One More...

It's hard to believe that we're less than a month away from starting the Spring semester classes. As we're getting down to the wire, please pray with me for the last minute details, for people's hearts to be stirred as they register, and for the fullness of God to just come and surround this class. I can't wait to see where this semester takes each of us!

We've got one final prayer time reserved @ Hope. Please join me:

Dec 12 (Monday)

7:00 pm @ Hope's prayer room

-Meeting in prayer room for group prayer

-Prayer walk around the building if it's open.

Also, if anyone's asking about registering online for the class, refer them to this link:

http://class.perspectives.org/Class/Class_Home_Page.aspx?ClassId=421066

(The button to register is on the right column)

Please continue sharing about Perspectives and pray for God to direct people to the class!

Blessings,

Amber

Thanksgiving Prayers

We've officially moved into the holiday season with Thanksgiving this week. From here on out, I know things are going to get much crazier all the way around, and before we know it, we'll be in the middle of Perspectives! I'll try and keep this up with prayer requests, and we'll keep up with our monthly prayer times, but I do understand things are officiallygoing to be busy.

Pray with Thanksgiving...

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise? Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right. Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them, that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise....

Save us, LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "AMEN!" Praise the Lord. - from Psalm 106

Keep Praying...

Keep praying that God's glory would be brought to all Nations, tongues, tribes and peoples. Keep praying that God would provide for this class, and for all in the area this Spring. Keep praying that God would use us as a prayer team, coordinating members, and believers to come together to invite others to learn with us. Keep praying for people to be stirred to take Perspectives. And pray that we'd keep a single-minded focus on the meaning of these holidays as we go through them...

Blessings,

Amber

How do you pray?

As I'm thinking about this coming semester and prayer, I'm always curious as to how people connect the best with corporate prayer. It seems that often people are uncomfortable praying in groups, and for whatever reason, find this time during each class difficult- even stressful. While I hope that Perspectives offers a lot that makes you UNcomfortable, I also want to approach prayer in a way that grows us together. And, I've been thinking...

If you've got a few minutes, think through these questions from a personal level...

• What do you most appreciate/grow through in corporate prayer?
• What did you most enjoy during the prayer times with Perspectives?
• What makes you step out of your comfort zone when praying with other believers? Did Perspectives change any of this? (If so, did something specific foster that change?)
• What stretches you (both good and bad) in both individual and group prayer (in general)?

I'm answering those questions myself honestly, and finding at every turn how God's wanting to challenge me through this whole process. I pray that as we're honest with ourselves that it promotes change in us as we pray. And as always, thanks for joining me in specific prayer for this class.

Comment below with thoughts, or feel free to shoot me an email at amb_live4him@hotmail.com.

And finally, a reminder:

Monday, November 14

7:00 pm

Prayer @ Hope's Prayer Room

Our Hearts Together for Prayer...

"Remember that prayer is not something to do, but someone to talk to.

Prayer stirs faith in us to believe that when we talk to God, He responds."

Well, thanks for being patient on the updates. I know it's hard to remember sometimes to pray for things in an ongoing capacity, but I hope that this prayer blog serves as a good reminder about Perspectives. I know that it's not always on the forefront of my life, and yet... what Perspectives offers is a foundation for a lifestyle change in each of us right where we are. And that's something I hope none of us lose or forget, even as life moves on.

Above all, lets remember WHAT we are doing as we commit to pray for the upcoming Perspectives class. We're not just praying for a full class, or for really powerful speakers. We're praying for the Spirit of God to come and move people in our community to spread the GLORY OF GOD through the world. We're praying in essence, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We're praying for the families of the world like you see in this picture who haven't heard about this beautiful kingdom that is today, and a better one yet, that is to come. We're praying for ourselves too... that we wouldn't forget the beauty that God has placed in our hearts.

Some upcoming dates:

If you're able, please come to a Perspectives Prayer Strategy Meeting @ LSM's conference room on November 10, 7:00 pm. I want to hear from your hearts about what you think is beneficial and moving in the prayer times at Perspectives. If you've not made it to any of the prayer meetings so far, this one would be really beneficial to have you at so we can look at this spring's class specifically.

Also, we're meeting for our monthly gathering at Hope's Prayer Room on November 14, Monday, at 7:00. Please join us if you can so we can pray for the Spirit to be moving in Bluffton together, remembering that where two or three of are gathered, God's here with us.

Thanks for praying and joining in this vision for Bluffton. Praising God with you for the work He's already done.

Amber

Praying Through September

"One thing that's clear in the Scriptures is that the nations do not lead people to peace; rather, people lead the nations to peace." -Shane Claibourne

This Month, please join me in praying for:

- Street Fair (Sept 20-24): We have a booth in the Industrial tent where we hope we can arouse some interest for the class and share more of what Perspectives is. Pray that God would draw the right people to stop at the booth and hear about it! And if you're free... come say hi for a while!

- Pray for the Coordinators: Bob Honegger and Kelly Wheeler as they're working hard to make this class a reality. Pray for their stamina and vision for the classes.

- Pray for God to move among His people. Pray that He could use our willingness as a part of this class to mobilize the local church for something far greater... to draw people to spread His name to another corner of the globe where His name is not yet heard!

The next prayer meeting is scheduled for:

October 10

7:00 pm

@ Hope's Prayer Room

ONE Purpose

Thanks for those who made it to the first prayer meeting last week. It was so good to get the updates, meet everyone, and just spend some time in prayer corporately.



At the first meeting, we talked about keeping the "ONE THING" at the forefront of our prayers for the class. Beyond any of the prayers that we offer up for Perspectives (be it scheduling, instructors, finances, students, etc), it must be tempered with this: for the GLORY OF GOD to be spread to all the nations.

This one purpose means that the glory of God washes through souls and sets them on fire with the overwhelming desire to spread His glory through the world because He is worthy. It means we intercede and learn to GO on behalf of those who have never heard the name of Jesus. If we fail to remember this one main purpose in the mix of all the other things we're doing for the class, we have failed to accomplish what Perspectives set out to do... what God called us to do. Please join me in praying for the ONE PURPOSE of Perspectives to cover every aspect of the planning and preparations taking place right now.

Thanks for praying individually with me.
Would love to see you so we can pray together soon:

The HOPE PRAYER Room
@ 7:00 pm
September 12

Perspectives 2012 - First Prayer Meeting

Planning for the next Perspectives class is already underway! You've been asked to be a part of Perspectives by banding together to intercede for the class. When something has the potential to spur hearts into greater passion for God, I believe evil is right there too, wanting to tear apart the means of that change. Prayer is such as essential part of this class - from the details in scheduling to the moment each students leaves the class in April - and I'm thankful for those of you who've already committed to praying with me.

The first prayer meeting will be at:
Loving Shepherd Ministries Conference Room
Monday, August 22
7:00 pm (about an hour)

Located:
112 N Marion St
Bluffton, IN 46714

Hope to see you there!

"Therefore let all the faithful pray while you may be found..." - Psalm 32

When Jesus Reigns

I stumbled onto something today that made me think about heaven. There is an effort to unite the world with music. Its called "Playing for Change." They recorded a bunch of no-name musicians separately all over the world and put the tracks together for some interesting sounds. It really beautiful! I don't really care that much about this nonreligious effort but it made me think. What will the music be like when Jesus reigns here on earth? What sort-of multicultural praise well we bring to our savior when every tribe and tongue stands before His throne? I hope you enjoy the music... I love it!

Class is Starting!

Dear Prayer Team,

Our class is just about to start (Monday) and I wanted to email you guys with some prayer requests.

1) Chad is currently in Bulgaria... The rest of us are trying to get the class started without him. Pray that God would be glorified by Chad's work and that we could have His mercy starting the class with out Chad.

2) Pray for our first Instructor. Bob Sjogren is flying in on Saturday night and staying at my place. Please pray that his time here will be pleasant and that his message will be blessed by God.

3) Please pray for the class attendance. The final students are signing up and there will be some who will register on Monday. Pray that God would lead people to take the course and the that our course will build Christian unity in the community.

Thanks for all you do... come visit us on Monday nights sometime. Class starts at 6:00PM.

Joe