A new Christian prayer thread for summer...

[Tuo]

This thread is a safe space where anyone - regular, occasional visitor, lurker, committed Christian or waverer - is welcome to come and leave their prayers in the knowledge that they will be prayed for. No problem is too big or small to share here, and if you just want to come and say 'hi', that's fine too.

Looking back through our previous thread, we pray in particular for:

abbsismyhero - for help with her anxiety and relationship with an abusive ex.

amberlight - for her work supporting people with autism, and for health and happiness for her and her family.

Aphie - for her fiancé's family following the sudden death of his uncle, and for her anxiety.

BlackEyedSusan - for all that she has to juggle as a single mum, for her DC, and for her mum.

Bluetinkerbell - five years on from the loss of her baby DD, Sterre.

Cocoa button - for issues around the safety of her DS2.

Dontbesilly - for strength as she grieves the loss of her dad, for her mum and the rest of her family, for her DD's school issues, and for Dont's own health.

drspouse - for full recovery from a recent chest infection and for happiness and a warm welcome in her new church.

DutchOma - with gratitude for all she does to support people on this thread and elsewhere, and for her to find peace and joy in her life following the loss of her beloved Bob.

EdithSimcox - for her to find joy and fulfilment in her faith and understanding and support from her DP.

ethelb - for her MIL who has blood clots in her leg and suspected sarcoma, and for all who love and care for her.

FaithLoveandHope - for her anxiety and depression to lift and for her to be able to avoid falling into despair and self-harm, and for her relationship with her DSD.

greyscalealmond - for her depression to be alleviated and for family relationships.

HardyLeodicean - especially for her FIL and for a recently-bereaved friend.

IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece - for her friend's pregnancy.

LarrytheCucumber - for family members involved in fostering and adoption, for the DC involved, and for their birth parents and all involved in their ongoing care.

LifeofBriony - for her relationship with her DH and for her DD's friend, J, who is in a coma after a seizure.

LittleBootsTheBabe - for healing and happiness for an acquaintance of hers.

MadHairDay - for her health, and for her whole family at a time of change and uncertainty.

Malefriendproblem - for her relationship with an old friend which has turned sour, and for her DD who suffers from anxiety.

Newmamatobe - for her new life with her baby DD and free of alcohol.

niminypiminy - who will be ordained very soon.

passportmess - for her friend who has schleroderma.

Paulat2112 - for friends who are experiencing relationship difficulties.

PositiveAttitude - for her whole family, but especially her DD1 who has been depressed, her pregnant DD2, her mum and dad, her DH and his work. Above all, we pray for PA herself, who is always there for others when they need her, for her studies, and for a potential house-move.

QoF - for her relationship with her DH.

SESthebrave - for all who are grieving over the loss of a friend from church, for work-related decision-making, and for the friend who was Best Man at her wedding whose relationship has broken down following his wife's infidelity.

SouthernLassie - for her relationship with a colleague.

sweetandsour - for her auntie who has been diagnosed with cancer, and for her mum and all who love and care for her auntie.

Teallove - for her to feel free to move on following the breakdown of a relationship.

Trazzletoes - for her 6-year-old DS who has previously had cancer and who is now unwell again - praying for a swift (and hopefully reassuring) diagnosis and for Trazzletoes and all who love him at this worrying time.

Tweebee - for her DS to settle at nursery.

And also thinking of friends who haven't visited for a while, who who pop in only occasionally, including ALittleFaith, Anjelica27, Kaykat, JugglingFromHereToThere, ktef, legohurtswhenyoustandonit, Pandora97, shortscotty, weegiemum and others.

And, as always, prayers for anyone I've forgotten (with apologies), for all who lurk but don't post, and for newbies who may not have posted yet.

This prayer was posted by Edith on the old thread, and I really like it and would like it to stand for what this new thread is all about:

All that we are, Lord,
we place into your hands.
All that we do, Lord,
we place into your hands.

Everything we work for,
we place into your hands.
Everything we hope for,
we place into your hands.

The troubles that weary us,
we place into your hands.
Thoughts that disturb us,
we place into your hands.

Each that we pray for,
we place into your hands.
Each that we care for,
we place into your hands. Amen

Four hip,hip, hoorays: 1 for finding the slippers, 1 for finding the insurance and 2 for braving the spider.

case and a couple of bags in the car. been to two supermarkets and two shops to get the last bit we needed. at least three of them were on the same retail park.

got to clear up and wash up, also clear out the fridge. hang washing so they have clothes when we get back. finish the packing and get petrol. which I forgot to do tonight. doh!

bes, no 'doh' required. You had lots to remember and petrol can easily be bought on the way. Have a safe trip

Orchid, yes, I think it can be difficult when you are not seeing your therapist - it is medical treatment like any other. I can't see mine through the school holidays either. I am working on meditation and prayer to ground me. I hope you are finding help with the medication too.

Prayers for all - and also for my dsis who is starting to TTC again after loss and battling infertility. Age is not on her side, but she is praying to be blessed with a child this time.

Prayer has been answered, thank you. 💟

Please pray that my husband gets the job he interviewed for yesterday, he can take it and it all works out well. A huge weight will be lifted if things work out for us.

Praying for your daughter coco

Sorry I meant your sister

still bloody here. still blodody packing and washing up and clearing out fridge.

have got the deatails of the holida now though, which helps.

praying for the job, or a better one to come along v soon.

still packing. dd has washed up the plastic stuff.

cocoa praying for dsis and your own wellbeing.

bes praying for safe calm travels for you and a restful holiday.

fakename praying

still bloody here but nearly finished.

see you in a couple of weeks.

mykids have just pm'd you back. So sorry re delay - not been online as away on holiday still.
will read and pray through thread now..love to you all

Thank you

I have been working on forgiveness and compassion. I am trying to cultivate an open heart so that I can think clearly about the contact issues for DS. I am having panic attacks.

This is nothing to do with the other person who asked me for forgiveness. XH would not conceive of himself as having harmed us, he only sees his own needs and self. I am so scared of losing myself again trying to meet these. I am going to sit and look at the sky and pray for strength and calm. There are lovely prayers on here, thank you .

I wish and pray for peace and well-being for all others who are stressed or in distress.

Hello everyone.

I am reading through the posts to catch up. I am still the same. Although slightly more miserable and I can't shake it.

Someone I cared for through work sadly passed away. She really did care about me and although the hours were manic it was a welcome distraction after loosing dad. I have been busy helping the family get organised and I am being kept on as a housekeeper with the family which is good news. I really do miss her. She was extremely understanding about loosing my dad and although she lost her own parents fifty plus years ago, she was very aware of the situation and missed her own parents dearly, talking about them often. She was a lovely lady.

Dh is on shifts. The patterns go like this. He rests in the morning so as not to be tired for work when on afternoon starts. He rests after work in the afternoons when on early start. When on nights he sleeps during the day. It constantly feels like a house of dossers. The dc are on summer break from school and I am not a dosser. I can't sit still for long with jobs to do. Its irritating and causes conflict. I distance myself from the dossers and they stick together and I end up isolating myself further.

My mum is becoming more dependant on me and my sister. She can't sleep alone at home for more than two or three days. She wants to sleep here. This creates a tension as she is also not a dosser. She also is very vocal about her observations and it starts arguments and dh and the dc complain about it to me. Her house is sold to someone trying to sell their house. I can't see it ever going through soon.

I don't seem to be able to click with God. I am still talking to him. Its definitely my doing and not his. Its as if I know where he is but I lost the key to the door.

I hope you don't mind me rambling on. I can't tell you just how much it helps me. I feel connection with you all and I feel lifted and supported. Truly I am grateful and blessed with this little place here x

I am reading through in pieces and praying for everyone. It's good to hear about everything that is going on with everyone. It shows me that I am not alone and that good and bad things happen to everyone. Praying for others is a comforting thing to do.

I will read through and catch up with everyone and return shortly.

You are doing well Dont: keeping on keeping on. Maybe you could think of it not so much as isolating yourself as detaching from a disagreeable situation. I'm glad you still have a job to escape to even though you will keenly miss the loss of yet another understanding person in your life. Is there any chance you could escape for an afternoon just to have a coffee and a book/magazine/bit of knitting (I don't know whether you knit, or crochet)? It sounds to me as if you are driving yourself doing things for your family that they could perfectly well do for themselves if you didn't do them.
You describe so beautifully the feeling that God is out of reach. Again, maybe find a quiet spot where you can be alone so He can reach you. Keep talking here, nobody minds how rambling it is.

I agree with everything Dutchoma says. I think you need something that allows you recharge so that the long slog is broken up. Delegate too. I made a little list of things that bring me joy so that I could identify what to do. Learning German just for fun even just for ten minutes, swimming, going to an art gallery, listening to Beethoven. I'm going to make an effort to reconnect with church too as my faith has been too solitary. Perhaps don't you could find little things that give you some ballast too. Yes, sometimes I perceive God as being very far away. I am probably very wrong . I am sorry to hear about your workmate. What a lovely woman.

It does strike me that you have a double dose of housekeeping - at home and at work. Even more reason to take breaks doing something that takes you away for 20 minutes mentally. X

Thinking and praying for youdontbesilly. A friend texted me today to ask how I was and I'll share with you a sentence she put. " it's the little things that can be a big achievement" that really helped me as I was feeling down - I hope it helps you.

I think we often overlook our little victories in the mad race to keep going and get everything done. Hope you are okay too Orchid.

Oh, dont, I am so sorry for your bereavement, which must be so hard following your dad's passing. It is good that you are keeping a connection with the family. I do agree that you are doing a lot of caring with no-one caring for you - maybe your mum's vocal observations and her regular presence is her showing love (and concern) for you too.

I think it is hard to be close to God when you are feeling angry and let down (as I would be in your position, and I do feel with my xH). But these are emotions, they are not you. passport is right about finding the things that matter to you. I think it is great that you say 'and I am not a dosser' - but take it further - so who are you? Maybe the best way you can be close to God is to give some time to yourself, to being the person YOU are, because God is with you always, and loves you. You too are part of the world He created, and deserve to fulfil your potential.

I find solace in the natural beauty of the world - small things like the sun on your face, the noise of the wind, colours of flowers. All of these things I did not see for a long time.

I too am rambling, as am tired. I will pray for strength and love for you. Also for Orchid who has been feeling down; and for passport in her intentions to reconnect with her Church and things that give her joy. And for those who feel lost in the world at the moment.

Don't totally agree with above posts. Found it interesting re what cocoasaid about looking into who are you. A couple of years ago when the proverbial hit the fan with me and dh one of the things that I realized after the event was how much I had been concentrating over the years more and more on what dh wasn't rather than on who I was. Those thoughts gradually snowballed, he wasn't enough of a provider meaning I was constantly knackered working my butt off, he was too caught up in his own interests, he relied on me to make things happen and to avoid crisis hitting, running the house was left to me bar the one or 2 jobs he did as a gesture etc etc. I focused more and more on what he wasn't, lost track of what he did right and crucially completely lost track of who I was as my role became doing all the stuff he didn't do and plugging the gap much to my growing resentment. All of this drove a growing wedge between us that meant when he had problems and a breakdown we were too far apart for me to be able to reach him. None of this means that I am trying to excuse the lack of support you are receiving in such a difficult time as that is bang out of order. But if you have said your piece to them then I would try putting your efforts into you, into rebuilding your relationship with God, into discovering what you want from life and when you have made some inroads here you will be in a better place to deal with and decide what you want from your family. They need reminding that you are a person in your own right with a purpose that isn't just to make their lives easier. And if the washing isn't always done immediately and the house isn't always spick and span because you are doing stuff for you then so be it.

Thank you everyone for your kind words. They all make sense. I know that I have been prayed for as dh is in line for another pay rise. Money issues are another cause of worry. Money is not the most important thing in the world but it keeps a roof over our heads and causes such angst.

The lady who died was someone I was a personal carer for. She was a character. We got along well even though she was known to be difficult. I just took the time to get to know her and was kind and respectful. It took a while but we became good friends and we could talk about anything. It was sudden and unexpected but she didn't suffer.

I wonder if there is a mix of my age (perimenopausal), grief, worry and stress and fibromyalgia all going on.

I have taken to gardening. My dad loved it and I feel closer to him when I garden. The family think of it as work so I can get on with it without feeling guilty. I do gardening until it starts to get tiring and I immediately stop. I find this works for me. I am still doing OK with my collection of orchids and they give me pleasure. The old lady loved her orchids too and I am looking after her orchids for her. I have also been buying the odd piece of make up. Just to try to cheer myself up a bit and the odd new piece of clothing. Neither of these are expensive as we don't have the funds. Yesterday I had to take dd2 to town for an appointment and to kill time I popped in Primark. I picked up three sale items that are classic items and will get a lot of use for 20.00 I noticed that I sound apologetic but I want to show that I am taking the advice on here. I have also earmarked a few books to read too. I also bought some plant food from Wilkos too. So I can dig that in. I have also started a compost bin and bought some stuff for that in Wilkos too. Five pounds for the lot.

I know that this will pass. I have decided to literally just take it minute by minute during the bad bits. I am constantly talking to God in my head too. It's good to connect here and writing this down is therapeutic too. Like getting things off my chest.

I am still reading through the posts carefully and praying as I go along. I don't want to forget anyone and this is the most methodical way for me.

I have also had the urge to sew on a sewing machine. Starting with a cushion cover and building up. My mum has a sewing machine but we are not on good terms. She stormed out of our house Sunday afternoon. She is very looked after and sometimes takes it for granted. She is a tad princessy. Actually a huge amount of princessy. Actually sometimes spoilt and selfish and ungrateful and always right. Always, always right. She was like that with dad. Even when he was poorly she knew best. And she is judgemental. Especially on subjects she has no experience of. Plus she has a short memory and if you challenge her using examples of her own doing, she won't remember and won't try to either and if she doesn't remember something she did, it never happened in her world. Oh dear. There I go again

Thank you all for your helpful advice and support. I can't tell you just how much it helps me and is appreciated.

I had a teatowel that said, at the end, "I'm nearer to God in the garden than anywhere else on earth.". So that is something that you share with whover wrote that.
When you talk to God, don't forget to listen, too. Because He will say things like: "You are doing so well" and :"I love you".
Your mum sounds as if she is at the beginning of memory loss. What does your sister have to say about it? In the end she needs to cope with her own loss, she is not your responsibility. So leave her to storm if she needs to, without feeling bad about it. You cannot help her if she does not want the help. Maybe she will give you the sewing machine when she is in a better mood.
Well done on the purchases, sounds nice.

Praying for you dont

Please pray for calmness and strength me. Was having a nice day - wedding anniversary got flowers delivered from dh- but dsil phoned being bit harsh on phone ( won't go into details as it could fill another thread) and anxiety has ramped up. Kids have had a row dd told ds he is "why mummy is poorly" results in ds sobbing and me trying not to. Sent them in the garden to make a den and be friends. I'm trying so hard to get back to normal

Oh Orchidflower that's sad. Things will get better. Sorry your sil was not more supportive.
How old are the children?

Thanks for replying dutchoma dd 11 ( going on 14 at times!) ds is 9. Sil saying nobody ie family have seen dc for ages - which they haven't but I've not been well. Things are improving with dh - just want to keep my chicks in my nest with me.

Oh, Orchid, you know, roads can be travelled both ways. Surely your family know where DC live, if they are missing seeing them. You need to look after your own well-being at the moment. Your brain is muscle too and mental ill-health is as debilitating as physical ill-health. Please don't take your SIL's harshness to heart, offer yourself the care and compassion that she is not.

My DC are quite bickery sometimes too - but we were hill-walking yesterday and DS had enough of walking and so I said to DD to go ahead to the viewpoint and take some pictures. Then she phoned to see if we were coming, and I was about to say no, I am not going to push DS, head back - when DS took the phone and started talking to her and walking again - and they kept talking about how he was getting up the hill till he could see her. So, that to me was love, really, and so I kind of took comfort that they do love each other really, even though it does not seem like it sometimes!

But the hill was also a good metaphor for me, because at the bottom, you see bog and grasses. Then the higher you get, the more you see. But it takes motivation to keep going and there are often ridges which you can't see over. And rocks in the way. And sometimes, you do just need to stop and rest where you are, which is also okay, till you have the strength to go on.

Praying for calm and strength for you , Orchid , and for all who need to rest in the moment too.

Don't, gardening has been really therapeutic for me this year. It reminds me of my gran, who was dear to me, and kept a beautiful garden. When I started to see colours again, it was the flowers I noticed.