Island Night In March!

I belong to a 'Prayer Connection'. We e-mail or phone in prayer requests to our coordinator, then she compiles the requests and e-mails the list to our members. The members with no Internet receive phone calls each morning by designated volunteers. There is a wonderful comfort knowing that so many people are all praying in concert with one another every day.

One of my favorite things about the prayer connection is, we are not all from just one church. We are Pentecostal, Baptist, and represent many other denominations and churches throughout Essex county. As a matter of fact, it is only the love for Our Lord and knowledge that our faithfulness in prayers, and further knowledge that those prayers are heard, and matter which keeps us on our knees.

Many of my friends who are not on 'the connection' will give me prayer requests, or I will take it upon myself to add names. It is that way with all the other members also, as a result, sometimes our lists get very long, especially lately with so much unemployment and financial hardship. As a dedicated prayer warrior, I know the time I put into this activity, is important, and I never shrink at spending more time with my Lord!

On this past Saturday evening we met for coffee/tea and dessert (which no one really needed). We don't meet in person often but is good to see the people we pray with every day. For this meeting, the organizers decided we needed a gathering with an Hawaiian Island theme. I think the plan had something to do with our snowy winter, but it was good to see the clear warm (for March) weather on our big night.

We were given flowers for around our neck (leas?), and a new name! Mine was Eawan, meaning Fair Radiance, well it's good someone thinks so! Of course the point of the evening was the visit; and uplifting, informative and positive-thinking speakers. There is nothing like visiting with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. There is always laughter, tears, and extra prayers.

My girlfriend and I decided it was a good thing we ate a decent supper before we went, otherwise, our diets would have been blown worse than they were! Just how many kinds of cheesecake are there? I think they had them all!

This gathering happened at a good time for me, I had a particularly 'sad news' week, and was feeling down. You know, God is so good. On the worse night, I opened my e-mail and it just kept downloading and downloading. When the mail came through there were two files full of pictures! One from my son Bob, who sent about ten pictures of Izzie (my granddaughter), and the other, was from the son of a good friend who passed suddenly last year. He sent several first year birthday pictures of his son! My friend missed seeing her only grandson by about six months, and the little guy looks so much like her! I could see her smile all over his little face!

My God is so good, and faithful, he gives me encouragement in the middle of my sorrows.

Have a blessed day!

Phoebe

I Like Skype!!!!

Today I was going to go into a long complaint about the financial problems of our times, but I got Skyped! At the urging of two of my friends I put the program on my computer, and the calls started coming tonight! One right after the other! See what my friends saved you from!!!!


The first was from Michigan, near Detroit, not a big deal here in Windsor, but it was fun to see my friend as we talked. Paul was sooooo impressed! The big smile never left his face! My friend, who is a Pastor, and his wife had to leave for Bible Study, so our conversation only lasted about twenty minutes.


After that, a dear friend Alan, (the picture was taken in Korea), who is now teaching in China called; a MUCH bigger deal, we have been conversing via e-mail for several years, I call him "The Globe Trotter". Paul's big smile was constant for the whole hour we talked! One of the things we discussed was the miracle of our conversation tonight. It was morning there, Alan just woke up, and Paul and I had just finished dinner. We could clearly see each other as we talked, and the delay wasn't all that long. Alan remembered when we met, in the early seventies and he was attending University and living at my mother-in-law's home. He remembered a time back then when he needed money and had to write home to his dad. It took two weeks for his letter to make it home in the Barbados. Now, here we are, talking with video, across the world in real time!


Amazing how our moods can improve with a call from an old friend! I even forget the point of my original idea, but I would like to say that my conversations tonight were something I cherish, not just the video calls, but mostly the friendships. God grants us the gift of friendships, to uphold us in times of struggle and sorrow, and to rejoice with us in the times when our blessings overflow!


When it was time to say goodbye, Alan asked for prayer. As a Christian in China, he feels the need for intercessory prayer. So we prayed. Later, I found this scripture:


"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16.

Have a blessed day,

Phoebe