How can we pray for you?

Kirk Norman When you receive this blog, if you believe what the weather forecasters are saying, it will be raining. Normally this blog goes out on Thursday afternoon, so I am writing hoping that it will still hold true. Whatever, it really doesn’t matter. It will either be raining or sunny. The wind will be blowing or it won’t, and the temperature will be cool or hot. I have seen people who get all upset over the weather. I was talking to a lady last week that has lived in the Oklahoma City area for the past five years. She moved here out of college, met a nice young man, was married and began her career here in the television market. She was born and raised in California, and was telling me how much she hated the weather here in Oklahoma. She was telling me the California weather was just perfect all the time. I guess when you’ve been raised to believe that sort of thing it just becomes natural to think that where you’ve come from is much better than a new place which is different. I suppose earthquakes are a little more infrequent than tornados. At least we get a little warning when a tornado comes rumbling down the plains. The point of this blog is this…

There are some things in life that you can’t really do anything about. The weather is one of those kinds of things. Different situations arise in my life that although I would not have chosen it to be the way it is, there is very little that I can do about it. When these situations arise, I am faced with a choice to make. Will I become angry about something I have no ability to change, or will I accept what is happening and make the best out of what I am given? I believe God equips us to handle the situations we are faced with both good and bad. Our church is a melting pot of people who are dealing with all matter of life issues which challenge us every day. The church is created for us to share one with another the issues of life which cause us pain and give us joy. We are designed to reach out to one another in love to help and nurture those who are struggling. We are charged to give thanks for those whose lives are going well. Why is it then that the church seems much like the rest of our society? Why then do we hide in the midst of our church our hurts and pains? Why are we not sharing our victories and blessings?

Maybe we are afraid of what our Christian brothers and sisters will think of us when we admit that we have problems. Bothers and sisters, we’ve all got problems. Those of you who believe you don’t have problems have more problems than those of us who know we have problems. The only way we can find peace is to share those problems with our creator and with each other so we can spend time in prayer and discernment. One of the greatest things we have not taught our children is how to fail. Failure is a part of living. No one wins all the time. I continue to write this blog as a way of asking each person to share from their heart a little about their life. So I will begin today:

Please be in prayer specifically for one of my children who deals with perfectionism and a lack of humility. Please keep Elizabeth in your prayers for concerns for her work environment and the people she serves each day. Please pray for my discernment in delegating those things which can be done by others and my ability to know the difference.

First Church families, How can we pray for you?

On the journey together,
Kirk

Posted on Thursday, April 29, 2010 by Kirk Norman

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2 comments (Add your own)

1. Regina Pinkerton wrote:: Thank you Kirk for your honesty. I will keep you, Elizabeth and the the kids in my prayers.

When I moved here late September 2009 I had no idea what to expect. I was a scared little girl even though I am 50 something years old. What I knew though was, where to go for Celebrate Recovery and I knew I wanted to get into a church family and First Church looked like a great church to start at, I had a job and most of all God has been with me every step of the way.

My prayers I ask is continuing healing from a divorce less then a year ago, my health and physical pain.

Prayers of Thanksgiving for 1st Church which is teaching me about perserverence and hope,through the horrible bombing 15 ears ago. Prayers for my new church family that continues to grow and the love I feel from all I meet there. The joy I am experiencing here in my new home in OKC, joy that I did not know if I would ever feel again. And I Thank God for leading me here.
April 29, 2010 @ 7:50 PM
2. Randa Norman wrote:: As you know, I pray for me children, grandchildren and greats at some occasions, unceasingly. I also pray for the children, youth and parents of First Church. You are all facing decisions about topics I had not even heard of when we were raising our children. I want to support you in any way I can.

Regina mentioned Celebrate Recovery. Many people have the impression that CR is just for people who are struggling with chemical dependency. Nothing could be further from the truth. CR is for anyone who has hurts, habits and/or hang-ups. Do you have any idea how many people have come in to First Church by way of Celebrate Recovery? They have become members or friends of First Church and are now offering their services back to God. Some teach, some sit on committees, some help in the kitchen whenever needed. Some serve as greeters others attend to the Welcome Center. Some were here at 4:00 a.m. to help in
the dining room on Marathon Sunday. Some served as course marshals. Humble servants giving back to God.

Since I am writing this on a Friday I am also preparing to go to CR.
Our lesson this evening is about having an Accountabiity Partner. Do you have an accountability partner? Someone who lovingly helps you stay on track, prays with you and for you? It's like Kirk said, "the only way we can know peace is by sharing our problems with our Creator and another human being".

I covet your prayers:

for Celebrate Recovery

for our oldest son (Chuck) who will be married in a couple of weeks for the 5th time.

for Bill as he continues to charm us all by his humor and limitless love.
He is falling more often.

for me as I continue to seek understanding as to where I can best serve God's people. That my mind, body and spirit will continue to allow me to do those ministries that I so love to do.

for First Church as we seek direction.

for the homeless, the hurting, the lost, the lonely and those who think too highly of themselves.

and prayers of thanksgiving to our Almighty God and to God's Son who gave us life, forgiveness, and love throught the sacrifices He made for us.

I know that this is long, but allow me to share one more thought:

The Complete Serenity Prayer.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
Taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is;
Not as I would have it;
Trusting that You will make all things right
If I surrender to Your will, So that I
may be reasonble happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever
in the next. AMEN
-Reinhold Niebuhr
April 30, 2010 @ 4:42 PM

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