Happy Memorial Day!

Hello everyone! Our family is wishing you a safe and Happy Memorial Day! Do you know why Memorial Day was originally established? I did not until I received an email that was from the morning prayer meeting at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, MN. The meeting was held on Friday, May 23rd. Here is what the email had to say:

"On so very many occasions since September 11, 2001, America has been called by our president to prayer. We prayed immediately following that day; we prayed on its anniversary, we prayed as our troops went off to war. And now, again, our president is calling our nation to prayer--in observance of a long national tradition.

Congress passed a law on May 11, 1950 that instituted Memorial Day, and it was intended to be a national day of prayer for peace. These words from the White House Memorial Day Proclamation make clear the intent:

Section 169g. Memorial Day as day of prayer for permanent peace --- 'The President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe each May 30, Memorial Day, by praying, each in accordance with his religious faith, for permanent peace; designating a period during such day in which all the people of the United States may unite in prayer for a permanent peace; calling upon all the people of the United States to unite in prayer at such time; and calling upon the newspapers, radio stations, and all other mediums of information to join in observing such day and period of prayer.'

Though the observance of the holiday has now been changed to accommodate a longer holiday weekend, the call for Americans to pray is just as urgent."

Will you join me in praying for this great country of ours? Pray as you are led by God to pray. A few things that I can think about praying for is as follows: our troops overseas (for their safety and protection), for the upcoming elections, and for the division in our country between different denominations, between different political parties, between different races. You name it, and I think that we are divided.

I still remember the day of or after September 11th when Congress was holding hands and singing "My Country Tis of Thee." I think that was the name of the song as well as the date. Even if it wasn't, the thing that stands out in my memory was how united we were as a country. What happened to that?

Be blessed this Memorial Day and know that we love you all and miss you!

"Rock Solid" by Dennis & Barbara Rainey

"He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm." Psalm 40:2 NIV

Yesterday I shared a poem that I use often when I'm speaking or talking with someone about divorce, especially about how it leaves children feeling "split in two," as Jen Abbas put it.
Actually, Jen experienced this twice--once at the age of 6 and again at the age of 18, when her mom and stepfather divorced. The second one caught her as she was leaving home for college, a time in life when she expected her family to be there for her, both to launch her and to provide that "solid patch of land" we all need when we feel unsupported or insecure. But I want you to see again--and be blown away by--the power of the gospel as it descends upon a person who is lost and alone.

When the land cracked under Jen's feet as a college freshman, she jumped--just hoping to land somewhere. She was wide open to any belief system that would win her hand. Islam. Judaism. Taoism. Buddhism. Questioning everything, she went in search of something--anything--that wouldn't prove fickle and fleeting, the way her parents' love had.

But in her quest for spiritual security, she found every path closed and incomplete. There was only one path that stood out--the one with the element of grace embedded in it, the one that wasn't about what she did but about what she could be given.

Divorce had taught this young woman that if you're not always alert, constantly scanning the horizon for warning signs, love could leave. But in the person of Jesus Christ, she discovered that she was loved regardless of her performance. He changed her life.

There's hope for children of divorce--who make up 40 percent of adults today. Hope in Jesus Christ. Hope in His grace to forgive and in His power to help you forgive as well.

Discuss: Share with one another how the love of Jesus Christ has helped you forgive another person.

Pray: Thank Him for His great salvation--He is the only rock any of us truly have to stand on.

Purchase their book Moments with You at local Christian bookstores.