Friday, August 8, 2014

August 8, 2014

 In the quiet of my soul
In the stillness
I hear Your voice call

I know that it had to be You keeping me awake at 6:30 in the morning.  NO one else could do it.  I guess I am slow to obey because it is after 7.  Thank You Lord for waking me up to spend time with You in a quiet house.  Thank You for working and speaking and moving where I can see.

Thank You for some really great time with family.  Thank You for being able to see Lindsay and spend time with her and the kids.  Thank You for looking forward to the beginning of school and seeing my girls active and doing things they enjoy.  Help me Lord to show them Your love and teach them Your ways.  I am not sure I am very effective at either sometimes.  Please forgive me for falling so short.

Thank You for Val.  Thank You that someone besides me sees the potential and the value in my son.  Thank You for answering a prayer I had no idea that I should be praying.  Thank You for keeping him safe through the difficult years so we could get to this place.  Thank You for not giving up on him and for speaking Your love to him continually.  Please continue to speak and reveal Yourself to him.  Thank You for Your encouragement, the things that You have given me concerning him.  Thank You for settling this mother's heart.  I know that I can trust You with the people that I love.

Thank You for meeting me at my need.  You knew exactly what I needed.  Thank You for providing. 

Lord, I ask boldly for the right pastor for AGF.  I know that I can trust You to provide.  I know that AGF was born from a vision that was correct and valuable within Your kingdom.  I trust that You will honor our desire for Your will and send the right person for this place.  I know that Your plans are not for AGF to falter or to fail.  I know Your plan is for the salvation of Boone County and Southern West Virginia.  Please Lord, help us not to slow down Your plan.  Help us to work with You and not against You.  Help us to listen intently for Your will and search Your word to hear You more clearly.   I ask that You would bring the selection committee the right applicants and the wisdom to see clearly the one that You have chosen for us.  Thank You for a group of people who are willing to listen for Your leading and attempt to follow it. 

Please be very present in the lives of those who are fighting cancer.  There are far too many who are struggling.  I ask that You would be their strength, build up their immune system, make the cancer weaker or the fighter stronger.  I pray that You would give rest to them and their families and allow them to recover and be encouraged.   Linda Ray, Vicki, Ruby, there are more but these are the names coming to mind now.

Please be with Hannah as she carries the twins.  Please make her body strong and fully able to nourish both babies through to term.  Please give her extraordinary strength to mommy two while carrying two.  Please meet their needs and bring encouragement to them daily.  Please knit those babies together perfectly according to Your will. 

Please be with my "babies" and help their feet to walk Your path.  Please send people to teach them of Your love and help them to find You.  Please draw their mommies to You and their families to You.  Please bless them and walk very close to them.  You know all of their names, even when I have forgotten some.   Please wrap Your arms around the mommies who lost babies.  Hold them close and remind them of Your love.  Please walk closer to them on those difficult days like birthdays and holidays and just plain days that for some reason become difficult.

Please be with the families who are affected by the layoffs.  Please provide for them and be very close to them reminding them of Your love and Your ability to provide from Your storehouses that are endless.  Please help folks to find different jobs that provide well for their families. 

Please continue to draw all of my children closer to You.  You are a faithful and loving Lord!  Thank You for being the lover of my soul, my provider, my strength, but most importantly my salvation.  Thank You for making a way for me and You to have this conversation and relationship.  Thank You for being very, very real to me. 

In Jesus Name
Amen

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

July 29, 2014

Thank You Lord for a beautiful day in Amish country, a wonderful time at the farm, and a great time with my family.  Thank You for all my kids and grandkids.  The ones who could be here, and the ones that could not.  Thank You for helping us to have such a nice time together.  Thank You for the special experience today of petting a giraffe, watching an elk nudge Robin for more food, for getting to watch the kids feed animals touchably close.  Thank You for this place of escape and calm where even in the noise of the kids, we seem to hear Your voice more clearly.

Thank You for getting to spend a little time with Elijah tonight quietly and by himself.  Thank You for special time with my grandkids.  Thank You for my big kids having such a helpful attitude today.  Please help me to find ways to show them Your love and connect with them to teach them Your ways.

Lord, it isn't quite quiet enough to hear You clearly, but I desire to hear Your voice in all things.  Thank You for this beautiful, beautiful cool weather.  Thank You for a people who have not changed to conform to this world.  I can't live the way they do, and I don't feel You calling me to do that, but, I am glad You have called someone to walk so clearly different.  Thank You for Christian music in every store, Bible verses on nearly every wall.  Thank You for helping us remember that we are all called to walk different from the world.  

Thank You that my marriage today is so different from 20 years ago.  Thank You for speaking to me, even when I am frustrated or angry.  Thank You for healing things in our lives so thoroughly that the scars are barely visible (figuratively speaking).  I ask Lord that You would bring restoration and healing to the relationships that have been damaged because our family was so long becoming fully dedicated to You.  I ask for Your mercy in the lives of my children where I have missed teaching them something important.  I know that You are the God of more than enough, and You are able to bridge the gap between the parent I was and the parent I should have been.  I ask Your forgiveness for not taking my parenting seriously enough sometimes. 

Please Lord, help me to discern Your leading.  Help me to go where You would have me to go.  Please direct my path, so I can do Your will.

Please bring the exact right man to AGF.  Please let it be obvious and clear and lead the church back to the original vision of the salvation of Boone County and Southern West Virginia.   I know that my husband's salvation was not expendable to me, I don't think anyone else's is either.  I am asking big because You are big.  I am asking that somehow AGF will be on task and helpful in ushering in a revival that sweeps our area.  I am asking that people would again desire to be near to You, learning about You, seeking You.

Please Lord keep working on those husbands who we have been praying for for so long.  I have the list.  You know the list.  I pray for the wives who are waiting that You would give them strength and wisdom to know how to show Your love and speak Your truth only when You nudge them to do so.  I pray for comfort for them when it becomes difficult to be the saved spouse of a lost spouse who isn't using the same "rule book".  I ask that You would send encouragers their way to help them hang on and keep praying.  Please work miracles in these homes and help the children hold tight to Your truth and feel Your love and Your arms around them. 

Please be with those who are wandering.  Please do not leave them to wander alone.  Please help them to come to themselves and desire to come back to the Father.  Please let truth begin to sound like truth and the lies of the enemy be exposed for what they are.

Please be with Wes, Linda, Vicki, Ruby, and George.  I know there are more, You know their names.

Help me to desire You more tomorrow than today.

In Jesus Name
Amen

Sunday, July 27, 2014

July 27, 2014

 Well Lord, how awesome it is when You show up in that tangible way that makes me feel like I have given all I have at the altar and done my best to give You the sacrifice of praise.  How awesome that sometimes, the song is right, the harmony is right on, the sense of freedom is overwhelming and I can get to that place where I don't think about anything else but You.  Thank You for helping me to get there this morning.  Thank You for being tangible, for working in freedom.  Thank You for the blessing of being able to sing with my kids.  I am honestly a bit afraid that our window to fulfill our calling as a family is slipping.  Please help us get recorded while Lindsay is here.  It is a little selfish, I just want a CD for myself.  I want to do it for You, You created the voices, You placed us in the family together.  You receive the honor and the glory.  But, honestly, my praise rises with our voices together. 

Lord, I am not any less confused.  I am not any less lost as to what to do next.  I am still waiting for clear direction.  But, I am filled with a new hope that You are moving and tangible.  Thanks for the reminder.  I am resolved that which ever way You call me, You will do so clearly at some point and You will equip me to do what You would have me to do.

I ask Lord that You would meet a very specific need.  I can't share it, I can't ask openly for supportive prayer.  But, I know You already know my heart.  I ask that YOu would supply the need, move in power, and bring growth and healing, restoration and increase. 

Please be with a friend who is struggling right now.  Please show clearly the path for her and show her where You desire to use her for Your glory. 

Please Lord, be with the wanderers, the ones whose mothers pray for them and try not to worry.  I pray for Aunt Edith's kids and grandkids.

Please be with those who are fighting cancer, Linda, Vicki, Wes, Ruby, George and so many more.  Please strengthen them and heal them, please bring peace to them their families in the midst of the their battle.

Please be with those who are suffering physically for holding fast to their faith.  Please cover the family of the Iranian pastor whose name I never get right.  I haven't heard anything in a while.  Please give his family Your peace that passes understanding.  Please give him Your strength, show him what to say, help him to shine Your light.  Please ease his suffering and make a way where there seems to be no way. 

Thank You for my encouragers.  You have always provided them.

This sure isn't a pretty prayer, but You know my heart, and You created my scatter-brained self.

Please speak truth to the wandering heart and reveal Yourself to them.  Help them to draw close to You. 

Thank You Lord for the blessings that I live in that I do not deserve.  Thank You for loving me while I was unlovable.  Thank You for loving me despite my mistakes, despite my untrust, despite my mess.  Thank You that I belong to You and Your love is perfect for me. 

Help me Lord to do what is right, say what is right, show Your love, walk Your path and live Your way.

In Jesus Name
amen

Saturday, July 26, 2014

July 26, 3014

 Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a nice morning.  Thank You for  a nice visit with Angelica.  Thank You for getting her home safely with both boys.  Thank You for providing a great friend for Lindsay while she is living so far away.  Thank You for minimalizing injuries in the tunnel crash yesterday.

Thank You for a bit of rest for Jim.  Please help him to be rested and enjoy his vacation.  Please lead him to effectively lead our family, spiritually and otherwise. 

Thank You for the opporrunity to help someone out a bit.

Thank You for a quiet house this morning and a breather.  Thank You that my girl is home and we are able enjoy the whole of our family.  Thank You that I am able, for a little while, to see the whole bunch in one day.  Thank You for watching over all of them while they are not in my sight and while they are.  Please Lord, keep speaking Your love to them.  Please keep drawing them closer to You.  Please highlight the traps of the enemy so they can avoid them.  Please show them the lies of the enemy that they will be able to hear Your truth.  Help them Lord to gain understanding and desire to walk close to You.  Help me Lord to continue to teach Your ways and show Your love to my kids and my grandkids.  I know that You are a big God and I am not asking small.  I am asking that all of my kids and my grandkids, my great-grandkids, and all of my descendants walk after You and take their part in the work of the Kingdom.  I ask that I will not be missing one in heaven.  They have always belonged to You Lord.  Please help me that I can teach them what they need to know.

Thank You for a respite, a break, a breather from the back and forth at church.  I know the vision for the church has not changed, I know it is still to be the salvation of Southern West Virginia and Boone County.  I know that not one life is expendable, not one is out of Your reach.  I so desperately want to see the church operate effectively in that calling, but I am at a complete loss as to how to help in the process.  I ask that You show me how to help and what to say and when.  Please Lord, shine the light on the pastor of Your choice.  Your choice is the only one that matters. 

Please be with Linda Ray and Wes as they battle cancer.  I know there are more.  Please give them strength and bring healing to their bodies.  Please give them a wonderful testimony to bring You glory.   Thank You for healing Linda the first time, I know You can do it again.

Thank You for a bit of encouragement this week.  Thank You for a little time to pray.

Thank You for my friend Barb.  Lord, please bless her a little extra today. 

Lord, as always, I ask for wisdom.  I know that Your wisdom confounds the wise.  I know that Your wisdom is above all the wisdom of the "great" philosophers.  Your wisdom is what I desire, that I would be able to point people to Your path. 

I pray that You would fight the enemy, speak Your truth to combat his lies.  I pray that in the mind of the prodigal and the wanderer, You would defeat the lies of the enemy that keep them in bondage.  I pray that You would allow truth to sound like truth to them.  I pray that You would reveal Yourself to them in a very real and tangible way.

Thank You Lord for making the way for You and me to have a relationship.  Thank You for the obedience of Your Son.  Thank You for loving me while I was unpolished and covered in my own sin.  Thank You for loving me when I have messed up so much that I thought You would be done with me.  Thank You for grace, which is far more amazing that I could ever explain in a thousand songs.  Thank You for Your love that is so perfect, so all encompassing that I could write a thousand books and never touch the surface of the eternal perfection of it.  Thank You Lord for Your perfect, all encompassing, eternal, and personal for me - love. 

I am amazed by You
I am amazed by You
I am amazed by You
how You love me

When I get crazy and don't know which way to go.  I am thankful that You put Your arms around me and remind me that You love me.  Somehow that is all I need.

In Jesus Name
Amen

Friday, July 18, 2014

July 18, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for helping me be awake earlier than usual to enjoy a bit of time with You.  Thank You for Your word, for making it widely available and free to enjoy in this country.  Please help those in countries who must fight to get it and hide to read it.  Thank You for good preceptors in the Word.  Thank You for supplying my needs.  You know they are many even when I am trying hard not to be whiny.

Thank You for a great word at the church I visited the other night.  It was so profound, so encouraging, and so real.  Thank You for getting me to that place to hear it.

Thank You for allowing Lindsay time to come home and visit.  Please watch over her and Angelica as they travel.  Keep them safe and provide for their needs.  Please help the children to get along, travel well, and be generally easy on the trip.  Please help me to spend time wisely to teach my grandchildren about You, to encourage my daughter in her walk with You, and to show Your love to Angelica and her boys.  Help me Lord to parent with the right intent and heart always.

Please work miracles in the hearts of those who wander and are walking outside of You.  Please draw them close to You, speak Your love to their hearts, reveal Yourself to them in a way they will understand.  Please let them not be satisfied with the fake stuff that satan puts out there, but help them to find the real deal, all encompassing love of You Father.  Please refute the lies of the enemy in their hearts.

Please Lord, watch over Val today and remind her how much You love her.  Please send her a few extra blessings.  Thank You for someone who sees my son through the eyes of love, even when it is not easy.  Please help her, encourage her, be very real and close to her.  Help me to help her.  I am sometimes at a loss as to how to help her.  Please help me to be a blessing to her.  She is precious to me.

Please be with Ethan Bowne and help his body to heal quickly after the appendix surgery.  Thank You for watching over that family when I didn't know to pray for them.  Please be close to Tara and Steve, give them wisdom and peace.  Please lead them clearly in all matters of their life so that they know they are walking according to Your will.

Lord, You know my dreams and I will await Your direction in the one or ones I should follow.  I ask that You would work in the lives of those who I love and feel responsible for.  I ask that You would direct their paths and draw them close to You.  I ask for discernment and for wisdom for them.  I ask that You would show me daily which step to take.  I will follow Your plan wherever it is obvious that it is Yours and not of this world, or my own invention.  I know it is possible to be deceived into thinking my plan is Yours.  Please help me to know the difference.

I am worried, even though I know it is pointless.  I am walking one step at a time and trusting that You will keep Your word.  Like you would go back on it!  I am just waiting for the next step.

Thank You Lord for Your faithfulness
I will try to trust You to provide.

In Jesus Name
Amen

Thursday, July 17, 2014

July 17, 2014

Good morning Lord,

Thank You for a great evening in church.  Thank You for showing up in my notebook and encouraging me.  Thank You for that message that I needed so desperately to hear.  Thank You for getting me to the place to hear it.  Sometimes, I do not understand how You move, but I love when You do.  Please Lord, bless that preacher's family and continue to encourage him in his ministry. 

Thank You for a long and exhausting, but productive day out and about.   I want to hear Your voice in my life in even the most mundane of chores.  I love that You love me.

Lord, please be with Chonda Pierce.  I know that right now she could use a miracle for her husband David.  I have no doubt that You can, I am just asking that You would.  Please heal his brain, let the progress and healing begin to show and hold Chonda while she is by his side.   I know You can restore blood flow, knit together neurons, and wake up that which seems to be sleeping.  You are the God of more than enough, and she has been faithful.  Please show mercy and favor on Your daughter and bring healing to her husband.

Lord, I will walk where You place me.  I will follow where You lead.  Help me to understand You and walk Your ways.  Please help me to show Your love.  Restoration Lord, I pray for restoration.  There are so many places where that needs to happen, please bind satan where he is trying to cause strife and confusion and instead loose understanding and grace and Your wisdom. 

I pray for AGF.  I pray that You would move mountains and orchestrate the stars if needed to bring us the right pastor, the man who will hear Your leading and bring this church back to its original calling and vision.  I think it's funny to pray please send him right now, like I have some right to tell You when.  But, my hearts desire is for You to send someone soon.  And, hiding stuff while praying just doesn't seem right.  So, please send or highlight the right person for the position.  You know, I do not.

Help me to learn You so I can teach You.

IN Jesus Name
Amen

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

July 15, 2014

Thank You Lord for Your favor and Your presence.  Thank You for friendly nursing and staff at CAMC endoscopy lab.  Thank You for familiar faces and great care.  Thank You for being comfortable and not afraid, I know that came from You. 

(nothing big friends, just an EGD - upper GI)   


Thank You for a bit of rest when I got back home and a nice lunch with my mother and Tiff.  Thank You for moving in places where I haven't asked in a while.  Thank You for the opportunity for Lindsay to come in for a while.  I have missed her!  Please watch over her and Angelica (her friend) and all the kids on their long journey and give them protection and provision for their trip. 

Thank You for being with the softball team in Moorefield.  Please watch over them and give them favor.  Please help the tournament to be a safe and enjoyable time for all involved.  Please let the money stretch, the games be good, and the refs be fair.  

Lord, You have brought healing to Linda Ray once before.  I am asking again.  Please bring Your perfect and complete healing to her body.  I know You are able, Your name is bigger than Cancer.  Please eradicate the cancer cells and grow the healthy ones.   Please let her scans be clear and her life be long.  I know that she desires Your will and walks according to Your ways.  Please cover her husband and family with Your strength and Your perfect peace as they begin another battle with Cancer.  Please let today's news be good news.

Lord, You are enough.  You are more than enough.  As I try to figure out where I am to be and what You would have me to do, I know that no matter where I am You are the God of more than enough.  You have always been "more than enough for me".  I wish I could remember what song that is from.  Please Lord, help my husband.  Lead him clearly, grow him up in You, show him where our family is to be. 

I need You, Oh I need You
Every hour I need You

You are more than enough

Help me to be better than I am, Let me show Your love and point to You and duck my own selfishness out of the way

In Jesus Name
Amen