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Thank you for joining us in this week’s prayers for the week post! The Pixie Family learned of the passing of the husband of one of our own this past Monday.  Martin Harris, the husband of our dear sister Leslie, passed away, leaving behind a grieving wife of 14 years and three young boys, aged 4, 8, and 11.

I have not met Leslie yet, but the Pixie family is just that — a family, and I have shed many tears this week thinking about the grief and sorrow that she and her family is going through.  At times such as these, I turn to the Bible for answers, and while we will never know why God called his Servant Martin home so soon, we do know that he is in a much better place, where there is no sorrow, no sadness, no pain, no sickness.  Looking through my Bible this week, I keep coming back to John 14 for inspiration.  Verses 1-4, in particular:

1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”

My friends, I do not know why Martin was called home so soon; but I do believe that he is where we all strive to be one day — at home, with our Heavenly Father, looking down at his loving family and waiting for the day that he is reunited with them once again.

Prayer Requests

• In addition to the obvious prayer request for Leslie and her three boys, as well as for all of their other family that are grieving, we have other prayer requests as well.  Starting us off, though, please pray for God’s Peace, Comfort, and Strength to descend up on Leslie and her family as they continue dealing with the loss of their husband/father/son.  Please, Lord, be with them constantly during their time of grief, lifting them up, giving them the comfort they so desperately need, and helping them to find the strength to carry on, even though they don’t want to.  Lord, we lift them up to you — please comfort them as only You can do so.
• Please pray for my friend Karen.  Here is what she passed along to me for her prayer requests and praises: “Thank you Mike! I do have a few praise and prayer requests. First I’d like to praise the fact that both my sister in law and myself have both lost 10lbs on our diet so far. We both have medical problems and weight loss is recommended. One prayer request is for my older brother who has PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) from the Navy. The other is for my sister in law. She has MS and the summer heat is her worst nemesis. We also live in Phoenix, AZ so it’s that much worse. God bless you and your loved ones.”
• Please pray for my friend Elisha and his mom. She had surgery on June 3rd, she is in recovery. Please pray for her healing, Peace, and comfort at this time, and for strength for the family to get through these days.Thanks!
• Christa is still in need of prayers for her husband — he is looking for a job, and has been for quite some time.  Please pray that he would be able to find a job quickly and end this struggle that they have been going through.  Here original prayer request came through on March 24th, and they have been looking for quite a while before then, so please continue to lift them up until we hear the great news that her husband has found a job, and we can give Praise to God for that blessing!  Thanks, everyone.
• Please pray for my friend David and his family. David’s mom passed away, so please pray for the Peace and Strength that the family will need in the days and weeks ahead. Thanks.
• Please continue to pray for my Cousin’s husband Tim as he goes through his colon cancer treatments.  Please also continue to pray for my other family members Aunt Ginny, Aunt Carol, and my cousin Kelly as they also go through their cancer treatments.  Please pray for their strength and comfort to beat these diseases!

Praises!

• Lord, we give thanks to you in all of our things, but most of all, we give thanks to you for your son, Jesus!  Thank you for bringing Him into our lives, and help us to lead the kind of life that would be reminiscent of Jesus.
• Lord, thank you for our health, for my job and Cindy’s job, and for the blessings that you have given to us.  Please remind us daily to remember to thank you for all that you have given to us, especially Sophie.
• Lord, thank you for Sophie’s teachers, for another school year completed, and for all that she has learned.  Lord, help her during the summer months to remember and expand on what she has learned, and keep her mind active for the things that we would have her do to improve her knowledge.
• Lord, thank you for my niece Stephanie and the rest of my family.  Stephanie has been struggling, and she successfully went through some tests yesterday, so hopefully what they came up with is all that it is.  Whatever the outcome of the tests, please be with her as you always are, and lift her up and deliver healing and comfort to her at this time.

At the end of the day, my friends, we find ourselves continuing to be in a battle with the darkness.  On the one hand, there are so many prayer requests — more than I know about, certainly, and the Devil besets us at every opportunity.  However, God is always there for us if we just ask Him for help, and we thankfully give Him praise every chance we get.  The true blessings, my friends, as I see it, anyway, is in the little things. The sunlight that returns after torrential rains; the wonderful companionship of friends and family; the wonderful smell of the roses in bloom.

The beauty of the world is in the gifts that God provides us every day, if we just open our eyes a little bit more and see them.  Take time each day to observe what’s around us, and to appreciate it for what it is — a miracle from God.  Thank you for reading and praying all week with us, and please, include any prayer requests and praises you have in the comments below!

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• Prayers for the Week – May 19, 2013 (mydreamsofdisney.com)
• Prayers for the Week – Memorial Day, 2013! (mydreamsofdisney.com)