Eat Cereal and Go to Disney?

October 10, 2014October 10, 2014Leave a comment

My daughter announced at the breakfast table that if we wanted to go to Disney World we all needed to eat a particular cereal.

“You want to go to Disney, right?”

She asked her five-year-old sister. Such an unfair question. Of course, the five-year-old nodded, ‘yes.’

“Then you need to eat this cereal, see?”

I peek over my shoulder to see what she found: a contest on the back of the cereal box. One grand prize winner. Yada yada yada.

Not exactly the reality she was trying to spin for her siblings: Eat this box of cereal = a free trip to Disney for the family.

But my children feel they have a deprived existence because:

(A) We do not own a dog.

(B) We have never been to Disney.

I promise her that I’ve entered plenty of Free Trip to Disney contests before yet I’ve still never been there. It’s because I never win anything.

(Well, once I won a drawing at the public library for the adult summer reading program. The nice librarian called and told me I had won and could come pick up my prize. I was ecstatic with joy. So much so that he felt the need to assure me that it was just a tiny little prize and not to expect anything big. He didn’t want me to be disappointed. It didn’t matter. I had WON something.)

But as I try to protect my dear daughter from the inevitable disappointment of finding that eating this particular cereal did not by default mean we’d be standing outside Cinderella’s castle next summer, I remember my prize from last week.

We made our annual family trek to the pumpkin patch. When I paid to get in, the nice lady at the farm handed me a jar of homemade pumpkin butter.

She said the first 25 families that visited the farm that day were receiving a gift.

We had won!

In fact, she didn’t have any more jars there on the shelf behind her, so I’m pretty sure we were number 25, making this all the more reason to celebrate.

And all I had to do was show up.

Oh, we love to complicate things don’t we?

I think how difficult I can make this sometimes, asking what I need to do to win God’s affection or attention and earn His favor.

I can know it in my head. It’s grace. It’s mercy. He doesn’t need me to perform elaborate rituals or scream and shout for the prize of His divine attention.

Still I forget.

I think surely I must have let Him down and disappointed Him or missed a step and messed things up along the way. Maybe He’d have blessed me, but I did something wrong and now He can’t. Or I made a wrong decision somewhere and stumbled out of His perfect plan for me.

It makes it seem so fickle. Like I’m playing some guessing game and the prize for guessing correctly is His favor and affection. But one wrong answer and I’m out.

Yet, James 4:8a says:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Draw near.

I read about the resurrection appearance of Jesus, how He appeared first to Mary Magdaelene and then to the other women who had visited the tomb that morning.

In her devotional, Revealing Jesus, Darlene Zschech asks:

Why did Jesus appear first to two women? The answer is so simple. They were the ones who showed up first.

We won’t always get it right. Sometimes just ‘showing up’ begins with that first humble act of repentance, of praying in earnest that the Holy Spirit do His work, search our hearts, purify and refine.

But showing up also means just coming as we are. Not trying to figure out some complicated formula in order to gain admittance to see Jesus. We don’t have to delay coming to Him because we’re not ready yet or worry that He’ll send us back because we’re so unworthy.

We come.

We just. Come.

And we ask: Lord, I long for Your presence and I’m drawing near to You today. I’m resting here at Your feet and I’m desperate to spend time with You. Forgive me, cleanse me. Please draw near to me. ~Amen~

Heather King is a wife, mom, Bible Study teacher, writer and worship leader. Most importantly, she is a Christ follower with a desire to help others apply the Bible to everyday life with all its mess, noise, and busyness. Her book, Ask Me Anything, Lord: Opening Our Hearts to God’s Questions, is available now! To read more devotionals by Heather King, click here.

25 Bible Verses on Rest

October 8, 20142 Comments

Genesis 2:2-3 ESV
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Exodus 20:8-10 NIV
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.
Exodus 23:12 ESV
“Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
Exodus 33:14 ESV
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 ESV
“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Psalm 4:8 ESV
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 23:1-2 ESV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Photo by mansum007; 123rf.com

He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
Psalm 62:1-2 ESV
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:5 NIV
Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Psalm 116:7 NIV
Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
Psalm 127:2 ESV
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 131:2 NIV
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
Proverbs 19:23 NIV
The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Isaiah 26:3 ESV
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 30:15 NIV
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation
in quietness and trust is your strength
but you would have none of it.
Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.
Jeremiah 6:16 ESV
Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Ezekiel 20:12 ESV
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 12:12 ESV
Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27 ESV
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Mark 6:31 ESV
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
Colossians 2:16-17 ESV
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ
Hebrews 4:9-11 ESV
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
1 John 3:19-20 NIV
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Where I Confess How Long It Has Been Since I Saw the Dentist…

October 6, 20147 Comments

I skipped the first appointment because my baby was due and the C-section delivery meant no driving for me. Plus, there was the normal craziness of schools, carpools, and activities piled on top of having a newborn.

I was justified.

I skipped the next appointment because our schedule never slowed down. Every time I thought we’d finally made it to the ‘easy’ part of the year, life got all unexpectedly hectic.

Imagine that.

At some point as a mom with four kids, you’d think I’d just learn to expect hectic.

So, now here it is….a year-and-a-half since I’ve been to the dentist and time for yet another 6-month check-up that I have not made yet.

Here’s the problem.

It is now easier to miss the appointments than it is to make them. I know instead of just 6 months of cleaning, they’ll be doing extra scraping and polishing.

I hate going to the dentist on a good day.

My mouth never hurts until they clean my teeth. They find a sore spot and then continually poke and prod and ask, “Does this bother you?” Well, it really doesn’t bother me as long as I don’t stab at it with a sharp mental pointy instrument of torture.

I brush my teeth, use mouthwash, and reluctantly floss, but I know I need to go to the dentist….eventually…..when I have the time (which of course I never have).

“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

Wise advice.

Because the problem with delay is that it just makes it easier to keep delaying and harder to do what needs to be done.

Miss one Sunday of church, you can go back the following Sunday without a spiritual revolution.

Miss a month, and you’re out of the habit of going.

Miss a few months and even when you know you should go back, you don’t want anyone to ask you where you’ve been.

So it goes.

Take a day off exercising and you can make it up the next day.

Take two weeks off and why bother exercising today since you’ve missed the last 14 days?

Now it will hurt.

Now you have to start all over.

Now you might have to answer questions.

Now I might have cavities. (Might? Yeah, that’s pretty much a guarantee at this point. Hence, why I don’t want to go.)

Now it will take longer.

Now people might judge.

Now you feel hopeless, flawed, messed up. You are the failure who stopped doing what you knew you were supposed to do and rather than call that dentist or head to the gym or slip into the pew on a Sunday morning, you just want to shrug it off and avoid going back.

Returning requires humility and repentance. It requires bending that willful knee low and confessing that you strayed or stopped or missed or sinned or miscalculated or got it all terribly wrong.

That prodigal son could have run back to his dad at the first sign of disappointment with the free and wild life.

Yet, he stayed. And the longer he stayed, the harder it probably seemed to head back home and face his dad.

Guilt, shame and regret heaped themselves like heavy burdens onto his back.

So, he kept marching in the direction of death because going forward was easier than changing direction.

Jonah, the wayward, runaway prophet, could have changed his mind at any point and taken the easier journey to Nineveh.

Instead, it took a violent storm and a hungry fish to convince him that obeying God was better than stubbornly heading in the opposite direction.

The thought of going back frightens me a little. I know I’ll have to face the consequences of poor decisions and procrastination.

But the longer I wait to call that dentist, the worse that appointment is going to be.

And the longer we wait to obey Him, the more obedience might cost us.

Yet, even when it takes effort and repentance, even when pride has to crumble, even when we need to confess, God beckons us to return.

He gives us new mercies.

He gives us fresh starts.

He re-places our feet on the solid ground.

He journeys with us.

He beckons us home and celebrates the turning and returning it took to get us there.

That’s grace.

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you (Isaiah 44:22 ESV)

Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 1:3 ESV).

For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him (2 Chronicles 30:9b ESV).

“Come, let us return to the Lord;
    for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
    he has struck us down, and he will bind us up (Hosea 6:1 ESV).

Let us test and examine our ways,
    and return to the Lord! (Lamentation 3:40 ESV).

I like my marshmallows crispy (AKA burnt)

October 3, 2014October 3, 2014Leave a comment

She holds the marshmallow too close to the blue flame and it ignites. Then she blows with one puff of her cheeks and giggles at the sight of her charred and blackened puff of sugar on a stick.

I tease her that she burns them on purpose and she confesses as much: “I like them crispy.”

We’ve huddled around the tiny Sterno burner set in the middle of our kitchen table with long forks poked through marshmallows to roast them and make S’mores, a favorite treat.

On a night when we have time, when we miraculously aren’t scarfing down dinner and rushing into the car for an evening of dance classes followed by church activities, we like to roast the marshmallows over the flame.

photo courtesy of Viktor Janacek, picjumbo

Not living on a campground, however, we use the Sterno instead–filled with fuel that burns blue and purple when lit by my match.

When we’ve each charred our marshmallow and smashed it down on the milk chocolate with the two graham crackers, I smother the flame with the lid, blocking the fire from the necessary oxygen for burning and thriving.

And it dies.

Just sputters right out, so simply, so quickly, so inevitably… suffocation through lack of breath.

How breathless I’ve been.

The running, the pace, the schedule.

The remembering: appointments, agenda books, reading logs, library books, dance schedules, Bible verses, lunches, emails, jackets, reaching out to friends, counseling my children.

Trying not to forget the Holy Spirit words stuck to my fridge, my bathroom mirror, my car: Love is patient.

Remembering that, too.

It’s beauty day in and day out, watching these children grow, loving on them, learning from them. This is the blessing that makes me pause and whisper thanks to God.

It’s beauty to minister, beauty to serve, beauty to love others with God’s love and to give generously to them just as He has given generous heaps of mercy and grace to me.

Beauty takes sacrifice, though, it takes giving and giving and giving and sometimes I forget.

I forget that running breathless too long suffocates, cutting off the oxygen we need to survive.

How often we do this, too: Fueling our flames with our own resources, running our own self-provided fuel.

Then we run dry.

The prophet Zechariah teaches me this truth. He has a vision—-“a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left” (Zechariah 4:1-6).

I rush past the words in my Bible, treating them like just another mysterious prophetic vision, obscure, and disconnected from my life.

But even Zechariah didn’t understand at first, and the angel has to explain:

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty (Zechariah 4:6).

In the Our Daily Bread Bible, I read:

“The prophet saw two olive trees that supplied oil to a bowl that fed seven lamps on a golden lampstand. As we think about the reality behind this symbolism, we can be encouraged. You and I are not the source of light that enlightens the world. We can only receive the oil of the Holy Spirit that fuels the living flame He produces. If we burn steadily through the long, dark hours, it is because we have learned to yield our lives to the Spirit’s unlimited supply of power and strength. This comes only through continual fellowship with Jesus our Savior (p. 1018).

I sang this as a kid, a little sing-songy Sunday school tune: “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning…..”

It was catchy and cute then.

It’s breath in my lungs now.

Do you feel the grace here?

You and I don’t have to be enough, don’t have to keep ourselves going, keep up the pace, keep things together….we aren’t the source and the world doesn’t depend on us or rest all heavy and cumbersome on our wimpy shoulders.

We seek the oil of His Spirit poured into us and that is our Source, our Strength, our fuel that keeps on going and doesn’t run dry or sputter out or suffocate and die.

Not by my might (I’m so weak and helpless really).

Not by power (I tire easily and can’t keep all this together).

But by His Spirit.

Oh yes, Lord, fill us anew with Your Spirit.

Originally posted September 20, 2013

Dear daughter, what happened to the 90 pencils I already sent to school?

September 29, 2014Leave a comment

Seventy-two pencils.

That is how many pencils we carried into her classroom the last week of August.

We placed 72 yellow, No. 2 pencils into the communal pencil bin in the classroom where all the pencils go to be happily shared among the entire fourth grade classroom.

That’s how it really works. You don’t buy the supplies for your own child. You buy them for the classroom.

In years past, I didn’t know that top-secret information and I had foolishly assumed that when my kid needed a pencil, she would use one of the pencils I had sent in for her.

But now, armed with the full insider’s knowledge of a truly experienced Super Mom, I had stocked her own desk this year with about 15 or so pencils as a secret stash. These were the rainbow-colored, glittery, fancy pencils I had purchased special, just for her, unique, not-for-sharing.

Not only that, we had sat on the couch the day before and hand-sharpened that secret stash of super-cool pencils so that she wouldn’t be caught with an unsharpened pencil, thereby ensuring her success in fourth grade.

This is in addition to the 72 pencils we bought for the actual, official school supply list.

So, what is that? Something around 90 pencils placed in her classroom the week before school started.

Maybe that’s why I went a little Mom-crazy when she announced she didn’t have any pencils she could use just three weeks after school started.

This precious child climbed into the very back of the minivan after school and hollered up to me in the front, over top of the ambient noise of three other children, “Mom, do you think you can get me some mechanical pencils?”

Wait, what?

Didn’t I just buy you 72 pencils? And then another 15 or so on top of that? Hadn’t we both pre-sharpened pencils to put into your desk so you would have a supply of ready-to-use writing utensils? Hadn’t I ended up with blisters on my hands from said pencil sharpening?

What happened to the 90 pencils we’ve already sent?

Honey?

Dear?

Sweetie?

I ask her to explain the deep mysteries of this Bermuda Triangle of school supplies. How can 90 pencils go into the classroom and disappear within about 20 days of school?

Now, I am fully aware as I totally overreact in the driver’s seat of my minivan that I could purchase the requested mechanical pencils for her for about $2 at the Wal-Mart without any commentary about the injustice of the entire pencil supply situation.

However, I feel a Mom-Speech coming on and I feel powerless to stop it.

I mean, it’s the principle of the thing.

Can I get an Amen?

As I pepper her with questions, zinging them at her one after another, I think that I should have been a lawyer. My logic is impeccable. My persistence unmatched. My sense of justice praiseworthy.

I am on the roll of all rolls.

But I stop.

I suck in my breath.

I never meant this to turn into a cross-examination with my poor child on a witness stand defending her history of pencil use.

And yet it has.

So, the prosecution rests.

Later, she tells me that she has some of those pencils still in her desk, but they just don’t sharpen well. The lead continually breaks on her, even while she still has the sharpener in her hand. It takes so much time, she tells me. She thought some mechanical pencils will be easier.

I admit. They just don’t make pencils like they used to. These cheap pencils might look so glitzy on the outside, but that lead is always breaking and they never seem to sharpen just right.

I go to the store. I pay $2. I buy mechanical pencils with extra thick lead so they don’t break all the time.

I bring them home. She finds them on the counter after school and thanks me with a hug.

Mom crisis ended.

But I think…

How many of my mistakes as a mom and as a woman would be avoided if I responded instead of reacted?

Even if she was tossing those pencils into the trashcan and wasting them out of foolishness and irresponsibility, surely my best response would be quiet grace and gentle correction, not a tidal wave of Mom-justice.

He who has knowledge spares his words,
And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit (Proverbs 17:27 NKJV).

Less words….more understanding….more calm, that’s wisdom and wisdom is what I want.

Lord, help us to respond and not react. Help us to take time for wisdom-seeking and prayer instead of saying whatever comes into our head right away. Forgive us for the times we’ve hurt others with our words. May “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight” (Psalm 19:14 NKJV). Amen.

50 Bible Verses for the Hard Days

September 26, 2014September 26, 2014Leave a comment

On the hard days, I collect Bible verses on a paper I’ve ripped out of my journal. I fold that paper up and tote it around everywhere I go.

When anxiety hits, I pull my verses right out and finger the edge of the paper nervously as I whisper the God-Words aloud. The aloud part is important; it helps drown out the noisy voice of worry, fear and disbelief in my head.

I have shut myself in the bathroom before, shoved my hands over my ears and read those verses aloud over and over until I really didn’t need the paper anymore. They were etched so deep on my heart and mind.

I collect more verses everywhere I go, and I scribble them down on that same page like any other greedy collector bidding for treasures at an auction or sifting through junk in a thrift store to find a true prize.

Seasons of life change. Sometimes I have a paper in my pocket. Sometimes I don’t.

Years ago, I toted that paper around and then I was done. The hard days were past for a while. God had answered my prayer and provided and come through.

But then a friend shared her heart. She was struggling and I had just been there myself. So, I copied the verses on my paper and sent them to her so she could carry them around in her own pocket.

God comforts us so we can comfort others.

Here are just some of my favorite verses for the hard days, pieces of my collection that I share with you because the truth is, we all have hard days and we all need the reminder of His faithfulness and His love.

Exodus 14:14 NIV
The Lord your God will fight for you, you need only be still.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Joshua 1:9 ESV
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 3:5 ESV
Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
Psalm 3:4 NIV
I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
Psalm 5:11 ESV
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
Psalm 9:9 NLT
The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 16:8-9 NIV
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
⁹Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure
Psalm 18:2 NIV
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 20:1 NLT
In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
Psalm 23:1-4 NKJV
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
²He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 31:1-3
In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
Psalm 33:20-22 ESV
Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹For our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.
Psalm 34:18 NIV
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 40:1-3 NIV
I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
²He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.
Psalm 46:1 NIV
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:10 NLT
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
Psalm 50:15 ESV
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Psalm 56:3 ESV
When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
Psalm 57:1-3
Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me—God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
Psalm 62:1-2 ESV
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
²He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
Psalm 62:11-12 NIV
One thing God has spoken,
    two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
¹²    and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
    according to what they have done.”
Psalm 73:26 NIV
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Psalm 86:7 ESV
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.
Psalm 91:4 NIV
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Psalm 116: 1-9
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.Then I called on the name of the LORD:“LORD, save me!” The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. For you, LORD, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 121: 1-8 ESV

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
²My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

³He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
⁶The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
⁸The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 145:14 NLT
The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. (Psalm 145:14)
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Isaiah 40:31 NIV
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
Isaiah 61:1-3 NLT
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
    for the Lord has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
    and to proclaim that captives will be released
    and prisoners will be freed.
²He has sent me to tell those who mourn
    that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
    and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
³To all who mourn in Israel,
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
    that the Lord has planted for his own glory.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Ezekiel 34:26 NIV
I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.
Nahum 1:7 NIV
The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
Mark 5:36 NIV
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
John 14:27 NIV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
2 Corinthians 1:10 NLT
And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Philippians 1:6 ESV
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NLT
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
James 1:12 NLT
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:10 NIV
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

The Craziest Thing Anyone Has Ever Said to Me In Target

September 24, 2014Leave a comment

I’d been married a week.

A week.

We visited my great-grandmother and she asked me, “So, when are you going to give your mom some grandbabies?”

A week.

I thought the question was mildly shocking, moderately annoying and mostly downright crazy talk.

But, you know, what can you do? So, I giggled awkwardly or something and dodged the whole wildly uncomfortable conversation.

Not long after that, I was having dinner with a dear friend in a crowd of other friendly folks and someone asked her the question.

“So you’ve been married for a few years now. When are you going to have kids?”

I thought the question was mildly shocking, moderately annoying and mostly downright crazy intrusive….

It was so much more than that for her. It was deeply painful, treading like heavy steel-toed boots all over the most tender places of her broken heart.

That’s what she told me later. How no one ever thought before they asked her that question…and people asked her ALL the time.

When are you having kids? When are you having kids? When are you having kids?

The truth was that she was desperate for a baby and yet it isn’t just that easy for everyone, is it? Hadn’t she prayed and prayed? Hadn’t she tried and seen the doctor and then had to answer the clueless questions of nosy onlookers?

We just think we’re making conversation and we’re really battering and bruising the sweet soul we’re chatting with over dinner.

Sometimes, it’s ridiculously comical. Like when I stood in the shoe section at the Target with my three blond-headed beautiful daughters, my youngest at the time less than 2 months old. Such precious gifts to me.

And this random lady waltzed right on over and gave me creepily personal tips on how to have a boy next time.

In the Target.

With my kids there.

And I didn’t know her.

Good gravy.

Or when people see my beloved baby boy and say right there in front of my three precious girls, “So, you finally got your boy. I bet your husband is happy.”

Like my daughters were just three attempts at having a son gone wrong.

We just say things, don’t we? We aren’t meaning to be mean or hurtful. We just say….stuff…. It seems innocent enough and we just don’t think maybe there’s a world of hurt left trailing after our destructive conversation.

It doesn’t get any harder than when we see a loved one grieving. We want so much to say the right words, soothe the hurt, ease their throbbing pain because we love them so.

But sometimes we get it all wrong. We try to cover over their hurt with platitudes that sound so right, “It’s God’s will. It’s for the best. He always works everything out for the good” and yet what we’re essentially saying is, ‘Suck it up and get over it. You’re a Christian so you shouldn’t be sad.”

Holley Gerth says in What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days:

While we mean well, comments like those are like stripping off someone’s sackcloth. Instead of helping, we leave their hearts even more exposed. What our hearts need is something new to cover them in hard times. And that’s what God offers.

We leave their hearts raw and exposed, open to further wounding.

Yet, God, such a gracious God, covers us with protection and love.

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever” Psalm 30:11-12

It takes time, yes, it can take so much time. But he does this—he removes our sackcloth and clothes us with joy.

And what I want to be is the kind of person who shares this grace with others.

We won’t get it right all the time. We’ll say the wrong thing and maybe mess it all up. Maybe we just don’t even know what to say when we are eyewitnesses to the hurt inflicted by a sin-stained planet.

But we can start here.

Dear friend, I don’t even have the right words, but I love you. I am praying for you. I am here for you.

And we can start here—-thinking through our questions before we ask them, so we don’t leave a hurting heart raw and exposed after what we just thought was casual, totally normal small-talk.

And we can start here, praying this: Dear God, May we be wise and grace-filled in our conversations with others today. May we speak the words that show Your love—and nothing less than that.—Amen.

The Great Human Struggle Right There in the Middle of the Kitchen

September 22, 20142 Comments

He freezes in the kitchen with one hand hanging mid-air.

Picture courtesy of Steve Janacek, PicJumbo

He was headed into “The Forbidden Territory”—AKA the laundry room—just as fast as he could crawl when he heard me say, “No.”

And this tiny baby boy engaged in the great human struggle right there in the middle of my kitchen floor.

Do I do what I want to do? Even if I know it’s wrong? Even if mom says, ‘no?’

Or do I obey and turn to enjoy something else, something approved and acceptable?

He tilts his head up so he can see me, still sticking his hand right out into the air, paralyzed as he decides where to slap that hand down on the linoleum floor. Place the hand here to move forward to the “No Zone of the laundry room.” Place the hand there to turn and obey.

His muscles actually twitch under the strain of the decision. He grunts and growls. He looks at me with the brightest blue eyes all filled to the brim with tears.

Because he wants what he wants.

And yet, still crying, still upset, still disappointed, slowly he lowers that hand down and shifts his body.

He turns.

He crawls full speed ahead to my legs and throws himself at me.

Sometimes obedience is hard. So I reward him with cheers and kisses on his cheeks and an elaborate hug.

He’s not even old enough for me to lay it all out for him all psychological and explanatory. How sometimes Mom says ‘no’ because she loves you and she doesn’t want you to end up in the laundry room with a mouthful of cat poop because you found the litter box.

How sometimes the things we think we want the very most are the very worst for us.

So, it’s my Mom-job to tell him “no,” not to be mean or arbitrary, but for protection and because I have something better in mind than cat litter (promise!).

Does God give whisper this to us also?

Dearest One, I love you. I know that your heart is hurting because I’ve said, “no,” but please trust me and trust my heart for you. I’m not out to harm you or withhold blessings or good things from you. I’m here to protect you. Wait for the moment when I say, “Yes” and it’s perfect. It’s worth waiting for. Love, Abba

The Psalmist said it:

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 ESV

He is our light. He is our protection. And He doesn’t withhold good things for us.

But we have to let Him define what is ‘good.’

Paul pursued what seemed like a noble Gospel-sharing goal—to preach in Asia–and yet, the Holy Spirit stopped him with a clear, ‘no.’

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. (Acts 16:6-7 NIV).

It’s a ‘no’ that doesn’t seem to make a bit of sense. Surely Paul’s itinerary seemed ‘good.’

Yet, even when it seems hopeless and crazy, utterly insane, or like all the doors are closed and everything is over and you should just give up already and go home, if God tells you ‘no’ and asks you to wait….then wait. If He asks you to turn, then turn.

Linda Evans Shepherd in The Stress Cure writes:

Living in God’s will means always saying yes to God (p. 138).

You want me to stop? Yes, Lord.
You want me to wait? Yes, Lord.
You want me to change direction? Yes, Lord.

That’s what He did for Paul. He redirected Paul’s steps to Macedonia and to a Gospel mission to Europe:

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:9-10).

Maybe I would have pushed and shoved right out of God’s presence and His will and right on into Asia.

Yet, Paul turned. He accepted the ‘no’ and said ‘yes’ to God’s mission and agenda instead of his own seemingly noble one.

Do I want what I want? Even if I know it’s wrong? Even if God says no?

Or do I want to be where God is, satisfied and content in His presence and trusting in His love?

May we always choose the “yes” of His presence.

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Learn When to Say, ‘Yes?’

7 Prayers for Your Home and Family

September 17, 2014September 18, 20146 Comments

It’s usually when I watch my children sleep.

Or when my tired infant son finally relaxes his on-the-go muscles and snuggles into me as I sway next to his crib.

That’s when I pray it. Like a whispered prayer, one you can’t find all the words for, not when your heart is so full (or you are so sleep-deprived). But it’s passionate and desperate:

Help me do this, Lord! Help me be the wife and mom You want me to be and that they need me to be.

I need some ways to cover our home and family in prayer so that I can commit this all to Him and seek His help every day.

So, here they are: Seven Prayers for Your Home and Family. These are the verses I pray and the requests I make. What about you? Please comment with your own verses and prayers.

Salvation
- Prayer:
  
  God, help us to keep this as our focus and never lose sight of the most important gift and responsibility you have given us—the salvation of our family. It’s easy to get caught up in worldly standards of success and measures of our worth, especially as parents. But honor rolls, scholarships, awards, and accolades don’t mean anything compared to salvation in Jesus Christ. Our greatest joy would be to see our children ‘walking in the truth.’ We pray that every member of our family will choose a personal, real, abiding, and powerful relationship with our Savior and that we will ask Him to reign over our lives both as a family and as individuals.
- Scripture verses:

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15 NIV).

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved (Romans 10:9-10 NIV)

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth (3 John 1:4)

Peace
- Prayer:
  
  Lord, may our homes be havens of peace. The world around us can be stressful and high-pressured. We may be surrounded by conflict, battles, and oppression outside this home, but we pray that inside these walls, You will bring peace. Help us to rest in You. Help us communicate with grace, offer love and support, and speak in love. Even in the stressful rush of the mornings as we head out the door to school, work, church and other activities, may we breathe deeply and choose peace, gentleness, and kindness with one another.
- Scripture Verses:
  
  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27 NIV).
  
  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV).
A Godly Legacy
- Prayer:
  
  No matter what our faith background up to this point, we pray for a heritage of faith, godliness, righteousness, salvation, and a passion for Your Word and for the Gospel. Help us to take the time to teach our children truth. We don’t want to ever be so busy that we neglect to teach our children about You. Give us the right words to say and guide our discussions with our children. May our children choose to marry strong Christians and raise their own children in Your Word. Where we have gone astray, we pray for grace and new opportunities. For our adult children and our grandchildren, we ask that You will turn their hearts and minds to You even now.
- Scripture Verses:

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6 ESV).

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV)

Unity and Love
- Prayer:
  
  Father, help us to remember that we are not just individuals out to achieve our own agendas. You have joined us together as a family; unite our hearts in love. Remind us that we are stronger together. Show us how to love each other sacrificially, graciously, and generously every day. May we serve each other, performing even the smallest acts of kindness for one another without complaint or score-keeping. We ask that our love for one another reflect Christ’s sacrificial and unconditional love so that others will look at our home and our family, and see You. Let our love for one another draw others to know your love for them.
- Scripture Verses
  
  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7 ESV).By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35 ESV).
  
  Two are better than one,
      because they have a good return for their labor:
  ¹⁰If either of them falls down,
      one can help the other up.
  But pity anyone who falls
      and has no one to help them up.
  ¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
      But how can one keep warm alone?
  ¹²Though one may be overpowered,
      two can defend themselves.
  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV).

Stewardship
- Prayer:
  
  Father, You know our needs. We lay them at Your feet and ask for Your provision. We trust in You as our Provider. Lord, we ask for blessing, not so that we can stash it away, or indulge our own material desires. We don’t need the biggest house or the flashiest car or the most expensive clothes. We ask for blessing so that we may bless others. May we be good stewards of what You have given so that we can give it away to support missions and to care for others in need. Please open our eyes to the needs of others around us and help us to give quickly and give generously.
- Scripture Verses:
  
  And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19 ESV)
  
  The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor (Proverbs 22:9 NIV).

Purity
- Prayer:
  
  God, it is so easy to fall into the pitfalls and traps of sin and temptation. We are surrounded by what is wrong. Help us choose what is right. Give us strength to be vigilant about protecting the influences inside of our home, and when possible, outside of it, as well. Holy Spirit, prompt our hearts when we need to walk away, when we need to stop listening, stop reading, stop watching…..and help us fill our minds and hearts only with what is good, true, righteous, and pure. May we be set apart for You, living in this world, but not of it.
- Scripture Verses:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8 ESV).

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers (Psalm 1:1-6 ESV).

Laughter and Joy
- Prayer:
  
  Lord, we know that there will be hard times, but we pray that You will continually stir our hearts to joy. Let our home be a place of laughter. Open our eyes to see reasons to rejoice, stories to share, jokes to tell, and smiles to give one another. Make our home a place of rejoicing.
- Scripture Verses:
  
  A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22 ESV)
  
  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them” (Psalm 125:2 ESV).
  
  Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psalm 32:11 ESV)
  
  If you would like a printout of these prayers to place in Your Bible or journal or maybe on your fridge or bathroom mirror, you can click here for the free printable!
  
  You can also check out 12 Verses to Pray for Your Husband and 14 Days of Prayer for Your Marriage With 1 Corinthians 13 for other ways to be in prayer for your family.

When the One Thing You Really Needed to Get Done….Doesn’t Get Done

September 15, 20142 Comments

I had one thing written on my agenda for that day.

One. Thing.

Every other day was packed with wall-to-wall to-do list items.

But not that day. I had just one thing I needed to do and I needed to be efficient and productive so that I could spend all the other days doing all the other things.

My list read:

Writing.

But by 2:00, what I just wrote on this screen so far….that was the extent of my progress.

Amazing, huh?

So, what exactly did I do all day?

A million things, just not that one thing.

I had four sick children with coughs and runny noses.

I cleaned up tissues.

I discovered piles of them next to beds and overflowing from bathroom trashcans. I found a plastic bag full of them on the counter. I saw miniature mountains of them here and there where we had chased my baby with a Kleenex.

It felt like the full extent of my productivity was wrapped up in this: Tissue Clean-Up.

And yet, I had wiped noses. Made cups of tea. Cuddled a crying baby who couldn’t figure out why his nose feels like a faucet he can’t turn off.

I wrote cards and notes responding to prayer requests and answered messages.

I scribbled nonsensical slivers of ideas down here and there all morning so I wouldn’t forget what I wanted to write about later.

I washed dishes and washed clothes and somehow cleaned a house that still looks messier than when I began.

What have I done?

A million things. Nothing. Certainly not that one thing I intended to do.

Somehow when you’ve spent all day doing and doing and yet haven’t crossed that one thing off that to-do list, you feel like a failure.

The dam of condemnation cracks and shatters and spews it all out.

How can you have spent all day doing absolutely nothing? What in the world are you doing with yourself? Are you lazy? Are you inept? How is your house not spotless and your work not done?

And yet, what good is an agenda, really, if it’s my agenda and not God’s?

We can make these perfect plans and miss out on God completely. We can push right through the disruptions and the distractions to accomplish our goal and end up lost and far from Him.

C.S. Lewis wrote:

“the great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant (or unexpected) things as interruptions in one’s own life, or real life. The truth is, of course, that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life.”

God’s involvement in my agenda isn’t always painful or unpleasant, but it’s usually unexpected. Like Proverbs 19:21 says:

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

I am a ‘many plans’ kind of girl and I’ll shove my way right on through the obstacles to make those plans happen.

And yet, here I am this month, Learning When to Say ‘Yes,’ and I’ve found that saying yes to God starts with being flexible.

It starts with offering Him my to-do list and it includes yielding willingly, gently and without complaint to the twists of the day and the altering of the path.

I stink at this.

But, Moses the shepherd out there in the desert got it right. He had a plan to lead “the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God” (Exodus 3:1).

That’s when God lit a fire within a bush and captured Moses’s attention.

Moses had to decide. Stick with his own plan? Or follow the unexpected.

He chose to bend.

He said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight” (Exodus 3:4).

In The Power of God’s Names, Tony Evans writes:

God didn’t reveal Himself to Moses until Moses turned aside from His ordinary routine.

And that Samaritan that Jesus described in Luke 10…he was traveling the road for a reason. Others had traveled before him: a priest, a Levite. They saw a dying man on the side of the road and pressed right on past because he wasn’t on the itinerary.

But the Good Samaritan turned aside. He stepped off the road. He took the time.

He walked right out of his own agenda and right on into God’s.

May we always be flexible enough to turn aside and to exchange our agendas and plans for His perfect ones (even if they are unexpected).

What is God’s plan for you today? Have you asked Him?

To read more about this 12-month journey of pursuing the presence of Christ, you can follow the links below! Won’t you join me this month as I ‘Learn When to Say, ‘Yes?’

Heather C. King – Room to Breathe

"He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul" Psalm 62:1-2 (MSG).

Tag: Christianity

Eat Cereal and Go to Disney?

25 Bible Verses on Rest

Where I Confess How Long It Has Been Since I Saw the Dentist…

I like my marshmallows crispy (AKA burnt)

Dear daughter, what happened to the 90 pencils I already sent to school?

50 Bible Verses for the Hard Days

The Craziest Thing Anyone Has Ever Said to Me In Target

The Great Human Struggle Right There in the Middle of the Kitchen

7 Prayers for Your Home and Family

Salvation

Peace

A Godly Legacy

Unity and Love

Stewardship

Purity

Laughter and Joy

If you would like a printout of these prayers to place in Your Bible or journal or maybe on your fridge or bathroom mirror, you can click here for the free printable!

You can also check out 12 Verses to Pray for Your Husband and 14 Days of Prayer for Your Marriage With 1 Corinthians 13 for other ways to be in prayer for your family.

When the One Thing You Really Needed to Get Done….Doesn’t Get Done

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today:

Salvation

Peace

A Godly Legacy

Unity and Love

Stewardship

Purity

Laughter and Joy

If you would like a printout of these prayers to place in Your Bible or journal or maybe on your fridge or bathroom mirror, you can click here for the free printable!

You can also check out 12 Verses to Pray for Your Husband and 14 Days of Prayer for Your Marriage With 1 Corinthians 13 for other ways to be in prayer for your family.

My devotional for today:

My devotional for today: