He is able!

Wow- today's readings are so full we will only be able to skim the surface- so be sure to read all three passages on your own!

Today's readings: Jude, Ezra 9-10, Psalm 95

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever amen." -Jude 1:24-25

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms." -Psalm 95:1-2

I don't know how anyone could read those verses in Jude and not respond with joyful shouts of praise! He is able to keep you from stumbling. Whoa! Even if we just stopped right there, that is enough to keep me praising Him all day long! Do you truly believe that? He is able to keep you from stumbling! You do not have to sin. He is able to keep you! But He cannot do so, unless He has complete control of your life. You must surrender all that you are to Him- and then He is able to keep you from stumbling! What an amazing, life-changing truth.

And He is God our savior. As we focus on Jesus this week, we can praise Him for coming to earth to save us. We could not save ourselves- just like we cannot keep ourselves from stumbling- but He is able to save and to keep us! Hallelujah!

He alone is wise. He knows what is best for us! He knows what the future holds! Wouldn't you like to trust a God like that? There are days when I doubt that He knows what is best for me- but then circumstances prove otherwise when choose my own path! So trust today that He knows what is best for you!

As you dwell on these aspects of God- allow your heart to well up with praise and gratitude and pour out your worship to Him. The rest of Psalm 95 just adds more fuel to our praise today! Check it out. He is worthy. Let us live our lives as our act of worship today!

Blessings,
Kelly

Putting feet to your faith

I pray that you enjoyed sweet fellowship with God's people yesterday at church and were able to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Today we will be looking at God's provision and protection for those He loves. We can lean on Him when we don't know where else to turn!

Today's readings: 3 John, Ezra 7-8, Psalm 94

"Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, 'The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.' So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer." -Ezra 8:21-23

"Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would soon have settled in silence. If I say, 'My foot slips,' Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." -Psalm 94:17-19

Let's continue on in our history lesson from Ezra: God's people had been in captivity, but had returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple. It was an exciting time for God's people! Now, Ezra arrives on the scene, he was a priest who had a great understanding of God's Law and God was with him. Ezra found favor with King Artaxerxes of Babylon (which is where they had been in captivity for 70 years) and the king granted Ezra permission to take with him anyone of God's people who wanted to return to Jerusalem. And he even sent Ezra with provisions for the journey and treasures to bring to the temple of God! But then Ezra reached a crossroad, he ran into a dilemma. He wanted to be sure that he was leading God's people in the right direction, and that God's presence and protection would be with them. He was nervous because they would be traveling in enemy territory, and his human-ness wanted to ask the king for some soldier escorts- but he didn't want to ruin his witness to the king (since he had already claimed that God was big enough to protect them). So it was a crisis of faith- where the rubber meets the road- where Ezra really had to put feet to his faith and trust that God was who He said He was.

I'm sure we have all been in situations like that before- or may even be in a situation like that right now- where we say we believe something about God, and then we actually have to take action based on that belief. It is a scary, yet envigorating place to be, if we actually go forward in faith! There are some ways to help us in these times of testing and it is good to prepare for them now!

Ezra and his people took time to fast and pray for God's leading and God's presence as they went forward in faith. And God answered their prayer. There are some times that God calls us to fast in order to teach us to depend solely on Him and to declare our faith and our seriousness. If you are in a crisis of faith- set aside some time to fast and pray- asking God for the strength and the discernment needed for whatever lies ahead- and don't give up until He answers you!

The other thing you can do to prepare for times of crisis is to get to know God more personally! The better you know Him, the more you will fall in love with Him, and the easier it will be to trust Him when times get tough! Like the psalmist said: "in the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." The psalmist was crazy stressed and didn't know what to do- but he spent time in God's presence and His comforts gave him the peace he needed.

Today: read Psalm 86, its title in my Bible is: Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the Lord. And I would encourage you to do just that- meditate on the excellencies of the Lord- ponder all the things you love about your God- remember all the ways He has been faithful to you in the past- praise Him for being who He says He is! And as you do so, you will be creating a storehouse of faith from which to draw from in times of crisis. Take time each day to bask in His presence and get to know Him better- and you will cultivate that friendship you can depend on when you need it most!

Praying that you would know Him better, and love Him more, so that you can trust Him daily!
Kelly

What would you give up for Him?

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Greetings to you on this gray Sabbath- I pray that the light and joy of fellowship and corporate worship would brighten this cloudy day for you! Pastor Jeff will be moving on to the next part of the Apostle's Creed today- "and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord"- so let us worship Jesus today!

"Grace, mercy and peace will be you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." 2 John 1:3

"The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved. Your throne is established from old; You are from everlasting." -Psalm 93:1-2

As we focus our attention on the Son of God it is important for us to be reminded of His origin: His throne was established from old, He is everlasting. He is God. Now- I don't know whether those verses in Psalms were written prophetically about Jesus, some Psalms are- but I don't think this one was. But it speaks about God- and Jesus is God- so we can draw some conclusions that are still true. The opening verse in the Gospel of John will back up my thoughts:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." -John 1:1-3

"The Word" John was speaking of was Jesus. So Jesus was with God in the beginning and He was God. It also says that all things were made through Him- so Jesus had a main role in creation! Wow. Now shift gears here and picture this powerful, majestic, Son of God... leaving His throne and coming down into a woman's womb- being birthed in a stable full of smelly animals- being a helpless baby dependent on His mother for nourishment, care, and protection- learning to crawl on dirt floors- whoa. Do you get the drastic demotion here? He became nothing for you. He created the world- and then had to enter it just like you and I. That blows my mind! How grateful I am that Jesus didn't have an ego like I do! I don't know that I would stoop as low as Jesus did to become human. But because of His great love for you- He came.

Jesus gave up everything He knew, His glory and His throne, His power and His majesty- out of love for you. Soak up the immensity of that love. Consider what you would be willing to give up out of love for Him. Your time? Your job? 10% of your income? Your home? Your comfort? What is your response to this great love God has shown you in Jesus Christ?

Let us take our challenge today from Philippians 2 (I am using the New Contemporary Version for this challenge): "In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ Himself was like God in everything. But He did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for His own benefit. But He gave up His place with God and made Himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant. And when He was living as a man, He humbled Himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused His death- death on a cross." -Philippians 2:5-8 NCV

He is not calling you to die for Him today- but perhaps He is calling you to give something up for Him? Will you surrender that out of love for Him? Will you be obedient? This is our spiritual act of worship today!

Praying that you would know the joy of full surrender today,
Kelly

Worship

Saturday, September 27, 2008

I hesitate to write today- as God has laid out a topic I don't want to tackle... but this is not about me or my comfort level. It is all about Him- as all true worship is. So here we go. I feel led to write today about a historical debate that has been waged since the Old Testament- known today as "worship wars" or conflicting styles of worship music. This is the only day I will write on this subject (hopefully God won't want me to belabor this point, as it is quite small in the grand scheme of who He is). Please bear with me, and hear me out. I will not take sides- nor attack anyone or any style. This is about worship- which is all about God. Period.

Today's readings: 1 John 5, Ezra 3-4, Psalm 92

"And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord: 'For He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel.' Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off." -Ezra 3:11-13

The background of this passage is that God's people had been living in captivity for 70 years, and finally were able to return to their city and rebuild it and rebuild the temple. As they began to restore the temple a worship service broke out and everyone began to sing. But some people didn't join in with joy- because they didn't think they should be rebuilding the temple- they had fond memories of the old temple, they liked how the old temple had looked... you know how it goes. It was the side of tradition. But the side of relevance and contemporary was trying to build God a new temple to honor Him as they knew how, a way that was comfortable for them, that would fit with the new culture around them.

Each side of the battle wanted to honor God the best way they knew how. Each side wanted to be comfortable. Each side had their preference and opinion. But let me say, Church, worship is not about us!!!!! It is not about hymns or praise choruses- organs or guitars. It is not about standing up or sitting down. About clapping or dancing or shouting. It is not about slides or hymnals, about you or about me. It is about GOD.

Worship is about our response to who God is. There are as many different responses as there are people on earth; no two people will respond to God in exactly the same way. But we worship corporately- so we must find a way to worship God together. When you are alone, spending time worshiping God privately, you can worship him however you like. You could sing hymns to Him, you could dance for Him, you could listen to a praise CD while you take your morning walk- you could paint for Him or write a poem for Him- the list is endless. But when we worship together, our pastor and worship leaders spend time crafting a service that will help us all worship the same God together. You may or may not like all of the aspects of the service- but that just doesn't matter. Worship is a choice- just like sometimes love is a choice. When you are married sometimes you feeling loving toward your spouse and other times you don't. But no matter what you choose to love them- regardless of your emotions. That is what we are called to do in corporate worship.

Tomorrow as we worship together, I extend a challenge to each of us: choose to worship God in every prayer, every Scripture reading, every hymn, and every song. Allow God to reveal Himself to you- and then use the songs and hymns and prayers and even the tithes and offerings to be your response to who He is. If you don't know the tune of the song- read the words to Him as a prayer.

Let us practice worshiping with this Psalm. Read it to God as your prayer today. Think on all that God has done for you this week. Think about your favorite aspect of who He is. Allow this to be your response to who He is.

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night, on an instrument of ten strings, on the lute and on the harp, with harmonious sound. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands." -Psalm 92:1-4

Praying that our worship would bring Him joy,
Kelly

Thoughts from the Rest of the Week

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Good Morning, Church!

This morning God poses the question: "Do you truly know Me?" How do we know that we know Him? What does it look like to know God? We will explore these questions- and discover another way to worship God- as we dive into the Word.

Today's readings: 1 John 2, 2 Chronicles 35, Psalm 89:38-52

"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." -I John 2:3-6

Obedience = worship. We can know that we love God if we obey Him. God will know we love Him if we obey Him. The world will know we love God if we obey Him. I feel redundant here, but I don't think the people of God get this! As we obey God, He is glorified and He gets His work done here on earth. What are His commandments? What is it He is calling us to obey? It wasn't in our readings today, but in Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus gives us the Great Commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love God and love others. Sounds simple, right? But you and I know that our human tendency is to love ourselves most of all and God and others come second. So, if we truly know Him, we will put Him first and love others second, and ourselves last. That is so hard- but it isn't something we have to work at. You heard me correctly, we don't work at loving God first, we simply get to know Him, and when we know Him we can't help but put Him first. It is a response! It is worship. And it is cultivated in our time spent with Him.

As you spend time with Him today, ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a new way. As we read through the Bible in the coming days, hopefully we will discover new things about God's character that will open our eyes and cause us to fall down in worship. Prepare your heart to meet God in new ways, and He will show up. I am really excited about this journey we are on.

Praying that we would get to know Him more, so that we can love Him better!
Kelly

** If you would rather not receive these devotions, please feel free to e-mail me. I will take you off the list. Or if you know of someone else who would appreciate these e-mails, feel free to pass them along, or send me their e-mail address.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hello, Church!

Today's readings: 1 John 3, 2 Chronicles 36, Psalm 90

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" - 1 John 3:1

"Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." -Psalm 90:14

"Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions." -2 Chronicles 36:19

You may wonder how I am going to tie all three of these verses together- but stay with me- its there. Today, I would like us to really focus on the love of God. Nice. That's easy and enjoyable. But as we do this, we will come face to face with our unworthiness and that is never fun.

God has lavished His love upon us- we were once estranged from Him and wallowing in our own sin. Dirty and broken, unlovely and unloveable. Just like the people of God in 2 Chronicles- if you remember, God was pouring out His wrath on them for their sin- but He chose to spare King Josiah because of his humility and repentant heart. So in this chapter of 2 Chronicles, his judgement and wrath are being poured out as He had warned. But, praise the Lord, we do not have to face the same dire consequences for our sin! He has sent His own Son, and extended mercy to us, not punishing us as our sins deserve!

God sent Jesus to bear the full weight of your punishment- so that God could adopt you and call you His own child. How amazing is that? Sit with that truth for awhile.

He loves you. He died for you. All because He loves you and doesn't want to be apart from you. You and I deserve death. We deserve to rot in hell for the ways we have sinned against God- and He is just- it would be reasonable for us to pay for our sin. But out of His great mercy and extravagant grace- He sent Jesus to pay our debt. Wow. That is serious. I believe if we truly took that to heart- if we really owned it- believed it- let it sink down to the very depths of our souls... we would lead changed lives. We would weep as we worshipped Him! We would dance because we are free from death! We would love people out of the abundance of love we have been given! We would never be the same.

But the truth is- we think we're pretty ok people. We don't murder. We don't steal. We don't do drugs. But we have broken God's heart when we have passed by a hurting person and not reached out with the love of God. We have grieved Him when we have withheld our tithes from His church. We have shamed His name when we have gossiped about one of His precious children. We deserve death. But in His mercy He has died in our place.

Repeat this to yourself: GOD loves me. God LOVES me. God loves ME. Let that sink in. Bask in the sweetness of those words. And then pour out your heart to Him. Tell Him how grateful you are. Tell Him where you would be without Him. I can't tell you how to respond... I just know that such great mercy deserves a response!!!

Rejoice and be glad today, for His great mercy has been extended to YOU
Kelly

Friday, September 26, 2008

Good Morning, Church!

This morning we are going to take a look at the question: What is worship? I may seem redundant- but it is intentional. I believe that the worship of God is the central theme of our lives as believers. And I also believe that everyone worships something all the time. Sometimes we worship God, and sometimes we worship ourselves, and sometimes we worship our jobs and sometimes we worship our favorite style of music. I am as guilty of each of those things as the next person- so hear me when I say- we all must figure out how to worship God alone at all times. And I am not going to talk about worship music at all today!

Today's readings: I John 4, Ezra 1-2, Psalm 91

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love... In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." -I John 4:7-8, 10-11

Worship is our response to God. If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Loving people is our response to a loving God. It is easy to love Someone who guides and protects, and loves and forgives us- God is great and worthy of love. But at times it doesn't feel like the people around us are worthy of love- despite the fact that that is a lie. We may have a disagreement with a co-worker, or a fight with our spouse, our kids may be getting on our last nerve, or maybe someone is dirty and begging in the streets in downtown Philly... whomever you have a tough time loving is exactly the person God wants you to love. And not for that person's sake- though I don't know anyone who is worse off from being loved. God wants us to love people because He loves us. His love should be filling up and spilling out of our hearts on to everyone we come in contact with. If it isn't- then perhaps you don't know Him as well as you say you do- I know I am not full of His love 24/7!

Here is our challenge today: spend some time in loving prayer with God today- sit still, allow Him to love you- enjoy His presence- bask in His delight over you. And then as His love washes over you, invite Him to bring to mind one person He wants you to show love to today. And then ask for His grace to do it. Perhaps you need to reconcile with someone. Maybe you need to send a nice note. Maybe you just need to call someone up and invite them to coffee. Or perhaps you need to slow down, and smile at that stranger you pass everyday on your way to work. I don't know who God wants you to love today- but I know that He loves YOU and wants you to do something in response to that love.

Praying that your heart would be filled to brim with God's love for you, that you would spend today pouring His love out to others,
Kelly

Daily Devotions

I have begun sending out e-mail devotions to my church- so I thought I would post them here too. Enjoy these brief thoughts:

9.22.08

As I have been thinking and praying for Trinity, I felt God prompting me to send out a small devotional thought to encourage and inspire the Body at Trinity. These thoughts are based on the "Take the Challenge" Bible plan that is located in the narthex. We've just started a new sermon series: Essentials, based on the Apostle's Creed. And I love that each week of this series we are focusing on God, Himself- so that we can know Him better and worship Him more fully! If you missed it on Sunday, definitely try to make it out next week!

This morning's readings: John 21, 2 Chronicles 33, and Psalm 89:1-18
"And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence be all those around Him. O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them.... Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face. Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted." -Psalm 89:5-9, 14-16

Wow, there is so much in these few verses it could take us a whole year to unpack them all sufficiently! Sunday Pastor Jeff spoke about our Almighty Father, who is both powerful and personal- and you can definitely see His power in these verses! Who can be compared to Him? Who is mighty like Him? He rules the raging sea! But He is also personal- blessed are the people who know Him! And how sweet it is to walk in the glow of His presence! We know His name! What a privilege. Soak that up for a minute. God rules the raging sea, that can do great damage like hurricane Ike...and yet He invites us to come close and bask in the light of His presence. Don't get side-tracked here and start asking those tough questions like "Why would God allow tragedy like hurricane Ike"- that isn't my point today. My point is- God has power over the raging sea- and He is also longing to be intimate with us.

Today, take some time and read over these verses a few more times. Perhaps one of the phrases sticks out to you- or even just a word. Sit with that word, allow it to wash over you. Repeat it over and over until it seaps into your soul and you really believe it. And then respond. Praise God for that quality- for that promise- for His presence in your life. And your response will be different than my response- perhaps the word that stuck out to me was "greatly to be feared" and so I sit in quiet reverence and humble myself before Him. But perhaps the phrase that stuck out to you was "the light of Your countenance" and you just bask in His light and His love. This is true worship: experiencing God (through His word) and responding to Him with our hearts and with action. Enjoy Him today!

9.23.08

Today's readings are delightfully complimentary... we have a bit of a history lesson in store for us today! I hope that as you read His word, you will have a clearer understanding of who He is and what He expects from His children.

Today's readings: 1 John 1, 2 Chronicles 34, and Psalm 89:19-37

"I have found My servant David; with My holy oil I have anointed him, with whom My hand shall be established; also My arm shall strengthen him... His seed also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgements, if they break My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail." -Psalm 89:20-21, 29-33

Flip back to 2 Chronicles and we have a story of Josiah, the boy who became king at 8 years old! Here is what the Word says about Josiah: "And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David..." 2 Chron 34:2-3

I encourage you to check out the story for yourself- but here is the summary: Josiah began to seek God when he was 16. He realized that God's people had turned away from Him, and were worshiping false gods. So he started tearing down their idols and places of false worship. And then he ordered people to repair the house of the Lord. As they began to clean up and restore the temple, they found the Book of the Law (their Bible at that point in history)! One of his assistants read the Word of the Lord to the king, and "Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes." v34:19 In this era, tearing the clothes was a sign of mourning and great grief- the king was convicted that his people had strayed so far from the Lord- and that they had grieved the Lord and broken their covenant with him. They had broken the Laws of God, and rebelled against Him for years and years- and the king knew that "great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord to do according to all that is written in this book". v34:21 So he sent a priest to speak to God on their behalf- and God was just and merciful... He said that He would still have to punish the people for their sin- but He would be gracious to the king, since his heart was convicted, humble and tender toward the Lord.

Now this is all Old Testament- Jesus came on the scene and took the punishment that is rightfully ours- but I believe God uses this story to show us a side of Himself we don't like to look at often! He is a just God, and a God who hates sin. He can be wrathful and angry- not with His people- but at their sin and at the enemy of their souls!

What does it look like to worship a Just God? When you hear that "His great wrath is poured out on us"- what does that evoke in your spirit? Spend some time humbly bowed at His feet- confess your sin- praise Him that Jesus has taken your place. And rise, resolved to walk in righteousness today- to obey His voice, and follow His lead- to confess sin quickly and abide in His love moment by moment. That is my prayer for you today.


Blessings,
Kelly

"Mama is spending time with Jesus"

"I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done... telling the children who would be born that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments..." -Psalm 78:2-7

I've been trying to stay consistent with my time with Jesus each day, and to really set the atmosphere so that Caleb understands that when "Mama is spending time with Jesus" that he shouldn't disturb me. So I get my breakfast and my coffee (decaf, of course), I light a candle and I open my Bible and my journal. It has been quite successful so far- whenever he approaches me to ask a question, either Josh intercepts him (I praise Jesus for a husband who helps me guard my quiet time!!), or I gently remind him that "Mama is spending time with Jesus" and I will speak with him in a little bit.

Well, to my surprise, the other day, I reminded him that "Mama is spending time with Jesus" and he goes on to tell me that he wants to "spen time with sesus too". Music to my ears... I am pretty sure Jesus was smiling too! So I got him some cereal and his "baby bible" and he just sat and looked at the pages quietly as I finished my quiet time. Before I got up, I asked if he wanted to pray for our day- he said yes, so we did. I am so grateful that he is open to the Spirit of God, and that he is imitating the things that I want him to imitate... I'm sure he will imitate the ugly things I do at some point soon- but for now I will be grateful! God is so good as we strive to raise young men who will love Him and serve Him!

School of Prayer

"whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know..." -II Chronicles 6:29-30

September marks the beginning of the school year, and I sense that I am entering the school of prayer this year. As we begin our journey toward Africa, I have a feeling that I have much to learn about prayer, both personal and corporate. I am not faithful in prayer- I don't talk to Jesus as often as I would like , I fail to lift up Josh and our boys on a regular basis, and I forget to pray for the needs that are presented to me.

I long to be known as a faithful prayer-warrior- I long to spend quality time in the presence of God- I long to wage war in the spiritual realm on behalf of those I love... this is my goal in the coming year.

"God, forgive my prayerlessness! Draw me in to Your presence often. Incline my heart to You. Give me pause throughout each day to renew my devotion, and to worship You. Help me devise a plan in order to pray more faithfully for the people I care about. Most of all, I just want to know You more and love You better. -Amen"