In memory of Trey, I am beginning this blog site for our family on Trey’s birthday. He would have been 16 today, July 31, 2012. In memory of Trey, we had a little party with his close friends at the church, watched Lion King (his favorite movie), had pizza and cake, and releases balloons. I joked when we were about to release the balloons that Trey would surely be laughing because he knew how much I hated balloons in the house. They usually would just lay around the floor for me to walk over and I end up popping them!
I wondered if the news would say anything about Trey Erwin Day and I saw a small piece on channel 5 news. This is one thing that I was never really able to express about Trey because he always read the Caring Bridge – he hated being the center of attention. We had such a problem with that when he began to play football as a young child. He didn’t have that mean streak down him. Some call it aggressiveness. He was just coming into that confidence. Just ask Mike O’Neill! When Peyton Manning called, he emotionally broke down that night and cried. He just could not understand why Peyton would call him. Trey wanted to give back. We tried to work something out with St. Jude during that time that he could give back to other children when he received phone calls or some way that he could do things. Because of HIPAA reasons, it just did not work out. We just tried to remind him that he was being blessed for being so obedient as a son. I guess now I can be thankful for not having an aggressive son.
Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to share with the youth of our church. Because we have concentrated so much on the celebration of Trey’s life, so many, even our family, have not properly begun or even learned to grieve. Some are feeling guilty and without direction. That statement can be true about many things other than grief. Jay and I have said over and over again, without the Lord, we could not walk this walk. I know that others do it, but I am sure they do it much differently. I am not saying we are not grieving, because we are. But we know from where our ultimate strength comes. Deuteronomy 31:6 says “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” We hold to this promise! He will NEVER leave us or forsake us!
This promise goes for any believer. God will never leave you or forsake you. How comforting. When we lay our heads on our pillows at night, we know our God will cover us with his Almighty mercy and grace to get us through the next day, however difficult that may be as we struggle to find our new normal. That’s what I will address in my next post, how do we even begin a new normal.
I’m sure Jay has received just as many texts, emails, and calls as I have. Your encouragement today has been overwhelming. God touched so many lives through Trey’s testimony. Make no mistake, there is so much spiritual warfare going on in this world and we need to keep sharing Trey’s testimony. That will be another post on another day that I will challenge you. What are you doing to do with what Trey and the Holy Spirit taught you?
I hope that if Trey touched you in some way, you were able to celebrate Trey today like we did. We love our boy. We miss our boy. There are moments that we don’t know how to move and personally, I don’t want to move. But like lyrics from this song, this is what keeps me going – His love never fails and He never gives up on me, never runs out on me!
One Thing Remains by Jesus Culture
Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
One thing remains
Your love never fails it never gives up it never runs out on me
On and one and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never ever have to be afraid
One thing remains
In death and in life I’m confident and covered by the power of your great love
My debt is paid there’s nothing that can separate my heart from your great love
living the life of christ 
i love how the balloons move on this page 🙂 love you!
Thanks girl! Hope you had fun at your party today too!
God Bless you and give you peace to make it thru one day at a time, Love to all.
Skip , Kendy, Cody and Gil
I am glad that you have decided to do this blog. I need your strength to get me through all that I am going through. When I read your writings. I feel as if I have attended Sunday school. I always walk away having learned something new.
God Bless you!
Love how you celebrated today! God bless your family. Still standing in the gap daily!
I never got the pleasure of meeting this remarkable.young man. I have followed every post and shared tears along the way. He has so touched my soul. I was raised in church but I didn’t have it the way trey had it. I often question things and wondered how he always wore a smile no matter how bad things were. You Lisa and jay, have also inspired me . I long to know the peace that you all have shown to so.meany of us. This story is remarkable and even tho I grew up in church and know that Jesus died for each and every one of us …I am missing something. Not sure what it is but Im hoping to find it as I follow along. I want to find this peace as trey had…death scares me and I don’t know why…just pray for me that I will find this peace and could one day be a testimony as trey was to so many people ….Happy birthday …..Trey…..
LOL- I hate balloons in the house, too! 🙂 Honestly, the thing that has been so heavy on my heart for you, Jay and Collin is the whole “new normal.” It just seems wrong that the rest of us get to go on as usual, but you have to start over. But I guess there are two lessons to be learned from that. One, the Lord will never leave you or forsake you, even as you move into “new normal.” (Love Deuteronomy 31:6 and also Joshua 1:9!) And two, the rest of us need to listen to the Lord and not just go back to the way things were before Trey got sick. Because if we just go back, then we’ve missed what Trey was trying to tell us. And we miss what the Lord wants us to learn. That He is in control, That He loves us. And that He never leaves us. So glad youi’re doing this blog – can’t wait to read more! Love you!
Praying for you Jay and your precious Collin daily.
YOU ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH WHAT TREY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT TAUGHT YOU? THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION, I JUST HOPE IN PRAY HIS WILL WILL BE DONE!
HI LIsa,
I was wondering…..could you message me at my personal email. Blake959805@me.com…….I wanted to give you a special gift and wanted to get a pic of it to you tonight…..for Trey’s birthday today!! 🙂
Niki Hamilton Blake
friend from Glenmore Academy
I am so glad you are doing this. I was going to suggest to you to write a book, but a blog is a great idea to share your journey with Christ to all of your peeps!!
Crack me up! I have peeps! ;o)
ms lisa your strength has always inspired me-as, of course ,the strength of your brave courageous son trey…i never met him personally but he touched my heart the moment i first heard about his illness on Q107.5 in early march and i immediately begant o pray for him, as well as the rest of your family
the more i saw and heard trey’s story, the more my heart was touched and i have prayed many a day and night for your family, i’ve cried for your family but most importantly, i prayed for GOD to comfort and bless your family
your son was one of a kind and now he is in paradise with the LORD, please know that your family will always be in my prayers and that i will never ever forget your son and what a blessing it was to even know who he was
In honor of Trey’s birthday today, we lit a candle in church and prayed. We then, and you will never believe this but…. my son and I let a Happy Birthday balloon go at our old church in Chicago that we were visiting! We felt like we could feel Trey’s happiness, and we never even knew him but now know that in some holy way, we do. May God be with you all .
Lisa
Hi, I just want to let you know that you and your family are in my prayers.
I have a son who is alot like Trey, he loves the Lord and wants to be a youth leader. We are planning on buying the tshirts and wearing them with pride. If you get a chance theres a song by sidewalk prophets you may already know the title is live like that. That song reminds me of how Trey lived his life and how we all should strive to live, you have inspired me to write a blog on here.its called not a fan..about being a follower of Christ not a fan.I hoe to encourage people like you are doing with their walk with Christ.. Ginger
We continue to pray and lift you, Jay, and Collin up in our prayers. May God continue to lead you and the family daily and comfort you every step of the way.
Yancey, Jessica, Zach, Alex, and Kolby
Hello – so glad you started this blog! I have been following Trey’s story since first hearing of it on K-Love. Just wanted to let you know…me and my husband were asked to take over our church’s high school sunday school class…and after much prayer – we have felt led to do it. God has really laid it on my heart to share Trey’s story and testimony with these kids…I just wanted you to know…God definitely has a plan for Trey…his walk will inspire many to draw closer to the Lord for all of their needs. God Bless your precious family!
I am always so blessed by your posts and never cease to be amazed by the things you share about Trey! I’ve shared his story many times! He continues to bless!
I am glad you started the blog. Your family is an encouraging message of strength and the Holy Spirit.
My family and Sunday School class will continue to pray for your family thru these days.
Your family is amazing and strong. Thank you for sharing your life with us. Your family is a true inspiration.
I followed the CaringBridge page since day 1 and now am following this page. I never commented until now. I just wanted you to know how much Trey impacted my life!! God Bless.
All your writings made me hunger each day for more. Each scripture you shared and how it related to that moment of your day has been a testimony to me. I am blessed to have my nephew’s two girls (6yr & 2yr) in my life and being Godmother to one. I hope and pray with Trey’s Testimony and your writings to gain more strength to teach and share with the girls how to live in this place on earth that will challenge them as they grow and challeng me as well. What glorious wings have been bestowed on you and yours. It is so true, Angels do walk amoung us.
May many bluebirds fly over your rainbow today and always,
Your family’s strength and faith are a comfort to others – even the ones you’ve never met. Thank you for sharing your journey. You are all in my prayers.
Thank you for continuing to share. Trey and your family have lite a fire that has been smoldering way too long.
Thank you so much for your incredible way of sharing this journey. You and your family have and continue to touch so many lives in our community and beyond. You are such an inspiration, my husband and I have often talked about how to raise Godly children like your precious Trey…you have done an amazing job. We pray for all of you daily.
Suzanne and Clay Culpepper
Germantown, TN
http://www.theculpeppers.com
Thank you for sharing. Still praying for you & your family. Trey’s testimony lives on. Love you.
What a beautiful site! Thank you so much for sharing your walk through life with us and for being such an amazing inspiration to us. Christ’s light shines brightly through all of you.
Love you much,
Beth & Mike
Could not have walked the journey without both of you!
Thanks for continuing to glorify God through your experiences. I continue to pray for you and your family.
Your and Trey’s testimony is beautiful. My family prays for your family each night. May God’s blessings fall upon you.
I don’t know you and your family personally, but like a thousand other people, I followed your son’s life, progress, and ultimately, his reunion with his Father..Just know that many of us, strange face in the crowds, are still aching for your loss, but benefitting from Trey’s testimony and faith. Thanks for sharing your blog. I pray that God’s love will continue to feed you as you struggle to take that next step each and every day. God Bless you!
Lisa, so glad you’re doing this! It will be a great resource for those whose lives Trey touched, to know more about Christian faith and how to walk it. I love that you are there for our youth. At their age, I’m sure some of them are having a hard time just processing the past 5 months. Of course, some of us adults are still coming to grips with it, too. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to reach out to the youth, the comminuty, and beyond. God has surely blessed your faithfulness. Dee Dee
Thank you for the updates on the Erwin family. You are an amzaing witness as well as your son Trey. I look forward to you entries on your blog. Your amazing insight and your ability to write your thoughts that move us is a gift. I have not always been a faithful follower of Christ but in reading your journal entries I have become stronger in my belief and faith and everyday forward will learn to “livelikeTrey” . God bless the Erwin family, Jay, Lisa, Collin and Trey.
Renee
I dislikes balloons too , but they are great outside:). God Bless your Family!
You are all still very much in my prayers
After reading today’s blog, my heart was breaking for Collin, as I remember the first day my 2 nephews went back to school after their brother passed away and they to had to come home without their big brother there to see them inside as he had done the previous school year. My prayers today are for God to comfort you all, as you get back to work and Collin goes back to school. I pray for God to wrap his loving arms around Collin tomorrow when he comes home from school. I also pray for each and every student & teacher as they begin this new school year without their friend Trey. May God watch over each and everyone of you. Sending lots of hugs and prayers from the Arent Family