Weekend Update!

I had a wonderful weekend! Saturday night we went to Brick Town which is what downtown OKC is called! We went with the missionary couple from Brazil and had such a great time.
Sunday was a great day too. I got to go to church!!!! The lesson on Sunday morning was so encouraging. It was about the Resurrection of Christ and what that means for us. We looked at proof that scholars that have found that the Resurrection really happened. Most of the scholars didn't even believe in Christ before they studied the evidence. For us, the Resurrection means that we will be resurrected after death and go to heaven. Once we have accepted Christ, we have assurance of heaven. Yes, there are so many trials in this life, but we can go through them with JOY because we know that they won't last. We know that in heaven there will be no death or sickness or sin. It's amazing to look at people who are suffering and see the joy and hope they have because they know that it's only temporary. We need to focus on what is ahead of us.
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18
1 Corinthians 15 is so encouraging to read!
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Death doesn't have the final word. Sickness doesn't have the final word. Sin doesn't have the final word. Jesus already overcame those things when He went to the cross for us. We now can live with HOPE and JOY!!
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" Philippians 3:14
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Sunday afternoon at 4 I had a prayer team meeting. We meet every Sunday for an hour before evening worship to pray. I can't even describe what happened this Sunday during our prayer time. God was so present and everyone had such peace. It was incredible. We all kept hearing the word purpose during the quiet times and people sharing. Usually we are done at 5 for church but this week we went until 5:30 and didn't even know! It went by so fast!! I'm so thankful for these people and their hearts of wanting to grow closer to God. Every week our prayer group grows and I can't wait to see how God uses us.
Yesterday I woke up with a migraine and was really not happy about it because I was going to take my senior pictures yesterday! Thankfully with migraine medicine and pain medicine I got it to a bearable point. Hopefully you can't see it in my eyes!
The pictures were SO much fun to take! We went downtown to some old buildings and then to a beautiful field with flowers. The weather was perfect and we were at the field at sunset which will look great!! We took pictures for about 3 hours so I was pretty worn out.
This morning I woke up and my migraine has gotten worse. I've been nauseous and so sensitive to noise and light. It's a little better after another migraine pill and pain medicine and a bath.
For the pictures, I had to sit then get up and stand then sit again and it was hard work! I even climbed up on this ledge under a bride and today I am so sore!! How sad is that?! Maybe it's from the migraine too but I thought that was funny. Obviously I'm so out of shape since I've done no physical activity for 3 years. At least it was worth the pain! I'm so excited to see the pictures.
I read this story today and I thought I would share because it's a great example of our purpose in life. We are not here for us. We are here to help others.
The Heart



"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..."


"You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.


The surgeon looked up, annoyed "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, to see how much damage has been done..."


"But when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there," said the boy.


The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up, and I'll plan what to do next."


"But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."


The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well."


"You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there." The surgeon left. The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, "...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis:, "There he paused, "death within one year."
He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said. "Why?" he asked aloud. "Why did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"


The Lord answered and said, "The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be. Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow." The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"


The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for He has Done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb. YOU" The surgeon wept.. The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from him. The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"


"Yes," said the surgeon.


"What did you find?" asked the boy.


"I found Jesus there," said the surgeon.


Author Unknown 

So many great things happening!

Yesterday I got to go to church!! It was the first time in 6 WEEKS. I cannot tell you how much I had missed it. It was WONDERFUL to be there and to worship with my church family. They have been so supportive of us the past 2 years that I've been really sick by bringing food, coming to the hospital to see me, sending cards, and most of all just praying and giving encouragement and love. Every time I go to church I'm overwhelmed by the love. Yes our church is huge (over 2000 people I think), but to me it feels like home. I've gone there my whole life and it seems like I know everyone. Of course I don't know everyone. Church is like my second home.

At the leadership team lock-in we created "teams". Just like last year, I am on the prayer team. I love being a part of this group. During this summer, God has been working on our youth group in amazing ways. We described it as an explosion of love! There is an attitude change within us. People have started actually opening up about their lives and struggles. It seems like we understand how God can use us and we are willing to be used. God has opened our eyes and hearts. It's incredible how you can feel that things are really changing. There are prayer times that are happening at schools during lunch. There are worship times that just happen in the moment.

This year we are starting something called Mission 127. Mission 127 was started after this verse from James 1:27.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

We had a lesson that challenged us to rethink this verse. Yes, it means to help actual orphans and widows. But, it also means spiritual orphans. People who have never known their Heavenly Father. They have never had a relationship with Him. It also means spiritual widows. People who have know Christ, but who have been separated from Him from sin or other reasons. They did know Him, but for whatever reason have fallen away from Him.

I had really never thought about it that way. So Mission 127 is our opportunity to help those orphans and widows. They have picked 12 different places around Oklahoma City. We are going to pick 1 primary place that we are willing to let God use us. Every Saturday (I think) we will go to our place and form a relationship with the people there.

"It's not about religion, it's about a relationship"

Just as knowing God is about a relationship, trying to tell people about Jesus isn't just about giving rules or guidelines. It's about showing love to people first and then studying with them about what God wants us to do.

Back to yesterday, we had our first prayer team meeting. There are 10 of us in the group. We came up with so many different ways to pray for the things happening. We are going to go to each of the 12 places in our city and spend time praying for those places and the people who are there. We spent time praying for Mission 127 but also just for God to keep changing our hearts. We have started thinking about different times to pray for things about to happen. Like before a worship service or even stay in the lobby during a worship service to pray while the service is going on that God would change the hearts of people in the worship time. Or going downtown and just walking around and praying for the people we see.

It's amazing how fast time flies when you are spending time praying with people. Yesterday's hour flew by so fast! I also love getting a quick text from someone in the prayer group with a prayer request for them or for someone they know who needs prayers right then.

I really can't wait to see how God plans to use our youth group to help reach out to others. He is really changing our hearts.

This is from a song called Lead Me by Sanctus Real

"So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?
To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up
I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone
Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone"

If you have any thing that you would like us to pray for please let me know. We would love to pray for you!

Surgery Follow Up Appointment- Surgery is kinda like an invisible illness!

I did try to go to church on Sunday! It didn't go as well as I hoped but at least I got there. I didn't stay very long because I broke down from the pain and fatigue. But it was really great to see everyone!

On Tuesday I had my first follow up appointment with the surgeon! It went very well! We really wish the surgeon was a regular doctor. He is so genuinely caring and wants to listen to what is going on.

He took all the tape off of my incisions and scraped some dried blood (eww) off of them. He said the incisions are looking very good!! Some of the stitches are poking out from inside and he asked if I wanted him to take them out or just let the dissolve. Of course I said let them dissolve! Duh!

It's been 3 weeks since surgery and a week ago I ran out of pain medicine. We called the surgeon's office to tell them and they said they don't refill pain medicine. They said to use Advil and they were very rude about it. So that's what I did. It wasn't pleasant and I was in a lot of pain.

We told that to the surgeon and he got so mad. They never told him that we called. He kept apologizing and was very nice about the whole thing. He explained that usually they want you to be off the pain medicine soon after surgery and that they don't refill pain medicine. But because of my situation, he knew I needed to stay on it longer. Before surgery he was really good at wanting to understand my pain and how surgery would affect it. He actually cared and was concerned.

So on Tuesday he wanted to know about all the pain I'm experiencing. I'm having pain in places that normally shouldn't hurt. He wants some tests done to make sure everything is okay. On Tuesday he sent me to the lab for some blood work. Depending on what the blood work shows I might have a ct scan.

Before my appointment I was a little discouraged because I'm still in a lot of pain. I only have 4 small incisions so why am I hurting so much? He reminded me of what is going on inside my abdomen. He explained what he did during surgery and that to get to the gallbladder he had to cut through muscle. And he did take an organ out and cut adhesions off my liver. My body has to adjust. I felt better after he explained that a little more. It is a bigger deal than I think

Surgery is just like invisible illnesses sometimes. Yes I only have 4 small incisions. But there's so much going on inside that I can't see. That is where the pain is coming from.

He said that I look good, but that I look uncomfortable and in pain. He actually told me to take my pain medicine for a while longer. What?! A doctor actually saw how much pain I'm in and told me to take pain medicine? I never thought I'd see the day! He apologized again for the lack of communication regarding the refills.

I go back to see him in a week and a half!

Thank you for the prayers for my recovery and for the cards and everything!

Update...

I haven't posted in a while...I've been extremely tired and sleeping 12 or more hours. This weekend I had fever for no reason. No idea why!

Yesterday I went to church! I started getting a migraine at church last night and it got worse as the night went on. I went to see a movie and was miserable through it. I got home, took migraine medicine and went to lay down. I got so sick. I called my parents (I'm upstairs they're downstairs) and told them to come up there. My head and throat hurt so bad that my jaw was locked from the pain. My body ached so bad and I was shaking. I had to remind myself to breathe. My parents gave me some different pain medicine that is really strong. It took forever to work. The migraine finally went away and I was able to go to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and was up for a couple hours before I fell asleep again. I got up at 12:30 this afternoon. I thought I was feeling good until I came downstairs and got so nauseous. I think it's better now!

That's a quick update. I will update more later.

God can, God is!

At church I'm on the leadership team in the youth group. I'm specifically on the prayer team. There are six of us who make up the team. Our goal is to help make prayer something that isn't just something we do because we're supposed to. God CAN do anything and God IS answering our prayers. So the 6 of us decided that every night at 9:30 we were going to do a 6 way call to pray together. Since there are 6 of us, we each have a night to say the prayer and the 7th day we just decided who is going to pray. I honestly didn't know how long this would last. But it's been so great!! I don't think we've missed a night for the 2 weeks we've been doing it. We all stop what we're doing every night and share prayer requests and talk about what's going on. Then we pray. I look forward to every night because it's so encouraging to have a group of us that are dedicated to being there for each other and praying together.
We made a bulletin board that is up in the hallway of the youth building that says God Can, God Is. There are sticky notes for people to put prayer requests under the God Can side. Then people can put answered prayers under the God Is side. So if you have any prayer requests comment on here and we'll pray for them! I hope you have a great weekend!!