My Dreams of Disney

Exploring Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond!

Fall at Walt Disney World

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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!

PFTW: Hope – Anchor for the Soul

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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

PFTW: I Can Do All Things…

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…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

Prayers for the Week: Feed my Sheep

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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

Prayers for the Week: Passage of Time

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passage of time

The Passage of Time

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.

Mark 13:32-37

Hello everyone, and welcome to today’s prayers for the week post. We have a lot going on, and this week my thoughts keep coming back to thinking about the passage of time, and how it relates to us in our walk with Jesus. The longer I live, the more I recognize just how short time can be for us all. Take a moment and consider this:

  1. Most Biblical scholars put the writing of the book of Mark, our selection for our Scripture for today, in the 65-75 CE (formerly AD) time range.
  2. In the 13th chapter, as we read above, Jesus tells us that no one other than the Father knows the date and time when Jesus will come again.
  3. For sake of demonstration, let’s suppose that Mark wrote his Gospel in 69 CE, that would be 1,950 years ago.
  4. For all of that, in 69 CE Jesus didn’t know when He would be called back, and now, in 2019, we still don’t know when He will be called back to earth, we just know that it hasn’t happened yet.
  5. The point of this exercise isn’t to figure out when Jesus will return; the point of all of this is to follow Jesus’ direction explicitly, and to stay awake!

As a 51 year old middle age man, I recognize just how often I have been asleep when I should have been awake and focused on Jesus. I have now been a Christian for 27 years. I made my profession of faith on Easter Sunday at Round Hill Baptist Church, and I have not regretted it for a moment since. However, even though I gave my heart to Jesus, there are times when I let the world get in the way of my devotion to Him. Times when I realize that I let the world system, under the control of Satan, to influence my decisions far more than I should have. Now, I look back, and realize that the passage of time has shown me just how little I have done to advance His Kingdom here on earth.

For sure, that isn’t always the case. I write my prayer post, we pray for you and your prayer requests here and in our Facebook group, and I am involved in my local church and in my Bible Studies; but I also turn a blind eye towards those in need too often. I turn my head to a homeless person as if by doing so they will not be standing on the street corner. That is one area I would covet your prayers over — to make sure that I am all in for Jesus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, day after day. Are you like this at times also? Well, remember these words from the Apostle Paul, and remember them well:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

How wonderful is it to know that despite our flaws, despite the times when we don’t put our all in for Him, He still works on us, and will continue to work on us until the day that we are perfect — which will happen the day we see Him face to face. So, my friends, remember, on those days when the world system and Satan get the better of you — on those days when he gets the better of me — God is still with us, and He will still see us through it. Remember, He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world!

Lastly, for our younger generation — generations like those my daughters age — I urge you, do not look in the mirror, see yourself as a middle aged person, and realize that you have not given your all for Jesus. You have a wonderful opportunity before you right now to make a difference in this world — to show the world that, even though you are younger and less experienced, you are no less capable than those older than you. And you can show this world that you are all in for Jesus. When I see the young men at my bible studies, it warms my heart to know that they have Jesus in their lives, and aren’t afraid to share that. Be that generation. Be the generation that makes a stand for Jesus. By doing so, you will also help Him to make the changes our world needs to see happen at the same time.

Now, please join us and pray for our prayer requests and praises.

Prayer Requests & Praises

  • Mrs. Lucas starts us off with a prayer request for a friend of hers: “Asking for prayers for my long time friend. She is having brain surgery to remove a large tumor tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. She had a tumor removed years ago and her story about that is nothing short of a miracle. Hoping for that outcome tomorrow! Thank you!”
    • Update #1: “UPDATE! The surgery was five hours long! The surgeon said the tumor was totally removed and my friend should do well!
      Praise God and heartfelt thanks to you for lifting her up in prayer!”
    • Update #2: “Another update. She was released to her daughter. Now she has a fever and vomiting! On her way back to the hospital! Please pray for her! Thank you!”
  • Deb has a prayer request: “Prayer request for myself, please. I may have Nasopharyngeal cancer again. My PC doctor ran some blood tests, examined me and checked my symptoms today. The symptoms are almost the same as 2015. She told me to contact my oncologist right away. I may be concerned for nothing but I am scared. I almost died the last time. I just hope I am physically strong enough to do battle again. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated !!”
  • Lori has a prayer request: “I’ll be honest in saying I am questioning my ability to meet the expectations of this new job. I did not work for 10 years while in PHX while taking care of my ex-husband’s mother with dementia, and then coming here to NC and working on out-dated systems, I am scared.
    It’s 3:40 in the morning and I cannot sleep.
    I am 14 years behind the times and trying desperately to make it.
    Please pray for me, I am all that I & My Girls have got.”
  • Jodi asks for prayers for all in the path of Hurricane Dorian, and if possible, that it would turn out to see and not affect any more people than it already has.
  • Please lift up the family of my friend Joey in prayer. Joey’s dad Joe passed away on Tuesday. His service was Thursday at Edenton Street UMC in Raleigh. Please pray for God’s Peace, Comfort, Strength, and Love to surround Joey, his wife Kim, and all of their family and friends. They celebrate Joe’s ascension to Heaven, but they also grieve the loss of their loved one. Thanks everyone!
  • Connie has a prayer request: “Asking for prayers for 96 yr old aunt who lost her last child to an accident, and for his family as they grieve and run the current race before them.”
  • We also pray for the families and victims of the shootings in Midland and Odessa, Texas, yesterday. All of these shootings are the work of Satan, and the only one that can conquer Satan is Jesus — and far too often, Jesus is cast aside.
  • Lastly, there are countless people that are afraid to ask for prayer. Please pray for them, and pray for God to look after them in whatever the desires of their heart might be. He knows the details, we don’t need to know, so pray for them as well.
  • 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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My Dreams of Disney is a Disney Fan Blog, and is not in any way affiliated with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney, or the Walt Disney Company. In it's purest form, My Dreams of Disney is a site showcasing the love I and my family have for Walt Disney's creative genius and the legacy he has left behind. If it weren't for Walt Disney, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, the other Disney parks spread across the world, and this site would not exist. Click to view our Privacy Policy.

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