Praises

In October 2009 my husband was fired from his job for $8. He worked for Wal Mart and had compassion upon a customer that was just short of having the money to buy a much needed car battery. Instead of purchasing the battery outright and then having the customer reimburse him, my husband used his employee discount card to bring down the price of the battery and was summarily fired. Since that time, except for part time minimum wage positions, he has not had a job. Yet will I praise the Lord!

In September 2010, due to the circumstances in the church I served as pastor, it became apparent that the best thing for all concerned was for me to resign. Since March I have only worked at a part time minimum wage job myself. Yet will I praise God!

In December 2010, we moved into my sister's three bedroom home because we did not have any place else to go. So technically, my family is homeless. Yet will I lift up my praises to God Almighty!

Because of our present financial difficulties, we have had to apply for and become recipients of food stamps, we visit food pantries regularly, and recently I have had to humble myself in asking for further financial assistance to cover our bills. Yet will God receive my praises!

In April, our younger daughter was caught in the monster tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You had better believe I was praising God for keeping her safe.

One of the results of the tornado was that my daughter's car had its back window blown out, the windshield was cracked in various places and it received so much hail damage that the insurance company totaled the vehicle. We opted to keep the car as our daughter still needed it for school. Yet will I praise God.

In June, on the way to take our other daughter to the doctor, the back passenger window in our van was shot out by a boy playing with a gun. If my husband, who was driving had arrived at that part of the road just an instant later, our daughter would have been injured or killed by the gun shot. Hallelujah I praised God for keeping both my daughter and my husband safe!

When my husband returned to my sister's house to drop off the now damaged van and switch vehicles with our other car, its transmission cable broke and had to be repaired for $600 we still do not have. Yet will I praise God.

We have had to repeatedly apply for assistance from hospitals and prescription companies to keep our health good (my husband has an artificial heart valve that requires he take blood thinners to keep the valve working and I have fibromyalgia.) Yet will my praises be ever sent to God!

Throughout this whole experience I have spent time screaming at God, arguing about how He has promised to take care of my family and myself. But every time I do, God is faithful to do exactly as He has promised. Just because the fulfillment of that promise doesn't look exactly they way that I would like it to look doesn't mean that God is not being faithful to give us what we really need, not what we want. I am learning much about humility and how difficult it is sometimes for others to be in a position to have to repeatedly ask for help, how sometimes it is not the person's fault nor truly the person's choice to be in the circumstances that prompt them to have to ask for help. I pray that this experience will not only improve my Christian walk as I am forced to really and truly rely on God's grace to be sufficient for me and my family, but also that I will learn the compassion that I may have been lacking toward others in my same situation.

I would not wish this situation on anyone else, but I do know that Jesus has said that the poor will be with us always and so there will be those who have to face this. I pray that God will enable me, empower me, and further equip me to be able to minister to others, especially those who are in difficult financial circumstances, in a more Christ like manner so that they too can truthfully say, "Yet will I praise God for all His grace and mercy given to me."

Prayer for Japan and those in the path of the tsunami

Heavenly Father, we struggle to understand such things as earthquakes and tsunamis that can wreak such havoc and destruction, causing deaths and heartache for so many people. Yet we also acknowledge that You are in control and You see what we cannot. So we lift up in prayer those who have been negatively impacted by both the earthquake and the tsunami. For those who have lost loved ones, please bless them with Your peace and comfort. For those who have mobilized to provide help, bless them with whatever they need to be able to provide that help. For those still in the path of the tsunami, please bless them with the wisdom to not put themselves nor anyone else in danger. Help us all, dearest God, that we will seek out what You would have each of us do in response to this disaster. All these things we ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.



Nancy

Prayer for Japan and those in the path of the tsunami

Heavenly Father, we struggle to understand such things as earthquakes and tsunamis that can wreak such havoc and destruction, causing deaths and heartache for so many people. Yet we also acknowledge that You are in control and You see what we cannot. So we lift up in prayer those who have been negatively impacted by both the earthquake and the tsunami. For those who have lost loved ones, please bless them with Your peace and comfort. For those who have mobilized to provide help, bless them with whatever they need to be able to provide that help. For those still in the path of the tsunami, please bless them with the wisdom to not put themselves nor anyone else in danger. Help us all, dearest God, that we will seek out what You would have each of us do in response to this disaster. All these things we ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Nancy

Psalm 23, a version for today

The Lord is my Shepherd, I will trust in Him.
He provides me with basic shelter even though I am without a home here on Earth. He leads me to a place of peace and renews my strength, guiding me to walk paths that bring honor to Him.

Yea though I walk through the valley of unemployment and homelessness, I will not be afraid for You are with me even there. Your mercy and grace remind me that You are near and my true home is in You.

You provide me with help through the kindness of strangers, providing me sustenance from donations made to food pantries. You welcome into Your presence always, reminding me that I am Your beloved child. My cup does overflow with blessings even when it seems like those blessings are few. Surely Your goodness, mercy, grace, and love will continue to pursue me all the days of my life so that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever

Prayer for the Journey

Lord, whenever a new part of this journey called life begins, I can step out full of faith and trusting that You will be walking beside me. My steps are energetic, my heart is light, my lips bring forth Your praises. But somewhere along that path, obstacles crop up, what was once a smooth path, becomes uneven and difficult to walk. Even at the beginning of this part, I can still proclaim my faith and truly mean what I say. I know that eventually, and it pains me to admit this, my faith falters. When the road continues to be obstacle strewn and difficult to traverse, I can grow so weary, Lord. At the start, I can hear clearly Your promise to always be right beside me, taking care of me, and providing me with exactly what I need. Somewhere along the way, my ears become stopped up and my hearing becomes less than clear. I start doubting if I really am on the path You have chosen for me. I wonder if I have missed a signpost along the way that would have sent me in a less difficult direction. Like Abraham and Sarah, I become tempted to take matters into my own hands instead of waiting for the fulfillment of the promise You have given. Fear begins to replace faith in my heart and my mind as the difficulties increase and my energy decreases. Forgive me please, Lord God Almighty, for those times. Strengthen me now that I might be less wearied and more connected with You every step of the way. Bless me please, that this time, I may continue to walk by faith and not by sight until the end of this part of the journey. When the way becomes difficult, help me to lean more on You and less on myself or what others are suggesting to me. Please, Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on You and You alone. Help me to make it through the storms that I know are coming not just as a survivor, but as an example to others about how to trust in You and how trusting You brings many blessings not the least of which is Your peace which surpasses all human understanding. Forgive my fear and equip me to conquer it. I confess all these things and ask all these things in the name and for the sake of the One who faced more that this and faced it for me, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer for 9/11

Creator of us all. Nine years ago tonight, those of us who were alive at the time went to bed without any inkling of what the coming day held for any of us. We slept as we always did, got up the next morning and followed our morning routine which for many of us included listening to news on the radio or watching it on the news. When I first heard about a plane hitting the twin towers, the reporter said that small planes regularly hit tall buildings and that odds were, this was a small plane accident. It was but a short time later that I learned it was not a small plane and we all learned that we were under attack. Tears still fall, Lord, for those innocent people on the planes who knew in the last moments of their lives that they would indeed be the last moments of their lives. We know that You were there with each and every one of them every second. We know that Yours were the tears that fell the hardest that day because not only were those who are part of Your greatest creation harmed, but those who did the harming were part of that greatest creation as well. We are told in the Bible that it is Your desire that not one human ever spend eternity without You and I know that You mourn whenever any of us chooses in this life to spend eternity separated from You. How much You must have mourned that day and every day since.
Have we learned what we needed to learn since then, Father. I don't know. Many turned to You at that time. Many have turned away again since then. Help us all, dearest Father in Heaven who also is as close as breathing to us here on Earth. Help us to keep our focus on You and Your will. Help us to always, always remember that no matter how out of control and crazy the world may seem to be, You are still the one in control, not al Queda, not Obama, not Ahmadinejad, not Hamas, not the Tea Parties, not Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh and certainly not anyone reading this prayer. Help us to turn our mourning into action, our tears into blessings poured out on others as we even more boldly proclaim Your gospel to all the world, making disciples of all nations. May any tears we shed clear our vision so that we may see what it is You want us to do. May the knowledge of Your steadfast love and constant presence in our lives encourage and empower us to share that with others who are hungering to know You. Make us instruments of peace and love and truth throughout the world, arming ourselves and others with Your armor as we fight against the powers and principalities that would enslave and oppress us all. We ask all these things in the name and for the sake of the One who gave His life for us all, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Nancy

A prayer for special people

This is something that God has put on my heart and will not leave me alone.

Lord, when we married so many years ago, we had just hopes and dreams. We saw ourselves becoming parents, raising our children together, then spending our golden years pursuing activities that struck our fancy. But that is not how it has turn out, Lord, and it has left me angry and confused. Yes there have been plentous blessings throughout the years, but now illness has robbed me of the spouse I married all those years ago. No longer does she, no longer does he have the same spark in his/her eyes that once was there. There was a time when we talked about all kinds of things, sharing our ideas, energized by the exchanges. But now she/he can only get out a few words and they do not always make sense. WHY LORD? I do not understand this confusing new normal in my life. Why has this person that I once knew so well become a stranger to me? Why does he/she do the things that she/he does, things that he/she cannot explain? I am angry, God, because this was NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! We were supposed to be enjoying this time together with children grown and grandchildren almost so. But she/he doesn't remember the grandchildren and barely remembers the children who are unable to visit regularly. Our days were supposed to be pleasant not filled with fights about what needs to be done. I thought that once our last child was out of diapers, that would be the end of changing those except if I chose to do so on grand or great-grandchildren. I look in the eyes of the one I love and I see confusion and it leaves me frustrated that I cannot alleviate that confusion for him/her. My brain can understand all the literature about what is happening, but my heart is breaking every day as I watch her/him slowly but surely slip away, knowing that there is nothing I can do to stop it but wanting with all my might that I could. I know our children try to do what they can, but they are the children, not the spouse. I struggle everyday, Lord. I find that I am leaning on You more than ever, yet my heart goes on breaking. I struggle as well, Lord, as my own health is not always the best and there are times when I resent having to deal with her/him. There are times when I just want everything to be less stressful. Yes there are day cares, in home care, family care, etc., but late at night, it is just me an him/her. Bless me please, dearest Father in Heaven. Bless me with patience with the situation in which I now find myself. Bless me with more than enough support and wise counsel to help me. Bless me with open ears, an open mind, and an open heart that I heed the counsel You send me. Bless me with the humility to ask for help when I need it, to accept help that is offered, and to understand that I do not NEED to do it all alone, that I SHOULD NOT do it all alone. Bless me with someone who understands to whom I can speak when things are bad and when things are good so that they may support and celebrate with me. Be with my spouse as well, Lord. In the midst of all the confusion, in the midst of all the forgetting, bless her/him that they will never forget You. Help him/her to always know that You are right there with them at all times. While You are at it, Lord, please bless me with the same. Enfold us both in Your loving arms, calming the storms inside, and filling us to overflowing with Your love and peace which surpasses all human understanding. Thank You God. Thank You for all the years together You have given us. Thank You for loving us no matter what has happened in our lives. Thank You for being there for us each and every day including right now. Thank You for listening. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Nancy