First Wednesday fast

Though prayer can be active, especially in the act of joining together to pray, I felt called to fast as well as pray for Barrett.  David and I have committed to fasting on Wednesdays until dinner, setting aside this day of the week to lift this child up.

We recently finished a Daniel fast, which is a partial fast (limiting certain foods, not when we ate), so this was the first time I've fasted from food all day.  And to top it off, it was my birthday; but no matter - I was committed (it seemed easy enough...).  In short, my day was awful.  Thankfully David encouraged me through the day and reminded me to "praise through".  Translation: Know that God is always at work, even though the day is not one of your favorites.  

It was important for us to end this first day of fasting by serving Brett, Jessica and Braeden with dinner and spending time in fellowship.  On the way to their house, David brought up the topic of spiritual warfare and shared that he felt it was no coincidence that I had had an awful day; how easy it would have been to break fast throughout the day or decide to go out to eat instead of serving our friends.  And how easily God's call on our hearts would have fallen by the wayside.  I'm reminded of Mark Batterson's words from The Circle Maker, "Pray like it depends on God, work like it depends on you."  Let me tell you, it felt like work!  At the end of the day, we remained faithful to God and His call for us in this situation.  We had great conversation and shared what God was doing in our lives and this call He has placed on our hearts.  We ended in prayer for their family and for Barrett.

But the story does not end there; God's story has a way of going beyond our own thoughts, plans and expectations.  With Jessica's permission, I'd love to share the e-mail we received from her that night:

I want you to know that you may have very well been working one of Barrett's miracles tonight because I truly believe it was by the grace of God that Janelle happened to be over. What I did not share with Kristy earlier is that Janelle has decided over the last few years that she is a non believer and we have been praying for some time that Barrett's circumstances would not push her further in the wrong direction but be a ministry bring her back. I have even more intentionally been praying for her since Sunday and I truly believe God answered that prayer in you all tonight. I cannot even begin to thank you enough for the love and sacrifice you are willing to give for Barrett...I can say thank you for witnessing (even unknowingly) to Janelle tonight. 

Much Love and blessings! 

Jessica and Brett

God is mighty to save and we praise Him for working through Barrett's little life already!

Trusting in God

I am reading from two books right now and interestingly enough, both of them speak of trust.  Let me share several excerpts with you from each book:

-- From One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp:

What is saving belief if it isn't the radical dare to wholly trust?  Belief is a verb, something you must do...The truth is that saving belief is the very real, every day action of trusting.  (She references James 2:19, which states "Even the demons believe" - belief alone is not enough, we are called to action.)


Are stress and worry evidences of a soul too lazy, too undisciplined, to keep gaze fixed on God?...Isn't joy worth the effort of trust?


This is the trust I lack: to know that if disaster strikes, He carries me even there...Trusting God is my most urgent need.

-- From The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson:

Do you trust that God is for you even when He doesn't give you what you asked for?  Do you trust that He has reasons beyond your reason?  Do you trust that His plan is better than yours?

If you can trust God when the answer is no, you're likely to give Him praise when the answer is yes.

By definition, praying hard is praying when it's hard to pray.  And it's the hard times that teach us to pray hard.

I don't know what the outcome of our prayers will be; only God knows how He will act.  But no matter the outcome, I trust that God is always for us.  I trust that His plan is better than mine.  And I pray that His glory will be revealed throughout the entirety of this situation, drawing us closer to Him in the process.