Ups and Downs

Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD 's Favor

"(1) The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

(2) to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

(3) and provide for those who grieve in Zion-

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD

for the display of his splendor."

Dad was showing improvement until 5:00am this morning. There is no virus...Nothing growing in the cultures and no sign of what is causing him the shock and pain. Basically a normal person's white blood count is around 5,000 on a bad day and his count is knocking on 100. The chemo is literally killing him. I felt discouraged this morning and then once again, the Lord asked me gently what my hope was in? My faith can so quickly diminish to something so much smaller than a mustard seed. Brennen Teel, one of Todd's best friends, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was six years old and his words of experience breathed some hope into me. He told his mom about my dad's white blood count and she said that there were many times when he had no white blood cells. The Lord doesn't need things to make sense for them to work. He gives and he takes away on His own agenda, not a doctors or mine. He is in critical condition. The doctor made it sound like he wasn't going to make it through the day. He is still here with us. Dr. White just talked to us and kind of gave us his take on the situation. His tummy is extremely swollen and they are uncertain as to what it is exactly. They are giving him meds to jump start his bone marrow and hopefully it will produce TONS OF WHITE BLOOD CELLS. He is also receiving some platelets, however Katherine told us these won't do a whole whole lot. We will take what we can get, and I was just thinking...If the Lord can turn a couple of fish and loaves of bread into an overflowing abundance for thousands then I am thinking He most certainly is able to multiply some white blood cells for my daddy. Dr. White is concerned that he could have some dead intestine in his stomach which would pretty much mean that dad is done. However, it could be something else or swelling due to the lack of blood circulation. I just went back there and his vitals all looked a lot better though. His temperature is at 99F now and his heart rate is down to 98-101- these are both significant improvements. His blood pressure has gone down some as well as the dosage of blood pressure medicines. While this is good, there is no way to indicate how long he will stay that way. He is in a great deal of pain and there are soars all over his body, they are pouring and leaking. Could Jesus please touch him and take them away like he used to do with people who suffered from leprosy? Emotionally draining. We are all in the waiting room, Physically, and emotionally- But not spiritually. I am not waiting because the Lord has already won it all, he is our victorious king who sees all, even the end of this broken world, full of broken people, broken homes, broken relationships, and broken lands. He is our Only TRUE Healer. Katie McNeill is here with me now, she is stable and wonderful and those are two things that are beneficial to the waiting room... she is watching me type this and will probably laugh. Stable is good though, ya know? I am once again looking at the cross and see more glory and hope than ever before.

***Pray On Family***
1) That my dad's white blood cell count would increase at an exponential rate in a miraculous way.
2) That there would be NO DEAD INTESTINE IN HIS STOMACH.
3) He is too weak to be taken for a CAT scan so instead they are going to run some playing film (whatever that is) and pray that it will show enough for them to make some good decisions regarding his stomach
4) That his heart would pump in sink and that the blood would start moving... moving blood that will circulate. If this doesn't happen then he will start losing his extremities.
5) That the Lord would find favor in our request, that he would receive glory and that he will sustain us.

Call your mom and dad and tell them why your life is better because of how they have been apart of it. Why would we ever with hold love, or how we feel about someone or how someone has blessed you. Speak kind words that edify the church and bring life to the one receiving them. There isn't time for anything else. I love you all truly, madly, deeply, and the Lord hears your every uttered prayer and petition and I FEEL THEM. Blessings family.