my Prayer:
Lord, please bless me with the motivation and wisdom to recognize opportunities to encourage those I interact with today. In those opportunities, help me to equip someone by showing me how to freely and graciously share any knowledge, skills or talents you have already blessed me with. Please don’t allow me to miss any opportunities due to my attention to self-focused goals, indifference or the sense of being needed or admired that can stem from knowing, understanding or being able to do something better than someone else.
Help me to remember how much I don’t know, don’t understand and can’t do. Help me to remember all the people who have helped me, and those who continue to help me. Thank you for those people in my life, Lord.
the Word: . . . to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
a Quote:
“Jesus understood that the deadliest sins – resentment, arrogance, judgmentalism, lovelessness – are ones we can commit without lifting a finger.” Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg
my Prayer:
Lord, please bless me with patience and kindness today. Please bless me with empathy and compassion for others. Please don’t let me hurt anyone as a result of my neglect or indifference or pride.
the Word: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Summer is over.
The loss of solitude at the beginning was nearly instantaneous. A shocker and familiar at the same time. A living flashback to before PinkGirl started school. Kid duty every waking moment and sometimes more. Most of my prayers were short and in fragments. I seriously missed consistent, dedicated time spent with the Lord. I seriously missed the time to read. To think.
School’s been back in since Thursday and yesterday was my first day back to routine. Some quiet time, some reading, a cup of coffee in my favorite ceramic mug instead of a travel mug, a workout – I even got some work done! And now, a blog post! Even with a forgotten homework delivery and a horrendous traffic jam during after-school pick-up, this day was great! Top it off with an evening that included a flat tire for FirstHusband and needing to replace the broken lock on the front door?
No stress. No matter what happens, I handle things better after a little solitude and prayer.
I’ve said it before. There are seasons of prayer. Sometimes, my days allow for moments alone and I can choose to spend some of that time with God. Sometimes, my day barely allows for a shower and that’s the only solitude and prayer time I get. Sometimes, my day doesn’t even allow for the shower so I pray while I’m driving a kid somewhere or while I’m loading the dishwasher, cooking dinner or cleaning something.
Summer was a good reminder of what it was like when the kids were little and I had to carve out time for solitude. It was also a hearty dose of empathy for other moms in that situation right now. It was lots of fun. And lots of driving. Summer day camps for kids, sometimes with less than two hours of unfragmented time between drop off and pick-up. And those bits of time were most often spent frantically getting stuff DONE.
But Summer was a season, as were the years when I had small children at home all day, every day, and the years I spent working full-time while going to college, and the years I spent working like a crazy woman when I first started my business. I had to learn and have again been reminded that when the seasons of my life are such that my solitude and prayer time are encroached upon by my daily responsibilities, I have to do two things:
First: Not beat myself up over it, because by doing so, I waste time I could be praying and spending with God.
Second: FIND pockets of time, multitask prayer with chores that don’t need active thought, and consciously include God in my every day moments and conversations, because He is with me WHEREVER I go. (Joshua 1:9)
Thank you God for reminding me that one of the things I really need to get DONE is time alone with You. I need to actively carve it out wherever I can get it.
Lord, please bless me with an unquenchable thirst for intimate fellowship with you. Please bless me with the courage to listen to the truths your Holy Spirit reveals to me during these times of physical stillness and silence.
“To bring some solitude into our lives is one of the most necessary but also most difficult disciplines . . . As soon as we are alone, without people to talk with, books to read, TV to watch, or phone calls to make, an inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again . . .
. . . Intuitively, we know that it is important to spend time in solitude. We even start looking forward to this strange period of uselessness. This desire for solitude is often the first sign of prayer, the first indication that the presence of God’s Spirit no longer remains unnoticed . . .
. . . As we empty ourselves of our many worries, we come to know not only with our mind but also with our heart that we never were really alone, that God’s Spirit was with us all along . . . “
I don’t understand suffering. It’s going to be the first thing I ask the Lord about when I finally see him face to face. But whenever I hear about it, observe it, experience it . . . it sends me searching for reasons I can make sense of.
“‘What makes you think children go to heaven when they die?’ I asked.
‘Isaiah 7:16 talks about an age before a child is morally accountable, before the child ‘knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.’ King David spoke of going to be with his son who dies at birth. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’ which indicates they will go to heaven. There’s a considerable amount of other scriptural support for this position as well.'”
I don’t know what would have happened in Emmit Trapp’s lifetime. I don’t know if he would have come to know God or rejected Him. But if I believe my Bible – and I DO, that sweet little boy will have eternal life with God in heaven. I don’t know what has happened or what will happen in the lives of his family, but I CAN pray that this tragedy will bring his family closer together and closer to God. If that little boy went to heaven early and someone comes to Christ because of it, I’ve got to believe God’s plan is better than mine. Because my plan puts that little boy at home with his family. My plan says they won’t suffer grief, be plagued with “what if” or have to face tomorrow without their little boy.
I’ve got to believe that God knows something I don’t.
And no, I do NOT judge Emmit’s mother or his family. Because there, but for the Grace of God, go I.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Luke 16:10 (NIV)
FavoriteSon wants to buy a song, but it’s designated as “album only” meaning he can’t purchase the single, he would have to purchase the entire album to get one song. This fact makes him . . . unhappy. After the onslaught of “It’s not fair!” and “This is stupid.” he asked me if I would let him rip it from youtube. For free.
Me: “That would be illegal.”
FavoriteSon: “But I can’t buy it! You said we can get it from youtube when we can’t buy it!”
Me: “Yes, but in this case, you CAN buy it. You just can’t buy it under the circumstances that you prefer.”
FavoriteSon: “Do you know how many of my friends get music from youtube?”
Me, silent, with the face he knows so well. The one raised eyebrow, sustained eye contact face that says, you’re gonna get NOWHERE with this argument, cause we’ve long ago established that when presented with the “but my friends do it” argument, I. am. unmoved.
FavoriteSon: “Yeabut …” (let the whining and attempt to persuade begin)
I’m in frugality mode these days so I turn right to the chapter entitled: “Saving Money.” A few pages in and I find a reference to Luke 16:
“The words of Jesus at the end of this story are a powerful reminder of our responsibility with money. ‘”Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.'”
I get out of the sauna and before I hit the shower, I hand the book to FavoriteSon, pointing to this paragraph.
Me: “Read this while I’m in the shower and we’ll continue our conversation in a few minutes.”
He was ready for me when I get out.
FavortiteSon: “What if . . . I buy a song I DON’T WANT from the same band and then delete it. THEN can I get the song I really want from youtube?”
His father took this one: “Let’s say your sister wanted a particular Pokemon card and let’s say you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was in a larger package of cards that cost $10. There was a two pack of cards for 99 cents. What would you say if she asked to buy the two pack, but trade out to get the one card she really wanted . . . ”
FavoriteSon: “That’s totally different!”
Me: “Why?”
FavoriteSon: silence.
Me: “Because it’s stealing?”
FavoriteSon: “That would be stealing, but this is different.”
Me: “Because it’s not a tangible item?”
FavoriteSon, not convincingly: “no”
Me: “Let me ask you this. How much is one song from this album?
FavoriteSon: “$1.39”
Me: “And how much is the entire album?”
FavoriteSon: “$8.00”
Me: “So all this is about $6.61?”
FavoriteSon: (silence)
Me: “seriously? $6.61. (pause) He who can be trusted with little . . . ”
FavoriteSon: (the grin that comes with knowing his reasoning has a big ol gaping hole in it.)
this parenting thing, I’m tellin ya.
“The trite saying that honesty is the best policy has met with
the just criticism that honesty is not policy. The real honest man is
honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.”
Robert E. Lee
Who of you by worrying can add a single day to his life?
Luke 12:25
There’s something I pray about on a near daily basis. Something I want to change. Something I’m not in a position to change myself. Something I want God to change. I’m not picky. I’m not asking for a specific thing to happen. I’m praying for an end result, not a method to get there. I don’t care how God wants to work things out, I’m following His direction no matter where it leads. Even in the middle of this situation I don’t particularly like. (okay. this situation I HATE.) I’m praying for the people who are in a position to make the changes needed to get to the result. I know the situation isn’t simple. I know the details of the solution aren’t obvious. If it was easy, it would be done already. There are people and opinions and feelings involved, which always complicate things. So the last thing I’m saying every time I pray about this is “Lord, please let Your will be done.”
And I’m not gonna stop praying about it. I’m like the persistent widow. I already told God He was gonna get tired of hearing me ask for this same thing every flippin day. But I’m not gonna get tired of asking.
And still. The situation stays the same.
So I gotta believe that God is allowing the situation to continue for some reason I don’t understand. Because God can do anything. And if He wanted things to be different. They would be.
Until the situation is resolved – one way or another – I’m going to continue taking responsibility for what I CAN do myself.
And I’m going to keep praying.
Worry is both unnecessary and counterproductive…relinquish the
situation to Me…I will either take care of the problem Myself
or show you how to handle it. In this world, you will have problems,
but you need not lose sight of Me. Jesus Calling
by Sarah Young
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29
It’s not hard to trust God to take care of my kids – if I can just remember that He loves them more than I do. I frequently forget this.
Any feedback/suggestions on the editing is VERY much appreciated! Over time, I’ll be pulling down my current youtube videos and replacing them with shorter clips. This edit job is the first in my learning curve. I just wish the audio could have been recorded directly into the microphone. And the lighting. Ugh. I did what I could – the original recording was pretty dark.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:1-8 (NIV)
A few weeks ago, I pruned my rosebushes. I HATE doing it. It just seems so wrong. Inevitably, I end up cutting off what I would call – from my immediate perspective – perfectly good, nearly blooming rosebuds. But I know it needs to be done, so I just man up and do it. As I was pruning, I started thinking about the book Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson.
Long story short, for about two weeks (during which time the scratches on my forearms have healed), I’ve been praying for God to prune me. I’ve been asking him to remove everything from my life that keeps me from bearing “much fruit.” I’m praying for God to take away everything that distracts me from what He wants me to be doing. I’m offering up everything in my life – the things I hate (easy), the things that I just do because I just . . . do (indifferent) and the things I love (not so easy).
On Tuesday, of last week, right in the middle of my prayer time, four things happened within a matter of about 30 minutes:
1. Full Sail called to see if I could have another song ready to record by Friday, May 7th.
2. I received an email message from my vocal coach offering an open spot.
3. I got an email telling me praise team wasn’t singing this week. (nothing to rehearse)
4. A client canceled a new hire computer training session, choosing to skip training for the new hire “this time.”
I have no idea what this means. If anything. Did I just lose a computer training client?
I went back to my prayer journal:
“Lord, please use me. Big or small. Now or later. Individually or as part of a group. Please allow me to serve you. Show me where to focus my energy . . . Please prune me – whatever that means. Lord, please comfort me and give me hope if you prune the things I love and/or the things I think I need. I trust you.”
I do trust Him, and when I prayed for pruning, I intentionally included the possibility that He would prune things I love . . .
eek.
But look:
“Change always takes much longer than we expect because to make room for the new, we have to get rid of some of the old selves we are still dragging around and, unconsciously, still invested in becoming.” Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra
This devotional was dual posted at my “devotions only” blog, Pragmatic Communion.
“Relationships protect us from myopia, selfishness and stupidity. They provide a mirror by which we can see ourselves, and they can help us to gain perspective when problems and immediate concerns turn us inward and threaten to dominate our lives. Spiritual advisers and Christian friends in particular are well suited to advise us, point out our strengths and weaknesses, and challenge us to think about life from an eternal perspective.”
I don’t believe I’m all that unique. There are those who’ve gone before me. Operating on the belief that there’s no shortage of people who have struggled with the very same things with which I struggle, I see no reason to start from scratch when it comes to problem solving and decision making. I’m a benchmarking kinda gal. I regularly seek out people who’ve done what I need and/or want to do. More importantly, I seek out people who’ve done those things WELL. Then I copy strive to emulate them. I’m lazy pragmatic that way.
And I can learn just as easily from someone else’s mistakes. My voracious desire to avoid the same mistakes made by others is a foundational source of my relentless pursuit to live intentionally and to choose on purpose rather than in a self-focused, emotional vacuum. I will NOT take lightly my opportunities to positively impact the people God has placed in my life and I will NOT be blind to the possible damage I can do by neglecting to pay attention and to act intentionally when I come face to face with those daily opportunities. I’ve seen the damage that results when someone regularly operates on the assumption that the only decision making criteria needed is their own personal opinion and how they feel at the time. (yes. I know. I have issues. but they are extremely motivating.)
Like Mr. Sittser, I regularly look to books for wisdom:
“I receive guidance from people whom I have never met, never spoken to, and never known personally. Though strangers to me, they have exercised profound influence over my life. I consult them when I have to make a decisions by reading their writings and biographies . . . [they] are the great ‘cloud of witnesses’ who are still available to guide us through life.”
There are those who’ve gone before you. Who are your advisors? Your counselors? Your mentors? If you can’t identify them, ask God to reveal them to you today.
“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”
Proverbs 19:20
by Bruce Wilkinson.
by Herminia Ibarra