Some Journey

Praying for Jenny

Stephen is out of town for the weekend. Actually, he left yesterday and won't be back until Monday. I hate it. I know there are those women out there who look forward to having a few days of "independence". . .I'm not one of them. The days are so long without him. I feel like I don't have anything to look forward to at the end of the day, and I miss him so much. Not to mention having all the duties of housework and kids to myself for several days. I am so spoiled by a husband who is usually very involved in both. I cannot wait until he gets home.
But over the past 48 hours or so that he's been gone, whenever I start to feel sorry for myself or sad about him being gone, I think about another mom I know, Jenny Gienapp. Jenny also has five children, the youngest being two year old twins. Jenny's husband was sent to Iraq in early fall, and will be there for at least a year. Her older kids attend CCS, and I see Jenny at almost every school event, video taping for Dad, of course, and I am always amazed that she stays so involved with the older kids and what's going on at school, while juggling the preschoolers. Add in all the housework and duties that normally two parents share, day in and day out, and I get exhausted just thinking about it. I cannot even fathom the thought of not seeing Stephen for a year or more. So every time I start to miss him this weekend, I will take a few minutes to pray for Jenny.

Asher's blog

Thanks, for the comment calling my attention to Asher's blog, mrscrumley. I wanted to post it here for my family members and others who come to my blog directly, and might not be aware of it.

A blog has been set up for updates on Asher's condition.

http://asher.chattablogs.com

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.

7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah

from psalm 32

Email from Andy Mendonsa

The following is an email that Andy Mendonsa sent out to his "prayer warriors". What a great testimony of faith, that even when things seem to be at their worst and don't make sense, God is in control and works all things together for good.

"Dear Friends and Supporters: I sent out an email early tuesday morning about my son, but there was a problem getting it out so it only went out last night. we have more information and need for prayer now. yesterday they were finally able to get him stable enough to do an MRI in order to determine the extent of Asher's injuries to his spine. the mri revealed that his injuries to his spine are extensive. he is paralyzed at least from the waist down the doctor said and maybe from the neck down. he is still in a coma and not responding to anything. they have him on a respirator as well as about everything else you can imagine. on his right leg he has a compound fracture to his femur. they had to do surgery on him in the ICU for it yesterday in order to be able to do the mri. he does not seem to be in pain.

as devastating as the news was for my wife, daughter and i when we were told of the news yesterday afternoon in the Lord's grace i come home last night filled with optimism. the fact that he is alive is a miracle. all the people that have come to the hospital, especially my son and daughter's friends, has been overwhelming. most of my son's friends are skaters and to see the compassion and love they all have for asher and to hear them tell why they love and care for him so much has just broken my heart and let me see a side of him that i never would have. these guys have cried and cried over him since this has happened and they have shared with us how they have prayed for him. last night the icu nurse watching over asher let us bring 5 of his friends in to see him.

yesterday our widows here devoted their entire prayer time praying for asher and his healing. i know that is what is being prayed all over our city, nation and the world for asher. i think i was afraid to ask God to heal him yesterday when we heard the news that he is paralyzed. God has given me the strength and the courage to not be defeated by this news and to cry out to Him along with so many others that have so much more faith than me right now. I have cried out to God throughout the night and morning and asked Him to raise my son from the dead, to restore his body that has been so broken up and according to medical science beyond repair, to bring complete healing and restoration to him.

tuesday night as my mother cried out to God throughout the night for him, God gave her so many scriptures. psalm 23, 121, 146, and 96. also Ezekiel 37. ezekiel 37 is the passage about the dry bones that represents Israel and God using this image to illustrate Israel restoration.

since i don't believe in accidents i know that there is a greater purpose to be fulfilled through this. whereas, i could not see the devil in this at first, it becomes very clear to me know that he has laid a trap for my son, wanting to derail all that God is doing in such powerful ways throughout the world through the spreading of "pure and undefiled worship" as widows are being led to cry out to God in prayer.

i have always known that the devil attacks us where we are the most vulnerable and i have always known that i am the most vulnerable with my own family. i can tell you i have never felt so vulnerable and helpless like i do now, but i am not going to let the devil have the victory here. asher fell 5 stories and landed on several boards on his back that both cushioned his fall, prevented him from falling even further through another hole in the floor that descended in to the basement of the building that was pitch black darkness. at the same time these broads that probably save his life also caused the vertebrae damage. praise God. we have our son and he is alive and we are asking everyone to please fast along with your prayers.

please pray for the man who owns this building where asher fell. this building is in a place near the skate park where asher has been hanging out for years. it has been abandoned for years and left completely unsecured it is a miracle no one has been hurt in it before now.

i was reading scriptures about Jesus and healing and i came across Acts 10:38 "Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and {how} He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. "

i have never made a connection between those who Jesus healed and their being oppressed by the devil. i didn't at first, but now i believe that not only is my son being oppressed by the devil in his body right at this very moment, but that that same oppression is also oppressing all of those surrounding him with their love. which makes complete sense. when someone is released through the power of the holy spirit it has the complete and opposite effect on the one that is released as well as those who are surrounding them with their love and devotion.

i am broken to the very depths of my being over what has happened to my son. i have cried like i can't remember crying is so long. even writing this i am having to stop and take time to cry. i know that God's tears are even greater, though. asher is His son, His creation, His love, and our pain and suffering is nothing compared to Jesus' on our behalf. i am just praying that God would use the pain and suffering that is going on now with my son as a result of his injuries to speak to those that are drawing near to him to be able to know what Jesus' own suffering did on our behalf. i know that it has opened my heart to it in a way that i have never been able to imagine it before.

thank you for your love and concern for us over the years and your prayers. a very broken father, andy mendonsa"

Latest word on Asher

I just received the following:

Update on Asher Mendonsa from Jim Terney: Andy wanted me to help take info. to the prayer warriors. Asher severed his thoracic spine and is now paraplegic. With neck fractures he could also be quadriplegic. The Drs stabilized his leg with titanium rods today in the ICU. After the MRI they still don't know why he is in a coma. However they did find bruising on his brainstem that could account for this. Please pray for him to wake up after the swelling/bruising has time to recover, that his neck fractures would not involve nerve damage and of course for that peace that passes understanding for Andy and Gloria. There are of course many deep, deep issues involved in a tragedy like this. Thanks, for the Mendonsas, Jim.

I am not very close to the Mendonsas, but I have known Andy for many years, and Asher was someone that my boys really enjoyed looking up to at the skate park. I know from conversations with Andy that skating was a significant thing in Asher's life, he had even hoped at one point that he might be able to make a living at it someday. My heart is breaking for their family. I can not imagine what it would be like if this were one of my boys. But I know that God is faithful, and that he works all things together for the good of those who love him, and I have seen Andy faithfully demonstrate His love for the Father over so many years. I know that God will sustain them and see them through every step of this painful journey. I am confident that Andy and Gloria also know this to be true in their heads, and I am praying that His Holy Spirit will make it very real to them in their hearts, as well.

Asher Mendonsa

Many of you may be familiar with Andy Mendonsa, a member of New City Fellowship who heads up Widow's Harvest Ministries. His son is 17 years old. My boys have frequently enjoyed watching him at the skate park, as he is an extremely talented inline skater. I got this email forwarded to me today, and I wanted to pass along the information, as I know the Mendonsa family would covet your prayers at this time.

From Andy Mendonsa of Widow's Harvest:

Dear Friends and Supporters:

My son Asher was in a terrible accident about 8 pm yesterday. He was taking pictures in an abandoned building and fell 5 stories off the building. Right now he is in critical condition in ICU. He has a compound fracture of the right femur, bruised lungs on his right side, trauma on the front of his brain that has caused swelling, and 2 fractured vertebrae around his neck. They don't know what is causing his coma, nor do they know if there is any spinal injury. They won't be able to do an MRI until later this morning after they are certain that the brain swelling is stable. The neurosurgeon says that there must be something deeper in his brain that is causing the coma that didn't show up on the CAT scan.

All they could tell us was that they couldn't tell us anything for certain. He may wake up and he may not. He may have spinal injuries and he may not.

Please pray for Asher and my family.

You can read more in this article from the Chattanoogan.

The album is up

Okay, I finally got a bunch (not all, but the favorites) of the pics from Saturday's wedding into my album. Enjoy.

More Flower Girl Photos

Yesterday's wedding went off without any problems, and Sydney and Naoki both survived in spite of the fact that it was a very long day. Sydney felt like a princess all day. She commented to me at one point, "Mom, some girls I don't even know told me I looked beautiful!" I had to agree.

Naoki is not nearly as enamoured with being photographed as Syd, so we had some trouble getting good shots of the two of them, but are a couple of my favorites, snapped while Syd was keeping Naoki company as he ate a sandwich.

I'll post more in my photo album which you can find here:

But first I think I'm gonna catch the season finale of DH.

My princess

Sydney has the honor of being the flower girl in Jen and David's wedding tomorrow, along side Naoki, our pastor's son, who took Joseph's place as ringbearer. Once Joseph learned there would be a room full of people at the wedding, there was no way he was going down that aisle. You can not believe how excited Sydney is, though. Tonight was the rehearsal and she loved every minute of it. I greatly appreciated the evaluation Don Waltermyer, David's father, gave me of Sydney. He complimented me on Sydney's behavior, and said that what he found to be so striking about her was that she had so much poise, and yet she was still a kid at the same time. Those of you who know Syd will probably agree that is a pretty good assessment.

I didn't want a girl. I didn't really want kids, but if I had them (one or two, of course) I only wanted boys. The reasons are far too complicated and I'm too tired to get into it, but the bottom line was a lack of faith. If God gave me a girl would he equip me to raise her and love her? And so her middle name is Grace. Because, PRAISE GOD, I am not in control of my life, He is. Praise God that I did not choose whether my children would be boys or girls, He did. Praise God that he did not answer my prayers, and chose to bless me with a gift I did not know I would want. Sydney is such a joy. She is so rarely difficult, and she delights me daily. She has actually made me enjoy being a girl and doing "girly things".

I'm looking forward to our day at Libby Lu's getting her hair done tomorrow before the wedding. And I can't wait to see the photos Matt takes of my Princess! And how cute is she going to be with this handsome ringbearer to escort her down the aisle??

Mako and I are secretly hoping that we might see the two of them walk the aisle together again one day. . .

Huntsville Space Center

So I went on the fourth grade field trip to the Huntsville Space Center. I always enjoy the space center, but I think I like it better with just our family. Today I was not only accompanied by the entire CCS fourth grade, but 15 bus loads of kids from other schools as well. That made for a whole lot of sweaty kid smell inside the "G Force Simulator", which is otherwise enjoyable. I highly recommend the "Space Shot" which I rode by myself last time we were there as a family (Stephen stayed with the kids, none of whom was tall enough at the time). Today Ethan got the courage up to join me. This is the Space Shot:

There are three seats on each of the four sides of the tower. You are strapped in facing out, feet dangling. Then, without warning, you are "shot" 140 feet straight up, experiencing 4Gs of pressure on the way. You then "float" weightless at the top for the longest 1-3 seconds of your life, then plummet about half way down the tower before being caught and then released again to fall the rest of the way. The whole ride lasts less than a minute, but it's a very intense minute. Here's a shot of some of Ethan's friends who went before us.

I also enjoyed the climbing wall which is part of the Mars exhibit. I have always loved to climb anything climbable (is that a word?) but have not had the opportunity to try a climbing wall for free before. Ethan, Leighanne Tucker and I went together. It was definitely fun, but I would like to have had more time to play around and explore different routes more. I did get to the top, and I was a little pleased with myself because neither Ethan nor Leighanne, who get to practice on the wall at CCS a lot, made it all the way up. Here's a shot of me trying to coach Leighanne the rest of the way up:

In Ethan and Leighanne's defense, I really think I got an easier section of wall than they did. And I'm guessing they won't be a sore as I will be tomorrow.

Judy and Marge

I found this picture at www.art.com and fell in love. It is by an artist named Lowell Herrero, who has collections of this type of art, primarily featuring women of Judy and Marge's stature, and several of cows. And then there is Agnes:

I want my voice back and other ramblings

Haven't blogged in a bit so I thought I'd just plug in an obligatory entry before I get too far behind. Lots of things I could blog about, but I'm off at 7 am tomorrow for a field trip to Huntsville with Ethan, which is a bit early for me. So quick updates on some of the many random things floating around in my head. . .
I awoke last Friday without a voice. Well, I have a voice, but it's not mine. It seems to belong to an asthmatic frog. I feel fine. I have no other symptoms. I just can't talk. And it's killing me. I'm ready to move on. New phase. No more frog voice.
In other news, Jennifer Garner is reported to be pregnant. I don't ordinarily keep up with actors' personal lives much, and I've never cared much for Jennifer Garner on a personal level. But when her personal life affects Alias, it starts to matter to me. And this latest bit of news is really making me nervous. Now, I've been pregnant a few times, and, though I have to give my sister credit for kickboxing class til she was 6 months pregnant with Chase, pregnancy just doesn't lend itself well to the phrase "kick ass". I'm nervous about season 5. Supposedly JG is due in November. That is not convenient for shooting schedule. If she had gotten pregnant relatively early in the shooting schedule, maybe they could work it in to the story line (remember her eggs were harvested last season). . .and tonight's preview implied that Vaughn would be proposing next ep. . .Still, it definitely changes the dynamics of the show to have Sydney Bristow pregnant.
And in other TV news I want to offer my hearty congratulations to Uchenna and Joyce for their victory on The Amazing Race. I've rooted for them all along, and it felt really good to see "the nice finish last". I know Bert probably agrees with me, that Joyce deserved to win after shaving her head. :)
Off to bed. Not looking forward to early rise followed by several hours in a bus with 50 or 60 fourth graders. . .