Jehovah Nissi: God is Our Battle Fighter

I am really enjoying this unit that I have been teaching in Sunday School. We are continuing to learn about the names of God. The past two weeks we were learning about Jehovah Nissi : God is Our Battle Fighter. Once again I feel challenged and encouraged as we look at how that plays out in our lives. Most of our battles are not out on a real battle field and yet we all deal with our own “battles”. Although we don’t deal with the “Battles” that my Sunday school children deal with such as bullies, issues in school, on the bus or on the play ground; there will be other battles like sickness, finances, dealing with other people, or against sin. What a great reminder that Jehovah Nissi : God, Our Battle Fighter is on our side. “If God is for us who can be against us?” Rm. 8:31 Another aspect of God being our Battle Fighter is that he has given us a special set of armor for us so we can fight off Satan. God’s armor helps us defeat Satan. We made up little arrows that Satan might try to shoot towards us. Although the arrows that are coming our way might be different ones, those arrows will come. We do not need to stand alone, God wants us to “Put on the full armor of God so that we you can stand against the devil’s schemes.” These have just been some truths that once again have impacted my life. Praise the Lord that God is “Jehovah Nissi”.

Neti Pot

My blog has been silent for a couple of days as I was down with the flu. There are all sorts of different bugs making its way around camp. I was hoping it would not hit our house but it did. Three of our children are also sick and are dealing with bad colds. We take a lot of Ester C and do a lot of the normal things people do to fight off colds. However, Ruth decided to try some thing new and she came home with a yesterday. Her coworkers were telling her how a "Neti Pot" would be the answer to fighting her cold. I had never seen a “Neti Pot” before. It reminded me of a pot you rub and a “Jeanie” would pop out. It is actually something you use to flush out your sinuses with. I guess there is quite an act to using the thing. (Ruth's coworkers were giving her tips on using it as they believe in it so much.) We’ll see how Ruth’s little experiment with the “Neti Pot” goes and whether this is the answer to getting over a cold quicker. What is your cure all for the common cold???

Celebrating Ruth's Birthday

It has been a neat time in our lives to have our children all living in the same area. Since Ruth will be heading off to college in the fall we know this could be the last birthday Ruth celebrates with us together as a family for awhile. It is our family tradition to let the birthday person pick a special meal for their birthday celebration. Since Vern and Ruth's favorite meal is the same, and we just had that last week Ruth picked "shish kabobs". We all love them but I have actually never made them before. I spent some time looking for marinates on the internet of shish kabobs. I settled on five different ones. I made two different chicken shish kabobs, two different beef ones, and then a shrimp option as well. It took a bit of prep time the day before as a couple of the kids helped me cut up the meat and get it soaking over night. Then it also took several hours cutting on veggies and loading everything of the wooden skewers. (Since everyone in the family likes different types of veggies I tired to load them in a way so that there were all sorts of options.) Vern did a GREAT job in grilling them all as it was VERY cold outside standing by the grill. However, I think we all thought that the meal was AMAZING! The Shish Kabobs were so tasty. We were all happy that Ruth picked this meal as it was fun to venture out and do some thing new. It is definitely some thing we will have to do again. We all enjoyed the left overs for lunch, YUM! (We actually had a cheese cake and an angel food cake since Ruth wanted cheese cake but some people in the family don't like cheese cake.) It was a nice evening, honoring Ruth's on her special day. Next month it is Caleb's turn!

On The Road To Recovery

Another update came in on Ian. Thanks for your prayers for him. It sounds like he is doing so much better!

Great news today! Ian was able not only to stand, but walked outside the ICU and sat in the sun for a while. He had his first neurological consult and the only deficit mentioned was a tremor. He will have more evaluations later. It will take a few days to screen the blood that is being donated so the transfusion is on hold for the present. All the lines and catheters are out with the possible exception of the arterial line which I failed to ask about, though it would seem that would be removed by now. Ian ate lunch and Ken and Lisa are waiting to see if the food will stay down this time. If it does, then he will no longer need any special supportive care. It is a huge answer to prayer hearing that!! It is an amazing relief to hear that he's finally on the mend! God has surely worked a miracle in his life!!! We are tremendoulsy thankful both for the answers to prayers and for your many prayers!!! Thank you!!!

Happy 18th Birthday Ruth!

One of the greatest joys and blessing Vern and I have had is to be parents. Eighteen years ago another blessings was added to our family. God gave us a precious baby girl. Our family would never be the same again. Ruth has added so much life and laughter into our family. She has a love for life and people. (As I look back over this past eighteen years it seems to have passed before us in a blink of an eye. ) Happy 18^th Birthday Ruth! You have grown to be such a beautiful young lady. We are excited about all that God has ahead of you. We hope you have an awesome day!

Update on Ian

This note came in from Ian sister. For those of you who have been praying but have never met the Turnbull family, this is a family picture of them. (Ian is their oldest son.)

"Ian got to sit in a chair this morning, but he was way to weak and just sort of slumped down :( He's getting a blood transfusion Monday. And he is answering more questions and following commands. It is a slow healing process, but God is an amazing God and he has already worked SO many many miracles. :) Thank you all for praying for Ian. We are praying still for complete brain function and and healing physically. God is good and all powerful and we are putting all of our trust in Him and Him alone. He is AMAZING!!! Thank you to everyone for your prayers for Ian and thank you God for the amazing way You have answered them. God is good... God is good!"

The Job Hunt Is Over

We would like to pass on the good news to everyone who has been praying for Caleb and his job search. He has a job and will be starting work on Monday. Thanks so much for your prayers! With so many people laid off right now this is a true provision from the Lord.

NEWS RELEASE - Ruth Dyck AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP AT LSSU

A few days ago Ruth received a letter and we also received a letter from Lake Superior State University. Both the letters were announcing that they were awarding Ruth the "Board of Trustees Ontario Distinguished Scholarship". This is a scholarship for outstanding academic achievement. We are really proud of Ruth. Anyone who knows her, knows she has really pushed herself academically to learn all that she can throughout her high school years. (There were many late nights and early morning study sessions.) Ruth is actually hoping to get into a college in Missouri. However, Lake Superior is her second choice. This scholarship is for about 25% of the tuition so we are still praying for the rest of the finances to work out. GREAT JOB RUTH! You have really pushed yourself academically, and your hard work paid off. We are continuing to pray that your dream of becoming a nurse will become a reality. We know you will make wonderful and compassionate nurse.

Another Update on Ian

This update on Ian just came in:

"Dear friends and family,
This morning dad messaged me and told me that Ian moved his leg and nodded his head in response to some questions, and opened his eyes. He can't squeeze mom and dad's hand yet though. The doctor will wait till later to do a neurological exam. God has greatly responded to everyone's prayers in bringing Ian this far. This is clearly a miracle!!! Praise the Lord!!! His mercies are truly new this morning! Please continue praying!!!

In Christ,
Damarise"

Continue to Pray for Ian

Here is the latest update on Ian: "Still no sign of brain response after 24 hours (more now) without sedatives. Ian had the CT scan and it showed the brain is structurally normal. Unfortunately, through this test they could not see if there was damage from the extended period of below critical blood pressure from the malaria gunk build up. We continue to wait and pray! We know that God is the all powerful God and that nothing is too difficult for Him. Thank you all tremendously for your prayers and encouragement!!!"