The Field is the World (Matt. 13:38)

For over two years now, I have been doing a new devotional routine called "SOAP" that my Pastor, Rick Fiechter, taught me from his experience with Pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Church in Oahu, HI . It seems such a simple process, and maybe even part of what many of you go through every day in your own devotional reading, without the formal name. But I have really benefited from the structural reminder. The idea is like how the acronym ACTS helps us for prayer, reminding us that a prayer life according to God's will should never lack Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer, reminding me each day that along with my reading of Scripture, I should pay careful attention to details of the true, grammatical meaning and its implications for the historical circumstance, I should listen to God for application to my own life. Because I believe God is always here with me and really experiences my devotio...

Isn't it comforting to know that you're being prayed for? I know during Emily's recent Emergency Room visit dear friends in our hometown had contacted everyone they know and asked them to pray for Emily. When I learned that, it was real comfort in what could have been a desperate situation. Today (May 3, 2007) is National Day of Prayer, as well as Emily's 8th birthday. I want to ask anyone who might read this to pray for her, and drop me a line at sowers {at} thefieldistheworld {period} com, if you will. In case we haven't contacted you through e-mail or telephone, in case you haven't read our update in our prayer letter, or you need a summary, here's the situation: On Saturday, April 21, at about 12:30PM, Cindy was in line at a store with Emily and Luke, and Emily started telling Cindy she was tired and wanted to go home. That would have attracted no attention, except that Emily said it with a pronounced slur, like someone who needed speech therapy. We had ...