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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July 14, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for this few minutes of quiet.  Thank You that soon I will see Lindsay and the babies and get to do a few things with all the kids and grandkids.  Thank You for helping us to come up with some plan for vacation. 

Lord, I desire to do Your will.  I pray for Your wisdom and for Your discernment.  I thank You for a few clear leadings.  I will try to follow them well. 

Lord, please be with Linda Ray.  I love her and her family.  They have always sought to serve You and do Your will.  Please Lord bring a total healing to her body and peace to her family.  Please give her strength to fight, go in an eradicate those cancer cells and grow and strengthen her healthy cells, her immune system.  Please give Steve Your strength and peace as he helps her fight again.  Thank You for the last few years, for the graduations that she has been able to see, for the time she has been able to spend with her family past the lasts bout with cancer which You helped her to win decidedly.  Please help her win this round also.  Please give her more years to spend loving her children and husband.

Thank You that Wes has been able to leave the hospital.  Please help him to continue to gain strength and let his stem cells graft completely and thoroughly and work efficiently for him.  Please allow his family and him some special time to just enjoy each other.  Thank You that he was able to spend some time with his boys in the last few days. 

Thank You for the message yesterday it was clear.  Please help me to apply it to my life.  You know that I need Your wisdom right now.  I don't know how to handle my current situation.  I am not always sure whose perspective is lining up with Yours.  I need You to help me. 

Help me Lord to not compromise my relationship with You, but allow You to change me fundamentally to become more and more like Christ, ready to do Your will above my own every time, even when it is hard. 

The right man Lord, please send Your pastor for this church.  Not one that we pick, not one that is popular, not one who tickles our ears, one that You have chosen, You lead to us, You have filled with Your messages for us, and Your heart for our members and most importantly, Your heart for the lost in Boone County and Southern West Virginia.  I believe the original vision was right.  Please send us the one that brings us all into unity and sets us correctly to the task of showing Your love and taking it out to the people around us.

You know what I need in my home, I am asking for it.  Please meet me at this need and fill it in Your perfect will and timing. 

In Jesus Name
Amen

July 10, 2014

Thank You Lord for saving my soul
Thank You Lord for making me whole
Thank You Lord for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free

Oh how much it cost to buy me out of the grip of sin, the death that I was headed for
How important was the obedience of Jesus to Your will Father

You are my Lord,
the God of more than enough
You have never left me nor forsaken me
You have left the 99 to find the one - and I am the one
You long for me to spend time with You
and You see me through the blood of Your son
You are mighty to save
You are perfect and sinless and holy on a level that my mind will not comprehend
I am dust except through the blood of Jesus
Thank You for that blood
I do not understand the need to blood for covering sin,
but I understand my need for that blood because You require it
Your ways are higher than mine
Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts
Though I am dust, I am precious to You
Your love, Oh Lord is perfect
You are worthy of ALL of my praise
If I sang Your praise from now until I draw my last breath
it would not be enough, it would not explain it enough
You are worthy of all I am, all I have and all I will be
How silly of me to hold anything back from one who bought my life
Not guilty, not my verdict but Yours
but now it is mine
How Your love amazes me
How Your holiness scares me and places me in awe
How Your mercy confounds my mind
You are amazing Lord
Your standards are perfection, too high for me
but Your bridge covers my shortcomings
You are amazing Lord

Your name to be exhaulted, Your son to be lifted high, Your love to be preached to those who have yet no understanding, Your name to be praised, Your Son to be glorified, Your Word to be preached and lived. 

In Jesus Name
let it be

July 9, 2014

Lord,

Thank You for a place of peace.  I know that this place doesn't actually hold the peace but You give Your peace to us when we bring our requests to You and trust You.   Thank You for a very nice conversation about Your blessings with an 81 year old Amish couple this evening.  Thank You for first experiences for the girls, for the sound of horses hooves and buggy wheels.  Thank You for a genuine smile and kind people.  Thank You for a spectacular sunset.  Thank You for moments when I can feel You.

Thank You for my sister, for watching over Bernie and not allowing him to be more hurt than he is.  Please help him to heal completely and not have any lasting effects from his injuries.  Thank You for kind neighbors and for being there when I did not even know to pray.  Thank You for being close to my sister and walking with her daily.  Thank You for our grown-up relationship and our ability to encourage each other in You. 

Please strengthen and walk close to Wes Perdue.  Please let all go according to Your perfect plan, let his stem cells graft completely and help him to gain strength daily.  Please bring strength to him, Becky, his parents, Tara, and the rest of the family.  Please let his boys be very well cared for, easily cared for, feel completely at peace that You have this.  Thank You for his healing.

Please be with the McAllister family and comfort them in their loss.  Please  wrap Your arms around Janie, Steve, Hannah, Chelsea, Brooke, Brooke's dad, I don't know them all Lord but You do.  Please help us to know how to be helpful to them and show them Your love. 

Thank You for good mentors, people who keep me focused on You, people who pray for me, who encourage me, who lead me when I need leading.  Thank You for sound wisdom and counsel.  Please help me to hear Your wisdom and be prepared to move within Your will even if it not comfortable.

Please Lord, bring someone to AGF to lead us in Your word, in Your will, to come back to the original vision and calling that the church was founded on.  Please work this all out in such a way that You receive glory, that we receive a pastor who will help bring the congregation back to solid ground and ready to serve You and seek the lost in the community with renewed purpose.  Please direct clearly and help the congregation to come into unity behind the right person, Your person, the one that You would have to be our overseer. 

Thank You for a great and successful Bible school.  Thank You for those who have been working hard for the kids to learn about You and have fun doing it. 

Help me to hear You clearly Lord, to lead when I am to lead, to be silent when my voice is no longer effective, and to follow when I am to follow.  I trust You and seek to hear You clearly.

In Jesus Name
Amen

July 2, 2014

Well Lord,

I can't say my way is any clearer, but I can say I am more peaceful at the moment.  Thank You for a good conversation and for keeping me together.  I am asking for rest from the battle and for decided victory soon.  You are the maker of my path, I want to follow no other path but the one You point out.  I only want to follow You. 

Thank You Lord for being my rock, for being a perfect Father, a perfect provider, and a constant friend.  I understand that You are the God of the whole universe and I am but I speck.  It leaves me in awe and wonder when I look at the stars and know that You placed them.  It makes all that I worry about seem small.  You are more than enough for me. 

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

really I am amazed that You love me

Please Lord, work miracles in our church, return us to the vision of AGF, heal us, lead us, make us whole.  Not so we can brag on us, but so we can lift Your name high, DO the work of the ministry and set our eyes to being Jesus to those around us.  Please Lord, soon, very soon, send the man You have for us.  It would be great if you would surround him with bright flashing lights and a sign that says "this is the guy". 

Help me to encourage those who are frustrated and discouraged.  Help me to tank up over the next little bit to be able to be more effective in my calling. 

I am asking Lord that You move heaven and earth, get by any scheme of satan, work miracles and wonders to get the man who is called to AGF in place and ready to get started.  Help us as a congregation to know when we see him.

In Jesus Name
Amen

July 1, 2014

Lord,

Thank You for mentors in my life.  For people who help me to seek You.  Thank You for peace and calm in the midst of life's storms.  Thank You for being my Father, my provider, my deliverer, my rock, my shield. 

Thank You that You are the great shepherd and You love and care for Your sheep.

Lord, help me to lead well and not to cause anyone to stumble.  I know there are people who look to me for answers.  I have none today.  Today I am as bewildered as anyone else.  I need the same answer others are seeking.  What now?

I am ready for nourishment and rest.  Please lead me clearly and I will follow.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

May 27, 2014

Sorry buddies, it's been a bit!

Lord,

Thank you for the quiet.  Thank You for my large and wonderful family.  Thank You for a mini adventure practice camping with the girls.  Thank You for a few minutes with my friend yesterday.  Thank You for Imitrex. 

You know Lord, I am struggling right now with a few decisions.  You know what they are.  I need Your help. 

I am worried about things that I should be bringing to You.  I try to bring them and leave them, but I'm not sure if I am doing that very effectively, because I seem to still be worried about them.  I know that indecision IS a decision, so I am asking You to help make my decision easy.  Help me see where You want me to be, how You want me to handle this situation. 

I started off this prayer thing hoping to be able to pray freely, but also, I don't want to offend anyone.  Sometimes that keeps me from praying freely.  I think I'm just going to lay down that fear of offense and pray.  I don't want to go through the motions.  I don't want this to be some canned prayer about generalized stuff that has no impact on anyone's life at all.  I want this to be what it started off to be, earnest prayer shared with others.

Lord, You know that my husband has only been saved a little while and almost from the beginning our spiritual and physical life have been in an upheaval.  I know that You knew that from the beginning and You are not surprised.  I know that the steps of a righteous man are ordered of You.  I am asking You to order some steps.  I am asking You to provide him with a pastor.  Honestly, and I am sure this is selfish, it isn't as important to me that our church has pastor as it is right now that my husband has a pastor.  Someone who will be there, answer his questions, direct him in Bible study, have an understanding of his spiritual place and help him grow, be someone that he respects and trusts and can lead him.  I need him to have that leadership, and You know him and what type of leadership he needs.  I could throw myself in the floor about how unfair it is, but I know first that is silly and second is does not good.  I know that You love him far more than I do.  I know that You desire his spiritual growth and the spiritual growth of our family far more than I do.  I know that Your time is perfect and mine is impatient and I can't see the whole picture.  Lord, I am going to try to leave this with You and not pick it back up and mull it over and over, but You will have to help me.

Help me Lord to know how to be a blessing to Bill in Tennessee.  Please help me to pray effectively and be willing to go the extra mile to help my friends family and now my friends.  Please help him to get some help, try to eat, desire to eat.  Most of all Lord, please reveal Your love to him and draw him close to You.  Please help him to speak to his family about his relationship with You so they can have peace if he goes on home.  Please Lord, bless his time with Lisa and the rest of his family.  Really Lord, I know that You can heal him from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet that You can rid his body of cancer.  You know that my main concern is that his soul is ready to see You whether he is here for another 10 minutes or 25 years.  Please work miracles for him and his family.  Please help him be ready to see You and his family know that he is ready.  Please help me know how to effectively pray for them and be supportive.  Please wrap Your arms around Lisa and give her Your strength.  Please help her know that her strength is coming from You.  Please be with Steve and give him strength.  Help him to come close to You and trust You.  Please give Bill more time here with us, more time with his family, more time to live and thrive.  Please allow them somehow to cross paths with Bart and Cindy.  I don't know how, but You know how to make them cross paths.  Please help them to be able to minister to them in some way.  I know how obedient to Your leading they are.

You know that I ask daily for Your wisdom in raising my kids and helping the other kids and teenagers around me.  Help me Lord to be available and approachable, but  not a push over.  You know how hard that balance is for me sometimes.  Please help our vacation to bond our family closer together.  Please let my husband be able to relax and enjoy the week, enjoy our family, enjoy our friends.  Please smooth all the stuff and help us to just gel well together and be able to have a good time.  Please let the kids get along well, the trip go safely and be an effective vacation for all of us. 

Lord, please help my husband's pain be minimal and his energy be up a bit.  Please let his heart stay in rhythm and his breathing be easy.  Please give encouragement and an extra dose of Your tangible presence to those who are in chronic pain.  Please give them extra strength and rest from the pain sometimes to catch their breath.  Please fight satan on their behalf and not allow him to win the battle for their minds.  Please  help them to remember how much You love them and how much, even in their difficulty, You can still remind them of that love.  Please be with Jim, BeBe, Michelle, and many others who are struggling with chronic pain issues.

Lord, please lead clearly on this women's conference.  I feel so strongly that You are leading that direction and have no idea how to get that all together.  I actually only know that I have a testimony to give and it feels as though You are leading that way.  If I am wrong, please put the brakes on.  But, if You are leading that way, I am trusting You to show me how, when, who, and all the details.  I am trusting You to provide.

Thank You for a good conversation a few weeks ago with a trusted friend.  Actually, I am rich in wise, Godly women friends.   Thank You!  Please give me Your wisdom to share with those who seek counsel from me. 

Thank You Lord for allowing me to feel free to pray my heart and trust You with the rest.

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 23, 2014

Good Morning Lord

Thank You for the beginning of my online Bible study.  I am excited to be doing that with a friend.  Thank You for LaDonna, for her guidance when I need it, for giving me someone who is deeply seated in Your word to be able to ask questions and expect her answer to sound like Yours.  Thank You for a quiet morning to pray and study think and plan.  Please help me to be a blessing to my husband today.  Thank You for his patience with me this week, I sure haven't gotten the  things accomplished that he most likes.  Help me to do better today. 

Lord, I need to hear Your direction, I need Your wisdom.  Please be clear with me about what to do next. 

How many things can I be thankful for today.

for my quiet time
for my new comfortable mattress
for my husband's salvation and the change our family has taken on because of it.
for my children all being on speaking terms with me, even when they don't have to
for a smooth praise team practice
for Your provision, for songs when I am out of ideas, for friends when I need an ear
for someone who has kept me grounded in Your word even when I am not too good at daily reading
for my family, the whole noisy bunch
for time with Noah yesterday and with Elijah
for moments to teach my grandchildren who You are
for a vacation to see my other babies in Kansas last month
for healing of relationships
for protection for my husband
for every day after the accident, after the surgery, after the day in the elevator
for some direction toward writing (please Lord help me, I think I'm ready to start)
for pretzels and ginger-ale
for new people who have been added to our family, in laws, out laws, and new children
for my mother's health
for my friends
for Godly women in my life
for grass in my yard
for my photos and my Christmas ornaments
for healing Wesley
for healing Lindsay and Jennifer before I even knew to ask
for not  giving up on my husband
for not giving up on my son
for talking to me, showing up in my notebook
for allowing me to see an old friend
for holding me steady through difficult times
for provision and protection
for allowing me to help other people
for being clear when I need it
for never leaving me or forsaking me
for giving up what was rightfully Yours to take on what was absolutely mine so that I could inherit what was rightfully Yours.
Your perfect love

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 22, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

At least technically it's still morning.  Thank You for a great morning so far.  Thank You for a little time with a friend.  Thank You for allowing me to sit in on teen class last night.  Thank You for helping me get music together for the service.  Thank You for my friend and allowing her daughter to come home last night.

Lord, I need Your wisdom.  I need You to clearly guide me.  I am a bit torn right now and You are the holder of the "what should I do" answer.  You know the whole situation.  You know all the details, You know the best step.  Help me to figure it out, so I can walk in peace about whatever direction I decide to take.

Thank You for the opportunity to do Bible study with my mentor and friend.  Help me Lord to make the proper time and be able to efficiently work through the study and come out with a confidence in what You have to teach me.  Help me Lord to seek Your face and desire Your wisdom far above my own.

Thank You for being close to me in unsure waters and being tangible to me when I need to hear Your voice.  Thank You for naptime and a bit of quiet to spend seeking Your face.

Thank You for a few minutes with old friends the other day.  Thank You for working that out and meeting me there. 

Lord, please saturate my husband with Your presence.  I need him to lead our family effectively for You.  I need him to be able to discern Your voice and follow Your path for him and for us.  Please help him to lead.  Speak wisdom to his heart.  I ask that You would be especially clear for him right now and help him.  Please send him someone who can mentor him in his walk with You.  It has been too long.  I am trying to wait on Your timing, I am trying to be patient.   Please point him toward the right person for him.   Please Lord, You know what has been gained and lost in this endeavor. 

Please Lord keep working on behalf of those battling cancer.  Please draw them closer to You.  Please Lord, let them find something today that Bill desires to eat and is able to eat.  Please strengthen his body and bring healing.  More important that the physical healing is the spiritual understanding of who You are and how desperately we need You. 

You know sometimes there are just those days when it feels like satan is winning the battle, but I know he loses the war.  Please help me Lord not to allow myself to be distracted by the circumstances but be totally focused on You. 

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 21, 2014

Dear Lord,

Thank You for a nice evening in church yesterday and for meeting me in my notebook.  I love it when You speak to me that way.  Thank You for Your guidance and Your presence.  Thank You for a nice day out with my friend and for Your wisdom.  Please continue to pour out Your wisdom for our church and for those who seek to do Your will above their own.

Thank You for Godly people who have led me, and continue to lead me, walk with me and help to keep me on Your path.  Please help me keep my eyes firmly fixed on You and seeking Your face and doing Your will.  Help me not to get distracted away from Your purpose for my life.

Lord, You are good and Your mercy endureth forever! 

Lord there are friends battling cancer right now who need Your strength.  Jennifer (not my daughter), George, Bill, Vicki, Ruby, Wesley. . . There are so many more.  I know that You will not leave them if they are Yours.  Please be with them and draw them close to You in the midst of their circumstances.  I ask that You would bring healing.  I ask that Jennifer be restored to health, that her chemo would be effective so that she can raise the granddaughter she is responsible for.  I ask that You would bring an assured life changing salvation to those who need it.  I ask that You would bring strength to George that he would be strong enough to begin treatment.  I ask for strength for Wesley as he goes through round two of chemo.  Thank You for the healing You have already brought to him.  I ask that Ruby would feel Your presence during her treatment and rest in You.  I pray that the treatment would be successful and she would be around for a very long time to see her grandkids grow.  I pray that You would draw all closer to You, reveal Your love to them, reveal the meaning of the work done at the cross to those who don't know.  That You would send someone to cross their paths to teach them of Your love and combat the lies of the enemy.

I pray for our lost loved ones, there are so many.  Please go to the prodigal and work in his heart to give him a desire to come to himself and return home to You father.  I pray that You would move in power to knock down the lies of the enemy and replace them with the absolute truth of Your love and Your standard and our need for a savior.

Wisdom Lord, please pour out Your wisdom.  In parenting, in leading Your church, in just trying to follow You. 

I pray that every revival held in Your name by people who are truly seeking You will show fruit, will help people to draw closer to You, to remind them of who You are, how much You love us.  I pray that You would draw people to our church, to every Bible believing church, that You would show us who to witness to and when that we would work on behalf of You.  I pray that the strongholds the enemy has in this area, in all areas would be torn down.  I pray that You would give us a desire to speak Your name, tell people about You. 

Help me Lord to be faithful to what You have called me to do.

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 19, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

It is a beautiful day out there!  Thank You for cool mornings and days at the farm.  Thank You for my own home, for the blessings that You allow me to experience daily.  Thank You for good friends and great family.  Thank You for giving me a few minutes with the girls yesterday to talk about the reasons for limits and teaching and reasons why it is important to be teachable.  Thank You Lord for growing my heart to include two more children.  Thank You for this time with You this morning, for the gentleman who preached yesterday, for allowing me to be more comfortable speaking as we go into worship.  Please help me to seek out in scripture what worship and praise really mean and how You want for us to do that.  I do know that it comes along with a thankful heart.

Thank You for providing for a friend in need as I knew You would.  Thank You for being tangible and leading clearly.

Thank You for helping Chelsea with her test and for helping her pass the next level toward getting her degree and working in her field.

Thank You for prayer partners.

Lord, I need Your help.  I know You have laid someone on my heart.  I need You to go before me and make the way.  Help me to find the right words to show someone how much they are loved.

Lord, please be with my list of friends who are fighting cancer today, please bring them hope and strength and be with them through the difficult process.  I pray for healing because I know You are able.  I pray for a closer walk with You because I would pray that for anyone going through anything.  I ask for You to be glorified, because You can be in all things.  I ask that You would be very tangible to them all and real and approachable.  Please reveal Your love to those who don't really know You and draw them closer.  Please help Bill to eat.  It is small for You and specific.  Please let him desire some food and by answering this prayer allow them know Your love more completely.  Please cure his thrush completely and let his food taste good to him.  Please let him crave the food his body most needs to fight the cancer.  Please give his family wisdom to know what he might want to eat.  Please move in power in his home and his whole situation to bring healing and bring them all to a closer walk with You.

Lord, please be strength for those who are struggling with chronic pain today.   I want to cry out and beg for healing for these folks.   Please knit things together, activate the right cells, calm the overinflamed tissue or nerve, guide them to the right treatment, help them Lord.  I pray that You would bring hope and encouragement to them, that something would change, just a little, to help them know that You can move mountains.  I pray that You would move in power to decrease the pain.  I know that You don't have to, I know that You will use them in any situation they are in.  I also know You love us and I believe that while physical healing isn't the most important healing to have, it does bring encouragement and bolster faith.  Please move in these lives and bring hope.

Lord, please help me to function fully in my calling.  I know there are a few things I am called to do, and a few things I think I am called to do.  I have no idea how those things all come together, but You do.  I want to be faithful in the callings You have given me.  Help me to have good discernment in how to use my time.  I am asking for Your wisdom and YOu promise to pour it out liberally to those who ask.  I am asking, for wisdom in my calling, in my family, in my parenting, in all of my life.  I desire Your wisdom because it far supersedes the wisdom of men.

Lord, please the biggest area where I feel Your wisdom is needed is in choosing a pastor for our church.  I pray for Your will to be clear, to be understood clearly, to be followed, and to be clear to all involved in the decision making.  Please help us recognize the person You have anointed to be in our place in exactly Your timing.  Help us to get out of Your way and allow You to move. 

I love You Lord, I know that You are able to care for me.  I know I have a testimony, many of them, help me to get to writing consistently and getting them down on "paper".   Help me Lord to take the next step.

I love You Lord and thank You for making the way for me and you to have a "walk through the garden in the evening" kind of a relationship.  Thank You for the sacrifice that covered all of my sins.  Thank You for being very accessible and yet very holy.  You are enough, You are more than enough, You are the God of more than enough.  Your storehouses are full, full of mercy and grace.   Thank You for pouring out both in my life. 

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 14

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a beautiful morning.  Thank You for a quiet day with my husband yesterday.  Please do not let him get sick with what I had.  Thank You for Imitrex and how effective it is for me.  Please bless the person who created it and their whole family.  Thank You for helping me this morning.

Thank You Lord for meeting my friend at her need and providing for her.  Please continue to help her to walk in Your peace and guide every decision.  Thank You for the wonderful healing that Wesley is walking in, please continue to walk with him as he goes for treatment again.  Thank You for the good news and healing that Vicki is walking in, please help them find the right medicine to treat her RA pain.  Thank You for prompting me to pray again for BeBe and Michelle.  Please help them Lord to hold on to You in their chronic pain situations.  Please help them find the things that help the most and help them to seek Your face and walk in their calling.  Please give them strength and hope and wrap Your arms around them and let them feel You tangibly on their difficult days.  Help them to see their value in the kingdom.

Thank You for the life and impact of Nancy Sutphin.  Thank You for her impact on our lives, for her help finding David's strengths when I was so worried about him in 3rd grade.  Thank You for her longtime, well-known, walk with You and her testimony.  Please be with her family and hold them close to You as they had to let her go much sooner than anyone would have wanted.  Please be with them on the difficult days and in the difficult situations, situations where they will miss her more than ever.  Please provide someone to step up to the plate for her when her future grandchildren one day need a praying grandmother.  Please be especially close to Ed, James and Richard.

Lord, Thank You that there were not more fatalities in the mine accident in Boone County this week.  Please be close to the families of those who lost sons, fathers, and brothers.  Please be with the Legg family especially who are struggling with more than just the lost of a son.  Help them to turn to You for comfort and strength, and please supply all of their needs according to Your riches in glory.  You have more than enough.

Thank You for the days of rest, even if I had to be sick to get them.

Thank You for being the God of more than enough in so many situations.  Please help people to see You for who You are, to understand Your love for them, the reason that You desire us to walk a holy life.  Please help the people to desire You and reveal to the prodigals Your love.

Please draw the children back to the Father.  Aaron, Aaron, Brenton, Judd, Homer, Jared  . . . there are so many more, these are just the ones off the top of my head, the ones that come to mind when mine does.

Please be with a friend of Lindsay's whose name is Jennifer who is battling leukemia while trying to raise a grandchild.  Please give her strength through the chemo and help and encouragement when she needs it.  Please hold her close to You and remind her that You love her.  Thank You that my child knows that I will pray for the needs of others.  Thank You for giving her such a warm and welcoming heart.

Thank You for all of my children.  For their individual traits that make them special that I knew were given to them by You.  Please give me Your wisdom to raise them to know You.  Please cover my considerable shortcomings and make a way for my kids where I have failed them.  Please help me to fail you and them less often. 

Please help all of those who are struggling with difficult circumstances, circumstances where they need You far more than they can even say.  Please give them strength and comfort and encouragement.

Please be with Pastor Bart and Cindy and their family, please guide them clearly and cover them in Your favor.  Please walk with them and hold them close to You. 

Please be with those who, as far as it seems to us, are losing their battle with cancer.  Please help them to know You before it is too late.  Please draw them close to You and cover them with Your peace.  Please cover their families and give them peace and do not allow satan to gain a foothold in their lives.

Please bring healing to those whose scars are not visible, but no less painful.  Please walk close to them and bring them peace and strength.  Please heal their souls and remind them that You will never leave them or forsake them.

I know that I ask a lot Lord, but You are a big God and You are able to supply all of our needs.  Your storehouses are full, and money is not my focus, Your storehouses are full of mercy, strength and peace also.  You are amazing Lord, Your love is so perfect and so balanced and so all encompassing that if people would just get a taste, the rest would be so easy.  It is so much better than what the world tries to sell as love. 

I Love You Lord.
In Jesus Name
Amen

May 11, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

You know I can't make this one of those well organized, pretty little prayers.

I have a friend who needs you so much.  Please wrap Your arms around her and her whole family and give her strength.  Please hold her close and sure her up.  I know You are more than enough, but sometimes we just need someone with skin on.  Please send her encouragers and people full of Your wisdom to give her guidance. 

Right now it seems like the enemy is gaining ground, but I know he doesn't win.

There are so many hurting, so many who need a move from You, so many who are afraid, battling cancer, battling demons that they didn't know existed.  Please move in power.

We have seen you work miracles, we have seen you move.  I know that You will move and that You are not far.

Thank You Lord for good friends and for people who are able to share Your wisdom in times of need. 

I don't know what to do to help the ones I love that are in difficult circumstances right now.  I know to pray, and really I am not sure what to pray.  I just know that You are one with the wisdom we need.  Please show me how to be a good friend and guide me to the right actions to be helpful.

Lord, I am asking for healing.  A deep healing of wounds that cannot clearly be seen by anyone.  Wounds that only You can fully know and only You can fully heal.  I pray for healing that is so profound that You will receive all the glory.  I know this prayer started out for one particular person, but I know it needs to be breathed over so many.  I know at least 15 people who need this deep healing of wounds created in their youth, attacks of the enemy, things that aren't fair.  I ask that You would bring healing to those situations.  I pray for those who have endured difficult circumstances, painful situations in their youth that still bear the wounds, wounds that aren't even fully scars yet.  Please help them Lord as only You can.  Please bring healing to their life, freedom, peace and wholeness.  Please give them a wonderful testimony and encourage them to share it.

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 9, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a beautiful day and a few minutes to spend with You.  Thank You for never leaving my side.  Thank You for time to reflect on You and what You would have me to do.  Thank You that even in adversity, You are there. 

Lord, I pray for Your wisdom and Your leading.  I pray that You would always lead me step by step to do Your will, speak Your words, and be Your hands and feet.  Help me to know how and when to move.

Thank You for the many, many blessings You have placed in my life.

Help those today Lord who are struggling and having a hard time keeping their head above water.  Please wrap Your arms around them and hold them close to You.  Please give them strength and remind them where their strength comes from. 

Please be with those who are struggling with chronic illness and with chronic pain.  I pray that You would decrease my husband's pain and help him to be able to lean on You and continue to do the work You would have him do in the kingdom.  I pray for Michelle and BeBe and ask that You would bring healing to them, that You would be very tangibly close to them and remind them of how much You love them, even in the midst of chronic illness.  I ask that You would decrease their pain in a very measurable way and cause them to be able to be more active and be able to come back to church.  I ask that You would help Vicki get through the next few weeks until she is able to start on a different regimen for pain.  I ask wisdom for the doctors who care for each of these precious ladies and ask that You would give them Your wisdom to know the best way to treat each one.  I know that there are more people who deal with these issues.  I ask that You would move mightily in each situation to bring healing, bring decreased pain, bring increased energy and cause people to give You much glory.

I pray Lord a hedge of protection around those who are worried for their own safety.  I pray that You would hold back the enemy and not allow him to breech the perimeter of their homes.  I pray that You would bring inexplicable and unshakable peace.

Lord, thank You for making a way for us to know You, walk with You as in the days of Adam before the fall, where You and I can talk all day, walk together in the cool of the night and discuss the day.  How much You have loved us that You would send Your son to lay down His life, to endure my punishment, to take my place so that You and I could still have a relationship.  How much we take that for granted Lord, I am so sorry for the times that I do.  I want to tell You all about every day, I want to tell people that they can enjoy this relationship too.  I often don't know how.  I just ask for Your help.

Please give me wisdom Lord, Your wisdom confounds the wise, it is NOT the worlds wisdom.

Help me to be more like You and less like sin

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 6, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a quiet morning and a bit of time for prayer.  Thank You for a nice evening at the ballgame last night and for time to enjoy the girls.  Thank You for a bit of time to rest this morning.  Thank You for a few minutes to talk to David.

I could go on with a "normal" prayer, but that isn't what is on my heart.  You know my heart and I have no desire to be pharicitical (I do not have the foggiest idea how to spell that word). 

Please lead clearly for our church, please bring hearts into agreement and point us in the right direction. 

Please work miracles in the hearts of the prodigals that we pray for and work hard not to worry over.

Please bring healing and speak Your truth in difficult situations.

I don't seem to be able to settle into long written out prayer this morning. 

Help me Lord to discern and follow Your lead.  I desire to be led of the Spirit and speak Your truth in LOVE.  Help me to do that effectively.  Help me Lord to help guide people into an attitude of thankfulness and an openness to worship You for who You are. 

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 5, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a chance to talk to my son last night.  Thank You for a great day in church yesterday.  Thank You for allowing me to hear an update on an old friend.  Thank You for a "good hair day". 

Lord, please bring healing to those who are wounded so deeply by events in their past that it affects their present.  I ask that You would show them extra love and speak healing to them.  I know that You are enough.  Please show up in power and love to heal them and restore them and draw them close to You. 

Please continue to speak truth and love to those who are wandering, who are mad at You because they have believed the lies of the enemy.  Please speak truth to those who are following the wrong path and send people to cross their path who will show them Your love flawlessly and follow Your leading.  Please open their hearts and get past the hardness.  You  know the thing that will make them look up.

I will trust You to care for those whom I love. 

I will trust You to show me each step that You desire me to take.  I know that when it is important You lead clearly. 

Please lead clearly in the selection of our next pastor.  I am asking You to move in such a way that Your choice is clear and there is consensus and unity in the selection.  I want to pray for You to move quickly, but I want Your timing and Your will. 

Please be with those who are battling cancer.  Thank You so much for the great news about Wesley!  My faith is increased by being a part of praying for his healing and watching You move.  Thank You Lord.  I pray for my friend that her healing would be continued and she would be well.  I pray for Ruby, Rick, Wesley, Beth's daughter, there are more that I am forgetting but You know them all. 

I pray for Debbie.  I ask that You would bring health to her family and allow her to be in church next Sunday.  Thank You for bringing her to our church and allowing her to be a part of our lives.

Thank You for moving for Tifany.  I ask that You would continue to move and bring healing.  I ask that You would heal her so completely that her surgery would not even be necessary.  I ask that her strength would rebound and she would be better able to enjoy her life and kids.  Thank You for them and their involvement in our church, for their children and for helping them to bring them up to know You.

Thank You for a great day of worship yesterday.  Thank You for guiding us back to a place where we can spend time in worship and praise and sometimes have the opportunity to feel You move amongst us.  I know that You are always where two or three are gathered in Your name.  But, I know it is nice to feel Your presence.  Thank You for Bill and Shiela and their help last night.  Thank You for each part of our praise and worship team.  Thank You for each one and their contribution to worship.  Thank You for leading us to a deeper understanding of who You are and what praise and worship are.  Please help me to teach and lead effectively and lead people to a deeper relationship with You.  Please teach me how to worship and praise You the way You desire. 

Please give me wisdom to show Your love and teach Your standards and when to do which of those things.  Or how to do them both.  You know that I need Your wisdom daily and desire to be close to You.  Lead me clearly Lord and I will try to follow.

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 4, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

I just need You this morning.  I need You to settle me and keep me focused on You.  I need You to help me figure out the little things that seem to fight me when I know You have something for me to do.

Please help me Lord to keep You in the center and everything else on the periphery where it belongs.  Please help me to follow Your leading and please make them clear.

Please draw people to Your house to learn more about You and to worship You for who You are.  Please move in power in our area and the areas of all of our buddies and worldwide to break the bonds that hold us away from You.  Please help us to rise up and walk Your way with boldness and a desire to do Your will over our own.

Help me to work together with the praise team to draw people into a desire to worship You for who You are. 

In Jesus Name
Amen

May 2, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a nice praise team practice.  Thank You for helping us to get a better focus on You.  Thank You for giving me a little boldness in speaking.  Thank You for some great time with some wonderful women of God.  Thank You for giving me a desire for a closeness with You.

Thank You for allowing me to spend time with Lindsay last week.  Thank You again for keeping us safe on the road and while we were out enjoying the sights of Kansas.  Thank You for the giant faith of some of the folks most affected by the tornadoes.  I have already heard two great stories of faith from people who should by natural law be overwhelmed and unable to function, but in You are walking devastated - in the peace the passes understanding.  Thank You for being the trustworthy God who gives that peace when I have needed it and to those who need it far more than I do.  Thank You for never leaving us alone, but always desiring our conversations and our praise.

Thank You Lord for providing my daughter with good friends who allow her to have girl time and support when I am unable to be there.  Thank You for A.  I know that right now A needs a touch from You.  I know that she is afraid.  Please Lord, reveal Your love to her.  Use this situation to draw her closer to You and allow her to feel Your tangible presence and know what that requires of her.  Please bring healing to her and quell her fears, but most importantly, help her know who You are and give her a desire to walk closer to You.  Please heal her body, but also heal hurts that have separated her from a close walk with You.  Please help her get to a place where she can have an honest conversation with You, so You can show her that her honesty doesn't scare You away.  Please work miracles in her life and heal her utterly and completely.

I ask Lord that You would draw the leaders of our homes to a closer walk with You.  I pray that our families would start to walk in Your ways and NOT in the ways of the world.  I pray that we would have Your wisdom to raise our children to know who You are, how much You love them, and what an impossible standard You set, and how much they will need Jesus to help them meet that standard of holiness.  I pray that our faces would be set to You and theirs would also.   Please break the chains of bitterness, envy, strife, and anger in our lives and help us to forgive, and live in Your presence. 

Please Lord, show me quickly when I am wrong and help me to hear Your correcting in Love.

(I always correct in love, my child)

Thank You Lord.

Please help those battling cancer to draw close to You and draw strength and understand You love for them even in the struggle.  Please bring healing, but more importantly, please help those who do not know You to understand Your love, Your sacrifice, and be able to accept You and make You Lord of their lives.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

May 1, 2014

Dear Lord,

Thank You SOOOOO much for a great church service last night.  Thank You for a bit of encouragement.  You knew exactly what I needed to know that I was on track, thank You for knowing me so fully and encouraging me so perfectly.  Thank You for getting me through the bit of nervousness and helping me get to a place where I was just doing what I knew You wanted me to do.
Thank You for Steve who jumped right in and ran service. 

Thank You for a great friend!   Thank You for her willingness to listen and provide counsel on short notice.  Thank You for the precious friendship we share.  Thank You for loving me completely enough to know just who I need.  Please help me to be this kind of a blessing to someone else in my life. 

Thank You for a nice day out with my husband and for making a way in a difficult situation.  Please help him to see You as the solver of the problem and remind him how completely You care for us.  Thank You for the days when we walk in the same direction as a team effortlessly.  Thank You for the profound difference in our lives since he has come to know and love You.  Thank You for the answer to prayer.  Thank You for my family, my kids, my grandkids, my friends, and all those You have given me.  I am truly blessed.

Thank You for the multitude of Godly counsel, for Godly women who seek You and desire to walk Your way.  Thank You for growing my relationship with You to a place where going backward seems silly.  Thank You for the women You have provided me through my life to guide me and to walk beside me.  You are a complete blesser.

Lord, I don't want to repeat over and over the same things, but the same things may be on my mind.  I don't want to be guilty of vain repetition.  Please strengthen those who are struggling with cancer.  Thank You for the healings we have heard about, thank You for never leaving nor forsaking my friends in their struggle.  Please bring healing to their bodies, but more importantly, bring their hearts closer to You and a real understanding of who You are and how much You love them. 

Please be with those who have lost loved ones.  It may be a part of life, but it is always a difficult part of life to navigate.  Please be very close to them and hold them when they are overwhelmed.  Please give them a glimpse of their loved on in Glory.  Please keep close to them and hold them through the difficult days that I will not remember are important when they come up, like birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, days that were special to them.  I know You are enough, please be tangible to them.

Lord, please help me to have a desire to preach Your gospel to the lost.  Please help me to not be afraid to speak Your love, or to speak Your truth, even when it is scary.  Please forgive me to being chicken too often.  Please give me Your wisdom to know when and how to sow the seeds.  Please help me to only speak what You give and to speak it boldly.

Please Lord, Your word promises that You will pour out Your wisdom for those who ask.  I am always asking because I know Your ways are higher than mine.  Please help me to parent and teach Your ways, teach my kids who You are, not some surface knowledge, but a deep understanding of how precious they are to You and what that should mean in their lives.

Please Lord keep working on our prodigals, the ones we pray for over and over, the ones we weep for and worry over.  I try not to worry, and I appreciate the word You have given me concerning my prodigal.  I ask that You would work miracles in the lives of these prodigal sons and daughters.  I pray that You would speak life to them, speak truth to combat the lies of the enemy.  How deceived we are when we listen to the wrong voice.  Please forgive me for not effectively teaching spiritual truths that were my responsibility.  Please help them to see the truth quickly.  Please help them to experience Your love on a level deep enough that they just can't get enough and desire to know how to please You and walk Your way. 

Please help me Lord, when I want to walk my own way, to lay down my desires and pick up Yours.  Please help me to seek Your will and Your face more than anything else.  Please help me to draw close to You and rest in Your presence.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  Even in struggle Lord, I can have complete freedom in You.  Thank You that I am no longer bound, but am free.  Thank You for setting me free.  Thank You that You set me free just to be free.  Thank You for freedom. 

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 29, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for this quiet morning and for a little extra sleep.  Thank You for a nice walk yesterday and some time to spend with my husband.  Thank You for a nice day out yesterday with Barb and for help with a doctor appointment.

Thank You Lord for being present through the difficult stuff for me, for anyone who will seek you in difficult times.  Please be with the families who have lost loved ones in the tornadoes.  Please comfort them and hold them very close to You.  Please help people to lean on You when their "stuff" is in disarray.   Please hold close the families who have lost children and remind them that You still love them and that You are not far from them.  Please be with the Tittle family and strengthen them.  Please help all of those affected to trust You to provide for their needs, and then please reveal Your love to them all.

Please be with my friend Vicki as she goes for tests today.  I am pretty mad at cancer here lately.  I know Your name is above cancer.  I know that You are not far from us but near to us.  Please Lord, bring healing to my friend and to Wesley, to Bill, to Ruby, there were several others mentioned at church whose names I do not remember but You do.  Please bring healing and draw them all to a closer walk with You.

Thank You for spring, for the smell of my lilac bush, for the beautiful dogwoods, for new green leaves on the trees and new grass beginning to take hold in my yard.   Thank You for growth.

Lord, You are my God, my Father, You are never far from me.  Your love is amazing to me, it never fails, it never condemns, it only corrects.  You are the perfect Father.  Thank You for Your presence in my life.  Thank You for giving me testimony after testimony to share of Your greatness and Your character and You moving in my life in one way or another.  Thank You for nudging me back to a deeper study in Your word.  Thank You for reminding me that all I do is for an audience of One!

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 23, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a good night sleep and a great day yesterday.  Thank You for safety in travel and Your protection.  Thank You so much for an opportunity to visit with all my grandkids together.  Thank You for some time with Lindsay and the kids.  Thank You for the gracious and patient folks we encountered yesterday who helped us find the things we needed and who were pleasant in the middle of a noise bunch!  Thank You for this few minutes to talk to You and be able to think.

Please be with my friend Vicki.  You know her need, and You know all about her situation.  I know You are enough.  Please be very close to her and tangible and real.  Please be with Ruby and with Bill and Wesley all fighting cancer.  I know there are many fighting cancer.  I know that You are able to heal completely.  I ask for healing.

I pray that You would pour out Your wisdom on our church that we would recognize the pastor You would send to us.  I pray that You would make it clear, that You would make it smooth, and that You would let Your anointing remain on our church and the man who would lead it.

I pray that You would help us today to spend time together safely, have a good time, and honor You in all that we do.

Thank You for the beginning of family time.  Thank You for allowing me to see how much the kids are learning about who You are.

Please be with those who have soldiers over seas and help their families to rely on You.  Please meet their needs and send encouragers and people who will make the time easier to bear.  Please protect our soldiers and draw them close to You.  Please allow our soldiers to be brave in battle and be brave in sharing their faith with each other.

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 28, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for getting us home safely and for Your protection from harm when I notice it and when I don't even realize You have protected us.  Thank You for a great day in church and a great conversation with a Godly woman.  Thank You for the encouragement.  Thank You for a week with all my babies and for helping that go well.  Thank You for Your presence in my life, for our conversation, for the blessing that I walk in.

Thank You for teaching me over and over that You will never leave me and that You give clear direction when You want me to do something important.  Thank You for reminding me that You want me to succeed, not to fail.  Thank You for allowing me to talk out some of the concerns in my head enough to put my finger on what they ever were.  Thank You for giving me stories to tell about being in a place that was so saturated with thickness of Your presence that I didn't want to leave.  Thank You for being tangible to me when I needed tangible.

Thank You for the salvation of my husband and the change in my family.  Thank You for a new idea.  Thank You for giving me the encouragement that You are fixing it.

Lord, please be with Vicki and give her strength and encouragement and remind her that she never walks alone.  Please be with Bill and Ruby and Wesley and the others who were mentioned in church last night that are fighting cancer.  Please strengthen them and bring complete healing to their bodies and more importantly bring healing to their spirits and draw them close to You and allow them to settle into Your love and Your presence. 

Help us Lord to understand the balance between Your love and Your holiness.  Please help us to desire to walk upright and keep daily in Your presence.  Please help us to begin revival in our hearts by giving  more of our lives to You than ever before.  Please Lord, move in me, help me to give more of me over to You.  I want to belong completely and totally to You.  I don't want to hold anything back.  I want it all to be Yours.  I know that is a big prayer and I might not have enough to faith to walk that out, but I desire to have that kind of faith.

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 22, 2014

Good Morning Lord!

Thank You for the chaos and the noise and fun of watching all the grandkids play together.  Thank You for a safe trip to Kansas.  Thank You for children who love each other and want to spend time together.  Thank You for Your provision and Your protection.  Thank You for the healing that is occurring in Wesley and for allowing him to be able to go home.  Thank You for watching over my friend as she traveled home.

Please be with my friends who are fighting cancer, please bring healing and strength to their days today.  Please grow healthy cells and allow the cancer cells to succumb to the chemo therapy.  Please give them and their families peace and strength and draw them to a closer very real walk with You.  Please touch them so deeply that their faces show Your grace and people will give You glory.

Please help us to manage all the kids today and help them to all have a good time.  Help us to teach Your ways and show Your love and bring You glory in all we do today.

I'm sure we will talk all day today, but this is all that will make it to "paper" this morning.

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 18, 2014

Sorry, I was out of town folks!  Thanks for joining me again today!

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a treasured few hours with an old friend.  Please be with Steve M.'s family and bless their time together.  Please bring healing to Bill and restoration to the whole family.  Please help Bill to feel well enough to enjoy his family while they are all around him.  Please allow his treatments to be effective and his life to be full of joy.  Please draw each one of them closer to You, remind them of Your perfect love for them, and draw them to a closer walk with You.  Please cover each one in Your protection as they travel.  Thank You for their willingness to welcome me in as a part of their family for a day or two.  Thank You for making the way for me to be able to support a couple of great friends.

Thank You for the great news from Wesley yesterday.  How great to celebrate in the midst of the battle!  Thank You for giving that whole family a taste of joy.  Please continue to be close to them and give them strength to walk the road before them.  You know that I am asking for complete healing in the name of Jesus.  I know that You are able.  I ask for peace to cover them all through the battle.  I ask Lord for not just Wesley, but for other who are battling cancer.  Others who are battle this cancer.

Thank You that Ruby has done well enough with her chemo that Vicki has been able to be away.  Thank You for providing.  Please bring healing to Ruby and allow her treatments to be fully and completely successful and her cancer gone.  Please strengthen her during the process and help her to draw closer to You as a result. 

I ask for Your blessing on Bart and his family.  He has been on my heart lately and I ask that You would bless his family and clearly lead them to the center of Your will.  Please bless them in their ministry and bless them as a family.  I pray that You would protect them from any assault of the enemy and be their shield.

I ask for wisdom for our church.  I pray that You would lead clearly and help us to see Your will so very clearly and help us to act in that direction.  I pray that we would have agreement and consensus and no discourse.  I pray that You would show us Your perfect direction for us and that we would be open to Your will, willing to do Your work, ready to show Your love, and seeking to get busy being Your hands and feet.  Help us Lord to get busy doing Your work. 

Thank You Lord for a beautiful drive home yesterday.  Thank You for the few spots where I wish I could have captured forever the view that laid out before me.  Thank You for 40 minutes of pure, open, loud, (probably funny looking from the other driver's view) worship!  Thank You for a great conversation the other day with the praise team about worship and leading worship.  Thank You for allowing me to work in music, thank You for people who work with me who desire to worship You for who You are.  Help us Lord to lead the church to do the same thing. 

Thank You for the times when I know that I am walking in the center of Your will.  Thank You for teaching me who You are and how much You expect from me and how much You love me, when I am successful and when I fail.  Your standard is impossible, but Your love is unfathomable.

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 15, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a few minutes of quiet this morning.   Thank You for a new perspective on a few things.  Thank You for my husband and for all he does to provide for our family.  Thank You for the attitude of teamwork we are currently sharing.  Thank You for his understanding of my trip tomorrow. 

You know Lord, I am okay with the rain today, because I see the beginnings of grass in my yard, buds on the trees, the red buds and dogwoods blooming.  Thank You for spring.  I am sure the day will come when I will fuss about grass to mow, but I'll try to remember how much I desired to have grass cover my mud. 

Lord, please be with Wesley today and help his stomach settle.  Please give the doctors wisdom to find the exact right dose and combination of medicines that will work against his cancer and keep him comfortable and as healthy as possible.  Please be with Becky as she supports him and remind them both that You love them and are not far away, but right by their side.  Please be with their boys as someone else cares for them in this difficult time.  Please hold them close and give them peace to walk in.  Please be with Tara and their whole family and cover them with peace and grace.  You know that I am asking for complete healing in the name of Jesus.  I know You are able.

Please be with Vicki and Steve today as they travel to visit with Steve's brother.  Please work miracles on his behalf and bring healing to him and allow his treatments to be fully effective.  Please bless the visit between brothers and family and allow joy to saturate the days, even in the midst of a difficult situation.

Lord, I am asking for healing for Tifany Vanater.  You know her need, You know every cell in her body.  I pray that You would heal her completely and she would not even need the surgery they think she must have.  I pray that You would touch her, give her strength and saturate her with Your tangible presence. 

I pray for strength for those that I know are struggling through a difficult season in their lives.  Struggling with loss, with pain, with more than they think they can bear.  I thank You that we are never called to bear a burden alone, but to lay them at Your feet.  I pray that You would help those people lay them at Your feet and allow You to strengthen them. 

I pray for those who need to be back in a close relationship with You.  I pray that You would let them desire to be in Your house, desire to speak to You, desire to be around Your people.  Please Lord, please help us as Your children to never trip someone up, never be a stumbling block to someone else's walk with You.  Please help us to be cautious in our lives to keep our eyes focused on You, keep our hearts clear and our words and actions to show Your love.  Please Lord, help us to show Your love and teach Your ways and allow You to draw people to Yourself, allow You to bring people into a place where they know You.  Please help us NOT to mess that up.  Please help us NOT to push people away.

I love You Lord.  I thank You for Your perfect love for me.  The love that is so complete, so designed to me personally that I am overwhelmed at times in the detail of it. 

Lord, please either give my husband strength and a decrease in pain, or lead him to make changes that will allow him to live a bit more comfortable and able to enjoy his life.  I am so very thankful for the days after his accident, the days after his surgery, the days after the elevator.   I am just asking that You might decrease his pain and give him some more strength.  I believe that You still heal, I believe that You still work miracles and could with a simple word heal him completely and eliminate his pain.  I will serve you if You do, and I will serve You if You don't.  I am just asking.

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 11, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a quiet morning.  Thank You for a little time to get myself together and think about some goals.  Thank You for encouragers and for teachers. 

Please help me to be easily led by the Holy Spirit today to work within Your will and show Your love.  Please help me to parent on purpose and not just react to each situation.  Please help me to teach Your love to my kids, grown and not yet grown. 

Please be with my friends who are struggling.  You know each one and their situation.  Please be present for them and very real and tangible. 

Please be with ld's dad and help him stay as pain free and healthy as possible while he is waiting to have the surgery he needs.  Please help his family know the best ways to help him.

Please bring healing to Wesley and strength to Becky and Tara and all of his friends and family.  Please help them to rest in You.

Please bring Vicki Your peace and bring healing to Ruby and Steve's brother.  Please help me to be a blessing.

Show me Lord where to go

In Jesus Name
Amen

April 10, 2014

Good Morning Lord,

Thank You for a quiet few minutes before the noise of the day begins.  Thank You for a pretty good day yesterday.  Thank You for watching over my family and providing for us daily.  Thank You for a break for my mother in her skin treatment.  Please help her to feel better quickly.  Thank You for a product that helps to avoid surgeries.

Thank You for this quiet of yesterday.   For helping my girls be able to rest while they were not feeling well.  Please help Lexie to feel better soon.  Thank You for working all things together for our good, even the unpleasant stuff.

Please help me Lord to be a blessing where I am called.  I want to lay down all that I have to pick up whatever You desire me to have.  I know I whine a lot.  I do.  But, really, I do want to do what I need to do in the Kingdom and for Your glory. 

Please be with Ruby, Wesley and Vicki's brother inlaw who are all fighting cancer of one type or another.  I know there are many, many more.  Please strengthen them and hold them close to You.  Please help the treatments attack the correct cells, and let the healthy cells thrive.  Please help them all avoid nausea and feel much better than they expected.  Please give them grace, smiling faces, kind caregivers, and excellent care.  Please be with my friends who are in the role of supporters, prayer warriors, do what needs to be done - ers.  Please give them strength and grace to cover them as they take care of those entrenched in the battle with cancer.  Please help them to lay their burdens at Your feet and let You carry them a while.  Please help us as their friends to help them when they are tired from burden carrying.

Please Lord, help me to be an encouragement to those around me. 

I ask Lord that You would move in the hearts of the people in this area and give them a desire to know You.  I pray that You would make them desire to be in Your church even without understanding why at first.  I ask that  You would help us to show Your character in all that we do, show Your love, speak Your words, teach  Your lessons, point people to You.  All for Your glory.

Please Lord lead us in wisdom toward choosing the pastor that You would have for AGF.  I am asking for Your wisdom and You promise to pour it out liberally to those who ask.  I am asking for every leader of our church.  I am asking for Your wisdom and for an obvious leading of the Holy Spirit toward the center of Your will.

I thank You Lord for Your perfect and never-ending love. 

In Jesus Name
Amen