We travelled to Sherman today to see my Mom. She is a patient in Wilson N. Jones Hospital there. She is being treated for Congestive Heart Failure and irregular heart rhythm. Her oxygen saturation is getting back up in the normal range(93-98); she is receiving breathing treatments and continues to get lasix for the fluid buildup around her heart and an IV medication to regulate her rhythm. Her regular doctor will meet with the cardiologist on Monday. She may need to have a stint.

Mom and Dad are in hope that she can go home on Monday and if the procedure needs to be performed then they will schedule it at bit later. She is feeling much better and looks great. She felt good enough to begin to plan Christmas dinner with me today. Go Mom!! My mom is so cool. She already has the cherry pie made, dressing prepared, and potato casserole ready and frozen in the deep freeze. (She has promised her amazing pecan pie though.) All we have to do is bake everything Christmas morning. She is amazing!! Prayer warriors, please continue to pray for her and my Dad.

Ezekiel 16:26 says, “A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you…” What a day to read this scripture! As my Mom heals through this bout with CHF she will have to make some changes. She will not get a “new” heart, but she will have to change how she takes care of the one she has. New medication will be added to her daily regimen. She will need to watch for signs of any recurrence and get to the doctor a.s.a.p. and not at the last minute this time. When Ezekiel received this word, God was telling Ezekiel about giving the nation of Israel a new heart and spirit. I think this scripture applies to us today. God, through the life and death of Jesus wants to give us a new heart and a new spirit.

Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.” We are called to change our heart to be more like Christ and to invite the renewing power of the Holy Spirit to help us make those changes. We have to change the way we care for our hearts, by changing the way we live our lives. We will need to exercise more by studying God’s Word. We will need to keep our appointments with the Great Physician and then follow what He tells us to do. Prayer is the vehicle in which we will keep our appointments with the Great Physician. We need to run when we mess up and allow that clean heart to shine through and when we feel a relapse of going back into our old ways, we need to go to God at the first sign and not wait until sin has over taken our lives. Just as my Mom takes breathing treatments to keep her lungs clear of congestion, we need a spiritual breathing treatment. To spiritually breathe we confess or exhale our sins and sinful nature to the Doc and then breathe in the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit and receive the right spirit of which we have asked.

What changes are we willing to make to have a “new” heart and a right spirit? Sometimes it is easier to live with the old heart and old ways we know. My Mom is taking the necessary steps to feel better and to prolong her life. Not just her days, but the quality of her days. Are we willing to do the same with our “heart of hearts?” Are we willing to give our clutter and congestion to the One who can heal our spirits, our brokenness and our failures? Let’s give it a try.

The season of Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child; the Child who will change the world one heart at a time. Let us be counted among the hearts that are changed.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.