“Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and
for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in my life” O. Hallesby
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee.” Psalm 55:22
Tonight I get to share the very best - truly the VERY best - of praise to our glorious God. We have been praying for the Owens family and Rick Owens as he battled cancer. When they first came on our prayer list things were looking bad. Rick was up in Stanford, depressed and angry at God and life. Nothing seemed to be working on his treatments. Worst of all - he was not in relationship with Jesus. Below is part of an e-mail that I got from Bev Willis:
“Leslie Owens, our next door neighbor, wrote a email to us and others about Rick, her husband. Two big praises - No. 1 - Rick has accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and has been studying the Bible quite a lot lately. 2. Rick's cancer shows no growth lately and Rick is feeling better. Praises to our Lord for answered prayer again. Please continue to pray for him and Leslie and their daughter, Kayla as Rick continues treatment. Leslie and Rick are attending North Pointe Church now and we rejoice in that also.”
Another wonderful praise is that Marisela now weighs just shy of three pounds, she has been taken out of intensive care and is in regular care! Her improvement is just a miracle! (Wonder where that came from?)
Last week I requested prayer for a friend at work and her two year old son. Another praise is that the little boy, Patrick, is doing great. It doesn’t look like he is going to have to have any more operations to remove the tumor - that they will be able to treat it with chemo. During the operation they had to cut Patrick’s head from just in front of his ear, over his ear and back to his neck muscle. As a result of the operation Patrick’s little hands are curled in like fists. Please pray that this will ease - and that he will regain full use of his hands.
Chuck Johnson, Kelli Hastings father, is back in Los Angeles. He is in poor shape, he can’t stand on his own and they are giving him a lot of blood transfusions. Please keep him, Kelli and the whole family in prayer.
Willie & Joy will be home Friday night. Wisconsin has been really cold - so my guess is that they will be glad to be back in sunny California! Please pray for traveling mercies on them!
This October 31st we will be having our second annual Trunk or Treat event. Please pray for the families and children that will be touched by this outreach. We are looking for trunks (car trunks - not swim trunks) and donations of candy or money. Please contact Marva Ward or Chris Aycock if you can help with any of this.
Please continue to keep the following in prayer: Julie & her mom with their broken bones; 2 yr old Brandon with his leukemia, Bev Willis for continued recovery from surgery, Lois Winters and her cancer, Anna Gossen & her mother as Anna prepares to come to Fresno and her mother prepares for knee surgery, Jim Hildman and his radiation treatments, Bill Clem and his shoulder, Lillian Seward’s continued recovery, Ray Rahn, Jr with his kidney dialysis, Evelyn Hayhurst with her cancer, Peggy Molander as she undergoes physical therapy, Lois & Dan Hansen and new job for Dan, John Robert’s need to be in relationship with Jesus and for his cancer, Cheryl Balestra as she continues her cancer treatments, and Robert Kammer with his sleep apnea. If you have any updates - please send them on.
Please continue to pray for all of our missionaries - Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, Laurie Bethall & Simon in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw as they work at the New Life Center in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Dr. George Pe Myat and the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, and all the missionaries worldwide. I ran into Khamla today - she looks great! Her hair is coming back in. She told me that Bounkham is in Thailand and on his way to Laos.
Please continue to pray for the church plants - The Rock Christian Church in Rio Mesa and The Life House in Reedley. You may recall that the Life House had found some property that was perfect for their church. Unfortunately the City Council voted against the church on a rezoning issue so the Life House cannot move into there. Please pray that Father will soon show them the home He had chosen for them.
Please continue to hold up our pastors, leadership, ministries and finances up before Father.
Lift our country, her leadership and our military up in prayer.
Bright & Morning Star,
Thank You for the multitude of ways that You care for us. You know better than we what we need and out of Your mercy and abundance You provide.
LORD Jesus, Glorious King, how we rejoice to know that Rick’s name has been entered into the Lamb’s book of Life. Thank You for Your grace that extends to the very least like me. Thank You for the eternal life that is now Rick’s. We ask that You continue to keep the cancer at bay and that Rick’s recovery will be complete.
You are our Resurrection and our Life. We kneel at Your feet in awe.
Praise You, Praise You, Praise You for the wonderful updates on Marisela and Patrick. Continue to hold these little ones close to Your heart and please continue to heal them. Father, we ask in particular for Patrick’s little hands - that they will be restored to full use.
Merciful God, we cry out for Chuck Johnson and his struggles with his health. Grant him strength so that he can walk. Help him with whatever is causing his need for all of these transfusions. Be with Kelli and her family as they support Chuck through this time.
LORD God, we thank You for this time that Willie & Joy have had away. Thank You for taking care of them while they were gone, bless them and care for them as they travel back home to us.
Father of Light, we pray for the families that we will touch at the Trunk or /treat. We pray, Father, that we will represent You in such a way that the families will be curious enough about us and about You to come again. Father provide the trunks, provide the candy, provide the finances, provide the volunteers. May we glorify You through this event.
Holy Spirit, we pray for each of the situations that we have listed above. We ask that You continue to move and heal in all of our loved ones lives.
Triune God, You are the cornerstone and foundation of our life and we praise You.
LORD of All, we ask Your blessings on the missionaries that serve You around the world. We ask that You protect them from the extremists who would harm them. We ask that You bless Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, Laurie Bethall & Simon in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw as they work at the New Life Center in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Dr. George Pe Myat and the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Great provider, we pray for the two church plants that we are involved in. We ask that You watch over them and guide their leaders. Show Horacio where You would have them establish a church home. Be with the pastors and families of these new churches. Help us to help them.
Abba, with all of our love we lift our pastors before You. These anointed men and women have tremendous effects on our lives. They teach us and show us how to live in the center of Your will. Bless them, Abba, with Your abundance. We lift up the leaders and ministries of Your Church and ask that You bless our work for the kingdom and that You provide for our needs.
Mighty God, we call out for our country and ask that a fire of renewal and revival break out across our land and that we turn back to You. We ask that Your will be done in the upcoming election. We ask Your guidance and wisdom be upon the leaders of our country from the President to the Congress to the State leaders to the city leaders. Bless them all. We ask Your protection and mercy upon our military troops as they serve our country.
In the quietness of our hearts we seek You, LORD God. We thank You for this life that You have given us. We thank You for all the times You have picked us up and set our paths straight. There is none that can compare with You. We give You all the praise and glory for eternity. We love You
Posted by Valerie at October 7, 2004 02:22 PM