Thank you so much for sharing your prayer requests with me. I can’t explain it, but it just feels like such an honor to know your desires and have the chance to talk to God about them. I promise it’s not because I’m super-spiritual; it’s just an absurd truth about our awesome God. Praying for others is a HUGE blessing to the one doing the praying. Craziness.

Please continue to share. I have plenty o’ room in my prayer journal, and it really takes no time at all to pray over your needs. Seriously. And if you have something really personal, feel free to e-mail me (a couple sweet gals already have).

Thanks for asking how you can pray for me. I’m actually not really sure, so I’ll just give you a peek into my heart right now, and if you want to pray for me, you can do it however you’d like.

I’ve always been a moody gal–high highs, low lows, and quite often in the same day (or half hour). The last few months I’ve started to wonder if I might suffer from depression. But then that oppressive, heavy feeling lifts and I feel okay again. Actually, honestly, the past couple days have been wonderful. After feeling discouraged and hopeless, I feel full of hope. Hmmm…

Hope is a word that has come up many, many, many times in the past little while in my life. I’m thinking of informally choosing it as my Theme for 2010. The theme for my life, my blog, my other writing. Anyway.

I think I’m hem-hawing around stating any actual prayer requests, because I don’t want to say, “Pray that God gives us more money, some book success, and a healthy family in 2010.” I love, love, love what Beth Moore prays for herself and her family–”Deliver us from everything but your glory, Lord.” And I’d love for you to pray that for us as well.

I’ve been really bad lately about letting our money situation get us down. Using our Christmas money to pay “insufficient funds fees,” calls from creditors, Gabe deciding every other day that the only responsible course of action is to leave ministry work and get a “real” job, borrowing money from my 3-year-old to put gas in the van.

But you know what? The times our financial situation is at its most dire? Those are the times that God swoops down, scoops us up, and SHOWS US HIS GLORY. And oftentimes, shows others as well.

So, you know what you can pray for me, for us? That God will deliver us from everything but His glory. If money troubles bring Him glory, bring ‘em on!

And that we will put our hope not in temporal things like financial security and book deals and positive feedback from others, but that we’ll put it in CHRIST. In his death, resurrection and the promise of spending eternity with Him on the most unfathomably incredible New Earth. That all of creation–us included–will be whole, perfect, redeemed, Shalom personified.

May I never lose sight of that hope.

Love you guys! Happy New Year!