Super Sunday

I'm joining Peggy at Amazing Grace for Super Sunday!! Stop by and visit her and join in!! It's super, simple and it's Sunday!!

I found a graphic at HeartLight by Ben Steed that really impressed me today:


All things--our possessions, our money, our very lives will pass away. But, the Word of God has stood firm for thousands of years and will remain standing firm!

Stand firm in God's Word!! His promises are faithful!!

Beth

Walk by Faith

I was doing some reading last evening and came upon this poem which I thought I would share with you:

WE WALK BY FAITH

AND NOT BY SIGHT

By Henry Alford (1845)

We walk by faith and not by sight;
No gracious words we hear
From Him who spoke as never man,
But we believe Him near.

We may not touch His hands and side,
Nor follow where He trod;
But in His promise we rejoice,
And cry, "My Lord and God."

Help Thou, O Lord, our unbelief;
And may our faith abound,
To call on Thee when Thou art near,
And seek, where Thou art found:

That when our life of faith is done,
In realms of clearer light,
We may behold Thee as Thou art,
With full and endless sight.

Thankful Thursday

I'm joining Sonya at Truth 4 the Journey for Thankful Thursday!! Please stop by and visit her and all the other participants to see what we're thankful for this week. Maybe you'd like to join in!! It's simple to do. Just list 5 things that you are thankful for this week, and then link back to Sonya's.

Here are my 5 "Thankfuls" for this week:

• I am thankful for my son who made homemade chicken noodle soup for me during my recent illness with strep throat. It soothed my throat as well as my heart to know that he was concerned and caring for me. I didn't even know he knew how to do this! (I did offer a little help with the list of ingredients, but after that he was on his own!).

• I am thankful that despite the snow and then ice we received yesterday everyone I know arrived safely to work and then home again.

• I am thankful that I am loved unconditionally by my God. He has led me to places in my life that I never would have discovered if not for Him working in me and through me.

• I am thankful for God using the internet as a way to learn more and more about Him, drawing closer to Him each and every day through others and their insights. I still stand in amazement of how God is using this medium to bring me and others closer to Him.

• I am thankful that our new blog, "The Lighthouse of Prayer" is up and active. God pressed this issue hard upon my heart for many weeks. I prayed and prayed about this--how to even begin this, how to find the time to fit this into my schedule, and God has led and directed me and others through this process. Now, I pray that He will lead others to "The Lighthouse" so that we may intercede with them through prayer.

• I know this is more than 5, but I have to say that I am thankful for the hot cup of coffee that I am now drinking before my work day!

Be sure and stop by and visit Sonya today, and most of all, be thankful!!

The Breath of Prayer

I'm reading a book I've recently purchased called "The Power of Praying Through the Bible" by Stormie Omartian. I'm taking this book slowly--not rushing through this--because there is a lot to learn and absorb in this book. The author starts in Genesis, going through the Bible through to Revelation--a little excerpt on a verse with a portion of the Bible to read and ends with a prayer.

I thought I would take a few minutes to share the first few pages of this book with you.

The first prayer study is called "God's Connection with Us". The portion of the Bible to read is Genesis 1:26-2:7, and the particular verse to focus on is Genesis 2:7:

"The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."

As God created the world into being, He didn't remain impersonal in His creation. He became personally involved with human beings, breathing the very breath of life into us. By doing so, He gave us the ability to speak. Without breath, we wouldn't be able to perform this feat.


We breathe in and out, and we speak with the inspiration and expiration of our breath.

I remember each of my children's first words--how thrilled I was to hear them speak!! Even their first sounds which I had to deciper to understand!! But, I understood what they were saying and was awed when they began to verbally communicate with me and others.

God gave us these abilities. He bestowed them upon us--the ability to breathe and the ability to speak. When I think of how thrilled I was to hear my own children's first words, I am just wondering how thrilled God must be when we speak to Him through prayer. He is waiting there, listening for us to speak to Him, utilizing the ability that He Himself gave us.

I remember when I first re-turned to God. I was hesitant to pray because I really didn't know how. I heard others praying, and I was just amazed. I had never heard prayer before. This wasn't something we did in my home during our growing up years. In church, only the Pastor of the church prayed--no one else.

So, I was at a loss as to where to begin.

If you are like I was and feel hesitant to speak to God through prayer, Stormie gives a little hint in her book. Start small. Breathe a prayer to God. Say "Thank you for" slowly, breathe in slowly using this time to think of what you are thankful for. Then breathe out saying the words to express your gratitude to God.

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? So, start praying today to thank God for whatever you are thankful for in your life at this given moment. It doesn't have to be something big.

Breathe in--"Thank you, God"........Breathe out........."for your unfailing love."

A simple prayer to God that He is waiting to hear. He's there waiting for each of us to speak to Him. just as we waited for our own children to speak to us. Start simple by just breathing your prayers to Him. He gave us the breath of life. Breathe back your thanks to Him.

Please be sure to visit "The Lighthouse of Prayer" and breathe your thanks to the LORD.


Beth

Weekly Memory Verse

Before we begin our Weekly Memory Verse, I want to draw attention to the fact that "The Lighthouse of Prayer" has moved to its new home. Please drop by and visit us there!!


Our verse for last week was a long one. How did everyone do? I have to admit that my mind was on a lot of other things last week. Let's see how well I did:

Everyone must submit themselves to the governing authorities for there is no other authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God....Romans 13:1

Looks right to me!! Now, how has this verse spoken to me through this week:

This has been a week of change in our country with the inauguration of our new President and staff. A lot of people are placing their hopes in this man. The responsibility he is feeling at this time must be overwhelming.

What I (and everyone) must remember is that he is a man--a human being just as the rest of us are. This verse says that God has established the governing authorities and that we must submit to them.

We must remember that God is still in control of our entire universe. We must pray the President Obama and his staff seek God's Will for our country and then follow His decisions.

I know as I visit others posts that a lot of people are praying for our new President and staff. Let's continue to pray that he will seek God's Will in each and every decision made. And let's also pray for the President's family--their safety and protection of God during his time in office.

I cannot even imagine being the President of this country. This is a responsibility beyond any concepts I may even have. So, please continue to pray for President Obama, his staff, all of their families.

Our hope is not placed in this man. Our hope is placed in him following God in whom we have placed our hope.

Now for next week--a little change up here:

I received a surprise in the mail last week. This is a deck of playing cards--not an ordinary deck of cards--but a deck of Scripture playing cards. There are the usual aces, kings, queens, jacks, etc., but each card has a Scripture written on it instead of the usual markings.

So, I was thinking....Hmmmmm....thinking--52 cards in a deck--52 weeks in a year--

What we're going to be doing is going through the deck of cards--week by week--using the verses on these cards.

The first card is the ace of spades. Here is the verse written upon it and your weekly memory verse for next week:

But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.....Matthew 6:33

How did last week's verse speak to you?

Beth

The Lighthouse of Prayer

"The Lighthouse of Prayer" has been moved to its own site. We felt that this needed a separate home.

Please stop by and visit us at our new site. We are interactively praying for each other every day.

Beth

The Lighthouse of Prayer--Second Posting

This is a second posting of the original introduction to "The Lighthouse of Prayer". Please visit the previous post to view others' prayer requests and prayer responses here.

If you've already visited and read the introduction, the prayer requests, praises and responses. please scroll down to January 24, 2009.

First, I want to share with you a little, so bear with me:

When I see a lighthouse, I think of God--standing tall, firm, faithful, always there, never failing in His love for us. He is a never wavering fortress in our lives--the good times when the seas are calm and also when the storms coming beating down upon us.

He is guiding the light for us to follow, even through the fog and mist when we cannot see or hear Him clearly.

How do we communicate with our God? Through prayer.

How many times do we say to others, "I'll keep you in my prayers".

Do you have people in your life who are actively praying for you--for your needs, for your requests to God, rejoicing with you in your praises to God?

Jesus came to this earth not only to show us how to lead and conduct our lives, to sacrifice Himself so that we could have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with Him, but to bridge the gap between man and God. He intercedes for us with God. His ministry on this earth lasted only 3 short years, but He is still interceding for us some 2000+ years later!!

Praying is our means of talking with God-- just like we talk with our friends--telling them what is going on in our life--what we're joyful about, what we're sorrowful about, what's happening with our friend that we're concerned about.

God is the source of change in our lives--only He has the power, might and strength to change the future. He is the sole history maker. But, we can be an active part of this history change through prayer to God. He hears us. He is just waiting for us to come to Him, to talk to Him.

This is going to be an interactive prayer request-comment conversation with God.

All you need to do is post a comment with a prayer request--something that is pressing in your life, whatever has been imprinted upon your heart that you feel the need or want others to pray along with you, a praise of whatever has made you joyful that you would like to share so that others can rejoice with you, an answer from God for something that you have been praying about.

Now, here's the really important part--those who stop by and read your prayer request will leave a PRAYER for you--not a comment--the specific PRAYER that they have said for you. And you have the opportunity to leave a comment as a PRAYER for others.

Jesus intercedes for us, and we will be interceding for others!!

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about this!!

January 24, 2009

I received a gift yesterday in the mail--one that I didn't see until this morning because I forgot to pick up the mail. This was sitting on my dining room table when I awoke this morning. This is a deck of Scripture playing cards that was gifted to me through a friend by someone I don't even know.

I randomly picked a card this morning, and here is the verse displayed on the jack of diamonds:

And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."........Matthew 22:37-39

I have to ask myself, what better way is there to show our love for God and for others than through prayer? Please continue to leave your prayer requests, praises and responses in the form of a prayer. Let's lift up our praises to God and intercede for others!

Abba,

As I begin my day, I lift up my praises to You--You are my King, my all. I worship You for being who You are, the great I AM. I realize that I can do nothing, be nothing in this life on earth without You by my side, guiding and directing me. Help me to always hear Your voice clearly so that I may know and follow Your will and plans for me this day.

I again lift up my children to You asking that You bring them to You so that they may know the full extent of Your love, Your sacrifice for us and accept You as their Savior. I ask this with full confidence that this is Your will for them, trusting and knowing that You will use others in their lives to plant the seeds of life in them. Help me to always be a living example of You to them by my daily words and actions.

I thank you for the opportunity this afternoon to gather with two close friends for conversation, lunch and laughter. How much we need laughter in our lives!! Thank you, God, for laughter and placing this emotion into us during our creation.

Thank you for my tears of joy, tears that I could not cry for so many years. Now they flow freely, not in sadness but in my joy of knowing You, knowing of Your love for me and Your great sacrifice for me. Am I deserving of this sacrifice? Are any of us? We are still sinners, Lord, still in our sinful ways . And yet You still urge us to come to You, to seek forgiveness.

I come to you this morning asking forgiveness of my sins--some that I have committed knowingly and others that I have committed unknowingly. Please forgive me of gossiping. How easy it is to get caught up in the talking about others when we are more than likely doing the same thing. Help me to stand tall and walk away from conversations that are degrading to others, Abba, and instead seek Your attitude in loving them.

Show me how to love the "unlovable".

I thank you, Lord, for all you have provided for me on a daily basis. I have my job while others have none. I have food while others have none. I have a place to live while others are homeless.

You have given me a mission, Abba, a mission to help others who have less than me. Please guide and direct me and the others involved in this mission so that we may bring Your mission to fulfillment to help those in need.

All of this I bring to You in the Name of Your Son, my Savior--Jesus Christ.

Amen.