Great news... our church softball team scored 16 runs tonight! I'm not certain when the last time we scored that many runs. The bats were really working tonight! There were a couple of innings that we really rallied. There were only a couple of long hits. Most were just solid base hits through the infield. The other team?... Well, they scored more runs than 16. But still... we did great!
I was reading Matthew chapter 4 (in the Bible). In this chapter I read of how Jesus traveled from town to town preaching and healing... many people followed him. I was drawn to the passage that said "people brought to him... those suffering severe pain... and he healed them." There is one person that came to my mind who is suffering severe pain. If Jesus were walking this earth physically I would take them to him for relief. What I can do is bring this person to Jesus in my prayers for healing to take place... and this is what I did.
There are many people I come in contact with that are hurting with all different kinds of pain. So many people hurt in so many ways. As they come to my mind I will take them to Jesus and seeking healing for their lives.

Last Sunday I issued a challenge to our congregation to spend 5 minutes (or more) in concentrated prayer (meaning not while driving to work, or while doing the dishes, etc...). Although these are valid times of prayer there is something about having no interruptions or not having our mind focused on anything, or anyone else. I also challenged the congregation to read one chapter each day, Monday - Friday, from the book of Matthew in the Bible (Matthew 1-5). I encouraged people to journal their thoughts from their times of prayer and reading.
I've realized in my own life how "relaxing" in my spiritual formation can become dangerous.
This is the second day into the challenge. My focus from prayer and reading Matthew chapter 2 has been what can happen when the status quo of my life is disturbed.