This Week's Prayer Praises and Requests

We are excited to share our program for the "Extraordinary God" event! 

Extraordinary God Program

July 14th, 6pm

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• Austin Smith will be painting the Kiawah sunset up front throughout the whole service.

• Gathering Music - (David Childs & Emily Richardson on drums; Moore Arts Movement will be by boardwalk welcoming guests to the beach)
•     Spirit of the Living God
•     Here I Am To Worship
•     Grace Flows Down

• Welcome & Recognition of Sponsors & Worship Team (Kristi Smith & Nena Jackson)

• Opening Prayer (Terrance Thrower)

• Worship Set (David Childs, Emily Richardson on drums & Moore Arts Movement will be praise dancing)
• Everlasting God : Brenton Brow
• How Great Is Our God : Tomlin
• You Are My King : Billy Foot

•  Overview of the Evening - Kristi Smith & Nena Jackson

• Special Music (Christal Brown-Gibson w/ Girls from 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' Camp; Moore Arts Movement Praise Dancing
• I Give Myself Away
• Created to Worship

• Special Music (Christal Brown-Gibson with backup singers & Moore Arts Movement praise dancing)
• Surely the Presence of the Lord is in This Place
• Holy Holy Holy
• Jesus is in this place

• Rap/testimony (Matthew Pridgen)

• Altar Call (David Childs)
• Come Thou Fount

• Closing Song (David Childs, Christal Brown-Gibson, Emily Richardson & Moore Arts Movement praise dancing
• How Great Thou Art : Paul Baloche 

***Prayer Ministry will be offered during Altar Call and can continue during and after the closing song (for as long as The Holy Spirit is moving!)

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Seeing the program makes our hearts dance for joy as we anticipate the evening! It brings the reality of the event into focus. God has allowed us to participate in something very special and we are overwhelmed with grattitude! Thank you for being a very important part of our team!

Prayer Praises:

• The banner has arrived and will be placed on John's Island at the beginning of next week.
• In addition to T-shirts we will also have string bags available to promote the event.
• We have received additional funding from various sources.
• Advertisement distribution is underway and progressing well.
• The music has been decided on and coordinated between the performers and the dancers.
• A few precious people from Church of Our Saviour have offered to coordinate and provide the meal for the children from The Biblical Center on the night of the performance.
• Church of Our Saviour has offered to be a sponsor of the event and has allowed the funding to flow through their ministry so that the money donated will be tax deductible.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray that the Lord will prepare the hearts of all the people that will attend, whether they are vacationers on the island, people coming from other parts of Charleston or those traveling from out of town.
• Pray for the Lord to bless each person that is a part of our service and their families.  Pray for the Lord to give them full protection.
• Pray for God's favor in continuing to provide the money for the fundraising budget.
• Pray for the church leaders that will be contacted to let them know about the event and to invite their members and friends.
• Pray for each aspect of the advertisement that will take place for the event - posters, email blasts, banners, Facebook and flier distribution. Specifically pray for time, ideas for, and locations for posters advertising the event.
• Pray for success of the car wash, confirmation of a date to have it, and that Brianna's friends will be available to participate.
• Pray that the Lord will fill the buses provided by The Biblical Center with people who want to attend the beach event and need to know the power of a Living God.
• Pray for a vision for prayer services prior to and after the event.
• Pray in faith that the Lord will provide beautiful weather for this event.
• Pray for all aspects of the technical equipment to work well from set up to completion of event.
• Pray for traveling mercies for every one involved and for everyone to remain in good health.

Pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 along with us. "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." We are praying for healing of our land and it is our hope that you will join us. Thank you in advance!  We covet your prayers!

Prayer Praises and Requests

Three weeks from today Kristi will arrive in Charleston in preparation for the Extraordinary God beach event.  How AWESOME is that!!! God's grace has been poured out as we have dreamed, planned, and prepared for this good work that He prepared in advance for us to do!!

Picture of actual word

When we think back to the day when Kristi wrote down the word "Beach" in response to a "word from the Lord", we are thrilled beyond words at how PERSONAL Our Lord and Saviour is because at the time she didn't know what God was up to. When He spoke into her spirit, "The Sanctuary Hotel", Kristi didn't know that Nena had helped organize Easter Sunrise Beach Services at that very hotel and that she already developed a relationship with the management team!!! Nena and Kristi NEVER could have dreamed up something that perfect. Only our Sovereign Lord can do that!

Additionally we could not have connected
ourselves with Matthew Pridgen, but God had already taken care of that as well.  Matthew's wife mentored Madison, Nena's daughter, a couple of YEARS before our ministry became a reality! We also spoke at the same healing conference as Matthew did in June 2012 and our talks complimented each other as if we had planned it that way. We all three have the same passion for the evangelism tool, Bibleineleven.com. God's connections astound and amaze us!

As our prayers about the beach event continued the Lord showed Kristi the vision of toes dancing in the sand. As she verbalized to Nena what the Lord had shown her she suddenly realized the connection that "Toes in the Sand" is the name of Nena's book! And MAM (Moore Arts Movement) was the God-ordained choice for the "dancing toes".  Nena has been connected to MAM through her long time friendship with Anitra Birdsong and coordinated a musical performance by MAM last summer for The Biblical Center, a ministry that is mentoring young people during the formative years of their lives.

God's omnipotent hand has been busy at work and we are humbled to be a part of His plan!

This week's prayer praises:

• The banner has been shipped and we are anxiously awaiting its  arrival.
• Sean Jager, William Simmons and Terrance Thrower proposed the sale of a Tshirt designed for the event.  Sean, who is the owner of Gteam Authentic Wear, offered to cover the cost of the shirts, but allow us a percentage of the profits.
• Terrance graciously agreed to do the opening prayer for the event.
• The advertisement for the eNewsletter for the Diocese of South Carolina has been written, approved, and published. 
• Kristi's daughter, Brianna, and a group of her friends will host a car wash as a fund raiser for the event in Birmingham, Alabama.
• We have received additional funding from various sources.
• Advertisement distribution is underway and progressing well.
• We have found favor with Vicky Meister, a wonderful connection to help spread the word on Kiawah.
• Susie and Jerry Keefe's beautiful home on Kiawah has been confirmed as lodging for MAM, Kristi and Nena for the entire weekend of the event. Susie's house is truly a haven and will be a blessing!

This week's prayer requests:

• Pray that the Lord will prepare the hearts of all the people that will attend, whether they are vacationers on the island, people coming from other parts of Charleston or those traveling from out of town.
• Pray for the Lord to bless each person that is a part of our service and their families.  Pray for the Lord to give them full protection.
• Pray for God's favor in continuing to provide the money for the fundraising budget.
• Pray for the church leaders that will be contacted to let them know about the event and to invite their members and friends.
• Pray for each aspect of the advertisement that will take place for the event - posters, email blasts, banners, Facebook and flier distribution. Specifically pray for time, ideas for, and locations for poster advertising the event.
• Pray for confirmation of a date and success of the car wash
• Pray for coordination  of music and dancing.
• Pray that the Lord will fill the buses provided by The Biblical Center with people who want to attend the beach event and need to know the power of a Living God.
• Pray for provision of air mattresses for lodging and beach blankets for the event itself.
• Pray for a simple meal plan for the boys and girls from The Biblical Center prior to the event. Pray for people willing to help in this endeavor.
• Pray for a vision for prayer services prior to and after the event.

Once again, thanks so much for seeking the Lord on our behalf! We covet your prayers!

  

Prayer Praises and Requests

We are amazed at God's timing as we get ready to send out our praise report and prayer requests this week.  We are ONE month away from "Extraordinary God"!!! Hard to believe!!! In a month we will be on the beach praising the Lord and watching a God sized dream unfold before our eyes! How exciting!

We have had a very productive week and thank you for your prayers because we know they are playing a critical role in this!One of the things God has suprised us with this week is an idea that the Lord has placed in Nena's spirit to have an artist at the event to paint a  portrait of the ocean and the beach event while it is actually taking place .If you haven't had the privilege of watching something like this before, you are in for a treat!


This week's prayer praises:

• We have had money donated towards our fundraising budget. Our printing costs for the flyers were also donated.
• We have designed and ordered banners for advertisement of the event and to display at the event.
• We have identified and contacted a drummer to play the bongos for the event.  
• We have secured lodging for MAM, the Theater Group of dancers from Atlanta.

This week's prayer requests:

• Pray that the Lord will prepare the hearts of all those people that will attend, whether they are vacationers on the island, people coming from other parts of Charleston or those traveling from out of town.
• Pray for the Lord to bless each person that is a part of our service and their families.  Pray for the Lord to give them full protection.
• Pray for God's favor in continuing to provide the money for the fundraising budget.
• Pray for the church leaders that will be contacted to let them know about the event and to invite their members and friends.
• Pray for each aspect of the advertisement that will take place for the event - posters, email blasts, banners, Facebook and flier distribution.

Thanks so much for seeking God on our behalf! We covet your prayers!

Calling All Prayer Warriors..We Need You!

In October 2012 when we, 2 ordinary women, began hearing from the Lord to host a beach service called 'Extraordinary God' this summer at The Sanctuary Resort on Kiawah Island we never expected our lives to be interrupted so abruptly in May with the news of Kristi's husband, Jeff, being diagnosed with lung cancer and other happenings in our lives that could have easily caused us to say "Not this summer!" However, each time we prayed the Lord was clear that He wanted us to continue with our plans and that He would work through us to make sure every detail was covered. 

We also know He wants us to involve a strong team of prayer warriors so we would like to invite you to pray with us for the 6 weeks leading up to the event on July 14th at 6 PM. We will be writing a blog each week with a list of our specific praises to answered prayers and prayers requests related to the event & would love for you to pray along with us. Before we provide the prayer list for this week we would like for you to just take a moment to picture the setting of Extraordinary God.

Visualize crowds of people sitting on beach blankets or in beach chairs on the beautiful beaches at The Sanctuary Resort while enjoying a beautiful display of worship to our awesome Lord with live music and praise dancers as God's amazing sun sets in the background.

As the evening progresses the crowd will hear the incredible story of how God saved Matthew Pridgen from an attempted suicide at Folly Beach by bringing him on shore, after 18 hours, at the very place where the service is taking place.

Throughout the entire evening the presence of the Lord is mightily felt and lives of people attending the service are transformed. There may also be one soul or many souls that accept Christ as their Savior that evening and angels in heaven will be rejoicing along with us!

This week's answered prayer praises:

• The Kiawah Island Sanctuary Resort opening up their beach for Extraordinary God.
• Our amazing advertisement flier and graphics created by David Childs.
• Matthew Pridgen being able to share his testimony at our service.
• David Childs confirmed as our Praise & Worship Leader.
• Christal Brown-Gibson confirmed to perform during the service
• Moore Arts Movement, from Atlanta, GA, confirmed to provide the beautiful praise dancing to accompany the music.
• The divine connection with Henrietta Drayton and her excitement about the event.

This week's prayer requests:

• Pray that the Lord will prepare the hearts of all those people that will attend, whether they are vacationers on the island, people coming from other parts of Charleston or those traveling from out of town.
• Pray for the Lord to bless each person that is a part of our service and their families. Pray for the Lord to give them full protection.
• Pray for God's favor in providing the budget needed for Extraordinary God.
• Pray for God's favor for confirmed lodging for out of town people involved in the service. 

Thank you for being one of our prayer warriors for Extraordinary God. May the Lord richly bless you!

Kristi & Nena, 2 Ordinary Women/1 Extraordinary God

EXTRAORDINARY GOD's PARTICIPANTS (SO FAR!):

Blessings Abound

Jeff, Brady, Brianna and myself arrived at UAB Hospital at 5:45 a.m Wednesday morning for Jeff's surgery to remove the right upper lobe of his lung. At 7:15 a.m., Brady, Brianna, and I joined by Nanny(my stepmother) and Raymond (Jeff's brother) said a prayer, kissed him goodbye and watched him roll away.  We were filled with a "peace that passes understanding" as we anticipated a wait that would end in successful removal of the tumor.  We had full confidence in Dr. Cerfolio and his ability. I am thankful that at that moment we were blissfully unaware that Dr. Cerfolio would be advised not to try to remove the tumor  due to it's close proximity to the trachea.  A visiting doctor from Stanford did not think that he could remove it even if he opened him up, much less remove it robotically. But remove it he did, and he did it robotically!   Opening Jeff up would have meant a longer and more painful recovery. God had lead us to one of the world's best surgeons because his skill would be required. Praise be to God!

As I think back on the last two days, I am blown away at how well Jeff did!  He had very little pain, no nausea or other side effects from anesthesia, and was able to get up and walk the morning after surgery.

He performed his breathing exercises fairly easily and didn't even have any pain when they pulled his chest tube! We are blessed!

The uneventful recovery wasn't the only blessing we received. Lunch for our entire family, Nanny, and Raymond was provided by Dr. McElderry, one of the doctors I work with. He also provided my dinner.  My coworker and friend, Carlos, gave me a handful of meal tickets to use during Jeff's hospital stay. My sister, Kelly brought us fresh organic fruit, nuts, and other snacks from Whole Foods.  Many friends visited us, encouraging us with their presence and their prayers.  Others sent text messages and cards. Our hospital room was huge and beautifully decorated, looking more like a hotel room than a hospital room.  Jeff received excellent care from Dr. Cerfolio's Clinical Care Coodinator, Angela Chisholm, who we bonded with immediately. The entire stay reminded me of one my favorite scriptures, "God is able to make all grace abound to you at all times, in all things, having all that you need to abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8. God's grace abounded and we will be forever touched! 

We will now continue with our nutritional program and monitor Jeff's lungs with CT scans through Dr. Cerfolio every 3 months. We feel confident that the nutritional program learned through Health Quarters will enable Jeff's body to heal itself of any remaining cancer cells, if there are any,  now that the cancer load has been diminished. We know that this is the path that the Lord has lead us down and we give Him all the  Glory!!!

Our Visit with Dr. Robert Cerfolio

We were very nervous Tuesday as we sat there in the Kirklin Clinic waiting on the arrival of Dr. Cerfolio, one of the best thoracic surgeons in the world. We were hoping and praying that he would agree to do surgery, while deeply concerned that he might not. There was a lot riding on the line. We prayed that the Lord would work through Dr.Cerfolio to reveal His will.

He walked in and immediately we were put at ease by his friendly manner. Thankfullly we didn't have to listen to him talk for very long before we understood that our prayers had been answered. Not only did he agree that doing surgery was reasonable, he understood our reluctance to have chemotherapy. He went on to say that he believes in prayer and has more respect for holistic medicine than a lot of his colleagues. To say that we were relieved is an understatement.  We praised the Lord for guiding us to Dr. Cerfolio!


Jeff is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday of next week, May 29th. He will have this done at UAB and will remain in the hospital 2-3 days. Please pray  that they will be able to do the surgery robotically, as this will reduce his pain and recovery time.




We covet your prayers and appreciate all your acts of kindness and well wishes!  We have experienced the love of Jesus through his people and we are deeply touched.

Taking a Stand of Faith - Update from Jeff

Hello! Jeff Smith here. I wanted to send an update on what's going on with me and my sweet family.

Since receiving some very disappointing news some weeks ago regarding the return of cancer to my body, this time in my lung, we have been on a difficult journey. But God has been faithful, and loving friends and family have stood strong with us through all the ups and downs we have experienced. We are so grateful to Him who loves us eternally and unconditionally. He supplies all our needs, and it's wonderful to see how so many who love us have responded in so many loving ways. 

We are grateful to those who have prayed for us so consistently and powerfully. I am thankful and encouraged to know that there are prayer warriors locally and all over the country who are lifting us up. We have had friends and family lay hands on us, and pray for healing. We had a beautiful experience when our church leaders at Hunter Street, and several of our loved ones gathered together and prayed for my healing according to James 5: 14-16.  

We look back and marvel at how God has inspired others to bless us. Some have bought groceries, done errands, taken our kids, Brady and Brianna, into their homes.  Our neighbor, Steve White, surprised us by so generously and sacrificially, pressure-washing our driveway while we were out of town. 

Our Hunter Street Sunday School class continues to be such an amazing group of friends and incredible prayer warriors - we thank God so much for each member. What a blessing all these gifts have been to us! God is good!

Kristi and I recently spend five days in Colorado, to strengthen my body and further enable it to defeat the disease that I fight. It was an eye-opening experience, and is now a part of my regimen to gain back my health. We hope to share what we learned with many of you in the future.

I met with a surgeon yesterday, in hopes to have a surgical date to remove the mass from my lung. Unfortunately, we came away disappointed to learn that he thought that surgery was not what he thought was best. Today, I go to meet with a second surgeon, for a second opinion. We pray for answers that will put us on the path to health. Chemo is still a possibility out there. Please keep praying!

Today is mine and Kristi's wedding anniversary. 19 years! I married a wonderful woman who is a blessing to me every day. She has a passion for our Lord Jesus that is wonderful. She is an amazing mom to our kids, Brady and Brianna.

Kristi has been so strong for me. I am so amazed and grateful for her love and commitment to us, especially during this trying time. God will bless her for it!

I love her so much!!

We hope and believe in God, and are standing firm that we believe that He will bring us through this difficult time in health, and with a testimony of His faithfulness and His love. And through it all, we know that He holds us in His loving arms. Please continue to pray for us. We love you all. 

Thanks be to God!

Jeff