Yesterday Tom Kurtz, Joe Ryer and I were able to spend a little time with Ian and Mary. It is amazing to see the changes and improvements that God has worked in Ian in the last few weeks. I was thinking how challenging it must be for the Murphys and Larissa to persevere. In the natural, I thought, it looks like Ian’s recovery will be a long slow process. Then this morning I read the following verse:

As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God! Psalm 40:17 (ESV)

I was struck by two things. First of all, David says that though he is poor and needy, the Lord “takes thought” for him. What an amazing statement! The Lord of the universe, the Most High God, takes thought for us who are nothing but specks of dust. He sees us, knows us intimately, thinks about us, is sympathetic toward us. He thinks about us with tenderness, pity and love. He thinks about us continually; we are never out of our heavenly Father’s thoughts; we cannot number his thoughts toward us. He takes thought for us as we sleep and work and play. Even when we aren’t thinking of him, our loving God is thinking about us.

Ian is “poor and needy” right now, but the Lord takes thought for him. Jesus looks down from heaven and sees Ian in his bed and thinks of him with affection and love. He takes thought for Ian throughout the night as he sleeps and in those hours when no one is able to be with him. And as God is taking thought for Ian, so is he for the Murphys and Larissa.

The second thing that struck me was David’s cry, “Do not delay, O my God!” Although God is sovereign and the timing of every answered prayer is up to him, God condescends to let us cry out, “Do not delay!” God lets us cry out, “Lord please answer this prayer now. Please don’t put it off. Please answer me today.”

In verse 13 David prays, “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!” He is praying, “Lord, please deliver me now! Please do it soon!” Oh, let us cry out to our God who takes thought for Ian to not delay and to make haste in healing him. If God chooses to take some time, then by God’s grace we will persevere. But I’m going to ask the Lord to make haste.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you take thought for Ian, the Murphys and Larissa. Lord Jesus, if it please you, heal Ian now. Would you do a mighty miracle today? Oh please make haste! Lord Jesus, do not delay. Thank you, Jesus!

Mark

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“We must trust God or remain without hope. We dare not look to others, for we have discovered their incompetence. We cannot rely on ourselves, for we have learned by bitter experience the folly of self-confidence. We are compelled to look to the Lord alone.” -Charles Spurgeon

It is not the medical staff at LifeCare that is keeping Ian alive. It is not us talking to Ian that is keeping him alive. We must look to the Lord alone Ian’s healing. Ian must look to the Lord alone for his strength.

“My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.” Psalm 25:15

God is Ian’s healer and provider. God is our strength and our refuge. He will deliver us.

“we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again” 2 Cor. 1:9-10

Today is Ben Murphy’s birthday. Pray that he can talk to his older brother today.

-Larissa

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I read something this morning that greatly encouraged me to pray for Ian, the Murphy Family, and Larissa. In 2 Corinthians 1:3 we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction…”

Ponder these words with me for a moment. Our God is the Father of mercies. He is abundantly rich in mercy and He delights to pour out mercy on His children. Just as a human father loves to give His children gifts, so our heavenly Father is eager to pour out His mercy upon us if only we will ask. God is eager to pour out mercy on Ian Murphy. He is eager to pour out mercy on the Murphy family and on Larissa. Let us thank God for the mercy He has already shown them and let us continue to ask Him for more mercies.

Not only is God full of mercy, but He is also the God of all comfort. He desires to comfort His children in every affliction. Do you see the tenderness of God shining forth in this passage? He is so tender and affectionate towards His children. He wants to comfort them in their afflictions. Just as an earthly father wraps his arms around his child when the child gets hurt, so God wraps us in His everlasting arms when we face affliction. He cares very much about Ian, the Murphy Family, and Larissa. His heart is soft and tender towards them in their affliction. How can we not ask such a tender and compassionate God to heal Ian? God cares about Ian more than we care about Ian. Let us ask our tender hearted God to restore Ian to his family. Also, let us ask God to comfort the Murphy’s and Larissa in their affliction. He longs to show them mercy. What a wonderful God we serve…

-Stephen A

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From Joni Cairns:

Kathie Kearney and I had the great privilege of going to see Ian today. What an encouragement we received when Ian responded to us the way he did. We spent time talking with Ian about all the happenings at church and various other nonessential banter, and he looked at us the entire time, he held our hands, and his heart rate increased. Kathie then began reading the back of one of Ian’s favorite movies, and his heart rate increased to 109 (which to our understanding is good), he smiled and lifted his thumb to the “thumbs up” position. We clapped and cheered enthusiastically! Mary’s niece, Sarah, at one point asked him to smile for Kathie and I, and he responded immediately to her request. We received the best smile in the world (although a little crooked). She was later reading to Ian and got to a part about the Lord; once again Ian’s heart rate increased to 110, he smiled and held on to Sara’s hand very tightly. Ian remained alert and active most of the 2 1/2 hours that we were there. He seemed to respond when Lydia and Larissa’s names were mentioned and when certain songs were played. I was personally motivated to pray more earnestly, and I was reminded of the faithfulness of our God. Isn’t God good to let us, his mother’s “old” friends, experience a glimpse of his goodness today?

From Kathie Kearney:

Joni Cairns and I have tried to go see Ian once a week. The difference between last Monday and today was very encouraging. When we walked in the room Sarah Hall, Ian’s cousin, was talking with him. Although Ian wasn’t totally focusing as he looked at her, somehow they were connecting. He was really gripping her hand and when she asked Ian if he would smile for us, he did, with the left corner of his mouth. Ian had been “awake” as Sarah chatted and sang for maybe an hour or two. (When Ian “sleeps”, his heart rate is in the mid 80’s and his eyes are almost closed. When he is “awake” he is blinking and his heart rate is in the 90’s and goes up into the 100’s.) Both Joni and I had the chance to sit beside Ian’s bed, hold his hand (and he ours) and talk with him. There is a very helpful sign above his bed with things to talk about; so I did. I started to talk about one of his favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption, and I read from the back of a DVD case that was there. Ian heard me and reacted. He smiled, his heart rate went up to 109, he squeezed my hand then gave a thumbs-up. We all squealed. He gave another thumbs-up as I read about The Truman Show. A bit later Sarah was reading from a short story that Ian recently had published. When she got near the end and the story was talking about God, Ian again smiled and his heart rate went up to 111. Ian is not only responding, he is responding to “Ian things”. He was “awake” and responding for about four hours.

Sarah, Joni and I walked out into the hall when the nurses were in with Ian and when we came back in he appeared to be sleeping. The three of us started talking about Larissa coming soon to the hospital and Ian heard us. Just mentioning Larissa’s name woke him up and caused his heart rate to go well into the 100’s again as we talked about her.

Please, please continue to pray. Pray fervently; pray often. God loves to bless his children.

Thank you. I know so many of you are praying….Steve Murphy

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On Friday night, Frank Wilhelm and Tim and Donna McKelvy visited. They said he opened his eyes and followed them with his eyes. They said, “he started to open and close his hand and curled [his] fingers and put his thumb up.” That’s a very significant sign that he hears us!

On Saturday, he didn’t really “wake up” until late morning (he’s still in a coma, but he goes through cycles where he’s more or less active). When he was “awake”, once again, he smiled at Larissa, and he was moving his arms and squeezing their hands as he has been doing for the last week or so. Larissa’s sister, Lisa, was holding photos up to him, and he was following those pictures with his eyes.

On Saturday night, in addition to all the other things we’ve noticed him doing, he responded to a nurse’s request to open his mouth when she needed to clean his mouth. He smiled at Patty Wallwork when she and Meghan and Jan McKelvy visited him. They noticed that he smiled and his heart rate went way up when they put headphones in his ears while an Alexi Murdoch song was playing. The Alexi Murdoch CD is a new one he just bought the week before the wreck; he and Caleb bought it together. This may suggest something about the state of his short term memory.

More baby steps…please keep praying….

Steve Murphy

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Ian had quite a day today. The speech therapist told me that she was in to work with him, and the other therapists just happened to come at the same time. They were very enthusiastic about their experience with him. Here are the good signs they saw:

1. They had him sitting up on the edge of the bed as though he were sitting in a chair (they were supporting him). When his foot came close to the floor, he set it down as though he were going to stand (without weight on it). That was good, because most patients in his condition aren’t oriented to their surroundings well enough to put their foot flat on the floor. Normally, patients are limp and set their feet down in a twisted position as though they have no awareness of the floor beneath them.
2. When the speech therapist put the bed back down after his sitting session, he looked at her and smiled. He also smiled at Larissa, and his heart rate went way up when he saw her.
3. When he was lying in the bed he held onto the therapist’s fingers as she lifted them into the air until he no longer had the strength and dropped his hand.
4. He made the gizmo noise again (see a previous post).
5. They’ve had an oxygen sensor clipped to Ian’s finger. Today he picked at it with the other fingers on his hand until he was able to remove it. The therapists put the sensor on a finger on his other hand, and he did the same thing. They had to put the sensor on one of his toes, so he wouldn’t remove it again. When it was on his toe, he kept wiggling his toes (trying to figure out how to get it off?). He must, therefore, be aware of his hands and his feet.

Thank you, Lord. Please keep praying…

Steve Murphy

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“But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them…so the land had rest forty years.” (Judges 3:7-11)

This is the theme from the book of Judges. The people of Israel rebelled and were oppressed by a foreign power, then they asked God for someone to save them, so God gave them someone and they are rescued and had peace. The problem is, though, that these judges kept dying, so when the deliverer died (only forty years later in this case) Israel turned away from God went right back to where they were. That is, until God gave them another deliverer.

Why do we need to be reminded of how it used to be? Because we have been given the Deliverer who lives forever! Through his death, we have peace, not more turmoil.
Although he owed the Israelites nothing, he continued to give them judges to bring about peace with other countries. Although he owes us nothing, he gave us his Son to bring about peace with himself! Let us be reminded that God will go to any length to be good. Keep praying!

The wonderful social worker Ian has for the weekend talked to the insurance company today, and she gave them “what for.” The insurance company then agreed to let him stay at LifeCare until Monday (instead of sending him to a nursing home). Loretta even made sure to visit and pray for him.

Also, today his therapy team said they had a “very positive session.” He was relatively active, and he “aahh”ed again on command.

Thank you for all you are doing, even if it’s “just” praying!

-Ben

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We visited Ian today when the speech therapist was in to try a gizmo that attached to his trach and that would allow him to use his voice. She attached the gizmo and told him to say ‘ah’. He managed to say it a few times. He sounded a little like Darth Vader gargling, but it’s a start. At least he was responding by giving us some sounds. He was very active and “awake” today, moving around and holding his eyes open. Most of the time even when he is awake he acts like his eyelids weigh about 200 pounds each. Baby steps…

Steve Murphy

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Jesus never turned away anyone who asked him for healing. He waited to heal on occasion (John 11:6, for example), but there is no record of him not healing someone who fervently asks him. This doesn’t mean God will definitely heal Ian or God owes us a healing, but it does show us what kind of God Jesus is. He loves to heal; He loves to show His power through demonstrating control over His world.

Since we have a great God who is not apt to turn us away, here is one more thing we can ask Him. Ian is in a place called LifeCare, a rehab hospital in the Wilkinsburg area of Pittsburgh, and it seems like this place will really help him recover. However, our insurance company has only approved a three-day stay until Friday; if he is moved he would go to a nursing home. Pray that they would change their minds so Ian would be able to stay at LifeCare. We believe this is the best place for him right now.

Seize this opportunity to rely on God; keep praying!

“Long as they live must Christians pray,
For only while they pray they live.”

-Ben

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God is so kind to bring scripture and truth to us when we most need them. I read the following entry from “Morning By Evening” by Charles Spurgeon Tuesday morning, when I was desparately in need of encouragement:

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” -Isaiah 49:16

“No doubt a part of the wonder which is concentrated in the word “See,” is excited by the unbelieving lamentation of the preceding sentence. Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” How amazed the divine mind seems to be at this wicked unbelief! What can be more astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God’s favored people?

The Lord’s loving word of rebuke should make us blush; He cries, “How can I have forgotten you, when I have engraved you on the palms of my hands? How dare you doubt My constant remembrance, when the memorial is set upon My very flesh?” O unbelief, how strange a marvel you are! We do not know which most to wonder at, the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of His people. He keeps His promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him. He never fails; He is never a dry well; He is never as a setting sun, a passing meteor, or a melting vapor…..Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to the heart of infinite love as to be written upon the palms of His hands. “I have engraved you.” It does not say, “your name.” The name is there but that is not all; “I have engraved you.” See the fullness of this! I have engraved your person, your image, your situation, your circumstances, your sins, your temptations, your weaknesses, your wants, your works; I have engraved you, everything about you, all that concerns you; I have put you altogether there. Will you ever say again that your God has forsaken you when He has engraved you upon His own palms?”

Ian’s image and situation are engraved on God’s hands. Our weaknesses and needs are engraved on God’s hands. He will never forsake us. Be encouraged by God’s unending faithfulness and goodness.

-Larissa

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