Your People Are Listening Lord

The stock market has played out its volatile self this past week. Yesterday, it went down some again. Up and down. Like a roller coaster. The young gal that heads up our Women in the
Word group is extremely open and transparent. She tells it like it is and makes most of us laugh....not at her but at the way she can lay all of us bare by exposing herself. Last week as ladies were discussing the economic upheaval, she threw up her hands and said with conviction, " I thank God that I've been poor all my life...I have nothing to lose, so I have no worries." Having known her family for all of her life and since her parents and we were young marrieds, I had to smile. Her family like ours, has had to work very hard for everything they needed for survival. One thing is sure, their faith in God has never been compromised through it all. Cathy, herself has survived a failed marriage and for some time singlely raised two small little girls. She is a survivor. At this stage in life she is happily married to a man that gives her the love and emotional/spiritual support she needs. She gives all the glory to God and tries not to be bitter about the past.

Our study group is made up of people of various ages, various stages of life and with various amounts of material goods. But when we come before God, we are all in the same boat. Miserable failures. Sinful to the core. There is a great deal of encouragement that is brought to the table. We have lost our hearts to each other as we share what God has done for us. It is a very good thing. Today, I will join my sisters once again for a morning of figuratively kneeling before the maker of the universe in humble surrender.

I found the following prayer by Max Lacado. I found it to be inspiring....hope you can pray it along with Max and me. Love to you today.

You Have Our Attention, Lord

A prayer by Max Lucado - October 2008

Our friends lost their house

The co-worker lost her job

The couple next door lost their retirement

It seems that everyone is losing their footing

This scares us. This bailout with billions.

These rumblings of depression.

These headlines: ominous, thunderous -

“Going Broke!” “Going Down!” “Going Under!” “What's Next?”

What is next?We’re listening. And we’re admitting:

You were right.You told us this would happen.

You shot straight about loving stuff and worshipping money.

Greed will break your heart,

You warned.Money will love you and leave you.

Don’t put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.

You were right. Money is a fickle lover and we just got dumped.

We were wrong to spend what we didn’t have.

Wrong to neglect prayer and ignore the poor.

Wrong to think we ever earned a dime. We didn’t. You gave it.

And now, tell us Father, are You taking it?

We’re listening. And we’re praying.Could you make something good out of this mess?

Of course You can. You always have.You led slaves out of slavery,

Built temples out of ruins,

Turned stormy waves into a glassy pond

and water into sweet wine.

This disorder awaits your order. So do we.

In Christ's name, Amen

God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them. (Luke 18:7 NCV)