I have got the "sickness"

I feel like I have been hit by a truck! A very big truck!

I love ribs

I love ribs so much. If they were a girl I would marry them. (Obviously, ribs are not girls so don't worry about me leaving my wife for a rib.) We had a great time today with tons of food and lots of family. I ended the day by watching this show ! It is unbelievable! It could possibly revolutionize the film industry. I am so excited that this is an actual show.

UFC

Last night I hung out with one of my very best friends in the whole world. We watched the Ultimate Fighting Championships. It was my first experience, but I have to say I believe I might be addicted. What could be better than people beating the crap out of each other and no one going to jail. We watched the fight in a room with about 300 people who were starving for a bloodbath. I was sort of scared for my life, but I had a great time! I can't wait to do it again.

Great Weekend

I love Fridays. Usually, Renae and I go eat at this place every week but today we had a lunch appointment, so we will have to get back to our tradition next week. I love spending time with my beautiful wife. I am so happy that we are home and getting back to normal. Normal will only be here for a few days. The summer is coming and I will only be in town for about 20 minutes. It will be crazy but I can't wait.

Season Finale

I love American Idol. Even though Melinda Doolittle was voted off last week, I really enjoyed the show tonight. Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett all preforming in one night, I am on system overload. I was sort of disappointed in Green Day but I love them anyway. 24 also ended on Monday night along with Heroes. These three shows are my favorites and I hope we will still be able to watch them when I get to Heaven. I guess now that all my favorite shows are on vacation for the summer, and two of them until January, my netflix account will be a lot more active. By the way the little dude is doing great. We had a follow up appointment with the cardiologist and they were surprised to see us so soon. Keep praying for our family as Dawson continues to heal. It looks like we will be able to have his trach removed sometime this summer. Pray that God will give us wisdom. By the way, If you have not figured this out yet, I think Jesus is Awesome!

Giving

I heard a man once say, "You are never more like Jesus than when you give." Over the past week time and time again, God has surrounded us with people who give. Some give money, others time, and some food. All of the above are awesome and we are so thankful to all of you who have given to our family. We are so blessed! By the way I cant wait to get back to church tomorrow night! We are concluding our series How to Deal and I am sure it will be amazing. We have a guest speaker, David Hardy, and I am so excited to hear what God has given him for us. God is working in our student ministry in a great way and the best days are yet to come! I will see you there.

We are Home! Unbelievable

I can't believe it, but we are home. Everything is going great. Dawson has done so well and God has been so good. This morning we talked to the attending physician and he said that Dawson was doing well and we should not be here much longer. I assumed he meant Wednesday or Thursday. He went on to say that they would get a chest x-ray and an echo and we should be headed home sometime this afternoon. WHAT? Yes he said that. We ask God for a speedy recovery and he delivers in half the time of a “normal” child. Wow. Thanks so much for all of your prayers! I will continue to keep everyone updated.

Sunday Night

I really missed going to church today, but I am glad to be spending time with my awesome family! Dawson is in a regular room now in the Children's Hospital and he is doing very well. We are hesitant to say the H word (home), but if all goes well we could be coming home as early as Thursday. Tonight my parents sat with Dawson while Renae and I went and grabbed a bite to eat at Coconut Joe's. I love that place. Check out the view from our table.


Over dinner, Renae and I took some time to look back and remember where God has brought us from. As we sat there and talked about time after time where God has proven himself faithful, Renae reminded me of a prayer that we prayed for Dawson in the first few months of his life. In light of Dawson's diagnosis we knew that he had less than a ten percent chance of seeing his first birthday, and it was a 50/50 whether or not we would carry him out the front door of the hospital. I remember praying something like this, "God, I pray you would extend his days." It was simple but this it was pretty much the only thing I could do. As I sat there overlooking this beautiful ocean I was reminded yet again of God's faithfulness to us. The crazy thing is, that right there in that moment I realized, God answered our prayers. What a mighty God we serve! You know, there is something about the ocean that forces me to acknowledge how amazing our God really is. I love these verses!
Psalm 104:25-33
25 Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.
26 See the ships sailing along,
and Leviathan,^[c] which you made to play in the sea.

27 They all depend on you
to give them food as they need it.
28 When you supply it, they gather it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they are richly satisfied.
29 But if you turn away from them, they panic.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn again to dust.
30 When you give them your breath,^[d] life is created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
32 The earth trembles at his glance;
the mountains smoke at his touch.

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!

Old Mcdonald had a house.....

I am so thankful to the people that make the Ronald McDonald house possible. This place is amazing! We are right across the street from the hospital. Dinner is provided every night and theres more food in the fridge than one could ever eat. Day 3 and Dawson is doing great! He should go to a regular room tomorrow. They were not quite ready to let him go today. However, he looks really good. Tonight, Renae and I wenteat seafood at one of my favorite places here in Charleston. If you are ever in town you should check it out! I snapped this pic of my little dude as he was sucking on his passy earlier today. Keep praying for his healing. We love you guys.

Day One

It is 1:45 Saturday morning. We just left the pediatric cardiothoracic intensive care unit (PCICU). We have a great team of people taking care of Dawson. They have been very aggressive about getting him off the ventilator, and as of about 15 minutes ago he was off and breathing on his own. Praise Jesus! We should go to a regular room tomorrow where the staff will continue to monitor him closely. I know that God is answering our prayers. We are blown away that he is off the vent this soon. Jesus is so amazing! Please continue to pray for Dawson's recovery. It has also been great to share our story with the doctors and nurses. I love telling people how awesome Jesus is and Dawson is a great way to start that conversation. Today as I think about how Dawson's little body was sustained by a breathing machine, it reminds me of a quote. "Always remember, life is not how many breaths you take, it's how many moments take your breath away." The first time I heard this was over a year ago while watching the movie "Hitch." Renae and I were living in Memphis at the time and Dawson was about 5 months old. I looked over at Dawson in amazement and saw him smile for the first time. This might not be a big deal to most people, but to us it was a moment that we never thought would come. We were happy with him just being alive, the fact that he responded to us with a smile more than we ever expected. No matter how many times I see that awesome little dude smile at me, I never forget that each one of those smiles are a gift from God and that takes my breath away! I had a video camera that night and here is what we saw!
Dawson Smiling Night 2

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Surgery went great!

The surgery went great! We will go back and see him in a few minutes! God is so good to us! I am continually amazed at how God has blessed our family. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery. Praise the Lord!

Early Morning

This morning I woke up at 4:15 and we took our little dude to the hospital. The took him back around 6:25. We will be waiting for the next 4-5 hours while Dr. Bradley and his staff do a VSD repair on our son. I am sure that it will be a long morning. God is helping us. Here is a pic of Dawson just before they took him back.

A Very Long Day

Here is how it all went down!

1. Woke up at 5am
   
2. Left the house at 6am
   
3. Arrived at hospital at 9am
   
4. Drove around looking for parking until 9:30
5. From 10 until 11 we answered questions from the nurses. Actually, I started answering questions until I realized that my wife was much more educated on Dawson's health than I will ever be. So I sat down and shut up.
6. At around 11:30 I watched two nurses try and put a very small needle into Dawson's very small vein.
   
7. They were not successful!
8. I went to find food! Thank God for Chick-Fila
9. After I got lunch I forgot where I left my family so I ate waffle fries while I wandered around until people felt sorry for me and led me back to where I was supposed to be.
10. In the meantime a very good doctor was able to place Dawson's IV
11. It is now around 2 and we took Dawson for a CT Scan. I actually got to watch the screen as they did it.
    
12. That took about 30 minutes and then we went for an x-ray.
    
13. We got back upstairs around 3:00 and then Dawson had an echo done. I am not sure what that means exactly, but two things I know. 1. It takes a long time. 2. You can actually see his little heart beating on the screen right in front of your eyes. How can that happen?
14. After the echo we met with the surgeon. He asked lots of questions but one in particular I will share with you. He asked why were we moving forward with this surgery in light of Dawson's disorder. Typically I would be offended by such a question but this time I could share with this wonderful man all the wonderful things God had done for us. All of those things are too many to list here. But I guess the image of my sons heart, beating a mile a minute on the screen of that echo machine 17 months after all the Doctors told us that Trisomy 18 was not compatible with life, says it all. To be honest it was a refreshing reminder of what God has brought us through.
    
15. We left the hospital around 5 and came to the hotel and crashed!

During times like this when we face so many unanswered questions I find comfort in certain passages of scripture and this is one of them:
Psalm 91:1-2
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.

Charleston

We are here in Charleston and all is well. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Keep praying for my little dude. I will keep this blog updated as often as possible. We love you guys.

Waiting

Dawson had a great night and has not had a fever in about 12 hours. We are waiting to hear from the doctors whether or not they will postpone his heart surgery. I have never felt so many emotions in my life. On one hand I am ready to get this over with. On the other, I don't want to put him in a situation he is not ready for. I know that God id good and has a great plan for us. I can trust him. I know that there are many of you guys who are praying for us and for that I am so thankful. We love all of you.

Crazy Day

• Dawson is sick
• They may postpone his surgery
• I traveled to Nashville and back in 24 hours
• One of the greatest Christian Leaders of all time died today
• We filmed commercials for 6 hours today
  
• I have got to preach on Wednesday night and then get in the car and drive to Charleston
• We have more work to do than we have time to do it
• The summer is almost here and then I will be gone for 12 years--not really 12 years but a long time
• We are celebrating my sisters birthday right now and I really want a piece of cake
• I trust Jesus more today than I ever have
• God loves me even though he doesn't follow my plans
• I am praying for Dawson to get better before tomorrow morning
• Please pray for our family

Mothers Day

I am so lucky to not only have the most amazing wife in the world but my beautiful wife Renae is also the greatest mom in the world. I could not do what she does in a million years. Not only taking care of Dawson but putting up with me is most likely the hardest job on the planet. I am most amazed at how she continues helping Dawson reach milestones and all the while she makes our house a home. The bible says in Proverbs 18:22 "The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord."God has certainly shown me tons of favor and I am the most blessed man in the world. My wife is not only amazing, she is also "smokin hot." Thank you Jesus. Dawson could not have a more awesome mom. Renae, I love you and Dawson does to! Happy Mothers Day!

Dawson

Next Friday my son Dawson will have open heart surgery. He is 17 months old and has a genetic disorder known as trisomy 18. This should be the last heart surgery we have to face and I can't wait until it is over and he is breathing better. I know that this week will not be easy but this is God's plan for us. I will never forget just hours after Dawson was born we met with the pediatric cardiologist. She informed us of Dawson's heart defects and told us he wold not survive. She went on to say that even if he did live we would never find a heart surgeon that would touch him. When he turned one month old he had his first heart surgery and now we are having the second, and hopefully the last. God is so much bigger than anything we face, and his grace has been amazing over the past 17 months. He has taught us to trust him in ways we never imagined. Many people look at our life and probably think how awful it must be. The crazy thing is that we have never felt that way. We are truly blessed to have Dawson as our son. These past 17 months are only the beginning of Dawson's story. Please pray for him to stay healthy and that the surgery will be a major success.

Wednesday Night Recap

For the first 20 minutes of the message last night no one said a word and it was hard to make eye contact with some of the students. I am pretty sure that the topic hit home with more than half of the room. Divorce is an ugly thing and last night I was reminded of how awful it is for the students caught in the aftermath. As I prayed over them I could see the tears falling. My heart broke as the students came to me and told me their stories after we were done! I got emails from students telling me about their family situation and I am overwhelmed at the amount of pain people are going through. Last night we did the only thing we could do, and that is offer them hope in the midst of a hopeless situation. I know that God has a plan for us and that even when the world around us is out of control we can trust Him!
Check out the promo video here.

Team Building

I work at a really awesome church. Yesterday the entire staff boarded a trolley, don't ask me why it is called a trolley because I don't know, and we went to Frankie's Fun Park. It was so fun, we played laser tag, rode go carts, and blew money on arcade games. I have the best job in the world.

How to Deal with Divorce

Wednesday night is quickly approaching. This week we will be talking about divorce. I know that over half of our students are living in the wake of divorce. If you are from a divorced family or have a friend from a divorced family, you need to be here. Wednesday night could change your life! We are having a guest musician perform "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson. We are going to have a kicking night, you do not want to miss it!

Sunday Night Baptism

Last night we had a special service with baptism, barbecue, and bluegrass music. Bluegrass is not really my thing but there were lots of people who really enjoyed it. Baptism was unbelievable. I stood in that pool while 50 people came through, each with a story of how Jesus had changed their life. It was amazing. They all had a story. There is nothing like watching people identify with Christ through baptism. My sister Libby was one of the people who were baptized. I am so proud of her. After the baptism I had some Bucky's Barbecue. It is as close to Memphis barbecue as any place in the upstate and that is a good thing. I go to the greatest church in the world!

College Graduation

My younger brother Joey, graduated from Bob Jones University on Saturday, May 5 2007. I am so proud of him. It is not really a trademark of the Bradley Family to finish anything we start. Completing anything has always been a major struggle for me. This is why I am so proud of him. He made lots of sacrifices to make his dream a reality. He has been and continues to be a major source of encouragement for me. I know that night after night and day after day for the past several years he has worked very hard to finish what he started. There is something to be said for finishing through and reaching our goals. There are lots of people who would have given up under the difficulties of being a full time student, father, husband, and worship leader. God has a great plan for Joey, Rachel, and Luke and It is a joy to see how that plan is already being lived out in their lives. I Love Joey very much and trust him more than I do any other man. My prayer for Joey is that the world would be impacted by his music and his art in a way that no other artist has ever seen. Joey you are an amazing man and an inspiration to me. I love you with all my heart.

Anger

This week we begin our new series "How To Deal". This first week we are talking about Anger. It has been very interesting for me, mainly because God is "kicking my butt" on this issue. I am really taking a close look at my feeling towards people and different situations. This anger thing is a huge deal and I don't want there to be any part of my life that is "off limits" to God. Wednesday night will be very interesting because I will be preaching to myself as much as anyone else. God loves me too much to leave me like I am. And for that I am very grateful!