Romans 8:18, and Update 9/30/06

Update, Saturday 10:30

My beloved is with Jesus. Thank you for your love and prayers. The details of her memorial service will be posted when they are known. Jesus Christ is my Lord, and I love Him, and thank Him for the grace He showed us as my sweet Jody gracefully went to "where we will go from here", to meet the Rose of Sharon, the Son of Man, Holy God, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever, no more tears, no more pain, worshipping in perfection in Heaven, where she has worshipfully longed to be.

1Cor. 15:50-58 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,

"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

In Jesus,

Scott


Rom. 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Dear Ones,

This will need to be a basic straightforward post. Please know that Jody reads or hears everything you mail, post or email. It has strengthened us in ways you cannot imagine!

There is a gathering of family and friends at the St. Joseph's Burbank ICU waiting room - it is on the second floor and you are most welcome to check in there to fellowship and pray. I will come by and give updates as I am able.

Jody is comfortable and resting- yet it appears that she is approaching the final phase of her earthly time with us. It seems - as with so many aspects of our precious life together, that we have been in rehearsal today. Rehearsing our love, our faith, our future - and have been in the Word of God throughout the day focusing on heaven. We always savor the thought of worship in the heavenlies - and the joy of eternally participating! And with no sin! Hallelujah to the Lamb!

Rev. 4:2-11 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,

"HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."

And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

We thank God for His merciful love. There are no words I can write at this time that will express how God has been answering prayer after prayer on our behalf. We are grateful to all of you for praying for us and for all of the multitude of helps - God knows - and I *know* He will richly bless you all! Thank you, each and every one of you - so very very much.

"Ten Best" Update - Latest Prayer Requests

Hello Dear Praying Friends,

Top Ten Best Things About Our Trial (in no particular order):

1. We don't need television.
2. There is only today.
3. Our prayer life is revolutionized.
4. Jesus is nearer than we have ever known.
5. Scripture is on fire as we read it.
6. Our love for each other has never been stronger or more beautiful.
   
7. Having nothing is having everything.
8. Heaven dominates.
9. Relationships with everyone deepen.
10. God uses our trial to promote the glorious gospel of Christ.

Jody is resting somewhat comfortably, after another roller coaster ICU ride. We spotted some heart problems early last Tuesday - and we made an orderly move into ICU where the best monitoring is. The Lord provided so much grace!

Before our move to ICU we went forward with a procedure called plueradesis which essentially seals up the pleural space with a drug (Bleomycin), so that fluid will no longer be able to build up there. The procedure is uncommon because installing the necessary chest tube is so invasive. In our case we already had the tube - so it made sense to take advantage of the opportunity. Not long after this procedure, Jody's heart started beating too fast - so we took the necessary steps to protect her - ICU. The amazing news is that they have already removed the chest tube (Wednesday the 27th) and she felt much more comfortable. We just thank the Lord, over and over for His grace and for answering our prayers!

Today around 4:00 am, Jody felt very short of breath as her medications wore off - so we find ourselves in deeper water once again. We still praise our Lord Jesus who is in complete control. She is on ventilator support (via mask) and we hope this is a short term situation, as it's not that comfortable for my beloved.

Please pray that we can find out what is happening in more detail after another ultrasound later today, and possible thoracentesis.

Pray we can get back on a trajectory that sees us back home - we call it "Oakdale take two, with feeling this time!" ;-)

We love all of you so very much and are continually humbled by your prayerful words and encouragements. May God bless you this moment beyond what you can ask or think, for being faithful and fervent!

Psa. 42:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.

Son of Man!

Hello Dear Praying Ones,

Jody had a specific scripture passage on her heart today after we sang "Fairest Lord Jesus" together. The fourth stanza of the hymn reads:

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.

My sweet Jody went on to share from her heart about what an exalted title for Jesus is the "Son of Man". She rehearsed insights she learned from her personal study time in an R.C. Sproul study about the majesty of God - pointing out that the best way to sing those fourth stanza lyrics is to do so with a proper understanding of the heavenly scene at Christ's acension. Here's the passage:

Dan. 7:13-14 I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

We had such a glorious time (also with our dear Logan who arrived in the midst of our discussion) talking about our ascended Christ, at the right hand of the Father, in splendor and majesty! Sweet christian fellowship ensued. I have no chance at conveying how privileged I am to be married to this woman.

Not long after this transcendent conversation, our doctors arrived and explained that Jody's low blood counts (anemia), shortness of breath, and pain that brought us back to the hospital were still a mystery to be solved. They also explained that fluid on the left side was re-accumulating. By putting in a chest tube, they could determine if it was being caused by possible bleeding. The procedure revealed that indeed that was the case. (The procedure itself was flawless. Thank you Abba!) Jody will have pain from the tube for a while - and is on medication to alleviate it. Thank you, Lord - for Dr. Schaerf, Dr. Mena, and Dr. Taback and these incredible nurses.

All of this is to say that God was so merciful to us - because had we not gone to the ER when we did, we might have found ourselves in a very dangerous situation. More glory to our great God, who continues to miraculously guide each and every step we take! Jody is now resting comfortably, after a yummy dinner. We know we will be in the hospital for several days at a minimum. Although she cannot accept visitors, I will happily come down to the lobby (St. Joseph's, Burbank) to update any of you who drop by. The support we have received from you in this regard has humbled us. Thank you! Our prayer requests...

• Pray that Jody would heal swiftly from this procedure, and that the tube can be removed as soon as possible. Also pray that the source of the original bleeding will heal - and that there will be less fluid accumulation as the chemo does it's work.
• Please pray that we could get back on track towards getting home.
• Jody starts her next round of chemo in about five days. We'll possibly still be here in the hospital - and so we ask for prayer that the next round would be effective, well tolerated by Jody's body - and that she remain in her "Grace Bubble".
• Finally, we are overwhelmed with all the love and care we have been the recipients of! Glory to God! So many ask what they can do - and we are so humbled by this. I am always at a loss for what to say when asked. Jody and I have been discussing this and the Lord put these two things on our hearts.

1. In lieu of flowers etc., Jody and I would be delighted if you would make an anonymous, tax deductible donation to the Grace Community Church "Music For Missions" Designated Fund to benefit our missionaries. We love them so dearly - and they serve faithfully and with excellence all around the world in strategic ministries. You can learn more about our amazing missionaries here.

2. If you feel led, donate blood. This is a wonderful thing to do in general. Jody is B+, but it does not have to be directed to her specifically. Click Here for information on how to do this.

May God bless you all for your constant prayer, love and concern for us!

Eph. 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

The Rock That Is Higher

Hello Dear Friends,

Jody and I have had a loving week at home. God has given us such a sweet gift of time together at Oakdale. Thank you all for praying for us! We are back in the battle however, and as I type we find ourselves back at the hospital after Jody became very short of breath. I will spare the details because it is enough to say we have been guided by the Lord as we struggle through our time in "short stay" for another thoracentesis, then the ER due to pain, and now back on the oncology floor. Our prayer is that we will be back home today - and we again trust the Lord for every breath.

Again, C. H. Spurgeon's words minister to us - so I share this edited version with you.

Psalm 61:2 "When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I."

Most of us know what it is to be overwhelmed in heart. Disappointments and heart-breaks will do this when billow after billow rolls over us, and we are like a broken shell hurled to and fro by the surf. Blessed be God, at such seasons we are not without an all-sufficient solace, our God is the harbour of weather-beaten sails, the hospice of forlorn pilgrims. Higher than we are is He, His mercy higher than our sins, His love higher than our thoughts. A Rock He is since He changes not, and a high Rock, because the tempests which overwhelm us roll far beneath at His feet; He is not disturbed by them, but rules them at His will. If we get under the shelter of this lofty Rock we may defy the hurricane; all is calm under the lee of that towering cliff. Hence the prayer of the text.

O Lord, our God, by Thy Holy Spirit, teach us the way of faith, lead us into Thy rest. The wind blows us out to sea, the helm answers not to our puny hand; Thou, Thou alone canst steer us over the bar between yon sunken rocks, safe into the fair haven. How dependent we are upon Thee - we need Thee to bring us to Thee. To be wisely directed and steered into safety and peace is Thy gift, and Thine alone. This day be pleased to deal well with Thy servants.

We trust God, and praise Him for all of your helps and prayers.

P.S. Today is also the birthday of someone very special to Jody and I. This person brought me into the world, and also came to know Jesus Christ as her Lord about seven years ago. Not bad for a Jewish lady. She is generous, loving, writes beautifully, and can take down 300+ words per minute if she absolutely has to. ;-)

Happy Birthday, Bonnie/Mom. We love you.

There's No Place Like Home

Deut. 32:4 The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

Jody has slept in her own bed the last two nights! She is able to walk around the perimeter of our home for exercise, eat meals at the table, rest comfortably, snack from the fridge, take a shower - and enjoy the endless list of simple comforts of being home. I encourage you to practice listing all the things commonly taken for granted - and praise God heartily for them.

Thank you all once again for your constant encouragement and labor in prayer. I believe we have experienced something akin to a miracle for which we praise God day and night. Here are our latest prayer requests.

Please pray for Jody's strength to continue to increase, and for her healing to progress.

We ask for the Lord's continual protection from the side effects of Jody's treatment. He has been so gracious to us.

We cannot adequately express our gratitude to God for the blessings He has showered us with. We can only fall to our faces in worship of our Great, Loving, Merciful, Holy God.

From Jody: Dear precious friends, it is so wonderful to be home. I continue to be utterly humbled by your prayers on my behalf. I am eternally grateful. Each day is a precious gift from the Lord and a wonderful opportunity to rely on and draw close to Him. I love the Lord so deeply. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psa. 145:8-10 The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You.

Frankfurt DC to Oakdale Imminent!

Psa. 149:5 Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.

There is so much to be thankful for! Tomorrow is Wednesday and we are almost certainly being discharged from the hospital, after twenty four days.

The Lord our Shield has protected my sweet Jody through deep valleys over these weeks - and He has never been nearer. Jody had her last remaining tube discontinued. She is untethered! What a blessing. She has been carefully pursuing her physical therapy. Yesterday, Jody walked for six minutes while the doctors monitored her O2. She did fine! Today she walked the perimeter around the whole floor we're on - and I'm told that that is about five hundred feet.

She shed tears of joy upon feeling the sunlight on her skin yesterday. Today she anticipates all sorts of "new" sensations - taking a shower standing up - being in a car - being back at home etc. When I consider how close Jody was to being in heaven, all I can do is worship God for answering our prayers and letting me enjoy her company at home once again! What a loving and merciful Lord!

So far, Jody has had minimal side effects from the chemotherapy. The therapy seems to be helping some of her symptoms, too. We are so grateful that she can breath well and still has an appetite.

Our next phase at home will involve many days of therapy and appointments - but Jody has an awesome attitude about it. I am so blessed!

Tomorrow night she may be sleeping in her own bed. I can hardly believe I am typing it! Whatever interval of time we have together will be a gift from the Lord. Jody and I realize that we must live every single day as if it were our last. (We all should do that.) We have a new 'game' too. Our 'game' is to see how much praise we can render to God in a single day - no matter what circumstances are swirling around us. It's a great contest - and it really helps keep our heads above water!

Thank you all for praying for us, visiting the lobby and waiting rooms, bringing food, flowers, sending notes, encouraging each other, and serving us in ways that exemplify God's goodness. May each of you be blessed in unspeakable ways!

P.S. We had the opportunity to share our faith directly with one of our doctors. I asked him what he thought about Jesus Christ. He said He was a good man, and that he appreciated Jesus' heritage because he was Jewish. I told him that I was Jewish too (which really threw him because we gave him our gospel music earlier in the week) and we had a moment or so to talk about the difference in our Jewish perspective - primarily that I accepted Isaiah 53 as a disclosure of the Messiah Jesus Christ - and told him to read that book carefully. He said he just might!

Lord, please draw this dear Dr. to yourself through Your Word! I pray in the name of Yeshua, the Lamb of God.

A Time To Heal...

Hello Precious Friends,

Jody and I continue to enjoy life one precious day at a time. As the Word says, "today has enough troubles of it's own". Total dependence on God for everything is so liberating. I wish I had understood this better in the past. While it is important that we make plans for the future, it is so important to simply live right now for God's glory.

Jody had another IV line removed today. She is completely "unplugged" except for one single chest tube. My sense is that it won't be too long before that is removed. I can barely believe that discussions about going back to Oakdale (our home) are on the table. There are a lot of hurdles to clear first - but it still amazes me how far our Gracious Heavenly Father, our Abba, has brought sweet Jodgees!

She walked on her own (with a walker) from the bed to the door of her room six times today. It is such a blessing to see her regain some of her strength and to spend time amongst the vertical! The chemo has not presented any nausea yet. We are so grateful for that. Appetite remains solid. She had a tummy ache today - but it does not seem to be a big deal.

Please continue to pray...

...that God would use these treatments to wipe out the cancer and it's symptoms.

...that Jody would continue to get stronger and build endurance as she increases her physical activities; walking, sitting, standing etc..

...that there would be no harsh side effects from the treatments. Better yet - that there would be no side effects at all! :-)

And most significantly... for the gospel of Christ to take root in those that have been exposed to our testimony.

Lam. 3:22-23 The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Special Prayer Request!

Hello Dear Friends,

Our immediate need is for you to pray fervently that Jody will do well with her chemotherapy treatments. Her first round has begun, she is relaxed and we are talking about the goodness of the Lord.

Specifically, pray that the possible side effects - which range from nausea to blood problems - do not present themselves. If they should appear, pray that they would be minimal. Pray that God would protect everything in Jody except the disease. Please pray that God would give Jody an extra measure of grace regarding the likely loss of her hair. We are working with a terrific team of helpful ladies in this regard.

Most of all, please pray that the Lord, our Abba, would be honored as we trust Him and seek to worship Him through these difficult times.

Ps. 34:1-3 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

"Miracle Girl" Leaves ICU!

1Cor. 15:57 ...but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is so much on our hearts! God continues to flood our days with grace. Again, we thank you all for your faithful prayers! Here are some of the headlines...

Jody has successfully transitioned out of ICU. Praise the Lord! Thank you Abba, for allowing Jody "yet to remain on" after being so close to heaven. We give You the glory for this incredible development. We are in a new room on a new floor at the hospital - and Jody is resting comfortably after a huge morning. She has been painfully short of breath - but after a procedure on her left lung (thoracentisis #5) she finally has some relief! Praise to Jesus! This relief allowed her to eat her breakfast, lunch and dinner with relative ease. Oh how we take so much for granted! She is sleeping so much better as I type this.

Jody has chosen to fight on. This means we must pursue a far more aggressive treatment path - but we believe that the Lord has led us here in His perfect timing. The treatment will be risky. Please pray for the Lord to *protect* my sweet angel's body as we go forward into the realm of cytotoxic therapies. The goal is to stop the disease that is irritating her heart and lungs, thereby eliminating the accumulation of fluid.

For Your name's sake You will lead us and guide us. God's purposes are perfect and cannot be thwarted. We have seen tremendous blessing and purpose in all that He has allowed us to go through. The future will be no different. His love for Jody surpasses all of ours - and He knows perfectly what is best for her. We will yet trust Him! He is full of Grace, Truth, Power, Wisdom, Honor and Glory!

O may Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.

Precious Times

May God bless all of you faithful friends!

We are grateful for your labor in prayer for us. The Lord has blessed us every hour with His closeness. He encourages us in the deep recesses of the heart as only He can. We imagine ourselves on our faces, hunkered down behind a rock at the foot of the cross; sharing our burdens with the Lord who faithfully bears them, and protects us and keeps us sheltered in His tender care. We are constantly thanking Him for His grace. Every moment we have is provided by the grace of the Almighty.

Jody and I have been given the time to talk about everything that is important to us. It always starts out with our love for Christ and all that He has accomplished. We rehearse our love for each other and talk about favorite memories. We talk about "living today only" - taking one day at a time and trusting God to lead and guide us as he has for two decades. We talk about practical matters too. It has been such a stripped down, honest time. I am told by my dear friend and Pastor John Zimmer that very few ever get the chance to express the things we are expressing to each other - because illness and death can so often be so unexpected and arrive so quickly that there is no opportunity. Some never get the chance. So we see this time as a gift from God and are soaking in every precious second we can. I'll be so bold as to suggest that you do the same with your loved ones as soon as you can.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

As for an update on my bride, here are some key points. Thank you for praying for us - it is such a precious gift.

• Even though Jody is short of breath - she is building a small measure of stamina. She is more alert overall for longer periods of time and for that we are so grateful. We have not got her out of bed into a chair yet - but she has sat up several times on the edge of her bed. Baby steps!
• She is eating a little better! Even had a dream about food last night! Good sign! :-)
• We've learned that while the visible tumors are shrinking, unseen cancer (too small for scans) is irritating her heart and both lungs. We are being advised to begin stronger chemo and must trust the Lord to help Jody decide if she wants this. It is the hardest decision we have ever faced - but we trust the Lord and know He will faithfully guide us.

Jody sends her most heartfelt love and appreciation to all of you. She especially enjoys receiving mail and blog posts - and is so grateful for them. It is a great way for us to enter in to praise to God as we read. Although Jody has not been able to have visitors, we are so blessed that many friends and family come to the surgery waiting room (at St. Joseph Medical Center Burbank) and fellowship with each other there. I derive so much strength from seeing these dear ones - who wait for endless hours just to get an update from me. For help finding this waiting room, call our dear friend Don Carr and he will assist you. (818-970-1753)

Psa. 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.