TWO NEW STONES OF REMEMBERANCE

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Our evening began with a sweet story of rescue and victory. Shirley shared how God touched her on Monday and answered a prayer she's prayed for many months. She's been praying for God to give her her "moment." She shared that on Sunday she reached the end of her rope, ready to give up not only on herself but on God. She cried out to the Lord for help. God heard her prayer of desperation and opened up the heavens giving her scripture after scripture and assuring her of His love and presence. She said that she feels like she was dead and is now alive. That she has been born again - again!! Since Monday God continues to speak and Shirley is able to hear. Her excitement was contagious! Praise God!!

RESCUE

The group discussed many different things throughout the evening some of which were:

• Seeking the Lord for more compassion and sorrow for those who are hurting so that we will be able to feel others pain when we pray
  
• How God wants to sensitize us and the enemy wants to desensitize us
• Being broken before the Lord
• How God is releasing His power
  
• Our need to surrender and respond to the Lord
• The journey towards forgiveness
• 
  

At the end of the evening special prayer for Eva and Carol occurred. During prayer for Carol, she was able to lay down the unforgiveness she has been struggling with for the past several months. Praise God!!

FORGIVENESS

It was great having Robert with us for the evening!

Please continue to pray for one another

• Lonnie - Job
• Teri - Job discernment
• Shirley - Her friend Jim - double pneumonia and blood infection (3/25 Shirley received word that the blood infection is gone and that the pneumonia is clearing up) and Frank for cancer on his ear
• Raymond - Job
• Nancy - Physical healing
• Brandy - Physical healing
• Carol - Tessa - 21 year old girl who had a stroke - 2 blood clots removed from her brain - one remaining
  

Trust and My Sheep Hear My Voice

Hi everyone. We had a great time Tuesday night. Teri, Nancy, Raymond & Michelle we missed you!

We discussed Pastor Chuck McKinney's message "Who You Gonna Trust?" As we began our time together, we welcomed the Lord by actually placing a chair in the center of the room for Him as a reminder of His ever constant presence with us!

We discussed the temptations Jesus went through during his 40 days in the desert and how satan attacked him. We also discussed the different ways satan attacks us. Trust was a major part of our discussion. Who do we trust when attacks come our way? Whose reputation do we believe - God or satan's? We asked the question, "can we trust when we are weak and vulnerable? Do we trust Him for provision in our lives, do we worship Him only or do we rely on other things to come and rescue us?"

If we say we know our Father, do we know His voice?

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow Me." John 10:27.

We talked about how differently God speaks to each of us and how important it is to KNOW His voice. Everyone shared instances of hearing His voice and agreed that
"traffic" in our lives keeps us distracted and unable to hear.

We closed with a reading from the book "Come Away My Beloved" by Frances Roberts. I'm including it here for those of you who weren't able to be with us because it really touched us all. . .

Renew Your Vows
There is a day coming when you will say, "I have waited in vain for the Lord," You will wait for Me to speak, and you will hear only the whistling of the wind. But I tell you now, I am never silent' you are deaf. I am always speaking' but I do not find your ear attuned to listen. You will sit alone in a desolate place and grieve in your loneliness; but it will not be that I have left you, but that you have become insensitive to My presence. Yes, if you ignore My personal nearness and fellowship and if you do not return My overtures, your perceptions will become dull; you will not be able to discern Me even though I am near at hand - even though My love for you is still as strong as before. Do not be lukewarm, lest you be among those who are cast out of My fellowship. "How shall we escape," it is written, "if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). But I ask you now: How will you survive in your private walk in the Spirit if you pay but faint heed to my nearness and do not respond in kind to the affection I offer you? You will not be able to meet the needs of others with anything short of this...You cannot give to them until after you have taken it from Me. It is the intention of My heart to fellowship with you closely. I am turned away by your unresponsiveness; by your preoccupation with things and with people; by your thoughtlessness and indifference. Some have lost Me by the sin of rebellion; but I warn you that you may lose Me by the subtle way of simple inattention. Confess your coldness, and draw near to Me; and I will make My personal presence real to you again. i will hold you close to My heart, and you will hear My voice. Renew your vows, and I will revive your ministry. There is a life ahead for you into which you would have entered before. There is a work ready for you, and I have prepared you for it. It is too wonderful to miss. It will be silent but powerful.
I will cause the veil to drop, and you will enter a new area of experience. you will be given knowledge in My Spirit that is not to be found in books. I will share with you My thoughts, and who can tell the sum of them? You will partake of the Mind of Christ and of the Holy Spirit of God. His eyes go throughout the whole earth seeking out the thoughts and intents of the hearts of men.
You will serve Me in ways you have never heard of before. It is My work. I have laid it out for you. Keep clear of man's work. Stay free to do Mine. You will not miss it if you keep close to Me and stay sensitive to My Spirit.
No one else can do what I have reserved for you; and be very sure that if you fail, it will remain undone. Crucify the flesh, and let the Spirit thrive. Redeem the time, for surely these days abound with evil.
Bless Me. I will bless you.

Please continue to pray for one another:

• Nancy - Physical Healing
  
• Teri - Mike while he's down in Southern California. Job for Teri
  
• Brandy - Physical healing
  
• Michelle & Raymond - A job for Raymond
• Greg - Continued prayer for shingles pain to go away. Discernment in all aspects of his life.

Jumping in the Ocean

We welcomed Michelle and Raymond last night. It was great that they were able to join us. We missed you Teri and Nancy.

What a great time of sharing with lots of good discussion about Pastor's message on Sunday...Some of the things we talked about...

worshiping our story or (trying to rewrite it)

submerging ourselves in the ocean...

why we would stay on the beach with the little critters why the pool is so appealing

or giving up and just building a big condominium.

God is calling us to go deep (Psalm 33 and Psalm 42). We talked about what stops us from that. The heart of those present is to get to the point that their feet no longer are on the sandy bottom and we become a part of the ocean! God is calling us deeper!

Prayer Requests:

• Teri - Tax appointment and possible bookkeeping position
• Brandy - Medical procedure on Thursday
• Michelle & Raymond - Their new baby grandson who is in Sutter Delta Medical Center for congestion. A job for Raymond.
  

Stones of Rememberance

Hello Everybody ~ God is doing some wonderful things in our midst. We've seen Him move and felt His presence in incredible ways among us. We don't want to forget what He's doing so we've created this Blog site as our "stones of remembrance". We'll list any prayer requests from our time together and highlights from the evening. If you have some thoughts during the week, you can post a comment and then email us so we know to take a look.

February 10th

Prayer Requests:

• Brandy - physical touch and healing.
  

February 3rd

Praise Report:

• Teri - felt the presence of our prayers and felt new inspiration from her bible reading.
  

Prayer Requests:

• Greg - Accountability regarding time management.
• Shirley - Break-thru and desire to spend more time with the Lord. Shirley is seeking her "moment."
• Carol - Ability to forgive
• Nancy - Ability to forgive

Shirley shares what she saw during during the prayers for Nancy and Carol for forgiveness:

I saw both Nancy and Carol as beautiful red roses, and the only thing that was wrong with them was that the thorns on the stems (their bodies) where facing inwards. Showing me that the thorns were piercing their bodies with pain, with forgiveness, with the darts of the enemy. I also saw Jesus with His thorns around His head, piercing Him and the thorns going outward.... HE died with those thorns facing inwards, piercing His body, but it was for OUR freedom of pain from our sins. I believe that's why the thorns on a rose show outward.... Tell the enemy that you are going to turn those thorns outwards to keep him from destroying your rose and to keep him from piercing your bodies like I saw. Eva also mentioned after I said that, that those thorns were piercing Jesus's mind and body, which could affect our thinking. He won over the enemy.... SO CAN YOU. Praise God!! Turn those thorns around, by forgiveness and feel the beauty of the rose as it should be. I love you...

Hope this makes sense... It's like you wish you had a recorder, so you could remember everything,with this old mind of mine. God is good... I am truly feeling His presence, even though my Bible hasn't been open yet, except to the verse that Lonnie gave me. Thank you Lonnie. Psalm 27:7-8 Hear me as I pray O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming." (Of course this is Tyndale version, I'm sure King James says somthing else, huh?

January 20th & January 27th:

Here are the prayer requests:

Tuesday - January 20th
Lonnie - Unquestionable direction in every area
Carol - Time management and help with forgiving
Heather McKain's (Brandy's sister) Email Address is amazingcharis@yahoo.com She is back in Guam. As you think of her, remember her in your prayers.

Tuesday - January 27th
Teri - Please pray for direction and peace regarding search for a job, insecurities, fear, time spent watching TV, pressures from mother, retirement & pension worries, planning of a Mass, prayer for Mike.
Brandy - Wisdom for the right doctor to take care of her or for the doctor that is caring for her to step up to the plate to know what he is to do regarding her care.

Have a blessed week. See you next Tuesday!