"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary"

Galatians 6:9

God never promised us a life free from battles and struggles. He gave us full body armor so we would be equipped to not only protect ourselves, but to stand and fight. Most wars are waged over periods of time. This means we must press on and press into God. We must be constantly relying on him to not grow weary or become discouraged in the battle. The enemy will be persistant in his efforts, boring deeper and deeper into our subconscious in an attempt to draw us away from the father. We must band together as brothers and sisters in Christ to war for each other and intercede on behalf of those who are war worn. We have already been promised that the God we serve will be victorious. Let's be dilligent then to encourage one another.

Requests:

The precious friend with neck cancer. Her treatment is complete, but the hard part is still to come. For the next 2-3 weeks her neck and chest will continue to get increasingly more raw and damaged. The medicine for the pain causes her to vomit through a sore, peeling, and bleeding throat. To say she is in excruciating pain is probably a gross understatement. We need to be particularly mindful of this dear sister for the next 21 days as she pushes through yet another hurdle with this disease. Lord give her strength from above. Help her to find her resting place in the shelter of your wings. Constantly remind her Lord that she is your child and you are holding her firmly in the palm of your hands. Let's also be lifting up the family of this dear one as they look on in fear. Lord we ask you to come against any plans the enemy may have for anxiety. Cover this family with your peace. Let them feel your presence father.

Theresa and Roy - Their house is still on the market with the price dropping at more frequent intervals. The are walking hand in hand with the Lord during this time and fully trusting in him. Lord we ask for either miraculous provision so that they could keep the house, catch up and be financially secure, or that you would make it abundantly clear which direction they are to go next. Lord we know that all things are done in your time and we are trusting that this will all be taken care of before the baby arrives.

Mark - My Mark continues to be in search of the elusive job. We are trusting God for our future and are praying with joyful expectation that what he has around the corner will be the best next step for our family.

Nicholas - Our nephew is out for a visit for the next two weeks. His last visit was a bit on the stress full side. We felt strongly that the Holy Spirit was prompting us to invite him back for an extended visit and so we responded, hesitantly and prayerfully. We know God has big plans for this time. We want to make sure we are surrendered going into this visit and that we don't get ourselves in God's way but that we are willing participants in his plan.

A dear sister has made the choice to begin attending church. The prayer is for her salvation and that of her husband. He is not at the place of wanting to attend church. The couple would like to start a family and the sister is concerned for the timing. Let's ask God to draw the heart of the wife to himself. To woo her into a deep relationship with himself so she can be a witness to her husband and win his soul to the Lord.

Praises:

A group of wives and girlfriends from our church have been meeting on Tuesday nights to pray for our husbands and boyfriends. One of the boyfriends has been a little lost in his journey and has recently found his true identity in Christ. He asked Jesus to be his savior last week. We rejoice along with the family and all the angles in heaven for this life that was brought to repentence and freedom in Christ. Let's pray for this new brother as he begins a new life journey.

Mark and I were blessed with $95 to enjoy a date night at first by an anonymous giver. The kids were over night at someones house and so we enjoyed not only the evening but the morning and lunchtime as well. We truly felt like we had gotten away together. After returning home, we learned that the gift was from our 4 amazing kids. This moved me to rarely seen tears. The planning that went into it and the generosity was honestly beyond what I had imagined. This is a gift that will bless us for years to come.

Along those same lines we have been abundantly blessed by family and friends. We have sought the Lord regarding our job and house and have not yet felt led to sell. So we praise and thank God for the generosity which allows us to stay with our church family and our home. We continue to seek him regarding his direction for our family.

A family we know is in the process of preparing to go get their new daughter from China. This is an answered prayer for many reasons. We join with them in thanksgiving for the journey of the last few months and pray expectantly for continued growth and miracles in this family.