Prayer for Pastor Glen Jackson

Just received this latest update regarding Glen:

There has been some encouraging news through the night. The neurologist is encouraged because he noticed some involuntary movement in Glen's leg last night. This definitely shows signs of brain activity and that is a good sign.

Glen's brother says that Glen responded to directions for movement last night also. All these things are good news.

The doctors did another cat scan this morning but we will not have the results on that until this afternoon. Glen is still bleeding.

Pray for the bleeding to stop, pray for complete and total restoration of Glen's health and mental capabilities. God is able and willing to come to Glen's rescue. That is His specialty.

Prayer for Pastor Glen Jackson

As of 8:30 pm Pacific Time, Pastor Glen's condition is still listed as critical, and he is still in a coma. This morning's CT Scan revealed that considerable bleeding in the mid-brain area is still happening. They have ruled out the bleeding to be the result of a stroke or an aneurysm.

They are likening the bleeding to the bursting of a water main. There is nothing they can do to stop the bleeding. The Jackson family needs a miracle!

Prayer for Pastor Glen Jackson

I wanted to give you the latest news I have heard and to request continued prayer for Pastor Glen Jackson, founding and current Pastor of Faith Christian Church here in Simi Valley for over 25 years.

This morning, Glen collapsed and was rushed to Simi Valley Hospital. He was diagnosed as having a brain aneurysm. He was then airlifted to Holy Cross Hospital for further diagnosis and treatment.

His current condition is still listed as critical, and he is still in a coma from bleeding in the brain. An angiogram was performed just a few hours ago in an attempt to find out where exactly the bleeding is occurring in the brain.

The angiogram revealed a blood clot near the brain stem, but they were not able to find the spot(s) where bleeding is occurring. They will perform another CT scan in the morning to try and identify any of those places.

I will continue to keep you informed as I know more. For now, please keep bringing Glen, Nicki, and their families before the Lord. For those who may feel led, fasting may even be appropriate.

Josh's 1st Post-op Appointment

Took Josh to the Dr. today for his first post-op appointment. The x-ray shows that everything is healing normally. The Doc reports that the pain and even mild fever at times (none in last several days) sounds pretty normal.

Turns out the reason for the 8 weeks in cast (rather than hoped-for 6) is that TWO procedures were done and need to be considered. One was the fibroma removal and bone graft. Other was the holes drilled in growth plate to arrest the growth of the left leg. Gives the right leg a chance to catch up and even out the legs.

Since he had both done, Doc wants to go slow and give plenty of time for healing and such. Makes sense, but Josh is still bummed about going to school for a couple weeks in a cast. Pray for his little heart when you think about it, would you?

Pastor Greg Laurie's Son Killed In Car Accident

Pray for Pastor Greg Laurie's family tonight. His 33 year old son, Christopher, was killed in a car accident this morning in Riverside. You can leave condolences here.

Twitter Hits USA Today

For those still wondering what the big deal about Twitter is, click here to read the story in USA Today.

For those who finally want to get on the bandwagon, click here to follow me on Twitter.

Simi Valley Starbucks Set To Close

In case you haven't heard the news yet, the Starbucks at the corner of Royal & Madera is on the hit list. Starbucks is closing 600 of its stores nationwide, and this location is the only one in Ventura County on the chopping block. That's going to change this stat big time!

In case that's your store, my condolences.

In case you're wondering if a store near you is closing, click here.

Sad news. Sad, sad news.

Roller Coaster

The last few days have been BOTH invigorating AND draining. How can that be?

It's been INVIGORATING to take a week off to be available for the needs of my family. Josh's surgery went well, and that's invigorating! Most of his recovery so far has gone well, and that's also invigorating to me. At times through the week, we've SLEPT a lot ..... you know it .... invigorating. And, just being together as family ..... in-stinkin--vigorating!

Then, church this morning was incredibly invigorating! "Interactive Worship Sunday" for the first time and Katie Miller and the team did an amazing job leading us to the throne of God, not just in "song worship", but in various forms of worship. It's downright good to regularly remind ourselves that worship is not about US, it's about GOD! It was Katie's awesome idea and one we will do again!

It's also been a DRAINING week. Taking care of each other is a LOT of work! 3 am pain med checks are no fun on the body! It's great when recovery is going well, but when it's not? DRAINING! I can NOT imagine what God the Father went through watching Jesus suffer. Seriously, NO comprehension here whatsoever.

I know it's true for any parent, but it HURTS when you watch your kid hurt! Today turned out to be Josh's worst day of pain so far. The anesthesia must have worn off overnight, because up until today we were thinking this was gonna be cake! Not to be, and that's draining. He and I took a nap this afternoon trying to calm some of his hardest pain. When I woke up less than two hours later, I seriously thought it had to be Monday morning. I guess that's how drained I was.

Anyway, it's been a roller coaster!

Joshua Recovery Update

Having been home almost 24 hours now, Josh seems to be doing well. Slept well (we were all pretty exhausted!), waking up only for the pain med rotation. His pain level has been pretty good today. Colleen has been working with his meds to curb some nausea and dizziness he's dealing with. We've kept it to rest and relaxation today, and that's actually been really nice!!

Joshua's Surgery Update

We don't have internet access at the hospital, so I am posting from my phone. The doctor was very pleased with how surgery went today.

So far, Josh has handled the pain really well though the doctor did say he put quite a bit of anesthetic into the bone and muscle area.

It is 5:30 pm now and the anisthetic seems to be wearing off. Josh is making his own comments about the pain but is still handling it well. We anticipate going home within the next couple of hours.

I'll post again once we're home.

Latest on Josh's Surgery

Latest info on Josh's surgery ... we saw the doctor for the pre-op appointment last Monday. He took his own x-rays, which showed the fibroma to be the same size and location as already known.

Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday (July 15) at Northridge Hospital at 7:00 am. While it is still set for an outpatient procedure, the doctor said there is an 80% chance he will stay overnight. It all depends on how he does with pain management, using the crutches and the restroom on his own. If he does well with all three on Tuesday, he comes home that day. If there is any question, or he recovers slow, he stays overnight and comes home Wednesday.

An additional piece of information has Josh a bit bugged. In the first appointment a few weeks ago, the doc said he'd be in a cast and then a brace for a total of 6 weeks. The surgery is exactly six weeks before school starts. Josh was NOT wanting to go to school in a cast or brace.

Well, on Monday, the doctor said it would be 8 weeks. Josh is pretty bugged by that at this point.

Other than that, we are full steam ahead! I will post here after surgery, so feel free to check back Tuesday for updates.

Kind of a Long Day

Funerals are hard. Even when I don't know the person whose funeral I am officiating, like today, they're just hard. I think some of it for me is because I just want people to feel better, and death is something I just can't fix. I don't mean to sound weird. It's just true. I can't make it all better for the grieving family members.

After that, met with a Pastor going through some church crisis. I am praying for him as he walks through more of it tonight in a meeting.

Then, had lunch with Pastors from all over Simi Valley and Moorpark, sponsored by our local Community Pregnancy Clinic. They brought in Star Parker as a preview to their annual banquet on September 26. Powerful speaker and advocate for the unborn! I had never heard of her before today, but I am already looking forward to the Banquet!

Two other meetings, one this afternoon and another this evening, along with a phone call with someone on the East Coast (is there such a thing as phone lag?!) have this old night owl tired early.

Peace out!

Loose Ends

Tonight, I am working on my notes for a memorial service I will officiate in the morning for a man I have never had the pleasure to meet. If you are a Pastor, maybe you feel like I do about what we get to do: it is a deep and awesome privilege to be invited into some of life’s most sacred moments because of Who and what we represent.

I’ll talk about that more here someday …. but for now, ….

This is one of those families that I rarely come by, in terms of this man (again, I never knew him) and his legacy truly oozing out of his wife and daughter.

While I am putting my notes together, a friend (who is also a Pastor) calls me. He says, “I couldn’t sleep tonight until I called to say I’ve been thinking about you all day. I couldn’t live with myself until you knew that not only was I thinking about you, but that God’s heart smiles when He thinks of you, and you are a real asset to the Kingdom of God.”

I was blown away! The man whose memorial service I will lead …. he died on the 4th of July of a sudden heart attack, leaving too many things undone and unspoken. A good man with too many loose ends.

My friend didn’t want to leave any loose ends, and reminded me that neither do I. What are the loose ends for you?

Bad end to a difficult conversation with a loved one? Unfinished business between you and a friend? Unresolved conflict between you and a neighbor? Words you know ought to be spoken or written before it’s too late?

I got ‘em, you got ‘em, we all got ‘em. Dare to say what some of yours are?

A Grand 4th of July

Hung at the Park tonight with a number of SVPD Officers. With Colleen and the boys gone with family up north, I took the opportunity to spend the 4th of July with the Police Department.

It started at 5:00 pm at the Station going through the Briefing with the detail of Officers working the 4th of July festivities. Our City does a pretty large party every July 4th that ends with fireworks.

There were about 20 Officers and Explorers at the Briefing with another 20 or so already in the field. When the Briefing ended at 5:30, I was called by the Watch Commander and asked to respond to the ER to a report of a man not breathing (read below).

After leaving the hospital, I went to In & Out to pick up 50 Double Doubles and fries for the Officers working the Park event. I was really proud of our local In & Out! They donated half the bill and didn't even flinch at the huge order! To top it off, they got it done in 23 minutes!!

The rest of the evening was spent connecting with a BUNCH of Officers. It was a GREAT time to re-connect and connect with a lot of them at once. Spent some time walking the park and then enjoyed a grand view of the fireworks.

We learned tonight that our show was the 2nd largest fireworks event in Southern California, with the Rose Bowl being the largest. Having seen a few of our events in the past, it was definitely the best I've seen our city do!

Looking forward to Colleen and the boys coming home tomorrow night, and then a great Sunday at church. We have Randy Stonehill with us, followed by an old-fashioned Church Family BBQ!

Chaplain Callout

I was called to respond to the hospital at 5:30 pm today, where a 60 year old man had been taken after being found not breathing by his family at home. When I arrived, he had already been pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack.

His wife, daughter and son-in-law were with him. He had complained of chest pain and pain in his jaw last night. Today, he was generally not feeling well, but family encouragements to call the doctor or go to the ER were turned away by him. He went to take a nap this afternoon and they found him not breathing a couple hours later.

A Hospital Chaplain took over about 45 minutes after I showed up, and from there, I went to our local 4th of July Celebration and spent the evening with Police Officers at the Park and at the Command Post.

Happy 4th of July!

Here's to a wonderful 4th of July to you and yours! I hope it rings something of freedom's reign in your heart that goes far beyond burgers, hot dogs, lots of goodies and pool parties! May the depth of what this day represents move strongly in your heart today and cause us all to stop for a few moments to give thanks to the Father for the gift that freedom is.

Colleen and the boys are up north this weekend, taking a last minute opportunity that arose to spend a few days with her parents and all siblings at her brother's "back 40" in Lincoln, CA. I stayed behind due to a few work things that needed tending over these days.


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It's not often that Colleen's siblings are all together at once in the same place. Doesn't happen much for mine either, but anyways, that's where they're hanging right now. Her borther literally has 40 acres up there that he is building a house on. The family has already been doing a bit of framing during their time there.

For us, the 4th of July is usually spent sleeping in and hanging at the BBQ and backyard with family and friends. Almost always culminates with the City Fireworks Extravaganza either from a nearby view at the Park, or seeing what we can from the roof of our house.

With Colleen and the boys gone, I am taking the first part of the day to relax and read. I am hoping to get a ride-along this afternoon and into the night, figuring this would be a good night to get out with a couple of Police Officers and see what's happening behind the fireworks in our City.

If anything exciting happens, I'll let you know!