Although I had intentionally started this blog for prayer I would like to use today to thank God for giving me 2 great friends.

Within a 5 day period God called home to heaven two godly women, Katherine Hubner and Jill Brandt, who I have had the privilege to know and love, Jill for many years, Katherine for about 1 year....
Both memorial services were on the same day... Oh how I wish I could have been in two places at once!

If I may, I'd like to share with you what Katherine and Jill have in common besides Jesus! :)

This passed year at my church, Sovereign Grace Church of Fairfax, we had several women's ministry meetings. I believe it was when Carolyn Mahaney spoke that she recommended that we write a note to a woman or women who have influenced us in our walk with our Lord. I immediately thought of both Katherine and Jill.

Jill mentored me many many years ago and taught me what it looked like to love my husband. She directed my gaze to Jesus and through example and teaching showed me how to respect and love my husband. (I'm STILL learning.) and to love the Word of God and how to persevere in prayer.

Katherine and I were both a part of Alpha, an evangelistic outreach ... I watched her serve Jesus and our church with enthusiasm and joy! She would escort her friend Mrs. Hinders (who needed help to get around) and she also would serve food to the hungry Alpha attendees and volunteers. She was obviously "older" and I admired how she did not sit around the house being old but she served God and the local church in any way she could! I also had the privilege of training her this summer to work in the bookstore! Also, when Katherine found out my son Patrick would be going to Iraq she promised to pray for him and for his relationship with Jesus. Faithfully, every Sunday Katherine would ask me how Patrick was doing and assured me she was praying for him. How precious to a mother's heart are those who pray for their children!

I didn't obey Carolyn's charge to the letter.. I didn't write notes to Jill and Katherine, but I spoke to each one personally.

Jill had been battling an aggressive cancer for a very long time. I had the joy and privilege of being able to sit at her bedside many times and either hold her hand, rub her feet, read scriptures, cry, laugh.. or just sit. On one of these visits I told her about Carolyn's charge and I was able to let Jill know how much she encouraged me in my faith and in my role as a wife and mother. Jill went home to the Lord one week ago on Sunday, October 8.

I saw Katherine every week at Alpha and one Tuesday I told her how she had influenced me by her example and that when I grow up I want to be like her.
She was so humble in her response to me...further cementing my desire to imitate her example. Katherine went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, October 12.

So yes, within a 5 day period, Jesus called to heaven two women that I admire and love greatly. As sad as I am that my time in friendships with both Jill and Katherine have passed I am filled with joy and hope because both of these godly women walked by faith and NOW they walk by sight! This overwhelms me!

Praise be unto God who is faithful and worthy of all our praise! The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, BLESSED be the name of the Lord.

in Christ.. for HIS glory,
diane

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A Debtor to Mercy by Augustus Montague Toplady
(1740 - 1748)

A debtor to mercy alone,
of covenant mercy I sing;
Nor fear, with thy righteousness on,
My person and offerings to bring.
The terrors of law and of god
With me can have nothing to do;
My Savior's obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view.

The work which HIS goodness began,
The arm of HIS strength will complete;
His promise is Yea and Amen,
And never was forfeited yet.
Things future, nor things that are now,
Not all things below or above,
Can make him HIS purpose forego
Or sever my soul from His love.

My name from the palms of HIS hands,
Eternit will not erase,
Impressed on His heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace.
Yes I to the end shall endure,
As sure as the earnest is given;
More happy, but not more secure,
The glorified spirits in heaven.

A Prayer from The Valley of Vision, A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions:

A PRESENT SALVATION

"Creator and Redeemer God,

Author of all existence, source of blessedness

I adore thee for making me capable of knowing thee,

for giving me reason and conscience,

for leading me to desire thee;

I praise thee for the revelation of thyself in the gospel,

for thy heart as a swelling place of pity,

for thy thoughts of peace towards me,

for thy patience and thy graciousness,

for the vastness of they mercy.

Thou hast moved my conscience to knw how

the guilty can be pardoned,

the unholy sanctified,

the poor enriched.

May I be always amongst those who not only hear but know thee,

who walk with and rejoice in thee,

who take thee at they word and find life there.

Keep me always longing

for a present salvation in Holy Spirit comforts and rejoicings,

for spiritual graces and blessings,

for help to value my duties as well as my privileges.

May I cherish simplicity and godly sincerity of character.

Help me to be in reality before thee

as in appearance I am before men,

to be religious before I profess religion,

to leave the world before I enter church,

to set my affections on things above,

to shun forbidden follies and vanities,

to be a dispenser as well as a partaker of grace,

to be prepared to bear evil as well as to do good.

O God, make me worthy of this calling,

that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me and I in Him."

Lord, this day I sing this song to you! As I have friends and family who are suffering with sickness and cancer (Chandler, Jill, Chris), death (of Corbin), and heartache... I turn to YOU O Lord who art all good! You are a great God and we depend on You and praise You in all things and for all things! Our lives are in your hands Lord and we declare your greatness. Receive this song Lord as my prayer to You. In Jesus Name we pray and sing:


Blessed Be Your Name (by Matt Redmond)
Blessed be Your name In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

CHORUS: Every blessing You pour out
I'll Turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in,
Lord Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's "all as it should be"
Blessed be You name And blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

CHORUS

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say Lord,
blessed be Your name
I will bless Your name

CHORUS

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say Lord,
blessed be Your name *Repeat*

Today, I will post a prayer written by John Piper from his book, Seeking and Savoring Jesus Christ, pages 90-92. May this be the prayer of your heart.

O Father, how I need mercy. I sin every day. I fall short of your command to love you with all my heart and soul and mind and strength. I am lukewarm in my affections. All my motives, even at their best, are mixed. I murmur. I am anxious about tomorrow. I get angry too quickly. I desire what ought not be desired.
I get irritated at the very attitudes in others that I myself displayed five minutes before. If you do not show mercy to me, I am undone. O God, let me see the mercy of Christ and savor it for what it is. Grant me power to comprehend his love. Incline me to read and ponder the stories of the mercy of Jesus in the Gospels. Let me so admire what he did that I imitate him. But let it be much more than external imitation. Let it come from the heart where I have been broken for my sin and where I have come to cherish mercy and live by mercy and hope in mercy and long for mercy. Make the mercy of Jesus the greatest beauty of the Savior in my eyes. Let me behold, and beholding, become like him. And bend this taste for mercy outward so that I show it. Make me full of his mercy that I might show mercy. Fulfiill in me the command to do justice and love mercy. Let me love showing mercy. Make it so much a part of me that it is who I am. So unite me to Christ that his mercy is my mercy, and my mercy is a presenting of Christ. He is all I have to give in the end. Glorify his mercy, Father, in my faith and in my patience. Thank you, oh thank you, for Christ and your mercy to me in him. In his name I pray, amen.
John Piper
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

See you Monday!Rejoice always, pray without ceasing!(1 Thessalonians 5:17)
pp. 90-92

"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:32-36

Lord God! Thank you for this incredible privilege of being able to come to You in prayer! Thank you for Jesus and His shed blood that gives to those who have repented and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation access to You, our God and Father. Lord, I pray today according to your Word that you would help me love my enemies. Lord help me to love those that offend me. Help me to be kind to the ungrateful and evil and be merciful as you are merciful! Lord, help me to have a kind thought for the person who cuts in front of me on the highway. Help me to have a kind word for the person in the grocery store who cuts in front of me in line. Lord help me to have a kind word and love and mercy for the friend or family member who offends me. Lord help me to love those who don't love me. Lord, help me to not be angry with those who are angry with me. Lord, help me to be like you. Help me to extend mercy to others as you have extended mercy to me. For the glory of Your Holy Name, in Jesus, I pray... amen.

"Remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you are also in the body." Hebrews 13:3

Dear Lord, I pray for christians around the world who are imprisoned, tortured and even killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Oh Lord, give them strength to continue on in their faith. Lord, help them to continue on in hope in Jesus and trusting YOUR faithfulness in the face of the persecution they are in now. Lord, we have brothers and sisters in VietNam, in India, in China, in Indonesia who are tortured and imprisoned for their christian beliefs...Help those of us who are living in freedom to remember these brothers and sisters in prayer. Lord, I pray for their release from prison. Lord, help the families of the prisonsers be comforted by your Word and the knowledge of your faithfulness. Your word says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:10) ... Lord, I know that here in America we have no clue what it is to be persecuted like our brothers and sisters in these other countries. Lord, strengthen our resolve to remember these people, to pray for them and Lord let us remember the freedoms we DO have in this country and be bold to spread the message of salvation through Jesus Christ! Lord, please protect the christians in these countries from being arrested. Help them to be able to preach about Jesus Christ without being persecuted. Please open the eyes, ears and hearts of those who arrest these christians and those who guard them, to the truth of the Gospel. Help the persecutors to be saved Lord! Oh Lord, forgive me for forgetting about the present day martyrs. Please remind me to pray for them, to be bold in spreading the gospel for the glory of your name. For the glory of your name, in Jesus we pray, Amen.

If you are interested in finding out more about the persecuted church in the world please visit the following web sites:
http://www.persecution.com/
http://www.prisoneralert.com/

"My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!" Psalm 35:2-3

“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Over the years I have come to love hymns. They are rich and full of biblical truths.
Tim Challies wrote about hymns on his blog <"http://www.challies.com> the other day and wrote out the lyrics to one of my favorites. I thought I'd include that hymn here today as our prayer to Jesus, thanking Him for who He is and what He has done for us. If you know it sing it to the Lord today! If you don't.. prayerfully read the lyrics and exalt the name of the Lord with me!

My Jesus I love Thee (Will­iam R. Fea­ther­ston, 1864; Fea­thers­ton was on­ly 16 years old at the time)

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I will love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I will ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I will sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2

O God help me to imitate You! help me to be holy as You are holy. Help me Lord to glorify You with my life. Help me Lord to walk in love as Christ loved me! Jesus gave Himself up for me! He died, He was a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.
Jesus lived the perfect life that I cannot live. Jesus died, He paid the penalty for my sins! O God, thank You for this kind of love. Help me, therefore, to practice a self-less love towards others. Help me to think of others as more highly than myself. Help me to give of myself, to live sacrifically in loving others. Help me to be an imitator of You, O God. I am Your beloved child. Help me to be like You. For the glory of Your name in Jesus' name. Amen.

"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake of asleep we might live with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

Lord, this truth that, I have not been destined for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, is astounding. It speaks, no it screams, of Your great love and mercy towards those You save. I am deserving of Your wrath for my sins are great and yet I have been destined to obtain salvation. Oh God, may my gratitude to You for Your great mercy increase! May my devotion to You increase! May my love for You increase! Increase my faith! Increase my obedience to your ways. Help me to desire to walk in Your ways. Be glorified O Lord! Lord, help me to encourage my brothers and sisters with this truth. Help me to build them up. Lord, help me to remember what could have been BUT instead You saved me! Lord, help me therefore to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27). Help me to continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the Gospel(Colossians 1:23). Thank you that your mercy and grace are great!
Be glorified Lord, be glorified! In Jesus name.. amen

Prayer Focus: To desire and do the will of God

Romans 12:2 " And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God."

I thank You Lord God for the blood of Christ that washed me free from the guilt of sin! I thank you for the death of Christ that paid for my sin! I thank you for the resurrection of Christ which gives me victory over death. I thank you for the perfect, righteous life of Christ which was imputed to me! I thank the Holy Spirit who gives me strength and victory over sin. I thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit and Your grace which enable me to do Your will! God, I desire to do Your will....yet I so often get lured away by my desire for the things and the ways of this world. Turn my heart towards You Lord that I may feast on Your word and drink from the living water.. change my heart, renew my mind that I may know and follow Your will. Help me to desire to follow Your ways! For your glory! Amen.

Prayer Focus: Our communities would be impacted by us for the sake of Christ.

Psalm 34:8 "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good....."

God, you have a passion for Your glory to be spread through the nations and in our communities. Thank you God for putting me exactly where you want me to live. You have called some of us to go out to the nations to bring glory to your name by preaching Christ crucified and You have left some of us right where we are to be witnesses in our own backyards! God, wherever you have called us, please help us to obey you! Make us so passionate about You and who You are that we will not be able to keep silent about your greatness and love and our Savior Jesus Christ! Lord, I want my life to be one that glorifies Your name.. When I don't feel this way, CHANGE MY HEART! Lord, give us a boldness to share the gospel for your name's sake and the salvation of the lost. Help those that we share the gospel with taste and see that You are good. Lord, I don't want to waste my life... use my life Lord to tell others about Jesus.
I love you Lord and I ask these things in Jesus for the glory of Your name.

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! A few years ago when associated with a young adult church group called The Gathering in Northern VA I used to send out a daily scripture and prayer to a group of people. The purpose of this was not to be the ONLY prayer of your day but to spur us on into deeper prayer and dependency on our God and Savior. So... I am starting it up again! This time I will publish daily prayers in the blogosphere! I hope you will join me in praying for our families, the churches we belong to, for the lost, for missions etc , etc.. the list is endless! I look forward to praying with you! In Christ for the glory of His name... diane