Christmas Day 2018

Merry Christmas!

It has been a different Christmas with the death of Amy's grandpa, Glen. He was a special man. I'm running out of folks who can still talk about the days of hand milking and tractors without air conditioning :-)

I'm not sure our Christmas letter/card will get out this year. I still have plans to send but family first.

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THANKSGIVING DAY 2018

It's a great day to give thanks for miraculous gifts in 2018!!

Almost a year ago my brother-in-law fell from a fire truck he was working on as a volunteer fireman. A well decorated Marine fell and fractured C7 vertebra in his neck and back. Unable to walk with no sensation below his chest Col. John L. Brennan, USMC began the fight of his life to walk again. 

Prognosis was guarded but John supported by my sister Bonita, family and friends has made miraculous progress since January 2018. Overcoming overwhelming odds John has been able to walk again. Even doing stairs today which is huge! 

Hundreds of prayers, great medical care, therapy and a generous worker's comp program has given John and Bon a new future. It may not be the one they had planned on but it is a miraculous one to say the least. 

Thanks be to God for miraculous healings!!

 

Never tell a Marine it is not possible! They will make you eat your words. 

Semper Fi Col. John and all the Marines out there. Well done. 

Nov 17th...Remembering Lindsay Ostrem Roach

Tomorrow marks the 15th Anniversary of Lindsay heading to the "Land of the Living". It was a bitter sweet day 15 years ago. The loss was huge but the Hope and Faith Lindsay had was enough to carry the day. She was trading one set of health issues for another when she had her lung transplant. God's grace was with us all in the knowledge that she was not going to suffer long term and then die. For some this will seem unthinkable. Death is one of those fears that grips all of us.

One of my mentors and friend, Rev.Dave A. referred to death as "complete healing in Jesus" from all things and at times a gift of grace shown to the sufferer. The truth is that the Word of God in Christ is where our hope and healing lies. Trusting in God's love, mercy and grace in the person of Jesus brings hope and healing even from the loss of a child. Grateful for her life and faith, Lois and I are forever blessed as her friends or family recall her impact on their journeys of faith and life.

A favorite quote from Lindsay's last campfire in their back yard a few days before her surgery:

"I'm going to have a lung transplant. If I live, I'm good. If I don't, I'm good."

Her faith and courage was so huge. She was a "light of faith" that was to be shined for a few more days on this earth for all to see. Reflecting the Life of Jesus in her she moved forward toward complete and total healing.

We are so grateful for the time we had to share in this one named Lindsay Nicole Ostrem Roach.

John Claypool, another father who lost a daughter, wrote these words of grace and hope for us to share with others. We edited it to reflect our loss by replacing Lindsay's name for his daughter

“Here, in a nutshell, is what it means to understand something as a gift and to handle it with gratitude, a perspective biblical religion puts around all of life. And I am here to testify that this is the only way down from the Mountain of Loss. I do not mean to say that such a perspective makes things easy, for it does not. But at least it makes things bearable when I remember that Lindsay was a gift, pure and simple, something I neither earned nor deserved nor had a right to. And when I remember that the appropriate response to a gift, even when it is taken away, is gratitude, then I am better able to try and thank God that I was ever given her in the first place.” 

Quote from Tracks of a fellow struggler by John Claypool, pg. 82, Word Publisher, 1974.  (We have edited the text by using Lindsay’s name to replace his daughter’s name in the original text.)

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Fear not...Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Trust Him and there will be no fear of death or loss. Only gratitude for all He has done and promised.

Blessings my friends

Lindsay Ostrem Roach

04/05/1977-11/17/2003

TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Ten years ago in April I began my journey "through the valley of the shadow of death" not knowing what the future would bring. Death was one possibility on the table for my future. At the time they projected a 2-5 year survival rate for Mantle Cell Lymphoma patients. The "shadow" in the valley was very dark.

Many have committed Psalm 23 to heart and it brings home the truth of "this season" of some of the lives of our family and friends…

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2     he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
3     he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
    thy rod and thy staff,
    they comfort me."

I trust others have prayed the Serenity Prayer as I did during a season of darkness. I found that it led me, comforted me and restored my trust in Jesus’ leading me through the valley of the shadow.

If you are in this journey today and  I were able to be sitting next to you right now I would take your hand and pray the entire prayer with you. If it is possible pray this prayer as you and others gather around . It helped me navigate the valley with confidence and hope, no matter what the future held for us. Know that Jesus is truly present in the darkest times as you journey toward healing.

Pastor Tedd

Simon Andrew Caquelin 9/13/10-02/05/18

When Lindsay died in 2003 our funeral director shared this quote with us...We adapted it to reflect our loss of Lindsay. I have taken the liberty to do the same for Simon. The death of a child is so difficult and close to our hearts this day as Lois and I share their grief and loss. All our love and prayers pour out to the Caquelin family.
Tedd and Lois

“Here, in a nutshell, is what it means to understand something as a gift and to handle it with gratitude, a perspective biblical religion puts around all of life. And I am here to testify that this is the only way down from the Mountain of Loss. I do not mean to say that such a perspective makes things easy, for it does not. But at least it makes things bearable when I remember that Simon was a gift, pure and simple, something I neither earned nor deserved nor had a right to. And when I remember that the appropriate response to a gift, even when it is taken away, is gratitude, then I am better able to try and thank God that I was ever given him in the first place.” 

Quote from Tracks of a fellow struggler by John Claypool, pg. 82, Word Publisher, 1974.  (We have edited the text by using Simon’s name to replace his daughter’s name in the original text.)