Jan. 23- The league director, Connie

Jan. 24-A positive spirit in the gym on Saturday

Jan. 25- Coaches as they share devotions with players and cheerleaders

Jan. 26- Recreation area staff

Jan. 27- Operation of scoreboards, sound equipment & other details

Jan. 28- (Second Game Day) Halftime message

Jan. 29- Relationship between family members and Christians to develop

Recently Sam has been in and out of the hospital because of his medical needs. And when I say “in and out,” I mean for like a week or so at a time. It was basically coming down to complications with his feeding tube and his stomach’s ability to process nutrition. It has caused a lot of pain and a lot of concern. Sam has some great doctors, but the complications and issues are crazy. Everyone has been doing all they can for him, but nothing was really working like they wanted it to.

Then there was yesterday… Here’s what his mom posted on their CaringBridge Journal this morning:

Sam has now been getting g-feeds (through his stomach) for a little over 24 hours.  Along with formula and meds through his feeding tube, he’s also been eating small meals throughout the day by mouth.  This is where it gets good.. 

When we last tried that, as recently as Sunday, he was retching hard after no more than 4-5 bites and complaining of tummy pain because his formula was backing up into his stomach.  After a rough morning yesterday, where we ended up having to stop his feeds for a little while and then resume with diluted formula instead of full strength (30cal/oz), we managed to get through the day at a much higher rate than we’d thought possible.  He did need several short breaks from feeds throughout the day but ended up going to bed pain free that night!!  No levsin (pain), no phenergan (nausea), nothing.  From everything we’ve seen, this shouldn’t have been possible..  There’s no explanation for the success of this other than God answering our prayer.  We could not have made this happen on our own. 

Even if he doesn’t continue to tolerate g-feeds long term, at the very least it’s buying us enough time to come up with a plan for how to proceed.  We’re home, not stuck in the hospital.  Sam’s no longer on the brink of dehydration like he was on Tuesday.  He’s still not taking in enough calories to maintain his current weight, let alone gain, but it’s a much better start than we were expecting.  Praise God! 

Sam’s advice for the day is that sometimes you just have to try as hard as you can and never give up.  That’s exactly what we’re doing.  Thanks for all of your support, and especially for all of the prayers that have been going up on Sam’s behalf.  This is definitely not something we could have accomplished on our own.  

“Never give up…” I can tell you that Sam really does believe that. He also really does believe that God is the One who helps us never give up. The times I visited Sam in the hospital or sent him messages on facebook, he has amazed me by his simple trust that God really can and will help him. And in the middle of all of his complications, he has joy. Circumstances are not always what he wants. He will still have to try again tomorrow. But he is teaching me that when God is with me, I really can keep going. God really does give me what I need to “never give up.”

²³ Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

²⁴ Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.

²⁵ Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
²⁶ Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
²⁷ Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.

Life can be absolutely crazy. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. We all pretty much know that unexpected things happen in life, but when people make unexpected choices, it can cause mass confusion. There have been a few situations the last couple of weeks in which I was surprised by people’s choices. They are the kind of life-altering, family shattering, choices that you never expect… The kind of choices that reveal that life was not as “all together” as it appeared. It’s caused me to think and reflect a lot.

How do we make our choices? How is it that someone who seems to have life all together and things going well, can make such a drastic decision that turns it all upside down? Why are they making that choice? Why does it surprise me when someone makes a choice that seems to be very selfish?

I don’t think anyone ever goes about making decisions with the thought, “I am going to try and hurt my family/kids/friends with this life choice.” No, I don’t think that ever really crosses our minds. But that is exactly what happens at times. So how do we get to that point?

I’ve decided that getting to that point is related to what we do with the lesson from that passage above. I think it all hinges on verse 23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” When someone is making a life-altering choice, it is revealing their heart… what is really important, what they really love, how they really think.

It has caused me to think, how am I guarding my heart? What am I doing to make sure the things that influence my heart (what I believe is important, what/who I love, how I think) are honorable and consistent with my commitment to follow Jesus? The things I allow myself to think and dwell upon have a large part to do with what I am allowing to influence my heart. And from my heart will come the course of my life.

Jan. 16- Preparation of the hearts of those who will hear the gospel

Jan. 17- A smooth and organized first game day

Jan. 18- Good relationships to be built between host families and their teams

Jan. 19- Safe travel to and from practices and games

Jan. 20- A smooth running practice week

Jan. 21- (First Game Day) Those sharing opening words and announcements during game day.

Jan. 22- The prayer commissioner, MaryJane

I actually thought I would share with you one of my favorite church hymns. The words were written in 1901 by Maltbie D. Babcock and put to a traditional English melody. The title is This Is My Father’s World. The lyrics and melody fit so well together in my mind. I love listening to and singing this song!

One of my favorite things to do is to be outside and for me this song expresses why I love to be outside. Being out doors reminds me that this is my Father’s world. This song helps me remember that when I am not outside!

This is my Father’s world
And to my listening ears
All nature sings and round me rings
The music of the spheres

This is my Father’s world
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks, of trees, of skies and seas
His hand the wonders wrought

This is my Father’s world
Oh, and let me never forget
That though the wrong seems often so strong
God is the ruler yet

This is my Father’s world

Oh, the battle is not done
It’s Jesus who died will be satisfied
And the earth, heaven will be one
It’s Jesus who died will be satisfied
And the earth and heaven
Oh, earth and heaven
Oh, earth and heaven will be one

Jan. 9- Maintenance and upkeep of recreation area

Jan. 10- Safety for all players and cheerleaders

Jan. 11- Coaches who need spiritual growth

Jan. 12- The pastors: Tim, Aaron, Eddie & Connie

Jan. 13- A spirit of sportsmanship among parents

Jan. 14- Team and squad parents

Jan. 15- Game day assistants

Jan. 2- Uniforms to arrive on time and distribution to go smoothly

Jan. 3- God to work in our community

Jan. 4- Referees to be secured by commissioner, Robert

Jan. 5- Game day coordinator, LaRena

Jan. 6- Practice devotions

Jan. 7- First week of practice to be a good experience

Dec. 26- God would sustain the prayer team

Dec. 27- Coaches and parents to begin good relationships

Dec. 28- Team and squad parents to volunteer

Dec. 29- Non-Christian players and cheerleaders

Dec. 30- Coaches to be patient

Dec. 31- Children to listen and want to learn

Jan. 1- Parents to be encouraging

Dec. 19- A restful holiday for Upward volunteers

Dec. 20- Families in difficult economic times

Dec. 21- Practice times to work out

Dec. 22- Family gatherings

Dec. 23- Halftime devotions leaders and details to come together

Dec. 24- Joyful spirit

Dec. 25- Celebrate Jesus’ birth!