Friday, February 1, 2008
Friday morning
From the hospital gang. Acually its just Deb and me. We do not expect any visitors today as the storm outside continues. Were safe here with Shawna in Gods arms. Nothing much to report. Shawnas incision was not closed yesterday as thought due to the full OR room. It will be done on Monday as they are keeping room for possible accidents this weekend. They are taking her for a CT scan again today I learned yesterday that they used the equivalent of 48 units of blood to keep shawna alive at this point. The normal body only has 9 units in it. Simply amazing but this needs to be replaced please give! Shawna was saved in this life 5 1/2 times by blood donations. We know though that more importantly shawna is saved by the one sacrifice of our saviour on the cross. We are so comforted by this that words cannot express our feelings. It gives us an inner strength in which we can give this over to the Lord and look only to him for our needs the Lord indeed bears us up on eagles wings so that in the midst of the darkness and uncertanty surrounding us we can focus on the light given us from our Redeemer. May His Holy Spirit comfort you all as you read this as much as he has comforted us with the communion of all his saints. Amen and God bless you all. Al and Deb
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
33 comments:
To the Bethlehem's, Hoeksema's and other family and friends;
My thoughts and prayers go out to you in this trying time. May He grant you the strength and guidance to deal with this trial. We may rest assured that she is a child of God's and rests secure in his hands.
Prayers of guidance and strength,
Jenn Roodzant
Dear Al & Debbie, family and loved ones of Shawna,
Although we don't know you too well, we know many of your relatives, and we are following this blogspot and thinking of you constantly. We cannot imagine what you are going through, but we are encouraged with your words - your faith and inner peace shine through, and we can only pray that during these trying days you may continue to feel surrounded with God's care. Know that many prayers are going up for Shawna's healing and for your strength.
Sincerely, Gord & Charlene Tenhage & girls
Dear Bethlehem family & Darryl,
"Praise be to the God and Father, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God".
Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. May God grant you the strength to carry on. We pray that He will grant healing to Shawna.
Love, Henry & Linda Jansema
Sophia, Rachel, Michelle, Laura
Dear Bethlehem family, and all other loved ones of Shawna,
It is indeed encouraging to see God's abiding grace and Spirit portrayed also in your life and perspective. May He be pleased also to use your attitude and testimony as a light to the doctors and caregivers who look to themselves for sustenance and 'salvation.' May you continually be lifted up by the prayers offered on your behalf, and may God continue to provide you with blessings of strength, patience, wisdom and love. May our Great Physician continue to bless the care given to Shawna, for only He is able to restore those whom He has created.
Ryan Kampen and Jessica Bartels
To all who love Shawna,
Thank you for keeping us up to date through this blog. We feel so far away here in Winnipeg. We are comforted by the fact that we know that our Heavenly Father hears our prayers no matter where we are. Please know that we continue on with these prayers daily.
Love Erica and Dave Nienhuis, Scott, Sarah, Heather, and Jennifer
Dear Al & Debbie,Darryl,and family
Put thou my tears in thy bottle!Are they not in thy book?-Ps 56:8b-
Yes many tears have been shed!But in all this remember the promise of God!He will uphold you. We continue to pray for Shawna and family that not our will but his will is done.
With christian love
Henry & Roeli Kelly and Family
Dear loved ones of Shawna,
"From strength to strength God's people go, and He to them His face will show... And when the upright seek His face, the Lord will not withhold His grace; His faithfulness endures forever. O LORD of hosts, how blest is he who puts his hope and trust in Thee."
Psalm 84: 4, 6 (Book of Praise)
We remember your family and Shawna in our prayers daily. We pray that the Lord may continue to surround you with His loving kindness and faithfulness as He guides you through His almighty plan, and that restoration and healing may be granted in His perfect time.
With strength and love,
Josh and Dina Roodzant (Kok)
Brampton, Ontario
dear Bethlehem and Hoeksma Families
"Cast all your anxiety upon Him for He cares for You"
May you be blessed with strength, courage, and and patience as you face this trial. Our assurance lies in the knowledge that indeed all things are in the Lord's control, and part of His perfect plan. Remembering you all before God's throne. Peter, Benita, John, Bernice, Gerrit,Jennifer, and Victoria Boerema (Lincoln congregation)
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bethlehem, Darryl, and the Family
We are thankful to hear that you are comforted by the promises of the LORD. May you continue to find strength in Him through the coming days. Shawna is indeed in the best possible Hands. Praise God for that!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Chris DeBoer and Amanda VanderHoeven
Dear Al and Debbie, Darryl and families,
We continue to remember you all in our prayers. May He surround you with comfort and grant the necessary strength to get through these difficult days.
Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Love Jake and Ingrid Jansema and family
Dear Al and Deb, Darryl and family:
How wonderful it is to see the Father's Hand holding on to all of you during this very difficult time of trial. We visited with Al's parents for a while this morning, and we are shown again that the Lord gives us strength according to our daily needs. He never leaves us alone, but He carries us through. May He give you also today again everything you need for body and soul to go on, trusting in his Fatherly care. We are praying constantly for a miracle, and that Shawna may be restored to you, and to us all.
With love from andy and Tina van Yken.
To the Bethlehem's, Hoeksema's, and other loved ones,
We are constantly thinking and praying for you and Shawna.
I WILL TRUST
I will trust in You, O Lord
When trials come, I'll trust Your Word.
I will not doubt nor question You,
Because I know Your Word is true.
No matter how difficult things may be,
I will press on and trust in Thee.
I will rejoice and give You praise
My voice to You, I will raise.
I will trust in You, O King,
With my whole heart, my everything.
The times when I begin to doubt,
I'll lift my eyes to You and shout...
"It's You my God, who carries me through,
No matter what I'll trust in You!
No matter what my eyes may see,
I'll walk by faith and trust in Thee!"
I will trust in You, O God.
In Your footsteps I will trod.
Doesn't matter where they lead,
I will follow faithfully.
Through the valleys, over the hills,
In darkened times, I'll trust You still.
Through all the trials, whatever they may be,
In everything... I will trust in Thee!
From Henk, Louise, Michelle, and Sarah VanderGugten
Dear Al, Debbie and family.
God speaks to our heart in gentle ways. He does not require us to be strong. He only asks that we hold His hand and walk with Him for His strength is made perfect in our weakness. You may enturst your heart to him during this trying and difficult time. May you all feel yourselves wrapped in His loving arms. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Rudy & Dorothy Ouwersloot and Family
Dear Al, Deb and family:
I join many others when I say thank-you so much for keeping us all so informed through this blog. Many of us check it multiple times in a day. Thank-you to all who posted such lovely pictures of Shawna on Facebook as well. Her beauty and character show in these pictures.
Yes, it truly is a comfort for us as we read your words, Al. The Lord has richly surrounded you and given you such strength in these painful circumstances. This strength is a powerful witness to Our Father's grace and mercy; not only to all readers of this blog but also those other hurting people that you meet daily in the ICU waiting room. We pray the Lord will also give you patience since all of your time seems to be spent "waiting". May the Lord restore Shawna to health. You are continually in our thoughts.
Fred, Evelyn and family
Al and Debbie: We hope your time together today will also be a blessing... a time of reflection and talking together. This (snow)storm too is given by God, and gives you a chance to be with just the two of you. (we are enjoying the company of Jonathan!) Our prayers continue to be with you all.
Ed & Marianne, Jonathan, Annemarie, Fraser, Kenton and Raelene
Dear Al & Debbie and family:
We continue to keep you in our thoughts and prayers!
Thank you also for the beautiful words you wrote, Al! Let it be a comfort to us all.
Al and Mirjam Schulenberg
Carman, MB
Praying for you all
Love: Marlene, Jack VanRootselaar and family
Dear Bethlehem and Hoeksema families;
The words of Psalm 23 come to life in your daily comments. Even through the valley of the shadow of death, the staff of our Shepherd is continuing to uphold you.
We pray for continual strength for each of you as well as for the doctors and nurses who are caring for your dear Shawna. We pray that Shawna's health may be restored in due time, so that she also may again be able to praise her Savior and her God.
Tim and Elly Hutten and family
To the Bethlehem family,
We continue to keep your family in our prayers.
Len and Helena Petter
Dear Shawnas loved all
Thank you for the beautiful blog. All of us wait for a new report all the time. And what a comfort it is to read, for all who stand on the side lines, that God does give strength were strength is needed. Nobody would or could speak this way in circamstances as difficult as this if it was not for the strength given to you. You are being carried by the prayers of the Saints, by His almighty hand.
We thank God for this, it helps us all to keep going.
We continue to pray for you all.
Enjoy this day together, Love Brian and Ina and family
Dear Family,
"Rejoice in the LORD always, I say it again, Rejoice!"
Our prayer for you is:
May the God of all Grace give you the strength to keep the good fight of faith.
Greetings
Rob and Diane Bonefaas
I have never met Shawna - or any of Shawna's loved ones - but just know that I am following this story and have shed my tears for her. I am also sending my thoughts and prayers daily.
Your family strength is beautiful.
Your words are so encouraging! it is really comforting to see the strength that you have in these difficult times, and i only pray that God will continue to strengthen you throughout the next few weeks! I will also continue to pray for Shawna. May God bless you all!
Love Sharon Ludwig
Al & Debbie and family, Darryl and family:
We want you to know we are all constantly praying for Shawna and your family. We pray that you have the strength and courage to continue on during this very trying time. We feel there is nothing we can say that will take away the terrible anxiety you are experiencing. Thank God for the comfort we can get from His Word and His promises. Keep the faith and hope that you have in Him. Ps. 139:5 "You hem me in-behind and before..."
Love Pieter and Karen vanWeerden Heather, Erin and Graeme .
Dear Al and Debbie; Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. The Wings of the Eagle are great and can be felt from far and wide. We thank God that He has given you strength and we pray for continued strength. We ask the Lord to continue to bless the work of the doctors as He alone gives healing. May His love and mercy surround you all. Thoughts and prayers Cor and Janine Lodder
Al and Debbie, family and friends, we are thinking about you in these difficult times. Lean on your family and friends now - that is what we are all here for!
Jacqui, Bill & Baeden Agnew
Dear Al, Debbie, family and loved ones,
Our prayers too rise up to the Great Physician for Shawna and all of you who stand vigil at her bedside. We are thankful to you for allowing us all to share in this difficult road that you are on.
Be strong and of good courage, depending on Him always.
With Christian love,
Bert & Anne Van Straten
Dear Al & Debbie, family & loved ones of Shawna;
Our thoughts and prayers go out to you in this trying time. May God grant you the strength and comfort
to deal with this trail. We pray that if it is His will, He will grant healing to Shawna.
Karl & Eileen VanEs & family.
(Springcreek congragation)
Dear family and friends of Shawna:
Although we don't personally know you, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. May the prayers of the saints, the Word and the Spirit strengthen and keep you strong as you wait at your daughter's bedside. He knows what you need and will give it to you in your hour of need. We pray for you, and for the healing of Shawna.
John and Thea Heyink
London ON
Al, Debbie and family,
Perhaps you do not realize it, but in the writing of your blog, you have become witnesses for the LORD's care over His children. Each of us who reads it is reminded of the Lord's love and faithfulness toward His children.
May He continue to hold you in His loving arms and give you the strength you need in these difficult times.
You remain in our thoughts and prayers.
Arend and Willa Dale Smid
To the Bethlehem's and Hoeksema's
Our family reads your blog daily and we are encouraged by the strength God has given you. We pray that He will continue to be with your families and give you all that you need. We ask that He will grant healing to Shawna and restore her to you. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers. Lloyd and Vicky Rozema and family
Shawna's family,
I dont know why God decides to have his people go through trials like this but I pray that he may be glorified by Shawna's recovery. May you be encouraged that even when the doctors dont understand or cant do anything more, God is with and at work in Shawna.We have an awesome God who can do even more than we ask or imagine. He is totally able when we are weak and in the storms of life (Matthew14:30-31)
May Gods strength and the love of his community support you in this hard time. Philipians 4:6-7
Miriam Fluit
Dear Al, Debbie & family, Darryl & family,
Our thoughts and prayers continue for you all. What a witness you have been in these difficult times. May God continue to use you in such a powerful way. And may He continue to grant you the comfort that only He can give! Our prayers & thoughts also go out to Shaun and Rebecca at this time, which is so difficult for them too at this very special time in their lives. May God comfort and bless you all.
Sincerely, Pete and Janese VanderBrugghen and family
Post a Comment