The following took place between 5.30pm and 8.30pm.
On my way home from work my phone began to ring. As I answered it, fully expecting the conversation to be about what to do for dinner, I heard the voice of my wife with a frantic tone “Get home NOW! Something is wrong with Titan!I called 911!” and then click…. “HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!” I yelled into the silent phone…. Without a second thought I shoved my foot through the floor board, the super charger on my truck began to whistle and the cars on the road became cones on an obstacle course. If I cut you off I apologize, my only concern was getting home to my 16 month old baby. As you can imagine, every horrible thought began to swirl through my head. In that moment I did the best thing a father can do for his children. I began to pray. Not knowing what was going on, I prayed “Son! You will live and not die! You will live and not die. You will declare the works of the Lord! Thank you God that my son’s body is whole, normal and healthy….” I prayed more fervently then I ever had. I slid into the driveway with the super charger still whistling and pulled in behind the parked ambulance. I rushed through the door, still praying out load, to see 5 EMT’s gathered around my baby boy naked laying on the floor. I walked the 30 feet that stood between me and my son, the longest 30 feet I have ever had to walk. As I approached and could finally see him through the mass of people, I was relieved to see that Titans eyes were open and although he was a little dazed he was responsive. I knelt down next to him and with total disregard for everyone in the room prayed for my son. I stood up to get out of the way of the EMT’s and embraced my wife. I surveyed the room and found Taber, my 3 year old son, curled up on the couch next to his praying grandmother (she was babysitting for the day). As I made eye contact with him, I could see that his face was wet with tears, “Daddy, something’s wrong with brother!” he kept saying over and over. I took a deep breath and listened as my wife filled me in…. PAUSE: Before I go any further, let me back up for a second.
The day started off like any other day. Both boys were up by 6am and going through their normal routine. My wife noticed that Titan was running a little fever but he had had them before and was cutting a tooth so it was nothing out of the ordinary. She gave him some infant Tylenol and we went about our day. At about 5.30 pm she got home and noticed that Titan was still warm so she took his temperature. The thermometer read 102, she gave him some infant Tylenol and set him in his high chair for some apple sauce and fishy crackers. A few minutes later at Titans request she picked him up and held him. As he laid his little head on her shoulder he suddenly had a seizer. She quickly repositioned him so that she could see him and realized that he was unresponsive. Grabbing the phone she dialed the 3 digit number that no parent ever wants to dial, 911. She was instructed to put him on the floor and strip him naked to help cool him down and that the EMT’s were notified and help was on the way. She quickly dialed me spoke 12 short words and hung up and then called Pastor Melinda. While on the phone with Pastor Melinda she noticed that Titans lips were turning blue and that his breathing had all but stopped. Under the instruction of Pastor Mel, she hung up the phone and dialed 911 again. As she began to perform CPR on Titan he startled and began breathing again. Seconds later the EMT’s were on the scene and shortly thereafter I rushed through the door.
FAST FWD… I took a deep breath and listened as my wife filled me in. “He is going to be ok” she said, and then she told me that the EMT had said that it is not uncommon for children under 5 to have a seizer. Evidently it’s their bodies’ way of resetting and trying to cool down when they reach a certain temp or there is a sudden spike in their temperature. A few minutes later Titan and Kathryn were loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital. As I followed in the car, on the verge of tears I kept praying and thanking God for His grace upon my wife and son. At the hospital Titan was diagnosed with a bit of pneumonia which is what caused the fever. The nurse told us that Titan had a strong immune system as he had displayed no other signs of pneumonia other then the fever. By the time we left the hospital Titans fever was down to 99deg and he was getting back to his normal jovial self and by morning his fever was gone.
We when we got home from the hospital that night we learned that one of the pastors was in prayer, at the same time that Titan had the seizer, she was moved to intercession and prayed for an infant and that it would live and not die.
I am so grateful for our church and pastors. Thank you to all who prayed and called and who came to the hospital. In times of uncertainty nothing moves the hand of God like the prayers of His saints.
To my wife: You are amazing! In the midst of a whirlwind you kept your head and stayed focused. I am so proud of you. I am definitely married to super mom.
In every sport I have ever played I have always played to win. It didn’t matter if it was basketball, volleyball, soccer or paddling, I always played to win. I never once stepped onto the field or court or into the boat thinking, “today we are just going to try and survive till the whistle blows.” Even when the odds were against us and there was no hope of winning, I still played to win.
My dad, who played Polo all around the world and at the highest levels, taught me that “winning is an attitude.” It’s not about being number one; it’s about the work ethic and the attitude. It’s about the mindset and being proactive. It’s about leaving it all on the field and making something out of every opportunity. It’s about no retreat no surrender. It’s about burning the boats.
So when I face life’s mountains or when it seems that I am in the midst of a perfect storm or it appears that all hope is lost, I remind myself that I play to win.
The time is now to quit surviving and start playing to win.
Recently I purchased some Claeys old fashioned hard candies (www.claeyscandy.com). They come in different flavors and are shaped like lemon drops. These things are great and I learned that Taber loves them. Well he would eat any candy really but he especially likes these. In fact when I offer him one he will try and negotiate for 2 of them. Being a quick study I implemented an incentive program with Taber. Basically when he is good he gets a candy.
One night while I was a single dad for a week (my wife was out of town) I was taken in by one of our friends and invited over. I told Taber that we were going to his friend Callens house for dinner and if he was a good boy between now and when we had to leave he could have a candy. Naturally my incentive program worked and he was an angel, halo and all. As we got into the car I thanked Taber for being a good listener and gave him his reward. As I handed it to him I told him that he could eat it to which he replied, “No Daddy! I have to wait to we get to Callens house.” As we were about to pull out of the garage Taber let out a scream as he had dropped his candy and could not find it. I promptly got out the car, found it, handed it back to him and again said that it was ok for him to eat it now. I jumped back into the driver seat and we were off.
Now I had only been to Callens daddy’s house once before and what should have taken us about 20 min took over 40. I wasn’t lost I just couldn’t find it. I didn’t pay much attention at the time but every time we pulled over to look at the map or turn around in a drive way or hang a “U-ee” on a road, Taber would emphatically ask if we were at Callens house. Finally, by my keen sense of direction… and a phone call to Callens daddy, we arrived at our destination. As I opened Tabers door to get him out he looked up at me, with eyes of urgency, and said, “Is this Callens house daddy?” Yes I replied. And with a sigh of pure exhaustion he popped the candy into his mouth. I stood there speechless, staring at my son, who now had a smile of pure joy on his face and sweaty stick hands from holding his piece of candy for 40 min. For a moment I felt bad for unconsciously putting him through that. On one hand I was proud that he had the patience and will power to hold out like that. On the other I thought, Son I gave you this candy 40 min ago and told you it was ok to eat it and yet you waited because you thought that you had to be somewhere specific before you could enjoy it.
I think that we are often like that with God when it comes to His promises. We feel like we have to be a certain way or have been a Christian for so long or whatever the reason before we can enjoy His promises. Don’t let some mans tradition or religion steal what God has for you. God’s promises and inheritance for His children are certainly released through obedience, but they were available to you the moment you gave your life to Christ. Don’t be shackled to yesterday or weighted down with false illusions of tomorrow, but rise up today in who God said you are and walk in the fullness of all that God has given you.
I wnat to give a shout out to Shanna, Katy, Kristian, Ryan, the Interns and the amazing team of volunteers that made Easter Eggstravaganza and Easter Sunday Services so incredible. A job well done.
Hello Staff of TRC,
As my son, his friend, and I left the egg hunt at Lake Tye, we saw all your balloons...we were drawn to check it out! I was a bit hesitant, as my son's friend, Connor has never been to a church...not sure how he would react (nor his parents!).
We were greeted by such friendly parking guys - put me at ease immediantly. Then the boys went from craft to craft, laughing and interacting with the other kids. The staff at these tables were so kind to the boys - thank you!
The boys were awe struck by the friendly animals, the cool game tables, the huge prizes, the great food...so much fun and enjoyment together as friends.
I wanted to let you know my son's response to the egg hunt: "Gee, Mom, the Lake Tye hunt only had one candy in each of the eggs...this place gave four!!" Yes, we both noticed how generous your church is, especially compared to the community event. Yeah, it is only candy, but the principle that Christians are generous really hit home with him...when his friend did not find as many eggs as he did, he immediantly offered some of his. He said, "Conner, I have plenty, have some of mine." So your generousity has touched at the heart of things today...thank you so much!
Conner's comment was, "Church isn't so bad, I like it!" Thank you for a first great impression of God and His people!
You have been a blessing to our family today - thank you so very much! Barbara
Check out this video. Matt started out traveling around the world and dancing in front of iconic sites and structures and videotaping it. As his internet fame increased he started posting and emailing where he would be and people, by the hundreds in some cases, started showing up to dance with him.
When I watch this video I am reminded that a little joy goes along way and that joy will spread.
Happiness is based on current circumstances, joy comes from knowing who God is despite the circumstance.
Two year olds are an interesting age group. They are old enough to express themselves and still uncoordinated enough to be trusted with “fragile” things. One of Tabers favorite phrases when he is asked not to touch/play with something that is fragile is “Duss looking Dad.” Nine out of ten times it goes from “duss looking”… too… just holding… too… just broken. His M.O. is to run away (mostly because he is afraid and embarrassed) and then returns to say he’s “sawrry”.
I was reflecting after one such instance and it dawned on me that we often respond to God in the same manner. God says to “not touch” not because He wants to be a “buzz kill”, but because He is trying to protect us from breaking ourselves. Like my son we find ourselves just looking… too… just touching… too… how did I end up here. And like Taber our initial reaction is to run from God because we are afraid or ashamed of what we did. However, when we are faithful to return to God, admit our mistake and ask for forgiveness, He is faithful and just to forgive us and make us whole again.
It makes me proud when the one out of ten times Taber walks away from that which is so tempting. I can only imagine how proud God is of us when we are obedient to Him.
We have been working with Taber, at the ripe old age of two, on being nice to others. Sometimes he is “that kid” you know the one that picks on other kids, pulls hair, bites and is the one usually found in time out when you go to pick them up. One of the things that we have started doing is to give him a special treat when he goes a whole day without being in time out. One of the other things that we have been doing is some positive reinforcement. At night when he gets into bed and we have said our prayers and while I am telling him goodnight, I started reminding him of all the things that he did that day that I am proud of… like sharing, being a listener or thanking him for being a big helper. I usually remind him of something specific. After about 2 weeks we noticed a huge difference. One night as I finished telling him how proud I was and thanked him for being a good listener he says to me…”daddy, thank you for taking me to church and for letting me play with the toys.”
