Well, we’re on our way. We were able to stay home yesterday and rest. Clay took two naps. We had a few visitors who came to encourage us, but it was mostly a quiet day. I finished all the laundry and packed our bags. We were up pretty late last night so we slept in a little and we’ve just been taking our time. We stopped to see a good friend in the hospital and then got on the road.

Many of you have asked about our kids. I will write more about them as soon as I am able, but I want you to know that they are incredibly strong. I’ve done a lot of reflecting these last few days, as you can imagine. I’ve thought several times about how my years of managing a career required my kids to be self-sufficient. The atmosphere that the Holy Spirit has created in our home has made them incredibly stable. We have kept them completely informed throughout this process. Not holding anything back. We’ve just felt from the beginning, that they need to be able to trust that we are not hiding information. I also have wanted them to be able to be with Clay as much as possible and I don’t want to constantly tell them to leave the room when we are talking. So, they are right in the middle of all of this with us. That’s why they are making the trip with us to MD Anderson.

We are excited about our family time for the next few days. Ice Skating, an Astros game and some shopping are in our near future and it will be so good to do something normal.

If the Lord has put it on your heart to pray for my kids, these are the things I’m praying:

That the Holy Spirit would shed abroad the love of God in their hearts. We have to love Him right now. They can’t be angry or bitter. They need to be filled with love.

That they would be rooted and grounded in the love of God.

That they would remain humbled by the love and affection they are receiving.

That they would be honest and open so we can help them and pray for them.

That they would feel the same peace that Clay and I are experiencing.

Thank you for praying for our trip. We are singing praise to God with all the music you’ve provided. We are eating up some serious data but we really don’t care at this point! Ha.

Please also pray today for the Lagarigue family. They are dear friends of ours who are in the hospital right now, possibly facing open heart surgery. We were able to visit them and pray with them this morning before we left. There are so many people in need. We have made a decision as a family to pray more for others while we walk through this time. Clay and I spent time Sunday am making a list of all the families in our church who need a miracle right now. We believe God is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we ask or imagine!

Today, God sent this angel to my door. I have had several people ask me to start a blog because Facebook is not really the best way to communicate this much information. Well, all I had to do was whisper a prayer that God would help me accomplish this with everything else I have to do today. So, he sent me Beka Burch. She did all the heavy lifting and after just a few hours, we have created this beautiful blog.

Beka, you know I love you. God has given us a special bond. You were my answer to prayer. Thank you so much.

If you like the name of our blog, you should thank Clay’s cousin, Cory Harrington! He sent Clay a text the other day with a very similar tag line. It said something like, “See what God is doing with just a piece of Clay.” I just loved it, so I stole it for our blog name. Thank you, Corey, for all your encouraging words. Clay respects you immensely.

Please share our blog as much as you want. So many of you are writing me and encouraging me to continue to share. Thank you for letting me know what God is doing in your life as He works in and through Clay and me. Keep your stories coming. They are lifting us up right now. We are filled with hope.

Tonight, we are packing for MD Anderson. Our appointment is Thursday, so we are going to take the kids to have some fun. We had a restful day that was filled with more miracles and sweet moments. We love you all! Thank you for your continued prayers.

Prepared. That is the word that has come to my mind the most this past week. Prepared. I know so well that God has prepared Clay and me to for this moment. The words He has spoken to us and the way He has challenged us over the past few years, in hindsight, has obviously been preparation for the greatest battle of our lives.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 says,

“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready (prepared) for every good work.”

I’m sure you couldn’t help but notice that there are vessels of “Clay.” I’ll come back to that in a minute. God has been using this verse in my life for a few years. I’ve been crying out to Him to make me a vessel of gold and silver, a vessel of honor, prepared unto every good work. I would pray in the altar, “God, please make me prepared to do whatever you ever you put before me. Please don’t let me miss an opportunity for my life to bring you glory. Please don’t let me miss out on a blessing because I’m not prepared or I’m distracted. Of course, like you, I have missed out on so many things. There have been so many times that I chose my flesh, my feelings, over the will of God. Times where I put myself first. Times where I was lazy, rather than diligent. Times where I was just playing church and not really seeking God. But, I prayed this prayer from an honest heart…over and over again.

You know how the Bible talks about how trials bring us closer to God? Trials develop our faith. I would read scripture, or listen to my pastor speak about how every Christian goes through trials because that is the development of our walk with the Lord. It is how He receives His glory through our lives. Clay and I have lived a blessed life. From our childhoods, we have both been abundantly blessed with Godly parents, Godly friends, we both had great career paths, we found each other and fell madly in love on our first date, we always had everything we needed, we have three beautiful kids….we are just so blessed. And, while, of course, we dealt with ordinary problems, we really have only faced a few significant trials in our life.

I remember one time we went to see our Pastor to talk about some things God was showing us and I told him that sometimes I fear that we are not walking with the Lord the way we should because we are not tested often. We live a blessed life, rather than a life of trials and I wondered what that meant. Does that mean we aren’t making enough of an impact on the world for Satan to be concerned about us, so he just leaves us alone to live our little Christian life that is not impacting anyone. Sometimes I wondered if it meant that we were not even close to where we needed to be. Like we had possibly deceived ourselves into thinking that we were saved and living for the Lord.

So in the midst of my questioning, God showed up. Like He always does. Right? A few years ago, He took us through something difficult. During the process, Clay and I were talking one night about how, at the time, it was the hardest thing we had faced, but we were strong and our marriage was strong and our faith was strong and the Lord was closer than ever. We didn’t feel a heaviness or fear. We were rejoicing. And the Holy Spirit just spoke to us right then and said,

“My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

He taught us through that trial that because of His strength, the yoke can be easy. Just because it is the most difficult thing we’ve done, doesn’t mean that we have to feel a heavy burden. We don’t have to be crushed under the weight. We can soar because he is holding the burden for us.

So, we made it through our struggle and we were closer to the Lord for it. God changed my heart during that time and He caused me to trust Him more. He confirmed my faith, He confirmed the strength of our marriage, and He showed me that He was with us in times of blessings or in times of trial. Do you feel so ridiculous when you realize that you’ve questioned God? I just felt so ridiculous, but He forgave me and loved me and drew me closer and we walked on together.

Now, that we are in our greatest trial and we are completely desperate, God is making Himself known to us more than ever. He has transformed us from vessels of clay to vessels of gold and silver. And, not for our glory. Not for our pride. Not so we can receive attention. Believe me, we don’t want any of that. We would never have chosen this. But to be a vessel of gold means to be a vessel of honor and that is what we have prayed for….that our lives would bring honor to God. Glory to God. That the watching world would see Jesus through us and through our situation. As you read this, or hear us talk, please remember that all we want is for Jesus to be glorified. He is doing this. Not us. There is nothing good in us. Even the things we think are good are not good.

Clay’s cousin, Cory Harrington, sent him a text yesterday about how encouraged he was to see what God is doing. He said, “See, God really can use a little lump of Clay.” I’ll never forget that. If I write a book one day about this situation, that just might be the title. God is using Clay…that is for sure. He is in God’s hands and God is the potter. He is making the vessel that He wants to see and the vessel that will bring Him the most glory.

Yesterday we sang the song “Redeemed” at church. One of the lines says, “I’m not who I used to be.” That’s how we feel right now. We never want to go back to what we were before this. Clay might even have to change his name when God heals him because he is no longer a vessel of clay, he is a vessel of gold, fully prepared for this good work for which God has called us. We pray constantly that God will keep us from sin and pride during this time. That we will remain, in every way, a vessel of honor.

But we are not of those who draw back unto perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Amen.

There is no way to fully describe what happened in my home today. We saw a living example of what the Body of Christ should be. It was lived out before our eyes. I had been praying all morning that God would give us strength not to just crumble in front of everyone, because I felt so humbled when I learned what our church was planning to do. While I had to choke back tears for the first few minutes, God did so much more than I asked. He filled me with such joy and excitement. I was almost giddy. I just kept saying, “This is crazy!” I have never in my life seen or heard about anything like this, much less experienced it myself. Clay and I were talking after and trying to determine what was more special….our wedding day, or today. Seriously.

When the news of our diagnosis first made it out to our friends, it was around 5:30 this past Tuesday. By 6:30, 60-70 people were at our church just to pray for our family. On Wednesday night, at our regular church service, the Lord moved in such an awesome way and our church was praying diligently for many needs. Praying over each other. Crying out to the Lord in desperation for each other. At that service, the Lord put it on my dear friend’s heart to ask the church to come to my house and pray for us. The Lord showed her Job 1:10 (Clay’s birthday is 1/10…cool, huh?)

“Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”

She felt the Lord told her to have the church surround our house in a circle, as if to represent a hedge around us, and pray. People started arriving around noon. It was a beautiful day, so our front doors were wide open as many people came in. We started by singing some worship songs together, which was so beautiful. There is nothing like hearing people sing when they are emotional and passionate and in an enclosed area. I could have listened to them all day.

Then our awesome friends and family gathered around us and prayed hard for Clay Furlow and our family. Then, Clay preached. (He’s kind of been doing that a lot lately!) The Lord spoke powerfully through Him as He shared the importance of putting Jesus first, living for Him, having the power of the Holy Spirit, and loving Him more than this world.

As if that wasn’t enough, then they made a “human hedge” around our house. There were literally people encircling my ENTIRE house, swimming pool and all! Holding hands to make a circle and praying for our family. Beseeching God on our behalf.

I thought my chest would explode. There were probably 100 people (maybe more) giving up time on their Saturday to worship the Lord with us and to pray for us. Wow.

Friends, this is what the church should be. This is what God intended the church to be. The church should be such a testimony of love that the world would look in and say, “I want to be part of something like that.” We should be representing the love of God, agape love. That is what happened at my home today. All of us, gathered in one accord, worshipping the same God and letting Him change our lives forever.

If you need a church home and you live in Baton Rouge, I can promise you that you will be abundantly blessed if you came to First New Testament. The website is fntchurch.org. Please come and see what the Lord is doing. He is a miracle God and He is changing our lives through this time. He is bringing revival. His love was on display today. Service starts at 10:30 am!

I told my pastor when he arrived, that as I’ve walked through this trial, I hear his voice in my head over and over again. The Holy Spirit is bringing back to my thoughts so many things that I have learned under his teaching in the past 14 years. Most of what God is pouring out of me right now was invested in me by my pastor and other great leaders in our church. He doesn’t want any glory. He is the most humble man I know, but the glory belongs to God and the work Lee Shipp has allowed God to do in his life. If we had not been under his teaching for the past 14 years, I firmly believe we would not have been as prepared for this trial. Thank you, Pastor. Thank you for being obedient. Thank you, church, for loving us the way you do and being obedient to what the Lord said. We are covered in prayer and ready for next week.

Several months ago, the Lord began speaking to me regarding our young people in our church. He put a burning inside of me to see revival in our youth and to support and encourage the parents of our young people. He put a message in my heart, confirmed it in Clay and our pastor allowed us to share it with the families of our young people. We had two absolutely beautiful times in which we came together as families to pray and seek the Lord. I never really knew why God picked me and Clay Furlow. I would ask Him, “Lord, why are you putting this desire in us?” We are not youth leaders, we are not Sunday School teachers. We have 2 teenagers in the youth group, but we are not in a leadership role. But, I KNEW in my heart that we were supposed to teach and share with the families. So, we did. Clay was right by my side and in full agreement and we stepped out in faith to do what God told us to do.

Little did we know that the message the Lord brought through us, would be the same message that would sustain us now.

Psalm 78:5-11
He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.

God has established a testimony in us. When we are saved, He puts His life in us and He works through us. It is important for us to impart that testimony to our children so the generations will know Him and serve Him. So they will set their hope in God and NOT FORGET the works of God.

The Lord really burned this in my heart….that we must recall the works of God so that we don’t forget. The verse above talks about the soldiers who went in to battle, fully armed, but they turned back in fear because they forgot the things God had done. Their fathers were the men who walked across the Red Sea and saw the miracles of the Exodus. Just one generation after those incredible miracles, the people were already forgetting. When it was time for battle, they didn’t trust God to deliver them, so they ran in fear. I don’t want to run in fear. What a shame to walk with the Lord and see great miracles and then when the fires come, to just forget and run. God help us.

So, how do we prevent this in our lives? Recall. Remember. Ponder. Think on all the things God has done in your life. The Bible is filled with stories that show us the miracle working ability of our God, but our lives are also full of those stories. Take a minute and think back over your life. Look at the path of your life and ask the Lord to remind you of His works. Write them down. The Lord told Moses, just before he died, to write the testimonies in a book for Joshua. They had just defeated the Amalekites by a miracle of God and God told Moses to write it down as a permanent record and to read it to Joshua. God knew that Moses was about to die and Joshua would be alone and responsible to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. God knew that Joshua would have many trials and days of trouble. He knew that Joshua would need encouragement. So, He provided Joshua with a way to remember. To remember the miracles of God that would encourage him in the battles to come. If God did it before, He can surely do it again.

So, Clay and I wrote our story. We drew it like a pathway of our lives and we recalled every time God had done something great. While we were in the hospital this week, almost every time I just closed my eyes to retreat and be quiet, the image of this pathway would come to my mind. God was helping me remember that He has done so much for us already and He will continue. Our steps are ordered and He delights in every detail of our lives.

I pulled out my notes from the Sunday when we shared this message with our church families and I found Clay’s notes for what the Lord had put in his heart to share. This will really bless you. He read Lamantations 3:19-26

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.”

These are his hand written notes:

“Jeremiah’s remembrance of God’s faithfulness brings him hope in times of distress.”
“This is a made up mind focused on all that God has done through you and for you, seeing how He has moved in times past in your life.”
“Looking back and remembering the prayers that He has already answered brings to the forefront of your mind all the successes he has allowed you to experience. This will allow you to declare, no matter what your current circumstance is, GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS.”

Isn’t that amazing? It is so encouraging to me as I sit in the quiet this morning, that God prepared us to face this battle. And a battle it is. A battle we never dreamed we would actually fight. He prepared our hearts to face it with hope, with encouragement, with steadfastness, with thankful hearts. He reminded us of all the things He’s done, which gives us strength to trust Him to do what we need right now. Our lives have been covered in God’s favor, since our childhood. We know He is a good father and a loving God. We trust His unfailing love.

I encourage you today to remember. Ask the Lord to bring you back and show you the things He’s done. Write them down. Draw your own pathway. Recall. You will be amazed how much hope it will give you. You think you can just recall it, but I promise that if you will write it down and ponder it, the Holy Spirit will remind you of the smallest things that will mean so much to you. When you face your battle, God will use this to give you hope.

As always, your prayers are holding us up and you are ministering to us so much every moment. We wouldn’t want to face this battle without all of you around us. We love you and we are praying for you, too. For God to bless you as you bless us. Clay is doing well. He’s feeling fine, other than a minor headache at times. He’s encouraged by all the visits. We continue to wait until Monday for our confirmation from MD Anderson, but we are planning to leave on Monday morning for Houston, believing that God will answer our prayer for an appointment Tuesday. We are not sure about our insurance, yet, so please continue to bring that to the Lord with us. Praise God for all He has done.

Just a quick update because I’ve had several people asking (thank you so much for being concerned):

I spoke with MD Anderson today and got confirmation that the head of neurosurgery has accepted Clay Furlow as a patient. They are working now to confirm our insurance. And, I have a little angel (Ashley Stanley Kellett) at BCBS waiting for our paperwork to come across so she can help expedite it, if possible. God has been so faithful at every turn.

They couldn’t confirm our appointment, but the doctor only sees patients on Tues and Thurs. They will call me Monday to confirm a time. So, we’ve decided that we are going to leave Monday morning, IN FAITH, and just believe God that He will make everything happen in His perfect timing. But, we’ll be there and ready if they take us on Tuesday.

We love you, all. We are so humbled by the way you are praying so earnestly for our family. I’ll give you another update soon on what God is continuing to do in our hearts.

But, I have to go because we have sweet friends visiting. Your visits and gifts have blessed us so much. I’ll never be able to tell you!

My heart is literally about to burst with joy and hope. All 5 of us are so encouraged today. Clay and I had some sweet time together this morning and got some business taken care of. We had such sweet visitors all afternoon. Family, friends, church family. It was awesome. All the while, God was parting seas and doing miracles to get us to MDA. He literally did 4 miracles today and at least 5 little things that were so awesome. I want to tell you everything because I’m so excited to be able to see these great things, but honestly, we are sleepy and I’m going to bed. We are going to sleep with peace and joy. I want you to know that your prayers are effective. God is holding us, helping us, guiding us, teaching us, molding us, and using us. We could already write a book with the stories.

I want so badly to reply to every message. Please know that I’m reading them all and I’m reading them to clay. We are so encouraged by you.

Our prayer now is for insurance coverage at MDA and our apt to be set for early in the week. Pray for continued wisdom. God has answered your prayers. You are moving heaven on our behalf and we love you so deeply for it. Goodnight.