Surgery Day and After

On March 27, 2012, Adrian had a Vegus Nerve Stimulator device surgically implanted. This device will send regular electronic pulses to Adrian's brain to counteract seizure activity. At the time of surgery, the device was programmed to fire an impulse at 0.25 amps every 22 seconds for 7 seconds. Currently it is firing 1.75 amps every 16 seconds for 7 seconds. We have been discharged from the hospital and are home. We will return to the hospital a few times over the next several months to make further increases and adjustments to the device. Below are some pictures from our time in Memphis.

LeBonheur Children's Medical Center, Memphis, TennesseeBecky and Adrian walking into the hospital the morning of surgery. Doing well after surgery, in the room. First adjustment to the VNS device after surgery. VNS Electrical Device that was surgically implanted in Adrian's chest. Electrical/magnetic device used to adjust the amperage in Adrian's VNS. More adjustments to his VNS. Each time they turn up the amperage. It became very uncomfortable. Dr. James Wheless, MD, Adrian's pediatric neuologist, making adjustments to the VNS. As he became accustomed to the electrical impulses, Adrian did well. Bandages are off and you can see the incisions from implanting the device in his chest, and the wire lead to his vegus nerve in the neck.

           

The Night Before the Big Day

Becky and I are with Adrian in Memphis, Tennessee, at the FedEx Family House. Tomorrow Adrian has surgery to implant a VNS electrical device. The device will send regular electrical impulses through an implanted lead through his vegas nerve to his brain, to counteract and we hope eliminate seizure activity. Adrian has Epilepsy with multiple Absence seizures on a daily basis, and also has AS (Asperger Syndrome) an Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD.

I will be posting updates to my Twitter account, @michaeldstover, which also posts to my Facebook account. You can subscribe to my Twitter updates, or just search Twitter for the hashtag #AdrianSurgery.

Follow the links below to check out some great photos of where we are staying.

FedEx Family House Picasa album

FedEx Family House 360 degree panoramic photos

Before Easter.....

Before Easter, there was Good Friday. Watch this dramatic portrayal of the events of Good Friday, told from the perspectives of several who were there.

Becoming God's Masterpiece: Part 3

Dr. Eric Geiger, pastor, author, vice-president of LifeWay’s Church Resource Division, said, “The Christian life is not about trying more, it is about dying more.” In our series on Transformation through the month of January, we have been examining how we can cooperate with God in His work of transforming us into His masterpiece. Our efforts are not to be simply trying harder to “do” spiritual things so that God will bless us. It is exactly as Dr. Geiger said; our efforts to cooperate with God’s work in us are all about surrender. We surrender ourselves more and more to Him as we carve out time in our lives for Him. As we invest time in His Word, in prayer, in worship and meditation, God works in us to shape us into the image of His Son Jesus. It’s not about doing, it’s about dying.

On January 15 & 22 we explored how God uses worship and prayer to transform us, and we offered some suggestions on how to incorporate both into our daily routines. Do you remember them?

Worship

• Prepare for Worship – Deliberately set aside everything else, plans for the day, worries and cares, and focus on giving God His due praise and adoration. Confess any known sin and make right any known wrongs.
• Participate in Worship – Sing! Pray! Give! Respond as the Spirit leads! Don’t just be a spectator as others worship God. Worship Him as if no one is present except Him and you.
• Add Worship to Your Week – Make worship a daily exercise. Spend time before God in simple praise and thanksgiving. Add some praise music to your day whenever possible. Sing along. Begin a worship lifestyle.

Prayer

• Set a Time for Prayer – Set aside time to pray. Guard that time as you do every other important appointment.
• Use Prayer Lists – Create lists to aid in focused, deliberate intercession for others. Pray through your lists regularly. Make notes of any answered prayers or situational changes. Keep praying.
• Pray the Scriptures – We can always steer our prayers toward God’s purposes when we pray His Word back to Him. Saturate your prayers with Scripture. (Scripture memorization that was discussed in a previous week helps greatly here!). Allow God’s Word and will to guide and shape your prayers.
• Pray as Communication – Converse throughout the day with God. Shoot “arrow prayers” to Him as you face every new challenge of the day.

As you read and study the Word, pray, and worship daily, God will work the process of transformation in you bit by bit. Go back and watch the “God’s Chisel” video again. Review how the process works. Don’t be discouraged; it’s a marathon not a sprint.

In the closing message of the series we will examine how God uses partnerships in the process of transformation. God works in us so that He can work through us; and as He works through us He is also working in us. It’s an exciting journey. Will you join us?

More on Being God's Masterpiece

YOU are God's Original Masterpiece. On January 1 we explored Ephesians 2:10 which declares us to be God's "workmanship". The word means masterpiece, a unique composition. We learned that God does this work in us, but we must cooperate, and that it is a long journey. We are spending the month of January learning ways we can cooperate with God in this process of transformation, so that we will become His perfect Masterpiece. 

The message on January 8 dealt with "Transformation Through the Word" using several different scriptures, but primarily focused on Hebrews 4:12. The Word of God is the primary tool He uses in the work of transformation. As we saw in the video from January 1, God cuts away everything that does not look like Jesus. This verse tells us that God's Word cuts through and reveals the thoughts and intents of our hearts. It shows us what is not like God, and how we are to remove those things. It is spiritual surgery, and any surgery is painful. But the results are well worth the pain of the process!

Are you joining us on the journey to become God's Masterpiece? Here are the Bible challenges we are taking:

• Read the Bible every day. Yearly Bible reading plans are available at church, or there are literally thousands available free on the internet. I personally use one through www.youversion.com. It is free, and sends reminders to me daily in my email, and I can even get reminders and read it on my smart phone with a YouVersion app. Check it out.
• Use Sunday School material to supplement your daily Bible reading. The free material we provide is an excellent resource to guide you, and provide additional understanding as you read. If you don't take one home, start this week.
• Memorize Scripture. Memorizing Scripture allows you to carry more tools in your toolbox for the Holy Spirit to use as He seeks to help you each day. We have begun memorizing a verse or passage every month. For January, let's seek to memorize the key verse for the Transformation message series:

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

Remember to read with a pencil and paper nearby. Make notes about what you read, do not understand, or when God speaks to you. Seek to understand what you read. And when you understand it, ask yourself, "so what?" What do you need to do with what you have read? How do you need to respond? How will you begin and when? with whom do you need to share what you have learned? 

Set aside time each day and get to know God's Word. Before you know it, you will experience transformation!