>Thanks for praying for our friends. Their daughter passed away this afternoon with her entire family by her side. Obviously everyone was sad, but as we sat in that hospital room with them, I was really amazed by the amount of peace and joy that filled the room. Their daughter’s broken body, ravaged by disease, was still there in the bed, yet all they could talk about was how excited she must be to finally be in the arms of Jesus. To finally be in heaven with Him. To finally be able to “feast at his heavenly banquet.” She hasn’t been able to eat much of anything these past months, so there was plenty of talk around the room about all the foods she must be enjoying with her savior. They talked about how she must be dancing right now. How there is no more pain for her now. That she ran a good race and finished strong. That her life during her battle with cancer this past year has touched so many people. That she had spent her last months on earth making people laugh, reminding them that God loves them and inspiring them with her fighting spirit.

I am so incredibly sad for this family. For these parents who watched their daughter pass on before their eyes. For the two young adults who lost their sister today. For the friends who had to say goodbye. Everyone will move on, but no before some serious, painful grieving. It is this grieving period that we must pray through now. We’ll pray that God will sustain this family through their grief just as he sustained their daughter through her disease. He is mindful of their pain…

This young woman’s life has left a huge mark on all of our lives. Thank you Jesus for being so evident in this situation. Thank you for not leaving our sides. Thank you for releasing Kristen from her pain, and for wrapping your arms around her. We know she is home.

I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side…
I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing ‘Hallelujah!’? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!
(-Mercy Me)

>It’s 12:18 a.m. on Sunday morning. I should be in bed, but I can’t seem to make it back to the bedroom quite yet. I’m burdened with sadness, and can’t help but feel like I need to be awake.

Our friends are at the emergency room right now, praying that their daughter will make it through tonight. She has cervical cancer (caused by HPV), and was rushed to the ER earlier this evening because she was bleeding everywhere. This young woman (early 20’s) has gone through so much in the past year or so. I can’t imagine what they’re feeling, what she’s thinking, etc.

We came to the hospital, and found her dad outside giving an update to someone on his cell phone. Once he hung up, Matt embraced him, and all this hurting father could do was cry. Sob. Meltdown. He hung on to Matt with desperation for just a few moments, and then gathered his emotions together to let us know what was happening. “This is when it sucks to be a parent,” he said.

We stuck our heads in the hospital room to say hello, but left quickly so as not to disturb anyone. The mother has been so strong through all of this. Tonight she looked tired, but stayed as calm as she could, and helped her daughter as much as possible. We hugged for a moment, and she thanked us for coming. We decided to leave, chatted with the father a little bit longer, and let him know to call us – no matter what time – if anything should change.

What do you do? What do you say to these people who are going through the toughest battle of their lives? How do you pray through something like this? I wish we could do something to make it better, but nothing I can do will heal this girl. No dish I can cook, no errand I can run, nothing I can do will make this situation better. I don’t know words to say to people who have a dying child.

I’m sad. I’m scared. I’m hurting for this family. Please join me in praying for them. They need all the help they can get right now…

>Hi, I’m Katie, and I’m a foul-mouthed Christian.

Ugh…that doesn’t sound good, does it? But that’s what I am right now. I’m having some serious issues taming my tongue lately.

I’m a part of a bible study/mentoring program on Wednesday nights this spring. It’s a 6-week program. I really don’t like the book that we’re going through (don’t get me started…it’s a tirade I’m not energized for right now!), but I do enjoy the conversations and the relationships that I’m building because of it.

Last night’s lesson was on purity. I always think of “purity” in relationship to sex, but we talked about so much more than that last night. This study really helped me understand that my foul language is a purity issue, and that hit home. The author uses a phrase in the book that helped me to understand more about what might be going on with me. She says something like, “What goes down in the well comes up in the bucket.” That little phrase made me realize that I must have a lot of muck in my well!

I talked with Matt about it last night, and after he listened to me jabber on and on about it, he said, “So what’s next?” It wasn’t the response I expected. I actually expected him to tell me about how my bad language has affected him, and how it bothers him when I let foul things fly from my lips. Instead, he said, “What’s next?”

It was exactly what I needed to hear. That simple little question packed a punch of possibility! It not only indicated that he agreed and noticed my little problem; it let me know that he thinks I can overcome it and believes that I will. I love him for that.

So what is next? I’m not quite sure. I really think I need to be careful about what I’m listening to, reading, watching on TV, talking about, etc. It really does have an impact on my mind. I also have some scriptures that I’m going to try to reflect on daily to really help drive the point home. I really do want God to clean out my mucky well…even if it’s going to be difficult for me.

Anyone else struggle with this stuff? Comment, and let’s chat about it!

Here are the scriptures I have decided to focus on:

Psalm 51
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 19:14
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
James 3
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.