Prayer Monday, February 28, 2011

Well it has been two weeks since Crystal at A Life in Ordinary started Prayer Monday.  Click the image above to check it out.  I am so thankful for this.  I have been way more intentional in my prayer life and praying for the requests of the others participating gives me great joy.  I have had some answered prayer from my requests last week.  My sister's dog is doing so much better.  The three ladies who had babies are all doing well and home with their babies.  I must saying as I have been pressing in to God more and seeking him out the enemy (Satan) has been attacking me more.  I am going to take that as I am doing something right!  So on to my requests for this week.

PRAYER REQUESTS
1.  I am asking that God will keep me strong as I continue to seek Him out and the enemy tries to derail me from my course.

2. My husband and I lead a small group at our church. I pray that He continues to highlight people for our members to invite so our group will grow and touch more lives.

3. I am praying that God will take control of my worries and fears.  I have seen some progress in this area but still need some divine intervention.

4. I am praying that you be with my family members that are struggling with various ailments and trials this week. Heal their bodies and situations.

5. I pray that God will continue to show my husband and I to be good and faithful stewards with the things He has given us.
*6. I pray for my cousin, Amber,  she has had diabetes since she was 8 years old.  She is 25 now and has been having some problems with it.  I pray that God will heal her body and help get her diabetes back under control


*edited original post to add this request


Prayer This Week
Father, thank you so much for answered prayer and the impact you are making in our lives.  I pray that you continue to touch our hearts as we pray each week both for ourselves and each other.  Bless each person participating in Prayer Monday this week.


AMEN

I Survived

I survived watching two children under two for a day and a half.  One was my 16 month old son and the other my 2 1/2 month old nephew.  I know, I hear you saying, "Armanda that is nothing I have four children I am with every day."  I tell you though I admire women with two or more children.  My son alone is a full-time job.  I kind of wondered how it would be when/if I have a second child.  He is just so stinkin' busy.  Don't get me wrong I enjoy every minute of my time with him.  I just wasn't sure if I would be able to give him the attention he needed and watch a little one.  I CAN!

It was such a relief to realize I could do it.  I could handle more than one child at once.  To be honest my 2 1/2 month old nephew was less demanding than my son since he just eats, sleeps, poops and smiles at this point.  I can put him where I need him to be and he stays.  My son on the other hand stays in the same spot for about .5 seconds before he is in another.

Another thing I was concerned about was jealousy on my son's part.  Having to split momma's time with another baby when he has had me all to himself for the past 16 months might have been devastating.  He has handled it very well.  He has a healthy amount of jealousy.  He wants to lean against me and try to be in my lap some while I am holding my nephew but not the whole time.  And I can tell he is going to be compassionate.  He pats his cousin on the head and hand or he will just look at him.  I am so thankful that he isn't harboring any resentment.  Granted he has only had to share me for a day and a half so I might be speaking too soon but I really don't think I am.

All in all I think I have learned this week that when the time is right and God is willing we will be able to transition to a second child.  This is not foreshadowing for any announcement.  My doctor wants us to wait until my son is two before we try for another due to the nature and trauma of my son's delivery.  However, I like to plan a little for the future and I was nervous about adding another little body. When some of my friends, who had babies about the same time as me, are saying they are ready to have another I am thinking in my head, "Are you nuts?!  Why do you want to rush along the babyhood of your little one?"  Maybe this week was God's way of telling I will be OK.  At any rate I am at peace with it for when/if the time comes :).  Rest assured there will be much prayer involved before we add another!

Prayer Monday

Wow has it already been a week since we started Prayer Monday?!  I am so thankful that cousin, Crystal, over at A Life in Ordinary started Prayer Monday.  You should be able to click the picture above to get to her blog but if not click here.


Well I must report this week was mostly successful in my faithfulness to prayer until Saturday.  I let the busyness of life get in the way of my prayer time.  This is a good reminder to me that I need to make sure I give God His time no matter how busy my life gets. That being said I did have a couple of prayers answered.  My husband had a safe work trip and we had some new people visit small group this week!  So thankful for even the smallest of prayers God answers.  Now for my requests for this week.

PRAYER REQUESTS
1.  We had three ladies in our church this week give birth.  One on Thursday and two on Friday.  Two of the ladies had to have a C-Section and the other one was just a bit of a complicated birth.  I pray for the physical healing of all three women and the adjustment of the families to the new babies.

2. My husband and I lead a small group at our church. I pray that He continues to highlight people for our members to invite so our group will grow and touch more lives.

3. I am praying that God will take control of my worries and fears.  I have seen some progress in this area but still need some divine intervention.

4. I am asking that God help me be more disciplined in seeking out His word so I may draw closer to Him and the will He has for my family and me.

5. I am praying that you be with my family members that are struggling with various ailments and trials this week. Heal their bodies and situations.


6. This may seem like a silly prayer to some but my sisters dog has been really sick the past couple of days.  I am watching her tonight while they are out of town and she just is not her usual self.  So I am praying that God will heal her.


7. I pray that God will continue to show my husband and I to be good and faithful stewards with the things He has given us.

PRAYER FOR THIS WEEK

Holy Spirit, I continue to ask you to be with those of us participating in Prayer Monday.  I pray that this becomes a much needed tool/outlet for us.  I also pray that we are able to help each other and lift each other up.  Thank you for the prayers you have already answered as a result of all of our prayers.  I ask that you continue to open our hearts and eyes to the needs in each of our prayer requests. 


I pray that You be with my friends and family who are in need of physical healing right now.  Lord, touch there bodies as only you can and heal them. 


 Remind me each day no matter how busy I am , Father, that I should spend time with you in prayer and in Your Word.  


AMEN

My Sweet Boy.

OK, if you read my blog you will just have to endure me gushing over my son and my husband.  So brace yourself.  I'll try to switch it up occasionally with other topics but sometimes I just can't help myself.

My sweet baby boy (he's really more a toddler than baby now) just gets more amazing each day.  In the last week he has started running from his bedroom, where he has been playing, climbing in my lap or reaching for me.  Once I am holding him he will grab my face with his little hands and give me kisses.  Then lay his head on my shoulder, pat my back and say, "Awwww".  That is such an amazing feeling!  It makes me feel like we are doing something right as parents to be raising such a sweet and affectionate little boy.

It is so intimidating as a parent to be molding an impressionable little person.  Trying to raise him with God's love and discipline.  Praying that he turns into a great man of God.  So when you see these little/big things that affirm that you are doing the right thing it is an indescribable feeling.


P.S.  I am going to try to be better at taking pictures and posting pictures in my blog so you can see this sweet little face I am talking about.

Crazy Weekend/I'm Getting Old

Boy has it been a crazy weekend already and that was just for today!!  My husband was gone all week so I am still recovering from being with a 16 month old 24/7 by myself.  You should try it sometime :).  No really I wouldn't trade any of that time for anything else; even if it was exhausting.

As I was saying it has been such a busy weekend.  Breakfast with all the women small group leaders in my Discipleship Community, training for my Premier Designs business (which I ended up not being able to make it to so it shouldn't make me tired), a birthday party for our 5 year old nephew and a birthday party for my brother in law's sister.  From 8a-10p I have been going like the Energizer Bunny.  We are just now sitting down to relax. I feel like I still haven't seen much of my husband today. Though the last five hours have been with him.  I guess I should say I haven't been able to spend much quality time with just him today.

 I remember when I was in college I could go for 20 hours from one activity to the next and then sleep four hours get up and start again.  I just cannot do that anymore!  I woke up this morning and got tired just thinking about all the activities I had for the day.  What am I going to do when my son is busy with activities I have to attend.  If this is part of getting older I want nothing to do with it.  If you have suggestions on getting my energy back ( that doesn't include caffeine shots) feel free to let me know.  Tomorrow should be less busy.

Fear

Fear is a crazy thing.  There are legitimate fears that last for just as long as the event causing the fear and then there are the irrational fears.  I have irrational fears.  At almost 32 years old I will admit I am scared of the dark. Not the dark itself really but what or who is in the dark.  I have been trying to turn this over to God and most times it is kept at bay.

It isn't just the dark really but what might happen to my family or me while we are sleeping.  After I had my son it increased and became more than just who is in the dark but what.  We rented a house  for a few months to save on rent until we bought our house.  During this time I struggled with fear of a spiritual kind.  For those who aren't Christians it probably sounds crazy or weird but we live in a world that is in constant spiritual warfare that we can't always see.  My fear was that there was a presence of the demonic kind in my house.  I believe it was the enemy trying to taunt me.  I dealt with nightmares and laying awake paralyzed in fear.  It got so bad that I finally got prayer at church during our prayer ministry time.  The girl who prayed over me reminded me that as a Christian, God's child, I have authority over those things.  They cannot hurt me.   I can claim that authority in Jesus name.  This helped me so much and the fears subsided.

My fear has been back this week.  This time it is back to fearing who might be in the dark.  Who might break in the back door, front door, garage door and come through the basement door to harm my son and I.  Part of the reason it is back is because my protector, my husband, is out of town for work-related training.  I have been praying so much and reading every scripture I can think of to help me through this, Psalm 91 is a good one.  God has been reminding me that He is my ultimate protector.  How many times do we let our fears consume us and forget this?  Our Father must get so frustrated with our repetitive behaviors when we forget to trust Him.  The week is almost over and I am slowly gaining back my sanity.  My Protector never left me.  He is my Refuge.  I am going to seek Him as the fear creeps into my mind.  Satan cannot use my fears and dreams against me.  I am my Father's child.  I claim that in Jesus name.

If you would please keep me in your prayers the rest of this week as I continue to seek God's help with this.

Prayer Monday

Crystal over at A Life In Ordinary has decided to start Prayer Monday and invited her readers to participate with her. The plan is that each Monday we post our prayer requests and a short prayer for the beginning of that week. I am going to try to do this each Monday and link up to her Monday post as well. I am hoping this will help in me having accountability in my prayer life.

So here goes:

PRAYER REQUESTS
1. I am praying that God keeps my husband safe while he is away from us this week for work-related training.

2. My husband and I lead a small group at our church. I pray that he highlights people for our members to invite so our group will grow and touch more lives.

3. I am praying that God will take control of my worries and fears.

4. I am asking that God help me be more disciplined in seeking out His word so I may draw closer to Him and the will He has for my family and me.

5. I am praying that you be with my family members that are struggling with various ailments and trials this week. Heal their bodies and situations.


PRAYER FOR THIS WEEK

Holy Spirit, I pray that you touch the lives of each person deciding to take a part in Prayer Monday. I pray that this enriches and strengthens our relationship with You. I thank you that you have given us this outlet and tool for accountability.

I also pray that you help me this week as I am without my other half. Give me the strength to be the momma my son needs all week!

AMEN

Reaching out

My husband and I lead a small group at our church. This is not a job we take lightly. It is a calling God has given. I love the people in our group. So much do I like the dynamic in our group that sometimes I forget I should be reaching out to bring more people into our group. We should not let ourselves get complacent and comfortable. Part of our purpose as a small group is to help people grow spiritually and to get people plugged in that aren't already.

I am not by nature an outgoing person. I have forced myself not to be painfully introverted. It's hard for me but I know that if I would just reach out to more people in our church, that are not in small groups, then I would be greatly blessed. If you are reading this please pray that I will find the courage to do this. I am encouraging our group members to do the same and I want to lead by example.

I want to yell "WE'RE DEBT FREE"

I have a goal/dream/plan/aspiration; call it what you want. I can't wait for my husband and I to be debt free. We have a long road to go what with vehicle loans, student loans, house mortgage etc. It's doable though. I try not to let this rule my life but it seems many times my thoughts are consumed by where our money is going or isn't going. Or thoughts of why wasn't I smarter with my finances in college. It is such a bad cycle to start. I want to end that cycle and teach my children to plan better.

Dave Ramsey, the author of Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace and the host of Dave Ramsey show, has some really good advice on becoming debt free. You should check him out; www.daveramsey.com. Anyway, I digress. Something else he lets people do though that is really fun is call into his show or go to his building and yell as loud as they can, "We're/I'm Debt Free"! I can't wait to do that. What a great feeling. I believe this goal is definitely something that would be pleasing to God as well. He asks us to be good stewards of the things He blesses us with so I believe this would fit into that category. Until then we are going to chip away at our debt and with God's help we will do this!