His Grace Is Sufficient

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for me and my family during this difficult time. I went to the doctor and my blood count is going back up and the pneumonia is better as well. I still have to go in for yet another EGD soon.

I have had time to reflect on my situation and difficulties and think of the words of Paul. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:7-ff, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I have found during this difficulty I have been leaning and resting on God for help and strength. I have come to terms with my illnesses and have found that his grace is truely sufficient. My faith has grown and stretched in the last year and half. I have seen his power displayed in my life in every aspect. I am so glad that I serve a God who love and cares more than I can comprehend. I truely understand what Paul says, "When I am weak, then I am strong."

How have problems or difficulties influenced your faith and Christian life? How have you seen God's grace being sufficient in your life? What do you think of these words from Paul? How is his power made perfect in weakness? Why don't we boast all the more gladly in our weaknesses?

What do you think?
Share your thoughts.

Is My Church The Right One?

I have been thinking lately about churches and how many churches there are to choose from. Someone jokingly said, "Sunday is the most divided day in the world." Why are there so many denominations? Is it pride, selfishness, misunderstanding of God's word, style of worship? The question that I have been churning on in my brain is how do we know what church is right? Can we know which church is right? I wonder with so many churches to choose from makes unbelievers and seekers confused? Which is the right one? Can we say which denomination is the right one? Wouldn't that be elitist and boastful?

Think about your own faith why do you believe what you believe. Is your faith your own faith or does it belong to your parents or grandparents? Is it important to have your own faith? Why? Is it because your grandmother and grandfather, mom and dad go there and so you are expeted to go? How would you explain to somone that your congregation is the only right one, or would you explain it? How would this come across to the unbeliever? What message do we send to the lost world by having so many churches to choose from? Will we ever answer the prayer of Jesus in John 17? If so, how? If not, why not?

Answer any of these questions?
What do you think?
Share your thoughts.

Good Things Can Come From Bad, But I Still Wish Things Could Be Easier.

Kinney had an EGD and colonoscopy today. All I have to say is, "Thank God for Pneumonia!"

Well, I DO hate all of this. It's just so hard, but if it had to happen, I'm glad it happened THIS way.

Anyway, the doctor came out with the pictures of his esophagus. His colon and stomach were fine. They removed one polyp from his colon-no big.

The esophagus, on the other hand, is the problem. It looked like the esophagus of someone who had been having bad reflux for 20 years. The doctor said that it was the worst case he has seen in someone so young in his 30 years in practice. It was eaten up from top to bottom with large ulcers. It looked like blistered hamburger meat. Yuck!!

Kinney, from the time he was little, after his first GBS, has had migraines which would make him throw up. He also had a spastic duodenum which would cause him to continue to throw up. Between that and reflux, that's how it got so damaged.

So, he has severe esophagitis (that's where all his blood volume went) and the other thing is called Barrett's Esophagus. It's when the esophagus has been so damaged that the body tries to heal itself by putting small bowel cells in the place of where the old damaged esophagial cells were. It is the thing which causes most cancers of the esophagus. His esophagus was so raw that they couldn't even attempt a biopsy. They are giving him meds and a special diet to heal the sores. In three months he will have another EGD and then they will biopsy. The doc says he will have to take the meds always and have EGDs every year, but getting the cells at the earliest possible stage is what makes the difference.

Right now, they think they got to things ahead of time and the cells don't look cancerous, but the biopsy will confirm it - and yes, he still has pneumonia. It's what caused them to do a blood count which is the reason they found the problems with his esophagus. When the sores heal, it should help some of his energy return and he'll feel a whole lot better. So I say again - "Thank God for Pneumonia!"

He was released tonight with another sack full of medication and is in the bedroom coughing right now.

Please continue to pray for us. This is going to really be even more difficult financially. Also, I would like you to pray for me because I am just so very tired.

Thank you everyone,
Mrs. Preacherman "Tess" Mabry

Kinney's Sick Again

Kinney will be out again for a little while. He is in the hospital again and has been since Sunday evening.

He has been getting pneumonia on and off for the past 2 or 3 months. I have been out of town for a month trying to take a class at A.C.U. He came to Abilene for the 4th and to get the boys and I to bring us back home. The day we were to leave I touched his arm and he was burning with fever.

We took him back to his parents house. He took a nap and some fever medicine and woke of without a fever and said he was fine. He assured us that he would be alright to drive his car back to Rocksprings and that he could preach Sunday. He had an unproductive cough the entire night. It worried me so much that I woke him up to put pillows to elevate him so he could breathe better. He wanted to wait until Monday or Tuesday to go to the doctor.

The next day he preached and seemed really weak. He asked someone to sub for him for the evening service. After lunch, he went to bed and slept all afternoon. He woke a couple of times and went to sleep again. He woke up again after my 2 littlest ones were asleep and was stumbling and lethargic. He had a fever and began talking like he ws out of his mind. I dressed him and packed, called my friend in Kerrville to meet us to take my kids. I managed to load him and the kids in the car (we still have a wheelchair).

He mumbled nonsense the entire way. My great friends had things set up so that he could go directly to the E.R. with wheelchair waiting. He was admitted. He had a high fever and a higher pulse. The chest x-ray confirmed a bad case of pneumonia. We spent the entire night in the E.R.

At 8 the next morning, he was taken to I.C.U. He slowly drifted back from la-la land. He has had several migraines and they thought that he might be relapsing with his Guillain-Barre Syndrome, but luckily that isn't the case. He is in a regular room now. We think the reason he is having a hard time getting over pneumonia is because of his weakness in his trunk from the GBS, but we also have another problem.

He has lost 25% of his blood volume and is severely anemic. He is having a colonoscopy and EGD tomorrow. The doctor says that he thinks it's probably a bleeding ulcer and/or a tear in his colon. Pray that that's all it is. Pray that it's not the c-word. They didn't even mention the possibility. I think to spare our feelings since it's not likely in someone of his age.

Anyway, that's the latest. Please pray.
Thanks, Mrs. Preacherman