I've been a bit out-of-pocket this morning due to the Morning of Prayer that was held on behalf of Travis, Kelly, Bennett, and the families. I want to say thanks to all of you who came. We were especially blessed to have Kathy Shunk (Kelly's mom) at the gathering. It was a great time of prayer, and I'm sure that everyone who was there was encouraged. The majority of the time was spent praying, but we also shared times when we've experienced answered prayer and listened to encouraging words from the Bible. Thanks to Bruce Black for leading/facilitating the gathering.
Travis has posted another entry to Bennett's site, so to get the latest, please link there (click on "Bennett's Site" at the top of the right column). The bottom line is that Bennett's condition is still unchanged, so that is still a good report. We now need to focus our prayers on the infection, Bennett's potential for bleeding (because of the blood thinners), and his kidneys. Let's pray that he continues to fight the infection, that he doesn't experience any bleeding, and that he'll start to "urinate" more and more.
I will try to get an update about Kelly's status later today, and I will also check on any test results that the family may have gotten in the last 24 hours (or any tests that will be performed in the next 24 hours).
In the meantime, please consider signing up for the 24-hour prayer vigil for Travis, Kelly, Bennett, and the families starting at midnight tonight. The instructions for signing up are in the right column. No matter where you live, I encourage you to sign up to cover a 30-minute time period in prayer. You can sign up as an individual, as a couple, as a family, or as a group of friends. If you're someone who is up with a little one during the night, consider covering the crucial a.m. hours. If you can't commit to a particular time, that's fine. The bottom line is that we want to cover Travis, Kelly, Bennett, and the families in prayer during the entire day on Sunday.
Finally, I'll be printing the new entries off sometime today and delivering them to the hospital. So, if you want to leave a note of encouragement for them, please do so on this site or on Bennett's site. They continue to be sustained by the thoughts, prayers, and verses you're sharing with them.
I'll be back when I have the next update. Until then, please keep praying, paging, and posting.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Update - August 25th at 2 p.m.
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2 comments:
Like we said on our last comment, we don't know you personally, but we are continuing to pray for you here in Fort Worth! If you get a page with the zip code 76133, that was us. :) We've been so touched by your strength and constant faith in God. We look forward to each update and are praying according to what Bennett's needs are specifically.
In Christ,
Shane, Holly, Matthew, Jonah & Jack Bender
Back in 1988, after a trip to Nigeria, when Dad was on complete life support (while visiting in Florida) with a machine hooked up to every major organ, filtering his blood, kidney dialysis, etc. and again during Rachel’s near death experience, it just became a moment by moment total reliance on that which we did not understand, except by faith…which, you are so beautifully teaching us about throughout this experience.
As you are so much on my mind and heart, I just wanted to share some words from a meditation (taken from Always We Begin Again) while also sending it with much love and constant prayer.
“We give thanks for our existence;
we recognize that we rely on forces beyond our understanding.
We trust what this life brings;
we trust ourselves,
we trust our friends,
we trust our families,
we trust life,
we trust the universe.
We release our past to the past,
our future to the future,
we accept our present.
We give up our cares and fears.
We abandon our illusions of control.
We acknowledge our complete dependence
on providence.
We relinquish our apprehension.
We rely on that which we do not understand.
We have faith.
We have courage.
Keep us from all fear today.
Open our hearts to the gifts of this moment,
and bind us to the great unknown through
complete trust.
Assist us in forming a loving image of the
ultimate mystery,
to have faith, and
the courage to give ourselves hope.”
We love you...
Garth and Pat
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