tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84947803024536782572024-03-19T02:11:12.338-07:00Counting Our BlessingsMelody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-31393540508963254382024-02-29T17:03:00.000-08:002024-02-29T17:03:54.605-08:00New Year New Job<p> <span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was exactly a year ago this week that Jason got laid off from his job. I remember that day so clearly. It was a mix of emotions for us. We had some warning that it was coming so it wasn’t a complete shock. In a lot of ways it was a relief to no longer have the potential loss looming over our heads. Excitement filled our hearts as we pondered what God had for us next. We had big dreams of what our next chapter could be. There was fear in the unknown but also immense gratitude that God had already begun providing a financial cushion for us. </span></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We spent the year fervently praying that God would use us in this time of waiting on him. I clung to verses like Philippians 4:19 “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” This was a journey of daily prayerful dependence on our sovereign Lord. We desired to be obedient to his calling and wanted desperately to be used in ways that would make an impact on his kingdom. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This news came just as my physical needs were progressing. Jason stepped into the role of my full time care giver. We didn’t realize how much my needs were being neglected and because of his ability to be home my needs were now being met. This was a sweet gift from the Lord. The mental stress of jasons job and caring for medically fragile family members had taking a toll on Jason. This year long sabbatical provided Jason an opportunity to pour into Gods word and his people, to do the things he enjoys, concentrate on his families needs, and not have the demands of having his mind divided. We were so thankful for this year. Our marriage thrived as well as his spiritual and mental health.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jason and I began to dream about doing ministry together and how the Lord might use our story to impact others. We were unsure how this would provide financially but we began to pray, seek wisdom from others, pour into books, speak, write, do Podcasts, minister to hurting people, etc. We didn’t close off the idea of Jason going back to work full time using his gifts and financial degree if thats what the Lord had for him. He met with people and continued to put the word out. We prayed and waited for God to direct our path. We desired for Jason to still be able to work from home and have a job that was low demand and low stress. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Through a connection from church God eventually answered our prayers and Jason will be working for Banc O Poplar as a financial analyst starting this Monday. He will be working from home full time. We are grateful that he will remain my caregiver but we will need prayer as we learn once again how to balance it all. Thank you for your constant support and unrelenting prayers.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you are in a place of waiting take heart, Jesus does great work in the waiting. Rest assured he is not absent and will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory.</span></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-92204749328403112432023-12-18T17:27:00.000-08:002023-12-18T17:27:32.590-08:00 An Open Letter to my Husband on our 24th Wedding Anniversary.<p> <span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;">An Open Letter to my Husband on our 24th Wedding Anniversary.</span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Jason,</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span> </span>Twenty four years ago this morning I woke up with a level of excitement I had never known. I couldn’t wait to marry you. I had no idea what our future held but I was confident with you by my side all would be ok. In many ways it was better than I could have imagined, especially as I look at our three beautiful children. It was also harder than I imagined as we would endure medical challenge after medical challenge that would test both our marriage and our faith. I have watched you make incredible sacrifices on our behalf. You have had to watch the love of your life physically waste away and adapt to these losses as you grieve what once was. You have always been willing to do whatever it takes to make things easier for me. I can’t imagine walking this road with out you. I’m so grateful for the ways I have seen you rely on the Lord for strength and grace that only he can provide. I’m so grateful that you understand that our marriage was uniquely crafted by God to mirror the relationship between Christ and HIS bride, the church. (Ephesians 5.) I’m grateful your desire is to serve your wife sacrificially and you strive to model the kind of love that only comes from the father. I’m so lucky that God gave you to me. Thank you for making me feel beautiful each and every day and for always wanting me to know that there is nobody else you would rather do life with. I pray the Lord would continue to bless our marriage and use it to glorify his name. I’m so grateful to be called yours. Happy Anniversary my love. I love you.</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mel</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpF2g64i0NxW8QOIHEwy4JJGnPcPGiM33Wdrqh4xQm8dXLbyi8gY_h8TSvaf7fVCRSxY8bQKTpXpuMKKY0r9FsMXqtpsBQg3LekW6ViosGWthx6L2-Dmw0S-pJZZnNA6JKCX9Zm7uYobFVLpoUdbTvuww1i25JW0bjVsM2IUZ9GQZD3XfKR6v9hlXFGOrp/s1086/IMG_4311.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpF2g64i0NxW8QOIHEwy4JJGnPcPGiM33Wdrqh4xQm8dXLbyi8gY_h8TSvaf7fVCRSxY8bQKTpXpuMKKY0r9FsMXqtpsBQg3LekW6ViosGWthx6L2-Dmw0S-pJZZnNA6JKCX9Zm7uYobFVLpoUdbTvuww1i25JW0bjVsM2IUZ9GQZD3XfKR6v9hlXFGOrp/s320/IMG_4311.jpeg" width="244" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-72481043588361226992023-11-25T18:29:00.000-08:002023-11-25T18:38:18.586-08:00Thanksgiving Service<p> Last year our church had a Thanksgiving service leading up to the holiday. It was a special time of hearing from a few people recount God's grace that had brought them through. We were all so encouraged that they decided they would make it a regular thing each year. I was asked if I could share this year and I jumped at the opportunity. I knew it would be physically challenging and take a lot out of me but I had no idea how much breath it would take out of me. I was thankful for my pal Donna and her willingness to help be my voice. It really is sweet to see the body help be my hands and feet and even my voice. I was so grateful for the experience and wanted to share with you the transcript of our time. I hope it blesses you to see God's faithfulness in the hard.</p><p><br /></p><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">Good morning, Grace family. It’s my privilege to share this moment with my dear friend, Melody </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">Lietzau. She’s already a dear friend to many of you and if you don’t already know her, you will</span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">want to after you hear her speak from her heart. I’m going to ask some questions for Mel to </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">answer. Here we go.</span></span></p></div></div><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">Mel, I have some idea of what it requires for you to be here. You tire quickly, It will likely take </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">you two days to recover from your exertion this morning, you had to use the chair lift to get on the </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">stage, you will need to use your ventilator to help your breathing and have a liquid meal </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT;">between services – it’s not easy to do this! Why did you say yes?</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">I’m always so thankful for any and every opportunity to share about God’s goodness and Grace in my life and I want to do that for as long as the Lord will let me. This is also a great opportunity for me to publicly say thank you to my beautiful church family. I’m going to try my best to get through it without being a blubbering mess. There is just nothing I love more than to talk about the goodness of God and the wonderful Grace he’s poured out in my life. As I look around this congregation I’m overwhelmed by the love I continuously receive from you my church body. You all love so well and I have learned so much from so many of you about what it means to love others and to comfort others with the comfort you yourselves receive from the Lord, to weep with those who weep, and to give generously and sacrificially both with your gifts and time.</span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fffb00; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">Mel, can you tell us about your family and how long you have been attending Grace?</span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">Im married to my wonderful husband Jason and we have three kids. Noah is a student at Biola, Jonah is a senior in high school, and our beautiful Hannah who we had the privilege of adopting from China is a freshman in high school. We have had the privilege of being apart of Grace for over twenty years now. It is our family, Our Home. When we first attended this church I was not in this fancy chair and in fact I was running all over campus, walking up and down those front steps believe it or not. Getting down on the floor playing with the toddlers and babies in the nest. Even line dancing at the July 3rd picnic. I have had the incredible opportunity of sitting under incredible rich Gospel focused teaching. In that wonderful teaching I have been challenged continually to prepare my heart for suffering. I was often told from the pulpit if I wasn’t already experiencing suffering to prepare my heart that it would come eventually and was often challenged to ask where I was putting my hope. Was I putting my hope in the things of the world or in my sovereign savior? I look back and can see the ways the Lord was using HIS church to prepare me for the path of suffering that was to come.</span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">Our family’s story is unique and filled with lots of grief, joy, redemption, God’s Grace, and lots of mercy.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes people are afraid to ask, but you don’t mind sharing! As a matter of fact, you </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">are really good at educating people. So, what exactly is your diagnosis?</span></span></p></div></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="section" style="background-color: white;"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">I was diagnosed with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy about 12 years ago. Hard to believe it’s actually been that long. It is a disease that I was born with but didn’t actually start showing symptoms until late adulthood. It has no cure and over time all the muscles in your body including your heart and lungs begin to weaken and start to lose function. It has already affected my heart leaving me with a pacer and defibrillator, my ability to walk, eat and swallow, my breathing and talking, and so much more. Having a progressive disease where your body slowly deteriorates over time is Hard. You are constantly faced with having to grieve loss and just when you begin to accept one loss you are hit with another one. It’s not just me who feel those losses but the people around me feel them as well and grieve for me. so often it can be difficult for people around me to accept and understand this.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">What bible passage has been helpful for you as you live with a degenerative disease?</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">People lovingly ask and want to know if there is a fix for this. They want to know if I will ever get better or they will ask if I have seen any improvements in my condition. The answer I usually give is physically no but spiritually yes.<br />I often point them to a verse that has been one that I have leaned on and gained much hope from. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">I want them to understand that although my outer body is wasting away my inner body is being renewed day by day. This is the way God is putting his glory on display in my life. He is continually growing my heart and dependence on him. as I lean into him for strength and leading.</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">He really does draw near to the broken hearted and I think sometimes we can miss it as we are expecting him to take our hard completely away.</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">We have expectations in the way he draws near to us but the lord always draws near in the ways that he thinks are good for us.<br />Sometimes that means not taking the difficult away but helping us walk through it.</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">I’m so thankful that The Holy Spirit is continually working on the interior of my life and transforming my faith. Not only making me more like him but giving me a longing and a hope for heaven.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">How have your thoughts about heaven changed?</span></p></div></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 3"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea" style="background-color: white;"><div class="column"><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">I’m consumed every day with the thought of heaven. Tracy Manson and I would talk about that a lot. Most of you know Tracy. She was a member here at Grace who battled cancer and went home to be with the Lord recently.<br />Through our sufferings we created a special bond and we would spend time regularly </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">together. We would often talk about how before our diagnosis there would be many days where we didn’t think much about eternity with our Heavenly Father. We went about our lives as busy moms and wives and didn’t really give it much thought. It’s not that we didn’t have eternal hope we just weren’t consumed by it. Walking a hard road of suffering puts you in position where it’s all you think about and long for and oh what a gift that is to be consumed by the hope of eternity. That is the grace that is bringing me through.</span></p></div></div><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">Mel, you shared with me that in an episode of season 3 of The Chosen, one scene really made </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">an impact on you. It was when Little James approached Jesus to hesitantly ask a question. Little </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">James’ body is crooked and he walks with a limp and a walking sick. After Jesus had just </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">commissioned the other disciples to go out and heal the sick and the lame, Little James follows </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">him out and has an emotional conversation with Jesus. Little James asks why Jesus had not </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">healed him. Mel, how does the scene unfold and why did it make such an impact on you?</span></p></div></div></div><div class="layoutArea" style="background-color: white;"><div class="column"><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">Rather than try to summarize the scene we are going to show a portion of the clip. I highly encourage you all to go home and watch the whole thing. The reason this made such an impact on me is because watching Jesus talk to little James I could relate. I felt every word he was saying. I felt like Jesus was directly speaking to me giving me and others the assurance that our suffering is not the void of God’s good for us. Lets take a look.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KZDvcEkjthA" width="320" youtube-src-id="KZDvcEkjthA"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">I feel this immense gratitude that the Lord has found me worthy of this calling and has trusted me with this hard diagnosis to help proclaim his goodness. I want to use every ounce of my suffering as a witness to the truth and glory of Christ.</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">I don’t want to waste any of it by complaining and being defeated by my circumstances and not thinking about my eternal hope. I desire to use it as an opportunity to show how glorious Christ is and how he is so much more important than anything else this world has to offer. I take comfort in Paul’s words in Philippians 4:16 when he says My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">Gods grace is sufficient and The grace and peace of the Lord becomes beautiful to us when we recognize just how much we need it.</span></p><p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">It’s important for me to look back and remember Gods faithfulness and look ahead to his promises of eternity with no pain and suffering and remember that it’s all light and </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt;">momentary. Giving thanks to Christ that one day we will be healed. It’s only a matter of time.</span></p></div></div></div></div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-33031100931376348382023-08-19T16:33:00.003-07:002023-08-19T16:44:15.194-07:00The Pain of Grief<p> </p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This week has been full of a myriad of emotions for me. Monday was the first day of school for both Jonah and Hannah. It was exciting as Hannah was starting High School for the first time and Jonah was entering his senior year but also sad as the realization hit for Jason and I that this was Jonah’s last year of High School. There were many sweet moments as I watched Jonah be the greatest big brother and Hannah have so much fun being on campus with him. I’m grateful for their close bond. It will be a fun year for the both of them.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat2WUOBBqMfJUVokKR0_Gt7xxtC-uWT1VNB62NZvR9ankNHZB4NGYEGQCKiokshVSZw6TvyDN8l1i-Bx5bihc5BrJRg6kWuimugajr2pFgJnd0-ke8OLWBDyK-TGt1kdWn-8DjnmKRI8IZny5D9J1Ig4a3S350tMHyHZSQ3KBREP7r_4B0GtMZpD5PVtu/s3020/IMG_0995.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2261" data-original-width="3020" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat2WUOBBqMfJUVokKR0_Gt7xxtC-uWT1VNB62NZvR9ankNHZB4NGYEGQCKiokshVSZw6TvyDN8l1i-Bx5bihc5BrJRg6kWuimugajr2pFgJnd0-ke8OLWBDyK-TGt1kdWn-8DjnmKRI8IZny5D9J1Ig4a3S350tMHyHZSQ3KBREP7r_4B0GtMZpD5PVtu/w254-h194/IMG_0995.jpeg" width="254" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As the week continued, the days got harder. I learned that one of my dear friends who has been battling cancer for the past year and a half went to be with the Lord. While this is a wonderful thing for her to be with her heavenly father, the grief in my heart and those that love her has been heavy. Tracy and I grew close because we could relate to one another in a unique way. We both had an understanding of what it means to be touched by physical suffering. Even though we would both never choose this path for ourselves, Tracy would often say that she was thankful it brought us together and that we were on an island together. Praying for one another and entering into one another’s burdens helped us keep our eyes off of our difficult circumstances. It was a privilege to walk along side her. I miss her deeply and I long for more time with my friend. I will do my best to live by her example of persevering in faith.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday was another emotionally difficult day. As many of you know my form of muscular dystrophy is a slow progressive disease. This means that all the muscles in my body including the muscles that help me breathe will weaken over time. It is becoming more of a struggle to get enough air to talk and my breathing is continuing to decline. I have now been set up with a portable ventilator that straps to my power chair. I will have access to a sip and puff device to give me the extra support I need outside of the home. While I’m grateful for these devices my heart is heavy with grief. Every constant stripping away tears at my heart. I feel the heaviness of this loss not just for myself but for those that love me.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Its been harder to fight for joy this week. I know Satan would love nothing more than to prey on my weakness so I’m going to fight. I will run to substance and the promises that have continued to carry me each and every day. I will take Tracy’s beautiful example of living out Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. I know that although my outer body is wasting away my inner body is being renewed day by day just like Paul talk about in 2 Corinthians 4:16. I love John Pipers words on grief and his acknowledgement that its real and its right. He says however that “God does not leave his children in the depths of sorrow. Joy comes eventually and it comes in God’s timing.” </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is a hard week and I will take the time I need to grieve these losses. I’m not alone the Lord draws near to the broken hearted and I don’t grieve as one who has no hope. This also he will use and I’m confident it will deepen my faith. If you think of me please pray that I would fight for joy and run to the one who holds me in his hands and that I would not fear that this would become a barrier for people. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Grateful for you always.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-19346909376947437312023-07-25T19:01:00.004-07:002023-07-25T19:14:48.940-07:00One Year Heartiversary<p> <span face="Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif" style="color: #454545;">We are approaching the one year anniversary of Noah’s Heart transplant. It's this coming Friday and it’s hard to believe that it’s been a year already. I have reflected a lot about that day and receiving that anticipated call about a heart for Noah. I have thought about how different our lives are now. I have thought about the donor family and have written many drafted letters thanking them for the gift they gave our family. It's hard to write a letter of this caliber. Thank you just doesn't feel like enough. I'm hopeful with the help of the Lord to send it out on the anniversary date this Friday. We have had an array of emotions but if I had to sum up the year I would say it has definitely been a year of </span><b style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;">gratitude </b><span face="Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif" style="color: #454545;">and </span><b style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;">adjustment</b><span face="Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif" style="color: #454545;">. </span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Gratitude</b> for a miriad of things. Protection over Noah’s body as he adjusted to a new heart not originally designed for his body. <b>Gratitude</b> for the Donor family who made a sacrificial gift in the midst of their grief. <b>Gratitude</b> for our quarantine time that was hard to be away from family and friends but also sweet as we had time just the five of us. <b>Gratitude </b>for community who continued to step in to provide for our needs in countless ways. <b>Gratitude</b> that Noah could continue at Biola and is still on track to graduate in the spring. I honestly could fill up pages with the things we are grateful for and the ways we saw the goodness of God in the midst of the hard this year. </div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It's also been a year of <b>adjustment</b>. Transplant comes with many medications that are constantly being <b>adjusted</b> and switched, many doctors apts. labs, and tests. New and unexpected viruses from the transplant heart that brought many <b>adjustments </b>with medications and hospital stays. Many phone calls from the team. Things change constantly and we have to <b>adjust</b>. In seasons of sickness and flu it meant missing out on activities and events. This was hardest on the kids who missed lots of fun school activities. There was <b>adjustments</b> to new diets as we learned what foods to avoid and ways to eat more heart healthy. A year in I can say we have adapted well to these <b>adjustments</b>, it has become our new normal, and the Lord has been gracious to us. </div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">How are we all doing? I never quite know how to answer this. Emotionally? Physically? All of the above? This is always a loaded question and the answer changes constantly. Short answer is we are all doing remarkably well at the moment and thriving. </div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Noah</b>- He will have his heart biopsy on July 31 to check for any signs of rejection. They will do this annually. He has been in summer school and he plans to graduate from Biola this spring with a degree in accounting and then he will have another year for his masters program in accounting and then hopefully take his CPA. We are so proud of him and how hard he has persevered through all of life’s challenges. (Look for a more detailed post about Noah's health on the Caring Bridge site later this week.)</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkf2_JoR3VjeLygb-WnEo-NDnvSN8XWwn-eRCDVXuiY9c-usE88d51PUcnXoXiZf5nkuNhgVPufYXMJTeQEA37S81J9stqzcoP56-rccecWgFRZm4460E41l94KxvP-UGMn3L0Ci0SS-iP1Jnjo3wRvEYzfNcOVPI5vHOc2QNon8ahpPZK7HFZhB89_jgC/s4032/IMG_3478.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkf2_JoR3VjeLygb-WnEo-NDnvSN8XWwn-eRCDVXuiY9c-usE88d51PUcnXoXiZf5nkuNhgVPufYXMJTeQEA37S81J9stqzcoP56-rccecWgFRZm4460E41l94KxvP-UGMn3L0Ci0SS-iP1Jnjo3wRvEYzfNcOVPI5vHOc2QNon8ahpPZK7HFZhB89_jgC/s320/IMG_3478.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Mel</b>- I continue to fight for joy and persevere through the physical losses of my disease. <b>Adapting</b> to changes with physical pain, continual loss of my voice, and more breathing support has been the biggest challenges this year. The Lord is showing me his sweet mercy and growing my faith and understanding of who he is in the midst of these challenges. I have pushed myself to do hard things like physical therapy in the pool where we are seeing huge benefits. I have continued to work on my book with a team of amazing editors. He has also been allowing me to use my hard to minister to and comfort others walking through suffering. I see this as a gift.</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Jason</b>- I'm so <b>gratefu</b>l for this rock of mine. Since Jasons' lay off we have spent time praying and seeking what the Lord has for him next. After much prayer, we feel confident that the Lord is asking us to use our story and our situation to serve him in a bigger capacity. We are stepping out in faith to listen to the Lord’s leading on this and are currently working on some of those things now. We hope to share more about this at a later time. The Lord has been gracious to us in providing for our financial needs each month and we are confident he will no doubt continue to provide in the months ahead. We would appreciate your prayers. It has been a gift to work side by side on these things together and Jason has <b>graciously</b> stepped into the role of my full time care giver. </div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Jonah</b>- Is ready to take on the world( or at least his high school) as this years Senior Class President. We are excited for him and ready to soak in every last moment of his senior year. He is involved in so many capacities and it is going to be a fun year. Jonah has enjoyed three full weeks up at Hume this summer. He also spent a week at a leadership conference at Pepperdine College. He has spent many days practicing with the guys from his band, gotten up many early mornings to go surfing, and has enjoyed working at CFA. It’s been a great summer.</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Hannah</b>- I’m still in denial that our girl is about to head off to high school. I draw comfort that she will be on campus with her big brother this year. Hannah has already experienced a little bit of high school by taking a summer school course on campus. This allowed her to make more friends and get a class out of the way. She enjoyed two weeks up at Hume, a week long theatre workshop, and lots of hanging out with friends. She is already looking forward to school starting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Continue to pray that we would have hearts and lives that are overflowing with the power of God's love so that we can extend that love to others, make a difference in this world, and bring honor to Him.</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13:8 that ".God's Love never fails."</div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-27694421052085085562023-06-12T15:13:00.003-07:002023-06-12T15:13:32.470-07:00Jason's Thoughts<p>I always love when Jason contributes to the blog. Please enjoy his words below:</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In our current season of life, it can feel like things move so quickly and at times feel a bit out of control.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Little things or comments can remind me of how fast life comes flying at us.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A few weeks ago, I took my daughter to school as I normally do.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I was backing the car out, making my way through the multiple cars parked in our driveway when my daughter jokingly said “just wait Dad, in a couple of years when I start driving we’ll have one more car in our driveway.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Just when I am trying to come to terms that my last child is graduating 8</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> grade and moving into High School, she is reminding me that in a couple of years she will likely be driving.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It does not seem like that long ago when our kids were in the diapers and temper tantrum stage and that all I wanted was for them to be older.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now, I actually miss those days.</span></span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This year so far has brought a lot of transitions and changes as well as updates on the medical front for our family (and we are not even halfway through the year). Noah is about to hit the one year mark since his heart transplant in July. As my wife mentioned in a previous post, Noah was hospitalized back in March with a virus that came from the donor heart. The particular virus Noah has is a common virus that many of us have in our body and in a person with a normal immune system the virus is kept dormant. For Noah, with his immune system suppressed, it became a serious complication and he had to be admitted into the hospital back where he was given high doses of an antiviral med. Thankfully Noah began to respond to treatment…which took some time…and he was released after a week stay at UCLA. One of the side effects of the high doses of Antiviral Meds is that it caused Noah’s White Blood Cell Count to drop to an extremely low level so we have periodically had to administer an injection at home to raise his WBC count. Unfortunately my first attempt at administering an injection did not go well (I only got to practice on an orange in the hospital) and Noah ended up with a huge lump and a bruise on his arm. Thankfully, someone from our church who is a nurse was willing to step in to help (I’m not sure Noah will ever let me give him an injection again). </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Overall we are thankful Noah seems to be fighting this virus and was able to return back to School. We are thankful that his professors have been working with him to complete some of the work he missed which will allow Noah to complete his semester and stay on track to graduate in May 2024. This is quite an accomplishment given Noah has spent a total of 21 days in the hospital since he started at BIOLA.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also, the other big change/update this year is that I was laid off from my job in February. This was not a complete surprise but it has caused me to step back and really seek the Lord in what He has next for our family. As we are walking in this season which feels uncertain, we know that God is fully in control. So we have been taking sometime to really ask the Lord what’s next…and whatever that is we want to be faithful and obedient to walk the path God has for us. This has come with a mix of emotions but it has also taught us a deeper understanding of what it means to trust the Lord and has provided some time for us to stop and really listen to His voice. In all honesty, this has not been particularly easy for me. So often it is just easier for me to find my comfort and security in having a plan or a clear direction but God has chosen to challenge my faith and understanding of who He is in this season of waiting. He has chosen to expose my weakness and areas of my life where I struggle to fully trust Him.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Over the last few months, I’ve spent some time meditating on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. In that passage Paul says <i>“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”</i> God chooses and has the power to use our weaknesses and our shortcomings which goes counter to our world’s wisdom, so that God gets the glory. As Paul says at the end of 1 Corinthians 1 <i>“Let him who boast, boast in the Lord”</i>. My prayer, is that in my weaknesses I would fully submit and trust in the strength, goodness and sovereignty of God. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-85716036634640389742023-03-28T18:31:00.004-07:002023-03-28T18:31:57.208-07:00On the mat again<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">This has been quite the month for the Lietzau’s.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I have to be honest I was enjoying a little bit of calm and feeling like I was able to pour into others who were in the valley.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I felt like for once I was the friend carrying their loved one on the mat to the feet of Jesus. That time didn’t last long as we find ourselves once again on the mat. I’m ever so grateful</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">however for precious friends like so many of you who willingly carry us to the feet of Jesus. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Noah was admitted to UCLA hospital today. Almost a month ago Noah started having fevers and was so tired he couldn’t get out of bed for over a week. Lab results showed that he had a virus that was passed down from his donor heart. Because his white blood cell count is dangerously low and his body is not responding to the anti viral meds for the virus he will need IV infusions and injections for several days or weeks. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jason also was laid off his job last month. We knew this Could be a possibility and we are trusting the Lord to provide the perfect job for him. We are thankful for Gods provision this far and allowing Jason the ability to care for Noah during this time.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a lot but I was reminded by a friend today that even though these set backs are wearying, God is not weary in caring for Noah and our family.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you for your continued prayers and your constant support of our family.</span></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-11867970996260240422023-02-17T10:49:00.000-08:002023-02-17T10:49:10.195-08:00God's Grace<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px;">I’m feeling overwhelmed with gratitude this morning as I think about God’s grace to me. I would love to share with you all a few examples of his tender loving care in hopes that it would encourage you and remind you how much your father deeply cares for you.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> I was thinking back to many conversations I had with the Lord over the last ten years pleading with him to protect Noah’s heart. I wanted so badly to be shielded from seeing Noah collapse and suffer a heart attack or be in the hospital on borrowed time hooked to machines as he waited for a new heart. I told God I would trust him no matter what but confessed my heart couldn’t help but be anxious and weary about walking that road. It’s not something that held my mind captive on a daily basis but the fear would creep in from time to time and overtake me. I talk a lot about how happy I will be when we get to heaven and no longer have to fight the flesh. What do I mean when I say this? This is what I’m referring to. It will be so nice to have perfect complete trust free of fear and free from battling our sin. To always be looking vertically instead of horizontally. I long to do this well but know I will never be able to do it perfectly here on earth. I will always be fighting the flesh until I get to heaven. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">God was so gracious to me in his timing of Noah’s heart transplant. He allowed Noah to be at home with us the morning we received that dreaded phone call. A few months earlier and Noah would have been living in the dorms. Noah’s heart was super sick but he didn’t feel terrible and it really didn’t interfere much with his day to day activities. This was God’s grace to us because I did not have to watch my son suffer. Almost six months out and Noah continues to do well with no complications. I don’t want to lose sight of what a huge gift from the Lord that was and is to all of us.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">God continues to put people in my life that show me his goodness in beautiful unexpected ways. Many of you know that I have been writing a book documenting my story and the ways God works in the hard. It has been quite the undertaking that has been full of high’s and lows. I have questioned many times whether or not I could really do this. When I have been in those moments it seems every time the Lord brings me the encouragement and assurance I need to keep going so I have continued to walk in obedience knowing that these will be his words not mine. The Lord has provided some amazing editors who have given of their time, talent, and resources to help me. One saint in particular who did not know me or my story has spent hours of her time. We FaceTimed yesterday and got to finally see each other and meet for the first time. I can not even tell you how much I have learned from this beautiful lady. She does not know me, she lives many states away, and has asked for nothing in return. It has been a joy to interact with her and learn from her. She is so encouraging and is championing me to get this book to publication. I got off the phone and wept. God’s goodness to us is just so sweet.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Another beautiful reminder came in the form of service. Years ago I got a referral to a massage therapist who worked in a Chiropractic office nearby. I started seeing her every so often. This gal has been through so much hard loss in her life and radiates beautiful joy. Her sister is a quadriplegic and she helps take care of her. She has always shown empathy for my situation and a deep curiosity of my story. Her vulnerability with me has been a gift. This woman takes of her time to come to my home to work on my sore tight muscles. She also wants nothing in return but to use her gifts to bless me. This is overwhelming to me that these two beautiful woman would show such love and kindness to me.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">God’s grace and kindness to us come in many different forms. Paul Tripp has this to say about God’s Grace:</p>
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<p style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 22.5px;">You need it. You can’t live without it, but you can’t purchase it and you can’t earn it. It only ever comes by means of a gift, and when you receive it, you immediately realize how much you needed it all along, and you wonder how you could’ve lived so long without it.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 22.5px;">In a fallen world, populated by selfish, lost, fearful, and rebellious people, it’s the one thing that everyone needs. And you can only give it to someone else when you have first been given it yourself, because you can't give away that which you don't have.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 22.5px;">You see, God’s grace is the most powerful force in the universe, It reaches you where you are and takes you where God wants you to be. It has the power to do something that nothing else can do: transform you at the causal core of who you are as a human being - your heart.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 22.5px;">For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 22.5px;">I hope you are able to recognize God’s amazing Grace in your life.</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 22.5px;">Mel</p><div><br /></div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-29212325879685854502023-01-24T15:48:00.003-08:002023-01-24T15:54:56.558-08:00A beautiful day<p><span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jason and I are so<span><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> grateful to Crossroads Multinational Nazarene church for having us come and share. It was so fun to see so many old and new friends collide for this special event. We were humbled that so many would come out in the rain to hear our story, or rather HIS story working out in our lives. I have even heard from friends who had the opportunity to watch the live stream from other states. Your encouraging words have really touched our hearts. It's a testament to what the Lord can do with willing hearts. We are so grateful that the Lord carries us, sustains us, and gives us a future hope. We are thankful that we serve a loving God who never leaves us or forsakes us. A God who showers us with his love, grace, mercy, and kindness. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Here is the Link for those who have asked and would like to watch. My voice isn’t as strong as it use to be. I pray as long as I still have one, he continues to let me use it for his glory.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://youtu.be/oFggwlZ34ok">https://youtu.be/oFggwlZ34ok</a><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #050505;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBZhFVWMIbAN8WGmp7q6dGzaGYpdLNK6DttcBJORzNYtoUF-3Wx8YXyFE5xFpYiXrPREGsM0pmTNr32OBKuPYfWS-PyYQGdxk-VS_Bb8zAvgtEcGLeRmW8i4RiVACNsc_k-ODTI0iMfADA9FLyphvOh0etcaKJV5077ulbnXr-sovTp6RpxtJt_2m6w/s1440/323876251_542257084509960_2501994345408176591_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1117" data-original-width="1440" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBZhFVWMIbAN8WGmp7q6dGzaGYpdLNK6DttcBJORzNYtoUF-3Wx8YXyFE5xFpYiXrPREGsM0pmTNr32OBKuPYfWS-PyYQGdxk-VS_Bb8zAvgtEcGLeRmW8i4RiVACNsc_k-ODTI0iMfADA9FLyphvOh0etcaKJV5077ulbnXr-sovTp6RpxtJt_2m6w/s320/323876251_542257084509960_2501994345408176591_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>This picture is with those that attended College Avenue Church of The Nazarene. The church I attended in my junior high and high school days. So special to see so many of them.<br /><span style="color: #050505;"><br /></span><p></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-33844728502487217152023-01-13T11:35:00.001-08:002023-01-13T11:35:15.424-08:00An Invitation<p> We are always so humbled and grateful for opportunities to be able to share our story and the ways God has helped us find Joy in the Hard. We will be sharing this Saturday Jan 14th at Crossroads Church of the Nazarene in Cerritos at 2:00 pm. If you are local we would love for you to come and join us. This will be a special time as this is the church that my former youth leader is the current pastor of. Jonah will be leading us in worship and you will get to hear a little bit from the whole family.</p><p><br /></p><p>Last year was quite the year with a lot of unexpected hits. It was hard, painful, tiring, and joyful. It was filled with lots of opportunity to see the Lord at work in and through it all. None of it was a surprise to God. All of it had purpose. Looking forward with Hope and eager anticipation this year. Hoping to see even more beauty in the hard as we press on in faith and continue to learn to suffer well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Crossroads Multinational Church Of The Nazarene</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">12229 E. Del Amo Blvd</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cerritos CA 90703</div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvz2UBJeYxAyx3H8jJQF1i_D8fVZmoKXp5ynogVw302Fedk2N1wHBZtXyprafkdnx4rqF4jzaANlNj0g_pN069tdUnhgqL3M52KwX-Eycr-IzbXWDKTFbJ4cPCB1GGzZY1x6f0S4bZUhrCkFzAq15OjpQqMx41l9NL8mk-5s9c7R0F_DwZiF1tU6m0Q/s4032/IMG_9682.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvz2UBJeYxAyx3H8jJQF1i_D8fVZmoKXp5ynogVw302Fedk2N1wHBZtXyprafkdnx4rqF4jzaANlNj0g_pN069tdUnhgqL3M52KwX-Eycr-IzbXWDKTFbJ4cPCB1GGzZY1x6f0S4bZUhrCkFzAq15OjpQqMx41l9NL8mk-5s9c7R0F_DwZiF1tU6m0Q/s320/IMG_9682.jpeg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-63888080953314753402022-12-26T17:26:00.002-08:002022-12-26T17:26:49.570-08:00The Love Of A Donor<p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">At the end of December it will be five months since Noah received his new heart.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">We are so grateful with how well his body has responded. He has had very minimal side effects this far.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">He has been able to wean off a few medications, and is slowly adjusting to his new diet.</span></span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We have altered our lives in different ways in order to keep Noah safe as he slowly builds up a new immune system. Unfortunately for Noah this has meant saying no constantly to lots of fun invites. You can only imagine how hard that is for a college kid. It's a small sacrifice however in order to keep him safe. We are very aware that this is a huge gift that has been given by the love of a donor. Our hearts felt heavy knowing that this holiday season there was immense grief felt by a family who lost their loved one. We spent time praying as a family on Christmas Eve that the Lord would meet them in their grief and that they would know how deeply grateful we are to them. We are grateful to all of you as well for your continued love and support. We hope and pray that you all had a wonderful Christmas. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWKGZB2w60VbfjAnPGj3QFsAno_zQ4z1pHK09H7R3eJ7xmbqtaNc67Ql_FFzBbLsC5xR4BbEp7tNDP-v5L7Oa8hPxh8Zif1NdP9hVgEErfGL04YHYYuvxdy0yNt6yxnlJBNkmBKglNSQv_OK4OrfoW1GeI07y3uvVsIBxJFdtMGjmAPzv03HqDzvjxw/s3203/86579A36-0E25-46AD-BA4E-0421D6186F16.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3021" data-original-width="3203" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWKGZB2w60VbfjAnPGj3QFsAno_zQ4z1pHK09H7R3eJ7xmbqtaNc67Ql_FFzBbLsC5xR4BbEp7tNDP-v5L7Oa8hPxh8Zif1NdP9hVgEErfGL04YHYYuvxdy0yNt6yxnlJBNkmBKglNSQv_OK4OrfoW1GeI07y3uvVsIBxJFdtMGjmAPzv03HqDzvjxw/s320/86579A36-0E25-46AD-BA4E-0421D6186F16.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-58479866596956401212022-10-08T17:10:00.007-07:002022-10-11T08:36:52.642-07:00Audio Interview with the family<p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/cstsy0wwmzu5hp2/Q%26A%20with%20the%20Lietzaus.mov?dl=0" target="_blank">Q & A With Lietzau's</a><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Click on the link above to hear our interview with Jonah. We answer some of your questions and give you a window into how we are all doing during this time of isolation. We continue to be thankful for all your love and support.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-20300386074191072062022-08-22T14:57:00.000-07:002022-08-22T14:57:56.759-07:00 Noahs Transplant story Part 3<p><br /></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">I woke up this particular morning feeling grateful. Grateful that Noah survived the surgery. Grateful for his donor, and grateful that the first twenty four hours were behind us. They took the ventilator tube out,Noah was doing well breathing on his own, and he was now off a number of medications. The doctors were very positive about the direction he was headed. Because he was doing so well I made the difficult decision of going home and getting some rest. Every time his transplant doctor came in she was almost giddy about his progress. Jonah was coming home this day from his vacation with friends and I wanted to be there for him as well. I knew Noah was in good hands with Jason and if anything arose we had an amazing team of people who could get me back to the hospital as soon as possible.. It was hard to not be right there with him every moment but I knew I was doing the best thing for us all. The last thing we needed was for me to end up in the hospital as well. I face timed Jason and Noah often. By the end of this day Noah was talking. It was a tired, shaky, out of breath voice but it was so great to hear him talk. He also sat up in a chair. Thirty hours after a transplant and he’s out of bed sitting in a chair. This was incredible to me. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">Noah continued to do well each day surpassing the doctors expectations. He was up and walking, eating , and meeting each days goals. I was preparing myself for a setback but it never came. God was gracious to us and because of this gracious gift it allowed me the rest my body so desperately needed. Day five he was moved out of ICU into a regular room. Once in a regular room they started preparing us for what life at home with a transplant would look like. We all learned about the many medications he would be on, what they all did, and how time sensitive they were. We learned about the importance of a low sodium heart healthy diet and foods he would no longer be able to have. Then we learned about the many weekly appointments for labs, tests, and heart caths/biopsy he would have in the first year after transplant.. It was a lot to take in for all of us. Most of this we had heard about but until its your turn its really difficult to understand the magnitude of it all.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">Noah was discharged on Day 8. We felt elated to be bringing him home but also nervous. There is a bit of comfort when he is being monitored by doctors and staff. It reminded us of the first time we brought him home after his birth. We brought him home and felt so ill equipped for the job but you figure it out and after some time you feel more and more confident. We are figuring things out now and feel like we are in more of a rhythm. Medications are going smoothly and we are learning how to make heart healthy meals. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">When we arrived home from the hospital we were greeted by friends, family, community, and even fire men who lined our street. They were holding signs and cheering. I can’t even describe to you the overwhelming feeling of love and care I felt. In one of the hardest times of our lives, we have seen such beauty and felt so much love from God’s people. You all know how to love well its unbelievable to me sometimes. God continues to use you to show up for us in the most tender ways. The cross we have been asked to bear feels lighter because of you.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_XWgzmkNRRkJPwnoBwu9M3oV-A3HsMELpEyRq5VJn-UID-2zuzjmMVCHIQYKjfghCdcqKs9duJUAKXRojcZHTpAIl5XWOMbD3O9czvVaR-RHlNV09Vff7wywM3Q6wxLh2uoRZaQPhUeuNKDHowKi4T3E8TMk1wIl6DghjwFsNWSomiUf383QssCVDw/s4032/C07D665B-F569-4D9F-84C2-F8177DAF2963.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_XWgzmkNRRkJPwnoBwu9M3oV-A3HsMELpEyRq5VJn-UID-2zuzjmMVCHIQYKjfghCdcqKs9duJUAKXRojcZHTpAIl5XWOMbD3O9czvVaR-RHlNV09Vff7wywM3Q6wxLh2uoRZaQPhUeuNKDHowKi4T3E8TMk1wIl6DghjwFsNWSomiUf383QssCVDw/s320/C07D665B-F569-4D9F-84C2-F8177DAF2963.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkIilB4sr0vKkXoY6ffnrbektsnpPote2tEkwSO1wQQi3xGsvXkGVtQzCGbCWyCMA4ICckXVvxhLhIAZsm8OPqyGIGOko3QJDRHpVa2ASQoKN3AMvhRcG8XLQe6YzqnUeTf6kK9mYWxbG2YFZ7Qvm0uv_qm1DoYTO7Q9ENQdponab1MglhjVP5xUkww/s4032/ACBD429D-FA03-49E1-BDC3-5350756A72AE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkIilB4sr0vKkXoY6ffnrbektsnpPote2tEkwSO1wQQi3xGsvXkGVtQzCGbCWyCMA4ICckXVvxhLhIAZsm8OPqyGIGOko3QJDRHpVa2ASQoKN3AMvhRcG8XLQe6YzqnUeTf6kK9mYWxbG2YFZ7Qvm0uv_qm1DoYTO7Q9ENQdponab1MglhjVP5xUkww/s320/ACBD429D-FA03-49E1-BDC3-5350756A72AE.jpeg" width="240" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeB17lOwLwSC7B-XO-64rCe79zQaovzVy31N9aELmSgxPZk_kLBH-gSOaa1arAeoqldrxVYsq6ObOLvxzKe1M0UXbFh58TWBQjvt1pWLBZa57fvaX8BhLidCUxwii4PZqdK_ip4ICp2Xn1chMzAutYozY-QtjczMsyADJxavkZGZYA1aNgNBJCzRvYg/s4032/CF7F8616-0201-45E7-990C-E458BB423D97.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeB17lOwLwSC7B-XO-64rCe79zQaovzVy31N9aELmSgxPZk_kLBH-gSOaa1arAeoqldrxVYsq6ObOLvxzKe1M0UXbFh58TWBQjvt1pWLBZa57fvaX8BhLidCUxwii4PZqdK_ip4ICp2Xn1chMzAutYozY-QtjczMsyADJxavkZGZYA1aNgNBJCzRvYg/s320/CF7F8616-0201-45E7-990C-E458BB423D97.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #434343; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><br /></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-49072066067045576882022-08-12T17:26:00.004-07:002022-08-12T17:30:03.342-07:00 Noah’s Heart Transplant Story Part 2<p><br /></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: large;">After getting the update that the transplant was successful and Noah was in recovery, my sweet friend Amanda drove me to the hospital where Jason and her husband were waiting in the waiting room. We were waiting to hear when Jason and I could see Noah and were told it might be awhile. My body started physically responding to the stress of the last thirty hours. I was having heart burn, indigestion, I was light headed, and every muscle in my entire body was hurting. I was frustrated because I didn’t want to feel this way when I got to see my boy. I wanted to be strong. In my mind I felt relief that he was through the worst part of it all but my body was not reacting accordingly. When we finally got to see him in the ICU he was intubated with his eyes half open and I thought I was going to pass out. Intubated means he had a tube down his throat that was doing the breathing for him. The room was crowded with nurses and doctors coming in every few seconds. I was in my pink power chair trying to stay out of their way, trying not to hit anything, and desperately trying to listen to their explanations of what they were doing for him. They all seemed pleased and excited for us. I wanted to share in their excitement but I felt like I was going to pass out and the mask around my face was not helping matters. I was beginning to have a full blown anxiety attack. The doctors told us he would most likely be sedated the rest of he day and that we were welcome to come back and forth as much as we would like. The transplant doctor told me to try and get some rest. Thanks doc I’m trying really I’am. I wanted to ask her if she ever had a Childs heart taken out but alas I knew she meant well and was just looking out for us so I politely refrained. We left the room to let the doctors do their job and we went to the outside patio to get some much needed air. My feet began to swell and I was growing concerned with how my body was reacting to the stress. Since my heart doctor was right there at UCLA, Amanda and I decided to drop in and see if he would see me. He was well aware that Noah had just had his transplant surgery and agreed to squeeze me in<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>. This was God’s grace to me. I felt a sense of relief after he had checked all my vitals, reassured me that my heart was fine and validated that this was a stressful situation. Since Noah was going to be sedated most of the day we decided to check into the UCLA Tiverton house down the road. This place was a short walk from UCLA and is similar to a Ronald McDonald house for families of UCLA patients. It was nice to have a place to rest close by the hospital. The ICU nurses had us write our phone numbers on the big white board in Noah’s room. They assured us that they would inform us if any changes arose. This brought me comfort and allowed me to get the rest my body needed knowing he was in good hands. Jason went later that night to see Noah. Noah was still on the ventilator but was starting to breathe more on his own. He was a little alert and understood what was going on and could communicate by writing. The nurses had the tough job of trying to read his writing. He likes to blame that on his homeschool English teacher( AKA mom.) I had never been more thankful for technology when I got to face time him. I have to admit I almost lost it when he gave me a thumbs up. I needed that more than he will ever know.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This day was hard for me. I was feeling every emotion deeply. Not only was I trying to come to grips with the fact that my son no longer had his original heart but I was feeling for the family who selflessly gave him his new heart. This heart that once gave life to somebody else. My heart grieved for this family. It’s a huge gift and responsibility and one that Noah will process for awhile to come. I was feeling for Noah and all the changes good and bad that come with a transplant. I was feeling for my husband and all that was on his shoulders and, of coarse my other two kids who were also processing it all in their own ways. What brought me the most peace was knowing that none of this was a surprise to God. He knew the exact date and moment in time, he knew the donor, he holds my husband and kids in the palm of his hand, and when we cry out to him he delivers us from our distress. God’s grace to me was also answering a specific prayer I had over the last ten years. I asked God to protect Noah’s heart so that we wouldn’t be in a emergency situation. A situation where he was in the hospital on borrowed time waiting for a heart. Thank you Lord for your sweet mercy and for hearing our cries.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMu9SH8jzPaZQl9hJDffAX-WqJNQluM24K5ehJ3Pr73inf5po3kp9zHjjD4AqF3ZHhIaSfuYeoRkcJt6_36y8GgksoFqgXeuwDs0US7TTaznq0Y4I6rwtP9PxZg_-0L3n3_KKs7lLt-IcR0v3yohB_NTWm1XMsXhEfSAKJGzNlsGZO7AfJeHZEd3E8Ow/s1792/IMG_9289.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMu9SH8jzPaZQl9hJDffAX-WqJNQluM24K5ehJ3Pr73inf5po3kp9zHjjD4AqF3ZHhIaSfuYeoRkcJt6_36y8GgksoFqgXeuwDs0US7TTaznq0Y4I6rwtP9PxZg_-0L3n3_KKs7lLt-IcR0v3yohB_NTWm1XMsXhEfSAKJGzNlsGZO7AfJeHZEd3E8Ow/w193-h320/IMG_9289.jpeg" width="193" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-90392813201937795422022-08-10T19:01:00.002-07:002022-08-10T19:07:31.301-07:00Noah's Transplant Story Part 1<p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Friends old and new, family, community, and strangers new to our story, thank you so so very much for journeying with us.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I can not even believe all that has transpired over the last two weeks. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two weeks ago today we were woken up by a phone call at 4 am. They first called my number and my phone was on vibrate. When they couldn’t reach me they called Jasons phone. When we saw the area code our hearts dropped. Jason answered the phone and in a shaky voice he just kept saying ok. He motioned to me to come over to the phone and I motioned back to him to get me up. We both knew I couldn’t get up on my own but when your in a adrenaline situation all logic goes out the window for a second. He put the phone on speaker and got me out of bed and into my chair. We sat there hearts pounding trying to take in all that the transplant coordinator was telling us. We have the perfect heart for Noah, you need to check in by seven am, have him eat something before he comes, he doesn’t need to take his meds. We tried to listen but so much was going through our brains. The biggest thing was Is this really happening? Is our son really going to get a new heart? We have been talking about this for ten years and we knew we could get a call at any time but nothing really prepares you for the moment you get the call. We hung up and held each other for a minute taking in all we just heard. We took a deep breathe and went and woke Noah up. We brought him into the living room sat on the couch and delivered the news. He sat there stunned and said ok. I couldn’t fight back the tears and told him it would be ok that we have been anticipating this for a long time. We prayed together and asked him what he needed. We began to pack, make phone calls, and deliver the news to the rest of the family.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The ride to UCLA was quiet and seemed strange to me that life was still going on all around me. I knew that this was big and that our lives were about to change significantly. I knew this was all God’s plan from the beginning and to quote C.S Lewis “ I have no doubt that the Lord will be good to us I just don’t know how painful that good will be.” I lacked the physical and emotional energy needed to get through this. It would take the Lord’s hand and all of you to help carry us through and that’s exactly what happened. You all took care of every need before we could even think of what was needed. Your prayers and scripture held me together. It took almost twenty four hours before they wheeled Noah to the operating room. It was the hardest thing to watch them wheel him away knowing he would no longer have the original heart God designed for him. My body was so painfully exhausted. Dear friends of ours got us a nearby hotel room within walking distance to the hospital. I took some Benadryl to help me sleep and my sweet friend stayed to take care of me so Jason could wait for updates. I didn’t move for four hours and woke up in time to hear that the transplant was a success and he was in recovery. Praise Jesus! (Part two of this story to come soon)</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I saw the Lord’s hand in preparing our hearts for this very moment in some big ways. Exactly a week before the call Noah and I had a conversation about transplant and we were talking about what we thought would be the ideal time. Essentially we came to the conclusion that there wasn’t an ideal time in our minds and that we needed to trust that God knows best. It was good to have this moment and I believe God was preparing our hearts. Also the week before we got the call our good friend Jason Oakes was preparing to speak on Luke 12:22-34 at our church. If your unfamiliar this section of Luke was on Anxiety. Jason Oakes emailed Jason and I to ask us our thoughts on how we deal with anxiety while walking through suffering. This caused me to study the passage and read back through previous blogposts. We invited Jason over to talk through some of our thoughts. He came over on Thursday. It was a great evening talking through the ways in which worry equals God forgetting and trust equals God remembering and how important it is to be seeking first the kingdom of God. This would be helpful to me in the coming weeks. Not only myself but Jonah poured into this passage and it was most encouraging to him the week of Noahs surgery. Saturday Jason and I spent the day on our patio talking through a message I was preparing for an upcoming woman’s bible study. We talked through Joy and pain in suffering and how they coexist. We talked through our story and the crazy year we have had so far not knowing what would come the following week. On Sunday Jason Oakes preached the Luke 12:22 passage and our hearts were encouraged to Seek First the kingdom of God instead of seeking our own kingdom. Tuesday afternoon Hannah was editing her testimony for her upcoming baptism and she broke down in tears. She was overwhelmed thinking about how sick her brother was and the fact that he was going to need a new heart. This led to a beautiful conversation about transplant and all that God had done over the last ten years for Noah and our family. These moments were not coincidental. God in his goodness had been preparing our hearts right up until the very moment we received that phone call. He didn’t stop there. He continued and continues to provide exactly what we need.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stay tuned for part 2</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/1058206148419062">https://www.facebook.com/reel/1058206148419062</a><br /></span></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-57621202619375901142022-06-20T12:24:00.001-07:002022-06-20T12:24:53.508-07:00I cried out to the Lord in my troubles, and he delivered me from my distress<p> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">It has been a month since I was discharged from the hospital and my heart is full of gratitude for all that the Lord has done to restore my health.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">We never saw the magnitude of this situation coming but as I look back I can see the ways the Lord was preparing me.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">A few months before I got sick Noah’s UCLA team brought on a Cardiologist from the adult side and we met with him.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I really liked this doctor and his great bedside manner.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I appreciated the way he explained things and his bluntness.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">It got me thinking that I really needed to switch my care from a pediatric doctor where I wouldn’t be able to be seen at a children’s hospital to a better team and hospital.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">UCLA is not close but it is a great hospital with people who not only understand heart failure but have expertise with muscular dystrophy.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I got all of my paperwork transferred to UCLA and just a week before I got sick I was seen by Dr. Cruz at UCLA.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">It was a good apt. and I walked away feeling like I had made a good decision in switching my care.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">This situation would be confirmed when a week later I messaged him explaining how sick I was and less than 24 hours he was on a tele health video chat with me.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">He urged me to come in and told me they would have a bed waiting and we could bypass the ER.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">UCLA was incredible to me and I had total piece it was where I was suppose to be.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">It was amazing to me how the Lord orchestrated the timing of it all.</span></span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since being home I have been spending time meditating, reciting, and memorizing Psalm 107. The main theme of this chapter of Psalms is “They cried out to the Lord in their troubles and he delivered them from their distress. I saw this to be true over and over again in the hospital. I can’t tell you how many times I cried out to the Lord for his mercy and every time he came through. I would cry out to take away pain, to help me breathe, to allow my husband to be with me, to not be intubated, to go home, and to be able to go back to my baseline. There were prayers he didn’t answer like me wanting to make it to Hannah’s baptism. When that happens I have to trust that his ways are better than mine. They always are. Her baptism is just postponed but it will happen and what a glorious day it will be. Im just so grateful. Sixteen days in the hospital was a lot and so many of you have told me you were scared I wouldn’t pull through. My heart grieves for the pain you must have felt and if I’m honest there was a moment I felt the same. I’m grateful for all of your prayers, love and support. Our family has been given some unique medical challenges. It is sometimes overwhelming to me both physically and emotionally. Each time we go through something we get an opportunity to see the magnitude of the Lord and often times it’s by the way he uses you his people.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We are coming to you once again to ask for prayer for our family. Noah’s heart failure continues to increase. His numbers continue to rise and honestly the doctors are even surprised he’s still at home doing ok. It’s basically a waiting game as we try to manage it with medications while we wait for a heart. Our hope was Noah could improve and come off the List like he did so many years ago. The doctors have all said this is not the case and that he really needs a heart. I can’t get myself to pray for a new heart so I’m praying the Lords will for Noah and protection over his body. I know the Lord has purpose in all of this and we pray that he would help us to lean on him and to give us strength to endure the next wave.</span></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-77688685847889190692022-05-24T10:19:00.001-07:002022-05-24T10:19:40.853-07:00What happened to Mel?<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;">I have been struggling to find the words to share. Some of it is Covid brain and mostly I’m still processing all that occurred over the last month. I decided to write to let you all know the details of what happened and how I ended up in the hospital. I want to do another blog post soon sharing all the ways God met me during this difficult time. I need time though. This was a lot to endure both physically and emotionally.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktIRXBqph5ClDwtXVCFlAYfopUBN7XgwsNfKK2LbenR0g9SCgutiPJ4Znivmva6KJsuMZutqJwAcBJqumJ9q3UMLpS2WQcP486KCd5eZImcYZCquS7cBPwGPmpInWa14uxvd6RJxZ7iq25tlF2-c_pHvE5m8030fH6gE9Hy8XvD9rDmRHgJkPHnJ0dQ/s4032/9A86118F-1A35-46E3-8A6A-62C4D831F851.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktIRXBqph5ClDwtXVCFlAYfopUBN7XgwsNfKK2LbenR0g9SCgutiPJ4Znivmva6KJsuMZutqJwAcBJqumJ9q3UMLpS2WQcP486KCd5eZImcYZCquS7cBPwGPmpInWa14uxvd6RJxZ7iq25tlF2-c_pHvE5m8030fH6gE9Hy8XvD9rDmRHgJkPHnJ0dQ/s320/9A86118F-1A35-46E3-8A6A-62C4D831F851.heic" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The week leading to Easter Jonah came down with what we thought was a really bad cold after he tested negative for Covid. He had a really bad cough, sore throat, fatigue, and body aches. we isolated him. Days later I began having the same symptoms except for me I couldn’t cough. I have respiratory weakness and an inability to cough so this lead to me not breathing well. On Easter I was feeling horrible and my oxygen was low. I had a terrible headache and couldn’t breathe well. We decided to go to the ER. In the ER we were told I tested positive for Influenza A. They started me on meds and I began to feel a little better. I spent the night in the ER and asked to be discharged the next day. I felt like they weren't doing much that we couldn’t do ourselves at home. Two days at home I started to get worse. It was really hard to breathe. I called my new cardiologist at UCLA. He did a telehealth visit and recommended we come in. He said he would call ahead to make sure they had a bed for us so that we could avoid going through the ER. They put me in the Cardiac ICU unit. Lots of doctors flooded my room. The Cardiologist were concerned. My cardiac enzyme numbers were really high. I had fluid building up around my heart causing my feet to swell up like balloons. I couldn’t breathe well on my own and was choking on the phlegm I couldn’t get up on my own. They talked about intubating me if it got to that point and they also talked about the possibility of doing a tracheotomy. Praise Jesus it never came to that. Pulmonologist and respiratory therapists were concerned. They tried putting a tube down my nose to suction. They came in and did breathing treatments every 3-4 hours. I had 26 heparin shots in my stomache to avoid blood clots. I had over forty blood draws and a host of grueling tests during my stay. I looked pretty bruised and battered. I stayed on this floor for 11 days. I would take a step forward and then two steps back. One night I was in a ton of abdominal pain that caused my heart to go into tachycardia. It was scary as the doctors came in and stared at the monitor and at me and had meds on stand by. I thought this was it. I was in so much pain and didn’t think I was gonna pull through this particular night. My heart stabilized on its own and I didn’t have another episode like that again. My oxygen was still low so they had me on oxygen and I was using my Bipap ventilator a lot during the day and night. Eventually I was just using it at night and slowly began to wean off of the oxygen. It was an incredible saving grace to be discharged with no oxygen. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I came home on breathing treatments and meds that I would take every four hours. It felt good to sleep in my own bed and to sit and feel the sunshine on my patio. This however would be short lived as Jonah came down with Covid the second day I was home. A wonderful family from church took him out of our home to stay with him but I still ended up getting Covid a few days later landing me back in the hospital for another five days. These five days were tough as I was in isolation and the first couple days alone without my husband. I begged and pleaded with them everyday to allow my husband to come. The Lord would answer that prayer and eventually Jason was allowed to stay with me. He had to suit up and could not leave the room. I was so thankful for him and all he did to care for his wife. The Covid team gave me meds and respiratory came in every 3-4 hours for treatment. I was still struggling to breathe but as the Covid meds began to work my body responded well and I was able to come home again off of oxygen. Praise Jesus!</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Im currently off of all my breathing treatments and pretty much back to my baseline. This is huge and something I do not take for granted. Im very aware that this could have gone very differently. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Im so so grateful. I can’t even put into words how thankful I’am for all of you who wrote messages, cards, emails, texts, meals, gifts,etc. All of our needs were met because of you all. You made us feel seen and loved. Your prayers, scriptures, songs meant so much and helped us get through this valley. Thank you for continuing to walk this road with us time and time again. You show us what it means to be Christs hands and feet and you show us that there is purpose in the pain. I have so much more to share and when my heart is ready it will come. Thank you for your patience with me. </span></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-87609643220559989332022-01-31T13:27:00.005-08:002022-01-31T19:50:42.101-08:00God does not leave his children indefinitely in the depths of sorrow<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman";">John Piper has this to say about suffering. There are nutrients that we draw out of seasons of suffering that are strengthening to the bones of our faith and sweetening to the marrow of our faith like we can’t get any other way. Eat them. Go ahead and eat them. As long as God keeps you in that season, don’t waste it by wishing and wishing, wishing you’d be out of it. Go ahead and eat the fruit that grows on that tree alone.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Savor the special promised nearness of the Lord. </span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps%2034.18" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #414141;">Psalm 34:18</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” There is a unique and special promised nearness that you will enjoy. Yes, that is a tearful, painful, true word you will enjoy that you will not have once the sun comes out again. Wait for God’s timing of healing and restoration. </span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps%2030.5" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #414141;">Psalm 30:5</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> says, “His anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” I don’t think the point of that is about the clock, like sadness at dusk, joy at dawn every day. That’s not the point of that statement. The point is God does not leave his children indefinitely in the depths of sorrow. Joy comes eventually when dawn comes, and it comes in God’s timing. The older you get, the more you know that terrible things don’t have the same horrible </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman";">gut punch</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> as time goes by. In the moment of loss, when you get that phone call, that utter disappointment, that painful email, a dream is shattered, a massive disappointment, something you thought would never happen — and you feel in those first hours, “There’s no way I can live with this. There’s no way I can live with this.” God’s timing is very mysterious in its effects because the next day it’s a little different, and the next day it’s a little different. A week later it’s a little different. Everybody moves at different paces, but God uses time and grace to take away the sense of impossibility of life.</span></span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The last few weeks have wrecked me and left me broken. I have not wanted to be in this place again. I do not want to watch my son go through this. Piper is correct in that each day it’s a little different and God in his grace continues to take the pain away as I lean into him. I’am not unfamiliar with this place. I have been here many times. I have gotten hard news and wondered how I would move forward in humble obedience. I have forgotten the ways God literally has carried me through my deepest painful times. I know he will do it again and again. I know with certainty he will use every ounce of it for his good. I know because I can look back and count the myriad of ways he has done so in my life. A couple things that brought me comfort over the last few weeks were remembering that Jesus in his human form asked the Lord not once but three times if there was any other way please take this cup from me. He understood the assignment but the thought of seeing those he loved suffer and enduring the pain was too much. He knew the beauty that was to come but it still brought him to his knees. I felt closer to Jesus these weeks knowing he understood my pain. I was also reminded by a sweet conversation with a friend about the time Jesus was in the boat with his disciples and a big storm came. The disciples were freaking out and Jesus was calmly asleep in the boat. They woke him up and he told the storm to be quiet and the storm calmed and Jesus asked why they were so afraid. Jesus was literally in the boat with them and they were afraid. I could picture the crazy storm of my life and it made me realize I could run around in fear and trembling or I could snuggle up to Jesus under his warm calming embrace trusting that he can calm the storms of my life. I want desperately to stay in the boat curled up next to my heavenly father. The third reminder for me came at a funeral I attended yesterday of an incredibly faithful devoted servant. The day he passed one of our elders told the wife that her husband was born for this day. Wow! Such powerful words. He was born for this day where he would get to meet his savior face to face. We are so blessed to be created in God’s image, to be a vessel and imitators of him, and to get to spend eternity glorifying him. Im going to hold onto that powerful phrase.</span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Noah has officially been put back on the Heart Transplant List. The doctors feel that because they don’t know how quickly Noahs heart failure will progress this is best. It also allows them time to accept the best heart for Noah. We are still hopeful that it could be awhile before transplant. Noah looks great. His numbers are high but he doesn’t feel terrible. This is encouraging to us and the doctors and also a bit confusing as he doesn’t fit the standard mold of someone with his condition. He is being closely monitored and we trust his team at UCLA. Our prayer is for Noah to continue feeling good for as long as he can. Transplant is a wonderful life saving option. However it comes with lots of pain as someone is losing a life to give the gift of life. It is something we have a hard time praying for. Our prayer has always been to heal and protect Noah’s heart. Please pray for us all to walk in humble obedience, to trust the one who calms the storms, and to live boldly for the day we get to meet our savior face to face.</span></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-36189645121016825762022-01-19T08:52:00.003-08:002022-01-19T08:52:52.846-08:00What's going on with NOAH?<p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">What happened to Noah?</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">How did he end up in the hospital?</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Weren’t you all just in Hawaii? I’m sure many of you have questions. In order to answer them all</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I’m going to go back to give any new readers some helpful cliff notes.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Almost ten years ago we found out Noah had restrictive Cardiomyopathy and we were told he would need a heart transplant. His heart wall was thickening and stiffening and his pressures were mildly elevated. Noah spent two years waiting on the heart transplant list. He was monitored regularly with the transplant team. After two years his pressures came down and he was moved to a status seven which is a inactive hold and he remained there for almost another two years. We then, with the advice from the team decided to remove him from the list. Noah has remained stable up to this point. This past fall semester Noah began to feel a change in his symptoms. He was getting out of breathe walking to classes, more chest pain, fast heart rate, and over all more fatigue. The team decided to give him a holter monitor(this is a heart monitor used to check the electrical activity of the heart). We had a Telehealth apt. in November. They decided based on Noah’s new symptoms, and a couple things picked up on the holter that they would do a heart Cath in December. The heart Cath revealed that Noahs pressures were elevated but even more concerning was the elevated BNP lab. BNP is a blood test that measures levels of a protein that is made by your heart and blood vessels. When the levels are higher than normal this indicates damage to the heart and heart failure. The team decided to put Noah on a diuretic to help remove fluid that may be building up around the heart. This would help off load it and help the heart not have to work so hard. We were told not to postpone our trip but to go and enjoy and repeat labs when we got back. During our Hawaii trip it was clear to me that Noah was more tired than usual. I knew in my gut this felt different and that we were headed on the transplant list. We returned home on a Sunday, Noah had labs taken on Tuesday, and Wednesday UCLA called and said we want you to come in and see the team on Thursday. On Thursday morning they did an ultrasound of the heart and it was concerning. Noahs heart was now having problems dilating. The heart’s ability to pump blood is lessened. Because of this, his elevated pressures, and his high BNP they decided to admit Noah and also do all the work up to get him back on the heart transplant list. They first started Noah on a strong heart medication to treat heart failure. They did not see any significant response so they weaned him off and tried another medication plan. The goal was to get Noah stable enough to wait outside of the hospital. He will be monitored closely. He sees the team again next week. Our hope and prayer is that the Lord would grant more time and Noah could avoid transplant again however it is very likely given Noah’s current symptoms that he could end up in the hospital waiting for a heart. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I will share in the next blog post how we are all processing this information. It has been a lot take in as you all can imagine. One thing that is hard for people to understand is that when you see Noah he looks fine, he doesn't look like someone you would think needed a new heart. Trust me its hard for us. his parents to understand as well.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We covet your prayers and ask that you would pray with us for God to protect Noah’s heart and move mightily through his story.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyK1ppPKQmj3CgXrneb-7mrb_2EjekYSPlIwYIlbEOO6FiAnnEts8oz54atBe1uXaZxDIo-iK8mEqHrHtx6bh14I5w9rE0EHoLyI_sRhHiSLCno8pgHLTwjL3a1WECLKNXmaTsG8dZVgb5s8tDmqmdlMRd0yeq1a0SUfugmBphe4_qZvjbgpbFavaNTg=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyK1ppPKQmj3CgXrneb-7mrb_2EjekYSPlIwYIlbEOO6FiAnnEts8oz54atBe1uXaZxDIo-iK8mEqHrHtx6bh14I5w9rE0EHoLyI_sRhHiSLCno8pgHLTwjL3a1WECLKNXmaTsG8dZVgb5s8tDmqmdlMRd0yeq1a0SUfugmBphe4_qZvjbgpbFavaNTg=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><div><br /></div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-36473611992884191892022-01-10T08:56:00.001-08:002022-01-10T08:58:20.971-08:00Joy And Pain<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #353535;">This last week our family was fortunate to take a trip to Hawaii. It was pretty surprising that the trip happened given that we had to cancel it twice in the last two years. It took so much to make it happen. We had to Quarantine the week before, covid testing and fitting in the trip before Noah went back to school so we could all be together but we did it. We set off last week with eagerness and excitement. I wish I could say it was everything I had hoped it would be. However If I’m honest this trip was physically and emotionally rough. I knew it would be physically difficult but wasn’t expecting the flood of emotional pain. Grief is a funny thing that sneaks up on you sometimes. I couldn’t escape my grief even in a beautiful place like Hawaii. I was faced with it head on. It was continually smacking me in the face and it was unbearable at times. I found myself often feeling so guilty for being deep in my pain and having moments of not being able to be content. I could take in Gods beauty and appreciate it but the pain of my circumstances and the losses of others was so strongly felt. It took so much out of me physically just to get t</span> <span style="color: #353535;">o this beautiful place. From the first day What should have been a five hour flight turned into 8 hours. When we landed in Oahu we were stuck on the Tarmac for over two hours. My body was hurting. All my muscles were cramped, my feet were swollen, and I wanted so badly to be laying in my bed. We normally navigate the air port in my transfer wheel chair. Being without my power chair that is custom made just for me and my needs was difficult. It was also the first time I had to use the special isle wheelchair on the plane. Because our seats were in the back and it would have been too much to try and hold onto somebody to make it all the way to our seats. They basically strap you onto a metal board on wheels and you lay your arms in your lap and try not to get your limbs smooshed down the aisle. Luckily they let you on first and also bring you off last so your not a spectacle to the other passengers. it is a super tight ride. many times on this trip I was in physical pain on the brink of tears trying to hold it all in so my family wouldn’t feel bad. I pushed myself hard and my spoon reserve ran low. I also felt heavy for Noah constantly as I watched him feeling tired and similarly not participating as much. I couldn’t stop thinking about his future challenges, his current heart failure, and wondering how he was processing it all. I was grateful to have time with him and one of the highlights of our trip was taking him out to a special dinner with just Jason and I. Being in the same resort we stayed at six years ago gave me a clear picture of just how much this disease has progressed and made me sad and caused me to think about the future losses to come. Six years ago Jason and I shared a sweet memory of being in this beautiful adult only spa that over looked the ocean. While enjoying our time It started raining on us and it was a special time that is forever cemented in our memories. We went to enjoy that same spa. Hoping to have another beautiful experience together. It just wasn’t the same. It was so much work to just get me in the water and once in I couldn’t keep my head up or lean up against anything. We tried everything to Make me comfortable and quickly realized it just wasn’t going to work. This was so hard for me to get over. I felt sad, disappointed, and defeated. I felt sad thinking that I might have disappointed my husband . The Lord quickly reminded me that yes he’s probably disappointed and that’s ok. It is completely ok for him to be sad and disappointed. You are disappointed too. He is also grieving these things. You don’t have to feel responsible or to blame but you have to let him be disappointed. It was good for me to hear the Holy Spirit in that moment because I can so often feel responsible and to blame. I don’t want to be the cause of others pain and disappointment. I had to remind myself that as much as I believe that God is using all of this in my life I need to believe he is using all of it in Jason’s as well, and in Noah’s, Jonah’s , and Hannah’s. That includes disappointments. He is meeting them all in their grief as well. </span></span></p>
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<p style="color: #353535; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was in the word everyday and doing all that I could to reorient my focus frustrated that this was taking up space in my mind. I pushed myself hard to do things that I knew would take a toll on my body the next day. Those moments and memories were sweet and painful. Joy and pain coexisting together. I was grateful for many things on this trip. Thankful for sunsets, thankful for Pineapple Dole Whip, thankful for being able to lay on a raft in the ocean with my husband and kids, thankful for sweet lounging with my husband, thankful for new experiences and connection. Most of all thankful that Jesus meets me in my pain and he doesn’t leave me there. Joy and pain. The Psalmist and Paul in the New Testament has taught me that they can coexist at the same time and that it’s ok as joyful Christians to feel pain and grief simultaneously.</span></p>
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<p style="color: #353535; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These words from Paul Tripp were a sweet reminder to me this past week of Gods goodness to his Children. He says; Next time you face the unexpected, a moment of difficulty you really don’t want to go through, remember that such a moment doesn’t picture a God who has forgotten you, but one who is near to you and doing in you a very good thing. He is rescuing you from thinking that you can live the life you were meant to live while relying on the inadequate resources of your wisdom, experiences, righteousness, and strength; and he is transforming you into a person who lives a life shaped by radical God centered faith. He is the ultimate craftsman, and we are his clay. He will not take us off his wheel until his fingers have molded us into those who really do believe and do not doubt.</span></p>
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<p style="color: #353535; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’m so thankful that he never leaves us in our pain he is always molding us into his likeness.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8hRUlyQoV6QAeUr7FDE76GO4HZWNPMPxnqFqPHbuUu8CwHIg9OLR7cPrmtTmb9AhAPw-45sqpe_TegONk8BjgfGOWUjN5UObfHzfaTWXj2N-VBPIlB6GBkpej-RLx8ktMAnIbL5lw_s2Xzg7jwRhXpO12b102yAO-2m9z7Y83bAXsDRQoVkCKHrUYzA=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8hRUlyQoV6QAeUr7FDE76GO4HZWNPMPxnqFqPHbuUu8CwHIg9OLR7cPrmtTmb9AhAPw-45sqpe_TegONk8BjgfGOWUjN5UObfHzfaTWXj2N-VBPIlB6GBkpej-RLx8ktMAnIbL5lw_s2Xzg7jwRhXpO12b102yAO-2m9z7Y83bAXsDRQoVkCKHrUYzA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikakO4LJb-6e95ezRxadlBckfgUs7opW4amcWa3LhzEmDc9pO8P7c3xf7P33scS5IzEuSLL50gJqoXzHkz4-niurlHWfUACX8Z_xtzeaDnPvOPPRHaAj-4cigP1r0D_MFajyJYHuYvpUCNd9KnWxzVaabSiC021Cn8JR94xNmOIABRBdoCNw5DbXN_Hg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikakO4LJb-6e95ezRxadlBckfgUs7opW4amcWa3LhzEmDc9pO8P7c3xf7P33scS5IzEuSLL50gJqoXzHkz4-niurlHWfUACX8Z_xtzeaDnPvOPPRHaAj-4cigP1r0D_MFajyJYHuYvpUCNd9KnWxzVaabSiC021Cn8JR94xNmOIABRBdoCNw5DbXN_Hg=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8c4_BO4Y9mw2Vxm5jVuOjvzHykLw2wyIIFisGrt8ZuPbW97R0981jjg8Y001W89moE-zL1vJh1BOfAwErXYRa-6OrB0djO3e2x_gxKv_3yL6H2cMz2TQvLecn4QiB5OLB9N-DJWEhWiyyCN8FKIKkTPFjUkZnCP3dLccCfwFsSxACkS0lOAhT5L14Fw=s2496" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1872" data-original-width="2496" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8c4_BO4Y9mw2Vxm5jVuOjvzHykLw2wyIIFisGrt8ZuPbW97R0981jjg8Y001W89moE-zL1vJh1BOfAwErXYRa-6OrB0djO3e2x_gxKv_3yL6H2cMz2TQvLecn4QiB5OLB9N-DJWEhWiyyCN8FKIKkTPFjUkZnCP3dLccCfwFsSxACkS0lOAhT5L14Fw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="color: #353535; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div><br /></div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-60734687956838581022021-12-22T12:22:00.000-08:002021-12-22T12:22:52.722-08:00New Update On Noah<p> <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Noah had a heart cath on Monday to check the pressures in his heart. Thank you so much for those prayers. I wish I had positive news to share. Noah’s pressures were high. The same as they were when he was first listed for transplant nine years ago and his BNP that measures heart failure was crazy high. The plan is to put Noah on a Diuretic that will help remove a lot of fluid that is building up around Noah’s heart making Noah’s heart having to work harder to pump. They want him to also take an ace inhibitor that helps with heart failure. He needs to repeat labs in two weeks to see if his BNP numbers lower and we will see the team in a month. They will do another heart Cath in 3-6 months depending on the labs and his symptoms. We are good with this plan but also concerned about his high numbers. We are thankful at this time that they do not need to list him. Our prayer requests are that Noah’s numbers would drop and he could remain off the transplant list, also that Noah would be able to process all of this well and be responsible for taking his meds and taking care of himself which is not always easy for any college student. Thank you for continuing to walk this hard road with us. We are grateful for you all.</span></p>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-84165947542558590012021-10-15T10:30:00.002-07:002021-10-15T10:48:37.444-07:00I'm Writing A Book<p> <span face=""Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif" style="color: #454545;">I realize it has been a good while since I have done a blog post. This is always a good thing in that it typically means our life is somewhat stable, from a medical standpoint anyway 😀</span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">One of the reasons for my absence is that I have been doing a lot of writing. With the encouragement from some dear friends and many of you who have followed my journey, I have decided to write a book. I can't believe I'm even saying this out loud😳. Yep! I'm attempting to write a book. It feels strange because I still don’t view myself as a writer but nonetheless I’m enjoying the process. The book I’m attempting to write is on Suffering. The purpose of the book is to help people shift their perspective from why me to why not me when walking through hard trials. It will <b style="background-color: white; color: #121f3c; font-family: Times;">help people walking through difficulty learn how to see God’s purposes in their lives so that they can fully trust in his sovereign plan. </b> It gives a glimpse into my life and reveals the ways that God met and continues to meet me in the darkest of times. My prayer is that God would put words to pen and it would be an encouragement to so many. I have included many of my previous blog posts from years past. I have a wonderful supportive team and it will be an answer to prayer to one day see this come to fruition. I’m often amazed how God as I’m re-reading these posts has used these words to preach back to myself. My mom was just over the other day and I was telling her how God is using these posts from years past to minister to my heart. She pulled out a page from an old blog post I wrote that she keeps tucked in her purse. It was a blog post that I wrote many years ago explaining how I view my situation as a blessing. It was like a balm to my heart. I so needed to be reminded of those words as I have not been feeling well. The Lord truly does draw near to the broken hearted. I think sometimes we miss it because we are expecting the Lord to take our hard completely away. We have expectations on what we think it looks like for the Lord to draw near to us. However the Lord draws near in ways that are good for us. sometimes that means not taking the difficulty away but helping us walk through it. </div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I pray that if you are walking through something hard that you would be able to recognize how the Lord draws near and I pray that it would be a sweet balm to your heart as well.</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-76094049282748713762021-05-21T16:16:00.001-07:002021-05-21T16:27:18.756-07:00Noah Update<p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's been quite awhile since I have given you all an update on Noah. <span face="-apple-system-font"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847)" style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847);">Its crazy that we started this heart journey and facebook page Noah’s Heart when he was just nine years old. He is now eighteen. An adult. I’m still learning how to parent an adult child and Noah is learning to have Grace with me. I feel the need to be careful in my blogging as this is now Noah’s story to share so I want you to know he has granted me permission. Noah just finished up his first year at Biola. It was not the year he had hoped it would be. It was filled with many disappointments but he is very much looking forward to being on campus in the fall. He recently bought his first car and got a job working at the Whittier Chick Fit A. You can only imagine how excited his momma is😋 I’m grateful for so many things about his journey but mostly how God has sustained his heart and health. In so many ways we have witnessed a miracle in his life and so many answered prayers. To date he has been off the heart transplant list now for five years. This is a huge thing to celebrate and quite frankly a big miracle. Why is this a miracle? Well because to be honest Noah’s heart looks terrible. We have been told by many doctors that he has the scariest EKG they have ever seen. Not comforting words for this momma. The one time we had Noah get his EKG without us we forgot to warn them and the poor tech kept asking Noah if he was feeling ok while she called for several doctors to come in. The report has been like this since he was nine. It presents like he is having a heart attack but no symptoms to go along with it. His heart is still weak and he still has Restrictive Cardiomyopathy. His pressures however are still good so as long as they stay good he can remain off the transplant list. He is monitored every three to six months.</span></span></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For those of you that are new to this blog. Noah and I both share a rare form of muscular Dystrophy called Desmin Myopathy. It is a slow progressive disease that over time weakens all of your muscles. Our heart conditions are a symptom of the disease. Even though Noah and I share this disease it presents very differently in each of us. Our heart conditions are different and even our muscle weakness has presented differently. </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I asked Noah the folowing questions about living with Desmin Myopathy and this is what he had to say:</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What has been the biggest challenge for you? </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Noah: Learning to accept that I have a disease with no cure. I think when your younger you just kind of accept things as they come and don't really understand the weight or impact of things. I’m not angry at God for it but I struggle to see how God is going to use me with it. I’m not a writer like my mom so I dont’ see myself blogging about my journey 😀<br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What do you wish people knew about your disease? </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Noah: That I don’t want to be treated differently. That I don’t want to be defined as the sick kid or the guy with the heart condition.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">How can people pray for you?</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Pray for continued stable health and less doctor appointments :) Pray that God would deepen my faith and understanding.</span></div></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzi38Ll8_Xgp_uqYVHbxFKMbKBbdkvtrUaDdon_0kjYGYsMqgBymB-ubdXrCWVfWDx5o7E-qCG7L1qozUZA5wiUOgKhaX7LZINmW66xNcyw0n8x-al01mTTcvqG5-VbC3mUV12RV-NhH4/s1753/947936D6-1F55-4BDF-8368-3430FC0D3F01_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1744" data-original-width="1753" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzi38Ll8_Xgp_uqYVHbxFKMbKBbdkvtrUaDdon_0kjYGYsMqgBymB-ubdXrCWVfWDx5o7E-qCG7L1qozUZA5wiUOgKhaX7LZINmW66xNcyw0n8x-al01mTTcvqG5-VbC3mUV12RV-NhH4/w320-h283/947936D6-1F55-4BDF-8368-3430FC0D3F01_1_201_a.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-68635887462572413772021-04-30T13:38:00.006-07:002021-04-30T14:47:45.388-07:00Incline My Heart<div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I have been struggling and thinking through my limitations. Truthfully a lot more than I should or care to admit. Thinking about where I once was, and the struggle to see where I am. I have battled so much insecurity. This is a new one for me. I have always been relatively confident in my own skin. I’m at a stage in my journey where I depend on so many people to just function on a normal day. Its incredibly difficult to continually ask for help and even more difficult to trust that the person really doesnt mind doing it. It takes vulnerability, courage, thick skin, grace, patience, love, kindness, humility, and so much more. Basically all the fruits of the spirit and the qualities Paul asks us to put on in Colossians 3. I’m sure this will be a battle for the rest of my days. Some days I just really dont want to be needy. Everything in me just wants to do it myself. I just heard a toddler voice as I was writing that sentence 😂</span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></i></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I battle with my heart for contentment and look closely upon my control for comfort. When my heart is inclined toward God, I’m more willing to surrender to my story and look for the beautiful ways God’s present grace shows up. </span></span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;">A prayer of David in Psalm 119: </span><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end. This is David’s prayer for God to make his heart decidedly fixed for God.</em><span style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></em></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">I have talked about this before but its just so true in my life. When I’m able to fight the flesh and fix my eyes on Jesus and incline my heart toward God. I get to see the beauty in the hard and the assurance that he is not wasting any of it. I want to stress the “When I’m able” part though. I’m an imperfect sinner in need of God’s redeeming love every single minute of my day. I pleed with God like Paul did to remove the thorn even when I'm confident the thorn is good for me. </em></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></em></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">I have realized lately as I have struggled with being needy that I don’t think my faith would be what it is today without this thorn. I’am so much more aware of my need for Jesus. I can’t go through out my day with out being totally dependent on him to carry me through. I’m learning little by little that being needy isnt always a bad thing. It helps increase our faith because we are not relying on our own strength to carry us through. In my situation it pushes people to enter in and gives them an opportunity to serve in sacrificial ways. I have seen this play out in both strangers and loved ones. Last month my sweet husband took me to get a pedicure. He sat in a chair next to me and a lady watched him help me into the spa chair and lift my legs in and out of the water for the nail tech. The lady that was watching stopped by my husband and handed him some money. We were shocked by her generosity but it left a bigger impact on my heart. You see it gave me eyes to see that God is using this thorn to work in the hearts of those around me as well as myself. I have a friend whose boys are always so willing to help carry me down their flight of stairs each time I come to visit. Just last night as I came over for dinner they were waiting with smiles. These are teenage boys who are getting a lesson in sacrificial giving. Their willing hearts bless my heart so much. When I allow myself to stop and look at how the Lord is blessing my neediness it helps me appreciate the thorn and work through my insecurities.</em></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></em></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">How are you seeing the beauty in the hard? Are you sacrificially giving of your time to help others?</em></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="caret-color: rgb(31, 31, 31); color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Is your Heart inclined toward God? I would love to hear the ways you have been encouraged.</em></span></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494780302453678257.post-986474060184720002021-01-05T17:24:00.003-08:002021-01-05T17:41:43.168-08:00How able bodied people can come along side others with Chronic illness<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif" style="color: #454545;">I have the desire to blog more this year. I think the thing that often prevents me from accomplishing this goal besides the mental energy, is often not knowing what to write about. I decided to pose a <span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">question on</span> IG asking what people would like me to write about. I was so delighted to get the topic above. How able bodied people can come along side others with Chronic Illness. I want to start by saying I don’t speak for all people I can only speak for me and my experience living with a chronic illness or disability.</span><span face="Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif" style="color: #454545;"> </span></span></p><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I love the way this question was worded. Why? Well for one I know the dear lady who asked the question and so I know her heart is to truly come along side others. The other reason is because to me it shows recognition that I’m not able bodied. It’s an acceptance. The first thing able bodied people can do is to recognize and accept the persons chronic illness or disability. This is extremely hard to do in general but especially if it’s somebody you care about. Being in denial over it and not acknowledging it can make the person not feel seen by you. How do you acknowledge it? By not being afraid to talk about it and ask questions. It doesn’t mean that it has to be your only interactions but by not ever acknowledging it or checking in to see how the person is feeling is like ignoring a huge piece of that persons life. A person with chronic illness doesn’t want to always burden you with discussing their health issues but if you ask it helps us feel that you are truly interested. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A chronic condition or disability isn’t going anywhere so show your friend that you aren’t either. Living with a disability can feel isolating. Show them that you are in it for the long haul. What does this look like? Check in on them frequently not just when an emergency happens. One of the things I love most is when I get an encouraging scripture, article, worship song, or somebody asking how they can specifically be praying for me. This shows me that I’m being thought of and it shows intentionality. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Giving of your time is another huge thing you can do. We live in a busy fast paced world. You feel often like you are watching life happening all around you but aren't apart of it. People with disabilities are forced to slow down and rest a lot. When you give of your time we know what a huge gift that is. This may look like just visiting the person and sitting with them, or it could also mean getting the person out. I often want to get out, go to the beach, take a drive, etc. but I know that it is extra work and don’t want to burden someone. When my friends have said hey can I pick you up and take you to run errands with me, or can I take you to lunch etc. I know they want to do this and I know they understand that it’s extra work. They also are understanding if I just don’t have the energy. Don’t not invite your friend to functions because you think it will be hard on them or you think your place or function can’t accommodate their needs. Let them decide if it can’t work for them. Maybe even ask how you can best accommodate them. I was going to a ladies home bible study and before it started the host said her husband had set up a ramp for my wheel chair and asked if anything else would be helpful. She even had a special reclining chair for me. I was brought to tears that she was thinking of every way to best accommodate for my needs. It made me feel loved and seen and really wanted. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have had a few friends offer to take me to doctor apts. I love this because it gives them a chance to understand the disability so much more and gives my regular caretakers a much needed break. It takes vulnerability also so don’t get offended if the person doesn’t take you up on the offer. The important thing is you asked. Every time you ask to help it makes us feel cared for.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Little things go along way to brighten someone’s day, a text, a card, a sweet tea😂, a visit, a walk, a talk. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pouring into my family is another great way. Being full time caregivers can be tiring. So meals, running errands, house help is another great way to come along side them and me. It frees them up to help care better for our needs. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I hope these things have been helpful. A really good book that I highly recommend on this topic is “ Just Show Up” by Jill Lynn Buteyn and Kara Tippetts. It's both written from a terminally ill person and her best friend.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Again thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I'am always so humbled by that. If you have a topic you would love to hear me write about. Please drop me a message.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP463-PeoHHV_lMH5nyD1x6P7_Z95v6kUJfwyjxa50whY14icZmXZXxOcMplfHoRl6PiE_-zT1ZIyrsa7sb8Xkioe_Wy15N00wqlarWleVg9j7nPLi6Hb1Lo27_UT2reufC3Kl4RECIwNI/s1952/IMG-3856.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="1952" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP463-PeoHHV_lMH5nyD1x6P7_Z95v6kUJfwyjxa50whY14icZmXZXxOcMplfHoRl6PiE_-zT1ZIyrsa7sb8Xkioe_Wy15N00wqlarWleVg9j7nPLi6Hb1Lo27_UT2reufC3Kl4RECIwNI/s320/IMG-3856.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mel</div>Melody Lietzauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18419054333716149614noreply@blogger.com4