Check out this video. This child is 9 years old and was asked by the Manchester United Football Team to move to Britain to train and join their team. He is originally from Australia. A parent sent in the video to the Manc. United and based on the video alone they asked him to join. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG47FDenyXw
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Update on Jeff
Jeff was taken completely off of blood pressure medication yesterday and is still on low ventilator settings. He is making good, but slow progress. It will be awhile before they are able to tell if his kidneys will be able to function on their own again. But, for right now the dialysis is definitely working and he is following commands and in fairly good spirits. God is good.
Melissa
Melissa
Inviting God To Change You
Sometimes as Christians and just as humans, we have the tendency to think that we don't need to change and that we have it all together in our lives and our Christian walk. My devotion this morning was on being teachable, the way God wants us to be.
None of us have it all together. None of us are sinless. We should all be in the process of asking God to change us to be more like him. Let us all go before the Lord today and ask him where we need to change. Whether it be pride, feelings of self-doubt, addiction, etc., the Lord will give you the strength to change by just going before his Throne in humility and asking Him to help change you to be more like Christ.
TEACHABLE
by Gail Rodgers
The little boy was like a sponge, eager to learn with no pretense yet of having it all together. He was completely teachable. I once heard that the true characteristic of humility is to have a teachable spirit. It makes sense.
It's interesting that, as adults, it's easy to be teachable in the presence of some. Yet at other times we feel being teachable will create a vulnerability that we just don't want to face. So, we put on the pretense of having it all together. Having a teachable spirit means having a spirit that is open to change. We know God's desire is to transform us ... by renewing our thoughts... so we can live in line with His will for us. (Romans 12:2) We want to live in victory in our Christian lives yet at the same time we resist changing our thinking. We deeply desire to walk in the strength and the power of the Holy Spirit but at times, we wonder why our lives feel powerless as Christians. All the while we hang on to the familiar ruts that run through our thoughts and we resist changing.
"Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew 18: 3, 4). "Like this child." Trusting. Teachable. And yes, changeable. God desires to bring us to wholeness and we all want that. Why then do we hang on so tightly to the familiar, common thinking patterns that run in our minds and are contrary to God's word? This is where defeat can enter. Check your thoughts. Ask God to reveal where your thinking needs transforming. Let His Spirit change you and lead you out of defeat.
Do you choose to hold your anxiety in your own hands when God asks you to cast it on to Him and leave it at the foot of the cross? Pour them out to Him in prayer.
Do you nurse thoughts that feed your feelings of inadequacy when God asks you to allow Him to be your strength where you are weak? Ask for His strength.
Do you hold tightly to your pretense that you are better than "them" when God asks you to show love? Invite Him to love through you.
Are you entertaining doubt in God and dulling your faith? Read the stories of the Old Testament and see the power of God in the lives of ordinary people.
Do you neglect fellowship with other believers because you don't like the way they do things? Make an effort to get to church with expectation in your heart to meet God there.
This is the pathway out of defeat. This is the invitation to let the Spirit change you.
None of us have it all together. None of us are sinless. We should all be in the process of asking God to change us to be more like him. Let us all go before the Lord today and ask him where we need to change. Whether it be pride, feelings of self-doubt, addiction, etc., the Lord will give you the strength to change by just going before his Throne in humility and asking Him to help change you to be more like Christ.
TEACHABLE
by Gail Rodgers
The little boy was like a sponge, eager to learn with no pretense yet of having it all together. He was completely teachable. I once heard that the true characteristic of humility is to have a teachable spirit. It makes sense.
It's interesting that, as adults, it's easy to be teachable in the presence of some. Yet at other times we feel being teachable will create a vulnerability that we just don't want to face. So, we put on the pretense of having it all together. Having a teachable spirit means having a spirit that is open to change. We know God's desire is to transform us ... by renewing our thoughts... so we can live in line with His will for us. (Romans 12:2) We want to live in victory in our Christian lives yet at the same time we resist changing our thinking. We deeply desire to walk in the strength and the power of the Holy Spirit but at times, we wonder why our lives feel powerless as Christians. All the while we hang on to the familiar ruts that run through our thoughts and we resist changing.
"Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew 18: 3, 4). "Like this child." Trusting. Teachable. And yes, changeable. God desires to bring us to wholeness and we all want that. Why then do we hang on so tightly to the familiar, common thinking patterns that run in our minds and are contrary to God's word? This is where defeat can enter. Check your thoughts. Ask God to reveal where your thinking needs transforming. Let His Spirit change you and lead you out of defeat.
Do you choose to hold your anxiety in your own hands when God asks you to cast it on to Him and leave it at the foot of the cross? Pour them out to Him in prayer.
Do you nurse thoughts that feed your feelings of inadequacy when God asks you to allow Him to be your strength where you are weak? Ask for His strength.
Do you hold tightly to your pretense that you are better than "them" when God asks you to show love? Invite Him to love through you.
Are you entertaining doubt in God and dulling your faith? Read the stories of the Old Testament and see the power of God in the lives of ordinary people.
Do you neglect fellowship with other believers because you don't like the way they do things? Make an effort to get to church with expectation in your heart to meet God there.
This is the pathway out of defeat. This is the invitation to let the Spirit change you.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Still stable
My brother is still in stable condition and the dialysis appears to be working. He is almost completely weaned off of the blood pressure medication and he is currently on the lowest ventilator settings possible. Miracles do happen. Keep him in your prayers.
I had a wonderful visit with my sister, Dad, and nieces this weekend. After everything that happened last week, it was good to be able to relax and spend some time with them.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Melissa
I had a wonderful visit with my sister, Dad, and nieces this weekend. After everything that happened last week, it was good to be able to relax and spend some time with them.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Melissa
Friday, August 17, 2007
Good News
I am very hesitant to post this, but I just talked to Jeff's nurse and his dialysis seems to be working according to his recent lab values! He also is down from 100% ventilator to 35% ventilator settings. His blood pressure is still a big issue, but things are looking better. I know that this could just be another "up" before a "down" but I wanted to let those of you know who are praying that he isn't as critical as he was yesterday.
Friday - 5:26 a.m.
As of this morning, they THINK based on his first laboratory values, that they might see a trend towards fluid being pulled off. One lab is good, the other is not great, but they will know more in 6 hours. His vitals are fine. The only problem now is that he has become very dependent on the Dopamin. They are wanting to wean him off of it today, but everytime the nurse tried to last night, his blood pressure dropped extremely fast and dropped very low. Just a quick post before I work.
Melissa
Melissa
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The Longest Day Ever
Here is what happened today:
When we got to the hospital he was in kidney failure (4:30 a.m.). He is on Dopamin to keep his blood pressure up and another medication to keep his heart rate up. He had told the night shift nurse, myself and my father (who is not bearing up at all during this) that he did not want to go on the ventilator and he did not want dialysis. They put him on Dopamin to keep his blood pressure up until we could all get there. The nurses changed shifts at 7 am and we had to wait for the doctor's to make their rounds and also to talk to the new attending doctor on duty. He brought us in and explained that our option was to stop treatment based on what my brother had said or to go ahead with dialysis anyways despite my brothers' wishes. We said we wanted our brothers' wishes to be upheld and then we made a BUNCH of very HARD decisions regarding a DNR - codes, CPR, shocking, antibiotics, Dopamin turned off, etc. The doctor went in to explain to my brother that he would be kept on the ventilator, but no other treatment would be given (IVs, feeding tube feedings, etc.) based on his wishes and my brother at this point changed his mind and asked them to start dialysis if there was any chance it would save him. A complete change of events. So when we left, they were inserting a Swan-Ganz catheter, an ATR (?) and starting a type of dialysis that might start his kidneys working again (50-50% chance). I went ahead and brought the kids back home. The emotional drama and the lack of no sleep is just too much right now.
IF the treatment works, they will know by tomorrow, but honestly I will be AMAZED if it does. He is swollen up SO large, that he is barely recognizable. At that point if his kidneys are not receptive, we will most likely have to go through all of this again. He is on 100% oxygen (full ventilator settings) and his lungs are failing as well. PLEASE be in prayer for my brother's salvation and also for my father. It was horrendous to go through this and I don't think he can go through it again emotionally.
Philippians 4 verses 6-7:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
When we got to the hospital he was in kidney failure (4:30 a.m.). He is on Dopamin to keep his blood pressure up and another medication to keep his heart rate up. He had told the night shift nurse, myself and my father (who is not bearing up at all during this) that he did not want to go on the ventilator and he did not want dialysis. They put him on Dopamin to keep his blood pressure up until we could all get there. The nurses changed shifts at 7 am and we had to wait for the doctor's to make their rounds and also to talk to the new attending doctor on duty. He brought us in and explained that our option was to stop treatment based on what my brother had said or to go ahead with dialysis anyways despite my brothers' wishes. We said we wanted our brothers' wishes to be upheld and then we made a BUNCH of very HARD decisions regarding a DNR - codes, CPR, shocking, antibiotics, Dopamin turned off, etc. The doctor went in to explain to my brother that he would be kept on the ventilator, but no other treatment would be given (IVs, feeding tube feedings, etc.) based on his wishes and my brother at this point changed his mind and asked them to start dialysis if there was any chance it would save him. A complete change of events. So when we left, they were inserting a Swan-Ganz catheter, an ATR (?) and starting a type of dialysis that might start his kidneys working again (50-50% chance). I went ahead and brought the kids back home. The emotional drama and the lack of no sleep is just too much right now.
IF the treatment works, they will know by tomorrow, but honestly I will be AMAZED if it does. He is swollen up SO large, that he is barely recognizable. At that point if his kidneys are not receptive, we will most likely have to go through all of this again. He is on 100% oxygen (full ventilator settings) and his lungs are failing as well. PLEASE be in prayer for my brother's salvation and also for my father. It was horrendous to go through this and I don't think he can go through it again emotionally.
Philippians 4 verses 6-7:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Jeff
Just received a call from my brother's nurse saying that they were transferring him up to Trauma Intensive Care Unit because his blood pressure was down to 71 today. He is grossly swollen and his kidneys are not working. They are wanting to put him on dialysis tomorrow. It is not looking good at all. He is in the process tonight of telling nurses what he wants and they are writing it down. I will have to go down tomorrow and read what he has written, try to talk to him and then sign papers indicating what he wants done. Please be in prayer for our family. This is a very hard place to be in. Love,
Melissa
Melissa
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