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Prayers for the Week: It’s all about Love

Prayers for the Week: Love

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

A four year old girl battles a rare form of cancer and looking for a miracle.
A family struggles with how to live life after their husband/father passes away.
A friend with two teenage children is put in hospice from a cancer diagnosis.
A middle aged woman struggles with doubt, wondering if she will be given the opportunity to show what she knows in a new job situation.
A very close friend is experiencing seizures, and they can’t figure out why.

These are just a handful of the prayer requests that we see during the week. Over six years ago, on March 3, 2013, I wrote the first Prayers for the Week post. It was a simple post, mentioning that I was feeling led to lead us in a weekly prayer post. Other than a period of about a year when I felt like it wasn’t something I was to keep doing, our weekly prayer posts have been going on since.

Over the years, our prayers for others have shown others that they aren’t alone; that the huge problems they are facing have others facing them with them, at least in prayer. Our prayers have shown the world that there is something to be said for praying to God for help when we need it. Lastly, our prayers have shown the world that God loves them, and that He is using our hands and feet to love the world for Him.

For many of our prayer requests, the end result was not the result we wanted. Many of our prayer recipients have passed away, and we grieve their loss. However, the sorrow we felt in losing them was replaced with God’s Peace, that Peace that defies understanding, that takes our grief and sorrow and gives us in return a calmness, a knowing that our loved one is better now, and that he or she has a perfectly healed body, mind, and soul, and that they are with Jesus, waiting for our turn to come home to Heaven.

It is because of that Peace that we pray for others in their need, and why they pray for us in our need as well. It is because of that Peace that we know that our worldly afflictions are light and momentary, despite their severity, because we know that our glorious reward will be so much more in the end.

Lastly, we pray because we know that Jesus came to save us from ourselves, from our sin, and He paid the ultimate price — His life — so that we could be forgiven if we but Believe in Him. That ultimate sacrifice of Love is a reminder to us of just how much God loves us. That is why we shared John 3:16 with you today — as a reminder of His love for us.

That is why we have our prayers for the week posts, and why we have our Prayers for the Week Facebook group. Join us in the group by clicking the link, and leave us a comment and let us know what we can pray over for you and your family. Now, please pray for this week’s prayer requests and praises.

Prayer Requests & Praises

  • We start off our prayers with a call for prayer for Georgia Mae. Here is what I wrote: “Georgia Mae is a beautiful 4 year old, she is the granddaughter of the pastor of Kipp’s church in Knightdale. This wonderful child of God needs our prayers in a huge way. She has been fighting cancer for a long time, and just when they believe that they have it beat, it rears its ugly head again. Please be in prayer for this wonderful girl and her family. Pray for healing. Pray for peace. Pray for comfort. Pray for strength. Thank you.”
    • If you are in the Raleigh/Durham area, there is a prayer service for Georgia Mae Sunday night at 6:00PM. Here is the info: “Please join us this Sunday night, September 29th, at 6:00 PM at Cross Point Community Church, 1001 Steeple Square Court, Knightdale, for a prayer service lifting up Georgia Mae Webb and her family. #prayforgeorgiamae“
  • Ivon has a prayer request: “My prayer warriors.. I come asking for prayers for a very special, dear friend of ours, she is more like a sister to us, and she is currently in the hospital because she’s been having seizures and the Dr’s can’t figure out why? Please pray that she gets better soon and that the Dr’s find out why she is seizing. Her name is Christina. Please say a special prayer for her and her family. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.”
    • Update: “My wonderful prayer warriors.. Thank you so much for your prayers! God certainly heard you loud and clear.
      Update: Our Dear Friend/Sister Christina is finally out of the hospital.
      She had an MRI, CATSCAN, 2 EEG’s, blood work, you name it, it was done. The Neurologist found an abnormality in her brain waves. Consistent to epilepsy, however she’s not epileptic. It’s called Epileptiform to keep it short.
      These are Her words: “God is good! I am doing well. Thank you for praying. I share my time because I am thankful and grateful for the God I serve. I have not one complaint. Every nurse, doctor, specialist… took great care of us. I surely felt the favor of the Lord in every part of this. I laughed quite a bit with them all. These types of times are perfect times to let God show up!” Again, Thank you all!”
  • Lori has a prayer request: “Not doing so well tonight. Everything was going well today until the computer started slowing down. Unfortunately for me, it was the same time my boss came out and stood behind me. I looked like a moron.
    I get in my car every day and Pray for His guidance and help. I KNOW I am not too old to do this job, but if they cut me, I know I cannot do another round of unemployment.

    I can’t do or withstand anymore , Lord.”
  • Scarlett has a prayer request and praise for us: “Please pray for Mike’s family as Mike lost his valiant fight with cancer! Mike, age 50, leaves behind a beautiful wife and four children! He was blessed with friends and he was a blessing to many!
    Thank you!”
  • Jodi asks for prayers for her brother’s family: “Please keep my sister-in-law in prayer this weekend. She has sold all belongings except what she needs and, of course, special items, and she is moving from their family home in Dallas to an apartment in Oklahoma. Her hope is to gain employment with the University of Oklahoma where her daughter now attends, thus having free or greatly discounted school tuition for both kids (son would transfer), as well as steady income and benefits. She also has family in the area and is originally from the area, so this helps, but as you can imagine, this is a HUGE adjustment for all of them as they continue to go forward from the loss of my brother. Please also continue prayer for both kids. I understand my niece had a pretty good breakdown the other day and is struggling emotionally. Thanks!”
  • Lori has one last prayer request for us: “Please add Tammy to your prayers today and tonight. She’s a beautiful woman who beat Heroin addiction for 5 years and I know she can do it again. When she reached out to me just now in Houston, I can do nothing but ask for Prayers. At least she promised me that she would call me tomorrow.”
  • Lastly, please pray for those who don’t know what to ask for, as well as for those that are lost, and don’t know Jesus in their lives. Finally, please continue praying by praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer
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Fall at Walt Disney World
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Fall at Walt Disney World

Fall at Walt Disney World
The fall decorations at Walt Disney World are incredibly cool!

Visiting Walt Disney World in the Fall!

The cooler temperatures. The crisp sky. The decorations. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. These are just some of the reasons why visiting Walt Disney World in the fall can be an absolutely incredible experience for you and your family.

This year — shoot, next week, people! — my wife, daughter, and I are going to be doing just that! We will be staying at The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort from Thursday – Sunday, and visiting with our friends from California! Such an exciting time, and full of some experiences that many of them have never encountered before!

How’s this for a list of firsts:

  1. This will be the first time we have stayed in a Wilderness Cabin.
  2. For everyone except me, this will be the first time we will taking in Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!
  3. For everyone except me, this will be the first time they will have been to Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure.
  4. For my family, we are taking this trip also to explore schools in the area, so this will be the first time we have done that.

For all of those firsts, there are a lot of things that we have done before. We have been to Walt Disney World in the fall before, and absolutely love it! This will be another great reunion of our two families, and we are so excited about it. Also, it is a great time to remember what living is all about, and to give thanks for all of our blessings that we have been given.

So, what about you? Do you have any travel plans coming up that you want to talk about? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thanks for stopping by! Last thing — get ready for a contest with a super awesome prize (at least, it is in my mind, hopefully you agree!) in the next couple of days!

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PFTW: Hope – Anchor for the Soul

Anchor for the Soul

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:19-20

Hope – Anchor for the Soul

Friends, this week has shown us a lot of sorrow, a lot of family and friends suffering loss. We have friends and family in hospice, ones called home, and loss and grief left behind. We have families learning about life after losing a loved one, and as usual, we have prayers for those that are lost. However, we have one very powerful thing that a lot of people who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior don’t have. We have hope. We know that God is with us during our storms, and that He is hear for us and to guide us through the storms of life. So, while life is hard, it can be better knowing that God is guiding us. Please continue reading and joining us in praying for our prayer requests and praises below.

Prayer Requests & Praises

  • Amanda starts us off with a prayer request: “Please pray for a high school basketball friend of mine and her family. Her 6 year battle with lung cancer (she never smoked) is coming to an end. She is home in hospice care. She has 2 teenage children.”
  • Jodi has a prayer request: “Please keep my sister-in-law in prayer this weekend. She has sold all belongings except what she needs and, of course, special items, and she is moving from their family home in Dallas to an apartment in Oklahoma. Her hope is to gain employment with the University of Oklahoma where her daughter now attends, thus having free or greatly discounted school tuition for both kids (son would transfer), as well as steady income and benefits. She also has family in the area and is originally from the area, so this helps, but as you can imagine, this is a HUGE adjustment for all of them as they continue to go forward from the loss of my brother. Please also continue prayer for both kids. I understand my niece had a pretty good breakdown the other day and is struggling emotionally. Thanks!”
  • Joseph has a prayer request: “Please pray for my family, My Aunt Mary has gone to be with our Heavenly Father.”
  • Mrs. Lucas asks for prayers: “Please pray for my young friend, Mike! He is entering hospice care with a prognosis of 30 days! God is great! I still pray is is healed!”
  • Bridget has a prayer request for her Mom: “Please say a prayer for my Mom as she has surgery tomorrow. Thank you.” (Note: the surgery was on the 20th, here’s an update)
    • Mom’s surgery went well and she seems to be doing ok. Thank all of you for your prayers. It means a lot.
  • Lori has a prayer request for her friends: “Barbara entered Heaven’s Gates this morning. Her son, Rex, is a good friend and it’s been a long road through hospice. Barbara was a fighter & she still knew she had work to attend to on this earth. Her works were apparently accomplished to her satisfaction today and she slipped away peacefully. Thank you, God, for taking her home peacefully!
    Please pray for Peace, Comfort, & Healing for Rex and his family. Thank you.”
  • Jennifer has a prayer request: “Just say a little prayer for my good friend Michelle who’s mom is having back surgery today. Also keep my family in your prayers as well.”
  • Lori has an additional prayer request: “Asking prayers for a former co-worker of mine. Rochelle has so many talents, skills, and abilities but the thought of being out of work at 60 daunts her after 32 years with the same company. I have told her that it will not be easy but she & I are STRONGER then we think we are!”
  • Lastly, please pray for all of those that don’t know how or what to pray, as well as for the lost who don’t know who God is. Now, please pray with us the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer
My Dreams of Disney
I can do all things
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PFTW: I Can Do All Things…

…through Him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things

I can do all things…

  • A 26 year old child of God, married less than a year, is in a car wreck and dies.
  • A father is diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer, and his wife has had a stroke.
  • A co-worker is diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • The Enemy is trying to take down a family.
  • A friend suffers from fibromyalagia that has been much worse lately.

With all of these trials and tribulations on the life of Christians, how are we able to even get out of bed in the morning and take on the day? By remembering that Jesus paid the ultimate penalty for us, and that by putting our faith and trust in Him, He will help us endure the struggles that the world presents to us.

Jesus gave us warnings when we became Christians. You can find it in the book of John, among other places:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

John 15:18-19

‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’

John 16:33

All of the trials and tribulations that we face in this world can be overwhelming, except for one very important fact. The simple truth is that with Jesus Christ at the center of my life, I can endure all things, because He gives me the strength to endure. The trials that this world throws at us, both to the believer and the non-believer, are getting stronger and stronger. That is because the Devil is in control, and he is searching throughout the world for who he can take down. Ultimately, we can not stand up against Satan unless we have the One that created the world in our heart. If you wish to endure the trials of this world, then you need to put your complete faith and trust in Jesus. You need to recognize that you are a sinner, and that you believe that Jesus lived a perfect life, He died for us as the complete penalty for our sins, and that you need Him in your life and that you accept Him as your Lord and Savior. If you do this, and turn your life over to Him, He will help you endure these trials and tribulations that you are faced with. Even more importantly, you will realize that this world is not your ultimate home. Your ultimate destination is Heaven, that is where you will live after you die, all because you put your faith in Jesus. Lastly, you will help Jesus by being the hands and feet He needs in today’s world. You will help Him by looking out for those that don’t have what you have, and slowly, by doing the things that He would do, you may realize that the world is changing for the better. Now, though, we need to continue our work by praying for those prayer requests and praises that we have. If you have any prayer requests you wish us to pray for you, please leave them in the comments, and we will pray for you as well.

Prayer Requests and Praises

  • Pat starts us off with a prayer request: “I have a prayer request for one of our music leaders at my church. His 26 yr old son had a wreck two nights ago resulting in the loss of his life. He was an amazing young man, incredibly close with his family, loved God with all his heart and soul, loved his wife deeply (they have been married less than a year), devoted a lot of his time to serving God. It’s so tragic and hard to understand the why’s when these things happen. Please be in prayer for his family, they are devastated.”
  • Sheila continues her prayers for Liz: “One last prayer request for my co-worker and friend Liz. Tomorrow is her last day of chemo, she says that our prayers have calmed her each and every time. This will be her last session on September 11th. If all goes well she will just need a lumpectomy in a couple of weeks. Please keep Liz in your prayers today and tomorrow.”
  • Donna has a prayer request: “Please pray for my daughter’s family. Ashley’s husband, Eric, father was diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer. He leaves the rehab facility tomorrow but he’s too weak to sit or stand and they cannot begin any treatment until he has more strength. He also has fluid building up in his head causing confusion and disorientation. Eric’s mom had a stroke last week due to her high blood pressure and diabetes. Needless to say their family is going through a lot. My sweet little Lexi reminded me last week that not only is Eric going through a lot but so is she and Tripp. Trying to do what I can from Alabama and they have no family there at all. Please send healing prayers for Mr. Eric, Miss Lolly and for patience and rest for Eric and Ashley.”
  • Lori has a prayer request: “I am asking for prayers tonight for another one of the strongest women that I know, Tina. She has debilitating fibromyalgia and it is only gotten worse of late. She has always had my back, loves My Girls as if they were her own, and I know that how she wrote to me today that she is really down. Please lift up her worries in Prayer & Lord, take them from her and bring her Your Peace & Healing.”
  • Vickie has a prayer request: “My cousin had a stroke and has a blood clot in his brain. The family has had a rough year. Lost a sister, mom had a stroke and dealing with dementia and his older sister, my favorite cousin, had a cancer scare but praise the Lord all is good there but she is so tired. Say a pray for them please.”
  • Lori has praises as well to share: “My friends, Tim & Mary, who survived Dorian in Freeport made it home to Oregon yesterday. It was a long ordeal, and many agencies (including Tim’s employer) dropped the ball. The United States Coast Guard finally got involved, thankfully, and saw to it that they got home! When they arrived in Portland, OR yesterday, many of their church members were there with a brand new electric wheelchair for Mary! (Tim had carried Mary for days, and when they got to the USCG ship on Friday, Mary was riding in a wagon someone had given them!)
    They got back to their house that they had left in May. The fridge and pantry were fully stocked, the house was clean, all utilities on & paid in advance, and ready for them to start living again. Thank you all for your prayers! It was so good to talk to them this morning!”
  • Please keep praying for my friend David: “Friends, please pray for my friend David. He suffers from kidney disease and has been suffering for a long time now. Please pray for Healing, Peace, Comfort, and Strength for him and his family. Thanks!”
  • Please continue praying for Tanya: “I’ve never posted here, but I read your requests and pray for you. I’ve hit a rough patch in life and the Enemy has a hold big time. I’d love your prayers for positive changes and peace. Thank you.”
  • Lastly, please pray for those that are afraid to ask for prayer, or who don’t know what to pray or how to pray. Also, please pray for those that are lost and don’t know who Jesus is or why He is crucial to their well being. Now, please continue praying by praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer
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Feed My Sheep
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Prayers for the Week: Feed my Sheep

Feed my sheep

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

John 21:15-19

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Prayers for the Week post. Today we are looking at John 21:15-19 for our Scripture. This is the scene where Jesus appears to the Disciples after His Ressurection, and He instructs Peter to take care of His sheep. We are the sheep that Peter is to take care of.

This passage of Scripture has all of the obvious symbolism that we expect to see from Jesus, and that we all should take to heart and commit to doing. We profess that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and that means that we need to help those in need — we need to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

However, it may surprise you to know that that isn’t the reason why I chose this Scripture for our reading today. As I have mentioned before, my wife and I and our friend Sheila are in the middle of reading the Bible chronologically over the course of the year, and right now we are in the book of Ezekiel. Yesterday’s reading was Ezekiel chapters 34, 35, and 36. Read this section of Scripture and see if it convicts you like it does me:

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God : Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. As I live, declares the Lord God , surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God , Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

Ezekiel 34:1-10

My friends, my brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, God convicted me yesterday in His Scripture. He reminded me that I don’t follow His commands nearly as well as I think I do, and He put it straight out for me to realize that there is a lot that I need to do — a lot that I can do. Our God loves us, and He wants what is best of all of His creation. He wants me to be the best follower of Jesus that I can, and He reminds me that He will take care of us when we are unable to take care of ourselves. I didn’t reference it here, but the beauty of Ezekiel 34 is that the next set of Scripture tells us how God is going to seek us out, that He is going to search for us, and that He is going to rescue us. What a powerful promise it is!

So, before we get to our prayer requests and praises, let me ask you a question. Do you Love Jesus? If the answer is yes, then feed His sheep.

Prayer Requests & Praises

  • Friends, please pray for my friend David. He suffers from kidney disease and has been suffering for a long time now. Please pray for Healing, Peace, Comfort, and Strength for him and his family. Thanks!
  • Tanya has a prayer request: “I’ve never posted here, but I read your requests and pray for you. I’ve hit a rough patch in life and the Enemy has a hold big time. I’d love your prayers for positive changes and peace. Thank you.”
  • Please pray for all of those that lost loved ones due to Hurricane Dorian, and for those in the Bahamas and everywhere that the storm went.
    • Lori has friends in the Bahamas, here is a PRAISE that she reported to us: “I got confirmation last night that friends in Freeport are alive! Praise God!
      He is a contractor and they have been temporarily living there since early May. They lost what little they brought with them and are on “high priority” to get home to the U.S. through the Red Cross, and his company. It is purely a MIRACLE that they both survived as his wife is wheelchair bound with MS. Her wheelchair was the first thing to go as he had to carry Mary from their apartment when the water started pouring into their 1st level apartment.
      Praying to hear they are headed home soon.”
  • We’ve been praying for Mrs. Lucas’ friend that had brain surgery last month. Here’s the latest update from Mrs. Lucas: “UPDATE: she is now out of ICU! She had a brain bleed. As the swelling goes down in her brain, the protruding brain through a hole they left in her brain to relieve pressure, will go back to its original space! She is getting better and your prayers helped her immensely! Thank you, All!”
  • The Men’s Study Bible Study here in Raleigh starts back up on Tuesday the 10th. Please pray for all of the men that are coming to this study, and for the teachers and leaders that help shepherd their small groups towards a closer relationship with Jesus.
  • Lastly, please pray for those that don’t know what to pray and those that are lost. Now, please join us in praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer
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