Category: Prayer

Remembering 9-11

When tragedy struck on 9-11, I was a homeschool mom of 3. Since then I have met survivors, victims families, and taught about 9-11 as history. That day I turned on the computer and recorded in real time my feelings and thoughts. My kids were ages 7, 5 and 10 mos. Below is that journal entry simply cut and pasted here. We read it each year to REMEMBER. (photos are not mine, I tried to find credits where I could~see below)

 My dear sweet ones,                                                                           Sept. 11, 2001

 Today was the worst day in the history of America since I have been born.  We watched with grave disbelief as terrorists forever changed my country.  They brazenly hijacked 4 planes filled with fuel and set out to destroy.  Their first target was the World Trade Center Towers in which nearly 50,000 innocent people worked daily.  They struck at around 9 am, just as their workdays were starting.  Then they struck our center of nations defenses, the Pentagon, and one attempt was thwarted to attack the command center and retreat of the president, Camp David.  That plane was downed about 60 or so miles from here in a clearing in the mountains.  Close to 300 people were killed on the hijacked planes and a total body count can’t even be speculated. 

The thought these terrorists were so close to us, even though it was our airspace is quite sobering.  I have a feeling that this is not the end, but a beginning of testing for America, which used to be known as a super power.  Now, our vulnerability has been shown to the world. 

Praise God that so far, all those we know and love are safe and sound.  

The prevailing feeling of dread and sadness is quite oppressive this evening as we await a State of the Union address from President Bush. The state of the union is pretty bleak at this point. 

You kids watched the disaster today on CNN but I am not sure how much of the magnitude of this disaster you are processing.   It is history in the making and the worst day in the history of our United States.  I pray that it will be only a memory for you and that in your lives you will not experience human casualties such as we are facing. 

We are a nation in mourning.  Well over 200 Firefighters are dead and 78 Police are missing and presumed killed.  The confidence in our nation has been shaken.  TV reports are calling this a second Pearl Harbor.

 President Bush just spoke and quoted Psalm 23.  He is a Godly man and I pray his wisdom will prevail and he will be sensitive to the leading of God as the details of this tragedy are sorted out. 

I put you both to bed tonight and read to you Psalm 94.  It speaks of God’s revenge upon the wicked and of how HE will be our refuge in times of trials and fear.  He is the rock upon which we stand and our mighty fortress.   At times like these I am so thankful for the legacy my family has instilled in me – The legacy of a powerful and just God who is our defender and friend, comforter and convictor, our rock, our fortress our haven and our healer.  I pray that you will also carry that legacy forward and hold fast to it at times when faith is so easily and brutally shaken. 

This day, September 11 will be one I will never forget.  It is a day I never thought would come.  I picked up our precious baby Rachel and I feared what was in store for her sweet life down the road.  As I tucked each of you and touched your soft skin and hair I ached for your safety and assurance horrific things such as happened today would never touch your lives. 

I shut out the light and walked away with a renewed determination to work at instilling the scriptures and the values that are found in the bible.  God forbid that one day you live in a world that prohibits bible ownership, you will have the truths in your heart and the hymns of praise will be on your lips.

 I love you my little lambs, my gifts from God.  I go to bed tonight with a heavy heart for all those kids who will be waiting up for parents that will never come home.  For all the promises made by parents who will never return to fulfill them.  I go to bed feeling thankful though somewhat guilty for our safety and our life.  May God continue to protect us all and keep us together as a family until His return.

 Love,

Mom 

9-10-2011: I hope we remember how we felt the next day also. The soar of patriotism. Pride in our country, unabashed praying in public, compassion for neighbors and strangers who were grieving.  We can’t go back to 9-10-01 and undo the tragedy.  But we can go back to 9-12-01 and revisit and renew our hope in a country of people who were united and prayerful through loss.

Point to Ponder: Were you more patriotic in 2001 than you are in 2011? Do you trust God more or less now than in 2001?

PHOTO: Ariel  (Det. Greg Semendinger/NYC Police Aviation Unit)

Prayer at crosss http://saintmychaljudge.blogspot.com/  911 Praying photo

Skyline New York Mag . com

Do you have a “fooljita” scale?

Our Creator has given us many things that we classify like plants and animals which are divided by genus and species. 

Our weather is classified by severity.  Warnings and watches are issued based on the ferocity of the storm.  The Fujita Scale is the official classification system for tornado damage ranking storms by classifying the devastation created. The more powerful the tornado, the higher the assigned number.

Hurricanes are measured in strength by the  Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale which determines how ferocious a storm can be by how intense the winds are within.

Quantifying and classifying weather is productive and the systems in place are often helpful when giving advanced notice of incoming natural disasters.

How many of us have our own scale for measuring the intensity of sin? Perhaps it’s the Fooljita?

 Yes, we have the list of the 10 Commandments.  But they are not listed in their 1-10 order by their intensity or the punishment they merit.  If so, saying OMG is worse than Murder.  Murder is less offensive than say, stealing or coveting.

There is no gauge for sin listed in the Bible, except for the 6 the Lord detests and the one he finds an abomination see below:

Proverbs 6:16-19 

 16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:

    17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,  hands that shed innocent blood,

    18  a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,

    19 a false witness who pours out lies.  And a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.  (um..Gossip-just sayin’)

This does not mean that the ones listed in the Ten Commandments not mentioned here don’t matter, because Creator God himself wrote them on the tablets. 

We often withhold forgiveness based on the “level” of offense committed against us.  Jesus died for all sinners and their sins, not just certain sins. Often Christians ascribe their own fujita scale to offenses.  We think that taking the Post It notes from the office isn’t as serious as Bernie Madoff’s $50 Billion Ponzi scheme.  Both offenses are stealing.  Both are sin.  God is not determining which is worse, why should we?                                                 

In the parable of the talents, the master forgave the servant an unpayable debt.   That servant turned around and demanded repayment of a debt owed him.  When the master found out he sent the unforgiving servant to prison.

Matthew 6:14-15 is talking to believers it says:    

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Is there an unforgivable sin?  The Bible doesn’t mention one that I can find.  John Bevere in “The Bait of Satan “ study series talked about how  the love in our hearts when we become saved is what equips us to be able to forgive. We have a choice we are equipped through the love that is deposited in us at the moment of our salvation. “A person who refuses to forgive is a person who has forgotten what he’s been forgiven of.” – JB.

The key to being forgiven by our Creator, is to forgive those that have committed offenses against us.  Forgiveness means we release that individual to God to discipline.  The “Bait of Satan” study makes it clear that a person who refuses to forgive will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven because they are living with unforgiveness which is a sin according the scripture.

Forgiving isn’t all about forgetting it is about releasing.  Often people will say, “I can’t forgive them, because I can’t ever forget what they’ve done to me.”  Forgiveness is not conditional of forgetting.  Forgiveness is a choice, the forgetting is a detail God can work out, but only after a choice to forgive and release the offender. 

Are you wrestling with unforgiveness and an unproductive prayer life? Hint: They are connected.

Point to Ponder:  Is there someone in your life you need to release and forgive?  Is there someone you need to seek forgiveness of?  

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A is for Advocate

One can hardly read a news story without seeing the word advocate. In our area the natural gas companies are pushing to drill through the copious deposits of Marcellus Shale. The process of “fracking” is thought to contaminate ground water thus threatening our environment.

There are advocates for a myriad of causes. Nature advocates lobby for practices to protect the ecosystem. Rachel Carson of “Silent Spring” fame one of the most famous in our area.

My mother and her husband are advocates for the Monarch Butterfly.  They retreive the eggs before the Milkweed is sprayed with chemicals and hatch them and set them free.  Any given season they protect and launch between 300 and 600 Monarchs a year.

Photo courtesy of Linda Jackman Photography

Last month in the Emergency Room the nurses were not listening or just not hearing that my husband was losing consciousness. His warning that the room was spinning, he could no longer hear and things were getting dark were not heeded. I had to step in and in one motion elbow nurse out of way, lower the bed with my foot and catch him on the way down before he pitched headlong onto the floor. I was his patient advocate. When his pain reached critical levels I was the one that tore the nurses from their dialog to increase his meds interceding on his behalf.

Several years ago I was in a courthouse lobby with a bible praying for a mom who faced lawyers and judges as they decided the fate of her children during a brutal custody battle. I became a court appointed advocate to accompany the children on their paternal visits.

Everyone needs an advocate. The word ADVOCATE has been on my heart so I began to research it.

Initially I looked to the Bible for my definition and learned that in Greek , the word translated as ‘advocate’ in some versions such as KJV – parakletos – is also translated as ‘comforter’ in verses : John 14 : 16, John 15 : 26, and John 16 : 7.

This word advocate often refers to the Holy Spirit.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

John 14:26 (NIV)

Looking at the dictionary the definition says Advocate: a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor

Equally impressive are the synonyms listed:  Synonyms: champion, proponent, backer, counselor, counsel

The purpose of all this “advocate” pondering became real this morning.

I found myself this morning with a word on my heart. “May you have peace joy and hope! God has a plan.” And while I thanked God for the peace this gave me I was still stirred in my spirit that maybe it wasn’t just for me. I shared it with some of my friends by going through my twitter follower list and when I felt the nudge, I shared the words with them. I was not prepared for the response and the opportunity it afforded me to pray or intercede for those who received the word for them.

We all need an advocate and we are often called to be one. I posted the query, “what is an advocate” and  the responses all spoke of ‘standing in the gap’ for someone.

http://www.lindajackmanphotography.com/

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” – Proverbs 31:8

And sometimes that means praying for someone when they can no longer find words.

Those who know me well, know that if they ask me for prayer, that I “stop, drop and pray” Followers on twitter or Facebook see actual prayers in response to a plea for prayer, not just a “sure I’ll keep you in my prayers”. How often do we say “prayin’ for ya” but get caught up in our stuff and forget? How many of us have forwarded an email or retweeted a prayer request and that’s as close as we got to actually praying?

Taking on the role of an advocate can yield a bounty of blessings for both parties. When our Advocate calls us to be one for someone else, we need to act. If you have put it off, today is a new day.  Step into your role of Advocte, a title with responsibility – you are in good company.

Point to Ponder: Who can you be an advocate for today? How is our “Advocate” encouraging you to move?

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