Of Paths

We all need paths in life,
      To take us here or there.

And when there's not a path
      We forge one new with care.

Most of the time we follow
      The work that others have done.

But sometimes a new path
      Is what we need to run.

We must make sure our path
      Is safe for our littles to follow.

For often we find that
      In our steps they go.

May my path today be one
      I'd love to be followed on.

Grant me the grace, Father,
      Through your own Dear Son!

Messes and Me

Psalms 51:1-10 HCSB

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against You — You alone — I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Turn Your face away  from my sins and blot out all my guilt. God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast  spirit within me.

Today was one of those days......when I put the children down for their afternoon naps, the house looked like a tornado had hit and all that was left in its path was toys and crumbs and shreds of paper. I told Carsten "You boys made a big mess! ... That makes mommy sad!" He replied, "It doesn't make me sad!"... "I just don't want to clean it up." I had to laugh a little then. And it made me think.

About messes....

How often does God look at my life and say "You made a big mess!"? What is my attitude when He reveals something that needs to change in my life? Am I sad about my messes? Am I willing to go through the hard work of cleaning up?

Later at the dinner table, we were taking about who cleans up the mess and Carsten says "Mommy had to clean it up all by herself." (I did because the boys had gone down for naps) This makes me think about how this is similar to how God deals with us.  He is willing to take our mess and clean it up ... one little piece at a time. He never gives up and is insistent on total purity.

Prayer for today:
LORD, thank you for having an interest in the messes in my life. I give you my heart and ask you to clean it up and remove all the messes I have made. Forgive my wretched sins and make me clean and new so that I can serve you in your kingdom! In and through Jesus name,  Amen

Life Stories

Psalms 78:22, 35, 38-39, 65, 68, 72 KJV

Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation: .... And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. .... But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.  For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again....  Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.....  But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.....  So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.


Life stories....

Some are long.
Some are short.

Some are full of drama.
Some are just ordinary.

Some are well known
Some are not known at all.

All are interesting.

All would show the mercy of God,  the grace of God,  the immense love of God.

Whether the person lived for Christ or not, God could still be seen working in his/her life.

This passage is a beautiful story but not because the Israelites loved and obeyed God with all their hearts and lives but because God is faithful.

God chose them and had many reasons to give up on them. But He didn't. Because of His character. Because of His commitment. Because of His love.

If you read the full chapter of Psalm 78, you will find that the Israelites were not faithful and yet God was and still IS!

How will your life story read? What will be said about you at the end of your life?

My desire is that my life story world be so wrapped up in God and my Savior that not much of "me" would shine through.

May "the world see Jesus when they look at my life".

Dear God,
You are so great, we cannot comprehend You! Thank You for the interest and love You show in our lives. I pray that each of us would allow You to write our life story today. Help us to follow Your perfect will for our lives so that when people 'read' our life story, what they see is the Glory of God! We love You and want to live for You! In Jesus name, Amen.

Glorify God

John 21:14-25

This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. John 21:19

We, as ladies, (or humans for that matter) who are followers of Jesus, have our ideas of what it means to glorify God. We may think that we can best glorify God by having a pure heart, worshipping Him alone or collectively, doing a good deed, praising Him, telling our neighbor about Him, etc. (And please don't think that I am minimizing the importance of glorifying God in these ways).

Sometimes though God may have a different plan or path for us to take to glorify Him better. In this passage, Jesus told Peter that he was going to glorify God in his death. How many of us want to talk about THAT? I mean "God, I can do so much more for You, bring You more glory, if I am a living body and not a dead one, right?" Our human reasoning tries to kick in.

But wait, Daughter of the King, who are you living for anyway? Do you remember how big the God you serve is? And that one of the paradoxes of life through Christ is that in complete surrender is complete freedom?

So my challenge to you today is this,  allow God to glorify Himself in you today in whatever way HE sees best, in whatever way HE will receive the MOST Glory.

Dear Father, 
Glorify Yourself in and through me today. If that takes me out of my comfort zone or means me doing something I don't really want to do, give me the grace(power) to do it anyway. I want to live for your Glory today. Because of and through and in, Jesus' name, I pray.  Amen. 

Praying with Your Heart

Sometimes I do not pray in words—

I take my heart in my two hands

And hold it up before the Lord—

I am so glad He understands. —Nicholson

I found this poem in yesterday's Our Daily Bread reading and really liked it, so I thought I would share it with you.

Take time today to lift up your heart to God and have communion with Him! He is waiting for you!

With Each Sunrise

Lamentations 3:21-33

Mornings breath steals across
        Country and city,
             Bringing hope, fresh and new.

Just as morning wraps her arms
        Around me,
So I imagine God's new mercies
        For the day
               Enfolding me
               Empowering me
               Energizing me
                    To face the challenges
                           Unique to today.

"Great is His Faithfulness"
        For every morning
                He provides new mercy,
                If I only stop long enough
                        To let it refresh me!

"Wait patiently"
        Don't rush into your morning,
                Dear Sister,
                       So fast that you miss
                              His new Refreshing Mercy
                                      That is specially
                                              For you!

Look forward to each sunrise
         For it points to
                The Eternal Sonrise
                         Of King Jesus.

Faithfulness

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 ESV

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Faithfulness

When I think of faithfulness
     I think of being
          Trustworthy
          Steadfast
          Unchanging
                No matter what
          Consistent
      And realizing that there is
           Someone greater
                Than me
                     Whose glory I live for.

And He (God) also is faithful.
       Even though He answers
            to no one.
Yet He is faithful
        Because that is His character.

May He faithfully direct
       My heart and yours
             To His love
             And Christ's steadfastness.

Amen.

Pray for Christians being Persecuted!

Let's pray for the ones that are being harmed by ISIS. Here is an article on what is happening now.

Dear Father God,
   We come to You in the name of our King Jesus! We bless You for Your presence and Your love.  We adore you for what You have done for us. We praise You for the blessing of coming to You as Your child redeemed.

And we implore you on behalf of our brothers and sisters being persecuted in the Middle East. We pray that you would bind up the power of Satan and his demons and thwart the plans of these evil men.

 Be very near to the suffering Christians. I pray for the fathers, that you would give them wisdom to lead their families and grace to be strong for You. I pray for the mothers, O God, my heart goes out to them as they have to watch their children suffer! Please fill them with inner strength and physical well being. I pray for the children. We know how much you love the children! I pray for their protection and physical needs. Work miracles by your angels on their behalf!

I pray to for the men carrying out these atrocities. They need to find You as their Savior. Lead them to the foot of the cross where they can find your grace. Stop their wicked plans by the name of King Jesus!

Father, thank You for holding off the demise of this world another day. We know it is because You are being patient with souls that need You. Continue to draw people to You today!

We bless and honor Your Most Holy Name! And pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen