Brodie Family Picture – April 24th, 2012

Posted by glennis on Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Scott, (clockwise) Justin, Kylee, Glennis with Brodie & Korbyn, Jessica and Ashley

Treasures In Darkness

Posted by scott on Sunday, May 06, 2012

Each morning when I wake up, it’s very important for me to tap into the mind of Christ for everything I face. As a result of illness, I’m a guy whose voice cannot be heard, whose body is supported by a brace, having no ability to take care of myself; living in a world that champions and celebrates strength, perfection and achievement. Daily, the Holy Spirit reminds me that through my weakness God’s strength is perfected and my imperfections have the ability to put His Glory and His Grace on display. I’m tempted to think the weakness I have is a liability or a hindrance, but the Word of God constantly reminds me that my weakness may be my greatest asset because it causes me to access a strength beyond myself.

God desires us to remain dependent upon him in the humility of our weakness. The way we see our weaknesses are not the way God sees them. We want our shortcomings and limitations removed from us, but God wants us removed from them. It’s not the weakness we may have that is significant; it is what it can potentially produce in our soul that is of value. Prov 17:3 states “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tries the hearts”. God is refining His children and producing gold, silver and precious stones in us through adversity, trials and weaknesses that we don’t want or like. I like to consider my backbrace as God’s golden treasure, my feeding tube as God’s silver cup, and my tracheostomy as His diamond. They each represent a time of difficulty, a season of seeking and God’s provision. Each scar, whether visible or not, can become an ornament of His Grace.

Beloved, God’s greatest work is done in secret during the darkest moments of our lives. Despite the hardship in trials; there is an unexpected beauty that can shine through in times of helplessness. God desires to use the difficult moments of your life to bring forth something extraordinarily beautiful!

“And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name”. Is 45:2

One Hour With Hope Segun

Posted by Hope Segun on Monday, March 05, 2012

December 30, 2011

A conversation with Scott & Glennis Brodie about Scott’s Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, how he is living with it, living longer than the prognosis, life and everything in between …

Every year we take a trip or two out of the studio to meet our guests and this time we went to the home of Scott & Glennis in Puyallup, WA.  As we started the interview I pitched to them, “What attracted you, Scott to Glennis and vice-versa?” “We initially met in the health club in 1983. I was a fitness instructor there and Scott was selling vitamins and protein powders, working behind the juice bar.  He was very handsome, very fit and very tanned. I was very attracted to him,” his wife, Glennis, said.  Now it was Scott’s turn to respond but because of this disease and “the volume of breath that he’s speaking with”, talking has been very difficult.  When he talks, he rocks forward with each breath trying to get the words out and also writes “with his foot” for clarification.  To answer this question Scott said, “[You are] beautiful.” Like a very active family, the couple enjoyed “running and lifting weights [and even] Scott helped coach [her] on a fast pitch softball team with [their] church.” Glennis began laughing and we all joined when she added, “I guess it wasn’t fast pitch, it was slow pitch!” I could see Scott smiling, too. 

At this point in their lives, they were in “full swing of raising their kids, [being] self employed, very active members of [their] church, active with kids in sports, etc.” So, everything was going well according to plans until 1997 during Christmas time when they noticed that “Scott was having trouble pressing with a pen or pencil when he would write an invoice for a repair in [their] business.” The prognosis wasn’t what they were expecting to hear but other visits to neurologists also confirmed he had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Interview with Hope & Michelle Segun 8-14-11

This is a terminal, degenerative disease of the motor neuron system and doctors “don’t even know why it happens.”

At the age of 37, he was “given 2-5 years” to live.  As Glennis was still talking, Scott interrupted and said, “[I] was so frustrated with this doctor who sat on the other side of his desk, being very professional but there was no care or seeming compassion to deliver this news to us. It was hard news to receive. [I told him], well, God can heal me.” Then, the doctor noticeably turned his shoulder to talk to Glennis “and just wrote him off for being in denial.”

This changed the “outlook of what was to come” for them. I asked him, “What were the fears that began to develop?” He said, “It was a battle in my mind” and Glennis chimed in to say, “Because the projection of death just says, ‘you are not going to win. It’s going to take you. You are going to go in this slow demise. So, the battle is always in the mind. There is a physical battle but more so, it’s so much to do with you not entering into despair, or depression.  He does amazingly have the joy of the Lord and his spirit is strong but he has to go to God for that.”

As the disease tries to wear Scott down, he tries to stand tall, toe-to-toe, ika ese si ika ese, mano-a- mano, pound-for-pound to it.  In doing this, he spoke again through an interpretation from Glennis, “Romans 4:18 [Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed …]” Glennis would add that this has been their motivational verse in the sense that, “God is good and you can hope. No one can take that away from you. You can hope till the end. When you don’t know if you have the faith, you don’t know you have the means, you can say, I can always believe for something more and be hopeful. Especially, [those] early years, hope was just a foundation for us.”

Scott began blogging about his experiences on deathvalleypromises.org  and among these were visions and dreams he had about healing, many people who believed in healing for him, and also “that he would serve God in Phoenix.” The family has been visiting the Phoenix area every year since 1999 because of this vision.  I asked them, “As a person of faith, is your approach different in tackling this disease?” Before I completed the question, Scott already finished the answer (smile). That’s, “Yes, I think it makes all the difference.” Glennis added, “We trust that God is good. So, there is no blame and there is no bitterness. We believe He allows things into our lives so that we can draw near to Him and we can go for directions, for guidance. We can bring our cares to him, and He cares for us. Had this not happened, our family would be very different. We are so very dependent on each other now.”

“One Hour With Hope” Show

This is such a powerful, inspirational story to share because this family did not seem to be down but determined to overcome this obstacle.  I asked, “When the doctor says there is no cure for a disease, people of faith like you turn to prayer. How much has prayer helped in this situation?” “It’s the only thing that God hears when we go to Him,” he simply said.  Glennis also reiterated, “… I think it’s just always having our thoughts concentrated and … keeping our minds fixed to draw near to God.  Because, there is just so much for anyone, there is just so much going on these days, with adversity people face. And we feel like we have our own adversity but people suffer in many ways … Prayer is vital to the Christian life.”

These two make a great team. Glennis would read whatever Scott wrote with his foot or what he said softly.  According to Glennis, there are good days and bad days just like every other family but it’s very comforting for us to see the attitude that the Brodie family demonstrates in living with this disease. And seeing Scott’s can-do attitude firsthand, I was prompted to ask him, “How would you encourage someone diagnosed with ALS to not be discouraged?” He said, “Just to be in the Word of God, to draw near to God in His Word and to believe God over what you hear.” Scott has outlived the 2-5 year window that was given to him and just passed the 14 year mark this month.

When I asked Glennis how she understands what he’s saying, she responded with a smile, “I don’t always get it right. He thinks I adlib sometimes.  We have been married 27 years and I know him very well. We have fellowshipped together. We hear the same messages together. I share books I am reading with him. I know him well. I don’t get it right all the time, but he’ll always spell with his feet if I need more clarification.”

We talked about what kept their marriage intact for all these years, daily routines, impact of this disease on his spiritual journey, etc. As we were rounding up the interview, we decided to follow Scott into his office.  Glennis helped him up and slowly we all walked forward. As we were about to enter his office, we didn’t have to look too far to see a sign above his door that read, “Dad’s Office, OPEN FOR ADVICE” and inside a white circle by it was “24/7”. I am not done yet, fans! He sat down, and wanted to let us know that he is a big fan of our show, too. He used his foot to work the magic to navigate to our fan page on Facebook.  I was astonished! In saying good bye to him, I sat down on the floor, lifted my right foot up to his right foot, did a high five and we parted. It’s our prayer and hope that his healing will come soon!

 

 

Scott’s 40th Birthday Message, Feb 19th 1999

Posted by glennis on Sunday, February 19, 2012

Scott shared the following devotional thoughts at his 40th birthday party; thirteen years ago. This birthday was a cause for great celebration since doctors gave him a projection of only two–five years to live. This was his second year following his diagnosis of ALS in 1997. We rejoiced as if Scott had broken a type of time barrier given to him; the first of many to follow.

 

Glennis and I were devastated by the news of my ALS diagnosis. The doctor gave us no hope; I couldn’t imagine how I could ever make it through this time. The neurologist tried to dash my hope in God’s promises with an accusation that I was “living in denial”. Did he think I foolishly believed in a God who doesn’t hear, listen or answer His promises or his children’s prayers? I’ve held onto one truth since that day “against hope, Abraham believed in hope” Romans 4:18. When questions came, I just kept holding onto hope. God has encouraged me to never lose my hope; to never lose faith in Him. He promises us “those that wait upon the Lord shall mount up with wings as eagles” (Isaiah 40:31).

A few weeks ago, I fell on my face and I thought “I guess it’s all over” but as discouraged as I felt, I just started clinging onto little promises that God had given me. God spoke to my heart to stand in faith against the accusations of hopelessness. I can believe God does do miracles. I plan to face my trials by holding onto Gods’ promises in faith, little encouraging promises and thoughts of other faithful believers. I kept thinking of people in the Bible that have gone through battles, those that have been valiant in truth; valiant in the Word of God. I determined that I can’t go by what I see, I can’t go by sight, I have to go by God’s Word. I can believe in God’s promises, believe against all hope. Glennis and I keep clinging to God’s promises, greatly inspired by the warriors of faith that have gone on before us, both in written and living epistles.

When the world says the door is shut, we can still believe that there is an open door.  God will keep it open for you and for me. In Revelation 4, regarding the church of Philadelphia, there is mentioned a door that nobody can shut. The Lord personally encouraged me that this door of faith, God has given me, no one can shut. The doctors, the naysayers or the doubters can’t shut it; God’s going to keep it open because it is a door of faith. God’s going to keep it open and show great us great and mighty things.

God will do amazing things when we ask and pray. He will build faith fields in all of us, walls of faith in each person. Recognize answered prayer, write it down and hide it in your heart (Hab 4). By reminding ourselves of God’s goodness and faithfulness we can cooperate to build strong walls of faith in our souls. Build your walls with God’s promises and individual acts that He has done.

As we go forward in the work of God, look to those who have gone before, those who have been courageous; those who, no matter the circumstance, believe and hold onto God’s Word.  As believers and children of God, we can choose to believe all things in Christ, we can go forward in the call of God with valiant hearts of faith.

“Being valiant for the Lord, Valiant in truth, clinging to promises God had given them and they have run with these promises” Hebrews 11:34

Faith, Bravery and The God Who is Able

Posted by scott on Thursday, January 26, 2012

When I think of healing and bravery in the midst of certain death, no other person stands out to me like Hezekiah. Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah nine years after the northern kingdom of Israel was carried away into captivity by the king of Assyria. Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign as Judah’s King (see 2 Kings 18:13).

Hezekiah’s Heart

Hezekiah had such an amazing heart to serve God. During his early years as King of Judah, he undertook sweeping religious reforms that Jerusalem hadn’t seen since the days of King Solomon. He removed idolatrous elements from worship, cleansed and sanctified the temple and restored the Levites back to their temple duties. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered. (See 2 Chron. 31:21.)

Untimely Assault

But after these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib, king of Assyria (who represents the devil), came against Hezekiah. Sennacherib, with his great Assyrian army (represents the demonic hordes of hell), destroyed and laid waste every city and nation in its path on its way to the ultimate goal of conquering Jerusalem. When the Assyrian force arrived outside the city walls, its field commander brought a message from Sennacherib himself.

In an attempt to demoralize the Jews, the field commander announced to the people on the city walls of Jerusalem that Hezekiah was deceiving them and that Yahweh could not deliver Jerusalem from the king of Assyria. He listed the gods of the people thus far swept away by Sennacherib then said:

“This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? Let not Hezekiah deceive you. For he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand…Nor let Hezekiah make you trust in and rely on the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of Assyria’s king” (2 Kings 18:19, 30).

Sending Lies

Hezekiah was doing all these great things for God and serving Him with all his heart—then Sennacherib came to attack Jerusalem. The first thing Sennacherib did before any physical assault was attempt to send lies over the city walls of Jerusalem — to try and promote fear and doubt in the people’s hearts and to question Gods power to deliver.

I can only imagine the lies the enemy directed at Hezekiah such as:

  • “Where is your God now”
  • “Your God has failed you”
  • “You’re going to die”
  • “I’ve taken down greater men than you”
  • “You’re next Hezekiah because God sent me to tell you”

 

Dear friend, the devil will come after a believer with his biggest attacks when you display you are a threat to his kingdom and are showing others the way out of darkness. He sends lies over the walls of your mind attempting to shake your faith in Gods power to deliver again. Satan just wants you to believe one of his lies so that you will back down and surrender your faith in God.

Turning to God and His Word

Rather than surrender to the enemy, which appeared to be the only option for Hezekiah in this life or death scenario, he turned to God and His word for deliverance. Hezekiah understood the reality of the predicament in which he found himself. He did not deny it, but chose to believe God above it.

“Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their countries, and have cast their gods into the fire…..Now, therefore O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that Thou art the Lord, even Thou only” (Isaiah 37:18-20).

God was pleased that Hezekiah came to Him asking for help and He answered in dramatic fashion.

“Because you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria… Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow here or come before it with shield or cast up a siege mound against it…For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. And the Angel of the Lord went forth, and slew 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when [the living] arose early in the morning, behold, all these were dead bodies. (Isaiah 37:21,33,35-36, AMP).

God Is Able

Hezekiah, when faced with death, turned to God in prayer and reminded God of his power, faithfulness, testimony and promises…and by the time he was done, God sent the prophet Isaiah with an answer.

God not only sent word of an answer, He was faithful to fulfill it!  He put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. “When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies” (Isaiah 37:36, NIV).

Are you facing a crisis of almost certain defeat? Rather than surrender to the enemy, go to God in prayer. He is able to answer in dramatic fashion and deliver you!

Lisa Buffaloe Hosts, Living Joyfully Free

Posted by glennis on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

http://www.livingjoyfullyfree.com/audio-items/scott-and-glennis-brodie/

Visit Lisa at: livingjoyfullyfree.blogspot.com

Depicts Scott walking and at his computer, where he keeps in touch with people around the world.

Posted by glennis on Thursday, January 12, 2012

Interview with Hope Segun August 2011

Posted by glennis on Monday, January 09, 2012