Fire-Hot Love

Mark: Surgery Results -- from Pastor Jeff King

The doctor is very pleased with the way the surgery went.  Right out of surgery, Mark was able to talk, communicate, interact with complex ideas, understand the gospel, father his children, husband his wife, ask us to read Psalm 100, and speak God's truths to others. God and His angels were looking after Mark and granting us our desires and more on this front. For this, we do not hesitate to give God praise!

Spiritually, I say in all earnest that God has His obvious hand on our dear brother and sister. Mark and Anna possess a fierce, undeniable faith. For me, walking with Mark and Anna closely for the last several months of this unfolding tragedy has afforded me front row seats to a man and a woman who are being given abundant daily grace to walk in faith and grow in Christian maturity through the most intense physical trial I've personally seen a person endure.

Throughout this trial, Mark has shown me more of Jesus than I can express. His fierce love for the Lord has consistently overflowed to his family, doctors, and passerby's to his life, increasingly.  If ever there was a time in a person's life to be self-centered and consumed with the things on his own plate, it would be now. Instead of being self-consumed, I've seen Mark pour himself out in service for others, prayers for others, concern for others, and love for others.

On top of all this, Mark's lion-hearted love for Anna and his children has been equally fierce. I've seen in Mark what Solomon penned, “For love is strong as death, jealousy as fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.” (SOS 8:6-7) To see the look in Mark's eyes when he talked to Anna in the initial moments of waking up from surgery is to see a man with fiery love for his wife! Such love could never be faked or produced by man. This love comes from none other than the fires of God's steadfast unrelenting love!

Anna too is being given peculiar grace! Anna fiercely loves Mark. That is undeniable! Her honest, deepest desire through all of this has been that Jesus would be honored, exalted, and treasured. Anna has expressed a yearning that “Jesus would be seen as worthy.” Oh that we would all possess that kind of tender, vigorous, real, desperate, honest, fierce, gripped love for our Savior!

Mark and Anna, we love you guys and will keep praying that God gives Mark many decades to proclaim how worthy Jesus is of our praise and worship. May God increase our affections for Him as He has certainly given you a fire-hot love for Him and for one another. Thank you for pointing us to Jesus so well through this trial! We will keep praying hard on your behalf!

Great News -- Keep Praying

Mark: Surgery Update -- from Pastor Jeff King

Mark is now 2 1/2 hours into surgery and Anna has received two phone calls from the operating room stating, "thus far, all is going well." This is great news, but please keep praying!!  We sense that the body is praying for Mark and Anna lots!

Always By My Side

Mark's surgery has begun...thanks SO MUCH for your prayers!  More info can be found here Brain Mapping.

Below is a song that Ali recently shared with all of us through a text.  Such great truth as we lift up Anna and Mark to our faithful God!!!

Lyrics:
Whom Shall I Fear (God Of Angel Armies)
---Chris Tomlin

You hear me when I call
You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night
It cannot hide the light

Whom shall I fear

You crush the enemy
Underneath my feet
You are my sword and shield
Though troubles linger still

Whom shall I fear

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

My strength is in Your name
For You alone can save
You will deliver me
Yours is the victory

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in Your hands
I'm holding on to Your promises

You are faithful
You are faithful

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the hold world in your hands
I'm holding on to your promises

You are faithful
You are faithful
You are faithful

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

A Different Kind of Race

This time last year Mark and Anna were trained for and ran the Kentucky Derby mini-Marathon together. A year later they are in a different kind of race, fighting an aggressive brain tumor.  Mark (age 33) was diagnosed days following Christmas 2012. Mark is a St. X and U of L graduate and Anna is a Texas Tech graduate who moved to Louisville to graduate with a Masters in Biblical Counseling from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (and to meet Mark).  They have been married 4 years and are wonderful parents to a beautiful, energetic 3 year old daughter, a precious 1 year old foster son they are in process of adopting, and a newborn son, who came into the world on February 15th, 2013 -- not long after Mark’s diagnosis. Mark’s medical team in Louisville does not have the tools necessary remove the tumor so he is going to the University of California San Francisco for surgery in mid-April to remove the tumor.

Susan Ward (Mark's cousin) is dedicating her Derby Festival mini-Marathon race to Mark to help raise funds to offset the burden of his medical expenses. Below are two ways so you can help, too. Support Susan's run by making a donation. Every little bit raised will help--- 

• Online: There is a Donation option on the right side of this website. Click the button and make a donation to GronotteFund@gmail.com.  At the bottom of the Paypal screen select both: personal and gift options so NO fees will be incurred!  100% of the donation will go to Mark’s medical expenses.  
• Checks: Make it out to the Mark Gronotte Donation Fund and mail it to c/o Susan Ward, 10610 Taylor Farm Court, Prospect, KY 40059.  

In addition to the race, you are invited to attend a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on Friday, April 26, from 6-10pm at Susan and David Ward’s Home (see above address).  There is no charge for dinner. Give what you can.  Feel free to bring friends and children!  All money donated will be given to the Gronotte Fund! RSVP to Susan Ward :: susangriffinward@yahoo.com :: 502-802-0667 or Rebecca Gronotte :: coralou23@yahoo.com :: at 502-802-8112.

***I have been asked about the difference between donating here and donating on Caring Bridge's site.  Caring Bridge offers a great service, allowing friends and family to keep up on medical updates online. All donations given to Caring Bridge's Website are used for their operational expenses.  His People Pray blog is run by Anna's sister who is blogger and able to service this website at NO cost.  ALL donations given through this site are used solely to offset the medical expenses incurred by Mark Gronotte!

Surgery

Greetings Everyone, 

It's been a long time with no update from us, but we will try to catch everyone up on the latest for our family. It's been a busy season; not always easy, but it has been full of much joy.

First of all, we are really thankful for the support and love we have been receiving. Your gifts, prayers, words, and actions have been powerful to give us real grace in the last 3 months. Family, friends, church body, and some strangers even have been great in both donations and prayers. We are blessed in this and please keep up the prayer to the great God. He is a holy God who is three in one (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). He is able and loves to answer prayer, for His name's sake! 

Secondly, our baby Oakley David Gronotte (see picture above!) was born February 15th at 4:05am! He was 8 lbs and 5 oz and 21" in long! Every prayer we prayed surrounding his birth were answered by our faithful God! Such an encouragement from the Lord all around! All praise to Him for this new little life. He is a gift, and we pray this baby boy would be an 'oak of righteousness' for God's glory.

Thirdly, we have big plans as we head into April. The Norton team has been a great hospital here in Louisville, but they do not have the tools we need in order to get this cancer out of my brain through surgery. It is a serious tumor that needs to be removed from my brain, if God permits.  A California hospital in San Francisco called UCSF has the technology and doctor skills to get in there and remove the cells that are cancerous.  

We love you all so much and we thank the Lord for your kind graces and prayers. Please keep us in prayer for the Lord to receive all the glory and in if He wills, to bring healing and great comfort to our family as we wait upon our good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, to lead us as His sheep.  All for God’s glory we pray! 

Peace to you all,

Mark & Anna

P.S. This is a good word that the Lord has helped us with to understand His kindness and power through this suffering.

PSALM 100:3 "Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his:
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

God's Faithful Provision

I get lots of emails, texts, and phone calls asking how Anna and Mark are doing!  They are so loved and without a shadow of doubt, they know that your prayers and love is totally God's grace!  Their hope is that God would be glorified in their suffering!  This chapter of life isn't easy, but their hope is in the Lord and 'Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.' Lam. 3:23

Mark and Anna's babies are doing great!  Three kids under three is busy, but they're totally enjoying each moment!  Baby O is putting on the pounds really well!  Little J has a smile that can brighten a room!  (Continue praying for the courts to finish the paperwork soon so Little J can officially be their forever son!  There will be celebrations worldwide when the adoption is finalized!)  Big Sister M is doing great, too!  She loves having her Daddy home lots and is a sweet little mommy to her babies, just like Mommy!  

Anna recently put together a 'Thankful Bulletin' to continue directing her and Mark's heart towards all that God is providing for them each and every day!  When my sisters and I unpacked their house a couple months ago, we were amazed at the mass number of verses jotted down on scratch paper, note cards, and post it notes...verses were tucked in every drawer, book, and crevice in their home!  Such a testimony of the love we should all have for the Word of God!

Through Mark's sweet sister, some new medical options have surfaced...keep praying that our Faithful God would give Anna and Mark great wisdom and peace!

Garage Sale Results

The Garage Sale was bigger than we ever could have imagined!

We had some serious early birds and from 7am until 4pm this was the street--

It was SUPER COLD, but thankfully not a drop of rain!

There was far too much to display on the tables so shoppers made themselves at home on the ground and did some serious digging for treasures!

We were blessed with lots of sweet, sweet friends that helped run the garage sale. 

Ali and a friend spent at least an hour pricing the items before they realized that even if they spent an entire week pricing there would still be tons left to do.  We opted to go the route of telling shoppers the price when they asked.  Never could we have made it without so many awesome helpers.

With exception to a few breaks to show off the 'worm' dance move and play a little playmobile, the kids were all about helping with the garage sale and bake sale!

And at the end of the day when we counted the money brought in from garage sale proceeds and donations of sweet sweet friends...we were totally amazed that God raised $4500 for Anna and Mark!  Doesn't that totally rock!

 Matthew 6:26 -- God is watching over Anna & Mark with such lovingkindness!

A HUGE thanks to all who helped this garage sale become a huge success.  It wouldn't have been possible without the awesome donations for the garage sale, the generous monetary donations, and the unbelievable gift of time to all who labored long and hard throughout the huge sale!