Psalm 105:2 Sing praise to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works…
I just needed to sit down tonight to sing those praises and to tell all of you wonderful friends and family of the wondrous things happening over here at 136 S. Elm!
We went to the neck doctor today and had a great report.  Lar can start taking the plastic neck brace off at night and over the next few weeks he can begin weaning himself off from it completely!  He was given the okay to drive and the go ahead to start working (as much as his body will let him) as of September 1.  All of these things were music to our ears and worth great shouts of praise!
Over the next 4 weeks he will be extremely busy getting all of the injured body parts moving the way they were created to move.  All three doctors (hand, leg, neck/back) wrote scripts for Lar to be at therapy 3 times a week for the next 4-5 weeks.  We are very thankful that he was given the okay to drive because we weren’t quite sure how it was all going to work with me starting school next week.  Pray for strength as he endures these sessions.  They are quite tiring and very painful!
As we reflect on the last 92 days we remember tears, pain, stress and hard work.  But we also remember the blessings of laughter, comfort, encouragement, stamina, and peace as we made our way through those days.
During one of my first post I remember saying that I was surviving under the shadow of His wings….now I would like to add that we are surviving and thriving under those wondrous wings.
Sing with us and give praise to Him–the great healer and provider.
Linda

“Hi all, we had a great day today!  Lar’s halo and torso brace were removed!  So …..for the first time in 12 weeks he was able to take a shower, take a nap on our bed, get great hugs from his family members, and not cringe every time the car went over a little bump!  Amazing how things you took for granted now are such reason for celebration.
We will go back to the neck doctor next week. After they take more x-rays we will know more about how long he will have to stay in the Miami J neck brace.  We saw the leg doctor yesterday.  The wound is still not completely healed, but it is getting closer to sealing over.  There is a lot of soft muscle tissue that is quite angry yet, so the knee is still quite swollen.  The good news is that over time it should heal nicely.  Right now Lar works a good couple of hours a day stretching it, and exercising it to try to get it to do what it’s supposed to do.
We see the hand doc again next week and OT continues to come to the house 2-3 times a week.  We’re hoping that with the halo and brace off the blood flow through the arm and hand will improve.  He finally gave in and ordered voice activated software because typing takes forever.
Thank you for celebrating our victories with us.  The road to recovery has been long and hard, but once again we are in awe of the way God and his people have showered us with blessings.  Please continue to pray with us as we round the next corner and tackle what lies ahead. Blessings and love to you all.”

“My Name is Salt.” a poem by ryan wallace

My name is salt; I sit here alone
I see very little purpose; white circles like stones,
My name is salt; in water should I be
Little reason to live; on land i decree

My name is salt; I’m not sure why I’m here
I’ve sat in this drawer; for way too many a year,
Alone and unused; not sure that I could
Inside me says different; quickly muted, withstood

One day pepper came; told me the purpose I serve
I question this character; black, brown, circles threw curve,

“My name is salt!”: I pronounced to this man,
“I do not serve a real purpose; unless in water, not on land”

“Oh but you do!”; Pepper delightfully exclaimed
“Just no one has told you; of your worth and true claim,
Your name is salt; you bring flavor to life
People shake you around; but they love you in spite”

“But my name is salt; Are you sure that that’s me?
I’ve never heard this prior; I fear your words may just flee”

“Salt! now you’re aware; pull yourself from that drawer
You’ve created a fancy; a fairy tale, a snore,
Now stand up beside me; strong white, strong tall
We will flavor other’s lives; it is our mission, our call.”

My name is Salt!, my white circles taste great!
Horizons are open, there is freedom to create.
————-

As I was writing that poem the other night at Barnes and Noble two things struck me.  First, how easy it seemed to be to write as if a salt and pepper shaker were actually alive and having a conversation…kind of scary.  The 2
^nd, is how easy it was for me to identify with the Salt.  I think many of us live out our lives like the salt.  Our mission and goals start out lofty, but get lost in unrecognized potential and daily life.  We may not have anyone in our life who will remind us of who we are and what we were created for.  We live in isolation and continue running in circles and nothing seems to change.  How many people today feel like they are in pretty much the same place that they were a month ago, a year ago, a few years ago?  Maybe the issue is that we’re Salt, and we need Pepper.  We need someone to come along side of us and remind us of who we are, why we were created, and to help us live out our mission, our call.  And not just to remind us, but to navigate the journey along with us

From Linda Doornbos:

Hi all!
As we travel the road of recovery God led us to a corner, we turned, the path has had less bumps, and we are enjoying a somewhat smoother ride!

Accomplishments to thank God for on this new path:

1.  Airway Oxygen came and picked up the 60 lb wheel chair –okay maybe a slight exaggeration but it sure felt that way to my back!
2.  The commode is in the corner of a room covered —lonely and unused–ironic that we’d rejoice in loneliness and abandonment 
3.  Two times this week Lar and I sat outside on the porch and ate breakfast together and one day this week gayle was home so we all sat around the kitchen table and ate together—truly a blessing beyond words….
4.  Lar can now cruise through two complete rounds of Westshore Mall—-employees are now celebrating his gains…I think soon we’ll know some or most by name…after all we are the excitement of the day in a dying mall!
5.  We retired the walkie talkies we were using to communicate with each other during the night.  Lar is able to get up on his own and moves around so much easier that I am no longer needed during the night—once again celebrating not being needed–weird, but wonderful!
6. The wound on his knee is getting smaller and smaller.
7.  The infection on his back is totally healed!
8.  The crazy cough that has worn Lar is just about gone!
9.  PT and OT came to the house this week, but other than that we made no trips to the doctor this week!
10.  Meetings that Lar has been able to have with individual staff members here at the house.
11. Lar has been able to focus enough and have enough energy to memorize scripture–a huge and encouraging step!
12. Tuesday he has plans to go to church for two hours to meet with his staff.

Accomplishments we’d like to add to the list:
1.  Better movement of the right knee and left hand.
2.  Good solid nights of sleep for Lar.  Since he can only lay in one position comfort is not always available.
3.  Getting rid of the hospital bed.  On August 18 the halo and back brace will come off, and we pray the Miami J brace will allow him more comfort so we can move him out of the first floor permanently!
4. Continued strength and stamina for both of us….the road is less bumpy and smoother yet still requires effort if we want to get to the next destination.
We continue to pray this journey will bring honor, glory, and praise to the God who was, who is, and is to come….we serve a living Savior and pray that in some way our suffering can lead to the healing of others!

Yesterday I had the privilage of hanging out with a good friend who has a place on Gun Lake.  We had a great time talking about life, family, and being disciples of Jesus.  We discussed how Christians should look counter-cultural, and what that may look like in daily life.  Little did we know that our thoughts would be tested so quickly.

My friend bought a pontoon boat a few weeks back and to make a story really short, he’s had nothing but problems with it.  So while we were sitting there enjoying the sun, he got a call from the shop saying that it had been fixed.  As my friend proceeded to go through the list of things that were wrong with it, it was clear to him that it hadn’t been properly looked over.  The guy on the phone was adament that it was fixed, so my friend agreed that he would let them deliver it only if a mechanic would come out with him to test it on the lake.  Guess what?  The boat was not fixed!  My friend was very frustrated, but in that moment he had a choice, much like we all do.  Do we bring Shalom (peace, completeness) into the situation, or do we act as any other person would?

I’m happy to say that he chose to bring Shalom to the situation.  The mechanic on the boat mentioned that usually when this happens people freak out on him.  The man saw that my friend’s attitude was counter-cultural.  He saw the gospel being lived out in rare form.  What a great example of brining Shalom into any and all situations.

And we’re back….

In her book, Less Clutter. Less Noise., author Kem Meyer gives some defintions of culture that she has gathered; here are some of them:

Culture is…

1. how people think, feel, and act

2. a system for creating, sending, storing and processing information

3. a program for behavior

4. the way in which a group of people solve problems

Her claim is that culture is so much more than the attitude of, “that’s the way we do things around here.”  She states that the good news about culture is that we don’t always need to stay the way we are.  The word culture derives from the Latin word “colere” meaning “to build,” “to care for,” “to plant,” or “to cultivate.”  Kem Meyers ends this particular chapter by talking directly to the church:

“This is where it gets good.  And, this is our opportunity within the church - to use this definition to drive ministry decisions.  Not this is how we do things around here, but instead, to build, to care for, to plant or to cultivate.”

I’ve found myself agreeing with most things throughout this book.  I really enjoy her passion for cutting through the junk/noise, so people can understand and participate in a meaningful mission.  The mission that Jesus has called us all to is not meant to be confused and cluttered down.  Make it easy for people to understand, join, and participate in….yup, cut through the clutter.

My dog loves me.  Despite all my flaws, which are many, he thinks the world of me.  Now before you get the idea that this a post to “0000000hhhhh″ and “awwwww” at, I assure you that it is not.  I know what you’re thinking…”you even included that cute picture to the left side for us to enjoy!”  Yes I did, because I’m setting you up for the next section.

Toby, my dog, does indeed love me but he’d give me up in a second for a cheeseburger.  If you’ve been to my house you know that my dog loves table scraps.  My wife and I know we shouldn’t give Toby any; we even made an agreement when we first got him that we wouldn’t do it.  However, slowly we started handing him “treats” from the table and have somehow managed to create a monster.  I walk my dog each day for about an hour, I feed him and give him water, I lay with him on the couch, and I spend a lot of time with him.  However, if someone was hurting me and there was a cheeseburger in the room…He’d choose the cheeseburger over helping me while I suffered.

I know that overall Toby doesn’t truly love that cheeseburger more than me, but I do know that he easily gets distracted by fleeting happiness that comes from a vice.  His vice is cheeseburgers, but I can’t help but think that I may have some of my own.  While I love God and want to surrender my life to His mission/will each and every day, many times I get distracted by my own vices.  Our affection for God needs to continually grow so that we don’t keep exchanging His mission/will for something so temporal…for another cheeseburger.

I have read many articles regarding the recent oil spill in the gulf.  I’m sure we’re all educated on the situation to one degree or another, but my question is what is a follower of Jesus Christ’s response when something as tragic as this happens?

Over the past few weeks I’ve been wrestling with this question that I feel needs resolution.  However, what is God’s response?  How should we respond?  Here are some of the comments made by people in various forums pertaining to the spill (I’ll choose the very few that were PG-13 and under):

“Please investigate the fact that maybe BP could plug the leak, but they are not plugging it because they would loose all future profits from the oil well.  Could they be stalling and not closing the Oil well for future profits from the oil well?  Maybe in reality they could close it right now.” - Anger, Suspicion, etc

“The Dems have had control long enough to pass ANY legislation they wanted, including environmental laws to fix this. But they chose instead to mandate that U.S. citizens buy insurance products.”- Anger, Political Agenda, Arrogance

“This will be the end of BP, but who cares really. We the taxpayers will be shelling out so much cash for this for years to come.” - Apathy, Anger, etc

“And God said…Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” - Responsibility, Care, Mission, Growth, etc

So…

What’s our response?  Is it Gods?

What’s our responsibility?

Do we feel like this effects us?

What changes need to be made?  Why?

How can Christians set a vision and live out a mission in this world that prohibits and also helps redeem situations like these?  Can we lead the way?  I feel as if a voice crying out in the wilderness of this situation is needed.  A message and direction that people will resonate with.

Great news!  Pastor Larry had a great day of rehab yesterday, even getting a chance to walk outside for a while.  The best news, though, is that he also got his discharge papers, and will be heading home on Monday afternoon.

His rehab work has been going remarkably well, and he is gaining a lot of strenght, and the ability to maneuver with a “15 lb. brick” on his head.  Pray that he continues along this path, and that his medical issues (wound healing) would also continue to heal.

The doctors and rehab folks are impressed with Larry’s hard work and focus and kindness.. no surprise to any of us! :-)  Thanks for your prayers, and please join us in prayers of praise for this great news!  Please pray, too for the Doornbos family, as this transition will have its own challnenges, welcome though they are!

Larry continues to work very hard at rehab -  pushing to get all his strength and mobility back.  He’s moving forward, hitting some exhaustion walls, but progressing well.  They are looking at ways to make his move home possible at some point, and making sure that all of his wounds are healing appropriately.

Just a reminder that Mary Free Bed is pretty strict about visiting hours - 5:30 - 8:00 each evening, after their folks are done with their rehab work and dinner. If you can limit your visits to those hours, everything goes much more smoothly!

Thanks, as always, for your prayers.  Each day brings new evidence of God’s love and care, “revealed through nature and miracles”…. and community.

Shalom,
Jodi