Kevin update:
Thursday Kevin got settled into a regular surgical post-op room. Biggest praise was getting the nose tube taken out! He is learning to manage his pain and not let it get too far gone. He actually has a pain management team that is helping with this.
Friday, all before lunch, Kevin decided it was time to begin working on this marathon! He walked 3 times with the last time totaling 4 laps around the nurses station! Praise the Lord!
Thank you guys for your continued prayers for healing, strength and even patience.

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Two weeks ago Kevin announced that he wanted to head to Atlanta for the Catalyst conference that we have attended for the last 7 years. He was determined to do this. I was hesitant.

There would be lots of walking and sitting. I was not sure how Kevin was going to do with this without swelling too much in his ankles.

He finally convinced me that he wanted to do something fun with some precious friends of ours and be filled with some fantastic teaching that he was confident we would hear. He knew he would need filling up with Jesus stuff before this last leg of our journey.

When we arrived, we realized that every talk was for us.

Those other 12,998 people who were there in the Gwinnett Center arena didn’t matter…those messages were for us.

One of the speakers, Matt Chandler, who not too long ago walked through brain cancer, had a particular word that we felt like was so fitting for our walk this week.

He said, “Sometimes God has to allow surgery to cut something out that God doesn’t want in there.”

I looked at Kevin and said, “Well, there you go!”

Monday, while that bodacious 10 hour surgery went on, God was very present with us. We have had several friends that we have met while being here in Houston stop by to love on us, share stories, and offer up powerful prayers.

We even had an unexpected visitor from home fly out here just to be with us during this time of surgery. {He didn’t let us know he was here till we got the call the day before the surgery.} Now, that is WILD OBEDIENCE!

This friend shared a story from the Bible that reminded us of 2 key points we have learned while walking in these healing shoes since June 6th. The story is in Mark 2 when the 4 friends went to great lengths to carry the paralyzed man to the top of the house where Jesus was ministering. These friends were really audacious and even went to great lengths to cut a hole in the roof {of someone else’s house, mind you} to lower the man right down near Jesus. Those friends believed in the power of healing!

“Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

There were two things that I wanted to point out…The faith of his friends and forgiveness.

His friends had faith when maybe the paralyzed man did not. We don’t know. It doesn’t say.

This story reminds me of you guys as the characters that are so instrumental in this process with us. You guys are…our friends of faith that are believing in the miracles of healing…carrying us to the top of the roof these last 4 months, just to lift us down to the Great Physician for healing. There is nothing wimpy about that job as the Body of Christ! The faith of friends is powerful…we now realize the depth of that!

But notice that Jesus told the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven,” instead of “Pick up your mat and walk.” Why? I believe it is because Jesus is wanting us all to see that it is just as important to forgive and understand your forgiveness that God has extended toward us as it is to be radically healed. These is no greater value in either.

These two go hand in hand in so many cases!

Kevin and I have talked through some personal things that we needed God to forgive us for…or better yet have surgically removed by the great Healer. These are things that we need to forgive others of. Big things.

Our friend, that walked in radical obedience to come out here, needs forgiveness and wants to be forgiven, but he also realized from this Bible story, that him knowing he has been forgiven is no greater than what Kevin is asking for wanting to be healed of cancer.

That is why he came.

His faith wanted to encourage us, but also he needed to see our faith.

I don’t know if you are needing to ask for forgiveness or just receive the forgiveness that God offers his children or if you are needing to be healed…I am asking today for you to just consider that one is not greater than the other.

Standing in His forgiveness and healing,