delayed prayers

Goodness gracious, y'all, I am terrible at this, apparently.

friday | saturday | sunday | monday
school | family & friends | me | world

my Heavenly Father,

Thank You for another day, I am so grateful for it.  It is so beautiful outside and I get to spend the day with my mom and see my dad, sister, T, and close friends (S, and hopefully J, L and A) all within today.  And tomorrow I work the labor & delivery rotation in the new family unit.... Oh goodness, God, what glory!  I can't wait to be a part of Your magic, and hopefully help these new families feel Your love throughout the painful process of fulfilling Your promise to Eve.  :-|  but I know You will be with me and with us in every new creation, since You're in the creating business, and I know You will help make the transition very smooth.

My God, I lift up my LSUHSC community to You again today, hoping and praying that the lives of everyone associated are blessed by You.  That You bring to us all Your glory and hope and love and grace, so that we can pass it on to everyone we care for and help care for in the New Orleans area.  There is a great power and responsibility in knowing how to take care of someone, and I pray for all of us who are being blessed with that... May we all be wise, conscientious, and never run short on grace.

I want to pray for my family and friends, too, God.  I am so grateful for them.  J did such a wonderful job at the Shift service yesterday, I just love her heart so much.  What a blessing it is to know her and to witness Your love through her.  I also want to pray for M, who is making big plans for her future.  I worry about her a lot, even though she sometimes annoys me, and just want her to be happy.  I hope she doesn't forget how much You love her.  Lastly, God, thank you for those (T especially) who love me for me and push me towards my dreams without a second glance.  This environment of love I've found myself in is unreal.  I am so blessed by it, God, and I know You orchestrated it.  Please help me make sure I give as much love back out into the world.

I also want to pray for my schedule, my commitment to my classes, and my commitment to becoming an RN.  I know this is the path You want me on, God... I know it the way you know about a good melon.  ;-)  I love being in the hospital setting, God, but I am acting too much like I am taking a class and not enough like I am a nurse.  I must be more like a nurse when I'm in clinical, God.  If I don't, I fear I will come off as lazy or lackadaisical to my clinical teachers, who may or may not see the promise of a great nurse in me.  I know it's there, and I know You know it's there... I just want to make sure it comes out so I can have a promise of a great future ahead in nursing, Ya know?  I worry a lot about the future, God, but what's most important is now.  I am trusting You with what's coming, I'm giving that up right now, even if I pick it back up in a little while I pray You remind me that You've got this and that I don't need to carry it.  Ah, what a blessing that is... I can breathe a sigh of relief at the thought.

Lastly, I'm praying for that big blue world out there, God.  It is big, blue, scary and intimidating, but most of all it is Yours.  I pray that Your will is done out here, my Lord of all.  I can't imagine my life without You and many people are out in the world doing exactly that.  They are brave, God, and I boldly pray You are able to get them back and close to Your heart.  I boldly pray for my fellow Christians who are out seeking to get those close to Your heart... may they stay near to You as they are out being Your hands & feet.  And just like J said in shift yesterday, the Christian life is the atypical.  I know so many people whose lives are typical, but the atypical always catches the attention of someone else.  It is how You love.  I pray for that in my own life, God, and I pray for my fellow Christians (especially my friends and family, with whom we walk this path) to be atypical.  Let us be daring, bold, and genuine, God.  Let us move about the earth with boldness & a genuine spirit.  Let us be Yours in this world, God.  Let us be only Yours.

What glory is this, my Lord.
love, K

[xoxo]

so. behind. on. prayers.

oh my gosh y'all, this resolution is so much trickier to manage than I anticipated. This week in clinical was crazy, trying to figure out how to manage my schedule on the northshore with all my things in the city. What to bring, what to leave... Y'all. It made a total mess of my schedule. I can't exactly say I'm looking forward to living out of a suitcase for half a week, every week, for the next 4 weeks. But I am looking forward to every day in the labor & delivery unit and helping more women become mommas and taking care of the littlest babies I have ever seen... I love.

So... We're off!

monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday

world, united states, greater new orleans, church community

My beautiful and glorious Heavenly Father,

What a week it has been, God. It has been so wonderful being in a labor & delivery unit. I can't wait to see how the rest of this rotation goes and be even more involved in the most amazing, but most everyday, of miracles. I am so honored You brought me to this place and I ask for Your continued grace and an openness do mind and spirit as I learn how to be an L&D nurse. 

First and foremost, my God, I want to pray for the world. And not the world that I know, my short-reaching, nearsighted, few-hundred-thousand-populated-at-most tiny portion of the world, but the whole actual world. With all the heartbeats You're counting and all the breaths You're allowing. Blessings that we don't even know, God, too great are they for our minds to comprehend, but is all in a moment's work for Your heart. I pray for every soul on this Earth, God. I know You have placed all of us here for a reason and purpose, and I pray that these purposes are realized and the glory comes back to You. Your heart must break a million times a day for all the heartbreak You witness. I am so sorry for our imperfections. 

I want to pray for my country, God, the good ol USofA. God, I love my country. I love what was scribed into our foundation so many years ago. I feel incredibly blessed to live here. I am so thankful You allowed me to be born in and be a citizen of. I thank You, God. We live in a state of constant turmoil here God, and it can be hard. Legalities and repression and bullying and indecision and greed can oftentimes seem our rulers here. Please hold us and watch over us, God. We're a bit of a mess. And I know everything gets better when You're a part of it, so I pray that happens here. 

For New Orleans and the surrounding communities and suburbs, God, please take us into Your knowing and loving hands. I am blessed to live in an area where I can comfortably be myself, but I know many here are uncomfortable, and I know many others feel not just uncomfortable but repressed and struck down. I pray these feelings are lifted. I pray for more love to be abundant in this great city. I pray for those who are without warm coats, food, and homes to find those things, God. I pray for all of us to find the love in our hearts and share it among ourselves in the New Orleans cityscape. I remain unconvinced that there is anywhere more interesting, and rich with history, that one can live in the United States. Thank You for blessing me with the opportunity to live and learn and work and love in this great city. 

Lastly, my God, I return to You with prayers for my church community. It is far-reaching in this town and I love that so many people are a part of it. I know we have been blessed with amazing pastors and staff. It is really easy to see Your hand in the church, blessing it, allowing Your love to shine through it and working through it for the members of the community and New Orleans proper. I am so thankful for this community and what it means to me. I pray Your love never leaves it. I pray we always know Your presence and seek it. I am so thankful for STUMC, God. Thank You for it in my life. 

Thank You again for what this week has meant to me and what is yet to come in it, God. Keep me near You, drawing ever nearer into Your presence and grace. Oh, God, I love you. 

In Your most glorious name I pray, amen. 

[y'all have a wonderful Thursday now... more regular prayers are on their way.]

[xoxo]