Please pray...

at 03/03/10 1:48PM *

So, while dealing with a house full of sick people, I also found out that my mom has cancer.

I have been letting it sink in, while communicating with family about it.

It's cancer of the uterus, with a fist-sized tumor on one of her ovaries. The doctor 'thinks' the cancer is contained, and it's the kind of cancer that if found early enough, can be removed with a hysterectomy.

However, the challenge is, with my mom's health being poor, and being a life-long smoker (since college), the doctor has concerns that her heart and lungs will not be able to handle the surgery.

Thus, they are doing a test on Friday to see if her lungs and heart make her a prospect for surgery.

In addition, she has no health insurance, and no money to pay for the surgery.

She is 62, and there may be 'programs' in Minnesota to help her. However, my sister-in-law has given her countless forms to fill out over the last few years to get on such 'programs,' but due to her extreme depression, she hasn't even bothered to fill them out. My sister-in-law is filling them out for her this week.

Also, I have three brothers. When the one brother reached out to me, I called right away. But when the other two brothers got their call several days ago, with a voice mail saying our mom has cancer, they have yet to respond.

My mom's car is about to fall apart, and I, having just sold my car to pay bills, am trying to find someone I know with an expendable, cheap car for my mom.

My mom doesn't even feel like doing anything to get better. She is just tired of life.

I have an idea to help soften her heart to the gospel. She is alone. Very alone. She has no support system whatsoever. So, my idea is to get Christians who care--I mean, really care--to write her regularly with spiritual encouragement. They may, or may not, be people who know me and love me. If any of you are of such a mind to do something like this, and to pray for her regularly with me, please let me know. This is an evangelism project that I cannot do alone. I need you.

So, my prayer requests.

1) Please pray that God will do whatever He has to do with my mom's health, and health care, to make her heart receptive to the gospel.
2) Please pray that any of my past sins, or missteps in my relationship with my mom, will not get in the way of her receiving the gospel.
3) Please pray that if it is God's will, that I will find a cheap reliable car for my mom to drive.
4) Please pray that my mom will get to see her grandchildren before she dies. (She saw Noelani once when she was 1, and has never seen Maleia or Malachi.)
5) Please pray that through all of this, God will be glorified, and the gospel will be spread throughout my family, and all of our non-Christian friends.
6) Please pray that the people who volunteer to pray for her, and to write her, will stick with it.

Thank you. I know that some of you will pray. And for that, I thank you. My heart is heavy now...very heavy...yet full of faith in God. I believe wholeheartedly what Romans 8:28 teaches. ALL things. Not just the pleasurable things, or the fun things. ALL things. Even the painful things. Even the sinful things. All things.

So, I am going to let God be God, and trust Him to do what I could never conceive of doing. And I, as someone once said, am going to do my best to "give Him something to work with."

Will you join me?

6-25 of 25 comments « prev 1 2 next »

I will definately pray and write. Just let me know where. My mother-in-law had a similar cancer a couple of years ago and though she was otherwise healthy it has been a hard process for her to recover. She has been cancer-free for several months, Thank God, but she is still recouperating. My mother-in-law really appreciated the cards from my friends and I know that it will comfort your mother in some way.

by trishie at 03/03/10 10:04PM
Oh Frederic, I am so sorry! No matter what, your mom is your mom and I know this must grieve you so. I would be happy to send her some encouragement- please message me her address. And, we'll add her to our prayer list- what's her name? Or better yet, what's her "grandma" name?

by scrappyhappymama at 03/03/10 10:11PM
I will be praying! Can you get me her name and address?? I would love to send her a card. If you don't wanna publicly post it, my email address is phoffie0620@hotmail.com. I can't even imagine...I'm praying for her and for you.

by ladyinlutz at 03/03/10 10:59PM
Ditto! My email address is nancycreaves@comcast.net Will gladly write and try to give her a shot in the arm of love and spiritual B12. Can you give me some guidelines when you write me of how much she knows of the truth and what you would like for her to hear in a card. Glad for the opportunity.

by ncreaves at 03/04/10 8:52AM
We will be praying for her and would be glad to write her. Please let us know the address to send it to (you can send us the address at the.venusos@gmail.com). Where in Minnesota is she? Would she accept visitors? We would be willing to make a trip down to the cities (assuming that's where she lives) if so.

by jenuso at 03/04/10 9:13AM
Oh Frederic!! This is very sad news indeed. And I can relate more than you may realize. Our family has been going though some "similar" things recently. You and yours are definitely in our prayers. And I would really like to send your mom a note! Could you possibly send me her name and address? I would really appreciate. Stay strong, my brother! God works all things out for good to those who love and serve Him. Hang in there and trust in our Lord!!

by heidiw at 03/04/10 10:39AM
Please post (or e-mail) her address, I'd like to write to her. I am so sorry to hear about this, and with all the other complications involved, I know that makes it even harder. My e-mail is clemclan85@juno.com
Is she anywhere near the Jones family? I think they live in Edna (Edina?) anyway the Minneapolis area. (this is Emily Jones' family, she went to FC).

by bzyabsma at 03/04/10 10:16PM
Yes. I will definitely write to her. And please call me if you need to, and we can talk about dealing with cancer and a loved one, as we spoke during my sister's battle. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do. Sending love to you and your family.

by trolleem at 03/05/10 10:13AM
Would it be more effective to write via e-mail or regular letters...I am happy to do either, just let me know.

by trolleem at 03/05/10 10:14AM
praying for your family and your mom!!!

by auburnfan96 at 03/05/10 2:23PM
Frederic, I just now saw this. I'm so sorry. I know it's hard being so far away, yet so concerned. But I think your idea is a great one and I would love to help. Just send me the info. Cancer is one of Satan's horrible tools, but we know God can and will be victorious over him and can turn it into a tool for HIS purpose and soften the hearts of the inflicted. I will pray for you, your mom, and your family. You know we love you and appreciate you!

by harbermama at 03/06/10 10:21PM
I will keep her and your family in my prayers.

by navydoc at 03/07/10 5:07PM
Frederic, so sorry to hear of this; we will pray and hope that this can be an opportunity for the gospel. Please send an address to Steph or me so that we can send a card.

by kon_tiki at 03/08/10 8:39AM
i am very sympathetic with your situation as my dad is not a christian. my thoughts and prayers are with you brother

by cdawg at 03/08/10 6:57PM
So sorry to hear about your mum. I had kidney cancer and fortunately it was contained. They removed my kidney right before it spread. I will pray.

by kailua at 03/10/10 12:36PM
Frederic, I am so sorry for you and your mom. I know she has been dragged down by the devil and has not had the resources we do to overcome. Do you plan to go up there soon? Does she have an email address?

by beckdobbins at 03/10/10 5:04PM
Hi Frederic...I realize that I didn't leave you my info for you to e-mail me your mom's information. You can e-mail me at pooky_m76@yahoo.com and let me know if it's better to contact her via e-mail or regular mail. Thanks, and you and your family are still in my prayers.

by pooky at 03/14/10 2:39PM
Oh, Frederic. I am just so sorry to hear this news. I will pray for your mother and I will write to her. Can you message me on FB with her address? We love you!

by dressednyella at 03/18/10 11:22AM
I just prayed for you all, and I will continue to do so. Stay strong and courageous!

by paradise_ray at 03/18/10 5:07PM
penijean@gmail.com

by fullofgrace at 03/20/10 1:46PM

Truly Great!!!

at 02/25/10 8:46AM *

Okay...here is one of my favorite duets of all time. Here is my top ten list of reasons why.

1) I've never seen a duet where one singer so completely, and humiliatingly, dwarfed the other singer in a duet. (Patti Labelle outshines Joe Cocker on "You are so beautiful")
2) Proof of the above point, is that Patti Labelle, even though she gets announced before the song, is not allowed to even come out on stage until it's her turn to sing.
3) Bill Cosby's eye-opening glasses!
4) Billy Preston...'nuff said. This musical genius was known as "The Fifth Beatle" for his work on various Beatles albums. I think he even toured with them, but am not sure.
5) Joe Cocker so obviously needing a visit to the chiropractor.
6) Patti Labelle looks like she "gets" the holy spirit during this song. Icountless times!)
7) Patti Labelle's 80's-fabulous headress.
8) Bill Cosby strangling Billy Preston for most of the encore.
9) Joe Cocker looking like he just crawled out from a Rip Van Winkle sleep in a cave for 40 years, and is completely uncomfortable with human touch. (When Patti Labelle touches him)
10) Joe Cocker looking like he just came from the set of Miami Vice.
11) Bill Cosby's cheesy final line in his introduction.
12) Patti Labelle can just.straight.up.SANG!

**Okay, here are two more reasons...
13) My wife marvels that Patti Labelle never trips on her dress in her high heels!
14) Billy Preston looks like he's going to audition for the part of Lando Calrissian!

Now, if after that list of reasons why I love this duet, you can resist going to this site, you are not my kind of person! :)

Check it out, and see if everything I said is not true! LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SydDdAmTo0c

--Frederic

That was worth the 5 min. of entertainment. Patti was up in some church.

by serena at 02/25/10 10:15AM
Wow. That is some big turkey or something that landed on her head.

by madtomkidd at 02/25/10 1:34PM
words just can not describe this

by rachel_michelle at 02/25/10 2:25PM
that big turkey must have taken over her brain, cuz she tried to fly away there around 4:15

by cmvermont at 02/25/10 6:03PM
I'll grant that Patti sang better than Joe, but is that something that should be bragged about? Also, isn't a "duet" supposed to be two people singing TOGETHER? Kenny and Dolly should show these chumps how it's done.

by the_ghost at 02/25/10 9:36PM
Oh boy. This is priceless. And your #10 made me literally laugh out loud. :-)

by kristindoula at 02/26/10 10:49AM
Respectively speaking, I enjoy both Joe and Patti's wonderful voices but this was too spastic!

Perhaps they should have taken lessons from the man on her blog.

by kailua at 02/26/10 1:01PM
That was hillarious! I was laughing so hard I was gasping for air! Your comments beforehand made it that much more funny. Thanks for sharing!

by dressednyella at 02/27/10 4:36PM
Oh you were right!! HIL-LAR-I-OUS!!

by dressednyella at 03/01/10 11:30AM

How do YOU deal with it?

at 02/07/10 5:48AM

Hey, so, there is a concept that is affecting me right now.

I would LOVE your thoughts on how you deal with it.

Have you ever done something that you didn't want to do...over. and over. and over, again????

Here is the question--

HOW do you deal with repeated mistakes--with condemnation, thinking that you, or the other person, is insincere? Or with endless mercy and compassion? or somewhere in between???

Does this make sense? If not, let me know, and I will clarify further. Thanks!

YES! The dishes. Laundry. Diapers! Over and over and over again. Day after day. I struggle with keeping a positive and grateful attitude about my employment status, but when I do catch myself (sometimes I'm not as successful as I would like to be), I pray and then I look at the bigger picture of things. For example: if I didn't stay at home with my children then they would have to be watched by someone else. Someone else would have the bigger impact on my own children rather than me. I would miss out on so many things that my children are doing/saying/accomplishing. There are so many working mothers that only wish that they could stay at home. Some even tell me how truly luck I am to be living the life that I am. I have always wanted to stay at home with my children. I was never given that growing up so I was determined to make it happen no matter how much we would have to sacrifice with living on only one income (and boy has it been hard at times!). And now that I am sitting here having to analyze things and put things in perspective again, I guess what I really struggle with is the lack of appreciation that goes with staying at home. Sure, I see my children flourish and say their memory verses for bible class. But, being a parent really can be the most unappreciated job out there and just like a good paycheck reflects a long and hard week at work (at least you hope so), it would be nice to have that same feeling every Friday when the paycheck hits the account.

I'm really hoping this makes sense. It makes sense in my head! I also have extreme tooth pain from needing a root canal so my thinking is a little blurred at the moment.

by erica03 at 02/07/10 7:26AM
I am currently working on my headcovering paper- And I am finding a strangely difficult time finding sources pro-covering. Can you point me towards any?

by paradise_ray at 02/15/10 3:20PM

Mission Accomplished!

at 01/31/10 8:52PM

Wow! My church family continues to BLOW ME AWAY!!!

Heather was very surprised, and I am very happy for her.

Thank you, all of you, who helped!

So glad!

by beckdobbins at 01/31/10 9:09PM
Yeah!!

by serena at 01/31/10 9:09PM
yay! i'm glad you pulled it off.

by aikenape at 01/31/10 10:10PM
:)

by dehutmom at 01/31/10 10:13PM
Yay :-) Thanks for letting us be a part of it :-)

by littlebit at 02/01/10 1:16AM
Yay!! :) Pictures soon?

by desi at 02/01/10 9:05AM
:-)

by kristindoula at 02/01/10 4:49PM

A Change of Heart...

at 01/27/10 7:48AM

When I started preaching at Seminole, I already had a full time job that I was obligagted to keep working until the spring of 2009. That, combined with some graduate school work, along with some hyperemesis gravidarum (the gift of Malachi in utero), made for a very busy Frederic.

I was so busy, that everything suffered. Every role I had, student, preacher, Director of Sales and Marketing, dad, husband, brother in Christ, child of God---EVERY role suffered.

As a result, I was unable to disciple my family the way the Bible directs a man to do. Consequently, the teaching and disciplining of my children got neglected.

The fruit of that neglect has shown itself in many ways, one of which is the heart of Maleia. Over the last few months, she has been whining like crazy, disobedient, headstrong, and childishly foolish in many of her ways.

Soooooooooooo, it became time for me to step up, and employ God's parenting principles in full effect. After I got back from California, on Jan. 9th, I began teaching and disciplining Maleia with increased vigor. I did that, to the best of my ability, in the context of truth AND love. I made sure Maleia got tons of Biblical truth, (and that she saw it in our lives), and tons of love (and, again, that she saw it in our lives).

WOW! It hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday that she has done a complete reversal! She is now, SUPER-obedient, and with a good heart while she obeys. And, now that she has the security (that ALL children need) of clearly communicated, and consistently enforced boundaries, she has the FREEDOM to be kind, gentle, sweet, loving...you know, the little angel God made her to be! :)

I really have tried to get her to understand that there are some things she can't change. (directives from her parents, God, etc) And I have trained her to think in terms of one BIG choice she can make between two extremes. "Maleia, you can either whine, or you can be content. What are you going to do?"

Every time I ask her that now, she always says, "Me 'tent." (I'll be content, in Maleia languange) I have anchored the same results with each choice. She knows EXACTLY what will happen if she whines, and she knows EXACTLY what will happen when she is content.

I am SO thankful to God, for teaching me how to parent, through all he has given us in the Bible. Additionally, I am thankful to Him for answering my prayers about molding the hearts of my/His children. He is the Master Potter, and I am an incompetant apprentice.

Thank you, God, for this change of heart in Maleia. To You be all the glory.

wow, thanks for sharing that!

by cdawg at 01/27/10 9:04AM
:-)

by chessman at 01/27/10 9:18AM
I am quite certain from all of the blogs your wife wrote during that time that she did not feel very neglected ;)...It sure sounds like you are an amazing guy! Those little ones are blessed in abundance!

by sallyanne at 01/27/10 11:04AM
So you are our one of our on-call parenting supporters, just so you know. We plan to learn from folks like you who are a few steps ahead :)

by trolleem at 01/27/10 11:23AM
Jared Acuff, Brandon Ward, Dusty Sharp, Alex Hunt, Drew Parks, Hunter Parks...I think that's all (other than Adam Tuten, who lives up here and is coming down with him) but I'm not sure if all those guys are still down there (I know Jared is.) I told Micah what I read about y'all having the hot chocolate party and he wished he could be there to go to it - they won't get there until Sunday, I don't think. ha ha! I can give you his cell #, he wouldn't mind. It's 256-374-4077. (I still have yours and Heather's home number in my cell phone - has it changed? I don't think I had a cell number for either of you, though.)

by bzyabsma at 01/27/10 2:09PM
God is faithful

by beckdobbins at 01/27/10 3:34PM
Wow! This is great and encouraging to hear. It takes SO much energy to parent the right way doesn't it? When we do though, there is definitely a good feeling when they start to reflect all that you have put into them! I try to remember this when I get lazy. You know, when you just don't "think" you have the energy to stay on top of things. Thanks for posting this...I needed to hear it. It is a great reminder of one of our most important purposes in life.

by auntiem at 01/27/10 4:37PM
Excellent.

by jlmanager at 01/27/10 6:53PM

114-118 of 118 entries « prev 1 2 … 20 21 22 23 24 next »

Please pray...

Truly Great!!!

How do YOU deal with it?

Mission Accomplished!

A Change of Heart...

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