Know anybody?

It's been a long time since anyone has made a suggestion for a blogger to feature.  Is there anyone in your part of the blog world who could benefit from the outreach of this blog?  Is so, please contact us and let us know so that we can do our best to be an encouragement to them.  Hope you all are having a blessed fall!!

Alicia and Avalon

This is a guest post written by Lindsay Kolk.

This is the Caring Bridge site to an AMAZING family..... an amazing Mom, Alicia, and her equally amazing husband and children.  One of her children, Avalon, is a whole lotta amazing packed into a tiny 7 year old body.  This little girl has been through so much in her lifetime........ ALL leukemia at 17 months old, years of chemo...only to be saddled for life with pseudotumor cerebri. 

In a catastrophic shunt surgery, an unskilled surgeon dropped a catheter through Avalon's brain stem.  Miracle of miracles, she survived, but the catheter still sits in her brain......and because of that surgery, she was robbed of her memories, and a lot of abilities. 

Avalon's pseudotumor cerebri is extremely difficult to treat, because of the catheter in her brain, and because her shunt doesn't like to behave itself.  She has had 4.... count them, 4 brain surgeries in her kindergarten year, and is now facing a surprise 5th brain surgery. 

This amazing mom faces such difficult things with such love, humor, and faith..... I get teary just thinking about this families courage.   Right now, they don't know what they are facing...any surgery is dangerous because of the awful surgery, and they didn't see this coming.  I know their family could use some extra shoulders to lean on right now.

Please take the time to leave a comment on their site (not here!!) and let them know that you're thinking of them. In case you're not familiar with Caring Bridge, you'll need an account to leave a comment, but please take the time to do so in order to be a blessing to this family.

Courtney Roth

This is a guest post written by Jenifer who nominated Courtney to be featured today.

Courtney is amazing. Her son, Tripp was born with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa (JEB). JEB causes blisters to form on Tripp’s skin anytime there is friction or trauma to an area. A dermatologist they saw in Cincinnati, told them that just by looking at Tripp, he wouldn’t live to be a year old. Tripp is about to be a year old!

Courtney spends all day, every day caring for Tripp and taking care of his every need. Because of Tripp’s JEB, one of his greatest threats is the risk of infection. So taking him out and about is not really an option very often. Courtney spends most everyday at home with Tripp and shares her life with all of us on her blog.

What a blessing she has been to me, even without knowing. It is such a testament to her dedication and love for Tripp in the way that she selflessly cares for him.

She once said…
“Tripp has opened my eyes to more beautiful things than I could have ever imagined. He's made me realize what TRUE love is, he's shown me the TRUE meaning of FAMILY, and has proved to me that God picked Randy and I to raise a child who is suffering so that he could know what real love is.”

I know it would mean so much to her to read your words of encouragement. I can’t even begin to imagine how alone she must feel at times. What an awesome way to encourage Courtney by taking just a few minutes to leave a comment!

Let's all take a minute and give Courtney some encouragement. Please visit her blog and continue the ministry of Shoulders.

Cheryl

Cheryl is in great need of prayer. She is a stay at home mom living in Canada with her husband and five children.

And right now, she is facing the unthinkable. Her son, Joel, has been suffering from headaches for some time now, and on Friday, they took him to the hospital. What they found out there has changed their lives forever. The CT scan revealed a large mass at the back of his brain, and surgery was immediately planned.

On Saturday, the surgery was performed, and the doctors have since confirmed that they have removed the entire tumor, and though the results of the biopsy are still unknown, the doctors are expecting to find that the tumor is malignant.

Now, they wait, watching little Joel as he recovers from surgery, doing their best to take care of them, while their hearts are breaking within them.

Please, please, go to Cheryl's blog and read more about Joel. And please, share a word of encouragement with her and her family.

Ashley

This is a guest post written by Lori, who we featured a few weeks ago. She nominated her friend, Ashley, who is also battling infertility.

Ashley and her husband have been trying to conceive their first child for a while now, and they have just began their first round of IVF. My heart goes out to her as she is going through a very emotional time in her life. As another woman going through infertility, I know how much support and prayers can help.

It is within the heart of every woman to be a mother, to carry a child and give birth. Ashley has, as of yet, been denied that joy, and she has nearly been stripped of all hope that her dreams will come true. IVF has given them hope for that dream.

Ashley has been journaling her journey though infertility and IVF on her blog, and every day brings a new set of emotions. She has a deep faith and a great heart. Please visit Ashley's blog and give her some support as she and her husband are going through a very emotional time.

Looking for Others to Feature

Do you know a blogger who we could bless through this ministry? Be sure to let me know about them. Just email me using the button on the sidebar. We look forward to featuring your blog friends in need of encouragement!

In Awe

Just taking a second away from normal posts to let you in on something that still has me caught in utter amazement. Monday, I posted and published Danielle's story, and asked you all to be a blessing to her. I also follow this blog, and I was a little confused as to why the update showed up yesterday (Tuesday) in my blogroll instead of Monday when I had posted it. I shrugged it off, thinking something crazy must have happened, but didn't give it much thought at all.

Then, yesterday afternoon, I got an email from Danielle.

I logged onto my blog today and was surprised to find some new commenters on my blog saying they were visiting for Shoulders. I'd never heard of this before, so I went to the blogs of the women who left comments and found the link to your blog. I am Danielle, Wyatt's mommy, am I just wanted to let you know how pleasantly surprised I was that Nati nominated me to be featured here. God's timing is wonderfully perfect! Do you realize the significance of you posting this TODAY? Today is the day congress goes back into session for the year. Today is the first official day of my real fight to have my sons short life recognized by Tennessee. I've been nervously excited for today to get here. I've been praying for God to give me a sign that he would walk me down this path to obtaining a birth certificate for Wyatt. I feel this was God's way of letting me know he is in this fight with me. Thank you so much. A simple post has lifted a great weight off of my shoulders, and answered months of prayers.

Blessings,
Danielle

Used with permission.

Tears filled my eyes as I explained to her what a true work of God it was. Even now, I am humbled and encouraged by this small "accident" that God has worked a big miracle through. We are all a part of something much bigger here. We may not see it, but it is definitely true. God is making His hand evident in this ministry, and with dedicated followers, there is no limit to the work He can do through us.

Again, is there another that we can bless?

Danielle

This is a guest post written by Nati, who nominated Danielle to be featured here.

Danielle and her husband, Joseph, have two children here on earth and lost their precious son Wyatt in June 2009. Wyatt was diagnosed with a fatal condition at 18 weeks gestation and not expected to live, but Wyatt fought his way into the world against all odds, and lived for wonderful two minutes.

Besides dealing with her loss, Danielle is also fighting for Wyatt's rights. Due to the State of Tennessee's definition of live birth, the doctors were not able to medically acknowledge Wyatt's life and he was listed as stillborn. Danielle is trying everything she can to have this definition changed.

A few weeks ago, God blessed Danielle with another pregnancy, which is a thrill to her heart, but also brings up the painful memories of losing her precious Wyatt. Please head on over to her blog and encourage her in these emotionally difficult times.

Who can we bless?

For some time now, I've been praying about who we can be a blessing to next. Since we started a few months ago, there has always been something in the works, but we've been without a featured blogger for some time now. I ask you all to take a second and think about the ones you know through blogs, and please let us know if there is one that could be blessed by this ministry. We would love to be an encouragement to them. You'll find the email link in the sidebar.