A Word From Pastor Mike - "Lord, Teach Us to Pray"

     Luke 11:1-6

  

Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father,hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 

3 Give us each day our daily bread. 

4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.And lead us not into temptation.’ ” 

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 

6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Now, Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray..."

Perhaps you have never prayed before except in anguish or terror.  It may be that the only time the Divine Name has been on your lips has been in angry expletives.  Never mind. I am here to tell you that the Father's heart is open wide.  You are welcome to come in.

Perhaps you do not believe in prayer. You may have tried to pray and were profoundly disappointed... and disillusioned.  You seem to have little faith or none.  It does not matter.  The Father's heart is open wide.  You are welcome to come in.

Perhaps you are brusied and broken by the pressures of life.  Others have wronged you and you feel scarred for life.  You have old painful memories that have never been healed.  You avoid prayer because you feel too unworthy, too defiled.  Do not despair.  The Father's heart is open wide.  You are welcome to come in.

Perhaps you have prayed for many years but the words have grown brittle, cold.  Little ever happens anymore.  God seems remote and inaccessible.  Listen to me.  The Father's heart is open wide.  You are welcome to come in.

Perhaps prayer is the delight of your life.  You have lived in the divine milieu for a long time and can attest to its goodness, but you long for more... more power, more love, more of God in your life. Believe me, the Father's heart is open wide.  You, too, are welcome to come higher up and deeper in,

Consider this prayer from Richard Foster:  Dear God, I am so grateful for your invitation to enter your heart of love.  As best I can, I come in. Thank you for receiving me. Amen.

When Jesus disciples asked him to teach them to pray, he modeled the Lord's Prayer.

I usually pray the Lord's Prayer before I go to sleep at night.  One of the problems with the Lord's Prayer is it is too familiar.  We don't pay attention and before you know it, it's done. Your heart wasn't in it. You just repeated a bunch of words.

So, to help myself with this problem, I went for a ride on a cruise ship, The Norwegian Pearl.  On this ship they had a them called "Free Stylin'".  When you went for dinner you could eat at different restaurants.  You didn't have to sit at the same table or eat with the same people.  You could "Free Style".

And that is what I do with the Lord's Prayer from time to time.  I free style.  I improvise.  I play jazz to keep it fresh.

Now, I'm going to tell you something scandalous, sometimes I pray the new version of the Lord's prayer, "Our Father in heaven, holy is your name..." Then I might pause and tell God that his name is great throughout the world or sorry about not keeping your name holy when I sliced my golf ball into the water hazard... my point, you can keep your prayer life fresh by changing it up, by improvising.

Now, I am going to give you my model for prayer.  This is what I do in my prayer life, not that you have to follow it but its part of learning about prayer.  I hope you have your own model or are "Free Stylin'" in your prayer life.

You may have heard of ACTS:

     A - Adoration

     C - Confession

     T - Thanksgiving

     S - Supplication (praying for others)

It is simple.  It is concise.  It is easy to remember.

My acronym is CTPFPSNC !  

     C - Confession & Forgiveness

     T - Thanks

     P - Protection

     F - Family and Friends

     P - Prince of Peace and Past Congregatons

     S - Suffering Ones

     N - Nations

     C - Church

It is a terrible acronym. Mostly I think of my prayer life as a path I follow.

I like to pray my longest prayer of the day in the morning. I don't have one particular place to pray. I pray when I walk the dog, when I'm driving, when I'm at church... You may want to find a particular space and time.  I have one major time and then continue throughout the day.

I usually start off my Thanksgiving with a thank you for your love, patience and mercy with me.  Thanks for life, health, faith, peace, salvation... I like to keep the list going throughout the day and pray for God to provide for the whole world and that I might have a thankful spirit.

Pray for protection.  If you are a worrier, add this to your prayers.  Waht are you afraid could happen to you or your loved ones?  Add it to your list.  Then ask for protection and ask for help that you don't live in fear. Ask God to be a shield, rock and fortress around you and your's.  Thanks for your time together and for past protection.

Family and Friends. I name names before God.  Got worries about those close to you? Bring it to God. Thank him for hearing your prayer.  Remember with thanks the good things about family and friends.

I also pray for Prince of Peace and former congregations that I've served.  I pray for people, pastors, ministries and activities.  When people ask me to pray for them, I put it on my phone or into my computer.  I pray.

The world has many suffering ones.  I pray for them, for their help, hope and healing.  I pray for people in hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, mental institutions.

I pray for the nations - peace, justice, economic order, care of creation, good government, good medical, judicial, law enforcement people. I pray for the spread and reception of the Gospel. I pray for troubled places. I pray for military personnel. I try to pray for the nations, for the U.S.

Finally, I pray for the church, for its unity, mission, health, renewal and love. It's very tenuous when people get together.  I pray for God's Spirit of love, that we would leave behind our opinions and judgments and focus on God working in us and through us. I pray for church bodies, ministries, leaders.  I pray daily for our church council, worship team, preschool, Sunday School, VBS, committees and for new members...for our future.

My prayer list constantly changes. I Free Style.  I don't expect you to pray like I do.  If you're done in a minute, that's fine.  Pray like you and pray for God to help you grow in tour prayer life.

And here's another thing. Just be still and listen to God.  That's hard. It's a busy world. We have a million thoughts but try it for 10 seconds and tell God you are listening for him. Keep trying to stretch.

thank you

dear LORD

thank you for all you've given me

faithful family

comfortable home

delicious food

time of rest

time of play

useful work

freedom to worship

and

thank you for all I don't understand

thank you for the gift of faith

so that

i may always know you are in control

thank you for difficulties that make me stronger

illness that makes me appreciate health

storms that help me seek your protection

weakness that leads me to your strength

thank you

The Lord is Near

In His Care

I recently received word of someone we know who's child has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. I can only imagine the terror that diagnosis brought. We pray for her complete healing!

There is nothing worse than watching your own child suffer. I am convinced of that. Nothing. Our children are all fine but we have gone through some scary times when they were younger. Ben had severe asthma attacks that often landed him in the hospital. They often had a hard time starting his IV, requiring stick after stick after stick. One time he'd been poked by nearly every nurse in the hospital and they finally called an anesthesiologist from home who was able to get it going. Ben cried so long and so hard he finally fell asleep, not even waking up when they continued to poke him. There were times when I feared his little body would not be able to overcome his asthma, when I worried over each difficult breath. There were times we didn't know if we'd get to keep him. 

When Maria was in kindergarten, she had to have an emergency appendectomy. Afterward, instead of getting better, she got more and more weak and more and more sick. They didn't know what was wrong with her for several days. One day, when Mike was in the room with her, I went down to another floor to a bathroom. It was there that I fell apart. I sobbed out loud. I was so afraid that we were losing our little girl. I could see her fading away. I was so frightened! All I could do was try to cheer her and to pray fervently for her.

Eventually, they discovered that Maria had an intestinal blockage. They were able to help her and the light within her brightened. Our spunky little girl returned to us and we got to enjoy the rest of her childhood, and still now she brings a lot of joy to our lives.

Sam has not been through any life-threatening health crisis. That hasn't stopped me from worrying about his safety, though. Recently he was on an out of town road trip. I knew when he expected to return and when that hour passed, I could feel myself creeping to the edge of panic. I knew I was likely over-reacting but horrible visions kept creeping into my mind. Finally, I prayed. That didn't immediately erase my fear but it helped. Sometimes my faith is so weak.

We know from the Bible that Jesus cared for the children very tenderly. We read stories where he healed children. He never wants them to suffer. But, because we live in a world where we are allowed free choice, and humans don't always make good choices, we've inherited a world that is imperfect. We live in world where evil exists as well. That is the world we pass on to our children.

There is good news, though. Yes, we live with evil around and available at all times. However, as children of God, we are under his protection. Does that mean we don't suffer the maladies of this world? Nope. It does mean that we can bring our requests to the Almighty One. We know that our requests are heard. We know that we will all be healed, in time. Sometimes that healing happens here, in this world. Sometimes, though, healing means our loved ones get to get out of this messy world and go directly to God... to the arms of Jesus. Thank God that their lives do not end here!

I feel that we don't really see the whole picture from our point of view. That is where we've got to lean on our faith; we've got to trust in God's wisdom. I think it is ok, to pray my wishes to God. I will continue to tell him that I want my children and all my other loved ones to live long, healthy and happy lives. I hope that, with the gift of faith, I can continue to believe that God will protect my loved ones and keep them in His care, here and later in heaven. 

I Refuse

Josh Wilson

I Refuse

Sometimes I, 

I just want to close my eyes

And act like everyone's alright 

When I know they're not.

This world needs God

But it's easier to stand and watch. 

I could pray a prayer and just move on

Like nothing's wrong.

But I refuse.

'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care.

I don't want to say another empty prayer.

I refuse to

Sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself.

I could choose

Not to move but I refuse.

I can hear the least of these 

Crying out so desperately, 

And I know we are the hands and feet 

Of you, oh god.

So, if you say move,

Then it's time for me to follow through,

And do what I was made to do.

Show them who you are.

'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care.

I don't want to say another empty prayer.

I refuse to

Sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself.

I could choose

Not to move but I refuse.

To stand and watch 

The weary and lost 

Cry out for help.

I refuse

To turn my back 

And try and act like all is well.

I refuse

To stay unchanged,

To wait another day,

To die to myself.

I refuse

To make one more excuse. 

'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care.

I don't want to say another empty prayer.

I refuse to

Sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself.

I could choose

Not to move but I refuse.

Mary's Song

Breath Of Heaven  

Songwriters: CHRIS EATON, AMY GRANT

I have traveled many moonless nights,

Cold and weary with a babe inside,

And I wonder what I've done.

Holy father you have come,

And chosen me now to carry your son.

I am waiting in a silent prayer.

I am frightened by the load I bear.

In a world as cold as stone,

Must I walk this path alone?

Be with me now.

Be with me now.

Breath of heaven,

Hold me together,

Be forever near me,

Breath of heaven.

Breath of heaven,

Lighten my darkness,

Pour over me your holiness,

For you are holy.

Breath of heaven.

Do you wonder as you watch my face,

If a wiser one should have had my place,

But I offer all I am

For the mercy of your plan.

Help me be strong.

Help me be.

Help me.

Breath of heaven,

Hold me together,

Be forever near me,

Breath of heaven.

Breath of heaven,

Lighten my darkness,

Pour over me your holiness,

For you are holy.

Breath of heaven,

Hold me together,

Be forever near me,

Breath of heaven.

Breath of heaven,

Lighten my darkness,

Pour over me your holiness,

For you are holy.

Breath of heaven.

Breath of heaven.

Breath of heaven

Praying for a Stranger

Recently I wrote a post about making Prayer Monkey Hats for a co-worker's unborn twin grandsons.  I finished them, along with several other hats for other orders this week.  I've been working on them in the evenings after a day at work.   As a nurse, I am on my feet the entire day but this is a sitting down job, and I enjoy doing them so much, it doesn't feel like work at all.    I thought maybe you'd like to see how the monkeys turned out.

I received some nice comments on that post, most from followers I "know".  I love reading those!  I also received a comment from a woman in the UK that found my blog by accident that day.  She left a nice comment and also an invitation to join her today on a mission.  She is holding a blog hop, today.  It is different than most as it is really a giant prayer chain.

This prayer chain is on behalf of her friend, Kerry, shown in these photos.  Kerry is a mother and blogger who suffered a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage.  Her husband is now posting on her blog in her place.

Today, we (me and my readers) are invited to join the blog hop of prayer, praying for the recovery of this young woman.  We are praying for her return to her home and her family.  Anyone who has been around a patient suffering from this type of brain injury knows that the path she is on is difficult and challenging, not only for her but also for her family.

 So, today I am praying for Kerry.  I am praying that she will be able to fight off infection.  I am praying she will be able to work through the exhaustion and confusion and find her way back to her life. I am praying for the healthcare workers surrounding her, for their skill and wisdom as they support her recovery.  Perhaps you'd like to join in on this big prayer as well?

Prayer Monkey Hats

A coworker asked me if I could make two monkey hats for her twin grandsons. They aren't actually born yet.  In fact, their mother is trying hard to keep them from being born too soon.  Each day they are NOT born is a great accomplishment.  Each day gives their little lungs a bit more time to develop and increases their chances of a healthy entrance into this world.

The request is for two little monkey hats.  When Maria and I make our hats for Wyoming Rose Boutique, we make them up as we go.  We just kind of free flow it, yarn sculpting.  It's more fun to us than reading patterns.  The trick this time is that since there are two of them, I have to pay attention so that I can make them the same.

I decided that while I crochet these hats for those tiny little boys I would pray for them.  You've heard of prayer shawls, right?  Well, why can't I make prayer monkey hats?

Why the Cross?

This is me getting ready for work Wednesday morning.

There are certain things I need to accomplish before I am ready to head out the door:

• Secure my hair so I don't drop DNA on my patients.
• Find my name tag from my purse so I don't have to write my name on a piece of tape (not classy).
• Turn the sound off on my cell phone.
• Load my pockets with a pen, my key used at work, my cell phone and maybe some lip gloss that I won't remember is in my pocket until I'm heading back home.  I have a weird little system of putting work things like the pen and key in my right pocket and my personal items in my left pocket.  
• Choose a cross necklace for the day.

That last bullet point is very important to me.  I will give you an example of why.

Awhile back I entered a room to get a patient ready for a procedure.  I'd not met him before and knew only his name, his physician's name and what procedure he was to have that day.  Not long after I started filling out his paperwork with him he began telling me a lot of things about his past.  He had a criminal background, family troubles and a lot of other stories.  After quite awhile of talking he suddenly stopped and said, "Why am I telling you all this?  I never tell people anything about myself!"  I said some things to put him at ease.  He told me more things.  After starting his IV I had my hand on the doorknob when I turned and asked him if he'd like me to pray for him.  He just seemed so frightened and alone. He was eager for my prayer, so I prayed, leaving the room soon after the prayer.

Later, I peeked in to see how he was doing.  I was telling him that I don't always ask patients if they want me to say a prayer but that something told me he would appreciate it.  He then told me that he knew why I was prompted to pray for him.  He went on to say that before he came in for his procedure, he had a strong feeling that he was going to die that day.  After the prayer, he told me that feeling was gone.  Oh my!

My patient later told me he figured out why he told me his life story like he'd done.  He said it was because I was wearing a cross.

Giving Up Control

One thing that is hard to remember, as a Christian, is that I have given up control of my own future.  In fact, that explains the name of my blog; it is a reminder for me that my life is not my own.  Really, it was only a perceived control in the first place.  Like most people, I like to think I have control over my own life.  Anyone who has ever watched the news knows how quickly that control can be lost.  Illness, natural disasters, wars, etc. can all play a part in destroying an individual's feeling of control.  Those things are not what this post is about, though.

I'm talking about giving away control.  I have given control of my life to God.  This is how I do it, though.  I give God control (yes, I know I'm not really giving anything as he always had control), I try to take back control, I repent, I give God control, I try to take back control, I repent, repeat... repeat... repeat.

I think being an American maybe makes it all even more difficult.  I love living in a country that tells me I have the right to pursue happiness and all that.  I'm grateful that I get to choose where I live, my career path, who  I marry and a myriad of other choices.  As glad as I am to have those choices, though, I am constantly trying to hand it all over to God.

A few years ago I saw this prayer printed in a church bulletin.  I clipped it out and stuck it on our fridge where it has been for years.  I found that it is believed the original version was written by Dr. Martin Luther in the 1500's.

If you are not a Christian you may wonder why anyone would want to give control away.  Well, one reason is because we are told to do so...

New Living Translation (©2007) Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. ...but the main reason I choose to give control has to do with trust.  I absolutely trust that God has all wisdom.  I absolutely trust that he will protect me and eventually bring me to himself.  I absolutely trust that he knows better what is important for me in all things.  I absolutely trust that he is God and I am not. How about you?  Do you have times when you want to give God control but are having trouble letting go?  Do you have times when you know that giving up control has turned out to be a blessing to you?  Tomorrow I am going to tell you a story about someone else giving up control to follow an unexpected path.

I'm a God Fan!

When I was at Walmart last week, ready to check out, I was perusing the check-out lanes.  Like everyone, I wanted to go through the quickest line.  As I looked around, though, I saw a line that was moving rather slowly.  The checker wasn't smiling and she wasn't moving quickly.  I don't know why but I thought maybe I should take that aisle.  Although I often just bumble along through my days, sometimes I fancy that I'm being directed by God or the Holy Spirit to do something in particular.  I don't really know but this felt like one of those times.  I figured it was my challenge at that moment to maybe try to cheer her up.  I thought maybe she was new or frustrated or both.

Just as I approached for my turn to check out, they had a changing of the guards.  The checker who was my target for cheering was going off and another checker was coming on.  The new checker was smiley and jovial.  Hmmmm... maybe I'd misunderstood my mission of the moment.

As the smiley checker was efficiently scanning my items I noticed she was wearing a really pretty cross necklace, similiar to this one of mine.

  I said, "I like your necklace."  She responded, "Thanks.  Are you a Steelers fan?"  Confused, I responded, "No.  I'm a God fan."  She laughed, realizing her error, just as I noticed she was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers lanyard with her name tag attached.  She then went on to tell me she was a God fan, loved God so much, didn't know what she'd do without him, etc.

THEN, the smile left her face and she spoke of her son.  He was in some kind of trouble.  He was denying the existence of God, he'd committed a crime, and his future was a mess.  She told me he was being evaluated for mental health issues but then was likely going on to prison.  I did not ask her about his crime but I did ask her his first name.  She told me his name is Nick.  I told her I'd pray for him.  The look of astonishment on her face was amazing.  She thanked me over and over for volunteering to pray for him.  It was such a small thing, my honor, really, but it meant so much to her.

I don't know if that chance encounter between me and the checker was really directed and planned by God or the Holy Spirit.  I maybe just get these high falutin' ideas on my own.  I don't really think so, though.  I left that moment feeling better and I think she did as well.  I think two women, for those few moments, needed to connect.  I needed to feel I was making a difference and she needed to know someone cared about her son.

So, if you are the praying kind, I invite you to pray for her son, Nick, as well.  I don't know his story and can't tell you how to direct your prayers, but I am certain God will know of whom you are speaking.  He's hurting and he needs to feel God's presence in his life.  

Prayer and a Telephone Call

I had an unusual thing happen this week..

Sometimes I am really quick in making decisions but sometimes I am faced with a big decision that is painful to make.  That happened this week.  It wasn't anything bad, in fact probably either way I chose it would end up fine.  It was certainly going to have a huge impact on my life,though.   

I have a place I go when I need to just think.  I go to my friend, Sara.

Actually, she's not there.  I go to Sara's grave.  Sara was one of my early chemotherapy patients and I ended up taking care of her for years.  Sara was also a nurse and we became friends. I adored her.

This is not Sara's grave but it was a pretty photo 

depicting a quiet, peaceful graveyard.  

I don't want you to think I am creepy 

because I find peace in cemeteries.

When Sara's cancer returned, it was sad but not unexpected.  Sara handled it all so well; she taught me a lot about putting faith into action.  I miss her but now, several years after her death, I go to her grave to think, especially when my thoughts are about my life as a nurse.

On Wednesday, at Sara's graveside, I received a phone call.  I didn't recognize the voice right away but it was from another former patient.  I'd run into her on several occasions over the years but we've never been phone buddies or anything.  It was right at noon when she, Barb, called.  She told me that I'd been on her mind for a few days but that she'd suddenly felt the need to pray for me.  She said she was going to wait until after lunch but felt she needed to call me right NOW!

I wept a bit.  You see, I was standing there pondering an unexpected opportunity to change employment.  The new opportunity came out of the blue and I was going to reject it.  I felt that I should stay at hospice, even though there were many signs that I should move on.  My issue was that I felt hospice was where I could have the biggest impact on people, be the biggest help.  The call from Barb made me remember that there are other jobs where I might be able to be helpful.

Yesterday I went to work, still unsure of what I'd do.  In the morning I kept thinking of how much I loved hospice work.  I prayed over and over as I worked, asking that God show me what I should do.  Well, I am convinced that God has a sense of humor.  They day just got worse and worse.  One of the hardest things for me at hospice is the 12.5 hour shifts.  I have some arthritis issues, maybe associated with Crohn's but I don't know that for sure.  I also have degenerative disk disease so my back sometimes gets pretty crabby as well.  I end up aching with my joints crying out for mercy.  Yesterday I ran my legs off for 14.5 hours!  By the end of the shift, I knew what I had to do.

So, there you have it.  I was sad to give my notice but the calm I felt afterward makes me think I have listened to God.  I am so grateful for the time I had working with the dying but I guess it is time to move on.  I don't know if it is because there is somewhere else I am needed more or if it is just because God is being kind and leading me away from something that is so physically demanding.  Either way, I just want to do his will.

Ll

 Continuing with the ABC's of Bible Memorization....

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep.

Have you ever had a time when you felt the strong need to pray but it was hard to come up with the words powerful enough to express your thoughts?  Or maybe you felt you stumbled around and didn't quite say just what you wanted?  Well, this verse tells us that the Spirit can work with that and present your prayer to God anyway.  What a comfort!

Romans 12

Elizabeth left a great scripture for me yesterday.  Thank you, Elizabeth.  I am certain there are many who are having a rough week so I am sharing it with you as well. 

Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

In fact, I'd recommend reading the whole chapter.

New Job!

Today is the first day of my new job as a hospice nurse.  I am excited, nervous, anxious, energized and all those things you might expect.  After being off work for a full year, I am so happy to feel well and ready to work.  I am so very grateful for this opportunity. 

(This is NOT me but I feel like she looks today.  This photo is from tampabaycna.com via Google Images.)

When I went in for the interview for this job I was pretty wound up.  There were 3 women who interviewed me and I told them right off that I just KNEW I was supposed to work there and that I just needed to convince them of the same.  I enjoyed the interview and felt so great about it all I worried later that I behaved too giddy for such a serious position.  My confidence started to falter.

When I received the call that the position was being offered to me I was thrilled!  The woman who called asked me if I wanted to think about it before I accepted I practically yelled, "NO!"  I knew that I had been led to this place at this time.

Throughout this job search process I prayed and I know there were others praying for me.  It did not come as a surprise to me that doors opened and closed along the way, leading me to the position that feels right for me.    I pray now that God will continue to guide me as I am trained, that I may always remember who I serve and that He does His work through my hands.

Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.

Tell Your Storms About Your God

Recently my friend, Kylie, told me about a quote she heard on KLOVE.  I'm not sure I can get it right but it was something like,

 "Don't just tell God about your storms, but tell your storms about God."

I've thought about that quote quite a bit lately.  I've always known that I could go to God in prayer regarding any "storms" in my life.  I've had a really great life but like everyone else, there have been a few storms, and I've talked to God about them.

What do you think it means to "tell your storms about your God"?  That quote meant something to me right away, but I wasn't really sure why.  I've been pondering it for a few weeks now.  During this last year I faced an internal storm.  Really, I mean that quite literally.  I wasn't facing lightening, thunder or torrential rains but I had to deal with Crohn's Disease, IBS and clostridium Difficile.  Should I scold my intestines, telling them my God is going to get even with them?  I'm not sure that was really what it meant, but maybe...

After I pondered the physical storms in my life I thought of other kinds of storms.  I thought of times I feel insecure or inadequate.  Perhaps those are the times I need to tell my storms about my God.  I need to tell inadequacy that I am strengthened by my God and can therefore accomplish much more than I could on my own.  I can tell insecurity to take a hike because I am a cherished child of God and he cares for me tenderly.

Does any of this make sense to anyone else?  Does anyone feel insightful with regard to this quote?

Graduation Message to Sam

 

Our baby, Sam, is graduating high school today! 

I'm a little bit stunned, actually.  We have had a child in the public school system for the last 25 years!  This is going to feel kind of strange.

It was not so long ago that I walked 5 yr old Sam to school for the first time.  He didn't cry, but I did.  I think  it was a scary day for him, but he handled it like a man.  He was such a cute little guy!

He's grown up now... WAY up!  He's somewhere around 6'3" now!

Sam's entering that phase of life when he will have to make a lot of decisions.  Paths are chosen that will likely affect the rest of his life.  There are many unknowns.  That might be a bit terrifying but also very exciting.

I read this prayer in a church bulletin sometime in the past.  It has given me strength when I faced new challenges, and  I want to give it to Sam now, in the hope that it will do the same for him.

O God,

you have called your servants

to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,

by paths as yet untrodden,

through perils unknown. 

Give us faith to go out with good courage,

not knowing where we go, 

but only that your hand is leading us

 and your love supporting us;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Congratulations, Sammer!  I love you and I am proud of you!  I can't wait to see the paths you choose and the adventures you have along the way.

And as always, Remember WHO's you are!

Shielded with Favor

Mike and I are reading a Psalm a Day right now.  One of the things I love about the Psalms is that no matter what your emotion, you will likely find it expressed there.  It can really be a helpful guide for praying when you just can't find the words.

I am praying for some friends who are facing very serious health challenges.  It is such a helpless feeling to see someone you care about hurting.  I literally woke up one day praying, but my words seemed too pitiful to appropriately cover the situation.  I know that God's work is not dependent on my words, but still, I searched to express my thoughts.  Today I went back to Psalm 5:11-12.

"But let all who take refuge in you

rejoice;

let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

so that those who love your

name may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous,

O Lord;

you cover them with favor as

with a shield." NRSV

I am sure there have been times I've read over those verses and just thought they sounded nice.  Today, they really speak to me.  I love picturing God spreading protection over my friends, shielding them with his favor. 

FEAR

Yesterday as I sewed I was listening to my Kindle read a stupid book to me.  Within the first few paragraphs I already knew exactly the formula used for the book.  It was a Christian Fiction book so I listened to the whole thing.  Why?  I guess I didn't want to be rude to another Christian.

Anyway, I'm a little bit glad that I listened because I did find one little sentence that jumped out at me and made me think.  The words that caught my attention were, "Fear is the opposite of faith".  Do you think that is true? 

I thought about this off and on throughout the rest of the day, and apparently I am still thinking about it this morning.  I started thinking about the things that make other people afraid, because of course it is "other people" who have these kinds of problems.  I thought of someone close to me (you know who you are) who is very, very afraid of cockroaches.  She has her reasons.  I also know someone who has a fear of being rear-ended (she also has  her reasons).  I also know and love several someones who have a fear of flying in small planes.  Again, there may be good reasons.  I continued in this way, thinking of a long list of things "other people" fear... thunderstorms, public speaking, making small talk, snakes, water, clowns, newborns, horses, and the list goes on and on.

I was working on a BIG sewing project so I had a lot of time to think.. finally I had to think about what I feared.  I like to think my faith is strong so if fear is the opposite of faith... this whole thing was making me uncomfortable.  It was a stupid book anyway, right? 

OK, OK, I'll confess a few fears.  I'm afraid of being late... anywhere.   I hate that feeling of letting people down or making them wait for me.  I think that's not a bad thing but there have been times when it almost made me sick to think I was going to be late.  Sometimes I've been really mad at Mike for making me late somewhere.  It's been a problem for me.  I remember one early morning when I was in high school.  I was rushing to get out the door when Mom said, "Susie, you know you don't have to be there to open the doors, right?"

I'm also afraid of witnessing a plane crash.  Yep, that's what I said.  I may be a little afraid of being in one but the thing that gives me those repeated nightmares is actually seeing the crash and then having to rush to the scene as the sole rescuer of many, many people.  I've had that dream over and over in many different forms. 

Along those lines, I have a fear of being bombed.  I don't know why.  I've never been bombed.  I've never even lived in a war zone.  But there it is.  If a plane flies over a little lower than I think it should, sometimes I just get the idea that a war I didn't know about is just starting and the enemy decided to bomb me here in the center of
Wyoming to get it all going.

A big serious fear that I have is of losing someone close to me.  Like a lot of Moms, I've worried about my husband or one of my children dying.  If they don't answer their phones, my imagination does mean things to me.

A year and a half ago that fear went into hyper-drive.  Maria got the swine flu.  That was when  the swine flue was big in the news.  They'd show maps of all the countries where people had died from it.  I was really worried about Maria.  She was already trying to recover from anemia and childbirth.  She was sleep-deprived like most new moms.  I knew that she was weakened already.  She didn't need this!  Still, all in all, I really felt she'd get through it and I thought I was handling it ok. 

But THEN, I started worrying about Cordelia.  She was this tiny little 3 week old person and I'd just learned about another local baby in ICU with swine flu.  All of a sudden I realized that being a grandparent compounded my worrying way beyond what I'd expected!  One day as I was driving home from work it hit me that if we lost Cordelia, not only would my heart be broken by the loss itself, but my child's heart would be broken.  Suddently, I was bawling as I drove.  I felt a near panic for Cordelia's safety!  What could we do?  How could we protect her? 

Well, Maria recovered and Cordelia never even got sick.  I didn't ever come up with a plan to protect her.  Maria and Eric wore the blue masks as a precautionary measure, knowing that Cordelia had likely already been exposed before they even knew they had the bug.  It all turned out fine for our family.

I said that I hadn't come up with a protection plan for Cordy but I guess I kind of did.  I prayed!   And prayed!   And prayed!  It was very apparent that I had to have faith that God would see the situation through to its perfect result.  I certainly had no help to offer on my own.

Now, I have perfect faith and fear nothing!  No.... that's not at all true!  I still worry about something everyday.  I have been given the gift of faith but over and over, I try to worry my fears away before I remember that I have that gift.  It makes me frustrated with myself but there it is... now I am worrying about worrying too much... 

God help me!