Seizure...Round 2

Dear Friends, 

Many of you will remember a year ago (almost to the day) Jordan had a couple seizures (you can read the blogs about it here and here). It was a very scary time in both of our lives as the doctors did multiple tests for tumors and other causes of seizures. The doctors found nothing and determined that most likely Jordan just had a couple random seizures, as some people do, once in a lifetime. To be safe the doctors prescribed Jordan anti seizure medicine for a year. 

Well a year had come and gone; Jordan and I got engaged and married; we had come home from our honeymoon, and Jordan was almost out of seizure medicine. We called his neurologist who said it was time for Jordan to wean off the meds. Jordan (and I) were very excited to be done with the medicine, the side affects of the medicine, and just the hassle of it all.

Almost two weeks into weaning off, four days from being done, on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning (Sep 5/6) at about 3 in the morning I awoke to Jordan shaking. When I realized he was having a seizure, I was overcome with emotion. I didn’t know what to do or how Jordan was going to feel. However, when he woke up, he had absolutely no memory of anything. In fact, he was googling reasons why his tongue would be sore (he bit it during his seizure). After I told him what had happened, we spent some time talking, crying, and praying. All we knew was that this wasn’t a surprise to God.

Jordan decided to stay at home from work and was going to call the neurologist when he got into his office at 10 (8 am Spokane time). However, before we called the neurologist Jordan had another seizure. This time he bit his tongue bad enough to draw a significant amount of blood. At the time I didn’t know it was his tongue, so I called my parents who were eating lunch on our side of town. They came over and helped me clean up while I called the neurologist in Spokane to ask what I should do. He informed me that I needed to give Jordan four of his anti-seizure pills and keep him updated.

After giving Jordan the pills, I left him with my mother so that I could run to Walgreens and refill Jordan’s prescription. While I was there Mom called to tell me Jordan had another seizure. I rushed home to find Jordan sitting on the couch, stable, but very out of it. I tried to talk to him for a while, but he was unresponsive. I helped him walk back to the bedroom to lie down. I then called the neurologist again to see what I ought to do, only to find out that the neurologist was on lunch break for another hour. I then sat beside Jordan, rubbed his back, prayed, and read scripture over him. I thought he had fallen asleep when he suddenly got up. I thought he was rolling over, but then quickly realized he was having a fourth seizure. At this point I decided that we needed to get him to the ER.

Once we got Jordan to the ER, the staff gave him an IV with his seizure medicine. After they believed he was safe, they sent him home. Since then Jordan has been doing better. We are currently on a temporary health plan, and once we transition into better insurance we intend to pursue the process of figuring out what could be causing these seizures.

We would really appreciate your prayers. Pray that we continually trust God and grow even closer to Him through these circumstances. Pray for safety for Jordan. Pray for financial provision. And finally pray that God will be glorified in how we respond to what God allows into our lives. 

A Month in the Life of a Married Girl.

Today is Jordan’s and my official one-month wedding anniversary! It’s hard for me to process. In some ways a month seems like such a long time, but yet, in other ways it seems so short.

           

It seems crazy that only a month ago my identity changed! I can barely begin to explain how much I have learned in just a month. I have learned so much about God, myself, Jordan, relationships, sin, grace, forgiveness, and more. I feel like I’m a totally different person, but in reality, I believe I just see myself more clearly. God has used Jordan as a mirror to show me who I really am. If God is going to teach me as much as he as this past month every month of marriage...I might be a genius in a few years. However, the more God teaches me, the more I realize how much I have to learn.

Over the last month God has instilled in me a consuming desire to be an excellent wife. Just thinking about it often stirs up great emotion. I desperately want to be a wife that honors the Lord and honors my husband. There was never a time that I did not want to be a good wife, however over the past month my desire has intensified. The desire has become one that makes me want to give up my pride and selfishness.

So for those of you who would pray, pray for our marriage. Pray that God continues to do great things in and through our lives and marriage. Pray that Jordan and I will be an example of Christ and his church. And pray that we do it all for the glory of God and not anything else.

Thanks,

Hannah...Fischer :)

To be stressed or not to be stressed....is it even a question?

Dear Friends,

I know it's been a while since I've updated everyone, and to be honest, it would be extremely difficult to bring you up on all that's happened in my life. If I were to tell you the truth, I would say that the past few weeks have been incredibly overwhelming for me. I have been stressed about many things, including Elizabeth, rest of my family, wedding planning, the future, and lots more. I have felt as if the pressure of the world was going to crush me.

But God has been convicting me of this stress. I know this may sound weird (it does to me sometimes), but I truly have all I need in Christ. God has been reminding me of truths like God has everything under control, God loves me, my hope needs to be in God, if God is my rock and my fortress I will not be greatly shaken, God allows me to go through tough times for his glory and my growth, God's salvation and promises are so great, and if I need to focus on God, not my discomfort.

I have been reading through the Psalms and I have found them to be very comforting and encouraging. I would love to share with you 50 of my favorites, but for now I'll show you just one.

Psalm 62:5

 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. 

On God rests my salvation and my glory;

 my might rock, my refuge is God.

Trust in him at all times, O people; 

pour out your heart before him; 

God is a refuge for us. 

So friends, please do not pray that life becomes less stressful for me. But rather, please pray that I will learn to put my hope in God.

Thank you,

Hannah

A year in review.

Well, the year is finally winding down. I have two finals I have to take next week, and then I get to go home for the summer! Although these past couple weeks have been beyond busy, I have managed some time to reflect over the past 10 months. It's hard to believe all the changes that have occurred in my life in less than a year. Here are some of the biggest changes:

1.) I grew closer to God. I have never been this close to God in my life. God has challenged me a lot. Through the crazy hard times and crazy fun times this year, God has really drawn me nearer to him.

2.) I formed some of the best relationships. The girls in my house are absolutely amazing. Tsveti, Erin, Julia, Shannon, Liz, and Cassie have changed my life. Even though I am leaving for a year and getting married, I know that I will be friends with these girls for rest of my life.

3.) My family has changed dramatically. We adoppted four boys, brought another one into our home, Caleb and I got engaged, Elizabeth has been in and out of help, and so on. I have learned this year that I am very blessed to be a part of the Beaty family.

4.) I have learned so much in school. From how to teach the Bible to doctrine to math to philosophy, it's been a busy year, but I really have learned a lot.

5.) And of course, my relationship with Jordan has changed! Jordan proposed over Christmas break, which could be one of the most visible changes in my life.

A year ago, I moved out to Spokane having no idea what God would bring. Now I'm looking back realizing how much God has done. I would have to say that this has been the best year of my life so far.

Easter Abandoned?

Dear Friends, 

I know many of you may be waiting for an update from me about all that is going on in my crazy life. However that blog will have to wait, for right now I have something pressing on my heart and mind. 

This past week I have realized that Satan has a foothold on this Easter season. You may think that sounds drastic--it should. Let me share with you the three most common attitudes I have seen from Christians around Easter time.

1. Easter eggs, chocolate, cute dresses, and good time with family.

2.  Hardly any reaction. (This is where I tend to see myself along with many Christians.) I know

that Christ died and rose from the dead yet I don’t really spend anytime thinking about it other

than on Easter Sunday.

3.  Whether or not Christ died/swooned/raised from the dead is unimportant to our faith and we

ought not argue about it.

My heart goes back and forth from being furious to depressed. These are all lies from the Enemy himself. Easter is absolutely pivotal for the Christian faith. If Jesus didn't die then we would have no payment for sin. The wrath of the Holy God would still be on us. We would all be enslaved to the Devil. And if Jesus didn't rise from the dead there would be no hope, no conquer over death (1 Corinthians 15).

I would challenge you to sit down, read the crucifixion story (Matthew 26-27). Then spend some time journaling or reflecting and praying. Jesus died to pay for your sins with his own blood. He took on scorn, pain, shame, and death. He took the wrath of God upon himself so that we might be in a relationship with him. And he rose from the dead, conquering death and giving us hope.  

Modern Day Pharisee

Dear Friends,

            So I was reading the other day this book by Bonhoffer. And this quote stuck out to me.

“There can be no genuine acknowledgement of sin that does not lead to this extremity [speaking of Paul’s comment in 1 Tim. 1:15]. If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. My sin is of necessity the worst, the most grievous, the most reprehensible.”

           

This quote started me thinking.  The Lord has recently been convicting me of my own pharisaical lifestyle. I grew up in the church reading all of the stories about the Pharisees. I thought they were dumb prideful, clearly evil men. However, as I’ve been studying the Bible more closely, I have realized that the Pharisees were a lot like me. They had a desire to be holy. The studied and studied and studied the Scriptures. They grew up in a religious household. They had memorized scripture since childhood. They went to Bible school. They loved the Scriptures.

            So why then, you might ask, were they so looked down upon in the Bible? Well, most people looked them up to, but Jesus saw through their facade of holiness straight to their heart. He saw that they were prideful. He saw that they actually put the Scripture before God. He saw that they compared themselves to others instead of God.

            Perhaps you already know most of this, but do you know that many Christians today probably struggle with the same exact sins. I know for myself, I know A LOT about the Bible. I’ve been reading it since before I knew how to read. I’m even at one of the best Bible schools in the nation. Also, if I were to be honest with you, I would tell you that I view myself as a fairly decent person. No I’m not perfect—but I haven’t committed adultery. I’ve never even tried illegal drugs. I’ve never been an alcoholic. I haven’t ever committed one of the really bad sins. A week ago, I don’t know if I would have ever admitted that out loud, but I definitely didn’t believe that my sins were any worse than everyone else’s.

            You see I struggle with pride. I want to know that I’m doing things right, so I compare myself to other Christians. I am tempted at times to view the Bible as a textbook--One that the more you study the more you learn about it’s background, authors, literary styles, and oh ya…God.

            I tell you all this, not so that you think higher of me because I’m so honest—in fact, that would defeat my purpose. I want to tell you my story in hopes that you might examine your life. If you are convinced that you aren’t anything like a Pharisee…then you probably are closer to a Pharisee then you think. I would challenge you to ask God to show you the Pharisee in you. Be open. Be genuine. And I promise you: God will move.

In Christ,

Hannah

My Love Story

Once upon a time, in a land far away, my fairytale dream came true. Yes, it may sound cheesy, but I'm not apologizing :~) Here's my story on how Jordan proposed:

As some of you know, Jordan and I had spent much time praying over our relationship. Before we had even started dating we talked about marriage being one of our goals. Over this past year we sought much godly advice about marriage from our parents, pastors, mentors, and teachers.

Mr. C, Jordan, and I
after we returned home.

All this to say I had a sneaking suspicion that Jordan might propose over break. I didn’t know for sure, but I was definitely hoping. Therefore, when he came in to visit me at Steak n Shake one Sunday night and left me a card inviting me to a fancy dinner at Biaggi’s on Thursday, I got pretty excited. Part of me thought that, if he were going to propose he wouldn’t be so obvious, however there wasn’t much time before he went back to Spokane and we were busy each day until then.

My ring! Designed by Jordan himself. 

One of these busy days was Tuesday. I was having lunch with a friend and had some errands to run. Then Jordan and I were going to cook dinner for his Father and Stepmother. After buying a few last ingredients, we made some stir-fry. After eating, I went to pull a game out to play when there was a knock on the door.  In walked Mr. C (a gentleman from our church who helps out with the youth and conveniently owns a couple mustangs). He stated that he was there to chauffer the “Fischer Party”, which apparently meant Jordan and me.  So we got in and drove to Image Air (which is right by the airport). We drove around back to a little four-seater airplane that Jordan had previously rented.  A pilot flew us up over Bloomington-Normal where we could see the lights of Champaign, Decatur, Springfield, and even Joliet. While in the plane, Jordan asked me to marry him. To which, after some difficulty with my headset, I said YES!

Our wedding date is set for July 28^th, 2012. We’ll have it at Grace Church in Normal…and you can learn more about it at our website! (www.weddingwire.com/jordanandhannahfischer)

 Thank you all for your prayers for Jordan and me; we greatly appreciate them!

In Christ, 

Hannah