the sapphire of His everlasting love.

Recently, I had a very dear friend and mentor say these wise words to me,

"THIS MAY BE JUST A SEASON OF WAITING AND LISTENING."

I'm not sure she knew how much those words would impact me.
Isn't is cool when God reminds you of something over and over again in different ways? And kind-of humbling as well...that sometimes we don't really hear HIM until the 20th time He's said the same thing!

On listening,

"Nouwen reminds us that 'solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter'. Thuse we do need to face our fragile self. But we do so in the presence of the Loving Other. We do need to face our hurts. But we do so in the company with the Great Healer. We do need to face our waywardness. But we do so in the fellowship with the God who reconciles. Thus, while the place of solitude is the place of honesty, it is also the place of grace. It is not only the place of revelation; it is also the place of embrace." (c.Ringma)

As we listen to His voice today, let us remember those in the world right now who experience deep pain and sadness, overwhelming fear and loneliness, grief and despair. Let us pray the following for them (and for those of us who can relate to this in our time of life right now).

"What is my barrenness? It is the platform for His fruit-creating power. What is my desolation? It is the dark setting for the sapphire of His everlasting love. I will go to Him in my poverty, I will go in my helplessness, I will go in all my shame and backsliding; I will tell Him that I am still His child, and finding confidence in His faithful heart, even I, the barren one, will sing and cry aloud. Sing, believer, for it will cheer your own heart and the hearts of others who are desolate. Sing on, for although you are presently ashamed of being barren, you will be fruitful soon; now that God makes you hate to be without fruit He will soon cover you with clusters. The experience of our barrenness is painful, but the Lord's visits are delightful. A sense of our own poverty drives us to Christ, and that is where we need to be, for in Him our fruit is found."

(truth for life: Charles Spurgeon/Allistair Begg)

Lord, we give you our barrenness and the dark desolation of the many sons and daughters in our world today. We give you our fear of solitude and our lack of taking quality time with you. Help us to listen. Help us to hear. We give you our shame and ask you to change it into something beautiful. We ask you to give us a sense of our own poverty- so that we would be driven closer to the heart of Jesus. Great Healer, help us to sing in thankfulness to you and all you are and all you do.


Prayer Needs:

Children's Hopechest:
-staff training this week
-Ethiopia trip leaves Sunday
-for the orphans and workers serving them around the world

Indian Rescue Mission:
-Investigation team has made their initial contact with the lady who is running a sex racket in a city in Karnataka. Please pray that we can gain access in the coming days.
-Also we have received another information that there are 4-5 minor girls forced into prostitution in Beers Bars in a big city in Maharastra. ( the name of the city is not mentioned because of security reasons)




Please join us tomorrow for a time of prayer!

The conference call times and instructions are as follows:

Wednesdays 9:30 AM (eastern) at CALL IN # : 760- 569- 9000 ID: 968101

AND

Wednesdays 1:35 PM (eastern) CALL IN # : 760- 569- 9000 ID: 968101

this one will specifically focus on prayer for those who are being trafficked into the sex trade.

iFast 9/9/10

Hello Friends.
Below is the iFast 58 prayer info. Please email me with any questions!
To learn more about the iFast 58 beginnings, Go HERE!

He makes beauty out of ashes.

Sometimes all we see is dust. Ashes and dust.

The pain and brokenness in our world can sometimes overwhelm us to the point of shedding tears, the point of despair, and crying out, "Why, God?" As I've confronted some of this in my own life, God has challenged me and brought me back over and over to His promise that He makes beauty out of ashes (Isaiah 61:3). He makes beautiful things out of dust. Sunday I sang this song with a number of other people in church. It was good to read, good to hear, good to sing it loud- to proclaim it as truth- and be reminded of God's faithful promises He weaves throughout Scripture and throughout our lives.

"All this pain. I wonder if I’ll ever find my way.
I wonder if my life could really change at all.
All this earth. Could all that is lost ever be found.
Could a garden come up from this ground at all.
You make beautiful things.
You make beautiful things out of the dust.
You make beautiful things.
You make beautiful things out of us.All around.
Hope is springing up from this old ground.
Out of chaos life is being found in You
You make me new, You are making me new.
('Beautiful Things' by Gungor. You can listen to the song HERE.)

Maybe you can relate to these words. Maybe you, too, have been seeing a lot of dust. If so, be reminded: "He makes beautiful things out of dust. He makes beautiful things out of us". To hold on to His promises, to believe that what He says is true, we must have faith. "Faith", as Oswald Chambers puts it, "is robust vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You can not see Him just now, you can not understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Faith is the heroic effort of your life; you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God. God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him."

Also, remember the words of the Psalmist, "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God" (Psalm 13:16-17).

We can not carry the weight...it becomes oppressive to us until we enter into His sanctuary.

PRAYER NEEDS:
Asha Mission in India-Health for all children (one boy recovering from typhoid fever and a few children with high fevers...typical with climate change here)-Eternal fruit in the hearts of children (responsiveness to the H*ly Sp*rit-Praise: children growth in prayer...initiating prayer times when child sick, etc-Safe travels for Saji (leader of home who is in S.India visiting family)-Wisdom and discernment in leadership-Specific children: Varun, 4 yrs old, and Viveck, 6 yrs, both new to Asha. Varun and Viveck are brothers, from a local leper colony. This is their first time experiencing such structure and discipline, as well as love. They are having a hard time adjusting and responding. Small instances of disobedience, theft are hard to know how to respond to. Please pray for love and discernment for us as leaders over them and for a softening of their hearts by the HS. Three street girls at train station who we were going to look for to bring into Asha...Kanjell, Sanu, and Pooja. Needle in a haystack kinda search...but we are trusting in Him who left 99 behind for 1.

Help End Local Poverty : In Haiti as we speak. Pray for a fruitful trip! (Chris Marlow)

Lemonade Int'l- God's protection and guidance as I travel to Guatemala tomorrow. I will be there for a week working with our team on the ground. Primarily we will be working on budgeting for 2011 and planning for hosting teams next year- While I am there we will also be exploring new space for our vocational training center and for our "Safe House" that will begin taking in neglected and abandoned children in 2011. Please pray that we are led to the right places for these vital programs.- Wisdom and protection for our Guatemala team as we seek God regarding expanding our work to a new (and the most dangerous) area of La Limonada- For the young men (current and former gang members) in our vocational training program. They have committed their hearts to following Jesus, but the pull from their past lives is strong. Pray that those ties would be broken so they will live in freedom from the bondage of violence and drugs.

Indian Rescue Mission : Please pray for IRM Investigations at Karnataka. The team is trying to get to a brothel and they are denied access. We are trying our best to make the initial contact and get entry. Please pray that we will gain access to this brothel and rescue the girls in prostitution.

Children's HopeChest-Pray for our staff in the US as we go through major transition-Pray for our Uganda/Swaziland partners conference at the end of the month-Pray for the Ethiopia mission/vision trip.-Pray for Tom Davis as he travels internationally.-Pray against attacks at every level.-Pray for our ministry in South Africa - we need partners ASAP


Join us tomorrow morning first thing for a time of corporate prayer. I promise, you'll be blessed! The conference call times and instructions are as follows:

Wednesdays 9:30 AM (eastern) at CALL IN # : 760- 569- 9000 ID: 968101
Wednesdays 1:35 PM (eastern) CALL IN # : 760- 569- 9000 ID: 968101
*PLEASE NOTE, TIME IS 1:35pm now
this one will specifically focus on prayer for those who are being trafficked into the sex trade.