Hello ,
God is good all the time!
Attached to this email is a photo of me in the early part of May. As you probably know, I had a massive
"widow-maker" heart attack on May 5th, and wasn't expected to live.
God had other plans!
On June 7th, I received a heart
transplant at Mayo in Rochester, MN and have spent the entire summer there with my wife (being transferred from one place to the next).
During that time, I received SO MANY thoughtful cards and letters from so many of you, and I want to express my gratitude for having you reach out to me with your notes of
encouragement. It truly means so much to me and my family.
I'm back!
I am finally back in our home area, but a number of
things have changed dramatically.
- Roberta and I have had to move into an apartment in the city of Grand Forks where I was pastoring when I had my heart attack. We have returned to this area, and are currently residing in a large apartment complex. Because of my fragile health, I can no longer live on our old farmstead, and we're working towards selling our property in the
spring of 2024.
- I have not been cleared by the doctors to go back to full time status in the field of ministry, and (although that's my wish) we will have to see what God has planned for us in the future. Waiting is difficult for me, so please keep me in your prayers as I continue to strive towards being back in the game.
- A few things will change with The Open Word Daily e-Devotionals. This ministry is a labor of love for
me, and my daughter, Taylor has kept the "lights on" while I was unable to do anything with it. I appreciate her dedication and kindness in continuing to make sure that our subscribers received spiritual thoughts each day. Rich Edison (a good friend and spiritual colleague) has graciously allowed Taylor to include articles from his Facebook devotionals entitled "Encouraging Words for Today." Rich is an excellent writer and a deep thinker. I SO appreciate him allowing us to use those devotionals,
and we will continue to use them (periodically), in addition to my own daily thoughts.
There are FAR too many blessings and miracles to tell you about in this e-mail, but I did want you to know that I AM back, and within the next few weeks (Lord willing), I will be back in full swing with The Open Word. I'm still
learning to walk properly again, but I am making progress, and hoping for a full recovery in that area of my life.
From the bottom of my (new) heart, THANK-YOU for lifting me up in prayer. I truly believe that God saved me, and gave me another opportunity to press on towards the mark.
Have a great day and God bless!
Pastor Mike / The Open Word
P.S. If this small ministry is meaningful to you, and you'd like to partner with me in keeping it viable, you can do so here.
