No, plumbing is not a code word for a style of prayer, I am talking about actual prayer for plumbing. The flooded mess on the basement floor was not the usual clog from the lint and soap of the washer. The dam was from beyond the house and possibly the curb. The anxiety level rose as the hired service could not resolve the issue on Tuesday night and thoughts of the bill of hundreds soon to become thousands.

Prayer one was for wisdom in how to deal with the situation. Hopefully, like me, you are accustomed to turning to God first and immediately as troubles arise. If there is something that matters to us, it matters to Him. If it is something that we can't pray to God about, we shouldn't be doing it. This was something that mattered and something that could be brought to God in prayer.

I went with the idea of getting a second opinion of sorts. Another tech from the same company came out to give it a try. A continuation of service seemed better than calling a different company and paying the base rate.

Prayer two was that the second tech would be able to resolve the issue. I prayed for him to have some bragging rights on the boss who was the first one to attack the issue. I reminded God, as though He needed to be reminded, of the current struggles and poor timing for this new issue.  Having just heard a sermon on prayer, I prayed with faith asking God to bring resolution.

Prayer three was for the anxiety level of Sue. In addition to the cost of the service, Sue was looking at missing work which would add to the cost. She was noticeably stressed when she called me concerned about the tech not arriving yet on Wednesday morning.

The tech had success, the issue was resolved, Sue got to work a little bit late, and the bill was still in the hundreds rather than the thousands. God had not allowed us to sink under the weight of yet another issue.

Prayer four for the rest of the day was thanksgiving. Prayers of thanksgiving should be offered at all times, but especially when we sense the presence of God or the receipt of special blessings. Whatever the outcome of the situation, God is with us and worthy to be praised. Do we act as though He is with us at every moment? Do we thank Him in all situations in our lives?

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Today was Prayer Stations Sunday. In the months with five Sundays, Cornerstone Church of Blaine devotes one Sunday to prayer. After worship and a short sermon, the balance of the service time is spent in prayer.

A few photos from the service and scans of the prayer cards are in the article I wrote today.

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I have written an article based on a typical Saturday morning service at the senior living residence, Suite Living. It describes the service, volunteer opportunities and a few photos are provided from yesterday's visit. The residents appreciate our efforts and the time we take to visit them. Please prayerfully consider whether this is an opportunity that you can take advantage of in any way. Musical help is especially needed.

Last year the men's Tuesday night small group committed to participate as volunteers and they enjoyed the service opportunity. How about your group or you as an individual for this year round ministry? One time or on a regular schedule, the choice is yours. Please consider serving God in this worthwhile endeavor.

Participant comments will be added as they are received.

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The 2010 version of the tailgate party was similar to the 2009 event with the fifth inning storm and no shortage of enjoyment by those who attended the game. The devotional was part four in a series about moving from simply being a believer in Christ to being and obedient servant of Jesus Christ. It can be found at the link below. The story of the evening can be read at this link.

Believer to Man of God Part One, Sanctification

Believer to Man of God Part Two, Time Line

Believer to Man of God Part Three, Filtering

Believer to Man of God Part Four, Devotion and Discipline

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July 11 was the date of the annual golf outing for 2010. Although I was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict, the theme of Believer to Man of God was carried on as John Mittelstadt delivered the devotional. The message, Filtering, is the third in the series.

One key to maturing in our faith is to learn how we currently filter our thoughts and beliefs and how we ought to filter them. Like almost every other aspect of Christian life we must make a conscious decision to do what is right. To clarify, we must do what is right in the eyes of God. God sees things quite differently than the wisdom of man. We must choose whose wisdom we are going to pay attention to. Paul warns us not to give heed to worldly wisdom but to search out the will of God.

Read the whole message, Believer to Man of God Part Three.

Believer to Man of God Part One, Sanctification

Believer to Man of God Part Two, Time Line

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Saturday morning at 7:45AM had our group gathering in the living room with common descriptions of soreness and fatigue from the active play on Friday. We began the day with a talk about praying for the lost followed by discussion of what our role is in the course of salvation for both the effective prayer and the practical witness.

After being served another excellent breakfast, we regrouped in the living room so Pastor Ron could present a lesson on listening to God followed by a short quiet time. We came back together and began the process of praying for all of the families in our congregation using the church directory and notes of the newer attendees. This procedure carried through a time period on the pontoon and in the van on the ride home. We cleared out of the house we had been staying in and loaded our gear into the van.

We took the pontoon out for a lunch cruise and found a calm spot near the lily pads to dine. We dined on sloppy joes, pasta salad, baked beans and an excellent strawberry dessert. We had plenty of laughs as we enjoyed one another’s company. After lunch we had a little free time as Ron took a couple of the kids on a short tubing ride while driving the speed boat over to the landing to pull it out of the water.

The ride home included a little bit of debate and lots of laughs as well as the finishing of our praying through the directory. We had a discussion about the retreat; what people liked and what they would like to see changed and then a suggestion time for ideas for the prayer ministry. All in all, people seemed to enjoy themselves and found value in attending the pray and play weekend. Thanks to Jeff for driving and for the use of his van for the transportation. Thanks to Pastor Ron for providing the facilities and giving us the last couple days of his vacation time there. And a special thanks to the great ladies at Mogasheen Resort who prepared the fabulous meals for us, including the wonderful desserts.

Read the full article.

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After lunch we had a session on Effective Prayer. As I said, it was after lunch so some eyelids were looking fairly heavy. People did perk up however as a lively discussion ended the session. The lesson was mainly on switching our prayer motivations from being self-serving to God glorifying and God’s will in the situation being prayed about. The discussion took a bit of a turn to whether or not our reason for being created was to simply glorify God or if there was more than that and also considered how much God truly wills for our individual daily decisions in life.

We then had free time from approximately 1:30 to 3:00PM. Some napped or sat and relaxed while others took care of some personal matters such as sermon prep or photo and blog uploads. At 3:00PM the speed boat was loaded into the water and the water skis and tubes were about to get wet. Some skied and tubed while others went along for the ride and watched. It was a warm, sunny afternoon that we were blessed with for some fun. The most popular comments dealt with being sore from using muscles differently than normal and wait to see how you feel tomorrow. Other than Jeff banging his knee jumping into the water behind the boat and Josiah taking a skidding slide across the gravel road that he was running on, we seemed to survive the afternoon with no casualties.

At 5:30 we had a short session before dinner which was an hour later. Having covered praise, thanksgiving and intercession earlier in the day, we now focused on confession. This was mainly a solo effort as we received a copy of a reprint from Finney dealing with the sin that we sometimes ignore or deal with in less than a sincere manner. We each went to a spot where we could sit alone to read the 3 pages and do a little self-introspection and confession. I know that I will have to address this one again as the allotted time did not seem to do it justice.

Dinner was what I would call a spaghetti lasagna, salad, garlic bread and milk or Kool-Aid. We were treated to a chocolate cake, pudding and whipped cream dessert that was very good to top off the fabulous dinner. The gals at the resort have provided excellent meals for us throughout our visit and we are grateful for their efforts.

After dinner at the picnic tables, we headed back to the house and spent about 45 minutes praying for the Cornerstone mission, vision and 2010 goals. We were then free for the night which included a Rook game and laughing at some of each other’s favorite YouTube videos.

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This morning we began at 7:45 with a pre-breakfast session, then had breakfast together in the house. After breakfast we had a message on praise and thanksgiving, took 10 minutes to reflect on our own prayer lives and our approach to God before gathering together for an outdoor activity.

We occupied 2 canoes and 4 kayaks and set course for the island. Along the way each person prayed alone quietly offering praise and thanksgiving to God. On the island we hiked across to a campsite where we settled in to hear some more thoughts on praise and thanksgiving before praying as a group. We reloaded into the watercraft and made the trip back to the resort for a lunch outside at the picnic tables.

After lunch we went back to the house and heard a message on effective prayer followed by a discussion about determining how a prayer was effective or not.

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The Pray and Play Retreat is a time for us to get away and focus on prayer. There is teaching followed by application and then conversation regarding the topic and experience. Between each session is time to play and enjoy the beautiful area here at Mogasheen resort near Cable, Wisconsin.

We all rode up here together in a 12 passenger van and over the three hour ride we took time to discuss prayer and had a short time of prayer. We learned of the backgrounds of each other concerning prayer in our upbringing and we discussed our current prayer habits. We also talked about why we were along on this adventure, all with differing reasons.

We arrived at 9:45PM and unloaded the van. We were shown our rooms and were free to explore our surroundings. Four of us went for a moonlight swim and then headed to the pool which felt like a hot tub after swimming in the refreshingly cool lake. After a little conversation time, people wandered to their beds. 7:45AM is start time in the morning.

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A compilation of thoughts from interviews with people

1. Everyone handles it differently- People I spoke with all seemed to have different perspectives on what would make a good friend, so proceed with caution. Some people need space, and some need to be with people 100%. Some people had hoped for people to be “pushy” with helping, while more often they appreciated practical approaches. The point is that everyone is a little different, and if you’re not sure how to help, ask!
2. Be Available for them when they need you- During our trials, probably my closest friend in town always answered phone calls from me. He often had to interrupt important meetings, but I could tell he went the extra mile to be available, and that meant a lot to me. When the time came to make a decision about whether we’d allow them to intubate Natalie, we literally couldn’t make the decision because it hurt so badly. We stepped out and called a very close family friend of ours who we respected as a nurse and asked her advice. She gave strong advice with supporting reason, and put us at ease that the hard choice was in fact the right one. One of the most amazing friends we have. Be available for people in need. They’ll appreciate it.
3. Shut up!- Many people gave me this as something they’d suggest. Listen, listen, listen. You don’t need to relate to their pain or pretend to know what to say. Just be there to listen without judgment.
4. Don’t force the issue- Some people can’t or won’t be ready to be helped at the time you’re ready to help them. It’s ok, and normal. Just try to be available without being obnoxious. Let them come to you, but be nearby and ready when they are.
5. Don’t try to answer or solve their problem-  I wrote a long letter describing where I was at to some awesome guys in our church, and they never once tried to “fix me” or give me the “answer” that would make this all better. Especially we men have a tendency to want to help “solve” the issue, but that’s not what a friend in tragedy needs.Some problems aren’t immediately solveable. That’s ok.
6. Be ok with their pain- Their pain is real, and it doesn’t need to be avoided or distracted from. It’s ok to acknowledge their pain and be there with them without being uncomfortable with their pain.
7. Avoid cliché-  This is especially true of those with faith- don’t say the right thing, tell them it will be ok, or quote Bible verses. There will be time for that, but right now they don’t need a canned answer, they need a friend.
8. Do the simple, practical things- Mow the lawn, make a meal, visit the hospital. Don’t just offer to “do something to help” but rather offer specifics, or just do something practical and simple to make life easier.
9. Help them laugh (or do something normal)- Some of the people I’d spoken with really loved their friends that helped them do something “normal” or helped them laugh a little and get away. They were moments of relief for them that made life easier.
10. Pray for them- Most people, even if they don’t share your faith, appreciate knowing that people are thinking and praying for them. Being consistent about this can be very encouraging to your friend in need.

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