Prayer Request - sorry for the length

[alangustin]

I covet the prayers of my brothers and sisters.

My family moved out to Virginia in May, 2008 for a job relocation. We both work for a Christ-centered eating disorder treatment facility. Val is in administration, and I was in the maintenance dept., while also providing praise and worship for chapels once or twice a week. Well, the economy went south, and they eliminated my facilities job, but offered me all the chapel music spots. This allowed us to just get by in paying our bills.
In December, I went on staff at a nearby church "re-plant" as the worship leader there. The meager salary from this church ministry gave us a bit of a "pad" financially, and we were praising God for the little bit extra.

Well, now the facility is eliminating one of the daily chapels, which will force me to look for another full-time job (in this economy - I'm not thrilled about the idea). This will interfere with the hours that the church expects me to put in as worship leader, and I may need to give that up, as well.

We've still got our old house in Arizona up for sale, with no indication that it will sell anytime soon. Can't even get a renter. Part of our relocation package included the company paying the mortgage on the AZ house for a period of time. This period of time is coming to an end, and soon we will be paying two mortgages, with me potentially being out of work. No way that would work.

So, after all that - my prayer request is that God will provide a way out. Either the center keeps the two chapels per day, or I can find a job that will provide the income we need to survive in our current situation.

Of course, I always pray that God's will be done, and that He would use me to advance His Kingdom. If it means that we live in a trailer for a while, so be it. I realize that we are just one of thousands of families in a similar situation, and so I am praying for them at the same time that I pray for our family. I ask that you lift our family up. That we won't fall apart emotionally, that we can be strong for our kids, and that our marriage will not only withstand the strain, but grow stronger in the middle of it.

Thank you, and may God reveal Himself to you in a blessing!

[JasonK]

You're in my family's prayers, Alan.

[LoriBiddle]

I will pray too! I am so sorry, I can't imagine the strain of it all!

My kids are even questioning whether it's worth staying in college and going into debt...times are really tough, I'll pray for you for sure!!

[fmckinnon]

Alan,
THis is a big mountain to face, but nothing is impossible with God. I believe that with all of my heart. We will pray for you!

[alangustin]

I've been running Proverbs 3:5&6 through my head, trying to get it more firmly planted in my heart.

I thank you all for your prayers and for your support. Just knowing that the prayers of fellow worshipers are lifting us up to God is a huge encouragement.

God bless you guys & gals!

AG

[psalmist11817]

Don't worry...God is working in the supernatural right now....His best is yet to come in your life :)

[simplyfloyd]

I have the utmost confidence that God does not and will not abandon his people or ignore their prayers. God is a faithful God, and his will always goes according to plan, even if it doesn't look the way we thought it would.

I rejoice in the testimony we will here when God shows himself in this situation, and I praise him for his faithfulness to you and your family.

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

First I wanted to say that we miss you in the on-line Bible study. I understand completely and you don't have to feel bad for not continuing, but I just wanted to let you know that you are thought of and missed. I've been trying to keep up with the studies. I have been dealing with some blood clots in my hemorrhoid, but God is good and has guided me along the way and things are hopefully clearing up with that. I'm not at the end of the road yet, but I'm closer.

God does not promise us an easy road. I think sometimes nonchristians look at Christians and think that our lives are supposed to be perfect after we accept Christ. But He does promise to always walk with us down whatever road we are on.

I like in your request how you are still praying for others who are in tough times. Your heart is in the right place, and God will guide you through. :D

As far as keeping your family close, my husband and I just watched the movie "Fireproof". I purchased it on ebay. It was the best movie I ever watched and will remind you to always work on your marriage no matter what the situation you are in. I would highly advise you to watch that movie. If you are close to any movie rental stores, they should have it there too.

I will pray for you that God will open up doors for you in amazing ways! Keep us posted.

Remember that God loves you and he will hold your hand through this if you "Let him . . . "

[alangustin]

I just typed a long reply to your note which dissapeared when I clicked on the wrong X.

I'll re-type it later, but I wanted to thank you so much for your encouragement!:o

AG

[Maggievt]

I can't imagine this type of strain. You are DEFINITELY in my prayers - keep us up to date, please! Maggie in Vt

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

I just typed a long reply to your note which dissapeared when I clicked on the wrong X.

I'll re-type it later, but I wanted to thank you so much for your encouragement!:o

AG

Looking forward to hearing what you were going to write. I hope you are doing okay!

[alangustin]

Hey guys and gals, I'm very encouraged by your replies, and grateful for your prayers.

WIJL... I will definitely check out "Fireproof". I've heard great things about that movie. Thanks for the suggestion.

I continue to look for work, though I'm not having any luck. My most marketable skill-set is in the facilities maintenance field, and I've put in skads of applications and resumes for job offers of this genre, but haven't heard back from any yet. I'll stay hopeful that something will come along one of these days. I've got a lead on a possible night-shift job, but I'm waiting to see what develops with that. I actually hope that comes through, because I would be able to continue doing chapel music and the worship leading at church. So that's the direction you can be praying for me now.

We are getting ready to do a short-sale on our house in Arizona, so we can get out from under that ball-and-chain. Then, hopefully we'll be able to re-negotiate the terms of our mortgage on our home here in Virginia and lower our monthly payments. I really don't want to apply for unemployment benefits, but it may come to that. It'll be humiliating, but God wants us humble, right? Gotta do what I can to support the fam.

One thing that is keeping me from sinking into total depression is the worship leading at the church 're-plant' that I'm involved in. We have finally found a drummer, and he's awesome. I thought our pastor was going to pass out from ecstasy when we auditioned Bobby on drums. We played "All Because of Jesus" by Steve Fee, and "Everlasting God", Brewster-style. Jammed on a couple other older songs like "Let It Rise" and "Those Who Trust". It was good.

I am a follower of Jesus, and so I know that I am not called to a life of comfort and ease. I catch myself whining a bit too much lately, and I don't like it. Jesus didn't whine when He hung on the cross for me... the least I can do is persevere and try to stay focused on Him. I will count my blessings and continue to pray for all the friends I've made here at TWC, and I look forward to being able to pick up the 'Pure Praise' study again soon.

I've posted a couple new ramblings at my blog...

Love you guys!
AG

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

We did watch "Fireproof" the other night and it was really good. If both husband and wife have an open mind when watching the movie I think it could really have a wonderful impact on a marriage. That's what I wanted for my marriage. Although I think it went in one ear and right out the other ear for my husband. It won't work if only half the marriage wants to nurture the marriage. But I would highly suggest watching it to see if it will help you to nurture your marriage through your rough times. If you have financial difficulty in obtaining it, let me know and I'll purchase a copy and mail it to you.

I'm glad that things are going well for you at church. Hopefully things will fall into place with the job that you have applied for. But if it doesn't, just remember that God has a plan for you. We don't always know what that plan is and it may not always seem like it is a fit for us, but even though sometimes we don't think so, he really does know what he is doing. I do know that it is difficult though. My husband went through and is still going through some tough times. He was employed at our church in the past in Christian Education and Youth Leadership. He currently is not working within the church, and he sometimes dwells on the past and what he should have done at different times. I continue to tell him that dwelling on the past won't change anything. The only thing you can do is live from today on. You can use past experiences to help in your future decisions. But dwelling on the past will only pull you down.

Anyway, the whining feeling you have is only part of being human. Don't get too down on yourself. Just don't let the whining take over your life and don't let the whining cause a rift in your marriage. One of the phrases in the "Fireproof" movie was, "Nurture a rose and it will bloom; neglect a rose and it will wilt." They said a marriage is exactly the same - nurture your marriage and it will bloom; neglect your marriage and it will wilt. Through tough times you both need to pull together and focus on each other and your relationship with God and "let God. . ." work out the rest.

Do you have friends and family living near you that you can lean on? I will continue to pray for you. I hope your job comes through!!!

[alangustin]

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.


Fortunately, my marriage is on firm ground. I never have to worry about the strength of our relationship. It is one of the things that keeps me going.

BTW, I grew up in Lansdale, PA. Where in PA are you?

AG

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

I am in Hanover, PA, (home of the Utz Potato Chip if you've ever had them) close to Gettysburg, York. If I'm not mistaken, I think Lansdale is in the Lancaster area which is probably about 1 hour from where I am located. When did you live there. Did you ever listen to WJTL FM 90.3 - the local Christian radio station. It is an awesome station. This whole area of Pennsylvania is a beautiful area - some rural areas, not too much like a city here in this area.

I saw you are located in Virginia. I am going to be going back and forth to Falls Church, Virginia about every two weeks for the next month and a half or so. About 2 1/2 weeks ago I had a blood clot in a hemorrhoid and had lots of pain and problems with it. There is a procedure for hemorrhoid removal at The Colorectal Center for Health in Falls Church, Virginia. The first removal visit went very well and I am feeling much better and have no pain any more. I am going to have more taken care of before they get to the point that this one got to. Their procedure takes about 30 seconds and you are back to work the next day. This was a much better alternative than having a 5 hour surgery for removal and being off work for weeks. Anyway, I don't know how close you are to Falls Church, Virginia. As I said, I will purchase a copy of "Fireproof" for you if you financially cannot afford it. I can either mail it to you or you could meet me at The Colorectal Center for Health in Falls Church, VA, and I could give it to you there. Unfortunately, I would not be able to travel any further than Falls Church because after the procedure I will want to come back home right away for some rest and recovery.

[alangustin]

Lansdale is even further east than Lancaster. Actually, it is just 30 mi. north-northwest of Philadelphia (about halfway between Phila and Allentown). I loved growing up there. But it is quite a bit more developed and overcrowded since I lived there. Mnay of the dairy farms have been sold off for housing tracts. Oh well... can't stop 'progress', right?

Falls Church is north of us by about 80 mi. I really appreciate your willingness to buy and deliver a copy of 'Fireproof' to us, but we aren't quite that desperate yet. We have a rental place up the road, and we plan on renting it one of these nights.

I hope you can put your medical troubles behind you soon (no pun intended!)
I'll be praying that your next procedure goes without a hitch. God bless!

AG

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

I hope you can put your medical troubles behind you soon (no pun intended!)AG

:D Hahahahaha - that made me laugh - hahahahahah - that was a cute comment - hahahahaha :D

Thanks for the prayers. Continue them over the next month and a half. The rest of the appts should be fine. The worse of it is past.