Ben is Better :)

We went to the doctor today and he was like, "Get out of here," in the way doctors usually are.  Don't you just hate it when you have to wait day after day, after day, just to talk to the doctor again and find out the answers to your concerns... and then they blow through the appointment in a measley five minutes?  Then you go out and get in the car and realize, it's over.  ...It is encouraging.

The doctor still does not know how the bleeding started or why it stopped, but said again that he had lost a lot of blood; it was a big deal.  I was able to share this testimony of the power of prayer at the coffee shop this morning.

There is no reason why he can't go back to work, but he still will take time before he can do lifting or have his energy back.  So we're pretty happy around here.  Yesterday was boring.  Ben had had the desire to "telecommute" to work as they say, but his company told him not to work until the doctor gave the ok.  So he came back into the house and got a snack and said he was going to watch youtube.

he rests his case: man-zone

 He's tired of doing that.  :)  Before he got sick he had been working on clearing out the garage so he could turn it into a man-zone.  It's not quite mannified yet, but the broken couch he likes to sit on definitely sets the tone.

I was not alone through this; I have the Church.  And the LORD gave His presence to me in a specially close way.  He shows me how close He is to me and how He is happy to be my Spiritual Head, and share His resources, His thoughts, His strategies, interests and purposes with me, even His authority.  Hmph.  I'm so blessed!  Not because I have this or that thing in my life, not even because I saw God work a miracle through my husband.  I'm blessed because He has commanded me to believe that "they will be my people, and I will be their God."  He is mine, and that makes me the richest person in the world.

A few days ago I wasn't clear headed.  After we got home from the hospital I was discouraged.  For a few hours I found myself thinking thoughts that are not aligned with God's will.  I am sad that I'm unfaithful in my humanity.  But I'm glad that I saw it for what it was and held still till the feeling and temptation passed.  It's okay to ask questions.  It's okay to be frustrated.  Are you going through some difficulty in your soul today?  Don't be afraid to name your disappointments.  If you can wait to see what God does in them, you will have passed the test and have so much deeper joy after the moment.

Ps. 119:11,

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

2 Tim 2:11-13,

This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.

I am quite aware that Satan likes to keep disturbing me in the same tender spot, but the Light shines in the dark, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  I cannot wait to see more of God's power in my life and the lives of the ones I love.  It is a constant prayer!!

Please Pray for my Husband

My husband Ben is still having some issues which concern us, and I'm trying to not worry about him, but it's difficult.  He has some unexplained pain today, and he found out yesterday that he is infected with Salmonella.

What happened began last Saturday morning.  He went into the ER when I wasn't home, with the kids with what felt like pain in his heart.  They tested his lungs and heart which were fine, determined it was the gallbladder.  By about 10 pm he had the surgery to have it removed, which is about the time I got home from Seattle having found out in the afternoon what was going on.  When we were settling down to sleep, that's when the trouble started.

They had put him in pediatrics which is odd, for recovery.  He was supposed to stand up every hour and one time he did, but got dizzy while the nurse and I were standing there in front of him.  An hour later he couldn't even talk almost, just sitting up.  I was sitting behind him to make sure he was supported from behind, and the nurse was in front of him.  He started passing out and then coming-to.  We tried to get him to lay down and he stopped breathing and I saw his blood pressure went down to 29 on the bottom number.  So we sat him back up.  The nurse asked me to hit the emergency response button so I stuck my knee in his back and reached up and pressed it.  Rapid Response is a crew of ICU nurses who came down and started monitoring his vitals.  They were trending (down).  They tested his blood, an hour later the results said he was septic.

We transferred his bed to ICU at about 4:45 AM.  When he got there I didn't say much and watched.  They spent the next hours taking more tests and hooking him up to various things.  They started antibiotics and more IVs and removed him to take a cat scan.  They found internal bleeding.  The doctor who performed the laparoscopy to remove the gallbladder came in at about 7 AM and looked frustrated.  He thought it was possible he had clipped an artery on accident to explain the bleeding.  He was going to have to take him back into surgery and find where the bleeding was.

By about 9 the surgery was done and Ben was back.  The doctor said when he went in, he couldn't find any bleeding so it must have stopped.  They removed a liter of blood which was causing trauma to his internal cavity.  They gave him a transfusion and we spent the day monitoring his numbers.

The next day they did another scan and found there was more internal bleeding again, and gave him more transfusions.  That was Monday, which is when most church prayer chains start getting up and functioning.  We weren't sure if there was going to be another surgery to find the bleeding.  The doctor couldn't explain why the bleeding was around the liver and the spleen since the gallbladder site wasn't near them.

Tuesday morning however, he had held his numbers all that night.  After eating and drinking, they started taking out his IVs and then they said they were going to release him!

The last information on his blood was that it was at "8.5"  "7" would have gotten him another transfusion.  "Normal" I guess... capacity is 10-12 for a woman and 13-16 for a man.  So he is pretty weak.  It will take him a month to recoup his blood to a normal level.  But other than that he is eating and watching tv and having a great time, except he's getting cabin fever.

The LORD has been very good.  I believe it is the prayers of the church which appropriated the power of God into Ben's body.  I have no explanation how the internal bleeding stopped.  From what I understand, most of the time internal bleeding does not stop, and an organ has to be removed.  I can say with joy,

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

Thank you Church for praying for Ben.  All the love, visits, phone calls, texts, facebook messages and service through babysitting and meals and lawn mowing and more means so much to us.  Praise God for his miraculous power!

Please continue to pray for him. 

A Faithful Witness: 150 Years

photograph of the former church front

Salem First Baptist Church in Oregon's capital city is celebrating its 150th year of incorporation. This season it will be celebrating its "sesquicentennial." The upcoming weekend, November 20 - 22nd there will be three days of exciting events.

The celebration kicks off on Friday evening, 6 pm. Former members from around the country are planning to arrive. U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, once a bible teacher at Salem First, has been invited as well as our state Governor and other elected officials. CBA churches from the Willamette Valley have been sent an invitation as well.

The history of the church in the Pacific Northwest begins with the story of a delegation of Nez Perces Native Americans who traveled to St. Louis to find Captain William Clark, some twenty-five years after his famous expedition to the Pacific. They requested of him to follow through with his assurances that men would follow after Clark to teach them about God. The news of this encounter excited many evangelical Christian churches in New England. They quickly sent out a call, "who will go?"

Jason Lee was the first Christian missionary to the Oregon Territory, and he held Methodist services in the Willamette Valley (Salem) in 1834. That same year (1843) in which Jason Lee was recalled to missionary headquarters in New York, the first Baptists arrived in Oregon Territory. Baptist exploration to establish a permanent place of worship in Salem began as early as November 1850. On December 29th, 1859, Salem First Baptist's beginnings were recorded.

The weekend of celebration kicks off on Friday, November 20th at 6 pm. Beth Lambright will be sharing a Spiritual History of Oregon, and the church's cornerstone will be removed and presented via video. Reception to follow.

On Saturday, Nov. 21st a barbershop quartet and a dance group will perform, and the church's historic stained glass windows and the bell will be on display. Various historical exhibits will be open between 10 am - 7 pm. Oral history sessions, sword drills, vintage games, and a butter churning demonstration will be held.

On Sunday, Nov. 22nd former members and staff will be recognized in the identical morning services. A reunion choir will sing. Old fashioned cinnamon rolls and fruit will be concurrently served in the Community Life Center during both services and the historical exhibits will be open for viewing. RESCUE will be in concert at 6 pm.

On December 2, 1984, during SFB's 125th anniversary, Senator Hatfield spoke, "First Baptist still stands on the corner of Liberty and Marion in downtown Salem. It still proclaims the same gospel message that I heard as a boy of ten. In a world that has changed so much in my lifetime, it is a great comfort to know that."

For more information, please visit:

Salem First Baptist Church

Also you may wish to visit two websites I've created related to this event:

Salem First Baptist Church Sesquicentennial Celebration

Reconstructing Jason Lee