Ian finally comes home tomorrow. When he gets back, it will have been four weeks since he went in. Can't wait to have him back. He said it's been good but is looking forward to being with his family.

I asked Ian what he wanted to be able to do before we get married. He said "I wanna walk and dance."

Praying

And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and for the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

jer. 32: 38-41

hoping to be able to live as if i believe this today.

Missing Steve. He would be so happy about Ian's progress. We can say that we know he is in a better place now. But still, he's not here.

o death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous. But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest of our friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus' prevailing prayer—"Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am." It is that which bears them on eagle's wings to heaven. Every time a believer mounts from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ's prayer.... Lord, Thou shalt have them. By faith we let them go."

-Spurgeon

I asked Ian tonight how ready he is for heaven and he said a ten out of ten. When I asked him why, he said because he doesn't want to sin anymore. I can't imagine the pains and stings that Ian's future death will bring, just as we couldn't anticipate them with Steve, but there will be nothing more bittersweet than knowing he is with the Lord. For Ian's sake, I can't wait for him to meet Christ. And I'm glad I get to be with him until then. I often pray that he gets to go first.

Thank you, always, for praying.

Ian said to write whatever I wanted tonight and said he wanted prayer for whatever I think he needs prayer for. I caught on quickly and realized he was brushing it off on me because he's totally distracted by Oprah's soothing voice on the Discovery Channel's premiere of "Life." He's such a loser..

So, since I have to guess, I would ask prayer for Ian's initiation and that he would have a breakthrough here at therapy. We don't have a date of when he will be discharged- he's allowed to stay as long as he's making progress.

Thank you for your prayers

Larissa (and not really Ian)

Chris Fabry Live

I recently spoke on Chris Fabry Live, a radio program from Moody Radio. If you're interested, you can download it on Itunes or listen through Quicktime here.

Enjoy!

Ian continues to get better during his stay at rehab. His initiation is really improving and it's just exciting to see all the things come out that he wasn't able to do before because he was so tired. He is working so, so hard each day and has such a great attitude.

Thank you for praying for Ian.

L

Ian is making really good progress in the rehab center. He's so much more awake than he was when he came and really seems like he's able to do everything that's being asked of him.

Tonight I asked Ian how he thinks this trial has changed our relationship. His answer: "I love you more." I don't think I could ask for much more than.

Mercy

yeah, about the photos...we might as well have fun in the hospital i guess

Feeling exhausted on many levels, I was especially encouraged tonight by Ian's faith. We were reading Psalm 3 and I started asking him what mercy looks like to him. Looking at his life, he would have many temptations to overlook God's examples of mercy on him. But, once again, I was encouraged by his faith. Here's a bulleted list of what Ian said mercy looks like in his life and his thoughts on mercy:

- having a wheelchair for free, because without it I would have to stay in one place

- having a van

- the fact that I have friends

- that i have a fiance

to sum it up, he said "it's wonderful to have His grace and mercy." this coming from a man who is enduring very humbling experiences every single day and is thinking this clearly during a hospital stay.

glad i get to spend my life with him, lord willing

i&l

Ian said he is doing well here at the hospital. He asked for prayer that he would make a lot of progress while he's here.

Thanks for praying for us.

I&L

Other than me hating hospitals, things are going ok here. Ian is still really tired but it may take a few days for him to start feeling better. He will have a full week of therapy and hopefully we will see some progress.

Thanks for praying.

Update on Ian

This morning Ian was admitted to our local hospital to the Rehab floor. When his doctor saw him on Thursday, she was very concerned with how tired he is. Since being admitted, we think we've determined the cause of his lack of energy and overall just not acting like himself. It will take a few days to correct and after that, if he continues to do well with the in-patient therapy, he can determine how long he stays there.

Please pray that Ian would remember why he is at the hospital and that he would come home better than he is now. Praying that this would give him a kickstart in progress before our wedding.

Thank you, always

Larissa

Race for Hope

This spring, two of my friends and I are running a 5k to support brain cancer research. No obligation whatsoever, but I wanted to share the link to offer support. I know that for me, doing this somehow makes me feel like I'm doing something good.

Check out our team page here

Thank you, always. Please continue to pray for energy and strength for Ian.