Victory in Pain

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.  But, I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.   And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."  Luke 22:31-32

My friends, Satan is active.  If you are going through hard times, let this verse be an encouragement to you. 

Some of you are going through unimaginably hard things in your lives.  You are grieving seemingly unbearable losses.  You've lost children, parents, friends.  You're suffering through the effects of broken relationships and divorce.  You've lost jobs, finances, homes.  Life threatening diseases threaten the lives of you or someone you love.  Indeed Satan is hard at work.

But, just like Jesus prayed for Simon, I pray for you today that "your faith may not fail".  And that "WHEN you have

turned back" you will "strengthen your brothers".   That you will use what you've been through to help others that are going through the same things.  Not because you're "over it" or have "conquered it" but because you've been where they are at and you are just a little farther along on the journey.  

Believe me, you can find purpose in your pain.  You can glorify God in your pain.  Hold steady to the course.  The victory is yours.  

The Facebook Prayer Challenge

On June 24th, I was sitting at my father-in-law's bedside at the nursing home.  It was 10:13 pm, I had been there for hours waiting for answers.  His temperature was 103.  He was lethargic.  His breathing was labored.  He wasn't himself.  The x-rays and lab work results should have been back hours ago.  He was sleeping.  The nurses were distant and disconnected.  They didn't share my concerns.  I felt worried and alone. 

My computer beeped that I had a message.  It was my friend Barbie.  She said that she felt very strongly that I needed her prayers that night and she wanted me to know that she was praying for me.  

I hadn't told her where I was or what was going on.  She had no idea.  For all she knew, I was in bed asleep and wouldn't even get her message.  

But in fact, I wasn't.  And I did get her message.  And oh how I needed it.  This was my response to her: "Oh Barbie, bless you!  You made me cry!  I need your prayer right this minute!  I am with Harold.  He is not doing well.  Temp of 103.  Thank you so much!  You are the voice of God, saying He is with me!"   

As I was praying for my father-in-law, my friend was praying for 
ME.  

I am so thankful to know that my friends lift MY name up to the Lord.  That they take ME to Him in prayer.  What a blessing. What an honor.  

Today as I was praying for someone in particular, I felt led to share my prayer with them, just like Barbie did with me.   I felt like God wanted me to let them know that they were on my mind and that I was lifting them up to the One Who holds all the answers. 

So, I decided to send them a message on facebook.  That's when I realized that a lot of the people that I had just been praying for were my facebook friends.  Maybe I should let each of them know that I'm praying for them....   then I began to think of other facebook friends that needed prayer and.... well you see where this is going.  

So, to make a long story a little shorter.... Don't be surprised if you, my friend, receive a message from me this week saying that I'm praying for YOU.  

You see, I have 613 facebook "friends".  Some I know well.  Others... not so much.But, either way, we are connected somehow.  So, this week,  I am going to make a point to pause during my prayer time and allow God to direct my thoughts to my friends who need prayer.  And then I'm going to send them a little note to let them know- not really that I'M thinking of them, but that GOD IS.  

I'm pretty excited to see what God's going to do with this! Will you join me?   We'll call it the "Facebook Prayer Challenge".  We'll start today and end on Saturday or.... maybe we'll just keep going.  Who knows?  

Leave me a comment below if you take the Challenge and please feel free to share how God uses this in your life.  

Day 7- PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS- Alphabet Prayers

This was a fun one!   I started by listing the alphabet down the left side of my paper like this:

Then I got my markers out because I have loved the idea of making things colorful since Day 4- "Doodle Prayers".  

I had intended to go through the alphabet and pray for someone whose name started with each letter.  But, once I started I realized that a lot of my loved ones have the same 1st initial.  I also realized I don't know anyone whose name starts with Q or Z.  So I decided to adjust a little bit on some of them.  For example on 'X' I put "AleXandra".  

I didn't go in order.  I just filled them in as I thought of them and prayed as I went.  When I began, I was going through my usual prayer list and putting them in the right spot.  In the end, I was trying to think of people for my remaining letters and I ended up coming up with people that I would not normally think to pray for.    I like that.  

I plan to use this new prayer method again next week without repeating any of the names from this week.  That should be challenging.... and interesting.  Wonder who I'll pray for?  It might be YOU!

Day 6- PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS

Prayer Driving

I'm sure you've heard of prayer walks- where you walk through a neighborhood and pray for each family in each home along the way.  

Well, I did this a little differently.  Mine was a prayer drive.   I prayed:

• At red lights- for the person in the car beside me and/or across from me.
• At stop signs- for the homes, people, or businesses around me. Or if none, I prayed for the people in the cars passing by.
• At each stop- if a home- I prayed for the people who live there.  If a business- I prayed for the business, the owners, and the employees. 
• While driving- I prayed for people or businesses that caught my eye.
• In School Zones- I prayed for the teachers, faculty, students and our overall education system.

I used this prayer method on my way to work this morning.   The funny thing is that when I got back in the car this afternoon and started driving, without realizing it, I found myself praying again.

"Lord, please protect that guy on the bicycle"....  

"Lord, please be with the employees at CVS and keep their feet from hurting today."  ??? What?  

"Lord, help that young man in the red truck to avoid temptation tonight."  huh?  Where did THAT come from?  

I don't know.  But, suddenly I'm becoming very aware of the people around me and what their needs could be.  That can't be a bad thing.  Right?

You try it.  See what happens and leave me a comment.  I'd be interested to hear about your experience.  Was it like mine?  

(Note/Disclaimer- DO NOT PRAY WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED WHILE DRIVING.  Just sayin'.)

Day 5- PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS

Photo Prayers

If you've ever spent very much time with me- I probably have a picture of you!  No, I'm not a photographer but I take tons of pictures. Seriously.  My children will never have to wonder what their childhood was like.   I can show them a picture of  just about everything they've ever done!  

Today, Brianna and I were reminiscing over photos in an album from 2009.  She didn't remember much of it, but I sure did.  There were pictures from vacation, Valentines Day, Birthdays, Easter, Summer camping trips.... so many good times!  All with family and friends.  

What a blessing to have such great memories with the people we love!  That thought turned into a quick prayer thanking God for surrounding us with such love.  Then I saw a picture of my dad and remembered that his shoulder has been hurting and said a quick prayer for him.  Then I saw a picture of Roger's dad and said a quick prayer for him... and then... well... you see where this is going... our reminiscing time turned into prayer time.  Brianna and I took turns praying for the people we saw in the pictures.  

We started out saying a one sentence prayer for each person in each picture (not including ourselves).  But, we found ourselves praying for Roger and Rio A LOT!  After about 20 pictures we decided to only pray for new people.  lol  (It was a completely full 500 picture album- and I've gotta work tomorrow!)

Now granted, most of the photos were people very close to me that I usually pray for anyway.  But, there were some random people in there that got a prayer sent up for them tonight.  Maybe they needed it.  I hope so. 

All in all, we enjoyed our reminiscing/prayer time.  It was a fun way to mix things up.  

Day 4- PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS

Doodle Prayers

I read a blog not too long ago about a book called Praying in Color.  It sounded pretty interesting so I decided to try this prayer method today.  (You can read that blog here:  Praying In Color )

If you struggle with staying focused during your prayer time- you'll definitely want to try this.  

To get started you will need: 

• paper
• markers/colored pencils/crayons etc.
• and possibly your Bible 

I'm all set!

You can start and finish any way you want to.  But, if it's your first time and you need a little direction like me- start by writing your name for God in the center of the page.  I wrote "Heavenly Father".  Then doodle around it as you ask Him to focus your mind and guide your prayer time.  

To pray for a person, write their name and draw or doodle around it as you pray for them and focus on them.  

Today I chose to focus my prayer time mostly on my family so I placed each of their names on my prayer page and focused on that individual for a few moments as I doodled.  

This was my final result:

Beautiful isn't it?  ;)  Ok, so I'm no artist.  Obviously.  But, I really enjoyed this prayer time.  So often, my prayers are limited to specific requests or my knowledge of a particular need.  This allowed me to really turn my attention to each person and think about how I could lift them up to God.  

For example, my nephew Justin (bottom center red).  I hate to admit it but I don't pray for him very often.  He's a healthy successful young man and I haven't heard about anything going wrong in his life lately so... he doesn't make the list very often.  I know that sounds terrible but I'm sure you can relate.  But, through this prayer exercise I was able to focus on Justin for a moment and ask "How can I pray for Justin today?"  So, I prayed for him to stay healthy, to make good decisions in his career and his daily life, and that God would place a good Christian woman in his path. :) 

After using this prayer method, I started thinking about what an honor it is to know that someone is lifting my name up to the Lord.  And I hope that I have people praying for me all the time (I know my Momma is!) not just when things are going wrong.  

I will definitely use this prayer method again.  Next time, I plan to pick a different group of people, like maybe my youth group.  I think that focusing on them and praying for them each individually will also make me more attentive to them and improve our relationships as well.  

If you decide to try this- leave me a comment.   I'd love to hear about your experience!

Day 3- PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS

Praying with Music

The rain finally tapered off for a little while this evening and Rog took the girls on a 4-wheeler ride so I took advantage of the opportunity to have some uninterrupted prayer time.  
(See, I did learn!)

Praying with music is something I do on occasion but it had been a while.  The idea is that you turn on some music and pray until the music ends.  You choose the song(s) or playlist and therefore, the amount of time.  It's best to choose music without lyrics so that you don't end up singing along instead of praying (another lesson learned).

I chose a beautiful instrumental on youtube, turned the lights down low (candlelight would be awesome here too), and closed my eyes.  I let my breathing slow to the rhythm of the music and began by praying my usual prayers.  

The song I chose was about 10 minutes long.  I finished going over the usual prayer list and opened one eye to check the time ;)  2 minutes 16 seconds had passed.  Really?  That's my normal prayer time?  Hmmm... 

I returned to my prayer and prayed for each of my family members and friends that I hadn't prayed for in the prior 2 minutes.  I prayed for each of them by name and prayed for each of their specific needs.  Again, one eye opened- 5 minutes 39 seconds.  
Hmmm....

I closed my eyes once again and said, "Ok God what do You want to talk about now?"  lol  I sat silently for a few minutes and began to relax and think.  And the more I thought, the more I talked to God about what I was thinking.  And I began to have unusual thoughts.  By unusual, I mean thoughts that were.... not my own.  I began to look at a situation in my life from a different perspective. An unexpected scripture came to mind... a verse that caught me a little off guard but in retrospect made perfect sense.  (That's another story for another day, but suffice it to say that I feel much more at peace with the situation.)

When the music stopped, I was actually surprised that the rest of the time had seemed to pass so quickly.  

If you try this method of timed prayer, you may find that 10 minutes is a long time in comparison to your normal prayer time.  But as you relax into it, you will find yourself connecting to God on a deeper level. It is in that depth that you will discover a greater perspective and sense of clarity.

Can you spare 10 minutes for your Creator today?

Day 2- PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS

Praying by Candlelight

I got a blanket and some pillows, chose a quiet corner and a good smelling candle (pear mmmm....) and sat down to talk to God.    And then I got a text.  Oops... forgot to turn the phone off.  Ok, now I'm ready.  

Again today, I struggle with shutting out the worries of the day so I...
"Mom!  The TV won't rewind!"  
"Ok be there in a minute."      
.... where was I?  Oh yeah, blocking out the worries of the day... so I take a few deep breaths and... and.... what IS Lugnut barking at?  

Ok.  Ok.  Inhale....exhale.... "Dear Lord..."
"Mommy, my tummy hurts.  I think I'm hungry."  
"Did you finish your supper?"  
"No, it's cold.  Will you heat it back up for me?"

15 minutes later.... inhale....exhale....   
"Lord I just..."  

"Mommy, my tummy still hurts, can I sit with you?"  
"Yes."
She lays down on the floor and stares at me.  
"What are you doing?  Is it somebody's birthday?  Can I blow the candle out?" 
"I'm praying."
"Oh ok."  She slowly sits up, bows her head, positions her hands in prayer and waits.... 15 seconds pass... she opens one eye and says "Well go ahead- PRAY!!!"

<sigh>

So, I proceed to say my normal bedtime prayers.  She then says her bedtime prayers and with a grand "Amen!" excitedly blows the candle out.

And that's how Day 2 went.  If I'm going to share this journey, I might as well be real about it.  

In this season of my life, quiet, alone time is a rarity.  If I want to really spend time with God, I've got to make time AND plan better.   Lesson learned.  

Day 1- PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS

This week I am exploring new ways to pray.  

My view... and my prayer partner for the day.
Good ol' Lugnut.

Today, I prayed outside.  Now, maybe that doesn't sound that unusual to you, but it's different for me.  I mean sure, last week, I prayed while mowing the yard.  And I pray from time to time while taking an occasional walk.  I've even prayed while riding the 4-wheeler.  But this time was different.  This time, I was ONLY praying.  

So, I found a nice quiet spot and sat down to talk to God.  Now admittedly, at first, I was distracted by my "to do list" of the day.  I felt a little rushed.  I felt a little bit like I should be multi-tasking rather than sitting there "wasting time".  

Did I just say that?  Yes, I did.  Terrible, I know.  But, God knows my thoughts so why try to hide it?  

It was a beautiful day.  As I watched the wind on the water, felt the sun on my skin, and watched my shadow shift ever so slightly, a peaceful calm came over me.  I found myself relaxing.  The worries and "to do's" of the day seeming less and less important.  

I went through my usual prayer list of people and things.  But this time, I didn't stop there.   I began to really talk to God about things that were on my mind.  Things that I had repeated many times in my daily prayer ritual- ending with an abrupt "Amen".  Things that I had asked God over and over to help me with but never gave Him time to answer.  But this time, I found myself talking AND LISTENING.  

No, I didn't hear His voice.   

I felt His whisper.  

An hour passed.  

It seemed like a minute. 

I walked back into the house with a weight lifted off my shoulders.  I felt like I'd been to counseling.  

I had.  
"...and His name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6

I hope you'll join me on this journey and make time to truly connect with your Wonderful Counselor.   Trust me, you don't have time not to. 

PRAYing 7 New WAYS in 7 DAYS

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  The idea is that people will join together in prayer for our nation today.  

This has led me to take a look at my prayer life in general.  I pray fairly often throughout each day, but, I have to admit, it's gotten a little... stale... a little habitual I guess.   Not that habitual prayer is a bad thing.  Or is it?  

My daily prayers typically happen like this:

• I pray every morning in the shower.  No, God doesn't mind that I'm naked!  He made me that way!   lol  Besides, when my daughter was smaller, it was the only real alone time I had. (If you don't count all the, "Mommy!  Mommy! Mommy!" outside the bathroom door.)  But, I do, I pray in the shower.  I ask God to bless my day and help me to be good.  ;)  

• I pray with my daughter when I drop her off at school each morning.  "Dear God, please help Brianna Jo to have a good day at school, and to be loving and kind and learn a lot.  In Jesus' Name, Amen."

• I say short prayers here and there throughout the day when I need strength or wisdom or when I'm given a prayer request. 

• I pray at night before I go to sleep- the typical summary of major prayer requests, thanks for this or that,  forgive me for that and this, bless my family.... amen.

Stale. Typical. Dry. Boring.  It's true.  

So this week- I'm gonna shake things up a bit.  I'm gonna connect with God in new ways.  For 7 days, I'm gonna pray in 7 new ways.  Would you like to join me?

If so, meet me back here tomorrow for Day 1!

Crossroads Winter Conference 2013

It’s finally here!  The weekend we look forward to all year long-  Crossroads Winter Conference 2013!  This Friday, 7 of Grace’s youth leaders and 39 of our youth members will be headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for an incredible weekend of worship and fellowship in the Great Smoky Mountains.  We will sing praises with Carl Cartee and hear powerful messages by Clayton King, Matt Orth, Charie King and Brian Burgess.  We will open our hearts and our minds to God and to each other.  There will be laughter and there will be tears.  There will be salvation and there will be renewal.  No doubt, the 46 people leaving here on Friday will not be the same 46 people that return on Monday.  And we wouldn’t have it any other way.  Praise be to God!  

Please join us in prayer:

"Heavenly Father, please keep Your protective hand over our youth and our leaders as they travel this weekend.  Lord, as they attend this conference, clear their minds of all distractions that they may hear You clearly.  Draw near to them Lord.  Speak to their hearts.  Renew their spirits.  Strengthen their will to serve You.  In Jesus' precious name we pray.  Amen."