Manic Monday? Poop, Poison, Run Away Dog, Hospitals and More!

It was a Monday like I've not had for some time and I think it has finally come to an end but then again it is nearly midnight so I guess it should be ending.

I didn't get out of bed until nearly 9:30 and that was a good start. However within the first 30 minutes we had an elderly Alzheimer father in-law who had a fecal accident. My mother-in-law was not feeling well and attempted to get him changed. Soon I couldn't find our 10 wk old puppy, only to find her eating poop in the bathroom a few minutes later. I quickly got her cleaned up and back in her kennel for some rest.

Caryl got her dad shower and got him dressed for the day. During this time we noticed that her mom was more disoriented than the day before and that she continued to have some jerking of her arm. Her medicines had just been changed a few days ago so we've been believing that this is side-affects of the new medicines. As the morning progressed we noticed that she was getting worse so we called her doctor. He recommended that she go to the hospital to be evaluated and rule out anything that may be going wrong.

Meanwhile- I had a call to help a family get a tow dolly to go pick up a car in Tucson. When we were at U-haul it turned out that the vehicle they had to pull the dolly/car was not large enough so we couldn't make this work.

Our niece, Melyssa came to help with dad while Caryl was at the doctor. What a huge help and Marley came along to play and Johnny was entertained. About mid-afternoon dad let Little-Man (Mom's escape artist Bichon Frise) out the front door. Melyssa was able to get him back but not before dad had made his way partially down the street. Meanwhile I was partially oblivious as Johnny was doing a poop and Marley was playing upstairs. Soon Daniel, my awesome friend next door, was ringing the doorbell to deliver dad back home.

Around 4 Pm I arrived back from the store with a few items that we needed for the day. Around that time I had Susan come by to help rearrange mom/dad's room so that she would have a more comfortable bed. Meanwhile Melyssa took dad, Marley and Johnny outside - and I believed all the dogs were along. Once I thought I heard something and I went to check and see if a dog had been trapped in our pantry - didn't see anything.

Then about 5 min later Johnny comes to tell me that Sydney (our 10 wk old Mastiff puppy) had been trapped in the pantry. Not sure how she got in there other than that she followed Johnny in for a snack. Well, her snack was a tray of phosphorescent blue rat poison. Called her vet. They said make her vomit by using peroxide and then get her to the Doggy ER as quickly as possible. Didn't seem like she would vomit and then we finally had HUGE piles of blue vomit - lovely and then other dogs trying to get into it. I'd like to say I kept my cool but I yelled a bit and was rather forceful with everyone. Finally I'm off to the ER vet which is 30 minutes away in Chandler. Melyssa & Susan both agreed to stay behind and clean up the vomit, watch dad and keep the kids entertained.

The vet was so professional and so good. I'd like to say I've never been there before but our epileptic Dalmatian of days gone by made quite a few visits. Turns out the vomiting was good for Sydney. She got a good dose of liquid charcoal, a Vitamin K shot, an IV and a prescription for 21 days of Vitamin K. At the end of that we'll check her clotting levels and if they are OK we'll be done - if not - more Vitamin K. Fortunately second generation rat poisons are treatable and we should have a full grown Mastiff in the year to come! Praise God as I already love this dog and could not face Kelvin (the breeder) if she had not survived!

Meanwhile Caryl and mom have now been in ER for over 12 hours. She was seen by a doctor in the past hour. Prior to that they did about 5 tests - chest X-Ray, Head CT, Blood work, Urine tests and more. They are now looking to admit her as her oxygen levels have not been good, swelling is very bad and they want to run a few more tests. Looks like it could be 3-8 hrs until she gets a room - Wow do we need more capacity in health care in AZ or what?

The puppy is sleeping. My son is sleeping and Susan is staying over to help with him. Dad is changed for a final time and in bed asleep. I'm catching up on some blogging and other online stuff and will take my position on the couch downstairs very soon. Have to to be sure Dad doesn't get out again tonight!

I really have laughed today - what else could we do? Was it just another Manic Monday? You decide!

Oasis Sunday Night Reflections

Another Sunday has come and gone at Oasis. Today we began a new series, "Sexual Revolution" and here are a few thoughts for tonight:

• Sex seems easy to talk about just about anywhere but church
• This was definitely the first time that I've spoken in a public format about sex
• The lies of the enemy about sex are so distorted that as the church we have to get the message out
• Sex is not just physical, it's emotional & spiritual as well.
• God created sex and he wants those who are married to have an awesome sex life. Remember if you keep it in the "fire pit" then it will be healthy and productive. If sex is outside the "fire-pit" there is opportunity for great and wide sweeping destruction
• God did set up his standards on sex so that he could control us and keep us from having a "good time" here on earth. He did it to protect us.
• Not to protect us from pregnancy & disease but rather to protect our souls.
• Don't let the enemy mess up your soul so that you cannot have intimacy as God created it. If he can mess it up in your vertical relationships it will get messed up in your vertical relationship with God.
• I love Perry Noble's tweet today - "Jesus didn't call me into ministry because I'm good...but because HE is good!" Man, does my soul resonate with that!
• Every day I thank God for the opportunity to do what I'm doing. I am the most unlikely person to be leading a church.
• Those he calls, he equips.
• Humility counts
• I love it when we see people at Oasis becoming the hands & feet of Jesus. What an awesome week of seeing those who are less fortunate have an encounter with followers who are laying down their lives for others.
• Please pray comfort for the Howard family as they lost a 29 yr old niece this week, who had a 6 week old baby as well. She passed away from complications from pneumonia & MRSA - hard to make sense of such a loss. Holy Spirit, come and be comfort that only you can provide.
• I love living where I do. I love the city of Maricopa and I love living on the street I do. I love being next door to someone that I count a such a good friend. Really fun to be out on the street this evening with so many neighbors and our kids - community - it matters!
• Still praying for the 30 families and individuals that God has for us to step up and serve at Oasis in the next few months. We are well on our way!
• Had an awesome Valentines day with my wife! Hadn't had a date in nearly 5 months so we were long over due! We enjoyed an awesome movie "Slumdog Millionaire" and then ate sushi at RA Sushi - what a treat!
• Love the momentum we are experiencing!
• Looking forward to all that God has in store for us at Oasis.
• Do you believe that the wall is coming down? I believe!

So is our thinking about sex really that distorted?

***

We live in a sex saturated culture. But - don't we know more and so we are more "in tune" with our sexuality? The church has been either silent on sex or said, "stay away - you should be pure and celibate. Don't think about it"

Join us starting Sunday Feb 15 as we look at how we all need a make over of our view on sex. Didn't God create it? Did he say it was good? Is our thinking about sex really that distorted? What is a Biblical view of sex? How can we stay pure and yet enjoy sex? How do we talk to our children about it? What is sexual addiction and how do we overcome it?

Join us at 8:30 or 10:30 AM at Oasis Life Church as we tackle this subject. I am really excited that we are going to talk about sex in the place where we should be most safe to discuss this!

***This series is rate PG-13 and we strongly advise all children to be placed in the KidSplash ministry during this series or you may be explaining things you are not ready to explain. In addition, we are opening our 3-5th grade class to 6/7th graders during this series, should you feel your children of this age are not prepared to hear this info.

See you there! - Pastor Scott