Thursday, 12 June 2008

• Currently Listening As Time Goes By: The Movie Album By Neil Diamond & Elmer Bernstein, Neil Diamond, Elmer Bernstein see related

  Praying for each other

  Well it’s been a while since I posted and thought I would just mention a few things. As some of you know that read my blog, my last post was to speak of my one year anniversary of my heart transplant. Part of moving forward this year has been being able to do some things I haven’t been able to do in years. One of those things has been getting out with the Big Red Machine of Edgewood Baptist Church (Softball Team) and trying to participate.( and I use that term loosely ). In the last game I played in I pitched, and even though I have a 2-0 record I give up too many walks, but behind me is a great defensive team. As I ran to first base I felt a slight pain in both my big toes on the right and left foot. I didn’t think much of it at the time but by the time I got home I was in incredible amount of pain. When I took my shoes and sock off my wife and I were shocked at what we saw. One toe was all bruised up and the other was red and swollen around the nail bed. They are both severely sprained, so for the last couple weeks I have been hobbling around and haven’t been able to get my shoes on very many days. The only concern there is at the moment is that I don’t develop any type of infection. My transplant nurse told me I may have the heart of a 23 year old but I still have the body of a 51 year old, but i told her I feel like a 23 yr old
  At the beginning of the summer we (the Family) built a raised tomato garden, we are still working on it and hopeful to have it finished this weekend. I guess he did this at the right time since this Salmonella outbreak of tomatoes last week.
  One thing that I have been thinking about is this term that we sometimes say to one another is that “I have been praying for you” or that I will pray for you”, when we say that what do we mean? Are we offering a “generic” prayer for our brothers and sisters, or are they specific in nature. One of the ways that we can be specific in our prayers is to know my brothers and sisters better than what I do. Now I am not saying we stick our noses where they don’t belong but I am suggesting that we become more transparent with each other, And that can be a hard thing to do because sometimes maybe a lot of the time we don’t want to show our weaknesses’ to one another. But we are told that no man is an island to himself, and that we need each other and the prayers of one another. Outside of the Bible, Pilgrims Progress is probably my favorite book, and in this we see this illustrated. No matter who Christian was with whether is was Faithful or Hopeful they knew each other more than just in a surface way. Are we really sensing and knowing the burdens of our brothers and sisters and putting as it were our shoulders under their burden with them and helping them and making them sense we are wanting to help carry this burden with them. And as the Holy Spirit comes along side us in time of trials are we doing the same for one another? There are times where we can come along side and say nothing, but the sympathetic presence can mean a lot of sometime a gentle word of encouragement and prayer can help soothe an aching heart. Remember that  "Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring, for His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much”. Let we strive to be more transparent with one another, and to remember who it is that we are coming too. May we encourage each other better than what we sometimes do, in our pursuit of the Christ.

   I hope you have a much blessed rest of the week.

  And remember Sunday is Father’s Day (That public service announcement is for my kids)

  • 4:22 PM
  • 19 Views
  • 2 eProps
  • 1 Comment