I simply ask for one thing....

Today, I am praying for one thing.  I simply ask one thing from our church family today:

Alyse asking Jesus into her heart

One evening this past week Sharron and I viewed a preview of a new Christian film to be released in a few months.  It was very enjoyable and I was moved by the message of redemption.  Here is the link for more information.   When we returned home I went upstairs to check emails and work on a few projects needing my immediate attention.  I had sat in front of the computer for over an hour when I heard Sharron talking on the phone downstairs. 

I went downstairs to take a break before retiring to sleep for the night.  Sharron was close to tears and I soon discovered why.  Our 6 year old grand daughter Alyse had come into her mother's room and asked if she could ask Jesus to come into her heart.  Memories flooded into my mind of when Danielle and Stephanie made that decision when they were young children.  I watched a short video sent to Sharron's phone.  Then tears flowed from my eyes!

Technology has certainly changed over time. Stephanie recorded the moment of decision on her phone.  Here is a moment that changes everything:

Pray First, Pray More

“After this the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance."
                                                                                                  (2 Chronicles 20:1, 3 NLT)

Sometimes it seems the odds are against you. Brian Hice from Provo, Utah, had a day like that. First, his apartment became flooded from a broken pipe in the apartment above his. When he went to rent a water vacuum, he discovered that he had a flat tire. He changed it and went inside again to phone a friend for help. But standing in water and grabbing the phone gave him such a startling electrical shock that he accidentally ripped the phone off the wall. By the time he was ready to leave, water damage had swelled his door shut, and he had to yell for a neighbor to come and kick the door down. While all this was going on, somebody stole Brian's car. That evening, he attended a military ceremony at his university and injured himself severely when he somehow sat on his bayonet, which had been tossed on the front seat of his car. Doctors were able to stitch up his wound, but no one was able to resuscitate Brian's four canaries who were crushed by fallen plaster from the wet apartment ceiling. When he got back from the university, he slipped on the wet carpet and injured his tailbone. Brian said he began to wonder if “God wanted me dead but just kept missing.”

Have you ever had a day like that? What do you do when you're facing insurmountable, overwhelming problems?

Before you do anything else, you go directly to God. You say, “God, I am overwhelmed!” and you ask, “God, what do you think about this situation?” Your perspective is limited while God's perspective is eternal, so he can see the beginning and the end. He can see past, present, and future all at once. You need to get a bigger picture of what the problem really is that seems so overwhelming to you right now.

Too often we see prayer as a last resort rather than as our first thought. Prayer is usually something you do way down the line after you've tried everything else. People will say, “I guess all we can do now is pray!” like it's their last option.

Prayer should be your first choice, not your last resort. If you want God to help you overcome the odds in any area of your life, you have to turn to him first.

2 Chronicles 20:1, 3 says, “After this the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance" (NLT). The "this" refers to a great national revival, a spiritual awakening. There was great prosperity and blessing in the land, and soon after there was war.

With every high, there is a low. After every victory, there is a letdown. And with every blessing, there comes a testing. You may not be in a battle right now, but you're going to be in one tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. You should expect blessing in your life, but you also need to expect battles in your life. You're going to have difficult times.

But you should never let an impossible situation intimidate you. Let it motivate you to pray more and turn to God first.       Taken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren

Tuesday Thoughts

Here are a few random thoughts I had today:

I really enjoyed this recent posting from a friend on Facebook

This speaks for itself......



Man loses leg, not faith after 18-wheeler crash

Dudley, N.C. — Floydie Harris remembers waking up face down in a muddy ditch next to an 18-wheeler the morning of Jan. 31. His legs broken and mangled, he waved his hands and screamed for help.

Moments earlier, the 45-year-old Dudley man had been clearing a fence line on his Wayne County farm when he heard the unmistakable rumble of a tractor-trailer’s Jake brake, an engine braking mechanism that some say sounds similar to a machine gun.

Startled by the loud noise, he turned around and said, "Oh my God!" as the trailer collapsed on him.

“I remember seeing the trailer, feeling it slap me down,” Harris said. “I remember looking at my legs and seeing how they were twisted, and my feet were facing back at me, and I remember feeling the blood pumping down my pants leg. I immediately started praying.”

Nearly three months later, Harris says the crash that altered his body and his life has not altered his faith.

“I know God has a plan. If God didn’t have a plan, I would’ve been dead underneath that truck right now," he said. "I think God preserved my life, that I can be a better servant for Him, that I can teach my boys to be better servants for Him."

The truck severed Harris’ right leg, broke his left leg in seven places and left him with head and back trauma. Doctors performed about a dozen surgeries on him, including inserting a steel rod to hold his left leg together, and there are more surgeries to come.

The injuries made it impossible for Harris to continue working as a general contractor, so his oldest son stepped in to helped with the business.

"I’ve been the sole income for our family for almost 20 years. Now, to have my way of life jeopardized, there’s been a lot stolen from me when you look at it that way. But I can’t harbor malice in my heart for an accident," Harris said.

Harris family members say they have not heard from the driver or the company, Guy Shavender Trucking, Inc., in Pantego.

The driver, Marcellus Humphrey of Jacksonville, N.C., survived the crash and was charged with failure to maintain control. Troopers say the 61-year-old swerved to avoid hitting an oncoming tractor-trailer on the narrow road.

Harris' wife, Rhonda Harris, says she came upon the crash and helped Humphrey get out of the truck, not realizing her husband was injured nearby.

"I immediately began to call 911, because I saw somebody inside the cab of the truck that was struggling to get out," she said.  "I climbed up onto the hood of the 18-wheeler."

Another driver stopped to help and asked, "Who is the man laying face down embedded in the ground behind the truck?" Rhonda Harris recalled. She jumped off the truck, fearing it might be her husband, and ran to the unknown man's aid.

"I just started praying, 'Please don’t let it be my husband,'" she said.

After realizing what happened, she took off her jacket and tried to rip off the arm so she could use it as a tourniquet to stop her husband's bleeding. When she couldn't rip the jacket's fabric, she and another driver got her husband's belt and tied it around his leg.

“I remember laying my head on his back and asking if he was awake. Could he hear me? Was he in pain? He said, ‘I’m alive. I do feel some pain,’” Rhonda Harris recalled.

In the months since the crash, the Harris's extended family and church family have offered prayers and support for Floydie Harris, who still can’t put any weight on his left leg. He hopes to start rehabilitation soon and possibly try crutches. Despite the challenges, he and his wife have maintained a positive attitude.

"He didn’t lose both his legs. He didn’t die. He didn’t lose his arms. He still has his mental faculties … He can hug us. He can talk to us," Rhonda Harris said. "When you get to the point that God is all you have, you realize He is all you need."

Floydie Harris has used the experience to teach his family about being grateful for each day.

"A half a second is the difference between me standing up there working and me laying face down in the mud, crying out to my God," he said. "Every second’s precious … We must be right with God at all times, because you might not have the next second to get things right."

To view the televised report click HERE.

A reflection from the message today - June 2 2013

As we gathered today Pastor Jordan Unfried , Youth Pastor of NRN brought the morning message.  We honored our graduating seniors from high school and the youth worship team led the worship.

The message of the morning spoke to our heart about what the Scripture say about purity.  Here is a reflection from the message:

 

Psalm 119:9-11

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to

your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your

commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

 

Philippians 1:9-11

 

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and

depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure

and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes

through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

 

 

 

We followed the worship today with a family style carry in meal.  It was a fun time for all who were there! 

 

Preparing to worship for June 2 2013

This Sunday will be another Youth Sunday at NRN as Pastor Jordan and the youth worship team will lead our time of worship. We will honor several high school students preparing to graduate.  Pastor Jordan will bring the message of the morning.

Here is the plan for the songs of worship:

 

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to

 

your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your

commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
 
                                                                                                                  Psalm 119:9-11 

 

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and

depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure

and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes

through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.      Philippians 1:9-11