Please be in prayer

Please be in prayer for Grant's family from Florida (The Dorsey's) who lost their 12 year old son Andrew to a rare brain cancer earlier today. I posted about him briefly in my last post - there is a side button on my blog "Pray for Andrew." I cannot imagine the grief and pain they are going through - but one thing most admirable is their faith that continues to shine! How amazing!

One thing Melanie (his mom) always said, was "BUT GOD!" referring to how amazing and miraculous God is even when on earth things look hopeless. I think the BUT GOD here is that there was a fast growing cancer that ultimately took his short life, BUT GOD has Andrew now and he is Healthy! And God is still miraculous in that I KNOW lives have been touched by the familie's faith throughout his illness.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I cannot imagine the grief, the unimaginable pain. I pray that You meet whatever the needs of this family are. Continue to show them that yes we do have trials and tribulations on this earth, BUT GOD never leaves our side!
Thank You for a willing servant in Melanie, who reached out even in her agony over her son's illness, and now in her grief, to show us You!
I love You,
Amen

Pray

There's nothing greater than the power of prayer and there's no better listener than a God who hears all the time, in every circumstance, in every jumbled attempt that can seem so much like rambling that you aren't even sure what you are saying...HE HEARS and HE KNOWS.

There are several people that I would lift up right now at this moment, and am doing so, and I know God is listening...my nephew...a distant family member's son (http://bellamella-melanie.blogspot.com/) a friend's father-in-law...a sister in Christ....my husband...myself...my children. And I know God knows and God hears!

Who are you praying for today? Who is on your heart? What situation is bringing you to your knees in prayer?

When I feel a heaviness...Lord show me YOUR HOLINESS!

When I feel shocked...Lord show me that You are not ever surprised.

When I feel confused...Lord show me that You are working it all for good.

Wherever, Whatever, Whomever, However, Whenever, Whyever

Show us Lord that You are always with us!

When all we feel is the rain, show us Lord, the SON!

Dear Lord,
Today no matter what is going on, thank You for listening to our cries. Thank You for being a God who is unfailing! Thank you for being a God who isn't afraid for us to ask for it ALL!!
I love You, Amen

In His Hands

It's been several weeks ago (months, maybe), but the neatest thing happened with an encounter I had with Madison. You know how you have those moments that stop you in your tracks, and you just realize that God was trying to tell you something. Sometimes those messages are subtle and you have to reach a little to discern the meaning, and other times they come across loud and clear. This one was LOUD and CLEAR!

I was leaving the kitchen (gathering up toys along the way) and heading into the girls' rooms to deposit them, when I saw a very hurried and determined Madison on her way past me back to the kitchen. I knew what she was searching for. While I was trying to get it out, "I have your toy," she was busy trying to tell me what she was going to find. But she was so in a hurry that she couldn't get out what she was trying to say, and I was certain it was the very thing I was holding in my hands.

I just sighed, and watch her continue to run in the other direction searching for what she was looking for, and waited patiently holding in my hand that very toy! Pretty soon, I knew she would get tired of looking, give up, and come ask me. AND SHE DID!

And there I was with my outstretched hands, and a smile on my face, holding her anxiously searched for toy.

She quickly snatched her toy from my hand and headed back to her room to play. And I just stood there. The message was loud and clear!

How many times, God, do I run right past You searching anxiously for the very thing You have are holding in Your hands for me?

How many times do I blurt out my request, barely able to get it out, before I rush off in a search on my own?

How many times am I so busy telling you what I need, that I fail to hear when You are telling me You already have what I need?

I was so moved, that I just stood there for a minute soaking it in. I wish that I could calmly go before my Lord, with great confidence every time, that He has all of what I need in His hands. He does...if we would only believe it. Sometimes what we think we need, are not the same things as He is holding in His hands, but if we stop to listen long enough, He will show us our true need. And give it to us gladly, with a smile on His face!

Dear Lord,
Thank you for this moment with Madison that stopped me in my own tracks, and taught me a valuable lesson. Thank you for showing me that so many times, I am too busy pursuing things on my own, that I fail to see what You have planned for me. Help me Lord to always come to You, waiting for you to answer! Waiting for You to give me the treasure You have in the palm of Your mighty hands!
I love You, Amen

2 Corinthians 9:8, " And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

The Crippled Heart That God Made Whole!

Once upon a time in a sunny valley, there lived a little lamb named Joshua. He was white with black spots, black feet, and ...sad eyes. Josh felt sad when he saw the other lambs with snow-white wool and no spots. He felt sad when he saw the other sheep with their moms and dads because he didn't have a mom or dad. But he felt saddest when he saw the other lambs running and jumping, because he couldn't. Josh had been born with one leg that didn't work right. He was crippled. (The Crippled Lamb, Max Lucado)


This is one of my all time favorite Christmas stories, because even though it is a fiction tale, it is packed with a wonderful message. The story continues with Joshua and his best friend, the old cow Abigail. Even with his good friend Abigail, though, Josh continued to feel sad. That's when Abigail would turn to him and say, 'Don't be sad, little Joshua. God has a special place for those who feel left out." When the shepherd led all of the flock to a new place, Joshua had to stay behind because he was crippled, but he soon found out why he had to stay. For you see, the stable that he was sleeping in that night, became the birthplace of our Lord Jesus.


Joshua looked down at the baby. Somehow he knew this was a special child, and this was a special moment. He also understood why he had been born with a crippled leg. Had be been like the other sheep, he would have been in the valley. But since he was different, he was in the stable, among the first to welcome Jesus into the world. ... He layed beside the King, and kept him warm with his soft white-with-black-spots wool. Josh then, looked at his friend Abigail and said, You were right...God does have a special place for me.


This past weekend, God had a special place for a friend of mine. And God knew that the life (and death) of her son was meant to touch the hearts of many in a special place.


I shared a wonderful weekend at the Beth Moore Conference in New Orleans, with two of my best friends and a group of wonderful women from my church. Leading up to this weekend, I was very excited to see Beth, but also prayerful for my friend Faith, because her precious son Aaron went to be with the Lord a year ago, on this day, April 8.


My dear friend Christi sent an email a few days leading up to this asking for people to be in prayer for Faith. She wrote, "This weekend, Faith and I are going to meet Amber (one of my dearest friends from 2nd grade who has become a friend of Faith’s) and we are going to the Beth Moore Conference in New Orleans. I pray that God will speak through her in so many ways that will be encouraging to Faith as she is going through this tough time." What Christi didn't mention in her email, was that leading up to this conference, she felt led by God to write a letter to Beth Moore explaining that Faith would be at the event and how she had lost her sweet Aaron almost a year ago to the date of the event.


The conference was absolutely wonderful. I haven't experienced a time like this in such a long time. The praise team was wonderful and we lifted our voices in praise to the MOST HIGH!!! And her message was right on...but it wasn't until the very end, that the "bow on the package was neatly wrapped", something Beth had prayed God would do before she began her Saturday message.


While we were sitting there, as the time was drawing near for the end of the event, Beth said that there was a mom there whose friend had written a letter to her telling of how her precious 7 week old son had gone to be with the Lord a year ago. As Beth continued it was apparent that she was speaking of our dear friend Faith. She continued and read to more than 6000 women attending the conference the post that Faith had written on her Caring Bridge site, a year ago today...

Our Aaron is at home with the angels held tightly by our Lord. We got to hold him and rock him as he left this earth for a much better place. One of our doctors even rocked him with us and several cried with us. No more pain and suffering. We had not held him in 3 weeks, so we were thankful for this last opportunity on this earth. He only knew 2 weeks away from the hospital and we are thankful for each minute we had him.
We came here with Aaron to get a "new" heart for him. On Friday, he got this heart after 2 open heart surgeries and 2 heart caths. Some time between Saturday and yesterday morning, Aaron sustained a massive brain injury. No one knows the cause except our Lord. All the doctors are baffled and said it was not a clot or bleed, but severe swelling. The swelling was too much for Aaron to handle.
We can't begin to express our gratitude for all your prayers. We know our Father heard each one and they gave us comfort. Aaron felt peace from them as well. Even though we did not get a miracle healing of our son, we were blessed to have him with us for just over 7 weeks. Maybe that was our miracle.


Oh, how I thank you God, that Aaron's life was a miracle. I'd like to share with you a post from Faith on the 6 month anniversary of Aaron's death.

We were planning his recovery and thinking about the days we would have with him when he was well and older. Optimistic in the future. But those days did not come.
I wonder why God chose him for such a short life of suffering. Did his fifty days on this earth matter to anyone? Did it matter that he knew so much pain? Did anything good come of his suffering?
Did it make a difference that we were faithful? That we sought God in prayer? Did it matter that so many people prayed fervently for a healing that did not come? Did this trial draw anyone closer to You? Did it make a difference to anyone at the hospital? Did anyone come to faith from anything we did? Did it matter that we sent thank you notes to doctors and nurses as we sat at home with an empty crib?
It would make Aaron’s suffering and our heartache so much more bearable to know that God used us for something. I pray that one day we will know.


My dear, sweet friend Faith, crippled as the lamb, yet oh, so faithful, I am here to tell you that because of Aaron's crippled heart...


YES...it did matter.


YES...it did make a difference.


YES...someone came to faith.


YES...Aaron's suffering and your heartache was used for something.


YES...Aaron's crippled heart, and your FAITHFUL (yet crippled) spirit, have brought someone's heart to the LORD JESUS CHRIST....


and YES... not just someone was touched, but that an arena of more than 6000 people, came face to face with our Lord Jesus Christ because of your precious son Aaron!


There is your miracle!


Amen, Praise God Almighty, Hallelujah!


Though your suffering is great, I hope that you can begin to see that God had and continues to have a special place for you and Aaron. He has and will continue to use you because of your faith. Praise God! And for all the rest of us, though we feel crippled, left out, or unimportant...we may not know how God will work things for good in the days to come...but I am here to tell you, HE WILL and HE DOES!!! Thank you Jesus! Amen! (Say those last phrases how Beth would say them, because as I typed them, that's how they sounded to me!)


During one of Aaron's surgeries I wrote the following to Faith on her Caring Bridge site...

I can only imagine what I would feel, and it would be awful to hand my newborn over, but as you handed him over, you handed him to the wonderful work that God can do. I am praying for a quick 3 hours, and that time will go by quickly for you. And I pray that you will have your little man in your arms again very soon - with a heart that has been worked on by God!!! How all of our hearts have been worked on (mine especially), by your willingness to share your life with us, has certainly been a blessing!!! Aaron's heart is actually being worked on, but so are the hearts of many, because of your faith and strength. Sending you my love today, and my prayers...Amber Pittman


I am praising God today, that although you wish to have Aaron with you, that God has used him and your faithfulness to GOD in ALL of your circumstances to touch the hearts of many. You handed him over for surgeries and heart caths, but for sure the hardest was when you handed him over to the GREAT PHYSICIAN for the final time.

No longer crippled, Aaron's heart is whole!!! Praise the Lord!

I'd like to end by sharing the verse that your friend Kelley shared, that has become so special to you.

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For a beautiful video Faith put together to celebrate Aaron's life, please click on the following link. Your hearts will be abundantly blessed if you do. I usually close with a prayer, but today...as you watch the video...please share your own prayers for Faith, Scott, and big brother Levi, and ask the Lord to use you and give you peace. We are all crippled lambs, but we can be assured God has a special place for us all, and it's only through our salvation from the Lord, Jesus Christ, that we, too, can be made WHOLE. I love you, Amen.


(As you click on the following link, scroll to the bottom and pause the songs on her playlist, because there is a wonderful song playing on the video that you don't want to miss!)

As I am writing this, I am not sure if or what Faith will post on her blog, but I am sure that she would welcome any comments you might want to add, that would lift her and her family in prayer! ***Update...she did post today...so please read, beautiful!!!***

http://hillfamilyms.blogspot.com/2009/02/very-special-birthday.html

Love you all, Amber Pittman

Pray

This morning as I write, there are several people on my heart that I'd like for you to pray for specifically.

The first family is the family of a 16 year old Jessie Boone, who was on a spring break ski trip and hit a tree and is suffering a brain injury. (She's a family friend of a dear friend of mine in Mandeville). Those of you that are family members reading this, know the sadness, fear, ups and downs, etc. that can come from having a family member in this situation. Let's all pray that she will be healed, that her family and friends will be comforted, and that God will work in this situation, no matter what the outcome. They have a care page set up for her at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/JessicaBoone if you are interested in following her progress.

The second prayer request is for a little girl that is related to my Bible Study leader, who was just diagnosed with stage 4 neoblastoma in her abdomen. She is at Children's Hospital in New Orleans, and has a long road ahead of her with chemo treatments to shrink the tumor, and surgery following. The treatment plan is for the next two years, so they have a long road ahead of them, and I know they could use our prayers. She is 2 (I think). Her caringbridge site is http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/adriannacavanagh.

Next, Emily (my sister) taught school in Brookhaven last year, and one of her students was killed in an automobile accident coming back from a Spring Break trip last week. The other passenger in the car, also a student of Emily's is in critical condition. I don't know much else about the situation, but that they need our prayers as well.

I am earnestly just writing these requests for your prayers. I know that it is difficult for some (me, too) to read about these situations in care sites, and not get emotionally involved, so if all you do is lift up their names in prayer, God knows exactly what they need!!

Thanks for yor faithfulness!


Lamentations 2:19
"...Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children...."

Dear Heavenly Father,
This morning I ask that you be with those familie's I've mentioned and meet their needs. You know exactly what each of them need this very moment, and I thank you that You will deliver that to them. Comfort them, Lift them, Provide for them, Love them! Bless them! Heal them!
Our hearts pour out our prayers to you this morning. Our hands are lifted!
I love you, Amen.

Three Days from Nowhere

In the book, Believe That You Can, the author, Jentezen Franklin has a segment entitled, "Three Days from Nowhere." I was curious what this meant, but when I started reading, I realized that I too, have been in this place. To help you understand what this means, I will give you a few quotes from the book.
"Sometimes when you're 'three days from nowhere,' you are in a mind battle. You're confused. You don't know where God is. You don't know where you are. You know where you're going, but this doesn't look like you're supposed to be at this time in your life. At this phase, you thought you would be further along. Instead, you're 'three days from nowhere'! Everybody has his or her trial of a lifetime. The other trials are just faith boosters to get your immune system up. Then comes the big one, the trial of a lifetime. But it's the trial of a lifetime that leads to the experience of a lifetime."

Have you had your trial of a lifetime? I have...in fact, I've had two!

The first was the loss of my precious baby boy mid-way through my first pregnancy.
And the second was learning of Audrey's rare skin-condition when she was only four months old.

At both of these times in my life, I was so lost in confusion and disbelief, so lost in my fear, that it was so hard for me to realize that God was with me. In this period of my life, the one thing I wanted was to have a baby, and to have a healthy baby. My loss caused me to fear I would never have a child, and then when I did (with Madison) and had another (Audrey)...the health of my baby was in question. I was, at both of these times, in a place I never thought I'd be, or wanted to be.

But...I can honestly say, that I am blessed because of both of these situations.

At this time in my life right now, I know quite a few people who are in their own "three days from nowhere." They are wanting to have a baby, or wanting to find a marriage partner, or wanting a better job. They are grieving the baby they lost, or the baby they fear they will lose because of a fatal prenatal diagnosis. They are facing the anniversary of their child's death with sadness and unimaginable grief, or trying to explain to a older child why God has taken the sister or brother they thought they would have someday. All of these places are hard places to be. These are the places in your life, when you feel so low, that you cannot see the light at the opening of this deep, dark pit.

But, praise God, that there is LIGHT there. 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." Thank you God, that we will not be in this dark place for long. That YOUR light will shine for us, so that we can see our way out!

I love this verse, 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."

Isn't it so comforting, that even in our deepest pit, God will call us out and lift us up? And our suffering and sadness will not go on forever.

1 Peter 5:10, "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

In due time, gives me such comfort. While I know that those times in my life were the hardest, those times where I felt stuck in one place, desperately wanting to be at another place, were the times in my life where God taught me so much. I've shared this quote before from Franklin's book, but it is worth repeating, "I believe God sometimes holds off on answering our prayers quickly because our faith grows so much between the time we ask God to come and the time He actually does."

This season that you are going through in your life right now, will no doubt seem like one that you are forced to "hibernate" in. But...in due time, God will call you out. You may someday know exactly why you were in this place, or you may never know this side of Heaven, but you will certainly know that God had you in this place for a purpose.

In my new Beth Moore study, "Beloved Disciple," she says, "One primary reason Jesus takes us places we've never been is to show us that He's not like anyone else....His will always has purpose. Sometimes we go our own ways, and God has mercy on us and shows us something there. Other times we beg Him to allow us to go a certain place, and He consents. Still other times God takes us places we never intended to go and reveals Himself to us in ways we didn't even know He existed."

I wouldn't have chosen the difficult trials of a lifetime that I have experienced, but I honestly thank God for them, because out of them have surely come the greatest experiences of a lifetime. For it is out of these difficult, tough situations, that I have felt the hand of God. I have experienced God cupping my chin with His strong, yet oh, so soft, hands, lifting my eyes to His, and saying gently, "I am with you. You are going to be okay. It's all going to be okay. I am with you, and I will NEVER leave you."

We might be going through our worst time imaginable, but we can take comfort in knowing that God will be going through it with us. I want to encourage you, that no matter what place you are in right now, pray that God would reveal Himself to you. Pray that He will show you a little beauty in the bleak landscape. Remember the cliche, "If He brings you to it, He'll see you through it." I wanted so much during these times of my life, to just get on with things, to be at the other end of the spectrum, but I am thankful that God kept me long enough to teach me. Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Dear Heavenly Father,
My heart is heavy today with thoughts of my friends who are hurting. How I remember that hurt and how fresh it seems. Lord, I thank you that no matter where we are, You are always with us. You will comfort us, let us grieve, lift us up and carry us out. Thank you for keeping me and teaching me.
I love You, Amen.

Please Pray

(Update - just a quick thanks for prayer for Grant today. He made it offshore safely. Thanks for praying!!)


This is just a quick post asking for prayer.

Most of you know that Grant is working offshore for Chevron and will be doing offshore rotations until April. He flies by helicopter to and from the rig when he goes.

Yesterday there was a helicopter crash, killing 8 people, and severely injuring 1, that was flying to a Shell platform (although they were from a contract company other than Shell). Two of the men were from Morgan City, others from FL, TX, and AL.

Just please remember these families in your prayers, and as Grant leaves to go offshore tomorrow morning, please ask for God's safety in delivering him to the platform.

As you would imagine, hearing something like this makes me nervous AGAIN. When he first started flying offshore, I would be so nervous until I heard he made it safely, and after him doing it several times, and me getting used to it, I just didn't think about it anymore. Well, now I am thinking about it again. And nervous!

I didn't want this post to be about me, because I know the family of those 8 need so much prayer - so please lift them up in your prayers as well.

Dear Lord,
Calm my own fears tonight, and be with Grant tomorrow as he leaves to go offshore. Please provide them safety as they travel. Lord, tonight, I lift those families up to you who have lost loved ones on that flight yesterday. What a tragedy. I pray that You are already in their life working with them and healing them, and comforting them. But if they do not have You in their hearts, I pray that someone will share YOU with them. What a horrible thing to go through without the hope You can provide. Be with Grant as he goes tomorrow, and bring him home safely to us. I love You, Amen.

A New Year

So...it's the New Year. 2009 has come! And with it the expectation for better. Better! A better body, a better job, a better attitude...whatever the "better" might be for you...I bet you are hoping for a better year.

To me, New Year's Day is sort of a weird day. I've found myself in tears all day, emotional for several reasons. New's Years Day has always been sort of melancholy and somber for my family growing up. My father's dad passed away during this time many many years ago (I never was able to meet him), and so the day has never been one of great celebration for our family. Sure there was always some fireworks on New Year's Eve, but I always remember looking at my dad on that day, and wondering what it was like for him to find that his dad had gone to "lay down" and had never woken up. A heart attack.

And then, three years ago, my dear sweet grandmother (my mother's mom) passed away on December 29th and she was buried New Year's Eve. So, while it is fun to celebrate the end of a year and look forward to the next, there are painful reminders of those not with us any longer.
Yesterday, we spent another great day at the Ford's with Grant's family, and while we had a great time, there was also sadness to be spending our first New Year's Eve without his dad being there with us.

Even though the day is strange for me, I too, am wondering what I want to "better" in my life. There are so many things that are on my wish list, what I want to have, what I want to do, things I want to see...you know the drill. I find that I always seem to have such big dreams, and a day or two will pass, and I'll find myself falling back on my promises to myself, and rather than getting back up and trying again...I just sit down. I think to myself..."Well, if I cannot even stick with this for several days, how am I going to make it a year with my new resolution."
And I really do know the reason I am not consistent - and it's because these are MY wants for my life, rather than what God wants for me. We don't always have the instructions or the "how-to" book to carry out our dreams, so we just give up.

Now don't get me wrong, I am all about reading the directions before you try to do something. In fact, I roll my eyes at others who think they can do it without the instructions - because 9 times out of 10 it isn't done right, if it isn't by the rules. You always end up with all these extra parts that you think you don't REALLY need, but it isn't very long before the "thing you are putting together" falls apart. So directions are necessary. But they are best done in steps.

Those steps would be best called, STEPS OF FAITH.

I have a lot of dreams, but one really big one. And while I have had this dream for so long, I've not reached it, because I fail to believe that it can be done. I want all of my questions answered, the whole picture in view, before I will begin the first step. And to do what I want to do, (or whatever dream you want to accomplish), you have to have faith.

I have just finished reading a fascinating book, "Believe That You Can - Moving with Tenacity Toward the Dream God Has Given You," and it is a great motivator for accomplishing this dream God has called you to purpose. In it the author writes, "God will never give you the whole thing worked out ahead of time. He just tells you, 'Go. I will fill in the details.'" "The reason so many people are 'stuck' where they are and they never go anywhere is that whenever God has told them to do something, they have pulled out their long list of questions before responding in faith. ... If you wait until every question has been answered before you move, you'll never do anything."

Maybe you, also, have a dream that you want to accomplish. Maybe you are paralyzed by fear along with me that you will fail. And guess what...we are sure to fail, if we don't even try! So...I am hoping and praying that this year, I will work on the vision I feel God has for me. The dream that is so big, that I cannot accomplish on my own. God's dream for my life.
That is my resolution, that I will walk out on faith and God's provision alone. That whatever He has in store for me, that I will trust Him to bring it to pass.

I'll leave you today, with one last phrase from the book and hope that you will find as much inspiration by it as I had.

Imagine, you're called by God and hand-crafted for a specific purpose at precisely this time and in precisely this location! Wow! You came precut to fill a particular place that nobody else could fill. You were selected.
So, stop trying to be like somebody else! If you give up being who you are in order to become like them, you'll end up being somebody God doesn't need one more of. He made you in a precise way, for a precise purpose, and only you will do. Think about this: regardless of what you like or dislike about yourself, you must be OK because God chose you. Stop doubting yourself or competing with others. Nobody can take what God has reserved for you! Today you have a choice; either let others determine your worth, or let God.
In Genesis 1:31 we read, "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." Before you were born, God saw you. He knew the specific purpose you were designed to fulfill, so He provided you with the gifts you would need. Then, He looked at you and said, "Very good."

My prayer for all of you, is that you will listen as God makes His vision for your life known...and that you will step out in faith to accomplish what He has called you to do.


Dear Lord,
My dream is too big, and too out of my reach to accomplish it alone. I don't know how to even begin to make it happen, but I pray that if this is from You, then You will help me bring it to pass. Help me to obey without hesitation, and to live a life that says "Yes and Amen."
I love You, Amen.