From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:9-13

After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Nicole and I cannot begin to express the sincere thanks for the thoughts, sentiments and prayers we have received from our social media family over the past week. Your thoughts and comments have been almost overwhelming during this tough time of loss for our family.

To our blog, JASEzone, Twitter, FriendFeed and Facebook families: We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your friendship and prayers.

May God bless you all for your dear friendship.

Psalm 43

God, defend me. Argue my case against those who don’t follow you. Save me from liars and those who do evil. God, you are my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why am I sad and troubled by my enemies? Send me your light and truth to guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to where you live. Then I will go to the alter of God, to God who is my joy and happiness. I will praise you with a harp, God, my God.

Why am I so sad? Why am I so upset? I should put my hope in God and keep praising him, my Savior and my God.

Colossians 4:2-6

Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thank God. Also pray for us that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret that God has made known about Christ … Pray that I can speak in a way that will make it clear, as I should.

Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.

James 5:13-16

Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises. Anyone who is sick should call the church’s elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person in the name of the Lord. And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.

Thank you to my cousin Susan and my (late) Uncle Nunally for this reference on how powerful prayer can be in our lives.