PRAYERS

on my heart and from my lips tonight:
Daniel, his adoption being processed, progress on his case, that God would sustain him in his condition until we can actually get him home and start his medical and surgical care, his whole orphanage and staff, the loss of another child, comfort in this time of sadness and grieving
Junior and Diamoh: thankful that they are in school. praying that they will try hard and do well, praying for their whole orphanage and staff, the school which is providing an education to our children
Health and wellness for all the children remaining in both facilities, enough food to eat, enough money coming in to continue feeding the staff and children
Trusting God for those who are ministering to the children in other various ways, and ministering to the people of Liberia.
Praying for our young friend Abby, whose 4 1/2 year old body continues to war with cancer. Her Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World is this week and I am so praying that she is strong enough to go and have the best time imaginable! Princess Jasmine will be so blessed to meet sweet Abby and her wonderful family!
I am praising God for the birth of a friend's miracle baby nephew named Malachi O this week, and for our new Great -niece born this evening: "Maeve Marie". I am rejoicing that my own grandson Charlie is doing so well, and that our oldest son is once again safe in his own home with his wife and children around him.
Committing to God our friends' son Jonathan who is in ICU at Johns Hopkins hospital with severe infection and possible/probable rejection of his second (sibling) donated kidney
Standing beside the Klicka family as Chris, the dad, known to many through Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) who is in hospice care in Colorado, far from the family home in Virginia, with many family members at his bedside as he and they prepare for his Homecoming. His Advanced -stage Multiple Sclerosis has slowly crept in to more and more of his body; he is on no life support to prolong the face to face meeting he awaits with his Lord and Savior; nothing that medicine can do for him now will do anything but prolong life, but not improve his condition or heal/cure him. The testimony of Chris and his family as they share their last days and hours together is what a life lived in faith should look like. In its sadness is a joy and a dignity, a peace and an ongoing purpose. I see God being glorified in each of these people and I am only reading emails when they come. I met Chris at a Home School conference years ago. The MS was slowing him down some; he walked with a cane, but he spoke eloquently and passionately, knowledgeably and encouragingly. He would not know me, but I am so very thankful for the years of service he gave for home schooling protections and privileges . I am thankful that I can join with so many others in prayer for him and thankful that I too can ask others to pray for Chris Klicka and his family.
AS I pray for these and other people and situations with which I am familiar, I am so aware that we serve a mighty God, a loving and just God, gracious and merciful, A God who we may boldly approach and call "Abba Father" (essentially "Daddy God".) We can know that He hears those who love Him and seek His face. We can always know beyond a doubt that He did not leave us alone when He returned to His Father, but that He sent His Holy spirit as a helper and comforter; He gave us His Word, the Scriptures, and they are LIFE and TRUTH. The "Stuff" in our lives may not look like we "think" it should but as we commit our ways to the Lord and in all those ways acknowledge Him, He does direct our paths and they are the paths which He has ordained for each of us......we will have peace, we will experience joy and recognize God's mercies as he blesses us with them, fresh and new every morning! Even in the sadness of knowing that their time with Chris is short, the Klicka family is living in that heavenly peace and joy. Day by day as we wait for our precious and very brain damaged and needy baby to be released through adoption from Liberia, as we pray through the ongoing suspension on adoptions which has our other two children prevented from coming HOME, as we pray over our son (yes, only one son now ) who is serving in Iraq, we can joyfully sing praises to our God and thoroughly know "It is Well" !