Chris, Autumn, Brittany & Braxton Fagan September 5,2010

Sunday, August 29, 2010

T-shirs & Hezekiah


The Fagan Friends in Faith T-shirts are available for order!
They come in sizes Youth small  up to Adult XXXXL
They are $15 each.
Orders are due and to be paid for by September 12 for the 1st printing.
I will mail them out to anyone that needs me to, priority shipping is $4.95  OR meet you to deliver if your in the local area. I will also have order forms at my shop Gifts Galore in Amity.
Checks can be made out to Amity First Baptist Church. and mailed to:
Autumn Fagan
138 Pine Street
Amity, AR 71921

*When ordering please select the size and # of each you want:
Youth Small (6/8)
Youth Medium (10/12)
Youth Large (14/16)
Adult Small
Adult Medium
Adult Large
Adult X-Large
Adult XX-Large
Adult XXX-Large
Adult XXXX-Large

Our friends Jody & Paige Cowart came up with this fundraiser for us and we appreciate it so much! We Love our shirts!!!
I am not sure where all people have shirt order forms at. The people wanting to help just amazes us!
Thanks to everyone of YOU!!! All the PRAYERS being said for Chris and our family helps so so so much!!

    Chris has been feeling really good the last few days. He has not had to work so he has got to catch up on some rest. I have not noticed any problem with his speech in several days! Praise the LORD!!! His arm muscles still twitch alot, but not near as bad as they were! The Prayers & Father God are working!!! 
    We had a really great weekend other than the sinus problems we have had.  We went to Little rock over the weekend for our cousin Austins 7th birthday party. The kids had a great time! Whats not to love, pizza, cake, ice cream, soda, arcade!!! It was so nice for Chris and I to get to visit with some of our family and friends!
      Sunday we had a great Lords Day! We all wore our new Tshirts to Church that morning! It made getting the kids ready  a breeze!!!  They of course loved it that we all matched!! We had a great Sunday School lesson and a great morning service. I got to visit with a great Christian friend today, Julie. Her family has been in a very similar situation with their youngest child, several years ago. The doctors said the baby had basically no hope of living. But PRAISE THE LORD she is a very healthy happy teenager today because GOD healed her completley!!! She knows the path we are walking on and it is nice to have a guide! To see their story follow the link! http://www.berrysghfarm.com/about.html
    Then we had 5th Sunday potluck at Church. So much yummy food!! Of course Brittany had to spill the secret about the cheese cake bites I brought. "My mom did not make them she bought them at Sams!" lol!  Brittany got to go home with a friend after Church today and play till evening service. She had a really great time!
    While Chris was napping Braxton & I met up with my parents and Aunt & Uncle for dinner at Little Italy. It was nice to catch up! It had been to long since we had seen them.
    We all went to evening service and Bro. John preached a sermon on Hezekiah's Illness. A dying man, beling told he was gonna die...sound familiar ;)

2 Kings 20 (New Century Version)

Hezekiah's Illness

1 At that time Hezekiah became so sick he almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, "This is what the Lord says: Make arrangements because you are not going to live, but die."
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord,3 "Lord, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you and have done what you said was right." Then Hezekiah cried loudly.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah:5 "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: 'This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, so I will heal you. Three days from now you will go up to the Temple of the Lord.6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria; I will protect the city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.' "
7 Then Isaiah said, "Make a paste from figs." So they made it and put it on Hezekiah's boil, and he got well.
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, "What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord on the third day?"
9 Isaiah said, "The Lord will do what he says. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps or back ten steps?"
10 Hezekiah answered, "It's easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps. Instead, let it go back ten steps."
11 Then Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and the Lord brought the shadow ten steps back up the stairway of Ahaz that it had gone down.



The Lord herd Hezekiah's cry and he healed him! Woohoo....more Holy tingles!!! :)
We have such peace & faith knowing that we have a God that CAN and WILL heal Chris!!!  We plan to live the rest of our lives serving the Lord in what ever way he has for us! He is so good, so great, and we love him so very much!!! He has blesed us in so many ways and we owe EVERYTHING to Him! To God be the Glory!!
   I'll end with a funny, at the end of evening worship the pulpit was needing to be moved back to its spot and a Brother asked, "is there anybody here with a strong back and weak mind to help move the pulpit," Braxton SCREAMS out "Thats my MOM!!!!" Thanks son!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Joyful in the Lord

          Chris has a new favorite saying, “we are those people” he says with a laugh. It seems like all we now talk about it God, Jesus & spiritual issues. We had a great weekend. We were ready to venture out again and we really needed some groceries! Saturday we went to the Christian bookstore, ate at Chili’s , took the kids to their favorite place, Books a Million and Kroger (not their favorite place ;) While at Books a Million we looked at a lot of Christian literature. I wanted to buy almost every book I picked up but I could not do that. I did order Three books we looked at over Amazon that evening when we got home and I got them a lot cheaper, 3 books with free shipping $27.
Sunday was Church day! We had a great Sunday School lesson over tithes, a great sermon then we went out to lunch with some of friends from Church. Sunday night Church was GREAT! The Lord is really moving at Amity FBC! We are so thankful to have a great body of believers we get to be a part of! All Christians should be part of a Church body! Watching it on TV is great, but you need the fellowship with other believers! Why? Mainly because Gods word tells us to! Also I tell you that two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in Heaven. This is true because if two of three people come together in my name, I am there with them. Matthew 18: 19-20

We all have spiritual gifts that we should use in the Church Body! The eye can not say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” and the head cannot say to the foot “I don’t need you!” Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body. 1 Corinthians 12: 21 & 27

Chris has been feeling pretty good. He did fall down Thursday, he just could not recover his balance. Sometimes his speech is slurred and sometimes it is fine. We are just patiently waiting on God’s perfect timing to take this affliction from him! The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him, and he saves them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those who’s spirits have been crushed. People who do what is right may have many problems, but the LORD will solve them all. Psalm 34: 17-19

We are staying totally positive and we know the Lord is working! It is so much easier to talk to others that have a positive mind set. There is no need for negativity. We decide how we view our glass, half empty or half full. For us, it will always be half full. We are really trying to get our daughter to understand that. Choose to be in a good mood, always choose to be happy. Bad things are going to happed, its inevitable but we choose how we deal with them. A pessimist see the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist see the opportunity in every difficulty. ~Winston Churchill and I had to add this one: A positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to be worth the effort! LOL If you are happy and smiling all the time people are going to be able to tell there is something different about you!

That brings me to JOY! As Christians we can always be joyful no matter what our circumstances. Does that mean Christians are always happy and never have bad things happen to them? No! It means we know our Holy Father, and we have no reason to “sweat the small stuff.” God is in control today just like he is and has been everyday. We can find great Joy in that! But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits. Psalm 5:11 I continue to thank Holy God that we know him and we can be joyful even in a time when we gotten terrible news. If we would have turned inward to ourselves and not outward to God, how miserable we would be.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for my precious husband and our family! It means so much to us and we know those prayers are working! If you have a prayer request, contact me, autumn_Fagan@yahoo.com we would love to pray for you!

We received some more info on the Fundraiser T-shirt that are being printed up. They will be $15 and they will be a bright blue color! On the front they will say Fagan Friends in Faith and I love the scripture that is going to be on the back, Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times. Romans 12:12 They will be available in all sizes. I will post a proof of the shirt as soon as I get one.

May GOD Bless each and everyone of you!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

New Life

Wednesday I was having a “why us” day, questioning the Lord as to why this is happening to my husband. The kids and I love him so very much! We need him here with us! This is not fair (add some foot stomping, pouting & tears.)


That night was also pretty rough, Chris’ speech was pretty slurred and he was limping. It broke my heart to see him struggling just to communicate. After he left for work  that night  I chatted with a friend for a while about how I was feeling. I love him with such a big portion of my heart. I knew this particular friend would understand because she loves her husband like I love mine.

At around 11 pm I began listening to some Christian music on you tube & the tears stared rolling. I began pouring my heart out to God. Beginning for healing on my husband! I have never prayed like that before, so open hearted and with complete faith. God was listening and responding. I could feel him so close to me it was like I could reach out and touch him. Father God wanted me to have total faith and trust in him. He opened me up to His glory and let me know that He is capable of anything. In doing this I realized a sin I had been holding on to. I loved my kids and Chris as much as I loved God, and that was wrong. I   realized my mistake and God moved up into his rightful place. He is so high on the top of my “love list” now I can not even explain it, it is a total different kind of LOVE. He is The Holy Father, Creator of every being, animal and thing in this universe. He created it all and deserves all our praise and worship!  Afterall, who gave me Chris & the kids? GOD did!! I am now so in love with My Savior Jesus Christ I am seeing his hand in everything! Gods glory is all around us, in everything you see, touch and hear. He gave it all to us freely and he so desires a personal relationship with every single one of his greatest creations, human beings!  Thats You!

I am so joyful to say that my Lord and savior loves me unconditionally & I will serve him till the day I die! Then I will get to spend an eternity with Him in Heaven. Loving and praising him with my loved ones forever!! He wants you there to! There is only one way to get there, the precious blood of Gods son, Jesus Christ! If you don’t understand this get a hold of me or a pastor of a Bible believing church and let us tell you all about our savior! For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

After I was so touched by God Wednesday night, my whole reason for existence has changed. I want to tell everyone I meet about my God! I also knew that Chris would be feeling better because God had herd my plea and I knew he had reached out and touched Chris also, because I was praying so hard for him! Chris was at work by then so I texted him and asked how he was feeling. He replied “GREAT!” His slurred speech and limp that night went away!

When Chris got home this morning we had the deepest conversation we have ever had. We feel we have been called to spread the message and love story about Our Savior & that is what we plan to do. This diagnosis has opened up a way for us to do that! All Christians are called to spread Gods word! The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. John 21:17

If this disease had never taken a hold of Chris we would still be coasting along, being saved, sitting comfortable and never doing much for Our Lord like we were suppose to. What a blessing this affliction has been already! If a diamond never got pressurized it would still be a lump of coal. That is the same with us, if we had never been put in this “fire” we would still just be “comfortable.” Thank you God for being You & loving us so much to make us deepen in You! As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let him lead you in every step. Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him. Colossians 2: 6-7

Don’t feel sorry for us! Praise with us & pray for us! Share this blog & share our testimony because we want everyone of you to reside in Gods glory with us, not just here on earth , but in our eternal home!!! If you have prayer request send them to us! We want to pray for you!
Email: Autumn_Fagan@yahoo.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=678642803
Mail: Chris & Autumn Fagan 138 Pine Street Amity, AR 71921

Chris should be going on disability soon. It is scary thinking of being with out a job, but maybe that is the final shove we need from God to start living and telling others about him! We know God will provide for all our needs in abundance!

We have some dear friends, Jody & Paige Cowart that are getting some T-shirts printed up, Fagan Friends in Faith! I am not sure yet when they will be done or how much they will cost but I am so excited to see them! We will let you know when they are available!

Thank you for all the Prayers that have been sent up for us so far! The Love and support continue to amaze us several times a day! Our kids started back to school today, at Glenwood Christian School. We are so happy they are in a school that teaches of the most important thing in the world, God and His Love! They had a good first day! Brittany told us yesterday, “I am so glad to be going back to a school were we can pray! We never prayed once in my old school.”

In Christian Love, Autumn

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Life Changing

What to say other than THANK YOU ALL!!!! The amazing LOVE we have been shown already is just mind blowing!!! Sooo many people are already praying for Chris!!! I read him every email, fb message, wall post, and blog comment that I get!
And the amazing part is..... he has been able to move his fingers faster in the last two days than he has in months!!!! He also got up on the trampoline today and jumped with the kids for the 1st time in months! And how does that happen to a disease that does not regress..I'll tell you how.... GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS!!!
     We were Christians already, but since Friday our whole perception of life has changed! GOD has came in and filled us totally with his Glory & Grace! The little "petty" things in life seem absolutely sensless! Who cares if a drink gets spilled, you get cut off in traffic etc. Those things don't annoy us in the slightest anymore! And food ..... we both use to love food... now its like yes this is good, but there is no need to over indulge! Our calorie intake has been reduced dramatically. And I am not even craving a coke, and if you know me that is wild! And almost every song we hear on KLOVE it is like hearing it for the 1st time! Worshiping the Lord with every song we hear! God is so good!

Lyrics to Before the Morning by Josh Wilson

Do you wonder why you have to

Feel the things that hurt you
If there's a God who loves you
Where is He now

Maybe there are things you can't see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending
Someday somehow you'll see you'll see

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming
So hold on you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight

Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

My friend you know how this all ends
And You know where you’re going
You just don’t know how you’ll get there
So say a prayer

And hold on cause there’s good for those who love God
But life is not a snapshot
It might take a little time but you’ll see the bigger picture   
 
We are taking a bigger role in parenting our kids! They have NOT been thrilled with their TV time being cut down to 1 hour a day. We have started them a "marble jar" when they do good, get along, help clean up or anything else that stands out as good behavior they get a marble droped in the jar. (or when they show bad behavior a marble gets removed) they don't like that idea much, but they have not lost a marble yet! :) We are spending much more time as a family. Enjoying the little things! Braxton is bugging me now to watch TV! LOL! and its still a no little buddy! ;)

I woke up last night at 4 am and just got so excited for the Lord I could not go back to sleep for the longest!
Chris tells me the same thing happened to him this morning at 7! We have ministry plans! When Chris is healed what a story we are going to have to tell!!

  This has opened up the opportunity to tell so many people about Christ! So much good is coming from this diagonis already!! We have had so many people offer to do anything we need them to do! Just keep lifting him up in those prayers! I promise you we can feel the strengthing, physically, spirtually and emotionally! There is going to be a special prayer meeting for him at our church Amity FBC and I will post on here when we find out when its going to be! We would love for anyone who can to come out and pray with us! I told him yesterday that GOD is gonna get so tired of people praying for him he is just gonna say ok ok, heal him! lol! But seriously thanks again so much from the bottom of our hearts!!! LOVE & GOD BLESS EVERYONE OF YOU!!! I will sign out today with 2 verses on prayer!
Love, Chris Autumn Brittany & Braxton Fagan

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matthew 21:22 (NIV)

Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  Philippians 4:6 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Its all about perspective

For the background of our story here is a copy of the email I sent August 5th, 2010:

Hi,wanted to ask you all to pray for Chris. He began having trouble a couple months ago. He noticed he had lost alot of strength in his right arm. He went to a clinic in hot springs and the dr said he had carpal tunnel. We did not feel like that was what he had. He got in to see Dr. Hulsey in Glenwood and he got him into a neurologist in hot springs. We saw the dr last week & Chris had an MRI done last Thursday. We went back to the specialist today. The MRI showed that the problem was not from his neck or body, it is neurological in the brain. Chris will have a brain MRI done Monday and when the results come in from that we should know what exacly it is.


I am asking you all to please pray for him as often as you can, as he deals with this and for me to stay strong. I think I am taking this all way worse than him, I am spending way to much crying. I know GOD is in control and he is taking care of us, we just have to remian faithful. We are just asking our friends and family to pray with us until we know the results, Chris is a private person & I dont think he wants to many people to know about this 4 now.

GOD Bless each and everyone of you.

Love, Autumn

August 15th 2010
After the testing the Dr. believes that Chris has Motor Neuron Disease (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's  Disease.)
 Friday was the worst day of our lives when we found out. It was such an emotional day. We felt like our world was ending. We were not prepared to hear that Chris has a fatal disease. It was such a heart wrenching time. We called our pastor and our family. We had alot of company that day and support. then after they left we laid and held one another for a long time. We both took sleep aids to help sleep that night.
Saturday we were feeling better. That night I began looking up scripture about healing. It became so apparent that our GOD can heal Chris and use this as an opportunity to glorify our GOD!

I printed out some of the scriptures, that I gave to family and friends, to declare to GOD his promises and to pray for Chris' healing! Well here they are:

"He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and

do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”"
Exodus 15:26 (NLT)

"Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or
be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span."
Exodus 23:25-26 (NIV)

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health,
even as thy soul prospereth."
3 John 2 (KJV)

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church;
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
James 5:14-15 (KJV)

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Mark 16:17-18 (KJV)

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
John 10:10 (KJV)

Luke 17:5-6 "The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' The Lord replied. 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.'"

Our GOD can do anything and we are praying and have faith that he can heal Chris and stop the progression of this disease. We ask you to pray with us and believe!
And I taped a mustard seed to the paper... it was about this size o.

Bro. John, our pastor, called us up at the end of Church and prayed for us and so many church members came up and loved on us. The more people praying the better!!! It was such an outpouring of love and OUR GOD is in the Miracle Bussiness!! We were feeling so uplifted!

Then when it was time for Church tonight, Chris was sleeping because he has to go into work tonight, I went alone.  Bro. John started the service by us singing Victory in Jesus and dedicating it to Chris. The sermon was on Prayer. Which all related right back to Chris.  During the invitation lots of us went down and prayed for Chris (and me)! It was such an outpouring of LOVE! We could feel GOD's Holy Spirit in the Air!! There is no doubt that GOD can heal Chris and use this to glorify him!
I could not imagine facing a diagonis like the one we got and not knowing GOD. It would be just like waiting to die. But this is gonna be so much more to that!  Our Lord is in control and we are giving this all over to him!  Jesus Loves YOU!!!

*I am seeing that this blog is spreading!!! so many people reading! Please feel free to share the link! The more people praying the better!!!  contact me anytime autumn_fagan@yahoo.com or be my facebook friend
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=678642803