“Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you–majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? You stretched out your right hand . . . .” Exodus 15:11,12

We are praising God for the wonders He is working in Isaac. Our case worker let us know today that all of the Therapists agree Isaac will complete this intensive therapy regimen at TLC next Friday. Amen! We were hoping to be done this week, but there were still some cognitive skills they needed to work on with him.

Isaac is doing very well living in the TLC apartment. He’s meeting all of the objectives for “living on his own.” In fact, he has even gained better skills in some areas than he had prior to the accident. Way to go, Isaac! He has done a great job with weekly meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep, housework, scheduling, and mock budgeting and bill pay. It has been a terrific exercise and confidence/competence builder. Isaac can have guests over between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. If you’re lucky, you may be just in time to sample his special recipe of gourmet Hamburger Helper.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend together. He was a lot of help to me in the yard, climbing trees and cutting off the dead branches. It was a great “man time”, using the chain saws and cutters. He performed wonderfully and even took care of most of the clean up. We made sure mom stayed inside so we could simply “go for it.” 😉

Thank you, thank you, for your ceaseless prayers and support. We can not under state the miracle that God has done in Isaac’s life. As we read over doctor’s reports and revisit the day-by-day experiences we’ve lived these past months, we can only remark, “Who is like you, O Lord?” You are majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, and working marvelous wonders in our life. “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26)
Lord, You have an amazing plan; help us to walk in it. Thank you, Jesus!

Isaac is HOME! Praise the LORD! Almost exactly 4 months from the date of his injury he was able to truly unpack his bags and put away the suitcase! He had something similar to “senioritis” all last week at TLC. “Graduation day” was coming, and that’s all he could focus on. It was a great day on Friday! He made it through his therapy sessions without anyone changing their minds that he needed to stay longer! I was worried someone might, due to his lack of attention. He really gave the therapists a hard time. They are very, very patient!!

Fridays are always “Outing” days at TLC. After lunch everyone loaded into vans to go to the “National Ranching Heritage Center” to explore over 30 historic ranch structures that have been relocated and restored to their original condition. It was a fun outing, but it was extremely hot that day. After 2 hours of touring the center in temps nearing 100 degrees, everyone returned to TLC to gather for a “community meeting.” Patients talked about their outing and shared their most “proud moments” of the week. Isaac was then asked to play the piano and sing a song in front of everyone before saying goodbye. One of Isaac’s goals was to relearn the guitar, piano, and strengthen his voice to sing again. We are thankful that TLC recognized this passion of his and made lots of opportunities to hone these skills in therapy sessions. The song he decided to play was “O Praise Him!” by David Crowder. Here are a few words from that song:

“Turn your gaze
To Heaven and raise
A joyous noise
Oh, the sound of salvation come
The sound of rescued ones
And all this for a king
Angles join to sing
All for Christ the King!
O Praise Him!”

There were some tears shed after hearing that song and seeing Isaac being used again to share the hope of Christ through music! Afterward, a counselor encouraged other patients to keep working hard on their goals and never give up! We are praising God that He has rescued Isaac from the grave, and we do turn our gaze to heaven and raise a joyous noise to Him!! May God receive all the glory and praise for what HE has done!

Thank you Missy, Sarah, Rebecca, Meredith, Emilee, Jason, Nikah, Kevin, Daniel, Jessica, and ALL the other supporting staff at TLC!!!! You guys ROCK!

God reminded us of His words to us this past weekend. Moment by moment God took the time to show His presence, His love, and His purpose. We stayed in Lubbock this past weekend because we had some great opportunities to take part in.

First, on Saturday afternoon we got to attend the wedding of Isaac’s good friend, Mark Murray. You remember Mark, he wrote the song, Heal Isaac, and created the video we share on this website. What a joy it was to hear the excitement in Mark’s voice when he saw Isaac was able to attend, and then to watch the two of them hug and exchange words of hope and friendship. God heard our cries and songs for healing that were founded on His Word, and blessed us with the touch of His mighty right hand. We were pleased to run into Tara, one of the terrific, Christian, nurses that took such loving care of Isaac while in the SICU. She rejoiced in the healing God is doing in Isaac. It was also a wonderful blessing to visit with Michael Teague at the wedding and to meet his lovely wife, Tana. We thank the Lord for His constant presence in all of our lives; for His unfailing love.

Saturday night we took Isaac to the University Medical Center so that he could picture the places we have talked about, sharing some of the experiences we have walked through these past several months. As we walked in, I told him about his SICU nurse, Tina, who gave us the first report that Isaac sat up in bed, opened his eyes, and responded to the doctor by giving him thumbs up. As you recall, this happened on day 6 of the coma, and was first intervention by God to postpone the tracheotomy and feeding tube surgery. When we visited the SICU, Tina was on duty! She rejoiced in seeing Isaac. It was the first time she had seen him since waking from his coma. Praise God for His miracle and perfect timing.

When we were leaving the main SICU back in late February, I told the workers there that one day I plan to bring Isaac back in so that he can share a message of hope to others. Saturday night was the first time for doing this. When we went into the hospital, God ordained the opportunity for us to meet with one of our friends from Clovis. He let us know that his father was in SICU and had just undergone surgery for a very serious back injury resulting from a fall. We were humbled and thankful to be able to visit his Dad in SICU and join together to pray for his dad and family. His father said they had been praying for Isaac’s recovery, and seeing Isaac there only stoked his faith all the more. Isaac is able to bring a message of hope! Thank you, Lord.

God allowed us to meet with another family that night. Isaac’s voice teacher from South Plains College was there with her family. Her father is in the MICU. We were able to pray with her family also. God is so good! We trust Him for his loving touch in these families’ lives and situations. God continues to work in every detail! We have wanted to get in contact with Isaac’s voice teacher to ask if she would meet with and evaluate him to outline things he can do to strengthen voice again. She was very excited to be a part of his recovery and equipping for future ministry; she met with him today and had a terrific session! She plans to meet with him again next week and weekly thereafter, if need be. She is an incredible blessing. By the time Isaac was through today, he was already singing with a marked difference!

Finally, we moved Isaac into the TLC apartment on Sunday. He is doing great! He is managing his schedule well, and meeting all the objectives for “living on his own.” He gave mom the go-ahead to come home for the rest of the week. 🙂 We are so thankful for being able to move into this next level of therapy and trusting that we’ll all be home together soon.

Thank you for your constant prayers. God is hearing your petition from heaven and answering. Please lift up these other families I’ve mentioned. I didn’t ask permission to share their names, but God will know who you are lifting up. Much love and blessings to all of you.

Ah home… where the heart is… Well sorta. It’s good to be back in Washington! It’s wonderful to see my family, all my little sisters, parents, and cousins and aunts and uncles and dear friends. It’s been about eight months since I’ve seen most of these people. God has blessed me with some short term work doing different things for my aunts and uncle as they remodel. I’m a home improvement worker for now I guess!

A strange feeling has settled on my heart. This is so bittersweet. It’s like I’m reunited with part of my life, and I haven’t even been away, but at the same time I feel like I’ve left part of myself, or part of my family in Texas/New Mexico. I miss Isaac (though we talk everyday) and the rest of the family. Those Godwin’s! I tell ya, watch your heart around them they might just scoop you up and make your heart part of theirs. God has really used them to show me how kind, compassionate and involved He is in our lives. I pray He blesses them a hundred fold for every bit of love they’ve poured out on me.

Besides that I guess I just wanted to give a reminder and a bit of encouragement that Christ put on my heart today. My dear friend Kyle came to visit last week, he’s one friend I haven’t seen since before I left last September. He went on a Youth With A Mission school just like Isaac and I did, except he went to Thailand. So we recounted our adventures and told each other all the cool stories about our time with YWAM. It was a good time, but our conversation kept being drawn back to this certain point – How blind and closed down our western world is to the spiritual battles around us. It’s clear to see in Fiji, India, and Thailand how real the warfare is when you hit walls of difficulty in sharing the Message. Your team gets sick. You might get pursued by the authorities for doing something illegal. Or maybe you just feel overwhelmingly afraid and unprepared to do what you came to do (not because you actually are, but because Satan loves to lie and discourage us.)

As Paul says in Ephesians 6:11-12 (NLT)
“Put on all of Gods armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

Whoa…This is serious! He’s not giving us a little caution warning that there could be trouble ahead for us. He’s saying there is full on warfare to defend ourselves from! Sometimes we forget this fact and struggle. But this stuff is very real. Maybe we’re not experiencing it like we would be in a third world country, but we do encounter it in our lives. I’m sure our enemy attacks us in many different ways, but lately I’ve been experiencing it in the form of discouragement through believing lies. That’s his way I think… he tells us something that seems true and we think on it, therefore letting it effect our emotions and ultimately our actions. Thankfully we’re not alone in this battle, not only do we have Gods armor to protect us we have many other soldiers that fight with us.

Ironically my family is watching one of the, “Lord of the Rings” movies and one of the Hobbits (Pippin I think it was) just said, “We have to go after them! We can’t leave our friends to fight this war on their own!” And I think that’s a fitting way to end my very long writing. We have to be lifting one another up in prayer, and encouraging each other to stand firm. You’ve all done a wonderful job of that! And I am so thankful!

“Pray in the Spirit at all times, and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Eph 6:18)

God bless!
~Kristi~

God, thank you for holding Isaac in Your right hand. Thank you for the healing you have done and are still doing! Believing You for complete Restoration. You said, “Be still and know that I am God.” You said, “I will hear your petitions and answer from Heaven.” Thank you, God, for Your unfailing love! I love You, Lord!

Isaac had a great week, even though they are getting pretty long for he and his mom as they juggle the TLC daily schedule, night homework, and campground living. I am at home/work during the week, except for Tuesday night and Wednesday when I go to Lubbock to spend time with Kris and Isaac. It is always a blessing to see and hear how Isaac is improving.

On Monday, Isaac makes meals for his mother. He has been doing a very good job. In fact, his therapist said he is doing a much better job initiating and sequencing on his own. Wednesday, he was able to play some songs along with three other patients. One man played his Irish whistles, while the other two men sang. Isaac played guitar. We were glad he played well, because his mother was unsuccessful at getting him to practice throughout the week. He said the songs were easy and it wouldn’t be a problem. Fortunately, this proved to be the case. 🙂 We are trying to have Isaac be more fervent in practicing playing and singing; to fan into flames the gifts that have been set within him. He really does need to work on strengthening these skills so that he can move forward in ministry after he completes therapy. Please pray for his diligence.

Friday night, I was very blessed to spend time with Isaac, looking through his notebooks of original songs and listening to them on the computer. Isaac picked a couple of his songs to play along with and work on. I was thrilled to see him shut off the computer and start playing a couple of the songs on his own; even de-tuning a song to match the way he wrote it in the first place. While listening to one of his songs entitled, Subsist, he asked me if I knew what the word meant then took the time to help me understand the meaning behind the lyrics. He began to recount some of what he was experiencing in his life that moved him to write the song. I was very thankful to spend the time with Isaac and to carry on such a meaningful and reflective conversation with him. His memory continues to get better.

Saturday, while playing Frisbee golf with Isaac, Mayra, and Eli, I was quite impressed to watch Isaac pull off a “Matrix” move. One of his competitors (no names mentioned, but not me!) threw the Frisbee very hard on a Par 5 hole. Unfortunately, the person held the Frisbee too long and instead of it going straight, it shot 90 degrees to the right taking a direct route for Isaac’s head! “NOT HIS HEAD” I thought in a panic! What I saw next amazed me! Isaac, in just a fraction of a second, leaned back and turned his body ever so slightly, allowing the projectile to pass without making contact! I know I saw that very move in one of the Matrix movies. Incredible! The therapists want to be sure that Isaac has good reflexes before they recommend him for driving again. I can’t wait until they hear the Frisbee story; he’ll be driving before we know it.

We are looking at 24 May as the date for Isaac to move into the TLC apartment. He will be there for approximately two weeks. The goal is to demonstrate being able to live on-his-own. It will entail shopping, cooking, maintaining his finances, paying bills, washing clothes, and so forth. I know it will be a great experience for him. I don’t foresee any problems. Please pray for his successful completion of this stage of therapy.

Take a look at the new videos on this site; Isaac two-stepping with Kristi and also part of his concert to raise money for YWAM. The Lord is indeed, Mighty to Save! Blessings to you all.

Lord, thank You for this Mother’s Day. We rejoice in You today, Lord. You have held Hannah and Isaac in your strong right hand that they would live to tell of Your glorious works (Psalm 118). We shout Your praises today! You have also blessed us with a wonderful daughter-in-heart, Kristi Nicole. Thank you for the indescribable work you are doing in all of our lives . . . “exceedingly, abundantly more than we can think or imagine!”

We’ve shared a memorable weekend together. It was full of accomplishment for Isaac. He remembered his PIN and was able to perform some transactions at the bank. When he went to the bank the other day with Kris, he couldn’t recall his PIN and got it wrong on the first try. Kris prompted him to try again,this time without thinking about it. He entered the correct number, but then couldn’t tell what it was. That’s OK, he got it done. 🙂 He entered it right on the first try, yesterday. Another victory was when he navigated Walmart on his own and did some shopping for a Mother’s Day card and gift. When I found him he was having a great conversation with a family friend. Good job, Isaac!

It was very moving for me this morning in church when Isaac joined me on the worship team and played his guitar for the entire worship set. He did great! I know it was also very special for Hannah and Kris. We are focusing a lot on Isaac honing his playing and singing skills. He is still intent on relocating to the North West this year and working in ministry with Kristi. We are trusting God to enable them to live out His plan. They’re crazy about God, and He’s crazy about them. It’ll be exciting to see what God accomplishes in and through them!

Many blessings to each of you. Please pray for my brother, Nathan. He is having a real bout with the chemo treatments and other complications dealing with his cancer. Our God is Mighty to Save!

Every day is a gift from God. Isaac continues to live and breathe and have his being. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28 THANK YOU for your prayers!!!!!
Isaac’s confidence in himself is improving as well as his memory, both long and short term. We are truly grateful to the Lord for strength for each day. Sometimes we are impatient at how long and slow the process of healing seems. I’m even embarrassed to admit that, because truly the healing has been very quick! But Isaac struggles with having 6 hours of therapy 5 days a week, and I am tired of living in a campground 100 miles from home, regardless of the wonderful accommodations. We both are ready to move on with our future plans. Isaac is getting close to finishing, but we need to push through until the Lord completes His work in all of us! I was reminded about a scripture pertaining to the Lord’s return. It says because God loves us so much He is waiting patiently for all to come to Him, not desiring any to perish! It also says that a thousand years is as one day for the Lord. We are definitely not on the same time-line! Nonetheless, I believe that God has put Isaac at TLC for a much greater purpose—to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ. I have been encouraging him to look for opportunities where he can reach out and share his faith with others. It has also been an aspiration of mine to do the same. God is not slow in healing Isaac; He is patiently waiting for His glory and greater purpose to be accomplished. We will be patient. We will fix our face like flint (Isaiah 50:7) and wait in anticipation for God’s amazing story of healing and hope to be completely written on the pages of our hearts.

Prayer requests:
That Isaac would continue to have more confidence in himself.
That his memory would continue to heal.
That his actions would have quicker response times (partly due to lack of trusting himself).
That he would be even more sensitive to the needs of others around him.
That he would have boldness to speak whatever the Lord puts on his heart to share.
That he could move into the TLC apartments soon!
Help as he studies and re-takes the driving tests (both practical and written)

2 Peter 3:8,9 (Amplified Bible)
8 Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape you, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.

I had a great day with Kris and Isaac today. We shared lunch with Isaac and I played him in a few games of ping pong. One game we played left-handed in order to help with his left hand and eye coordination. It soon became obvious that both of us needed the therapy. 🙂 Our Individual Progress Plan meeting with all of the therapists was very positive. Isaac has improved a lot in his ability to sequence actions with minimal or only standby assistance. He does extremely well with higher order thinking and reasoning.

The therapists outlined some goals were going to working toward over the next few weeks; one of them will be taking Isaac through the Safe Driving manual for New Mexico in anticipation and preparation for him to be able to drive in the near future. We’re believing God for that. Isaac is doing great. Still many things on his schedule to work on and through, but God is completely restoring him. We are truly thankful!

Kristi arrived safely in Washington and successfully sneaked in two days ahead of schedule. She and her dad worked it out so only they knew the actual date of her arrival. She gave a great report to Isaac about the different ways she surprised everyone. We’re rejoicing with her and know God will give her a wonderful time of refreshing at home with everyone.

Blessings to all of you. Your continued intercession availeth much. Thank you so much!

Here I am again sitting at the computer and listening to the song “For the Dawn.” No matter how many times I listen to it (and it is a lot) I’m moved to point of great reflection upon and praise unto our Great and Mighty Savior! The Lord’s love for us is truly unfailing, and immeasurable. A day never passes that we don’t feel His embrace and see His glory! Thank you, Jesus.

This Wednesday we will have an Individual Progress Plan meeting with all of Isaac’s Therapists. We look forward to a great report. We have seen him making such great strides in recovery. He is doing very well, but still has a ways to go. His short term memory is getting better. In fact, yesterday he remembered having to mow the lawn for me last Saturday, so when he saw me pull the mower from the garage again yesterday, he decided it was a perfect time to grab Kristi and go jogging. 🙂 I’m kidding a bit. He did remember all of the yard work we were able to do together last weekend, and he did jog with Kristi yesterday, but they had already planned on doing so. Kris said it was a beautiful sight to watch the two of them go running down the street together. I wish I could have seen it, but someone had to mow! 😉

Isaac had a good visit with a friend from DTS in New Zealand. Rory was down from Colorado visiting relatives. He came by on Saturday to visit. It was wonderful that Isaac recalled many of the New Zealand memories they spoke about. He is also remembering some more of his childhood and adolescence. His conversations have become much more insightful and he really carries on good discussions surrounding the more serious matters of his life, God, love, and future. We are so thankful for the continued and complete work the Lord is doing in him.

Speaking of life, love, and future, I want you to know that Isaac’s true love, Kristi, is flying back home to Washington state this week. We are excited for the reunion she will have with her family. They have been so unselfish in supporting her stay here with us. They only had 48 hours with her when she returned from New Zealand in February, then Kristi flew here to be by Isaac’s side. In the nearly three months time she has been with us, she has become such a special part of our family, and has played such an integral part in Isaac’s recovery. Words cannot express our love for her! We are so blessed that her family has been willing to share her with us. Kristi is going to rejoin us here in the middle of June for whatever God holds next; we’re trusting God to lead Isaac and Kristi in His perfect plan for their lives. Please keep them in your prayers.

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Pet 1:6,7)

Lord, may our faith in You be genuine. Receive all praise, glory and honor! We love You!