Beauty and Prayer

The last few months or so I have been stumbling into friends from High school, either through Facebook or email updates.

Its awsome in a way but strange too. Some of my old friends I spent 12 years with from Kindygarten on.

The great thing about it is that I can pass on stuggles that need prayer.

Heres one, from Tom Hudson. Please keep his family in your hearts, minds, and prayers. I am posting his email unedited. This is for Baby Sarah Felicity.

I am sorry to be so late in announcing the birth of our precious baby. On May 14th our little Sarah Felicity was born at full term.

She was only 4 lbs 5 oz and 18 in long. She is a very sweet little girl little Sarah has a condition called Trisomy 18 which is a terminal condition. Only 5-10% of babies born with this genetic condition will live to see their first birthday.

By the grace of our dear Lord and the love and care of her family, Sarah is surprising everyone by how well she is doing. I am writing this because Sarah needs our prayers.

In particular, Lena asks for prayers that our little baby will nurse or be strong enough to feed from a bottle on her own. If Sarah is given a feeding tube, the hope is that it will be temporary. The feeding tubes will sometimes cause fatal infections in these infants, so nursing would be a really huge blessing.

Sarah is absolutely adorable, and Lena’s care for her has been remarkable. Along with caring for our 6 children Lena has been going through these last few months on very little sleep and needs prayers, her strength has been remarkable. This is a link to a youtube video about a baby boy with Trisomy 18.

Please ask anyone you know for prayers as this is an incurable disorder and we are praying for a miracle.

God Bless,

Tom Hudson

Please put the Hudson family on all of your prayerlists.

Larry

Love

How do we show love today?

What does it mean to love?

Is it giving a man on the corner with a sign ten-dollars? Is it saying prayers with your child before bedtime?

Could it be a teacher going way above and behond the call of duty to help their student?

Of course the answer is all of the above.

My math professor's name is Dr. Judy Taylor. She teaches my college algebra class.

Patience of a saint this woman.

We speak of Job's patience and how he suffered however, he never had to teach older students how to factor.

In a previous post I wrote about destroying my computer in frustration.

She's the only reason I haven't.

Love you Dr. Judy

Larry

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me, forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

How Long must I wrestle with my

Thoughts,

And everyday have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O Lord, my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in Your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

Another one of those "here is where I am today."

Hmm, I caught the slide this time. I cannot do this on my own. I can't do it at all.

Only Him.

Larry

The Journey

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. An ant builds a mound one grain of sand at a time. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain.

Jesus is a lamp to our feet, a light unto our path. A light at our feet means we can only see what is right ahead of us. Single steps, single steps. The kiss principle, keep it simple stupid.

Sometimes something so small is the way to go. I don't have to slay the dragon all at once, I'll just hack away and pray for progress. My thought processes seem to be getting back to normal. My focus is much better.

Right now.

I hate to go more than that because I don't know what tomorrow holds. I pray for strength and the peace that passes all understanding. I also pray that I will totally accept the Grace and the supernatural love that God has for me. I do but, my brain has a hard time encompassing it.

Hey, I journaled three days in a row...

Pray for George, that he will come to know Christ and accept His Grace.

Larry

The 12 Steps and Their Biblical Comparisons Part II

Step One
We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Romans 7:18

Step Two

We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.
Philippians 2:13

Step Three
We made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:1

Step Four
We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. Lamentations 3:40

Step Five
We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
James 5:16

Step Six
We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10

Step Seven

Humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

Step Eight

We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Luke 6:31

Step Nine

We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
Matthew 5:23-24

Step 10
We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
1 Corinthians 10:12

Step 11

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Colossians 3:16

Step 12

Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

Galatians 6:1

WitnessLight

Breakthrough! attitude change, faith change, thinking change.

I have always been hesitant about sharing faith on a personal level. Fear of judgement I guess, people thinking I'm crazy etc. Since my recent adventure in recovery from pain medication I have noticed a distinct difference.
I believe everthing happens for a reason. I believe God has used this time in my life to draw me closer to him. I go to him now with unreserved abandon. There are still lots of things I need to improve on and I pray for guidance everyday.


Which brings me back to sharing faith. While at church Wednesday night some folks came up to attend a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Unfortunately that meeting Wednesday night ended a year ago. I spoke with them, gave them the information they needed on the other meetings in the area. One of them was staying in a local motel paid for by his family. I agreed to ferry him to the Thursday night meeting. I prayed for God to give me an opportunity to witness and for what to say.


When the opportunity came I took it. I shared a bit of my story, gave him a bible, and asked him if I could pray for him. He allowed and I did. Tonight he is coming to our Celebrate Recovery meeting.


I didn't even break a sweat. It has always been easy to write about Jesus here, or to talk about Him at CR but on a one on one level it has always been difficult. Thank God he gave me the courage.

The Freedom we have in Christ is something we must share like He did, on a personal level.



I'm Glad I did.



Larry