Prayer, Rain and Encouragement

The one thing I used to love about living in the desert was the most amazing thunderstorms we would get here. They would usually roll in around 3pm and last until about 7pm, sometimes longer. Not sure why that particular memory popped up but it did. I remember sitting on my couch with the sliding window wide open just to watch the darkened skies light up with flashes of lightning and then the boom of the thunder. It was fun to count the time between the lightning and the rumbles of thunder to see just how close or far away the storm was. I loved it when it was further away and hated when it was so close you could barely count to 1 one thousand and then the boom. I hated the ones that were accompanied by that distinctive crack of the thunder and the rumbles that would shake the whole house. I still hate those even today.

I guess that is a lot like the storms in our life. We hate the ones that are right on top of us, but can breathe a sigh of relief almost when they were a bit further away from us. I am asking you to keep a close friend in prayer this morning. Her name is Lyndee and she too lives in the desert. Her storm is happening even as we speak, and yes, she did give me permission to share her request. I won't go into the particulars of what is happening, but enough to say this could and can be a life and death surgical procedure. She went in at 8:00am and it should last about 3 hours. This procedure will definitely improve the quality of her life and thus the reason for my prayer request. Pray that the doctors are delivering a text book procedure and that there are no complications or infections post surgery. I am asking that she is well covered in prayer and protection to keep the enemy far from this warrior for Christ. Thank you in advance for those that will read this and offer your prayers up with mine.

For the last week, we've been hoping and praying for rain. Last night we got a few minutes of rain and are praying that the weather app will be correct and offer up more today and tomorrow. Yet in the midst of the desert that is always a hit and miss lately. Seems as if we are in a bubble of sorts and these promises seem to pass us by. I do get a kick out of it when God does cause it to rain however. I pray it finds us today and God opens the heavens for a bit so we can be clean again. Doesn't rain seem to do just that? It cleanses the earth and the skies from everything that has settled and covered up things.

Friends, I pray that if you happened by this post today, that you can be encouraged. If Christ is your personal Lord and Savior, you have the best possible news locked away in your heart and its time to share some of it with those around us. I mean since God could do everything, couldn't He have found a way for every single person in the world to hear about the salvation offered in Christ? Why did He choose instead to use us? Perhaps its like I can recall that when something good happens in our life, we simply can't wait to share it with everyone else! That's what we need to do, share it and let it be a reflection of what God is doing in our life today!

If you don't know Jesus, I can tell you that it is the greatest feeling in the world to know that when this life is over, it doesn't end for us. That whatever struggle we face today, it is the worst time we will ever have to endure because nothing worse than that will happen once we get into heaven. The struggles here are the worst things we have to face. Sure it can be beyond what we think we can handle, but we don't have to handle it alone. God is ready and waiting for you to invite Him into your life. He doesn't push or barge or even force His way in. He simply waits ready for your invitation. Considering all that is wrong in the world, don't you want to know you are going through it alone? That the Creator of heaven and earth stands by waiting for you to say, Hey God, I want you to take over my life. I've made a mess of things and could certainly use Your guidance instead of mine. Help me to know you Father in a way that makes sense to me. I want you to make me a new person and I want to invite you into my life and make me over. I know You sent Your only Son, Jesus to die for all the things I keep messing up, called sin in my life, and that He didn't stay dead. He rose up and was made alive again, just so that I could live forever when this life is over. Take me Lord, I am all yours! In Jesus Name, AMEN!