…olive oil for the light. Exodus 25:6

My soul, you greatly need this oil because your lamp will  not burn long without it. The wick will smoke offensively when its flame goes out, but it will not relight once the oil is gone. There is no oil well springing up from within your human nature, therefore you must go to Him who can supply you with oil or you will be like the foolish virgins, who cried out, “Our lamps are going out” (Matt. 25:8)! Even the consecrated oil lamps of the temple in Jerusalem could not give light without oil. Though they shone in that holy building, they needed a constant supply of oil, and though no strong winds blew on them, their wicks needed to be trimmed. your need is equally as great, for even under the happiest of circumstances you cannot give light for another hour unless the fresh oil of grace is given to you.

Yet not just any oil could be used in the Lord’s service in the temple — not the petroleum that flows so plentifully from the earth, oil from fish, nor the oil extracted from various nuts. Only olive oil was selected and it had to be the very best. Likewise, no counterfeit grace arising from natural goodness, nor imaginary grace from Go’s priest or his piritual ceremonies, will ever serve the true saint of God. He knows the Lord would not be pleased even with rivers of such oil. Instead, he must go to the olive press of Gethsemane and draw his supply from Him who was crushed in it.

The oil of true gospel grace is pure and free from dregs and other impurities; thus, the light it fuels is clear and bright. Our churches are the Savior’s golden candelabra and if they are to be bright lights in this dark world, they need a great supply of holy oil. May we pray for ourselves and our ministers and churches that they will never lack oil for their light. The beams of this sacred light are truth, holiness, joy, knowledge, and love, but we cannot shine them forth unless, through private devotion, we received the oil from God the Holy Spirit.

~ Charles Spurgeon

As I mentioned in my last post, on June 26th we had to rush Anja to the emergency room. Lisa and Anja’s doctor were concerned about an odd symptom. Anja was having strange arm movements on the right side. She wasn’t aware they were happening, but they were constant and interfered with her ability to do most anything with that hand.

That night in the ER was traumatic, to say the least. Anja had to endure multiple blood draws, IVs, a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) as well as a drug that played with her mental state, confusing and terrifying her. After about 8 hours in the ER, Anja was admitted so they could try to figure out what was causing these movements.

Shot from Anja's MRA

The next week was full of testing. CT scans, X-Rays, multiple MRIs, and many others were run, examined and often run again. Children’s Hospital was amazing. We had literal teams of doctors coming into our room to talk to us and examine Anja. What was impressive to me was the fact that these doctors didn’t just walk in, get what they needed, then walk out. They stayed, answered our questions, and spent quality time with us and our daughter. Amazing.

Our experience felt eerily like an episode of House. It seemed like every test either came up with nothing when they expected something, or it came up with something when they expected nothing! The movements on her right side are something called Sydenham’s Chorea. This is something that is often a key symptom of Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF). This is very rare in the US and is considered a third-world disease. The odd thing is that Anja has never had a strep infection which is the cause of ARF.

They ran the first MRI just to rule out anything neurological. But of course, since they were expecting to see nothing… One of the most startling moments of our hospital stay is when the Neurology team came in to tell us that the MRI revealed “spots” on the brain and that they would need to run additional tests. As of right now, we believe that these spots on the brain are lesions that remain as a result of micro-strokes that Anja has experienced. This is a bit alarming as ARF typically has no neurological involvement.

Her heart, on the other hand, shows the classic signs of ARF. The cardiology team was able to verify that there has been permanent damage to the heart that has resulted in one of her valves being compromised. Fortunately we caught this early enough that immediate valve or heart replacement is not necessary. If Anja hadn’t manifested the Sydenham’s Chorea, within six months she could have went into heart failure. God is good!

Although we still have more questions than answers, Anja is now home! Her symptoms remain, although they have become more subtle. One of the more challenging symptoms would the behavioral issues. But knowing that these issues are a symptom helps us be more patient. This too shall pass! How can you pray? I’m glad you asked.

Pray that the damage that has been done to Anja’s heart will stop as a result of treatment. Although this is a condition that will require life-long attention and medication, if we can stop the heart damage, no surgery will be necessary. We will be seeing a cardiologist in a few months to see how the heart is doing. They are optimistic, as are we. If her heart stays the same, we’ll just need to continue medication and see the cardiologist every six months to check on things. If it declines, surgery is the likely response.

We will also be seeing a neurologist again to follow up on the unexpected micro-strokes. Pray that testing will reveal no new lesions, and we can walk away from this mystery unsolved, but no longer in danger.

Finally, pray for Lisa (and me). We need to find peace in this storm. Thank you for all your kind words, cards and emails. You are a blessing to us!

To say that this summer has been a little difficult would be like saying Moses took the Israelites for a little walk in the wilderness. Although I won’t dwell on the details in this blog post, the past three months have been the most trying of my adult life.

GrandPa's Funeral - Military Honors

During finals week for the Spring semester, I rushed to California to care for my grandfather. (I wrote about that here.) Although that was difficult, it was good to be able to see my grandfather. My father joined me on this trip, and I’m thankful for the time we had to talk in the car and at my Grandfather’s cabin. The day before I left I was able to have a long talk with my grandfather in the hospital as we were arranging for hospice care. I am so thankful that I had that opportunity before he passed away. Although I missed a summer class I had registered for to make this trip, that is a small price to pay to connect with family at such a crucial time.

I returned home – but it was less than a week before my grandfather passed away. Due to the generosity of my father, Lisa and I were able to fly out to California for my grandfather’s funeral. For many reasons, that was a very difficult process. It was good to see family and friends again, but this wasn’t the type of reunion one desires.

Once Lisa and I returned to Dallas, I turned my attention towards catching up on all the work that I had let slide with my responsibilities at church as well as preparing for my Hebrew summer class that would be starting in a couple of weeks. But God wasn’t done with us yet! I was excited and nervous to be preaching my first sermon at my home church. I was sitting at a local coffee shop the Saturday before I was supposed to preach doing some last minute preparation. Then came the dreaded phone call.

Lisa, in tears, told me that we needed to rush Anja (my 8 year old daughter) to the emergency room. I packed up, and drove straight home. To make a very long story short, that sermon I was preparing for was one that would never be preached. We spent several days in the hospital with Anja, going through test after test. She is home now, although we have a long road ahead of us concerning her health and treatment plan. I will fill in those details in a subsequent blog post. (Promise!)

Now I’m looking at the calendar and seeing that the Fall semester begins in three weeks. Where has my summer gone? Both classes I had planned on taking had to be withdrawn from as a result of all that has happened. This could result in my graduation from DTS being delayed a full year, but time will tell. Although this is a summer that I never wish to repeat, even now I can see the lessons God has been teaching us as well as how we have been fundamentally changed as a result. I don’t think we ever will have an answer as to “why” God allows what He allows…But I do know I can trust Him through it all!

“I’d rate it a 10″ were the first words out of my 10-year-old daughter’s mouth as we exited the Winspear Opera House after the opening night of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (playing through July 25). Who am I to argue with her concise review?

Beauty and the Beast started life as the hit 1991 Disney film of the same name.

The move from screen to stage was effortlessly done with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton. With seven new songs for the stage production, Beauty proved to be a Broadway smash hit. Running from 1994 to 2007, it became Broadway’s sixth-longest running production in history.

Photo Credit - Peter Coombs

Rob Roth directs this fourth national tour with mixed results. I was amazed by the detail and beauty of the scenic design done by Stanley Meyer. Using limited stage space and impressive “set choreography,” they created a captivating opening number. In addition, the costumes throughout the show were of the highest quality. I would expect nothing less from a Disney production!

Need a break? Forgotten how to smile? Has the word, “Wow” disappeared from your repertoire? Then have I got a deal for you! Grapevine’s Runway Theatre will be presenting Once Upon a Mattress through August 1. I had the pleasure of being in the audience on opening night to see how director Andy Baldwin would handle the 50-year-old script.

This production was the Broadway debut of household name and one of America’s favorite funny ladies, Carol Burnett. She set the standard with her performance as Princess Winnifred the Woebegone. The script takes a satirical twist to the old tale, “The Princess and the Pea.” The kingdom is under a horrible law established by Queen Aggravain that states, “Throughout the land no one may wed, ’till Dauntless shares his wedding bed.” Dauntless (the Drab) is the coddled, spineless and, well … drab son of Aggravain and the mute King Sextimus.

Photo Courtesy of Runway Theater

This law has driven the kingdom to despair. There is truly an opening for a Princess here. The production picks up the tale with the 12th princess to be tested by the pesky Wizard under the manipulative auspices of the Queen. Princess #12 (Audrey Seifert) does quite well with the questions dealing with the history of St. George and the dragon … until the last question. Sadly, she was thwarted because she did not know the middle name of the daughter-in-law of the best friend of the blacksmith who forged the sword that killed the beast. Now that the stage is set, prepare to be introduced to the indefatigable Princess Winifred!

It was a long drive to California, but we made it in one piece! With one three hour exception, I did all the driving. Not sure why, as I’m not a big fan of being behind the wheel. We arrived at my grandpa’s cabin ahead of schedule. The area is breath-taking. There were a couple of things that I hadn’t accounted for, however…

I packed with a Southern California trip in mind. I neglected to add in the 8,000+ feet of elevation that have a slight cooling effect on temperature. It’s a wee bit chilly! The other thing I neglected to consider was the availability of cellular coverage and wireless up on the mountain. I have discovered that there is none at all. I’m taking this as a good thing. I brought some Hebrew to drill as well as some reading for my thesis. I’ll be making the most of the situation. That said, if any of you are needing to contact me, you will be unable to do so. I encourage you to contact Lisa, and she can get word to me via my grandfather’s land line.

The image attached to this posting is what I discovered awaiting me once my phone was able to acquire a data signal. When I drove up the mountain yesterday, I had nothing there to read or respond to – now…Wow. Y’all must really love me! I have a limited amount of time down here as I need to get back up to grandpa, but I will respond to as many messages as possible. Thanks for your understanding!

Concerning Grandpa – I would appreciate your prayers. He is not doing well. He hasn’t eaten in nearly a week and is drinking very little. We are encouraging him to eat, but he is being stubborn at this point. He is spending most of his time sleeping. When he is awake he is alert and lucid, but desires to return to sleep right away.

Concerning finances – A bit of trouble. This trip is costing us two weeks of lost income. I just discovered that due to poor communication, our account has hit the negative. Thanks to the joy of bank fees, an additional $125 of money was lost. Please pray for provision and opportunity during this time! I wasn’t expecting that to happen as we were in decent shape when I left, but I hadn’t communicated our financial state to Lisa and she assumed some funds were available for groceries and other necessities. FYI, I hate money. I hate the love for it that corrupts, and I hate the lack of it that inhibits. Lisa and I have been debt free for nearly four nears now, and that has been marvelous. It’s things like this that make me seriously question my commitment to finishing this program and just find a “real job” as the four jobs I’m juggling right now obviously don’t cut it. But I don’t think it would be God honoring for me to flush the 100 hours of grad school I’ve already completed down the toilet. God didn’t call us here for me to return to Human Resources…

Thanks for your prayers – for my grandpa, for my family, and for my attitude and calling.

God is faithful – even when it appears He’s not! (The problem is with my perception, not His character)