A Heavenly Perspective. . .
We faced the Dr this morning to hear the results from Papa's biopsy. From an earthly perspective - he gave us the worst possible news a family can receive. Papa has been diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma (cancerous) tumor. The Dr laid out a course of treatment for us, but when we asked him how much extra time the most aggressive form of treatment could give us, he told us just a couple months. I think that was a shock to us all. We all have been sensing in our hearts that the news wouldn't be good, but for there to be no alternatives, so way to 'make it better' was shocking. At the same time, we all felt carried and upheld by the arms of our loving Heavenly Father is such a wondrous way. We were sobered to hear the stark facts in black and white. Yet, our hearts are filled with peace that our Father knows what He is doing, and He is doing something big - something beautiful! From a heavenly perspective, this is holy ground we are walking on! God has made it very clear that he cares about every little detail of this journey He has us on and He has been there every step of the way. He set up a divine appointment for us in the hospital waiting room with a dear couple who know the Lord. Our hearts connected immediately and we all formed a circle and prayed for each other right there in the waiting room. So many precious things have been happening in our family. So, yes, this is terrible news and we do grieve and yet - I wouldn't trade this time for anything else in the world!
We have many decisions ahead of us and we would appreciate your prayers for much wisdom as we consider our options and pray about them as a family. Our heart's desire is for God to receive the most glory - no matter what the outcome ends up being in this chapter of our lives. It seems that our father has received a summons to "a better country" - can we truly grieve with such a joy set before him?
Thanks again for all the love and support each one of you has been showering on our family. We are overwhelmed by your love and so thankful that we don't need to face this journey alone! -Beka
Updated on brother Denny Kenaston - Brain Tumor
Saints we need to keep praying for Brother Denny his bride Jackie and their family.
Continuing in prayer.
I can't help but have tears well up in me as I read this....Bro. Denny blessed me greatly early in my Christian walk, and in the raising of our children thru his Godly Home series....I cannot count the number of times I have heard, "This is Brother Denny...." at the beginning of a Charity sermon message....This is the month of the 1-year anniversary that the Lord took David Wilkerson home also....my heart just cries out - "But Lord....we NEED these men!!!!"....and yet we know He makes no mistakes....I will be praying...and along with my prayers that He would heal, and comfort the family, and receive glory for Himself, I will be praying that our Lord would raise up other godly men such as these....maybe some of you younger men here on SI will hear His call....
Is there a direct link to updates on his prayer needs so that we don't need to wait to see it posted here?
You can signup for direct updates here and also you can leave a guestbook comment also there for his wife to read to him:
The Spirit Himself intercedes on our behalf with groanings that cannot be uttered. Amen, no words, just tears.
Thank you Brother Greg.
"It seems that our father has received a summons to "a better country" - can we truly grieve with such a joy set before him?"
Thinking of the man who raised this child, that penned these words. What a heavenly mindset... and all the christian families that have been strengthened, healed, blessed, guided, and encouraged by the Lords work through him.
-Jim
Yeah, Jim, I was thinking the same thing. Reading that makes me weep asking only that God, purely through His Grace, would help me become the kind of father who could raise up Godly offspring like that! I have had stumbling & failure in my walk more often than I now care to even remember, but I still have one main prayer as He carries me in His Gracious hands: "Lord, call my 5 children unto yourself & give me Grace to be an aid in that goal & not a hindrance. Raise them up as missionaries, evangelists, prophets, martyrs, or whatever is pleasing to you, but don't let me get in the way of that end by your grace." That's powerful to read, no doubt!!
Jeff Marshall
amasing girl is beka
but for the gospels sake ,,lets expect and believe in a miracal so this man can contine to preach his word
is there any sick amoung you
let them go to the elders
and let them pray over
and anoint them in the name of lord jesus christ
and THAT PRAYER OF FAITH ,WILL SAVE THE SICK
AND THE LORD WILL RAISE HIM UP
and if he has comtited any sins
it will be forgivern of him
lets hold on to this promise that i think the apostals james wrote
so that god may be glorafied through his saint
;lord strengthen our faith in your promises
AMEN
Amen Gary!!
We know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The question is this: Is God finished with Brother Denny yet? Is this cancer an attack of the enemy against Brother Denny? If brother Denny still has a work to do on this earth, then by all means we should be believing for the Lord to heal him of this cancer. If this is an attack of the enemy then we know that Jesus Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil and should agree that this cancer would be destroyed in the mighty name of Jesus by the power of God.
Mike
The question is this: Is God finished with Brother Denny yet?
May the Lord cause that tumor to wither up so that Denny can give praise and glory to Jesus Christ in the land of the living. May the Lord give supernatural strength to help him rise up in his spirit and combat this wicked thing and not just accept it. And may the Lord give him discernment (as He gave Job) regarding what is required to combat this. And may his elders (who believe God's Word in James 5) gather around him, anoint him with oil and pray the prayer of faith that he may be healed. And may people (well meaning) not counsel him to just accept it.
Pilgrim
Saints,
Please keep praying for Brother Denny's healing, nothing is impossible with God.
Also send him your encouragements on the guestbook here, his wife is reading them to him:
I am too sad to say much…..... but we must keep on praying for Denny and family. This will be such a loss for us, There is so much to learn from Denny, and his family.
Amen. Was listening to his series on Soul-winning last night & just praying for mercy.
Saints,
Brother Denny Kenaston has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the brain. He came back on April 22, 2012 to a church he planted to share the burden of the Lord with them. He confessed many of his failures and sins over the years and humbled himself before the body of Christ.
Listen to the audio sermon here:
Jealous for the Testimony of the Lord by Denny Kenaston
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=23771&commentView=itemComments
Greg,
Thanks for putting this message up!
For those who have been praying for Brother Denny, this is the latest update this morning on the CaringBridge site - PLS keep him and his family in your prayers...
Longing to be released.....will you join us in his prayer? by Andrew Weaver
Written Jul 2, 2012 3:05pm by Jackie Kenaston
We are grateful that all the friends who connect with us through this site have allowed us the freedom to be honest about our experiences, and to share the difficulties as well as the joys of this journey. The last 24 hours have definitely been among the most difficult we've experienced yet, and it seems that all our faithful friends and prayer warriors deserve to be updated.
Papa had some pain in the region of his heart during the night Saturday night, but the caregivers were able to keep him relatively comfortable with a small increase in his regular morphine intake. He actually had a wonderful beginning to his Sunday morning then, asking for a bowl of his old favorite Life cereal (the first time in months), engaging everyone around him in conversation, and praising God for His goodness, all while sitting in the kitchen in his wheelchair.
As the morning progressed, he became very uncomfortable with increasing pain that failed to respond to the morphine. Since family members were expected back from church shortly, the caregivers moved him from the wheelchair to the quietness of his bed, which was an excruciatingly painful move. Even after being settled in bed, Papa's pain continued to increase even as we offered him all the medications we had available to control his suffering.
There was little more we could do except gather around his bed, weep with him in his agony, pray earnestly to God for mercy, and do our best to keep him comfortable. Even in the most excruciating pain, he was thinking of others, expressing love to Mama between his groans, and apologizing for the pain we experienced as we watched him suffer. Anyone who has been through a similar experience knows the feeling of utter helplessness at those times. We have never known more keenly our own weakness and inability to control our lives, or our desperate need for God every moment.
The hospice nurse on weekend duty had several rare Sunday emergency calls to attend to, so we had to wait several hours for her arrival in answer to our call. There was little she could do for Papa's immediate comfort, but she encouraged us that the levels of pain medication could safely be increased as much as necessary to alleviate his pain. We continued to increase them through the long, long hours of the afternoon and evening, and gradually, ever so slowly, it seemed that the pain level was dropping from a 10 to 8 to 6.
As you can imagine, everyone was exhausted, but no one more so than the brave soldier who endured such indescribable pain. Over and over he had begged God to just flip a switch and end his suffering through the mercy of death, and we found ourselves echoing those prayers in our own hearts.
Around 7 PM we gave Papa his sleeping meds, and to our immense relief, he slowly became more comfortable and gradually dropped off to sleep. We took turns sitting with him throughout the night, and he eventually drifted into a deep, coma-like sleep that continues as of 10 AM this morning. We are so grateful for the relief he is experiencing from the pain, and we thank all of you who responded to God's prompting to pray during those dark hours.
We expect hospice to shortly bring some alternate medications, since Papa no longer seems capable of swallowing pills, and they also plan to provide oxygen for his improved comfort. The symptoms we are seeing all suggest that we need to prepare for his passing very soon, and we have all released him to God in our hearts. Watching him suffer was excruciatingly difficult, but it did help bring us to the point where we know we will rejoice through our tears when he is released from this body.
Standing helplessly by while he was in pain gave me the same feeling that I've had as my wife endured the pain of labor and childbirth. There was the same feeling of helplessness, of asking why this process must be so difficult. However, I trust that it will also end like a birth, with a glorious moment of triumph and celebration of new life. The glory and victory of that moment will erase the memory of the pain and suffering. What a glorious celebration when a child of God breaks free from the shackles of this cursed earth and fallen body, and bursts through the veil into the dazzling glory of the presence of God, at Whose right hand there are pleasure forevermore!
To those of you who have continued to pray for Papa's healing, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your faith and zeal has been an inspiration, but now that he is longing to be freed, would you consider releasing him in your prayers? Yesterday during his suffering, he asked each of us individually whether it was okay for him to go, and one by one we gave him our release. While we know God often glorifies Himself beautifully through healing, we also know that sometimes He wills the story to end with His, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." Papa is longing to hear those words, and for his sake we hope and pray that he hears them very soon.
Yesterday during his suffering, he asked each of us individually whether it was okay for him to go, and one by one we gave him our release. While we know God often glorifies Himself beautifully through healing, we also know that sometimes He wills the story to end with His, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." Papa is longing to hear those words, and for his sake we hope and pray that he hears them very soon.
May God catch His servant up soon for His glory.
'Thank you much', MaMa!
A sister and me were just talking about him, night before last.
Brother Denny, Thank you for your faithful love and service to His beautiful Body. Yes and Amen, Well Done!
You will be so wonderfully amazed at what you'll see when you see Him and what your Eternity will be like. There's virtually no words to describe it all and we're sure that you already know all of this - but know mostly that, it will be worth if all, when you see HIM. There are no words for that. None - just Awesome Glory, Majesty, Beauty, Love, Purity and when you see His Acceptance of you and all that He feels in His Eyes - this life will seem like a blink of our own eyes in comparison and only He knows the wonder and glory of your reaction. The most unimaginably glorious surprise party that exists and the only reality as well.
The LORD Bless you within and without.
With our prayers for your Family as well. He'll take care of each and every one of them. Amen!!
The latest Brother Denny update:
I wonder what's going on in heaven today? :-)
Written Jul 3, 2012 8:02pm by Jackie Kenaston
Recently someone spoke about the preparations being made in anticipation of the arrival of a saint into heaven....it was such a lovely thought........Denny's parents, my parents, his grandparents, friends...wow, it must be amazing without even trying to use our imaginations!!!
AT every serious bend in the road we have wondered about special significant events and dates....will any of that mean more to us as a homecoming day? My father's birthday had us wondering for sure....that was the day of his pain.....now today we have Sam & Kate's anniversary.....Thursday is Samuel's birthday...........how 'bout TOMORROW?!?!? Talk about LIBERTY DAY! WHOHOO!! :-) Only saying all this to say that the hospice nurse told us this morning that she had not expected him to last through last night. That gives a little more understanding of how close this really could be...NOT us thinking/imagining the signs
We've all released him again, by phone or in person....he has blessed each one over and over, prayed for us all, Daniel's family arrived 2 hrs ago..his heart is clear..........God's plan for the next minutes, hours or days? None of us know but our FATHER! He has gotten his wish ........to go fasting! Without food or water actually! We couldn't allow him that when he was on pill form medications. So...HOW does God determine the PERFECT timing? We just want to be in tune, encouraging, loving and blessing!
Yesterday's Streams in the Desert reading started with this beautiful thought...."The Lord only builds a bridge of faith DIRECTLY under the feet of a FAITHFUL TRAVELER. He never builds the bridge a few steps ahead, for then it would not be one of faith." Thank you for joining us as we take EACH NEXT step!
We have become very jealous over your support presence in prayer...thank you!
Love you!
I am listening through his Anabaptist sermons these days. Staggering! I could not listen on to Foundation Stones in the Anabaptist Faith, the Spirit bade me to stop and seek God in prayer.
Brother Denny, regardless what will happen to you, you still speak.
Amen! I listened to his message on the other thread on Persecution....I am too choked up to even write....The Lord has used his life to influence many (including mine) in a way that few others have. Praise God for his life! May God continue to speak powerfully thru this godly man....
I have never met Denny but have listened to his sermons, am familiar with his spiritual journey. All I can say is that his life has truly been a testament to the saving grace of the LORD Jesus! He and his wife came out of the hippie culture that was prominent in the 60's...the Holy Spirit really cleaned them up. Amazing!
I am sure his homecoming with be a joyous event for him.
I never met Denny either but he's had a tremendous impact on my whole family. You see, it was his series of messages on the Godly Home that really opened my eyes to what parenting is about and it was a great catalyst in our decision to home-school our children. Thank you Brother Denny!
In Christ,
Ron
PLEASE be in prayer for this precious man of God and his dear family....
Written Jul 4, 2012 3:14am by Jackie Kenaston
Just a quick clarification on Denny's condition......he IS sweetly resting, without ANY signs of discomfort whatsoever, even though we have cut back on meds. For this we are sooo grateful. We are free to minister to him in all manner of loving ways as we prepare ourselves for his departure..oh the floods of memories!!! So we continue to talk with him, laugh with him, sing for him, anticipate with him, TRY to imagine with him what is ahead! Its just that the conversations are all one sided outloud, but that doesn't matter...we fully believe he is hearing every word and appreciating every action as we describe what we're doing for him. Our actual WORK load is much less, now we're free to just heap on loads of lovin'!!!! He gets a lot of attention and someone by his side about 24/7....precious. Some have asked IF he can respond....no, not at all (except the children say his eyelids flutter a bit when I kiss him!!! :-). I told him that I take every one of those flutters as an I LOVE YOU from him! We wonder how our night will be........if you think of us, or wake, we'd all appreciate prayer...its hard to imagine any sleep being gotten by this crew! :=) It would be lovely if Papa could go just like he is now. We're asking the Lord for this mercy, but for His grace ad peace even more!
Please hold your loved ones' hand and tell them how much you love them tonight and again in the morning! :-)
Jackie for the family
Beautiful!
I am sensing the grace of God in the midst of this family bringing them much comfort as they prepare for his leave-taking. This is so sacred and so holy! This comfort supersedes any that man can give.
May God be praised!
I have been greatly Blessed by Charity and the Ministry of Denny and Mose, as has thousands.
Have and will continue to pray.
Before visiting Charity, I had no Idea that such true and real Christians existed.
my heart just goes out to them.
Just saw on FB that Brother Denny was ushered into the presence of the LORD. God bless his family.
I know the feelings are rich, intense...When this is the case God's grace is just as intense, just as rich and more awesome then one can imagine. When there is joy in heaven when a saint makes it home, God will allow the loved one to glimpse it as well IF they have surrendered their loved one to Him.
God bless...