Several things to share today including reminders that our RADICAL CELEBRATION (and give-away!) is tomorrow! Stop by to share a little bit about what God has done in your life as you read the book (and comment to win some cool prizes!).
And the big READ-ALONG REVEAL is Wednesday! And for a very limited time (like 12 hours) you’ll have a chance to WIN one of 5 copies of the book we’re reading!
And now for some praises and prayer requests:
PRAYER: You might have heard about the crowd stampede in Phnom Penh, Cambodia last Monday that killed almost 400 people and injured 700 more. You can watch a video clip here. This small, poor country is so ill-equipped to handle a tragedy of this magnitude and desperately needs our prayers.
Here’s what my friend Yvonne (on furlough from Cambodia) said in her latest newsletter, The mostly Buddhist country has gone into a frenzy of fear based activity. The hospitals are overcrowded and people are being forced to pay money simply to be allowed inside, then more money is expected in order for them to be allowed in a bed. MRI’s and CAT scans are not being done due to limited funding-so people may be internally bleeding and nobody knows about it. Others are sacrificing food, money, material items to the spirits of the deceased in hopes that this will appease them and no further calamity will come their way. My heart hurts so much for the people I’ve grown to love….they are living out of such fear and do not even see it.
PRAISE: As always, God uses tragedy to bring people to him. Yvonne also wrote this, On the other hand, our Khmer brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God are being the hands, feet and voice of Jesus in their hurting country! The young adults of our village are visiting those in and outside of the hospitals, Panha and Veasna are sharing with the kids of Wat Phnom about the authority they have in the name of Jesus to tell evil spirits to leave them alone and God is going to be seen in His glory in the midst of all of this…..because, that’s what He does, He shows up, He defends the weak, He comforts those in need, He heals the sick…. and I can’t wait to hear the stories so I can share them with you.
PRAYER: This seems so trivial (not to mention embarrassing) in light of such large-scale horror, but I’ve been experiencing some physical pain/discomfort of a “personal” sort for quite awhile now. It’s gotten much worse lately (it keeps me up at night and has caused many tears), and I would appreciate your prayers (for wisdom for a correct diagnosis and for healing and relief). Thank you.
PRAISE: I’ve mentioned before that my sister Bethany’s church (her husband is the youth pastor and his dad is the pastor) sponsors an orphanage right down the road from ours in Cambodia (that we got to visit while we were there!). And I’ve shared about the cool things Bethany and Stewart have done with their youth group to raise money for the orphanage.
Well, check this out! They’ve raised $1100 so far which is enough to sponsor another child for 11 months, so the country director said he would get things moving to get another child (a girl) into their orphanage. I’m so excited!! I love that a bunch of teenagers in small-town Ohio have worked hard and sacrificed and are SAVING A LITTLE GIRL’S LIFE. (They’ll continue to raise money each month to meet her needs.) Isn’t that AWESOME?!
PRAYER: I would love for some of you to pray for our upcoming Read-Along, particularly that God would bring those who really, really need to hear the message of this book. It’s a message of healing and restoration and drawing closer to the God who created us and loves us immeasurably, and I think the New Year is the perfect time to make some positive, lasting, exciting changes in our lives.
PRAISE: Praising God for each one of you who read Radical (or plans to finish it as you can) and had your world rocked. Excited to celebrate with you tomorrow and hear how God is working in your heart to make radical changes in your life.
If you have a praise or prayer request, please leave a comment or e-mail me. I’d be honored to pray for you and/or thank God for what he’s done.
SEE YOU TOMORROW!! You don’t want to miss all the FREEEEEEEEE!!!