Weblog

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

  • prayforian.com

    i've been following prayforian.com for a little over two years. two years! crazy. i can't believe how much time has passed. i recently caught up with the blog and was so sad and burdened to find out some news about ian's father about a week ago.

    if you have a chance, read the blog..if possible, from the beginning...i have been comforted, amazed, exhorted, convicted, and encouraged by this blog and the faithfulness of those who keep it up.

Friday, 31 July 2009

  • Whitney Praise Report

    Praise God!!!  We want to thank you all for praying and to take this opportunity to give God glory for working in a mighty way on our behalf.
     
    We are so thankful to report to you that Whitney is doing well.  She did not need to have the surgical injection into her retina that we had anticipated.  Her vision has remained stable and the black spots and fuzziness have diminished.  The doctors remain confident that her macular degeneration is not progressing at this time.  We have so much to praise God for!
     
    On Tuesday, when we left Albania for Greece, we had such a peace that God was directing our steps and caring for Whitney's eye.  Thank you so much for praying for God's comfort and protection for us.  He heard and answered your prayers.  Our trip was quick and uneventful and we arrived in Thessaloniki in time for her Tuesday evening appointment.  The doctor performed two very detailed tests (one that scans her retina and another that involves dye being injected into her bloodstream to show if there is any hemorrhaging in the retina).  Both of these tests showed very clearly that her macula/retina have not changed since our last visit in June.  We were so very relieved to see with our own eyes this good news. 
     
    The doctor told us that sometimes these black spots and fuzziness occur because of the scar tissue, as the eye grows and changes, or if she has some excessive activity.  We had informed them that she had been hit by a ball at camp just a few days earlier (she is a very active 10 year old).  Our concern had been that maybe the bleeding in the retina had started again because of that ball.  The retinal specialist informed us that these black spots can occur naturally, but that there is no way to tell if they are the innocent kind or the hemorrhaging kind until we have these tests done in the office.  We all were very thankful to have the peace of mind that everything was stable in her retina.
     
    However, the most memorable part of the trip was the drive to and from Tirana.  Kris and I have been reading a book together on Biblical transformation.  During the 7 hour drive to Greece I was reading aloud and Whitney was intently listening in the back seat.  Whenever I had to stop to take a break, she would ask when I was going to start reading again.  On the way home, she wanted me to start reading right at the beginning of the drive.  Now, keep in mind that this book is not written for children or directed at their comprehension.  We continued to be surprised at how engaged in the book she was and that she asked questions if there was something she didn't understand.  It was really exciting to talk about how real biblical change occurs from the moment of salvation and how God continues to tranform and change us through sanctification.  The most poinant moment was when she said that she knew God used circumstances to show how He worked in our lives because of what He had done in her life through her eye injury.  She recounted a time when we were in Turkey, right after her injury last year, and God had answered one of the specific prayer requests we made while we were in the hospital.  I had even forgotten that particular request, but it had stuck in her mind as a way that God showed Himself real and alive in her life!  What an answer to prayer.  Thank you for continuing to pray for her spiritaul condition.  Only God knows the true state of her heart, but we have seen a real softening of her heart and a greater interest and interaction in spiritual things. 
     
    God is truly been at work, using this ongoing eye injury to open the eyes of her heart as she sees Him answer prayer and provide all that we need. 
     
    Psalm 117 says, "Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples!  For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting.  Praise the Lord!"
     
    We continue to pray that this "difficult" circumstance will bring Him praise among the nations now, while we live in the midst of it, and for years to come, as those who are impacted by it learn to trust the Lord more completely.  We are certain that God never wastes pain and we thank Him that He is changing us and growing us through this "light and momentary affliction".  (II Cor. 4:17).
     
    Thank you again for all the love, support and prayers.  We are blessed to have you as our prayer support team.
     
    Praising the Lord among the nations,
    The Stire family
     

Monday, 27 July 2009

  • prayer request

    if you are reading this, please lift up a prayer for whitney stire and her family, esp. her parents. i've posted about what happened to whitney's eye before. but this is an email update i just received. thanks!



    Faithful prayer partners,
     
    We have just a quick minute before we make an "unexpected" trip back to Greece to see Whitney's eye doctor again,  to give you a short update on her situation and ask for your continued prayers for her.  Last Friday Whitney told us that she was seeing the black spot and fuzziness again in her injured eye.  However, we were at a youth camp in south Albania and were not able to contact her doctor until this morning.  Her actual visual acuity has not changed dramatically, which is a big blessing, but the blind spot and fuzziness usually precede a drop in vision.  When I spoke with her doctor in Thessaloniki this morning and told her the symptoms that Whitney was having, she told us to bring her in as soon as possible for the retinal scan.  Her plan is to perform another surgical injection into Whitney's eye if the results confirm that the retina has begun to hemorrhage again.
     
    We will leave early on Tuesday morning for a Tuesday evening appointment.  The surgical procedure would be scheduled for Wednesday morning.  We would really covet your prayers for Whitney and for our family at this time.  We are extremely tired and feeling a little "thin" from a couple of weeks of intensive youth camp ministry.  Tomorrow is Sierra's 9th birthday (we will spend it apart because the 3 other girls will stay here in Albania while we make this quick trip to Greece) and Kris's mom arrives in Tirana on Wednesday night for a 6 week visit.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends that will care for our kids and even Kris's mom until we arrive back in Albania on Thursday.  We are continually reminding eachother that it is in our weakness and total lack of strength, that God displays His magnificent and unending power.  We are really clinging to that hope right now.  What peace and joy He has girded us with in the midst of these tumultuous and uncertain times. 
     
    We are so encouraged and thankful for each of you.  Your labor of love in prayer for us has sustained and supported us so often in the past year.  Thank you for continuing that vital ministry.  We will update you when we return from Greece. 
     
    Secure in His tender care,
    Kris and Chelle Stire
     
    Job 23:10 "But He knows that way that I take, and when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Friday, 17 July 2009

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

  • Resolved - 6/13/09 - Sat AM

    Blessed Bankruptcy
    Steve Lawson
    Matthew 5:3

    -can't glorify God and sin/tolerate sin at the same time
    - Edwards had zero tolerance for sin in his life, which is why God used him - not cuz of his giftedness, but his godliness
    - declare war on sin in my own life

    -who possesses the kingdom reality in their hearts?
    -Beattitudes- attitudes that ought to be
    -we are penniless and destitute before God cuz of our sin
       - a debt we can never repay..spiritual beggars..we are nothing and have nothing
    -we must admit how spiritually bankrupt we are.

    -the kingdom of God belongs to those who have filed for spiritual bankruptcy with God.
    -acknowledge

    5 key truths
    1) THE PRIORITY
    2) THE PROMISE
    3) THE PARADOX
    4) THE PICTURE
    5) THE PRONOUNCEMENT
    1) THE PRIORITY
        -why is this passage first?
        - all beattitudes flow out of this one
        - must first be poor in spirit. most fundamental and foundational
        - will never get to v. 4-6 until first you are poor in spirit
        - this is the gatekeeper guarding the entrance to the Beattitudes
        - Jesus begins here because the gospel and sanctification begins here
            -the Pharisees missed this. they never saw it as a heart issue
        -we are all poor in spirit. some know, some deny
        *my life is an offense to the holy God.
        -until i take ownership of this, nothing else can happen.

    2) THE PROMISE
        -"Blessed"- primary meaning - redemptive favor; saving grace
                        - secondary meaning - deals w/ our emotional state
                                                        - deep seeded joy, bliss
                                                        - not dependent on earthly things
                                                        - abundance of His happiness and gladness
                                                        - gladness now, glory later
                                                        - Psalm 1-2, 34:8, 112:1, 119:1-2, 128:1

    3) THE PARADOX
        - seems like this is upside down, but it's actually the world that is upside down
        - shows how supernatural it is
        - must have spiritual eyes which requires a supernatural birth

    4) THE PICTURE
        - to be poor in spirit is not: - referring to financial poverty
                                                 - talking about having a poor personality (boring, dull, etc)
                                                 - those w/ false humility (self-pity)
        - to be poor in spirit is:   - receiving one's own spiritual state and how far i fall short
                                             - come empty-handed before God
                                             - poverty of spirit
                                             - i have nothing, i am nothing, i can do nothing
                                             - consciousness of my emptiness
                                             - all righteousness are as filthy rags
        -Luke 18:9 - pharisee and tax collector
                          - tax collector doesn't want justice, but mercy. justice/fairness would be the flames of hell.
        - my life has been a violation before the holy God.

    5) THE PRONOUNCEMENT
        - "theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
        - the grace of God is greater than our sin
        - only in confessing my sin, do i receive salvation
        - as i get closer to the light, i come out of the darkness more and more
        - i am what i am by the grace of God
        - what a great sinner i am, what a great Savior He is.. (Newton)
       
    -Jesus only died for sinners.


    ** you can listen to the mp3 at resolved.org