Monthly Archives: November 2009

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A SEA OF FACES

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IDOK DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009

A Sea of Faces
A quick observation – standing in the park with not less than 3 bus loads of 2nd graders, watching them play as a group and finding it oh so difficult to keep my eyes on a certain one as she moved in and out amongst all the others, I was reminded of something.  I had difficulty knowing where Isabel was every second on the playground, but ABBA does not have that problem – He sees each one of us individually and at all times He knows individually exactly where we are, where we have been and where we will be; what we are thinking, what we have thought and what we will think; what we are doing, what we have done and what we will do.  He is that AWESOME!  And you and I; well, we may see ourselves as insignificant, less than a drop in the sea of humanity, but nothing could be further from the truth.  Your lovely face your ABBA beholds continually.  He NEVER loses sight of you and you are NEVER too far from Him that He is not with you.

Isaiah 49:15-17 (Amplified Bible) source 

15 [And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.16 Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.

Father, praise sandwiched between tough stuff; thank You for the praise, thank You for fevers that are gone and smiles that have returned; and thank You for procedures to bring comfort, and thank You for lives well lived.  And, Father, thank You that we are individually a face You love, not one of us gets lost in the sea of faces.  You are SO AWESOME!    And we bring all these individual faces this morning for them to receive from You strength and hope and courage and enlightenment this day.  Thank You for Roy’s improvement too and we pray for continued help and strength for him and Julee.   You have given us a huge ministry here in prayer.  That is the heart, the core of this ministry; it is amazing that You would entrust it to us and we want to be faithful.  Thank You for enabling us day by day to be faithful.

And as we daily do we pray for our IDOK Troops for their safety and protection.  Thank You for Your faithfulness to them and to us.   We pray they will each come home at the appointed times safe and sound to embrace and be embraced by loving families and friends.

And, Father, as we close this session for Friday, I pray for our IDOKS, each individual face and ask You to shine upon them, to lift up their faces, lift up their countenances and give them peace, peace that passes all our understandings and this I asked in the Lovely and Holy Name of Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord.  Amen and amen.   

 
As I post this it is 79°F and haze in Al Asad, IQ (Airport), and the time is 3:38 PM AST on November 6, 2009.
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TWISTED

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IDOK DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009

I am drawing again this morning, from the well of others for our devotion, that is.
Yesterday morning was early to leave home, then home for a bit, and then gone again.
I’m not complaining, you understand; just explaining.
And this morning is early again as I am blessed to chaperon a field trip for a certain dark-haired 7-year-old beauty –  we are going to Fairhope for a play.

So from Breaking free Day By Day by Beth Moore, look with me at what she says for our devotion today:
“Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength.  Isaiah 40:31.

Sometimes I get tired of fighting the good fight, don’t you?  How can we muster the energy to hang in there and keep fighting for our liberty?  Even the youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.  So what’s a soul to do?

The Hebrew word for “trust” in the verse above means “to bind together (by twisting) . . . to be gathered together, to be joined.”  If we want to keep a renewed strength to face our daily challenges or to regain a strength that has faded, God’s Word tells us to draw so close to the presence of God that we’re practically twisted to Him!
Let’s look at the entire verse Beth cited:

Isaiah 40:31 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
31 but those who trust in the LORD
    will renew their strength;
    they will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary;
    they will walk and not faint.

Amen!  Would this devotion hang with you if I asked the question: does this mean it’s okay for us to be ‘twisted sisters’?
Not even funny, huh?  Be careful google-ing ‘twisted sister’ if you do.  :-)
As I post this it is 79°F and haze in Baghdad, IQ (Airport) and the time is 2:27 PM AST on November 5, 2009.
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Messy and Lousy

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 IDOK DEVOTION FOR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009
I am drawing on a little book entitled God Alone by Joanie Yoder for this morning’s devotion.  It may fit us well today.
In today’s society, two popular factors, the ‘feel-good factor’ and the ‘look-good factor’, are being confused with success.  Anyone not feeling or looking good is often regarded as mediocre-even a failure.
The church can easily fall into this trap, all in the name of longing to have a good testimony for the Lord.  A deeper look at Christ’s own testimony will set us straight.
In Mark 14:32-42, Jesus was nearing His atoning death at Calvary.  As Jesus fought and won the battle of the will, Luke said that ‘His sweat was like drops of blood’ (22-44).  In all this and the terrible agony of the crucifixion that followed, and Jesus neither felt good nor looked good.  Rather, He was good and did good by choosing His Father’s will and fulfilling it.  His anguished obedience was later followed by joyful resurrection.
Has your heavenly Father entrusted you with an agonizing situation in which it’s unrealistic to feel good or look good? Don’t despair!  He values what you are and what you do as you die to self and embrace His will.  Jesus knows that this often feels and looks messy.  The truth is, it honors God and eventually leads to victory and joy.  What greater testimony than this?  GOD BRINGS BEAUTY OUT OF UGLY SITUATIONS.
MARK 14:32 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”  35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”  37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. 40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  41 Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
She said it’s unrealistic for us think we must always look good and feel good. This is a good ‘word’ for us — it’s okay to look messy, and feel lousy as long as we keep on doing the right thing –  embracing the Will of our ABBA Father even in midst of messy and lousy.
Praise Reports and Prayer Requests
Doug is in the hospital again; the cancer is back and has spread; prayers so needed.
ABBA, this is a good word today, cause I see some messy and lousy situations before us but in them we pray for strength to do good, to embrace Your will and keep on keeping on trusting You and praising You for You being You; for Your unfailing love and Your never turning from doing good for us and on our behalf.  May every soul written here embrace this Word today, even if they don’t read this particular page, may You, Holy Spirit, speak it in their hearts.   Please continue to watch over and protect our IDOK Troops today and please bring each of them home safe and sound at the appointed time.  And, ABBA, thank You for this ministry; I pray it will be all that You desire it to be.   I pray that each of us will be all that You desire us to be, especially when life is hard and messy; help us proclaim YOU ARE GOOD. Amen and amen in Jesus Name.
A Specific Unspoken.
Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about.
Children and/or Grandchildren about whom Moms (& Dads) are concerned that their salvation profession may not be true. 
Teacher hospitalized with pneumonia. Green Family. Overstreet Family.  W.C. and family. Mary M. Danny and Tina.  Robert and Kerry L.  Ken and Della.  Art and Sula.  Rudon.  Kelly C. Henry P.  Dana and Joey and Children.  Tracey M. Vicki and Bob.  Brady and Chloe.  Patti and family.  Joyce, John & children.  Sparky.  Sean.  Susan R.  Kay B.  Rusty & Romney.  Johnny McK and family.  Katie H.  Amber Johns. Joe-Ann. Vickie and Family. Dennis and Lisa J. Jack. Melanie and Jay M. Susanne M. Alice T. Elaine W and Family. Joni and Todd. Roy and Julee. Glenn R and his family. Holly. Donald 2. Ed G. Debra B. Jon E. Brian. Donald 1. Loyce McM. DeLois. Mollie B. Marzelle. KC. Neolle T. Mary F. MH and J. Caleb and his family – Rob, Vaughn, Whitaker and Donoghue. Dora. Mattie. Brenda and her family. Joshua A. Kim T and her parents. Martha McC. Tamra and Family. Rachel and family. Joe and Rose. Darlene’s Sister, Leona. Tammy B and Family. Jackie K. Brian T. Ricky M. Linda and Family. Joe. Michael H. Linda W. Debbie W. Natalie. Jacqueline and Sons (River and Jackson). Sandra. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family. Susan D. Melissa and daughters. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Heather and Brandon. Darlene and Torkel.. Maggie and Family. Katelyn (H). J Lloyd. Janet and Steve. Bay and family. Bill and Judy. Doug. Larry and Claudia and family. Callie. Ruth. Cynthia. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Chuck. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Andrew and Daughters.
Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry
Ryan, Sarah, Josh & Caleb Bedenkop – missionaries in Arizona.
The Ministry of IDOK
The Peace of Israel.
Revival in America.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Justin G. Michael K. Bay N. T. Palin. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T. Kyle N(3/09). Jessica D. (4/09) Sgt. Vince Barrientos (5/2009)  Bill H.  (added 9/24/09) Brandon B.
IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Joey H.   10/21/09.
Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G. Tommy W.
Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08)
Military at home, specifically those emotional-spirit wounds that only God and Time can heal – Adam M. Captain Tran. Josh. John L. Drew. Richard M. Matt P.  (added 9/24/09)  
As I post this it is 76°F and partly cloudy in Al Asad, IQ (Airport) and the time is 2:13 PM AST on November 4, 2009.