Aaron Watson - Barbed Wire Halo

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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Ross Dress For Less

This picture explains it all:

More Savings

More Choices

More Lively

Well Folks, the picture is priceless.  If you know Audrey and her passion for Ross you will understand this. I am sure glad she married a LIVELY!

"The Volunteer State"

Wow!  The last few days have been crazy. It rained 16+ inches in two days.  I cannot imagine what Noah went through building the ark. I think Audrey was about ready to load me up after two days and let me play in the rain.  (kidding)

Fuel Rack Nashville, TN

Please pray for the people of Tennessee. Nashville has been hit hard with flooding and it was very sad today driving around and seeing the areas that were hit. I actually got to experience hands on today the devastation of the flood by helping a guy gut his house. Hearing the stories on TV is nothing compared to getting my hands dirty inside an actual home.  As I worked today I could not help but think of a great song by none other than George Strait:   


I've been to church
I've read the book
I know He's here, but I don't look
near as often as I should
Yeah, I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I'd just slow down to stop and stareopened my eyes and man I swear I saw God today

It did not take a lot to see God today!  Through the random people handing out water and food you could feel God.  Even in this time "His fingerprints are  everywhere".  Please pray for the victims of the flood.  I truly understand why Tennessee is called "the Volunteer State" after the last few days.

House floating down I-24

Update Josh & Audrey

Update on Audrey Claire:

As I am writing this blog my beautiful bride is sitting across from me studying for her last two fiials.  She has taken 6 and will be finished tomorrow after the last two.  Yes, I said 8 finals in 1 week.  I have been singing and dancing to keep her spirits up and I guess it is working because she still has a beautiful smile on her face. I'm really trying to support her with lots of coffee and cookies this week.  She usually requests only one cookie and I go the extra mile and cook her two.   Believe it out not she is finishing up her third semester of PA school.  Time sure flies when you are having fun.  In just 10 days  we will have been in the music city  for one year.  Who knew God would put us here and bless us in so many ways?  Before Audrey  graduated last year we would pray at night asking for God's hand and guidance in our lives.  God answered our prayers in more ways than one and He continues to show us his love.  Audrey has about 15 months of school left and an estimanted graduation date of Aug. 2011, which is also my month to retire! Not really because we have some kids to have eventually after August 2011!  Please read again, I said AFTER Aug. 2011.  

Update Joshua Jordan:

I am just living the dream, selling fuel and enjoying life to the fullest.  There is not much to report on me becase I just sell gas.  I do not get to bring sutures home and practice stiching up pigs feet, taking blood, starting an IV, or inserting catheters.  (side note: Audrey wanted to do all the above on me and I said NO that was not in the marriage license) I guess I am just an old country boy enjoying life in the Music City.

If you are ever in the music city come visit and stay a while. I will give you 3 cookies and treat you like family.  I  can also cook a mean pan of Lively brownines like my mom cooked growing up.  A little southern hospitality Lively style.  

Be Blessed,

Josh

New way to go to see your PA!

Since Jackie told us we are not worthy of her blog, I thought I would dedicate an entire blog post to my sister-in-law. I know she doesn't believe that we read her blog, but hopefully she will read ours.

First let's take a look at all those wonderful        

 notecards she wrote for German!  

Wir sind so stolz auf dich!

Ich möchte noch zu Kevin wissen???

The internet has changed the way the worldcommunicates!

Who would have thought my wife would be able to 

work with her first patient via SKYPE in Germany?

That first patient just happened to be her sister Jackie.

Jackie complained of a productive 

cough and pruritic throat. 

As she explained, it apparently helped 

to stick out her tongue.

Audrey tried to get a good look at that throat,

 but it was a little dark without her otoscope.

Jackie adjusted the light for Audrey.

 There's an app for that. 

Otoscope App will be available 10-10-10, 

created by Audrey Lively PA-S.

The Patient was happy and gave Audrey two thumbs up.

Patient Dx: mild viral pharyngitis aggravated by repetitive German language.

Tx: Lay off German for 2 weeks, rest, & enjoy Germany. 

The story of my life!

Audrey studying! I am so proud of her. She will be a a great PA soon.



- Posted by Josh using iPhone