Good Morning all,
I arrived back at the ICU this morning at 6:30 AM after spending the evening with Christian and sleeping at home. I slept pretty well over all, thank the Lord! We even watched American Idol, which was a good distraction! My dear friends Jim and Kris Dunlap spent the night with me and took Christian to preschool this morning for me (which is only 5 minutes down the road, so I'm thankful to be close). God continues to show His mercy and grace toward us in so many ways and they are being expressed through the love of His saints. I am so grateful.

Mark had a good, steady night, and the Dr's just got done evaluating him for surgery. All is a "go" at 10:30 this morning. They will take him down to the respiratory folks around 10 AM. Right now they are putting a filter in him to prevent blood clots and the team is scampering around his room right now.

As you intercede for Mark today, please bring these special requests to the throne for us, would you?

1. Please pray for supernatural wisdom and skill for the Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Resnick, as well as for all the other Drs. and nurses and gifted medical personnel who will be attending. Pray for clarity of thought & attentiveness (the surgery will be 7 or 8 hours) and for their hands to be guided by our Great God. Please pray for all equipment to function perfectly and for each aspect of the surgery to be a success.

2. The Drs. this morning said that their goal for today's surgery is to get the pelvis fixed, as well as the knee. If things go really smoothly, they will try to get to the ankle as well. If they do not get to the ankle, they will have to go into surgery in a few more days for that. Please just ask the Lord to give them supernatural decision-making skills when it comes to that, as I want what is best for Mark overall and the Lord knows what that is.

3. There are several specific things you can be praying for with regard to Mark's body and recovery, in addition to the obvious. Please pray for NO blood clots. They are inserting the filter now to prevent those, because he is very high risk for them, since he has injuries in both knees and casts wraps and braces around them both.

4. Please also agree with us that his lungs will remain clear and free from pneumonia. So far they are pretty good, but the right side, where he broke all those ribs, has a little bit of congestion.

5. In addition, please continue to pray that he will not get any infection in his body, particularly at the site of the knee fracture (tibial plateau) where it was an open fracture.

6. Continue to pray for circulation to both feet to be healthy, especially as they heal from the surgery. Because his ankle, in particular, was completely dislocated from all three spots where it holds the ankle together, it will need to mend very well. Our God is ABLE!

7. Pray for supernatural peace for Mark all day today, that his spirit man would be encouraged and comforted in every way by the Holy Spirit our Comforter. And of course, pray for supernatural protection from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, that Almighty God would surround Him on every side, guarding His heart, mind and body.

8. I am also praying and believing, and was praying on the way to the hospital this morning, that God the Creator, who knit Mark together in his mother's womb, would knit him together once again supernaturally today. It it my prayer that even the Drs. would be in awe of how well the surgery goes, how quickly Mark heals, etc...and we will give all the glory to the Lord!

I think those are my main prayers to bring before the Mercy Seat today. As I mentioned, Mark will be in surgery most of the day, and at some point Dr. Resnick will make the call whether or not to continue on to the ankle. I will be sure to keep you posted as best as I can, as I'll be doing a lot of "waiting" today.

I feel the presence of the Lord absolutely surrounding me and am casting my anxiety on Him. I worshipped and prayed as I drove West toward the mountains to the hospital this morning and felt joy and peace infuse my inner man, for which I am so grateful. I also sense amazing peace in Mark. All the Dr's and nurses have commented on how peaceful he is and what a sweet man he is. They must get some grumpy ones in here! :)

The Lord keeps bringing Ephesians 3:20 to my heart..."Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!"

Thank you, thank you, thank you precious saints for your prayers and intercession on Mark's behalf. I am confident that He who began a work in Him will be faithful to complete it!

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you know would pray in agreement with us! We are also posting these updates to my website, so for folks who aren't on Facebook, they can check there as well. (www.shannonwexelberg.com)

I love and appreciate you all,

Shannon