I won’t be here tomorrow morning. The doctor has summoned me to discuss the results of the blood work I had done two weeks ago–which, he coyly hinted on the phone, shows “a weak kidney.” And some other stuff. I don’t want to make too much of it, but to be on the safe side, I’d appreciate your prayers. I mean, really, nobody wants to hear he has a bum kidney. And other stuff.
We’ve received news from our friend and brother, Elijah Holsten, that his mother’s cancer can only be addressed now with a high-risk operation. Please join in prayer for her.
O Lord our God! Please, deliver our brother Elijah’s mother out of danger, out of trouble: we know that you can do all things. For her family’s sake, and for Jesus’ sake, in whose name we ask this blessing, save her and heal her. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Today our Christmas tree comes down. It’s a big job and I’m still trying to pump myself up to do it. Has to be done, it’s getting too dry. But we always love our Christmas tree, and once it’s gone, we’ll miss it for a while.
The thing we want, though, is to make this Christmas work all year, by God’s sovereign grace, in answer to our prayers–to make it carry on all the way to Christmas 2019, drawing people’s hearts to Jesus Christ Our Lord, amen.
I really didn’t want to write up any more nooze today, so I was happy when Joshua came up with this Christmas hymn request: Angels We Have Heard on High, by Fernando Ortega. Ah, that’s better!
Please join me in prayer.
O Lord our God! In Jesus’ name, please bless this Christmas season and give it power to work all throughout the year, every night and every day, to draw our hearts to Jesus Christ and move us to work and pray for His Kingdom. Amen.
We were going to watch BBC Narnia today, but you know there’s never any rest. Our air purifier arrived ten days early, in a gigantic box, and we’ve just finished setting it up, after 2:30 p.m. It’s getting kind of crowded here, what with the Christmas tree and now this device.
Okay, it’s plugged in and humming away, supposedly removing allergens from our air. I have high hopes for this. Robbie’s cough, Patty’s trouble breathing, and my allergy attacks which bring on sinus infections–if we can clean the air, all three of us might be doing better. But it is technology, which means I don’t understand it, and won’t be able to fix it if anything goes wrong. So all I can do is give it a few days and see if it makes a difference. I will have to spend more time dusting than I used to: the replacement filters are expensive.
Please pray that this winds up working for us!
Our cat, Robbie, has had a bit more than her share of tribulating. I’ve got to take her to the vet first thing tomorrow because lately, for no reason we can think of, she’s coughing. We had at least two years of having to medicate her for that, and at last the cough went away… but now it’s back.
In the meantime, the cost of the asthma medicine has doubled and you just can’t find a rubber mask that fits over a cat’s face to deliver the medicine. We used to have one, but they don’t last forever and now we can’t find a new one. And we’re still medicating her for a hyper thyroid. I don’t know: maybe that medicine needs to be a little weaker. She’s put on more weight than we’d like to see. Maybe that’s making her cough. We just don’t know. Hopefully the doctor does.
It seems all of us around here are taking turns being sick. Gets to be a bit wearing, after a while. We would be thankful for your prayers.
If you don’t see any posts here tomorrow morning, it’s because I’m not here, either.
This was supposed to be our week off.
As you enjoy Nathan and Lyle performing Revive Us Again, Patty and I are vegetating in the doctor’s waiting room. Having endured all those tests, my wife wants a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Is that asking too much? If the doctor doesn’t come across today, we’ll have to start doctor-shopping.
Please pray for us: certainly Patty’s health needs to be revived. We believe the Lord can do this. And we ask for it in Jesus’ name, Amen.
P.S.–Well, as it turns out, we’re not there, after all. Patty decided to cancel. No more doctoring till after New Year’s, if we can possibly avoid it.
My friend “Ohio Chess Fan” posted this on my chess forum at Chessgames.com–O Holy Night, sung by John Berry.
Only God the Father would have looked on the sins and sufferings of this world and thought of sending not an army, but a baby in a manger, to save it.
Thank you, Lord, for giving us another Christmas! Every one of them is fresh and new. Please bless this Christmas season of 2018 and give it extraordinary power to draw our hearts to Jesus Christ, our Savior and our rightful King. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Please, everybody, join in prayer for our friend and sister, Phoebe, who is under the weather and afraid she’s coming down with flu again–just in time for Christmas!
O Lord our God, please spare your servant Phoebe and be swift to heal her. Uphold her in your mercy, and heal her by your sovereign grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
First, a word about our Christmas Carol Contest.
With four days left to go, Magnificat leads with 27 views the day it was posted. Days of Elijah has 28, but it’s hard for me to stretch that into a Christmas carol.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Patty and I will be here Christmas Day, no Garden State Parkway this year, and I hope some of you drop in, in a manner of speaking: we appreciate your company.
Between you and me, I think this poor fallen world needs this Christmas as badly as it’s ever needed any Christmas. Pray God the Father endows this Christmas of 2018 with great power to draw our hearts to Jesus Christ, our rightful Lord and only Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
