Oubach Cohort (Northern Indiana)

Oubache Cohort

1. A Trip to Cleveland
   Hey there. I just wanted to let everyone know that we are making another trip to Cleveland tomorrow to have Stacey checked out. She has been in pain again and it has surpassed the 3-day limit; thus, the surgeon wants to check her out.
   
   We would appreciate any prayers from people who will be checking this blog out from tonight till the meeting 9 am.
2. Hey
   Hey.
   Watching Juno tonight with Joy Ellen. Great movie!
   Jamie is sleeping on the couch. Tired boy.
   Trevor's last(I suppose) Pink Noise gig
   and Christ Church worship service is this weekend. We'll be there.
   Going to place my beloved mommy and daddy
   in the nursing home in a couple of weeks. I love them with all my heart. So does God.
   Ate one of my all time favorite deserts tonight
   which is Graham Crackers broken up in milk. How sweet it is.
   Bunch of us hanging with McLaren this week.
   Not too excited but the man did change my life.
   Read the story of Jonah tonight in The Message. I think one of the things those theologians and storytellers were trying to get at is for us to remember what "it" is all about...which is the call on our life to be Light to the confused world.(and that the Lord can use us dimwits to get the job done)
   I love you all.
   God bless you so very richly.
3. 
   Back from Mayo Clinic. I have been going there since 1972 to be hospitalized and have my skin cared for. It is my sacred healing place. They have knowledge. They work as team. It is a beautiful place where healing and hope happen for people around the world. I go in distress, but when I am there I get well both physically and in other ways, because I take my books and find times and places to read, pray, and just be.
   
   We may be placing my folks in the nursing home this next week. I know I have said this before...so, we'll see. I was walking through the little cemetery next to the facility, and one of the stones had a woman's name, dates of birth and death, and the simple words
   Have Faith
   Be Happy
   I feel like this precious saint was telling me something...to have faith that God will make a way for my parents and, in the midst of the fear and anxiety I am feeling, to seek to be happy. I hear her and am desiring to heed her voice and wisdom.
   
   So whatever your lot right now
   Have Faith
   Be Happy.
4. The Question
   The old man knew he was nearing the end of his life,
   and he gazed into the unknown territory called death.
   The old panicky question screamed in his ear, "Is there anything on the other side?"
   All his life he had been scared of death...scared of non-existence.
   Teaching and theology about heaven made little impression or sense to him.
   He loved life and his family so much that he could not imagine some other kind of "life" without them and without the ordinary yet absolute miracle of earthly existence.
   But he knew and loved God for so many years now,
   and he had lived the Jesus Way the best he knew how.
   God had blessed him and proved to be so very real in so many wonderful ways during his days.
   But still, was God really going to be there for him in some real way once again
   when his body ceased to be.
   And then as he lay sick and exhausted and ready to stop the fight for life
   he remembered that which his life with God was really about.
   It was about standing before the Boss and Beauty of the Universe and saying,
   "Well, what's next God? What project do you have for me? How can I make a difference in the Story?
   And so one last time, not really knowing how in the world it could be answered,
   the tired and dying child of God quietly spoke in his mind,
   "What project is next Lord? How can I make a difference? Use me to further Your Way.
   And by the way, please, please help me somehow be with my family
   and enjoy a fine spring day as well if you will.
   Amen."
5. A Jesus And A Family Thing
   This afternoon Joy and I went to visit my folks.
   We go once a week to get groceries, hopefully get them out, and lay some love on them.
   Today we sat on the porch enjoying the beautiful spring day.
   My dad asked why they couldn't drive anymore. I said the boys decided they were done.
   He got mad, but I calmly and firmly explained that it is our time in this cycle of life to call the shots. He seemed to accept this...kind of.
   Joy went to buy groceries. How I love this woman. She bought lots of good stuff.
   One thing she bought was toenail clippers. I cut my folks toenails.
   It is a Jesus thing...this holding a foot and clipping the old and long parental nail.
   I have come to realize in the last few weeks that, even though these last two years have been pretty damn hard at times, it has also perhaps held the sweetest moments of our life together.
   My mom fell tonight as she was getting dressed.
   I heard a boom.
   My dad yelled for me.
   I rushed back.
   My mom laid on the floor.
   She had hit her head.
   I bent down and picked my mama up to her feet.
   She sat in a chair and rested for a while.
   Finally, we all went to get pizza at Pizza Hut. It was a blast.
   PS MY MOM HAS FALLEN AGAIN. WE HAVE DECIDED IT IS TIME FOR THEM TO BE PLACED AT HERITAGE POINT IN WARREN IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. PLEASE PRAY FOR A GOOD AND GOD TRANSITION. THANK YOU.