Dan Gould

  • Jackson is coming Home!

    We made it!!!!  Jackson had surgery yesterday at 7:00 am the procedure to take out his adenoids and tonsils only took 20 minutes at most.  We were fortunate that Jackson slept off the sleepy juice instead of getting really cranky and mad.  The doctor said that typically kids come out of anaesthesiology very irritable and upset.

    Yesterday seemed to be pretty easy in the Hospital, we had a great nurse named Latrina.  Our ENT said that the first day is always the easiest, GREAT, and days 3-5 are the hardest!  So we will see how it goes for the next couple of days.

    After spending all day at the Hospital, Josiah and I came home to sleep while Stephanie and Nana stayed at the Hospital.  Stephanie said that Jackson slept very good last night, didn’t toss or turn like he normally does and was quiet.  The quiet thing we will have to get use to.

    Special thanks for the prayers, visits, and stories of similar scenarios.  This always helps us realize we are not alone and shows us how BIG God is!

    Jackson and Daddy 1 hour after surgery
    Jackson and Daddy 1 hour after surgery

  • Luke 21:1-24

    “‘Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’[b] and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them. 9 And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.’ 10 Then he added, ‘Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.’” v. 8-11

    I remember as a kid thinking the world was going to end soon.  War was happening, and people were claiming to be able to tell when the world would end. (in the 80’s this was big news not so much today) But it is a reality.  Jesus says He is coming back but hasn’t told us when.  He has said that there will be signs of His Return, but no-one knows the exact time except for God.

    It’s easy to think maybe even the things that have happened in the last couple of years with our weather and wars could be a sign and now with the world trade and financial disaster this could be heightened.  But Jesus says one thing in verse 13,

    “But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.”[c]

    In these moments, Jesus will use us to tell others about Him.  It doesn’t mean we have to know when it will happen, it simply means we have to be prepared ourselves to be used by Him.  In this moment, He will give us the strength and words we need.  So, instead of worrying when, where, how, it could happen, (it could be persecution, opportunities, or Jesus return) simply be prepared at any minute for it to happen.

  • Surgery Tomorrow

    Jackson is all set for surgery tomorrow.  We have to be at Centennial Medical Center at 5:30 am.  Yuck!!  His surgery is scheduled for 7:00am and should only take about 30 minutes to take out his adenoids and tonsils.  From there we will go to recovery, then to his own room on the pediatrics floor for at least 24 hours of monitoring.  The ENT said that days 4-6 are the worst and we have to keep him hydrated.

    We welcome visitors and would love the continued prayer.  Nana will be here tonight to watch Josiah and care for all of us.

  • Matthew 23

    “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.[a] 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. 5 “Everything they do is for show.’” v. 1-5

    The Pharisees had become more worried about what they said and how they appeared in public than they did about pleasing God.  They knew their stuff but they didn’t seem to apply it to their personal lives (they did their public life) and added man made rules to Gods laws that made it very burdensome for other people.  Jesus says listen to their teaching but don’t follow their example.

    It’s easy to want to be recognized.  But we have to be real.  When we put on a mask, or begin to look good on the outside but are dieing on the inside we are in trouble of doing some of the things Jesus called the Pharisees out on.

    In this passage Jesus accused the Pharisees of these 7 things

    • Not letting others enter the Kingdom of Heaven and not entering yourselves v. 13
    • Converting people away from God to be like yourself v. 15
    • Blindly leading God’s people to follow man-made traditions instead of God’s Word v. 16-22
    • Involving yourself in every last detail and ignoring what is really important: justice, mercy, and faith v. 23-24
    • Keeping up appearances while your private world is corrupt v. 25-26
    • Acting Spiritual to cover up sin v. 27-28
    • Pretending to have learned from past history, but your present behavior shows you have learned nothing v. 29-36

    Pretty convicting list.  If we are, better yet, If I am not careful, I can easily get caught up in one of these areas.

    Jesus, as I read yesterday help me love you with All that I am and help me to stay focused on you and not try to be something I am not.

  • Jackson Update and Prayer Request

    Well we got the results today from Jackson’s sleep study.  The doctors report showed that his tonsils and adenoids are causing him to snore and struggle breathing at night to where he does stop breathing.  But there is also a mild case of central apnea.  This involves the brain and one that our neurologist thinks could be caused from the shortness of breaths causing the read to be that way.  He wants to see the report so he can advise what needs to be done as well as see how Jackson responds after the surgery.

    So, Jackson is scheduled to have surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids on Thursday.  We are waiting for the nurse to call with all the details today.  Nana is driving down from MO tomorrow to help with Josiah and our sanity.  Please continue to pray for our little guy.  He has had such a ruff start to a very young life.

    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 surgery goes well and recovery is fast and painless

    – 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

  • Mark 12:28-37

    “Jesus replied, ‘The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] No other commandment is greater than these.‘” v. 29-31

    What does it look like to love God with ALL of your heart, ALL of your soul, and ALL of your strength?  This is a strong statement that Jesus is making.  It easy for me to love God, or is it?  That word ALL means with every aspect of my life. Ouch! I fall short in several areas.

    I will never be more like Jesus than when I evaluate the details of my life to align them with what He says here in these three verses.  This is a heart piece.  Jesus doesn’t want us to change our actions, He wants to change our heart.  When we allow HIm to change us from the inside out, we will be in the process of becoming more like Him and have a desire to do more things out of love for the Father.

    Jesus, I want this, my soul longs for this, help me to love you in all the areas of my life, help me to love others the way I love myself, help me to not just change habits or to do more things that are spiritual, but to allow you to change my heart so that it impacts my life and habits everyday.

  • 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!