Praises and Prayers!

Current praises:

>Thank you Jesus for providing us with community! 

Taylor and I have been fervently praying, actively seeking out relationships, and asking God for a new community of believers to grow with together as we enter marriage and as I, Amanda, am new to the OC area.  We have been praying and asking some of you to pray for the Lord to provide passionate believers to come alongside each other, encourage each other, meet together, pursue God together, and serve passionately together. And, after some tears and the Lord teaching Amanda patience for Christian women, friends and community to surround her and Taylor, the Lord has blessed us with a group of married couples (some already in our lives and some connected to us in some way) who have been praying and asking the Lord for the same thing in their life.  We have now been connected with 5 couples who are passionate about the Lord and His Word. We meet in each other’s homes every Thursday, share a meal together, pray for one another, help each other when we are in need, serve on Sundays together and look for ways to share God’s Love with others.   It’s just a rich time of fellowship, and an even greater answer to our prayers than we expected!  

God promises, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11). And, to his disciples, Jesus promised, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Luke 12:22-26, 31)

The Lord is good and faithful.


Current prayer needs:

>Safety for Taylor

Pray for Tay as he has been given many traveling opportunities this month for work (some overseas).   Pray for energy, health, and safe traveling!  He is currently in Germany, until Friday.  Lord Jesus, bring him back safely to me :)

>For the Lord to show us where He wants us to give our time and our finances. 

We’re finally starting to get settled here in many different ways, but are still seeking the Lord’s plan for our time in serving and pouring ourselves out to others as we begin our marriage.  Through our small group study and conversations, we have been really energized, spurred on and convicted by the Holy Spirit to live like the first church in Acts—consistently and frequently joining in fellowship with other believers, consistently in the Word, sharing the Gospel boldly, serving and loving zealously, generously giving of our finances and resources, etc.  We are realizing that this zealousness can be hard to maintain in a world that directs you be self-sufficient and independently minded, and in a world that persuades us as a new couple to feel as though we should be saving and protecting our finances for the future we are beginning. We want to be good stewards of our money, and we also want to rid ourselves of that fear of our own financial protection and live for the calling we have received through our Christ Jesus.  We want to continue to live knowing that nothing on this earth is eternal or our own.  We want to continue to be spurred on towards the reality that our time and our resources belong to God and this is only our temporary home. So, were asking for prayer to continue that alive in our spirit and for us to continue to be lead by the Holy Spirit to where he wants to spend our time, money, resources, and energy.  Our prayer is that we will “not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2) and that we will continue to be convicted by this Truth spoken by Jesus, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  God, lead us and use us for your glory!

>For blessings, more hands and resources for Mary’s Kitchen and its staff

Going along with our above prayer request, one cool thing we’ve been doing as a small group is serving at Mary’s Kitchen (a volunteer organization that provides food and services to the homeless of Orange County, CA) a few weekends per month with our small group—cleaning, sorting through food/clothing donations, food-prep, etc.  That has been a rewarding time for us, as the kitchen volunteer staff has needed a lot of help on the weekends as their organization grows and their body of people they serve grow as well.  There are men and women who have served there for over 20-years. Pray for the lives that are being impacted by this God-driven organization and that the Good News can be spread to them through the love and servant’s heart of those that have given so much of their lives working and serving there.

>For the Lord to continue to lead and teach Amanda in her job.  

The Lord is teaching Amanda a lot right now, as she is teaching in a new and unfamiliar school setting as well as teaching a new type of student than she has ever worked with before.  Having taught in very diverse settings thus far—inner-city Columbus, OH teaching underprivileged and academically struggling students, rural and suburban settings in Charleston, SC and now teaching in a private school in Orange County—she is thankful for the richness of her experiences as a teacher, but still learning as this new setting is different than anything she has worked with.  The Lord is not only guiding her and teaching her new things as a teacher, but He is also stretching her in different ways and teaching her a lot about herself as a person through this new experience.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing her with a job with so much support and passion found in its staff.  Continue to mold her as a teacher!