A Message from Team Hoyt

As the wife of a two-time Ironman (Arizona, and Kentucky), I have quite an admiration for the preparation and perseverance involved in the sport. I have seen first hand the dedication it requires. Not only does the athlete endure a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike, and ending with a grueling 26.2 mile run--- it also involves thousands of hours of training over nearly a year before the event.

I was introduced to Team Hoyt by my husband, even before he started training for his first Ironman race. It is the inspiring story of sacrifice, unconditional love, and faith in a force larger than ourselves. As you watch the inspiring video below, I encourage you to think of the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father...

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A son asked his father, ' Dad , will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father, who despite having a heart condition, says Yes.


They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, ' Dad , let's join the Ironman together.'

To which, his father said 'Yes'.
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

Life Update

Thank you so much to all who have been praying for Life Larsen. She has made AMAZING progress, that none of the doctors can explain beyond God's hand. A litte snippet from Matt and Lauren's blog...

"Life is off the ventilator. We can see her little mouth again. Everything went great. Her oxygen saturation is better than ever. She is breathing all on her own. She is showing no signs of Pulmonary Hypertension at this point. Her head sono just came in ... the bleeding is unchanged and the ventricule dilation is resolving.

Good News,
Great Joy,
To All [of us] People!

God has come to rescue and restore! He has worked mightily. He has broken into the pain of our world, carried our burdens for us, restored us, and transformed our sadness to joy, our despair to happiness.

I got to hold Life first, since Lauren got to hold her already. I got so nervous. I kept asking "How do I do this?"

We sat in the rocking chair and had a staring contest for about 15 minutes. We eventually had to call a truce because I wanted to see my wife hold her.

I just kept thinking to myself, "My God, we have come ... You have brought us ... so far!" I am no longer holding the weight of the world on my shoulders, but rather a beautiful 6 pound baby girl in my arms. I used to feel stressed, now I feel like a father."

Pray for Life

If you are reading my blog today, please take the opportunity to visit the following link:
http://www.aroyalallegiance.blogspot.com/

Through our Bible study group from DBC, we have been praying for Matt and Lauren Larsen. Lauren had some complications during her pregnancy that resulted in periods of bedrest and such. Baby Life was born premature, but appeared healthy. Shortly afterwards, however, things quickly turned serious.

While Life has made progress, it seems to be 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Her current condition has the potential to cause severe brain damage. Pleae pray for her quick and complete recovery, as well as peace and comfort for Matt and Lauren.

I know that our God is the Great Physician, and can heal even the deepest wounds.

More Than You'll Ever Know...

I can't stop thinking about how blessed I am to have such a wonderful, PRAYERFUL family, and friends who are family to me! This is one of my favorite songs by Watermark, and it pretty much says it all.

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Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been near God
And that's the way it ought to be...

'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken the Truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know,
More than you'll ever know

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I'm hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
And that's the way it ought to be...

You have carried me
You have taken upon a bruden that wasn't your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold,
A hundredfold