Spouses

I picked up an great prayer list yesterday.  "Pray for Your Child's Future Spouse"  the title read.   The words penetrated my heart.  Stewardship is much of what parenting is all about.  God gives you children to love, nurture and train.  They grow up.  They leave.  It's the way it's meant to be.  I know this, yet somehow the idea of praying for spouses for my children feels painful.  As I read and murmur the words on paper, I feel cold and dry.  Lifeless.  I realize this is not a heartfelt prayer.

I think for a moment about my husband.  Over 12 years we've shared joys and pains together.  We've grown together.  We've changed together.  We've laughed together.  The warmth, affection, respect and loyalty we share has been a sustaining force.  We've challenged one another to seek truth.  We've known one another deeply.  I want this for my children.

I love listening to him play the guitar at the end of a long day.

I try again, uttering words of life and grace for my children and their future partners.  Better?  Yes.  Heartfelt?  Almost.  Maybe I'm just not quite ready to imagine the great plans God has in store for them.

Lord, help me to remember my children don't belong to me.  Give me the strength to keep praying.  Give me grace to guide and give me wisdom to see your plan.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Vacation Memories: Farm Fresh Eggs and Faith

Prayer, this constant awareness of God, changes things.  God cares about the details of our lives.  

My friend invited our family to come see her horses and other critters.  There were bunnies, hens, horses, kittens, dogs, guineas, guinea pigs and a pig.   My children were ecstatic.  It was better than a zoo visit because we could pet, hold and even ride.  The zoos tend to frown on such behavior.

As we were being shown around the property, we were invited to hunt for fresh eggs.  The owner showed the kids where to look.  They found one egg.  Then another and another.  



The owner looked a bit shocked.  She went on to explain that typically there were only 2 eggs because some of the hens were not mature enough to lay eggs.  Interestingly, there were three eggs today.  It was just enough for her to give each child and egg.   Some would call it a coincidence.  I call it a sacred reminder. 




Hebrews 11 speaks of faith.  It alludes to the process of meshing the sacred and secular.  We are reminded faith, this holy hope, can infuse every aspect of our lives.  I can't help but think of Hebrews 11:1 which says faith is the substance of things hoped for.  Were my kids hoping to each find an egg?  Did God reward their faith?  I don't know for sure.  But I do know I was hoping for a special time with my family.  And finding 3 farm fresh eggs that evening on the Carolina coast was very special to me. 

I steal prayers

True confession: I steal prayers. 
I can't always find just the right words. 
So I steal prayers from the Bible.

I think it's ok to infringe on copyright laws when it comes to prayer and I am stealing God's Word.

 Hopefully the plagiarism police wont peek into my prayer journal.  They'd find the words of Jesus, David and Paul carefully penned and claimed as my own. 

Today David's words reflect my heart:

Direct my footsteps according to your word;

let no sin rule over me.

Psalm 119:133 

By the way, if you decided to steal prayers too, I won't tell a soul.

A Little Surprise

My first morning, up before the crack of dawn to pray was a surprise.  I thought my attention span would be challenged.  How would I fill all that time? What would I do if I ran out of things to say?  Was this such a good idea after all?

I took a moment to prepare my heart and earnestly, wholeheartedly asked the Lord to keep my mind free from distractions as I opened my Bible for direction.  As I glanced out of the corner of my eye, I was startled to see a furry, little critter scurrying across my floor.  A mouse in the house!?  This was not off to such a good start. After a small  outburst, I quickly left the house in an attempt to evade the rodent.

I knew I could not stay in the house and talk to God without being distracted. Today would be a prayer-walk kind of day.

"Lord, get that mouse out of my house!"
Not a very holy prayer.
But VERY heartfelt.

The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  James 5:16

1000 Hours is a Long Time!

After participating in a church wide initiative to log a thousand hours of prayer, I felt God whisper to my  heart, "What would change if YOU prayed for 1,000 hours?"

Intrigued?  Yes. I truly believe that the invisible things are often more real than the visible, so I imagined.  Could courses be set?  Could lives be forever changed?  Could dreams be realized? Could unhealthy, destructive patterns be disassembled?
Yes. Yes. Yes and Yes.

I hesitated though.  One thousand hours is a long time.  I am a busy mother of three.  Impossible.  Two months later, I remembered the conversation and realized that I am too busy to not take my prayer life to a new level.

So, how about you?  What might happen in your life if you prayed for 1,000 hours?