Good to be Home

So good to see the South Bend/Mishawaka sign last night. It's true...there's no place like home. Good to shower in your own bath, and sleep in your own bed.

Lauren's health continues to improve; she had an increasingly good day yesterday and a GREAT night of sleep last night. She'll need to rest and lay low for a few days, but her meds seem to have leveled off - she's doing well again. She's watching the Disney Channel right now...yep, things are getting back to normal.

So where do we go from here? Well, Lauren's docs collected an enormous amount of data during her stay in Cincinnati. It will take them a couple of weeks to process through it and marry up the info from the different tests. They'll then put a game plan together for us for the road ahead.

Aside from that, lots of unpacking to do. And I need to mow the lawn. Bad.

Oh - and then there's this GCC Elkhart campus that we're excited to launch. :)

Praising God for an Amazing Recovery

Psalm 69:30 – I will praise God’s name in song, and glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Lauren is doing incredibly better today. Yesterday (Sat) she was still struggling a great deal – but things sloooowly smoothed out as the day progressed. She was still having a seizure every 3 minutes, then every 5 minutes, then every 10, 20….that was the progression of the day. But she slept great all night last night – and 10:15pm was her last seizure. Her energy level is still quite low, but she’s eating breakfast right now, first solid food in a couple days (eggs!). She’s doing well and getting closer to the old Lauren. With her continuing to head in the right direction now, the docs feel comfortable sending her home this afternoon.

I have to tell you, Thursday night through Friday were terrifying for us. Never have we been so scared – with no exaggeration, we thought we may have lost Lauren. A week of testing quickly turned into a week of terror. Leslee and I were in a state of shock, crying, praying over her, begging her to respond and watching the docs seem helpless. At one point there were 6 docs/nurses all around her bed, with another neurologist and the ICU attending doctor on the way. They were talking of putting her into a medically induced coma and on a respirator. We were so broken - she was in a vegetable state for over 3 hours and they seemed to have no idea what to do. I believe the fervent prayers of many were answered and God graciously intervened and restored her health. And there are absolutely no signs of any damage or lasting effects. Hallelujah…

The prayers, text messages, emails, phone calls, and words of encouragement from friends abroad have been a blessing beyond words. Prayers have carried us these last few days, and no doubt played a big part in God’s grace in Lauren’s life. Thank you for interceding on our family's behalf.

We look forward to being home tonight...we really miss baby Garrett. :)

Out of All the Girls in the World (a post by Leslee)

I hijacked Jeff's laptop to say hello to everyone who has been keeping up with us on Lauren's week.

This week. Wow. What words can describe watching your child suffer, helplessly standing by with the awareness that there is nothing you can do? How do you describe this? How do you describe the feeling of panic when your child's room is filled with nurses and doctors, overhearing conversations in the hall with educated doctors being puzzled - not sure how to respond to this intense situation? Those of you who have experienced this, you know. It's emotionally exhausting and painful.

Jeff has shared what her week has looked like up until now with the hard blow of yesterday. I have never been so happy to have a "new day" - a fresh start for things to somehow turn around. Last night was very pivotal as we had two options of what her night would look like. As Jeff mentioned, all five emergency drugs had been given to her (in one night at that) with little or no response. We could have gone to ICU, but we did not have to. Last night was a huge step in the right direction.

Don't get me wrong. Lauren is still not out of the dark. She continues to have mild seizures and tremors, sometimes every few minutes. Right now, the docs are saying these are her body responding from the trauma of the last few days. As I write, I am watching her lay in bed (where she has been all day) still drugged up from Thursday night, speaking just a little, not wanting to eat or drink. She has no energy or desire to do anything but sleep. She still had medium seizures here and there throughout the day today. We're so thankful for those who continue to pray.

Lauren Bell. She is my daughter, "best buddy", turkey toodles, ellie bellie, sweet cheeks, peanut, pumpkin, goober-schnitzel, awesome girl. Every night before bed we say in unison to each other, "I love you soooo much - out of all the girls in the world, how did I get so lucky to get you!?" I really feel that way - I love her so much.

I must tell you we have been overwhelmed with your love, encouraging words and prayers for her and our family. These prayers have carried Jeff and I and I am confident have protected our precious daughter. Thank you, thank you for standing in the gap for all of us. We could not make it without you. We have been blessed with wonderful family and friends who are like family.

Speaking of wonderful family, my mom and dad have been watching Garrett all week - boy, do we miss him. This is quite the initiation for grandparents - right at a 7 day stay now. My sister and mother-in-law came down Wed/Thurs and helped tremendously. When Lauren took a turn for the worse, my mother-in-law came back down driving five more hours to give Jeff and I some relief. Our family is wonderful and we are so thankful for all of them.

Our heavenly father has been holding us tighter and giving us strength, grace, perspective, trust and faith. Some of you have heard our "whys" and questions along the way with Lauren. And, you know that we did not stay there - our faith is stronger than ever in our loving God. I would never ask for these hard days. But wow, have they shaped us and they continue to.

I remember reading a quote from Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado saying , "God loves us just the way we are, but loves us too much to let us stay that way."

Granted, sometimes I feel like God might love us a little too much. :)

Prayers Needed...Lauren Crashed

About two hours after my blog post last night, Lauren crashed. This was the worst night we've ever experienced with her. The docs had taken her off her meds a couple days ago to help induce some seizures. She seemed to be doing fine as we were ramping back up yesterday afternoon, but last night she took a bad turn. Since around 1am last night, she has continued to have a seizure every 60-90 seconds nonstop (it's now 4:30pm - that's 15 straight hours). Last night was one of the scariest, most heartbreaking night's ever for Leslee and I as Lauren's parents. We literally thought we lost her...for over three hours she was in an absolute vegetable state, completely unresponsive to anyone and anything (remember the Terry Schiavo footage?). We were both in tears begging Lauren to respond; for three hours - nothing. Finally, around 6am, her first words were "peak a boo". We fell apart at the sound of her little voice again.

The docs have given her 5 different emergency drugs, each having little effect. There has been talk of admitting her to ICU here if things don't turn tonight. There have been "baby steps" of improvements throughout the day, but the frequency of the seizures continues. We're obviously staying an extra day, or two...don't know what to expect yet.

My amazing mother drove all the way from South Bend this afternoon to stay with Lauren so Les and I can sleep for a few hours. Physically we are completely drained. Virtually no sleep for three straight days/nights, and the emotional drain of watching Lauren suffer in ways that are hard to put in words. Our faith, however remains full - no doubt due to the prayers of many who are standing in the gap with us. Please continue to pray with us.

Reflecting on the Week...

I've learned some key things about myself in this 'journey of life', and one of them is this: I don't feel very 'spiritual' when I'm physically exhausted, or when I'm watching helplessly as someone in my family suffers. I'm more prone to sin - to being impatient, to discouragement, and to anger.

I'm not excusing it. I'm just stating that I've learned to recognize this about myself. I run hard to be like Jesus, to bring fame to Jesus - but I often fail miserably in these moments.

I've had some moments like that this week.

I'm curious - what's your battle plan for when you feel these types of attacks?

• Do you have specific prayers you pray?
• Scripture passages or other sources you read?
• Do you blow it off as "it's a normal response under these circumstances"?
• Do you just figure "this too shall pass"?

Seriously. Share how you navigate through "Elijah moments" (I Kings 19)...times of physical exhaustion and spiritual vulnerability.

Children's Hospital: Days Three and Four

So last night and this morning were difficult. Lauren had a really bad night, having intense seizures repeatedly, and Les and I were up again all night with her. The doctors had to give her Valium twice to calm her down, which finally helped around 4am. She still had seizures about every 30 minutes, until 8am when then woke her up for a MEG scan. The MEG is a test that only a handful of hospitals in the country can do - a brand new piece of technology that...well, frankly I don't know what it does, but the doctors are excited about it (and the unit costs multiple millions of dollars). Lauren was in the MEG for three hours...three hours. Almost pitch black, in a straight jacket, room by herself, awake...for three hours. She did great and they captured what they needed. But we're all exhausted.

We slept like rocks this afternoon. And Lauren and Leslee are already asleep as I type (9pm).

The good news - we're heading home tomorrow (Friday). Lauren has an MRI in the morning, then we should be released around noon. Will be good to see baby Garrett again and sleep in our own beds.

Thanks for encouraging words, prayers and thoughts...we've felt them in palpable ways.

Children's Hospital: Day Two

Pretty wiped out tonight. The docs wanted us to keep Lauren up until 4am last night to push her towards sleep deprivation. This typically leads to more seizures. It worked - she had about a dozen seizures in her sleep, all providing good data for her doctors.

The unfortunate - The doctors were really hoping she would have one this morning during a specific window. They wanted to inject a radioactive dye that would show up on a scan they scheduled (called a SPECT scan) - but alas, out little princess got 'stage fright' and went the entire six hour window without having a single seizure. They still went forward with the scan this afternoon to get a baseline on bloodflow in Lauren's melon.

The unbelievable - The SPECT scan lasts 34 minutes. Lauren is seven. The odds of a seven year old staying awake, holding her entire body absolutely motionless for 34 minutes? With a huge cylinder circling her head? Less than three inches from her face? Hmm. But, Lauren felt confident she could do it - and do it she did. Without any sedation, and to the amazement of the radiologist team, she held perfectly still for the entire test! I forgot to put 'patience' as one of the words to describe her in my post yesterday...thinking I should have.

We're in for a long night again...the docs want us to keep her up again - yep, until 4am. We're so tired, a little grumpy. I've already told them it won't happen - we're all toast, but we're shooting for 2am (Peter Pan is playing in the background right now). Another big test/scan in the morning that they want her to sleep through and hopefully seize during.

Can I tell you the most amazing thing to me? Not one time has Lauren complained about any of this. Not once. She's spent 58 of the last 60 hours in a bed with dozens of wires hooked up all over her. She's not been able to eat or drink from midnight til 3pm the last two days. She's been forced to stay awake and miss tons of sleep. She's had around 25 seizures and thrown up 7 or 8 times. And she hasn't complained once. She's cried...it hurts. It scares her. But she hasn't complained.

She models grace and joy in a way that baffles me.

Lauren Alyssa Bell...in Fifty Words

princess. seven. November 21st. 2nd grade. beautiful, blue eyes. Hannah Montana. Disney World. pink. big sister. big smile. dance. music. creative. spunky. daddy-daughter-dates. shopping with mommy. bowling. love notes. large vocabulary. articulate. ranch dressing. mashed potatoes. macaroni and cheese. Red Lobster biscuits. Chick-Fil-A. Mario Kart. frisbee. swing set. the beach. joy and laughter. playful. polite. snuggle. hugs, kisses, and 'noses'. engaging. initiative. thoughtful. resilient. brave. determined. faith. prayer. life-giving. serving. tenderhearted. compassionate. leader. helper. friend. wonderful daughter.

(photo: serving on June 14th at Feed the Children)

Children's Hospital: Day One

Things have started off well here in Cincinnati. We checked Lauren in yesterday afternoon and they hooked up the EEG/Video monitoring system (26 leads glued to various regions on her head, capturing brain-wave activity). She'll be hooked up through Friday morning. It's pretty traumatic for her to have it put on, but since then she's done well with it and actually thinks her 'hat' is kinda cool. :)

Yesterday was very active - shortly after her EEG was hooked up, Lauren had 8 seizures, all in about 90 minutes. She also had two in her sleep last night. That's an unusually high number for her to have, so it was pretty rattling for us (typically she'll have 2 or 3 a week). We're figuring it's a result of heightened anxiety from being here. And in a way it's "good" news...(1) they want her to have seizures here so they can capture the data, and (2) if she's going to have them, this is the best place for it.

This morning they did a PET scan - like a CT scan unit, it measures blood activity in the brain (the origination point of seizures tend to have an increase of blood). Lauren did great - she even endured Leslee and I singing to her to keep her calm through the procedure. The doctors withheld her medicine this morning and are hoping to capture more seizures in her sleep tonight. Might be in for a long night, but it's the necessary evil as we hope for breakthroughs.

Thanks to all for encouraging words and prayers. We're doing well and even finding ways to have fun and enjoy the extra time with Lauren (Uno, games, books, throwing the beach ball, etc.) She's a spunky girl.

Prayers For Our Princess

Leslee and I are in Cincinnati this week with our daughter Lauren. For those who don't know Lauren, she's an amazing girl - who deals with epilepsy. Lauren has dealt with the seizure disorder since she was born, but has done so with grace, joy, and incredible resilience.

We'll be at Children's Hospital all this week for a battery of testing and observation. Doctors want to capture new data and explore new solutions for Lauren. It's a tough week for our princess...we'd appreciate prayers. We're asking God to give grace and new hope in Lauren's life.

So just a heads up...blogging this week will be a little different. It will be more family focused with updates on what's happening here.

100 Days and Counting...

Today the counter moves from triple digits to double digits. We're 100 days from the launch day for our Elkhart Campus...and counting!

Hang on...it's going to be a fast, furious, and fun summer.

(huh, nice alliteration)

Join our Facebook Fan Page

Are you on Facebook?

We've just launched a new GCC-Elkhart fan page on Facebook. (Lindsay Wasik set it up for us - she rocks). Click here to see the page and sign up to be a fan - it's open to anyone. You'll find all kinds of fun GCC-Elkhart stuff. And it's a great way to spread the word to other 'friends' for those of us who use Facebook.

Don't have a Facebook account?

Listen - I'm no sales dude, but it's free and a fun place to connect (and way more grown up than MySpace...sorry). Click here to set up an account.

I figure if Tim Stevens and J Aquilla are on Facebook, then it's got to be cool.

The Breakfast Club

So we've resurrected the 80's teen classic...sort of.

The 1985 movie is about five high school students, all classic stereotypes, who meet in detention. The plot? Originally at odds, they learn to open up and accept each other, only to discover that they have a lot more in common than they thought. It struck a major nerve with the 80s adolescent crowd as strangers become friends through openness, acceptance, and common experience.

Fast forward 23 years. A new take on the Breakfast Club.

Every Friday morning, 6:30am at Perkins in Elkhart, the NEW Breakfast Club meets. Only this isn't detention. We're choosing to be there. And what brings us together? We're just average guys who are looking to connect and be encouraged. And we're wrapped around this common passion to see Jesus do impacting things through us collectively as we lay the groundwork for our Elkhart Campus.

We just started last week. We'll meet again tomorrow.

Join us. We'll save a seat for you.

Any Breakfast Club fans out there? Here's a clip to reminisce!

More Rally Pics

Just got my hands on a fresh batch of pics from our Elkhart Campus Rally last week! (photos courtesy of David Harris).

Scroll down and click on an image to enlarge - enjoy!

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What does it mean...?

I saw this on a car the other day and have no idea what it's supposed to mean. I've seen the Icthus, the WWJD one, the one with "fish n chips", the Darwin one, etc. - but never this one.

Anyone seen it before? Got a guess as to what it means?

A Princess, a Tank, and a Very Blessed Dad

God, thank You for these two amazing miracles that call me "daddy". Give me the courage, wisdom, and grace to be the man they need me to be. Help me to live in a way that causes them to see You, to love You, and to want to live for You.

Thank You for the joy of being a father.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

This is me and my dad. Leslee and I had lunch with him and my mom today to celebrate Father's Day. I'm thankful for the dad that God gave me:

• He taught me that "testimony is everything". Character and integrity can never be sacrificed. People will always shoot at you; make sure they only have blanks.
  
• He showed me how to be a great husband. Never in my life have I for one minute doubted my dad's deep love for and devotion to my mom. That's priceless.
• He's an overcomer. His home life growing up was awful. His parents mocked his faith. Yet he's been steadfast and determined to pass on his faith and joy in Jesus to his four sons, our wives, and our children.
  
• He lives his life with eternity in mind. As a pastor, he's spent over 30 years telling people how they can find life and hope and purpose. He's been a "spiritual dad" to countless people who have placed faith in Jesus because of his life and his teaching.
  
• He models faithfulness. To Jesus, to mom, to friends, to his church. My dad is a loyal man.
• He looks great in a suit. :)

I love you, dad. I pray that God gives you great joy today as you are celebrated!

Rally Pictures

God gave us a great rally Tuesday night as we held the official "launch before the launch" for our Elkhart Campus! Here's some pics from the night:

(photos courtesy of Mark Beeson)

We had a great night with around 230 in attendance and close to 160 'athletes' signing up for volunteer teams. These are people committed to taking the hill with us, advancing the kingdom, being the first wave to hit the beach. I'm so excited to share life and travel with each pioneer who has said YES. What a ride it will be as God shapes each of us on this faith adventure together. We're off to a great start!

Want to know more about how YOU can be a part of impacting Elkhart through GCC's new campus? Click here for info on joining a volunteer team, upcoming summer dates, and FAQs.

We Have Liftoff!

Electric.

I mean ELECTRIC!

That's the best word I can think of to describe our Elkhart Campus Rally last night. We had a great crowd of people who gathered around a common cause, ready to band together to launch a new gathering this fall in Elkhart. A gathering that is intentional and IMPACTING, filled with friends who are bent on letting people know that we have a seat reserved for them when we go live this fall!

A good sign that the night went well? The Rally was officially over at 8:30, and people were still hanging around, sharing stories and sharing life at 9:45!

I'll be posting more comments and a bunch of photos in the days ahead. But get the word out - the Elkhart Campus has cleared the tower. We have liftoff!

Ready to Rally!

Fasten your seatbelt...!

We’re only 24 hours from the start of our Elkhart Campus Rally! After months of planning, promotion, and preparation - it's go time. Time to ride. Time to 'chirp' the tires. Let's fire this baby up!

I can’t wait to connect with our launch team tomorrow night. We’ll be starting right away at 7:00pm in the atrium at the Granger Campus - so if you're coming out, get here early! We’re preparing for an amazing adventure together, following hard after Jesus as we expand our reach and launch the first ever multi-site campus through Granger Community Church.

God has some great things in store for Elkhart, and great things in store for those of us who travel together in this exciting faith journey. Looking forward to celebrating “the launch before the launch” tomorrow night.

Elkhart Launch Team...starts NOW!

Quote of the Day

"We spend our lives asking God to answer our prayers. What if we committed ourselves to answering His prayer?"

- Craig Groeschel

And what would that prayer be? John 17:20 - "...I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that ALL of them may be ONE, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."

The Father. The Son. The Spirit. Three uniquely different persons. Different roles. Different functions. Yet they share community in a way that celebrates their diversity.

Unity in the church just like the unity in the Trinity.

It was Jesus' prayer.

Good prayer.

Long Term Impact

Sitting here at The Daily Grind - a coffee shop in downtown Elkhart. Doing a great deal of thinking, praying, and planning this week in preparation for our Elkhart Rally next Tuesday night. It's a major springboard in the launch of our new Elkhart Campus this fall.

I met a guy on the sidewalk outside earlier - told him what we're doing. You know, the whole launching a new church campus at a movie theater.

He had never heard of GCC.

Never heard of a church meeting in a theater.

I gave him an invite card. He said he'll be there when we go live in September. "Gotta see this whole church in a theater thing".

Does that make you smile, too? Does it make your heart beat fast with anticipation?!

I can't wait to connect with the gang coming to The Rally Tuesday night. I'll be engaging with the first wave of people that God is going to use to bring love, hope, and life to people like this guy.

Do you realize that this group of people will be instrumental in shaping the impact and effectiveness that GCC will have in this area for years to come?

That the impact of this launch group will potentially and prayfully outlast our lifetimes?

That the guy I met today is going to watch the church be the church...not only in a theater, but in this entire community?

Just Met the Theater Manager...

And I'm SO jazzed. Jen has been the manager of Encore Theater in Elkhart for the last ten years. I just connected with her for a "meet and greet" at the theater. And get this - she said several people on her staff are excited about "the church that's going to be meeting here on Sundays" (granted, it's because they get a cut of the profits from us being there, but hey - they're excited!).

I told Jen that we're committed to being an asset to their theater and not a burden. She liked the sound of that. She even gave me some cool movie posters to hang around at The Rally this Tuesday night (don't miss it!).

Looking forward to a great relationship with the staff at Encore.

300 - The Sequal (part. 2)

On a little bit of a 300 kick right now (see yesterday's post). Did some research and found some seriously rich quotes made by Leonidas in the movie:

• "The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, even a god-king can bleed" (referring to the enemy Xerxes, deified by his followers)

• "Gather round! No retreat, no surrender; that is Spartan law. And by Spartan law we will stand and fight... A new age has begun. An age of freedom, and all will know, that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it!"

• "This is where we hold them! This is where we fight!...Remember this day, men, for it will be yours for all time."

Man. I just wish it was easier to draw out a spiritual connection in these quotes.

And if someone would just write a book about how we could leverage pop culture in the church...

300 - The Sequel

Got to admit - when I first saw this image from New Community last week I laughed out loud. I mean, I haven't had rock solid pecs like that since...ok, never.

Rob Wegner, however, is a seriously cut dude. I'm told this is an actual photo of him. Hey, just passing on what I was told. :)

The idea behind the picture? Our prayer that God will raise up 300 men and women who catch the vision and join the launch team for our Elkhart campus.

The pic? Funny. The movie? Not so funny.

Have you seen 300? If not, here's the scoop: King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fiercely fight to the death against Xerxes and a massive Persian army (a million soldiers strong). Impossible odds. Impossible odds. Yet even in death, their bravery and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against the Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy.

Social frameworks changed. Culture changed. Everything changed.

Because of the 300, life in every generation that followed was radically impacted. A line had been drawn. No matter the risk, no matter the cost - war would be waged. The stakes in fighting were high, but the stakes in not fighting were even higher. Advances must be made.

They signed up. They showed up. They weren't going to sit on the sidelines. They took up arms and chose to wage a fierce war against a fierce enemy.

And in doing so, they left their mark.

They left a legacy.

Do you see the spiritual parallel? Connecting the dots to what we're ramping up for in Elkhart?

Huh...

The picture is still funny. But it's certainly taken on a whole new meaning for me.

(props to Dustin Maust for creating the image. The dude has serious talent.)