Alone

Today is Friday, November 30. Sunday is the first day of Advent. Christmas time is the happiest time of the year - a time of promise fulfilled, the birth of the promised Messiah - a time of hope - a time of family. I have talked to many people who are profoundly lonely both during the holidays and throughout the year. Right now, I am talking about women who have chosen to stay home with their children. In order for this to happen, many times their husbands have to work two jobs or long hours to bring in the income needed. Often, these are clergy families or corporate families who move frequently and the families are transplanted once again. While these women are happy with their children and contented in their marriages, they are lonely beyond words to express. Because they are Christian and choose the life they have, they often feel they should not complain and the loneliness they experience is a sign to them that they have not trusted God. My Dear ones, God knows you are lonely. He knows it is hard for you to get out with small children to care for. I pray:
Lord God, Daddy Abba to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I claim your promise of constant abiding with those who believe in you and your son. (Yes, Sweet One, even you and me.) May your the promise of your presence be even stronger for those who are alone. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Call a friend. The positive lift from talking with a friend or family member lasts for hours.
Share days away with others who are stay-at-home moms.
Find a peaceful spot in your yard for meditation and prayer.
Join a daytime church group that provides babysitting. It doesn't have to be your church if yours provide no daytime activities.
Volunteer at a charity.
Talk to me on this blog.
God bless you and deliver you on the other side of loneliness.
Doris

Monday, November 26, 2007

It is the beginning of a new week. Next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent. As we approach this blessed holiday season, please pray for our troups and our wounded men and women in uniform. They deserve our support and our prayers. The Walter Reed address has flaws since the hospital cannot pass out a large number of cards and cannot give out names of military men and women. I will forward new information as I receive it. For now, we pray: "Oh Lord God, father of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, holy is your name. May your will be done here and in the Mid-East so as to complete your plan of Salvation. We pray that you wrap all military servants in your love and protection and deliver them home to their families, whole and healthy when their work is done. In the name of your precious son, our Saviour, Jesus we pray. Amen

After Thanksgiving

After Thanksgiving we can be full and contented and somewhat lazy. Do not let the day go by without seeking the Lord God, pray for the sick and wounded, and constantly live a life of thanks giving. Our troups are far from home. Their families await a call or a letter. Send a wounded member of the military a Christmas card this season. Send to:
A Recovering American Soldier,
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001
Doris

Prayer Therapy launch

What a wonderful day to launch my blog! It is the day after Thanksgiving and my husband Bill's birthday. I pray that God will lift him up and bless him richly as He has so faithfully done all these years.
I invite all of you to post your prayers and/or prayer requests. I will respond and I invite others to respond as well. This is a positive blog, intended to lift the souls of mankind and deposit them at the throne of God. Please do not respond with negative and/or syber-bullying entries. I will attempt to erase them if posted.
May the Lord God richly bless you and yours.
Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.