I’m reading a book by Nicky Gumbel called Questions of Life, which goes along with an Alpha course Erick and I are taking through our church.  It’s basically geared towards those who are curious about Christianity, but are not quite sure about the whole thing.  It’s so excellent!  Very thought provoking but not preachy-I really enjoy it (we are taking it because, well, just about everyone in our church has taken the course through the years.  It’s a great refresher for those who aren’t new to the faith).  Anyway.  Not my point.  :)  Last night I read this paragraph:

About sixteen years ago I was on vacation with my family in central Asia, in part of the former USSR.  At that time Bibles were strictly illegal there, but I took some Christian literature, including some Russian Bibles.  While I was there, I went to churches and looked for people who seemed from their faces to be genuine Christians.  (At that time the meetings were usually infiltrated by the KBG.)  On one occasion  I followed a man, who was probably in his sixties, down the street after a service.  I went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.  There was nobody around.  I took out one of my Bibles and handed it to him.  For a moment he had an expression of almost disbelief.  Then he took from his pocket a New Testament, which was probably a hundred years old.  The pages were so threadbare they were virtually transparent.  When he realized that he had received a whole Bible, he was elated.  He didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak any Russian.  We hugged each other and he started to run down the street jumping for joy, because he knew that the Bible was the most precious thing in the world.

I couldn’t wait to dig back into my Bible after reading that paragraph.  Who am I to let it sit by my bed, for the most part going unread in the name of “busy-ness?”  I prayed for fresh eyes and a hunger for the Word, and I got it.   Mighty fine feeling.

Sometimes it’s an immediate yes, sometimes a no, sometimes a wait-and-see. We are case in points for all 3 scenarios, and appreciative for it! We waited 2 years for Erick’s dream job (which was a definite “wait” and “follow me in a direction you never imagined”) and we are still in the waiting stage for a house. However, if God answers our house prayers like he answered the job prayer-we are in for a blessing and a half! I could go on an on in the whole answered-prayer realm of our lives.

All that said, I just wanted to share a great answer we received today. The boys are sick. Sicker than sick. Flat out miserable. Ry’s going on a week, and for the past 4 days it’s been painful torture to try to get him to eat and drink. Try reasoning with a 3 year old! That’s fodder for a few blogs itself…

Today (Wednesday) is my usual get together at a friend’s house for a ladies prayer group. Obviously I couldn’t make it today, so I called and asked for prayers for the boys. I mentioned that Ry hadn’t had any food to speak of for quite a while. The call was around 9 o’clock. Awhile later, Ryan perked right up and asked for oatmeal. And ate THREE bowls, back to back. WOW! I took a peek at the clock and realized that it completely coincided with the time that my dear friends were in the prayer stage of the meeting. How’s that for an immediate yes? I love that God decided to answer in this particular way today. He is faithful, friends.

I truly love these hymn verses; our pastor pointed them out to us a Sunday or so ago. They make me feel so…protected. I have plans to turn them into some kind of art for our home. God is Good, isn’t He?!

	Christ beside me, Christ before me,
	Christ behind me King of my heart;
	Christ within me, Christ below me,
	Christ above me never to part. 

	Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
	Christ all around me shield in strife;
	Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
	Christ in my rising light of my life.