Prayer Request

I have another prayer request. Sometimes I feel like all I do is ask God to do stuff or to help people or to heal people and stuff like that. First and foremost, I thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ. I thank Him for who He is, what He did, and the unmerited grace and favor He continues to show me. I am, most assuredly, the wretch mentioned in Amazing Grace. Before we make any request to God, we should rejoice in the Lord and thank Him and worship Him. In his epistle written to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul wrote:

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

So, it is with much thanksgiving to God and with the understanding that not one of us deserves God's grace, that I ask God to help my dear, sweet friend Jean Ray.

Mrs. Jean is a walking, talking testimony to the power and grace of Jesus Christ. I got a message last night that she has "double pneumonia" and won't be able to visit with her friends in the Internet world for a while. There have been so many problems that she and Mr. Ted have had, yet they remain faithful and loving followers of Christ. They may not know it but they are examples to me. I'm inspired by their faith and love. Through all the hardships they've endured, from multiple health problems including so many allergies that it's hard to count them all, to the threat of job loss, to their son Chris' health problems, to almost anything imaginable, I've never once heard them complain.

The only thing I've ever heard from either of them is praise to God for His many blessings. Some days have been harder than others to endure but both of them will greet you with a smile, even on the worst of days. I hope I can be like them when hardships come. I hope that my attitude remains one of thanksgiving to God. I don't hope these things so the world will think more of me but rather so the world will know the hope that Mrs. Jean, Mr. Ted and I have is from a source foreign to many...the grace and peace and hope we have through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please join with me in lifting up the Ray family. Please pray that the Lord would continue to show them His lovingkindness and that He would use them as He has for so long, to be the salt and light in a world of darkness.

Mrs. Jean and Mr. Ted, if you read this, please know that my prayers are with you. Also know that I love you both very much and I am inspired by your faith and witness.

The Peace of Christ to You,
Casey

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Philippians 4:19-20

Prayer Request & New Blog Site

The appearance, web address, and content of my blog will be changing in the near future. My tech support and marketing genius, Kevin Lester, is moving to Louisville in a couple of days just to help me with the changeover, so it should be exciting and forthcoming.

I'm just kidding. Kevin and Tracey Lester are moving up here (Hooray!) but it's not merely to help me with my blog. That's not the primary reason, anyway. Tracey is going to continue her education here at Southern Seminary in the area of Biblical Counseling. She has a semester under her belt, so she and I both have a long way to go.

Please pray for them. Kevin will be searching for a job once they're here and subsequent to finding one, they will be searching for a residence. They have a place to stay temporarily until Kevin can start "winning some bread." Also pray for their families. Understandably, both the Lesters and the Bookers are sad to see their children move away.

As far as the blog goes, I'm trying to come up with a new name. Kevin, the marketing genius, has given me a whole bunch of suggestions and I'd like to get some more. If you have a suggestion, just leave it in a comment. If you don't know how to leave a comment, just email it to me and I'll post a comment for you.

Here are some of the suggestions Kevin has given me so far:

harpesofheaven.com
younggiftedreformed.com (I like this one but I'm not very gifted...or young.)
caseycannotcomeupwithaname.com (obviously)
foghornleghorn.org (I say, read this boy!)
DrAlisMyBuddy.com (Dr. Al Mohler)
bloggingforjesus.org
myfrienddidthis.com
reachingforthehem.com (read Luke 8: 43-48)
seminaryrocks.org
lookouttheresjesus.com

And probably my 4 favorites so far:

nealismyhero.com
listentothedonkey.com (read 2Peter 2:15-16)
readthisorthegiraffegetsit.com (Giraffes are so jealous.)
electedbyunpopularvote.com

Thanks for the prayers and input!
Casey

Keshia is Awesome

My friends Keshia and Jacob Shatzer are expecting a baby. HOORAY!!! Keshia told me a while back that she was expecting and I couldn't be happier for them. As far as I know, they don't have names picked out so if you know the Shatzers, you may want to suggest some prospective names. I have already recommended the name "Casey" but that got denied pretty quickly.

I suggested it because it's a great name and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it's my name. At this point, before the gender is known, I reasoned that it would be best to use a name that would work whether it's a boy or girl. Casey is actually a male name but with a little finagling on the spelling, it works either way. I suggested this to Keshia but she said that Jacob didn't like bisexual names. I told her that I didn't care what Jacob said, I am not bisexual.

Anyway, please pray for the Shatzers and their soon-to-be-non-bisexually-named baby. They will make wonderful parents and I pray the Lord blesses them with the wisdom, patience, and grace they will need as new parents.

Casey

(The title of this blog was Keshia's suggestion.)