Prayers for the Week – Praises in the midst of Trials!

 

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s Prayers for the Week post, featured here at My Dreams of Disney!  This is the 34th week we have run this weekly post, and I hope that you have seen as much benefit out of it as I have in writing it.  Each week, I am reminded of all of the wonderful good that God has brought to me and my family — and I have seen first hand how some of the prayers that we have been praying for have been answered!

You know, this past week was an incredibly hard week for my family.  Hearing of Uncle Bob’s passing, despite the joy we feel in knowing that he is in Heaven with Jesus and in no more pain, still was hard, because we are left to make due as best we can in this cold, hard world without him.  We had the visitation this past Monday, and he looked so much at peace, you could tell he was all better now.  Then, at the funeral on Tuesday, I was one of eight men that were asked — no, given the honor — of being a pall bearer for Uncle Bob.  It was my pleasure to do so, and, like I said, my honor to do so.  Seeing all of Cindy’s family and friends, from as far away as Montana and New York state, meeting new family that I hadn’t ever met before, and seeing family and friends that I hadn’t seen in a while — it was all good to see them.  In the midst of all of the trials and tribulations that burying a relative can bring, God reminded us that He was there for all of us, there in the tears, the laughs, the hugs, the quiet solitude.  God was there.

Praises!

• Obviously, for my family the biggest praise I can give is that Uncle Bob has come home, and is in the welcoming arms of Jesus.  However, I also have praises for the two Army soldiers that treated his funeral with the dignity that it so richly deserved.  One played Taps perfectly, and the other presented the American flag to Aunt Clara on one knee, there to be there for the wife of a soldier that served his country.  They were wonderful people to the family, and I was only one of the people that thanked them for their service to our country as well as their service to our family.
• My sister Robin is always full of praise, and this week is no exception.  Here is what she wrote:  Great song choice Mike. I always liked the Scripture about entertaining angels, basically treating everyone well since we may be entertaining angels and not know it. Hebrews 13:2 is the verse. Love to all and thanks for this weekly encouragement. Even though we have trouble in this world we can take heart since Christ has overcome it all!
• Praises to God for my friend Jodi and her family, as they continue the path of their life from Texas to Florida!  They sold their house in one day and are now under contract for their new house in Florida!
• Dana writes: I just love that you have all these prayer requests!!! We would get nowhere in the world (not even back to Disney) without God!!!
• My friend Brenda reminds us of how wonderful our reunion will be with Uncle Bob:  Hugs and prayers to you and Cindy and all the family. You are so loved by people all over the country and that is such a blessing. We are blessed with a little time with those we love and then, thankfully, with an eternity with them once again. You will see him again in God’s time and what a wonderful reunion that will be. Love you all.
• Lastly, I want to share with you a most beautiful praise.  Many of you know that we just concluded a special giveaway on this and other blogs.  Well, the winner of the $200 Disney Gift Card had these words to say when I asked her what she was going to do with her prize:
  My GC will be used on my two very Special Need Kids to navigate the parks for Christmas and some balloons to pay it forward for other guests in memory of a child we know and loved who has passed away. We do this every year.
  
  She then went on to say in a followup email:
  We have a very close friend who lost her daughter 2 years ago as a toddler. Even though my kids are special needs and will have burdens they will live their lives. It taught us to preserve, be thankful and to live life. Every trip we give balloons and pins to other kids. It also helps to teach my youngest, who is capable of grasping it somewhat, that it is good to pay it forward. Life is a lesson, even at Disney!It is for reasons such as this that I love to have giveaways that reward good people with a little Disney Magic.

Prayer Requests

• My friend Beth wrote: Thank you so much for including Dustin! As I pray for him to beat cancer once and for all, I will be praying for everyone who is facing difficulties. I am so sorry to read about Cindy’s uncle. We are sending prayers and hugs for all of you!
• My friend Doug needs prayers. Here is what he wrote on Facebook:“Prayers for Millie Carman, who remains on the hospital for at least a few more days. They were successful today with the procedure to install a drain to relieve a blockage in the bile duct. Another procedure on Friday to finish that with an internal drain.”
• Proof positive of the power of prayer — here is what I wrote for my friend Jodi’s prayer request:  Please pray for my friend Jodi and her family. They are making the journey from Texas to Florida, and are looking for housing, putting their house on the market, and doing all that is needed to make this transition. Please pray for their sanity during this stressful time, and that God would lead them in the way He would have them go, and that they would get the house that works for them, and lastly, that their house would sell quickly, and also that their journey would be safe. Thanks everyone!
• Please pray for my friend Heather. Her job is being halted because of the government shutdown effective October 25th — despite the deal signed Thursday morning. The true sadness is that Heather works with kids that are abused — but those types of programs are considered “non-essential” — despite how many people they benefit, yet the salaries of our “elected” representatives continue to be paid. It will be at least 6 weeks before funding is restored and the program she works with can be started back up. What nobody in Washington realizes is that things like this are just playing right into the Dark One’s hand. Satan is taking on marriage, he’s taking on government, and he’s battling for those that have not found the Light that is Jesus. It is more critical than ever that we all pray fervently to Jesus for our nation, our world, and for all the lost souls.I am glad that the shutdown is over — I have family and friends that are now able to get back to work — but the way things are is not the way they should stay. They need to focus on the country, not on themselves, and do the job that they are elected to do. There is too much at stake, and I hope that they will see that and start acting like the representatives to our country that they are.I am sorry to turn that into a political rant. Please pray for Heather, for her ability to find a temporary job until her real job is back and she can keep helping the kids she loves so much. Please pray for those kids, who may not understand why this is happening, and pray for the Lighthouse, which is able to keep it’s shelter running, but has to halt all of it’s other services until they start getting funding again. It is the little people who are hurt in times like this. Thank you my friends!
• Follow up to the last prayer request, please pray for our elected leaders and our president.  They need to be led by God, and it is my fear, and the fear of many of us, that they are not relying on God, but are going their own way.  If they would just call on God for help, our nation would be restored to the greatness that it once was.  Thank you, everyone, for your prayers!
• Lastly, please continue the prayers for baby Ryan, who had to have heart surgery at 2 days old. He is still having problems, after they thought it was a success, so urgent prayers are needed for him and his family. Please pray to the Lord to keep a close eye on that little one, to heal him of his trauma, make him whole, and for his doctors to take great care as they are led by God’s guidance. Also please pray for the family, for their peace, and comfort, and strength as they face the unknown. Thanks, everyone.

My friends, thank you so much for your continued prayers for these and all of our prayer requests each and every week.  It is a blessing to be able to compile these for you, and to join in with you as we pray for friends, strangers, loved ones, and even people we will likely never meet.  In the end, oftentimes there is nothing we can do but pray, and sometimes we feel like that isn’t enough — but truly, it is because of our prayers that we often have a great outcome on a situation, so please keep praying for all of our requests — and lift up our praises in thanks to God as well!  Thank you, everyone, and may God Bless You today and every day!

In closing, I am sharing two videos with you — the two songs that were played at Uncle Bob’s funeral.  First was Taps, and then they played Reveille.

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