It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG.
Anyone else?
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.
5 I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever,
your renown, Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
My daughter was very disappointed with the message preached at the funeral she just attended. Such an opportunity lost to point people to the only One who can bring real comfort to us! Pray this family will have others around them to bring them in the right direction.
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Oh, Kathaleena. That is heartbreaking. Deceit is so rampant in our world. And that one tops the list.
Heavenly Father, Jesus is victorious over death. May you intervene in the lives of each who attended the funeral and make a way of clear teaching and understanding so that they can be saved, too. Oh, Lord, especially these days when people need your love, peace, joy, and hope for a good future, I ask that this vulnerable time of pondering death would be utilized for Your good in the lives of these loved ones. Thank You for being the Waymaker. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
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My friend Shirley died last night, thank you for your prayers. I’m really going to miss her, it all hit so fast, diagnosis came only about a month ago.
I’m so sorry, too, that we missed all our regular annual outings in 2020 due to the pandemic, going to the pet expo, a couple Christmas craft fairs, lunch out “dutch” for our mutual birthdays in the fall; not to mention the pretty much daily “hi, what’s up with you today” e-messages.
I remember my former pastor, when asked how to deal with a death of someone whose spiritual state was not clear to us, told us to hold on to the “signs” or glimmers of faith the person did show in life. So that’s what I’m doing.
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DJ–this is yet another death for you in a year filled with disappointments and sudden changes. Please don’t discount the importance of grieving.
Of course, Shirley’s family can use prayers for comfort; we pray, too, though for you.
Lord, I ask that your Holy Spirit would be the comforter and the healer in DJ’s soul, yet again. We pray that you would give her a sense of peace that passes understanding and that will guide her as she processes another loss, another hole. Feel that space, Lord, both with yourself, but also with someone else to come alongside her to befriend her in the way she best needs right now.
So many changes, Lord, and no ending in sight. I pray that you would be the buoy as well as the lighthouse for her as she moves forward. Fill her with Your presence, lead her, guide, her, and strengthen her.
We love her, Lord, and we know that you love her, too.
For Shirley’s family, we pray grace, mercy, peace, and an ability to grieve as well. We ask that all who loved Shirley would be able to share their memories with each other, to help each other mourn her well and as she deserves.
Thank you, Father, for a warm friendship. Bring the tears Shirley’s death deserves, and give all who love her a filling of You, remembering, loving, and moving forward through grief, not stuck in it.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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That would be Fill, not Feel, but feel free to use either. 🙂
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So sorry, DJ. What Michelle said.
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I’m sorry, too, DJ. It has been such a hard year already, and a glum start to the “new” one.
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Oh, I feel saddened by your news of Shirley’s death, DJ. In agreement with Michelle’s touching prayer.
I am reading Hope When Your Heart Is Breaking: Finding God’s Presence in Your Pain by Ron Hutchcraft. It is so relevant to all the losses people are experiencing these days. It’s a quick read. I will send you a copy if you think you’d have time to read it.
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DJ – I’m sorry to hear of the loss of your good friend Shirley, and I add my “Amen” to Michelle’s prayer.
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Thanks everyone
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I am so sorry for the loss of your precious Shirley….asking the Lord to bring you comfort even in the unknowing…He loved her ♥️
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I’m sorry to hear about Shirley, too, DJ. ♥️
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Flyboy is slowly getting better, with the fever hanging around 100 instead of 103. We started suspecting strep, so he got tested for that and flu today, as well as re-tested for Covid. All came back negative.
He’s being a good sport about quarantining in his room. The computer keeps him connected with the outside world. We call each other on our cell phones whenever we need to communicate.
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Good to hear Kevin.
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Spotted an interesting tweet by an LA-based World writer who said she was realizing anew right now “what an integral and difficult role journalists play in shaping what the country chooses to focus on, whose voices to amplify. As we pray for our leaders, please pray for us journalists too.”
We had editor discussions today with how to handle covering possible local protests that could erupt here in the coming 2 weeks, including how best to keep ourselves safe & out of danger from some of the more angry people out there right now. Journalists have become a physical target now, too.
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Oh, DJ, I am so sorry for the loss of your friend.
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