What is so awesome about the ‘Power of Prayer’ is that it lives…every day. The Power of Prayer lives through OUR LORD, who does not take days off. HE does not take vacations. God is on call 24/7…and for that we are all grateful. Being a member of the POP TEAM gives us community and accountability to pray for each other. As we take days off and vacations this summer, our challenge is to make sure we don’t take time off from prayer.
POP TEAM members, we need to be able to count on each other for prayer support. We need our backs covered during travel and fun time. We may think we need to take a vacation from prayer, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. Continue to PRAY, take GOD with you on vacation! It will end up being the best vacation you have ever experienced. “ Every Christian needs a half an hour of prayer each day, except when he is busy or on vacation, then he needs an hour!”
We have praises and more requests from the Power of our Prayers this week. Please remember that one of the unwritten rules of the POP TEAM is that we ‘Praise Him for the Good Days, and we Praise Him for the not so good days.” OUR GOD NEVER LEAVES US NOR FORSAKES US.
• Shirley Fairley is seeing much improvement from the tumor removed from her eye. (Excuse the pun) • Kathleen Kennard met with her doctor this week and they have an encouraging plan for treatment. • Jeff Carr, my brother –in-law sent the family an email praising God for his continued recovery! • Dennis Palmer in Texas continues his treatment. Pray for his insurance coverage. • Chiho Miyazaki and her Emory doctors have put a plan together for treatment.
We have two patients that need extra POWER OF PRAYER from all of us. We need prayer for miracles. • Please pray for Matt Holland, his wife Cindy, and 5 year old Leah. Matt came home from the hospital yesterday and hospice is there to help. Cindy asks us to pray for a miracle, peace, strength, and comfort. • Art Hiabel in Michigan is in the final stages of his battle with cancer.
“The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11
Notes from our Journey this week:
Father’s Day was the best ever! Matt, Mandy, Cal, Rett, Paul, and Lindsay came to our house at 5:30 pm. Mary Frances divided us into two golf carts; male vs. female. We each had scavenger hunt type instructions to pick up food, and we all met 40 minutes later for a picnic at the lake. Yes, I am grateful for all your prayers and that we have the opportunity to be alive today to enjoy family and friends.
On Monday morning, we were asked to speak to a class of 30 graduating nursing students. The theme was ‘Good is the Enemy of Great’! The message was ‘what are the qualities of a great nurse, as compared to a good nurse. These young people were totally engaged, and rather than just me talk for two hours, we had a great group discussion. We were very impressed with the questions that were asked and the focus these students exhibited. We used examples of my interactions with nurses from POP – A Journey in the Light. Each student was presented a book at the end of the class. Please pray for them as they are in their final 6 weeks of study, testing, and clinical work. This was our agenda:
QUALITIES OF A SERVANT LEADER/ GREAT NURSE
• SEIZE THE DAY – Good nurses are busy and seize the day. GREAT NURSES are productive and seize the moment! • ENGAGE – Good nurses communicate. GREAT NURSES connect by finding a common thread with their patient. • REINVENT – Good nurses are those who don’t know, and don’t know they don’t know. GREAT NURSES seek feedback, listen, and change accordingly. • VICTORY IS THE JOURNEY – Good nurses live in the past and for the future, GREAT NURSES enjoy the journey, then the destination. • EMBODY VALUES – Good nurses have a job. GREAT NURSES have a career based on values.
If you would get your ‘POP – A JOURNEY IN THE LIGHT ‘book out, and turn to day 27, page 72. (If you don’t have one you need to order one from http://www.popthebook.com or from amazon.com. Order several copies and give them to people you know who are facing adversity). The top of the page is titled “BILL, RED, AND SHAWSHANK”. After 26 days in the hospital, I was told we were being discharged. I was excited about going home, but for those 26 days, I had someone“check my blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate every four hours. The staff monitored everything I drank and they monitored the amount I peed. I had blood taken from me every day. They flushed my lines for me. I was hooked up to an IV every day I was there except two. They checked my blood count every day…red blood, white blood, platelets. This just touched the surface.
I was fearful of leaving and it reminded me of the movie‘Shawshank Redemption’. When the inmates left prison after being there a long time, they couldn’t deal with the real world…they had become institutionalized! This was me. I was Red from the movie. I had become institutionalized.
I walked down the hall and talked to Bill. Bill was already back for a second treatment and he had been out before. I asked him“what was it like when you leave?” He shared with me the same fears and anxiety that I felt, and more. He was a gift from God. We had prayed for peace, Bill was that peace.
The nurses talk was in Griffin, Ga. and after we finished, I drove downtown to a law firm where I knew that Bill had worked. It was my lucky day. Bill was in the office and we went to the conference room and spent about 30 minutes reminiscing about our times together at Emory Hospital 8th floor 3 years ago. It was an encouraging visit.
The message that I want to leave us with today is this: During most of our conversation, Bill and I smiled because we were both alive and able to share this time together. But right before I left, we both looked each other in the eye and agreed; “As tough as this journey was and still is to a degree, we would not trade the experience for anything! It was a time of total dependence on God and family. We both thank God for this adversity. Our walk with God went to the next level. That’s the way it is for a Christian facing adversity. If we had not had leukemia, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It just goes to show us that as a Christian, not all bad things are bad! (Romans 8:28)
We are placing our weekly care pages on our blog;
Subscribe to the blog at http://www.popthebook.wordpress.com
Follow us on Twitter: @PoptheBook
Like us on facebook and check out our status updates: POP! A Journey in the Light
Check out our website: http://www.popthebook.com