How God Answers Prayer

God doesn't exactly answer prayer either yes or no as we human beings would expect. According to an e-mail I received, God answers prayers as follows:

1. Yes!
2. Not yet.
3. I have something better in mind for you.

Pray on!

A Week Full of Prayer and Meditation

Well, this certainly has been an interesting week to say the least, with a lot of prayers going out to God.

First and foremost was another apparent attack of pancreatitis suffered by my wife. I've already written up the details on my Pancreatitis page, but to make a long story short, she's out of the hospital already and doing quite well.

Secondly was a decision I was faced with regarding my serving on the talk team for an upcoming Walk to Emmaus weekend. Heck of a time to ask.

But God doesn't concern himself with human timing. He wants your heart now, and will help you through anything as long as you ask.

In actuality, my answer to serve on the Emmaus weekend could easily have gone either way. This was perhaps the hardest time I had to struggle for an answer. I did the only thing I could do - let it go with God and trust him to speak to me. He did - through Scripture. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. (Matthew 11:29) is one piece of Scripture that really caught my eye. I had also brought my Bible along while we waited in the emergency room (jury duty and emergency rooms are two places where one should bring reading material). I was reading the Book of Job (of all things) in the ER. If you have any doubts regarding the Sovereignty of God, read the last five chapters of Job. Then I continued on with the Psalms (how calming!).

Despite any selfish reasons for saying no, my answer was yes. After all, He is God and I am not. From time to time I need to be reminded of that. Even Jesus needed to get away and recharge. Time for me to recharge.

Prayers Answered and Prayers Requested

Good news - my friend who was hospitalized with heart trouble is doing much better. They've restored his correct heart rhythm and he's out now.

My wife S is having some difficulty now. She's been nauseated since Sunday. We're actually hoping it's some kind of bug and not her pancreas again. That would certainly be a setback.

Lord, thank you for D's continued recovery. Place your healing hands upon S so she, too, can recover and move on with her life. Amen.

I'm Baaaack....

It's been a busy week up at music camp. Now I can look forward to going back to work and relaxing.

All in all, it was a pretty good week at camp. We didn't have any more than the usual expected behavioral problems in our cabin when you put twelve junior high boys together. The opera they wrote and performed went off well. However, there seemed to be more upset stomachs, especially amongst the elementary school-aged kids. I don't remember this much hurling going on during a camp week - even once in the final opera performance!

Anywho, despite a nice week at camp, it's great to be home again. The cat and dogs were quite happy to see me today - especially the little dog.

Well, let's see what else I can report on. Last week I requested prayers for rain. We're finally getting some. At last the monsoon has arrived. As I write this, my wife is probably boarding a plane in San Diego and her flight is scheduled to arrive at 8:00. However, they've just issued a severe thunderstorm warning which includes much of the Phoenix area, so she could very well arrive late.

I also reported about my friend in the hospital with heart-related problems. I got a call from him Tuesday. His heart had actually stopped for 6.7 seconds on Saturday night, so naturally they didn't release him. In fact, on Wednesday he called to let me know that they were transferring him to Tucson where they have a better cardiac unit and try to fix him up there.

So, that's all I have to report thus far. Meanwhile I need to catch up on the news of the past week and I'm sure I'll have something to say about that. Until then, just know - I'm baaaaack!

A Well-Deserved Retreat

This coming week I have a good excuse for not blogging - I will be a camp counselor up on Mingus Mountain. With the hot weather we've been suffering lately, this will be a good respite.

When the kids get there on Monday, it gets to be quite a zoo. However, over the years, I've learned to fully exploit what little quiet time there is. The mornings between about 5:30 and 6:30 (when the campers wake up) is my favorite time. We also get a quiet hour at 1:00 each day. And the stars blazing in the night sky are awesome!

My annual pilgrimmage to Mingus is also a special time that I share with God. Although God is always around us, we are often too distracted to notice. Up at Mingus, I feel that God and I can talk without interruption. Mingus Mountain has always been a special place for me.

I am also surrounded by friends who are very special to me. It's unfortunate that we don't take much opportunity to get together outside of camp. Yet the little time we have together is precious - perhaps a glimpse of heaven itself.

I'm nearly packed and I plan to leave early tomorrow morning. I'm very much looking forward to this. I need a well-deserved retreat.

Pray For Rain

The average start time for our annual monsoon has come and gone, and we have nothing to show for it. It looked like it was trying to start up this past week, but the monsoon so far has been a nonsoon. It's supposed to go away again over the weekend, but perhaps get started up in the latter half of next week (affected possibly by none other than Hurricane Emily). Meanwhile we're baking in temperatures at or above 110 degrees. With all the wildfires around the state we could sure use the rain.

Makes You Think

I have a friend - in fact, he's my Stephen Ministry care receiver - who just went into the hospital early Thursday morning. He was experiencing some chest discomfort and shortness of breath. Turns out he was suffering from atrial fibrillation (but not a heart attack). His blood pressure had been elevated when he first went in.

I visited him in the hospital today. Except being desperately in need of a shave, he looked pretty good. They put him on blood thinners and are monitoring that along with his blood pressure to get a good balance on his medications. He should be released tomorrow. Then in about three weeks he'll go in to get his heart shocked into the correct rythym. The blood thinners are being administered to ensure that if he has any blood clots, they'll get dissolved. Shocking the heart can dislodge blood clots and cause more problems.

Today's visit reminded me of how fragile my own health could be. O is only a couple of years older than I; I've always thought he was healthier than me. Yet I'm a diabetic who just started having high blood pressure in the last six months and now I'm being treated for high cholesterol. Makes me think a little harder about taking care of myself.

First There Was 9/11; Now There's a 7/7

Well here we go again - another banner week for Islam. Kidnapping and killing diplomats in Iraq. Bombing a subway system and a bus in London. The cycle of violence continues from people who follow what some claim to be a peaceful religion. Sorry, but I really have to question that.

But this time there seems to be at least a little outcry from the Muslim community. It's about time. We'll see if it leads to any action or if it's just more lip service.

These Islamic radicals remind me of another group of thugs from history - Nazi's. They're a small group of people trying to bully people to their point of view. They have utter contempt for common decency. Unfortunately, Adolph Hitler and his henchmen succeeded in creating the Third Reich and nearly succeeded in conquering the world. Today's thugs have the same evil designs. Political correctness must be put aside and these people called out on the carpet for what they are and dealt with. What are the British calling them - even publicly? Monsters. Bastards. Yep, I think they get it.

It's not even been four years since 9/11. Yet the world seems to have grown complacent about terrorism. Well, look out now. The British are really pissed.

I can't imagine what the whole Islamic jihad is supposed to accomplish. All it's done so far is invoke suspicion, fear, and more hatred. What I hate most are the evil thoughts of my own mind. Keep me strong, Jesus. Remind me of my hope in you, no matter what happens. Amen.

Reflections On the Prodigal Son

Today our associate pastor preached on the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). This is an interesting passage because you can find yourself relating to a different character in the story each time you hear it. I once heard this story described from the point of view of the older brother (in reality it was a young woman describing the trials and tribulations of a certain prodigal - her older sister).

Today's perspective was also rather unique, and required some extra interpretation. The pastor played the part of the father, an elderly man who climbed a hill on his property every day to look and see if his lost son was coming home. He followed this routine every day for over five years, rain or shine, healthy or not - until his son returned home.

In the Bible account, we really don't know what inspired the prodigal son to up and leave like he did. In today's interpretation, he and his older brother had had some sort of heated dispute, and he feared that one of them would end up dead if he didn't get away. The father reluctantly agreed.

What made the biggest impression on me was how the father kept vigil all of those years. It reminds me that our Father in Heaven keeps watch over us - even when we stray from him.

It also reminds me that it must break God's heart to see his children act like the two brothers in the parable. Our feeble minds cannot fathom the depth of God's love; yet he loves all people - even the ones who stray, regardless of how far they have strayed.

Cave Creek Complex Fire

Yesterday I took a little excursion up I-17 and over to Mingus Mountain to get some pictures of the Cave Creek Complex Fire.


Looking in a southerly direction from Mingus Mountain, you can see the haze of the smoke. The wind was still fairly light at this time, but you can almost see a plume of smoke in the center.








By the time I got back to Prescott Valley, the wind had picked up speed. Looking east you can see a significant plume of smoke.











At Cordes Junction, the view was most spectacular. There was smoke pretty much along the entire horizon from the northeast running south to Black Canyon City, with heavier plumes to the northeast and east.

































Looking toward Black Canyon City from Cordes Junction.













Looking northeast from the Sunset Point Rest Area.












This is part of the burnout operation going on in Black Canyon City. Backfires were set about a mile away from I-17 in order to save the town. There were plenty of firefighters and sheriff's deputies keeping an eye on the fire.

Today it is reported that the burnout has been successful.

At last report, the fire has consumed 214,000 acres and is 45% contained.