Today was an awesome day!

Mom got a clean bill of health from Shands -- she is still very tired but is doing great. She doesn't have to go back - just see her doctor here for check ups.

Laurie's creatinine was about the same as it was Monday - which was good. She was a bit dehydrated- so she needs to drink more water, and hopefully that will help it will come down. She goes back on Monday for another check and they will do another biopsy to check what drug to use to bring it down more.

All in all it was a good visit - and Laurie got to come home.

The girls at the office had a tea party luncheon for my birthday today. It was so beautiful. The had lace tablecloths, candles, vintage decor and fabulous finger foods. They had the candles lit and Nora Jones playing. It was so relaxing and fun! I have the greatest friends that I work with. The have supported me through the whole process of Dad's death and mom and Laurie's surgery. I am so fortunate to have such great co-workers.

Doug and the girls left for the lake this afternoon, so I will head up tomorrow to be with them for the weekend for some nice rest and fun with the family.

Please pray for the trip to Shands on Monday- that Laurie's creatinine levels will drop more by that appt.

Thank you all for your prayers -- I will post again on Monday.

PS - As I sit here tonight, I am watching CNN and the Chapman's family interview after their daughter's death. My pastor posted this on his blog today - it really explains my intensity on my sister's relationship with the Lord.

The Reality of True Loss. . .
. . . And a prayer for true life.

I have often said that one of my great anxieties in this life is over the idea of losing one of my children. Stories like the recent news of the death of Steven Curtis Chapman's little girl fill me not only with heartache, but also a sense of dread that such a loss might befall our family.In my preparation for this Sunday's message on the person and work of the Holy Spirit I came across this sermon by John Piper. In his discussion of the role of the Spirit in the new birth, Piper shared this story:

When I came home from church last Wednesday night Noël told me she had been shaken because Karsten and Benjamin, our two older sons, had almost run out in front of a car on 11th Avenue on the way home. As I lay there in bed trying to go to sleep I shivered at the scene in my mind of my sons being killed by a speeding car. But then my mind shifted to the long view, to eternity, and the last thing I prayed as I went off to sleep was, "O God, I would rather lose all my sons now than that one of them fail to be born again. If, God forbid, it were a choice between life with me now and life with you forever, then take them. But don't let one be lost! Don't let one of them fail to be born again!"

There is no more important event in anyone's life than being born again.I was challenged by this prayer. I can honestly say that my greatest earthly treasure and my greatest human and temporal joy is found in my family. I would gladly be a pauper in a mud hut without a cent to my name as long as I have these five by my side. I would gladly give up my calling as a pastor for their sake. There is no earthly thing I desire above them- their presence, their love, their voices, and their very persons. Note well that I have said earthly, human, and temporal.

The real question is: Do I desire their spiritual and eternal blessedness above the temporal blessing of having them at my side today? Do I desire their spiritual life above their physical life? Could I pray with Pastor Piper, "O God, I would rather lose all my children now than that one of them fail to be born again. If, God forbid, it were a choice between life with me now and life with you forever, then take them."

Join with me in begging God not for the mere safety of our children, or their comfort, or their earthly security (financial or otherwise)- but for their LIFE. That they might have LIFE and have it abundantly. That they might now spiritual life, eternal life, life from the very Spirit of God by the work of Jesus Christ.Living God and Heavenly Father, I intercede now for Tess, Bo, Emma, and Chloe. I pray that you would grant to them gift of eternal life. I ask that they would know you through your Son, Jesus Christ. I plead with you to rush into their hearts with rebirth, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I ask for you to give they would taste true life that is beyond this life, infinite joy above and beyond temporal joys, heavenly treasures above and beyond any earthly riches, and that any human breath would be a vapor in light of their eternal life in you. I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, who redeemed my life from the pit and brought me into your family as a son and heir. Amen.

Blessings,
H