Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday morning  ... so it's coffee time (well actually as I write this it's Thursday afternoon and it's still coffee time as I am enjoying a delicious cup of Maxwell House's House Blend!). So pour yourself a cup of Joe (or not, whatever your pleasure be) ... and join me for a couple of random thoughts.

1. The dictionary defines "overwhelmed"as "the feeling or state of mind that results from being buried or drowned under a huge mass." I am going to be very transparent with you (which is what I should be, yes?) ... I am feeling a bit overwhelmed as I write these words. For starters, we are in the last few weeks of an incredibly busy season at church that has included several big events/projects (eg: student ministries' auction, Easter week activities, our annual missions conference, budget and annual membership meeting planning, our Celebrate Grace Sunday, and ... in just a little over a week, our annual Police Officers Appreciation and Memorial Service). Throw into that mix the spring board meetings of Grace College and Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana which I attended and all the rest of the demands of pastoral ministry ... and it has been one very busy spring! And of course, the journey my wife has been on (update below) has added an extra weight. So ... I am very tired. But all that said ... I will say that through all of this, God has been good ... very good. So many wonderful things have happened in and through all of this activity that I have to say, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" But now it's time for a brief break ... so next Monday and Tuesday I am taking my wife (who is a Jersey girl) to the beach for an overnight. It will be the first time we have been away together overnight since our family beach trip of last August. We are going next week as next Friday is our 38th anniversary. Please pray for us that we can rest a bit and recharge our batteries. Thanks!

2. If you are interested in learning a bit about the Old Testament book of Proverbs, here is a nice brief video (5 minutes) on the book. The Bible Project has a number of other videos also available on their Youtube channel that you might want to check out.

3. Update on my wife, Sharon. Yesterday we returned to see the orthopedic surgeon who repaired her fractured femur back on November 19th. If you remember from my previous updates, back at the beginning of March, a CAT scan of her leg revealed that a portion of the fracture was not healing. The doctor ordered a bone stimulator for her and she has been using that faithfully now for some 7 weeks. She has also been gaining strength in her leg, walking more with just a cane (and some around the house without even the cane!). She has also returned behind the wheel of our van, driving some short distances once or twice a week. So progress is being made on some fronts. Yesterday's x-rays were once again inconclusive (a downer as we were hoping the healing would be very evident). The doctor told us that even though the healing could not be clearly seen did not mean it was not happening. He suggested one of two courses of action. First he mentioned the possibility of taking a nuclear medicine bone scan. He was 50-50 on this as, in his words, the test results are open to interpretation and could therefore prove inconclusive. He then suggested a second course of action ... to simply continue as is for now (bone stim, physcial therapy, exercises at home, and a good does of calcium and vitamin D). We chose to take option two. So we will go back in early July for another assessment. I did ask him if a bone graft was the next step should this stubborn bone refuse to heal (as this was something he mentioned as a possibility back in March). He informed us that he would lean away from doing so for a number of reasons which I will not get into at this point. SOOO ... all that said, the next step would be a total revision of Sharon's knee replacement ... a path down which we do NOT want to go. So we left a bit shaken ... a bit discouraged ... yet knowing that we are in the hands of the God who loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us! Tomorrow will be another day ... and I am sure we will be feeling better about things. Would you please pray for healing for Sharon's leg? And would you also pray for wisdom for us as to my own need for surgery on my left arm? Your prayers mean more to us than you know!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj