DAN GOULD

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Author: dgould77

  • Great Podcast – After the Heart

    Well, we still have no new news on Jackson’s sleep study and are hoping to have some info tomorrow.  Luckily we do have a monitor that seems to alert us if he stops breathing for more than 10 seconds.  Its’ something we have had for awhile but didn’t really know we could trust it or not, but after two nights of us taking turns staying awake watching him and watching the monitor we both tried to go to sleep at the same time last night.  I don’t know if it did any-good, it seemed like both of us were up every hour checking on him.  So please continue to pray.  Here’s how you can pray specifically!

    Well tonight, on my walk, I know I am sounding old, but it’s part of the new habits I am trying to create, I listed to a podcast from the village church with Matt Chandler over Luke (part 30) After the Heart.  Great talk and if you are a Fusion Volunteer, one you should check out; it’s only 37 minutes long!  You can get it here or on itunes the village church podcast.

  • Prayer for Jackson and Us – Update

    Thanks for your prayers!

    Jackson was a trouper last night.  The ladies that work there said they got one of the best reads they ever have on an child his age.  I guess that is good news.  The bad news is we won’t know the results for 72 hours.  That means one of us has to be awake to monitor his sleeping.  Our pediatrician thinks it could be a form of acid reflux, something I don’t think our ENT doctor mentioned.  However, he mentioned it could be something neurological, which if you know our story, Jackson has a neurologist and is already on meds for Myoclonic Seizures to which he is supposes to grow out of by age four or five.

    It has been a stressful month with 3 hospital visits with Jackson including 2, 2 night stays and 1 ER visit for about 4 hours.  I can’t express how much your prayers mean to us.  We are humbled by your kind words and so appreciative of you interceding to the Father on our behalf!  With that we will always be grateful!

    Here is how you can pray specifically:

    – Pray for HEALING

    – Pray that God would be in Control

    – Pray that the doctors have wisdom in what is going on and how to treat it

    – Pray that Josiah still gets attention and isn’t affected negatively by whats going on with Jackson

    – Pray that God would be our provider spiritually, physically, emotionally, and financially

    – Pray that God would multiply our sleep, comfort our fears, and give us supernatural peace and rest

  • Prayer for Jackson and Us

    Tonight, Jackson will go to a sleep study to see why he stops breathing and why he snores/wheezes tosses and turns.  Yesterday the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist said that Jackson’s Adenoids and Tonsils weren’t extremely large and so now we are taking the next step and praying that the sleep study will get a good read and be able to determine the problem and cause.

    Please pray for our sanity.  Stephanie and I both seem to be emotionally, and physically drained.  It’s hard enough dealing with the seizures and now with all of this I feel we have hit our limit.  I don’t think I have felt so helpless before.  I want to fix it but can’t.  I have been praying this verse since last night.  It was the theme verse for our small groups talking about coping and how we do that when stressful things happen.

    “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

  • Matthew 21:28-46

    “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.[a]” v.43-44

    Jesus calls out the Pharisees with this parable linking them to the tenant farmers.  God has in trusted us with so much.  It’s easy to want to do our own thing and forget what He has given us and called us to do.  The pharisees followed all the law and more, but they were leading people astray because it had become more about them than God.  Each day is a new day in-which we can allow God to use us to advance His Kingdom.  Lets not get so caught up in the temporal that we miss the eternal and lets work hard to bring Him Glory!

  • Our Early Time

    This morning as we were getting ready Josiah said something that really caught me off guard but encouraged me also.  As he was in the shower he said, “Dad, we haven’t had our early time yet.”  I had to ask him what our early time was and this is what he said.  You know that time you get up early to talk with God.  WOW!

    A couple of weeks ago Josiah got up a little after I had and came out in the living room to ask what I was doing.  I told him that I get up early to read my Bible and talk with God.  I had no idea that it totally registered with him, but after today I understand that it has.

    Here is the lesson for me . . . He is watching everything that I do!  I know I have a lot of bad traits and habits that unfortunately Josiah and Jackson will probably pick up.  However, what I model for them is impacting them in real ways.  Nothing humbles me and yet excites me more than what Josiah shared with me today.  It almost like I was being held accountable by a 4 year old.  But he is watching, and as he grows, he will remember that his dad would get up early to spend time with God, and hopefully he will do the same thing because I modeled that for him.

    This song captures what I am feeling right now!

  • Mark 11:20-25

    “Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.[a]‘” v. 22-25

    I have learned so much about prayer this year.  It ironic that this is what I read today.  Just last week I was talking about how all this stuff with Jackson has grown and stretched my faith.  I know that God has big plans for Jackson and believe he will advance the Kingdom in a mighty way.  I believe that for Josiah also, but he has just been a much different kid and experience.  God is still teaching me through him also.  But here is the learning.  Jesus is not teaching a name it claim it theology.  He is saying that when we pray in faith God hears those prayers.  But there are some things that we have to own also.  I loved what the notes say today for verses 22-23,

    The kind of prayer that moves mountains is prayer for the fruitfulness of God’s Kingdom.  God will answer your prayers but not as a result of your positive mental attitude.  Other conditions must be met:

    1.)  You must be a believer.

    2.) You must not hold a grudge against another person.

    3.) You must not pray with selfish motives

    4.) Your request must be for the good of God’s Kingdom.

    To pray effectively, you need faith in God, not faith in the object of your request.  If you focus only on your request, you will be left with nothing if your request is refused.

    I have a lot of room to grow in my prayers.  But I am praying now, more than ever.

  • Back from Cali and the crazies begin

    Stephanie and I had a great time in California attending The Gathering at Saddleback Church.  It was a much needed break!  However, when we returned it didn’t take Jackson long to give us another scare.

    When Jackson sleeps he sleeps hard, but he sounds like he is snoring but we are learning that it is probably more of a wheeze.  On Sunday Night, he decided to stop breathing while he was sleeping.  Stephanie and I are already on edge at night because of his history, so we called the doctor, and the nurse asked how long he would go without breathing, I told her that I put my hand on him and he started breathing again.  The nurse said that it could be a form of sleep apnea and we should take him to the hospital.  So, we wake up Jackson, load up Josiah and start driving to the Children’s Hospital that we got to visit just 2 weeks ago.  Of coarse at this time Jackson is awake and seems to be his normal energetic self.  The ER Doctors were great, and said that by what they are seeing there is no reason for them to keep him; but if we would feel better they could monitor him through the night.  So we asked to stay since we have already met our deductible and just paid the $100.00 co-pay to address a problem that is unseen when he was a wake.

    So, Sunday Night Stephanie and Jackson stayed the night in the Hospital and Joe and I came home.  Jackson didn’t sleep much Sunday night so they were not able to observe him like we had hoped for.  He did fall asleep for a little nap in the morning and the nurses were able to hear him sleep.  At least they were able to hear what we hear and understand why we were there.  Later that afternoon Jackson fell asleep for a longer period of time and again stopped breathing a couple of times and the nurses were able to witness it this time first hand.  The monitors that were hooked up to him showed that he stopped breathing for about 7 seconds a time.  That’s good news but still not normal.  After they saw this, they did a throat and nose x-ray to see if there was any blockage and called an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.  We have an appointment tomorrow with the same doctor that clipped Jackson’s tongue when he was newborn.  The doctor says that it could be his tonsils or adenoids.  His tonsils are to much bigger than they are supposed to be but she couldn’t see his adenoids.  So needless to say we are home.  We know a little bit more than we did on Sunday, but we still have a son that stops breathing when he is sleeping.  Please continue to pray for him and our Family.

  • Devo with a 4 year old

    Tonight Josiah and I started reading a little devotional that his teacher puts together and give the kids when they leave for the weekend.  Tonight the title was, “He’s always Watching”. The lead verse was Psalm 32:8,

    “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will guide you with My eye.” Psalm 32:8 (nkjv)

    After we read Josiah prayed.  He thanked God for his mom and dad.  And then prayed for our house to sell and that I would be a better leader in our services.  Kids are so awesome!

  • Game On!!!!!

    (4) Missouri at Nebraska

    Hope we see another win.  Excited that I get to watch this one since its on ESPN!!!

  • Goooooaaaaal . . . Pumpkin Patch . . . Friends

    Today started early with Josiah’s soccer game.  Joe played really well, he had a couple of assist, takeaways, and scored four goals.  It was so much fun watching.  Nana, and Papa were here to take in all the action.  From there, we ate breakfast at McDonald’s and then went to a pumpkin patch to pick up some pumpkins for Josiah and Jackson.  The boys had a great time picking out their pumpkins and playing with the straw.  All the pumpkins sold helps raise money for a youth group mission trip.  Great Idea!!! Right now, Josiah has his neighborhood friends in the backyard playing with the water table.  Here are some pics from today.