Five-Finger Prayers

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This was in my devotion for today from Our Daily Bread. It’s really good, so I thought I’d share.

Prayer is a conversation with God, not a formula. Yet sometimes we might need to use a “method” to freshen up our prayer time. We can pray the Psalms or other Scriptures (such as The Lord’s Prayer), or use the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). I recently came across this “Five-Finger Prayer” to use as a guide when praying for others:

[+] When you fold your hands, the thumb is nearest you. So begin by praying for those closest to you: your loved ones (Philippians 1:3-5).

[+] The index finger is the pointer. Pray for those who teach: Bible teachers and preachers, and those who teach children (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

[+] The next finger is the tallest. It reminds you to pray for those in authority over you: national and local leaders, and your supervisor at work (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

[+] The fourth finger is usually the weakest. Pray for those who are in trouble or who are suffering (James 5:13-16).

[+] Then comes your little finger. It reminds you of your smallness in relation to God’s greatness. Ask Him to supply your needs (Philippians 4:6,19).

Whatever method you use, just talk with your Father. He wants to hear what’s on your heart.
-Anne Cetas

Not A Bad Day

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Despite waking up this morning with some stomach pain, I actually slept until noon and had a pretty quiet day. I watched “Bridget Jones’ Diary” and “Shrek 2” while working on my prayer shawl and then Jon and I went out to dinner since he actually had tonight at home. (Usually, he has council meetings on the first two Wednesdays of the month.) The movies were good (I liked “Shrek 2” a lot and “BJD” was probably a 7 out of 10) and I’m actually tolerating solid foods now. I had my grilled chicken sandwich and 2 pieces of Jon’s pizza (which I will probably regret later — then again, it’s keeping my bowels moving so I can’t complain).

After dinner, I went out and walked 3 miles, something I haven’t been able to do in probably 2 weeks because my health has been so awful. They say you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone and I hadn’t realized until now that I *NEED* my walk every night. It was good to feel the endorphins kick in at 2.5 miles and to come home all sweaty from something other than a fever. After I showered, I talked to my wonderful Candian hostee about ministry schtuff and blog schtuff. (I just got comments working on his blog again, so go over there and leave him a few!)

It’s actually been a not bad day — something I’ve needed lately…

Movies and Books

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Michelle tagged me so…

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video:
No idea… they’re all Jon’s for the most part.

2) The last film I bought:
I don’t remember — it’s been a really long time.

3) The last film I watched:
Robin Hood: Men In Tights (I think)

4) Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):
The Third Miracle
The Birdcage
Forrest Gump
Les Mis (a version we watched in my French class)
any of the Austin Powers ones

Ten Things I have NOT done:
001. Shoplift
002. Backpack through Europe
003. Kill a man
004. Visit Asia
005. Visit Australia
006. Serve as a missionary
007. Learn Spanish
008. Read the whole Bible in a year
009. Eat blue paint
010. Streak through a crowd.

Tag: Drina, Kristen, and Richard.

OK… Rick tagged me for this one:

1. Total number of books I own:
A LOT.

2. Last book I bought:
Ummmm… I think some Calvin and Hobbes ones???

3. Last book I read:
“Eragon” by Christopher Paolini (well… still reading it)

4. Five books that mean a lot to me:
“What’s So Amazing About Grace” by Philip Yancey
“The Jesus I Never Knew” by Philip Yancey
The Bible
“Christy” by Catherine Marshall
“The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis

5. Two major books when I was a kid:
“The Diary of Anne Frank”
“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

6. People I want to tag: (copy/paste the questions and answer them on your blog…)
Ummm… whoever wants to do this?

Cullen the Cat

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There is a boldly striped tabby cat sitting next to me and purring so hard that he is vibrating the floor under both of our chairs. Can life get any better?

Surgery Details

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Surgery is scheduled for June 16th. (I’d prefer it be a whole heck of a lot sooner but beggars can’t be choosers.) I can eat again (yay!!!!!) but I can’t have any fat. I’m trying to figure out exactly how that’s going to work…

Surgery: Affirmative

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I was back at the clinic today. In the words of my P.A., my gallbladder “is a basket of rocks”. This was followed by a rapid fire explanation of the abnormalities in my bloodwork in Organic Chemistry terms. I think my response was something along the lines of *blinkblink*. (The E.R. doc explained it on Friday night.) I then had my stomach poked and prodded as well as a basic physical. I still have to keep on liquid diet *grumblegrumblegrumble* but he agreed that my *(&*%%^$& gallbladder needs to come out.

They don’t have the official report yet (probably tomorrow) but I do have a surgical consult tomorrow at 12:45. It can thankfully be done laproscopicly at my local hospital and I’ll likely be in overnight. (I’m not keen on going home the same day.)

Off I go to eat some gummy worms. (They are theoretically a clear liquid as they are hardened jello.) It’s not the best thing for me but it helps to deal with the growling from my stomach as it asks why I’m depriving it of food.