Count your blessings, name them one by one

"God is good all the time, and 

all the time God is Good"

I am going to give you a little glimpse of my testimony, not all of it but a little slice of heaven. Maybe one day I will have time to write the rest. Where do I even begin to write about my life?
I have truly been blessed over the years. In the midst of rough and hard times I still can count my blessings over and over and over again. I have so many thing to be thankful for.

Today is my 28th birthday. On Jan. 25, 1983, at 6.59 p.m., Joshua Jordan came into this world weighing in at 8 lbs 10 oz. A healthy and very cute kid I must say.  

My parents were so proud of their new little boy. They smiled, cried, rejoiced, and took many pictures with their baby Josh. After all the pictures and hype the nurses came in to take me to get cleaned up and do all the things little newborns have to get done. My mom was exhausted from the birth and wanted to relax so my dad left to run to the airport and pick up my mom's mother and run back, a task that should not take longer than 45 minutes at the max. My dad left and my mom requested a little orange juice and a hot blanket so maybe she could relax while everyone was gone.Not long after my mom received the blanket and orange juice the doctor came back to her room to tell her he had bad news. The doctor told her, "Cindy, I want you to know your son has a rare and deadly condition and it does not look good for Joshua." At this point my mom was all alone and my dad was not yet back from the airport.  

The doctor had given her the news without any family around. Upon hearing this, Cindy began to weep. My dad returned to find the wife he had left happy, crying. It took my dad a little while to find out what had happened. After my mom regained her composure she told my dad what the doctor had said. About this time the doctor came back into the room and explained it all to my dad and mom again. “Mike & Cindy, your son has rare and deadly condition. Your son has pulmonary hypertension and his right lung has just collapsed.” He went into all the detail and explained how hard it is for any kid to recover from his. The doctor closed by advising, “you guys are going to have to cross your fingers.” My dad, who was sitting next to my mom on the bed holding her, stood up and walked to the doctor and told him, "Doc, you cross your fingers. My wife and I are going to pray." 

my parents, who never stopped having faith

So the Doc left the room and Mom and Dad began praying asking for God's will to be poured upon their little boy's life. As my parents packed things up the next day to head home they had to run by the nursery one last time to check on their baby.  

As they saw their little boy lying in an incubator with tubes down his throat and in his side, they cried and only hoped the best for their son. They watched their newborn struggle for every breath with his little arms and hands tied to the side of the bed, the monitors watching every heartbeat. As they turned and walked away to go home they never knew what was in store for them. They did not know if it was the last time they would ever see him. Would he make it? 
When they got home they did as my dad told the doctor. They began to pray asking for God's will for my life. As it says in James 5:14, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.” They did just that. The elders gathered at the hospital and prayed for me. My parents called family, friends, and missionaries to pray. Prayers were going up for baby Josh all over the world, one prayer at a time, asking God to bless Joshua. My dad and mom, not knowing the situation or if I would make it, decided to take Alicia and Britt to the hospital to see me. They wanted to let them see me in case I did not make it. My dad helped put scrubs on both Alicia and Britt and took them into ICU to see their little brother.  As days went by prayers continued to go up in my favor and God was on my side.  
Week 1 went by and not much improvement was seen. My mom was scared to visit the hospital by herself in fear of hearing the bad news that I might have passed. She would wait for my Dad to get home from work everyday before she went to see me. Week 2: a little bit of improvement, not as much oxygen and things are looking maybe a little better. Week 3: not much improvement.  
Somewhere around week 4 Joshua Jordan somehow got his little hand untied and pulled the tube out of his throat and the monitors off his chest. The ICU monitors were going crazy. The doctors and nurses were scrambling to do something. Joshua Jordan was screaming, just wanting someone to pick him up and hold him.  

Today is an amazing day! From that day 28 years ago to today I have never had a problem relating to the pulmonary hypertension. You can say what you want to say but God is good! As I close I would like to say I do not worry about the medical condition I had as a baby. I really never even talk about it much. I found this verse in the Bible my sophomore year in high school and it stuck with me: Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” I know wherever I go & whatever I do my God walks with me everyday. I believe God called me just as it says in the scriptures to leave an impact on as many lives as possible. No I do not get it right all the time, but I thank the Lord foe grace, love, forgiveness, and the hope of spending eternity with him. God has a plan for Audrey and me. As I sit in Nashville, TN, I am amazed by the doors God has opened for us. It is so amazing to see God work throughout our lives. When you believe, God uses you, and when you walk be faith and not sight it is a ride you will never forget!

For I know the plans I have for you, ”declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

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