A Weekend Prayer

Scripture to meditate on as you navigate through your weekend ...

Show me your ways, O Lord,

Teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth

and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you

all day long.

Psalm 25:4-5

May all your wanderings this weekend lead you into the gracious hands of the Father,

who teaches and guides those who wait expectantly for Him. 

Our God is faithful, friends. 

Let's put our hope in Him!

When it gets hard

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I went for a jog tonight.
Don't be impressed.  The truth is I really hate to run.  I wish I liked it but alas, I don't.

I didn't actually set out to run.  I was out for a normal walk when all of a sudden I felt the urge to pick up the pace.  And since that almost never happens, I decided to give it a try. 

Right off the bat, I was feeling great.  My pace was good.  My breathing was controlled.  I thought to myself, "Ok. I can do this!" With my eyes focused on the horizon ahead, I was sure I had turned a new leaf ... I was a runner!

A few minutes later (let's pretend like "a few" means 30, when actually we're probably talking less than 5), I wasn't doing too hot.  My breathing sounded more like gasping and my body was hurting all over.  How is it that all of a sudden my feet felt like they were trudging through five inches of mud? 

So I quit.

That's when I heard that small voice from deep inside. "So is that what you do when things get hard?   You quit?"  I knew right away this voice was from God because there wasn't an ounce of accusation in its tone. 

"Surely you just saw that God. I couldn't do it anymore.  It felt miserable.  I was hurting all over.  I might have been dying."

"So is that what you're going to do in that situation that you're struggling so much with right now?  It's hard, so you're going to quit?"

Ok.  Now He had me.

Here's what I walked home with tonight - the things that running reminded me as it pertains to my current struggle {and maybe yours too}:

1.  Just because I felt like I was dying as I ran didn't mean it was true.  Feelings do not determine truth.  Therefore, feelings cannot be my guide - not in running or in life.  

Sometimes keeping my feelings in check is a full time job.  I mean really - we can be a mess, can't we girls?  When I get all bogged down by how I feel, my circumstances take center stage.  I can't see beyond my ever-pressing here and now.  Real Truth (ie: God's Word) sets my eyes on things above - on the One who has it all in His hands - and that makes all the difference.

2.  Hard doesn't mean bad.  It just means hard.  God sometimes asks me to remain in that hard place longer than I think I can stand so that I learn to depend on Him.  The moment that I say, "I give up.  I can't do this anymore" is the exact place that God steps in and says, "Thank you!  Now let me show you what I can do through you."  Hard pushes me towards dependence, and that's always a good thing!

3.  It's ok to slow down and catch my breath - but being tired is not an excuse to quit.  Find some oxygen and get moving again!  Jesus is always inviting me in - offering a place of refuge.  He is the One who restores and renews.  He is the One who resurrects and makes whole. 

Makes me think of this ...

Yes!  Lead me to that Rock!!

Running served a great purpose for me tonight, but next time I'm out, I'll be walking. I'm pretty sure God just needed to get me winded to allow me to hear Him more clearly.

A Weekend Prayer

May we approach this weekend with a confident expectation that our God in Heaven is ever speaking and ever moving on our behalf ...

and may He open our ears to hear His voice over all other things.

Lord, heighten my spiritual senses to

see that which is not visible

hear that which is not audible

sense that which is not tangible

believe that which is unbelievable.

Teach me to sort through

the noises of this world to

hear and discern Your powerful,

wonderful, pure, precious voice.

(Priscilla Shirer, Discerning the Voice of God)



Shiny, Happy People

Do you know the story of Moses, who went up into Mount Sinai to meet with God?  After spending forty days and forty nights in the presence of the Lord, he came down from the mountain and his face was "radiant because he had spoken with the Lord" (Exodus 34:29.)

The Bible says that his face was shining.  His skin was literally glowing from being in God's presence.  Can you imagine it?  Apparently the sight of his face - all a glow with the glory of God - really freaked out the Israelites, so Moses put on a veil to cover his face.  Over time, his radiance faded and his veil was taken away.

When Moses encountered God, he couldn't help but SHINE.

The story gets better ...

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

No veils needed to cover our faces, ladies!  We too are meant to SHINE. 

We come into God's presence when we read His Word.  The Bible is like a mirror, both revealing us for who we really are as well as revealing the glory of the Lord.  The more we gaze upon the truth of His Word, the more we are exposed to the glorious light of the Father. 

By abiding with Jesus and breathing in the living Word of God, we become transformed into His likeness. We are changed from the inside out.  Like mirrors, we become that which reflects His glory.

But unlike Moses, whose radiant glow faded in time, His splendor revealed in us grows in ever-increasing glory.  From grace to grace, we grow with ever-increasing glory!

Yes, we are shiny, happy people indeed!

Today's challenge:  When we fix our eyes upon the image of the ivisible God - the Word made flesh - we are changed completely.  We will always reflect that which we gaze upon. So the question remains, what are you reflecting?

A piece of me

I have a love/hate relationship with writing this blog.

Sometimes it's all I can think about ... like taking a breath, it's what comes out of me.  There's a bit of therapy in hammering out the thoughts in my head - of putting the pencil to the paper - by which, of course, I mean hitting little black keys.  When faced with the blaring white screen of the computer, I am forced to find words to express my heart, and in doing that, God teaches, heals and renews me. 

So often when I hear from God, I know it's not just for me.  It's for US - God's Word is meant to be lived out corporately.  To see His Word come alive - to see the way it moves, transforms, redeems ... that's for all of us!  That's why I open blank pages and stumble to translate His Word in a way that makes sense to you (and to me.) 

But I have to be honest, this writing also exposes me.  It stripes me down and leaves me lying there, vulnerable.  How can I write about my life without revealing the real me?  Without letting you see the real mess?  I try not to care about how you'll receive it,  or if you'll even read it, but the truth of the matter is I do.  And I hate that I do. 

There are so many other blogs you can read - so many that are more thought provoking and oh, so beautifully written.  Filled with doubt and unbelief, I want to tell you to just read those blogs, find God there.  Fear tells me to quit - to let the real writers do the writing. 

But I can't. 

Today's challenge:  Do the thing that God has called you to do - even when you are filled with doubt and fear.  All for the glory of God!

A weekend prayer

A prayer from Psalms as you approach the Word this weekend...

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Heavenly Father,

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.

Psalm 119:18, 34-37

In the name of Jesus ... whatever!!!

And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17

I suppose when my kids get older, the word "whatever" will become a dreaded word - one laced with hormones and a heavy dose of teen aged attitude.  But for now, the word challenges me. 

This verse is the reason. 

Oh - go ahead.  Read it again but this time in the Amplified version.

And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him. 

See what I mean.  Whatever you do ... that kind of encompasses, well, everything. 

And since we're girls who take God at His Word - since we have decided not just to read the Word but to actually put it into practice - since we are doers and not just hearers ... then we need to learn how to practically apply this one.

Yes.  This verse.  The one full of whatever, everything and all. 

This is one way to practice "do whatever" in the name of Jesus:  If you can't attach the words, "in the name of Jesus" to the end of whatever you say or do, then you probably need to make a change. 

Here are some examples:

• I can't yell at my kids, in the name of Jesus ... but I can discipline with patience, in the name of Jesus.
• I can't talk about my friend behind her back, in the name of Jesus ... but I can hold my tongue from gossip, in the name of Jesus.
• I can't complain about the house being a mess, in the name of Jesus ... but I can serve my family by cleaning the house, in the name of Jesus.

It becomes kinda obvious, doesn't it?  Not easy, but at least obvious. 

A life lived "in the name of Jesus" is a life that pleases the Father, and that's what I'm after.  What about you?  Let's practice this together ... doing "whatever" in the name of Jesus.

Shall we pray?

Jesus, I confess that I am overwhelmed by the enormity of this command.  Teach me how to live in a way that is honoring to you.  If I can’t attach the words, “in the name of Jesus” to the end of whatever I am saying or doing, alter my course and purify my motives so that I can glorify you in all that I say and do.