When I was on my way to work this morning, I was listening to Don Moen's worship songs... and suddenly, this song "He Never Sleeps" spoke to me so much. It reminded me of God's faithfulness in my life. God never sleeps and He never slumbers. God's eyes are always watching over me and that He never fails to know my prayers.
I simply need to grow and believe in Him.
Don Moen - He Never SleepsWhen you've prayed every prayer that you know how to pray.
Just remember the Lord will hear and the answer is on it's way.
Our God is able.
He is mighty.
He is faithful.
And He never sleeps, He never slumbers.
He never tires of hearing our prayer.
When we are weak He becomes stronger.
So rest in His love and cast all of your cares on Him.
Do you feel that the Lord has forgotten your need.
Just remember that God is always working in ways you cannot see.
Our God is able.
He is mighty.
He is faithful.
Labels: prayers, w.o.r.s.h.i.p.
I just come to realized that my lack of time spent with my family is causing a lack in my life. I realised that when I am staying outside and not spending quality time at home actually brings me to understand the importance of family in my life. It is not a need or a want. It is just something that you cannot live without. With a family, my life then will be complete.
I cannot imagine how life could be for the orphans or kids from single-parent families. How are they coping with their emotions, their lack in their lives? As much as the children need to their families with them, the more they will need God in their lives. Only with the God-factor, then will the lack be met.
"Lord, may I pray that all the lost ones will come to know you really soon... really really soon..."
Labels: family, prayers
© 2007 Tucker Photography.
(Left to right Will Franklin, Maria, Steven, Shaoey, Mary Beth, Stevey Joy, Caleb and Emily)
MARIA SUE CHAPMAN, DAUGHTER OF STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN, DIES IN ACCIDENT AT FAMILY HOME NASHVILLE, TN...5/21/08... At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters. More than five years ago, Chapman and his wife MaryBeth founded The Shaohannah’s Hope Ministry after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China. The ministry’s goal is to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption, and has provided grants to over 1700 families wishing to adopt orphans from around the world. Chapman is a five-time GRAMMY ® winner and 54-time Dove Award winning artist who has sold over 10 million albums and garnered 44 No. 1 singles. |
| The Chapman family is so grateful for the incredible outpouring of love and support at this difficult time. - If you’d like to meet Maria and express your condolences click here
- By mail, send to PO Box 150156 Nashville, TN 37215.
- In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to Shaohannah’s Hope.
Funeral Arrangements for Maria Sue Chapman
FRI May 23rd Visitation 5-8p
SAT May 24th Memorial service 11a
at Christ Presbyterian Church
2323 Old Hickory Blvd, Nashville, TN
(615) 373-2311 |
abstracted from: http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/
Labels: prayers
DUJIANGYAN, China - From the heart of Beijing to the devastated southwest, China came to a standstill Monday to mourn its earthquake victims as the number of dead, missing or buried soared past 71,000.
Air sirens wailed across the country as most motorists stopped and blared their horns, bringing a halt to China's usually bustling big cities for three minutes from 2:28 pm (0628 GMT), the moment the quake struck a week ago.
Thousands of people, many of them university students, converged on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, holding up flags and chanting slogans of support for the victims.
As the five-star national flag flew at half-mast in front of the portrait of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, the crowd in the giant square chanted "Long live China!" while punching the air with their fists.
Trading halted for three minutes on China's stock markets and a moment of silence was also held at casinos in the southern gambling haven of Macau.
The last time the world's most populous nation held official mourning was when Mao, the founder of the communist state, died in 1976.
In the town of Dujiangyan, 60 relatives of dead children held candles and incense at one of the thousands of schools flattened in Sichuan province.
One mother who lost both her daughters, Qiqi and Jiajia, collapsed in front of the school building.
"This is unbearable. I lost you both," she wailed.
The official grieving came as mudslides and a fresh aftershock hampered efforts to help the nearly five million people made homeless by the May 12 disaster.
The transport ministry reported that mudslides had buried more than 200 relief workers over the past several days, with no word on how many were dead or alive.
The government last week estimated more than 50,000 people died in the quake -- which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale -- that reduced towns to heaps of steel and concrete.
But that number appeared to be a large underestimate.
The top leader in Sichuan, Communist party chief Liu Qibao, put the toll of people confirmed killed in that province at 32,173, adding 9,509 people remained buried and 29,418 others were missing -- a combined 71,100 people.
A central government spokesman on Monday put the confirmed death toll nationwide at 34,073.
Hopes that more survivors would be found were fading, although rescue teams pulled out two women and one man on Monday, according to state-run media.
The man, aged in his 80s, had survived under a collapsed house for more than 160 hours.
"The quake happened so long before that villagers all thought this old person was no longer there," army officer Qiu Chengliang, one of the man's rescuers, was quoted as saying by state TV. "His leg was severed but he still doggedly clung to life."
But one of the women found under a collapsed residential building near Deyang city later died despite receiving medical care, CCTV reported.
The earthquake has triggered an outpouring of emotion in the country of 1.3 billion people, with thousands offering to volunteer or to care for children made orphans.
The relay of the Beijing Olympic torch -- which has generated excitement across China in the run-up to the August Games -- was called off for three days.
The government also pulled entertainment programmes off television for three days. In Beijing and Shanghai, authorities ordered cinemas, karaoke bars and other leisure establishments to cease operation.
Donors at home and abroad have pitched in 10.834 billion yuan (1.55 billion dollars) to help with rescue efforts, according to Xinhua.
But more assistance was needed, with China's foreign ministry issuing an urgent appeal for tents.
China also said it would open its borders to foreign medical teams after letting in foreign rescuers. Japan immediately said it would send 20 medics.
The United States would provide China with satellite imagery of reservoirs, roads and bridges damaged in the earthquake, the Pentagon announced.
Heavy rain was expected later this week in the disaster zone, compounding the misery for survivors.
Premier Wen Jiabao ordered troops to step up their rescue work. Soldiers must "overcome all difficulties and make sure to go into all villages within 24 hours," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The chief engineer at the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said that several dams damaged by the quake were under 24-hour watch for signs of collapse and may not be able to withstand strong aftershocks or flooding. - AFP/ir
News Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/348702/1/.html
Labels: compassion, prayers
Ever thought if you would have been in their shoes? What would have happened to you? Or what will your response be like?
I can never imagine myself being in this kind of circumstances. I think I will cry, I will whine, I will complain, I will isolate myself. But these people are the very people who needs help and rescue. They need someone to speak hope and love into their hearts today.
As I read the news everyday, the photos, the description, the grief and the heartaches.. simply bring my heart to cringe. My heart was filled with compassion and helplessness. I want to help bu I don't know how. I want to help not by just donating money or writing some words. I wish to fly there and give hope and encouragement to these children, orphans and families.
Today, as I reflect and think about my life, I know that I am still way more blessed than these kids. I wish that I can bring more joy and hope to these victims.
I know that there is a purpose and calling from the Lord for me. I am reminded of the prophecy that Pastor Jeff gave to me many years back, when I was still leading the youth ministry. Perhaps, it is time to revisit the prophecy and make something happen soon.
Lord, simply send me...
Labels: compassion, missions, prayers
YANGON: More than 22,000 people were killed in Myanmar's devastating cyclone and 41,000 are still missing four days after the storm slammed into the country's southern coast, the government said on Tuesday.
Aid workers were racing to deliver food and water to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta region, which was submerged by floodwaters, leaving scenes of utter devastation with homeless survivors running low on food and water.
Fast Facts
Witnesses described horrific images of rice fields littered with corpses, and there were fears the death toll from tropical cyclone Nargis could rise much further.
Save the Children, one of the few relief agencies allowed to operate in the secretive and impoverished Southeast Asian country, said the toll would rise sharply in the coming days as more victims were found in hard-to-reach areas.
"If at this stage, only four days in, the government are telling us the numbers are already reaching over 20,000 and there are 40,000 people missing, I think it could well go higher," spokesman Dan Collinson told AFP.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it went as high as 50,000," he said.
US President George W. Bush urged Myanmar to allow in international help, as Washington - usually one of the junta's toughest critics - upped its total emergency aid offer to 3.25 million dollars.
"Our message is to the military rulers: let the United States come to help you, help the people," Bush said.
"The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do a lot more," he added as he signed a law giving Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal, the US Congress's top civilian honour.
A US disaster relief team was on standby, and the Pentagon said four naval ships currently participating in military exercises off the coast of Thailand could be redirected to Myanmar, if the junta gave the go-ahead.
"But that's all we can do at this point, is to plan, because we have not received a request from the Burmese government," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.
The junta - facing mounting global pressure to quickly allow aid teams into the country - still insisted foreign relief workers would have to negotiate before being allowed to enter, as agencies waited for visas for their staff.
The ruling generals also defied calls to postpone Saturday's referendum on a new constitution - part of its slow-moving "road map" to democracy - saying it would proceed except in the areas hardest hit by the disaster.
Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy reacted angrily, saying it was "extremely unacceptable" for the vote to go ahead when storm survivors were in desperate need of assistance.
In the government's first news conference since Nargis barrelled into the Irrawaddy region early Saturday, it said 95 percent of the homes in the delta town of Bogalay had been washed away.
"Many people were killed in a 12-foot (3.5-metre) tidal wave," Social Welfare Minister Maung Maung Swe told reporters.
State television said 21,793 people were killed and 40,695 were missing in Irrawaddy division, while 671 were killed and 359 people were missing in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city and the former capital.
Satellite images from US space agency NASA showed virtually the entire coastal plain of the country, one of the world's poorest nations, under water.
Christian relief organisation World Vision said its teams had witnessed horrific scenes.
"They saw the dead bodies from the helicopters, so it's quite overwhelming," said Kyi Minn, an adviser to World Vision's office in Yangon.
Video footage of the disaster zone showed flattened villages, smashed bridges, and survivors forced to live out in the open.
Aid groups were rushing to bring food, water, clothing and shelter into the country, whose military rulers have long turned their back on the outside world - and prevented many aid charities from operating here.
"Getting it out to the affected populations will be a major challenge, given that there is widespread flooding," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangkok.
"The urgent need is for shelter and for water. Without clean drinking water, the risk of disease spreading is the most serious concern."
The UN's World Food Programme said it had begun distributing 800 tonnes of food to the hardest-hit areas including Yangon, but that many coastal regions remained cut off due to flooding and road damage.
Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, the regime's information minister, said the country was "greatly thankful" for the offers of help that have been pouring in from around the world.
But Myanmar faced criticism over its apparent lack of preparation for the disaster, with US First Lady Laura Bush saying the government had not done enough to warn citizens the storm was approaching. - AFP/ir/deLabels: compassion, prayers
ok. I shall keep this post short..
My nephew, Gabriel, has been admitted to hospital because of low blood platelets. The highest or normal blood platelets count can go up to 150 but after blood test ydae, he only had 7 in count.
I am kinda distressed by all these health issues that are going on in my family. Frankly speaking, I am really not sure how much more can I take. I need to trust God of cos, this has always been in my mind.
But I think now, I can literally feel the kind of stress and disturbance that Job had... I am definitely not in a worse situation than he was in. Well, I think I can only identify with his feelings.
Please pray that Gabriel will be fine. He is only 5 years old and he is a super hyper boy. Can't afford any knocks and bleeding... there are a lot of bruises and tiny red spots on his body now. And there is blood in his urine.. please keep praying that his blood platelets count will increase. Today, a blood specialist will be seeing his case. Hope that everything will be fine. Most imptly, I pray that my family will know God soon. Just can't bear this burden on my shoulders anymore. Can only claim Matt 11:28-30.
Labels: family, prayers
I didn't know how to write the title for this entry. It is not easy to blog an entry like this, especially when someone dear to you is not doing well in health. I think I am just in distraught. I don't know what to do and how to do... It is depressing. Moreover, I'm facing loads of stress at work.. though I will be going to BKK this friday, I wonder if I will really enjoy the trip.
Ydae night, my brother returned from work with my sister-in-law. When I saw him, I was so disturbed... cos he was in much pain. He told me that he couldn't walk properly and his entire right leg is so painful... What I can do now perhaps, is to keep his health in prayers. I really hope that he will be healthy.
"Lord, may you protect my brother in his health and keep him from harm. I pray that he will really come to know you and your love for him. It is only You that can grant him comfort and strength. May I pray that he will come to realise your healing power as he will experience it soon and very soon. And I pray that you will give me peace and faith to believe in greater miracles, beyond what I understand. In Christ's name, I submit everything unto your will, Amen!"
Labels: family, prayers
