Good Friends and Huge Blessings!

Mr. and Mrs. Rabe of Creekside
Cottage surprised me ...big time...
last night.

You see, today there will be some
required end of the year testing
at our church for several students.

Chelsea is one of these students.

Our evaluator is conducting this
testing and I will be the hostess
at the church for the visiting
student families.

Sunday, I had mentioned to Pastor Mike
that I would make sure that things
were vacuumed and in order for this
and all I can figure is that the
Rabes were paying attention and
heard me say this.

Whatever the case, last night Mrs. Rabe
called and said that they had taken care
of it. All was clean and ready.

With the events of yesterday, See prior post,
and the shock to our emotions
and schedule I was planning to
get up early and do it all
this morning.

I am so thankful for these dear friends
who not only figured out a way to get
our children to bowling yesterday
when I couldn't,
but thought about another practical way
to show their love and concern.

Happy sigh...

So, I sit here this morning tapping away
at the keyboard rather than rushing around
and then wrestling with an aging vacuum cleaner
and a toilet brush!

There is great news from Georgia, as well.
She has not needed the NG Tube that she so
dreads...so far. We pray this remains the
case. We saw her last evening and she looks
wonderful. The pain is gone. Now all she has
to do is be able to eat and drink normally.
This is usually a process. Usually they
introduce food slowly so she could
be in the hospital for another one to
three days.
We will see.

Thank you so much for your calls and prayers.
They mean so very much to us.

While you are at it, I just heard that my
dear Grandmother is very ill. I would
love prayer for her too. She lives several
hours away from us and it is bugging me that
I can't go help. My Aunt is taking great care
of her. Grandma is in very good hands.

Life...interesting!
Makes one very needy in just
moments...
♥♥Becky K.♥♥

Corporate Prayer

A Grandmother and Grandaughter follow
along as Jon reads scripture.
Isn't this sweet?
I just had to share it.

Edited to Add: I don't normally take pictures
during the service. However, this was last
week when Jon and Warren officially became Elders.
I was at the piano. This was the first time Jon
read after becoming "official". That was what I was
attempting to capture. When I saw the picture I thought
it was so sweet.

Our church is unique because
of its small size. However,
this allows for a prayer time
that is open for anyone to
pray out loud.

Occasionally this gets a little
long. When Chelsea was much
younger she told a
visiting Grandparent
that it was
"The Never-ending Prayer".

We chuckled so much at that.
She will come and give me dirty
looks when she reads this.

But, this is one thing I will
miss when we are too large to
continue this special habit.

It is such a blessing to have a
shower of prayer for that person
who has lost a job, or that
individual who will be having
surgery.

It is our intention to always offer
prayers of praise before we begin our
prayers of supplication.
Beautiful.

God already knows His wonderful attributes
and has no need to hear them from us...but
we need to be ever aware of His Goodness and
at the same time
our children are learning how to pray.
When Jesus taught us to pray
The Lord's Prayer He used that example.
An honoring and reverence of the One to
Whom we come with our wants and wishes.

The first time Jonathan prayed out loud
at church it brought many of us to tears.
He was a little "put out" that people
thanked him for his prayer...but it means
so much to see the next generation "take root".

So...until we are just too many in number we
will be sharing our prayers...

A lovely thing.

Have a gorgeous Sunday!

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

Unspoken Prayer Requests

Many times I sit in church
and silently pray for requests
that I am concerned about...
or that others may be burdened
with. Sometimes these things
that weigh on our hearts are so
hard to express that we just lift
them before the throne of God ourselves.
We don't feel able to share with others.

Today, I would like you to know
that I am praying for your unspoken
requests.
Isn't it wonderful to know that our
Heavenly Father knows these things without
our even telling Him?

But, it is also good to bring them to
Him and lay them at His feet.

If your heart is breaking over family issues,
or you are suffering from a debilitating disease
and feel that everyone is tired of hearing about it.
Maybe you are at a sad place in your marriage...or
there is not enough money to pay the mortgage...

Tell Jesus!

Sharing with friends, if you are able, is good.

Sharing with Jesus is even better!

I will be lifting up prayers for those deepest
needs that often times go...

...unspoken!

Psalm 66:20

Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

Psalm 102:17
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

Ephesians 6:18
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 saints.

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

Today...

I bet you thought I was going to stay
political?
Well, today I am not.

I may get to see Sarah Palin on Saturday
so if that happens...maybe the Politics will
come back out. Just because that would be
awesome!

The last time I tried to see a major political
figure, it was President Bush in 2004. He was
at the Lancaster Airport and I walked over a
mile one way, went through security and then
stood cross-legged in a port-a-potty line while
he spoke. I could see him from such a distance
that he looked like one of those Little People from
Fisher Price.

So...I am thinking twice...but it would still be
very cool!

But, today is our usual Thursday to take kids to
work, pick them up and run to Co-op. Afterwards
we may go bowling with another family, or two.

What is unusual about today is what God is doing
with the Thanksgiving Program.
It is crazy.

We struggled so hard to find music. Then we ordered
it. It did not come in for the longest time.
Like, I got it last week.
Problem is the accompaniment track
for one of my 4-6th grade songs didn't come. We called.
Out of print for 6 months. We are welcome to call back
and order it then....nice.

Now the concert is just 4 weeks away and I am beginning a
brand new song with that choir.

The song the other choir director chose for the 2/3rd grade
choirs did not work out either so she began working on a new
one last week.

I would be troubled by all of this but I absolutely love what is filling in those spots. The 2/3rd graders will be doing Come, Ye Thankful People Come as one of their pieces and my 4/6th choir will be doing Count Your Blessings! I think we will be having some fun with this song.

This has been a very hard class.
Lots of boys who have an attitude about singing.

I nearly lost it with them last week and literally stopped to pray aloud in the middle of the class. We always open with prayer...but stopping to pray because things were not going well...that was a first.

I talked with them about how I totally understand that singing isn't every one's favorite thing to do, but that they are to do all to the Glory of God. I told them
that if I were in their class, I would hate gym, which is a mandatory class like music. I admitted that I hate to sweat!
The incredulity on those boys faces was funny.
They LOVE to sweat.
We connected.

Then we sang our Thanksgiving Medley again, and it was amazing the difference in attitude and volume.
They really sang!

As soon as we finished the song one young man very enthusiastically shouted,
"See, God is answering your prayer already!"
Thank you, Lord!
I so needed that.

I decided since we really only had the one song to work at to go ahead and play a rhythm game with them. I know that was Inspired. The kids had a blast and their attention and involvement was 100 percent.

This makes me look forward to our Spring Semester when I teach fundamentals of music in fun...and often corny...ways.

So, God is reshaping my vision for this concert. It is becoming more "Me" anyway. I love the hymns and I love having our young people learn them. The words of these songs come back to you in the best and the worst of times.

Long post today....

Hope you made it through....

May God Richly Bless You as You Go About This Day.

Becky K.

Much to Pray About

Girl Praying

With Hurricane Ike devastating Texas
and Louisiana and a terrible train crash
in California there is much to pray about
on this Saturday.

We watched the coverage until we could not
keep our eyes open last evening, concerned
for those loved ones in the areas effected.

While, we personally don't have family there
our Pastor has two siblings directly in the
line of fire. One in Slidell, where the flooding
is occurring again, and one hunkered down just
outside of Houston. There is much concern.

Warren's and my Mom are to fly through Dallas
today on their way home from the big adventure
out west. We pray that they will make it home
safely and without too many delays.

The ladies have plum worn themselves out...
with all of their fun agenda!

The train crash in LA is absolutely tragic.

Watching the rescue efforts that have continued
throughout the night...it is hard to believe.

So sad!

We serve a Big God and none of this catches Him
by surprise. I pray that HE uses this to turn
our hearts and minds toward HIM.

I pray today for the emergency workers across
this Country who will see things and experience
exhaustion like never before.

I pray for the volunteers who give of themselves
until they have no more to give.

I pray for the electricians who will work around
the clock, away from home and family to restore
the power that we so often take for granted.

I pray for those in the path of the storm as it
continues to trek across this great Country.

So much to pray for...so much to be thankful for
as I sit in my dry and safe,(for now), home.
Ike is headed our way eventually.

May you find Blessings in this day...friends.

Becky K.

Girl Praying courtesy Allposters.com

Blessings on your Sunday

May God be very real and close to you today.
He is the One who can calm the storms of
fear
loneliness
doubt
sadness
that often try to assail us.

He loves you dearly.

Only He can bring
true joy
and
lasting peace that is
beyond the human
understanding.

If you are hurting
run to Jesus.
His arms are open...
He cannot wait
to hold you.

If you are already experiencing
the Joy of the Lord today...
Rejoice!
Let us celebrate together...
Our God Reigns!

Tell somebody!
Don't keep your best friend
a secret from those around
you.

Share...a little!

((Hugs))

Dreams

Alicia at Renewed in Him has posed an interesting question and it has brought back a flood of memories for me. She was wondering what role dreams play in our lives. Do they have a specific meaning? Does God use dreams to tell us things as He did in Bible times?

It made me think of this experience that began just toward the end of our first year of marriage.

As is so often the case for young couples, I began longing for a child. I could see myself snuggling and cuddling a little one. Of course, it was all romanticized. There were no dirty diapers, this imaginary baby didn't get ear infections....you know. I was ready to begin our family. Warren was not. He was quite happy just being the two of us.

I decided that one of two things needed to happen. Either my desire to have a child needed to be put on hold for a while, or Warren needed to want our family to grow, as well. So, I pulled out my favorite weapon. I prayed that Warren would want a baby to hold and to love.

The very next morning he said, you won't believe the dream I had last night. There was a sweet little girl looking up at me with the most adoring eyes. He was nearly in tears. He was ready to start a family.

Over the course of the next few years we had one boy, then another boy. We would comment that his dream must have gotten it wrong because we felt that we could be done having children...and yet there was that little girl in the dream. Who was she? Why was it so crystal clear and why was that what God used to change Warren's heart?

One day, out of the blue, I found out I was expecting...again. This would be just after I sold every baby item we owned! We had no maternity insurance, no baby things and no expectations of having another one. I had to "adjust"!

Round about the fourth month I began having early contractions and extremely high blood pressure. The doctor said he had never seen such high blood pressures so early in a pregnancy. He was a veteran OB not a newbie just out of school. There were many tests. I was on bedrest from the end of the fourth month. One of those tests was an ultrasound. This is where I fell in love with Chelsea. She got her name then. I began buying little dresses.

Several times I was in preterm labor in the hospital and was told that if I delivered nothing could be done....Chelsea was too little.

As time went on....the OJ Simpson trial had at least one person that saw it from beginning to end...from the couch I watched friends from church clean my oven, deliver meals, care for my two toddlers, family take off from work to care for us. The blessings just poured into our lives.

I learned the power of prayer. For someone who is a "do-er" lying around all day, every day, gets very old. God taught me that my value is not in me...it is from Him...I joined a woman from church in praying that her son and a young woman from the congregation would fall in love and be married. They did and they are so happy all of these years later. There were so many things to pray about. I miss so many of these as I am so busy "doing".

There was a nurse who would come to my home every day to check on my well being. She ended up coming to our church after this and really grew in the Lord. I am just saying that the Lord's ways are not always our ways. I was so frustrated with the circumstances but kept falling more and more in love with the little girl fighting to live inside of me.

Finally, the doctors agreed that if Chelsea made it to July 6th they would induce me a couple of weeks early. Warren had a huge part to play in the local Fourth of July Celebrations. The big happenings were at Nittany Stadium in State College which happens to be very near the hospital. He would not assure me that he would come if labor began. He said that I just could not have her that day. Ha! Well, while I did have contractions she waited and I was induced as planned.

Today, we have the loveliest daughter named Chelsea. I know that she made an impact on this world before she even took her first breath of air! Chelsea does look up at her Daddy with adoring eyes just like he saw in his dream.
Doesn't it just make you wonder?

Does God still speak to us in dreams? Was that a coincidence? We held onto the hope that she would make it, in part because of that dream...Hmmmm....I don't really know but I know that God used it in our lives in a big way.

Another faith building experience...as you get older you look back on your life and see the handprint of God so clearly. When you are in the midst of it sometimes it is harder to see His plan.

Well, this post was a lot longer than I even dreamt of posting today. I am sure that this story was told on this blog before...in some form...so if you have already read it, I apologize. I just had to reflect on this today after reading Alicia's Dream Post.

Prayer for our Mikey

I will not share details but would request your prayers for our Mikey, the middle son, as he works through some hard times right now.
It is not easy being a teen!
Also that Warren and I will have the wisdom to know how to help him.
Thanks,

Praying for California

Dearest Heavenly Father,

Our friends in California are suffering terribly today.
Please grant them protection from the dangers of
the smoke and fire.
Please be with those who must go toward the
flames to protect life and property.
Surround those that are fearful in your love
and give them your peace.
I would ask that you would be with Ashleigh now
as her little one is due. That your timing
and protection would be with them.
Please be with the Pastors and churches in the
area that they would be able to reach out
in ministry at this time of great distress.
May this be a time that people would see Your
awesome power in your creation and turn to you.
Lord, Please bring beauty from these ashes.
In Jesus Name,

Praying For...

Today is my friend Shelley's surgery on her back. Please pray for good results and mega pain relief.

Also, this morning I read Sarah Skee's Blog. Sarah is Ellie's mom. Ellie is a 9 year old girl with neuroblastoma who is amazingly sweet and strong. Sarah writes to update friends, family and those willing to pray on Ellie's condition. Her latest update is frightening in that the cancer is showing new or renewed activity in Ellie's bones in several places. The family now has major decisions to make that will impact their lives forever.
Please take even a few minutes as you read this and ask the Lord to be especially close to the Skees family right now.
I have a link to her blog in the sidebar. If you go there...grab a box of tissues...you will be moved to tears.
God is able to heal Ellie's body if He so chooses...but if not here she will be perfectly whole in heaven. You will find that the family is very much in touch with both realities and is seeking the Lord's Will.