How good it is to thank the Lord!

Thank you for gathering together with us yesterday, how good it is to thank the Lord together.

A time spent in AWESOME wonder,

Stories of alteration in our own lives as a result of Isabel's illness,

Songs of exceeding thankfulness and joy,

Words boldly proclaimed of the Almighty's love and enduring kindness,

Words humbly spoken of our own faltering faith.


Then Job said to the Lord, I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted.                                        
 Job 42:1-2


Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions , they fail not;
As thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-
Great is Thy faithfulness,
Lord unto me!

We love you and thank God for each of you.
Rick, Mary, Gus, Isabel, Louisa, Katherine, Rosemary, Walter and Josephine

A Time to Give Thanks

Anyone who has ever uttered a prayer for Isabel, followed her blog out of curiosity, asked about her progress, wondered why is this happening,

You are invited to gather together to give thanks 

Sunday, November 20, 2011 

2:30 p.m. 

Grace and Peace Fellowship 

5574  Delmar Boulevard

St. Louis, MO 63112

We will have a time of thanksgiving and praise followed by a reception with refreshments.  

This will be a time to share our joy, amazement and gratitude with one another personally. 

We sincerely want everyone to come, whether we know you or not, and look forward to this day with great anticipation and joy.

The Wimmer-Brown family

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke apart the bonds that held them.  Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!    
                                                                                     Psalm 107:13-15

To everything there is a season...

It is time for a list!

Isabel has been home for 21 days...

• sleeping in her own bed
• eating home-cooked meals
• being part of the daily hum of the family
• celebrating with family and friends (including a trip to Ted Drewes)
• attending church (singing songs from memory)
• having picnics
• going to movies
• getting reacquainted with favorite books, music and treasures from her shelves
• enjoying listening to books read aloud
• participating in therapy 5 days a week at Ranken Jordan
• meeting new people and remembering names and particulars about each one
• making small improvements daily
• walking about with assistance (using a walker for longing distances)
• having a pleasant attitude and postitive spirit
• being grateful

Time for concentrated efforts  

• melding Isabel's therapy with real life; she now receives 2 days of therapy at Ranken Jordan
• involving the family more naturally in Isabel's recovery, including her in our daily routines
• working with Isabel to increase her strength and endurance, to accomplish more self-care tasks (She can now tie her shoes independently!!!), to search for and find the words she wants to say
• trusting the Lord for continued recovery and going for full recovery

Time for giving thanks

     To neither glorify God nor give Him thanks is the ultimate affront. 

 It is the rejection of the reality of God the giver.  It is the denial of what is

most basic and fundamental-that we are creatures in a creation that is full of

good gifts that make life possible and full of challenging possibilities.

                                                                              
                                                                                                 Luke Timothy Johnson

From Rick & Mary

 I say to you, arise, pick up and carry your sleeping pad or mat, and be going on home.  And he arose at once and picked up the sleeping pad or mat and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and recognized and praised and thanked God, saying, We have never seen anything like this before! 

Mark 2:11-12

Isabel is "going on home" TODAY!

From Rick & Mary

"Great is thy faithfulness...morning by morning new mercies I see...."

It is a amazing to see what God has done in Isabel's life since we got to St. Mary's Rehab Center; the children made a "that was then, this is now" list.

When she came to St. Mary's a little over a month ago:

• She had a trach
• She was sleepy much of the time; she even fell asleep during therapy!
• She did not make a sound
• She moved her legs and her left hand, but not her right hand
• She could not stand up
• She was put in a sitting position and held up by someone
• She started nodding for YES and shaking for NO
• She communicated her choice by placing a hand on the hand that represented that choice
• She was fed through a tube to her stomach
• She did not assist at all when being moved

Now by God's grace:

• She has no trach and the wound is healing beautifully
• She is alert and is sleeping much better
• She is talking and can carry on a conversation
• She is using her right arm and hand as well as her left
• She is walking with a walker in therapy 
• She is sitting up by herself
• She is feeding herself
• She is able to do most self care with a little assistance
• She chooses her wardrobe
• She is using the phone independently; she called one evening to find out what we were doing!
• She is cognizant of her needs and beckons help when appropriate
• She is playing games
• She has been on several outings with her family
• She is now doing most of the work when being moved

The latest victories are:

• She walked by herself between parallel bars without any support or help from the therapists
• She has passed the swallow test and is able to eat regular consistency food and drink ...this means she can have Ted Drewe's.....YEAH!  And soon Will McDonald and I (Rick) will be able to break our Ted Drewe's fast along with Isabel.
• God continues to minister to others through Isabel.

                             Our God is faithful, He will work within us,
                             Fulfilling all the purpose He has planned.
                             Cleansing our hearts and filling with His Spirit,
                             To make us strong to keep His last command.

                              Declare His glory among the nations.
                              Through all creation His triumph sing,
                              Till all earth's peoples bow in adoration,
                              And Jesus Christ be everlasting King.

We thank God for all of you standing with us and holding us up when we could not stand and continuing in faithful prayer and encouragement while we join Isabel in this hard work of reclaiming what was lost.

Please pray with us for:

• the extreme sensitivity in Isabel's legs to subside.
• Isabel to know of God's great love and care for her and to draw her strength from Him.
• protection of Isabel's spirit as her level of awareness increases.

From Rick & Mary

But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more...Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things.  Who, O God is like you?  Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter you will restore my life again... Ps 71:14-20

God continues His work in Isabel's life through little bits of amazing progress in her therapy sessions.  It is amazing to think back a little over a month ago we were so excited about her grasping a marker in her left hand.  Now she is working on walking with a walker.

Earlier this week we had dinner with Isabel and showed her how to answer the phone in her room and placed within her reach.  I told her would call her later that evening to say: "Good Night!".  To our surprise she called us at home, using only her left hand.  We were shocked by this simple gesture. 

All Glory to the one who created her and is restoring her!

Rick

The New Look

Isabel, the artist, is back!  Today she decided to play around with a different palate and look for this blog space, to reflect her own design preferences in lieu of those that were made some two months ago on her behalf in keeping with the somber outlook that blanketed our hearts.

How many of us thought we'd never again see the world through her eyes?

Thank you, Isabel, for sharing the way you see with the rest of us!  We are honored to share in your enthusiasm and this positive affirmation of re-creation!  We see God in you and Praise Him for being there!

Hallelujah!