All alone

In what I think is a fairly typical kid fashion – Elijah finds lots of reasons to keep from going to bed and then a few more to keep from falling asleep, but last night was a new one.

E: “I don’t want to go stay in bed!” Tara: “Why not?” E: “I’m all alone in here!”  T: “What?” E: “I’m all alone in here!” T: “You’re not alone in here God is always with you, God and your stuffed animals.” E: “but God’s not here, I can’t see him!”

I’m not sure exactly how the conversation ended, but it was filled with reassurance that God was still real and with you even though you can’t see him.  I was thinking… it might not be the last time you try to figure that one out my son…

Mr. Peterson

Mr. Peterson died yesterday.  He was a great man.  I mean that.  I could probably have called him Roger – but that didn’t seem quite right, he was one of those guys I wanted to call Mr. out of respect, cause he had earned mine.  He was my principal mainly I guess, by the time I got to WCC for high school he had been there for decades – he kept trying to retire and they kept convincing him to stay on for a bit longer.  I’m glad he did.  His grandson Blair has a great tribute to him here.   I’m sure his grandkids were most special to Mr. Peterson, but he made me believe he thought I was pretty special too.  He was a servant – I don’t remember him talking to much theology/religion type stuff - he probably did, but mostly I remember him serving, having a great sense of humour, loving and living well with his wife, and having time for me.  He also has a heck of a legacy through his family – so many who have been good friends and mentors to me, and who I’ll be thinking of this week as they grieve.

Random Thoguths

Things to pray for: Pam Malmsten continues the journey fighting cancer… thinking of you often Pam.

My brother can really preach… just finished listening to his sermon on lust. Was good to hear him again. Go to his church’s website to hear his sermons.

Speaking of preaching, my friend Jason Bandura has put his sermons up on his blog. I’ll definitely be listening to a few of his too.

Elijah & Michael have been healthy for a couple of weeks now, which has been great. Now I’ve likley broken the spell… darn it. (Update:Elijah woke up for about 3 hours last night while I was work -doh!) Michael is really starting to see things and smile once in a while, almost like he’s figuring out there are other humans around. He also screams like a banshee fairly often, can’t remember if Elijah did that but boy it seems loud sometimes.

It’s still cold here, there’s a surprising statement, but the light is slowly taking over and warmth always come with it eventually. We are spending lots of time considering our last few months in Yellowknife. Having spent 8 years here we have seen many of our friends leave, some leave well, some not so well but it is very strange to see the issue from the other side. We have been excitedly looking at houses and making arrangements in Saskatoon, connecting with some old friends, while at the same time trying to continue to invest in relationships here and enjoy our last months here. I have to agree with Jeremy, Saskatoon is quickly becoming the place to be…

I will miss many things about Yellowknife, but will leave those thoughts for another post another day.
March Madness starts tomorrow. The first couple weekends are the best, an overdose of excitement. If I was smart I would have taken these days off so I could camp out in front of the TV for 4 days straight. There was a time when I did that… but alas I’ll have to leave that to my younger sister or someone with no kids and a flexible job. I’ll still get to watch my fair share.
I must say, sometimes I think he’s smoking to much beetlenut, but Nic is writing a heck of a travelblog about his time in India. Go there if you want a good laugh and some good insight into the ultimate Canadian Ladies Man and his current adventures.

That’s it’s for the random thoguths… that’s all I’ve got.

Prayers

I don’t know what to say about this.  So much pain and so many questions even from afar.

I graduated with Jennifer (used to be Mcleod) who was expecting her first child with her husband John.   When they went to the hospital November 1st(full term) a heartbeat could not be found.  I will post here what Jennifer’s father Ian put on his blog.  Please pray for them, a long journey of grief is ahead of them.

From Macleod of Saskatoon:

Life and Death

Charles Dickens opening line in A Tale of Two Cities is “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Ruth and I were able to rejoice in the birth of Dominique Baggett in July of this year. We held her and rocked her and were able to rejoice in being able to see her 18 month old brother react to his new sister. Also Ruth and I were able to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary in France but our holiday trip was tempered by the knowledge that my sister Laveena was dying. She died while we were in France and we remembered her life on Thanksgiving day in Saskatoon. But the worst shock was the death of Jennifer’s baby. When she went to the hospital for the delivery Nov. 1, they could find no heartbeat. The baby was born naturally the next day about 1:00. John and Jennifer named him Gordon Hector Wallace after both of their Grandfathers. The baby was 10 pounds 3 ounces and was perfectly formed. There is a Chinese proverb that says that there is no house that doesn’t have its hush. We certainly know what that means. Once again we are reminded that this life is just a passing shadow and there is a much better one to look forward to. We are also reminded to appreciate all the more how fragile life is and that we need to be kind and loving and remember what is really important in our everyday living.

Bell Family Updates

Another page to find updates about Stan Bell’s health…

Prayers

Your prayers are appreciated for Stan Bell who is fighting flesh eating bacteria.  An excerpt from Jenn’s blog:

God hears our prayers. So I am asking for yours. Stan Bell is father to Monica Taylor, Melissa Orr and Stephen Bell. They recently had to say goodbye to their maternal grandfather. Now Stan is in serious condition in Regina with flesh eating disease. Please pray that Stan will heal and respond to surgeries and medications. Please cover this family with your prayers. Both Monica and Melissa are expecting their first babies and I can only imagine the stress they are feeling. My heart aches for them right now.
Here’s an excerpt from an email sent out by Wendell Bailey:

To those of you who have been praying for Stan.  We were with the family last night in Regina (They transfered him from
Moose Jaw around 8:00 p.m. last night) until after midnight.  Stan’s condition is very critical.  The doctors are giving him a 60% chance of coming through this.  The news this morning at 6:30 a.m. was all positive.  His body is fevered (which is good because it means that he is beginning to fight the infection).  His kidneys are still functioning (they were concerned that his organs would begin to shut down).  His blood pressure is more stable with less medication to monitor the pressure.  The level of infection in his blood did not rise during the night.  You need to know that he is on full life support and that he will be undergoing another surgery early this morning. Please continue to pray for him and for his family.Update as of 2:46 p.m.  Wednesday.

 I just talked with Stans brother in
Regina.  Stan has come through his second surgery.  The doctors remove more tissue/muscle from near the armpit…they feel reasonably good about the surgery.  Stan is now wrapped in a plastic containment sleeve that is to keep out infection from exposed tissue.  They are concerned with his kidney function and are considering placing him on dialisis.  All other vital signs remain the same as this morning. There will be further surgery.

 Wendell

 Perhaps the best place for updates would be at Stephen’s Blog.  God’s grace, comfort and healing in extra measure for the Bell family over the next bit.

Prayers for Little Rebecca

Calvin & Monika are a couple who attend the Alliance church here in town. About a year ago they had a little baby named Rebecca. Rebecca’s brain isn’t developing like it should, and the future is uncertain for her. I hesitate to post about this, because it’s the kind of situation that is hard to find the right words – or any words at all for. But I can’t remain completely silent. My heart breaks for this baby and her parents, yet Tara & I both have been stunned, blessed, and impressed (the few times we have contact with them) by the gracious way Calvin & Monika are walking this tough part of their journey. The grace must be coming from somewhere else…
Stuff like this shakes my faith – people like this (and God working through them) strengthen it.

This week Monika and Rebecca are in Edmonton getting a feeding tube in. They could use a few extra prayers over the next few days. I know Monika reads this blog once in a while… you can follow parts of their journey at her blog. Please put a few whisper’s in the Father’s ear for these kids of his.

Morning Grace

Loving and nurturing God, we thank You
today for our mother.
We thank You that You instilled in her those tender,
loving qualities that com only from You.
Thank you for her many sacrifices for us,
her patience, her strength, and hard work
– even when no one has noticed. Amen.
from Table Graces for the Family
by Laura KendallThat says it fairly well… I’m thankful today for my mom – she is such a solid rock of love and acceptance in my life.
I’m also thankful today for the mother of my son – my partner and best friend – truly my better half.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Cancer

It was discovered this Christmas that my mom has breast cancer. She found a lump a few weeks ago and while we were there went to the Dr. to get it checked out. He sent her for immediate testing and a few days later we were told that it was in fact cancer.

They are unsure at this point how much there is or if it has spread, but they sounded optimistic that it was a localized lump with little movement. She sees a surgeon on January 10th and from there it will be decided when surgery is and how much will need to be removed. It won’t be until after the surgery that we know if the cancer has spread and to where. We are praying that the lump will be removed and the cancer gone, but the surgery will be followed up with radiation and possibly Kemo.

There is no understanding this or trying to explain it so at this point I am not trying to do either. I ask that you pray for my mother, the doctors, and the removal of all the cancer.

Prayer Labyrinth

I don’t have much experience with Labyrinth’s or know much about them, but this site describes one in England – the idea is intriguing… I couldn’t do the online version on this computer, so I’ll try it out on a different one, but just reading the transcript of the different stations it sure looked good. I have heard about this idea/exercise for a few years now, but have not looked into it much before. Check it out here.