Hi again, it's Bren. Greetings in Jesus Christ's Holy Name. I have got to tell you about the truly miraculous news just in! The Lord did what we actually knew only He could do. If you remember the 1st blog of our scary health encounter this summer, then the 2nd "update" blog after that, we took those opportunities to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everyone who stood in agreement with us in prayer through what has been a most difficult injury month for Keith, and for me. It all started four months ago, on 24 May, when Keith suffered a sudden, rapid onset of what his Orthopedic surgeon referred to as "severe nerve storm" in the base of his spine and out to his left hip, all from a weekend of annual lawn cleaning we have always enjoyed doing. This time resulted in much more than the expected sore muscles, but brought a sudden attack in Keith's low-back surgery site. It woke him up in the middle of the night and became a long-term rehabilitation for his entire body, including his major organs, especially a fight for balance through unrelenting crippling pain, even high blood pressure for the first time in his life. Keith ended up losing over fourteen pounds of body weight, just one symptom I've learned of a body in excruciating pain.
After Keith's years of pain and suffering since his college football career ended more than four decades ago, something we thought was well-managed turned out to have sudden, really terrible trouble yet to come! Keith has mostly avoided serious injury during yard work with rakes, shovels, bush trimmer, etc, until May 24th when it proved too much for Keith's back fusion and ongoing nerve damage associated with the fusion site. This time, through MRIs, X-rays, E.R. visits, desperate appointments for pain therapy injections and an epidural with his Neurosurgeon and Orthopedic surgeon, missing our travel for work and family reunions, and a divinely orchestrated appointment with a new pain management physician/specialist, we saw God's answers to our prayers by our being provided, not one but, two new naturalistic medical professionals, new treatment options we had not heard of before, and time to heal... all done the way only The Lord God can do! Halleluiah!.
Looking back to the end of July, about half way into the marvelous healing work The Lord was performing in response to our prayers to this day, there was a brief time that I sadly allowed myself to listen to, even repeat in my own words to others, how the medical professionals were alarming us, almost like a curse in our days, warning us that the traumatic injury that happened 24 May, leading to all we just went through, could happen at any time again without notice. Both of Keith's surgeons explained to us that, with the disks that Keith does NOT have any more in the bottom half of his spine (due to complete deterioration), the primary nerves coming out of his spinal column are tense, and compressed, all the time. One surgeon referred what he has gone through all month as a "severe nerve storm".
Christ Jesus has The Holy Spirit without measure! Realizing this, I chose to go to Him with prayer-full reminders of His promises, claiming them before Him as Truth, believing, and have been Pressing IN to Him ever since. We have been receiving the substance of His heavenly healing, very real particles of Him in the physical and in The Holy Spirit. Have you asked and received for yourself, too, and took a while to recognize it all?! (Selah)
As I am writing to you, I am very grateful to proclaim now, and by faith for the near future, The Lord has used this trial to take us to a greater place in Him as Keith's pain is more under His control than ever. We are able to look back over "the long 4-month storm" and see, when we believe God there is no knowing where the blessing of our faith will end! These photos proclaim the substance of The Lord's anointing of Heaven on our prayers. We pressed INto Him believing the opposite of what we saw in terrible pain at the site of raw nerves in Keith's back, signs of unstoppable effects of the 20-year-old hardware in his lower spine, and instead of collapsing from worry and despair, despite the difficulties of it all, we remembered how our Lord was obviously working through every step we made, remembering we are designed by Him to be a unique part of His-story in all of our Life and in His Creation. The Holy Spirit ordered our steps, one after another, and presented us with opportunities, everywhere we went, to meet with and talk to so many beautiful people, many medical staff members, many who were suffering, and many that received our message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In direct proportion to Keith's suffering, we witnessed The Holy Spirit draw out of Keith a Word from our Lord that each of them needed at that moment in their lives. And yes, tears were shed.
None of us, not one of us, knows our future on this earth nor the soon-coming return of Christ Jesus. Only our Heavenly Father knows. So, as we move forward in our wonder-full Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who is everywhere pouring His Holy Spirit on hungry hearts everywhere, we are hungry and will stay so. The next part of this process of researching help for healing and recovery options is in progress. Praise The Lord for news from a specialist at VCU, one that comes highly recommended by a dear sister in The Lord whose dad dealt with similar types of things and received help with success there. Like Keith, he had been told by other surgeons that his condition was "inoperable". So we too, with a heart of hope and gratitude, will take each day forward as an opportunity to offer our thanks-giving to The Lord for the good day on planet Earth and for The Great Hope we have in Him, no matter what!
On countless days, since the beginning of this 4-month walk of faith, very often as Keith was grimacing from pain, he glances over at me and says, "What a target-rich environment The Holy Spirit has led us into today." I will admit, my faith has often waned during all of what we have just walked through, being the most stressful and fatiguing months of our fourteen years together. Yet, and miraculously, Keith's stayed steady as a plow-horse, constantly taking the lead to minister the Good News of Christ, by The Spirit's leading, without fail and above par, without pause, the entire time. He had to keep reminding me that having a lack of faith (trusting, resting, and waiting IN God through Jesus Christ) is like having panic in the face of adversity. For such a devastating injury as began this season on May 24th, we prayed believing Keith would be healed, by faith. Keith felt the healing Hands of God, still need to feel His healing, which has been ceaselessly leading each day to be part of the most fruitful season where our working with The Holy Spirit to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ and loving Father are concerned.
The timing when all of this hit, and the intensity of the physical pain that came with it, I believe was a spiritual attack as Keith was working on a most-pertinent message he was really looking forward to sharing with all of our followers here and on our BetweenTheLines TTM podcast channel. As he has been recuperating, getting plenty of rest and not too much exertion, he has gradually been able to work on finishing the message, "How Jesus Christ Made Me Free from the Curse of Hereditary Sin." On that note, I want to say thank you for standing in prayer with us and for us! We would also like to publicly thank our faith-full partners and ministry family who make it possible for us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel He preached the way we are able to. We are praying for each of you that our loving Father will reward you 100 times over for all you are, for all you mean to us, and for all you do that keeps us in our Father's final hour's harvest fields!
The righteousness of The Holy Lord is made to shine in and through us as we are clean and filled by faith, so our spirit and soul and body is sanctified as holy in Him. Please stand with us as we pray, "Lord, let our faith be real and whole, clear to the end! Help us be as Mary, Christ Jesus' mother, to come in boldness claiming Your promise, asking You to bring it as You please. We are especially believing God for a speedy recovery, so we can travel more long distances in the car to take part in fellowship and ministering to and with wonder-full people who will benefit, with us, from the things that Jesus Christ has been showing us, and has so freely shown us over the years. Your love, friendship, and support mean more than you know!
Wow, we are both humbled and grateful for God's call for us to not look behind but to press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14)! You likely can see, and agree, how thank-full we must be for the wonderfully fruitful opportunities The Person of The Holy Spirit blesses us with, for glorifying the Great Name of our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. These opportunities are ones we simply could not take advantage of if not for our bond and united passion with our wonder-full brothers and sisters in The Faith, to magnify Jesus Christ in this final hour's harvest! On behalf of Keith and me, and those we are reaching, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We thank you for your family-ship, friendship, and all you have done and are doing to encourage us and to help us reach this end time's generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ... and with the Gospel Jesus Christ preached!
"The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it (Psalm 68:11)."
Your love and prayers mean more to us that you can know. And, for those of you who have called, come by, or sent special cards and emails, we pray that The Lord returns to you 100-fold reward for all of the kindness that you have poured out to us!
We INVITE YOU...
see and hear, follow and share, more from Toward The Mark, Inc.:
~ Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" Podcast on TTM's Libsyn Channel
Mail tax-deductible contributions by check or money order made out to:
Toward The Mark, Inc., P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.
Thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the fertile soil of this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!
"Blessed be The LORD my Strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me (Psalm 144:1-2)."
Looking back to the end of July, about half way into the marvelous healing work The Lord was performing in response to our prayers to this day, there was a brief time that I sadly allowed myself to listen to, even repeat in my own words to others, how the medical professionals were alarming us, almost like a curse in our days, warning us that the traumatic injury that happened 24 May, leading to all we just went through, could happen at any time again without notice. Both of Keith's surgeons explained to us that, with the disks that Keith does NOT have any more in the bottom half of his spine (due to complete deterioration), the primary nerves coming out of his spinal column are tense, and compressed, all the time. One surgeon referred what he has gone through all month as a "severe nerve storm".
Christ Jesus has The Holy Spirit without measure! Realizing this, I chose to go to Him with prayer-full reminders of His promises, claiming them before Him as Truth, believing, and have been Pressing IN to Him ever since. We have been receiving the substance of His heavenly healing, very real particles of Him in the physical and in The Holy Spirit. Have you asked and received for yourself, too, and took a while to recognize it all?! (Selah)
None of us, not one of us, knows our future on this earth nor the soon-coming return of Christ Jesus. Only our Heavenly Father knows. So, as we move forward in our wonder-full Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who is everywhere pouring His Holy Spirit on hungry hearts everywhere, we are hungry and will stay so. The next part of this process of researching help for healing and recovery options is in progress. Praise The Lord for news from a specialist at VCU, one that comes highly recommended by a dear sister in The Lord whose dad dealt with similar types of things and received help with success there. Like Keith, he had been told by other surgeons that his condition was "inoperable". So we too, with a heart of hope and gratitude, will take each day forward as an opportunity to offer our thanks-giving to The Lord for the good day on planet Earth and for The Great Hope we have in Him, no matter what!
The timing when all of this hit, and the intensity of the physical pain that came with it, I believe was a spiritual attack as Keith was working on a most-pertinent message he was really looking forward to sharing with all of our followers here and on our BetweenTheLines TTM podcast channel. As he has been recuperating, getting plenty of rest and not too much exertion, he has gradually been able to work on finishing the message, "How Jesus Christ Made Me Free from the Curse of Hereditary Sin." On that note, I want to say thank you for standing in prayer with us and for us! We would also like to publicly thank our faith-full partners and ministry family who make it possible for us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel He preached the way we are able to. We are praying for each of you that our loving Father will reward you 100 times over for all you are, for all you mean to us, and for all you do that keeps us in our Father's final hour's harvest fields!
"The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it (Psalm 68:11)."
Your love and prayers mean more to us that you can know. And, for those of you who have called, come by, or sent special cards and emails, we pray that The Lord returns to you 100-fold reward for all of the kindness that you have poured out to us!
Your friends and servants in Christ Jesus,
To Show GOD BIG in
a World that Sees Him small…
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products.
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products.
We couldn't do
this without the help of our friends!
This blog channel, along with the complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other Bible-based resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. is made possible by the faithful prayer and financial support of the TTM Sponsorship Family. We'd like to invite you to come on-board, to become a part of the TTM Family as well, by becoming a monthly financial partner. Your support will go toward fulfilling our God-given calling to help provide effective, contemporary outreach tools that are available to everyone, the churched and un-churched alike, who desire to know more of the love, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ. We invite you to partner with us, as we, "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)
This blog channel, along with the complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other Bible-based resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. is made possible by the faithful prayer and financial support of the TTM Sponsorship Family. We'd like to invite you to come on-board, to become a part of the TTM Family as well, by becoming a monthly financial partner. Your support will go toward fulfilling our God-given calling to help provide effective, contemporary outreach tools that are available to everyone, the churched and un-churched alike, who desire to know more of the love, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ. We invite you to partner with us, as we, "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)
Keep PRESSIN' IN!
We INVITE YOU...
see and hear, follow and share, more from Toward The Mark, Inc.:
~ Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" Podcast on TTM's Libsyn Channel
Every gift is tax-deductible and helps! And we thank you for it!
Mail tax-deductible contributions by check or money order made out to:
Toward The Mark, Inc., P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.
Thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the fertile soil of this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!
"Blessed be The LORD my Strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me (Psalm 144:1-2)."
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