Scott Hassett, HBC Elder

Scott has been on my heart lately, dear Father.  What a blow to him and his family to be diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer!  I am without words to pray.  I just posted a picture of the tree pin that I got from Scott.  I hope that others will respond and pray for him, remember his struggle and the suffering of the family, and bring him--as I am doing now--before Your throne of grace.

Pray for one another.  Didn't You say that a few times in Scripture?  Yup, in James 5:16 and specifically "so that you may be healed."  I could use healing, too, Lord, but Scott needs some physical miracle so much more than I do right now.  Again, though, I have no idea exactly what to ask You to do.  Bring him relief of pain; bring Gail relief of anxiety; bring them both amazingly, so much closer to You through this awful time.  Be glorified!  In Jesus's most powerful name, Who healed bodies to show that that's the easy part, and that healing souls and forgiving sin is the way harder thing to do~~Amen.

Ending 2013

Lord, I may have only about 10 minutes, if that, for this entry.  It's Your birthday week!  What a whirlwind it has been, and it's not over.  Still, it was a good week, but I am tired.  I just wanted to connect with You briefly before the craziness of the weekend and the New Year commences.

So, I didn't do as well as I wanted in keeping an Advent journal, but I did read the Advent devotional almost every day.  It was John Piper's "Good News of Great Joy."  He quoted Tim Keller at the end, and I cannot get the quote out of my mind:

"Humility is so shy.  If you begin talking about it, it leaves."

Oh, yes.  John Piper's final meditation talked about Jesus's humility and servanthood as noted in Philippians, which he called a Christmas text.  Well worth pondering, which I guess is what I am doing.

Well, not to be rude, but I really should get going.  The family won't understand the huge delay.  If only they knew that I need some time alone to journal...but George particularly would want to read what I write, and it is intended ONLY for You.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

My Nephew Joe

Dear Father, my impulsive but courageous and good-hearted nephew Joe did something incredibly stupid recently.  He totaled a police cruiser that he was driving to a domestic dispute by running a red light.  Please, in Your great mercy so powerfully illustrated in the Christmas story, spare him the awful consequences of losing his job.  He was foolish.  We all know that--even he knows that.  But we have all been foolish.  Let this be an example of great grace, or wonderful forgiveness, of second chances and the opportunity to start again.  Please allow him to hold on to his job because he loves it, because his family needs it--and him, and because You are trying to get into his life.  We know that this is something that we can give to You to weave into Your plan for his life and ultimately his relationship with You--his salvation.  In Jesus's name~~Amen.

"Mommy's Mad!"

Dear Heavenly Father, I contracted with myself to spend some time in prayer before I returned to working on the talk for MOPS on Thursday.  Here I am.  I'm a little bit tired, but tonight was a gift.  My only client canceled (although for a horrible reason--her daughter is in jail and the father of the grandkids committed suicide in jail), and I came to Barnes and Noble to spend some time with You.  It's a date!  So would You meet me here?

(I took a moment or two to look for an old worship song I knew.  I couldn't find it, but the idea was "I'm here...Meet me here.")

Who but You knows how many women will be with us on Thursday?  Please bring the ones that need to come.  Let me be sensitive to them and to Carra's desire to get the wrapping done early--maybe by 8 p.m. so that she can leave.  Let me be both Biblically sound and clinically competent, which has been my career-long prayer.  Please give me exactly what someone needs, or several someones need, to be effective mothers and excellent examples of emotion management.

This is an honor to speak, of course, and I want to point women to You for their strength and wisdom in parenting.  I hope that I speak from the experience of relying on You for that strength and wisdom.  What would my daughters say?

Okay, the timer went off.  I will do a bit of research now and get a PowerPoint up, mostly for myself to stay on track.  "Bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory (my influence), and [may] your hand ... be with me, and [may] you ... keep me from harm!"  1 Chronicles 4:10

Urgent: Kimberly's Aunt

Dear Lord, I never again want to promise to pray without actually praying. Kimberly's Aunt Barbara is in a coma secondary to anoxia for 12 minutes (somehow related to hip replacement surgery). What is the appropriate prayer in a situation like this? Grace...comfort...wisdom...mercy! Lord, have mercy. I don't know how old Barbara is, but that doesn't really matter. Have mercy on her, on the family, and (from my perspective) specifically on Kimberly. Give her safe travel and the knowledge and experience of your presence. In the healing name of Jesus~~Amen.

The Best Daughters

Father God, I think this topic came to my mind because one of the deaf patients at the hospital recently lost her son to a gang shooting.  I began to wonder how I would feel, how I would cope, if my children made bad choices.  How grieved would I be?  How self-loathing, because at some level the thoughts almost always turn to blame for the parents for not raising the child properly?  How much time would I spend in pleading prayer for my babies?

I am amazingly grateful for the wonderful, Godly daughters I have.  Wow.  You done good, God!  :)  I think Julie is a bit more "liberal" than Amy, but she seems to be well grounded in the Word and in her relationship with you.  They both have big hearts for others, with the overriding purpose of loving them into the Kingdom.  Thank You.  That's all.  Just thank YOU.  And I will try to pray for them as much as I might if they were wayward.  They deserve that much of my prayer protection and attention, maybe more, to keep them close to You.

Barrington Nicols & Granny

I will have to make this super-quick, but I promised Kimberly I would pray, or had prayed, for Your will for "coverage" for Mary Ann while they sail the Caribbean next year. Please provide the right situation for Mary Ann. Kimberly is trying to be responsible for her while still being responsible for her own family. ???

George's Back

Lord, I probably "should" have done this earlier, even days ago.  The short story: making lasagna for George's family because we are going north to visit his mother (and everyone else) today.  So, I am sure you understand.

George's spine is sick.  Without boring you with the details that you already know thoroughly, I want to ask you officially to intervene.  He is painstakingly (and there is an emphasis on "pain") compliant with his stretching exercises.  He is also stubborn with respect to taking a pain reliever.  The best case scenario would be complete healing.  Is that in Your will?  In whatever way you step in, please bring him relief and a certainty that you have touched him.  Please reduce the pain.  I am impressed with how he hides his discomfort, but I do wish he would take something to help with it.  Especially today, with all his family, please make him comfortable.  He isn't terribly "comfortable" with them in the first place, and having pain is likely to make it less so.

In Jesus's name, out of love for my Godly and wonderful husband, and in the modern-day power of the Holy Spirit--Amen.

My Baby is Sick

Is there a way to make this work? I keep seeing "Error on page" at the bottom of this post. :(For the moment, I will write in HTML and not the Compose pane. So... Dear Father, You are the Healer. Healing is in Your hands. Please be merciful to my youngest daughter, Julie, and restore her health quickly. She is so responsible, and she takes seriously the commitments that she has to her education and her volunteer positions. Would You honor that and give her the rest, the healing rest, that she requires to allow You to fix her? Please strengthen her immune system and allow it to knock out the virus that I suspect has attacked her. This is for her and for You and Your kingdom. In Jesus's name, Who healed a bunch of people during His earthly ministry...and by the work of the Holy Spirit, Who heals today~~Amen.

Daughters Serving the Lord

• Amy: First day as "Graduate Assistant for Women's Programming" at Taylor University.  Please, Lord, let her ... what? ... "succeed" according to Your will, make disciples of the women students, feel Your presence in her work.
• Julie: Last week at Lakeside Christian Camp.  Please, Lord, let her also succeed according to Your will, make disciples of the campers with whom she has worked, and feel Your presence in her work.

All in Jesus's name!  Amen.

Moment

Lord, it is a Thursday night.  Right now, Julie's at Lakeside, Amy's at Samantha's, and George is...who knows?  Dear Lord, I am not very focused right now.  If I were to sit quietly for a bit of time, I know that I would think of several if not a dozen things to bring to You.

90 seconds from home!  That's George.  Later, Lord.  Love you!

Sydney Allen

Oh, God!  How tragic this event that took a 3-year-old baby girl's life!  1 Thessalonians 4:13 says,

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

May we not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.  May we, and especially the Allens, grieve with the comfort that comes only from You.  Supernatural, extraordinary comfort that is next to impossible for the human mind to comprehend but which our regenerate hearts can glimpse.

Wishing for a Long Time

Lord, it's just before 10 a.m. today, and I will have to get to work on time for 11:30 a.m.  :(  In between, I need to package some things for Julie and send out a quick invitation to the MOPS gals for Sunday.  I am still dripping wet from my shower!  Thank You that You are master of time, and the number of minutes I spend here is not indicative of my prayer or of Your love.

So--Do I have a blind spot when it comes to that patient at work?  I seem to butt heads with the psychiatrist over him.  He is a pain; that is not the issue.  In fact, in general it seems that we are ("we" meaning the professional staff) failing to treat most of our patients with dignity and respect.  However, I digress.  My initial question concerned a blind spot.  If I have one, dear Lord, reveal it to me and open my eyes.  This stalemate, this conflict is not comfortable (although my comfort is not the goal here).

Please bless both my daughters, but especially Julie this week at Lakeside.  Please give her extra wisdom, maturity, patience, love, and endurance.  Show her a glimpse of Yourself?  That will keep her going!  She's a special one.  May she bless You right back.

I wish I didn't have to go.  I have SO much more to pray about.  Accept this small entry as a token of my praying without ceasing, but having no evidence to support that.  :)  I love You!  Amen.

In the "Garden"

That may not be the best title for this post, Lord, but it reflects my wish to spend time in the quiet place in my heart--Your garden--with You.

Today's One Year Bible reading is Paul's testimony to ... Jerusalem?  In this part of the story, he speaks Greek to the commander of the barracks and Aramaic to the crowd.  This made me think of Franklin, and his interest in languages for the purpose of translating Scripture for those who have no version for themselves.  Please bless that young man, Lord, and preserve his life and health for the furtherance of Your Kingdom.

One part of the passage that I wondered about was this: "The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth."  Would this mean me, too?  "You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.  And now what are you waiting for?"  This fits well with the premise of David Platt's book Follow Me, that our only purpose and Your overriding will is to tell all people the message.

Oh, to spend more time here with You.  It's almost 9 a.m., and I have to mail that Keurig K-cup holder today, and I haven't showered yet, and I have to be at work by 11:30 a.m.  For a day alone....

Love You, dear Lord!

PS  Blessings on Julie!  She is probably exhausted in her work at Lakeside.

Thoughts from Follow Me

Hi, Lord.  I took a sick day from work today, and in truth I feel a little off.  Despite that, I accomplished a great deal today, not the least of which is making this entry.

David Platt's premise in Follow Me is a very powerful argument: that our only and most important calling in life is to follow Christ "radically" (related to the title of his other book).  Nothing else matters.  That does not, paradoxically, mean that we become spartan or that we quit our jobs to "minister" full time.  It does mean that everything is subjected to the ultimate purpose of evangelizing.

So, here I am.  I am about to make cupcakes for Amy's friend Samantha's bridal shower on Saturday. Of course, it is about 80 degrees in the house.  :)  Sacrifice!!  Love you, Lord, and may You be glorified by me at the shower, at work, everywhere!

One Thousand Dollars

Oh, my goodness, Lord.  I wish my husband had been more understanding about our daughter's desire (call?) to return to Mexico for a week of celebration for all the ones whom she has grown to love.  However, he did it.  We are contributing half of the above amount to make this trip happen.  Please bless this step of faith and obedience.  How does one ever really know what You are calling her to do?  Paul--you, the after-apostle--you seemed to know even when it didn't make "sense."  Lord, please confirm this in some way.  We are not very experienced at this following thing, certainly not as much as our years of living with You might suggest.  And bless her trip, her friends, and most of all, her.  In Jesus's name and by Your Spirit~~Amen.

Praying Julie Home

Ahh, Lord!  The weather for flying is terrible.  Please help.  I started to try to specify how I want You to help, but I believe You already know what to do.  Please bring all those young people to the ground safely and return them all to their families.  I beg You to be gracious and redirect the storms OR the flight to ensure their safety.  Please.  In Jesus's name~Amen

For Junior Church

The weight of responsibility for Junior Church is sometimes heavy, dear Lord.  Please touch some people's hearts to help this Sunday.  I need to put together the June schedule, but we have to get this Sunday set immediately.  I'm pleading.  I'm not just asking.  This is for You and Your work in the lives of these precious children.  In a minute or two, I will send out another email.  Would You bless it with fruit?  In Your wonderful name, so worth sharing~~Amen and amen.

Julie in Montana

Lord, I checked the weather forecast for Ashland, MT, and it looks like thunderstorms today and rain until Friday.  :(  And the team is camping.  I remember a "camping" trip with Crossroads many (many) years ago that was wet and miserable, and You impressed James 1 onto my heart:

Consider it all joy, my brethren (and sisters), when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  (verses 2-4)

Well worth memorizing for myself, and  I will also pray this for the GO West team.  Please guard Julie's heart from any bitterness over the bad weather, and shine Your Spirit through her joy.  This is an amazing adventure that she is on!  Open the eyes of her heart, Lord.  She wants to see You.  Please grant that desire of her heart.

And from my mother-heart, please bring her home safely and well.  I am really looking forward to the trip home with her (although I suspect she will sleep some or most of the drive).

Holy Spirit, I ask You for special work in Julie's life during these last few days of this ministry.  Do Your thing.  You know that I am asking this for Julie's sake, of course, and also for the sake of the spread of the Kingdom--Your Kingdom--through Jesus Christ and for the glory of God.  Amen!!

Julie GO'd West

Father God, I have been holding Julie in my thoughts since she left a week ago for Colorado on the Global Outreach (GO) trip to the West.  I haven't had as much time to write, though.  Please accept this prayer for her retrospectively and prospectively.  The messages that the team members are posting on the information line seem positive and even fun!  I ask for her a chance to share You with the others, a glimpse of Your call on her life, and an experience that will stay in her memory as a wonderful time.  Please keep all of them from sickness and exhaustion.  Refresh their bodies as they camp even as You refresh their spirits every day.  I can hardly wait until I can hear all her stories, told in her funny, pithy way.  Guard her closely and protect her from every evil.  In Jesus's name and in the leading of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of Your kingdom in Julie's life and through her as well~~Amen.