I'll Take Fries With That, Please

We praise God that Scribe had a much better day yesterday.  Tuesday was his roughest, as he wasn't able to eat or drink anything.  But, Wednesday, he was taken off the oxygen, was sitting up in a chair most of the day, and was finally able to take a bite of solid food.

His request?

French fries.

Now I was thinking crackers were the way to go, but you know, when you haven't eaten in almost 3 days, I think you know better than anyone what you'd like to at least  try once you can eat again.  Mountain Man would have moved heaven and earth to get his son french fries, but thankfully, he just had to go to the eatery downstairs. :)

So, when I left him yesterday evening, he was looking much better and had even laughed quite a few times.  Of course, Jedediah brings some of the biggest smiles to his face.

My Mom aptly observed that Scribe just isn't a complainer.  And, there are always things in a hospital to complain about.  Our son is the patient, but he is also our teacher, as we watch him quietly endure this path God has set before him.

"There is a vast difference between happiness and blessedness. Paul had imprisonments and pains, sacrifice and suffering up to the very limit; but in the midst of it all, he was blessed.  All the beatitudes came into his heart and life in the midst of those very conditions."
~Streams in the Desert

Scribe is blessed, and so are all of us as we continue to see God's gracious Hand in everything.

We're hoping for Saturday as his release date, and we continue to ask for prayers for pain management, no infection in the epidural site, strength, wise and caring medical staff, and increased faith and trust in our Heavenly Father.

With hearts full of thanks,
for all of the Poff Clan

These Many Blessings

It's getting late, and I'm looking forward to the sweet sleep that only God can give.  BUT, I can't rest before thanking everyone for your prayers and before praising God for His goodness and mercy to us today.

It was one of those days when my Heavenly Father continuously humbled me with His kindness to us.  His gifts flowed non-stop, and I echo the words of David when he declared...

I wil extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.   Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.  One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.  The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.  The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.  He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him; he also will hear their cry, and will save them.  The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.  My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. ~from Psalm 145

Here are just a few of God's gifts to us today.

~Scribe woke up in good spirits.


~My Mom fell right before we were leaving for the hospital, but, praise the LORD, she only suffered some bruising.


~Our Pastor arrived at the hospital soon after we did and stayed all day with us.  We're so grateful for the loving sacrifice of his time and energy.


~The staff...doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, etc., were all very kind and willing to answer our many questions.


~The staff was very supportive of having our Pastor pray with us, and Scribe's doctor even came out to the lobby before surgery (Scribe was already in the OR) to have our Pastor pray with her!  Isn't that amazing?  After the surgery was over, Scribe's doctor declared, "God is great.  All the time!"


~Jedediah was content the entire day.


~The children at home were responsible and cheerful.


~Scribe had no complications during the surgery, including no blood loss.


~God blessed us with close parking spaces. :)


~We have friends who are helping with our children during the week so that Scribe's brothers and sisters can take turns visiting him in the hospital.


~My cousin graciously posted the initial update about Scribe for me since I didn't have access to a computer.


~All of us had that peace that passes all understanding as we waited for Scribe to have his surgery!

When I left Scribe tonight, he was still a bit out of it from the anesthesia, and he continues to have problems with nausea.  You can imagine how painful that is when you've just had chest surgery.  So, we continue to ask for prayers as well as ask that you praise God for His goodness and mercy to our family.

I'll continue to post updates as things progress.  Thank you again for your encouraging words and fervent prayers.

Love,

Scribe's Surgery Update...

Just wanted to let everyone know that Scribe just came out of surgery and is in recovery.  The surgery went well.  We appreciate your continued prayers and will provide more updates when possible.

In Him,
Trisha

How To Improve Your Memory

"This dulness of memory is a common spiritual disease among believers.  It prevails as widely now as it did in the days of the first disciples.  It is one among many proofs of our fallen and corrupt condition.  Even after men have been renewed by the Holy Ghost, their readiness to forget the promises and precepts of the Gospel is continually bringing them into trouble.  They hear many things which they ought to store up in their hearts, but seem to forget as fast as they hear.  And then, perhaps after many days, affliction brings them up before their recollection, and at once it flashes across their minds that they heard them long ago!  They find that they had heard, but heard in vain.


The true cure for a dull memory in religion, is to get deeper love toward Christ, and affections more thoroughly set on things above.  We do not readily forget the things we love, and the objects which we keep continually under our eyes.  The names of our parents and children are always remembered.  The face of the husband or wife we love is graven on the tablets of our hearts.  The more our affections are engaged in Christ's service, the more easy shall we find it to remember Christ's words."
~J.C. Ryle
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Vol. 2

Scribe's Surgery

****Correction~Scribe's surgery is scheduled for 12:30.



Scribe's surgery is scheduled for Monday morning at 11:30 and is expected to take around 3-1/2 hours.

He will be on quite a few medications, so please pray he would tolerate those well and would not have any complications or reactions, short-term and long-term.

I will post an update as soon as possible.  Allowing for time to see him in recovery, etc., I'm hoping that will be at least by 4:30 our time.

Thank you again for your prayers!

Love,

Family Photo Shoot 2010~Mother and Daughters, Father and Sons

and Cap'n is as serious as ever.....

Try This At Home

That is....only if you can eat just 10 chicken wings at a time.  Or if you like them in a not-the-least-bit-like-Southern-cooking way  (i.e. BAKED).  Otherwise, get out the BIG turkey fryer or just go to the restaurant.

When Mountain Man and I first moved to New Mexico, we only had Scribe and Little Big Man.  They were 3 and not quite 1, so family life looked a lot different than it does now.  One of our favorite snacks to make at home was chicken wings.  I remember having to cook more and more because a certain little one kept taking them off of our plates.

Ahem.

Well, that little one is the tallest guy in the house now, and the other night when he requested chicken wings, I was more than happy to fix them.  But I had forgotten a few things....

~The oil needs to be very hot.  Very, very hot.

~The pan only cooks about 10 wings at a time.  That's not even an individual serving in our home.

~Hot oil splatters.  Did I mention hot oil splatters?

~Cooking one batch, on the stovetop, takes about 45 minutes.  I didn't even start cooking until 7:15.  Let's see...one batch equals 10 wings and takes 45 minutes.  What time will we be done?

~Sometimes the money savings just isn't worth it.

~The cleaning of the pan takes years....yep, years.....

So, my goal to bless my family with restaurant style wings was not the success I had hoped for.  We had to eat in shifts (a big no-no in our house), and I still had to make another meal because I didn't want to catch the kitchen on fire. :)

BUT, the good news in it all is that I discovered this yummy, yummy recipe for garlic-parmesan chicken wings, and it tastes just like the ones at our favorite wing place!  So, despite the disaster, I'll be trying these again, except Mountain Man will be cooking them OUTSIDE in the turkey fryer.

Enjoy!

Love,



Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 24 fried chicken wings

Directions:

1. 1In a small glass bowl, melt butter in microwave.
2. 2Whisk into butter the garlic powder, onion salt and pepper.
3. 3Arrang  wings on a serving platter and drizzle with butter mixture.
4. 4Top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

1. 
   ~from Food.com

Family Photo Shoot 2010~The Ladies

Pragmatism in the Church

In a column published some years ago in a popular Christian magazine, a well-known preacher was venting his own loathing for long sermons.  January 1 was coming, so he resolved to do better in the coming year.  "That means wasting less time listening to long sermons and spending much more time preparing short ones," he wrote.  "People, I've discovered, will forgive even poor theology as long as they get out before noon."

Unfortunately, that perfectly sums up the predominant attitude behind much of ministry today.  Bad doctrine is tolerable; a long sermon most certainly is not.  The timing of the benediction is of far more concern to the average churchgoer than the content of the sermon.  Sunday dinner and the feeding of our mouths takes precedence over Sunday school and the nourishment of our souls.  Long-windedness has become a greater sin than heresy.  The church has imbibed the worldly philosophy of pragmatism, and we're just beginning to taste the bitter results.

~John MacArthur