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Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,
September has been an eventful month. By God's grace we launched JobsforLife, and we are now almost half way through the program. We had four students signed up and one follow through. He is at a place in his life where he's ready to make some major changes, and we've had a truly blessed time together over the past month. To this point he's shown great courage in facing some very real roadblocks in his life head on, and we are excited to see where the Lord takes him going forward. Transformation takes time and endurance. Please continue to pray that the Lord would bless our times together, and that Lord would give him the strength to persevere through his roadblocks.
On a personal note, my back/leg pain got a lot worse about two weeks ago, so much worse that I was unable to stand for more than a minute or so, and unable to walk more than short distances. At which point, I went to the doctor. The PA took some x-rays of my spine and said it looks like I have a herniated/ruptured disc in my lower back, which would certainly explain the pain. The disc is pressing on the nerve in my spine, which creates the sharp pain and tingling in my leg and foot. Ironically, this is exactly the same thing Earlene had surgery for in August. The good news for me at age 35 and otherwise healthy, is that there is a 90% chance I will recover with just physical therapy and rest. The normal recovery period is three to six months, assuming I do all the therapy and don't lift anything heavy. I have a follow up appointment with the back specialist on Friday of this week. Today, I am already beginning to feel slightly better. I can stand or walk for five to ten minutes at a time, which is a huge improvement over a week ago. I still can't lift anything while standing, which is a major lifestyle change with a 20 pound toddler in the house. I would ask that you pray especially for Meredith, who already so works to hard to take care of our household. Now she's having to do all the heavy lifting as well. Please pray the Lord would give her strength and endurance. Please pray that the Lord would grant me the patience to allow this injury to heal properly in due time.
It's also time to start preparing to attend the 2015 Denton Bible Church Missions Conference. I don't know of any other place where you can personally interact with dozens of missionaries presently serving in more than a dozen different countries on five continents. I invite to you to come and hear firsthand what the Lord is doing around the globe. Come and meet men and women just like you who have surrendered their lives to serve the Lord wherever he leads them. To my pastor and church leader friends reading this around the country, make plans to come. Bring your elders, deacons, and church leaders. Come and see how the Lord is presently using a single church to make a global impact, and learn how your church can actively participate in the proclamation of the greatness of Christ to the ends of the earth. It's worth making the trip! The Shraders will be there! The conference will be Friday and Saturday, January 16 and 17. We are planning to be in Denton from January 8-19. DFW friends, we want to see you while we're in town!
Things you can be praying for this week.
1. Pray that my back begins to heal, and that we're able to avoid surgery.
2. Pray for endurance for Meredith as she takes care of the three of us.
3. Pray that the Lord would continue to bless JobsforLife, and that he would grant our friend perseverance through the adversity and roadblocks in his life.
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| I like to carry my toys in my teethe! |
Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,
September has been an eventful month. By God's grace we launched JobsforLife, and we are now almost half way through the program. We had four students signed up and one follow through. He is at a place in his life where he's ready to make some major changes, and we've had a truly blessed time together over the past month. To this point he's shown great courage in facing some very real roadblocks in his life head on, and we are excited to see where the Lord takes him going forward. Transformation takes time and endurance. Please continue to pray that the Lord would bless our times together, and that Lord would give him the strength to persevere through his roadblocks.
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| JobsforLife! Jeremiah, Dan, and me. |
On a personal note, my back/leg pain got a lot worse about two weeks ago, so much worse that I was unable to stand for more than a minute or so, and unable to walk more than short distances. At which point, I went to the doctor. The PA took some x-rays of my spine and said it looks like I have a herniated/ruptured disc in my lower back, which would certainly explain the pain. The disc is pressing on the nerve in my spine, which creates the sharp pain and tingling in my leg and foot. Ironically, this is exactly the same thing Earlene had surgery for in August. The good news for me at age 35 and otherwise healthy, is that there is a 90% chance I will recover with just physical therapy and rest. The normal recovery period is three to six months, assuming I do all the therapy and don't lift anything heavy. I have a follow up appointment with the back specialist on Friday of this week. Today, I am already beginning to feel slightly better. I can stand or walk for five to ten minutes at a time, which is a huge improvement over a week ago. I still can't lift anything while standing, which is a major lifestyle change with a 20 pound toddler in the house. I would ask that you pray especially for Meredith, who already so works to hard to take care of our household. Now she's having to do all the heavy lifting as well. Please pray the Lord would give her strength and endurance. Please pray that the Lord would grant me the patience to allow this injury to heal properly in due time.
It's also time to start preparing to attend the 2015 Denton Bible Church Missions Conference. I don't know of any other place where you can personally interact with dozens of missionaries presently serving in more than a dozen different countries on five continents. I invite to you to come and hear firsthand what the Lord is doing around the globe. Come and meet men and women just like you who have surrendered their lives to serve the Lord wherever he leads them. To my pastor and church leader friends reading this around the country, make plans to come. Bring your elders, deacons, and church leaders. Come and see how the Lord is presently using a single church to make a global impact, and learn how your church can actively participate in the proclamation of the greatness of Christ to the ends of the earth. It's worth making the trip! The Shraders will be there! The conference will be Friday and Saturday, January 16 and 17. We are planning to be in Denton from January 8-19. DFW friends, we want to see you while we're in town!
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| Don't they look great? Charlie and Earlene will also be at the Missions Conference! Come see them! |
Things you can be praying for this week.
1. Pray that my back begins to heal, and that we're able to avoid surgery.
2. Pray for endurance for Meredith as she takes care of the three of us.
3. Pray that the Lord would continue to bless JobsforLife, and that he would grant our friend perseverance through the adversity and roadblocks in his life.
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| The weekend after Labor Day, our good friends the Kikers came for a visit! |
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| Hosea and Rebekah had fun in the playhouse! |
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| Sweet friends! It was so good to have them visit! |
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| Lily and Lydia were super-cute playing dress-up together! |
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| This guy will be a year old on October 7! Where did the year go? |
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| Yes dad, I can carry the monkey any way I like! |
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| Meredith has also had to take over care of the garden, since it's harvest time! Here she is picking pole beans. She picked and canned 14 quarts on a Saturday! |
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| She also got to harvest our largest watermelon of the season, a thirty pounder! |
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| He really is hysterical carrying things around in his mouth like a puppy! |
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| They both like music. Lily likes to "play songs" on daddy's guitar while Hosea bangs on it. |
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| Lily loves to climb! |
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| He loves to swing, and sister has learned how to push him in the swing! We're blessed, because they really are sweet together. |
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| Bye Bye! See you next time! |
