Eddie and Martha Marie Smith

We have recieved a report that we will not be hearing any news tonight due to the radiology office not releasing the report yet.  Check back tomorrow.

 Thank you for your support and prayers!

No news yet.  We will update you when we hear something.  Thank you for praying!

Thank you for the encouragement and prayers you have brought to us!

We go tomorrow for further testing at 7 a.m.  We do not know what the rest of the week looks like or when any kind of procedure will be done.  Tomorrow’s test will determine the severity of the aneurysms.  I had thought that this could possibly be handled with medicine, but that was my mistake.  This situation will take some kind of procedure or God’s hand. The severity of the aneurysms will determine how quickly she will need to have a procedure.  If they are very severe, it is possible she will have a procedure this week.  The MRI results came back as possible that Martha Marie could have been born with this.  Martha Marie has recently had symptoms that have helped to indicate the concerns.

We’re asking Him to touch Martha Marie with no further procedures needed.

Thank you for everything!

Martha Marie had an MRI this morning as we had thought that she may have MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  The good news is that she does not have MS.  She does however have 2 brain aneurysms that could be life threatening.  We go to Greenville Memorial Hospital on Monday morning for further testing (CT Angiogram) to see how severe the aneurysms are. 

The best case scenario could be that God could heal her.  We are actually praying that God would do this.  In Joshua 10:12-13, Joshua asked God to make the sun stand still so that the Israelites could conquer the Amorites.  If Joshua had the scientific knowledge of the 21st Century, he would have realized that the earth is not flat and that the sun did not revolve around the earth.  Even though he did not have his scientific facts straight, God knew Joshua’s heart and granted his request.

We know that the Son does not revolve around us, but we are trying the best we can to let our lives revolve around the Son, Jesus.  We know that nothing happens without first passing through God’s hands.  We are claiming Psalm 37:4 which says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  We want nothing more than God’s plan for this situation and even though we do not know what is going to happen we can’t lose because we are striving to trust in God’s plan as He is in control.  Our greatest desire is for His will to be done.

Another scenario that could take place is to treat it with medicine.  The worst case scenario is for brain surgery.  We will know more once we get our test results back.  Check back for updates.

In the meantime, we are asking our Father to heal Martha Marie with the same passion as a 2 year old begging their parent for a candy bar at the check out line in Wal-mart (hopefully without the whining part).

Please pray for our endurance!

12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: ”O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.  The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. - Joshua 10:12-13

Check out this incredible article by our good friend Jaclyn Reiswig!

Martha Marie and I switched our car and home insurance from State Farm to Palmetto Insurance and now save $100 a month.

If you live in South Carolina and want to chance insurance.  Check out Palmetto Insurance.  Click here to download a quote request form.

I’m new again to the blog world, even though I have had a personal web site since 2000. 

I’d like to publicly share who my web heroes are that got me started blogging and web site designing.

1.  Stevan Sheets

I’m pretty sure this guy invented the internet.  Thank you Stevan for being the second blogger ever (Keith Drury was the first).  Thank you for all the annoying questions you answered for me about Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and all those other programs.  I would not be a .com without you! 

2.  Keith Drury 

The first blogger in the history of man kind.  He would post a column every single Tuesday of something for us to think about.

3.  Jason Denniston

Jason helped get me connected by learning how to connect nameservers and all that behind the scene stuff.  I found out at a family funeral that Jason and I are cousins even though I grew up in North Carolina and he grew up in Michigan.  Small world.

4.  Aaron Pratt

Aaron gave me my first tutorial on Front Page and helped me put together my first web site.

Thanks guys for your investment.  You are my heroes!

I have an amazing wife.  I love her and am so blessed to have her as a part of my life.  See my earlier posts here.  Here is more about what I love about Martha Marie.

2.  She desires the things of God!

Martha Marie’s desire among anything else is to do God’s will.  She challenges me so much to put my own will aside and to follow and seek what God wants.  She is definitely a Proverbs 31 woman!

There is a song that she has sang in church several times that describes her perfectly.  It’s called “I’d Rather Have Jesus”.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Than to be the king of a vast domain,
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I have an amazing wife.  I love her and am so blessed to have her as a part of my life.  This will take several posts, but I want to share some of the things I love about Martha Marie.

1.  She is beautiful inside and out!

I love what God did when he decided what Martha Marie was going to look like and act like.  Her smile lights up the room and her eyes brighten anyone’s day that connects with them.  I won’t get Song of Solomonish, but I love the rest of God’s creation of her as well! 

People are attracted to her warm personality and want to be around her. 

I’m so lucky!

Bill Gaither wrote the famous song we usually sing on Easter Sunday morning in our churches called Because He lives (lyrics below).

I am not normally a southern gospel fan, nor a big fan of hymns played to piano and organ (love them with the guitar), but ole Billy G tore it up this morning.

I know that Because He Lives I can…

• be the man God wants me to be as a husband, father, son, employee, leader, etc.
• overcome many obstacles
• live in victory
• pursue His dreams for me
• make a difference in this world

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” - 1 Corinthians 15:55

Christ overcame the grave! 

Because He Lives Lyrics 

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I’ll cross the river,
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict’ry,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!