Prayer is Needed

Update: The Purvises Grandfather passed away last night. Please keep their family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this time of mourning.

Please pray for the Purvises right now. Their Grandfather had a stroke today and is currently unconscious. Please pray especially for Mrs. Purvis, as it is her father, and also for the family as a whole throughout this time. There have been many health issues in their family over the past year, which is very tiring and discouraging, pray for strength both physical and spiritual.

I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

And the next H2O will be.................!

Hey Guys (and Gals :)!

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up as to the next H2O date. We are shooting for June second, at the S’s, so mark your calendars! This date is subject to change if Mrs. H2O ends up having back surgery before then.

I would also ask for your prayers for her right now. She is having a hard time not getting discouraged with everything that there is to do, and not being able to do it. She spends most of her time laying flat on her back on the floor. For someone who loves to garden and be out doors at this time of year, that is hard. Please pray that her doctor’s visit this Wednesday will go well, and that the doctor will have wisdom in what to do, and what the next steps to take are.

Nyiad

Why Cannot I Fallow Thee Now?

Hello Everyone,

I have been thinking a lot about what was said at the H2O that we had at Evergreen this year. I was so encouraged to hear what all of you had to say then, and it has helped me keep my focus on God more. Not too long after that H2O, my mom got the book, My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. As I was reading it, I came upon a section that ran right along the lines of what was said at the H2O.


Why Cannot I Fallow Thee Now?

There are times when you cannot understand why you cannot do what you want to so. When God brings the blank space, see that you do not fill it in, but wait. The blank space may come in order to teach you what sanctification means, or what service means. Never run before God’s guidance. If there is the slightest doubt, the He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt ~ don’t.

In the beginning you may see clearly what God’s will is ~ the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, something you feel distinctly before God is His will for you to do, never do it on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will end in difficulties that will take years of time to put to right. Wait for God’s time to bring it round and He will do it without and heartbreak or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.


This is really something that I have had to take to heart and work on. It has not been easy, but I think I am making some headway. When I stop and think that God has my life planned out to perfection, I wonder why I get so paranoid and worried. This is God! He doesn’t make mistakes! And I am sure that what He has for me, is by far better then anything I could come up with myself.

Nyiad

Help Wanted

Hello All,

As some of you know the Shield Maiden is going to be working at a youth camp this summer. Camp David is a week long camp for the children of prisoners, most of who come from the inner-city area of St Louis. At the SHEM curriculum fair the couple that runs the camp came by the High Ground table to ask if we would help them spread the word that they are in serious need of help this summer. There are six camps through June and July and they need staff for all of them. At the fair they had to get 25 more people to help, I don't know if this is the total for the summer, or per camp. They alternate between girl’s week and boy’s week, but they never have guys and girls there together. You have to be at least sixteen to be a counselor; however, there are jobs available for younger teens as well. Each counselor is in charge of two campers, and shares a cabin with one other counselor and their campers. I think that the cost to go is $8.00, or something like that. There are so many amazing stories that come out of Camp David. One was about a little boy that had been caught in cross fire once, and still had bullet scars on his legs to prove it. These kids are in desperate need of love and a relationship with the Lord. If you have any questions, or are interested in volunteering, go to their web site at www.campdavidozarks.org

Nyiad

From: ^&coming director

It is now 110% official! I'm getting married! (Pause for dead silence and uncomfortable laughter) Just kidding! I don't plan on that happening until after I'm done with four years of college...at John Brown University! That's right, I have now officially decided to go to JBU and I've called all the other colleges and said, "Thanks, but no thanks." Thanks to everyone for all of their prayers, support, and encouragement as I made this most important decision with my parents. It's such a relief to be able to give an answer when people ask me about all of my college plans. Again, thanks so much to all of you!

Stand firm,
David

Answered Prayer

Mrs. H20 wanted me to post this on the blog so that we can see something that has been prayed for, answered. Most of you know that I am planning on going to Africa this May. To get my visa, I had to send my passport to PREACH Evangelistic Ministries (that's the ministry that I am going to Africa with). So I stuck it in a manila envelope with my visa application and visa pictures. Then I made the silly mistake of not certifying and registering (or whatever you do) to be able to track it. Well, it didn’t arrive in the 5-7 days that it was supposed to take. 3 weeks later, my passport still had not arrived in West Virginia, where I mailed it to, and so I'm wondering... where did it go? I can't track it because I didn't certify it. If it’s lost, then I’d have to spend hundreds of dollars (that I didn’t have) to try to get a new passport rushed to me in a week. Of course, if PREACH didn’t get the passport within a week, then I couldn’t go to Africa, because they wouldn’t be able to get my visa in time.

Well, my parents and I prayed about it, and made the decision that we’d wait on the Lord. If God wanted me to go to Africa, then He’d let my passport get to West Virginia on time. If the passport didn’t arrive, then I’d take that as a sign that He didn’t want me to go. What do you know, but just a couple of days before the deadline for my passport to get there, the secretary of PREACH called and said, “your passport and visa application came in the mail this morning!” So more then 3 weeks after it had been mailed, and after about 2 weeks of nervous waiting, my prayers were answered. Praise the LORD! His mercies are new every morning! I am now excitedly waiting for the departure date, and have learned how to trust a little bit more in my Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Jesus!

Strider

You'r Invited....

to an H2O at the S's on April 14th, at 4:30 in the afternoon. We will be doing our usual outdoor games and also have a big fire to keep warm by. Dinner is Frito pie, so please tell us what you can bring when you RSVP. After dinner we will have prayer and praise and worship time around the fire. If the weather is too cold, we will be going to the screaming penguin's house. They have a basement with air hockey, Foosball, and board games that we can play. Please let us know if you can make it or not by Wed. the 11th.
Thanks!
Nyiad

URGENT!!!!!!

THE NEXT H2O DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED FROM APRIL 21ST,

TO APRIL 14TH!!!

PLEASE CORRECT YOU CALANDERS AND PLEASE LET US KNOW

ASAP IF YOU CAN MAKE IT OR NOT. WE NEED A HEAD COUNT

TO KNOW HOW MUCH FOOD WE WILL NEED TO HAVE ON HAND.

(YES, IT WAS ALL A JOKE {HAPPY LATE APRIL FOOLS}, BUT NOW

I DON’T GET TO SEE HOW MANY OUTRAGED RESPONSES I GET

BEFORE THE 21ST. WHAT A DRAG :)

SEE YOU ALL SOONER THAN EXPECTED!

NYIAD

H2O Date

That's right; we have finally gotten around to setting the next H2O date! It is to be held at the S's (weather permitting), on April 21. I am not sure yet what time we will be starting, but at least you now have something to put on your calendars right? As for food, we have decided to stop feeding people at H2O's because it takes up so much time and effort. So eat a lot before you come, and please refrain from complaining about being hungry, because we really just don't handle that very well.
Looking forward to seeing you all,
Nyiad

Do Fire and Water Mix?

Oh Yea! How? When you get a whole bunch of teens together who have tasted God’s living water and are therefore on fire for Him, that’s how. And that’s what the last H2O was like.

Okay, it actually didn’t start out so well. See, we were not even suppose to have this H2O. We were planning to have the H2O in January and then not have one until early March. But the ice storm took care of the January H2O, so in February we tried to reschedule. The only problem was that we couldn’t find a place to hold it. So, on the Wednesday before we wanted to have the H2O, Mrs. H2O called Treva S and asked if we could used their church to for the H2O. Treva called the church and got everything arranged for us by Thursday. So, even though we weren’t even suppose to have the H2O, everything worked out at the last minute. Funny thing is almost everyone was able to make this last minute H2O. And it turned out the be one of the best!

We started the night off by playing one of are our favorite inside games: Do You Love Your Neighbors? It was great, and after everyone had gotten used to it again (or in some cases for the first time) Mrs. H2O broke us into five different teams and assigned each team a color. She then put a color on every chair according to the teams. The goal was to get your team in chairs with your color on them. This put a whole new perspective on the game as each team tried to move their players to their chairs. It actually ended up being quite a short game as one of the team got all their players to their chairs really quickly. (I don’t remember which color won, maybe someone on that team could help out?) Anyway, after that game we re-divided into six teams to play the Skit-in-a-Bag game.

It would be totally impossible to describe the six skits that came out this time. Anyone who saw them knows they were hysterical, and anyone who hasn’t seen them is missing out big time. I don’t even know what it say about them, only we’ve decided that those involved in them must be crazy. If you want to see them again (or for the first time) talk to Mrs. H2O: she has them all on film. Oh yea, and everyone should know that 4x4=8! :)

A picture form The Three Home Stooges, a story about the social (in)competence of some "home learned" triplets.

Amanda and David in American Idiot, a "chance for the average Joe to make it big."

Joy, Drake, Jessica, Heather, and Rachel in Boredem Busters.

James in The Safety Pin Murder. He hunts with a safety pin, because "he doesn't believe in guns."



After the skits we had dinner. We all sat in a big circle and ate and laughed and generally had a good time. During this time a funny (or disgusting) thing happened. Mr. Competitive took a grape and passed it to his neighbor who passed it on who passed it on and so on. The grape, I am proud to say (or not), made it all the way around the circle, though if looks could kill it would have died. Anyway, once it got back to Mr. Competitive he promptly ate it. Don’t ask us why we did this, ‘cause I don’t know.

When dinner was over we went into prayer time. Now up to this point the H2O was good: here it became awesome! We started off like we always do taking prayer requests for anyone present. Then we started praying. From the very beginning the focus of the prayers was on our group and it’s needs more than any other H2O has been in the past. It was wonderful. Then as soon as we had finished, Mrs. H2O said, "Hey guys, we aren’t really finished. There are a lot of kids here tonight within our group that need prayer for decisions they had to make about their future. So, anyone who needs prayer for something tells us know." We then went around the circle with everyone who was graduating, choosing a college, going on a missions trip, or any number of other things speaking up and asking for prayer. After this was done, we all prayed again with each person being lifted up by someone. Let me tell you it was awesome! The Spirit of God was there in our midst. We could feel His Presence as we lifted each other up to Him. Life touching: oh yea!

After we finished praying, Mr. L (Drake’s dad) stood up and talked to us for a little while. He told us that he had never really stayed for an H2O before and that he was really impressed. He told us that he wished he had had a group of teens like us when he was growing up. He told us it was something special we had there.

To close the night off we went into praise and worship. We were at Evergreen church so Caleb turned on the keyboard and sound system for us. David played the keyboard, Zach played his guitar and Colin plugged his bass into the sound system. Pretty soon James and Elizabeth had joined them with their guitars. It was great! The keyboard and bass added a ton and having three guitars was wonderful. We sang until parents started to arrive to take everyone home, then wrapped it up for the night.

All in all it was one of the best H2O’s ever for me! ( Maybe the best.)

Shield Maiden

Prayer Request

Hey guys,

I'd just like you to pray for my cousin Becky and her husband Keith. They've been married for a year and a half, and she recently told her parents she's leaving him. Keith seemed passive about it at first but he straightened out, got right with God, and told Becky he'd "wait for her forever". Becky is living with friends who aren't good influences, and she's leaving for London on a college over-seas study program pretty soon. And pray for me too...Beck and I've been awesome friends since I was little. I was one of the first people she called after getting engaged and I participated in her wedding. The last email she sent me was two days after she'd left Keith and she didn't mention a word about it. I'm kind of mad at her for that cause we've always told each other everything. Just pray that Keith will stay determined, and that Beck will stop being stubborn and foolish and come back around.

Thanks,
Silverstar

A Good Site

Here is the website that H2O Queen was talking about on Saturday. Click here: survey on modesty , and it will take you to the page.

Upcoming Events

We are trying to get an H2O together for this Saturday, February 17, at the Willard Rec. Center. It is not a “for sure” thing as of yet (they still have to find someone to work that night), but we are planning on it as of now. We will let everyone know what time and everything as soon as we can. Plan on bringing something to share for dinner.
Also, Dennis Jernigan will be in Lebanon for a night of praise and worship (NOT a concert) on Sunday, the 18th. My family is planning on going, and would love it if some of you could make it too. I am not sure how the transportation will work, but my mom said to invite everyone, so I guess we will figure something out! Please let us know if you want to go, and need a ride. Here is some more info. on times and stuff.

Lebanon MO - Sunday Evening Service

Start Date/Time:
Sunday, February 18, 2007 6:00 PM

End Date/Time:
Sunday, February 18, 2007 8:30 PM

Description:
---Lebanon, MO----
Join Dennis & First Baptist Church, 311 North Madison Ave, for a "Night of Praise". For more information call (417) 532-7168 or go to http://www.fbclebanon.net/

Okay, I think that's everything, see you all soon!
God Bless,
Niyad

Hey All,
I just wanted to ask you all to be praying for the Purvis family right now. Mr. Purvis had a hip replacement surgery a couple of weeks ago, and now Suzannah has a bad kind of pneumonia, I don’t remember the exact medical name, but I do know that it is one of the worse ones. Things are even harder for her with her asthma and allergies. Please pray for her, that she will not have to go into the hospital to overcome this, and for the family as a whole, it is not easy to see your daughter/sister going through this.
Thank-you and God bless,
Niyad

An Update

Well, so much for the January H2O! I guess we just weren't supposed to meet on that day, or the next week either. God works in mysterious ways, so I am just going to believe that He knew what He was doing when let the ice come down. As most of you have probably figured out, we have quit trying to "make up" the missed H2O. I don't know if we will have one in February or not. When I look out the back windows of our house and see the amount of clean up we have to do, I wonder if we will be done before Andrew graduates from collage. :) If there are any of you out there who don't have enough wood of your own to cut, or if you enjoy it too much to quit, we would give you an open invitation to come out and have at ours! For those of you who didn't get hit, here are a few pictures of what our area looks like. If you are one of the poor unfortunates who did get to experience the storm, and its aftereffects, please leave a comment about it. We will just have one big pity party for awhile, and then get back to cleaning up.
God bless,
Niyad


Just as you pull out of our driveway

Looking out over the back yard.

Behind the office building.

Going through the gate towards the H2O fireplace, looking across the creek.

I had a picture of the fire area, but it won't upload to the blog. Maybe I can get it on later.

For unto us is Born this day a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!! And a very Happy Birthday to The Ordinary Princess! May God Bless all of you in the coming year, and may H2O's continue to Glorify Him! Praise God, Mrs. Whitaker went home yesterday (12/23) which is wonderful and also a great birthday present for Natty. (her birthday is on Christmas Eve) We thank God for her recovery so far, and continue to pray for her to be completely well.

Prayer for the Whitakers

Hey Guys,
I just wanted to give everyone an update on Mrs. Whitaker. For those of you who don’t know, she went to the emergency room on Sunday night where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She also had a stuff built up between her heart and lungs that they had to do surgery to remove. She went into surgery Monday afternoon and seems to be doing a little better now. We don’t really know how long she will be in the hospital, and I know that she is not getting much rest there. Please continue to pray for her recovery and for wisdom for the doctors. Please keep the family in you prayers as well, as they go though these days without “mom” at home. We all know that this is hard enough anytime, and espically so durring the holidays.Thank-you all for your prayers.
God Bless,
Niyad

Prayer Request for Strider

I would like to request prayer for myself and my parents regarding the trip to Cape Verde, Africa that I am wanting to take. Prayers that the Lord's will be revealed as my parents make this decision. I really want to go, so it will be hard to accept a "no". But I want the Lord's will to be done above what I want. Thanks for the prayers!

`Strider

To make you cry, feel sad, or otherwise bawl.

Just a thought from one of our members.

I was thinking about how short a time we all have left before we start to leave and go our separate ways. I counted up the H2O's that I have left before I start college. I've got about 13 left. :( Besides that, I only have about 60 more Orchestra Friday's. If you aren't crying yet, then I'll continue.........

Prayer Request

Hi Everyone!
I am posting this for The Ordinary Princess (a.k.a. Joy) because she would really like you prayers on the subject. She is considering joining The Continentals for one of their tours next spring. They are a singing group that travels all over the world and performs as a ministry. She is looking at going on a five week tour that goes to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Even though it seems early, she really needs to make a decision now, since this is viewed as a ministry and she would need to start raising money soon. So if all of you would please pray that the Lord would make His will perfectly clear to her, and that she would know what it is she should do beyond a shadow of a doubt, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, she said to feel free to leave comments on this post and let here know what you are thinking.