Return to Extremeness! Grace and Peace to the worldwide readers of Something Monthly......does this statement sound a little strange to you? Don't let it. SM is a small publication generally reserved for friends and friends of friends but obviously open to anyone who is interested. We have subscribers all over the U.S., and yes, even in other countries. There are readers from lots of different places and they all need prayer, hope, encouragement and love. Now, of course, no one knows all of the SM readers, so apply this to your life and your long distance relationships. Other people in our lives and spheres of influence that are far away tend to be "out of sight - out of mind." This shouldn't be the case. We need to lift each other up in prayer. Just a couple I'd like to mention quickly would be two personal friends of mine, Tara and Peter. They both have big changes in their lives involving ministry. Tara is an independent musician who is touring to support an album; and Peter, also known as Peter-John, is looking for sponsorship for a missions opportunity in Scotland. These two are out in the world trying to make a difference for Christ and they need support. I'm not asking that you give money to them (although they would appreciate it) but pray for them and the impact that they are making on the lives of others. Just like Tara and Peter, I'm sure that there are many in each of your lives that need God's guidance and wisdom. In your daily prayer time, always try to think of someone that you haven't seen lately and pray for their needs to be met. We also need to try to keep in mind those that are less fortunate than us, both near and far. Praying for things like these will help us keep focused in our prayer lives and help fulfill what I think are the four important parts of prayer. In order of importance, I see these four things that should be included in our prayer lives: Praise, Thanksgiving, Intercession, Personal Needs. Over the next few months, I will try to give my view on these elements. Let's try to determine to take some of the extra time we have this summer and work on the strength of our prayer lives. Prayer is not something to be taken lightly, prayer is powerful. You know, sometimes I think that I can't get any busier but every month it seems to get worse. Life is hard. I seem to be involved in a little of everything. Work, church, family, softball, moving people and SM seem to take up all of my time...I have no free time anymore. Oh yeah, then there's bills - Killer! Just when you catch up, something else happens. I can never seem to get ahead. And of course, everyone wants my wife and I to have children. Where am I going to find the time and money for that I ask? I kind of enjoy what little time I have of my own, no need for kids yet....one day, guys, one day - I promise. I do look forward to SM each month though - I guess this is what I do with my free time. We have discussed before how difficult it is to always try to top the previous month with the top 10 or music reviews or whatever - I hope everyone understands how much work it takes to be entertaining. And what about life's little surprises. I was so surprised when I was born, that I couldn't speak for almost two years! You might say Todd, what's with all of this rambling? I'm just trying to say - life is crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. |