THE BABY IS LEARNING TO WALK
 During worship Sunday I had a revelation and it was most interesting.
 God told me how to pray for the Living Waters Fellowship Church.
 Up till now my heart has been praying for Newton,members of our church and our pastor.
 But God said He wants me to love the church,not the building or the entity of it, but instead see it as a whole,as His creation for His glory and purpose.
And he distinctly said:THE BABY IS LEARNING TO WALK.
Love it,nurture it,even hold it in your arms.
So I thought about this and came up with this:
When my babies learned to walk, what was my part?
 Firstly it was important to give the baby things to lean on or hold out my hands to them supporting them as they went along.
 A happy smile,encouraging word,while holding their hands and seeing their little feet move along,step by step.
 Soon their legs strengthened and I was able to stand a foot or two ahead of them,holding out my arms to welcome them but still near enough to catch them if they fell.
Sometimes they fell and often tried to get up on their own.
They walked kind of crooked at first, steadying themselves to gain their balance.
 Eventually they took steps,slow at first(except my son who ran!!!)and their steps were firm then, almost stomping ones to show they had gained their confidence.
 And that is how I saw our church and how God is asking me to pray for it right now.
 I pray that the path will be clear for us to begin to step forward, baby steps at first of course.
i pray that our legs will gain the strength we need to walk farther and firmer.
We will seem crooked at first like the baby's legs often are but if we see Jesus as our parent waiting with open arms to catch us and welcome us,(He is our prize)we will soon be straight. May this church always look to you first Jesus,for you ARE the Head.

 We will fall many times but we look to the Lord to pick us up for He is our Father and we co-labor with/for Him in our church.I pray that when we do fall, the tears will be short and the comforter will help us right up and at the task again,even with a smile in our hearts.
 I pray that as Jesus does His part to help us stand and walk on our own that we will know He is still also right beside us as every parent is for their child.
 These are some of the prayers I am pouring out and thinking on for our church.
Soon the terrible twos will come but for now that is another movie.
 Right now our baby is in need of some spiritual lovin' and I am pleased to be able to pray this way for our church.
God is pouring a real love for Living Waters Church in this way, a different kind of love, not the proud kind or loyal kind for we know love encompasses those anyway,but more of a deep love for it to grow and be pure and able to do what God has called it to do. 
It is important to remember I am not thinking of the church as a physical entity but kind of a spiritual one.
Rick Joyner has stated that in a vision he had once the true members of the church,those who were totally devoted to the Lord, actually became the pillars(physically) in his vision of the church.
I think that is how I am imagining it a bit because I am not seeing individual people or ministries but instead it is God's arm at work in our midst.
 This is exciting and wonderful for me as my prayers previous had only been for Newton and the many who we serve.
It is a new refreshing way to pray for me and I am so happy to be able to spiritually hold our church close to my heart and pray God's mercy and grace over it.
 And hey once this baby is walking we can welcome the terrible twos with newly gained wisdom and strength.