Category: Inspirational People

A Heavy Heart and a Call to Prayer

Not even three weeks ago I blogged about little Daisy Merrick and her family. At the time I wrote it, she was cancer-free and considered in remission after two battles with cancer. I learned yesterday that her cancer has returned. Here is Britt’s status update:

“Not sure how to say this guys…

My daughter Daisy (7) had a CAT scan today. Her cancer has returned. 3rd time being diagnosed with cancer in as many years.

She has a golf ball size tumor right where her last one was.

Tomorrow she gets a PET scan to look closer and see if its anywhere else and in prep for surgery next week. Then we’ll see how to proceed.

Our current hope is that we rally prayer tonight and when they look tomorrow the tumor is miraculously gone or non-cancerous.
The oncologist says for the tumor to not be cancer would be basically a miracle.

We believe in miracles… we believe in Jesus.”

Please take a moment (or several) and pray for Daisy right now. She will be getting the scan today…let’s pray for a miracle.

Daisy Merrick Updates

When Life Gets Hard: Little Daisy Merrick

For whatever reason, a number of family and friends have been going through rough times recently with physical health issues (concussion, stroke, difficult pregnancies, babies with complications), so it’s been on my mind a lot lately. You may have noticed it’s been on my mind since I’ve recently blogged twice about the topic (baby Katie Beth and Allison/Ashley), and I guess God wanted me to camp out on the subject a little longer because as of Saturday, I am sick again for the third time in three months, in addition to messing up my ankle, knee, and toe a month ago. I’m not one to get angry with God or question Him and his reasons for things (it’s just not my natural inclination), but it does make me sad that so many wonderful people are dealing with such hardships right now.

As I’ve been thinking about and praying for these people, God reminded me of Daisy Merrick and her family. From 2003-2007 I attended college at UCSB, and while there, I went to a church called Reality Carpinteria. It is a wonderful church with a God-fearing pastor, Britt Merrick. After I graduated, I stayed connected to friends who still live in Santa Barbara and attend Reality Carp, and I heard a couple of years back that Britt’s 5-year-old daughter, Daisy, had cancer. Since then, I have followed her blog off and on, and have been in prayer for her and the Merrick family. I hadn’t checked the blog in a while with all the craziness of our lives this last year, so I checked it again a few days ago. After two bouts with this cancer, the latest update posted four months ago says she is cancer free! Praise God! There have been so many people praying for this little girl around the world, and she is living proof that prayer is powerful and effective.

I posted below a poignant short video of her journey with cancer (the first time around, I believe). I also posted two longer videos (40 minutes each), which are worth watching if you have the time. They are two sermons by Britt about his reaction to Daisy’s cancer (and hard times in general), and they are very powerful and encouraging (particularly if you are dealing with something difficult right now). I hope these videos speak to your heart like they did mine:

Update- This post is out of date now; if you are looking for recent information on Daisy, click here: Daisy Merrick Updates


Daisy from Reality on Vimeo.


When My Heart Is Overwhelmed from Reality on Vimeo.


Britt Merrick – Struck Down But Not Destroyed from Reality on Vimeo.

Allison & Ashley: Two of my Heroes after Pregnancy

If you’ve been following my pregnancy series, you know my pregnancy with Caleb was challenging. I was very sick and in a lot of pain, but through the experience, God really taught me a lot. I have always led a healthy, and for the most part, physically pain-free life. This is something I have always taken for granted because I never knew otherwise, until my pregnancy. I understand now how incredibly difficult physical disability can be, and how thankful I should be for the good health God has given me. God’s heart is that we would be joyful in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), and through my encounter with physical pain, he revealed it’s an area I have plenty of room to grow in.

An additional way the Lord grew me through my condition called pregnancy, was in granting me a deeper love and respect for people who have ongoing physical challenges. It was a theme I meditated on a great deal during my pregnancy, and am currently meditating on again as I re-live my pregnancy via this blog. Specifically, there are two people God has continually brought to mind who I want to tell you about. I love them both dearly, and after my comparatively short encounter with discomfort and pain, I appreciate them even more. I think most of us could probably learn a thing or two from them.

Allison

The above photo is of one of my best friends (who also happens to be my lil’ sis), Allison. At age 11, she was diagnosed with spondyloarthropathy, which is a rare form of juvenile arthritis that results in inflammation of the back, hips, knees, ankles, and eyes. It has no cure, and the pain cannot be completely relieved. She takes pain medication daily, has chronic pain in her knees and hips, and has had numerous stints with iritis which causes her to lose vision for a period of time.

Ashley

This second photo is of another one of my best friends, Ashley Harman, who I recently had the honor of bridesmaid-ing for in her wedding. She was born with Spina bifida, which was caused by a benign tumor that pinched the end of her spinal cord and weakened the muscles to her leg and bladder. Although she has had this condition from birth, it was not diagnosed until she was 15-years-old.

As a result of spina bifida, Ashley has not only experienced a great deal of physical pain/limitation, she has also experienced significant emotional hurt. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of her story is that growing up, she would often urinate herself at school because a symptom of spina bifida is a loss of bladder control. This occurred for many years and resulted in ridicule from peers and fewer friends throughout her childhood. She has had countless surgeries to repair the damage, requires a catheter every time she uses the restroom, gets persistent infections, and experiences chronic pain in her foot. Like Allison, it is something she has dealt with her whole life, and will continue to deal with for the rest of her life (unless God chooses to intervene, which I pray passionately for!!)

I cried as I wrote these last three paragraphs because Ashley and Allison are two of my absolute favorite people. Despite immense physical challenges and obstacles throughout their lives, they are such joyous and loving people. I never hear them complain about their pains, and I oftentimes forget either of them even have any physical problems until a severe symptom pops up, or they periodically ask for prayers of healing. They both have a strength and perseverance that is truly inspirational. I have learned so much from them about being joyous and giving glory to God no matter what “thorns” you’ve been given in life. I know they have already touched many through their lives, and will continue to do so. Thanks A & A for your impact on my life, you guys are my heroes…I know life hasn’t been the easiest for you and yet you still trust God with all your hearts.

P.S. I wouldn’t be a good older sister if I didn’t put a plug in for my sis right now. If you are single, Godly, and good looking (lol!), I think you should consider asking Allison on a date*. She is all the cool things I mentioned above, plus smart, beautiful, kind, and funny! I don’t think you would regret it 😉 Hahahahaha! Sorry Allison, already published this post…can’t go back now!

*Applicants must be male. Some restrictions may apply. Please contact me for details. Offer expires 3/16/2012. Void where prohibited. 

Baby Katie Beth

Last week a couple at our church gave birth to a precious little girl. Unbeknownst to them prior to her birth, she has a rare syndrome called Zellweger syndrome (or possibly another similar condition, tests are still being run). In either case, the prognosis is not good and she has been given between 6 months and 2 years to live. We have only spent one evening with this couple, but we have heard many praises sung about their character through mutual friends at church.

The reason I wanted to blog about this is two-fold. One, I’d like to ask all you who follow our blog to please take a minute right now and pray for them and their daughter, Katie Beth. Here is a picture of her (isn’t she so cute!? Look at all that hair!)

Secondly, (though we have yet to become better acquainted), I honestly haven’t been able to stop thinking about this couple since their little girl was born. This is partly because my heart has been aching for them and the pain they are surely enduring, and partly because, as we have been following their updates, God has really been doing a work in my heart through their response to the situation. I have been incredibly inspired by them and personally convicted as a result. Here are a few things they have written that have hit me like a ton of bricks:

-“[6 months to 2 years is] not as much time as we had hoped to have with our daughter, but we’re thankful for the time we have.”
-“On the way home we talked about how happy we were to be doing this together. There isn’t anybody else I’d rather be doing this with…we thought of couples we’ve seen pass through our community that might not be able to handle this type of stress in their life. But we’ve been in training for five years now, and, at least so far, our spirits are strong and we’re as in love as ever. God works in mysterious ways I guess.”
-“Your prayers are working, and we’ve been blessed to see God working such miracles firsthand.”
-“We continue to have hope that, no matter what happens, we can raise her up in the way that is right as an act of worship to God whom we thank for the wonderful opportunity to care for one of his children.”

Do these words convict your heart like they’ve convicted mine? Put in their situation, would you have a similar God-centered and positive outlook? As I read those words and spend time thinking about this family, God continually brings to mind all the absolutely ridiculous and comparably inconsequential things I complain about. Watching this family deal with such a difficult and devastating situation with such love and thankful hearts, has swiftly knocked me upside the head and put things into perspective for me. It reminds me of the verse in 1 Corinthians 1:27b that says: “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”

Their clarity of mind and big-picture perspective in the face of such unexpected adversity moves me. I only pray that if I ever experience anything like this that I would have a similarly joyous heart. What a wonderful example of a couple who trusts the Lord and His plan so fully, and is truly living out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “be joyous always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This is not to say they aren’t grieving and experiencing pain (I’m sure they are), but I believe they are able to remain uplifted because they are grounded in their relationship with Christ and ultimately know their lives rest safely in God’s hands.

I’ll leave you with this prayer that has been on my heart:

Jesus, I pray that you would love on this family right now. I pray for healing and nothing short of a miracle for Katie Beth. Continue to give this family so much peace, hope, and joy. In times of sadness, let them know and experience your intense and passionate Fatherly love. Give them the strength to love little Katie Beth with such fervor. You have paired this couple with this precious little girl for a reason, and I pray that you would continue to use this family to bring glory to Yourself.

Jesus, please give me an ever-increasing heart of gratitude. Help me to maintain an eternal perspective and help me to remember to praise Your name in all circumstances. More than anything, thank you for loving me so much that you would send your son to die on my behalf. I am humbled and in awe of your never-ending and unconditional love.

[An update to this post was published on November 22, 2012. Click here to read it.]

Jesus Came Out a Birth Canal Too

Unfortunately I haven’t found many videos on Christ’s birth that do it much justice, but I think this is one video that does a good job and I like that it is creative and uses poetry to get the message across.

Many people think of Christ’s birth as this lovely, peaceful, purely joyous event, when in actuality, it was not. It’s funny how we tend to romanticize Jesus’ birth when in fact there were few, if any, “romantic” things about it. For starters, even people 2,000 years ago knew how babies were made; a virgin birth was no more believable then than it would be now. In other words, the world’s first impression of Jesus was that he was an illegitimate child and his mother was promiscuous and crazy. When it came time for Jesus’ birth, Mary had to travel many miles over rough terrain, and had the joy of giving birth most likely in a cave (not a stable) with lots of dirty animals looking on (imagine feces everywhere). This would be somewhat comparable to giving birth on the floor of a public restroom. Also, if you are a woman and have given birth, I think we can all agree that there is nothing peaceful about birthing a child (amazing yes, peaceful no). It is incredibly tiring, painful, and fairly gross, and fortunately I got to ride in a car to the hospital and give birth on a nice bed. Also I’m pretty sure that Jesus cried just like every other baby…I hate the line in “Away in a Manger” that says “no crying he makes.” Yeah, right…Mary wishes.

Then the “big” announcement made about the son of God’s arrival was given to teenage shepherds, a profession that was not highly regarded (think minimum wage fast food workers). Jesus also came from the town of Nazareth which was considered the armpit of the Jewish world (think Bakersfield, no offense)…there is actually a saying in the Bible that Jewish people of the time used that said “can anything good come from Nazareth?” Not to mention the fact that Jesus’ lineage included prostitutes, murderers, and other outcasts. I could go on, but I think the pattern is becoming obvious. Jesus did not come into this world in the elegant and glorious way one would think God would. He did not come in riches and fame, but in the face of adversity and in the most humble (and almost humorous) of ways, as a helpless baby.

This is how God chose to enter our world. God did this intentionally, and this is why I think it is dangerous when we begin romanticizing the Christmas story. He didn’t want us to see him as we would a human ruler or authority figure that is untouchable, distant, elite, and doesn’t care about the “common people.” “[Jesus] though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Phil 2:6-7

Why did he do it? Because he loves us that much. He loves us so much that He was willing to do whatever it would take to get down on our level and reach us where we are at. What an amazing God.

Let’s fall on our knees and worship the King Baby Jesus!

3 Videos Portraying Why I Love the Austin Stone So Much

I came across the Austin Stone Church (a church in Austin, TX) fairly randomly and fell in love with it instantly. Their vision is to be a “church for the city”…meaning that their church is not meant to simply be a social club or the like but to actively work for the redemption of the city by meeting various needs of people in Austin. This church is truly an “outward-focused” church rather than an “inward-focused” church and instead of just “talking the talk” they’re actually “walking the walk”. This church is a great example of living out New Testament Christianity and I wish I could say more churches looked like this one. I could say much more but I think the videos explain it all.


Makarios-Dominican Joe from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.


Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.


Missional Community-Austin Life Care from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

Click here for more Austin Stone videos