Finally an update... and other stuff

I apologize for the much delayed update. For those of you that don't know already, I am doing quite well all considering. I had a great time at church on Sunday... several people didn't recognize me, but that was pretty funny. I actually look somewhat like a normal human being... just not quite me. ;) I had a follow-up appointment the other day, and everything seems to be going just fine. God is good! I did have really high blood pressure for a while after the surgery, but they were able to contain it with some blood pressure meds. I'm actually surprised by how fast I've recovered. I'm by no means back to normal or anything, but I am far beyond what I expected at this point. I attempted work on Monday and ended up calling mom two hours later to ask her to pick me up. Oh well! My boss is being very flexible and letting me work from home... which I will probably do tomorrow. I had my first real meal yesterday. I was able to eat a can of soup as well as some refried beans. I can't chew at all, so it is a bit interesting. Since my lower lip is still numb, I tend to lose a good amount of stuff out the bottom... hehe. Tonight, I had some amazing spaghetti! You'd be amazed at what you can eat without chewing! I have nothing to fear when I get old and lose all my teeth (just kidding). :D God has been very much gracious though! He has filled me with His joy and peace. I am in a good bit of pain still, but I know that He will not allow me to go through any pain without it being in His perfect plan! Thank you all for praying. I can't tell you how much your prayers mean to me. I look forward to going to camp on Sunday and working with some 10th graders for a week. Please pray for continued healing and that He would prepare my heart for leading this young men in His ways.

God has also blessed in that I was published for the first time (at least that I could remember). I don't know if you would call it published or not, but I thought it was pretty cool all the same. http://getliberty.org/blog/the_future_of_our_bureaucracy_is_at_stake/

Another blessing came as I was browsing google. I found a little picture and article from when I hit the grand slam. I didn't realize that it was online (http://uspresswire.com/image/2649781). God deserves all the glory for that one too! It brought back some great memories of how He has blessed me so incredibly over the last year.

I've been reading a bit in 1 Samuel these last several days. It is neat to see how God answers the prayer of Hannah... and the commitment she has to dedicate Samuel to the Lord. So often, I feel like I leave things in God's hands and as soon as He makes it good, I take it back. We need to give Him all the glory! It was sobering to see Eli's sons and their disobedience to the Lord. God doesn't take sin lightly... all of Israel was defeated! The Ark was taken, which was the symbol of God's presence in Israel. I can't imagine what it would have been like to see the symbol of the only One who you could depend on being taken away. Eli obviously took it very hard and died on the spot. I pray that God would wake us up to the reality of needing Him so that we would not lose His presence among us. We need Him now more than ever!