Trey Tuesday January 25, 2011

From Psalm 86:  A prayer of King David:

Pause a moment before jumping into prayer to examine and reflect upon the spiritual posture that King David held in approaching the timeless God of the Universe!  A few translations are used here to open up the lines of communication:
"Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy."  NIV
"Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy."  KJV
"Please listen, LORD, and answer my prayer! I am poor and helpless."  CEV
"Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, and answer me; For I am poor and needy."  ASV 
"Bend an ear, God; answer me. I'm one miserable wretch!"  The Message
"Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me;  For I am afflicted and needy." NASB

So often we speak of bowing down in prayer, or bowing our heads in prayer.  Have you ever imagined
God bowing down?!?  He wants to be so intimate with you that from His great throne in heaven He
will bow down to get closer to you to hear what is on your heart!  :0)

And then we can look at all the adjectives describing King David's current state of affairs:
...poor
...needy
...helpless
...afflicted
...one miserable wretch!
We don't need much imagination to envision these feelings, especially in light of Trey's journey!

BUT>>>>>the other part of this first verse is critical!
Yes, we want God to listen to what is on our minds and hearts, but we are also asking God to answer us - and He will!  :0)

Verses 3 and 4
"Be gracious to me,  O Lord,
For to You I cry all day long. 
Make glad the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul."  NASB

"Have mercy on me, O Lord,
   for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant,
   for to you, O Lord,
   I lift up my soul."  NIV

"Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul."  KJV

Let's cry out together, lifting unto the Lord the needs and requests of Trey and Jay and Rachel and Joe and Bella:
For Trey's health - for complete healing from cancer, for increased white blood cell counts, for a speedy bone marrow harvest, for protection from illness.
For Trey's peace and protection - for him to lie down and sleep in peace, for God's peace that passes understanding.
For Jay and Rachel - for wisdom, for discernment, for strength, for patience, for peace, for sleep!  :0)
May the God of hope grant that Jay and Rachel may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13
For Joe and Bella - for great health and strength for them - for their childlike innocence to allow them to be consumed in their times at school and with friends so they remain at peace and secure. 
For Joe and Bella's teachers and school and church contacts - that they may be keenly aware and observant of what Joe and Bella are going through and that God may open their hearts to be tender, as they are the face of a very caring community of support and love!

May the love and support of the many friends and family around Trey and his family strengthen them, encourage them, and touch them deeply to always know how much they are loved!  And may this be a physical reminder of how much God remembers them and loves them!

Now, let's return to that opening position with God...He IS King!  He IS everywhere!  He DOES know everything!  He HAS all power!
To Him WE bow down!

"For You are great and do marvelous deeds; You alone are God."
Psalm 86:10

 

Fasting for Trey

Hello dear family and friends,


As Trey gets admitted for round 2 of his chemotherapy, I feel led to suggest a time of fasting on Trey's behalf.

Let's set aside a time of fasting beginning tonight, Wednesday evening, January 19 and ending with your evening meal tomorrow, Thursday, January 20.  A dear friend recommends:  Communion is a precious way to honor the LORD in breaking the fast and it doesn’t have to be with others - but it sure would make the fast that much more spectacular with prayers and praises lifted up on Trey’s (and all involved) behalf. (Where two or more are gathered …)

Here are a few suggestions concerning fasts - please go before the Lord and hear His voice, Him telling you how you can participate as a member of this body of Christ.

Jesus fasted from food, and you can do that, too.  However, there are many distractions in our daily lives that prevent us from focusing most clearly on God as we seek His grace and mercy on behalf of Trey.  Facebook, computer, phone, food, alcohol, smoking, etc. are all wonderful objects of focus to eliminate from our lives in order to concentrate more and devote more time to the topic of prayer.  Also, adding deeper prayer, Bible study, scripture memorization, worship, music, etc are excellent tools to add on a day of fasting....

If you have scripture or encouragement to share, please reply all.


May God richly bless you as you share in this journey!


“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
   and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
   and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
   and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
   and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
   and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
   and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
   you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I. "
Isaiah 58:6-9

Trey Tuesday January 18, 2011

A peek into the prayer life of Jesus from John 16 and 17:

 ³¹ “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied to the disciples.

What a great place to begin praying for Trey this Tuesday!

Examine your relationship with God and ask yourself that hard question:  Do you now believe?

Despite your circumstances - whatever they may be - come before our Heavenly Father (who knows it all anyway)

and surrender your agenda, your fears, your worries, your insecurities, your failures, even your successes.  Curl up in the lap of our Gentle Shepherd and praise Him for His love!

Jesus continues:

“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with Me." 

This is such an appropriate verse for us as we gather in the name of Jesus on behalf of Trey and his family!

Yes, we are all scattered geographically.  Even Jesus felt this separation from his closest friends and family.
But yes again, that we are all united in Christ! 

We are never alone.  God has promised to never leave us or forsake us!
God has promised to never leave or forsake Trey and Jay and Rachel and Joe and Bella!

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

What a relief to read this promise from God!  He has overcome the world!
He has overcome cancer!

This is exactly Who we want as our Team Mitlo ONE Leader!  And Coach!  And Owner!

¹ After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the time has come..."

Powerful words here.  Imagine Jesus facing His long road ahead.

We can all too clearly imagine Trey and his family facing their long road ahead.

Please pray for them to do exactly as Jesus has done:

"Look toward heaven and pray."

Please pray for Jay and Rachel to keep focused, keep trusting, keep believing God's promises.

"Father, glorify Your Son, Jesus, that Your Son may glorify You. ² For You granted him authority over all

people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent."

Jesus asks that God be glorified.  We pray the same!

May God be glorified in this journey of Trey's.

Jay and Rachel offer prayers of thanks and praise that Trey's past 2 weeks at home have been healthy!
Thank God that Trey has been spared infection and sickness while away from the hospital!
Jay and Rachel (and all the Mitlos) give thanks to God for the many, many expressions of love and help

and support and encouragement and prayer and meals and mail!

^"4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do."

Jesus brought glory to God on earth by completing the work God gave Him to do.

It is now time for the doctors to continue the work God has given them to do.

Please pray for Trey's next round of chemo - that his red blood cell count may be sufficient enough for him to receive

his treatment.  For Trey to be healthy and strong enough to tolerate the medicine.  And for the medicine to be dramatically effective in destroying the cancer cells!

God always was, always is, and always will be!

Let's choose to be on His Team!

Let's trust Him to equip Trey and his family to fight the fight and to win the race!

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent me. ²⁶ I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Trey Tuesday January 11, 2011

From Exodus 15:  The Song of Moses and Miriam

Just imagine the faces of the Israelites after they had safely crossed through the Red Sea, leaving behind a seemingly impossible situation.  Realizing....God can do ANYTHING!  And it is with great faith in that same God and Father that we approach His throneroom of Grace on behalf of our Trey.  Join us in thanks and praise for all that God has already done in Trey's journey, and for all that He is yet to do!  :0)

 ¹ "Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

   “I will sing to the LORD,
   for He is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
   He has hurled into the sea.

 

(Insert pertinent terms here:  Both low blood cell counts and fear of fever

God has hurled into the sea!)  Way to go, God!  :0)

² “The LORD is my strength and my defense;
   He has become my salvation."

Talk about Team Mitlo ONE!
This is ONE FAITH!!!

He is my God, and I will praise Him,
   my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Talk about Team Mitlo ONE!
This is ONE FAMILY!!!

³ The LORD is a warrior;
   the LORD is His name.
⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
   He has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
   are drowned in the Red Sea.
⁵ The deep waters have covered them;
   they sank to the depths like a stone.
⁶ Your right hand, LORD,
   was majestic in power.
Your right hand, LORD,
   shattered the enemy.

 ⁷ “In the greatness of Your majesty
   you threw down those who opposed You.
You unleashed Your burning anger;
   it consumed them like stubble.
⁸ By the blast of Your nostrils
   the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
   the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

Talk about Team Mitlo ONE!
This is ONE FIGHT!!!

Please surround Trey with your prayers in his fight.

Please pray for his physical health of course....for the chemo to be doing its job.

...for Trey's blood count numbers to stay in the safe range - or better!  :0)

...for Trey to remain "healthy" despite the war going on inside his body.

...for Joe and Bella and Jay and Rachel to also stay healthy in this extremely stressful time.

Please also pray for Trey's spiritual health as he seems to be suffering from night terrors.

May God's hedge of protection surround our little boy inside and out and deep, deep within.

Thank you, prayer warriors, for standing in the gap on his behalf!
It is a true life support system!

¹¹ Who among the gods
   is like you, LORD?
Who is like you—
   majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
   working wonders?

 ¹² “You stretch out Your right hand,
   and the earth swallows Your enemies.
¹³ In Your unfailing love You will lead
   the people You have redeemed.
In your strength You will guide them
   to Your holy dwelling.

By the power of Your arm
   they will be as still as a stone—
until Your people pass by, LORD,
   until the people You bought pass by.  ¹⁸ “The LORD reigns
   for ever and ever.”

This is the posture that will see us through!

This is the attitude that will convey a confident message to a watching world!
This is the mood we need to own in order to support Jay and Rachel and Joe and Bella and Trey!
And this is the Mighty God, Warrior, King, Shield, Defender, Physician, Healer, Father and Friend who makes ALL things possible!

Please read this next passage to the end.

God is so faithful!  :0)

 ¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang to them:

   “Sing to the LORD,
   for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
   he has hurled into the sea.”

²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) ²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

 ²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

   There the LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. ²⁶ He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

Trey Tuesday January 4, 2011

Today we take a peek into the prayer life of Hannah, mother of Samuel, a great judge and servant of the Lord.
From I Samuel 1 and 2:

"In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly."
"And she made a vow, saying, "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me..."
"I am a woman who is deeply troubled."
"I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
I KNOW we can all relate to Hannah's agony and grief as she opens her heart before the Lord.
It is OK to admit your honest feelings before God: He knows we are going through these emotions anyway!

And sometimes God sends a friend, a mentor, alongside you to support you, to guide you, to redirect you:
"Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him."
"She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes."
and her face was no longer downcastWith an exposed heart and a friend's gentle leading, Hannah regains a proper perspective, knowing God is far above her circumstances and her feelings.
Oh, the release of a burden when we place it in the loving hands of our very trustworthy God!
Worship Him with an open heart, free from fear and worry!
"Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD..."
God answered Hannah's faithful prayers by giving her a son:
"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him."
Hannah's next prayer is an amazing song of praise to the God whom we know is Sovereign over all!
"Then Hannah prayed and said:
"My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn is lifted high."
In light of Trey's diagnosis, do we have something to rejoice about?
Do we have a reason to worship?
ABSOLUTELY!
We have a choice to make: Go with God, His decisions, His choices, His will....
or go on our own knowledge and strength. (no thank you!)

"There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides You;
there is no Rock like our God."
But how will God do it, you say? How can God take the daunting details of Trey's cancer and exchange it for something good?
How can God switch the devastation for hope?
"The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
The LORD brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor."
Hannah's prayer mentions a FEW ways that God is seen as a God of reversals!
God's intervention always results in unexpected outcomes! :0)
"Exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or imagine..."
Ephesians 3:20,21
He is the Author of taking the seemingly impossible and making them possible!
Remember that little baby born in a stable in Bethlehem? He is Emmanuel, God with us!

And so we lay these prayer requests before our Heavenly Father, our Great Physician...
We first offer a prayer a thanks for Trey's successful and uneventful homecoming yesterday!
Please pray for his overall health while he is under Jay and Rachel's watchful care! That he (and the entire family) may be free from sickness, infection and all the other germs lurking...
Please also pray for the visiting nurses who will be coming to check Trey's blood levels each week. Of course, that they be skilled and kind, but that the nurses may be touched by the gospel being lived out in their home!
Jay and Rachel also ask for prayer for their daily responsibilities in Trey's care, giving daily injections and cleaning his permanent IV port.
May God grant them His supernatural courage and peace!

So, like Hannah, we place our trust (and our Trey!) in the hands of our All Knowing, All Loving God:
"For the LORD is a God who knows"
"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
on them He has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants."