Hope!!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:31

"Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary.  And His understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."  Isaiah 40:28-29

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" 2 Corinthians 3:5 ESV

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Dearest Father God, your daughter and ours, Julie, is "0 for 9" in the interview department.  Please, please bring her to the right and divinely-appointed teaching job for her--perhaps even today, in the public school where she would so love to work and serve.  Give her confidence not in herself but in Your leading and Your direction, taking her on this path to the perfect position for her and for Your work in the youth of Philadelphia.  May she hear something quickly and promptly!  Let this experience of interviewing with this important person (and a woman) be affirming and encouraging for her.  In Jesus's name and for the sake of His work in that city and in Julie's life~~Amen.

2:43 p.m. Addendum: Romans 5:5 "And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

I prayed that the principal who is interviewing Julie would recognize the Holy Spirit, even if she (the principal) does not realize that it is He.  If she is going to continue doing the great work in that school that has been started, she will need the Spirit--and, hopefully, Julie.

Family Prayers Part 2

Lord, I guess I thought Kathryn was a bit farther along in her faith than she is.  Not a judgement; just a realization.  Please calm her anxieties about her son.  Not only is she a mother, which I totally get, but she is also a nurse, which makes this a bit harder for her.  Bless her, too.  In Jesus's name~~Amen.

Family Prayer

Dear God, it is a little bit of an honor to be asked to pray.  Family members seem to recognize that we believe in You and have a relationship with You.  My cousin Kathryn apparently asked, through my mother, that we pray for her son Michael's stage 2 melanoma.  And so, I pray.  I ask You not just for healing, but for a wake-up call that life is much more than we experience here on earth.  I ask that Michael looks more deeply into his life and his heart and sees his spiritual poverty--and then turns to You, the King of Kings and the One Who gave it all up for him.  Let this turn his eyes upon Jesus.  Let his experience be that of many in the Gospels: "Go.  Your faith has saved you."  And then, almost incidentally, you are physically healed, too.  In Jesus's name~~Amen.