Please pray for Trish, Mike and family. Mike has been in the hospital since early Summer. He is fighting cancer. It is really taking a toll on Trish. Stephanie and Brian Duncan are visiting him when they can and Sally is a good friend to them. They have a brand new Granddaughter they can't even celebrate and enjoy. Please keep this family on your hearts and pray that God will give Brian and Stephanie the words and company to ease their pain.

Todays Psalm

Psalm 19
1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.

3-4 Their words aren't heard,
their voices aren't recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

4-5 God makes a huge dome
for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun's a new husband
leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
racing to the tape.

6 That's how God's Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.

7-9 The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.

10 God's Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.

11-14 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

Pray for me to remember this, chew on and pray like this the next 4 days and I will be praying you do too.

Pray today for

* Shoal Creek and it's mission.
* lost to be found. rubbing up against a community of followers of Christ desperately trying to give away the love, the freedom we've found in Christ
*Group Leadership Community Friday nite...vision cast and caught
*as we finish up the 30days of reading and maybe journaling a love of His word in all who seek to KNOW HIM....more and more people to discover His love letter to us.

Thanks Stacy.....and I guess I wanted you all to know for some reason today I am gonna be praying for all of you....for us. Don't know for sure why, but my heart says pray today and I am going to and wanted to let you know.

Just gonna get real here

Being a host mom sucks. I am trying to make this work. I don't think I am showing Christ's Love like I dreamed I could. Please pray for me. Stacy

The most recent post shows posted by Becky..this is incorrect. Any and all prayer requests added to the Shoal Creek website post here under my name. You would have to ask someone way more cyber literate than me as to the whys of that.
Anyway from the post you can see he asks for our confidentiality...let us all remember that as we find these posts here and pray.

New Prayer Request

New prayer request from Chris Deal:
Roy and Sean, I really dont want this to be more public than you two and your family, but Debbie and I would greatly appreciate your prayers. Things are going well in my job, and Debbie has a couple interviews next week. The main thing is HOMESICK. Not only that, but I find myself asking "what am I doing here"? Especially since there were so many green lights through prayer and the feeling of God's direction with this move. We have tried several Church's, but nothing beats Shoal Creek. We love watching it Live. Anyway, if you know of any churches down here, let me know. Also, thanks for the continued prayers and I will keep you posted. Thanks for giving my Son Brian a great place to worship and share, and I will continue with my faith in God in this journey. Peace and Love with God. Chris Deal

Prayer Request

It is my dad.
He is struggling. He is in ICU at Research. He has a very critical fungal infection in his lungs. He is on a ventilator. They are now having to treat this more aggresivaly which means his transplant kidney will be compromised. But it was already starting to fail. He was not responsive tonight but he is on narcotic sedation now. It will be better tomarrow. His name is Mike Medina. Add him to you prayer list and my mom too, Betty. She is so strong but this is so much.
Thanks.
Teresa

"Philip Yancey is known for asking hard questions about the Christian life. Bestselling classics like Disappointment with God, The Jesus I Never Knew, and What's So Amazing About Grace? have made him one of the contemporary church's most compelling voices. In his new book, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? (Zondervan), Yancey once again explores a profound subject from the perspective of a curious and candid observer. Today's Christian recently chatted with the author about Prayer and his journey as a writer."
To see this written Interview on the Christanity today site click here

I haven't yet read it but there are a couple of quotes in the article that make me want to pick it up. Any of you read it?

Romans 1

8-12 I thank God through Jesus for every one of you. That's first. People everywhere keep telling me about your lives of faith, and every time I hear them, I thank him. And God, whom I so love to worship and serve by spreading the good news of his Son—the Message!—knows that every time I think of you in my prayers, which is practically all the time, I ask him to clear the way for me to come and see you. The longer this waiting goes on, the deeper the ache. I so want to be there to deliver God's gift in person and watch you grow stronger right before my eyes! But don't think I'm not expecting to get something out of this, too! You have as much to give me as I do to you.

I don't...wonder what would happen IF I DID?

http://www.perrynoble.com/2008/09/17/ten-years-ago/

http://www.roymoran.com/

Matthew 6

..........This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. vs. 8

I couldn't help but think of this blog this morning reading this........but I also couldn't help but think of the comfort it must bring to those who post on the Shoal Creek website......what are you thinking this morning?

New Prayer Request

New prayer request from Karen English:
Please pray for my daughter, Kristen(15 years old), she has lost her Dad(Steve English, age-52) on 8/26 in a motorcycle accident.

Remember to scroll back through if you need to be reminded of the requests here.

Prayers for people in the path of Hurricane Ike.

New Prayer Request

New prayer request from Chris King:
I was just let go from my job, and I've only been there for 4 weeks - they said that I wasn't picking up on things fast enough. I'm also getting married in less than a month. I'm not really sure what to do. Please pray for me, my fiance, and her little girl... that God might make a way for me to be able to provide for my family. Thank you.

Tab's Grandmother passed away....prayers for her family.

9/11 prayers as He leads you

Election prayers......I know I need to pray to not be annoyed by the whole process....so as He leads you.

Check out Roys for today...

Prayers for any and all who are engaging in the September journaling exercise....for leaders and participants in SHIFT....

My Grandma had a brain hemorrhage. She was life flighted to Springfield, MO. Please pray for our family in this. My Step-Father (Mark) is more of an atheist and had grown very close to my Grandma who is very much a wonderful Christ follower. She has impacted his life hugely. Please pray for Mark that his heart will stay soft and open , he's a tough cookie to break through to. I believe Christ was working through Grandma to touch Mark.

Prayers for (add to today):
* Lesa as she begins a new job
* Election year*

I ask for prayers. Today is my last day at Rose Brooks and there is a since of sadness in me for some of the women and children that I will be leaving. I pray that God will watch over them and that God will be a part of their lives. Selfishly I ask for confidence in my new position and that I am able to see him in this path. As I strive to bring him to the center it becomes cloudy. I pray that he clears the path.
I also ask for prayers for my mom, Linda. She was in the hospital last week with pneumonia and now back in with some kind of infection from the antibiotics she was on.

Matthew 3

I pray that we be a people who love. I pray that even as we see what we lack , where we sin....we hold onto His forgiveness and love and love others.

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I don't know about you guys but I very quickly begin worrying about my outside in and after times of His showing me something in me. The whole of keeping with repentance. .....what does it mean to you? How do we stay internally tuned and outwardly focused???

Thanks

Thanks to you God for being here with us and leading us together in your NAME. Thank you for everyone here. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for Your SON. Thank you for YOUR PROMISES. Just thank you.

Outside the box...

I have to admit that New Community this past week has been absolutely awesome, worship time was great, and feeling the spirit move in me is something I have been longing for, for a long time. I pray that those feelings for everyone who is seeking Christ, or has a relationship with Christ, keeps the fire going for Christ. Having a relationship with Jesus is just the most awesome thing that can happen to anyone. I was told yesterday by one of the guys I work with, that he has never seen me get angry. I was thrilled with that, considering before Christ I was very mean and angry all the time. I just hope and pray that God uses me in the way that glorifies Him.

Thank you Father for bringing me outside the box and having me do your will. Thank you for everything you do for my family and friends.

Sad/Joyful

Today my mom calls and tells me that my cousin is now on his death bed. His breathing is now shallow and it's just a matter of time before he stands before our Lord. The word that comes to my mind through all this is "SURRENDER." I'm not for sure if he knows Jesus, God did give me the opportunity to pray with him. His journey is now at an end, the road, now only blocks long he faces alone; no pastor, no spouse, no friends, no family, just him and the God of the universe. The songs he is about to hear, the face of pure love he is about to see, to be in the presence of the Lamb. "BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD" Jerry........
Jesus, come soon
Brian

Acts 4: 31 While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God's Word with fearless confidence.

Prayers today for people in pain........for those closest to those in pain, to lean not on our own understanding, but into YOURS.

The following prayer request was entered on http://www.shoalcreek.org/. rec'd 9:45 am
Melissa dimauro7@sbcglobal.net.............I pray for my sister who found a lump in her breast.

Genesis 1

God spoke:
* light (divide day and nite)
* sky
* seperate (earth and seas)
* Earth green up
* lights (sun, moon, stars..)
* swarm the ocean
* Earth generate life
* humans 'man in our image'

Just gonna revel in this today....'in our image'......just gonna sink into it today. God spoke.....

God is so much more than i consider Him. The love and care and life available. oh my, how Amazing!
Oh Lord, break through and help us to have a fresh look.

Roy's challenge to read and journal in September...would love to here...us share as we read and journal? What are your thoughts?

Prayers for people to take up the challenge. Prayers for lives to be changed as they come face to face with God through His Word.....

Prayers for us all to be softened and strengthened in the process.

Stephanie's Stepdad - prostate cancer

Candy's Dad - Alzheimers

Lesa's foot nerve damage

Rachel - huge music month / stress / trip

Daniel and family (a friend of my son) - Mother committed suicide a few years back, Father is verbally abusing his 3 sons. Daniel stated last night he wants to run away or kill himself.

Lynne - group leadership