This month marks the one-year anniversary of my Daddy’s death. It’s been a year filled with loss, pain, emptiness as well as a year where I’ve experienced incredible support, encouragement, and laughter. I’ve learned so much about myself and what it means to walk in both grief and hope…sometimes at the same time.
I have been sustained by the body of Christ through the men and women who are a part of Nurses Christian Fellowship. It is a gift I do not take for granted. And while the healing continues, I recognize I have much to be grateful for.
This poem entitled Life, by Mother Teresa, captures many of the lessons of this past year. Take just a few moments to pause and reflect in its truth.
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is costly, care for it.
Life is wealth, keep it.
Life is love, enjoy it.
Life is mystery, know it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is a sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is Life, fight for it!
~Mother Teresa
The one addition I’d make to Mother Teresa’s poem would be this line that reflects the greatest lesson of all for me in this past year:
Life is community, support each other in it.
Your prayers, kindness, support, and encouragement of others can and does make a difference. You create ripples of love that exemplify the Father. Ripples reminding us of the Kingdom that is to come.
Grace and peace to each of you --
Christy Secor RN, DNP, CDWF, NCF Professional Ministries Director
You can download the August Prayer Calendar here.
August Prayer Calendar
- August 1 – NCF Student Ministries is getting out resources and connecting with campus leadership but many groups need a reset after the last 18 months. Pray that our leaders would be energized, strengthened, and filled with God’s power to reach new students this fall.
- August 2 – Pray for Jessica Harper’s (NCF’s Marketing & Communications Manager) husband, Trey, as he begins a new job in surgical practice. Please pray for their family to all adjust well to his new schedule, for Trey to continue developing good relationships with co-workers, and for God to use Trey as a witness to his patients and co-workers.
- August 3 – Praise God for new NCF staff planning to work with nursing students on campus. Ask God to bring in needed ministry partners for Wendy, Tiegan, Nicole, and Leah.
- August 4 – Pray that God will use the new “NCF in a Bag” ministry packs for guiding student and faculty leaders of NCF on campuses across the country.
- August 5 – We are grateful for the work and presentations of so many speakers at the NCFI World Congress. Pray for God to continue to use NCFI as a resource and support for nurses of faith around the world.
- August 6 – Intercede for nursing faculty and students as they head back to school – for safety and the start of good relationships.
- August 7 – Pray for Christy Secor, NCF’s Professional Ministries Director, as today marks the one-year anniversary of her father’s death. Pray for comfort for Christy as she continues to grieve. Remember all those who have lost loved ones and for the loss they experience.
- August 8 – Pray for our Sunday night prayer times to be opportunities for God to speak to our hearts and minds as we encourage each other through scripture and pray for the needs of students and nurses across the country. Ask God to continue to bring more nurses together for this time of fellowship and worship.
- August 9 – Ask God for creative and productive thinking and discussion as NCF team members meet today to collaborate on ways to extend NCF's reach and ministry to more students, nurses, and educators.
- August 10 – Pray for Skip McDonald, who serves NCF in the southeast, as she continues with her sabbatical. We ask God to use this as a time of restoration, writing, and training for future ministry for her.
- August 11 – We praise God for the ministry our professional nurse group leaders are doing. Lift up these men and women as many are starting new outreaches among nurses for the fall.
- August 12 – Pray for wisdom and discernment for NCF staff and for nurses everywhere as they balance the demands of work and ministry with personal and family needs. Help us to realize that self-care is important in order for us to be fully present for others. Remind us that we cannot give from an empty cup.
- August 13 – Pray for our faith community nurses as they face a new set of challenges as we face the delta variant in this ongoing pandemic. May God provide wisdom and insight as situations develop.
- August 14 – Pray for both online and in-person outreach to new nursing students for NCF groups on campus. Ask God to make connections between seeking students and NCF leaders.
- August 15 – Pray for wisdom and encouragement for Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner, NCF’s National Director, as she leads this ministry and a staff who serve in different time zones.
- August 16 – Pray for the details, communication, and transitions needed with the workflow of articles and advertisements that are a part of the Journal of Christian Nursing. Encourage the staff who commit so much time to reviewing and editing to create a quality publication.
- August 17 – NCF’s Student Ministries is offering a National Online Bible Study the third Tuesday of every month for nursing students who are not already connected to a group or don’t have NCF on their campus. Pray for students to sign up and attend!
- August 18 – Pray for strength and perseverance for nurses as cases of the delta variant of COVID begin to increase across the country. Pray for so many who are experiencing deep weariness.
- August 19 – Pray for Student Ministries Director, Jen Wojtysiak, and her family as Jen is on sabbatical and spending time traveling, building her children and husband up, and seeking direction for NCF.
- August 20 – Beseech God to use NCF in the lives of students, nurses, and educators – to draw them into closer relationship with Jesus and offer encouragement for their practice.
- August 21 – Pray for families with children going back to school as they adjust into new routines and for safe, good experiences for the kids. Pray for teachers as they address the challenges of being back in school during a pandemic.
- August 22 – We lift up NCF’s back-to-school efforts (student groups, professional nurse groups, donations, marketing, devotionals, Bible studies, and others) and ask that God's hand would be in and through all our planning to soften the hearts of students, members, and nurses to receive the ministry.
- August 23 – Ask God to bring all the nurses who need his Word of encouragement to come to the Tabletop Discussion meeting online this evening, When the Journey is Too Much for You. Pray that all who attend hear from Jesus about how he wants to sustain their souls.
- August 24 – “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Psalms 119:104. Implore the Holy Spirit to use Bible study in the lives of NCF staff that we might know every step our feet should take and the direction of our path for ministry.
- August 25 – Pray for Jessica Harper’s family as they move at the end of August. Pray for patience as they pack and transition to a new home. We ask God to be in all the details and for any rough places in the journey to be made smooth.
- August 26 – Please be praying for the Global Missions Health Conference that is scheduled for November 11-13. After last year’s virtual conference, GMHC is again taking place in person. Pray that the pandemic is held at bay and many who are interested in healthcare missions will be able to attend and get helpful information that will be included in their career paths and in the building of God’s Kingdom.
- August 27 – Raise the Journal of Christian Nursing staff up to Jesus for wisdom, perseverance, and grace in the hard tedious work of preparing JCN for publication.
- August 28 – Ask God to grow and sustain the number of NCF members; to draw more students and nurses to NCF into joining our professional and ministry organization.
- August 29 – Fall is often a really busy time for many. Please pray that we would all stay rooted in God, anchoring our souls to his amidst the busyness.
- August 30 – Thank God for his provision for NCF and ask him to help us trust him to continue to bring in all that is needed for ministry.
- August 31 – Pray for connection, encouragement, and support for our professional nurse group leaders as we meet this evening for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.
