Saturday, December 1, 2007

Thank you






I am at Allen & Gillian's house, so I thought I would upload these images of Joseph from their computer.

Allen came back to the house to rest tonight. Please pray that he can get some MUCH needed sleep. My Mom and I are staying here with him while Gillian is at the PICU with Lynn in Joseph's room. Please pray that Joseph can sleep tonight and will not be in pain.

My heart is heavy as I have to leave tomorrow and drive back to Memphis. I do not want to leave. However, I must return home. The plan is to keep at least one family member here with them and I suppose the family will just alternate who is here. I know my Mom is going to stay a few more days and possibly through the week. I myself plan to be back here as early as Thursday or Friday. Gill's Dad arrived today, coming as far away as Ireland to be with them.

Gillian told me earlier tonight how truly grateful she is for all of your prayers. Your comments are SO encouraging as well, not just for she and Allen to read, but also for the rest of the family. Lynn and I were sitting at two computers earlier this afternoon, each of us looking at the most recent comments and exclaiming with excitement over the comments, especially the ones from people we had not seen in ages. Knowing that prayers for Joseph are being lifted up across the globe is an amazing thing. Please continue in your fervent prayers.

Please continue to pray that God will intercede on Joseph's behalf and cure him of this tumor. Please pray for Holly, while she is with her Nana away from her parents, that she will have peace and joy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your love and support of this precious family. Even those of you who have only become acquainted with them through finding this blog - you are loving them by praying.

Also, thank you to the group of people here in Atlanta from Allen & Gill's church who came & cleaned and did yardwork. What a wonderful gift.

Jennifer

36 comments:

Dave said...

allen & gillian,
we have been praying for you and your sweet boy since dave got the heartbreaking call from allen yesterday. we have also put joseph on the prayer chain at our former church in pittsburgh...may it give you some peace and hope knowing that so many people from all over are lifting you up (when a believing person prays, great things happen- james 5:16)! thank you for keeping us all updated and letting us know specifically how we can be praying for you and joseph. try to rest and regain some strength. we are begging the Lord for happy news over these next few days.
love,
dave & erin

Retta said...

Gillian and Allen,
We are friends of SJ and Phil. We want you to know that we are praying for you on the other side of the world in Hong Kong. When the night covers you, take comfort that it is daylight here and we are praying you through the nights. We pray for hope, comfort, sleep, and healing for little Joseph.
Jonathan and Retta Kelley

Anonymous said...

Martha and I couldn't sleep so we grabed a few old home videos to watch. The first one we put in [unlabeled of course] was my fathers 80th birthday party at Kathy and Rick's. We laughed and cried at our familey and espicialy at Gillian and Allen and their announcement that they were pregnant [ with Joseph].I thought of my dad's comment of how he wished that he could take Joseph's place and that that is what Christ did for us all. Our God loves us and is with you in this difficult time.We pray for a restful night and a brighter tommorow. love, Martha and Karl

Anonymous said...

allen & gillian,
wanted to let you know that i join all who love you in prayer; i am erica willis' mom; gillian, i probably haven't seen you since you and erica were roommates @ u.t.; i keep updated through the sj connection to erica; the nights are too long and the waiting unbearable in these times, so i am grateful your families are walking this with you; i have kept you and dear joseph in prayer constantly and will continue to do so; rest when you can, take lots of deep breaths...His Spirit will embrace you and sustain you; 'the Lord is the everlasting God,the creator of the ends of the earth; He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fanthom; He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak; and those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength..." (Isa 40:28-31).....pj

Anonymous said...

You don't know me. I'm a father of a friend of a friend. God Bless your family. Rest assured, you are in His hands. Trust Him dear ones. Ph 4:6-7 Richard

joann said...

we are praying for all of you~ often! and wishing there was a way to make something easier. i am so sorry that joseph has to endure this. we are and will continue to pray and are asking others to join with us in praying. thanks for the updates on the blog. love to all of you from all the rosenbaums.

Anonymous said...

Allen and Gillian,
I know not what to say. I'm praying for you. You are always in my heart and on my mind.
Love,
Christie

Anonymous said...

Allen and Gillian, I probably haven't seen you guys since college -- I'm so sorry to hear about Joseph and I will be praying for him, as well as the two of you and your family for peace and rest during this time. Love, Amy Black (now Amy Valet)

Anonymous said...

Hey guys. I'm praying for rest for you and Joe P. on this Lord's day. See you soon.
Love,
Matt

notes of em said...

Hey Allen and Gillian,
We are fervently lifting Joseph up as high as we can humanly reach to the Lord in prayer. Our hearts are heavy and sorrowful, but we are forever hopeful and resting in God's faithfulness and healing power. Thank you so much for allowing us to be constantly updated, so that we know how to pray specifically for Joseph and the family. Our hope is in the Lord who will renew your strength. We are loving you daily and praying incessantly.
love,
Drew, Emily and Saide Parker Miller

Anonymous said...

Gillian and Allen,
We love you all so much and our hearts our breaking that you should be going through this. We are praying for you as are my mom and brother's churches in Charlotte.. and many others we don't know about but feel the strength of. You and "GeeGee" are like family to us. Your family and faith is one of the strongest I know. Please lean on all of us to give you strength, energy, peace and love.
Margaret, Chris, Matthew and Sarah

vim+dash said...

we continue to think of you guys... please know that the Lord stirs you in our hearts often and brings you to mind frequently... we are living life outside of the whirlwind that is yours but we feel tied to the agonies and questions and sorrows and joys and hopes and loves that make up your day-to-day right now.

thank you for sharing your heart and for letting us know what to pray for. we continue to ask for comfort as you deal with the cramped hospital rooms, lack of sleep, and the intensity of the situation you are in; that joseph would be able to rest and his body continue to recover and heal; that you will be at peace knowing holly is safe and cared for; that you will not suffer from any kind of guilt or sense of failure as a parent, which we know satan is quick to want to impart; and that you would know how covered you are, how deeply those who know you from afar care and are praying. and most of all, may you know that Jesus is there - may you feel His hand upon your shoulders.

blessings-
conor and boothe farley

grammy said...

Dear Peabody Family,
Little Joseph was lifted high and wide in prayer at Christ Community Church this morning. Mike and I have been praying for all of you, and will not stop. To Kathy Peabody: You are being prayed for from a grandmother's heart. To Allen and Gillian: You are being prayed for from a mother's heart. To all of you: You are being prayed for from so many loving perspectives.....yet, all, to the God of every perspective and perfect love. We join our love to His for all of you.
Mike and Cindy

grammy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carrigan Family said...

Praying for you this afternoon ... praying you are resting in Him.

Mary Lee Carrigan
Gallatin, TN

Kim said...

We know you all through the Wise family. We are thinking about praying for all of you at this very difficult time.
-The Gravely Family

Chloƫ said...

Gill, I am devastated -I cannot keep the tears in and I am so sorry that Joseph, you, Allen and Holly have to go through this. I am sending all my love and good thoughts to Joe in hospital, or hostipal as Maud would say. We have candles lighting in Kimmage and Sandycove, and Alice lit a special one in Florence this weekend. I am so upset, angry and heartbroken.

Joseph is such a brave soldier and this will help him in his recovery.

I love you so much and I am so sad that you have to deal with this.

Love, and lots of it, from Ireland.
Hugs to your treasure Joseph.
Chloe

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Gillian & Allen,
Catherine Tighe here from Dublin - I only heard today about Joseph. I just wanted to let you know that we are thinking of you all and praying for Joseph.
Catherine xxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Gillian, It's your cousin Paul here from Ireland. Just writing to let you know that you, Allen, Holly and Joseph are in our thoughts and prayers at the minute. I was visiting Granny yesterday and she was praying for you all aswell.

Take care,
Paul, Caroline, Shauna, Jack & Cillian Tighe

Anonymous said...

Allen and Gillian,

I know for certain that I don't have the words to make things feel any better. Just know that Will and I have been praying for Joseph and both of you often. As soon as I told Will a portion of what was going on, I suggested to him that we pray for Joseph...Will's response was, "I just did." I saw something at church this morning that made me think of you all:

"The first Sunday in Advent traditionally emphasizes the hopeful waiting of the righteous for all things to be finally made right."

Hopefully waiting with and praying for you all!

Matt

Anonymous said...

I wanted you guys to know that our family is praying BOLDLY for you. I just was with Ashley Smith, and we sat there together and cried as she told us about this past week for you. It was amazing to hear her tell how you are resting in our Father's arms in every way. May you continue to know that you are constantly being lifted up in a mighty way.
Emily Routh

Chad Smith said...

Allen and Gillian,
Our hearts break with you and we have been praying for you throughout each day. In fact the entire RUF community I believe is in prayer for you guys; I know every single campus minister and staff in Atlanta know about the situation. We love you and just pray that you will know the love of Christ for you like never before.
Chad and Jennifer Smith

Anonymous said...

Allen & Gillian,
We are Adrienne's parents, in Columbus. You are on our hearts and we pray for you all often. I'm keeping up w/ your blog so we can pray specifically.
Pam & Terry

Carolyn & Dave said...

gill & allen,

It's hard to believe all of this has happened in just a couple of days. Joe has some truly amazing parents who seek and trust the Lord. I'm glad to hear Joseph is being playful and active. Dave and I will pray for Lil Joe unceasing until he is healed. Thank you so much for the updates. We're with you in spirit. Our church is praying for you as well. Let us know if you or your family need anything.

Love you,
Carolyn & Dave

Unknown said...

Allen & Gillian,

I have this image of you all walking through the Intown school lobby on your way to church with Joseph running ahead. That was just a few days before I heard the news of his tumor and the surgery to come. I was shocked! Since then you all have seldom left my thoughts... the Lord is keeping you all at the forefront of our minds as we pray for Joseph's healing, protection and comfort. We pray for your strength, peace andrest. May God be your fortress and hope. Love, Michael and Shannon Pierce

Lynn T said...

Dearest Allen and Gillian,

I miss you all terribly. I'm praying continually for you and dear Joseph.

Much love,
Lynn

Orlagh said...

Gillian and Allen, You are in my prayers and I know that Joseph will pull through these tough times! I know you are both strong and it is comforting to know that Joseph is keeping to his old ways even in these tough times!! Love you, Orlagh

Suzy Goodman said...

Praying for rest and peace for all of you and for complete healing for little Joseph. Thank you for letting us know how to pray.

Anonymous said...

Allen & Gillian
we are friends of Karl & Martha. We have been praying for little Joseph and continue to pray for a miracle by God for Joseph. Our prayer is also for you. We pray that joseph will rest tonight and be able to sleep. May God be with you these next days and we will continue to lift all of you up to the Lord.
Greg and Barb Walker.
Skyline

Anonymous said...

You don't know me but I am Bert Slotkin's secretary. He told me about your son and I just wanted you to know that I have been praying for your precious Joseph. I strongly believe that prayer is a powerful thing and more importantly so is love. I have been praying to St. Jude that your little boy gets well. My husband and I were never able to have children of our own and we have been giving to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for many years. I love children and it upsets me to see them sick or hurting. This is the time of year for miracles. God Bless all of you.

Shirley Kelly

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful little boy. You don't know me, but I'm praying for your family. God bless you and hang in there!

Anonymous said...

This is for Allen's family who lives in Memphis:

My name is Ruthanne Szenasi and I was Gillian's roomate in college at UTK. I live in Huntsville, AL. My husband and I are praying for Joseph and would love to help out in any way that we possibly can. It occured to my husband today that Huntsville is about halfway between Memphis and Atlanta, and if any of you would like to drive to Atlanta and break up your trip by staying overnight here, we would love to have you. Please do not hesitate to email if that sounds like something that would be helpful. We are at Ruthie@szenasi.net.

Many blessings,
Ruthanne

c. smith said...

precious family,
i am lifting you up to jesus right now. i pray that his presence surrounds you right now in jesus' name. know that nashville, tn is praying for you and your precious son.

Anonymous said...

Allen and Gillian,
Our men's prayer group heard about your circumstances through a prayer request this week. We are lifting you and Joseph up in prayer daily. I pray that God give you the faith of Abraham that no matter how things look you will not waver in your faith.
Allen,
Keep your head up. God loves you.

ksusha said...

hey this is ksusha.i am so sad to hear the joseph is not doing better. but i am praying for yall ever day.i love u .



p.s give a big kiss to the kids

Eastiopians said...

Beautiful, beautiful boy. My thoughts are with you all during this time of despair and loss. I enjoyed looking at his pictures and celebrating his life even if in a small way through these pictures. I see a lot of love.