4 o'clock!

I really don't know what started this, but I know it started sometime last fall after I returned from Haiti.  I didn't know then that I would be where I am now...looking forward to much more time in Haiti, but I felt the need to be praying for this country I had such a passion for!  I didn't want to forget my friends, the ministry, the local church, or even the government.  I must have told someone that I would be praying for Haiti, so I set my alarm on my phone for that purpose.  Every day at 4 o'clock I heard the BIDIRIDIRIDIRIDIRIDIRID! BIDIRIDIRIDIRIDIRIDIRID!  It's funny because even when my phone was on silent the speakers would blare this sound into the office, the movie theater, the bank, or wherever else I would happen to be at 4.  I would remember to pray for Haiti...

When I returned from Haiti in June, I turned my old phone on--it had been on standby while I was away.  It shocked me when it was 4 o'clock, because I had forgotten that alarm was still set.  Haiti is often on my mind now as I have been reflecting on the several months I was there and now that I am preparing to return, but I haven't turned that alarm off for some reason.  I guess it is because I still need to be reminded to pray.  To pray for the people of Haiti, the ministry that is happening there, the government, even the weather--we are really praying that hurricane season would again be non-existent in Haiti this year.  I need to be reminded.  So easily we forget the things we need to remember most.

And so, God,

I come before you again, crying out for the people of Haiti.  Lord, like Habakkuk prayed, I ask that in the midst of these years revive Your works, in the midst of these years make Your works known!  God, send a revival that would make Haiti a light that people turn to and they would see You working there!  Lord, be with Your children and give them a hunger to know You more!  You are good and You are God!  May Your name be praised and lifted up in Haiti and around the world!  Amen!

Dear God...

I had to chuckle when I wrote that title, not because prayer is funny, but because of my experience of praying in Creole the week before I had to leave Haiti.  I'll write what I said in English so you call can understand why I had to laugh at myself:  "Thank you, Lord for today and for grace and for all the people together here today. Amen."  


Prayer is so vitally important and I am so glad that God can hear the prayers of our hearts when our words don't quite suffice!  In Creole, my words are limited.  Very limited.  Today, I feel like I am praying in an even more limited language.  My words are not coming out and cannot express what my heart is saying.  Romans 8:26-28 says, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."


And so, Dear God,
You know what you have planned for me.  You know my heart and my thoughts better than I do.  God, I need Your peace today and Your love and comfort to surround me.  I am so grateful that You allow us to approach you in the midst of good times, in the fire, and in the battles we face.  I am thankful that You are God and I am not.  Lord, I surrender to You.

A Jello Mold, A Calendar, and A Vibrant Orange

I will be honest.  This last month has been really trying on my spirit and my heart.  Being back in the states has proven to be more difficult than I could have imagined, although I have loved seeing my family and friends.  God is definitely faithful in providing the support I need even in difficult times.  One of those supporting people has been my dear friend Teri.  She was the one who introduced me to Canaan--where I served for 4 months this year.  She became a fast friend and encouragement to me...especially recently.  

She is a prayer warrior like none other.  Even though she is also in the states for a while and longing to go back to serve in Haiti where God has given her an amazing vision, she has been praying for me.  She has great ways of putting things and these things are always so timely that I cannot doubt that what she is saying to me is coming from the Holy Spirit.  I am so grateful that God is speaking to her about me and that she is sharing with me what He is revealing.  This is so desperately needed because I feel like I am having trouble seeking the Lord.  He finds ways to get through to us!

Teri has emailed me the things that God has revealed to her.  I love how creative God is.  The things she has shared with me are a jello mold, a calendar, and a vibrant orange.  The jello mold was in regard to trying to fit into a certain thing, when God had the PERFECT thing (the perfect shaped jello mold) already prepared for me.  So, I don't need to try to squeeze into something I am not made for.  I just have to wait for what God has.  The calendar represented time and how I have been so focused on when I am returning to Haiti that I wasn't appreciating what God had for me here and now:  my family, my friends, renewal, rejuvenation, etc.  And the Vibrant Orange was me being picked to be a light for the Lord like in Matthew 5:16.  Everything I do or say should give glory to the King of Kings.  I do have to be filled up to be that Vibrant Orange and let God shine through me because on my own I am a dead orange.  The best part is this isn't about me--it's about pointing to Jesus.  

I know these things may seem odd, but I am so grateful for Teri and how God is using her in my life to continue to encourage me even when the going gets really tough.  Please be praying for me.  I know God has something for me here  and that He will use me.  Pray that I be so filled up with joy and love that it bubbles over even here.