Prayer For Pastor Saeed

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Prayer for Pastor Saeed. Here is the latest request from his facebook page Pray For Pastor Saeed Abedini. 

Saeed's condition and health have worsened. His bleeding continues internally and he is now suffering kidney problems. Saeed was taken to solitary confinement where we know the beatings are more intense and brutal. He is no longer allowed visits from his family. We are calling on you to join with us and pray to the only one who can provide hope and conquer. Please join us in praying, sharing Saeed's story, making some noise! We need you to be louder than ever. Please pray and share this post! Thank you!

 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 NIV

 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Please, let's join together and pray for this dear man of God who is being beaten and abused for Jesus.

Blessings,
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Phoebe

Phoebe is on her way to recovery but is still in need of prayer over a few issues. Here is a snippet from her blog An Atypical Miracle

...Phoebe has been feeling great and often comes to sit in her lawn chair and watch me in the garden. Her stamina still isn’t 100%, but she is making progress. Her feet often hurt because of the way she walks these days. She lost quite a bit of muscle in her legs during her sepsis episode and it has caused her to have knock-knees and over pronate. In other words, she puts her weight on the inside (arch) of her foot and it causes a lot of discomfort. We are looking into getting her another pair of orthotics that fit lower on the ankle but address her over-pronating. 

Her kidneys are still dumping potassium and her liver still sustains some damage, so please pray for those two things. Life is sweet these days, busy and full of activity and all of the things we usually take for granted. Joy is in the small things that make up a life and we are soaking it all in.

Thank you all for praying for Phoebe and continuing to ask after her,

Romans 8:26 ESV 
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Thanks for continuing to pray for these precious children.

Blessings,
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Some Updates udated with 2nd part

Lucy:

All is fine for Lucy. :) There is a pretty amazing video that was done on Lucy's Story, part 1. You can 2 3 Kids, a Mini Van and a Mortgage Part 2 should be up shortly. Since I don't have permission to show it on my blog, you can see it on their blog.

Here is the link to part 2 found at 2 3 Kids, a Mini Van and a Mortgage. 

 

 Easton:

This facebook page was removed but just today I found another page up and running and I was

thrilled!! Easton had a trach placement and he seems to be doing really well. Please keep him in your prayers as this child has such a fight in front of him. 

           2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Please continue to pray and pray for these dear, sweet children. Thanks!!!
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Wrestling With God

Genesis 32:22-30 NIV

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Wrestling as defined by dictionary.com 

noun 1. a sport in which two opponents struggle hand to hand in order to pin or press each other's shoulders to the mat or ground, with the style, rules, and regulations differing widely in amateur and professional matches. 

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in wrestling.

2. to contend, as in a struggle for mastery; grapple: to wrestle with one's conscience.

verb (used with object)

3. to contend with in wrestling.

4. to force by or as if by wrestling.

5. to throw (a calf or other animal) for branding.

noun

6. an act of or a bout at wrestling.

7. a struggle.

Wrestling brings to mind the thought of force into our prayers. We need to pray aggressively and wrestle with stubborn issues that the enemy has brought into our lives. We also need to wrestle with God for the blessings we desire. God will give them to us if they line up with His perfect will. 

Seek, Ask & Knock.

Wrestling is an orderly sport and our God is orderly in manner so that would bring us to believe that our prayers should be orderly. What is this order we are to follow, or the rules we are to follow? First we need to acknowledge that God is Creator and Jesus is His Son, then we need to repent of our sins or we will not be heard. 

Acts 3:19 NIV 
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Obey the Lord!! We need to obey the voice of the Lord and do as He asks us.

Deuteronomy 30:10 NLT 
The LORD your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

We need to pray all kinds of prayers in all kinds of ways. A wrestler has many different moves he can make in a match, yet often he is prone to a specific style or group of moves that works for him, but if he is wise and well trained he will throw in a move that is not of his routine in order to throw off his opponent. So with that thought, routine is important for us in praying and what good athlete can get by without training? None. We need to pray and pray building our spiritual discipline focusing on God's Word and what He desires of His children. 

 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV 
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 Ephesians 6:18 NIV 
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.

Are you wrestling with God over things? I encourage you to keep on pressing in and don't give up. If you are not receiving an answer make sure your heart is in alignment with God's will and then maybe what is needed is a change of prayer pattern from the stalemate you are in.

Blessings,
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Love Conquers Hate

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Linking up with Barbie from The Weekend Brew

Blessings,

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Sleep Deprived Parents

For all you moms with small children and for those who just wish to reminisce. :)

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. 

Blessings and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.
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Boston Marathon 2013

Praying and praying for all who are affected by this recent bombing. 

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Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Winter Is Not Over Yet

Proverbs 6:6 ESV

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

We went from a very promising looking spring right back into the heart of winter. 

It hailed then snowed and today it looks like we might just receive more. :)

I am not complaining, really, I wasn't ready for spring just yet. I love running in the snow, it is so refreshing and the air is so crisp. And to be honest here I just am not quite ready for all the work that is waiting for me outside. This year brought a lot of heavy, heavy snow that just sat on the branches, weighing them down and breaking off many of them. There are a lot of branches to pick up, put into piles and burn. Lazy, yes I believe I am being lazy. ;P But seriously, I really do love the snow!

Proverbs 6:9-11 ESV

How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Blessings,

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Fourth Dimension

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April's newsletter from Right From the Heart. 

While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 

Luke 24:36

Want to blow your mind? Our world deals in the elements of three dimensions ... 3D ... measurable space or volume of length and breadth plus time. When you add time in what science calls the fourth dimension where speed compresses time into the present, our brains have trouble comprehending the concept. A lack of comprehension doesn't mean the concept is invalid, however.

Our God is omnipresent which means always present, not bound by time. He is with us and everyone else all the time. In Luke 24:36, Jesus suddenly appears in the Upper Room startling the disciples by His "instant" presence, a great example of the fourth dimension. Time and space are simply not an issue for the Creator of the Universe whether we grasp the concept or not.

Over the weekend, we commemorated the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As believers, we accept the fact the Jesus took all our sin upon Himself on that horrible, torturous cross ... past, present and future. We can never be thankful enough for this redemption in the here and now for the mercy He has shown you and me for our shortcomings and failures. But think about this ... in this concept of the 4th Dimension, as we find ourselves deliberately committing a sin we know is contrary to God's will at the time, the thought that we are persecuting Jesus Christ at that very moment is sobering. He was on the cross suffering then for what we are doing now. But in the mysterious concept of time, is His "then"... our "now?" When I think of it that way, it sure causes me to be aware even more of my sin. None of us want to cause pain and suffering for our Savior, yet that is exactly what our sin does. It kind of boggles the mind but sure makes me grateful -- because I am one of those sinners.

The Good News is Jesus not only offers us forgiveness for all our sin but defeated the penalty of sin by rising from the dead. That is what we as Christians celebrate Easter, the Risen Christ! We can only "know and understand what we know and understand." I know that Jesus died for my sin and conquered the grave to reign at the right hand of the Father. I know that He loves me and reserves a place in Heaven because of my trust in Him. At Right From The Heart, our fervent prayer is that you know that as well. It is very important that you "know that you know." He is RISEN!

In Christ,

Bryant Wright
Founder, Right From The Heart Ministries

Thinking about the fourth dimension and God being outside of time, has always fascinated me. I guess it is in this dimension that spiritual warfare takes place and this is why we battle on our knees in prayer and why the weapons of this world are useless when it comes to spiritual warfare.

After reading this newsletter and thinking about... the thought that we are persecuting Jesus Christ at that very moment is sobering. He was on the cross suffering then for what we are doing now. But in the mysterious concept of time, is His "then"... our "now?" This thought concept blows me away! Even though I find it hard to wrap my mind around the fourth dimension and how it works, the thought that my today's sin causes Jesus pain on the cross helps me to consider the sin before I do it and helps me to reconsider my course of action.

Hebrews 13:8 NIV

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Blessings,
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Sophia In Need of Prayers

Sophia:

Sophia has Battens Disease and now it seems she has another complication that is making treating her and giving her a good quality of life even more difficult.

Here is an update from her facebook page:

I'm sorry that I haven't kept you guys updated. I just needed a day to cry, be depressed, and reflect. Sophia's ultrasound results show that she has kidney disease. To be exact, she has Renal Tubular Acidosis. Her kidneys are not filtering acid from her body like they should, resulting her being acidotic. This is what caused her dehydration, vomiting, and lethargy. The nephrology doctors (kidney doctors) do not know why this has happened. It is something that occurs with kids on the ketogenic diet like Sophia but she has been on the diet for over a year and this has never

happened before. Usually, it would occur within weeks of being on the diet. Sophia is losing huge amount of bicarbonate, which is like baking soda to help neutralize the acid in her body. Her body is trying to correct the acid level, so she is breathing very rapidly and taking shallow breaths. The nephrologists recommended that she be removed from the ketogenic diet. While this may seem like a simple solution, it is anything but. Before Sophia was placed on the diet, many, many medications were tried with none being successful. The diet was a last resort because it is quite restrictive and time consuming but it worked for Sophia. Prior to the diet, she was having upwards of 60 seizures per day. So taking her off the diet, opens her up for those seizures again. The neurologist stated that Sophia’s seizures are not life threatening; I explained to her quite quickly that until she has watched her own child lie in the bed having a seizure over and over, she cannot tell me what is life threatening. She quickly agreed. I also explained to her that seizures affect Sophia’s quality of life of which she has precious little left. Still, Jacob and I felt that we had to try so Sophia’s ketogenic diet was significantly reduced. She is receiving more protein and carbohydrates than she ever has before. Since the change, her carbon dioxide level has increased and her blood urea nitrogen level is a little better too. However, some other levels remain low. The nephrologist said he has no idea if coming off the diet will even work and if it doesn’t, he is not sure what the next step will be. The diet is still in her system for now, so she remains in ketosis, thus no seizures. However, over the next few days, as she leaves ketosis, her body may begin seizing. At that time, we will have to make a decision that will benefit her kidneys and help control seizures. It will be a balance, with no good answer. The nephrologist said that her kidneys are not in failure at this time, but if this doesn’t resolve, it is a very real possibility and it is life threatening. I could go on and on about my thoughts on this, my fears, concerns, disgust, but I won’t at this time. I just wanted all of you to know what is going on with sweet Sophia so that you can pray for her and be thinking of her over the next few days, in hopes that the doctors will figure out what to do. 

Isaiah 53:4-6 NASB 

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

Thank you so much for interceding for these dear ones. When it rains it pours.

Praying and praying,

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Battle Weary

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

Easton:

This sweet boy is just not doing well at all. Here is the latest update from his aunt Sara:
Also, his xray this morning looked worse. His CO2 was high. They checked for viruses, and still are finding coronavirus. They did a sputum culture, they found some white blood cell activity, so they're waiting to see if any bacteria grow, but he has been negative for bacteria and off the antibiotics for awhile now. Danielle worries that he should stay on some sort of antibiotic while he's in the hospital and has so many tubes and things entering his body, but the doctors consider antibiotic resistance to be of more concern. 
His heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation are all acceptable right now, and they're anxious to see what his 4am chest xray will look like after all the activity today. The doctors are worried that Easton just doesn't seem to be able to withstand backing off the settings on the vent, and Danielle said they said he should have already come off of it by now. They said his lungs are damaged, and they're worried that he's not getting better. The doctors feel this will be a critical week for Easton....

If you want to read the rest please click on his name and that will take you to his facebook page. Thanks!!

Ian:

Ian had eye surgery a couple of weeks ago to correct his double vision and the results of improvement are slow. Please pray for Ian as he is struggling to heal and gain back his eye sight and many other things that are going on with him. Here is a snippet from the latest post, to read the rest just click on his name...


So the cancer is gone (we hope and pray for good!), but Ian is a different boy. He’s different physically, and he’s different emotionally.

He’s been plugging away at his physical and occupational therapies (taking a break from speech for now), and he’s made some major progress, but we all know he has so much farther to go. I know it, and he knows it.

It breaks my heart to see how much he knows it.

IT Guy and & were talking one night, and he agreed that, as totally crazy as it sounds, it would have, in some ways, been easier to handle all of this if Ian had been much more intellectually affected by the brain tumor & surgery. That may sound horrible, try not to freak out on me, but there are times when I just wish he didn’t realize how affected he has been. His realization hurts to watch. He’s frustrated, and I don’t blame him one bit. He’s angry, and I don’t blame him one bit. He’s hurting, and I don’t blame him one little bit.

It’s a tough place to be, for all of us.

But we’re taking it one day at a time (the only way anybody really can), and getting through each day by the grace of God. What else is there to do?

Ian had eye surgery 10 days ago (to attempt to correct the double vision he’s had since brain surgery that keeps him wearing the pirate patch). He was hoping for an immediate complete success. That didn’t happen. The eye doctor told him and us that it could take 2 or 3 weeks to see more improvement, as the brain continues to adjust to the correction. Initially, he saw a bit of correction, but he doesn’t think it’s changed much since. I’m trying to encourage him to be patient, to stay hopeful, and I know he’s trying, but he’s frustrated. Again.

Joanne:

This poor family is still really struggling with the changes the stroke has had not only on Joanne but the whole family. Please, if you are interested, head over to her blog and read the latest update. Thanks!! Here is a little bit from the latest post and again, to read the rest please click on her name...

...Anyhow, this was probably the first Sunday in our lives that we weren't at a service for Easter. There are many reasons that we decided not to go. Some of them were probably valid and others were not, but I know for me that I am in the midst of a Dark Night Of the Soul and that I am struggling mightily with my faith. I don't think it's hit me until recently that that's where I am. And the rest of our little family is there too. Joanne struggles, Audrey struggles and Emma, being the age that she is, struggles in her own way. We are all dealing with so many "non-Christian" emotions--anger, fear, sadness, shame...did I mention anger? We are still very much asking the question, "Why did this happen!" The price to pay has been so great!...

Please keep these three, Easton, Ian and Joanne and their families in your prayers. This is such a long, hard road they are on and they are all battle weary.


2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ESV
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Praying and praying!!
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