MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND & MORE...FUN!

Wow where does the time go? We are sorry we haven’t updated the blog in almost a week! Let me give you a recap of what has been going on in our busy lives. Last Saturday was a dream come true for me; my friend Doug W. was able to secure 2 tickets to go to Joe Louis Arena to watch the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins & the Detroit Redwings. It was truly amazing to be there. The energy was electric and contagious. Detroit won the game 4-0! As a former hockey player it is every players goal to make it to the Stanley Cup…for me just being there watching it meant so much to me, thanks Doug!
One thought I had while watching the game was what would our churches look like if every believer had the same passion as all of these fans that were passionately cheering after the redwings scored a goal? Why don’t we act/praise God in the same way? Is it because we don’t really believe in Him like we do our favorite sports team? Maybe we need to evaluate this and ask God to help us with it…I know I was convicted by this and I’m wrestling with God about it.
Sunday was an awesome day because God was working on me throughout the service regarding the way we passionately worship & praise Him. One time Pastor Gary said something so profound that I totally agreed with and I wanted to get up and shout Amen, start cheering God on to keep speaking through His servant, but I held back - why? I need prayer to just let God get ALL the glory He deserves.
In the afternoon we took the kids to see the new Narnia movie with our close friends, the Barr’s. It was great; almost as good as the first one in my opinion. The kids all enjoyed it.
Monday was Memorial Day, which has more meaning to me because of my service to this great country in the Persian Gulf War. We went to watch the parade at 9:30am; Zach walked with our church [Wellspring] along with 240 others that were dancing, singing, and handing out candy & brochures about Wellspring. The praise team was singing some jamming new songs from atop the float which had huge different sized vibrant colored photo’s of smiling people. The theme this year was “CHANGED LIVES” which was perfect seems God has been busy the last couple months changing over 70 peoples lives by them accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! Tuesday we were back to normal with a treatment at the Born Clinic, cleaning to show the house, [9th time in 6 weeks]; we’re praying that they make an offer because they are coming back this Tuesday!
On Wednesday, We had our Angel Care here and Kucinski’s came over to hang out. Matt stayed with Eric and they watched a movie while Stephanie and Lori went to lunch and ran errands together. It was a great day! We found out it was Eric (our angel care person)’s last day and a new person would be starting on Friday. Zach had a baseball game at 6:00pm, which his team won 9-2. Zach pitched 4 innings only giving up one run!
Thursday was a busy but fun filled day. We took Maddie to get her eyes checked for kindergarten she passed no problem. Then we met with a local chiropractor, Dr. Aaron Kik to discuss a new protocol to try to fight this disease. Please pray that I can be disciplined to stay on the new diet & vitamins regiment and that we could see some positive improvements. Afterwards I had another treatment at the clinic and was taken there by our neighbor, Al Garcia, who also has ALS for about 20 years! He has the slow progression type so we compared notes and he gave me some insights on the disease. This was a huge blessing for Lori because she was able to stay home and clean the house for another showing that night; thank-you Al. That night after Zach’s game went to Culver’s with some friends, The Smith family and it was fun hanging out with them talking about life.
Friday morning we went to the VA for bloodwork and to check on our applications for grants. It was good that we went because the adaptive housing grant was approved at 20% of the potential grant so we appealed it since Eric qualifies for the full amount. The vehicle grant had been closed out for some reason so we had to get that reopened and looked at. This is how things are with the VA and you need to be persistant to get what you are entitled to. Please continue to pray for these things to be approved in the time that we will be needing them. We got our new Angel (we will refer to the home health care person from Angel Care as our angel from now on). She is wonderful!! She did everything on the list and more. She has 4 children of her own and has been in this field for over ten years. What a blessing! Sorry this has taken so long to update the blog and it is quite long, but it has been very busy as you can see and we again hope to slow down and relax at home more soon. Four more days of school next week. Have a blessed weekend. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Your brother in Christ,

Eric

Philippians 4:11-13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

MY BODY IS REALLY SICK...NEEDS TIME TO HEAL

I realized yesterday just how sick my body is. Like some americans I wasn't taking very good care of my body over the years, by what I was eating [mostly fast food diet] & drinking[2-3 2 liters of mountain dew a day]coupled by the lack of sleep [average of 4-5 hours a night]. Then factor in the stressors & anxieties of daily life, environmental toxins exposed to in the Gulf War and in the cities I've lived in; one tends to see the big picture...my body is real sick not getting the opportunity to heal!
Since my diagnosis last May I have tried to address these areas, but find I still need prayers, discipline and motivation to get my body back to health. I have overcome the need/desire to drink pop,thank you God; that was a tough one. I have been taking about $200-300 a month worth of vitamins & minerals...which my body was depleted of for so long. I have tried to eat mostly organic foods, but during the winter months its hard to find them. Due to being so busy lately we have comprimised for convience and time by eating out too much.
Well I am going to need to work harder stronger being more disciplined this next year in regards to my diet in order to get my body back to healthy.

After much prayer, I've decided to FIRE all my doctors seems none of them care like I do. I will rely on the "The Great Physician" from now on!

I hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Love Eric


Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).

Everyone goes through seasons of difficulty and challenge in life. One of the enemy’s traps is to isolate us and convince us that we won’t make it. But God promises that He will deliver the righteous out of all of their afflictions. We are righteous because of our relationship with God through Christ Jesus. We are righteous simply by having faith in Him, His goodness, and the promises in His Word. If you’re going through a tough time today, keep an attitude of faith and expectancy. Declare His promises over your life. We are more than conquerors through Him! The joy of the Lord is our strength! As we continue to stand, even during the difficult times, we can be assured that victory is on the way. It might be today…it might be next week…next month, or next year, but God is faithful! Through faith and patience, we will inherit the promise. We will get beyond these difficulties.

HIS WORD IS MY GUIDE

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…” (I Thessalonians 5:11).

God designed us to live in relationship with others. He wants us to help each other grow. None of us will reach our highest potential by ourselves. We need people in our lives to encourage us, and we need to encourage the people in our lives and help them reach their potential. The word “encourage” means to “urge forward.” Many times you can see things in other people that they don’t see themselves. You can see their strengths and talents. You can see that God has a special plan for them even though they may be going through a difficult time. Don’t assume that people see what you see in them. Take a moment and encourage them either with a kind word or a simple note. There might be a special gift you can give that will remind them of their goal or dream. In whatever way you can, urge the people in your life to keep moving forward. If you’ll be a people builder and help others fulfill their dreams, God will help you fulfill your dreams also, and you’ll live in blessing all the days of your life.
God continues to use His word to change & transform me.
Have a blessed week!
Eric

Faith Hospice Fund

Wow, where does the time go? It was a beautiful weekend with the sun shining although breezy, it was nice. Eric's brother Jary and Erica and their girls came over on Saturday and he got our grill working again (we had a small fire problem with the control knobs last time we used it) so we grilled steaks. It was fun hanging out at home with them and the Hetricks. Sunday eve was the AWANA awards night for the kids so we are done with AWANA this year. It will be nice being able to go to the evening services again. We have showed our house 3 times in the last four days with no real interest yet. Keep praying. We are looking at some quick touchups like painting the porch and trim and stretching and cleaning the carpet. We had our home health respite care start last week and a young man from Grand Valley named Eric came to help Eric with any needs while I am able to leave the house. After going over things for a few hours, I went to work at my brothers and didn't have to worry about anything. This will be such a blessing for us. The night before, I left for Costco for an hour and things did not go well at home. It's hard for all of us when this happens. It's frustrating for Eric because he can not do things on his own, upsetting for Zach because he doesn't always know how to help his dad and other kids in the neighborhood just want him to play and don't understand always and Maddie just wants to play all the time and doesn't think about much else as most five year olds do. I feel bad because I need to leave for things like groceries, etc, but feel like I shouldn't leave even for a short time. Needless to say, this couldn't have come at a better time. This will be a huge relief for me and I can rest easy when I leave during respite care.
This morning Eric was honored by a ceremony at Faith Hospice Trillium Woods where they named a fund the Eric Fox ALS fund which will be used for people with ALS who need hospice care that can't afford it. The way this came about is kind of a long story so I will try to summarize it. Back in November, Eric and Linda Cnossen of the ALS Association were asked to come to a Hudsonville High classroom along with 8 other organizations where Kerkstra Precast had set up a fund to teach the students about philanthrapy and giving to a cause. They had each of these organizations speak and invited Eric and Linda back along with Faith Hospice and Youth for Christ. After hearing them all speak again, they chose ALS association to award $10,000 (this will go to respite care for ALSA). Then Kerkstra Precast surprised everyone and also awarded Faith Hospice and Youth for Christ with $5,000 as well. Faith Hospice decided to create a fund for people with ALS and named the fund after Eric because they were touched by meeting Eric through this school project. I have to say, I was so proud of Eric today. His name will be on a plaque with his picture with the students and teacher and Kerkstra Precast. It just reminds me how God has continued to give Eric purpose despite this disease. We took the kids with us to share the day with us. The facility is abolutely amazing. The rooms are not like hospital rooms and are very home like and spacious. They gave us a tour when we arrived and when we were done with the ceremony, Maddie said OK lets go to our room now. She thought it was like a hotel and we were staying there. She is so innocently cute sometimes! We went shopping for a lift chair for Eric today too and want to check a few more places. He just sinks into the couch we have and a nice big lift chair would be very helpful to have. They don't make them very big and he needs a big chair cuz he is a big guy! Not to mention, his kids are going to want to cuddle up with him on it. Hopefully we can find the right one.
Tomorrow morning, we have a followup visit at the ALS clinic at Mary Freebed on his BiPAP machine and we plan to ask about the surgery for the diaphraghm pacemeker.
Hope you all are well!
Grace for the day! ( I stole this from a dear teacher , Mrs. Weaver)

Lori and Eric

P.S. If you want to view the pictures my dad took in DC, you can go to www.ezsite.com/ericwashington and view them all by clicking on pictures and then choosing slideshow. They turned out really great!

We're home safe!

Well,
we got home last night safely and are so glad to be home. Tuesday was a great day and very busy. It started with a phone call at 7:15am from the VP of Goverment relations for ALS association in DC asking if Eric would be willing to speak at the breakfast at 7:45. Of course you know Eric said he would while laying in bed not realizing that was a half hour away! We quickly scrambled to get Eric showered, shaved, dressed in a suit with a crazy looking tie (not my strongest skill) and out to breakfast as I finished getting dressed and dried my hair. I was praying they would be running behind as I took the elevator down at 7:55 and as I walked in the ballroom, they introduced Eric as I cheered from the back! Whewwww! He did a great job as he motivated everyone there before they headed out to their meetings on Capital hill! Pretty ironic since we didn't even know what to expect ourselves but none the less enthusiastic because Eric was pumped up to be there. We headed out with our group on a bus and met my parents and met with reps for Vern Ehlers, Fred Upton, Carl Levin, Tim Walberg and Pete Hoekstra. Our reason for being there representing the ALS Association was to ask for support on the ALS Registry, which will centralize data for all people with ALS which will help research by leaps and bounds to have all of the info in one place. Second, to support HR 5454 which would help veterans who are diagnosed with ALS receive benefits regardless of when and where served since they are twice as likely to be diagnosed with AlS from military service. Lastly, we asked for 5 million from the department of defense for research specifically for ALS due to the strong tie to military service. We were pumped up and really not nervous because it was a personal environment and everyone was very receptive and supportive to ALS and our causes. It was a great day, but very tiring since we had to bounce back and forth between buildings. Our last visit had a tour of the capital scheduled with Hoekstra's office so we went with my parents to that and they got Eric a wheelchair to keep him from tiring out completely. The capital was beautiful. We had never been inside it before. This was about the only sight seeing we had time for. We ate in Georgetown with my parents for dinner at Papa Razzi an Italian resteraunt and got back to the hotel and crashed after I packed everything up. My parents were able to take pictures in the meetings and video some so we will post pictures when we get them from them. They headed south to the Smokey mountains to camp from DC and it is my Mom's birthday today! Happy Birthday Mom!! We are showing our house tomorrow morning and Sat morning to two different people so we are back to craziness. One good thing I wanted to share with you all as well is that the VA covers respite care for Eric and we have gotten that into place and someone from Angel Care will come out on Wed and Friday for 6 hours to help Eric with anything he needs and I can leave the house to get things done or work at my brothers with no worries! They actually help clean while they are here so I am estatic about this! This will be such a blessing for us so pray that the relationship is a comfortable one for Eric! Thank you to Brian for coming out to mow and trim our lawn tonight before our showing since Zach had a game. What a blessing that was as I know it was a sacrifice of his evening. Sometimes I just wish we could stop time to catch up, but we'll get there. Have a great evening and sleep tight!
Lori and Eric

What a great, full day in DC!

Today was amazing. We had an early start so I snuck down and brought our breakfast up to the room on a tray and we got ready for our meetings. The first part of the day was given by doctors in very doctor like lingo so it was pretty over my head about current research. Eric is always looking at these things and said he didn't really learn anything he hadn't already read. The next meeting was excellent. We chose to go to the veteran affairs issue team meeting. It was very informative and very interesting to learn of the process for veterans with ALS getting benefits. It just reassured us that as difficult as it is for veterans, God has paved the way for Eric to get all of the benefits available to him. It was through prayer and strong persistence and God's hand just opening up the doors and removing all obstacles for us along the way. One of the veterans on the team has been in the process for about 3 years and still does not have his full benefits! Praise God for taking care of us. We met a Navy Veteran named James Thew and his wife who are advocates for ALS. He is in the picture with Eric above in his Yankees jersey. They are from Illinois and we will stay in close touch with them and join them in their fight for a cure and research dollars. He was diagnosed in 2004 and also has an eleven year old boy who was with them. We decided the first day that we will come back next year with our kids, parents and anyone else who would like to join us. Everyone here knows what ALS does and we are all on the same team seeking a cure for ALS.
Lunch today was delicious and during lunch a Dr. Raymond Onders shared about the new DPS which is a diaphragm pacemaker which is inserted with non invasive laser surgery. This new device moves the diaphragm for PALS when their muscles no longer can and can add up to two years to the life of someone with ALS. Their research and results have been incredible and this is very exciting while it is not a cure for ALS, it delays the most devastating effect of the disease which is breathing. Many PALS here have testified that this has been very effective and has made a huge difference. They recommend this surgery be done at the point that a BiPAP is needed which is now for Eric so we have a mission when we get home to start the ball rolling on this. Surgery can be done in Detroit and Cleveland and rumors are going up around here that it may be covered by the VA. This was very exciting to us and encouraging!
We got our letters and our DVD's finalized tonight and ready for the meetings with Congress and had dinner as a group in Georgetown at J Paul's which was delicious and we are now stuffed! We prayed with another man here representing Michigan named Brian who lost his mother to ALS about a month ago asking God to speak through us tommorrow in our meetings and we are ready and excited for tomorrow! My parents are coming up tomorrow to go with us to some of the Congress meetings and then we have one last evening in DC on our own before we fly out. We haven't had time to do any sight seeing so we are glad that we have been here before. On another exciting note: My sister Kristi got her CA125 levels back today and they have stayed at 47 despite her quitting chemo early on her own and the CT scan showed nothing of concern! Praise the Lord! While she is not officially in remission, she does not have to continue her chemo and will only have to do checks every three months. She concluded that while normal is 35 or below, she is just above average! This is so true because she has Christ by her side!
The pictures above are of our group here from Michigan (minus my parents- there are 13 of us) and me with Kate Linder from the Young and the Restless who is the spokesperson for ALS because her brother in law is suffering the affects of ALS. I felt bad when she asked if I watched the show, but I thanked her for representing this cause and speaking out. We were just told that Angela Landsbury of Murder She Wrote is also becoming a spokesperson for ALS (we had to watch that every Sunday night with my grandma growing up) It takes someone you know being affected to take up a cause and be an advocate. I know that is true for me. I am not a political or medical person, but I will support the cause for a cure for ALS for my husband and all of the other people we have met with the disease.
Sorry this got pretty long, but as I said, it was a very full and exciting day!
God Bless!
Lori and Eric

Words cannot express our gratitude!!!

We finally have wireless here in DC and we wanted to express our gratitude for Friday nights fundraiser. It was so overwhelming to drive up and see a firetruck in the parking lot raising a huge American flag and to walk into the Jr. high with our family and see so many people that we love running around in green shirts busily getting everything ready for the night. We know countless hours were put into this night by so many people, we couldn't possibly name them all or thank them all personally. Please know how much this night meant to us and know that we love you all and our hearts are so grateful. We also want to thank all of the people who donated the items up for bid and the food and the prizes, etc. There are so many things that went on behind the scenes that we are not even aware of. We did not lift a finger for this event. We were told that we just needed to show up! We were absolutely blown away by the number of people who came out to support us that evening. It felt like reunion or like your wedding day when so many of our friends and family and people that we have not seen in a long time that have touched our life in some way come out to say that they are praying for us and that they love us. We are so blessed to have so much love and support from family, friends, church, neighbors, past coworkers and so on. Again, we are reminded of Matthew 6:33 which says but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. We don't know what the future holds, but God knows all of our needs and he takes care of us as he always has.

We arrived safely in Washington DC on Saturday and had our first day of the ALS Advocacy Conference and are very excited to be here making a difference for the ALS community. Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers and I can't wait to celebrate it with my kids when we get back home! We miss you Zach and Maddie! We will update more about the conference this week. Tomorrow is a full schedule and Tuesday will be our meetings with Congress. Keep us in your prayers especially on Tuesday at 10, 11, 12 and 2:00 that Eric will have the words to say that make an impact on Michigan's congressmen and that God will shine through him.

After we return home on Wednesday, things should slow down for us and we are looking forward to some down time at home with our kids! The picture of Zach above is from his wax museum at school posed as Francis Marion. He did a great job on Friday as did the whole classroom! We just cannot end this without a special thank you to Zach's elementary school (Bauerwood) for their loose change collection this week for our fundraiser which raised over 1300.00 which was presented at the fundraiser in a tote too heavy to lift! We just cried when we heard that! We are so deeply moved by everyone's generousity that night and their love! Thank you again from the bottom of our heart!
Love,
Lori and Eric

Eric Fox Living With ALS

Eric Fox Before The Senate

Eric Fox Family Celebrating Life

GIVING GOD THANKS THROUGH A TOUGH SEASON OF OUR LIFE...

I have been listening to this song by 33 Miles called "Thank-you"; it talks about giving thanks to God first thing in the morning before anything. It is very catchy...it talks about being thankful no matter what tomorrow brings...what if I looked at my life in a different way took more time to stop & pray I know it would change all the moments in between...what if I lose all my muscle strength & function in by body and I needed to totally rely on God and others to exist ...I can smile and some how still be glad & say Thank-you...life is joy and life is pain but the prayer of my heart will never change...Thank-you for everything, Thank-you for loving me...WOW! it is so positive you all know my love of music; anyways a lot of you want to know how things are going since getting back from the Grand Canyon. Saturday I was asked to speak at a conference rally for the 4C's. It is so amazing how good God is. We met many pastors from churches in the 4C all over Michigan and was able to share my testimony and was blessed to have my sister and Mom attend. The main speaker for the conference was excellent and spoke on revival. One of the youth pastors asked if I could come and share my testimony to some local youth groups up by Maple Rapids sometime.
It was great to be back at Wellspring worshipping on Sunday. We missed being there last week and we will be gone again this week over Mothers day in Washington DC.

I am also speaking at a Corporate breakfast for ALSA tomorrow morning and busy trying to get my speech set for that. I am excited to do this and ask for support for research for this disease. It just seems like it is all coming at once right now.

We are really looking forward to the fundraiser on Friday night being put on for our family. It has been really strange driving around town this week and seeing signs for it and hearing that Zach's school is taking up change to help with the fundraiser, etc. It just feels like it should be for another family and we should be going to support them. We have been so blessed by all of the efforts being put into this fundraiser and the love and support we are receiving. It is overwhelming! It sounds like it will be a very fun night for the whole family. There's something for everyone!

We head out on Saturday for Washington DC and are excited to see what the National ALS Advocacy conference is all about and how we can help. There are three days of activities including speaking to congressmen and asking them to help find a cure through research funding. We will meet many people with ALS and that is usually very emotional for me (Lori). We hope to learn new things about the disease and how to adjust to the changes that may take place.

We got the letter on Eric's last ALS Clinic visit and the doctor was concerned about his breathing capacity and that it was 66% of what he anticipated this visit.
We could use your prayers for this and for his overall strength.

We will try to update the Blog this weekend. Thanks for sharing in our journey with us. May God truly bless you this week!

A Video of our Trip...

Home again!

We arrived home safely last night and it was great to see our kids and sleep in our own bed last night. Today we slept in after getting Zach off to school and Eric's mom went home. After we got up I felt a little overwhelmed with the messages, mail, emails, phone ringing, cleaning, laundry and all the catch up stuff but it is good to be home.
Here are some more pictures from our trip. We took over 600 pictures (thank goodness for digital film) and need to narrow them down. Brian already made a slideshow of our trip on the plane ride home and will post it in Youtube on our blog soon. We had a nice day by the pool our last day there and the weather was just beautiful! Yesterday we were up by 4:30 am and off to the airport with a 4 hour layover in Chicago arriving home about 7:30 last night so it was a long day and we actually had a 3 hour time change so we are pretty tired. Zach played his first 3 baseball games while we were gone which was a bummer, but thank you to Joel R and Matt K for taking Zach to the games and cheering him on! His team won all three games so he is pumped up! Can't wait to see him play on Friday!

Someone from the Advance called Eric at the airport on Friday and published an article in Tuesday's Advance for the fundraiser on Friday. We have to clarify a typo on the headline. It states that Eric is a former Wellspring youth pastor! The article is correct about Eric's job at Wellspring, however there was an error in the ALS association families across america stating that Eric was a former pastor (must have been assumed since Eric worked at a church) Anyways, the article was written by someone we have never met in Detroit and we corrected the many errors, but it was already sent out. Just goes to show how things can be easily mixed up from person to person to person, etc. Just wanted to clear that up for those of you who don't already know Eric to know this was a mistake :)
We did receive good news while we were gone that Eric was approved by the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference as a lay minister which will allow Eric to share his testimony in any 4C churches in Michigan of which the first will be a 4C conference in Maple Rapids this Saturday! It is exciting to see how God will use Eric in this way!

We just noticed that Brian posted the youtube video he made of our trip on our blog for us. He did a great job and so quickly. If you want to read their entries on our trip from another view, check out their blog! Their link is at the top right of our blog! or www.briankristi.blogspot.com

Blessings,

Lori and Eric

One more day left!

It's hard to believe we only have one more day left of our vacation. We drove back to Vegas yesterday and it was a beautiful drive through the mountains. On our way to the Grand Canyon, it was dark and we missed the amazing scenery. It is very warm in Vegas compared to G.C. The elevation really makes a difference in temperature. Our resort here is really nice. It is about 5 miles off the strip and is a little tropical paradise. The rooms are huge. It is a time share property so we each have our own room and bathroom and a kitchen and living area and a balcany with a view of the city. We went downtown last night for dinner at the New York New York hotel which has a roller coaster in front of it. That hotel lobby was like a city in itself. We didn't stray far from the corner where we were dropped off. The city is very dirty and very smokey and has people from all walks of life.... definitely not somewhere we would take our children. We will spend most of our day today relaxing by the pool. We will add some pictures tonight after we get them on a disc. Take care and enjoy your Monday!
Lori and Eric

The GRAND Canyon

Exodus 15:11
11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Chronicles 29:11

11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

Today was amazing! We got up and had breakfast and headed to our helicopter launch for our ride over the Grand Canyon. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before. God's creation is so beautiful and He created it for our enjoyment. The ride was 45 minutes and we headed over the Kaibob forest until we headed over the canyon as majestic music played in our headphones. It took your breath away. The pictures don't do it justice since it was so vast to take in. It was also a little hazy out. I took at about 2oo pictures so far! We also went to the National Park and drove and walked around the canyon and took more pictures. We saw some Mule deer just walking all around through the park. And some other large animals we couldn't identify as well as a condor flying over the canyon with his wings spread wide. We plan to go back to the park tomorrow. We are all pretty tired and ready to crash! Brian and Kristi have been so much fun to be with. We have been laughing so much and they have been so helpful to Eric and me. Brian has driven the whole trip which has also been a huge break for me. We rented a car and they gave us a choice of a Crown Vic or Mercury Marquis and we chose the latter knowing that both of them were boats. We wanted to get a SUV or something rugged or sporty, but they were out.

We will try to update again soon. We heard it is cold in MI today. It was in the 70's here today and sunny!
Blessings,

Lori and Eric

We're Here!

Yesterday we had an uneventful day of traveling but we made it here safely! Praise God. So far so good. It is beautiful here!!! We are looking forward to the helicopter ride today and viewing the Grand Canyon. Here are some pictures from yesterday...

Here we are sitting on the plane...waiting for the maintenance men to fix the toilet.

Driving from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam...

PS...we have a showing today while my mom is there watching the kids. Please pray that the showing goes well and if it is according to His timing, we sell!!

"May the mountains yield prosperity for all,and may the hills be fruitful" Psalm 72:3

Another beautiful day!

We just found out that the article will be in the Grand Rapids Press today (I think in the Region section) It is also viewable on mlive (see link below) and look for the article (says Georgetown family.....) This is quite an honor in one week. It's quite overwhelming that everything happened in the same week. Madison says she feels like Hannah Montanna. She loves it!
We have many appointments today and Zach is in a concert tonight with Three Men and a Tenor at Fair Haven which should be great! Between these things, we will be packing to leave tomorrow and Eric's mom will be here tonight to stay here with the kids while we are gone. Thank you, mom!!!!! Once we are packed and at the airport tomorrow, as Brian (my brother in law who is going with us and Kristi) said, we will be officially on VACATION! Hooray! The weather is looking good there too as I'm afraid this weekend here will take a little dive to the 60's which is still great for April in Michigan! We will try to update the blog while we are gone and hope you all have a blessed weekend as well!
Lori and Eric

http://mlive.com/grpress

FOX NEWS STORY...AND WHAT GOD IS DOING

The Pulse - Living With ALS - 04.21.08 Someone told us that the Fox interview from last night is on their website, so here is the link for those of you who have asked. Not sure if this works or not? or go to www.wxmi.com and look for the interview link.

We serve a BIG GOD. I just recieved an e-mail update from our prayer chain at church that Jason Horjus' tumor on his brain is non-cancerous! Praise the Lord!! God is our mighty healer. God hears our prayers offered in faith. Keep him in your prayers!

Everything is possible for him who believes. Mark 9:23

Have a great week. We are counting the days until we leave on our vacation to the Grand Canyon (3) We will try to update the blog with some pictures of God's creation!

Eric and Lori

Interview on Fox news tonight at 10:00

We had a good friend of ours who works for Fox come out on Saturday to interview Eric for a story on Fox news about life with ALS. We just heard from him and found out that the story will air tonight on Fox on the 10:00 news (probably around 10:30). That was pretty fast editing! I don't believe the article has been in the GR Press yet that we are aware of.
We are also showing our house tonight at 6:30 for the first time so I have been cleaning all day!
We will update more later this week.
Please pray that the showing will go well and there may be some interest.
God Bless!
Lori and Eric

Loving this weather!

Not much new to update, just wanted to tell you that we are all doing well. Zach is feeling better and we are all loving this sunny, warm weather!!! It just makes you smile. We are really looking forward to our vacation next week Friday with Brian and Kristi in the warmer climate as well away from the day to day business. I just pulled out the summer totes to start sorting and packing next week. Our dog is enjoying the warmer weather too and jumping the fence to visit other dogs so we need to get him an extra long chain to roam the yard with. I had my last day at work last Wed. and am really looking forward to more time at home with no running to work or appointments daily. There are just some days that I want to stay home all day and not even get dressed if we don't feel like it until noon. I know Eric agrees. It gets tiring so this will be a huge blessing for us. Eric and my dad are making a video for Washington DC and are almost done with that. They gave me a sneak preview and I started crying the moment it started out of no where. Some days I feel like I just live in auto pilot and do what needs to be done at the moment and don't think of the reality of this disease. I think I prefer living that way as long as I don't become numb to my own feelings. Eric and I choose to laugh every day. Seriously, I don't think we have laughed more together than lately. I think it is because we spend so much time together and we talk a lot and Eric just makes me laugh! He is my best friend. We have two weddings at church this month and I help coordinate them for church right now so I attend the rehearsal and the wedding day and it brings tears to my eyes thinking about the covenant they are making to each other. Pastor Gary emphasizes that this covanant is for life, better for worse, sickness and health and that is so true. Go give your spouse a big hug and tell them how much you love them and appreciate them if you are married and hug your cute little children too if you have them. Treasure your time together and choose to have joy!

We love you!
Lori and Eric

Another Busy Day

Today was another busy day. We had an appointment at the Born Clinic and when we got home we had about 15 minutes before a reporter from the Grand Rapids Press was coming to interview Eric and the rest of us. She called last week because ALS Association sent out a press release nominating our family as a family for ALS Across America and asked if she could interview us. She was very nice and gathered info about life with ALS and how it affects our family as well as efforts to help fight ALS and find a cure and what Eric is doing now. She said she had twelve inches of press to sum up our life so we will see what it is narrowed down to. She said you have ALS, but you seem like a machine that keeps on going. We told her that we have our down days, but mostly Eric keeps trying to do things that he still can do. A Photographer came out later to take pics of our family and of course the dog jumped right in too. He was very nice too. He said that the article will be in the GR press on Wed. and the reporter said any time from tomorrow up to the next 8 days so check out the Region section if you get the Press if you think about it on Wed. or Thurs or Fri. ...... :) After they left I swooped Maddie off to her last Cheer class and then picked up Logan's to go (our new favorite) We noticed that Texas Roadhouse across the street also is having 2 meals for 12.99 on Mon thru Wed also but haven't checked it out yet.

Well, Zach was a little off all day today and sure enough he just woke up puking so he is now laying on the couch with a bowl. Eric is sitting in the Sauna and staying clear of Zach and his puking germs. Please pray that Zach will feel better soon and that none of us will catch his bug.

Eric wanted to share how awesome Men's Bible Study was on Monday night. He said there were 86 men there and they were really opening up about strongholds, how God is blessing their lives and giving God praise. It is so good to be around other believers in the body who lift each other up and to feel God's presence. One of the most encouraging part of the evening was seeing Jason Horjus, a 22 year old young man from our church who just accepted Christ recently and had brain surgery last week for a tumor that was causing pressure and fluid on his brain. They are awaiting the results to see if it is cancerous and we are praying that it is benign and that God will shrink the tumor since it is inoperable. Please pray with us for him and his healing. Pastor Gary encouraged us all to live victorious over our strongholds and not in defeat just as Gideon trusted in the Lord to prove that God is in control. Thank you to our neighbor, Tom who faithfully calls Eric and picks him up to take him to Bible Study.

Please pray for Eric as he sleeps with the new Bi-Pap machine and that he may rest well and adjust to the machine and experience the benefits it can provide.

We are truly blessed!

Lori and Eric

God is Good!

It has been a cold, busy week but a lot of good things have been happening and we just want to give God some praise!! First, my garage sale was a huge success! I set a goal of $1,000.00 and thought it was crazy but I just recounted the money today and we made just over $1,000.00 to go toward our Born Clinic bill. Not only did we raise the money, but my house is so cleaned out. I am attaching a before and after picture of my storeroom so you can see what I mean. My friend Sherri has started an organizing business and has been so instramental in helping me make this happen. We did my closet, my kitchen and pantry and my storeroom and it is incredible. I am so thankful for all of Sherri's insight and help and will send some of you all of my before and after pictures in an email soon. This will also make our house easier to pick up and show.

This week we also received a letter saying that we are entitled to special home adaptation that we applied for only less than two weeks ago! We will find out how that works and hope that we can apply part of this grant to the purchase of land to build on since this will be the next step after selling our home. We already have two plots in Jenison in mind.

An update on our newest family member. He is still called Prince since we didn't come up with a name fast enough and the name just stuck. We did come up with the name Toby (after Toby Mac the Christian music artist) but he is mostly Prince or Prince Toby. He has been doing very well and has had no accidents and is right at home with us. A minor problem we have with him is those tiny little legs can jump our fence in the back yard so he has been on some adventures.

We have been having many people being saved over the last few weeks at our church and it is so exciting to see God working among our congregation! More than 30 people have come to know the Lord at Wellspring and God is glorified! Some people have come to realize that they didn't actually have a point in time when they gave their life to Christ and have been unsure of where they would spend eternity and have made that step of faith and assured their eternity in heaven. Can I just take a second to ask all of you who are reading if you know the One who died on the cross to save us from our sins? Our Savior Jesus Christ!! Without him and the price of his blood, we would be lost! We have hope in Him!! He died so that we may have life to the fullest. He paid the price for our sins! We are not worthy of this free gift! I praise the Lord that I made that commitment at Camp Geneva with a camp counselor when I was young and that Eric made that commitment after Zach was born in his car one day when our marriage was failing. God is our redeemer, rewarder, rebuilder, restorer! He is a life changer. Even our son Zach made the decision at age 5 to ask Jesus into his heart and we are praying that he will continue to seek God's direction for the rest of his life and that Maddie will some day make that decision. I want to leave you with a verse from last Sunday's pm service that rings so powerful for us and hopefully you as well:

Romans 5
Peace and Joy

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Blessings to you today!!

Lori and Eric

Eric got his bipap machine today

This morning, Eric got his bipap machine and tested all the masks to see which one was the
least invasive. He chose one that just covers his nose which he can keep as long as he can sleep with his mouth closed so pray for this so he won't have to have the one in the picture above which covers his mouth too. These machines have come along way she said and hopefully Eric will be able to sleep tonight with it for the first time. The goal is 4 hours at a time for now. He has been a good sport about this as I know it is kind of overwhelming for him.
My garage sale started today. It was supposed to start at 5 pm but as soon as I opened my garage at 2, people started coming in so I just put my signs out and opened early. This sale was solely to raise money to help pay Eric's prior balance (before we got disablity) at the Born Clinic for the treatments he has been and is currently doing. My goal was set very high for the sale and we are 2/3 of the way to this goal on the first day which will help out so much with getting rid of this debt. God is so good!!! I sent an email to ask for help with tables, help running the sale and setting up etc. and I have had so much help and even some donations to the sale. I am so grateful and want to acknowledge some of you for all of your help. I couldn't do it without all of your help! Thank you so much to my mom, Eric's mom, Sherri, Tanya, Cathy, Deanna, Robin T, Sorrell's, Bonacci's and all of you who have donated tables and of course all of the people who shopped and are helping us get rid of our stuff! I hope I didn't forget anyone!

Lastly, as Zach said on his entry, We have listed our house for sale as of yesterday. We have contemplated renovating this house or buying or building for a while now and it just doesn't make sense to remodel this home as it means knocking out walls and adding foundation or roofing issues so as much as we love this neighborhood and we have only been here 1 1/2 years. It looks like we need to sell our house and look for land to build on to fit all of the future needs Eric may have if he would need a wheelchair.

Please pray for:
*Eric's adjustment to the bipap and the benefit of more energy
*Two more days of my sale - energy as I am fighting a cold or allergies
*Maddie is going to grandma Foxes tomorrow for the weekend
*Please pray that our house would sell at the right time and for God's direction on decisions to be made as they come
*my sister Kristi and Brian and the kids are in Georgia over break on a mission trip. They are working hard and very busy. Don't forget to check out their blog when you can www.briankristiblogspot.com

Thanks for your prayers and I hope you are all enjoying your spring break despite the cold weather!
In Him who gives us strength,
Lori

Spring Break!!!!

Woo Hoo!!! It's Spring Break! No school!

For an 11 year old kid like myself, this is the closest thing to Summer Break. I get to play with my friends, hangout with my dad, stay up late, sleep in, and best of all,

No School!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't know who's talking right now,

It's Zach Fox.

Well let's start out with Thursday night. I had lots of friends over and when it got dark we played "Ghost in the Graveyard."

On Friday I played with Jared Zink for a little bit. Then my mom,sister,and I went to Culvers where I got my basketball and we ate ice cream. My dad left for Lansing with some friends on a Men's Retreat.

On Saturday I played with Max for almost the whole day, and Maddie (my little sister) played with her friends Allie Wiegand and Olivia Barr. Then my dad came back from the retreat. Afterward, the Barr family and Matt Bowers came and we all ate Pizza. Then Mrs. Barr and her 3 daughters left, and my dad, Mr. Barr, Mr. Bowers, and myself watched the final 4 in college basketball. We had a little fun during the comercials.

(chucking my nerf basketball at each other)

On Sunday Our family went to church at Wellspring. It was awesome seeing all my friends and learning about Nicadimus. After church we went out to eat with the Peterson's at Red Robin. Pastor Gary was hilarious(as usual). Later, Maddie and I played with our friends. My parents and I went to the evening church service, and Maddie was at Allie's house.

On Monday I helped my dad with sorting our C.D.'s, went through his old hockey gear, and his old military items. He gave me one of his hat's, a mosquito net, and one of his medals he recieved for fighting in the Persian Gulf War. Mom worked some more on the garage sale. After that I met with some old next-door neighbors, and played with them until dinner.

Today Grandpa and Grandma Kammeraad came over and video-taped my dad on his everyday life struggles with ALS. My friend Austin Bouman came over and we got a video game at Family Video called "World Championship Paintball." Then we went to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner. It was to busy so we got it to go and brought it back to our house to eat it. Now here I am right now typing this blog while my dad and my sister are watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas.Also, my mom is out in the garage working on the garage sale.

One thing I forgot to tell you if you didn't know was that our house is for sale. We're hoping to build a new house that will be more accessible for my dad.

Have an incredible blessed day,

Thank you for your prayers,

$$$$$$$$$$ Zach Attack is out $$$$$$$$$$

Psalm 147:10

I found this verse last night and thought some of you may need to hear this today.

Psalm 147:10
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Isn't it wonderful to know that we can put our hope in his unfailing love and he delights in us when we do. It's not about our strength.

Have a great day!! The sun is shining!!!! His mercies are new every morning!!!!

ALS Clinic appointment

We had our follow-up appointment at the ALS clinic on Tuesday. This is the clinic that was established at Mary Freebed which has doctors set up specifically for patients with ALS to be seen and evaluated. They recently had their grand opening as our first two visits in July and October, they were still in the startup phases of the clinic. Eric received a call from MDA to see if he would be willing to be interviewed for their Black and Blue Ball and Jerry Lewis telethon media and video footage needed for promotions for these fundraisers. He of course said yes. What he failed to tell me is they would be interviewing us BOTH, which was probably a good thing because I would have been very nervous had I known I had to talk too. The interview went well although every time we mentioned our faith, satan would interupt with a cell phone ringing or they ran out of tape. We know that the tape will be edited and they were looking more for how our life has been affected by ALS and what our hopes are for the new clinic and what the MDA has been doing, but how could we talk about our life without mentioning Christ and our hope in Him and how our faith is what get's us through the day!!
They followed us through our appointment with the camera in those tiny rooms with two or three doctors in at time as well. We saw a speech therapist, nutritionist, occupational therapist, a pulminary specialist and Dr. Averill. Speech and nutrition are great. The occupational therapist gave us a prescription for a lift chair to make it easier for Eric to get up from sitting. He sinks into the couch and has a very hard time getting up from that position. She said medicare may cover the motor portion with a script. She also told us what kind of beds to look at since Eric has been having a hard time sleeping and our mattress is getting pretty old. So it looks like we will need to go shopping for those items soon. The pulminary specialist checked Eric's breathing and compared it to his visit in July and said that it has gone down a little bit so she wanted to order a bipap machine for Eric to wear while he sleeps at night to help keep his lungs cleaned out and relieve the pressure for breathing both in and out so that he would wake up feeling rested and have more energy. This came as somewhat of a surprise to us as breathing capacity is a vital part of survival of ALS. We have been praying that the ALS will not have any effect on his breathing or swallowing so please continue to pray fervantly that this will remain the same and that the machine will be comfortable to wear and really help Eric. This machine is very similar to a cpap machine used for sleep apnea like the one my brother in law uses except that it helps with the in and out to make it as easy as possible for Eric. We should have it next week and she will bring and set it up at our house and show us how to use it. I know Eric is having a hard time with this. During these visits at the clinic, you hope to hear that nothing has changed and you don't need to come back for 6 months. Our next visit is in 6 weeks to followup on the bipap and then we will return in 3 months. Dr Averill didn't have a lot new to say except that the bipap has only been shown to help people with ALS in many good ways. He actually showed a little sense of humor this visit which helped lighten up the day. He is usually very quiet and subdued.
I have to say that Eric leaves an impression with everyone he meets because he is always so joyful and that is something to remember. Not everyone walks around with joy in their heart especially during a trial like this. I am so grateful for my husbands attitude and choice on how to deal with this disease. We talk so often about things because we spend so much time together during appointments, excercises, sauna and every meal we share together. We can still laugh with each other and cry together and he just means the world to me and my kids. I have to say I can't imagine loving him more during this time.
We have been talking more and more about the idea of building and being prepared IF things change. I have to always say if not when. Pastor Dobson also taught us that. We are aware that a house doesn't just come together overnight and there are alot of decisions to be made. We will likely list our house in the next month or two as we explore what is out there for us. Please pray that our house would sell quickly if that is God's will for us to move.
We are looking forward to Spring break next week and sleeping in. We have been on the go way too much this week and need some down time. Eric and my dad have been working on a video of Eric's life for the ALS Advocacy trip to Washington DC and I just had to pull a couple pictures of my cutie pie husband when he was little for you to see that he smiled that big when he was little too!

Thank you as always for your prayers! It is so wonderful to live in such a small world where we hear that someone is praying for us through a prayer chain or through a friend that knows us. It is so good to know that we are the body of Christ and we can lift each other up in prayer even when we don't know each other.

Grace for the day,
Lori and Eric

GOD's IN CONTROL

The above photo reminds me that God is in definately in control...

I'm thankful that God is in control because even though I have an incureable disease (by man's thinking) ALS, He gives me such joy and peace as well as courage to fight this disease. Some days, though, are harder and it gets difficult to continue having my strength taken away all the while my mind stays intact. Sometimes I feel trapped inside this shell of a body. Those are the days that I have to lean on the Lord the most. I am reminded, in his word that…“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (Psalm 23:4).

All I have is you Lord I need to shake off this bitterness and self-pity and be determined to press forward. With you God on my side, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. As I keep an attitude of faith and expectancy I will trust you for healing and strength.

I wish every day was Sunday, because I feel so blessed and full of strength after church at Wellspring. I am so encouraged by the worship, Pastor Gary's message, and a wonderful body of Christ that encourages me. The most amazing part though, is the presence of our Holy God. Sometimes I get lost and just want to stay right there… it's such a safe feeling.

A friend of mine, Drew S. from Connecticut, has this video on his site. (See below)
It gives you a better idea of what's to come with this disease. His friend Steve has a dream to build these centers/houses equipped especially for ALS patients. Maybe we will try to build one here in Grand Rapids, wouldn't that be great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFmgQLG9X_o


If you could pray about some upcoming things:

Tomorrow I have to go to the ALS/MDA clinic for my six month checkup. They will see if there is a big change from when I went in September. They check my strength to see how much atrophy, and loss of strength that I have encountered since the last time I was in. They will also check my breathing to see how strong it is. Our prayer is that we would get a good report on my lungs and my breathing.
Pray for Lori, as she sometimes gets burned out and is finishing up taxes, planning a garage sale to help pay for the Born Clinic bills that we have accumulated before I received Social Security assistance, being a mom, being a caretaker for me, and so much more that it is easy for her to get stressed out.
Prayers for Gods healing and strength on my body.
Prayers for our kids to be able to handle and understand the upcoming changes of this disease.

Thanks so much for your love.

Your brother in Christ,
Eric

Last week was very busy. We had many appointments, but it was a good week. On Friday, we went to the VA clinic in Grand Rapids and met with the benefits coordinator after waiting 2 1/2 hours (first come, first serve). Some of you may not know that Eric is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War. He went to Saudi 3 months after we met and we were already in love. Praise the Lord that that war was over very quickly. He left in January and returned in April of 1991. Since Gulf war veterans have gotten ALS at a ration of 2 to 1 diagnosises, Eric's ALS has been deemed a service related disability. Because of this rating and his service in the Gulf war, Eric has certain benefits through the VA he would not otherwise have. We have applied for an adaptive housing grant and an adaptive vehicle grant. While these won't cover the cost of these things, we are so grateful to have them available and God will supply the rest. I am so thankful for Eric's service to this country and so proud of him for signing up in 1987 at the age of 17 to serve his country. He stayed in the military until 1994 and was honorably discharged. He even talked about resigning up after we had kids, and I selfishly said we need you here! This was when everyone was being deployed to Iraq as they still are now. Sometimes I think to myself, had Eric not been in the military, he may not have ALS. Then I remind myself that God is in control of everything in our lives. A good friend reminded me that God used a decision and a service in Eric's past to provide for Eric's future. When I think of a veteran, I think of my Grandpa telling me stories of World War II and someone who served in Vietnam who is a grandpa to someone. Now, the reality is veterans are younger than me because we are at war and my friend's children are going to war as Eric did in 1991. I know Eric is so loyal to our country and he supports our troops as do I. I didn't mean to go into all that, but I am so proud of my husband and grateful for God's provision to our family. Please pray for these grants to go through and to be expidited through the system and for the wisdom we need for decisions to come such as building or purchasing a zero step home and getting a vehicle and the timing of it all. Thank you again for your prayers. We have been experiencing God's joy and love through this all and couldn't do it without your prayers, support and love!

Love Lori

Kitchen Makeover

The other day Eric and I were looking at dishwashers because the dishes were coming out as dirty as they went in and it was the original dishwasher that came with the house. We found a scratch and dent Kitchenaid dishwasher and asked some friends if they could install it since the floor had been raised by the tile and it was a tight fit. They decided to redo the countertop with laminate instead of remove the tiles so..... Tuesday night while we went out to see the play Annie that friends were in, Dan B, Tom M and Mark V came over and went to town! We came home and within 5 hours they had installed the dishwasher, replaced the kitchen faucet that leaked and installed a beautiful countertop!! Amazing... It looks like a whole new kitchen to us. We are so grateful for all of the hard work that was done for us that night.

Other than that, it has been a pretty uneventful week around here. We finalized our arrangements for the Grand Canyon and I am coming into the home stretch for tax season! Hooray!! I pray that you are all having a good week and enjoying our new snow again. Will it ever stop? May God Bless you and keep you in His grip!

Lori

TRULY BLESSED

Easter this year had more meaning than previous years growing up. One thing is I feel closer to my family than ever before. This weekend we went to my mom and dad's in St. John's where I grew up. We had so much food that we didn't need to eat dinner. The grandkids had an opportunity to search for their Easter baskets. I had a chance to talk to my parents alone about things that were coming up and decisions that we would need to make. It was really good talking to them, and they gave me some good sound advice. I know my brother is having a hard time with this, but I've had a hard time talking to him, because I don't want him to hurt anymore. We had a chance to talk a little bit down in the basement and I can tell that things are busy in his life right now. I hope he knows how much I love him and that God has everything under control. And we will be all right. Later in the day. My mom and I had an opportunity to go through old pictures together. We laughed at all the memories that were made. It's hard to believe that my sister once had pigtails and my brother was that small… one thing that occurred to me is how blessed I am. What many people don't know is that I am adopted. My mother was only 17 when she had me and she couldn't afford to keep me. So she put me up for adoption, hoping and praying that I would have a better life. In walks my mom and dad, and they picked me out of the rest of the kids at the orphanage. am blessed to have been chosen by my parents I am blessed to have been chosen by God to be able to have a relationship with him. I am blessed to have met, fall in love with, be in love with, been married to, my best friend; Lori. I am blessed to have two wonderful children that I adore and love with all my heart. I am blessed to have wonderful parents and family on both sides that love me and care about me. I am blessed to have the most wonderful church family that takes care of me, encourages me, loves me, respects me, and are there walking and praying on my behalf every day. I am blessed by having so many friends that would care enough to call just to say hi. I am blessed to be able to see a brilliant sunrise, smell a hot apple pie, hear children playing, feel the loving embrace of a friend, think about heaven, taste freshly baked chocolate chip cookies… and so many more things that God gives me each day. We went to Lori's sister's house on Sunday after an amazing church service at wellspring church. It was such a powerful service God’s presence was definitely moving and transforming. Seven adults accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We give God praise for changed lives. We had a huge dinner feast. There was enough food for two families. And I can't forget about the deserts someone in the neighborhood and made a chocolate bunny cake. My kids dared me to kiss the bunny. So I did. The kids had fun searching for hidden Easter eggs filled with candy. Well, I fell asleep on the couch. It was a great day. Please pray for Lori's sister as she has been battling cancer for over a year now. She has decided to stop the chemo treatments. The side effects are just too overwhelming. She and Brian are at total peace with this decision.

Thank you so much for all your prayers, may God bless you and keep you.

Love Eric

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).

In this day and age, we are equipped with so many wonderful resources in the natural: technology, education, abilities. It’s easy to rely on our own natural strength for so many things. We have to remember that this natural world is only temporary, but the spiritual realm is eternal. We aren’t limited to the earth’s resources; we have unlimited spiritual resources by the Spirit of God. There are things in life that can’t happen by human thinking and reasoning. There are things that won’t be solved by natural power and might. But God is not limited by the resources of this world. When you open the door of faith in your heart, God will move through you in powerful ways by His Spirit. By His Spirit, you can overcome temptation. By His Spirit, you can receive healing. By His Spirit, you can fulfill every dream and desire in your heart. No matter what challenges or obstacles you may be facing today, know that you can live in complete victory by His Spirit! Father in heaven, thank You for giving me access to all Your spiritual blessings by Your Spirit today. I choose to rely on You and trust that You are working in my life. I praise and bless You, knowing that You are leading me in victory in every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.