someone who comments frequently here, emailed me this question and wanted to get your thoughts…what do you think?

If you prayed for somebody (financial situation, grief, job stress, and other life issues), but you DON’T tell them that you’ve been praying for them. Would that make a difference in that person’s life especially if he/she is not a Christian?

I’ve submitted a prayer request for her through my bible study group…..now, I may sound like I’m doubting God’s power now…but if I didn’t tell her that some people have been praying for her, would that prayer be less ‘effective’? OR Would God think “No…I don’t have plans for her.”

Your thoughts?

i found out today that one of my friends back in kansas died.

his name is bart. i met him when i was overseeing communication and media at westside family church. he wanted to serve on the creative team. he had a great portfolio, and a great spirit.

bart and i fell out of touch when i moved to texas. however, over the summer, he emailed me and shared what had been going on in his life.

we emailed a couple of more times, and life just got busy.

that’s always my excuse, anyway.

a few minutes ago, crystal emailed me and let me know he had passed away. i couldn’t believe it. i had never responded to his last email.

life just got busy…

today, i was hit in the face with a harsh reality. one we all know, one we all hear, all the time.

life is short.

i now realize, with a terrible feeling in my gut, that i let life get busy.

too busy for so many things that matter. really matter.

i have wasted so much time.

i must stop.

please pray for bart’s family. leesa is his wife. they have a son, grant.

prayer.

i want to know how can i pray for YOU this week? how can WE (this community of bloggers) pray for you? just knowing we are all interceding on each others’ behalf is really, really cool. so…

what’s going on in your world that we can pray about for you?

if you’ve been around a while, forgive my redundancy. i’ve been on a sleep/anxiety combo medicine since january and a “stress” medicine (did you know they made those?) as well. you can read about some my attempts at medication through some stressful transitions here.

a lot of people - christians in particular - have questions on whether or not medication for depression and/or anxiety is biblical. shouldn’t you just snap out of it? my personal experience with taking my doctor’s advice, and working with a therapist as well as discussing all of this with my husband led me to decide that going on medication temporarily as i worked hard core through some issues in counseling would probably be best. and i think it was. if i felt healthy enough, i would be off the medication in a year.

so because of the kind of medicine i am on, i have to gradually wean off. over the next eight weeks (beginning last night) i will be cutting back by eighths on one medicine, and thirds on the other.

how do i feel about it? i am so looking forward to what’s on the other side. my emotions have never felt more stable, my sleep is back to normal, and i’m not stressing out a ton. it may not seem like the best month to start this withdrawal, with all of the stress of current events, but i really think i am in a good place. with the support of my friends, family, husband, therapist, YOU GUYS and undoubtedly resting - really resting - in God’s promises of truth, justice, confession, and provision; i am not too worried about it.

my final week of medication is november 26. i’ll occasionally post updates of how i’m doing if i think about it, but i am really looking forward to taking this next step!

on a side note, this weekend in alabama went great. it was all a little bit of a blur to me but after speaking with several people after the message or getting emails from them over the last few days, i know God did a great work through everyone - the volunteers, the band, the teams that set up, dave, and even myself. i love seeing god move!

that’s about all from flowerdust land. i hope you all are having a great week!

i am almost 28. long gone are the days where staying up until 3 am, waking up at 7 am, and working productively were no big thing. last night i stayed up until almost 1. i could barely drag myself out of bed by 7:30…

but today will be good. i love fridays because i get a day’s head start for next week. so when i come in on monday, i’m not suddenly overwhelmed with the week ahead. tonight is date night. and tomorrow, i head out to decatur, alabama. i have to tie up a few loose ends on my message but i am really excited about getting to teach this sunday. it will also be my first time speaking in a movie theatre church so i think that whole experience will be awesome.

i covet your prayers. the messy-ness of this week’s news hasn’t really affected my focus for the weekend much. if anything, you have inspired me to keep on going, keep on trusting. this is totally in god’s hands and being distracted isn’t going to do me - or anyone - a lick of good.

anyway, on the getting old thing, that makes me curious - how old are you?
don’t be shy…

always do the right thing.

it seems obvious. but sometimes it is HARD. really, really hard.

so hard you can’t eat and you just want to throw up.

so hard it may take you a while to get there.

so hard your mind could be filled with what-if and consumed by fear.

so hard your life as you know might never be the same.

the old adage is true - the longer the agony, the deeper the pain.

don’t wait. do the right thing. do it as soon as you can.

and surround yourself with loving, caring people who will hold you up when you start to double over, who will encourage you, pray with you, pray for you, pray that people will bring you cookies to cheer you up, people who don’t mind when you cry, people who are brave enough to tell you to kick the negative thoughts far away, people who will travel thousands of miles to make things right, people who don’t laugh when all you order is mashed potatoes because you can’t think straight…

people who care. simply care.

[to those people, today, i say - thank you].