diagnosed with cancer. He had to go through a biopsy the other day to give him the medical diagnosis of cancer before he can be put on the transplant list. He had complications after the surgery and, well, it was not good. My grandma went through cataract surgery the other day. My grandpa may have had a stroke. My other grandma had a heart attack and a mini stroke. The list goes on and on.

The good news is my dad made it through and was released from the hospital yesterday. My grandma recovered from her surgery. My grandpa did not have a stroke but the doctors suspected it was a symptom of his Alzheimer's disease. My other grandma pulled through and is regaining strength on her right side and is staying up all day now in spite of her 96 years. As far as the other things, God has really pulled us through and showed His awesome power.

Here is my conclusion: DO NOT DOUBT THE POWER OF PRAYER! By prayer my family was able to make it through their infirmities and troubles with minimal issues. By God answering our prayers, He has taught me an important lesson: that through our prayers we are building on our relationship with Him and as a result, the hardships that come our way are not all that bad anymore. Because He is guiding us through the fire!

Just to lighten the mood and show off little sister!

Revelation to The News No One Wants to Hear.

I found out the other day that my dad is sick. I don't have the liberty to tell what kind of illness he has, but it isn't the kind of illness that anyone wants to have. Now that I think about it, nobody wants to be sick, unless they are trying to get out of work!

When I found out that my dad is sick, I thought to myself, "well, he's got God on his side. He has nothing to worry about." As true as that is, I find myself as the one worrying. I was okay with him being sick. Now, I have this deep rooted feeling of despair, as if I may never see my dad again. I know that this feeling is not of God, but of the enemy. So what do I do? Who do I ask why?

I've racked my mind trying to figure out why and how but I cannot come up with an answer. Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (NIV). I must give up my burdens to achieve rest from my worrying. 

But that one question still remains: Why? No matter how hard I try, I will never wrap my mind around the infinite wisdom and understanding that is possessed by God. My pastor always says, "sometimes you have to serve God with a big question mark." Even though we ask "why God?" we must always know that He has our best interests in mind.

As I sit here trying to come up with verses that may offer up some explanation how my dad and I (and my family) can cope with this revelation, only one verse comes to me. I know that this is God speaking directly to me and my family. 2Corinthians 12:7-10 - "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me... Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am made strong."

I should rejoice in Christ Jesus knowing that He is greater than illness and any other affliction. In fact, I shouldn't be surprised that something like this is happening. 1 Peter 4:12-13 says, "Beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." I should count this as a blessing! My family and I are suffering for Christ's sake. [We] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us] (Philippians 4:13).

This is a testimony to all who are suffering with illness. May God bless you and give you the strength you need!

There still is Hope!

As I put in the title of this post, I feel compelled to claim that there is still hope. I see that many people are feeling lost and not sure where to turn. I see that there are too many things going on all at once that a person may feel that they are loosing control. I see that some think there is no hope at all. I can assure you there is hope.

I feel that there is a calling on my life to preach the Gospel. The word "gospel" is derived from the Old English word "god-spell," which is translated from the Greek "euangelion" (eu- "good," -angelion "message"). Literally, gospel means "good news." Still feeling that there is no hope?

In a world where bad is almost the norm, we feel as though we have nothing to hang on to. I know, I've been there. We turn on the news and what do we see? Media is almost dominated by shootings and robberies and the like while a story where someone is reaching out the the needy is looked over. The Bible says that the end days will be like "the days before the flood" Matthew 24:36-38. So who do we turn to? What is the "good news then?"

Jesus Christ. Simple as that. He is all the hope this world needs and He is all the hope that you need. One of my favorite verses is John 16:33. Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." What a powerful scripture! 

Life is going to happen. And it will happen a lot. I can't say that things will be fantastic all the time. What I can say is that even though we will have our share of hardships, we must endure. We all are running a race (1 Cor. 9:24-27). Even as we run, we will hit bumps in the road and arrive at obstacles. But what sets us apart from others is how we look at these problems and how we (and if we) turn to Christ. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:7-10 that life hit him hard too. He prayed and asked God to remove this thorn in his flesh, but get this: God says "...My strength is made perfect in weakness."  God is the only one that can make you strong when you are weak.

So what can you get from this? God has a plan for you. You will run into hardships, yes, but He doesn't put anything in your path that you cannot overcome! Turn to Jesus because He is the Hope of this world. There is a hope and a path away from discouragement and hopelessness. Rejoice, praise Him, and know that whatever life throws in your path is never too big. If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us, right? 

I really believe that life is the allotted time that God gives us to determine how we are going to spend eternity. How will you spend it?

And Finally the Snow!

Trinidad finally got a measurable snowfall.While the Northeast was getting pounded, we stayed nice and cold. But all of it ended up in a great sunny afternoon. Holly and kids came over and we got to playing out in the backyard. I haven't played in the snow like that since I was a kid! We pulled Kambrie around the yard in the sled; she finally got her first taste of snow. She enjoyed it so much she was laughing and squealing the entire time.

So far it's going great. Work is slow and I am enjoying the time I get to spend with my family. I will post more later on. Have a great one!