Worrier ~or~ Warrior?

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against...the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground... ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:11-17

Just a quick thought tonight.  Are you and I a worrier?  Or a Warrior?  Say those two words quickly, and you'll find they sound alike; but what a difference their meanings are!!  

You and I are in a battle every single day!   Why would we even attempt to enter the battlefield without first preparing for it?  We prepare by putting on the WHOLE armour of God. . and by praying.  It seems that the battle actually is won in the time that is spent praying. 

The enemy wants us to think that WE are supposed to fight, on our own, and in our own strength.  But notice the last verse in our text: Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  The sword is our defense and weapon.  What is our Defense?  Actually it's not "what" but WHO!  Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1) ....The knowledge of God's gift of grace surrounds our minds, then we acknowledge that the battle is too big for us by seeking God.  Take the Lord by His hand, and now we are equipped with our DEFENSE and WEAPON!  Jesus is the One Who will fight our battles for us, if we ask Him to. . .He will strengthen us with HIS mighty power to overcome the difficulties we are facing!

I encourage you to not be a worrier, but bravely be a WARRIOR!  Prayer Warrior!  The Battle is won when we are on our knees in prayer! 

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf!  Your continued prayers for Michael, our family, and for Bryan's upcoming surgery are very much appreciated.

God's grace is sufficient.   And by His grace, we will be warriors and not worriers! :)

Dear Father in heaven, thank You for this lesson!   Life's circumstances are often difficult, but it's usually in the difficult storms when You teach me the deepest lessons.  I pray that You will encourage others to be a prayer warrior and not a worrier.  I wonder if it is prideful to be a worrier?  Because it seems that if I worry, I am putting myself in the position of responsibility to overcome my situations...quite frankly they are too much to attempt to overcome in my own strength.  That IS pride!  Please forgive me for being a Proud Worrier, and make me and my friends who are reading this, PRAYER WARRIORS.   Our victory is only found in Your Son, Jesus!  In His name we pray, Amen.

This being the week of Easter, I will post one of Bryan's favorite songs that God has helped me record.  May the Lord use this to bless you.  and Happy Easter! :)

Bryan's Surgery Date and update on Michael

Bryan's surgery date will be April 17 at 12:00.  Doctor says he hopes to be able to remove only part of the kidney. . but can't guarantee...Bryan will be in the hospital 6 days. Out of work 6 weeks. I appreciate your emails and checking in, and most certainly your prayers on our behalf.   I will try to keep everyone posted as soon as I am able to post updates.  Burden of school work, projects, etc. is also weighing heavy on my heart. . .so I'm not able to post as often as I'd like to. 

Also: Please pray for my cousin Michael and the family as well.  The recent update we received was not a good one.  The Dr's have found 15 new tumors in his liver.  This particular type of cancer is extremely rare, so there is very little research out there regarding treatment, etc. The DR's told them that it will "take him quickly." Please pray for their strength and comfort during this time.. and pray for God to do a miracle according to His will.  Thank you so much!!

the following is taken from "Jesus Calling," a devotional that was given to me for my birthday.

March 24:
"This is a time in your life when you must learn to let go: of loved ones, of possessions, of control.  In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in My Presence, where you are complete. Take time to bask in the Light of My Love.  As you relax more and more, your grasping hand gradually opens up, releasing your prized possession into My care.

You can feel secure, even in the midst of cataclysmic changes, through awareness of my continual presence.  The One who never leaves you is the same One who never changes:I am the same yesterday, today and forever.  As you release more and more things into My care, remember that I never let go of your hand.  herein lies your security, which no one and no circumstance can take from you."
Psalm 89:15     Hebrews 13:8    Isaiah 41:13

burden to share, request for prayer

Hello everyone.

it's been a while. .but I have to post an update.  Things have been going so fast around here that it's hard to keep my head from spinning. . . but I really need to stop and post and update for prayer. Have to keep this short due to time limits. .

Bryan, my husband, was told today that there is a growth on his kidney.  We have spoken to two different doctors today. . .both agree that it's best to not  even biopsy this because the mass/growth/lesion has "crossed the line" and needs to be removed.

Also...benign solid masses in the kidney are rare...so it is standard to treat this as malignant until proven otherwise. 

We see another DR on this coming Thursday.  We are facing certain surgery and him being out of work for approx. 6 weeks.  They are saying it is very possible Bryan will lose his kidney, but will try to remove just a portion of the kidney--if they feel confident it wouldn't become a problem later.  But we'll just wait and see what happens.

Praises:  God allowed Bryan to have kidney stones and in the CT scan they "happened to find" this place on the kidney. Bryan had a follow-up CT scan a month or so ago and that's when we were told this is not a cyst, it has grown, and something must be done. . so that's where we are today....seeing both DR's and facing certain surgery and an unknown future (unknown to us; but God is fully aware.) 

It appears that this is contained to the kidney which is very good news.

Requests:  Pray for Bryan. . for strength, wisdom, and healing. . and a full recovery.  His burden as the sole provider for us is great. . . But God is greater.    Pray for me.  Trying to be there for him and remaining calm for the family, while keeping up with the intense work load at school, as well as keeping my focus, without falling apart. . . it's a job too big for me.  But God is greater.    Praying that this mass will stay in the kidney between now and the actual surgery when it can be removed.

Thank you all so much. . . And continue to pray for my cousin Michael as well.  He is in treatment currently.   I will be in touch at some point, Lord willing.

Love and hugs to everyone and thanking God for the prayers and support of His children and for the promise to see us through.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are greater than all of the problems this entire world has ever or ever will face.   So I lift my heart, with all its burdens, to You.  Admitting this is too much for me to figure out.  Claiming Your promise "I know the plans I have for you....to give you a hope and a future and not to harm you."  Jeremiah 29:11.  Even though our troubles seem like they could never be a source of hope and promise for a future, but rather a way "to harm" us----You have promised that even our troubles, can be a source of Your blessings---in fact, I wonder if the blessings could be even greater because of them being camouflaged as troubles. ??   Very well could be.    I feel exhausted.

So...I just climb up in Your lap and quietly ask You to hold us as a family, and somehow, some way, get the glory out of this too.  It's too big for me.  But nothing is impossible with You.  "With God all things, (even getting the glory out of this) are possible."

So...thank You for promising to be with us, and for already having the answer even before we ever began to pray. . .and for listening, while we are still speaking.

Bless everyone with the sense of Your presence in the midst of their storms.  

In Jesus' Name, Amen.