Please pray for Kayla

Hello,

Would you please pray for my daughter, Kayla. She is 12, and has really been struggling in school this year. She's quite small for her age, and very feisty. The result of this is that she always seems to have larger kids bullying her. She lacks motivation with her school work. The little that she does turn in is done very well. But she's been getting failing grades because she hasn't been turning in the assignments. Please pray for my family also: my marriage fell apart 7 years ago, and so my only interaction with my children has been a brief weekly lunch and visits every other weekend. I know the children need me more, but my ex wife is not a sold out believer, and so some of the issues that have divided us remain. I hesitate to reunite with her, for when I attempt to I sometimes end up componising and hurting my relationship with the Lord, which ultimately let's all of us down.

Amen!!

Thank you so much! Please pray that I will cooperate with the Lord more: that I will slow down, and hear and understand what He is telling me. That I will become the loving leader in my home that He wants me to be. Please pray that He will continue to change me. That I will earn the trust and respect of my family as I earnestly, eagerly, and obediently follow Him. Please pray for a spiritual renewal within all of our hearts! Thank you!!! God bless you!

"JiG" - What did you mean when you mentioned fathers who have hung in there for the sake of the children?

Thank you for your prayers. After returning the children to their Mother this day I stayed and had dinner, then we watched some movies together, a child under each arm. This was very soothing for them and I, taking the edge of the tense time of transitioning from one house to the other. I then tucked them into their beds when they became tired, praying with Kayla that she would have a good week. It was a good prayer: heartfelt, and seemed to touch the areas that she's been struggling with. It felt like the Spirit was really in it, and I'm anticipating good results. I finished the movie with their Mom, and we had friendly conversation. She mentioned how she has $20,000 in debt, which seems insurmountable to me! When I left I was encouraged, and purchased a lottery ticket. God was not in that decision! I wasted $5. I don't know why I did that. More compromising to try and meet the needs of the woman I think I'm supposed to be caring for. I always seem to get sucked into their vices. Crazy!

Joseph,

We can pray but what they really need is you. You are right that lunches is not enough but praise God that you do that! Seriously, brother, your children need you; if you can’t remarry their mother, is there ANY way that you can move in next door to them?

Do you live in an apartment or a house? I would urge you and counsel you that if you cannot remarry her that you move in next door or as close to them as you can get. I’m not trying to instill fear into you but it’s a real NEED that you need to be there for your daughter (and son?), she is coming up on the age where she needs her father or she may begin to look for her father outside of the home, if you know what I mean. If you move next door to them, you could have the kids over for dinner every night! Or whatever you would want to do with them (homework) but you would be available to them every night of the week!!

I don’t know if you know this, but divorced/single mothers and their children (household) is one of the poorest segments of our society. If child support and a job wasn’t enough, she might have gotten some credit cards or something to try and help them get by (but I'm probably wrong).

God bless you brother and I pray an apartment or house opens up next door to them!!
Lisa

Thanks for the advice and your prayers, Lisa;

I'll be looking for a house or an apartment that's close to them. You affirmed what I've been thinking about: moving closer is definitely a step in the right direction. I need to be close so that I can be available to give them the emotional support, and anything else that they might need. Please also pray that the finances will work out for me to make a move soon! Thank you!

God bless!

Dear "Jesus-is-GOD",

Thank you for praying for me. I truly need Christs' power and guidance to rebuild my family.

Vices: gambling, anger, laziness, separation from fellow believers. There have been two women in my life since my marriage blew apart. They arrived when things were the worst. They brought companionship, the comfort of intimacy, and sin. The bitter disappointment of these failed relationships have helped me to understand a few things. Like why our Heavenly Father does not want us to be wed to unbelievers. A woman leaves an impression on a man. (And I'm guessing that it works the other way also!) I did not invest enough of myself into my marriage. So I've overcompensated, doing all that I could to make these relationships work. Which is an excellent thing to do when your partner is likeminded, seeking to follow Jesus. But when your partner is very carnal it's like continuing to put most of your paycheck into the stock of a company that is mismanaged and doomed to failure. Only worse! You pick up some of the habits that your partner had! But what's really great is that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more, so once you begin to ask for help, and earnestly pour out you heart to the Lord, He gives you the grace to forgive yourself and the erring friend, helps you to mourn and heal so you can carry on, heals you from the loss, and helps you form habits that overcome the bad ones! You also get to keep the good things that you learned from that partner!

There is some good in nearly everyone, and the Lord teaches us when we fall. Please don't get me wrong: I'm not advocating adultery! But having gone through two bad relationships I've come to understand why I had such problems with my wife. She would often parent with anger and empty words, instead of empathy and consequences. So I tried to illustrate or model the right methods. (Being foster parents, we took several parenting classes together. They were awesome! I've learned so much, and have really grown in my abilities to effectively love and guide my children.) When I tried to correct her, she would take offense. So I decided to look ther way to keep the peace. This threw me off my game and I began to do the things she was doing!!! If your not moving forward, then you're moving backwards! It's SO frustrating to be with someone who uses every excuse so they don't have to try and improve. Who continues to neglect and hurt those she's halfheartedly trying to look after. Someone who knows she needs help, but would rather spend her off hours playing games on a computer than getting down on her knees and earnestly seeking the help that she needs to overcome her shortcomings. I didn't realize it at the time, but foster parenting and the adoption of troubled kids was beyond her ability to effectively manage. I was beginning a career as a white collar office worker, and would come home totally drained, only to find out that my workday was just begining. I always had numerous relational "fires" to be put out. I eventually began to take the long way home, unwinding before I entered the chaos of what used to be a really comfortable house to come home to.

Thank you for listening and praying for my family!!! We've got a LOT to overcome. This week has been INCREDIBLE for me! Every morning I am awakened before the alarm goes off. I spend this time on my knees, seeking the Lords' presence. What loving acceptance this brings! What joy! What deep abiding peace. I've had much victory at work: patience with things that used to frustrate, joy in serving others, more ability to juggle and manage various tasks. A very clear mind to prioritize tasks, and the joy of accomplishment to help me stay productive. The sincere concern for others that let's me stay on task and gives me the eagerness to go the extra mile for those who need me. Big or small, each task is a treat, each challenge a thing to grasp, understand, and carry out, so that others might be better off. The heartfelt requests that I send out to the Lord in the early hours each morning have reaped very rich rewards in my motives and actions throughout the day! I am longing to pass on a wonderful legacy to Kayla and Tessa. But I can't do it in my own strength. Believe me, I've certainly tried! So I'm doing all that I can to stay close to our Big Brother, the Good Shepherd, who delights in instructing sinners in The Way. There really is victory in Jesus. The love that compelled to suffer in the hands of the cruelest of men also compells us each day to draw near for forgiveness, comfort, reassurance, guidance, hope! There is SO much power to overcome in our trials when we abound in the joy and love that close fellowship with Him brings into our hearts!!! Truly!!! I'd better go now: need to get some rest: I'm going to have lunch with Tess, my wonderful 13 year old, tomorrow (Kayla is at outdoor school this week). This past weekend Tessa said "I will never give up on God. He's been so wonderful to me!" She also showed me the two pages that she's written of her life story. They chiefly consisted of 1 Corinthians 13, and John 3:16. She was very eager to share the major influence in her life! Sadly, I have been Kaylas inspiration. I'm hoping that in due time, that too will be a wondrous thing!!!

Thank you SO much for encouraging me and for praying for me. May the Lord richly bless you! The plans He has for those who make it a habit of continually seeking Him are wonderful indeed!!! Shalom, my dear friend.