Welcome to November’s first blog post. This is when we gather, praying for a need in your City. We prayed for twelve months, and this year, we are talking about action. What action can we take to walk out a prayer need in your City?

Last month I shared about the action of finding out what your local first responder’s needs are. You can find that post here.

This month, we are looking at your local citizens who live with Food Insecurity. This was not a phrase I was familiar with, but apparently, it has been around since the 1990s. According to the USDA:

Food insecurity is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.

USDA ERS – Measurement

(Definitions are from the Life Sciences Research Office, S.A. Andersen, ed., “Core Indicators of Nutritional State for Difficult to Sample Populations,” The Journal of Nutrition 120:1557S-1600S, 1990.)

Have you ever been without enough food for yourself or your family?

Food insecurity is not as uncommon as we may think. According to online research,

10.2 percent (13.5 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2021. 

USDA ERS – Interactive Charts and Highlights

There are ways to help in your local city. We can donate food, time, or money to organizations that feed families living with food insecurity.

Thanksgiving is a time we love to gather around the table with traditional dishes while enjoying the company of our loved ones. It is a precious time to recall how the people native to this land taught and helped the Pilgrims to survive.

We can help people in our City, anonymously, quietly, and most importantly, the way Christ would have us serve one another humbly.

May you be blessed to be a blessing to someone’s dinner table this month.

Do you and your family have a tradition of helping others in the month of November?

My family discovered a local food bank that delivers groceries to people’s cars, it is a massive drive-through system. I can’t get over how small it made me feel to serve there. Grocery store donations, financial contributions, many volunteers who show up to help get all the food to the trunks, and many hands I don’t even know about make this weekly event possible.

Until next week, keep Walking on Mustard Seeds,

Michele Marie Weisman

PS. Can I ask a favor?

We can do something old-fashioned. Will you tell one friend about my blog? My goal is to gather interest in my devotional devoted to praying for your City. It means a lot to me that we, as Christians, pray for the people living around us.

As I work on my devotional, I will keep you updated on its progress.

If you don’t want to share about it, that is okay. You are always welcome here. 🙂

Tuesday night was National Night Out. Have you heard of it?

But first:

This last year of blogging was a year of prayer on the first Thursday of every month. I wrote a devotion designed to pray over your City.

This year is a year of action. Which means I am going to have to get busier. I have seen and heard of some local organizations I have been curious about; now is the time to step way outside of my comfort zone and investigate and invest time and investigate.

The first Thursday of the month is still designed to keep your City in prayer, but rather than a devotional when you stop and by, I will write about a ministry, a City staple, or an outreach that serves the community.

AND please share with us how you already are or are getting involved in your local City!

Back to National Night Out!

After twenty years of marriage, my husband and I finally started a weekly date night, so every Friday, we go out for coffee. It has expanded our ability to chat about everyday occurrences from the week, talk about our girls, and plan for upcoming house projects and family trips. The moments over coffee have been a boon to our relationship.

So, when we heard that our local city was hosting a National Night Out, we had to attend. Was it on a Friday? No. Did they serve coffee? No. The point was to do something together. Almost backing out due to being an introvert, I pressed through and attended –and I am glad I did.

The event was hosted at our local Fire and Police house. Yes, our town is so small, the two departments reside in the same building. But do not let the size mislead you.

What I learned at our City’s National Night Out

Did you know about 80% of the calls the Fire Department goes on are medical? They are usually the first to show up at the location. We found out our town has a device called Lucas. It was SO cool. This medical device provides chest compression, also known as CPR, in place of a person! This mechanical/medical miracle is part of the first responder team.

I was in awe of how the Firemen talked about the tools they had for times of rescue and resuscitation. Their care and concern for our community and the surrounding Cities were evident.

Not every city or town has Lucas. Why? Take a look at Lucas for yourself. It is super cool!

Your local Fire Department might be in need of something other than Lucas. Do you know what it is? Who can you ask? #whatdoesyourlocalfdneed

The answer to the blog title: Y O U

Praying for your City changes you.

My hope is that the prayer topics have changed the way you see your City. Love and concern for others in a natural path in the process of prayer. In order to pray, we have to lean in and hear the need, gain some inkling of an understanding of that need, and be in agreement that God is providing the answer.

We grow as we pray.

How do we grow from prayer? It opens our hearts and vision. We see that we may be an answer to prayer. We no longer primarily see our own lives in focus within our community but have expanded our view to see the community around our lives.

Prayer in Motion

Sometimes the prayer we pray creates the tailwind needed to tackle the issue ourselves.

God, thank you for the Fire Department; we are able to rest knowing they are a call away. We thank you for their families and all the training the men and women in our Fire Departments do. And thank you for those who fundraise and are there to provide support to them during and after fires. Amen

Until next week, keep Walking on Mustard Seeds,

Michele Marie Weisman

Let’s pray for rescue from drug and alcohol addiction.

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!”
‭‭(Jonah‬ ‭2:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

I had a choice at the age of eighteen, continue on a dark path with alcohol, or take an abrupt turn onto a new path.

There are no simple addiction stories.

Living addicted to drugs or alcohol is never a simple story. There are many avenues that can lead people into this cycle. I will not cover all the circumstances that create this behavior but will mention a few.

Addiction in the home

Depression

PTSD

Peer pressure

Abuse

And more…

I could list statistics about the abuse of alcohol and drugs. The numbers are a little too depressing. I think I will save that for the actual Devotional.

The point of City prayer is to cry out to God on behalf of another. This is a scriptural and spiritual act.

Some addicted people don’t know they need help, don’t want help, have attempted again and again to get help or are kept from help.

Over three decades ago, I chose the new path.

Each new sober day was a battle to find something good while letting go of old habits and responses to life. Little by little, living became beautiful to me.

God, you rescued Jonah from the whale, and Jesus brought people back to life. We are pleading on behalf of all those addicted in our City to find the help, healing, forgiveness, and the strength needed to recover. Amen.

Next month we will pray for those affected by someone’s drinking or drug use.

Until next week, keep Walking on Mustard Seeds,

Michele Marie Weisman

PS All praise and glory go to Jesus Christ for my sobriety!

PSS Hey. Tomorrow, a company in England, CHRISTIAN FAITH BLOG – MAKEMEAVAILABLE , will post a piece I wrote for them. Will you help me help them? Please stop by their site as a “thank you” for hosting my writing.

You, my dear reader, have a few days to shop at a discount with Make Me Available, until the 4th of September. Use code: MICHELE10 Also, there are some gifted writers on their blog. So grab a cup of coffee or tea, pull up a chair, and be blessed!

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Photo by youssef naddam on Unsplash (arms/sky)

Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash (ocean/help)

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash (praying over man)

Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash (risen grave)

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15 NLT)

This time of year, social media is filled with the first day of school photos.

Some parents are happy to have their kids go off to school for the day. Others will miss hanging out with them.

And then there are those who are starting college for the first time. (I can’t imagine the shift of emotions that will be!)

Are some kids nervous or afraid? Sure

Are some students excited? Yes.

It is fair to say it is a mix of emotions for all!

But, there are those that are caught in my heart, like a tense muscle that cannot relax.

In your city, there may be a family that is mourning the recent loss of their child.

Their child was supposed to move up a grade this year or move on to college or a trade school.

Heavy on my heart is the family of a student who died last school year. Do you know of any families who are weeping while other families are happy at the start of this school year?

We can pray for the cheerful families as well as the ones in mourning.

God, thank you for this scripture showing us how to support those we live among. Families who are happy need others to be happy with them. And those who have reason to weep need to know people care.

Please comfort the families who are missing their child, who is supposed to be joining the rest of the kids at school. May they feel your love wrapped around them tightly.

Thank you for the families celebrating this new year of learning, growing, and developing new skills. May they feel you cheering on their child’s new goals.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

update

I am coming up on one year of consistently blogging! T H A N K Y O U for stopping by this year. It has meant so much.

This week’s blog post is, of course, about City Prayer. Are you finding these posts helpful in praying over your city?

bonus

We have strength God expects us to use!

This week, I came across Proverbs 24 verse 10 in my ESV bible. It says, If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

Ouch! Too many times, I have backed down under pressure. I didn’t like that realization. Then I began to think of times I have been strong and moved forward despite difficulties.

Have you felt faint in adversity? It can sound like this, “I don’t want to adult today.” Yikes!

And sometimes, we need to take it easy when the hit comes–so we can pray, regroup, and step past, over, or through the adversity.

Let’s not faint today but use our strength, knowing it will make us stronger.

last

Next week is usually the devotional review week. I will be reviewing a prayer book instead. I will let you know what it is today, in case you want to check it out early!

It is Pray A to Z, A Practical Guide to Pray for Your Community by Amelia Rhodes.

Until next week, keep Walking on Mustard Seeds!

Michele Marie Weisman

Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash (classroom)

Photo by Madison Oren on Unsplash (balloons)

Photo by Lance Grandahl on Unsplash (runners)

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 “Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth. (Psalm 143:7a KJV)

I began my journaling for today’s blog post by writing to God.

Do you journal to God or yourself? Please share in the comments.

On the first Thursday of the month, I write a devotional thought aimed at praying for your city.

The blog template for praying for your city does not fit or fill a global scope. I do that on purpose for a purpose.

I look to our neighborhoods and individual towns for prayer needs within them. What is happening in each of our back yards? Crafting a tangible prayer point that most everyone can join in. Prayers over specific needs in our backyards.

A few weeks back, there was a tragedy at a local high school. One boy lost his life, and the other was arrested for allegedly causing the teen’s death.

And then the death of nineteen elementary students occurred. (Not in our town.)

So why am I struggling to write this post?

Because, like you, this kind of news breaks my heart. But unlike us, these events affect the children who hear about these events differently, even when they are not living where these tragedies occurred.

Decades ago, two boys I attended school with tragically made the news in high school. We grew up in the same city and attended the same schools. And one allegedly took the life of the other.

I remember how shocking it was. I had never heard of anything like that happening. But I also knew it was uncommon, rare, and not likely to repeat.

Today, children, kids, adolescents, and teens in our backyards are processing the possibility of this reality playing out in their life. All while their brains are still developing.

And for this, I think we must pray.

Father God,

Our adult brains become overwhelmed at the news of just one precious life taken. Prayers are faithfully being prayed for the families in the communities grieving the loss of their children.

Please give us strength and wisdom to help the children, kids, adolescents, and teens in our town or city with their questions and silences as they process these deaths.

Give us words, ideas, and opportunities to show a child that all hope is never lost.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Keep Walking On Mustard Seeds,
Michele Marie Weisman

PS Thank you for praying with me.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay (letters)
Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay (doors)
Image by ElisaRiva from Pixabay (brain)

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13 NIV)

No two families are the same.

Some have two parents.

Some have one parent.

Some have extra parents through second marriages.

Some are living with multiple generations in the home.

Each family has rules they are structured by. These rules can come from society and moral or religious beliefs. And not all people have the same rules even if their society, morals, and religions are identical.

For example, now don’t get your feathers in a fluff, one family may be okay with girls wearing pants and the other family allows skirts and dresses only. (Yes, even today.)

And there are manners some children are raised with where others are not.

Families have different dating ages that are allowed or not allowed at all.

Do you see how different each family is, and should be? God gives us the ability to reason, pray, and seek his direction for our lives and those we are raising.

Families have always been unique, no two the same. The story taking place in chapter sixteen of Genesis, a servant of Sarai, named Hagar, is greeted by an angel of God.

Why this great honor? Let’s look at what has caught the heart of God.

1 Hagar has run away.

2 Hagar was being treated very badly by Sarai, Abram’s wife.

3 Hagar is pregnant with Abram’s child.

4 Hagar’s pregnancy was Sarai’s plan.

Does this short list make you dizzy? It does me! (Read Genesis chapter sixteen if you want the full scoop.)

God chooses to stop and reveal his care and devotion to Hagar in the middle of her pain and confusion.

What family does not go through pain and confusion? And at times are rejected within their society or religion.

Hagar is seen and loved by God. He proves it by showing up through an angel. And this celestial being has a promise and direction for her. She leaves their meeting with a plan and a purpose.

Father,

We lift up all the families in our city. We seek your heart to comfort those who desire to be comforted. To bring community to those who yearn for it. And peace to families who feel torn apart. Thank you for seeing them, all.

It’s your turn!

What topic would you like to pray for over your city? I would love to hear. Please write about it in the comments.

First Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay  & Second Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

Until next week, Keep Walking on Mustard Seeds,

Michele Marie Weisman

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

(The topic of our city prayer last month was two parts, we prayed for those who were victims of a crime and the people who committed the crime. That is a lot to digest, so if you missed it, I encourage you to go back and read it. I mentioned in that March 3rd post, that there is a third part to pray about that we will cover today: The family and friends of those in prison.)

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:25-27 KJV)

The sorrow of family and friends gathered around Christ as he pays the highest legal price, loss of his freedom and life, is unimaginable. Mary who once held him as a baby can give him no such comfort now. His friends want to help him but they do not know how. Jesus does not fail, even in this agonizing moment, to show us how to care for the family of prisoners.

Jesus never wants the prisoner forgotten. (Matthew 25:39) At the turning point for Christianity, when he is about to remove the eternal impact of our sins, he has one more lesson for us. To have compassion for the loved ones of those in prison. Someone needs to care for them and acknowledge their great loss.

It is important to note, that with over 2million* people in prison in the US, there are children, parents, siblings, and friends, who are affected. A guestimate on my part, there are about 10 million people in the US, who mourn the loss of interaction with their loved one.

How many people in your city are missing…

Hugs

Everyday advise

Daily interaction

Holidays

Birthdays

…with their loved one?

How many people in your city are experiencing the loss of…

Being raised by their parent

Raising their child

Financial support

… (from) their loved one?

Comprehension of their sorrow is not as important as compassion leading to action.

The lost opportunities that tick by with the sentence, are opportunities to extend help. A word of acknowledgment combined with a listening ear to the family member or friend is one way to fill a void.

Jesus cared for his mother, through another, because he was not able to any longer. The Lord of lords and King of kings, required a mere human to help him help his mom.

Lord, thank you for the action of prayer. Open my heart to helping people in my town affected by imprisonment. Comfort and provide the friendships and support needed during this extended time.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

* This number includes Prisons, Jails, Juvenile, Territorial, Tribal, Military, and ICE facilities. My guess of 10 million family and friends comes from simple math. If on average, each inmate has five close family and friends, multiply each inmate by five and you get ten million.

It’s your turn. 🙂

I would love to hear from you! How are you being affected by and seeing the people in your city after reading devotions designed for your city?

Until next week, keep Walking on Mustard Seeds!

Michele Marie Weisman

PS The drawing winner for the March devotional is Eileen! A Mustard Seed Faith will be at its new home! Congratulations! And thank you to all who shared my blog, Walking On Mustard Seeds, with a friend. I appreciate it.

Images by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. Psalms 118:8 NIV

Today’s devotion, designed to pray for your city, is a challenge. I am diving into the past to relay a time I was filled with fear.

Why? Because God offers the opportunity of refuge to everyone.

Who am I to withhold it from anyone?

When I was about nineteen or twenty, someone crossed my path who I did not want to know. Ever!

Once he noticed me, it was too late.

He was fixated.

He threatened me.

I needed to take action.

I did not want to be in this spot and had done nothing to be in it. I had to push back on the fear.

I began the legal process to obtain a restraining order. The court date arrived, a looming October 31^st. The judge had only one question for me, to confirm my name.

Shaking inside, I stated my name. The man’s record was enough evidence to back up my complaint.

The judge granted me the restraining order. “Three years at no less than 100 yards,” it clearly stated.

The court-issued paper, decreeing the 100-yard distance, did not remove my fear. Driving around town, I constantly looked in my rearview mirror to see who was behind me.

Years later and living in another town, God spoke to my heart about that man. It was a Sunday morning and I was sitting next to my husband in a pew at church.

I fought back on what God was prompting me to do. Pray for that man? He terrified me. But God would not be quiet. “If you don’t, who will?”

I knew at that moment that no one was, likely ever had, nor would ever pray for him.

I prayed for him, knowing the gift of refuge is an eternal promise, to be shared.

Father,

We come to you this week, on behalf of the victims of crime and the offenders too.

Thank you for the refuge you offer each of us. We lift up those in our city who are hurting or angry about a crime committed against them. Restore them and give them peace of mind.

Your son died for criminals too and was often filled with compassion, even on the cross. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 NIV We lift up those who are in prison. Show them another way, a way toward your perfect peace and restoration of their hearts.

Amen

Dear Reader,

You may have been the victim of a crime at some time in your life. Please know I am praying for you today.

PS Next month, when we pray for our cities, we are going to look at the third part of these situations.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™