Bad News & Prayer Requests--and a Bright Spot

Well, it's been a week of bad news. Besides Bantam13 getting cut, I got news that the church we thought was able to host our new theater group's classes and rehearsals has re-evaluated their usage policies and are no longer able to host us. So it's back to Square One on that front, with our informational meeting only two weeks away.

But these bumps in the road seem like a kiddie rollercoaster compared to the life-and-death dilemmas of so many. Because there is no end to the number of folks in need of prayer, I limit prayer requests posted on my blog to those that I know personally. And my heart is heavy for two women and their families tonight.

One is Barbara, whom I posted about before. She found out today that her cancer is significantly more advanced than they thought--is actually a Stage IV, with lymph nodes involved. It is early yet, though, and there is a 30-50% chance that she can still be cured, with aggressive chemotherapy for the next 6-12 months. Will you please lift up your prayers for Barbara's complete healing, and for our little congregation as we support her and her family in practical and spiritual ways for the duration?

Tomorrow, another woman, who has only visited our church a couple of times, will be induced to give birth to her second-born, who appears to have significant parts of his brain missing. She and her husband (who leaves for Iraq in a week) may have many difficult decisions to make about his care, if he lives. This young woman says she feels more at home at Light of Christ than anywhere else they have visited, and she plans to make it her church home for the year that her husband is deployed. Please, join me in prayer for this young woman and her family as well, and for our congregation's role in ministering to them.

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Scripture thoughts from today's readings:

Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. (John 5:21)

O Lord, have mercy on Barbara, and on this baby boy.

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And now, because God gave me a little bright spot tonight in this series of sad news, I will share it with you.

Tonight at bedtime, Bantam4 and I were using my fingers to count how many boys and how many girls (children) were in our family. He was getting a little hung up by wanting to count Daddy as one of "Mommy's boys" and Mommy as one of "Mommy's girls."

So I asked him "How many Daddys are there?"

"One!" he exclaimed.

"How many Mommys?"

"One," he said, with pleasure.

"Now," said Mommy, with a warning note that this next question would be harder, "how many kids in our family?"

"A LOT," he stated emphatically.