Please be in prayer for Chris as he is wrapping up his last few hours in Africa. We are praying for his safety as he begins his travel home late this evening. We are continuing to pray for Melissa and the kids and pray for a safe trip to Detroit as they pick up Chris tomorrow evening.
We want to lift up Steve and Casey and the work they are doing in Africa. We are so thankful for everything they are doing and pray that they continue to cling to God with all they are dealing with.
James and Danee are needing prayer about selling their car. We need God's guidance and not our own. We do not want to be hasty about selling it. James got an email about 10:30pm Sunday night from Doug Maher asking if anyone had a car to sell a buddy of his. We are prayerfully considering it but the amount is less than we were thinking about asking. This email is very timely considering that we just asked for prayers about 3 hours before the email was sent. We want to make sure this is a God thing and not a hey what a coincidence because we want to get rid of it.
Caleb's medicine just went up and seems to be causing some facial side effects. He has been constantly blinking and we just lift him up that the blinking will subside as his body gets used to the new dose.
We want to be praying for Jessica as she is having anxiety about the delivery of her baby. We pray that God will calm her anxiety and give her the peace and strength she needs for the rest of her pregnancy and while she gives birth to this little boy miracle that God has given her and David.
We give praise to God that Robert's grandpa's surgery went well and they seemed to have gotten all of the cancer and there were fewer tumors than they had originally expected. We lift him up to you LORD as there were fewer tumors but they had to dig a little deeper to get them out. We pray for healing on his body. We also pray for wisdom for his doctors and especially his oncologist as he decides what the next step is.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Dying Rather Than Trying
One thing that really resonated with me in the last video was the notion of "dying every day" instead of "trying every day." Trying puts the control in my hands and enables me to say, "well, I tried" at the end of the day. It releases me of responsibility if I fail, but gives me all the credit if I succeed.
On the contrary, dying daily places all responsibility on me when I fail and releases me from credit when I am successful because dying daily requires me to hand everything over to God. If the day does not go how it should, chances are I got in the way. I probably tried to do it on my own, my way, without prayer and petition.
So, every day since last Sunday (with a couple exceptions) I have started the day with a simple prayer. "Lord, I surrender to you today. I die to my ambitions. I die to my desires. I die to my will, to my temper, to my words, to my work, to my relationships, to everything. Lord, kill the me residing within this body and live here instead. 'For it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.' Please be seen and heard through me today."
I am trying to do my job in 45 hours a week. For Lent, I gave up about 10 hours of work a week. I haven't made it yet, but have come very close. This act of leaning on him, coupled with my daily prayer, asking God to kill my selfish ambition and vein conceit, I have found more patience, more time for my family, more rest. I am enjoying my work more than I have in years and I am gaining clarity regarding how to pray for God's will in my life.
The convergence of my Lay Ministry Life Team, devotion, reading, and our Life Team is honestly changing me.
How are you all feeling right now? How is God working in your life? Where is life finding you?
This blog started strong and has been quiet for a while...let's light it up right now. I'm praying for you and would love to hear from you.
On the contrary, dying daily places all responsibility on me when I fail and releases me from credit when I am successful because dying daily requires me to hand everything over to God. If the day does not go how it should, chances are I got in the way. I probably tried to do it on my own, my way, without prayer and petition.
So, every day since last Sunday (with a couple exceptions) I have started the day with a simple prayer. "Lord, I surrender to you today. I die to my ambitions. I die to my desires. I die to my will, to my temper, to my words, to my work, to my relationships, to everything. Lord, kill the me residing within this body and live here instead. 'For it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.' Please be seen and heard through me today."
I am trying to do my job in 45 hours a week. For Lent, I gave up about 10 hours of work a week. I haven't made it yet, but have come very close. This act of leaning on him, coupled with my daily prayer, asking God to kill my selfish ambition and vein conceit, I have found more patience, more time for my family, more rest. I am enjoying my work more than I have in years and I am gaining clarity regarding how to pray for God's will in my life.
The convergence of my Lay Ministry Life Team, devotion, reading, and our Life Team is honestly changing me.
How are you all feeling right now? How is God working in your life? Where is life finding you?
This blog started strong and has been quiet for a while...let's light it up right now. I'm praying for you and would love to hear from you.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Prayer Requests and Praises for March 4th
As we pray this week we have a lot of requests. As you think of them during the week take that as an opportunity to lift someone up to God and give their request to Him.
Prayer Requests
Chris - leaving for Africa Tuesday ~ 6th and will return on the 21st. Pray for safe travels, guidance, good health and protection. Pray that God will do a work in him and through him. We are so proud to have a member of our group going and helping our brothers and sisters in Christ in another part of the world. We look forward to hearing about how God used you in Guinea!
Melissa and kids - strength and guidance for Melissa while Chris is gone. We pray for a sense of security and peace for the kids.
Aaron's mom - had sepsis (bacteria in her blood) and pneumonia. Her ports removed due to infection from the sepsis. Has to eat on her own. She has a few more chemo treatments. We pray for healing and strength for her body.
Jessica's dad - PRAISE that his surgery went well last Wednesday! He is back in the hospital because his bowels are partially paralyzed. This has made his stomach descend which is causing more pain to the area that had surgery. He cannot have any pain medication because it causes constipation. We pray for healing on his body and wisdom for the doctors.
Robert's grandpa - he is doing better ~ will be going to see the oncologist who will determine if he will have surgery on the 13th. We pray for knowledge for the doctors and God's presence for his grandpa.
Caleb - going back to the doctor Tuesday to help determine what the next step is. He has had 2 appointments. We pray for a sense of discernment in this situation.
Justin and Kelly - learning to live without Chris. We pray for strength and comfort for them, especially Kelly during this time.
Praises
Danee - lump is gone! Praise God!
Robert - back in school starting in May. Depending on time and scheduling he should be there 3 semesters then plans to transfer to Spring Arbor University. We pray that God will calm any anxiety that goes along with making big decisions.
Prayer Requests
Chris - leaving for Africa Tuesday ~ 6th and will return on the 21st. Pray for safe travels, guidance, good health and protection. Pray that God will do a work in him and through him. We are so proud to have a member of our group going and helping our brothers and sisters in Christ in another part of the world. We look forward to hearing about how God used you in Guinea!
Melissa and kids - strength and guidance for Melissa while Chris is gone. We pray for a sense of security and peace for the kids.
Aaron's mom - had sepsis (bacteria in her blood) and pneumonia. Her ports removed due to infection from the sepsis. Has to eat on her own. She has a few more chemo treatments. We pray for healing and strength for her body.
Jessica's dad - PRAISE that his surgery went well last Wednesday! He is back in the hospital because his bowels are partially paralyzed. This has made his stomach descend which is causing more pain to the area that had surgery. He cannot have any pain medication because it causes constipation. We pray for healing on his body and wisdom for the doctors.
Robert's grandpa - he is doing better ~ will be going to see the oncologist who will determine if he will have surgery on the 13th. We pray for knowledge for the doctors and God's presence for his grandpa.
Caleb - going back to the doctor Tuesday to help determine what the next step is. He has had 2 appointments. We pray for a sense of discernment in this situation.
Justin and Kelly - learning to live without Chris. We pray for strength and comfort for them, especially Kelly during this time.
Praises
Danee - lump is gone! Praise God!
Robert - back in school starting in May. Depending on time and scheduling he should be there 3 semesters then plans to transfer to Spring Arbor University. We pray that God will calm any anxiety that goes along with making big decisions.
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