Rejoice With Me: A Psalm of Praise

Sunday, May 2. 2010

Rejoice With Me: A Psalm of Praise

My heart desires to continue to praise God for the work He has accomplished within me in these days. I have thanked Him in private and public, but today I want to thank Him in "print." With a slice of cheesecake on my left, the Psalms on my right and a computer on my lap, I ask you to join me in giving Him glory once again. In the tradition of Hebrew poetry, I offer the following:

A severe mercy was granted me,
A thousand chances to crucify self were mine.

Baffling thoughts troubled me,
Buffeted beliefs confused me.

Cries from your saints came before You,
Calls for intervention were heard by You.

Daily, we begged You for "one touch."
Determined, we persisted like Luke's widow.

Every morning we arose by Your grace,
Every night we slept in Your care.

For weeks we heard only Your silence, O Lord;
For months we searched our souls.

Gone were the quick solutions and trite theology.
Glaring in the mirror of our souls, we faced our own questions.

Help from Your throne seemed to be delayed,
Healing from Your hand seemed to be denied.

I determined to declare your goodness in pain,
I was driven to new depths of the soul.

Journals of ancient saints gave me comfort, while
Judgment from a few current saints gave me pause.

Knowing Your Word gave me stability.
Keeping Your Word gave me hope.

Love flowed to me from Your beautiful bride,
Likenesses of You were seen in Your precious people.

Many believed for me when my faith faltered,
More heard of my cry, and joined my prayer.

Never did You leave me, never did You abandon me.
Now I can see that You were always present.

Opening Your hand in Your sovereign time
Opened my throat after such a dry season.

Quiet tears stream down my face, as
Quenching water flows past my lips.

Rejoicing hearts join in our joy,
Resounding praise ascends to Your throne.

Senegal's darkness is pierced by a joy-burst,
School room questions are answered in truth.

Tears fall into Iraqi sands,
Testimony is heard behind Israel's walls.

Under the Fiji sun, joy finds companionship.
Under an Oregon rain, stories of Your kindness are told.

Very young voices give praise to their Daddy.
Via Twitter and Facebook, many echo their song.

Windows open to Black Forest shouts.
Widows rejoice as their pastor-son swallows.

Extreme gratitude is due You, O Great One.
Excited rejoicing arises to Your throne.

Yes! We will continue to celebrate Your goodness.
Yes! We will always declare Your praise.

Zeal for Your glory ascends from our grateful hearts.
Zeal for our good descends from Your generous throne.

Praise be to the Lord, the All-Wise God
Who is always with us, but ever beyond us;
Ever revealing Himself to us, but always hidden in mystery.
Praise Him, young and old.
Praise Him, near and far.
He has revealed Himself to His servant.
He has displayed His glory to His undeserving one.

Well, the last bite of cheesecake is in my mouth (praise God again!) and the last moments are left on my laptop battery. Meanwhile, my Bible will stay open and my mouth will stay full of praise…and food (hopefully in that order.)

Talk to you again soon.
On the journey with you,
John

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John Stumbo

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Aleluya!!Dear brother in Christ I'm so grateful for your recovery,it was one specific prayer that you were able to taste food again.Now,I'm in trouble:I've promised to make Argentinian empanadas for you.Let me practice a little more to make the dough,since it is difficult and expensive to find the pre-made here in Oregon.!!Praise to our God!!Amazing poem,too.Cristina

#1 Cristina Castro on 2010-05-02 14:09 (Reply)

I am rejoicing with you in your every bite! This week and weekend have been HUGE. You are swallowing food and drink, which is a long given and emotional prayer answered. I graduated this weekend, and did the Eugene half marathon. It's a lot of emotion all wrapped into one, and I echo your Psalm of praise with a glad heart, John. My one concern is for your heart burn and indigestion.......

But, I'm certain that isn't something you're too concerned about, considering the things you continue to eat.

Forever grateful.

#2 Sara Mesler on 2010-05-02 14:45 (Reply)

John,

Wow! That's amazing!!!!!! I think I "got" almost every allusion in the psalm you wrote.

God is amazing and He has used you amazingly!

I continue to pray!

Happy "I know what" Birthday to Joanna!

Susan G.

#3 Anonymous on 2010-05-02 15:14 (Reply)

yes! praises from Fiji and around the world as those who have held up your hands now lift ours in great thanksgiving!! "how great is our God...sing with me how great is our God...all will see how great, how great is our God."
Happy Birthday Jo!!

#4 nece on 2010-05-02 15:29 (Reply)

John ,
I have heard bits and pieces of your struggles over the past years through my family in Mt. Lake. I still haven't heard or read enough to know what this turn-around looks like for you and how permanent it is...maybe you don't know either, but it gives me great joy to know that your seemingly endless suffering has given you a reprieve. Reading your poem leaves me grateful for the simple act of swallowing. Also, I gotta stop whining about...everything.
I wish I had known you better when you lived in Mt. Lake, because your courage and faith are inspiring to me now. God's blessings on you John. Would love to have coffee with you some day!
Terry

#5 Terry Esau (Homepage) on 2010-05-02 17:38 (Reply)

Beautiful Praise! We feel so incredibly blessed this weekend. Lots of joy...seeing Sara graduate, completing the Eugene half, prayers of praise instead of pleading! We have been given so many gifts. Tears of happiness come easily. We will treasure this time and Praise God!

#6 Nancy Thompson on 2010-05-02 18:51 (Reply)

The last day I worked as receptionist at the church was April 21st. There was a lady who was waiting on the couch, talking. In the course of conversation we somehow got onto sermons and yours and I commented on how great you were doing and that I was continually impressed on your improvements - less frequent use of the "spit rags" from the first sermon - Progressively better and it was showing...

The woman said that you were just improving your ability to control or wait to spit. I didn't buy it - I (Polly Anna) wanted to look at it with much more optimism and I believed that you were better - much better. And I told her that day that God is good and that I really believed that you WOULD swallow again.

Then within that evening or the next (I pray for you every night)I prayed that you would have improvement on your swallowing; even if only a little for your enjoyment and to give you a blessing related to your swallowing..

You know in all this time, I never prayed for that; I was more of a generalist in my John & Joanna prayers, but I figured that after this long - God would understand if I prayed for something more specific...

Now, I don't think that it was necessarily "my prayer" that was the one that got answered, mind you I am not that egotistical. BUT I have to tell you ... IT SURE FEELS GOOD TO SHARE IN YOUR JOY!!!

...HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD? Sing to me...

#7 Deb Merrick on 2010-05-02 23:17 (Reply)

Deb,

Just a thought . . .

We know that our God answers prayer, but so often it seems that prayers go un-prayed. I guess you are right that it might not have necessarily been your prayer that God answered. HOWEVER . . . What if it was?!?!?!?!?!?

May all of us never cease to pray!!!!!!!! For our God hears our prayers and answers them.

You keep prayin', Sister!

And I will, too. And so will countless others!!!!! Then . . . just imagine . . . God will hear and answer!!!!!!

Amen! And Amen!!!!!

Susan G.

#7.1 Anonymous on 2010-05-03 09:21 (Reply)

Joanna and John,

I began my comment with Joanna's name because... It's your birthday!!! As Logan sang today "Oh, Happy Day, Happy Day!" I hope someone baked you a cake and I hope John got to eat a piece of it.

Now Mr. Psalmist, on to you. I must say, my weird side immediately came out when I started reading your psalm. I saw the word "buffeted" and thought immediately of a buffet like you eat at

Ha Ha, Stumbo turned a bunch of food into a verb!

But seriously, you made Psalms more real to me. I like them and get a lot out of them in the Bible, but as I read yours, I was so there. As the word spread through Twitter and Facebook... thinking of your Mom rejoicing as her son can now eat. I think this will be one of the best Mother's Day ever for Melba. I could go line by line, but instead I will just say thank you John. Thank you for another brilliant blog that I will treasure. Swallow on friend, swallow on.

Dudster

#8 Annie Dudley on 2010-05-02 23:26 (Reply)

Love the poem, you are such an excellent writer, I hope you continue your blog as you get better and better as those of us who are far away have so missed your teachings! Thank you for continuing to let God use you even in the middle of your storm!! Still proclaiming God's faithfulness of your story to all who will listen to me!!! Enjoy your day and give your wonderful caretaker our love also!!! Happy Birthday Joanna!!!

#9 Laurie Carmichael on 2010-05-03 05:59 (Reply)

What a miracle, I often think of miracles from God as, the parting of the red sea, someone being cured of cancer, or surviving a car accident when it appears virtually imposible to have survived. God showed me that a miracle is a miracle to Him. A 2 oz miracle on a day an ordinary day for John Stumbo. Praise God. Your life events keep me going, hoping and praying.

#10 Kevin on 2010-05-03 06:44 (Reply)

A little boys prayer last night. "Dear Jesus, Thank you for healing Pastor John's throat so that he can swallow food, and sit at a meal, and not just smell the food." : )

Ethan (age 7)

#11 Bitsy Bullock on 2010-05-03 08:17 (Reply)

People from Orcas Island called me when they heard the news. I heard over-the-top excitement in their shout outs over the phone and sensed the earth's tremors as those who kept you before His throne on that tiny island literally jumped for joy. Your miracle has strengthened the faith of many - including me. And the eagles scream and the ferries blow their horns and the waves crash and all nature sings. What a celebration!

Your Psalm is dazzling and should be passed down through the ages. Thank you!

Love to you and Joanna and my wishes and prayers for the best family gatherings EVER,

Natalie

#12 Anonymous on 2010-05-03 10:40 (Reply)

Loved, loved, loved the poem. I'm still in awe of what God has done John! This is a story of God's goodness that I will tell over and over and over and over.....

Shannon Campbell

#13 Anonymous on 2010-05-03 13:41 (Reply)

Thanks!

Maybe the key lesson in it all is that you must continue writing.

Glory, Father, Glory!

#14 OKC Fred on 2010-05-03 14:57 (Reply)

Thank you Pastor Stumbo....loved loved loved the poem too!!!! Praising the Lord with you!!!
Love and Praises,Linda Ayres

#15 Linda Ayres on 2010-05-03 14:58 (Reply)

thanks for the psalm how beautiful and you are an inspiration to me with your writing its very awesome and great thoughts this whole journey should be a book and i would buy a few of them

#16 Debbie Rempel on 2010-05-03 16:31 (Reply)

I read your psalm of praise at work today and cried. I was so moved by it that I printed it out and read it to my husband during our devotional time tonight. It touched him deeply. We continue to rejoice with you and pray for you. Thank you for your continuing faithfulness throughout your ordeal and for giving God the glory for every answer to prayer.

#17 Julie Daube on 2010-05-03 18:28 (Reply)

Beautifully written. Yes, perhaps a book is in the future. Today I keep singing He gives and takes away.My dad had successful by pass surgery but is facing some new issues. One is his swallowing, not doing good and will need a feeding tube.Kind of ironic,yours is healing and his is not working. But through all of this I know God can heal my daddy as He has healed you. I keep my faith strong and continue to trust Him in this.I will continue to Praise and Worship our mighty God.So happy for you and your family to be able to share a meal together. Go slow and be ready for you and Joanna to be surrounded in so much love when you return home.Be safe and know you are missed. Dawna T

#18 Dawna Terrell on 2010-05-03 19:48 (Reply)

Hebrew poetry indeed!! David had nothing on you as you breezed through each letter of our alphabet to form that awesome acrostic. I couldn't wait to scroll down and read the next entry.
Wonder where you took bites of the cheesecake along the way. Thank you for your artful sharing. And we can never praise our great God enough for the miraculous things He's doing among us and will continue to do. Journey on and we'll delight to ride with you.

#19 Gail on 2010-05-03 19:56 (Reply)

I am so excited every time I read your blog. Thank you for your encouraging words... You are an amazing writer. Randall is in California with his brother in law who is battling cancer. They are bringing in hospice tomorrow. Say a prayer for him, his name if Jeff... Love you both, and happy birthday Joanna! Lori Goree

#20 Lori Goree on 2010-05-03 22:17 (Reply)

I absolutly love cheesecake! I hope you took a bite or two for me. John, your poem stired wonderful emotions within me. Thank you for sharing it with us. Father God, may your children continue to Praise and glorify you as we lift John up and ask for complete healing. You are showing us that you have been in control this whole time and we thank you so much. Please strengthen John's swollowing muscles in the days to come as the angels sing songs of joy. Glory be to the One who sits on the thrown. Amen and Amen! In His love, Tammy S.

#21 Tammy Sheridan on 2010-05-04 09:56 (Reply)

You don't know me as a personal friend, but I too serve as a fellow pastor and have been greatly blessed by your faith journey online over the past eighteen months. There is more. You run. I cycle. Most every Friday I bike 32 miles roundtrip to see a 99 year old saint that has prayed for you so faithfully. When I enter her apartment it isn't long before she asks, "How is John?" This Friday there will be another great celebration and probably tears of joy!! Praise God! Thank you so much for sharing at district conference as you did!

#22 Glen Zimmermann on 2010-05-04 10:59 (Reply)

Wow! That so gave me goose bumps and was beautiful! I feel like I'm still at home reading my Bible in my quiet time. Thanks so much for those words, John. Hope you have a great weekend with your son and graduation:)
Tammy L.

#23 Anonymous on 2010-05-04 13:09 (Reply)

Love this!! I am giving a talk on Habakkuk next week... May I have your permission to perhaps share part of it?
We continue to rejoice with you!!
Heather

#24 Paul and Heather Smith on 2010-05-04 15:07 (Reply)

Share freely! Great to see you at DConference.
You encourage me!

#24.1 John S on 2010-05-04 21:30 (Reply)

Thanks! Tonight is the talk. I will share if the Holy Spirit urges me to put it in! I am blessed by it as I continue to wait for my healing~ God is good and presses me closer in the pain!

#24.1.1 Paul and Heather Smith on 2010-05-10 16:03 (Reply)

Bev was so faithful in keeping track of your progress, John. I have not done as well since she went to be with Jesus. But what a blessing to here that you're now a swallower again. PRAISE JESUS! The Lord has truly been at work in your body, and this is a wonderful report. May God bless you with many more great victories.

#25 Paul McCleary on 2010-05-04 22:18 (Reply)

Today is the 20 month anniversary of the sudden, mysterious onset of acute fibromyalgia symptoms that I've not yet been healed from. Today is also my last day of work; tomorrow I step into the unwanted adventure of disability.

I have followed your story and have been deeply moved by your postings. I identify with you as a fellow pastor; we're even the same age. But none of your postings have brought me hope like your posting on the 28th. As I have come to the agonizing yet inevitable decision to surrender my dream of pastoring, my faith has dimmed and sputtered to where I confess that it's painful when people tell me they are praying for me; yet another reminder of unanswered petitions. But your postings on the 28th and 29th and 2nd have given me a new determination to hope that maybe, someday, I will pastor again.

Thank you. And thank You, Jesus, Healer.
Mike

#26 Mike Balsbaugh on 2010-05-05 05:13 (Reply)

We continue to praise God with you John!!! And, we ask our good Father for progressive and continued and complete healing for your swallowing and your entire body. That is a wonderful psalm - a very well crafted blend of the ancient and the contemporary, flowing out of your heart of praise! Love it! All glory to our great God!

#27 Bryan Schaap on 2010-05-05 07:52 (Reply)

SO happy for you!! So happy.

#28 Abby Cashman (Homepage) on 2010-05-05 08:30 (Reply)

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow..."
We rejoice with you John and Joanna for His answers to your prayers and those of His people. Thanks for your Psalm of Praise - a God-given gift of expressing in word your thoughts and experiences. May Praise and Worship continue as the healing process moves forward. How wonderful it is to experience taste and the ability to swallow once again! PTL! Blessings on both of you!

#29 Billie Jo Medin on 2010-05-05 10:01 (Reply)

Your poem was exquisite, inspiring, so heartfelt. Thank you. Blessings...

#30 Susie (Homepage) on 2010-05-05 11:45 (Reply)

John, I'm so thrilled for you and Joanna! Thank you for your beautiful poem. Our family continues to thank God for the healing in your body, and continued strength. Blessings, Amy

#31 Amy Smith on 2010-05-05 12:26 (Reply)

Sir:
That is great news that you are able swallow again. It was great to hear and I am celebrating for you- it was just further assurance that God listens to our prayers. I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you for sharing your story and journey. The only thing I could think to do when you got sick was to run since you couldn’t do that anymore and pray while I was out on the road. It has been well over 400 straight days but setting aside that time to pray for you and for others has changed my life. I’ve had some pretty horrible runs in that time but I just remind myself that you would be happy to be able to run at all. I hope you are able to run again at some point and maybe I can run alongside. Thank you for being a good teacher and using your trials to teach others. I am counting on you to continue teaching us and challenging us in our walks.

#32 Anonymous on 2010-05-05 14:21 (Reply)

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Rejoice With Me: A Psalm of Praise

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Sunday, May 2. 2010

Rejoice With Me: A Psalm of Praise

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