What a Weekend Can Hold!

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As we are all too painfully aware, this weekend held within it the tragedy that struck movie goers in Aurora, CO.

Innocents, who had purchased their ticket and popcorn, waited patiently for the film to roll.

And then violence erupted!  Not on the screen, but in front of them.

Our hearts mourn for those who suffered loss, both the families of the victims and the family of the young man who obviously had lost his way.

Our prayers go out to these families and to those who survived as they heal and attempt to recover from these horrors.

* * *

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Today, thousands of miles away from Aurora and as far from the horror of what these people have experienced, I attended a bridal shower for the daughter of dear friends.  So much laughter, so much so there were even some tears!  Beautifully wrapped packages, decadent foods, incredible gifts of love.

* * *

The distance between our experiences leaves us standing amazed at the disparity of emotions being felt all at the same time in our world.

And yet, God covers us all in the midst of our joys and our sorrows.  

Just as He blesses those families hurting and works to bring healing in a variety of ways, God also blesses this young couple embarking on a new life together.

Hard to believe, isn't it?

Not if you know, truly know God!

* * *

Joining with Ann Voskamp and the others who are counting gifts at A Holy Experience:

573.  Days of warmth and sunlight.
574.  A day filled with berry picking and a picnic with my husband.
575.  The patience to see me through husband's jam-making!
576.  Skill of doctors and nurses working through some lab tests.
577.  Miracle of a cortison injection.
578.  A written piece accepted for inclusion in an anthology.
579.  Quick response by emergency responders in Aurora.
580.  Heroism in action in the theater.
581.  Lives given for lives surviving.
582.  Engagements, weddings and bridal showers.
583.  Fun times spent in a room full of women.
584.  Coming home to a hubby making MORE jam!
585.  Quiet Sunday evenings together.

If you've never visited Multitudes on Mondays or begun counting to
one thousand gifts and want to know more,
won't you come on over to A Holy Experience for a visit with us?

Pray Unceasingly

My mama was one of four women who met when they were young wives and soon-to-be mamas.  Their friendships lasted until the first died in early 2001.  Then Mama died in October 2001, leaving two of this foursome still living.  They met in Nashville, TN, and had much in common besides being young wives and almost mamas.  Each of them had a strong faith, although they attended different denominations.  Each of them were native-born Tennesseans, but not from the same city or town.  They loved their lives and who they were. 

When those four babies were born, we became a foursome too.  While our mamas talked and chatted over lunch, we would play off to one side.  As I grew older, I would listen to their words and conversations.  It soon became apparent that they had one more thing in common -- prayer.  I could hear them asking each other to pray for this one, or that one, or some family in need, or someone in the hospital.  And the answer was always yes. 

In 1967, I married my first husband and we moved into a home not far from one of these four women.  Her name was Anne.  I could walk my baby son, born in 1971, right to her home.  And I did.  One day I asked Anne to talk with me about her prayer life.  She responded with, "There's not much to tell.  I just pray all day long."  I think I must have given her a strange look because she laughed and pointed out that she did do other things, but that if something or someone popped into her mind that was instruction from God for her to pray right then and there, even if she was driving. 

I thought about this long and hard, and with a young one on my hip and bottles and diapers (days before good disposables!) I was struggling with finding a good time to pray.  I took out my Bible and started reading about prayer.  That's when that short little verse of Scripture was shown to me:

"Pray without ceasing."

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)

It isn't likely that my prayer time is constant all day long, but I do try to keep my heart and mind attuned to God's nudges, and like Anne, when someone or some issue pops into my mind during the day, I say a quiet prayer to my Heavenly Father letting Him know that I understand that He needs for us to bring prayers before Him.

No matter how you pray, just remember to pray.  God loves for us to come to Him with our needs and the needs of others.

Linking up with Beck Gambill today at