Archive for the ‘Prayer Requests’ Category
Pray for My Girls…
February 25th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Please pray for my girls, Jenna and Allison. Both have come down with flu-like symptoms this evening. You might also include Nancy in your prayers as well, as she has her hands full taking care of them.
Pray for Caelan and the Cross Family!
February 21st, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Many of you who read this blog are familiar with the struggles Alan Cross and his family have dealt with as they’ve faced the horror of cancer with their youngest son, Caelan.
Please pray for them, and pray hard. Alan has shared tonight that Caelan’s cancer may have returned.
As a father, I can’t imagine facing this with one of my children, so please pray not only for Caelan’s healing, but also for the comfort that only God can provide to Alan, Erika, and their other children.
Reason to Rejoice
January 27th, 2008 | 4 Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff..., My Life, Prayer Requests
I don’t know about you, but often times Sunday church services are rather routine. Not so today.
Shane Sanderson (from Southside Youth Outreach) preached a powerful gospel message today at Missouri Valley, and several people came to saving faith in Christ! I was privileged to have the opportunity to lead two boys (Tanner and Tucker) in this decision.
Talk about reason to rejoice!
It was an exciting day at the Valley for sure.
I would like to ask each of you to pray for Tanner and Tucker, specifically that today’s decision will be followed up in the coming weeks and months by growth in their faith, baptism as an outward public symbol of that faith, and a life marked by real commitment to following Jesus.
Pray for the Halley Family
January 16th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Prayer Requests
To be honest, I’m not quite sure what to say tonight, so I’m simply going to tell it like it is.
The Halley family needs our prayers.
You see, Brian Halley has melanoma, and doctors have recently informed them that despite all their efforts to combat the cancer, there is nothing more that they can do… Brian’s cancer is expected to be terminal. Jenni Halley has shared their heart-wrenching story as it has unfolded here.
Brian, Jenni… whatever words I could offer to you from my own heart would clearly be inadequate, so tonight I simply pray that the promises found in God’s word in Romans 8 would bring comfort, peace, and hope to you and your family:
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
”For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May the love of Jesus Christ be clearly evident to you through these trials, and may faith in Christ sustain you and bring you hope.
(In case anyone wonders about the relation here, it’s through my sister. She is a close friend of Jenni Halley’s sister, and shared this with me tonight, asking me to post it here.)
Sick Kids…
December 16th, 2007 | 1 Comment | Posted in » My Life, Prayer Requests
To top off the fun we’ve had with ice and snow recently, we’ve now got three sick kids.
Please pray that Jeffrey, Jenna, and Allison would get well within the next couple days. Jeffrey is especially upset about it, not only because it means he’ll miss school tomorrow (he loves preschool!), but also because it may mean he’ll have to miss his school Christmas program. The kids in his class have been working hard to learn “O Come All Ye Faithful”, and he has really been looking forward to it.
Pray for Tracy Fries
September 8th, 2007 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Micah Fries called me tonight, and asked that I keep his wife, Tracy, in my prayers. As most of you that read my blog know him as well, I’d like to ask all of you to pray for Tracy too.
Tracy was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday, and her condition has worsened to the point that they expect her to be admitted to the hospital for care this evening. This is obviously difficult, not just for Tracy, but the entire family, so I’d also ask that you pray for Micah and their girls as well.
Thanks, and God bless!
Why I’m Done with Outpost…
August 19th, 2007 | 6 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Church Stuff..., My Life, Prayer Requests
Many of you have been anxiously awaiting this post, wondering why I decided to leave SBC Outpost. Given the controversy centered around the site in the past few weeks, that’s understandable. I’ll tell you now, though… if you’re looking for continued controversy here, you’ll probably find yourself disappointed by what I’ve got to say. It’s not in my nature.
In other words, this won’t be an expose on Outpost’s inner workings, the contributors, SBC politics, or the like. I simply want to state a couple things for the record about my motivation for hanging up my Outpost badge in order to prevent rampant speculation.
I must admit that at the time of my departure, I was disappointed and disheartened by SBC Outpost. I felt, in large part, that the site had missed the mark to which we stated we would aspire… “to provide interactive, substantive, and reflective dialogue for Southern Baptist churchmen and women to participate in shaping the future of the Southern Baptist Convention.” While there had been some tremendous dialogue on the site over the course of its existence, it appeared to me that for the most part, Outpost had become far less a tool for dialogue to build bridges of understanding, but moreso a wedge, widening the divide between Baptists. Heated passions, while good, appeared to result more often in cutting words than in iron sharpening iron.
All of this frustrated me immensely… division and discord are not something with which I deal well. It’s more my nature to try to bring peace in such situations, and I was simply discovering that I had neither time, energy, nor influence to do so… resulting in more frustration. Simply put, the site had been taking its toll.
The final straw, though, had nothing to do with the above. It’s the “teaser” I mentioned Friday afternoon here… Micah Fries, my pastor and close personal friend, is being lead by God to serve at another local church, Frederick Boulevard Baptist.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m happy for Micah. God has spoken clearly and directly about this to him, to the search committee at Frederick Boulevard, and yes, even to me. I’m completely at peace about the situation, even though it is a bit awkward, and though it presents a uncertain future for Missouri Valley Baptist.
I really don’t get it, because it’s really not my normal response to such situations. I’m one that likes to be able to take action… who needs to see the big picture so I can do my part. In this, though, all I can do is trust God and follow Him in whatever He asks me to do… and He’s given me peace about it. I’m quite excited, actually… we’ll be forced to walk by faith even moreso than normal, and I know from past experience that God shows up most powerfully in such times. Of course things will be difficult, but God is faithful and will see us through.
The reason this affects my participation at Outpost should be clear to you… I need to be free to focus on whatever it is that God wants me to do at my church.
It’s a blessing in many ways. With Outpost frustrating me, God made my response clear… to focus my energies elsewhere. God wants me to step away for a while, regain my strength, and see what’s He’s got for me next.
I don’t know for certain what this means about my future blogging endeavors. Toward the Goal will remain, of course, but other activities? I don’t know. I still believe firmly in the originally stated mission of Outpost. With talk going around about some sort of new collaborative blogging effort intended to fulfill that mission, I can potentially see God leading me to help in the effort in some manner. But I also know that God will have much for me to do at Missouri Valley in the coming weeks, regardless of the outcome of Micah’s call to Frederick Boulevard.
Time will simply have to tell, as God reveals His plans.
I will simply close with a request… pray, and pray hard. First on my mind is Micah (and his family). He’s like a brother to me, and he needs all of our prayers this week as he prepares to go to Frederick Boulevard in view of God’s calling… this has been anything but easy for him! Secondly, Missouri Valley. Micah announced the call this morning, and there are many in our church who are still processing this… some no doubt hurting. Lastly… Outpost. There is tremendous potential for God to use the site for good in our convention. Pray that God will work through it as He sees fit.
Thanks, and God bless!
(I said I’d close, but in re-reading this, I noticed that I left out one thing… please don’t get from this that I’m upset with anyone in particular in the SBC blog world, either at Outpost or elsewhere. I consider each of the contributors at Outpost a friend, and appreciate all of them, even if I don’t always agree with them completely. The same can be said of those who write in opposition to some of the postings at Outpost. Though I don’t know many of you quite as well, I know you are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I appreciate what each of you are doing out of your love for our Savior. One day, we’ll all be gathered around God’s throne, and I would hope that we’ll all have a good laugh looking back on our silly disagreements here!)
Prayer Request Update…
May 24th, 2007 | 4 Comments | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Just wanted to post a quick update on Nancy’s nephew, and thank everyone for praying for him (please continue to do so!).
God has definitely been looking out for Tim throughout this… just three days ago, he was rushed to the hospital by a complete stranger, after crawling out of his wrecked vehicle… found to have a broken neck (the C-3 vertebra, the same as Christopher Reeves!)… yet today, he’s going home, and is expected to make a full recovery.
God is great!
Pray for Tim
May 22nd, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Prayer Requests
Last night, Nancy’s nephew, Tim, was in a serious car accident. It’s unclear as to exactly how the accident happened, but the bottom line is that his vehicle left the road and struck some trees, and that he is now in the hospital with some pretty severe injuries, including a broken neck. As we understand, he has movement in all his extremeties, so that is definitely a blessing. He was alone in the car, which is another blessing, as the damage to the vehicle was severe enough that any passengers would have been severely injured as well.
Please pray for Tim, not only for his healing, but also that God would use this situation to draw Tim to Himself. Please pray for Tim’s family as well, that they would experience God’s love and comfort in this difficult time.
Thanks in advance to all of you wonderfully caring folks who visit this site! I appreciate all of you!
The Wailing Wall…
October 18th, 2006 | 2 Comments | Posted in » God at Work, Prayer Requests
Wow… what an awesome use of the internet… establishing a 24/7 online prayer center.
Drop by the Wailing Wall, and pray for someone in need today!
