Please Pray

***Edited: I wrote this post this morning. This evening another family in our church received a call that their youngest son died this weekend. He was in his late 40s or early 50s. It seems that it keeps coming. But we do have a mighty God who is with us. Who loves us. Who comforts us. Who gives us strength. Even in times like this when we say 'What is going on?' 'How much more can we take?' We know that he will not give us more than he will give us the strength to handle. But please pray for us. Specifically the families that are directly touched. ***

This month has been amazing. Not a month I would like to repeat, but still, I have seen God so clearly. A friend from church and I were talking earlier last week. It seems like our little church is a lot like Job. We are a small church and have been hit very hard with pain. But if I look at the story of Job, I know that God is right there. To give you a little background, in the last month we have had one of our three elders diagnosed with brain cancer, a family in our church take their 10 month old son by ambulance to a children's hospital for several days, not knowing whether he would live, once that trial was mostly over and they were able to take him home, they came home to their 6 year old needing to be taken to the ER. On Monday, another family in our church lost their 25 year old son suddenly. That is on top of a few ongoing trials that other families are facing. It has been hard. But I have to say, we have felt God's presence through it all. I would be lying if I said we aren't tired, but God has continued to sustain our church family and the leaders as we face these trials. And through it all I think we are all still rejoicing in God's goodness. I am praying for God's glory to be magnified through all of this. And that we would continue to lean completely on Him as we face each day.

Please pray for the families that I mentioned above. Please pray for God to continue to give them the strength that only he can give and the comfort that passes all understanding. There still is hurting. Also, pray for the Elders as they lead and care for our church family. As you saw in the post below, Jathan is sick, the bug is in our house, but he has gotten run down, so please pray for healing for him so he can minister with full strength.

Please also pray for my sister, Mandy. Right now she is in the hospital, unable to walk and in a lot of pain. She has been sick for over a month, the doctors still do not know what is causing all of this. Please pray for healing and strength.

Lamentations 3 verses 19 through 24 says, 'I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'" Praise God! He is everything, He is all we need. Those that are called by his name can look to Him with confidence and know that he truly is our All in All.