September 6

Today’s verse and prayer:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Philippians 4:6 NKJV

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You. Thank You for being You, although my understanding of Who You are barely scratches the surface. Lord, You’re good, You give peace, You are patience, You’re faithful, and the list goes on. It is all incredible and I am so blessed by You. Lord, truly, there is nothing to fear when my soul is safe in You. But Lord, I am weak and frail and often I forget how safe I am. Like a little child, I don’t realize the truth: nothing can harm me when I’m in Your hands. Therefore, I choose to place all the things I’ve been concerned about in Your hands this morning. Lord, I surrender my agenda, my desires, my plans unto You and Your perfect will. Lord, thank You for taking every burden, every care. Thank You for continuing to polish me on the inside. Lord, if anyone has wronged me, I forgive them. If I have wronged anyone, please bring it to my attention that I might repent. Lord, I humbly request that You protect the innocent, save the lost, heal the sick and broken, and restore the prodigal. Let men and women call upon the name of the Lord. Thank You. Amen.

Praising God in the midst

Yesterday morning, I woke with a headache.

At first I just figured it was due to my lack of proper sleep.

I began my normal routine.

But I figured out it was more than just a headache when I realized I was struggling to read.

Then I remembered going to bed with a headache.

I got up and took my inhaler and medication.

Which set my stomach off.

I had a migraine.

I was able to get a yogurt down and later to get my migraine medicine down.

I had to remain in bed.

Thankfully, I have a spiral notebook of review work for Jase and he worked on it alone.

Afterwards, he vacuumed the living room and swept.

He brought me toast and tea.

He kept coming in to “check” on me and reheat the heat pack.

Finally, I moved to the couch so he could check on me a little more easily.

Anne had made lunch, but I couldn’t eat any.

I watched Emma with Kate Beckinsale.

I eventually felt good enough to crochet a bit.

By supper I was definitely improving.

I even ate some dinner.

Praise God!

I went to bed with a mild headache and the heat pack and praised God for His blessings.

Because, although I had a headache, I was still able to enjoy our family when they brought the grandbabies over for an evening of cards.

I even got to hold our grandson while I lay on the couch.

It’s such a comfort to know that I can rest in God’s will even when I’m feeling poorly.

It wasn’t too many years ago that I would chastise myself when sick.

I thought days of illness were days wasted.

All my efforts went to trying to get better fast.

But I’ve learned that God is Sovereign.

And I am precious to Him no matter what my health is.

He knows what is best and His grace is sufficient.

I’m feeling much better today and praising God for it.

I’ll be resting again today and I’m praising God for my family who all take such good care of me.

It’s not about what I wanted to do today, it’s about being willing to do what is best.

To surrender myself, my health, my day into God.

And praising Him through it all, because He is worthy.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for today. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for loving and valuing me no matter what I’m experiencing. Lord, please continue to teach me how to trust You and how to walk with You in all things. Thank You for Your unending care and thank You for being good. I trust that even in the days of illness or pain, You are with me. Amen.

The task at hand

These past few days I’ve been reminded of a lesson I learned years ago.

More than ten years ago our family were missionaries.

It took us two years just to get there.

One morning, after a few weeks of settling in, I went to the Lord with a heavy heart.

I prayed about how I was being overwhelmed with the daily tasks of life.

I just felt like laundry, dishes, and mopping the floor was eating up my time and I couldn’t get to the reason I was there.

“Lord, I just want to minister! How can I get to that with nonstop housework?”

He answered.

He took me to Ruth.

So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
Ruth 2:2 NKJV

She just needed to survive.

But instead of feeling sorry for herself, she did the task at hand.

That was the key.

Housework is just as important as leading a Bible study if my heart is serving Jesus.

God is interested in my heart.

“Am I serving Him in this task I’m engaged in?”

It’s something I’ve been trying to ask myself frequently this week.

Not as a religious stipulation, but instead as a guard rail.

Guarding my heart from useless pursuits or pride.

I also find it helpful as a way to combat an old lie.

As a young believer I thought I had to : “Do big things for God”.

However, the Lord has shown me over and over again that He wants me to surrender my own agenda and simply live daily to Him.

When I’m sick, my “do” shrinks.

In those times, I have found it vital to remember: God isn’t disappointed because I’m not “doing” more.

He knows my limitations.

He even has things for me in those seasons, like prayer, Bible study, or sometimes just resting in His hands and trusting Him while struggling.

The task at hand may not seem valuable.

Ruth couldn’t have known that daily gleaning the fields would endear her to the man who would become her husband.

She couldn’t have seen that this back breaking task, which went on throughout the whole harvest, would end in her having a place in the lineage of Jesus.

Her faithfulness in the task at hand was used by God.

She was His servant.

And God used this humble lady to be the grandmother of kings.

The lesson is clear for me.

I need to do what God has set before me with joy and faithfulness.

I need to surrender my own ambitions, dreams, and desires before Him.

I need to trust Him in everything.

Including my “To Do” list.

Matthew 22:36 NKJV — “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Matthew 22:37 NKJV — Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for this lesson. Thank You for continually bringing me back to this place of surrender. Please Lord, help me to be Your servant, humble, faithful, and filled with joy of serving You, no matter what that entails. Lord, thank You that my life is so much more valuable than self fulfillment. Instead, You call me to pick up my cross and follow You. Lord, thank You for reminding me of these truths. Please continue to wash my soul of sin and renew my heart through Your Word. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Starting over

It’s needed.

My health isn’t permitting me to travel three hours to my doctor.

So, today I start over.

I’ve meet him already, while accompanying my husband.

We both liked him and felt he was a good fit for us.

Therefore, I made an appointment.

Last night I shared with my husband.

“Where do I start? How do I make sure I tell him everything?”

At the time, I thought I was just concerned about accuracy.

But the truth, revealed by the Lord, is…

I’m afraid.

My life has been speckled with medical treatments and I’m not unfamiliar with surgery or doctors.

What I am is embarrassed.

I get to start over, telling someone else all that has occurred in the last year plus.

And it’s uncomfortable.

I don’t like talking about what I am struggling with.

Especially when it comes to my physical condition.

It feels like complaining.

I want to be able to share the necessary information without leaving out how good, how faithful God has been through it all.

As I begin another day and prepare for my appointment, I’m leaning on the Lord.

My prayer for today:

Psalm 19:14 NKJV — Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

No matter how many changes or new circumstances or times of starting over I walk through, I’m comforted.

Jesus is right here, walking it all with me.

Praise the Lord.

Sprinkles on chocolate frosting

If you read my blog titled Sprinkles, you already know why this is special.

My sweet husband had to go to the store for parts last Saturday and asked if I wanted anything while he was there.

“I don’t know where you would get one, but it’s time I had a donut.”

His eyes twinkling, “With chocolate frosting and sprinkles.”

“Right!”

Bless him, he found a little trailer which happens to sell fresh donuts.

As I enjoyed every bit of that sweet with my tea, I praised God.

Because the donut is more than a rare dessert.

For me, it’s an opportunity to remember all the incredible ways God is good.

Especially, in my own life.

How He has loved me, provided for me, carried me, and is so faithful to me and my family.

Yes, I certainly can and do praise God regularly, not just when eating a donut.

But on that day, I wanted to do something special.

It was the end of a really trying week.

The previous one hadn’t been easy either.

And I knew the following weeks held a great deal of uncertainty.

So, in a way, I was building a monument.

In the midst of struggle and uncertainty is the most important time to remember Who God is and what He has done.

This remembering is a choice to love and trust God, because He is worthy.

And that truth is sweeter than any man made thing, including a donut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 NKJV — I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

A day of answered prayer

It’s not been very fun.

I’ve been struggling with migraines off and on for two weeks.

Yesterday morning greeted me with the same migraine I’d gone to bed with.

It wasn’t exactly a welcoming way to wake up.

Yet, the Lord’s soft voice reminded me to trust.

Time with the Lord helped me sort out my emotions and my priorities.

My prayer request, which I shared with a friend and our children, was my resting in the Lord’s hands.

Especially since we were expecting to have Pastor and his wife over for supper.

We are just getting to know the body here, and with the appointment, my “to do” list was longer than usual.

With all these things on my mind, I knew my struggle would be with letting go of the desires I’d already formed and simply trusting God with it all.

Personally, I had been praying for my husband.

He had shared his own request with me the night before.

Prayer for our daughters, the two in college, has been a continuous thread in my conversations with Jesus.

Throughout the earliest part of the morning the Lord brought several people to mind and heart.

It is always a pleasure to lift up others in prayer, but it can also be exhausting.

Since my body was already struggling, even praying seemed to require more effort.

Yet, I knew I could rest in God’s love.

It was mid morning.

I’d been struggling through teaching homeschool.

Our sweet Anne had made me a heat pack for my head.

I’d closed my eyes for a moment, trying to pray for strength to do what was required.

It was incredible.

My migraine melted away.

Before too long, I was able to share with the kids and text my friend the praise report.

It was such a pleasure to be free from the pain.

As the day went on I received a text.

It was relating a fact which was another answer to prayer.

It was an amazing answer to years of prayer, one I’d prayed on faith alone, because circumstances did nothing to show it as being possible.

My heart rejoiced.

God was teaching me, speaking with me, about His faithfulness.

These days of restrictions physically have worn me down emotionally.

The voice of doubt has whispered, “Will you ever be well?” too often of late.

Battling the enemy can wear upon the soul.

God was lifting my heart.

And He wasn’t finished.

That afternoon I received a call from one of our college students.

She was excited to relate circumstances which support and encourage her endeavors at school.

It was another answered prayer.

When my husband arrived home, he was in great spirits.

He shared with me how God had really answered his prayer request of the previous night.

It brought tears to my eyes as I listened to yet another answered prayer.

Pastor and his wife arrived and we all had a lovely time of fellowship and getting to know one another.

As I prepared for bed, reflecting on our conversation, it occurred to me that it was another answered prayer.

I’d asked God several times throughout the day to bless our time together.

And that’s exactly what occurred.

In the moment of reflection God’s truth was apparent.

The enemy might be able to fling discouragement and doubt at me.

My body might be frail or in pain.

Life might require courage and trust to face the unknown.

But nothing compares to the faithfulness of Christ Jesus.

He is worthy of all praise and honor.

His Word is life.

His love is true.

His salvation is perfect.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You so much for so many answered prayers. Thank You for carrying me through each and every day. Thank You for holding me in Your hands. No matter the circumstances, You are faithful. Thank You!

Little things in prayer

“You shall no longer be termed ‘Forsaken’…” Isaiah 62:4a

This verse lept off the page.
God is speaking to Zion and promising to save them.

My heart swells as I think of how faithful our God is.

He has recently been teaching me a new pathway in prayer.

In the past my prayer times have been full of prayers for myself, my family, our friends,  our church,  our nation.

Sometime this fall the Lord gave me a specific name and told me to pray a specific prayer for them.

I did.

In the back of my mind I wondered how this prayer would be answered and why God would have me pray so specifically.

Then during Christmas events began to unfold which seemed directly counter to my prayers.

Bewildered I continued to pray.

Again events have changed but I’m still uncertain how God is going to use this specific prayer.

I learned something through this.

It is alright to pray specifically.

During these months of prayer for this one person,  I have received some prayer requests.

Each one was something tangible.

Lost items.
Needed help with a circumstance.
Looking for direction.

None of them were Earth shattering,  life-or-death things.

In fact they were small.
Little everyday kinds of things.

Yet God answered each one, most of the time within the day it was sent to me.

I can tell you my faith has been bolstered.

The faith of those asking seems to have been built.

And I have learned to take even the smallest things to the Lord, because I don’t know how He intends to use them.

And why would I think it is too small in the first place?

After all God said He cares for the birds and the beasts.

I know He cares for the little everyday things which make up the lives of those whom He loves.

As Isaiah wrote to Zion.
God would be with them, would save them.

God is with me too, even in the little things in prayer.

What kind are you?

With all the beauties springing up everywhere,

I have been thinking about the variety of options which all fall into the category of beautiful.

The lawn daisy,
lilac blossoms,
the pink buds of the cherry trees,
primroses,
daffodils,
dandelions,
crocus,
bleeding hearts,
pansies,
and wild lady’s slippers,
are
each unique,
each beautiful,
each made to bloom in different climates.

The same is true of people.

Although we have the habit of judging each of our own beauty by those around us, God sees it differently.

He created each of us for specific events, special talents, differing abilities, unique gifts, orchestrated appointments,  and even in the challenges of life an opportunity to bloom.

Each and every individual was created by God.

Each with a purpose and opportunities to know Him and His plan for them.

A wonderful example of God’s amazing abilities is the story of Ruth.

Ruth was married to a Jewish man and they didn’t have even one child.

We don’t know how long they were married, nor any other details as to why they never had a child.

However, Ruth ‘ s challenges didn’t end there.

She then experienced the pain of deep loss.

Her husband died.

Her brother-in-law died and from what we can extract from the story her father-in-law had already died.

She was left alone with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Her mother-in-law was determined to move back to her home country and pleaded with both daughters to go back to their parents.

Ruth made the decision of a lifetime.

She said,  “Entreat me not to leave you,  or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; Wherever you lodge, I will lodge;  Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also,  If anything but death parts you and me.”

In our western mindset this is crazy. But in her time Ruth understood that her mother-in-law was unable to provide for herself or to earn an income. If Ruth left her there was a high chance Naomi would starve.

Ruth wasn’t willing to allow that, and she was willing to pay for it with her own future.

They return to Bethlehem.

Yet there is still a major problem. They have no way to earn an income.

So Ruth does what she is able to do.

I call it the task at hand.

She gleaned in the field.

Back breaking,  difficult,  tedious work.

Nothing fancy or even to be desired, yet she was willing to work and she was faithful day in and day out.

We don’t know much else about Ruth.

Was she beautiful?
Was she brilliant?
Was she tall or short?
Was she dark or fair?
Was she articulate or quiet?
What was her upbringing?
What kind of family did she come from? What treatment was she used to?

We know nothing except that she was faithful.

She followed God and was dependable to do whatever was needed to help Naomi.

She was definitely a woman of worth.

And the story ends with her being married to Boaz and having a son who is a direct ancestor to King David and the line of Jesus.

Ruth ‘ s life proves that the Lord is capable of making a life bloom when they have devoted themselves to Him.

Even if it costs them everything.

So as you look around at the flowers remember God created you just as special as each bud and He has a path laid out for you.

Each of us is a beautiful creation.
I think Ruth was a wild cherry blossom, blooming where she was planted no matter what storms tore at her heart.

What kind of flower are you?