Kathy,

I'm praying for Christopher that things will get better and I'm also
praying for you and Greg and everyone in your family.

Love and Blessings,
Pat Ferguson

At 03:35 PM 3/7/04, you wrote:
>Hi Guys,
>Well, it has been kind of quiet on the list lately so I thought that I'd
>just give you a little update on how things are going for my family
>lately.
>Chris did a 21-day trial of a drug specifically for A.D.H.D. Called,
>Conserta, and it didn't do much, but make him tired so he is off it
>again. The doctor told him, "obviously, you don't have a medical
>condition, it's all you." Did you ever feel like screaming, "I told you
>so!" I will say this though, while Chris was on the Conserta, his lack of
>energy was a blessing of sorts. We had so little sibling rivalry for
>three weeks! It didn't help him with his concentration though, which was
>the big thing.
>He's still claiming to be a vegetarian, but I think it's closer to a
>carbroholic or something, if there could be such a word or condition. He
>still doesn't like to eat meat; he just doesn't want to eat vegies
>either. I guess that he does have a salad for lunch, at school, but he
>won't go near the greens here at home. I'm trying to just restrict what
>comes into the house to limit his choices at this point.
>Chris started group therapy with about five other boys two weeks ago.
>It's hard to tell if he is getting anything out of it. If he were, I
>doubt that he would let us know.
>I think that he is finally getting desperate enough financially to look
>for a job. We've just explained to him that our funds are limited and
>that, at his age, he is capable of helping to support himself, he just
>has to get out there and try. I think that it finally hit home the other
>night when he wanted to go to a hockey game with some friends, but he
>didn't have any money. He asked us if he could go and we said, yes." Then
>he asked us for money and we said, "no. He's experiencing the weaning
>process. If we had a prayer in this area it would be that he could find a
>job for no more then ten hours a week to start so that he isn't
>overwhelmed by the time demand or by having an abundance of money and
>begin to feel powerful in a whole new way.
>Also, he has begun to show an interest in the guitar so I've been
>teaching him a few chords for starters. Of course, I will only teach him
>praise choruses and he, right now, can't wait to get good enough to break
>away and do his own thing, but tough.
>One final note. Do you remember those stupid magic cards that created all
>the trouble at the end of last month? Well, Greg and I really prayed
>about it a lot. Greg finally sat down with Matt and Chris and learned the
>game. Finally, we decided to remove all the black cards and give them
>back to Christopher after his grounding period was over. Well, before I
>gave them back to Chris, I remember Phil talking about taking Gretchen's
>purse and praying over it so I did the same with the cards. I basically
>prayed that whatever foothold that the devil had hoped to gain through
>this entry point would be broken and that Jesus would cover those cards
>and break Chris's interest in them. Later that day, I handed the cards to
>Chris, but I let him know that they had been prayed over. He hasn't used
>them since. IN fact, he has told me that he thinks that they are stupid.
>Now, I do wonder if part of his disinterest is due to the fact that it is
>a very complicated game and he isn't mastering it very well, but I really
>believe that it is all the prayer in this situation that has made the
>difference. Thanks again for praying everybody.
>We are still taking Chris to court March 23 and none of us have any idea
>what to expect then. He has patched the holes in the walls, but he also
>made one new one last week when he got mad at me, and that was when he
>was on the Conserta too! I think that we still have some drywall left
>over. I have told him that I expect the hole to get fixed. Ah, the ups
>and downs of teenage life.
>Also, Phil and Sandy, I'm just praying with all my heart that this
>situation will work for Gretchen. Maybe she is finally with people who
>really know what to do because they have been there. I pray that this is
>so. Your family is so in my prayers.
>In Christ,
>Kathy
>
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