A Prayer for Abby

I've been here just about a month now and this post really should be about what I've been doing here with the youth and what plans are ahead for me in the ministry.... but it won't be.

A couple days ago I got news from back home that my cousin Abigail who is only in her early 30's, married with 3 kids has been diagnosed with something that I can't even pronounce. When my family was telling me what it was called, the connection for the phone was getting really choppy so I couldn't understand it. From what I know, she is fighting for her life and the doctors said that they would do everything possible to help but Abby has to keep fighting.

It really sucks that I can't be there with her. She and I have a really close relationship and to know that she's over there going through what she is going through hurts cause I wish I could be there for her.
But I can be there for her in another way.... Prayer. I can pray for her.

This is where you come in.... If you took the time to open this up, I'm asking you to take the time to say a prayer for her too. You might know her and you might not, but she is someone who needs prayer right now.
So from one friend to another, please keep her and the family in your prayers tonight.

 Abby, if by chance you get to read this or someone reads it to you, just know that God is our rock, our sheppard and our salvation. No trials that come our way will shake us and we will fear nothing because our God is with us always.

Dying to Self

We tried a visual meditation exercise with the Open Table group. I tried it on myself and actually put myself to sleep. Since you've already taken the time to open up the link, you might as well give it a try. Whatcha got to lose?

Picture yourself walking in the desert. It's hot and you're getting weary. As you struggle to take each step, you feel this heaviness on your back. That heaviness is all the shame and the sin that you've been carrying with you throughout your life.

You continue to walk and you notice that there are lots of people who are also going in the same direction. You look at their faces and you can see the hurt in their eyes.... you can feel that they are feeling exactly how you are.

Something catches your eye off to the right. You can see a pond and in that pond there is a man. Something is telling you to go towards it but you don't want to because everyone else is walking in another direction.

Slowly your feet lead you to walk towards the pond. As you get closer and closer, it is getting harder and harder to walk. With everything you have you reach the pond and realize that the man standing there is Jesus. He says " I know the hurt and the burden you have.... the sin and the shame that you have been carrying with you. I can take all of that away.... but first you have to die.

Think about it and ask yourself if you are ready to die.... Are you ready to let go of that sin and shame that you've been holding onto for so long?

If you said yes, you start to feel His hands holding onto yours. You start to feel yourself being lowered into the pond.  As the water is slowly surrounding your body, those heavy feelings of sin and shame that were once weighing so heavily on your shoulders suddenly feel lighter.  As you are completely submerged, the weight is no more.

In the darkness you find peace and quiet.... take a few seconds to feel that quietness....

Now you feel that you are being slowly pulled back up. Slowly you start to hear things again, slowly the water that once covered you is now falling off you. As you are coming up you feel lighter and at ease. You open up your eyes and Jesus says to you.... "Welcome to your new life."

Stay Classy