Dear Friends and loved
ones,
“My flesh and my heart
may fail, but God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever.” Ps. 73:26.
I had a heart attack fourteen years ago, and
since then, have often quoted this verse as
a prescription for any heart or chest pains.
I used it a lot recently, as I have felt
poorly and extra tired.
Last week Betty made
an appointment with the doctor for me. I
waited until Wednesday to go in so I could
do the Tuesday marathon in Vista and
Oceanside. Wednesday morning the doctor
hooked me to an EKG, got in my face and
said, “You need to go to the Emergency Room
now.” I had congestive heart failure.
Wednesday was about
getting blood thinner into me, draining
fluids in my lungs etc. Thursday was tests -
echocardiogram and nuclear stress. Friday
was the procedure which included a sonogram
type probe down the esophagus to determine
if there were blood clots in the heart (when
the heart is fibrillating, they tend to form
and if they shock the heart with clots, it
produces a stroke) and then they paddled my
heart and it went into the proper rhythm.
The heart doctors
wanted to keep me in the hospital until my
blood was thin enough, but the hospital was
overcrowded so I went home Saturday with
enough medicine to stock a pharmacy and also
shots to give myself twice a day in the
belly fat. I am now recuperating at home
with Dr. Betty hovering around me, limiting
visitors, etc. I am anxious to drive and get
back to work, but another week of this
confinement has been decreed. Ugh!
The only good thing
about all this is that if I have the honor
to be martyred for Jesus, I will die quicker
in the process. Meanwhile, we are all
waiting a little longer, “until the full
number of their (martyrs) fellow servants
and brothers who were to be killed as they
had been was completed.” Rev. 6:11.
This waiting is to be
active waiting as we sons of God set
creation free from its bondage to decay
(Rom. 8:18-21), God crushes the head of
Satan under our feet (Rom.16:20), and we
extend the Kingdom of God into every part of
society where we have a presence and voice.
What a privilege to re-present Jesus our
King in us.
One of the great
blessings in my life is being associated
with young dynamic servants of God. My
friend Alan Haghighi heads this list of
champions. He wrote an incredible note on
Facebook titled, “If you wanna celebrate
Easter, watch Pornography.” This is classic
and I have attached it for those who are
interested.
As the Lord spoke to
Joshua when they entered the Kingdom Land,
so He speaks to us: “…I will give you every
place where you set your foot….Be strong and
courageous….Be strong and very courageous….
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from
your mouth; meditate on it day and
night…..Be strong and courageous. Do not be
terrified; do not be discouraged, for the
Lord your God will be with you wherever you
go.” Joshua 1:1-9
Love in Christ,
Frank
