Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the tottering knees.
Have you any days of fasting & prayer?
Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.
J. Wesley
WOW! Here we are in another year! I am really looking forward to this year and in seeing how our congregation will continue to worship, continue to grow, and continue to serve.
I received some Christmas pictures of little Marisela, the premature baby that we have been praying for. She is adorable! She is still a tiny girl. One picture shows her in a Christmas stocking and another shows her in her mama’s hands and they show her small size but they all show a happy, healthy baby. What a miracle Father has accomplished already in this child’s life!
The news on Patrick is not good. Patrick is the little boy who had a brain tumor this past fall. Patrick came home from Valley Children’s for a few days over Christmas - but now has gone back. He is not progressing well. Please spend just a bit of extra time in prayer for this baby.
I am requesting prayer for my friend, Kris Baiz. Even as I type this, Kris is in surgery for her foot - the same one that we had been praying about last year. They will be removing more of the bone in her little toe because it had never fully healed from the last operation
We have received an update on Dan Hansen’s job at Vendo. Lois writes, “He is still working full time. He will be there until the last employee is layed off because being the Senior Shop Steward, he has to be there to represent any employee left there. He can't take another job until Vendo shuts down completely or he will lose his Severance package (not much but something). Our prayer at this time is motivation for Dan to take advantage of this time to get back into school to retrain into something that he wants to get involved in, like Respitory therapy or Physical or massage therapy, maybe even counseling. Please pray for direction for him. He will probably be working up to or around April. Thank you for all of your concern and prayers. Dan has come a long way since 9 years ago when he was SO sick. I really feel God has a plan for us. We just need to find it!”
Please continue to pray for the big part of the world devastated by the tsunami. Hold up the victims and the relief workers. Pray for the Christian organizations that in that area, that they will be given the opportunity to share Jesus as they share supplies. At the end of our prayer together is some information on how to donate to the relief effort through our own “One Great Hour of Sharing” and some additional information on donating through the Salvation Army.
I sat with Annie Dennis in services this past Sonday and she told me that her father, John Rogers, is doing better with his cancer - but is still in need of prayer.
We continue to pray for the following: Laura and a perfect donor for her bone marrow transplant, the child custody issue for Patty Tapney’s colleague, Dr Iris and her grandmother, Valda Evans, Bobbie Gould and Mary Dorland who are recovering from falls, Chuck Johnson, Kelli Hastings’ father, Brandon and his leukemia, Danette’s parents Dan & Sandy Austin & their struggle with finances, Gabriel, Ruth Delgado’s nephew, recovering from wounds received in Iraq, Carola Poythress’s recovery from her stroke, George Martin with cancer, Ray Rahn & his kidney dialysis, my friend who is drifting away from Father, Johnnie Sowell & her chemo, Cheryl Balestra & her chemo, Lois Winters & her cancer, and Robert Kammer & sleep apnea.
Please continue to pray for our missionaries - The Reaching Hand Society in India, Dr. George Pe Myat & the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw as they work at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Please keep our two church plants in prayer - Life House in Reedley with Horacio and Cheryl Aleman and the Flipside Church of Rio Mesa with Karl & Shelly Roth. The Flipside church will be having their first preview service at 10:00 am on Sonday, January 9th. The service will be held at Valley Oak Elementary at Friant & Champlain.
Pray for our pastors, the leadership of our churches, our ministries and Father’s provision for the Church.
The atheist, Michael Newdow, has once again filed a lawsuit to have God taken out of the pledge of allegiance and this time he has other parents and students joining him. Pray that this lawsuit will be denied.
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
God, our Savior,
You are the Glory of Your people, You are our Everlasting Father, You are our Hope and Comfort, You are the Song of Joy in our hearts. We love You so much.
LORD of All, we thank You for the great news of Marisela and her continued development. Please continue to bless this little girl and her family.
We bring before You another child, Patrick. Holy God, we cry out for Patrick and ask that You bring healing to this little boy. Give him the strength to be able to take the chemotherapy that is needed. Bring courage and comfort to Patrick & his family as they endure this time of sorrow.
Great Physician, we lift our sister, Kris, before You and ask that You be with her as she recovers from her operation. Father, touch her foot and stop the spread of this infection in her bones. Comfort her spirit.
Jehovah Jirah, Provider of our needs, provide for Dan and Lois as Dan’s job starts to wind down. Give Dan a clear direction of where You would have him serve You through his employment and/or schooling. Bring a calmness to their spirits.
Holy Spirit, we pray that You bless and protect all of those affected by the tsunami and those who have gone there to provide help. Open doors in the hearts and minds of those who do not know You. Give them ears to hear Your message of love.
Thank You for the news that John Rogers is doing better. Continue to work in his life.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu, God of our righteousness, we praise and worship You for You are our righteousness. You cover our unrighteousness with Your righteousness. You make us clean, spotless before You.
LORD Jesus, You know the many situations and people that we are praying for. God of Eternity we ask that Your will continue to be done in each of them and that those we are praying for can find their peace within You.
Sanctuary of our Hearts, we ask that You bless all of Your missionaries around the world. Protect them as they serve You. Provide for their needs.
With anticipation, LORD, we look forward to hearing the good report that will come from this first service of the Flipside Church. Abba, bless all who are involved in serving You at this service. Bless Karl as he brings Your words to life. Bless the LifeHouse church in Reedly as it continues to grow.
LORD God, we ask that You renew the spirits of our pastors when they grow weary in Your service. Help us to continuously hold our pastors before You in prayer, and uphold them with our actions and words. Bless the leadership of our congregations, help us to keep the focus of our ministries on You and on building Your kingdom. Father, provide for the Church’s needs.
We pray for our country LORD God, we ask that You bring her back to You where she belongs. We pray for the leaders of our country and for the judges. LORD God, stop this vile lawsuit that would remove Your precious name from our pledge of allegiance. We pray fervently for those who have filed this lawsuit, that they may come to a relationship with You.
Protect our military men & women, Father, and bring them home safely
Ancient of Days, there has never been a moment when You were not sovereign over all of the heavens and the earth. We praise You and thank You for Your presence in our lives. We stand amazed by You. We love You LORD, we will love You forever. Amen
From Judi Wright - Hi Valerie...just wanted to give you a website for anyone wishing to donate to The Salvation Army...by the way donations are already coming into our local office and the bulletin received yesterday asked people to donate on line monetarily or send their donation marked 'South Asia Disaster Fund'. Website is: www.tsagoldenstate.org.
From Pam at ABC:
As your congregation prays for the people who have been struck by the horrible disaster that has taken place this week in Asia, ABC has a very effective means of getting relief aid to the area.
Gifts can be made to the Asian Tsunami Disaster through One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) and 100% of their dollars will go to work for relief in the disaster area. We have missionaries in many of the countries involved and they will be able to help distribute the funds effectively.
Very few other organizations are able to get 100% of the dollars to aid in the relief.
If you have any questions please contact our ABCW Resource Center at 925-277-3980.