Well, I’m just incredibly amazed by the wisdom & goodness of God. I came to Cambodia with the hope that we could finally get our 1st nightcare up and running & I’m leaving in less than 24 hours with seeing this hope turn into a reality. In a very short amount of time, I’ve see God’s hand working to secure a facility for nightcare, staffing needs, supplies and of supreme importance, the babies and toddlers who will be receiving care, protection, nurture and genuine love.
I’ve seen Gods hand move with such astounding confirmation in the last 24 hours that I’m almost speechless, almost ,)
Dear friends, please do not give up in the hopes and dreams that God has put in your heart. Please trust God for His timing, revel & relish the fellowship that we share w God. He is truly worthy of praise.
Posts Tagged 'prayer'
Please be encouraged :)
Published March 6, 2012 Cambodia , Holy Spirit , living , missions , prayer , relationships , saving moses , spiritual , travel 5 CommentsTags: answers, Nightcare, prayer, saving moses
why pray?
Published October 11, 2011 Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual Leave a CommentTags: answers, direction, help!, pray, prayer, presence, wisdom
I’ve had an interesting recent 48 hours. Sunday evening, I was doing our family grocery shopping & I was chatting with God about something that was really bothering me. At the end of our chat, I basically asked Him to either help me accept this challenging situation & make adjustments or to change the situation. Within 24 hours, I found myself in a conversation that was immediately addressing the situation that God & I had just discussed. Needless to say, I’m thanking God for His speedy work!
Furthermore, this morning I was looking for a file on my computer & became frantic when I couldn’t find it because there were other people who are relying on this document! So over the course of lunchtime, I shot up another quick prayer asking God to help me find this file & voila – I found it!
While these things may seem small to you, for me they’re indicative of God who listens & is engaged in my daily living. What I like most about prayer is that its the place where I get to wholly be with God – where I eliminate distractions, tune into His presence & interact. I love sensing God’s presence, voice, direction, etc. Prayer is also a fun adventure to see the different ways that God answers our requests & needs.
a helpful secret
Published September 19, 2011 enemies to intimacy , family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , saving moses , spiritual 2 CommentsTags: comfort, help!, pause, prayer, security, turn, wisdom
We all get put into situations that aren’t comfortable for us: conversations that make us squirm, meeting people who are intimidating, tasks that seem impossible given our skill set, expectations to which we never agreed, etc. There are a myriad of things that can make us uncomfortable & each person is unique with those discomforts. Despite our individuality, I can propose a solution for these struggles that has universal application: prayer 
For me, prayer isn’t just the requests I make to God or the quiet time I spend in the morning, although these are most certainly very necessary expressions of prayer. Here’s my secret: when I get put into difficult situations or crazy conversations, etc, I take a pause moment in my heart & turn to God. I listen & watch for some Divine input & without any surprise, God shows up. Often, I’ll receive some helpful wisdom, sometimes I receive comfort & at other times, I seem to be more settled & secure so that the situation isn’t such a stress.
Prayer can be many things, including the inward turning or opening to God
how to handle bad news
Published August 24, 2011 Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 1 CommentTags: advice, bad news, constructive choices, good news, help!, prayer, wisdom
Seems like you can always find bad news & sometimes, it seems like bad news is determined to you. Whether you look on a nat’l or int’l scale or down to our individual lives, there can always be bad news. But the real issue isn’t always what the bad news is, but maybe moreso how we handle bad news.
When I was growing up, my dad could have a major melt down with a small piece of bad news, but if there was a MAJOR piece of bad news, he was a rock – stable, solid & steady. So here are some ideas & thoughts on handling bad news:
- pause & take a deep breath – take some moments to assess the bad news & evaluate it with some perspective: is this momentary bad news? does this have a permanent effect? in light of the big picture & eternity what does this news mean? what is my responsibility in this news?
- don’t let your mouth loose without some “paused” reflection – this helps us to avoid the foot in mouth syndrome
- find a safe place to let your hair down / vent – in your car, with some exercise, taking a walk, riding a bike, etc
- pray – when you vent, don’t leave God out of the picture. If you’re mad at Him, don’t shut Him out. The main person this hurts is you.
- be mindful of any destructive escapes or habits you might turn to – these would include: addictions, co-dependencies, food (dysfunctional behaviors), entertainment escapes (sports, movies, gaming, etc) & others
- if you’ve received some MAJOR bad news, try not to make any MAJOR life decisions in crisis times
- consider what Paul said in Rom 8:28-29, all things work together for good to those who love God & are called according to His purposes – our main responsibility is to stay in love with God & in His purpose for our life. From there, He will work it all out
the right fight
Published April 5, 2011 enemies to intimacy , family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 1 CommentTags: conflict, disagreement, fighting, indifference, passivity, prayer, struggle, wrestling
Fighting is an interesting concept that gets practiced in many different ways:
- the guy who flips me off because I cut in front of his car
- fighting in Afghan, Iraq, Libya & other areas
- fighting with our spouse over little things portending a bigger issue
- fighting with a friend over a misunderstanding or something that is wrong
There are lots of ways of fighting, some of which are better than others. When I was first married, Reece & I would have some normal disagreement, but my way of handling the conflict was to just shut down & disengage (aka – silent treatment). Reece didn’t really put up with that technique, saying that there was nothing constructive accomplished w my silence – it didn’t help resolve the conflict, make any progress toward a common goal or do anything constructive. Quickly, I realized that he was right. Since then, Reece & I can definately have some fights & heated conversations, but we don’t clam up & get silent. We also don’t take shots at each other’s person – we may not like the other’s behavior, but we don’t attack each directly. Consequently, while we’ve had some pretty sturdy conflicts, we also have developed some really good honesty & intimacy over the years.
I think the idea of working through a conflict with God is even more important than when we work through a conflict w our spouse. I don’t think that God is into a passive intimacy with us, where we just roll over & play dead. Think about some of the great men in the Bible: Job, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Peter, . . . . These men all had conflicts with God – good honest “fights” where they disgreed with God, wrestled with Him, challenged His integrity, confronted the discrepencies in the world with God’s character & sometimes just flat out debated with God. If we genuinely want a close relationship with God, there will be times when we will disagree with Him & I don’t think this makes Him nervous. Engaging with God whether through intense love or frustration & even anger is better than indifference & passivity. There is such a thing as a “right fight”.
fellowship with Jesus
Published January 28, 2011 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , saving moses , spiritual 2 CommentsTags: crossing guard, diversity, fellowship, Jesus, prayer
I’m pretty turned on with Jesus – He makes my heart palpitate & captivates my attention. I love to have fellowship with Him, be around Him, recognize His work, listen for His whispers, think about His preferences . . . . I’m simply & happily absorbed by Him.
But here’s the fun part of my relationship with Jesus – it takes place not only in my quiet & private prayer time with Him, but I’m experiencing & aware of Him, more and more, throughout my day. This is interesting because my days have such tremendous diversity. On any given day, I might be studying for a sermon, cooking some experimental dish, trying to settle a conflict (among my kids, in a misunderstanding at work, . . . . ), trying to develop my video editing skills, talking about helping starving babies in Angola, getting on a plane to go minister somewhere, getting makeup put on for TV taping, wearing an orange safety vest for my crossing guard fun, . . . . . . . What I’m finding to be so magnificent is that I get to experience & interact with Jesus in all of these contexts & even more. I used to get frustrated about my relationship with Jesus because it seemed very limited & one dimensional – almost like I couldn’t seem to export Him from my prayer time into the daily living.
Of late, I haven’t had this struggle. I’m sensing Jesus throughout my days & the fellowship with Him is rich beyond description. Please check out Psalms 25 & consider reading it slowly, with some reflection
ABC Christianity
Published October 5, 2009 Uncategorized 1 CommentTags: bible, community, love, prayer, spiritual growth
The longer I do the Christian adventure, Im becoming increasingly convinced that God is after our hearts & fellowship w us more than anything else. As I consider His goals for my life, I find myself wanting to cooperate & give myself to His desires. I think there are 3 simple ways that I can easily present myself to Him, everyday:
*prayer: whether it’s the quick “HELP!” or giving Him our requests & thanksgivings or going through a prayer pattern, like the Lords Prayer, I find that prayer has become a spiritual adventure for me, unduplicated in any other activity of my life
*Bible: the Bible gives my soul substance to feed on rather than the froth & cotton candy that’s so readily available in pop culture. I’ve found the Bible sustains, chalenges, comforts, corrects, guides, . . . . . me. If you don’t have some Bible in your daily living, try reading a Proverb or a Psalm a day as a starting point
*community – working out my Christianity into a daily context especially in my relationships makes my experience w Christ deeper, richer & more 3 dimensional than just attemtpting the solo act.
Get a lil prayer, get a little Bible, get a little community in this day & see God where He couldve have been invisible in the past
He’s deeply in love w you!! Hosea 11:4
sequel: enough & never late
Published July 3, 2009 living , prayer , spiritual 2 CommentsTags: adequate, disappointment, God's will, prayer, requests
If you haven’t read the post below this one, i’d encourage you to read that one 1st – its short & sweet & will help you understand this post. Here’s my counter-point from what i said below – Jesus gives us what we need, when we need it; nothing less or late. There was a season in my life when i would’ve argued this point & there are times when i still find myself not so happy w His choices for me. Nevertheless, i still believe this is true: Jesus gives us what we need, when we need it.
Now here’s some of my thinking: there are times when we’ve asked Jesus to do something & He hasn’t done what we asked. In some ways, this relieves me because it gives me confidence in Him that He’s going to make decisions for me outside of my preferences. This is comforting to me because i think this is what all good parents do. If i gave my kids everything they wanted, they would have some serious struggles. Furthermore, i have confidence in God that He makes better decisions for my life, than i do (He’s got more wisdom, insight, understanding, etc). Now i’m not advocating that we dismiss prayer as futile. But i’d encourage you to view prayer from a conversation perspective moreso than a request perspective. While i think that the Bible encourages us to make our requests to be made known to God (Philip 4), be careful not to get pouty if you don’t get your way – i’m speaking mostly to myself here. 
plates, plates & more plates
Published March 3, 2009 living , Philippians , spiritual 1 CommentTags: busy, frustrations, God, Philippians, plate spinning, prayer, trust
ever feel like you should be in a circus act for plate spinning?
Everyone has busy lives – sometimes less, sometimes more. Today, is a plate spinning day for me, so i think its even more essential than normal to consider what Paul says in Phil 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
For every concern, frustration, request we pass along to God, and He tells us to do this, please be sure to include a thanksgiving as well. Then allow God’s peace to guard your heart & your mind. Then spin away baby & trust God to help you spin & catch a plate if it falls.
temptations – help!
Published November 1, 2008 Lord's Prayer 5 CommentsTags: direction, guidance, prayer, temptation
Dearest friends, I’m asking for your help again – sorry to be “needy”. Two things:
- can anyone tell me if I can allow someone to put a picture in a comment? If so, how do I do this?
TWO: This one is tricky. I’m working on the part in the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus teaches us to ask the Father to lead us not into temptation. How do you deal with this in relation to Matt 4:1, where it says that Jesus was led by the HS into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Furthermore, in James 1:13, it says that God doesn’t tempt anyone. So what do you think Jesus means in the Lord’s Prayer when you consider James 1:13 & Matt 4:1? Any help, insights, thoughts would be more than appreciated!!!!!
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