Prayer...What Are You Waiting For

One of my Facebook friends, who I went to high school with, had a post today about prayer.  I have been really burdened in the past few months to “pray without ceasing.” My Mom and stepdad are both in hospice now.  And my family needs prayer for so many reasons.  Since becoming a true believer of Jesus Christ, I have experienced some of the most awesome answers to prayer.  Answers that would give you goose bumps and chill you!   I find that when I pray I am drawn closer to the heart of God, and that’s where I want to be…..as close to His heart as I can get.

Even though I have been a believer for several years, and have taken prayer seriously, I'm just now beginning to understand this as a discipline. The bigness of it. The effects of it. The privilege of it.

There are so many awesome scriptures on prayer….so many quotes by really wonderful people on prayer…..so many good pray-ers. No one really needs me to write a blog post on it.

But here lately, I have been finding so much joy in praying. Instead of it being a monotonous ritual or an anxiety filled plea - it's become more of a communing. It's something I crave. Something I need. Not something I dread. Not something I fear. It's also been more about intercession. That is, praying for other people - interceding for them. I have found so much satisfaction in this. Excitement, even! I've discovered that praying for another person's needs causes a fountain of love and contentment to well up inside - causing the tumult within my own heart to cease. I know that sounds cheesy but it's true.

Right now, outside the bedroom window at my Mom’s house, there is a gazing globe sitting on a stand that is secured in the ground. It has become my daily focal point, if you will. When I look in the globe I can see behind me and all around me. When I am out walking Abbott, my Mom’s canine child, I always go by the gazing globe and stare at it to see just what I can see around me. Things that I might otherwise miss. And when I am sitting with her in her room, I peer out the window into the globe. It serves as a reminder that there is a whole world of people that I can’t see,  so many needs of others that I miss or that go un-noticed…by me, not by God. There are people who are missed, those who need the love and compassion of Jesus. And it reminds me to pray for them. It's powerful.

What can I pray about for YOU? Please take me up on this. It would be my pleasure to lift you up in intercession. I'm setting aside some extra time just to pray for you. Take courage in that!  I have also joined PRAYBOOK, which interfaces with Facebook.  Any of you who are my FB friends, will be getting messages from me about  once a week, as I am given a random selection of my FB friends to pray for each day, so that in the course of a week, I have prayed for each FB friend specifically.

I'll leave you with some wisdom far richer than anything I could ever conjure up! Be blessed, friends - and know that you are loved....and prayed for!

Pray without ceasing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ( this is part of my life’s verse..”Be joyful always, pray continually, IN ALL circumstances, give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

"I am so grateful I did not wait until I was perfect or had everything straight before praying for others, otherwise I would never have begun." - Richard Foster

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. - Jeremiah 33:3

"Understand that praying is more than bowing your head and saying your prayers. Your whole life can be a prayer." - from Checklist for a Woman's Life

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He made abide with you forever. - John 14:16

 Lord, lead me in prayer. Meet me in prayer. Teach me how to pray. Let the Spirit pray through me. Bring people and things to my mind that you want prayed for. And let me heed the call. Please bless everyone who stops by my blog with a deep reassurance of Your goodness. Thank you Lord for all you do for us, even when we are do undeserving! We praise you.

In Jesus, Amen.

Have you Been Reconciled?

Goodness - the Lord has, and is doing, a mighty work me, especially since my Mom was diagnosed with Stage IV Adenocarcinoma and given just 6-8 months to live.  That was on April 11, 2011 and 4 months later and it’s so amazing to see how God has worked. And…. I've had a front row seat to it all!! And it's been unreal. Remarkable, really.

I am finally allowing The Spirit to stir me up and I at last have the boldness and the tenacity to let my Jesus water spill over onto my family and friends. It's amazing what can happen when someone allows the Spirit to infiltrate their EVERYTHING!!! I'm a life that has been changed because of it.

 Here is a short devotional that I am hoping will make it into my book, when it’s finished. I pray that this will provide you with just a little encouragement and bless you and inspire you in all the right ways and places!!

The Process of Reconciliation

Reconciliation is a process that brings about peace or renewal in a relationship. I like things to be simple, so I came up with a list of what the process of reconciliation consists of:

1. A positive relationship exists

2. A negative or hurtful act is committed by one or both parties

3. One or both parties humble themselves to admit wrongdoing and asks for forgiveness

4. Forgiveness is willfully granted

5. Renewed or reconciled relationship exists

The Word of God gives us many examples of this process of reconciliation. One of my favorite parables follows this process from beginning to end.

If you will just take a look at Luke 15:11-32, you will find the story of the prodigal son. As you read through this passage you can see how it aligns perfectly with the process described above.

1. Luke 15:11, 12 – A father and son relationship exists.

2. Luke 15:13,14 – The son negatively impacts his father by taking his inheritance (a large portion of his father’s wealth/retirement) and wasting it on wild living

3. Luke 15:18, 19 – The son humbles himself and is going to request his father’s forgiveness and the opportunity to become one of his father’s hired servants

4. Luke 15:22 – The father willfully accepts and forgives his son and welcomes him back into the family.

5. Luke 15:24 – The Father and son have a renewed relationship.

This simple story gives us a great example of the process of reconciliation. It includes three aspects that are always involved with reconciliation: humbleness, love, and forgiveness. God desires to have a reconciled relationship with each one of us. In fact, the purpose of Jesus becoming a man and his death and resurrection was so that He could reconcile man’s relationship with God. This is the ultimate reconciliation:

1. God had an intimate relationship with man - Genesis 2:7-25

2. Sin entered the world through disobedience - Genesis 3:11-13, Romans 3:23

3. We must humbly confess our sin and ask for forgiveness – Psalms 51:1-2, Hosea 5:15

4. Jesus is willing to forgive the sins of all those who put their faith in Him – Isaiah 43:25

5. We then enter into a relationship with God which will last for eternity – John 10:27-29

God loves us so much that He put this beautiful process together so that we can have an intimate and fulfilling relationship with Him. He also desires for us to have fulfilling relationships with our family and friends. Jesus consistently preached that we are to forgive not only our friends, but our enemies (Matthew 18:21-22). I know that’s so hard to do at times.  But if God can forgive US, then who are we to think that we are above forgiving others? God has given us the process, but it’s up to us to put it in action!

Ask yourself these tough questions:

Who do I need to forgive today? How can I show them love?

Is there a relationship in my life that God is calling me to reconcile?

For the past 4 months I have spent part of each day with my Mom, and as we have talked about times past and various trials that either she went through or my Dad went through, there is one recurring theme…..forgiveness.  As my Mom has said, what good does it do anyone to be bitter towards someone else?  The person who has hurt or wronged us most likely has forgotten what they did.  Or if not, then they just don’t care.  We can experience the freedom and peace that brings a sweet calmness to our souls only when we mirror what Christ did on the cross and offer forgiveness, freely.

Lord, help me to follow Your example and to not merely PROFESS Christianity, but to POSSESS Your forgiving Spirit.  Remind me that I will never be able to forgive another MORE than what You have already forgiven me……I am nothing by a sinner, saved by grace…Your grace. Thank you sweet Jesus!

The Price is Right- Still Is

I have been burdened for my unsaved family members this week.  I guess as my Mom is getting closer to the end of her life here, I have been drawn to thinking about heaven more….and the path to heaven…which leads me to the only way to heaven….JESUS!!!

As I have been thinking about Jesus this week - who He was, who He still is, His character, His love, His teachings, His deity - I sense myself covering my eyes, shielding my heart, and forgetting what He actually did for me - and for each soul festering on this planet.

I love the easy:
I love to think about Him as Royal....at Christmas for instance. A little baby - born as King. (Luke 1 and 2, etc )

I love to think about Him as Defender ... rebuking the disciples trying to keep the children away - pulling the babes into his lap to bless them. (Mark 10:13-16)

I love to think about Him as Healer - traveling around touching the pain-stricken. Touching them. Does that strike you in your core? It should. His holy hands touched the defiled. The sore-covered. The bleeding..... The dead. We are wise to get the enormity of that. (Matthew 15:29-31, Mark 7:31-37, etc)

I love to think about Him as Deliverer - freeing people of demonic oppression - rebuking and casting out unclean spirits - thwarting their destruction of human hearts with just a word. (Mark 1:32-34, Luke 4:31-37, etc)

I love to think about Him as Teacher - sitting with the multitudes, having compassion on their souls, opening up their lives to the Divine. (Luke 8:4-15, etc)

I love to think about Him as Revealer - answering the door to anyone wholeheartedly knocking down doors to find Him. (Jeremiah 29:13, Luke 11:9)

But Jesus as Sacrifice? -  As tortured, stricken, beaten, crucified? I neglect it - out of ease and ignorance and haughtiness. All too often I look at the cross - I wear it around my neck and I point people to it and write about it....but I never stop to consider the reality of that tree - stained with innocent blood all for the cause of saving my soul. (John 18 and 19, etc)

 Jesus as Payment? As Stand-In? There's no words for that - and yet I still have very few thoughts towards it.

This may be why:
I fail to recognize the enormity and filthiness and number of my sin. I fail to recognize my absolute need for Him in this way. Sure - I can recognize Him as my King, my Protector, my Mender, my Reliever, my Instructor, my Affirmer - but oh, my Atonement? He is that, too. He is that, mostly.

His whole reason for moving among us? Me and you.

What's so incredible about this...audacious even....is that He knew it would be this way. (Isaiah 53) He knew that the one's He came to rescue would spit in His face. He knew that we would fail to grasp the gift He bestowed on us when He died in our place. He knew we would forget, refuse, and shun Him. And He did it anyway.

I've been praying a daring prayer- that He would show me my need for Him - particularly my need for One who is my Sacrifice and Savior. And that He would help me to always take a stand for Him, but to ALSO have the compassion for the lost that I don’t always show.  May it be so - for all of us....that we would get a glimpse of our own sins-pardoned. And that we would see Him, truly. And then that others, would see HIM in US! In our actions, not just our words.

Praying for all of my God-given friends.  I do love each of you!!

My Apology

I feel like a bad blogger.

As I'm going about each day - I think of a zillion topics for blog posts. But since I'm usually smack dab in the middle of either driving 80 miles to work, or 87 miles to my Mom’s after work, or actually working….- the neat little blog post ideas I come up with don't ever come to fruition.
I want so badly to be an inspirational blogger   who regularly writes and shares all the many ideas and happenings that God is allowing me to experience.  I believe that He gave me this desire to write for a reason.  And I also believe that He is allowing my life to have the path it is and has had for a reason.  That reason is to tell the Good News, share how awesome and mighty He is.  So I'm gonna commit to it. I am. Just as soon as I get more than 5 hours of sleep a night.  Spending time with my Mom in her final days just has priority now…but even in the midst of all that we are going through, I see God.  I feel God.  I truly do.  He is in the many kind gestures and acts of kindness that others are showing to us.  It has been so humbling to have so many people reaching out to us…..
So until I am able to be a more faithful blogger I'm gonna leave you with some wise words that have encouraged me over the last few weeks. Enjoy them. I'll be back here in the next few days to post again. Thanks for sticking with me :)"Sometimes we must stop praying for God's work and start doing His work."

"Complacency is a far more dangerous attitude than outrage." - Naomi Littlebear Morena"

"Blessed are those that give without remembering and take without forgetting." - Elizabeth Bibesco

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone expects of you. Never excuse yourself." - Henry Ward Beecher

I've Been Blind to My Blessings

My Mom is in her final days now and I find myself writing more and more trying to capture the moments and put them on paper.   If only I could!  I heard the most amazing speaker from a Focus on the Family broadcast, Kristin Anderson, who wrote “Finding Hope After My Darkest Day.”  All I can say is that the dam that has been holding back all the tears that I have tried to hide my walls of pretend strength came crashing down.

I just am so very thankful for my Mom and for all she did for me and instilled in me.  Most of all, for her Christ-like example that has permeated the core of my being.  I am trying to keep my focus these days on being thankful for what I have been given rather than what I am loosing…..

As I drove to work this morning ....listening to an extraordinary author speak about thankfulness - tears moved down my cheeks in a constant flow of emotion - each tear saying....
 "Lord, I'm so sorry for the ungratefulness I exude."

As she spoke - about death, about grace, about children, about love, about joy, about Jesus..... the overwhelming, yet gentle conviction I felt in my spirit was more than me, or the box of tissues on my car console, could handle. The conviction emptied me....and I emptied the tissue box.

The sorrow I felt for being so ungrateful in the midst of such blessings - made the tears pour forth... and pour forth....and pour forth.

I looked back at myself - my thoughts, my feelings...and my spirit crumbled to pieces. As I turned my attention to the past...to 5 years before...to 5 minutes before - I suddenly realized the ugly and immature web I wove of constant unsatisfaction and ungratefulness. A web, that only caught in it's trap more unsatisfaction and more ungratefulness.

And in that moment - an author much wiser than I - brought to my attention the affliction:

A blindness to blessings.

What's even more startling is that I created the blindness myself. The blessings have always been there. They weren't hidden or twisted or even small - they were in the light, obvious, and larger than life...... It was the sin-darkened, world-tented eyesight I had let myself develop - that tainted my seeing them. The blessings, that is. The bright and many blessings that littered my life.

What the author said of herself is also true of me...

"My default is always unsatisfaction. Always."

And it can't go on this way. My womb has been full too many times....my pantry too stocked.... my family too loving…my mind to educated....my marriage too committed....my bed too soft...my thirst too quenched....my soul too saved - to live wallowing in ungratefulness.

So now...as I wipe the tears and gather the pieces of myself  - I reach up to the One...the Grace-Giver, the Blessing Bringer, the Banisher of Blindness - to pour His grace forth on me. And the thought of His grace pouring forth....again, makes my tears pour forth. And I'm grateful.

The pouring out of me and the pouring in of Him...isn't that what we're after?

So He has me where He wants me. Not sitting at home in front of a computer- but broken in the palm of His hand. And as I lay in a convicted and tired heap in his touch - my eyes are opened. Not only to the dark realities of my ungrateful heart - but to the scars that lay there as well. For the palm that holds me - held the nails that save me. And the grace that drips from those wounds - heals the blindness in me...and the blessings begin to out-do the bitterness.

So as I charge into the everyday  - where life isn't a pretty poem and the Enemy crouches around corners - I realize my default can only be outdone by the out-pouring of Grace.

 And the web of darkness I once wove is torn because of Him. And it leaves me thankful, void of unsatisfaction ... full of Jesus.