well, it is sunday morning.  church day, woohoo!  so how have i begun my day?  just like any other, with prayer.  especially on sundays.  how do i pray?  glad you asked....

first i thank God for His many (undeserved) blessings and the mercy He has shown to me; for saving me; for loving me; for Who and What He is, etc.

i repent.  i ask Him to search every crevice of my heart until I find no more to repent of.  then i even ask Him to forgive me for anything i am not aware of.  i ask Him to convict me, to reveal sin.

i pray for my husband who is also my pastor.  i ask God to bring strong convition upon his heart in order to make sure he is ready to preach.  i ask God to help michael repent of any and all sin...to be a clean and empty vessel that God can use.  i ask God to be with michael as he preaches.  i ask Him to fill him with joy and love and compassion, yet with boldness!  i ask for liberty as he preaches. 

i pray for the congregation.  i begin naming names:  people who have quit coming, those who are slacking, the backslidden, the lost, the bitter, the wordly.  i ask that there be no distractions during the service that would hinder them from receiving the Word.  i ask that hearts are soft even before coming to church.  i ask that we see new faces in our services.  i ask that the Lord save a soul.  i pray for the Holy Spirit to be evident in our services.

i pray for every aspect of services:  sunday school, childrens church, nursery workers, congregational singing, special singing, offering, preaching.

in Jesus' name, Amen.

now all i have to do is have faith that God can, will and wants to do all of those things!  harder than it sounds.  but im just crazy enough to believe that God will do something miraculous among us at VBC today!