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previously published on CaringBridge.org/visit/ThomasMcGirr

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
 Luke 12:48

Familiar Scripture came to mind today as we arrived at Duke's Children's Health Center for Thomas to give away the Sasha Bears. These nearly two dozen bears were bought in honor of Thomas from Linda's friend Brenda Herrick, a "Scentsy" consultant . Those who purchased the bears, did not take them but donated them to Thomas so he could share them with other children in treatment for Brain Cancer at Duke.

Today, Thomas, along with Social Worker Rebecca McIntyre, met children in the Day Hospital and Clinic and Duke Children's Hospital who are receiving treatments. Also, Katie from Child Life spent time with Thomas and took a couple of bears for some children who were not present today.

Children who were both older and younger than Thomas seemed to really like the bears. They were able to choose the scent pack they liked as it was stuffed into the bear. Sweet smiles were all around.

As I served as the official photographer of the day, I could not help but think back on the journey we have traveled. As we walked the now familiar halls, passed the elevators and PICU and Step Down Units that consumed our days, I remembered the days after surgery. I remembered the tubes and machines and procedures. We showed Thomas the way to the PICU. While he did not really remember his days there, the MRI, the decisions made, I did.

As I watch him smile and tell the story of the Sasha Bears, help each one choose a scent pack, and give bear after bear away, my heart is humbled. How great and good is our God! He is healing Thomas in many ways. Prayers are being answered, side effects have been marginal, energy has improved.

Today, wearing his Duke Medicine T-shirt and matching bandanna, Thomas smiles his way along the halls, meeting each child at eye level. There are those who are older and those who are younger than Thomas. There are those who suffer in different ways, with different problems after their surgeries. There are those who must take both radiation and chemotherapy. There are some who remain in isolation, some who must return to stay in the hospital over and over. Some have permanent shunts; all have their own scars.

As I look at the miracle God is doing, my eyes see just how much God has given, and my heart knows that God expects us to give in return. God has truly given more; today, Thomas gave MORE! I wonder, just how much has God entrusted to Thomas, to us? How will we ever be able to give enough to express our gratitude?

A two year old name Dillion said it all without speaking: he smiled, hugged the bear then signed: THANK YOU!

To God be the Glory ~ dho

IF you want to order a Scentsy bear (or other products), see Brenda's site below. For all the Bears sold, a portion of thSe proceeds goes to the Ronald McDonald House and ALL COMMISIONS for these bears through September go to Thomas's FUND!
BrendaHerrick.scentsy.us
  

Ordinary Time

from my Caring Bridge post on Sunday September 18, 2011 ~

This is the Lord's Day! I went to St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church with Linda, Mike and Thomas this morning. Wearing his long white robe and a bandanna with stars, Thomas was an altar server today. He takes his service very seriously and finds deep satisfaction as evidenced by his expressions

This is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. "Ordinary Time" is all the time during the liturgical year, excluding the season of Advent (Christmas through Epiphany) and Lent (Ash Wednesday through Pentecost). I always forget about this phrase but like the image evoked, because we all live most of our lives in ordinary time.

After the reading of the Scriptures from the Old Testament and the New Testament, familiar words are spoken: The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. However, before the reading from The Gospel the response is different: A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew. Glory to You, Lord. I like the reply of the people: Glory to You, Lord.

As is custom, the Lord's Prayer is sung in community. The ending words were my soul's valediction: For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever. During communion, these words from the song echoed over and over in my heart as my prayers of thanksgiving were laid on the altar: All my being, bless the Lord, remembering the goodness of God.

The last song sung was one I had never heard but the words spoke to the core of this journey we must take. It does not feel like it, but we are walking in ordinary time, despite extraordinary circumstances. This journey is not unlike our faith journey, mostly lived out in ordinary time, always seeking an extraordinary Savior. Read the words to the song Enter the Journey and follow the vision, carry the cross.

refrain:

  Enter the journey, come to the song.

By God you are chosen, by name you are called

To follow the vision, carry the cross.

Enter the journey of faith as the family of God.

Enter the journey, the way may be long.

Enter the journey, yet we are made strong.

God's Spirit will guide us, God's gifts will unfold.

Enter the journey of hope!

Enter the journey, though lost and unsure.

Enter the journey, God's peace will be yours.

And all who are thirsting will be filled with God's grace.

Enter the journey of faith!

Enter the journey, dark is the way.

Enter the journey, do not be afraid.

For God's great compassion will give you new sight.

Enter the journey of light!

Enter the journey, the old and the young.

Enter the journey, the kingdom is won.

By faith now united, as servants we come.

Enter the journey of love!

(by Mark Friedman and Janet Vogt)

Glory to You, Lord! ~dho

you can follow the journey of Thomas as he fights brain cancer:
www.CaringBridge.org/visit/ThomasMcGirrwww.CaringBridge.org/visit/ThomasMcGirr

God's Glory!

Then Moses said, "Now show me your Glory." And the LORD said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
Exodus 33:18-19 NIV

Thomas, head through the sun roof! Simple joy!

As our family has prayed its way through this journey of brain cancer, surgery and radiation, we have asked God to heal, to strengthen, to comfort Thomas. Our prayers and the countless prayers of family and friends and friends of friends have asked for encouragement and energy, for patience and peace, for calm and courage. Holy praises have been offered to the Lord for joy in the simple things, for small victories,and for laughter. We have not asked God like Moses, "Now show us Your Glory", but He has! God's great goodness has passed in front of us! His Glory is evidenced in moments and minutes and memories of His Presence during this journey.

The question of why there is suffering and who is healed can not be adequately answered with our finite minds. The fall of humanity from the beginning allowed sin to stand between mankind and God. It is only through Christ, the Son, that we find a way back to God, the Father. In between the beginning and the end, there is uncertainty and chaos and questions, but before the beginning and after the end, there is Certainty, Peace, and Truth. We find this possiblity in God, the Creator himself, who has all authority. Not bound by time or distance or circumstance, we must accept this God, for He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient.

Not knowing why, nor understanding His Ways, I can say for certain that we have felt God's mercy and compassion, that we have witnessed God's mercy and compassion, that we will tell of God's mercy and compassion. For as every petition rises like incense to this Holy God, each one is full of thanksgiving for such undeserved, unmerited mercy and compassion. Truly the Goodness of God has passed in front of us, too!

www.CaringBridge.org/visit/ThomasMcGirr
To God be the Glory ~ dho

New Places and Opportunities

Almost a year ago, I recorded the following in my devotional journal. These are the words of Dennis Kinlaw from his devotional book, This Day with the Master.

 [God] is waiting to explode our smallness and put us in places of which we have only dreamed. . . Do not settle for smallness, . . . God is waiting to take you into places and open you up to opportunities that exist only in your wildest dreams.

Kinlaw goes on to point out that these opportunities do not come from our own making, rather "you must let [God] give you the opportunities and move you into new places."

Why is it that we  complain about the smallness of our lives, the smallness of the moments? When does our complacency allow us to be content with our smallness? How often do we go in search of new places and opportunities by ourselves? Do we seek God's will for our moments or charge ahead, desperate to create our own?

These are questions that wrestle with my mind. The many possibilities can create conflict for me, and other times, the waiting stagnates my willingness. If these words are true, that God desires to put us in places of which we have only dreamed, dare I not wait with Him? Likewise, if we must let God provide the opportunities and move us to these new places, dare I not trust His leading?  I must trust Him absolutely! ~dho

God, the One and Only - I'll wait as long as He says.
Everything I need comes from Him,
He's solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul.
. . . So trust Him absolutely.
Psalm 62:1-2,8 The Message

To God Be The Glory!

When you think life is going along as expected, just wait! It won't be long before there will come some interruption ~ usually unexpected. When I look back, I can often find that God has been preparing my heart in my devotional and prayer time. Such has been my experience again.

Six days after my last blog entry, the world seemed to stop for a few minutes; my breath seemed too thick to move in and out of my lungs as I heard "Thomas has a brain tumor." Thomas is my 9 year old nephew, the only child of my only sister. Surgery followed two days later to remove as much of the tumor as possible. 90 -95% of the malignant tumor was removed. Now we are just beginning radiation treatments.

Everything in between what used to be and what is now ~ happened. Some call such situations disasters, tragedies, unfortunate. Truly this is something that none of us would have chosen, yet it brings new dimension to our faith. This difficult circumstance that we did not choose brings us to our knees before God in a way that nothing but tragedy can. We seek the God of miracles! We praise the God All-knowing! We trust the God of Healing and Wisdom! We move forward only with God! God is our Refuge and our Protection. As so often our prayers remind . . . It is hard for our human hearts to imagine but God loves you,Thomas, MORE than any of us! To God be the Glory!

You can follow this amazing God-journey that Thomas is making at www.CaringBridge.org/visit/ThomasMcGirr

pray with us ~ 
God of miracle-wonders,
God of well-thought-out-plans ~
His cloud-brightness burst through a grand
comet of fireworks. Then God thundered out
of heaven; the High God gave a great shout.
We have seen You ~ the Light in our darkness.
We have felt You ~ the Power in our weakness.
We have heard You ~ the Voice in the chaos.
We celebrate You! We praise You! We rest in
the mountaintop refuge, safe.
Love Most High, in all times You are our
shield of protection! You rescue us, touch us,
heal us, lead us forward.
For such love, words search but find no escape,
captives of mediocrity.
God, make my life complete as we place all
the pieces before You.
Hear the deepest, wordless prayers of our hearts. Amen. ~ dho


[Scripture from Psalm 18 ~ The Message]

Hummmm. . . .!

It is a glorious thing to know that your father God makes no mistakes in directing or permitting that which crosses the path of your life. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. It is our glory to trust Him, no matter what. ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

I saw Joni at FBC in Jackson, MS in 1976. That evening, I listened to her testimony of how God turned an unexpected diving accident resulting in quadriplegia into a ministry for Him. While she spoke she held a Flair pen with her teeth and sketched. As a senior Physical Therapy student at the University of MS Medical School, my skills evaluated her abilities and her obvious paralysis. Her artistic talents exceeded my expectations. Certainly her testimony of accepting adversity and making positive strides challenged me as a therapist, her example was one of faith and courage.


In the fall of 2005, I read Joni's very personal story in her book, The God I Love. I found her honesty refreshing as she described the many years that she had hoped for a miracle yet grew  a ministry that touched thousands. And, again, a few days ago, I ran across her quote in my "stash" of other people's words. This time ~ summer 2011, I sit with her words and evaluate the meaning of this kind of faith and courage. Accepting God's directing or permitting . . . trust[ing] Him, no matter what is sometimes difficult. I do, however, believe His Purposes will never fail, and His Faithfulness will not end. Perhaps my trust in God can only be grounded in the very character of God. God's Promises are BEST! 


As for circumstances that I do not choose? I am reminded of Paul's words to the Corinthians:
In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. Romans 6:4 NLT
~ dho

Fruits of Freedom

One Nation Under God . . . America the Free! If we think back to our beginnings as a country, freedom to become our own country, to govern ourselves echoed across the Atlantic to England and grew roots in this new land. We still cherish this freedom and proudly claim that America stands for liberty and justice for all. A civilization's freedom comes with a price. We honor those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.


In God we trust still marks our money, despite those who champion its removal. America's coins and paper money pay iconic homage to some of the leaders who helped make this freedom possible. As Christians, we recognize that our true freedom is about faith and hope and love. A soul's freedom must also be purchased. We trust in our great God, and King, whose Plan for Freedom rings still. We worship Christ, the One whose sacrifice offers everlasting freedom.


What are the fruits of freedom? To the soldier, they are peace instead of war, wholeness instead of battle wounds. To the leader, they are certainty instead of probability, unity instead of division. To the parent or spouse or child of a soldier, they are presence instead of absence, joy instead of anxiety. To a country, they are liberty and justice for all. To the Christian, they are these same things ~ peace and wholeness, certainty and unity, presence and joy, liberty and justice for all. Because we serve a God who is Loving and Faithful and Righteous in ways we cannot understand, we can find true freedom in His Grace.  To the goodness of God, the Author of Liberty, we owe everything.  ~dho

. . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Infinitely MORE!

Call to Me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wonderful things that you could never figure out on your own.  Jeremiah 33:3 The Message


When we call to God ~ with petition or without words, inside crisis or outside certainty, after fear or before failure ~ He is there! Not only is God there, He is waiting for you! His goodness exceeds our greatest hope. God is infinitely more wonderful, and He desires to share this amazing love with us. Wonder what marvelous and wonderful things God has to tell you?  Ask Him! ~dho

All we are and all we have is the . . . the love of God! The goodness of God is infinitely more wonderful than we will ever be able to comprehend.  A.W. Tozer

Endure the Unendurable

Colossians 1:1-12 NASB
" . . . walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, . . ."


In reading these verses, we learn that Paul and Timothy have been praying these things for the Colossian believers. Paul had not actually visited them but learned about their salvation through fellow believer, Epaphras, who had heard the Gospel from Paul at Ephesus and took this transforming message back to Colosse. Having heard of their faith, Paul writes to encourage them. These are their prayers

- walk in a manner worthy of the Lord

- please the Lord in all respects

- bear fruit in every good work

- increase knowledge of God

- be strengthened through God's power  

And the "strength to stick it out over the long haul" that comes with serving Christ is well expressed in The Message when it speaks of "Glory-strength", [the] strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that He has for us.


Have you prayed for someone today? Have you prayed for "Glory-strength", a Christ-strength that endures the unendurable? Remember everyday brings spiritual battles to those who believe in Christ. The spiritual warfare for believers is often hard and unrelenting. Many circumstances surround each of us, threatening to weary us. Pray for "Glory-strength" to strengthen and renew joy ~ PRAY CHRIST'S "GLORY-STRENGTH FOR SOMEONE TODAY! ~dho

Preparing for Easter ~ Go!

Easter Sunday ~

More surely than ever before, I know now that we are called to give our very lives to one another and that, in so doing, we become a true community of love.
Henri Nouwen from Life of the Beloved (pg. 115)

In The True Vine, Andrew Murray writes of Christ's joy: His joy is nothing but the joy of love, of being loved and of loving. It was the joy of receiving His Father's love and abiding in it, and then the joy of passing on that love and pouring it out on sinners. Christ is Perfect Love offered to imperfect people. Like His disciples and His closest followers, we are imperfect people yet perfectly loved by Jesus.

Read John 20:19-23 (for the complete story of the resurrection, see John 20-21.)

As He spoke, He held out His hands for them to see, and He showed them His side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord! He spoke to them again and said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you."
John 20:20-21 NLT

On Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection, Jesus appears to several people, each Gospel giving a similar but varying account of all those who witnessed the risen Savior. John writes of Jesus coming in the evening to the disciples who are meeting behind locked doors fearing the Jewish leaders. Jesus offers them peace and joy; He reminds them this assurance comes from the Father. He breathes the Holy Spirit into them. Christ prepares them to take the Good News of redemption and reconciliation into the world. The root of Christ's joy is the Father's love.

Jesus gives us the same command today, saying as the Father has sent Me, so send I you. We are to carry the Good News of His amazing grace into the world. We are to build up the community of faith by sharing His love. Christ prepares us with His peace and affirms us with His joy. After Christ returned to Heaven at Pentecost, the Spirit came to dwell within the hearts of all believers. The sure foundation of our joy is Christ ~ Perfect Love.

Consider this!

• Imagine being in the room with the disciples when Jesus "suddenly" appears. Describe their joy!
• How does Jesus model the task of sharing the Gospel?
• Have you experienced the resurrected Jesus? How will you share such Perfect Love?

Blessed Assurance ~ You are Eternal Love! I am overwhelmed that the love of the Father and the grace of the Son and the presence of the Spirit are mine! You choose me and love me and send me to be a witness for You. Your unfailing faithfulness and enduring love prepare my heart with peace and joy! You empower me to tell my faith-story. With the joy of Christ, I go! Amen. ~dho

a special note:  These Easter devotions are dedicated to: 

God-of-the-Angel-Armies - Your promises give me life, and I delight in being Yours.  

Thank you to Steve Swanson and WAFJ for the opportunity to share the message of God's Promises and Perfect Love. ~ dho

for all the "Preparing for Easter" devotions and more ~  

"breathing Room for my soul"  dhosoulchat.blogspot.com   

MangroveMinistries.org

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2009 by Donna Oswalt