Help my unbelief, break my chains.

I am in bondage. I have worn these chains for many years.
I know what it is to be a slave to my flesh, to both love it and feed it,
 yet despise it.

God longs to free me from my chains and to set me on higher ground.
He only asks that I pray in faith; in fact, some things can only be done by prayer and fasting.

He can do exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ever ask or think.
He has done the impossible numerous times. He can do it here, too.
He delights in specific requests prayed with faith.



James 4: 2-3
"You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

James 1:12
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

Ephesians 3: 14-21
¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
 ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Mark 9: 22-29
 “From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
   ²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
 ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
 ²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
 ²⁶ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
 ²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
 ²⁹ He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”

Maturity, is that you?

I was none too excited last April,sitting in my adviser's office, scheduling the soon-to-be classes of the next semester. You see, I was told I had to take Personal Finance this semester. It sounds monotonous and like a headache, right? I was expecting it to be a total drag. Instead, it has taught me more real-world knowledge than many of my other classes. The classroom interaction along with the material we've covered has rocked my world. All of this to say, I have created a budget for myself and today I set up a savings account with the plan to monthly deposit a specific amount of money into it. Mom, your youngest child might finally be growing up.

On top of that, I gave blood today! Giving blood always makes me feel like a badass. The nurses administering the needles into my vein always start the procedure with, "if you need to look away, go ahead." Instead, I look that needle dead in the eye and say to it, with the telepathic powers that I possess, "you don't scare me." However, I always disprove my badass-ness when, after they've gathered the blood and removed the needle from my arm, I have to lie down for 20 minutes with ice packs and juice to keep from passing out. Oh well.

My favorite part of the experience was at the beginning when a small, cute, older Asian man was asking me for information. I was asked if I had been outside the country in the past 12 months, and answered "yes, Moldova in December of 2010." He spent ten minutes trying to find Moldova on the map while asking me at intervals if I was sure that was the name of the country.

Last but not least, it's the weekend! You KNOW you are maturing when you are excited for the weekend because it means you get to do your homework peacefully. God bless America.