Whew. I’m beat. We just hosted our new Community Group in our home tonight, and the last of the folks just left. Exhausting, energizing, exciting. God is so good.

THANK YOU for snatching up all the copies of The Hole in Our Gospel so quickly. I’ll be writing more about it soon.

I still have 2 copies of Expecting (with a black mark on the top) for $9 each (including shipping) if anyone wants to pray along with us for some beautiful pregnant women in Haiti. I’m hoping to have a list of names (and photos) next week.

Check back tomorrow for some FUN STUFF to buy. Because several of you have lamented the fact that everything’s always gone before you get a chance to buy them, I’ll be doing TWO posts–one will go live at midnight (Thursday night) and the other at noon (Friday).

Cool?

And I don’t have any more energy left in me to write, but I plan on having all kinds of energy (and coffee) tomorrow (Thursday), soooo…

If you have something I can pray for you, please let me know either in the comments or via e-mail. Seriously–it’s an honor to take your requests to God.

Have a great day!!

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!!!

I love to pray, I really do. And it’s such a huge honor to pray for dear friends. And people I just met. And people I don’t even know.

But the last few weeks I haven’t been committing a whole lot of time to prayer.

I’d like that to change.

Just tonight I came home from a little gathering of awesome women with my arms and heart full of some big needs. Things I can’t do a lick about. Things only GOD can fix and heal and help.

So I’m going to talk to HIM about them.

Can I pray for you today?

(Ava and my niece Mia who is visiting–with her parents–from South Carolina this week. LOVE that little girl!)

p.s. If you haven’t heard, we’re having a little Radical Read-Along here on the blog starting the first week in September. We’d looooooove to have you join us!

EDIT (8:58 pm): Super Saver Books Sold Out! More coming later in the week…

I tried to write a post last night, but the exhaustion won over. This morning I feel refreshed and ready to face the pool. And the dentist (Ava). And the eye doctor (me). Okay, not really, just trying to psych myself up.

There is much going on, and I’m trying to get used to this new normal. Having all three girls home, Gabe at work, owning a pool pass, trying to get our Cambodia ducks in a row, and blah, blah, blah. By the time I get in the swing of things, I’m sure summer will be over.

Oh well.

The Cambodia support-raising is going well. We are just stinkin’ blessed to know so many stinkin’ generous people. Man alive.

And I have an exciting offer today. You know those Restaurant Super-Saver Coupon Books? Well, my aunt Lisa gave us EVERY PENNY from the 5 we sold. And then gave us some more! So, I have 5 to sell today, and 1 can be yours for a $15 donation toward our trip.

We keep all the $, and your coupon book almost pays for itself when you buy a Domino’s Pizza and get one free. You can also get free Big Macs and Long John Silver’s Sampler Platters and Arby’s Roast Beef sandwiches and AUNTIE ANNE’S PRETZELS (be still my heart) and Big Buford Burgers and Hungry Howie’s Pizzas and on and on and on.

The first 5 people to tell me they want a coupon book get one.

And one more thing. You know the Worlds Apart Project? Where I wrote that book (it’s a download that you can read on your computer or print out) and I’m selling it to make money for missions? Today only, the book is just $1. Just click here and donate $1, and I’ll e-mail you the link to the book.

Now, if you don’t want coupons (fabulous coupons!) or an e-book, I still want to hear from you, because an entire summer is too long to go without connecting with my computer friends. And here’s something I read this morning that really stuck with me.

In all our thinking about Christian service, prayer needs to become fundamental instead of supplemental… Prayer is the work; it is the essence of the task to which we are called, and apart from it, all other work, and I mean Christian work, is a sheer waste of time and energy divorced from the basic work of prayer. Everything else is insignificant. (Scottish theologian Eric Alexander)

A good word for me during this busy time. How about you? Can I pray for you? Leave a comment or e-mail me privately.

So, for the Listers:

1. Comment if you want a coupon book for $15.

2. Click to donate $1 if you want to read Worlds Apart.

3. Let me know how I can pray for you.

4. Give me a quick update on your life.

I appreciate you, friends! Have a great Tuesday!

My dear friend and pastor’s wife gave me a bit of a fright after church this morning, hugging me fiercely, then grabbing my arm and saying, “Is everything all right with you??”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because all week long, God kept saying, ‘Marla. Marla, Marla, Marla, Marla!’ I was so glad to see your eyes today! You’re sure everything’s okay?”

“Uh… I’m pretty sure.”

And then I went home and thought of a whole bunch of things that are wrong with my life. And I’m totally blaming her.

No, seriously, there’s nothing worth complaining about in my world. So maybe I’m in a bit of a funk. So maybe I’m a little confused and uncertain about what I’m doing/where I’m going/what’s supposed to happen next. So maybe I’ve been grouchy lately (seriously–ask Gabe) for no good reason.

Our Life Group meeting tonight helped put all that blather into perspective. We had an amazing time with Jen, who’s back in the States on a quick 2-week break from her life/work in Cambodia. We each shared a little bit about what’s going on in our lives (it’s been a few weeks since we’ve gotten together).

Then Jen shared more about her work in Cambodia and what God is up to over there. Crazy awesome stuff in a dark and oppressive place. She stressed over and over and over again how much she and her teammates desire to be covered, buried, slathered in prayer.

Then we took turns praying for her, and man, you could feel God’s presence like He was sitting on your lap. I so want to be faithful in praying for her (and her teammates, and her pastor and his family, and the little girls being trafficked, and the men who keep these child brothels in business…).

And I desperately want to be 100% sure (like Jen is) that I’m smack dab in the middle of God’s will for my life (even if what I’m doing is super hard).

And I really, really, really have a burning desire to take a trip to Cambodia.

And I’m applying for my passport tomorrow.

And we’ll see what God has in store.

I really, really, really want to seek Him first in my life.

What’s on your heart right now? How can I pray for you today? Your request doesn’t have to be as heavy as sex trafficking. God wants us to bring all our burdens to Him, big or small.