Beauty For The Heart®

Sunday Encouragement-Praying for Bennett

I shared with you last week that Colt was starting preschool. I talked about how our daughter, Courtney is having to let go. As mothers we all know that letting go is a part of the process.

Sunday Encouragement-Praying For Bennett

Colt goes to preschool 3 days a week, and he was having a great week until Friday when he had three “accidents” in his pants. Unfortunately, if you have three “accidents” you have to sit out for 2 weeks to work on potty training.

Courtney called me Friday afternoon in tears. I reminded her that it was not the end of the world. Colt would be fine and we (her family) would all help with Colt over the next 2 weeks. This is such a small bump in the road.

I was reminded of this when I read an update on Caring Bridge from a family that I’ve been fiercely praying for.

I mentioned Bennett to you all about a month ago. Bennett is a 2 1/2 year old baby girl that is fighting for her life. She has been diagnosed with a high grade and very aggressive infant brain tumor called a PNET.

Bennett had surgery and 95% of the tumor was removed but the 5% that is left is actually a BIG problem . I can’t begin to tell you all that this family is going through!

Sunday Encouragement-Praying For Bennett

I want to share an excerpt from Bennett’s Mom that she wrote on Friday:

“I’ve learned that chemo is similar to eggs and everybody takes it a different way. There are lots of different cocktails of medicines for every diagnosis so it is really hard to compare notes. For us, oddly enough, the worst part of the treatment, by far, is the dressing changes. This seems rather odd to anyone outside of the pediatric oncology world because everyone inside it KNOWS that the ‘tape’ is downright terrible. When we first got here several nurses would tell me that the tape is what patients complain about the most and I found that hard to understand. Well believe me…it is! Bennett refers to her tape as stickers. Since she has a double lumen line she has 5 VERY ‘sticky’ stickers that cover her entire abdomen. Every Tuesday all of them are removed and replaced with new ones. Chemo attacks those cells that rapidly reproduce and that includes skin cells so her skin is raw beneath the stickers. It really hurts to have stickers ripped off of already sensitive skin. No parent should have to restrain their child for nearly 30 minutes while they scream continuously and look at you pleading “let me go” and “it hurts Mommy.” I really can’t describe it accurately but it is horrendous. Bennett’s skin is already raw and blistered after just 2 dressing changes. I dread Tuesdays and I’ll take extra prayers on those days.”

I was in tears as I read Katie Ann’s post about Bennett.

So today, I’m going to ask a favor from you. Would you pray for Bennett this week?  I’m especially asking for prayers on Tuesday morning.

I know I have many prayer warriors who read my blog so I’m begging you to lift Bennett up in prayer. Pray this week they might somehow find “blessings” in the midst of all they’re going through.

If you’re willing to pray for Bennett, would you leave a comment just saying, Praying for Bennett.

I don’t normally ask this but would you share this post and ask others to pray for Bennett. I know this family would appreciate the prayers.

This song by Natalie Grant tugs at my heart. (You might want to grab a tissue.)

 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…Ephesians 3:20

Have a blessed Sunday friends!

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  15. Praying for sweet Bennett and her parents. May God hold them close and give them comfort and healing.

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  17. Praying for Bennett!! I am the librarian at our elementary school. We have a bible club meeting every Tuesday morning. We prayed for Bennett this morning.

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  20. Praying for Bennett. Having one going thru chemo for leukemia, I get a bit where she is coming from. Will continue to pray for her.

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  21. Praying for Bennett…sweet little baby! Praying for your little grandson, too…accidents happen, but I am sure he will be back in pre-school and better than ever! 🙂

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  36. Praying for her and hers.

    I’m also praying for Colt. I hope he doesn’t interpret his “suspension” as punishment for a natural bodily function. Everyone has their own developmental timeframe.

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  54. Praying for sweet Bennet. Also to give courage and strength to her parents going through this terrible ordeal.

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  57. Praying for Bennett. This subject is very close to my heart. My friend’s little boy had a PNET tumor. Blessings to Bennett’s family.

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  63. Praying for Bennett and her sweet family! May God surround them with comfort and peace during this trying time and provide healing to sweet little Bennett!

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  84. Praying for Bennett and her family. I lead a Parent & Preschool literacy group on Tuesday mornings and am certain the 30 moms/dads attending will gladly join me!

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  92. Sorry it this is duplicate…for some reason the site states that my comment failed. but I am praying for Bennett, especially on Tuesday.

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  94. After reading your post today I felt compelled to share what my husband ,who is also a pastor,wrote yesterday. I realize it is lengthy, but it is applicable to prayers for Bennett, and everyone else who is struggling.
    I AM WILLING
    ‘Behold, a leper came to Jesus, and bowed down to Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing. Be cleansed!’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed’ Matthew 8:2-3

    A defiled outcast with leprosy, forsaken by all others, and sentenced to the ‘slow death’ in a secluded leper colony outside the town in a wilderness wasteland, came to Jesus with a miracle of faith beginning to live within his heart. He bowed down before Jesus and declared his faith that this poor carpenter’s son from the despised town of Nazareth possessed the supernatural power of God to cure the incurable. The seed of faith within him was growing from, ‘You are Able’ to do the impossible, to ‘You are Willing’ to do the impossible! The Resurrected and Reigning Lord Jesus is not only ‘able’ to do the miraculous but the compassionate Good Shepherd is ‘willing’ to work His Wonders for all who bow before Him and ask! He is willing to make dirty sinners like you and me CLEAN! Can you hear it? Jesus says, ‘I am willing! Be cleansed!’

    Jesus Marvels
    Then a Roman army officer came to Jesus and humbled himself before the Lord. He said, ‘I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.’ This Army Officer knew the Lord was not only ‘able’ but ‘willing’ to work wonders for his paralyzed servant who was in great pain. Can you hear it? Jesus says, ‘I am willing! Be healed!.’ This is one of only two places in the whole New Testament that Jesus ‘marveled.’ He marveled at the great humility of a Roman leader who bowed the knees of his heart before the Almighty Lord with a beautiful assurance that the Great One was a Willing One.

    A Mother -in-Law
    Peter gave his mother-in-law the greatest gift by bringing Jesus home. Jesus saw her lying in bed with a high fever and The Willing One touched her and she was healed in such a magnificent way that she got up and served them all dinner! Later that evening after the Sabbath was over, multitudes of sick and demonized people were brought to Jesus and The Willing One healed multitudes and delivered multitudes. Listen to Jesus!!! He says, ‘I am willing! Be healed! I am willing! Be delivered!’ In his hometown of Nazareth, he did very few miracles, and He marveled (the only other time in the Bible) at their unbelief, as they were paralyzed by their foolish doubt which did not believe that He was willing and able. Are you a Believer or a Doubter?

    Follow Me
    Miracles do result in large crowds! Sometimes people are only looking for a Wonder and could care less about hearing the Lord Jesus’ Word! As Jesus saw the large crowds gathering, He proclaimed the Word: ‘Follow Me!’ He never hesitated to tell people ‘the worst first’ as He is not a deceiver trying to trick people into His Kingdom. The Road is difficult, demanding, and dangerous; but it is also The Road to Peace, Joy, Love, Blessing, Fulfillment, and Life (abundant and eternal!). He is willing to give us everything as we follow Him.
    Do you hear Jesus? He is saying, ‘I am willing! Follow Me!’

    Storms in The Night
    Following Jesus can get you into trouble! The disciples who heard Jesus say, ‘Follow Me,’ did so and got into a boat with Him. Before they knew it, they were in a hurricane in the middle of the night on the Sea of Galilee. As you follow Jesus, you may find yourself in the midst of ‘The Storms of Life’ and in a ‘Very Dark Place!’ But He is always with you! As they were overwhelmed with fear, doubt grew in their hearts and they did not trust Jesus’ Control or Jesus’ Care. ‘You don’t care’ was their cry and they certainly did not realize that the sleeping one in the boat was in complete control. It did not look like it! But He is the Willing One, even for doubting disciples, and He arose and spoke the Word, ‘Be Still,’ and the winds and the waves obeyed Him. Now that it was perfectly calm, the disciples were much more afraid, and cried out, ‘Who is this that even the Winds and the Waves obey Him?’ As you follow Jesus there will be ‘Storms in the Night,’ but The Willing One is always with you and He will speak the Word, ‘Be still,’ and He will either calm the storm, or He will calm your heart and His Peace will reign! Do you hear Jesus? He is saying, ‘I am willing! Be Still!’

    Demonic Power is Real
    When they came to shore, they went from the frying pan into the fire! Following Jesus is the greatest adventure in the world! Jesus led them into a graveyard in the country of the Gadarenes, and two demon-possessed men with supernatural strength met them. They were so violent that nobody could pass by that road. I wonder if it was night time and if the disciples were in the dark again! Jesus is willing and it only takes a Word. He commanded, ‘Be Gone!,’ and immediately the men were delivered from their demonic bondage into the Freedom they were created for. The townspeople were certainly not prepared for Jesus’ Gospel of Word and Wonders, and immediately they begged Him to leave. Would it be any different in your town? My town? We don’t understand the demonic very well, and we don’t understand Jesus’ Delivering Power very well. Do you hear Jesus? He is saying, ‘I am willing! Be Set Free!.’

    The Greatest Miracle
    Then Jesus returned to His home in Capernaum where He had moved from Nazareth before the start of His ministry. It does not surprise me that He did not want to live in the ‘town of unbelief.’ The persevering faith of four friends resulted in the Greatest Miracle of all. Huge crowds were surrounding Jesus as His Word and Wonder ministry was attracting multitudes. The four could not get their paralyzed friend on a stretcher into the house where Jesus was teaching. You may know the story. They dug a hole in the roof and lowered him down right in front of Jesus. What a mess! Jesus is Willing! And it only takes a Word! Be Forgiven! That can change your life when it becomes real. The religious leaders mocked Jesus, saying to themselves (not out loud), evil things about Jesus. But He knows it all and He said it out loud: ‘Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?’ That must have shocked them. Then to prove that He is the only one in the Universe with the authority to forgive a sinner, He commanded the paralytic to rise up and walk. The Small Miracle was that this man was healed and walked out in the sight of all; while The Greatest Miracle was the Truth that the Risen and Reigning Lord Jesus has the authority to really forgive sinners in a life-changing (eternal life) way! Do you hear Jesus?
    He is saying, ‘I am willing! Be Forgiven!.’

    Enough to Make a Grown Man Cry
    In Isaiah 30:15 the Lord says to a rebellious people, ‘In Repentance and Rest you will be Saved. And in Quietness and Faith is your strength.’ That is the Gospel of Repentance and Faith. Anyone who will repent by confessing they are ‘filthy and flawed’ and ‘horrible and helpless’ and who will in Faith come to the Lord Jesus as the Only Way, will indeed be saved and blessed with all the treasure and riches of His Kingdom of Life, forever and ever! When the people heard this message they responded by saying, ‘No! We are not willing!’ That is enough to make a Grown Man (me!) cry! The Lord Jesus says, ‘I am willing! Be cleansed! I am willing! Be Healed! I am willing! Be Delivered! I am willing! Be a Follower! I am willing! Be Set Free!
    I am willing! Be Forgiven!’ And multitudes hear this message and say, ‘No! I am not willing!’ What an irony. Jesus is Willing (and able!) but many of us are ‘Not Willing!’ In Isaiah 30 the Lord of compassion responds to the ‘No! I am not willing!’ by saying, ‘The Lord longs to be gracious to you…He waits on high to have compassion on you.’ He goes on to say that for all who will humble themselves and follow Him, that they will be blessed in the following way: ‘you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When He hears it, He will answer you. Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher, and your ears will hear a word behind you (His Voice!), saying ‘This is The Way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left….on the day the Lord will bind up the fracture of His people, and heal the bruise He has inflicted.’ Doesn’t that melt your heart??? There are so many ways that the Risen and Reigning Lord Jesus says to us all, ‘I Am Willing!’ What is He saying to you? What is He saying to me? Do we hear the Beautiful words from His mouth? ‘I Am Willing! Be __________!’ You fill in the blank with His Word for you! Believe it!!!
    written by my pastor, my husband Bryan

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  102. This puts life in perspective — praying for Bennett and her precious family.
    Also praying for your sweet daughter and grandson, because that is hard on a mommy’s heart and God cares about all things. Please know your family and the family of Bennett are bathed in prayers tonight!

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  109. Praying for Bennett. (And for your grandson’s potty training. My sister has to train her 3 year old for daycare and it is stressful. )

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  129. Prayers for Bennett and for her family as it has to be so hard for her mom and dad to watch the pain that she is going through.

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  130. Praying for Bennett and her whole family. Praying also for her medical team–May God guide their hands and minds. Praying for the creation of non-ouchy stickers!

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  148. Of course I will, we have 14 Grands, many are little ones. I’m praying the balm of gilead over Bennett. May the Lord remove those bandages pain free. Amen and amen………..

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  162. Praying For Bennett! What an honor to go before the throne and lift up this little girl and her family. Thank you for sharing. Tears were in my eyes just thinking about what they have to go through with her. ;-( I will also be praying for Colt and hid potty training. How old is he now? Have Blessed evening 😉

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  163. Praying for Bennett & her family as well as the nurses who must remove the tape. Prayers also for Colt & Courtney.

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  165. Praying for Bennett, her family, and those treating her. Also praying for Courtney and Colt and you .

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  168. To remove the medical tape try the Mary Kay eye make up remover. I don’t sale it but maybe you could find someone. A friend whose child had chemo used that to help.

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  171. Praying for Bennett. So sad for a child to go through this. Also prayers for Colt and Courtney and YOU. It may not be as big as cancer but it is big to your daughter. Will also share.

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  176. Praying for Bennett!

    Have your daughter check out potty training boot camp, we did a version of this for our grandson, and it works!!

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  196. Praying for Bennett. I can sort of relate to what your daughter is going through and letting go of your child. We let go in order to place them in the hands of God and trust Him to care for them. I also have had to let go of my 24 year old son and entrust him to Gods care as I allow him to go through some consequences of bad decisions. It is very difficult.

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  203. Lifting Bennett up in prayer, as well as her family. My girls are allergic to the adhesive on normal bandages and get a rash, raw skin…I cannot even imagine how much more painful and awful it is for her.
    Lifting Colt up as well. I am a former preschool teacher, and I teach 2 year old Bible study currently…we go through the potty training thing all the time. I had not heard of making them sit out and have to readjust to school all over again. I guess they do that if they are older?

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  207. Praying for Bennett. I just found Katie Ann’s caring bridge account last night. My heart breaks for this family.

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  214. I am praying for Bennett. May Jesus whisper words of love and healing over this precious baby and her family.

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  218. Praying for Bennett as well as her family and medical staff. Also for Colt and Courtney. God bless them all.

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  222. Oh, how we take for granted healthy children. I can’t imagine what tey are going through. Praying for Bennett!!

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  225. praying for Bennett
    also praying for Colt and Courtney. I am sure she is concerned about how this will bother him and is it some underlying challenge he is suffering but has not verbalized. We mommas do those things.

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  232. Praying for Bennett – especially on Tuesdays!! I pray God lessens the pain of her dressing changes and encourages her parents through this.

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