Dear Praying Friends and Family,
It has been a real blessing have my two chillin's home this weekend...last night HB and i layed out on the cot and snuggled and watched the shooting stars go by. It was a sweet time to talk and just be together. My son has been in and out, spending time with his gal and her family and with us. He is the one who told me about the shooting stars and he and his gal would come out from time to time to watch for them too. Eventually they fell asleep on the couch, and HB and i gave it up too and went to bed. He is on his way back to B'ham...and school is getting busy. Please remember him in your prayers for all that GOD wants to do in him and through him. Most of all pray for all of us in the weakness of our frail bodies and frail character we would love JESUS with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and depend on HIM.
Please pray that in the midst of all my son has to do for school, which is a ton, he will put JESUS first, and make time to spend with HIM. I'm counting on you, prayer warriors, to pray my boy and girl through school. He got his cadaver this past week....a rather large man, so he will have plenty to work on:). Our son is also preparing to be a husband in just a few short months... all the more reason for him to seek the LORD with all his heart, and be the man of GOD the LORD desires him to be. It's a lot coming up for my boy, thank you so much for your prayers for him and Hannah Beth. She starts her senior year of nursing when she returns on Thursday to the University of Mobile. She enjoyed her training last week for the coffee shop...the new job she is beginning on campus there at the school. It's opening for the first time, and she had to taste everything they learned to make....she said she was kind of sick the second day of tasting all that coffee and drinks. I'm excited for her to get to be around the staff and students there cause when you are in nursing school, it consumes you, and you don't get to mix too much with others on campus. She will be able to study during her job at the coffee shop when she's not busy so that's an added blessing. GOD knows what HE's about, when we don't understand. We have to depend upon HIS grace as HE leads and guides our children as you do.
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways MY ways, declares the LORD." Isaiah 55:8
Please pray that in the midst of all my son has to do for school, which is a ton, he will put JESUS first, and make time to spend with HIM. I'm counting on you, prayer warriors, to pray my boy and girl through school. He got his cadaver this past week....a rather large man, so he will have plenty to work on:). Our son is also preparing to be a husband in just a few short months... all the more reason for him to seek the LORD with all his heart, and be the man of GOD the LORD desires him to be. It's a lot coming up for my boy, thank you so much for your prayers for him and Hannah Beth. She starts her senior year of nursing when she returns on Thursday to the University of Mobile. She enjoyed her training last week for the coffee shop...the new job she is beginning on campus there at the school. It's opening for the first time, and she had to taste everything they learned to make....she said she was kind of sick the second day of tasting all that coffee and drinks. I'm excited for her to get to be around the staff and students there cause when you are in nursing school, it consumes you, and you don't get to mix too much with others on campus. She will be able to study during her job at the coffee shop when she's not busy so that's an added blessing. GOD knows what HE's about, when we don't understand. We have to depend upon HIS grace as HE leads and guides our children as you do.
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways MY ways, declares the LORD." Isaiah 55:8
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| Our children...gifts from GOD |
My friend, Dana whom i have written about for several weeks now, faces another big trial in trusting the LORD, and depending on HIS grace for her children. As many of you know who read these updates, Dana's son, Zach was taken away from her after her husband was caught on video spanking his son in the backyard. Tomorrow, the state will rule if her baby will remain in Dana's custody or if they will take him away too. Dana and her family were my back yard neighbors when our kids were growing up, and we went to church with their family. They love CHRIST, and Dana was always the best playmate with my children. She loved to play with them...i remember her saying when she was 11 or so that her best friends were my children, and they were little. She was and is so precious and has always loved children, especially her own.
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| Dana with her sweet Tristan with her family in Alabama in June |
Please remember my friend Dana in your prayers... I can't imagine what Dana must be feeling. Here is one of her posts on "Bring Zach Back," which shows us her Mother's heart for her precious boys:
She is a wonderful Mom, and loves her boys and husband so much. Did i say perfect Mom...no, none of us are as the letter i share below so clearly states. We all have to depend on GOD's grace to be strong through our weaknesses. There is nothing like having children to reveal to us how very weak and helpless we really are. I know that in the midst of this hurricane in their lives they are trusting the LORD, that HE is Sovereign and HE is working HIS will and HIS plan through all of these circumstances. Here is Dana's Dad's prayer request this past Friday:
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| Zach jumping in pool earlier this summer on family vacation |
I read this most encouraging devotion this morning reminding that GOD reigns in the affairs of men and that is where our peace as Mothers or whoever we are lies:
This Morning's Meditation
C. H. Spurgeon
"The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice."—Psalm 97:1.
AUSES for disquietude there are none so long as this blessed sentence is true. On earth the Lord's power as readily controls the rage of the wicked as the rage of the sea; His love as easily refreshes the poor with mercy as the earth with showers. Majesty gleams in flashes of fire amid the tempest's horrors, and the glory of the Lord is seen in its grandeur in the fall of empires, and the crash of thrones. In all our conflicts and tribulations, we may behold the hand of the divine King.All our troubles, all our tears.
Soul, forget not, 'mid thy pains,
God o'er all for ever reigns."
In hell, evil spirits own, with misery, His undoubted supremacy. When permitted to roam abroad, it is with a chain at their heel; the bit is in the mouth of behemoth, and the hook in the jaws of leviathan. Death's darts are under the Lord's lock, and the grave's prisons have divine power as their warder. The terrible vengeance of the Judge of all the earth makes fiends cower down and tremble, even as dogs in the kennel fear the hunter's whip.
God defends who in Him trusts;
Soul, remember, in thy pains,
God o'er all for ever reigns."
In heaven none doubt the sovereignty of the King Eternal, but all fall on their faces to do Him homage. Angels are His courtiers, the redeemed His favourites, and all delight to serve Him day and night. May we soon reach the city of the great King!
He will give us peace and gladness.
Soul, remember, in thy pains,
God o'er all for ever reigns."
I just got off the phone speaking with my boy...he made it back safely to school. He shared some prayer needs with me and my Mama's heart wants to "fix" things, but i know i can't fix things like i did when he was little...i just have to pray and ask my heavenly FATHER to do what's best and draw near to my children and lead and guide them.
Thank you for listening to this Mama's heart for her children. This week, i am going to began "mothering" Phillip Anderson for a few hours each day after school. Phillip's Mom, Darlene, died last Sept, and his big sis left for college today. I'll be picking up Phillip after school and bringing him home for a snack, do his homework, chores and play time til his Dad gets home from work. Ya'll pray for me...i could never fill the shoes of his wonderful Mother, but i sure want to "mother" Phillip with the love of the LORD and fill in the gap for a few hours a day. Looking forward to being a "Mom" to him. We don't have to biologically have a child to be a "Mother." GOD's uses Mother's who just have a willing heart to adopt HIS needy children...often those who have a full house of children already, or those who have a busy career outside the home in addition to their roles as a Mom. I have been so inspired by so many in my life who have chosen to adopt children who needed loving parents...just as our heavenly FATHER adopted us to be HIS children. HE paid the highest price for us, the blood of HIS SON JESUS CHRIST that we might be rescued from the dominion of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of HIS marvelous light," and be made HIS children forever and ever. John 1:12 says, "But as many as received HIM, to them HE gave the right to become the children of GOD." Have you received HIM into your life...have you surrendered your proud and stubborn heart to HIM, and asked HIM to forgive you and turned away from your sins? Ask HIM today....HE longs to be your FATHER, and give you all the love that you ever need and meet all your needs in CHRIST JESUS. He longs to mend your broken heart, your loneliness, your fears, and to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." Isaiah 61:3
JESUS invites us to Come...just as we are, just as this song written by Charlotte Elliot shares so beautifully: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovYPQl93zro, "Just As I Am." Charlotte is a perfect example of GOD using a weak and broken vessel to be strong through and touching countless lives for HIS honor and glory:
Without question, this hymn has touched more hearts and influenced more people for Christ than any other
song ever written. The text was born within the soul of an invalid woman who wrote these words out of intense
feelings of uselessness and despair.
Charlotte Elliott was born in Clapham, England, on March 18, 1789. As a young person she lived a carefree
life, gaining popularity as a portrait artist and writer of humorous verse. By the time she was thirty, however,
her health began to fail rapidly, and soon she became a bedridden invalid for the remaining years of her life.
With her failing health came great feelings of despondency. In 1822 a noted Swiss evangelist, Dr. Caesar
Malan, visited the Elliott home in Brighton, England. His visit proved to be a turning point in Charlotte's life. In
counseling Miss Elliott about her spiritual and emotional problems, Dr. Malan impressed upon her this truth,
"You must come just as you are, a sinner, to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."
She never forgot the words of her friend, for they form the very essence of this hymn.
Though Charlotte Elliott lived to be eighty-two years of age, she never regained normal health, and she often
endured seasons of great physical suffering. Of her own afflictions she once wrote,
"He knows, and He alone, what it is, day after day, hour after hour, to fight against bodily feelings of almost
overpowering weakness, languor and exhaustion, to resolve not to yield to slothfulness, depression and
instability, such as the body causes me to long to indulge, but to rise every morning determined to take for my
motto, 'If a man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'"
Another time she wrote,
"God sees, God guides, God guards me. His grace surrounds me, and His voice continually bids me to be
happy and holy in His service just where I am."
Miss Elliott wrote the text for "Just As I Am" in 1836. It was published that same year in the second edition of
The Invalid's Hymn Book, a collection which contained 115 of her original works. She wrote this hymn with the
desire that it might aid financially in building a school for the children of poor clergymen that her own pastor
brother was trying to build in Brighton, England. Miss Elliott felt so helpless in her desire to aid the parishioners
in this worthy project. Interestingly enough, this one hymn from the pen of the clergyman's invalid sister
brought in more funds than all of his bazaars and projects combined. The brother himself has left these words,
"In the course of a long ministry, I hope to have been permitted to see some fruit of my labors; but I feel more
has been done by a single hymn of my sister's."
Wow....i can sure relate to her story. I have suffered from a "thorn in the flesh" since my son was 8 months old. GOD knows i have been a weak mom, and continue to be. HE has been faithful to be strong in my weaknesses..."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." II Cor. 12:9
Just read these words from the One Year Book of CHRISTian History about another weak Mom that GOD used mightily:
"GOD often uses the weak and infirm in mighty ways."
Elizabeth Payson Prentiss was born in 1818 in Portland, Maine, where her father, Edward Payson, served as a pastor. Edward, a godly man, was frail throughout his lie, and Elizabeth inherited his physical weakness. She was frequently an invalid and almost never without pain.
When Elizabeth was twenty-one, she began to realize that in spite of her CHRISTian home she herself was not a believer. Her realization of her sin became more and more intense. Then she heard a sermon on CHRISt's ability to "save to the uttermost." Affected deeply, she later wrote, "While listening to it my weary soul rested itself, and i thought, "surely it cannot be wrong to think of the SAVIOR, although HE is not mine." With this conclusion I gave myself up to admire, to love and to praise HIM, to wonder why I had never done so before, and to hope that all the great congregation around me were joining with me in acknowledging HIM to be chief among ten thousand and the ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY." On her way home from church she could hardly believe the peace she was experiencing, which was so unlike the negative emotions that had long troubled her soul.
In 1845 she married George L. Prentiss, a Presbyterian pastor. Six years later the family moved to New York City with their two children. soon thereafter their son died, and the following year Elizabeth gave birth to their third child, who also died rather suddenly.
One night as the grief-stricken parents returned from visiting the graves of their children, Elizabeth's emotions reached the breaking point. In despair she cried to her husband, "Our home is broken up, our lives wrecked, our hopes shattered, our dreams dissolved."
Her husband's wise counsel to her was, "But it is in times like these that GOD loves us all the more, just as we love our own children more when they are sick or troubled in distress."
Elizabeth immediately took her Bible and began reading. Then she searched her hymnal for comfort. She came to "Nearer My GOD to Thee." As she meditated on the words of the hymn and on the words her husband had shared with her, she began composing a poem in the same metrical pattern as "Nearer My GOD to Thee."
Elizabeth went on to write many poems, publishing a volume containing 123.
Elizabeth Prentiss died on August 13, 1878, in Dorset Vermont. The graveside service closed with the singing of Elizabeth's hymn "More Love to Thee," ending with these words:
Then shall my latest breath
Whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry
My heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be:
More love, O CHRIST to THEE,
More love to THEE!
You can hear this beautiful song sung here by Fernado Ortego:
May it be all of our hearts and prayers for ourselves, our children, and our loved ones: "More Love to THEE, O CHRIST, more love to THEE."
Thank you for praying for my babies, thank you for praying for my friend Dana as she prays diligently that the LORD will in HIS sovereign will let her keep her baby tomorrow. Please remember our parents in your prayers too and the special needs they have in this season of their lives. Pray that i would be sensitive to their needs, as my role is changing gradually from being a child to the parent to them. Thank you for sharing with me the opportunity to pray for you and your babies....I'm going to close with this powerful quote my dear friend, Wanda, shared with me a few years ago about the power of prayer:
"I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers make, and all the people those little prayers were destined to affect, and all the consequences of those prayers down through the centuries, we would be so paralyzed with awe at the power of prayer that we would be unable to get up off our knees for the rest of our lives."-Peter Kraft, professor at Boston College
Thank you so much for praying....GOD hears, GOD answers, and GOD is changing lives and consequences down through the ages, because you took time to pray.
With all HIS love,
mitzi
"We should never concentrate in thought or prayer on the faults and failings and sins and stumblings of others, but on the power of love of the SAVIOR to heal and to change." Winged Life, Hannah Hurnard
"How good it is to sing praises to our GOD... HE heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds... Great is our LORD and mighty in power; HIS understanding has no limit." Psalm 147:1, 3,5
"Men ought always to pray and not to faint." Luke 18:1
"He Knows My Name"
2 comments:
Great post, Mitzi. Will be praying especially and deeply for these needs. Thank you for the hymn background...great message on the glory of God through our total weakness and God-enabled endurance. You always bless me. ; )
You always bless me too, sweet Tamara. Thank you for your prayers and your kind words. I love you and it's always sweet to my soul to hear from you. mitzi
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