Thank You Lord for what You'll Do!

Of course I was all ready to title this blog "here we go..." but before I could type a single word, I received a call from a friend of mine who I met on a team back in 2009.  This just isn't any friend but someone who came to New Orleans on a team, served for a week, and on his ride home with the team accepted Christ as His Lord and Savior! PRAISE THE LORD!!

He told me how he's been meaning to call me and update me on his life and how since his trip to NOLA, his wife has accepted Christ (PRAISE THE LORD!!) and they both were baptized at the Easter service last year!  Praise God their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life and it doesn't stop there!  He went on to tell me how since his trip, he has started his own type of local ministry!  He is partnering with the schools in his community to provide backpacks full of food and school supplies for students whose parents cannot afford them.  He says he knows how meeting the physical needs of others provides an opportunity to spread the Gospel. He says his heart for his local community came from our team in NOLA encouraging the teams to not let their "mission trip" stop in NOLA but to take it home.

This is just one of the many stories of lives that have been transformed from a storm that hit the coast seven years ago tomorrow, yes Aug 29th, 2005.  Even for myself, Hurricane Katrina changed my life.  So with Isaac approaching, headed towards New Orleans, who's to say that this storm cannot transform someone's life?? In fact, I am praising God already for how God WILL use this storm to transform lives and I am praising God for how He will USE the Body of Christ to meet the needs of others for the sake of the Gospel!

I will ask for prayer requests as that is how God can use the Body of Christ during this time:

1) pray for the people of southern Louisiana who are now being reminded of Katrina because of the anniversary and for the many many homes that are still uninhabited by Katrina.  Please pray for their emotional well being and for God's peace to rest on them during this time.

2) pray for my church body Castle Rock who has decided to shelter in place.  They are also sticking it out and they are calling for lots of rain and potential flooding.  Please pray for safety and protection for them!

3) pray that Isaac rolls in and rolls out quickly!  We get street flooding on a good thunderstorm so please pray that it moves quickly over New Orleans so flooding is at a minimum.

4) pray for our TouchGlobal staff as we prepare for the storm and prepare to assess damage after Isaac rolls through.  Please pray for wisdom and guidance for our team as we seek God's will for what a response could look like.  We recognize that in the wake of crisis God creates a mission field so we want to be prayed up for being in line with God's will.

5) pray for our safety and protection as we ride out the storm.  pray that power is maintained during the storm and if not that we are able to run off the generators with the fuel we bought yesterday and that power would be restored before we run out of fuel.

Thank you for your prayers! We praise God for you and your partnership in the Gospel with us!

We'll keep you posted as we meet Isaac!
God bless yall!
Katie :)

Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago...
You have been a refuge for the poor,
    a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm  

Isaiah 25:1,4

THERE IS POWER...IN PRAYER! (and on S. Derbigny!)

PRAISE THE LORD WE HAVE POWER!!!

Thank you so much for your prayers for my housing situation! Yes God has answered and I found out the news this morning that the house I want to move into in central city does have power! God is SOOOO GOOD!!!

I'm praising God for each one of you who prayed for me, Ms. Val, and the house.  I have learned a lot through this trial and through a devotional on Philippians not realizing how much that book would apply to my situation.  Learning how to be joyful despite circumstances has been a tough lesson but is a definite theme in the book of Philippians. Because my joy is found in Christ who never changes, I can be joyful when circumstances change.  He is always faithful, always loving, and always there to hold me during times of uncertainty and unknown.

Yes God has answered my prayer for power and now I'm moving forward with the next prayer request which is for the AC to be hooked up by the weekend and we have some electrical glitches that need worked out.  So not moved in just yet but praying and asking God to continue to show Himself faithful!   He can do it and I just need to trust Him in His timing!

Joyful in Christ,
Katie :)

The whole book of Philippians is just awesome reminders that my life is all about CHRIST! not about a house or where I live..but about my awesome Savior!

Some verses that I'm holding onto are:

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Phil 1:21

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as ALWAYS Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." Phil 1:20

"The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Philippians 1:18

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Phil 2:3-4

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh. Phil 3:3

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Phil 3:8

 I want to know Christ, the power of his resurrection and fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Phil 3:10

Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:7