Thursday, November 11, 2010

PERSONAL PRAYER REQUEST

Update (December 5, 2010):
Thank you for your prayers for our family. Our granddaughter has been diagnosed with Chronic Benign Neutropenia. Although certain cell counts from her bone marrow test indicate she should have leukemia, no accompanying cancer cells were found - this is a medical impossibility, so either God has healed her or the doctors made a mistake, but she has no symptoms of leukemia and appears to be healthy, apart from the fact that she must guard carefully against infections, which would be life threatening if left untreated. My daughter continues to have undiagnosed health problems and the doctors continue to look for answers. We appreciate your ongoing prayers for both of them.

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First of all, I want to thank all those who have been praying for my physical health. There has been a great deal of improvement, although I still struggle with fatigue and have to cope with quite a bit of pain if I try to do more than my body will allow. I am about 70% better than I was three years ago, a point at which I was frequently bed-ridden. Praise God for the measure of health He has given me. I was so excited last Sunday that I was able to go for a 20 minute bike ride, something I haven't been able to do in quite some time.

Now I am requesting prayer for my oldest daughter and her husband and their baby girl, my only grandchild. My granddaughter became ill just after her first birthday and has been sick for the last two and a half months. She has a condition called severe neutropenia which causes her to have almost no immunity to viruses or infections and must be kept in strict isolation. She is also allergic to the only antibiotics safe for young children, which means that if she should contract some type of infection it would probably be fatal. It has been a very trying time for her parents as she has undergone numerous testing (lots of "pokes" for a one year old!) and is now waiting to have a bone marrow test early next week.

On top of all this, her mother has also been sick for the past 3-4 weeks. She was seen by three doctors yesterday and has had a full battery of blood tests done, although not all the results are back yet. The latest revealed a very high white blood count. She also has pain around her joints, fatique, unexplained bruising and lumps throughout her body. The two most likely possibilities are widespread infection or leukemia. They have gone to Saskatoon today for a second opinion, since the local doctors have gone on holiday and she was feeling much worse yet again today. Since I have had an unexplained, persistent cough for the last two weeks I have been unable to help her at home and with Elianna, since she cannot be exposed to me in case I am ill, so I would also ask that you would pray that my cough would go away.

Please pray that the doctors attending my daughter and granddaughter would have the wisdom to make an accurate diagnosis and provide the correct treatment for both of them. Also for daily strength for our whole family, but especially my son-in-law, who is bearing a great deal of this burden. We know that God is faithful and watching over us all, but also that the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous has much value. Would you please consider keeping us in your prayers daily as we go through this trial? Thank you in advance for all of those concerned and willing to do this.

To God be the Glory,
Bonnie



How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

BRIAN MCLAREN AND RICHARD FOSTER EDITORIAL TEAM AGREE WITH LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS - CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER AND EASTERN MYSTICISM ARE THE SAME THING

From the November 1, 2009 Lighthousetrails Newsletter:

The headline in this article may seem preposterous – Brian McLaren and two other contemplative prayer proponents (Richard Rohr and Phyllis Tickle) agreeing with what Lighthouse Trails has been trying to say for eight years now? That the same contemplative prayer which is advocated by mainstream Christian leaders (Beth Moore, Chuck Swindoll, Rick Warren, Focus on the Family, etc) is the very same thing as eastern mysticism (i.e., Hinduism/Buddhism). How can we say such a statement?

In a book that was released this year titled The Big Book of Christian Mysticism,author Carl McColman (a former self-proclaimed pagan who converted to contemplative Catholicism) states that “no absolutely clear distinction can be drawn between Christian and non-Christian mysticism” (p. 64). In others words, they are basically the same thing. This is exactly what Lighthouse Trails has been attempting to warn against for many years.

Continue reading the rest of the article HERE.

For further reading on this topic:
1. "Contemplating Contemplative Prayer: Is It Really Prayer?" by Marcia Montenegro
2. "Contemplative Prayer or Terror?" by Roger Oakland
3. "What Is Biblical Prayer?" by Kent Rieske