Prayers please!

I have so many thoughts running through my head right now that I don't even know how to start this. I hate how the enemy can just slip in and take what was a great day and totally change things around. My heart is very heavy tonight and I am fighting fear, but I know that greater is He that is with me than he that is in the world. I had a great day with my family today, which I will share with you in another post. Right now I must confess that as the night came to a close we dropped of a very dear little friend of ours. There was a comment made by someone at their door and I have been having a very hard time dealing with it. I know this is not easy to follow, but for right now I am not able to share all of the details. I guess, right now, I am asking for prayer from you. I need you to step up for me and pray as the Lord leads you for the next 3 days. My husband and I are going to be talking with this family on Wednesday evening and I am just having a very hard time with it. I am battling fear and trying not to let it win, but I must say that I am not doing very good with it. This is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I am trying with everything in me to hold onto promises that the Lord gave to me a couple years ago, but I am struggling. I am trying to turn my thoughts and emotions over each and every time they overwhelm me. Please, if you will, pray for me. I would greatly appreciate it, more than you know!

A prayer!

The past several months my heart has been heavy. I have been searching for something and not even sure how to explain it to you. I am so thankful I have a God who sees and knows what I am in need of and meets with me just because He wants to. I know I have experienced the Love of God, and that He lives in me like He has never before. The past few days I have been praying this prayer, I have made it mine, and I would like to share it with you. When you read it, put your name in and claim it as yours too. Every time I read it, I get something new out of it, and I pray that He will move in you as you make it your own today.

Ephesians 3:14-21

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant (me), according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in (my) heart through faith; that (I), being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and lenght and depth and height, to know the love of christ which passes knowledge; that (I) may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that (I) ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Growing pains!

My daughter is 7 now and I did not realize with her birthday we were going to get the extreme attitude. Oh my, has it come and it is pushing me to a level I have not been since I lived at home with my sister. I have come to realize that she is very much like my sister with her actions and her attitudes. Well today I have had enough. She is doing things on her own and I am hoping this will teach her some things. Honestly, it will probably teach me more than her because some of the things she will have to do will show me just how old she really is. She is my oldest, and I am having a hard time letting her grow up and be responsible for some extra things. Anyway, if anyone has any words of wisdom on how to deal with a little girl with attitude please share because I am at a loss and willing to learn. I praise God for this challenge and am realizing that the older my kids get the more I am on my knees praying! Thank you Father for blessing me with her and allowing me to be her mother.

Used by the Lord!

I always get excited when the Lord uses me in the lives of others. I have been praying for a while now that He show me my gifts and then teach me how to use them. Well, as He is showing me what they are it has been exciting because just like patience, He is showing me how to use them by actually using them. November is national adoption month and my husband and I have a ministry at our church for orphan care. This is for anyone interested in helping children either through foster care, adoption or orphanages. So, we had our first adoption conference on Saturday and it was great. We were done early so many of the people just hung around and talked to the speakers and asked some great questions. Well, in the end there was one couple that just kept hanging around so I began really praying for them to see if the Lord wanted something special for them and He did! He had a word for the woman and she needed much encouragement. So, I was able to pray for her and reveal some things to her that she knew was only God and it was so precious to see her and her husband change right there. It was so exciting being used by the Lord on Saturday and I totally stepped out of my comfort to say the things I knew the Lord wanted to say to her. I share this to say, if the Lord is talking to you and wants to use you don't hesitate. Go and do what He is saying to do because it is so worth it in the end. This woman walked out of our room a new woman and I was blessed even more knowing what God was doing and going to do for her. I hope everyone has a blessed day and begin to look for ways to be used by the Lord!

Cool breeze

This morning about 4am a cool breeze started blowing through our windows. It was so peaceful and smelled so good. I don't know about anyone else, but I love the smell right before a rain comes especially in the fall. Well, this breeze woke me up and I just laid there enjoying the breeze and talking to the Lord. It was as if every time He spoke the wind would pick up coming through my window. So, in my very imaginative mind, I was seeing the Lord standing outside of my house speaking to me and it was his cool calming breath that was passing through the window. I just stayed there for an hour before I got up to start my day. What a neat way to wake up, in the presence of the Lord, with His breath flowing all through my room. Thank You Lord for that extra time I had to spend with You this morning. I have been praying for Your presence to in-fill me everyday and I see this as one way You showed me that You are here, even in the little things!

My prayer for today.

Ephesians 3:14-20 says "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith: that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge: that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." I want to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, to know what I cannot know with out the Holy Spirit. I know the Lord has much still to reveal to me and I want receive it, so this is my prayer today.

This is my prayer for today.

Well, here it is Thursday morning and I am feeling so behind in everything. The Lord is so good to me and I am thankful that He doesn't ever get behind in what He is doing. Things have been really busy in my home for the last week and I have been feeling very overwhelmed when I am home because there are so many things to do that I don't even know where to start. I don't know about anyone else but do you ever feel like you have so much to say and don't even know how to say it or what to say? That is where I am at today. I feel like I am being pulled in so many different directions and have so many thoughts going through my head that I wouldn't even know where to begin if I tried to write about what I really want to write about. So I am going to leave it at this. Even though I am feeling this way I praise You Lord for keeping me in the center of the storm. For keeping me at peace, knowing that You are in total control of everything in my life. I praise Your Holy name and I am so thankful for all You are doing in my life and in my families lives. Father, I pray that You would send Your Spirit of knowledge and wisdom to me today. Lord God, today is a new day and I start fresh with You leading my every step. Lord God, I pray that You would begin to put into order the gifts that You have given to me and teach me how to walk boldly in them. Father I can't help but to praise You and thank You for all You are doing and I can't wait to see the fruit that You bear from the seeds You are planting. Thank You Lord and I love You!

"House" cleaning!

This morning it was hard for me to get up. It is perfect sleeping weather for me. I love for it to be a little cold in the air and to be bundled under the covers. God is good though because He wouldn't let me stay in bed too long before reminding me that I had some things to do. So, He was showing me yesterday in church that even though I am getting my house cleaned, I am not cleaning my house. I was confused for a while and so I continued to pray. What He was trying to share with me was that there is a lot of clutter in my home and there is lots that I need to give away to others. That I do have a lot of stuff but most of the stuff doesn't "have" me so it is okay to get rid of it to those who can use it or who needs it. So, this morning the Lord was showing me so many things to give away that I couldn't keep up with it all. He was actually showing me where to start and what to give away. That is so cool to me because I don't think that has actually happened to me before. Well, just when I thought things were good and we were finished, He showed me that my other "house" needed cleaned also. He has been purging me for a long time, years in fact, but lately He has really been moving in my heart and my mind and getting rid of all the junk that has been cluttering my life. The neat part is that I am hearing Him and responding. So, this morning He had some "house cleaning" to do of His own in my life and it was easy this time for me. It seems the more I press into Him, the more He takes away and the easier it becomes. I don't know, maybe I am crazy, but I am so thankful that He won't leave me alone and wants to continue to "clean my house" too. So, I encourage you, ask the Lord if there is anything in your "house" that needs cleaned today and then be willing to clean out of your life!

My Husband!

My husband is the best man in the world. He has been out of town this week and is coming home today. I really miss him and can't wait to see him. I never sleep very good when he is not home so I am selfish to say that I am also looking forward to a very good sleep tonight. I have been praying for him, for the Lord to reveal Himself to him. I have noticed the more I pray for him the more I fall in love with him. That is something I never expected. Don't get me wrong, I have prayed for my husband since before we were married, however not as in depth as I am praying now. There are some specific ways I have been praying for him and I see the Lord working in his life and that is very exciting. I can't wait to see him tonight, my help mate, my friend, my rock, my lover, the best thing that has happened to me on this earth, the love of my life! I pray the plane ride is much quieter and less turbulence on the way home for him. Hurry home my love!

Blessed are those who mourn...

I know, what a topic, but this was my devotional this morning. The verse is in Matthew 5:4 and it says "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted". As I read this I was wondering what God was going to say to me through it because I didn't think I was in a mourning or grieving state. This was just it, He was showing me through this devotional that I have become hardened to sin in certain areas of my life and that really made me sad. I have changed many of my ways in the past few years such as not watching television or movies that have bad language, sexual content or violence in it, so this was such a surprise to me this morning. I don't want to lose my ability to grieve, to weep or to mourn. I don't want to become so calloused that I look at sin or pain and remain unmoved. I pray that I am able to be close enough to my Father that I hear His heartbeat for the world and that my heart stay tender. I want to continue to draw close to Him and seek comfort and peace in His name.

Exciting!

It is so exciting to see the Lord working. We had to replace the sliding glass door last week and decided to replace the curtains too. We bought new curtains this weekend and hung them the other night to find they area all about 3 inches different. So we returned them and I decided to make them. Well, I was at JoAnn Fabrics yesterday with my kids and we were having trouble finding colors to match what we wanted. I said a soft prayer of Lord, please help and then my daughter who is 6 started just belting out this prayer for help. It was so amazing. It brought tears to my eyes as she just went on and on. Well, God is good because He answered her prayer. She was so excited and I was even more excited to see God working in her. I can't wait to see what He is going to do today!

Staying in Your hand!

Corrie Ten Boom prayed this everyday for the last 5 years of her life. I want to make it my prayer today too. "Lord, keep me close to Your heart so that I see things as it were more and more from Your point of view." I want this more than anything. I want to place myself in the palm of His hand and just stay there, where I am the safest.

Psalm 32: 23-24 says: "Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord."

I love the Lord, I want to be preserved by the Lord and my heart strengthen by Him!