During our years together, my husband and I have had our share of trials and life tests to endure: financial hardship, the loss of my younger brother to suicide a few years ago, and, as recently as last year, difficulty conceiving, due to a medical condition I had. Throughout these trials and tribulations, our prayers for faith, hope, and the strength to get through always came true.

I had surgery to correct my medical condition, we are managing financially, we got through the grief of my brother's suicide with faith and strength, and our prayers to add a child to our lives also came true.

On February 13th of this year we received the greatest gift of all, a beautiful, healthy, bouncing baby boy.

Braydon Lester Thompson came into this world as the ultimate gift God could give to a couple. He has filled a void lacking in our lives that only God could fill for us. He has performed a miracle.

Our promise to God for our lovely bundle of joy is to raise him with Christian morals, values, and beliefs, and to let him know that God was responsible for his conception.

Let us always remember that, if we have the strength, faith, and trust in God and in what he can bless us with, there are no limits to the miracles he can perform.

Prayer: Dear God, you are ever present in our lives. Help us to be diligent in our faith in you. Be with us and guide us in our life's journey, and show us that, in you, our lives will be forever blessed. We thank you for blessing us with children, so we can raise them with your values and beliefs. We pray that you will answer the prayers of those who are still asking you for a child. May your miracles continue to bless us, so that we may have eternal happiness in your presence. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

A month ago, I had successful pelvic surgery to remove two different types of ovarian cysts.

Two and a half months prior to the surgery, my health had not been very good. The cysts had caused various health problems that had interfered with my quality of life. I couldn't do very much outside my home because of how lousy I felt all the time, and I could get little relief for the symptoms.

Originally, I was not supposed to see the surgeon until May first of this year. My husband, church family and I were very concerned about this and prayed every day for a possible earlier consultation with the surgeon.

On April sixth, I went to the emergency department of a nearby hospital because I was experiencing a considerable amount of pain.

The doctor there happened to be on call for the surgeon I was to see. He told me to call the surgeon on the following Monday to see if he could fit me in for surgery that week if possible.

I got an appointment for April tenth with the surgeon and he arranged for me to be admitted to the hospital that day for the surgery. I had the surgery at 11:00 that evening.

All of our prayers were answered that night as I am now cyst-free and feel like my old self again.

There are times when God has different answers for us or instances in which His answer comes in a different time. Yet, when we pray and have the faith that our prayers will be answered, God will follow through for us in a big way.

Prayer: Dear Lord, when we pray to you, we always need to have the faith that our prayers will indeed be answered by you. Help us to keep praying to you on a regular basis so that we will continue to be enriched by your presence in our lives. Amen.

About seven months ago, a dear friend of ours lost his battle with cancer. During his illness, he and his wife lost their house and all of their life savings, because he could not work and she was not working at that time. They were left to survive on social assistance, which was very difficult for both of them, as they were used to a certain lifestyle.

His widow, also a dear friend, had an inner desire to work on a cruise ship following her husband's death, in order to provide a new life for herself. She thought about doing a number of different jobs that she could do to help her financial stability, but the cruise line career was always foremost in her mind. Over several weeks she volleyed back and forth, trying to decide what to do with her life. During this time, she set the wheels in motion for her cruise line career by applying to an agency that would assist her in finding a job. She confided to us that she often wondered what God's plan was for her, and that she was growing impatient for any signs that her quest for the cruise line career was getting closer. One day my husband told her a prayer that was given to us by another dear friend: "Lord, show me that which is your will. Lead me down that path, and sustain me while I am on that path."

She used that prayer whenever she felt discouraged, and, as soon as she let go and let God lead, her dreams came true. She starts work on the cruise next month.

When we have the faith and the strength to let go and let God do that which is his will for our life plan, we will be forever happy and forever free of the burdens that hold us back in life.

Prayer: Lord, in our haste to follow that which is our plan, we often forget to let go and let God. Help us to remember that Your plan will be done in Your time. Help us to give ourselves completely to You, by throwing off everything that hinders us in our quest to become one with You. Amen.

Last summer I taught at our annual Vacation Bible School at church. One day while playing recreational games on the church lawn, one of our children stumbled across a nest of wild bunnies in a hole.

The children, as well as the adults present at the church, assumed that the babies were orphaned because no one had ever seen the mother rabbit near the nest.

Since they had been touched by the children, there was now some added concern that if the mother did come back to feed her babies, she would abandon them because of the human scent on them.

One of our teen helpers took the bunnies home with her to protect them from harm and returned them that evening just in case the mother rabbit returned.

The director of the Vacation Bible School returned to the church one evening — after everyone had gone home — to check on the bunnies. They were gone, but the mother rabbit had returned to feed her babies. She apparently stayed around for about an hour waiting for the babies to return. She was quite distressed that they did not come back.

The next day we found out that the mother of one of our other teen helpers had taken the bunnies home with her because she was concerned that they would starve to death. She returned them to the nest in the morning after the mother was spotted at the nest.

By the third day the bunnies were old enough to venture out on their own and were spotted hopping into nearby bushes eating grass, much to everyone's delight.

Sometimes in our haste to help animals in apparent need, we overstep the boundaries of God's command that we "rule over every living thing that moves on the earth". The welfare of all living creatures on this earth rests in God's hands. We should trust in him, and leave his wild creatures to their own devices, unless it is abundantly clear that it is his wish that we intervene.

Prayer: Lord our God, help us to do your will in the best way that we know how. Help us to understand when it is best to intervene with your creatures, and when it is best to leave them to their own devices. Help us to remember that sometimes intervention by us can backfire and that we should always trust that you know what is best for every living creature. We praise your glory and wonder in your beautiful creation, Lord. Amen.

Recently my husband and I went through a few extremely financially-lean years.

In 1996 my husband was laid off from his job. We had to live on my salary and his unemployment insurance for a year. My salary at that time was considered in the poverty range for the cost of living, but we managed to make ends meet quite comfortably.

During that same year my husband started a small home-based business. The contracts he got supplemented our income quite well initially.

By 1998 my husband wasn't getting as many contracts and his unemployment had run out. During this time, the unthinkable happened. I got laid off from my job as well.

We soon had no money coming in at all. Our landlord threatened to evict us, but we know that God intervened and we weren't. During approximately the next year-and-a-half, we were threatened with eviction three more times due to back rent that we owed. Time and again, God intervened on our behalf. He sustained us during this very difficult time and eventually we were able to pay back all the money we owed to the landlord.

There were times during those years when I wasn't so sure that I could keep my faith in God because of the problems we were having, but I was reminded by today's scripture that God always provides for us as he provided for the birds.

Many times I would recall the famous quotation from Dr. Robert Schuller: "Tough times don't last, but tough people do."

During times of extreme difficulty and stress, we need to be reminded that God will always "carry us"; he will not let us fall. We must never let our faith in him waiver, for it is this faith that gives us the strength to "tough it out" during extremely stressful times.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, we pray that we will not have to endure extremely stressful situations in order to test our faith in you. Help us to remember that you will always "carry us" during difficult times, and when these times pass, we will be set back down again. In the name of your heavenly glory, we pray. Amen.