Update on my son, Ethan

Ethan had his MRI today at Stanford. Everything went very smoothly. He is already back to running around the house and wanting to wrestle with me.

The results came back quicker than we thought. I received a call from the Pediatric Cardiologist at Kaiser about 1 hour ago. The MRI confirmed his suspicions that one of the arteries from the lungs was connected to the wrong chamber of the heart. In addition to that, Ethan also has a fifth small artery (most people only have four) from the middle part of the lungs that is also carrying blood to the wrong chamber. The ratio of blood flow in and blood flow out of the lungs is 1.9 to 1, instead of 1 to 1 as it should be. Our doctor confirmed that even without consultation with the pediatric surgeon open heart surgery is needed to repair the problem. We are waiting to hear back from Stanford to set the date of the surgery.

As you can imagine, this news is not easy to hear. We are still in a little bit of shock that our precious three year old is going to have to undergo such major surgery. At the same time, we are grateful that this problem was recognized early, instead of having to wait until much later in life to recognize symptoms when the damage would have been irreversible. We are also so grateful for those of you who have taken the time to pray and email. You have been a great encouragement. Please continue to pray for Ethan, our family, and the upcoming surgery. Once the date has been set and we know more details I will pass them along.

Getting everyone caught up on my life...

It has been almost year to the date since I last blogged. For the past 3 months, I have continued to tell myself that I needed to get back to the weekly routine but obviously that didn't work. So I'm sure that all of you that are faithful blog readers (I'm only aware of one faithful reader - my wife :) and she just makes sure that I don't post anything too ridiculous), have been wondering what has been going all over the past year that has kept me from this incredibly important job of posting. So, here is the answer....

1. Some major personal stuff that I needed to work through - this is still a work in progress but seems to be headed in the right direction now.
2. Two month sabbatical from church life (December and January) which was connected to #1. This gave me a chance to get a break, finish the semester of seminary (I was taking 12 credit hours including Greek and Hebrew), spend time with my family, and do some much needed personal heart work.
3. My wife took a trip with her Dad to the Philippines in February for 3 weeks. It was her first trip home since she left at the age of 5.
4. Graduating from seminary with my Master of Divinity degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - It took me 7 years to complete a 3 year degree but its finally over. The joke at our house is that now I expect to be called Mastor Josh like my great model in ministry the unpretentious Master Yoda.
5. The final summer with my daughter before she started kindergarten. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. Alanna has turned into a beautiful young girl. She certainly takes after her mother. She is kind, compassionate, very obedient, loves God, and is always singing, dancing, or making up lyrics to a new song that are in her head.

Well...that just about does it. Hopefully this posting becomes the first of many more.

Parenting Survey

I thought I would pass along the word that our parenting survey (http://www.parenting.msconline.org/) is up and operational. Special thanks to Rod Rozin for all of his web design expertise and Andrew del Rosario for the video. Make sure to visit the site and take the survey so that you can get your free copy of the book Parenting Isn't for Super Heroes. I am very excited about this upcoming sermon series that will focus on Building Blocks for Successful Families. If you have friends with kids, make sure to invite them to attend. I know they will be helped!

Parenting Survey

I'm here in my Hebrew class and I got a couple of minutes free. Just wanted to let you know about our exciting parenting sermon series, seminar, and survey that will be launching soon. I especially want to encourage you to take the online parenting survey (should be ready by this Monday). Once you take the survey make sure to pass the news along to all your friends and family.

Watching The Olympics

I know...I should be asleep right now. I have a full, busy day tomorrow and I definitely need the sleep. But I'm really enjoying watching the Olympics. I guess its a combination of the competition and patriotism. I am very proud to be an American. No other country in the world has the unique mixture of freedom and opportunity. Phelps just won another gold medal in the 800m relay! I would be yelling at the television, but the everyone else in the house is asleep.

One last thought: As exciting as competing in the Olympics is...following Jesus Christ is a million times better!

Sunday Recap

It was a great joy to be in church today. Although it feels a little bit odd not to be speaking (I have had the last 2 Sunday's off), the message was just what I needed. If you missed hearing Paul Null's message on the need for rest you should visit the church website (www.msconline.org) and listen to it. After church we had Paul and Rene Null over to our home for lunch and some great conversation. I am grateful to have a friend like Paul. Every person should have a "Paul" in their life. He is the consummate mentor, friend, and encourager!

This evening's New Community service was rockin! The music and spirit was great. If you don't attend the New Community services (first Sunday night of each month) then you are really missin' out. Rich Stormo presented the budget for the new year. We confirmed the leadership team's decision to approve the hiring of Andrew del Rosario as full time staff! I had the chance to discuss where I believe the Lord is leading us as a church (being a day by day Christian - Acts 2:42-47). We celebrated our salvation and forgivness in Christ with communion. And we even got out close to on time:)

Well, it was a full day for me and I'm tired. We just got the kids in bed and Cecil and I are going to enjoy our favorite TV show Numbers(can it still be called a TV show if I watch it on my laptop over the internet?).

Video Update