Dear Friends and Family,

Happy 2014!! Tomorrow is Mark’s 50th birthday and we celebrated this past Saturday night with a big surprise party for him, The above picture was taken at the party. The picture includes all 3 of our children with their spouses and our two grandchildren. It was a wonderful night – Mark was able to see how much he has impacted people and how many people love and pray for him – it was overwhelming to see so many people there – it was a great night and couldn’t have gone better.

A lot has happened since I last updated – after the first of the year we decided to make move and to ask a friend of ours who is a surgical oncologist at Northside to take Mark on as a patient so he could help control his pain meds, etc. It’s a long story but we won’t be going back to our oncologist at Kennestone.

So the first week of January we visited Northside for his first appointment and the first thing that they wanted to do was to send Mark over to radiology to see if they could help with reducing the tumor that is in the rectum. We were more than happy to to get a second opinion but didn’t think it would do a whole lot of good. We had been told that there was no way to do any more radiation. But we headed over and met the doctor there who proceeded to tell us that yes, indeed Mark is a candidate for more radiation that would help to shrink the tumor – it won’t cure it but it could certainly help with the discomfort he has. We left there very encouraged and were told to wait for a call to get a PET scan as soon as our insurance approved it.

We were scheduled to go down to Northside on Friday, January 10th for the scan. However, the day before Mark got out of the bathtub and we noticed that his legs were very swollen from top to bottom so I called the doctor and they said to bring him into the ER. We left the house immediately and they took him right back and started doing different testing They tested his heart to make sure that wasn’t it and then made sure he didn’t have any blood clots in his legs – thankfully both of those tests came back negative. They did a CT scan and found his kidneys were enlarged due to the lining of the bladder being thickened. They admitted him and said they would need to put drains into each kidney to give him the relief he needed. I stepped out into the hall to consult with the doctor about the possibility of Mark being able to go to his party (that he knew nothing about) on Saturday night. He assured me he would do what he could to make that happen.

On Friday morning we met the Urologist and again I talked to him about my concerns about this party that we had hundreds of people coming to. He said that even if they just let him leave for the evening that they could help us out. Thankfully we were at Northside which was close to Peachtree Presbyterian where the party was to take place.

Friday afternoon they put the drains in and the immediately started working! On Saturday morning the doctor said there was a slim chance that he would discharge Mark that afternoon and he wouldn’t have to come back to the hospital after the party. I texted a couple of people and asked them to pray with me that he would get discharged. PTL he got to come home and get ready for the party and didn’t have to go back to the hospital. I was thrilled – to get him to go to the party I had to tell him just a little about what was going on or I couldn’t have gotten him out of the house – the shock he had though when he saw 350 people waiting on him was priceless!!

On Sunday and Monday we had a small retreat from anything medical and just tried to get Mark as comfortable as possible which is hard with a colostomy bag on the front and two drains coming out of your kidneys and the pain from the tumor.

Today we went to get bloodwork done and then started his first round of radiation – they are going to keep a close eye on him but they will do up to 20 rounds. He goes for his second round in the morning. Happy Birthday to him!

We continue to pray for a miracle and praying that the radiation can shrink the tumor and give him relief from the pain. He is also going to see palliative care physician that will help with pain control but we will do radiation before we do that.

Thanks for all the love and prayers – keep it up!!

Love you all dearly,

Mark and Lee

Psalm 121:1-8

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Romans 8:31

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends!! Christmas is without a doubt my FAVORITE time of the year! I love every aspect of it and never tire of the songs and completely enjoy the spirit of the occasion but then when I think about Jesus’ birth I love Christmas even more!

We were blessed to have all of our children with us this year and also Mark’s parents, his Aunt and Uncle and both brothers and their families – we had a total of 21 for Christmas dinner and two babies – what a blessed time it was to be together.

I remember last year having a hard time because during the holidays Mark was very much in pain and with the doctors at MD Anderson giving us not much hope I honestly was worried it may be our last Christmas together. But here we are – another year behind us! Unfortunately Mark is in pain again this Christmas season. It is very hard to know and to see the man you love suffer daily. I am amazed at the strength that God gives him daily. The way he describes his pain is like a whole body toothache that he can’t get relief with even with all the pain meds he is on. His attitude is beyond amazing – I’m with him 24/7 and I can tell you he doesn’t complain – he may hurt and he may pray for relief from the pain but he doesn’t complain about it.

He is so grateful for the blessings God had provided over the past year. I see the verse “In everything give thanks” lived out in his life and I’m thankful for the example that he is to me and to our family.

He just re-read the book “The 4:8 Principle” by Tommy Newberry and has shared with our family as well as our class at church. Phil. 4:8 can be life changing if you apply it and live it out. I’ve been watching Mark live it out and know that only thru the power of the Holy Spirit living in Mark could he be living the way he does with the pain he is enduring.

He is still doing the treatments that I’ve mentioned before. We did get our ozone machine and have started doing those treatments. The hard part is finding a time when he actually feels like doing it and I hate to push him to do treatment when he feels lousy.

We continue to pray for a miracle and know that God will and can do it! Please join us in prayer for healing and for relief from the pain.

We hope that each of you had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed being with family and friends. I didn’t send out any Christmas cards this year as that seemed like one thing that I could take off my plate to help out with my time. I hated not doing it but felt like I needed to take the pressure off somewhere! With that off my list my other Christmas “chores” (which I love to do) were that much more enjoyable without something hanging over my head.

Thank you for your continued prayers with us and we hope you all have a blessed and happy 2014.

Much much love, gratitude and prayer,

Mark and Lee

The Real Christmas Story

Luke 2

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

I apologize for not updating in a while – I will let you in on a secret – I never update the blog when I’m worn out and tired – I don’t ever want my tiredness to come thru as negativity and also I just don’t think as well. So….I’ve been tired and worn out a lot recently thus no posts to the blog.

Mark has really been struggling – been in lots of pain and just can’t seem to get comfortable. The tumor seems to be growing despite our best efforts to do what we can.

We have been doing high dose vitamin C treatments thru an IV which some people call “natural chemotherapy”. Also been doing low dose chemo once per week.

Went to the Living Foods Institute and learned a lot while there but it was too much for Mark at the time so we decided to finish it up in January or even do some in January and some in February. They do a lot of hands on training and with the amount of pain he is in it just was making him miserable to be there. The staff there has been great and works with us however they can help – we really appreciated them.

Mark also did the metobolic testing here after Dr. Gonzalez in NY didn’t think he was a good candidate for his program. We got the results which helps us to determine what he should and shouldn’t eat – it is very detailed and I’m excited to work within the parameters of the program.

Dr. Bergeron also wants him on ozone therapy so our ozone generator arrived today and as soon as I can figure it out we will get him started on that.

Some friends gathered last week for a prayer service Thursday afternoon at Peachtree Presbyterian. It was awesome! I expected for Mark to get up and do laps around the building when everyone was done praying. I felt like Moses standing on Holy ground. We are so appreciative of everyone who came and prayed over us. In the last prayer uttered it was voiced that we’ve done all the scripture tells us to do and now it’s up to God – that is my paraphrase but it’s so true – we’ve prayed and asked and now if God chooses to heal him He will!

I believe he will heal him and I can’t wait to see how! We earnestly want God to be glorified thru all that happens.

Mark and I were talking the other day about heaven and all that God has allowed recently in our lives and I told him that I realize that me praying and asking God to heal Mark is totally selfish of me – I want him here with me in this old nasty world but if God chooses not to heal him Mark will be better off than any of us can ever imagine and how selfish of me to want to keep him here.

In Sunday school recently we were talking about Lazarus and Jesus healing him. We discussed the verse “Jesus wept” and I heard a perspective I’ve never thought about before – Jesus wept because he was about to bring Lazarus back from glory to sinful earth. Lazarus has experienced heaven in all it’s fullness and now he was to be brought back to sin and men. I think I understand now why Jesus wept.

As I talked to Mark about my selfishness he too said he’s still wanting to stay here on earth with me and watch our grandchildren grow up. We know we’ve been blessed to have all the time God has given us since the original diagnosis – much more time than many friends we’ve seen but I just feel that God isn’t finished with Mark yet – he has much more to do.

So, I’m asking you to join with me in my selfish prayer of seeking God for a miracle and allowing Mark to be healed here on earth to continue ministry together.

There are many who have blessed us by fasting and praying on Mark’s behalf and we THANK you so much – I can’t begin to tell you what an encouragement it was to Mark! And me!

Thank you for you love and prayers and blessings that you are to us.

Mark and Lee

James 5:13-16
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Psalm 3:3
But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head

Psalm 91:16
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week – we sure did! We had safe travels, good (healthy) food and great memories with family.

We heard back from Dr. Gonzalez in New York and he doesn’t feel that Mark would be a good candidate for his program. Mainly due to the colostomy. He feels the intense protocol he would put him on would be too much for him to handle right now.

So, Dr. Bergeron is going to come up with a very similar plan based on the same principles that Dr. Gonzalez uses. He will come up with what supplements and dietary needs Mark has based on his metabolism.

Along with diet and supplements Mark is also going in once a week for high dose vitamin C treatments and once a week for low dose chemo.

We went today to Living Foods Institute and Mark took his Health Scope and based on that they will have recommendations for him. We start classes there on Friday and go for 10 days straight.

Currently the surgery is healing nicely but the cancer is definitely giving him issues and we feel the tumor is probably growing. Mark is uncomfortable a lot. He has a great attitude about it and most people would not know he’s in pain. It takes a lot out of him to be out and we are very thankful when we make it home and he can relax here.

Prayer Requests: 1. For God to be glorified 2. Pain to subside 3. Strength and stamina for Mark as he goes thru these classes starting Friday 4. Cancer to start shrinking 5. Be able to rest and get relief

Thank you for your continued prayer – that is what we need the most. We truly have faith and peace thru God that He is in control. Some people think we dwell on this 24/7 but even though we live it 24/7 we still carry on a pretty normal life – just ask our kids – no gloom and doom here!

With much love and gratitude,

Mark and Lee

Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

II Timothy 1:12
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Romans 8:35-37
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

So we’ve been busy with our juicing and learning how to fix some of the foods that Mark needs. We had one meeting a week ago and then on Thursday I had a hands on cooking lesson that was absolutely fabulous! I am learning so much from this lady – she is such a blessing to us! When she left we had a refrigerator full of nutritious items for Mark including fish soup, asparagus soup, beet salad, a ranch dressing, sour kraut, coconut milk, beet kvas, cultured apple juice and batter to make “pancakes”.

We had a visit with Dr. Bergeron last week to discuss Mark’s treatment going forward. He wanted us to do some research on a doctor in NY he highly recommends that Mark go see, Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez. Dr. Gonzalez believes that cancer is a metabolic disease and that each individual should have their own tailor made treatment plan. (that’s the simple explanation) He has the highest success rate with late stage cancer of any doctor in the US as far as I know.

The specific prayer request would be this – that Dr. Gonzalez accept Mark as a patient. We submitted our request this morning with all the information they need to make a decision. They don’t like to take patients that have had chemo/radiation is what I have heard but we are hopeful that he will decide in favor of having Mark as a patient. I will let you know when I hear something back from them.

Mark continues to have pain and hasn’t gained much weight back so please continue to pray for that also.

We are excited about being with my family for Thanksgiving but not looking forward to the travel – we will be flying Wednesday, the busiest day of the year at the airport – ugh!

I will be packing all Mark’s supplements, herbs, oils and juices that we need to take with us. My sisters are helping me make special dishes for Thanksgiving day that Mark can have on his diet. So much to be thankful for!

We hope all of our friends and family have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have SO much to be thankful for and God is so good to us – I love this season of thankfulness! And it just happens to come right before my favorite time of year…..Christmas!!

Prayer Request: 1. God to be glorified and for us to be able to use our story to impact others 2. God will to be done on Mark’s treatment and if it’s His will that Dr. Gonzalez will accept him into the program. 3. Mark’s pain to ease and for his cancer cells to disappear 4. Safe and comfortable travel this week.

Happy Thanksgiving – at the top of our Thankful list is each person who prays for us and who has been such a blessing to us – we are grateful and love you all very much!!

Mark and Lee

THOUGHT: IF WE GIVE THANKS IN EVERYTHING, EVEN IN THE TOUGH TIMES THAT DO NOT MAKE SENSE, HE WILL GRANT US THE JOY AND PEACE WE NEED TO WEATHER THE STORM.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Chronicles 29:11-13
“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Psalm 107:1
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Psalm 100
“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

Our trip to Michigan was wonderful – God was with us each step of the way. Speaking at Spring Arbor was great – the students definitely listened – there were about 1300 people there on Monday. If you’d like to listen to Mark’s challenge that morning the school has it on their web site – https://new.livestream.com/springarboru

We were thankful to get out Monday evening when we did as snow had already started and they even had to de-ice the plane. Every part of the traveling went well without any glitches.

I’ve been slammed with work responsibilities since we’ve been back as well as keeping up with everything around here so I apologize for just now getting to update the blog.

Mark is trying to concentrate on his recovery and take it easy which is really hard for him. He doesn’t like just laying around the house all day but I think he’s getting better every day. When he spoke on Monday he was only 3 weeks out of surgery which I think is amazing!

He has been able to get out a few times this week. On Wednesday he was able to speak to the Kell High School football team – I wasn’t able to be there but I heard that it went well and there were many decisions made for the kingdom! PTL! Below is a picture from that afternoon.

On Thursday we saw the surgeon and he said everything looked good and that the incision was healing nicely.

Friday morning he was able to speak to Etowah’s FCA group. Besides all that he has mainly been at the house. He does like to have visits as it makes the day go by faster so we appreciate those who have come by to see him.

We are still planning on going to Living Foods Institute and have started on some of the therapies but we still haven’t gotten on a good diet totally. It is hard to stay away from all the things that he needs to. I am VERY excited because this morning someone is coming to the house who is very well versed in cancer diets and is very passionate about what she does – I’m praying I can just be a sponge and not only take it all in but retain it – I plan to take lots of notes. She is an advocate of the keotgenic diet with modifications for cancer patients. I’ve been trying to research what I can before she comes and it sounds very good – so thankful for friends who recommended her and also are paying to have her come visit us.

Prayer Requests: 1. praise for Michigan trip 2. Discernment on diet 3. God to be glorified 4. recovery to continue to go well 5. complete healing from cancer

Much Love and Gratitude,

Mark and Lee

II Peter 1:5-9

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

James 4:7-8

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Mark had a good day on Friday and so after praying about it we decided to go ahead to Michigan for Mark to speak on Monday.

The flight went well and we have had a good day visiting with family.

We are looking forward to Monday morning when he speaks. Please pray for the hearts of the students to be open and for Mark to allow the Holy Spirit to speak freely thru him.

We started on the herbs, supplements and oils we got from the Living Foods Institute and that is going well also. The taste is something awful but Mark has a great attitude about taking it all.

Prayer requests: 1. God to be glorified and specifically for Monday’s service at Spring Arbor. 2. For complete healing and recovery. 3. Weight gain while maintaining a very strict diet.

I will post after we get home Monday evening or Tuesday.

With love and gratitude,

Mark and Lee

Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 41:10
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

The recovery from this surgery has been the slowest yet. Mark is still moving very slowly and having a rough time getting back to normal. This morning he was experiencing some severe pain in his kidney so we had to go back to the Urologist – good news is that he didn’t have any infection and that the pain was the stent – they gave him some meds that they think will help it. I think this stent on top of how many other surgeries and dealing with the colostomy bag, etc is what has made this so slow.

This afternoon his pain level is fine and he’s been reading and doing very well. It just fluctuates so we never know what to expect. I guess that just keeps us on our toes and in constant prayer – and that’s a good thing!

We have definitely decided to go to the Living Foods Institute and I was able to go there yesterday and go ahead and get a lot of herbs and oils and supplements to get him started. He won’t actually start there until December 5. They want him on a very strict diet. No sugar, dairy, meat, fruit or nuts. So, we anxiously await our training to see what they will feed him and teach us how to prepare all this. They promise they will get the weight back on him. Until then I’m staying pretty strict with him and staying away from sugar, meats, fruits and nuts and most dairy. Staying with organic and lots of soups and veggies and juicing.

After being at Living Foods yesterday I was more than excited – I had such a peace that this is where we are supposed to go. I love when God gives us that kind of confirmation.

We’ve had other blessings fall from the sky in the form of a lesson in our home with a raw food expert and also a lesson with a colon expert. After all this we should have some knowledge of what we’re doing and I am very thankful for this. I was feeling very overwhelmed but am feeling much better now and ready to tackle the challenge.

At this point we are planning on the Michigan trip – will make our final decision Thursday or Friday.

Prayer requests: 1. for God to be glorified 2. healing from cancer 3. recovery from surgery 4. trip to Michigan

Thank you for your continued prayer on our behalf – we feel very lifted up before the throne!

With MUCH Gratitude,

Mark and Lee

Below are some verses in prayer form that have helped us thru some rough time of pain like they did this morning.

Merciful and faithful Lord, because of Your great love I am not consumed, for Your compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lord, You are good to those whose hope is in You, to the one who seeks You. (Lam. 3:22-25)

Even to my old age and gray hair You are He. You are the One who will sustain me. You made me and You will carry me; You will sustain me and You will rescue me…I will remember the former things, those of long ago; You are God and there is no other; You are God, and there is non like You. (Isa. 46:4,9)

Surely You, Jesus, took up my infirmities and carried my sorrows, yet we considered You stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But You were pierced for my transgressions; You were crushed for my iniquities; the punishment that brought me peace was upon You, and by Your wounds I am healed. (Isa. 53:4-5)

Father, continue to bring me along so that I can also rejoice in my sufferings because I know that suffering produces perseverance. (Rom. 5:3)

Lord, as I consider what You do, I find myself feeling at times like the writer of Ecclesiastes: Who can straighten what You have made crooked? When times are good, I am to be happy; but when times are bad, consider; You have made the one as well as the other (Eccles. 7:13-14)

Mark got his staples and drain out this afternoon and the surgeon said everything looked good – he said all the pain he is having is normal and given time it will go away. So that was a good visit. After leaving the surgeon’s office we drove straight to the Urologist office because he was having symptoms that may indicate an infection in the bladder or kidney. We had quite a long wait but the doctor said he believes all the symptoms are due to the stint they put in and it’s perfectly normal. They did take a sample however and will test it to make sure there is not infection. We won’t hear back until next week about that. So, overall two good office visits.

That pretty much wore Mark out and I don’t blame him – sitting and waiting for long periods when you’re uncomfortable is not good. We are back home and he is eating dinner and looks good.

Had had been losing weight a little more daily which concerned us but turned the corner yesterday and starting gaining. He probably needs to gain about 18 more pounds but he can do it!

We had a great phone consultation with the Living Foods Institute and they gave us great tips and lots and lots of information on what he should be eating and what he shouldn’t be eating. We feel this is the direction we will go and see if God wants to use nutrition and herbs and oils to heal him. Mark just has to get strong enough to attend the institute and we have to get all the finances worked out along with my schedule, etc.

Bottom line – the oncologist and traditional medicine give us no hope. The Living Foods Institute gives us hope because they have seen very similar stages of cancer get healed. But our hope isn’t in the oncologist or nutrition it is in the Lord and that’s our bottom line. We will try to be smart and do what we can do but ultimately just like every single one of us, our days are numbered and none of us know our day and time.

We had a great evening last night – we had Camden and Reagan, our little granddaughters over for Halloween – they were the cutest lion and elephant we’ve ever seen!

Thanks for your continued prayers – here are some specific requests….1.God to be glorified thru our testimony 2. God to heal Mark from the remaining cancer 3. Mark to gain back his weight 4. Mark’s body to regain strength daily and to not develop any setbacks 5. To have enough strength to fly to Michigan next Saturday for a speaking engagement at our niece’s college (going would really be a great moral boost for him to feel like he’s able to get back out and do something and not just laying around at the house).

We count our blessings daily and all of our friends and family and prayer warriors are at the top of the list!

Much love and gratitude,

Mark and Lee

Psalm 121:2

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:8

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 41:13

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Hebrews 13:6

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Isaiah 58:11

And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

We got home Sunday afternoon and the soreness and pain had begun to set in a little more. We were so thankful to be home though and all of our kids came by to see him which really cheered him up!

Monday morning we felt like we needed some help with his colostomy so I was calling the wound care center trying to get an appointment to take him in knowing the ride in the car would be hard on him but felt we needed the help. As i’m on the phone Mark’s cell phone rings and the home health care nurse said she would be by in about 30 minutes to check on him. I love when God takes care of the small details for us!! He is so good!! We had been told the nurse would come Tuesday so it was a total God ordained visit.

He has lost about 20 pounds thru all of this so we are trying to put the weight back on him but without eating anything unhealthy. His appetite seems to be getting a little better every day.

We are thankful that my mom who is a registered nurse could come stay with us for a while and help Mark in this recovery process – this is a huge blessing to us. She has offered every time Mark has had surgery but we never felt like we needed a 24/7 nurse until now and she arrived Monday and has been a huge help to us.

We realize this is a slow recovery but knowing it doesn’t make it any easier or make it go faster so we just have to stay slow and steady!

One of the issues he is experiencing is lower back pain which is making it difficult to sleep real well.

One of the paths we are considering is going to the Living Foods Institute in Atlanta – we have a phone consult with them tomorrow and have heard lots of great reports about them – if anyone has any experience or knows anything about them I would love to hear first hand information. You can always reach me by email at leetidwell7@gmail.com

So, I’m sure you know our requests now – healing from the remaining cancer, relief from back pain, appetite to grow stronger and to put on the weight he has lost. For God to be glorified. Also direction about our next steps.

Thank you for continuing to shelter us in prayers!

Much love and gratitude,

Mark and Lee

Matthew 6:25-34

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.