Larry and I, and our children, ministered here 35 years ago. This little country church congregation was running in the 20s, and on that morning, 35 years ago, when Larry gave the invitation for those who wanted to ask Jesus to be Lord of their lives - 18 responded! Now, fast forward, last Sunday...October 9, 2011...we were invited back to Dry Creek Bible to minister again. When the invitation was given, there were 33 decisions for Christ. When I asked one of the altar workers how the counseling was going he grinned, "We are overwhelmed with joy!" One by one, several walked up to us and commented, "This reminds me of 35 years ago. Back then after that altar call the church exploded with excitement and enthusiasm. We grew so fast that we added onto our little church building 3 times. The congregation grew from 20 to about 250. Our church had never experienced anything like this before Larry and Gloria came, and since then...until today, October 9, 2011, when 33 people responded to the invitation." Excitedly, many proclaimed, "We expect to explode again!"

I HAVE THE RIGHT...

...to encourage you daily.

...to build you up, not tear you down.

...to affirm you every time you succeed.

...to encourage you every time you win or lose.

...to comfort you when you hurt.

...to protect you when you are attacked.

...to pray for you without ceasing.

...to defend you from every weapon formed against you.

...to esteem and honor you.

I HAVE THE RIGHT...

...to pick you up when you fall.

...to speak life to you.

...to love you unconditionally.

...to respect you in front of others.

...to find out your needs and meet them.

...to diagnose your hurts and heal them.

...to serve you at any time.

...to ask God to give you wisdom.

...to bless you.

On the lighter side:

The night before we journeyed to Minneapolis, I was busy doing laundry, packing, loading the car, finishing office work, mail, etc. I didn't have an ounce of energy left in me when the doorbell rang - I couldn't imagine who it could be. I opened the door to this gentleman standing there and before he could talk I said, "You're back here again?" He responded, "Do you remember me?" I said, "Yes, you are the guy that keeps trying to sell me a headstone for the cemetery...and as you can see...I'm still alive!" I chuckled, "I know I don't look like it and I look terrible, but I'm not ready to buy a headstone." He whined, "But don't you need to plan ahead?" I assured him, "I have the plot and that's all I need for now." He whimpered, "You're sure? We have a family business and I need to sell..." I interrupted, "And I'm tired and need some sleep - so have a great evening. I'm sure you'll be back." And off he went. With that in mind, Larry and I always start the day every day with telling each other, "It's so wonderful to wake up - and to wake up together!" What a gift from God. So many things we all take for granted, but I never take God's love and His faithfulness for granted. He is always there. May you have a blessed week!

It was also our granddaughter Myanna's 13^th birthday! Her mommy, LaDawn, is in Chicago for a business meeting and even though we were house-bound here, we were going to try and make it a special day. We had bought her first dozen roses and planned on getting a cake and having pizza. We planned for a laid back, special 13^th birthday until her Mom gets home and then we'd all celebrate.

At 8:05 am, that day Larry was slowly getting dressed and I could tell he was pain-weary, and so I set him down in a high back chair near the bathroom sink and tub and just told him to relax and take his time to wash up. I hear this concerned statement, "I feel light-headed." I panicked, "Are you okay?" I'm thinking 240 pounds of "light-headed" wasn't good news. Again, I asked, "Are you okay?" He replied, "I don't know." I wrapped my arms around him and the back of the chair holding him tightly...just in case. The next thing I knew he was struggling to breathe and like a bullet he lunged forward, out of my arms and down, hitting his head hard on the tub and then the wall and ended up in the fetal position with his head between the wall and stool. Terrified I reached for a wash cloth and towels as I saw blood dripping off his face and head and he wasn't responding. I knew I couldn't lift him. All I could do was cry out, "God, You've got to help us." He hit everything so hard and fast I didn't know if he had re-opened his incisions on the back or front or had been injured anywhere else. I sped to the kitchen and got ice packs and ran back to place them over where it was bleeding, until I heard him speak. He was probably only passed out about 30-45 seconds, I don't know, it seemed like a lifetime...but I was so relieved. In fact, when he passed out in my arms before he fell I feared he was having a heart attack and I remember thinking, "Oh dear God, is he dying in my arms?" As Larry reassured me that he could talk, I grabbed my cell phone and called his brother Leon who is just minutes away. Larry heard me say I was going to call the ambulance and he whispers, "I'm okay...don't call the ambulance, I'll be okay." I went back to wipe the blood off his head and face and keep him still as I didn't want him to move. Of course, that's a "man thing." Tell them not to move and they will! Larry's famous line is, "I'm fine" - I've tried to believe him, but one thing I've learned over the past 9 months is that his definition of the word fine is totally different from mine. I proceeded to put the ice back on the cut on his eyebrow and against my better judgment he began to inch his way out of that corner and assured me he was okay. Myanna and I inched him to the bed and began to wash out his wounds and put more ice packs on while we waited for his brother to come. He also had two big goose-eggs on the top of his head. In a few moments we rushed him to Park Nicolette Hospital where they brought him in and a neurologist rushed him down for a CAT scan to be sure he had no bleeding on the brain as he hit his head so hard. Good news - no bleeding! Relieved again. His neurologist called the spinal surgeon over at Abbott Northwest and he instructed them to rush him over to get an x-ray of his spine to make sure he didn't cause any further injury where he had surgery 13 days earlier. They showed us the x-ray and everything was all intact - praise the Lord. We knew from the first call for prayer when he first fell, early in the morning, that within minutes we had hundreds of people praying. God had honored their prayers. That's what's wonderful about serving the Lord. You have a support group like no other that in one call the word spreads and they hit the Throne Room. According to what could've happened, his cuts and bruises are small stuff. They didn't put stitches in the cut across his eyebrow and nose as it would leave more scarring that way. Any scars that remain will be souvenirs of God's mercy to see us through that episode.

We returned to our daughter LaDawn's nine hours later. Larry had looked battle-worn, weary with band-aids and pain, but we were overjoyed that there were no more permanent or added injuries.

The mystery yet is why this episode happened. So today, Thursday, at 2:00 p.m. we go back to Park Nicolette to the heart clinic to rule out anything with the heart.

Last night I lay in bed, totally exhausted but thanking and praising God for another day of answered prayers and victories. Even though this has been a little setback again, a little speed bump, we trust God for steady improvement and healing. We count on your prayers, and we believe His Word when He says, "I am the Lord that healeth thee." (Exodus 15:26)

May you have a blessed weekend and we pray that our following reports will just get better and better!

Hello from Gloria's "home care service"! HA!

We are on Day 13 since Larry's surgery. We thank God these thirteen days are behind us. We have walked miles of emotions, concerns, tensions, smiles, questions and at times, near tears.

No, I am not on a PITY run; we are on a REALITY walk. Before Larry had the surgery to relieve the compression of his spinal cord, my optimistic Larry thought and voiced, "In two weeks, I'll feel much better and in four weeks, at the most, I'll be back on the road!" It sounded good, but it definitely isn't possible. He has been in such good health that until this saga began about nine months ago, he didn't know what weakness and this kind of pain was. If he were honest, I think at this point, Larry could write a "mini-chapter" on pain.

On Sunday morning, our granddaughter Myanna and I were getting ready to go to church, and Larry had been sitting in a chair for about 15 minutes before the pain and discomfort forced him to lie back down. I tiptoed up to the side of his bed, smiled and chirped, "Hey---Hey-Hey-Hey, Hey, Hey! You can't be laying there. We have a church service in 45 minutes!" Then I giggled, "Wow, Larry, aren't you glad you aren't on duty this morning?" He wearily responded with a tinge of sadness, "Yeah." There are very few Sundays that he is not preaching so I knew this was hard for him.

So many dear friends, family and partners have e-mailed and inquired about his therapy and recovery. For these first four weeks, they want him to walk as much as possible to regain his strength and balance. Yesterday we rejoiced that we were able to walk three blocks. It doesn't sound like much to an athlete or avid walker/runner, but since his surgery and this journey, this was a real victory.

We are staying at our daughter, LaDawn's, townhouse. To go for a walk, our first challenge is to walk down a flight of 16 steps before we get to the landing to proceed outside. It often wears him out by the time he gets down there. With the extreme heat wave last week, I drove him over to Sam's and I offered assistance as he walked the long aisles. Larry doesn't fight to go to Sam's to walk as I have a great reward program. "You walk these several aisles and you will get your treat!" (Those with pets know this trick...you bribe to get the outcome you desire!) With Larry, this works very well. When he gets to the end zone of his walk and the deli and snack center comes into view, he smiles real big as I order a four berry sundae. He feels the walk is worth it!

Due to the surgery on the back of his neck and the incision on the front where they inserted a titanium piece to secure his spine, his stitches and his throat incisions are still swollen so he still needs to eat little bites of soft food that he won't choke on. He adds...."The four berry sundae will definitely help make me healthy." HA!

Larry describes this current pain challenge, "I feel like I am trying to balance a 100 pound bag of potatoes on my head, and it really hurts." As of yet, he is still only able to sit for about 15 minutes and can only stand about 5 minutes unless he's walking. He struggles to lie down and find a comfortable position for his neck and head without experiencing pain.

The good news is however....everything is going to get better! So far today, his eyes look better, his voice sounds better and he's cracking jokes....all positive signs of healing!

I just want to add this... when we start our journey to go down those 16 steps, I have to admit I am very nervous and concerned as he cannot bend his head down to see the steps. I'm thankful there is a handrail from top to bottom to balance and support him. Since I am his nervous Norwegian nurse, I have to be sure he doesn't fall. I don't go down the steps before him as he might fall on me (that has happened once, and we don't want that to happen again; we both would end up in body casts in a care center). I let him hold the rail with his left hand and I hold his right arm to steady and balance him.

Yesterday as we were descending the staircase, I was a bit nervous and I felt God reassuring me, "Gloria, don't try to go ahead of Me as you may stumble and fall. Gloria, don't lag behind Me or you won't hear My voice. Stay right close by My side where you can feel the warmth of My presence and hear My encouraging voice. Rest in Me, and I will see you two through this long recovery." I needed that holy moment and the visual it provided to calm my spirit.

This morning, I was comforted by the verses in Psalm 46:1 and 10, "God is our refuge and strength-a very present help in trouble. " "Be still and know that I am God." I take those verses personally and they minister to me!

Whatever you are facing today, know that God is waiting for you to come close to His side, listen to His voice and rest in Him.