After my wife returned from her trip to San Diego a few weeks ago and unpacked, we had some time to chat for a while at home. She told me all about her vaction with her sister, and I let her know all the guy stuff that Jackson and I had fun doing while she was away. Once Jackson was tucked in, I explained to my wife that I wanted us to spend more time together in prayer and devotions. We decided to make 10pm a regular prayer time.
We took turns each night of the week praying for our family, her job, the church and friends. Also, we looked at scripture together and discussed what God was saying to us. It was refreshing and relaxing. Our devotions were challenging and encouraging. And it was exactly what we needed. This was a habit that we had been instilling in our son but had been largely missing as a couple. We knew that getting back to this regular time together was overdue.
What we didn't know was that Candace was going to lose her job at the end of the week and the following week would be in a head on collision while driving home. As I look back, our moments in prayer and scripture were preparation for the coming storm. God was strengthening us and readying our hearts. All too often we run to drop to our knees in order to pray and seek God when life gets out of hand. There is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes we need to run to God and have a wake up call. However, I'm thankful that when our life was tipped upside down, we were already on our knees and prepared to trust in Him.
Official blog of New Creation Church of Omaha
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
What We've Learned - Part 1
On Saturday, April 10, my son and I were getting ready for a guys night out at the Qwest Center. With my wife in San Diego, I had tickets to the Gravity Slashers motorcross event. Just before we jumped in the car though I received a disturbing phone call. My Mother-in-law notified me that the local paper was reporting that my wife's company had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a life changing two weeks for us.
My heart sunk with the news. It was unexpected, and I had no way of calming my fears for my wife and our livelihood. I didn't want to call my wife on the last day of her vacation and report that her job was in jeopardy. Instead, I put on a smile and tried my best to enjoy the motorcyles flying through the air.
Upon my wife's return, I let her know the story that was in the paper and the obvious concerns. She called her supervisor and discovered that there was a plan in place to reorganize the company and that her job was safe. Over the next few hours, my wife spent time talking to her family and calming their fears. A few family members had spent the last night losing sleep (like me) and praying.
After talking with them, my wife thought they were worried for nothing. But as we now know, they were praying for a purpose. My wife's job wasn't as safe as she was being told. Our life was about to change and God had people praying ahead of time.
Jeremiah 29:11-12 reminds us, "I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen." God certainly has a plan, but that plan unfolds when we and others seek him in prayer.
One thing we've learned from this experience is that even though we didn't know what was ahead, God did and had people praying for His plan. Thanks to those who prayed in advance!
My heart sunk with the news. It was unexpected, and I had no way of calming my fears for my wife and our livelihood. I didn't want to call my wife on the last day of her vacation and report that her job was in jeopardy. Instead, I put on a smile and tried my best to enjoy the motorcyles flying through the air.
Upon my wife's return, I let her know the story that was in the paper and the obvious concerns. She called her supervisor and discovered that there was a plan in place to reorganize the company and that her job was safe. Over the next few hours, my wife spent time talking to her family and calming their fears. A few family members had spent the last night losing sleep (like me) and praying.
After talking with them, my wife thought they were worried for nothing. But as we now know, they were praying for a purpose. My wife's job wasn't as safe as she was being told. Our life was about to change and God had people praying ahead of time.
Jeremiah 29:11-12 reminds us, "I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen." God certainly has a plan, but that plan unfolds when we and others seek him in prayer.
One thing we've learned from this experience is that even though we didn't know what was ahead, God did and had people praying for His plan. Thanks to those who prayed in advance!
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