Article in today's advance and blessings from God

We were blessed to be interviewed by Cathy Runyon at the Advance Newspaper for an article that was printed in today's Advance. She did a wonderful job portraying our life with ALS, but ultimately our hope in Jesus Christ, especially as Christmas approaches this year. If you are local, check it out, if you are not, here is a link to the article on line
http://www.mlive.com/grandvalleyadvance/index.ssf/2009/12/christmas_offers_local_family.html

Eric has been struggling with a cough for some time now and we have not been getting much rest. God has lifted our spirits on Sunday as we were doubly blessed to hear our good friend, Daniel Groves perform at GR First on Sunday with some incredible music to our Lord that drew us closer to Him and then Sunday night when we were again feeling the enemy attack as this disease has become so difficult to bear at times, a bunch of families from our new church came to our house singing Christmas carols with huge smiles on their faces (especially the beautiful children singing loudly in front) Eric was not able to come to the door at that time, but I stood and listened to their beautiful voices and Eric listened from the other room as we both shed tears knowing how much we are loved by so many of you, but most of all knowing that we are loved by God. He sees us when we are hurting and He lifts us up out of the pit and wraps his arms around us in such tangible ways. I had prayed specifically just an hour before that God would show himself to me and He truly did!

This Christmas, lift someone up and show the love of Christ as you celebrate his birth and the true meaning of Christmas!!
Love,
Lori and Eric

I am attaching some photos of us spending some time cuddling with Eric in his hospital bed. He may not be able to sleep in it, but this was the first time Eric was able to put his arms around the kids and me to hold us for a while. Of course, our beloved dog, Prince had to get in there too!

three steps forward...two steps back

Eric has been adjusting to having the feeding tube put in. We were so focused on getting it put in safely, we hadn't thought much about what comes next. While we are still so grateful that the procedure went so well and God's hand of protection was on Eric, it has been hard for Eric to adjust at home. He has not slept in his hospital bed since the surgery and can no longer wear his bi-pap overnight or for very long periods. His feet have swollen up again from sleeping in his chair. He has also started a tickle cough that comes and goes daily and sometimes causes choking. We have started supplementing Eric's meals by feeding tube once or twice a day and we are getting used to that. He continues to eat a softer diet as well. Eric has been very frustrated with this disease lately and his spirit has been very down. I tend to follow suit when he gets this way because we are both again very tired most days. I understand that Eric can't be happy all the time when he suffers through this disease. I often try to imagine how I would feel in his shoes and I don't even know how I would respond. I don't know what we would do if we didn't have Christ's love and His grace in our lives. Eric's dad has returned to the hospital again this week and is now home awaiting surgery in Ann Arbor to be scheduled. My sister had her lymph nodes checked because she felt a lump and although she had a "clean" petscan, the doctor says he is pretty sure it is cancer so it will be removed and biopsied. My grandpa had surgery for his cancer last Friday and they believe they got it all (Praise God) and he is now at a nursing home recovering, but he is very down as well. Life can just be so hard sometimes. You sometimes wonder how much one family can take. The snow has hit hard in Michigan and we have been cooped up inside. We have been enjoying being here all together as family. My kids actually slept with their PJ's backwards, spoons under their pillows and flushed ice cubes down the toilet last night (those of you not from Michigan, these are "supposed to" help school to be cancelled) We actually stayed up very late last night assuming there would be no school and were so glad to be right. My bible study leader checks in with me every week even though I am no longer able to leave for Bible Study for the last month or so, and she shared verses from the study last week in Psalm 73:23-28
It was very encouraging to me and Eric and I wanted to share it with you:
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

Sometimes it is so hard to keep our focus on God, but He is the author and perfector of our souls and the One who sustains us through trials. Please pray we keep our eyes on Jesus and for Eric to fight the latest things he is struggling with. It is really hard to see Eric go through this when there is sometimes nothing I can do to help him. I hope you are all staying safe, healthy and warm and are blessed this Christmas season.
Love,
Lori

The surgery was a success and we are home!

Just a quick note to let you know that the surgery went very well. Eric used his bi-pap during the surgery which took about 1 hour including prep time once he was on the table. I was able to help get his mask on after they inserted the tube down his nose and then they let me sit right outside of the room he was in. I was praying and reading the book of John while I waited and felt at peace. I was praising God when they came out and told me it went well and I could go in. We had to stay in recovey for 4 hours so they could monitor him and irrigate his tube and we were able to head home about 5 tonight. Eric said he was hungry when he came out of surgery so we are now finally home eating some food. We will be trained on how to use the tube for the first time tomorrow. Eric is in a lot of pain in the tube area and he was given some vicodin which helped a little. Thank you for your prayers!!! We felt them and are so grateful. Please pray for pain tolerance, rest and no infections.
Thanks prayer warriors!
Love,
Lori and Eric

a quick update on surgery tomorrow

Just sitting here feeding Eric his last meal he is sneaking in before midnight (Kraft Mac n' cheese and peaches). We wanted to send a quick update to let you know that we are feeling at peace about the feeding tube surgery tomorrow and plan on leaving the house at 9 am to go to St Mary's hospital to get prepped for the surgery at 11. We have consulted with the best surgeon for this through our ALS doctor and they feel confident that they can do the surgery and are aware of our wishes. Eric has been tolerating the bipap well at night and will wear it during the procedure. We have also "consulted" our Great Physician in prayer and feel his peace and protection guarding our hearts and minds. Please be in prayer for continued peace, no anxiety as Eric will not be under heavy anesthesia and have more local, no breathing difficulties and a skillful, quick surgery with a speedy recovery.
We appreciate and feel your prayers already. Thanks for the e-mails, phone calls, meals, taking the kids, help with Christmas decorations, visits, prayers and all the love we feel from you all. We are so blessed!
We will try to post as soon as we are home tomorrow to give you an update.
Love,
Lori and Eric
P.S. We had a great time staying at the Amway Grand overnight with the kids!

God gives peace in the tough times

Again, we have had a week of some surprising news about Eric's ALS. 9 days ago, we got the results of our testing we did at the hospital after our clinic visit. We were getting ready to have Eric's family here for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner when we got the call. They told us that the ultrasound on Eric's legs came back showing no blood clots which is good. Then they went on to tell us that there is a bit of fluid in his lungs which is not good but he was given an antibiotic to treat any potential infections, but the greatest concern they had was his blood gas test results which measures the levels in his arterial blood coming away from his heart. These tests measured his CO2 levels at 52. They said that 35-45 is normal so he is retaining more CO2 than he should be. They said that he would have to wear his bipap 24/7 that weekend and then check back with them. Wow! We were about to have family over for the weekend and he had to keep his bipap that he had not been able to tolerate on all the time and not be able to communicate with anyone? We sensed the urgency in this so we asked to have Airway Oxygen come out again to help Eric tolerate the bipap. They were out that afternoon and brought another mask and adjusted the levels again and here we go. It was actually good timing to have his family, (mom, dad, sister, brother, sister in law and nieces) here to explain this to and they were able to help that weekend with sitting by Eric and suctioning when he needed it. Because of the foreign object on his face, he was producing excess saliva at least every half hour or so. I didn't think we could do it and 24/7 is just impossible, but Eric was able to get used to it and tolerate it except for at night and while eating and bathing, etc. We had a nice time with his family and I know that this is hard for them to see these changes happening, but they don't regret the time we are able to spend with eachother. Eric has actually been doing much better since implementing all of the treatments ordered. On Tuesday, the hospital bed that we have had for over a month from the VA was finally fixed so that he could sleep on the mattress. He has finally been sleeping in a bed! Praise the Lord! He has been sleeping in his wheelchair for at least six months now and his feet and calfs have been so swollen. After one day in the bed, the swelling has gone down and continues to go down. He actually tolerates the bipap all night since he has been in the bed with little to no secretions and we have been sleeping better than we have in such a long time. These new routines have been very demanding on our time and we are weighing the cost/benefit when it comes to family, friends and being used by God. The Doctors are recommending that Eric get a feeding tube put in as soon as possible, but we have been faced with the reality because of his breathing capacity at this point that doing this procedure could mean he would be sent to ICU and trached during this procedure and be put on a ventilator. We have been spending a lot of time last week getting educated on what these procedures mean and finding out what care is available to us. Eric has decided he does not wish to be on a ventilator for life support and I agreed through many tears that this would not be the way Eric would want to live his life. You can't possibly make this decision until you are faced with the reality of it. Every situation is different whether ALS or any other life threatening situation. We would never judge anyone's decision, nor use other's decisions to make our own. We feel like Eric has a lot of good life left in him and will continue to do these breathing treatments and have opted to schedule the surgery for the feeding tube for Eric on December 1st so that he can get optimal nutrition safely, simply and he will not be spending so much of his day trying to chew his meals. We are trusting God to get Eric through this surgery without a trache. He can use the bipap during the procedure and we will consult more with the Doctors to discuss our wishes and can cancel up until that date if we decide it would become too risky. Please pray with us for this surgery on December 1st! Your prayers are so powerful!
We have just shared with our kids tonight about the surgery and have talked to the kids about eternity and heaven and we all prayed for daddy to be healed and that God would continue to take care of him. We continue to pray for healing for Eric and know that our mighty God is powerful and capable of healing Eric in a moment and we also know that God is sovereign and in His will is where we want to be. We know no matter what, Eric will be delivered from ALS either here on this earth, or God will see him through every step of this disease right until He takes him home into His arms. As hard as this reality is to face, we both know that eternity in heaven is far better than anything we can experience or imagine here on this earth. The hardest thing to face is me and the kids and the loss of a daddy and husband who we love very much. The fact that those who know the Lord and have accepted him as their Savior will see Eric again is such a gift that we can treasure. We pray that Madison will accept this gift as we continue to teach her about Jesus and his sacrifice for our sins. Our purpose has not changed. We want to bring glory to God in the life that we live here on this earth. Thanks for reading as this was a long post with a heavy message, but we desire your prayers and feel so much love and support.
I know some of you will read this and say I don't know how I can help them or I need to spend time with them. God has taken care of so many of our needs and has continually brought people into our lives at the times we need them and we are so blessed. We do want to spend time with family and friends and also want to keep our time with our kids special too so the best thing to do is to send us an e-mail (lorifox@sbcglobal.net) or comment on the blog to encourage us. Our phone sometimes rings all day long and I am not always able to answer it when I am helping Eric or we are setting aside family time. Please leave a message and know that we will try to get back to you as soon as we can and we will try to reply to e-mails as much as we can too. We actually decided to take a small vacation this week over Thanksgiving break. We actually were considering taking a Disney cruise until we researched the cost and cost of flights over the holiday. Yikes! We decided that what we really need is time away with our kids and plan to stay at the Amway Grand in GR and live it up for a few days and relax.
We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy time with family and give thanks for all that we have!
Lori and Eric
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”- Colossians 3:15

Difficult changes as ALS is progressing

We have been adjusting to our schedules with school and sports and life this fall. However, over the last month or so, Eric has been having problems with coughing and once and a while choking on food or excess saliva. I have been concerned about this and asked Airway Oxygen to come out to the house and check Eric's breathing. They came out last Monday and measured his forced vital capacity (FVC) and it was at 16% which is very low. His NIF measured -13. They explained that a hospital would use this measurement to see if he could be weaned off of a ventilator if he was placed on one in an emergency situation. He would need to be at least -20 to be weaned. I want to be clear that this doesn't mean he needs to go right on a ventilator at this point as he is still breathing on his own. This was hard news for us to hear and last week we had some very emotional times taking about the fact that the disease is progressing in an area we do not want to see happen. Airway gave us a lot of equipment to put into our daily routine which would be like "push-ups" for his lungs. We are now using a nebulizor with duoneb medicine and a cough assist maching twice daily and are trying to incorporate a bipap into our day and eventually throughout the night. We are doing well with the first two, but struggling with getting the bipap to be tolerable right now. We have had some serious conversations the last two weeks about a feeding tube, a trache with ventilator and even funeral arrangements at 2:00 in the morning when Eric couldn't sleep. We really haven't discussed his wishes in these areas before and as much as I didn't want to talk about it, I realized that I don't want to be faced with it if he should pass away and not know where to start. We believe this is something every couple should discuss before it is time as well as having a will and trust in place, guardians for your kids, etc. because none of us know when it will be our last day on this earth. More importantly, do you know Jesus as your Savior? It brings our whole family so much peace to know where Eric is going when he dies and that he will have a new heavenly body without ALS. We recently read about this in 2 Corinthians 5: 1-9:
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

This is so encouraging to us and our goal is to please Him while we are here on this earth. We had already committed to speaking at Celebrate Recovery group at KCC the night we got this news and we knew we had to testify to what God has done in our lives in so many powerful ways. We have decided to change some of our priorities in our week too. Eric has quit some weekly appointments we have been trying since the risk and time away from family outweighed the potential benefits. We want to spend our time with family and friends and be obedient to God when he asks us to do something in his name. We want to keep being in his Word and continue to grow.

We have told Zach about the changes that are happening and not as much with Maddie as Zach is so much more aware of what is going on. Eric was talking to Zach before bed the other night last week and Zach prayed for God to send him a good friend. Zach is doing so well at school, he was named Student of the Month in October and also made the basketball team. We decided to have a bunch of 7th graders over last Friday for a party and they had a blast. There were 14 boys here and they ate pizza, played video games and went through the woods behind our house on a "scare walk" that Eric asked some people to help throw together. It was a fun night!
This week we went to the ALS Clinic at Mary Freebed and were there for 4 hours meeting with all of the disciplines there (ALS Dr, Respiratory, Dietician, social worker, Physical therapy, and a pulmonologist) We retested his breathing and it actually improved to 18% this week so the treatments may be helping. The doctor also said Eric may not have the capacity to take the tests to get an accurate read and may be breathing better the tests show. At the clinic we talked more about a feeding tube and how to go about putting one in since his breathing is lower than they like to do it at. We have to be prepared that they may need to put a trache in during that procedure if his breathing becomes compromised. We really need to be prepared to have more care in place in case this is done. We had an X-ray taken of Eric's lungs to be sure there is no infection or bronchial problems, an ultrasound on his legs for the extreme swelling, CO2 level and other bloodwork done the next day at St Mary's and are waiting for the results. Lots of big decisions to be made so we need your prayers.
We are having Eric's family over tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas (yes, Christmas) together and they are spending the night so we are really looking forward to that. Maddie and Grandma put the tree up together tonight. I love decorating for Christmas so I am excited to have the decorations out early.
My family received some more bad news today. My Grandpa just discovered he has colon cancer and my sister's CA125 number went up again to 74 I believe. They are both also in process of deciding what to do from here. I keep thinking about our eternal perspective in a world that is full of sickness. Fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is ETERNAL!! Thanks for reading our very long update, it has been a while again and so much has been happening in the last few weeks. Despite the tough changes, we are really still doing remarkably well. Thanks so much for your prayers!!
We love you all,
Lori and Eric

A big thank you for a wonderful day

On October 17th, after months of planning and preperation by Eric's mom and many others, we went to spend the day in St Johns(Eric's hometown) for a dinner benefit and live auction at the VFW. It was a wonderful day spending time with family and old friends from Eric's childhood. We saw people we hadn't seen since our wedding 14 years ago. It really meant alot to us. We want to thank everyone who took the time to put this event together, who contributed items and their services and all those who came to the event. We are humbly overwhelmed by your love and generosity. We are so blessed and loved. There are so many people who are praying for us. This really means a lot to us when people tell us they are praying for our family. Eric's aunt and uncle got us a hotel in Owosso that night so we didn't have to drive home late which was fun for the kids and it allowed us to visit some more with his family on Sunday before we headed home.

Unfortunately, one or more of our family has been sick for the last 9 days in our house. We just can't shake it. Both of my kids are home sick today and I am feeling torn in three directions on who to take care of and to keep sickness away from Eric. This is really getting the best of me today. I was not handling it very well this morning and Eric and I both had to cry out to God to help us in our time of need. We could really use your prayers for good health. Eric's mom is coming to stay with us a few days this week to help us out, we have a meal delivered in our fridge for tonight so please don't feel like you need to come over right now if you could because we are being taken care of. Just pray for us any time you think of it this week. I know God will help us through this tough time.

God bless you!
Eric and Lori

Here is a link for a 6 minute video Lori's dad made of the event, just copy and paste the entire link below into your browser (I know there is an easier way to do this, but I can't figure it out right now)
http://animoto.com/play/D881bLRzM1lJlUtMmPh4bg?utm_campaign=share_email&utm_content=escape_link&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_email

Sickness and Creepie Crawlies in the house

Please keep our family in your prayers for good health. We all have some type of cold symptoms right now and Zach had flu like symptoms last weekend but seems to be doing better now except a cough. My biggest concern right now is Eric's cough. He has been coughing quite often for the last week or so, especially at night. He has a hard time producing a good cough and it sometimes causes him to choke which is a scary feeling for all of us. We are having Airway Oxygen come out tomorrow to analyze what equipment we should have in our house to help Eric with his coughing and breathing.
Another issue in our house lately is spiders!!! I have attached a photo of the ginormous spider we had in our bedroom yesterday. I was so proud to have caught him so we could find out what kind he is to be sure they are not poisonous. The other spiders we have seen have only been about half this size or smaller. There is no way I would have attempted to catch him without Eric in the room. He was my eyes and pep talker. I hate spiders! I think most people agree with this. I hope they will find another residence for the winter!
Today was just beautiful and refreshing with the sun shining! Zach played his last football game in Muskegon and ended the season undefeated. It will be nice to have him home after school for a bit, at least until Basketball starts!
Hope you were able to enjoy the sunshine today and your families are all staying healthy!
Lori

When God moves you on...

If you would have asked Eric five years ago if we would ever leave Wellspring Church, he would have said, "You’re crazy for asking me that question. Of course not, I would never leave! I love the body of believers here. I have purpose serving in this church. I have developed some of the best friendships I've ever had in my life at this church! I enjoy working with the Pastor and the staff and leadership to accomplish God' work. How or why would we ever leave Wellspring?"

Well, the answer to that question is, "Only when God moves you on." I know that this might come as a shock to many people reading this. I like most people don't like change. But, somehow, during change God allows us to see his hand at work. We will try to explain what God has been doing in our lives since July. We have felt God telling us for a while He wants to move us to a church in our neighborhood where we moved last November . We thought, we just moved to a new area, new neighborhood, new house, new schools even a new grocery store, etc. , why would we change one of the only things we knew as well. This July, Eric and I both had a peace that God was moving us on and the scary thing was we didn’t know where or what that meant for our family. We have been at our church for 6 years and It has been a huge part of our lives and has brought us closer to God and taught us and allowed us to grow in our relationship with Christ. The church has done so much for us and we have been blessed. We have had a harder time getting to the church on time and attending functions because of the disease and living farther away. Our church has grown so much over the years, we have started to feel disconnected because we were not able to get involved like we used to due to physical limitations, distance and timing. It has been hard for Eric to know where he could serve after not being on staff any longer for two years. This has been extremely difficult for Eric as he had such a passion for others at the church and serving in his position on staff. Also, We thought it might be a good idea for Zach to get involved with a youth group over here so he could make friends in a new school and invite his friends to church and youth events in Grandville. It may not seem like we moved far, but in this busy world we live in, an extra 20-30 minutes makes a big difference to some people. We really want to reach out to our neighbors here to share Christ with them and we have been so blessed being able to do this recently. We want to use our gifts and our home to serve God and bring him glory. Everything we have belongs to Him!
We have visited many churches in this area and found a small church that meets in Maddie’s school about a block from here called Life Church and their mission is to lead others to become fully devoted followers of Christ. The Pastor lives about a mile from us and actually has an accessible home with an elevator (what are the odds of that? – that’s God). He visits us weekly and prays with us and we are discovering many ways that we can serve there even in a wheelchair. Zach has started youth group there and met a 7th grader who ended up on his football team whose family has been a blessing to us. I started my Bible Study this fall and knew no one except a woman who introduced herself and said she is from Life Church which really touched me. We started a Life group at our house and we are doing a study called Prodigal God that looks at the parable of the prodigal son in a way we have never thought of before and so far it has really been teaching us about the way of self discovery and the way of righteousness. Both are lost and far from God. We know God orchestrates these groups and both couples in our group have been touched personally by someone they know with ALS.

We have seen so many times how God is at work in our lives and how he uses others or circumstances to speak to us and recently we have been shown how God has used us to speak to others about who He is and our faith in Him that gets us through tough times. Our blog is one way that we can do this. I am always surprised to find out who has come across our blog and been uplifted in some way. Mostly people with ALS or who have a family member with ALS, but recently a woman I know ran into me at a grocery store on the other end of town I just happened to stop at the same time she was there. She was going to have brain surgery from a tumor they had found that week and said she thought of our family and what we were going through when she heard that and then here I was! That is God! She asked me how we did it and I told her it was from the Lord and his grace. We always have opportunity to be a testimony to Him and this brings Him glory!

I know us leaving our old church is really hard for some people to understand, but we really feel that God has moved us on. It has been very difficult for us to leave and trust God and we will miss worshipping with many of you as you have been so supportive to us over the years. In my Bible Study lecture last week I heard the leader say “Following God means trusting his leading in other people’s lives. We need to encourage others to follow Jesus no matter what that looks like or means. “ This was in reference to John Chapter 1 where Jesus came as John the Baptist prophesied and John the Baptist’s disciples left him to follow Jesus. John stayed right where he was doing what God wanted him to do. He didn’t follow them because that wasn’t God’s plan for him. I’m sure he was sad that the people he had been spending so much time with left him but he trusted God’s leading in their lives. Jesus asked the disciples what they wanted and then he said come spend the day with me. God wants us to trust Him and obey Him. I personally would like an itinerary of what that looks like or means as I am a planner and like to know what my day looks like. I have learned as a caregiver that my day never lines up with what I think it should be and my to-do list is never done. This week in Bible Study, the teaching leader said “God wants us to hand over our planner and He wants to give us a notebook to fill with His words and His plans”. Wow, that was a tough one for me to hear but I know that’s what He wants from me.

Fall has been very busy for us with Zach in Football (#34 for Grandville 78ers). Their team is 5-0. Maddie is playing Soccer (#5 for AYSO Bumblebees) and scored her first goal yesterday. We had the ALS Walk last week and God gave us the most beautiful morning after days of freezing cold and rain. It was a glorious day and we were so blessed to have almost 100 people come out to walk with our team. Thank you to Texas Roadhouse and all the other vendors who donated our lunch. The walk was downtown Grand Rapids this year and we walked right along the river and saw many of the Art Prize exhibits which were still down there. My dear cousins from Tennessee (Lauren and Avery are pictured above with Zach) actually drove up here for the walk and stayed with us for a few days which was so much fun! We were blessed and helped the ALS Association raise money and awareness for ALS and really appreciate everyone who walked or donated to the walk.

Today, I was able to go to an ALSA sponsored caregiver’s conference with my friend Erin whose husband also has ALS and we met some wonderful people and heard two wonderful speakers, Cecil Murphy and Shelly Beach speak about caregivers challenges and encourage us to keep doing what we do for our loved ones. It was a wonderful conference and we were fed lunch donated by Fazoli’s and pampered with some great door prizes as well. I was so excited to win a night for our family to stay at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City and water park passes but not half as excited as my kids were!!!
Other great news we got today is that my sister’s CA125 level has gone down to 25! Those of you who follow her blog can access her link on the right of our blog. We are so excited to hear this wonderful news as her battle with Cancer has been so tough but they can clearly see God’s hand at work in their lives. Praise God!!!

Lastly, we love to hear your comments either via email or by clicking the comment tab at the bottom of each entry. Many of you have said you have tried to post and it gets erased so you give up and I know that is discouraging so here is a quick “comments 101”
Click on comments and type your comment in the box, before you hit post comment, you either need to sign in (create a Google account if you don’t have a sign-in) or if you don’t want to do this, click anonymous before you post. If you want us to know who wrote the comment, just sign your name in the comment box. The comments are then emailed to us and then we publish them as soon as we get them. We are so encouraged by your comments. It’s kind of like getting mail, the good kind, not bills!

Keep following Jesus!!
Lori and Eric Fox

Thank you for your continued prayers, as the weather gets colder we will be home quite often and would love to visit with you. Our door is always open!

A Gimpse of God at Work

I am always amazed when I look back and see God's hand at work. Here's a story that is sure to build your faith.

THE BIG PICTURE OF GOD AT WORK

This is a story that I have seen unfold over the course of three years, but one that comes around full circle. It starts out with me, Eric, when I was on staff at Wellspring Church. One day I took a phone call for the secretary right at closing time. On the other end of the line was this lady, Cheryl, who was looking for churches to check out in the area. As she and her husband, Steve, were having difficulties in their marriage and problems in their family, she thought it was time to get back to church. I shared with Cheryl that she would need to try Wellspring for a while to see if it would be a good fit for her and her family. I told her of all the different ministries and areas that they could get plugged in. After attending for three weeks Steve accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. His life drastically changed.

Steve was on fire for the Lord, wanting to get involved and help out wherever he could. It didn't take long before Cheryl and he started doing short term mission work in Mexico and also on the streets of Chicago. After a year and half of this kind of outreach, God spoke loudly to Steve that there was a need right in the streets of Grand Rapids.

Steve took an early retirement at GM to get involved on the streets of Grand Rapids and ministering to the homeless. So in January of 2009 they began. Cheryl and he and a few other couples made some soup and coffee and collected blankets, coats and gloves and went downtown and passed out the supplies to the homeless who live on the streets and under the bridges.

One of the homeless men that they first met wouldn't even talk to them. His name was Scott. They kept going back week after week giving him supplies and praying over him. Soon Scott came out from the bridge having enough energy to walk downtown to the church on Division Ave. Soon after coming to the church week after week, Scott was led by Steve and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Not long after this I came downtown with my family to help serve.

After meeting Scott and praying with him several times I too struck up a friendship and bond. As it turned out Scott was slowly dying of cancer living under the bridges. Not long after he was diagnosed with Cancer, the Guiding Light Mission was able to get him some medical assistance and treatment. It was touch and go for a while there as all of us who served at the inner city church prayed for Scott's health. Finally, Scott was given a clean bill of health by the doctors. And now he is on his own and has his own apartment. Today, when you see Steve and Scott talking on the street you see a miracle of love and dignified respect for one another.

In my conversation with Scott today he would tell you that he was content to lay under the bridge and die. But, because of the consistency of a few good men bringing him food and supplies, and praying over him, he got a sense that somebody cared for him.

Now this isn't the full circle, there is more to the story. Steve and the rest of the servants working in the inner city church had been praying for more supplies. There has been a large need been for clothes and shoes that fit bigger men, more XL and XXL type clothes. After praying for three weeks the prayers were soon answered. I had met a man two years earlier while getting a treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease. His name is CB. I had asked him to drive me downtown to an appointment that I had on Saturday. CB picked me up at my house, loaded me into the van and off we went. Little did he know that my appointment was to serve the homeless.When we got there CB met Steve they realized that they knew each other from the GM plant where they both had worked. CB ended up that day walking the streets with Steve talking with the homeless and praying with many hurting people.

Now here's the answer to the prayers for the clothes.

Because the plant at GM had closed CB was still there helping to dismantle shelving units and clean up all the locker rooms. Normally GM has a strict policy to throw out any items in the lost and found that have not been claimed. They do not donate items in order to not show favoritism to one group over another. But because CB was so compelled and moved at the incredible need of the homeless right in GM's back yard, he asked his supervisors if it would be all right to bag up all the hundreds of shoes, boots and articles of clothing that had been left behind and take it all to the mission. Because of his relationship with his boss they agreed. CB called me and asked me if Steve and the inner city mission would have a need for these items.

CB had no idea that we had been praying for clothing.

Five truckloads later, the mission now has more than enough XL and XXL clothing for the upcoming winter season.And in one of the bags of clothing Steve found a large amount of money from the guys and gals at GM that had taken up an offering. Arn't God's people so amazing!

When we are faithful in the little things like answering a phone call, or serving in the mission and praying for someone in need, God is faithful and just to answer our prayers.

Feeling much better

Just a quick update to let you know that Eric had a pretty uncomfotable week last week until Saturday night as the pain seemed to subside and stop. He has been able to stop taking the vicadin on Sunday and we feel that the stones have passed. We were able to strain and collect small crystal like pieces that we can have tested so we can hopefully prevent this from happening again. Thank you for all your prayers, calls, meals and visits. Have a blessed week!
Lori and Eric

The ALS Walk is less than 3 weeks away! Please let us know if you are able to come join us on October 10th downtown to walk for ALSA.

A long night in the ER

Last night at about 2:30am, Eric woke up with extreme pain in his abnomen so I got him up. We thought it might be gas pain so we waited up a while with no relief. I decided to give him a vicadin to see if the pain would subside enough to sleep and he threw up a few minutes later. I then checked his temp which read 101.6 so I started to worry more. We called my aunt who is a nurse at about 3:30 and decided to wait another hour to see if the pain would go away which it didn't so I called my parents to come stay with the kids and we were off to the ER at around 5 this morning. When we arrived, it was very slow so I thought we would get fast service, however, there was a big problem getting a vein to run an IV in Eric. We had many nurses and Dr's attempt to poke him numerous times with no luck. They wanted to rule out appendicitis and wanted him to drink a contrast to do a catscan on his abnomen. He instantly threw up the first few sips of the drink as they were still trying to poke him. They decided to try his artery in his groin at this point which failed miserably too. They even brought in an ultrasound to try to see the vein and ended up going to the other side to try again with a very large IV needle. After a lot of pain and a lot of blood and many tears shed and prayers said by me, they finally got his IV port in. They tested his blood and urine and we tried to prep him again for the Catscan. He received pain and naseau medication and was finally brought to the catscan at about 9:30 this morning. They would not let me go with him which was our second bad experience. No one passed on his health status with ALS so they asked him to transfer to the table when he got there. He could hardly talk because he was tired, heavily medicated and laying flat on his back. When they finally understood him, a very thin woman and an elderly man transfered him to the catscan table. All the while no one explained to us the procedure except that it would only take 5 minutes. When they finally got Eric on the table, they put a bunch of pillows under Eric's head which restricted his breathing. He tried to tell them, but they couldn't understand him. They finally figured it out when he kept staring at the pillows and shook his head no. The older gentleman said not to worry that he couldn't breathe well because he was on oxygen, what they didn't understand is Eric's forced vital capacity is very low which I explained to the prior doctors in our room. They taped Eric's arms down and he felt like he was in a straight jacket and fed him through a tube. A while later, they appeared by his feet and pulled out the blanket from his groin and applied the dye and did the procedure with no explanation of what they were doing. Eric arrived back at the room by 10 and was groggy and clearly not happy but too tired to talk. Eric's parents and my parents were at the hospital by then waiting with me. They came back with the results later and said "the good news is you don't need surgery, the bad news is you have a kidney stone and will need to pass that." They gave us some prescriptions, paperwork and pulled his IV and sent us home by about noon. Eric's mom is staying here with us a few days and my parents went to get the groceries I have been meaning to get the last few days and we slept until 6 tonight. Eric is still in pain and I need to go get his RX. Please pray that he can be comfortable and that it will pass quickly and the pain can be controlled.
We have been meaning to update the blog this week after he got back from his trip which was amazing which Eric and Zach will update you on soon. It has been a very difficult week for us adjusting with school and schedules and emotionally.
As much as I enjoy the break from taking care of Eric, it is hard to go back to the routine after I have a break. When I do it every day, it feels like our "normal" and when I don't like when we were in Hawaii with no schedule or responsibilities, I realize how hard it really is when we go back to our routine and I get almost irritable instead of full of grace. We both have been having a very hard time coping with this disease this week and have shed a lot of tears. Please keep us in your prayers as you have been. My sister and her family have been struggling this week also with her cancer and chemo treatments and are facing some very big decisions so that makes it hard for our whole family. Sometimes I feel like this world is so broken with sickness, sin, broken marriages, financial strife etc, I just want Christ to return and take us all home to glory! Our life verse comes to mind especially today:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

May the Lord watch over us all this week and provide for all of our needs.
In Him,
Lori and Eric

Father Son Road Trip 2009

In my quest to visit all fifty states here in America I have been planning a trip with my son Zach to go see Mt. Rushmore for the last few months. My friend Doug and his son Max told me that they have always wanted to see it as well. On the map South Dakota does not look that far away. We planed our route to include going into Wyoming, Montana and up into North Dakota on the way back home so that I could knock off four more states. I have to admit it was farther than I had anticipated. Thank you Doug for being a trooper and driving the entire way! It was an amazing trip. Not only to spend time with a good friend but spending time with my son and hanging out with just us guys helped build our spirits up. Mt. Rushmore was a spectacal to see in person. I was amazed at the history and determination of one man to have the vision to build it. There were no deaths during the building process while using dynomite and rope swings and hanging off the side of the Mt.I didn't realize that there was such a controversy with one of the faces being put on the monument. Can you guess which one? It was the last one, Teddy Roosevelt. The reason is he had only died six years before the construction and many conservatives thought that it was too soon. But when you look at what he had accomplished for the countries' development there was no doubt they had picked the right person. We had no major issues and adapted quite well... unless you count getting lost in Montana. Let me explain; the GPS said to turn onto a highway that looked more like a two lane paved road. Soon it turned into a gravel rock road and we continued for several miles. Did I tell you there is nothing but huge fields in Montana. After a half hour or so we finnaly came upon a large farm house and we stopped and talked to a man with a cowboy hat who was sitting on his golf cart with his dog. We asked him if the directions to highway 20 continued on this path and if that would lead us to Highway 85 heading north into North Dakota? He responded with a wierd disbeliefed look on his face and said, "Yep." I can't imagine what was going through his mind. It was a low profile mini-van rolling down the two track farming road that you drive tractors on, trying to get onto a highway. It was so bad that at one point we came across cows on the road where there were no fences to keep them in, so they roamed back and forth on either side. Thank goodness we bought an atlas in South Dakota and were able to find our way to highway 85. Even though everything was spread out so far there was many beautiful scenes to take in. We saw many dear and what looked like antelope along the way. I had always wanted to take a ferry boat across Lake Michigan and rememebered that there where two ports on the Wisconsin side. We got on line and called the Michigan ferry boat lake express. And wouldnt you know it they only had one spot left. So we took it. We thought that Chicago traffic and construction plus being a holiday weekend it might take us eight hours to get home from Milwaukie but by ferry it only took three hours saving us a lot of gas as well. I was amazed at how quite and smooth the jet express boat was. Doug and I dozed off for some well needed rest while Max and Zach wandered around the ship taking pictures. We played a practical joke on Lori when we got home asking her to get on map quest to find an alternate route around Chicago and then after a while as we were pulling into the drive way, told her to look out the window. It was so good to be home.

Father-Son Road Trip!

Father-Son Road Trip!

Last night Eric, Zach, Doug and Max Campbell left on a road trip to see Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. They left about 8 last night and stopped in Iowa City, then will head the rest of the way today. They plan to go through four states Eric has never been to before on this trip leaving only 5 states that Eric hasn't visited in his life. They have been talking about taking this trip for a long time and planned it about a month ago. The weather looks beautiful this weekend and I have heard that it is an amazingly beautiful trip. This is a trip that didn't interest me much driving so far to see past presidents on a mountain? My former boss yesterday said "it's about the Journey!" This is so true about this trip and about life! Maddie and I are home having a girl weekend and we slept in til 11 today and are hanging out with Kelly and her girls who spent the night. We ate junk food, watched a movie, did Kareoke, had a dress-up nerf gun fight and had fun laughing at eachother. I hope to get a lot done while Eric is gone and also do some relaxing and fun things with Maddie before school starts next Tuesday. Keep Eric, Zach, Doug and Max in your prayers for a safe trip and good memories created this weekend. They will return home on Monday. Hopefully we will have some great pictures to post soon!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Lori

Please join us in the Walk to D'feat ALS on October 10th!

Dear friends and family,

It’s that time again, dust off your shoes and come out and support our great cause, “THE WALK TO D’FEAT ALS.” We’d like to thank those of you who have supported or participated in previous walks on our Team Fox Trotters to benefit The ALS Association. If you haven’t participated in the past, we’d love for you to join our team this year! SAVE THE DATE: This year’s walk is about six weeks away on Saturday, October 10, 2009. Your support and presence really gives me the hope and determination to fight this disease.

Many people might wonder what the money raised from this event will go to, how will it help the cause. Due to my involvement and relationship built with the ALS association I can assure you that the money is well spent. Some of the ways in which the money directly benefits patients includes: holding monthly support groups on how to deal with this disease, in home visits from nurses, respite care (giving care givers a break), utilization of the loan closet, being able to borrow equipment when a patient can’t afford it on their limited Medicare budget, and of course a large amount of it goes to our national research effort to find a cure for this terrible disease. All of these resources have impacted my life in one way or another. With over 38,000 people suffering with this disease there is a real need for support.

Recently, researchers funded by The ALS Association identified a gene that causes familial ALS. This is HUGE! This finding will be helpful in further research, even for those of us with non-familial ALS.

Here in West Michigan, our local chapter uses three major fundraisers to raise the money. The biggest is the annual Walk to Defeat ALSTM. It brings in more than half of the funds needed by our local chapter to operate.

In 2007, thanks to your help, we raised over $17,000. Last year we all brought in over $7,000. This year we are hoping to have over a 150 people walk on our team Fox Trotters to raise $15,000!

We hope that you can join Team Fox Trotters. We will be wearing the blue Fox Trotter T-shirts again. If you plan on walking or need to order a T-shirt, please contact Lori at lorifox@sbcglobal.net or (616) 532-4752 and give your size and who will be walking. The cost of the shirt is $10.00.

Our Captains this year are Dan & Tanya Bolkema. They will be responsible for encouraging and answering questions about the walk, on-line donations, corporate sponsorship, and any other questions you might have. You can contact them at dabbolkema@sbcglobal.net 616-813-2022 or 616-644-1811.

For more information about the walk, visit www.walktodefeatals.org or call 616-459-1900. If you are unable to walk this year but would like to make a donation to our team, you can go to the link at the top right of our blog to find our personal walk page.

All our love,

Eric and Lori Fox

When a storm hits...and your left with the pieces

Thinking about why we Americans have a hard time dealing with death, grief, despair, disappointment and sadness - we try to avoid it at all costs. We even put on a facade like everything is OK. I give it this analogy:
We're strolling along in life. Life is good. Family, the job, relationships, health -all is good and THEN, Katrina stikes!!! What do we do now? The pieces of life are scattered about and our path is forever changed. Relationships we once had are not there anymore. Why is that? I mean, don't get me wrong we are still cordial to one another but those relationships, that intimacy that we once shared has been damaged.

Many relationships are built around hobbies, work, going to the same church, interests, clubs, sporting events etc and not fully on eternal things. When those things are stripped away as in my case it reveals what the relationships were really built on. Time has proven to me that many people(myself included prior to ALS) are too busy with their hobbies, work, interests, sporting events, church activities which are all really good things and important but from somebody who is handicapped and not able to do those things anymore, you feel left out and abandoned and even forgotten about at times.

Some people have a hard time knowing what to do or say because they have a hard time dealing with despair, disapointment, sadness, grief, and death. A friend of mine once said that maybe its like they are mourning the loss of you, even though you have not died. So they are keeping you at a distance so they won't hurt even more when you actually do pass. How sad.

Maybe some people feel like I am not approachable now. I want to appologize if I have every made anyone feel that way, I hope people dont take it personally. There are a lot of adjustments that come now with living with a terminal disease. If you're reading this and we shared life together, know that I valued that time that our paths crossed. Its ok to talk about "the disease" or even "death". I know it is not a favorite subject of many people, but when I think about death and dying I think about spending eternity with God my father and Jesus in their infinite glory and holiness. There is no sadness or grief in heaven. There is no despair or anxiety, everything is perfect and as God planned.

When I leave this earth, my hope is that I have made a lasting mark on society, that people would remember me for the legacy that I have left behind. That people would say "yeah that Eric Fox guy, he sure loved Jesus. He was the real deal." That if our paths did cross, that you would have pleasant memories of our time together. But until that time God has me busy doing his good work, sharing my testimony and sharing the good news with all that will listen. I will be doing that until I take my last breath on this earth. "I want to run the race in such a way as to win the prize for which Jesus Christ has called me heavenwardly" so that when I get to the end and see Jesus face to face he will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Thanks for listening to me banter on. Whatever reason God had me write this hopefully it helps you understand how I'm feeling.

Eric

A proud little girl! Look Dad... two wheels!

We have not had much time to ride bikes in the last two years and Maddie was riding with her friends down the street and she realized she was the only girl with training wheels and she could not keep up with the other girls. This made her sad and it kind of broke my heart too. We have never worked with her to learn to ride her bike without training wheels. I started looking for a decent bike for her and found a good used Schwinn bike for her on Tuesday. Then I thought how do I teach her how to ride this? Eric taught Zach to ride his two wheeler when we were camping. I remember because he rode right off the road right into a tree! We started working on it last night in the grass and with me running beside her on the sidewalk way out of breath! She wanted to try it again this afternoon and then just a little while ago she wanted to try again. We padded up and went on the street. Eric said to hold the back of her seat so I tried that and let her go and off she went! She was smiling from ear to ear! I was so proud of her. It was a monumental moment for her! We went to get dad and Zach and the cameras which were all dead batteries! I was able to get a two second video before my batteries died! She was so excited to show her daddy she could ride her bike all by herself! It was a good day!
We have been doing pretty well lately. We will try to update soon!
SAVE THE DATE.... ALS Walk on Saturday October 10th. More info to follow! Hope you can join team Fox Trotters this year! Have a good week!
Lori

Letters by Zach Fox

Below are two letters written by my son, the first one is when he was in fifth grade and the second is in sixth grade, last year.

We are so proud of Zach, his writting is very deep for a twelve year old. As you can imagine he went through a lot of emotions, as you can tell from his writtings.

Fear of Death
06/04/08

Imgine a strong, faithful man with a loving family. Now picture that same man with a fatal disease called ALS who can't use his arms or legs practically at all. This isn't just a story, it's the truth. Can you guess who this man is? Yes, he's my dad.

It all started when my dad couldn't button his shirt one Sunday morning. Now he still has a family, but needs them every minute of the day to help him with everyday things like dressing him, shaving him, giving him showers, feeding him and helping him get up from sitting down. I've had some doubts that were all answered, but one still sticks tightly in my head and heart. Is my dad going to die? It keeps bouncing in my head and I can't help but cry untill I can't cry any more. I'm so confused, but yet it's so clear that it's a life or death situation.

I almost have no way to help him except pray and hope God wil cure my dad and thousands of others. Right now, there is hope that they will find a cure because I don't want to NOT have a daddy. Losing my dad would be like getting shot in the gut. I would still be alive, but I would wish I wasn't. For me, I would do anything, anything, anything to keep my dad alive, and see his joyful sunshine on his face. Let's anticipate that they will find a cure for ALS for thousands of others who have ALS as well.

Zach Fox
5th grade




Be Happy
06/03/09

Many people don't know that our family has been going through tough times since my dad has ALS. I think it's important to know that poeple can still be happy no matter how tough times are. For instance, my dad always has a good attitude while dealing with his disease. Another reason is my mom is still really helpful to our whole family and others. Also, my sister is so happy even though she is so young to have her own dad get a terrible, breath taking disease called ALS. Finnally, although I have to live with the fact that my dad could die in a couple of years it has tuaght me the responsibility to be the man of the house and to treasure life.

My dad still has a positive attitude while living with ALS. For example, I asked my dad a question, "How do you not get down at not being able to do the things you used to do?" He answered, "I focus on the things I can do, that God has given me the ability to encourage others. My faith helps sustain me. Somedays are better than others." Also my dad's favorite quotes are, "Don't worry, be happy!" and "Its all good!" These sayings help us laugh and forget what we were currently sad about.

Another reason is, even though there are 8,000 new cases of ALS patients per year in the U.S. and 30,000 present cases today, people can still choose to live their life for the better and be happy like we have done or just wait untill it's time to die. Hopefully most all of us, even the people who don't have a disease will choose to be happy.

My mom is really helpful to our family because although her husband has a terminal disease, she still works hard to run our family. For example, I asked my mom this question, "How are you so mentally strong even though you are going through this tough time?" She answered, "God gives me the strength to get through the tough times. People are praying for our family. My comitment to dad when we got married is a vow that I wont break." Also, she loves him very much. I can't believe that my mom is so happy and strong even though the unthinkable happened. The things she does for us is way more than any mom should do. Now my mom does tons of things for our family. She cooks delicious meals that make my mouth water. She takes care of my dad's daily needs because he is unable to himself. She stays strong by her amazing faith in God who gives her strength to live each day. She helps me with my homework when I give up because I think there is no way I could finish the humungus stack in front of me. She handles situations way better that I could ever think of even trying to do. She is my super mom.

It's hard to believe that my sister can be so happy even though our whole family is going through tough times. For example, my sister loves to make up new games. Like one day she walked up to me and excitedly said, "Hey Zach, I have a good idea for a game we can play." "What is it?" I asked back. Her smile was growing every second. "You pull me across the floor on a blanket and see how fast I can go," she replied. "I do what?" I asked enthusiastically. She repeated what she said again and I just did what she said. She laughed and screamed with glee when I shot her across the living room's wooden floor. I'll never forget that day when she made me forget about my dad's illness and have fun like we used to. Also, my sister is such a good encourager. My sister makes up fun games and plays them with the whole family. My sister is very sincere and loving when someone is really sad or down. My sister makes us laugh when we could be crying. My sister sometimes gets on all of our last straws, but most of all, my sister is my sister and that means the whole world to me. Yes, I love my sister and I wouldn't rather have any other sister in the whole world but her because she brings me up when I'm down about something. She helps me be happy through the tough times.

Even though its hard to live with the fact that my dad has ALS , I have gained a lot of responsibility. I was eleven my dad hollered, "Zach." He was upstairs watching TV and needed help. I was down stairs in the basment playing with legos and watching TV at the same time. "Coming!" I shouted back. I bolted upstairs to see what my dad needed. "Hey, can you get me a glass of water?" my dad asked. He of course looked desperate for a drink of water. "Sure," I said getting him a glass of water. "Thanks Zach" my dad replied the second after he took a sip from the clear glass cup. "Your welcome!" I exclaimed. I always feel realy good about myself when I do something nice for my dad.

Recently I surveyed the class if they would cry if they found out their dad had a fatal disease and was given 2-5 years to live. One hundred percent of the class said they would cry, of course. I cried when I found out, I cried alot. But God wants me to rejoice in it because I know where he's going and I'll be there to meet him someday. I realize that when I am happy, I feel like I can enjoy life more. Clearly people can still be happy no matter how tough times are because if our whole family can still be happy through our tough times, others can choose to be happy as well. It's your choice to be happy or sad or mad, make it a good one.

Zach Fox
sixth grade

Revelation Song - one of our new favorites!

We have been hearing a great new song lately sung by Kari Jobe (also Phillips Craig and Dean.) It is such a powerful song! We wanted to share it with you in this video some friends told us about. We have to warn you that there are many scenes from the Passion of the Christ movie that has some very graphic depictions of Christ's sufferings. As with any music or video, you will have to go to the top jukebox playlist and pause the music already playing before you click on the video below.
Have a blessed week! Our kids are in Traverse City camping with my brother and his family until Saturday so Eric and I are enjoying a quiet house together. We hope some of you will be able to join us tonight at Carrabba's in Grandville at 7pm for the MDA fundraiser dinner. Nationwide Carrabba's are doing this so you can go to any Carrabba's.

Skype

We are now on Skype and if anyone would like to talk to us via the video connection, shoot us an e-mail at info@ericfox.us or lorifox@sbcglobal.net and we'll make sure the computer is on.

If you don't have Skype, visit www.skype.com for more info. It's free and amazing to connect with this technology!

You can find us on Skype at:
Skype name: eric.fox.1988
Or search Eric Fox in Grandville, MI

Continuing the Fight...

No matter what in life, there are no guarantees. In God's word it does not say if you're a beliver or a follower of Christ that life will be smooth and easy. Rather, you can be assured that because we live in a broken, fallen world there will be attacks of many kinds by the enemy (Satan). Now I know that to many of you reading this, this might be a foreign concept to you... Satan. Maybe you don't even believe that there's a real place called Hell. I am reminded in God's word that they are both accurate depictions of an actual place and spirit. I think it's difficult for most of us to fathom that they are real because we don't see them and can't touch them. But I am convinced they exist.

I am in the middle of a battle that the enemy wants to control and take me out. Yesterday I heard a sermon that the pastor talked about how Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He talked about how lions look for the weak, the sickly, even those who are not aware they are being stalked (they are complacent or over confident). I think that this is a good lesson for all of us to stay alert by staying in prayer, continuing to be in fellowship with other followers of Christ, to be in the Word, remembering on a daily basis to guard ourselves and put on the full armor of God.

This weekend a friend of mine picked Zach and I up and took us downtown to the inner city church mission where we help out a ministry caring for the homeless and anyone hurting on the streets of Grand Rapids. One thing I'm amazed at is how no two weeks are ever the same. God works in so many incredible ways. I realized after talking to about 4 or 5 people that there is no difference between me and them. They have hurts that are similiar to my hurts. They feel lonely at times, I feel lonely at times. They feel like they can't go on because of the struggles they face, and I feel the same way. There is a difference though. I have something that they need. And God reminded me of this - they need Jesus. With Christ living inside of me I have the hope and peace that only He gives. So, I decided that I need to encourage these people of this. They were very open and wanted me to pray with them.

I feel that a lot of the people I meet have all sorts of religion. They know the bible, they know scriptures, but for many of them they are misguided because they continue in their sin of alchohol abuse, drug abuse, etc. that the enemy has a stronghold over them with in those areas. They need to release those chains that have been binding them up for so long. They need to make a decision to have the living Saviour come dwell in their heart. There's more to having just head knowledge of Him and the scriptures. Christ wants a personal, intimate relationship with each one of us.

For example, when I think of my best friends, I think of what is it that has made them become my best friends... it is because we have spent time together developing that relationship. We talk, we've been though good times and bad times, we give each other advice, we bounce ideas around, we make memories together. That is what Christ wants from us - to develop and intimate relationship with Him. He does not want us to go through the motions just sayin we know "of" Him. He desires a real and intimate friendship.

On Saturday, I noticed one gal that was in line getting soup and supplies. She was not happy and very impatient. By the comments she was making, I could tell that she was having a hard time and was struggling with something. I went outside to invite more people in to the church. A little while later, she came outside and my friend C.B. and I stuck up a converation with her. There was something noticably different from the time I had first seen her in the line and now. We talked with her and encouraged her. She even let us pray with her. Later on, we gathered as a group of workers to discuss what we had seen and experienced that day. We prayed that the seeds that God planted that day would take root and we would see much fruit from the efforts. One of the workers shared that she had the priviledge and honor of leading a homeless woman in the prayer of salvation. It was the same woman that C.B. and I had spoken with. This is an example of God working through a handful of people that are faithful and obedient to His will. My prayer is that Laquita would continue to develop that intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Please pray for her and the many others that are hurting all over.

I wanted to also say how proud I am of my son Zach. When I asked him if he wanted to go downtown, he gave me a resounding "Oh yeah!" I amazed at my son, being 12 years old, desiring to be used by God in this way. Walking the streets, talking with homeless people, encouraging them of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. What father would not be proud of their son or daughter who had this same desire. Zach is a big help to the entire group and is learing a lot about people and circumstance in this life. He relealizes that there are no guarantees in this world we live in and that we should not take for granted all that we have by Gods' grace. We are truly blessed and Zach and I have talked about that on my occasions. Zach has seen God work in extraordinary ways the last few years, as we all have. I cannot be prouder of him than I am right now. He is such a good and wonderful kid.

This weekend we had an unexpected guest call and come over... my brother and his family. It was a wonderful visit. We had such a great time with him, Erica, Kaitlyn, and Emma. We went and saw a movie (G-Force) and the kids liked it. I fell asleep... that tells you how good it was from an adult stand point. I would recommend waiting until it comes out on video (just my personal opinion). Afterwards we grilled hamburgers and ate out and even made a bonfire cooking smores and doughboys. Unfortunately, I paid for this later on as I took in too much smoke. But I wanted to enjoy the time together with my brother and his family. So needless to say, it was a rough night of sleeping for me that night. I did a lot of coughing and was up quite a bit during the night which meant Lori didn't sleep much either. All in all, it was well worth it though.

I ran into an old friend of mine that two and a half years ago had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. I had not seen him since then and was amazed to see that God had healed him of his symptoms. Praise God! I was encouraged by his attitude and for his encouragement towards me. He reminded me of the verse that was instrumental in him being healed. He said that this verse is his life verse:

Matthew 17:20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

I'm reminded that our faith is a powerful tool! I trust in the Lord for my healilng during this battle of ALS. I continue to fight the good fight and press on towards the goal. Perserverence is teaching me to lean on the Lord even more each and every day. God continues to chisel away the rough edges, everything that is not of Him!

Thank you for those of you who continually pray on our behalf. May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you.

Your brother in Christ,
Eric

Family Song

A couple weeks ago, Lori's cousins and Aunt were here visiting and we put together this song, which is now uploaded to U-tube. Hope you like it.

Reminded that God is always at work even when we stray

We wanted to share with all of you something that God has helped us come to understand this week. We have been feeling very down, lonely and even depressed over the last three weeks and that is right where Satan wanted us to be. It is so easy to become consumed with our human emotions and the way this disease continues to change our lives. We have not been seeking God's help daily through our struggles. This week, God has been speaking to us in so many ways and reminded us who He is and how much He cares for us. God has been doing this through people, through his Word, sermons, a book on tape, through answered prayers, things that are not coincidences but rather God at work in our lives.
Today, a good friend with ALS, Jana Woods, has passed away from this horrible disease. A few months back, she was in our home laughing with us. We had heard she was admitted to Hospice not long ago and had every intention to go visit her there thinking we had time, but we got caught up in our own busyness and wallowing in our self pity that we didn't listen to God and our hearts and make the time. We are not saying this to make you all think you need to come visit us this week or feel bad. We know that God lays it on peoples hearts when he knows that we need an encouraging word from them and He works through his people to show His love. We used to feel guilty for not helping everyone that was sick in our church, but realized that we are only responsible to go when He pricks our hearts or puts them on our mind. We are all called to use the gifts God has given us to further His kingdom. We are reminded about the brevity of life when someone dies and we don't know when we will take our last breath. We are reminded that it is so important to spend time with the ones we love and to share the gift of salvation that we have been given with others. Every day is a gift! We get so caught up in things that really don't matter for eternity. The enemy is so crafty in keeping us distracted with things of this world and not keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. We are so thankful that God never leaves us, when we are feeling like we are alone, it is us that have strayed away.
We heard a sermon from John 5 recently that talked about the man who was crippled for 38 years. He was trying to figure out a way to get into the healing pool when others kept going before him and he had no way to get in. Jesus approached him asking if he wanted to be well and told him to pick up his mat and be healed. He obeyed and was healed. His life began at the point of his faith. He had work to do! We were reminded of the work that God wants us to do. At the point of our salvation, we are healed and cleansed of our sin and God commands us to sin no longer and to live for Him. We are praying for physical healing and want it so badly that we lose focus on eternity in Heaven with Jesus and our purpose while we are here on this earth. He wants us to live a life free from sin and sadness. He wants to offer us hope and a future! If we are caught up in finding a cure or wanting to be healed, it's hard to trust God as my disease progresses. We cannot live the life God has for us without Him.

We have been praying for a sports camp for Zach to attend this summer in a christian environment and God led us to Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp last Friday and we drove him to camp today! If you are able to send Zach an encouraging note while he is at camp, the instructions are below. The letter should be sent out by Tuesday or Wed since he will be coming home on Friday. We think it would really lift his spirits to receive letters this week since he doesn't know anyone there except the couple who told us about the camp that help coach. We know God will watch over him and bless him this week! Keep Zach in your prayers too!
If you are planning to send a letter to your camper,
address the letter to the individual, Fellowship of
Christian Athletes Camp, Dining and Hospitality Service,
Albion College, 611 East Porter Street, Albion, MI 49224.

Maddie is doing a Soccer camp at a Grandville church too and she packed her bag to stay overnight thinking she was going away for the week too like her big brother! Pray that God will speak to her precious heart this week.

Sorry this is so incredibly long, thanks for listening, praying and loving us!
Your brother and sister in Christ,
Eric and Lori

Carrabba's Nationwide fundraiser to aid MDA in the fight for ALS on July 30th 5pm to close

We will be there!!! This is our favorite restaurant!!! Who wants to join us at the Grandville Carabba's at 7pm for dinner? We are not promoting alcohol consumption, but you can't go wrong for 15.00 to try their new great food items knowing that it will benefit a great cause!
Hope to see you there!
Eric and Lori

On Thursday, July 30, Carrabba’s Italian Grill invites consumers to "Mix It Up for MDA" at a special event combining exclusive cocktails from award-winning mixologist Charlotte Voisey with new Carrabba’s food items to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
Admission to "Mix It Up for MDA" is $15 per person from 5 pm to close at Carrabba’s locations nationwide. The ticket price includes a sampling of four food items from the new Mr. C’s Bar Menu and, for guests 21 years and older, one of Voisey’s signature cocktails created for the event (Blackberry Lemonade, the Italian Lemon Drop or Blackberry Fields Martini) or another drink on the Mr. C’s list.
The food tasting includes a delicious array of appetizers from the new Mr. C’s Menu, designed for snacking and sharing, including: Antipasti Misto – an assortment of Italian meats and cheeses, Mediterranean olives and roasted peppers; Meatballs with Ricotta Cheese – homemade meatballs topped with pomodoro sauce, Romano and ricotta cheeses; Patatinas with Blue Cheese – freshly cooked Italian potato chips tossed with green onions and topped with a blue cheese sauce; and Chicken Parmesan Piccolinos – mini sandwiches featuring sautéed chicken breast coated with Italian breadcrumbs, topped with pomodoro sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.
In addition to monies raised from "Mix It Up for MDA" event admission, Carrabba’s also will donate $1 to MDA for each of Voisey’s drinks sold from July 30 – August 6. During that week, consumers are encouraged to visit www.Carrabbas.com and cast their vote for their favorite cocktail. The most popular drink will be added to Carrabba’s drink menu.
For more information on "Mix It Up for MDA," to vote on Voisey’s special cocktails, or to find Carrabba’s locations nationwide, visit www.carrabbas.com.