Rest

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:8

I don't often have trouble sleeping, but when I do, I pray that God will bring this verse to my mind.  How wonderful that we have a God in whom we can completely trust and rest, even physically.  I pray that God will help me to live this before Isaiah, that He will help me to have a calm spirit even in the midst of difficult times.  I pray that even should I not be able to sleep, that those wakeful hours would be spent in prayer to Him for guidance or forgiveness or seeking wisdom.

When I Don't Know Why

Today I pray for calm.  There's not a storm, there's not a tempest in my life, but for some reason I'm feeling tremendous anxiety.  Lord, please help me to rest and trust in You, to know Your peace.

And while I have these feelings, please help me to be patient with my little one and not be easily frustrated.

Please help me to show Your love.

Oksana

I made a new friend.  Her name is Oksana.  She has a 7-month old little boy named Slava.  We've already had one playdate, Lord willing, with more to follow.  Thanks for praying for me!

Been a While

Ok, so just because I haven't been posting doesn't mean that I haven't been praying, I promise!  I must confess that I've been struggling with knowing what to do with this blog exactly.  I was trying to keep it personal and generic at the same time.  Not working too well.  My prayer life has also not been quite what I would like it to be, so I'm working on some things to help there, and I'm thinking of using this blog more for that purpose.  I don't plan on posting my prayers here, or anything quite that bold (or arrogant?), but I've got some things in the works that will help me be more diligent in my prayer times and to "pray without ceasing" (as I still try to figure out what that looks like!).

In the meantime, I've added a new prayer request:

Anna

Anna lives in WA and is struggling with many things.  She's my husband's cousin (no that's not something she's struggling with).  She's currently not living at home with her husband and children.  She is easily angered and has trouble keeping a job.  First I pray for God to save her!  True change can only take place and last when we are filled with the Spirit and look to God for our daily perseverance.  

But I do pray that God will restore her relationships with her family and help her in her work, too.  But her heart is more important, as are the hearts of her children and husband, and so that is the most important request.

Catherine H

Our sister in Christ, Catherine went home to be with her Savior yesterday afternoon.  Her mom and sisters were with her as she entered her eternal home.

You would be blessed to read her mom's post about their last moments with Catherine.

Catherine H

Our dear friends the Huttons are in the process of watching their sweet daughter Catherine die.  Though I'm sure they take great comfort in knowing that she loves her Lord and Saviour, I cannot imagine the pain that they are experiencing.

We are praying for grace and strength.

Sarah-Kate W

I've known the Waugh family about all my life, and their youngest child Sarah-Kate was recently bitten by a spitting cobra.  Thankfully she was bitten in the leg, which is the best possible scenario, but she is still weak and in need of prayer.

We're praying for complete recovery and for an anti-venom to be created for this terrible situation.

We praise God for helping her thus far!

Deanna R

One of our good friends in St. P, Deanna, teaches at the Christian school with Thomas.  She's recently finished her first year here, with another one scheduled if everything can be worked out with the visas.

Her grandfather has recently been in the hospital, and is doing better now, but he is in poor health.  Deanna is going home this summer and is praying for some special time with her grandfather.

Luke is Here!

We are praising God for the healthy delivery of Luke, our newest nephew and Thomas' parents' 7th grandchild (5th grandson)!

From what we've heard, Emily was induced early Tuesday morning, and Luke joined the outside world at 1:31 pm weighing in at 9 lbs!

Silas S

Silas was scheduled to have a swallow test done on Thursday that was cancelled at the last minute.  The therapist doing the test decided that she wanted Silas to have the advantage of doing some more therapy before running the test.  The results of this test will let Silas' parents know if he can begin eating food by mouth rather than continuing to use his feeding tube.

Catherine

Our last year in the States before moving to Russia, Thomas had the privilege of working with Laine Hutton teaching the 6th grade at Covenant Christian School.

Laine had been teaching for many years.  She and her husband Sam have 4 grown children of their own.  One of their daughters is Catherine.  We did not have the pleasure of getting to know Catherine very well before we moved, but in some ways we have been able to get to know her through her website.  Catherine has a Caring Bridge site.  Last summer she was diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of liver cancer.  Please click on the link above to read more about Catherine!

Usually Laine keeps the blog updated, but occasionally Catherine or her sister Emily will write.  Lately Catherine has been very week and facing many side effects of cancer or the medicine that she must take.  Catherine is 27 years old, and she exhibits the amazing grace of God.  Please pray for her and her family as the watch and wait on the Lord.

Raina M

Sweet Raina and her parents are home after a week in the hospital.  From what I know, Raina is doing fine now, and everyone is adjusting to life at home again with a newborn.

New Apartment!

Thomas and I have been praying for several months about a new apartment.  We have a comfortable place right now, but we wanted an extra room for Isaiah and a little more space to host Bible studies and such.  We also wanted to get out of the middle of the city where the air is a little better and the surroundings a little quieter.

We had been interested in another apartment a few weeks ago.  God gave tremendous clarity in there however, when the landlady asked for $1400 Euros/month.  That figures to about $2100!  Ouch!

Last night we got a notice on a message board about a 3-room apartment away from the center of the city that seemed to be in our price range.  This morning we went and checked it out.  The apartment was very nice, in a quiet area, very secure, near a nice park, near a metro without tons of steps...and we get to move in the first week in June!

The landlady seems really great and mainly concerned about someone taking care of the apartment long-term rather than making a bunch of money.  We really liked the apartment and are thankful that God helped us to be content and not rush into something else.  Praise God for providing for our needs even better than we expected!

Nelson Family

Ann's father went home Thursday night.  He family was with him.  Now he is at rest.

Please pray for the family this weekend as there will be visitation on Saturday and a memorial service on Sunday.

Nelson Family

This afternoon (Thursday morning, in the States) I received a group email from Anna asking prayer for her dad.  He has had some increased difficulties and has been put on oxygen support.  She asked prayer for the family as things do not look very encouraging right now.

The Nelson Family

On my regular blog, I've already mentioned my friend Anna.  She has a little girl a year older than Isaiah who also has spina bifida.  I've learned tons from Anna in many ways, but right now I'm learning from her as she is watching her father have ups and downs in the hospital.

In November Anna's dad had surgery to remove cancer.  He's been in care ever since.  He recently had to have surgery to deal with an abscess.  He is struggling with eating properly.  He hopes to be in a rehab facility soon where he can have more intensive recovery treatment.

I just read a notice from Anna that the doctor's suspect that there's an infection in her dad's blood.  She requests wisdom for the doctors and nurses and for her family.

Silas S

Silas had a great visit with the neurodevelopmentalist.  He has just turned 5 months old, and after an intensive examination, the doctor said that he is on schedule for a 4 month-old!  For a premature baby with the many obstacles that Silas had, this is incredible!

Thank you Lord for granting this progress in this little one.  Please continue to encourage his parents and to work in his heart.

The Medders Family

My friend Anna has a blog that I check out every day.  She has listed on her blog roll several families.  For some reason one day, I followed the link to the Medders Family.

I'm not going to put many details here because their blog is much better for learning about them.  The basics are these:  Kelli became pregnant with quadruplets (naturally!).  One of the girls is still alive and in the NICU. Callie is having ups and downs, but she is getting stronger.  One of the hardest parts of their new family situation is lots of separation. 

Please go to their site and read their blog.  I don't think that I will ever meet this family, but I pray for them every day.

The Davis Family

This post is a mix of prayer and praise.  A few months ago I had the privilege of receiving an email from a lady in a church that supports us in CA.  We have never been to this church nor met anyone in the church face-to-face.  The elders became interested in Thomas' satire blog, and that's how the relationship got started.

Anyway.  Heather emailed me introducing herself and opening the door for us to get to know each other.  She directed me to her blog, which I enjoyed reading very much.  I learned about her family, about her husband and their 6 children.  I appreciated her honesty about herself and her relationship with her family and with God.

More recently I've had the opportunity to know her in a different way, still on her blog, but to see her heart in a new way.  Heather's husband of 20 years died rather unexpectedly several weeks ago.  Now on her blog, Heather shares the struggles of her heart.

We pray for Heather and her family every day, morning and evening.  We pray for Heather as she has to figure out the best way to financially care for the family, to keep on going when her heart is breaking, to grow and change.  We pray for the kids who have lost their daddy, the girls who will not have him to walk them down the aisle; the boys who will not have him to teach them how to fix things.

We know that God will take care of this family.  We look forward to watching Him provide and rejoicing with them, but we also know that this new direction He has given them will not be easy.  Their blog is listed on the left where I plan on putting more "long-term" prayer requests.  Please feel free to visit Heather online.  I know that you will learn from her as I have.

Silas S

Some fellow missionaries were blessed with the birth of their second child, Silas.  He came a little early and had some problems after birth that kept him in the hospital for quite a while.  He still has some difficulty with breathing and becoming easily congested, which then requires his parents to "suction" out all the gunk.

Today (Monday) he is going to a neurologist for an in-depth evaluation.  His parents have (I think) incorrectly been given an opinion about their son that really seems untrue considering what Silas is able to do now.  I am praying for this appointment to be an encouragement to them in several ways.  I hope that the doctor gives a very positive report of Silas' current abilities and prognosis.  I hope that his parents are encouraged that they are doing well for their son, providing learning opportunities and helping him develop well (because I'm sure that they are!).  I'm praying that their love for Silas will be a testimony to doctors and nurses and therapists who I'm sure have seen plenty of parents who aren't as careful or concerned or loving.  I pray that those professionals will then be open to listening to Silas' parents explain why they love their son so much!  And before he can even speak, Silas can be a missionary.

Mamaw Blakeney

Thomas' grandmother recently had a heart attack.  She has been living in St. Louis, MO with her daughter for quite some time, enjoying a little bit of time in LA with Thomas' parents as well.  After her heart attack, however her heart did endure some damage, and she has been in some pain.  Thankfully, yesterday she was able to go home to be with her daughter.  

The family has had to make some difficult decisions the past few days about treatment and care.  Having been in a similar position only 2 years ago, I can understand a little bit what they are going through.  I pray that they will be strengthened and not anxious, knowing that Mamaw is in God's hands.  I do pray that God will ease her pain.

In some ways, we are "waiting for the call".  Should God take Mamaw Home, Thomas will fly back to the States.  Please pray for us about this decision.  He would, of course, want to make the most of his time with his family, so we would need to know the very best time for him to return.

Mamaw is a sweet, loving, godly woman who did her best to raise her children to love God.  She has a rich spiritual legacy during her 91 years for which we praise God!

Raina M

I had the pleasure of talking to Cathy to check on her and her sweet little girl before they were going to try to get some rest for the night.  Just as we were hanging up another family was coming in to share their room.  Cathy asked for prayer for rest and strength.

Thankfully her mom has been with them for almost 2 weeks.   She is able to stay with them until Tuesday, so right now she is staying with Raina's older brother Silas, which is quite a help to Cathy and David.

Please pray that Raina will get better soon (not getting worse first, which Cathy said they were told could happen), that Silas will feel secure and not have undue stress, and for rest for all the family!

Raina M

This morning I talked with David Morris in California.  He and Cathy just celebrated the birth of their baby girl Raina.  While Raina is beautiful and big, she was born early, which can sometimes lend itself to future difficulties.

Right now Raina is in the hospital with RSV.  David said that she is on oxygen and doing some better but now they are just waiting for her to get completely better to be able to go home.  "Maybe tomorrow," he said.

I hope to talk to Cathy soon and see how she is doing as well.

Welcome!

Daily we need prayer.  We need to communicate with God about many things.  We must praise Him, thank Him, glorify Him and beseech Him in prayer.  On my Random Thoughts blog, I have often wanted to share prayer requests that I have or that have been given to me by friends.  The difficulty that I have on that site is that I often fail to come back and update those requests.  I hope here to rectify that situation.  Here I desire to share with whoever will read and pray for the needs that are on my heart and the hearts of my family in Christ.

So, if you are reading this and you have something that you'd like to share and have me or anyone else pray for or praise God for any reason, please feel free to send me the details, and I'll be happy to post them and pray for them and praise God for how He will work in our lives!