"Come and listen, all who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for
me....but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer." Psalm
66:16, 18

What a wonderful testimony the believer has.  The Lord has heard his
prayers, and he can tell others what God has done.  Lynn and I generally
read a Psalm each night before we go to sleep.  This is usually the first
thing we do after the caregivers have gone and we are finally alone again in
our home.  The Lord has granted us another good day together.  He has cared
for us and carried us safely and healthily through another day.  We are
together.  We are home.   God has been good to us.  Of course, these things
do not have to happen for us to be thankful for what God has done.  One of
my favorite verses is from the end of Habakkuk 3:17:
"Though the fig tree should not blossom, 
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation."

We are thankful to have the gift of family with their frequent visits. We
are thankful for our church family and for the many ways they encourage us.
Thank you SO MUCH for the wonderful meals you supply for Lynn and me EACH
Sunday. We enjoy them so much-yummy!!

The pictures below show Lynn driving Isabella around the house.  This way,
Lynn can be alone with the grand children for a few minutes.  They will go
into the other room, stop and talk, and then come back so her sister can
have a turn.  Also, you will see Mary Evelynn sitting on Grammy's lap while
she colors in her coloring book, I love the way the grand children love to
be with their Grammy.

Wrestling
Mary Evelynn likes to get on the floor with me and "wrestle."  What she
means by the word "wrestling" is that I lie on the floor on my back with my
arms and legs down. Mary Evelynn backs up, runs up to me, leaps in the air,
bends her knees and then comes down on my stomach with all her weight on my
stomach. So, of course, I try to catch her on her way down, tighten up my
stomach muscles (such as they are!) to allow for a not too painful landing.
Then as she backed up to repeat this feat I bent my knees up to protect
myself a little.  Then she said the  funniest thing. "Pop Pop, put your
knees down. You could hurt somebody."  I just rolled over in laughter.
"Come on, "Pop Pop, let's do it again!!"

Father, we thank you for your goodness to us.  We have seen times when we
did not know how we could go another step or what that step would be.  Yet
you knew and you brought us on to the other side with a future.  You have
given us hope when we did not know where it would come from.  You have given
us others who have come along beside us to help us and encourage us.  You
have given us the greatest gift and that is Yourself.  Thank you, Father for
loving us, the unloveable.  Thank you for your great goodness to us. May you
grant us a faithful walk with you all our days.   Forgive us of our many
sins, we pray, in Jesus' holy name, Amen.

Love,

Doug and Lynn and family
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During recent worship services, the subject of suffering has occurred several times. From what I have observed, all of us suffer from time to time.  Due to some well meaning friends and the "health and wealth" gospel that some preach, I think there is a danger for the Christian to think that we should not suffer, that if we suffer, it is because we lack faith, do not know how to pray correctly, or there is some unconfessed sin in our lives.  Now those things may be the case. We might suffer because of some sin we have committed.  David certainly had to suffer as a result of his sin with Bathsheba, but I also know that the Bible teaches us that we live in a fallen world and that since sin entered the world, we will all experience the results of our fallen nature.  Some sin, though is not a direct result of some sin in our lives.  Did you know that we might experience the flight of a longtime "true" friend, false conviction, even sentences that are not based on fact?  If you expect not to suffer for such things just look at Jesus who had to suffer, as He, Himself, taught, "...the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again." Mark 8:31b 

Many wonder about human suffering, why we have to experience it, what is the best way to get through it, etc. I had been reading Bonhoeffer's book Discipleship. In his chapter on the Sermon on the Mount,  in which he discusses the subject of suffering (common to all believers), he states, "The community of disciples does not shake off suffering, as if they had nothing to do with it.  Instead, they bear it.  In doing so, they give witness to their connection with the people around them.  At the same time, this indicates that they do not arbitrarily seek suffering, that they do not withdraw into willful contempt for the world.  Instead they bear what is laid upon them, and what happens to them in discipleship for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Finally, disciples will not be weakened by suffering, worn down, and embittered, until they are broken.   Instead, they bear suffering by the power of him who supports them.  The disciples bear the suffering laid on them only by the power of him who bears all suffering on the cross.

Susan said that Mary Evelynn was looking at some old pictures of her "Grammy" who was holding and playing with one of the older grandchildren before her injury.  Mary Evelynn said Oh, look at that Mommy.  Susan said, does that make you sad, Mary Evelynn?  "No, not at all.  I am just so happy that Grammy was able to do that at all.  Wasn't that wonderful?  And in heaven, she will be able to do that again."  Oh, the simplicity and faith, and even wisdom of the little ones!!

Soon after Lynn's injury we had a nurse tell us that we would soon be able to have a "quality of life again."  I can assure you that Lynn and I feel that we do have a quality of life.  We have some great times. The Lord has certainly blessed us beyond what we could have imagined.  How is this possible? It is by grace from our Heavenly Father.  Sing the hymn with us: 

Great is Thy Faithfulness

"Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Look at the pictures below with Lynn watching a movie on her iPad with Isabella on her lap, and again some nice snuggling time with Mary Evelynn.  Yes, the Lord has been good to us.

Thank you, Father, that in the midst of our suffering, you are with us.  You never leave us or forsake us.  Thank you that you have blessed us in so many ways.  We thank you especially for your love for us, for your grace, mercy, and compassion.  Thank you for a supporting family, friends  and church family. Bless us, Father with a faithful walk with you each of our days.  Keep us from stumbling we pray, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Love,

Doug and Lynn and family 

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Picture
"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  Psalm 139:16

Waking Up

Yesterday Jamie preached using the above verse for Sanctity of Life Sunday.
This is a very special verse to me.  After seven weeks of being sedated, I
woke up and Doug began telling me the story of what happened.  It was a big
shock at first, but this verse kept me calm knowing that the day of the
injury was also ordained for me before time began.  I know God gave me this
verse because it hit me so strongly right after I found out the news.  I am
very thankful for this gift from God.  It was also a great reminder of our
sovereign God.  There are many people who question the sanctity of life
depending on their condition.  Therefore I am very glad my family felt
called to take care of me and never gave up on me.  All of this is a good
reminder to me that we all are made in God's image and have great worth in
God's eyes no matter our limitations, handicaps, illnesses.  

Bella's Birthday Party

Our vibrant Bella has celebrated her third birthday all weekend.  She is a
great joy to us and has quite a personality.  I wish you could have seen the
look on her face when the waitresses at Chick-fil-A started to sing to her.
As we were all siting around having a birthday dinner on Sunday after church,
Mary Evelynn said "I love this-having all my family together-Mommy and
Daddy, Sissy, Grammy and Grandpop, Grandma and Papa. We are all together"
Then on Monday Doug and I went with Susan and the girls to "Jump 2 It" in
Peachtree City.  All of our grandchildren bring us great joy.  The picture
is of Bella in her birthday dress made by her Mother.

Whate'er My God Ordains my God is Right, holy His will abideth.  Thank you,
Father for your sovereignty over every aspect of our lives.  Thank you for
children and laughter, family and friends and all the other good gifts you
choose to give us.  We don't deserve any of them, but in your goodness you
allow these things in our lives.  Help us to grow closer to you every day,
to seek your holy will in all we do, and to be diligent to teach the next
generation about you.  I love you, Lord.  In His name, we pray, Amen.

Love, Lynn
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When Lynn and I were reading this Psalm tonight at bedtime, Lynn reminded me that she had claimed this verse when we had made our move from Mississippi (where we lived for 25 years) to the Atlanta area.  I know this move was hard for her for a number of reasons.  We had wonderful friends that we were leaving behind and a wonderful church family.  You know, we still have those wonderful friends and that church family, and we have made wonderful friends here and have a wonderful church family here now, too.

Loss

Various events at church today helped me solidify the main topic for this newsletter.  Everyone has suffered loss at some time in their lives.  I remember when my father died about 16 years ago.  Other than my wife, he was my best friend, and we had spent some great times together on visits even though we lived over 1,000 miles apart.  He had battled cancer for seven years, and even though I knew his time was getting short, it was still a shock to me when he passed away.  Lynn knew I was hurting and she told me that while I lost my earthly father, I still had my heavenly father.  You know, it might sound strange, but that did comfort me.  I still had my heavenly Father!

The holiday season is hard for lots of people because it marks another anniversary of the passing of a loved one.  We had our whole family around us this Christmas, and now that the season is over, we feel a loss since they are no longer with us.  Members of our church family have just lost their father or grandfather.  Physical loss is hard.  Thank you, Brian for finding the scripture I was looking for regarding the Lord's taking away Ezekiel's wife.  "Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a strike; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.  Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead...So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died.  And on the next morning I did as I was commanded."

I remember how I reacted when I learned of Lynn's condition after the accident.  And for years, at certain times, I would weep, tears would run down, and I would sigh out loud and even in front of people.  And to be honest, when I speak about this in public, even now I sometimes weep especially when talking about how God's people have been so good to us.  Lynn told me tonight that when she would have bad days, a couple of times, she recalls that she felt the Lord's presence in the room with her, that the Lord's comfort was that strong.  The Lord gives His people strength and grace to handle the trials of life.  When we pray that He will give us peace that passes all understanding, this is what we mean.  As Matthew Henry says, the Lord has given us our creature comforts and He maintains ownership in them and can take them away when He pleases.  "We may the more easily bear an affliction if it find us in the way of our duty; for nothing can hurt us, nothing come amiss to us, while we keep ourselves in the love of God."

Hope

As we sang in our service last Sunday, Another Year Is Dawning

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

The pictures below show the children playing games with Grammy, reading with her, etc.

Father, we thank you for your grace that sustains us in difficult times and trials. Bless Michael and Jan and their families in the loss of their father.  Would you provide them with comfort during this difficult time.  Would you also comfort all those who grieve for their lost loved ones at this time.  Would your grace prove sufficient for them.  Father, thank you for the ways you have blessed and encouraged Lynn and me over the years.  Thank you for those you have sent to minister to us.  Would you bless our family, friends and church families who have been so gracious and encouraging to us.  Father, help us to live a life that honors you and reflects your great love to us.  Forgive us of our many sins, we pray, in Jesus' holy name, Amen.

Love,
Doug and Lynn and Family
(click the pictures to enlarge them)
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By Faith... 12/26/2011
 
"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharoah' s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.  By faith he left Egypt..."

By faith is the theme of this passage of scripture from Hebrews 10:17-31. "By faith" is used to start a sentence 10 times according to my calculations.  It is my impression that when the Bible says something this many times in a row, it must be VERY important.

To be honest with you, I had been thinking about this Christmas Day for a couple of weeks.  This is the sixth anniversary of the Lord's providing a new assignment for Lynn and me.  It was six years ago today that we were heading to church on Christmas Sunday morning, when Lynn and our son's family were involved in a car wreck.  This instantly changed our lives and really the lives of our children and grand children-and the lives of our church families.  All have since ministered to us in numerous and remarkable ways.  And so as the Lord continues to provide blessings which are new each morning, it was wonderful to be in the Lord's house this morning with Lynn and ALL our family (children and grand children) worshipping with our church family celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was reading the above passage on Christmas Eve (in the One Year Chronological Bible that members of our church are reading this year) I could not get my mind off this passage.  The Lord desires us to live by faith.  I believe that when we do this, He will show us some miracles along the way that will renew our strength and encourage us to continue in our walk by faith as we encounter future trials (or assignments).  Sometimes life's trials can be so difficult that about all we can do is to take the next step in faith, or do the next thing-clean out the closet, get a haircut, prepare the next meal, get up and go to work, get up and go job seeking, etc. Six years ago today, the doctors reported that they did not know if Lynn would live through the night.  Well, she has certainly come a long way from those difficult days.  We have been blessed in so many ways-the family, friends, and others who have ministered to us, new members of the family-four grand children, if my calculations are correct, and a stronger marriage with a love for each other that has grown through the years.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6 This is the One in whom we have faith-the One who will never leave us or forsake us.  

Our Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son.  Thank you for blessing us in so many ways.  Thank you for providing for us and being with us always.  Thank you that we could worship with our family and church family today.  Thank you for the many ways they have ministered to us throughout the years.  Would you be with those now who are going through deep waters.  Some are grieving the loss of a loved one.  Some are having difficulty with a marriage, with a job, with finances.  Some are wondering what will be in store for them in the New Year.  Give us all a faith that will allow us to walk each step of the way with the confidence of knowing that you will be with us in every situation and even provide for us rest in the midst of our difficulties.  Forgive us of our sins, Father and grant us a faithful walk with you each of our days, for it is in your Son's holy name we pray, Amen.

Love,
Doug and Lynn and Family 
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We have just celebrated the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving.  Many of us have traditions around holidays.  These traditions are nice because we know what to expect and we can look forward to them.  One of our traditions is that each year we celebrate either Christmas or Thanksgiving with our children and their families.  We alternate years, so this is the year our children spent Thanksgiving with the in-laws and then they plan to spend Christmas with us.  So we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends this year.  Since many caregivers want to be with their own families on holidays, that means that Lynn and I are able to have some nice and rare time alone.  We were able to have a nice date and dinner together on Friday night.

Why would I talk about Thanksgiving after the holiday is over and we are now in the Advent season?  It seems to me that thankfulness is central to the Christian experience.  I know we might generally tend to be thankful for good things that happen to us.  We had a "good" day.  We got a "good" job, or in these times, we are thankful because we "have" a job!  We are thankful for the good friends we have, and our family.  Nothing wrong with being thankful for these things.  We should be thankful for these wonderful gifts the Lord has given us.

But the above verse talks about being thankful in EVERYTHING!  This is hard.  I note Lynn's strength in the Lord when she said on her Facebook page last week, "In everything give thanks!  I am thankful to be a quadriplegic because that is God's will for me right now and it brings me closer to Him.  I am also thankful for all the family and friends who minister to me because of the love they have for Jesus.  They minister to me with His hands."  When Lynn became unable to use her own hands, God sent other's hands to her!  What a testimony to God's grace.  How can she be thankful to be a quadriplegic?  Through God's grace.  So when we enter the Advent Season, let us be thankful for where the Lord has us right now.  Regardless of what we might hear false teachers tell us, God does not always give us an easy path to Himself.  He does not always make the road easy.  One thing He will give us, though, is the grace and strength for what He has for us today.  How do we know this? We have the greatest Teacher and example ever.  Jesus himself had to suffer and die a terrible earthly death and for things He was not even guilty of.  I am the guilty one, and He died for me!!  From my experience, a thankful heart is also a soft heart towards the things of the Lord.  So let's work at keeping this thankful heart with us each day, not just on Thanksgiving day.  Let's take it with us into the Advent Season!

The pictures below show Lynn's grandchildren ministering to her.  Bella is feeding "Grammy," Nelson is giving her a drink, and Emily is comforting her.  Many others minister to Lynn as well. This includes family members, friends and other caregivers.  I love to watch the young ones since it gives them so much pleasure to help "Grammy."  They are a good example to me of the kind of servants Christ calls us to be.  

Father, thank you for your many blessings.  Thank you especially for the gift of your Son.  We thank you for all the good things you provide for us. Thank you for the beauty of your creation, the beauty of family and friends.  Thank you for all those you have sent our way to minister to Lynn and me.  Thank you for providing all that we need each day.  Than you for even sending things our way that we might not chose but that bring us closer to you.  Would you keep our hearts soft towards you?  Would you keep us thankful for how you made us and where you placed us?  Give us hearts of joy, thankfulness, and anticipation as we celebrate the coming of the Lord Jesus.  Give us strength and grace this day and forgive us of our many sins, for it is in Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Love,
Doug and Lynn and family

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“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD…” Psalm 127:3

Trips: As you may recall, two weeks ago, I traveled to St. Louis for Grandparents’ Day for Nelson and Maddie and last week, Lynn and I went to Nashville for Grandparents’ Day for Emily, William, and Luke.  I know some of you prayed for us during this time.  We thank you and are happy to report the Lord was gracious to us.  We had wonderful times with our families and safe, uneventful trips.

I had made significant changes (which I had hoped were improvements) to our travel equipment.  In general everything worked out as planned and this was a significant improvement which we hope will eventually lead to my being able to take Lynn to St. Louis for Grandparents’ Day next year.  We will need to spend two days each way in our travels, and the way we get equipment in and out of the trailer, and set up, has to be improved upon even yet.

So, one of the biggest changes was that I ordered a portable hospital bed.  These are beds designed for use in local and national emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina where beds must be set up quickly in a triage setting.  This bed was much lighter, easier to set up and store, but was a little higher than her other bed.  Everything worked out perfectly getting this bed set up 
in Julie’s house.  I was able to remove it from the trailer and carry it myself into Julie’s house and set it up myself in a matter of a minute or two.  This contrasts to the former bed which was so heavy that it required two people and ramps to get it out of the trailer and into the house and three people to set up over the course of about ½ hour.  As I said, everything worked out perfectly UNTIL we were transferring Lynn from the wheelchair to the bed when the caregivers called me over and showed me that the hoyer lift would not get Lynn high enough to clear the bed mattress!!  Wouldn’t you know the bed was just ever so much too high.  So, we improvised a way to get around that small problem and then we were good for the rest of the trip! 

We had a great time at grandparents day.  It was great to see our grandchildren in their school settings.  The Wheelers in St. Louis and the Mayfields in Nashville are all in great schools.  Martin Luther said, "I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount.  Every institution in which men are not increasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt... I am much afraid that schools will prove to be great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth."
 
The pictures show me with Nelson and Maddie Wheeler, the van pulling the trailer, and various pictures of Lynn at Grandparents Day and other activities with the Mayfields.  Since we were there also for Luke's seventh birthday, he took us to his favorite place to eat in all of Nashville. That's right, of all the places he could go, Luke chose to have pizza at Sam's!!!

We were thankful to be able to make this trip.  We appreciate caregivers Kristy and Elizabeth giving up their time with family to help us. Also, Susan and her girls were there for a few days as well.  So we had a great family time.  

Lynn has not really been feeling great lately.  Please continue to pray forher.  We have another appointment with the doctor in the Pain Clinic at Shepherd on Monday.

Father, we thank you so much for blessing us so richly each day. Thank you for giving us good visits and safe travel to St. Louis and Nashville. Thank you for giving us children and grandchildren.  Father, we are always one generation away from unbelief, so help your people teach the children about You.  Father, would you bless your people today.  Our greatest need is you, also bless us in our worldly cares to focus on You and your greatness and your goodness to Your people.  Father, thank you for all those who encourage us in our walk.  May you grant us a faithful walk with you each of our days, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Love,
Doug, Lynn and Family

Father, we thank you...

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