iKnow in Part

April/2014

iPray eVotional iPray eVotionals exhorts those who pray.  It's the glass of water held out around each month's turn for the runners who can use a quick and easy quench in order to finish strong. iKnow in Part   Approx. reading time: 7 - 10 minutes When I know in Part Yesterday morning I watched my 11-year-old daughter board a bus for a 5-day outdoor education camp. I'd love to know what she will eat, the conversations she will have and the lessons she's to learn. I hope that the time is special and pray that it goes well for her. Until Friday, I will not know how she slept and who she spent most of her time with. I'll hear some stories, the ones that seem to be most important to my daughter I'm sure, and will know in part. I will never know a play-by-play of every moment. I will admit, it is much easier to trust things will be fine when I know some of how things might turn out. As my daughter boarded the bus I did know some things. My husband took a tour of the camp a few weeks back and got to see the facilities where many of his questions were answered.  He was given great advice on how to pack and what not to forget. Without ruining any great surprises he was given a glimpse into some of the activities including group treasure hunts, swim days and night hikes. Still I had questions.  I read every word of the papers that were sent home including answers to parent's most frequently asked questions.  I was able to wrap my brain around a few more unknowns. I followed the suggested packing check-list perfectly labeling all items. Trusting it will all be fine came easier as each preparation for this week was made. A Week of Unknowns Living in an area prone to earthquakes there are known responses to the shaking.  Without thinking twice some may run to a door frame, some under tables and others will drop next to their bed protecting their heads.  We ride'em out hoping it won't get too bad and if it does we hope we will survive.  Usually the first thing that's said after the shaking subsides is, "I wonder how big that one was."  After turning on the news we can find out in minutes how big it was.  Our reaction to the magnitude depends on how close we are to the center of the action.  Someone right on top of the first jolt could say, "What? It was only a 4.4?  It felt bigger than that!"  Another that was miles away and felt the rolling effects might say, "I didn't realize it was that big." Releasing a child into the hands of God as they go off to camp for a week might seem like a 3.1 earthquake to some while others might feel it's stronger.  Everything we face in life seems to have a self appointed crises scale attached to it whether it is a 3.1 shaking of camp or a 6.8 shaking of a hospital or a 7.2 shaking of a terrible loss.  The longer the shake and the stronger it becomes, the greater the magnitude is on our lives. There is one week in history when a certain group of men stood closest to the center of a quake that measured off of the human Richter scales. These men were Jesus' disciples. The things they witnessed became increasingly more intense.  Being called out was quite a shaking.  Life-altering teachings and revelations, a little more so.  Then there was the jolt of Jesus' healing power.  His authority over the elements made them have to catch their balance.  Raising the dead to life knocked them off their feet.  These were shakings they had never experienced before and each time the disciples attempted to wrap their brains around what they were experiencing. "How big was that one?"  These were the trembles of awe and excitement of who Jesus was revealing Himself to be. Then the unthinkable happened.  Jesus predicted His own death (John 12)!  That one felt more than a little stronger than the last.  What fault line could have caused him to say such a thing? In the upper room, Jesus knew that they were going to experience "The Big One".  On this night Jesus prepared them for the shaking that was to come. Earthquake preparedness at an eternal level.  JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES by being an example: John 13:3-17 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES by revealing the betrayal and allowed Judas to leave and follow through. John 13:18-30  “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES by giving them just enough insight: John 13:31-38 Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later." Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES as they became troubled at the thought of being shaken away from Jesus' side with encouragement:  John 14:1-4 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES by giving them promises: John 14:25-31 "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES because He knew what they were about to endure.  Instead of tapering off, the shaking only intensified. Jesus was betrayed by Judas and taken away.  Peter fled for his life and denied Him just as Jesus said he would.  His disciples were scattered. Jesus was accused, flogged and put on the cross. Although Jesus told them it would happen, when Jesus died the disciples did not expect to be shaken like they were.  In fact nobody expected that the whole earth would quake. Matthew 27:50-54 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" Three days followed of shifting through the destruction and the ruins; of all they thought they knew!  The disciples experienced doubt and great despair.  They waited, wondered and hid from sight. As the end of the trembling week arrived and as the sun came up, the resurrected Jesus Christ did too. (Luke 24)  He showed himself and spoke to his disciples face to face, opening their eyes to the truth of what had happened.  They had experienced the fault lines of sin and the shaking-off of sin and death, the disciples knew then that He had indeed overcome the world!  JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES and the disciples made it through! The One Who Knows in Full Crises and struggles come at all different levels.  If Jesus can faithfully see His disciples through THAT week, giving them all they needed to survive and still believe, surely He can see us through ALL of our "weeks" as well as our weaknesses.  We can trust that through His Word and His Spirit He has given us all that we need too.  When the ground starts to shake and things are not as we expect, we too can look back and trust His words even when they don't seem to make any emotional sense.  When the shaking is done and the ruin is left, we too can cling to the promises that seem unnatural and impossible.  When the weak can say, "I am strong in Christ Jesus," and faith experiences the resurrection of life, we too can know and understand the things that didn't make sense before.  We will see Him face to face, just like his disciples did. 1 Corinthians 13: 9 - 12 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. Jesus knows!  He knows when we are strong and when we will deny our faith.  He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we need.  In every circumstance and through every unknown, we can know this: The fault line of our sins was crucified on the cross and Jesus has given us everything we need so that we can survive every quake and still believe. James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. JESUS PREPARED THE DISCIPLES AND HE HAS PREPARED YOU TOO! iPray... iPray...you will not leave the "upper room" as Judas did but instead you will listen in, tune in and take in every word spoken in The Holy Bible and through God's spirit, so that you will be faithful to the end. iPray...for stillness of heart when things get shaky. iPray...as you remember the preparations God has given you for such a time as this, it will become increasingly easier for you to trust Him with the outcome. iPray...that as you know in part now, you will trust what God is doing in full. In Jesus Name iPray, Amen. ALL for Him, Michelle Fozounmayeh

In This Issue When I Know in Part A Week of Unknowns The One Who Knows in Full iPray Join iPray eMailing List Michelle Fozounmayeh Michelle Fozounmayeh A joy filled wife and mom that enjoys writing, praying, speaking at women events and being an Area Coordinator with the ministry Moms In Prayer International. Blog: 7tothirty7.blogspot.com Website: http://7tothirty7.com/ 4 Traditions 4 New Years 4 Traditions 4 Valentines 4 Traditions 4 St. Patricks 4 Traditions 4 Easter 4 Traditions 4 Mother's Day 4 Traditions 4 Father's Day 4 Traditions 4 Fourth of July 4 Traditions 4 Summer 4 Traditions 4 Back to School 4 Traditions 4 Halloween 4 Traditions 4 Thanksgiving 4 Traditions 4 Christmas iPray Links: Dec. 2011 iPray link: iTeeter-Totter Jan. 2012 iPray link: iPray NEWness Feb. 2012 iPray link: iLove DEEP and WIDE March 2012 iPray link: iPraise April 2012 iPray link: iEmbrace May 2012 iPray link:   iSmell a Stain June 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Purity July 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Protection August 2012 iPray link: iReminisce September 2012 iPray: iWork Out    October 2012 iPray:  iFollow November 2012 iPray: iThank God for That December 2012 iPray: iFinish Strong   January 2013 iPray: iNeed a Reminder   February 2013 iPray iPray in One Accord March 2013 iPray: iRest April 2013 iPray: iListen May 2013 iPray: iHold On June 2013 iPray: iStretch July 2013 iPray: iDream   August 2013 iPray: iGet Dressed September 2013 iPray: iSurrender October 2013 iPray: iSpill November 2013 iPray: iMad Pray December 2013 iPray: iMine January 2014 iPray: iColor February 2014 iPray: iClip Show March 2014 iPray iShelve Not Poem links: Time to be Free Ms. Marry McMoo Only You I Delight in You A Bat's Perspective The Ins and Outs Green Things Treasures in the Darkness To My Mom No Longer Hidden 70 Years of Marriage Saint Sadie Discovering Little One Wide Long High and Deep My Son Knowledge Hoard Short Stories: Cream of Corn Battle of the Food Face Singing the Night Away See You Later, Alligator Don't Touch Fried Nuts Annoying Brother Missy's Puppies High Dive Something Big! Stretching First Rainbow Promise

iShelve Not

March/2014

iPray eVotional iPray eVotionals exhorts those who pray.  It's the glass of water held out around each month's turn for the runners who can use a quick and easy quench in order to finish strong. iShelve Not   Approx. reading time: 7 - 10 minutes A Cookbook, A Kitchen and well...Me  As an 8th grader with dreams and ambitions, finding a cookbook in the kitchen was like finding a perfect shaped sea shell at the beach.  It was a rare find, something that seemed to cry out for attention saying, "Don't walk by me like I'm nothing! I've been beached on this deserted island of a kitchen for too long.  Come see the beauty I hold, pick me up and flip through my pages!  Listen close because you might just hear the ocean!"  I was not one to ignore a talking cookbook. Each recipe had well-staged pictures with easy-to-follow instructions.  I started to consider each recipe as one I might be able to make.  Where these crazy thoughts came from is still a mystery.  The most I had ever done in a kitchen was help set the table before dinner and wash the dishes after my family was done eating.  One things is for certain, a teenage brain is like a car with the keys in the ignition and a sign on the window that reads, "Highjack me please." This cookbook treasure was being overlooked and I seemed to be the one to find it.  A certain responsibility comes with being the finder.  I read through the ingredients, the prep instructions and took a good look at the pictures as I flipped through the pages.  Could I be the one that was to unlock this book's beauty; turning a two dimensional page into a three dimensional meal that would unlock my family's senses?  The fact that I had just completed Nintendo's game called Super Mario Brothers in one long turn was reason enough to answer that question with a big fat, "Yes!  I'm invincible and the one to do the unlocking." As the pages passed I realized two things.  First, although the book seemed to be written in English there were enough clues that hinted at a hidden, underground language that only chefs spoke and understood.  And second, I didn't have an interpreter.  Although these things were true, I felt like I had a good idea on what I might be able to handle.  When these unknown words and abbreviated symbols appeared all I needed to do is use the text around it to draw a sensible conclusion of what it might mean.  When a single recipe contained too many ingredients I didn't recognize or an excessive amount of instruction I didn't understand it was on to the next page. At last I turned a page and gazed upon a picture that intrigued me.  Displayed with a spiral layer of cheese and broccoli within a perfect cylinder shaped meat formation was a meal that beckoned my name.  "Michelle...free me from this page!"  I started to read through the ingredients and to my delight I understood it all.  The prep seemed completely manageable for someone who didn't really know anything about cooking.  I called back, "I'm coming Princess Peach!"  I set out to make my first ever meal, and it was going to be meatloaf! I needed to organize my thoughts.  That was what I did when I received writing assignments at school. I went through our kitchen cupboards gathering all the ingredients and supplies.  When I knew what we were missing I gave my mom a list of things to buy at the store. "Hey mom, could you pick up a few things for me?" "Sure." It was not abnormal for me to ask for a few things from the store.  Usually the list was more along the line of school project supplies and beautifying products so you can imagine the confusion on my mom's face when I handed her a list that included raw ground meat and frozen broccoli. "I'm going to make dinner for the whole family," I said. Added to her confusion was now shock.  If you could read the thinking cloud above her head it would have said, "Where is my daughter and who is this child in front of me?" "Okay." Was all she said out loud. It was like having to play level one on Super Mario Brothers over and over again.  Day after day my mom failed to pick up the items causing my new treasured experience to slip farther and farther away.  So much for playing this game in one long turn.  I had to continue to remind her to get the items until she finally realized that I was serious about making dinner for the whole family.  Finally the day arrived when my mom came home with all the things on my list. That afternoon I kicked everyone out of the kitchen.  My excitement grew as I imagined myself placing the main dish on the dining room table and cutting into the meat that would reveal the artful display.  I also imagined my family's reaction, "Wow, that looks awesome Michelle... and it tastes great too... good job... you will have to make dinner more often..." This magical ending played out over and over again in my mind as I organized everything on the counter.  I looked at the timing and planned out the afternoon.  Right as I was getting started my mom peeked her head in and asked if I needed any help. I chased her away, "Don't come in!  It's a surprise!"  Although there were a few abbreviated marks in the recipe that I didn't understand, it wasn't anything I couldn't figure out on my own. Spices and bread crumbs were massaged into the meat.  I pounded the mixture flat and squared it off into a thin layer making sure the dimensions fit perfectly with the baking pan.  Then I added a layer of cheese followed by a layer of broccoli.  With the layers complete it was time to roll the creation into a loaf.  From the moment I saw the recipe I looked forward to getting to this point, the point when a math equation becomes clear.  All I had to do was plug in the right numbers and the answer would appear.  Carefully I maneuvered one side over itself and slowly rolled it up so that it resembled a loaf of bread.  It worked!  It looked better than the picture in the cookbook!  Finally I placed it in the preheated oven and set the timer. With every level successfully completed came a greater sense of accomplishment.  I washed the measuring spoon and cups.  The left over food went back in the refrigerator and I set the table for dinner.  The house started to smell delicious.  As I flipped through the cookbook I thought to myself, "Maybe I could play the part of my family's chef more often." Ding!  It was the timer.  I called my family to get ready for dinner and they did.  As they found their seats I removed the meatloaf from the oven.  The juices dripping out of the sides made it look like the most mouth watering dinner ever created. As I set the meatloaf on the table my family sort of nodded.  When I cut in and the beautiful swirling layers were exposed they seemed a bit more impressed.  I explained that their vegetables were conveniently cooked right inside the meatloaf. As a good host would, I served everyone else before myself and they started to eat before I had even sat down.  Here it came.  The last flag...the answer to the math problem...the sound of the ocean... The room was silent. I waited. "Interesting." "Yea, it's um, strong." My mom asked me how much salt I put in the dinner. All of a sudden I noticed I was standing in quick sand.  I was sinking into a trap of disappointment. I thought I had unlocked the hidden treasures of the kitchen's cookbook only to find myself facing the wrong answer. "I followed the directions.  I measured everything."  As I took my first bite, I quickly realized that the taste did not match the beautiful smell and display.  It was so salty that one bite was hard to swallow.  Had I been highjacked? My first time ever making dinner for the family on my own, without an interpreter, and the car was stopped, facing a dead-end street.  In the kitchen for hours only to present a salty mess.  When I was taught to be the salt of the earth I don't think this is what God had in mind. My family continued to try to be as polite as they could, as to not to hurt my feelings.  I managed to pull my two feet out of the quicksand and drag my heels into the kitchen.  Where was that silly cookbook?  I looked at the directions.  4 tsp of salt.  I looked at the measuring spoon that I used.  I put in 4 tbsp.  I had failed! I could hear my siblings whispering about what they should do and that they couldn't finish it.  I walked back into the dining room, defeated.  My family quickly silenced their whispers and tried to smile. "It's okay," I told them, "I messed up.  You don't have to eat it." The entire room sighed with relief and the sun came out again...as a black cloud hovered over my head. Noticing the storm of a crushed spirit coming upon me, my sister tried to make me feel better, "It looks really good." My mom added, "It smells good too." My brother couldn't help himself, he had to add the punch line to this enormous joke of a dinner, "It just doesn't taste good." Laughter filled the room and I gave a slight smirk, but didn't really find any of it funny. After all that work, hours of planning, preparing, baking...one little misread ruined the entire thing.  I could have used an interpreter and since I didn't have one I never played that game again.  The cookbook went back on the sandy shelf and the unfortunate conclusion was made that the cookbook was meant to be someone else's find. Thrive Over Survive Looking back I can see that it was such a little fix, a small scale adjustment!    I wish I could go back and give that teen a little bit of insight and perspective that might have lead to a series of different choices.  Maybe, just maybe, I would enjoy creating dinners for my family today.  God only knows the awesome things I could have done for Him and with Him if I had not shelved that book.  For a young teen the disappointment overshadowed any potential and one failure represented a series of failure that I did not think I could handle.  Settling for the easy and fast way to be fed and abandoning any desire I might have had to bless my family with a meal led to my most common, single serving, self-prepared meals throughout high school and into my college years.  Microwaved frozen burritos or microwaved "baked" potatos.  Yes, I survived but my healthy eating habits, my pallet as well as my desire to bless others with a good meal did not thrive. Is that the best God has for us?  To live in a constant state of survival sprinkled with some self gratifying pleasures that don't last long?  Or is His best more along the line of thriving?  Thrive, marinated in God's deep and purposeful love! When I think about the shelved cookbook I can identify with King Solomon when he makes the life altering argument in Ecclesiastes that in the end life is sweeter when it has been lived in relationship with our God. "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them'" Ecclesiastes 12:1 "Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 After 6 chapters of establishing how meaningless life is with an earth-bound perspective, King Solomon encourages us to honor God...and the sooner the better!  "For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?" Ecclesiastes 6:12 Don't shelve it, letting the days go by with an earth-bound perspective.  King Solomon had all that the world could offer and in all his wisdom he too wanted to go back to the youths and encourage their hearts to enjoy life WITH God. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:15-17 Living in a way that gives purpose and opens opportunities for God to use us for His glory and for our good...that is what iPray all of us would grab off that shelf sooner rather than later. When to Unshelve I knew a man that wished he too could go back and do things a little different.  One of his last messages before the Lord took him home was a message to the younger generation.  This man was my Opa (my step grandpa). Disappointments and misreads caused him to shelve the Bible and the opportunity to connect with God along with it.  He watched many of his family members become Christians throughout the years, discovering what it meant to know God and live for Him.  Their hopes, dreams and passions became purposeful.  One daughter, then another.  His wife, grandchildren and then other family members.  They experienced great spiritual freedom and joy at all kinds of levels and my Opa stood in the middle of it.   Still, with a hardened heart he shelved a treasure, thinking it was good for someone else, but not him.  My Opa grew increasingly bitter as his health declined. Weeks away from meeting his maker, my Opa's daughter sat by his bedside.  Again she asked him if he would pray to God and know Him through His Son Jesus Christ.  It was a tender moment as he let go of all he had been holding onto.  The earth-bound perspective that seemed to keep him in spiritual bondage blew away like ashes in the wind.  My Opa made the life-altering decision to know God through His Son Jesus for the very first time.  A hardened and bitter heart melted away.  My sister heard the one piece of advice he wanted to leave to the younger ones, "I wasted so much time, years I cannot get back.  Tell all the others this: Don't waste a day by living that way, know God now and live a better life than I did." There is no better time than right now to unlock...to unshelve...to connect with God. iPray iPray... ...that you will not ignore the treasures in God's living Word - The Holy Bible.  That the two dimensional pages of God's words in the Bible will become a three dimensional reality. ...that the Spirit of our Lord will unlock the beautiful love language of the Bible to you. ...that when your magical endings do not pan out the way you expect, you will not give up so quickly on living a life of faith that unlocks true treasures. ...that when you do not understand, you will abandon any earth-bound conclusions and cling to eternal truth. ...that you will never choose to shelve a relationship with God because of glitches and disappointments but instead choose to see what God can do in and through you in those moments. ...that God, who is so faithful, will provide encouragement, interpretation and help. ...that when the not so favorable court ruling...the loss of a job...becoming a single parent...an unbearable grief...news that, "Nothing else can be done" you will run TO Him rather than shelving Him. ...that you will know that above all else, life is sweeter lived WITH God. ...that your life will be less about surviving, and more about thriving. ...that right now will be your time, now and not a moment later, to pray and connect with your creator. In Jesus Name iPray, Amen. ALL for Him, Michelle Fozounmayeh

In This Issue A Cookbook, A Kitchen and well... Me Thrive over Survive When to Unshelf iPray Join iPray eMailing List Michelle Fozounmayeh Michelle Fozounmayeh A joy filled wife and mom that enjoys writing, praying, speaking at women events and being an Area Coordinator with the ministry Moms In Prayer International. Blog: 7tothirty7.blogspot.com Website: http://7tothirty7.com/ 4 Traditions 4 New Years 4 Traditions 4 Valentines 4 Traditions 4 St. Patricks 4 Traditions 4 Easter 4 Traditions 4 Mother's Day 4 Traditions 4 Father's Day 4 Traditions 4 Fourth of July 4 Traditions 4 Summer 4 Traditions 4 Back to School 4 Traditions 4 Halloween 4 Traditions 4 Thanksgiving 4 Traditions 4 Christmas iPray Links: Dec. 2011 iPray link: iTeeter-Totter Jan. 2012 iPray link: iPray NEWness Feb. 2012 iPray link: iLove DEEP and WIDE March 2012 iPray link: iPraise April 2012 iPray link: iEmbrace May 2012 iPray link:   iSmell a Stain June 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Purity July 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Protection August 2012 iPray link: iReminisce September 2012 iPray: iWork Out    October 2012 iPray:  iFollow November 2012 iPray: iThank God for That December 2012 iPray: iFinish Strong   January 2013 iPray: iNeed a Reminder   February 2013 iPray iPray in One Accord March 2013 iPray: iRest April 2013 iPray: iListen May 2013 iPray: iHold On June 2013 iPray: iStretch July 2013 iPray: iDream   August 2013 iPray: iGet Dressed September 2013 iPray: iSurrender October 2013 iPray: iSpill November 2013 iPray: iMad Pray December 2013 iPray: iMine January 2014 iPray: iColor February 2014 iPray: iClip Show Poem links: Time to be Free Ms. Marry McMoo Only You I Delight in You A Bat's Perspective The Ins and Outs Green Things Treasures in the Darkness To My Mom No Longer Hidden 70 Years of Marriage Saint Sadie Discovering Little One Wide Long High and Deep My Son Knowledge Hoard Short Stories: Cream of Corn Battle of the Food Face Singing the Night Away See You Later, Alligator Don't Touch Fried Nuts Annoying Brother Missy's Puppies High Dive Something Big! Stretching First Rainbow Promise