Mur will not have any more temporary “home stays!!!” She has successfully “fought the good fight…finished the race…kept the faith!!!” (2nd Timothy 4:7). For one brief moment, at about 11pm on Monday night, as the finish line was in sight for her, I caught her eyes open, trying to focus on me, as I leaned over and said, “I love you.” Then her eyes closed. I dozed off beside her until about 3:30am when I heard slow, strained breathing. 15 minutes later she must have crossed the finish line. Silence in the room. When the nurse came in to give her more medication at 3:45am she checked and confirmed it was over.
But it wasn’t over. Remember, she had “kept the faith,” believing in the promise Jesus gave in John 14:1-3, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” That’s her new address! That’s her permanent, eternal residence! That’s where she received “a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2nd Peter 1:11).
Though we will miss her and grieve the departure of Mur from here on earth, where all of us have a temporary home address, we celebrate her transition to her permanent, eternal residence. We are sure there is great rejoicing in heaven, welcoming her there. Down here we are planning to celebrate her life, and glorify her Savior, at a memorial service on Sunday, October 23, at 2pm, at our church we helped establish 46 years ago, Fellowship Bible Church, now called Fellowship City Church. We hope you will be able to join us.

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Muriel June Golz, age 83, beloved wife of Lud Golz for 63 years, was welcomed into the loving arms of her Savior on September 20, 2022, with her husband at her bedside. She was born on December 21, 1938, in Carney, Michigan. Her family moved to Evanston, Illinois during her High School years and she attended Trinity College. After marrying Lud Golz in l959 they served two churches in Illinois, then two churches in Ohio. She is survived by her husband, four children: Greg (Judy) Golz, Debbie (Brad) Houlberg, Tammi (Bill) Wilson, and Jeff (Beth) Golz; 12 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. She was a devoted pastor’s wife, teaching in Sunday School and leading a women’s Bible Study for many years. The family is having a memorial service on Sunday, October 23, at 2:00pm, at Fellowship City Church, 16391 Chillicothe Rd, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023. The family asks, in lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Getting God’s Message, 9584 Kinsman Rd, Novelty, OH 44072; Compassion International; or Josh McDowell Ministries.

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We are HOME again!! Thanks for all your prayers!!
Mur and I have been in “a waiting room” a good part of the last 10 months. It wasn’t always easy to rejoice in the waiting room, as I mentioned in a previous update, but every once in a while we experienced the “sun of hope” burst into the room. At times it was the smile on Mur’s face. Other times it was a loving note, card or call that brightened our day. One young nurse brightened Mur’s day when she said to Mur, “I wish I had more patients like you. I would gladly work with them all day long.”
One special time was when the elders of our church came to our home to pray and anoint us as per James 5. Sometimes the conversation with a nurse or assistant lingered and the opportunity opened to share about our relationship with Jesus and the hope we have from Him. Even though the time to share is brief because of the shortness of staff in hospitals these days, we have had the joy of praying with three workers as they decided to trust in Jesus and left tracts and books with others.
The last return to the hospital has given us a little better understanding of what has been causing Mur’s difficulty breathing. After going through the cycle of being released, rehab and returning to the hospital and again getting ready to be released without the promise of a better outcome, we decided to go home and sign up with Hospice. The roller-coaster experience has made it difficult to report on how she was doing at any particular time because it changed so often. Now we need your continued prayer as we go through this next part of her marathon journey.

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This past week my wife Mur was taken off the ventilator in ICU. She has survived since then, breathing on her own with some oxygen, though with difficulty. She was moved to a regular hospital bed, and then on Saturday, she was moved to the Weils’ rehab/therapy center where she is now. They have started therapy. This will be a significant challenge since she has lost a lot of muscle strength over the last month of lying-in bed. We would ask for continued prayer that God would work in her “to will and to act according to his good purpose or will” (Philippians 2:13). I know this has a primary focus on living out our Christian walk and witness, but later in this letter from Paul, he declares, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). This could include struggling to overcome significant health issues. So we see ourselves in a place, different, though similar to what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). That’s what we want. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just God’s will. Please pray with us to that end.

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For some time now we have reported on Mur’s health. There have been moments when she seems to be doing better, but then, all of a sudden she has an unexpected turnaround. At times it can get scary. That becomes a challenge to our faith walk. Most of us have had moments when this happens, some more serious than others. When this happens, how are we to respond?
1st Peter 4:12 tells us “do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you.” That’s easier said than done. James 1:2 tells us to “consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds.” The Psalmist also encourages us in Psalm 37, “Fret not!” and in Psalm 42 and 43, three times, he does some self-talk, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” And, one final quote from Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:21-26, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every moment; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him…it is good to wait quietly.”
Back to Mur’s health. It sure is great to have the Lord with us in all that we face in life. And for us, it’s great to have your wonderful, faithful prayer support and friendship. We need it. We’ll try to keep you updated.
In the mean-time, life and ministry does go on. We mentioned in our last update, the network that carries my program in 4 languages is working with us to produce a year-long study in Romans in Chinese. Think of it, Chinese speaking people make up 1/5th of the world’s population. Obviously, we need prayer for this project.

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