snookie's Blog

Re: Robert

Please continue to pray for Robert as he travels to Dallas and is admitted into a hospital there.  He has been on a two year waiting list to get into a MS hospital, and I think that is what this is.

Re: Celia

Just wanted to give everyone an update.  I noticed Celia has been out and about several times in the last week, so she is doing better.  Thank you for all the prayers!

Robert

Please keep my friend, Robert, in your prayers.  He as MS and has been having problems with fatigue, lack of sleep, and pain.

My brother

Please keep my brother, Darold, in your prayers.  He just called to say he was on his way home from North Dakota, as his company laid him and a few others off.  There is hope that they might call people back, but for now, there are no guarantees.

Re: Words of Wisdom

Broken Toys

As children bring their broken toys, with tears, for me to mend
I brought my broken dreams to God because he was my friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone
I hung around and tried to help . . . with ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried, "How can You be so slow?"
"My child," He said.  "What could I do?  You never did let go."

--By Ben Hildner—

Madison

An childhood friend of mine wrote on facebook:

Also, my neighbor, Becky said her new grand baby has been very sick too, She's been shaking, throwing up, and having trouble breathing.  Please keep both of these young ones and their families in your prayers.

Re: Ally

So far, Ally has not found anything permanent in the way of employment.  However, she did find a contract job doing home improvements with a friend.  So far, this job has been enough to keep her head above water.  Thank you for your prayers.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

A dear friend told me today that the ELCA will be having a vote today as to whether or not to allow gay clergy to serve in the church.  I know that this can be a touchy topic, so I won't stand on a soap box here and preach about the dangers of this.  Instead, I will only ask that you all pray that God's will, and not man's will, will be carried out.

Re: Words of Wisdom

I think this is a good one for those who say they have a hard time believing in a God they can't understand or see...

If God were small enough for us to understand, He would not be big enough to worship! - unknown

Words of Wisdom

Please share some of your favorite spiritual sayings and quotes here.

Re: Prayer for a 10 yr old girl

We really enjoyed having the two of you over yesterday, and yes, she is a wonderful child.  And, I could see how much good is coming from both of you being able to spend time together.  I think God is using this situation to bless both of you!

Re: Praying From The Heart

Sorry about the italics in the latter portion of my post.  No matter how many times I delete and re-post this, I can't seem to get all the settings to stay as I had originally done them... First everything was all caps, then the letters were too small to read, then there were no breaks between paragraphs, and now this.  Ugh!  I gave up on making it 'look pretty' and figured, like I tried to convey in my message, what really matters is what's in the heart and not what impresses man.

God bless!

Praying From The Heart

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” - Luke 18:9-14

When you pray, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart. – Unknown

For me, it was difficult to learn to pray publicly.  Not that I didn’t want to pray; I just felt inadequate after hearing so many other people pray these long winded, eloquent prayers filled with scripture quotes or clever thoughts.  I felt that anything I said would sound stupid, or that praying would become about impressing others and not talking to God.  So, I remained silent in front of others, and only prayed privately where I’d open up to our Lord like I would an old friend.

Then one day, not that many years ago, I was sitting in a prayer meeting at church.  People were praying for all sorts of things like being able to expand the space for our small church whose congregation had not grown in some time, praying that we’d find someone to pay for and install better sound equipment, praying that the crime in Phoenix would subside, thanking God that we were such a close knit group that found joy in fellowship with each other, etc.

As each person said their beautifully worded prayers, a growing urge to pray out loud overtook me.  I fought that urge, just knowing I’d sound like an idiot.  After a while, a pressing thought came to me.  They’re praying for the wrong things.  We need to forget about these earthly requests; what we need to pray for is a revival in our homes, our churches, our city, our state, our country, and the world!  Still, I struggled with the urge, trying desperately to remain silent.  Eventually, everyone present, except me, had said a prayer but for some reason the meeting did not adjourn after the assistant pastor prayed a closing prayer.  We all just sat there in silence.

Much to my surprise, my mouth opened up and a prayer poured out as tears spilled from my eyes.  I had no idea where the words and deep emotions were coming from, but they were spilling forth and there was no stopping it.  I still don’t know everything I said; I just know that my heart felt great joy and relief as I gave in to the desire to pray.  I believe it was the Holy Spirit saying what I could not have put into words on my own.  It helped me to express what God had put in my heart.

After the meeting, everyone, and I mean everyone, came up to me saying things like how they had no idea I was such a powerful prayer warrior, how they wished they had thought to ask for the things I prayed for, and that they were humbled by how much I poured myself into that prayer.  I was rather embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond, other than telling them the truth… it must have been the Holy Spirit coming over me.

Since that day, I have realized that when I pray aloud, I don’t need to worry about how I sound;  I just need to let the Holy Spirit help me express what’s in my heart.  God’s not impressed with fancy words anyway, only people are.  He wants genuine, heartfelt prayers.  He wants a real relationship with us, both in private and in public.

Re: Russ

And a double Amen!

Re: Welcome!

Awe... thank you!

Welcome to our group.  I am so glad you're here.  We've got some awesome prayer warriors here.  It's been a blessing to have each and everyone of them in my life.  I think you'll find it to be the same for you too.

Russ

Please keep Russ in your prayers.  His job came to an end today, and he has a family to provide for.  Please ask God to guide and comfort him as he searches for a new position.

Re: Prayer for a 10 yr old girl

I definitely believe God put you in her life for a reason. 

All I can say is, above all things, help her to see and understand that God loves her, and unlike earthly parents, will never fail her.  Second, do your best to help her to find a place in her heart to let go of these resentments and make room to love her family in spite of what they do.  It's a tough situation that will have it's own unique challenges. 

I pray that the Holy Spirit comes upon you during your time with Amanda, and gives you the words and wisdom you need to guide and comfort her during these trials in her life.  May God bless everything you do!

Re: Signs

Thank you for sharing this.  I had not thought about it this way... not really.  Yeah, I've prayed for a sign, here and there, so I could more clearly understand what path to take, but it been rare. 

The past several years, I've gotten stuck in a mode where I just ask for miracles and maybe a little more faith.  Why?  I don't know.  I was certainly awed when God did give me the signs I prayed for.  On those particular occasions, it was because of some very difficult and painful circumstances that caused me to feel too overwhelmed to make a decision by myself.  You know... those moments where pain and desperation suddenly make you diligent in prayer because you realize that anything you can do will probably make the situation worse.  God gave me my signs, though I did manage to rationalize them away as coincidence.  Then, I was told to pray for a sign I could not deny or overlook.  Boy did He give me some things that were big and obvious!  I told everyone about how God, in His patience and wisdom, had helped me to know which path to take.

Still, it never occurred to me that I should make this praying for a sign a normal practice.  I’d wait until I’d dug myself a deep hole that I couldn’t get out of, and then usually prayed for a miracle.  Asking Him to give me a sign or to strengthen my faith in Him was not my normal mode of operation.  It still isn’t. *sigh*  I ask, here and there, for an extra measure of faith but, again, only when things are nigh on desperate.  And, as I stated earlier, rarely have I asked for a sign.

This message you’ve shared could certainly benefit us all, especially me.  Thank you again for sharing this bit of wisdom!

Re: Disability

Well... the interview didn't seem to go so well.  The lady told me it would have been best if I already had a primary care physician that was seeing me regularly (I can't afford one).  Also, she said that Social Security's definition of disability is basically that you have a condition that has kept you from working for at least a year, and is considered to permanently prevent you from working at ANY job, regardless of how light the duty is or how few hours you work (I work 10 hrs a week).  The other disheartening thing was that the lady is only allowed to spend 1 hour on the phone with each applicant, so we didn't even get to cover everything that they needed to know.  As a result, she is submitting my application, as is, and I should hear from the Social Security office sometime in the next 90 - 120 days.

I'm sure that I will have to file for an appeal, but I kinda expected that anyway.

Thanks for your prayers, and I ask that you continue to pray for me.  I've been having a lot of pain in my back, hip, legs, and feet again, and the right leg is very weak also.  Usually, when I have a flare up, it only lasts a couple of days.  This has been going on for a week now, and has made it really hard for me to do the things I need to do for myself and my mother.

I know God knows what He's doing, and that His timing (not mine) is perfect, but it is still hard to not be discouraged right now.  Please ask God to help me to continue trusting Him fully, and to find comfort in knowing that He has my best interest in mind.

Disability

Please keep me in your prayers today.   I have my first interview / application process with Social Security at noon for disability.  From what I understand, it is VERY difficult to get it the first time around, unless you have a lawyer.  I don't have one, and am still trying to get on with the county for a doctor.  Without a current primary care physician, it is even more difficult.

Anyway, I've been praying that if it is God's will that I receive this assistance, these people would show me favor.  If it is not His will, then I ask that He heals my back so I can work again.

Thanks everyone!

Rain

We have needed rain so bad.  Last night, God sent us some.  The distant thunder announced its coming.  The winds picked up and the rain fell hard.  After it passed over us, He gave us a beautiful display of lightning in the distance--purple-pink spiderwebs of light, silently racing across the sky.  I sat on the porch and watched it for a while, and found some peace.  Thank you, God, for the rain and the awesome light show!

Re: Hi, Permanent Janet

Yes, welcome to our forum!  We may be a small bunch, but we're a great bunch.  Even greater now that you've joined us.    Hugz!

Re: My Mother

Mom and I went to the neurologist for her one month follow-up visit.  The doctor said that, depending on what has caused the loss of nerve conduction, she might be able to regain some use of her arms and hands back.  So, they ran some blood tests and are going to set her up for some steroid drips, 4 weeks in a row, to see if that doesn't help.  He also wants to do test her thyroid levels and to look at her MRI report again.  He said, this is definitely not Post-Polio Syndrome, as that attacks the horn cells in the spine and NOT the nerves in the arms.  He said there is a slim chance it might be a Multi focal Motor Neuropathy, so they will be looking for signs of that in her test results.

My mother seemed to have stabilized, but this morning, after all the travel and sitting at the hospital, she found she is very fatigued and her condition has worsened.

I am also suffering from our trip.  I'm having to use crutches today, because my back is really bothering me and my legs are very weak from yesterdays abuse on my body--bouncing around on the Metro Lift van and sitting for way too long.

Please continue to pray for us.

God bless each and every one of you!

Re: Celia

Annie said that Celia had part of her leg amputated, and is slowly recovering now.  She's been having to go to lots of doctor appointments for follow up from the amputation and double bypass surgery, as well as to try to get her diabetes under control.  All of these trips have been very exhausting for her and her activity, of course, has been very limited.  Annie says that has been hard on her since she is usually a very active person.  Please continue to keep Celia and Annie (they lady who is helping her) in your prayers. 

Re: Pray for Amanda

Dear Lord,

I ask that You use Kelly and others to lead Amanda and her brother to You.  Please send the Holy Spirit to Amanda's mother, moving her to return to you and to help her see just how important it is that she share with them how wondrous You are and how much We need you.  There are so many harmful distractions that the enemy uses to draw us away.  I ask that you send your angels around this family to protect them and to foil the enemy's plans.

I ask this in Jesus' name,
Amen