Trey Tuesday - November 29, 2011

Do you have a song in your heart?  Trey certainly does!
 
"Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song,

His praise in the assembly of the saints."

Psalm 149:1

Please join us in praying for Trey today (and everyday!)  :)

- for continued strength and joy abounding in Trey!
- for a swift and uneventful week of chemo for Trey!
- for miraculous healing for Trey evident in his upcoming scans!
- for strength and wisdom for Jay and Rachel!
- for peace and comfort for Joe and Bella!
- for a song in YOUR heart!

Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
--II Chronicles 20:21-23

From Joni and Friends...

People facing fear have often resorted to song. But for God's people, it's not any old song. When King Jehoshaphat was confronted by a great force of allied armies, he had his people fast, pray, and then he assembled the troops... placing the choir out in front of the army! As they marched, the singers lifted up praise to the beauty of God's holiness. And as they sang and praised the Lord, the opposition was thrown into confusion.

Songs and hymns of praise clear the air like nothing else.
- If you're in any kind of spiritual conflict, the best defense is to sing. It's a way of resisting the devil.
- Singing is also the best offense. Songs of praise will confuse the enemy and send the devil's hoards hightailing.

Victory over the enemy can be yours for a song! Sing a hymn or a worship chorus as you march into your day or wrap up your evening. And if you can't sing, read one of David's praise psalms out loud. To begin and end the day with God's praise will do much to chase away dark thoughts, and open the door to peace.

Lord, you are worthy of endless praise. Help me to make room in my thoughts for the songs that declare your greatness and love before both men and angels.

And so, on behalf of Trey:

"Praise the Lord.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!"

Psalm 147:1

Trey Tuesday - November 22, 2011

Give Thanks

You know, these days Thanksgiving gets swept under the rug with all the commercialism.  The turkey and cranberries are getting squeezed off the shelves so the red and green M&Ms have a space!  Black Friday, Cyber Monday and wish lists abound as the all important question begins to surface:  What do you want for Christmas?

But let's wait a minute....resist the urge to go shopping, recapture the spirit of Thanksgiving, and give thanks.  Genuinely give.  Don't just recite a list of all the comfortable things in your life this past year.  Recognize the Author and Perfecter of our faith and reach deep down inside and give thanks.  (Hebrews 12:2)

Even for our Young Warrior Trey and all that he has been through this year?  Give thanks?  As Trey endures more chemo, more scans?  Give thanks?  As Jay and Rachel hope and wonder and wait?  Give thanks?  As Joe and Bella and Trey love and laugh and giggle?  Give thanks?

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
I Thessalonians 5:18

Trey Tuesday - November 15, 2011

Shadows
From Psalm 17

"Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
   listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer— "
As we gather this Trey Tuesday, please know that God is waiting to hear from you!
He is never too busy to listen!
And never unable to answer our prayers for our good and His Glory!

"I call on you, O God, for You will answer me;
   give ear to me and hear my prayer."
Are you calling on God?
Do you believe and live like He will answer you?
As we stand in the gap for Trey, let's approach God with full confidence!

Trey continues to celebrate life one day at a time!
He brings joy!  He causes many smiles and giggles!
Trey inspires everyone his story touches!

Yet we know there are sad and scary times for Trey and his family.
What is going on then?  Where is God?  Where is their protection?

"Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
   hide me in the shadow of Your wings"
Shadows....have you ever tried to play shadow tag in the dark?  Not very much fun....actually impossible!
Get close to the light and now you have a game!  Now you have a shadow!
Handling this life alone, in the dark, there is no comfort or protection in the shadow of God's wings.
Get close to The Light of Jesus and you can rest securely in His Shadow!  :)

Trey lives in that shadow!  What an example of trust and belief and love!  Trey knows nothing else but to believe his parents who believe God!
As Trey and Jay and Rachel await more scans and tests and chemo, please stand in the Shadow with them!

Give thanks to God for the miraculous journey Trey has experienced and know without a shadow of a doubt that God
is holding Trey as the apple of His eye!

Trey Tuesday - November 8, 2011

I am sorry I was not able to send a Trey Tuesday last week.  (Thank you, Marcie, for standing in the gap for me!)  :)  Our October winter storm left us without power for a week!  (Thank GOD for His provision of a generator!)  As we relied on the sparse use of power in our home I could not help but see the hand of God working through the darkness.  What a tremendous lesson in raising our awareness on relying on power! 

"God's power is made perfect in weakness.' 
God's power NEVER goes out!  PRAISE THE LORD!   No wind, no storm, no cancer can stand against it!
And His power is made perfect/complete/shines brightly in...weakness!  When we throw up our hands, our relationships, our agendas, our phones and surrender, God can finally move in!

"Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
As you gather 'round the Thanksgiving table this year will you remember to boast and thank God for your weaknesses?
This verse does not give you license to sit at the polls today and ask every passerby to sit a while and listen to your laundry list of weaknesses.
No politician can cure what ails you!
No, let's keep it between our loved ones and God.  Why?  So that Christ's power may rest on us!
THAT'S a change worth voting for!

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Hmmm...Jay and Rachel and Trey and Bella and Joe....have they experienced any of these lately?
weakness?
hardship?
persecution?
difficulties?
Wow!  (And to imagine Paul in this letter to the Corinthians tells us he delighted in those experiences!)

As the Mitlos have shown us, and as Team Mitlo One has supported them, when Trey and his family have shared their weakness, the Power of Christ through the Body of Christ has strengthened more than just a Young Warrior!  You can almost imagine Trey roaming around the hospital this week during his chemo, encountering everyone from the nurses to innocent strangers on the elevator.  I KNOW in Trey's very walk and talk and squeals of laughter, he is boasting about his weakness and Christ's power is resting upon Trey and everyone around him!

Please continue to pray for Trey to boast, to delight and to be healed of cancer!
When you count your blessings this Thanksgiving, consider Trey.  What would Trey be thankful for?  :)

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But He said to me,
'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9