Sunday Evening

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! AND GOD’S BLESSINGS TO ALL AND ALL WHO YOU LOVE!!!

GO COLTS - TAKE IT ALL!!!!!


Today has been a pretty good and very busy day. Marty was up and making cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast, then there was church, lunch, FINALLY said the kids we open the gifts, followed by the Colts game – Go Colts – with dinner during the fourth quarter, then played with some of the gifts and are waiting for the big ball to fall. What a day, Praise the Lord!

With all mentioned above Marty really did pretty darn good. Her shoulder was still uncomfortable but not as bad as had been and was useable with care. I am sure that she has pushed to hard today and will be very tired tomorrow. But then again her numbers should all be on the way up and that will certainly help. We are looking forward to the coming week as being a good week. Praise the Lord!

Of course, every week is a good week, it is just that some are indeed better than others. But, this past year particularly God has been so good to us, especially during the hard times. Thank you God for being there, for your grace and love! We remember how Jennifer, when she was in high school, liked the poem “Footprints in the Sand”. I think she had several copies of it in her room. Well, I do believe that poem has been so true for us this past year. We look back and wonder how we have gotten through some of the events and then see that it was God that carried us. What a blessing!

We look forward to a full remission by March and to God we will give the glory. We know that God has a plan for Marty, and still has ministry for her to do. Exactly what that is ,we will have to take one day at a time to see. But, we just give thanks to God for His plan and His presence and His leading Dr. Lee to put her in remission. Praise the Lord!

We wish to all of you a very happy, positive, and meaningful New Year. May you be open to the presence of God in your life and in all that you do may you glorify God.

Be positive and be blessed.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Evening

Greetings!

Sorry I did not get anything on last night. It was a long busy day. We had a doctor’s appointment yesterday with one of Dr. Lee’s partners here in Peru. At that time, Marty was showing a temp. of 100.7. So, she was put on an antibiotic and we went to Dukes for a chest x-ray. Her Hgb. was also down to 7.6 meaning that she needed blood. So, while at Dukes she got typed and crossed matched for the blood which we went to get today. The Doc. did not have a problem with her getting it here, so that saved us almost 3 hours of travel time – Praise the Lord!

The last several days have been rather difficult for Marty. I believe that Tuesday and Wednesday were bad because of a low WBC and then Thursday, Friday, and this morning was bad because of low Hgb. Marty even said on the way home after getting the blood that her collar bone was feeling better and not hurting as much. More and more I am getting convinced that shin discomfort and the shoulder pain are not going to go away until this treatment is all over and the ALM is in remission. I really had hoped that I would never say that, but the more and more that I look at the picture that is what I believe is painted on it. So, I pray that God will continue to give Marty the ability to cope with the discomfort and not let it get her down and/or discouraged. God has been so good and so helpful thus far, and so many prayers are being raised to Him that I count on His continued promise of hearing and answering prayer according to His will. And I pray that it be His will for something to give with this discomfort and that until then that Marty will find the strength to cope and the comfort of God’s presence with her. God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good.

It has also been so busy and wonderful around the house the last couple of days with all four grandchildren and our two children here. We are looking forward to Travis, Jennifer’s husband, joining us tonight. He has been having problems at work and could not leave DeKalb until tonight. It will be good to have him join us and be all together for tomorrow and part of Monday. The children are so busy and so full of energy. It seems like they do not always under-stand what is going on with Marty but they are so kind, good, and loving to her. And they sure seem to love and accept what she can do and are not complaining about the times she has to sit quietly and/or take a nap. A couple of them thought that she was gone for a long time, too long, this afternoon to get her blood. That was even with Jennifer taking them to a movie while we were gone to help pass the time. But, it is so sweet and great that they missed Marty – Praise the Lord!

Again, we want to say that we are so grateful to God, family, and friends that have been, are, and we know will be so helpful to us on this journey on which we are presently going. Though it is not necessarily a journey of choice it is one of love, grace, caring, understanding, assistance, and glorification of our God. For that we give thanks and praise the Lord!

We certainly hope that you join your community of faith tomorrow, or one that is near by you, and again give thanks to God for all that He has given and done for you.

Be positive, be blessed, and glorify the Lord.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Evening

Greetings!

Sorry I did not get anything on last night. It was a long busy day. We had a doctor’s appointment yesterday with one of Dr. Lee’s partners here in Peru. At that time, Marty was showing a temp. of 100.7. So, she was put on an antibiotic and we went to Dukes for a chest x-ray. Her Hgb. was also down to 7.6 meaning that she needed blood. So, while at Dukes she got typed and crossed matched for the blood which we went to get today. The Doc. did not have a problem with her getting it here, so that saved us almost 3 hours of travel time – Praise the Lord!

The last several days have been rather difficult for Marty. I believe that Tuesday and Wednesday were bad because of a low WBC and then Thursday, Friday, and this morning was bad because of low Hgb. Marty even said on the way home after getting the blood that her collar bone was feeling better and not hurting as much. More and more I am getting convinced that shin discomfort and the shoulder pain are not going to go away until this treatment is all over and the ALM is in remission. I really had hoped that I would never say that, but the more and more that I look at the picture that is what I believe is painted on it. So, I pray that God will continue to give Marty the ability to cope with the discomfort and not let it get her down and/or discouraged. God has been so good and so helpful thus far, and so many prayers are being raised to Him that I count on His continued promise of hearing and answering prayer according to His will. And I pray that it be His will for something to give with this discomfort and that until then that Marty will find the strength to cope and the comfort of God’s presence with her. God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good.

It has also been so busy and wonderful around the house the last couple of days with all four grandchildren and our two children here. We are looking forward to Travis, Jennifer’s husband, joining us tonight. He has been having problems at work and could not leave DeKalb until tonight. It will be good to have him join us and be all together for tomorrow and part of Monday. The children are so busy and so full of energy. It seems like they do not always under-stand what is going on with Marty but they are so kind, good, and loving to her. And they sure seem to love and accept what she can do and are not complaining about the times she has to sit quietly and/or take a nap. A couple of them thought that she was gone for a long time, too long, this afternoon to get her blood. That was even with Jennifer taking them to a movie while we were gone to help pass the time. But, it is so sweet and great that they missed Marty – Praise the Lord!

Again, we want to say that we are so grateful to God, family, and friends that have been, are, and we know will be so helpful to us on this journey on which we are presently going. Though it is not necessarily a journey of choice it is one of love, grace, caring, understanding, assistance, and glorification of our God. For that we give thanks and praise the Lord!

We certainly hope that you join your community of faith tomorrow, or one that is near by you, and again give thanks to God for all that He has given and done for you.

Be positive, be blessed, and glorify the Lord.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Night

Praise the Lord! Another of God’s great decisions has shown its face in our home today. God was so good when He gave us children when we were young and grandchildren when we are older. The grandchildren are such a joy; the boys have certainly brightened the day today for Marty. Tomorrow will be even better as Erin will be here as well, which means they will all be here and that is indeed a blessing. We praise and thank God daily for our children and grandchildren; God has been so good to us.

Marty has had a little better day today. It seems like her WBC has probably come up and we are not sure what the Hgb. has done. There has still been a lot of tiredness today, but certainly not as bad as the last two days have been. The shoulder has required pain medication every 6 hours and the discomfort has been somewhat improved.

We will see one of Dr. Lee’s partners tomorrow about noon, have blood work done and see what she has to say. This will be the first time to be seen since getting out of the hospital a week ago last Tuesday. It will be interesting to see what she has to say.

Well, I think that about covers it for tonight. As we come closer to the New Year may we take time to think about all the blessings we have received in 2006 and give thanks to God for them. And remember that even in the things that happen that we don’t fully understand there are still blessings. Marty has now recorded 184 blessings that she has received during her 38 days of having been in the hospital. God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good. And that is only when she was in the hospital, it does not include all the blessings that she has received from all over, particularly since August 15th when this whole thing became an official problem and struggle. Thank you Lord! Set a side some specific time to give God thanks for 2006.

Yesterday’s scripture calendar was John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Jesus says to us. May we remember that promise always.

Be positive – be blessed – and take care.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Night

Mid week and greeting from 1845!

God is alive and well. Infact ,He is busy being present with us and many others. Praise the Lord!

Marty has pushed herself really hard today. Two of the three numbers are really down today: her WBC was 100 this AM, while the Hgb., was 8.8, and the platelets 53,000. That means tired, tired, tired, and hurt, hurt, hurt. We have decided that we still do not have the answer to the shoulder and neck discomfort. As we look back to past experience it seems like the really bad continuous pain comes when the numbers are down and it doesn’t go away until Marty gets into the hospital. This kind of shows the pattern, but it sure doesn’t give a reason or the way to soften the discomfort. But Marty is being Martha and she pushes herself on. Praise the Lord who is with her and gives her the strength and determination.

It turns out that Jennifer and boys are coming in later tonight, so Marty has been working all afternoon and evening to get gifts wrapped so that Jennifer wouldn’t have to do it. Though she is sitting at the dinning room table to do it, believe me it is no easy task for her. But, she has the need to do it and I have been putting them under the tree here in the family room. It will be quiet a time when they all get opened. But, then again it is quiet a gift that God has given us that we celebrate when we do open them. And I do indeed hope that they are opened with the same Love that God had when He gave us Jesus. That will certainly make for a positive and meaningful Christmas.

Marty was happy to see her co-workers today when one of them drew her blood. They have really been busy on the unit the last couple of days, but Marty did get a few minutes to talk to a couple of the girls. It was a good time and we Praise the Lord for it!

I better go now because I have to do the bulletin for Sunday.

Have a positive evening, and allow God’s light to shine even brighter tomorrow in all you do.

God bless!!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night

Greetings to all!

Hope all is well with all of you. Marty has had a very, very sleepy and hurting day. She has spent most of the day with the heating pad on her shoulder and sleeping in the chair, on the bed, or on the couch. We are pretty sure that her White Blood Count is down to “0”. It was only 300 on Monday and was on the way down. Besides the type of day that Marty has had that is the other reason we believe that to be the case. We will have a CBC done tomorrow and that should tell us for sure. Praise the Lord!

We sure do not understand the shoulder hurting so much again. And as we try to figure it out we have noted that it is when the counts are down very low that it seems to hurt more. We are not sure we will ever find out the cause, but we sure wish the pain medicine would relieve it or at least do a better job of decreasing the pain some.

Don’t know of anything else to report at this time. But, we do want to continue to glorify God for all that He has done for us. We are so grateful for His presence, grace, and love that has been so visible to us in so many ways. Marty and I have talked before and wondered how people that don’t know God get through struggles like Marty has been going through the past 4 – 5 months. And with this experience it becomes even more of a question. We are just so grateful that we don’t have to experience it and also that we have such great friends that are so, so supportive. Thank you all very much.

Have a positive day, and watch for Jesus and God in your day.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Night

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

We hope that you have had a very meaningful day and that you have celebrated the birth of Jesus with God in your presence and being glorified.

We are doing okay, have had a very busy two days, and today has not been a real good one for Marty. Yesterday we had three services at church and Marty attended all of them and sang in the choir for two of them; the morning and the 11:15pm services. The services when well, particularly the 7pm service which included an intergenerational play that was really good and very meaningful. It certainly was very relevant to our day and age. At any rate, Marty also spent time Saturday and yesterday making her cinnamon rolls from scratch for the staff at church and the neighbors. She admits that she was really tired last night when she went to bed.

Then, today we had to go for a CBC and it showed that the WBC’s were down to 300, Hgb. was 9.7, and the Platelets were 5,000 which were way below the 20,000,when is time for a transfusion of platelets. So, we made the trip to St. V’s and Marty got 12 units of platelets. With the WBC being so low we are not sure she will start feeling better for a few days. Also, her shoulder has started up again with more discomfort. After she got the shot in the shoulder last Tuesday it seemed like the discomfort was very controllable and the shoulder useable, but today it has been more difficult to control and use. With the WBC being at 300 some of this is expected and has happened before. Perhaps the WBC will go a little lower today and tomorrow, but by Thursday/Friday because of the shots of Neupogen, that she gives herself each day, the WBC should be on the way up so that by the week-end it should be leveling off. When it gets to 5000, we will be heading back for more chemo.

It was really interesting going to Indy and back today, because there where very few places open. We saw about 5 or 6 gas stations open and two golden arches drive throughs open. At any rate, it made me stop and think about the fact that we can indeed slow down our lives, spend time together, hopefully with God in mind. It made me also think about the way things were when I was growing up. In PA, we had the Sunday Blue Laws and the stores, etc were not allowed to be open, sport events had to be over by 5pm, and things were really different. It seemed good to me today to see our society in what appeared to be a slower mode. Praise the Lord!

I came across this little “A Christmas Thought” by H. S. Rice and kept it to share with you today:
If there had never been a Christmas
or the Holy Christ Child’s birth.
Or the angels singing in the sky
of promised peace on earth.
What would the world be like today
with no eternal goal?
What would the temporal body be
without a living soul?
What would give us courage
to push on when hope is dead.
Except the Christmas message
and the words our Father said:
“In love I send My only Son
to live and die for you.
And through His resurrection
you will gain a new life too.”

We hope that you have had a positive and meaningful Christmas and to God be the glory.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Night

Hi to all of you out there that are following or come across this blog:

God has indeed been good to us today. Praise the Lord! Marty’s numbers are all doing what they are supposed to do, and none of them are yet too low, that we had to go to Indy today. Therefore, Marty was able to continue to do some things – like baking- that she could not do before the last hospital visit. Her shoulder is still feeling better than it was before she got the shot , but not as good as she would like. She still has to take pain medication about 3 times a day and even with that still has some discomfort. It couldn’t be that she is using it too much – no never! She also had a little pain in her hip today, but that again was no doubt doing to much yesterday. Spirits are good but I think feeling a lot of pressure to get things done before the numbers go down to low and the kids come. I keep telling her not to worry about it , rest a little and it will all work out. But you know Marty she is a true Martha.

We are looking forward to tomorrow, the Christmas services we think are some of the best of the year. We also enjoy the cantata very much and were really sorry that we missed it last week. We understand that it really went well. The candle light service tomorrow night is always an awesome service. Particularly when you stand up in front and watch that light spread to the back of the sanctuary, what a beautiful sight! And of course it is a beautiful sight when you see God’s light growing in the world. The past four or five months we have seen so much of God’s light and it has been wonderful. We have seen it not only in our own lives but in the lives of others.

Today sitting in the waiting room at Dukes for the CBC to be done Marty got talking to a woman and the conversation, when the woman asked, got around to what Marty’s problem was. And then all that was talked about. When the lady got called to go back in ER with the friend she had come in with, she said that she would pray for Marty. We do not believe that the lady knows us, we never told her our names, and yet she is going to pray for Marty and God will know who she means. Thanks and praise be to God. What an awesome God. Marty and I then got to talking about this and about the number of people, prayer circles, congregations, and other groups are praying for her. How wonderful it is to be a part of a community that will pick up the need and/or needs of an individual that they may not even know and take the time to lift them up to the Lord. That is the Light of Christ shining and we are giving thanks and praise for it.

Thank you too for your support and prayers.

Have a positive day, be with your community of faith and glorify God, and know God’s presence and blessing is with you.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Night

Greetings,

It is certainly good to hear and read about how many of you are keeping up with this blog, supporting Marty’s struggle, and praying for us. We do indeed appreciate each and everyone who is so strongly supporting us with love and prayer. What a blessing! Praise the Lord!

To bring you all up about Marty she has had another pretty good day. Her shoulder even with taking the pain medication about 3 times a day is still giving her a little trouble, but it is certainly not as bad and is useable. Praise the Lord! There are also a couple of sores starting in her mouth, but we have the medication on hand to handle that and get it under control in short order. Her shins are doing quiet well. I think the doctor on call last week-end, who did not really know Marty, and told her to “sit up in the chair,” made a very major mistake in a couple of ways. One of those ways is that she is not stopping, she has been on the go the last two days actually. I think she is not only trying to catch up on the things she wanted to do and could not do before she went into the hospital, but she is trying to get everything done RIGHT NOW! Praise the Lord that she is doing what she can do! Give a double Praise to the Lord, she just sat down in the chair and put the heating pad on her shoulder.

We will get a CBC done tomorrow and see how the numbers are doing. Tomorrow is the time that a month ago we had to go to Indy for platelets. But, we hope they will be okay tomorrow. Not going to “second guess” and we shall see.

Our family will be coming on the 28th. Jennifer, Travis and boys are down in TN with Travis’s parents for the week-end, while Eric and Erin are home in Defiance since they only have a few hours together Christmas Day and then will be together the last part of the week when they are here. So, at this point Marty is grateful for a little more time to get everything ready! As you are traveling and/or your family is arriving for a visit may the blessing of God’s gift at Christmas be a major focus of your time together and may you truly feel the presence of God with you. May it be a time of sharing the love, grace, mercy, and peace that God sent to us and gave to us free of any charge in Jesus Christ His Son and our Lord. What a blessing! Have a wonderful time with who ever it is that you spend it with.

Be positive, be blessed, and glorify the Lord.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Night

Greetings to all:

Four days to Christmas and is all well in your life and are you ready?

Today has been a good day. Praise the Lord! Marty has taken two brief naps today, one after her shower which always seems to be a hard time, and then one after we were out for lunch and to the hospital for the blood draw, the rest of the day was on the go. The numbers were all okay for the limits we are dealing with right now. It is looking as though on Saturday or Monday we will have to go to Indy for platelets – however, I am not going to second guess, we will just have to wait and see.

We are indeed grateful for God’s many blessings that come daily in so many different ways. One never knows when one is going to come. As you continue to prepare for Christmas, I encourage you to keep your eyes open for God’s blessings. And most important, I ask you to look for God on Christmas. We know that He is so much alive in our lives and we hope that you can say the same thing in relation to your lives. Not that you are having a challenging time in your life, but that in the normal routine of life you recognize God’s presence and blessing in the way that we do. If that is the case it will indeed be the best Christmas gift you could receive.

Be positive, be blessed, and recognize God in your life.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Morning

Hello!

Sorry, there was not something on for you the first thing this morning, but yesterday was rather busy.

Bottom line – God is good – all the time, all the time – God is good – and things are going well.
Marty had a fair day yesterday, but then probably did a little more than she should have. Her shoulder is improved. The pain is not completely gone, but it is not so bad that she cannot use her arm or that she has to sit in the chair or on the bed all the time. That is indeed a good thing – in some ways – but means that it is going to be harder to keep her from doing to much – however I do believe her body is going to do that. She is feeling tired, but that is to be expected at this point because her numbers should be going down. We have to go to the hospital in a little while to see exactly what they are.

Last night, Marty did go to the session meeting at church, the first one since July, and though she arrived hurting and tired, it really seemed to go well. I do believe that she really enjoyed taking her part and being able to fulfill her responsibility. Praise the Lord! Of course, after the meeting we all went out to dinner together and that was very nice. Merry Christmas – what a joy to celebrate the love of God in that way: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6)
This year we are indeed grateful for that Wonderful Counselor, that Prince of Peace that has been so present with us as we have traveled the path of challenge and new adventures on which God has used us to glorify Him. Praise the Lord for His presence and guidance – what an awesome God.

Need to go will try to get another update on tonight.

Be positive – be blessed – know God’s presence with you this day.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night (actually Wednesday morning – 12:35 AM)


Just a fast note to let you all know that we did get home and all is well.

The appointment with the doctor was good. I will not go into detail at this point but here is the summary:
1. He does not feel that lupus has anything at all to do with what is going on in Marty.
2. He does not feel that Marty has the “bad” kind of lupus in any way. He did do some blood tests to see what he could find out.
3. He thinks that the right shoulder problem is bursitis.
4. The shins he has seen in other patients that are getting chemo, he does not know why, but steroids seem to help.
Therefore, he gave Marty a steroid shot in her right shoulder and put her on Prednisone 5mg 2 times per day to see it all will help Marty’s right shoulder, neck and shins. Praise the Lord for someone providing some insight and medication that should work. Thank you Lord and we will continue to pray that it all does work.

Tonight the bottom line is that Marty does not feel to good over all. It was the last day for her chemo and has been a long day of activity and hurry to try and get everything in. So, we look forward to tomorrow being a little more relaxed and a lot better day.

The scripture for Tuesday from Marty’s calendar was certainly very appropriate: I Chronicles 16:12 “Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced…..”

How can we help at this Advent Season but to remember the wonders God has done some 2000 years ago with the birth of His Son our Lord, and the wonders God has done in 2006. Thanks and praise be to the Lord!

It is way past bed time, so, have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Morning (now early afternoon becasue we met a new chaplain)

For any of you who may look during the day:

Greeting from 6618

Go Colts!!!! Good game!!!! Good win!!!! It was indeed fun!

We are in the process of packing things up, so, that we can leave about 2 pm and stop at the rheumatologist’s office. That still leaves a big question as to what time we will get home, but at least we are in process. Marty is doing pretty good this morning. She had to take a pain pill for her shoulder this morning and just said that on a 0 to 10 scale her pain is about a 2 now. She is getting her last chemo treatment for this trip, right now. It should be done about 1:45 pm. and then we will be on the move.

Need to go now, so until I get a message on tonight (hopefully) from home, be positive and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Afternoon

Greetings to all!

This will be very brief and more will follow tomorrow.

Marty is getting along fine today after another night of problems sleeping. The doc said things are going very well. Another doctor,Rheumatologist, was to see her today about her shoulder and shins, but he has not been in to present.

Jennifer and the boys arrived a little while ago. I am going to dinner with them and they are staying with Marty while I go to the Colts game. Yes, Father Frank called me last night and said he had two tickets, did I want to go. So, you know what I said, and of course I did ask Marty before saying "Yes."

So, that is why it has to be so short now. But, do know that we are indeed Praising the Lord! By the way, if the way be clear we will go home tomorrow about 3 hours after Marty finishes her last chemo.

Go Colts!!!!!!!

Have a positive evening and always praise the Lord!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Evening

Greetings to all!

We sure hope this has been a positive day for each and every one of you. It has indeed been positive for me and I believe for Marty. She will read this over later because right now she is down the hall helping a couple of the nurses decorate the waiting room door for a Christmas contest. Sounds like Marty?????? She had another bad night last night getting to sleep because she was getting the chemo. Finally, when the chemo was over and she had had several pills for sleep, pain and restlessness in her legs. She got to sleep only to be wakened at 6:10am by Dr. Oscarson, the on call doc, in Dr Lee’s group. So, it was about three and a half hours of sleep and then another hour nap this afternoon. She has also had some discomfort in the right shoulder this afternoon. Here she comes back in the room, but we will still wait for her to read this when I have finished it. She now has 4 chemos down and 2 to go this time. Her numbers are starting to go down, but as of this morning were still within the normal range. She has had four hall walks today and been up in the chair reading her book a couple of times. So, it sure seems like all is going well and as expected.

When Dr. Lee comes in the morning we hope to get some information about the MRI of the shoulder done late last Thursday and get his take on how things are going. We also understand that a rheumatologist will be coming in tomorrow to check her over re the lupus. We are wondering if the shoulder might be involved with that, and if the shins have something to do with the lupus. So, this will be a new doctor but we are hoping to get some answers and good reports.

It has been a good day with a positive attitude. I hope that you have had the same and that to-gether we can give praise and thanks to the Lord. Tomorrow will be another day filled with the Lord’s plan for each of us. May we get the rest we need that we can be faithful children and glorify our God by doing the tasks He has for us to do and Praise Him as well.

Have a positive evening and day tomorrow and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Evening

A Positive and Blessed Evening and Day Tomorrow to All of You!

God is so good – all the time. All the time – God is so good. God is at work in your life and in mine even this day and hour and minute. Thanks be to God! Praise the Lord!

This morning coming up on the elevator there were several other people who got off on floors before I got off. Of course, I had started a conversation on the elevator about this or that, I don’t even remember what. But, I do remember that each of them said “Have a good day” when they got off on their floors. At that point, God put some thoughts in my head. First one being that we can’t control having a “good” day because things we consider “bad” can happen outside our control. So, what does really control our day and I suggest to you that it is our attitude toward what happens to us that really controls our day. So, how do we say that to someone else in 3 or 4 words? I was thinking about that when I got off the elevator and the secretary at the surgery floor desk said good morning and all of that. So, I returned the greetings and talked with her a little. Upon leaving she said “Have a good day” so, I explained to her what was going on in my mind and asked her if she could think of another way to say it. Well, after leaving her and going just a short way down the hall I thought of it and so I went back and told her. She agreed it was the right one and we agreed to be a team of two to change the world. And the saying is “Have a positive day.” That is something that we, you and I, and everyone can control no matter what happens to us in a days time. It is certainly something that Norman Vincent Peale would agree with as he wrote so much about “positive thinking.” And last but not least there is no doubt in my mind that that is a God thing. Jesus approached everything with a positive attitude and taught us to do the same. So, let’s do it, and let’s witness to others this positive teaching of Jesus’. “Have a positive day.”

Marty started her day with her calendar scripture of Col. 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” She and I both found that to be pretty powerful and meaningful. If indeed we devoted ourselves to prayer then we would not be devoted to a lot of other things, and that would certainly make for a positive day. Also, with being “watchful and thankful” Marty has continued to do her “blessing book” especially while here in the hospital. When we thankfully watch what others are doing and saying it is really interesting to see how many blessings there are in our life. Praise the Lord!

Well, I guess that is my sermon for the week since I am not preaching tomorrow and now let’s say a little about Marty. She really had a bad night sleeping last night, but has had a pretty good day today. The sleeping problem was because of a medicine that she has to take in connection with the chemo, it is a steroid, and it really makes Marty’s legs jump all over, she cannot stop them and has a terrible time sleeping. She talked to the doctor this morning and now has some medicine to take when that happens. We will see how it works tonight as she has chemo tonight.

Today, she has eaten three good meals, sat in the chair three different times, and so far has walked the halls three times with the plan to do it once more. She also has been reading a lot and really having a pretty good day – praise the Lord! She has had some neck pain today that has been relieved with pain medication and heat. Her shoulder has been good since Friday, as has her back and hip. Praise the Lord!

Well this has gone on far too long so I better put a close to it. So, I will invite you to join me in saying when you leave someone – “Have a positive day and God bless!”

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Night

Greetings to all from St. V’s Room 6618

Sorry, we did not get this to you sooner and thanks to Ed that we are getting out at all and you will be hearing from us this week. Ed came down late this afternoon from Peru and found a couple of things that were messing the computer up and not letting me do what I want to do. The first thing was that when we took the church computer off of my network from when we were down here for the 26 days we did not adjust this computer, so, it would not do what I wanted it to do. Second. it was not the hospital security system that has been causing me all the trouble, it was this computer security system that was set high and was not speaking to the hospital’s system, but thank goodness Ed and Glenn do understand and keep me going. I am really grateful to Ed for coming down and getting me going and looking forward to when we get home he and Glenn will work on it some more. Thank you Lord and Praise the Lord for those who are so kind and willing to use their talents and abilities to help others.

Now as for Marty, who and what this is all about, she is doing much better tonight. Yesterday after we got here was rather busy and the chemo did not get started until midnight. So, she has a schedule again that is midnight until 3 am and noon until 3 pm that she receives the chemo. That took place today and will do so again Saturday night and Sunday and then again Monday night and Tuesday. So, right now it is 2 down and 4 to go. With the chemo she gets another medication, Decadron, that tends to take care of pain and discomfort and it has done its job on the right shoulder. Her shoulder is feeling much better this evening and we are certainly grateful for that. The down side to the Decadron is that it’s making Marty’s legs very restless. We do not have the results of the MRI yet, but there is improvement and that is the bottom line of what we want. Praise the Lord The line was taken out of the right side and put in the left side. So, far that is going well. Thank you Lord!

The bottom line is that Marty at this point in the stay is doing better than when she came in. Some of this we believe is because of the medicines and some of%2

Wednesday Evening (Thursday morning)

Greetings to all!

Well to start we will say that the CT scan did not show anything in/on the shoulder except arthritis, but did show that the lung had two places that had been bleeding. This bleeding is something that can happen after the chemo and when the numbers, particularly the platelets are really low. He said the spots are healing and every thing would be okay. He is going to have an MRI for more details and to try to find something that might be going on in her right shoulder. Dr. Lee is also calling in the lupus Doctor, Dr. Mark Frost, to have him check Marty over for anything that he may see, as to how the lupus is responding. Her triple lumen subclavian line will also be changed.

So, we are going to St. V’s tomorrow for the chemo and all of these other things. It should be an interesting stay. Marty is hoping that some of the medicine they give her when taking the chemo might help the shoulder pain. So, she is really looking forward to going back and is doing so with high hopes.

Speaking of “high hopes” keep yours up no matter what is going on in your life. God never has promised us a rose garden, but only that He will always be with us. We certainly hope that you are feeling God’s presence, as we are at this time. God is so good! All the time! - All the time! God is so good! What else can one say? Praise the Lord!!!!!!

Have a great day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night

Greetings!

Today’s calendar scripture on Marty’s scripture calendar is Psalm 37:5-6: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and…he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn….” What an awesome passage from the Psalms. I often marvel at the spirituality and insights of the Psalm writers. They were so great. Think about this verse and how is says almost exactly what Jesus taught when he was on earth. And it also says what we continually teach and preach today. Those writers were indeed in touch with God, they were spiritually connected, and were working hard to apply it to their lives. What an example they are for us today. Praise the Lord!

As we commit our way to the Lord and trust in him we are still dealing with the right shoulder that is causing so much discomfort. Marty has continued to take the pain medicine every 4 hours and it is doing a great job of controlling the back, hip, and ankle pain to the point that those areas feel fine. But the shoulder still has too much time when it is hurting. Marty did try a sling today, but that really didn’t help and put more pressure and weight on her neck, which didn’t help it any. So, that is on the shelf for now.

We will see Dr. Lee at 11:30 am tomorrow and he should have the results of the cat scan done last Thursday on the right chest, neck and shoulder. Hopefully that will give us some answers and direction. His office will also do a CBC and if the white blood count is 5(5,000) or above either tomorrow or Thursday we will be heading back to St. V’s for the second consolidation treatment. We will do our best to let you know as soon as possible what we are doing, but I would guess it will not be until tomorrow night and then I hope I will be able to get on the hospital wireless.

Right now I would expect that most of you are sound asleep and I am more than ready to get myself in that condition as well. So, sleep well and may you be rested to do the Lord’s work in all that you do tomorrow.

Take care and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3: 16

PS Had trouble getting this on the blog. Sorry about not having it on in the AM for you. Yes indeed there were real problems. The cable company had to come out and change some wires outside. The cable man thought lightening might have hit it. Thank goodness it did not hit anything else. At any rate here is last nights and I will have more on later, but I am not sure how much later. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Monday Evening

Hi to all! (And particularly to those in the great northwest – good to hear from you. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.)

It is already midnight; I can’t believe it, so, I guess it should read Tuesday above instead of Monday. I am so pleased tonight because there were 25+ who gave blood for Marty over at Calvary Presbyterian in Logansport. I really appreciate those who were able to give this time. Praise the Lord! I am hoping to be able to get all the blood replaced at some point in time. It is indeed so important that the blood be available for each and everyone that has a need for it.

The report on Marty tonight is about the same as it has been for the last few days. The CBC was good with everything is in normal limits. The tiredness and the shoulder pain are the problem areas. We were really surprised about the CBC because she is so tired, but that is the way it is right now. The pain hasn’t really changed other than it is going up into her neck as well today. We only have two days to go and hopefully we will get an answer to the problem. At least at this point we are counting on it.

We know God has a plan and it is a good one and will glorify Him. So, we ask that you continue to lift Marty’s shoulder up to Him that with His grace and love this discomfort can be brought under control. In God’s time that will indeed happen and to Him we will give the praise.

Thanks for your support, love, prayers, and help.

Take care and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday evening

Greetings from Hess home:

Today has certainly been a blessed day, and one in which Jesus has been seen and been gracious and loving. Marty was again able to be in worship and sing in the choir this morning. Praise the Lord! That is a great time for Marty, singing in the choir is a tremendous joy and pleasure for her. And to be with the community of faith and worship is a blessing that helps her all week long. The afternoon was then one of being in bed with the heating pad on the shoulder. It helps for that time, but when she is up and just on the pain medication she only gets and hour to an hour and a half of relief. So, obviously she feels better when she can be on the medication and heating pad to get as much relief as possible. We are certainly grateful that there is a way to get that relief and Marty will continue to use it as long as necessary.

We hope that you have had a good Sunday and feel somewhat refreshed for the new week. And may it be a week in which God is glorified with all that you do and say. In that way, I know it will be a good and meaningful week. Praise the Lord!

Have a good night of rest and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Evening

Greetings to all far and near:

Thanks so much for the comments on the blog. It is indeed good and encouraging to hear from all of you as well.

Today has been a better day for Marty, Praise the Lord! Last night when she went to bed, it was not time to take a pain pill, so she took a sleeping pill and did that ever work. She slept for 8 hours. We have no idea how long it has been since she has done that. Then she got up and took a pain pill and went back in a very sound sleep for another 5 hours. Praise the Lord! So, she did not get up until about noon, for a kind of slow start and thus arrived at the Cancer Support Group at church about a half hour late. But it was still good for her to be there. The ladies were certainly glad to see her and she was certainly pleased to see them – so a good time was had by all. I thought she would come home and rest, but she came home and did some laundry,read, and now is doing some hand mending. It is the best she has been able to move her shoulder all week. Praise the Lord! Please continue your prayers and we are confident that God will continue the healing process because God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good!

For the coming week Marty will have a CBC, blood test, at Dukes on Monday, and then one on Wednesday and will see Dr. Lee that same day. If all the numbers are okay we should be heading back to St. V’s on Thursday for the second consolidation treatment. That will be good because it should get us out on the 19th or 20th which will give us a few days home before Christmas. The kids are planning to come around the 28th. So, Marty’s WBC blood count should be down and very close to being back up by that time. It really seems like the time will work out real well. Of course, we remember what happened a few weeks ago when I tried to second guess the process. I did not do very well. So, the bottom line is we will do it all in God’s timing and that will be awesome.

We hope that as you gather with your community of faith tomorrow you will be open and receptive to God’s presence, His message, His grace, and His love. Have an awesome and blessed day.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Evening

Greetings to each and everyone:

Today has been an interesting day to say the least. As far as energy Marty has indeed felt better and had more but as far as being able to use it that just hasn’t happened. Her right shoulder has really kept her down. Upon asking this morning I got the following response: while taking pain medicine on a regular four hour schedule I asked Marty to rate her pain on a 0 to 10 scale. She said when in bed on the heating pad (or in her chair with heating pad) the pain level is “0”. When sitting still with out the heat and/or movement the pain level is “3”. When up and moving about or moving the shoulder the pain level is “5 to 6”. When I talked to the doctors office this afternoon they said the cat scan results were not back yet, so Marty is to stay on the pain medicine and take it easy over the week-end. They did not want to change a thing until they had the results of the test to hopefully see what the problem is. We are praying that it is not a long week-end. We are certainly giving thanks to the Lord that the pain medicine is taking care of the back, hip, and ankle pain. Praise the Lord! We know, that in time, the shoulder will come along as well. We are so grateful that this is the worst side effect so far, and it apparently is not a usual one, so as soon as it is determined what the problem is, it will be taken care of.

Over all, Marty is doing so well, the treatment is working so well, and we are praising and thanking God for it all. Dr. Lee at the end of the appointment on Wed. said that he thought that God had a special place in His heart for Martha’s and was and would take care of Marty. I have to say “AMEN” to that. Marty has been so strong and God as been so good. The combination has really been awesome. Besides that, there has been so much support from all of you, that it is just wonderful. Praise the Lord! Thank you Lord!

As this is the week-end and as you gather in your community of faith, we encourage you to not only lift up Marty’s right shoulder to the Lord, but also give God praise and thanks for all of His awesome grace of healing to Marty and that as we proceed that His will might be done. Thank you!

Have a great night of sleep (if you read this tonight – and if not) – and have a great day tomorrow and to God be the praise for it all.

God bless,

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday night

Just to let you all know that we made it home about 9:45pm. What a long day, left home at 5:15am and home again at 9:45pm. But God was good to us and kept us awake and safe on the drive both ways. Praise the Lord!

Marty is very happy to have the 3 units of blood in her. She does indeed not feel as tired already and with a good nights sleep, we look forward to a good day tomorrow as far as that issue is concerned. However, we still do not know anything about the shoulder and it is giving her major discomfort even with the stronger medicine. She has said that her back, hip, and ankle are not hurting on the stronger pain med. Praise and thanks be to God for that.

Let us all lift that shoulder up to the Lord that in His grace and love God will send the knowledge of what is causing the discomfort and relief for it. Thank you one and all. Thank you Lord!

It is time for bed. So may the Lord bless and keep you and each one that you love.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Afternoon

Hi to all and Praise the Lord!!

This is coming to you from St. V's Hospital and all is well. Marty is on her second unit of blood,out of three units, and seems to be feeling better, at least certainly better than yesterday. We do not have any results for the cat scan this morning. Marty is working to control the pain with medicine. The central line dye test has shown that it is in place and doing fine. So, when we get this blood we should be ready to rock and roll. We will be dancing in the aisles praising the Lord! Of course we will do even better than that when we get the shoulder pain under control and gone. But, that will be in God's time and we will be patient. Because God is good, all the time, all the time, God is good.

Must go now and see how I managed to get on the internet and if I can do it all the time now. So, take care and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Evening

Greetings and God’s grace and love to all!

Today has been another very hard day for Marty. In fact the hardest since she has been home from the hospital and perhaps even the hardest since she started treatment. Part of the reason we found out this afternoon is that hemoglobin is down to about 7.0. So, we are off for a trip to St. V’s tomorrow for 3 units of blood. She is also having a lot of pain in her right shoulder. Dr. Lee thought he felt a lump in that area, so there will be a cat scan done of that area while we are in Indy. Then the third problem was a general not feeling good, being very tired, and having no energy and so forth. Again Dr. Lee thinks that her white blood cells recovered faster from the chemo than the hemoglobin did and as the hemoglobin is trying to catch up it is making her feel the way she does. So, our hope is that the 3 units of blood will give the hemoglobin a kick start and some help to catch up to the WBC and all will be well. That will be nice and we are certainly praying for that to happen.

Dr. Lee said that the WBC is high enough to get the next treatment. So, if the hemoglobin comes up and the other two stay where they are, Marty will probably go back to St. V next week for consolidation treatment number two. Praise the Lord! That will be nice because it will get us home 5 days before Christmas and numbers should be pretty good for when the kids are here. God is good and will take care of us. Praise the Lord!

Need to go because 4:00am is going to come around real fast, since we have to be at St. V’s at 6:30am in the morning. Have a good day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday night

Hi to all! Hope you have had a blessed day and are now resting for tomorrow.

Marty has not had a very good day today. There has been a lot of tiredness, but more than that has been the discomfort. She has had a lot of discomfort in the shoulder, back, and still the shins. The tiredness we are sure has come from the hemoglobin which tested today at 8.0 and anything below that calls for blood. So, if it goes down any more we will have to go to Indy. The WBC’s were at 10.4 today which is fine and the platelets were 197 which is also fine. So, the hemoglobin is the only one that makes us wonder right now and certainly would cause Marty to be tired. All the discomfort is probably coming from the Neupogen injections that she was on daily to help the bone marrow to start making white blood cells again. We understand that Neupogen can really cause discomfort while taking it and/or after you have had it. We see Dr. Lee tomorrow so we will be able to check all that out.

Today, we certainly continue to praise and thank God for His grace and love. And we intend to do it again as we go to bed to get sleep so that tomorrow we can again do God’s will to the best of our ability. May it be the same for you as well.

Take care and God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday evening

Hi!

Here we are back again giving thanks to God for a day of rest. Yes, believe it or not Marty has rested the entire day. She did not get up until afternoon and then her shoulder was hurting so bad that she got into her chair with the heat and spent the afternoon right there. I didn’t even have to get out the chains or the heavy robe to keep her down. Thank you Lord! Her ankles look improved today, her shins still hurt a lot to the touch, her back is about the same, and otherwise she seemed pretty good. Praise the Lord!

One week from today will be the blood drive at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Logansport. If you would like to give in honor of Marty, we would sure appreciate it, please call Calvary Church Office (574.753.0505) tomorrow Tuesday, or call our Church office in the AM (765.472.2962) to make an appointment. To date Marty has been given 16 units of whole blood and 120 units of platelets. It is so nice to know that blood is available when she needs it. Thank you Lord and everyone who is able to give blood! Believe us, it is a very important ministry. We certainly want to thank Burt who has chaired the setting up of this blood drive for Marty and everyone who has helped him. What a blessing! We do appreciate it and thank you all. Not only do we appreciate having the blood there when Marty needs it, but we know first hand what that means to others as well. So to be providing blood in Marty’s honor is certainly a very meaningful event for us. Thank you all so much.

Marty’s calendar scripture for today is Revelation 22:17: “Whoever is thirsty let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” As we prepare to celebrate the FREE GIFT that God has given to us, let us not forget that indeed we already have the gift and are celebrating when Jesus came to earth. In other words, let us not leave God out of our preparations for Christmas or our Christmas celebration. When you recognize the importance and meaning of the gift of each new day you give praise and thanks to God for His plan and His goodness. Praise and thanks be to God!

If you read this tonight – have a good night and tomorrow be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

If you read this tomorrow – have a good day and be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, also.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday evening

Blessing and greetings to all:

We certainly hope that you have had a good day, been close to the Lord, felt God’s presence and grace, and had good and meaningful fellowship with others.

For us it has been an awesome day. Marty sang in the choir (a really great anthem) and we had a great service with the Associate Ex. Presbyter bringing the message. Then we had a lunch at the church that was great food and fellowship. And then the sanctuary and building were decorated for Advent and Christmas. There were about 50 people involved at the lunch and decorating. A good job was done by all, and everything looks great. Thank you each one and thank you Lord!

Marty got through all of the above pretty well. I told her this morning that she should not help with the lunch or decorating. Do you think it did any good? Of course not, she did both. Marty just corrected me to say that she did not help with lunch; she only helped in the kitchen to clean up afterwards. So she has had two very busy days and is rather tired. The numbers were pretty good today: WBC was up to 14:2; the platelets were up to 78; and the hemoglobin was down to 8.1. The last one is real close as mentioned last night, to 8 which is the time for blood. So we will see if we get a call from Doc’s office or not tomorrow. The problems that Marty is having right now are those that she has had almost since the beginning: tiredness, shins hurting, and ankles filled with fluid as well as the left one still healing from the fall. She is one awesome lady.

Well, I am going to keep it short tonight, but do want to continue to thank all of you for your support and prayers. It means so much to know that people love and care and remember and pray for us, thank you and praise the Lord. Marty has received almost 250 cards that are hanging on the door in the family room and on the bed room door. It is so neat to look at those cards and think about the love, concern, and prayers that are attached to them. It is indeed a help especially when it is a long haul. Thank You Lord for this support!

We hope you have a great night, and that tomorrow is a day full of love as you recognize the presence of God in your life and glorify Him.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday evening and all is well!

Greetings to you!

It has been an awesome day! Marty has been as busy as a bee and very much like herself. She is rather tired tonight, but I would say that anyone who has done what she did would be tired.

First she sang in the choir at the memorial service. After eating her own lunch she helped clean up the dishes from the lunch after the service. Then she went food shopping. Getting the picture? She left home about 10:30am and got back home about 4:30pm and was busy the entire time. Praise the Lord that she was able to do all that. She had been praying all week that she would be able to go to the memorial service and look at all the strength God gave her today. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow will be another busy day at church, with a meeting after worship, a lunch, and then decorating for Advent and Christmas. Marty plans to try and be involved as much as possible.

Reminder for those that are local - there is a blood drive for Marty on Monday Dec. 11th at Calvary Presbyterian in Logansport from noon to 6pm. This needs to be done by signing up. There is a sign up sheet in the welcome center at the church or one can call the church (782-2962) and leave a message, if no one answers. The names and all were to be in Friday, but if we have them by Monday that will no doubt work. We appreciate all the blood we can get with this, as Marty has now used 16 units of blood and 120 units of platelets. We sure would like to replace as many as possible so that they will be there for someone else and for her if needed on the other three treatments.

It has indeed been a God guided and blessed day and to God we give the glory and praise.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday early evening

Praise the Lord and greeting in His name to all of you!

First is confession time and I admit that I am a slow, slow, slow learner. I was the first to say earlier this week not to second guess God's Creation or God. Well I did it again! We did not have to go to Indy today!! Horray, horray, horray! God is so good - all the time. All the time - God is so good. Thank you Lord! Thank you Lord! The Great Physician continues to be at work with Marty with His grace and love.

The numbers today where just awesome: the white blood count was 12.9 up from 0.2 on Wednesday with normal being 4 - 10.5. Thank you Lord - that is the big one that we were looking for to come back on its own. Now it has to level off - it may go up some more and then down into normal, or it may just settle down in the normal range. We will see but where it is today is just awesome. Hemoglobin is at 8.7 was 8.3 on Wednesday and normal is 12.5 - 16. It is great to see that go up, even a little on its own. At 8 it means more blood. So with that .4 we got even further away for that blood and that is so great. She has already had 16 unites of whole blood and we sure want to keep that as low as possible. To not have any more with this past chemo treatment is really a God thing and we are certainly grateful for it. Platelets are at 19 were at 18 on Wednesday and normal counts of 150 to 450. As you can see that is a long way from normal but it came up 1 on its own and that is what we wanted. That also means that she has only had 12 units of platelets with this treatment and that is great since she has had 120 units all together. What a wonderful set of numbers, as they work their way up to normal. Thank you Lord!

Now as for Marty she is certainly plesantly suprised with the numbers and although has been very tired all day, is feeling imporved as she celebrates the numbers. The nose drip and bleeding has stopped today, the throat is showing a lot more improvement (still some discomfort when eating, but not when drinking), the shins are getting worse, and the ankle is still there. Her attitude is just awesome, her spirit continues to be high as she praises and thanks God.

She sees today's events as God's affirmation for her to go to the memorial service for Bill Elsey tomorrow AM which she was so much wanting to do and was concerned that she might not be able to. Bill died last Saturday night and is the 95 year old father of Pat Boose who died of breast cancer a while back. Marty was very close to Pat, as Pat was one of the ones that really helped Marty 4 years ago with the breast cancer. Pat was and still is an inspiration to many and so was her father. Bill was in church the day before he had a stoke and just two weeks before he died. He had always been healthy and had not seen a hospital until he had the stroke. Bill will be missed but God's light will contiue to shine in the inspiration Bill has left behind. Bill and Marty also had a special connection becasue Bill's wife who died about a year before we came out here was named Martha and went by Marty. She also sang in the choir and so they connected. Thank you Lord for that special relationship.

Today also brough a reality check as we saw a man that we have probably not seen since the circus. He was at a funeral dinner for his mother-in-law who was 92. But the real shock and check came when he told us that his wife had died on September 29th of the exact same thing as Marty has. He had heard about Marty but we had not heard about them. It seems they were both diagnosed about the same time, but she got into IU Med Center a little sooner for her chemo treatment. She made it through the chemo but on the following Friday got an infection and died on Sunday. Our prayers go out to him as we ask God to be with him and gracious unto him during this time of grief and adjustment.

Well I have no doubt gone on to long now, but it seems like all of the above is important and shapeing our lives and our though right now. We are so grateful to God who is with us and helps us adjust to the ups and downs of daily life and all of life. Alone we certainly cannot do it, but with the triune God all things are possible. Praise the Lord!

We hope that you have had a great day, have a wonderful evening, and that tomorrow is even better. Stay close to God and you will certainly feel God's closeness to you.

Take care and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16