Do You Keep a Journal?

Why Keep a Prayer Journal?

Any inexpensive notebook will work great as a journal.

For years I have kept a prayer journal and I have listed specific prayers and specific people to remember while praying. I think it’s important and it’s nice to be able to go back and see where and how prayers have been answered.  I had kind of gotten out of the habit of journaling and keeping up with those prayer lists.

 I have recently recommitted to journaling.  (There are some instagram friends that I think deserve some credit for my recommitment to journaling;  Rachel Schmoyer, Sarah Bramme @thiswifelife, Heather Kaufman @hmkstories, two of these ladies are writers and have reminded me of the importance of writing and Sarah reminded me that I should be praying for my husband daily). I think it’s important that we remember to pray for others daily and not just ourselves.  And I for one, sometimes need to be reminded!  We all get busy and consumed with our own lives, but God commands us to: 

 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  Galations 6:2 

 Keeping a prayer journal and writing down all of those people that you promise to pray for ensures that you will actually remember to pray for them and it’s one way to help to fulfill God’s command to carry each other’s burdens.  Don’t just give those requests lip service; I think it’s easy to tell people on social media that you will pray for them and then just forget about it.  Journaling is an easy way to remind yourself.  If they are personal friends or neighbors in your area, you can do even more to ease their burdens such as:

 Cooking a meal for them

Babysitting or taking their kids to a practice or an appointment

Washing a load of clothes for them

Running an errand for them

Inviting them over for coffee and listening and be a friend (show that you care)

 There are all sorts of inexpensive ways that you can help to carry one another’s burdens, but I truly believe it begins with prayer and journaling is just my way of keeping up with that prayer list. Start your own prayer journal today!

Do You Struggle to Find Time to Spend With God?

I have this love hate relationship with exercise.  I love that I look and feel better after consistently working out, but I still DON’T love working out.    They say that it takes doing something consistently for 2 months or more for it to become a habit.  I’ve been working out on a regular basis for 2 years and I’m still not sure it’s a habit for me, (or if it is, it’s a habit I could easily give up!) 

Exercise for me is something that I have to schedule into my week and try to plan around when at all possible because I know that it is good for me. There are physical and mental rewards to be had and still I struggle with doing what I know is good for me.

I think it is the same way for me when it comes to spending time in God’s word and in prayer.  I know how good it is for me; I have experienced the rewards again and again and yet I still struggle to make it a habit, even after many, many years. 

Just like exercise I have to schedule time to spend with God. The payoff is beyond measure.  I reap benefits that far outweigh the few minutes that I spend with him each day. 

Do you struggle to find the time to spend with God?  Pencil that time into your calendar, turn off your phone, get out your Bible and spend a few minutes reading and talking to Him.   If you give Him your time, He will give you time and so much more.  Start today! 

Read Psalms 1:1- 

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
 

Does it Seem Like God Isn't Answering Your Prayers?

What Do I Do Now?

I am writing this devotional more for myself than anyone else, but I am praying that it will encourage others, as well.  We have a financial situation in our family that is affecting us negatively and this is something that we have been praying about for quite a while with no clear answer.  If anything, the situation just seems to be wrought with problem after problem and no clear solutions. 

 I have become discouraged and disheartened.  Last Sunday during our morning church service it became very clear to me that I might be praying for my will in this situation, not
God’s will.  Also, God’s timing is not always the same as our timing.

“3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

— James 4:3

I have decided to begin praying about this problem with a new approach.

1. I am going to start seeking God’s will and God’s solution to this problem, not what I think the solution should be.

2. I am going to strive to be more obedient in my daily walk with him.

3. I am going to be more patient and trust that he will solve this problem and it will be in his time and until that time he will continue to provide.

Think about praying unselfishly and aligning your prayers with God’s will. I am making that pledge today. After all, the Bible promises us that God will give us good gifts when we seek him.

Read Matthew 7: 7 -11 today and trust in Him!

“Jesus said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.” ”

— Matthew 7:11

Remember to be Thankful

Count Your Blessings

Have you ever had one of those days where things just seem to go wrong?  Friday was one of those days for me.  When things are going wrong we often dwell on the things that aren’t going our way.    

The busy-ness of life sometimes gets in the way of remembering to thank him for the blessings in our lives.  It’s easy to focus on the day-to- day problems instead of praising him. 

He loves us anyway, but…he wants to spend time with us, he wants us to bring our requests to him, to trust him and to remember to be thankful for his love and for the blessings that he has given us.  He gives us chance after chance and doesn’t write us off when we falter and focus on the wrong things. 

We all have blessings in our lives that we should be thanking him for …we should dwell on those blessings rather than focusing on our problems. 

Start today by counting your blessings and thanking him for those blessings.                             

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.                1 Chronicles 16:34

Is Worrying Stealing Your Joy?

I have always been a worrier and as a Christian I know that we are not supposed to worry.  God promises to take care of us.  I will often give my problems to him in prayer, only to continue worrying about them.  That’s really telling God that I don’t trust him to handle things, or that I think I can control problems better than him.  We all know that is not the case!

I often let worrying steal the peace and joy that the Bible promises Christians.  This is an area of my walk with Christ that is a daily struggle. I don’t really want to be a glass half empty kind of girl.  I don’t want to be negative and consumed with worry.  God doesn’t want that for us! 

Matthew 6:26-27, 31-34  (NIV)

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Spending time in prayer and in God’s word helps me to combat my own negative thoughts and it always helps me to be able to share my concerns with a Christian friend that I know will pray for me, as well.   It also helps me to count my many blessings and praise him for those blessings! It's hard to be despondent when you are being thankful.

Try it!  Stop letting worry steal your joy!  Start by reading Matthew 6:25-34 today.

Do You Need Answers

Are you searching for answers?  Most of us are… we are constantly questioning our decisions in life and looking for confirmation regarding decisions that we have made and guidance regarding those decisions we have yet to make. 

Right now there are some areas in my life where I need some clear directions.  I know what I want, but I also know that if it is not what God wants for me, it's not going to happen and I am just spinning my wheels.  I want to go in the direction that God has laid out for me, but what direction is that? 

I just recently, at the end of this school year decided to retire.  I loved my job and the people that I worked with, so retirement was a big decision for me.   But,  what's next and how do I get to there? Who do you turn to when you have a big decision to make?  I need God's guidance.  I am searching God's Word  and seeking his wisdom through prayer.

If you need answers or direction seek Him.  

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

God Gives Us Strength

My first year of teaching was tumultuous, to say the least.  I was hired to take over for a teacher that the kids had basically gotten rid of.  She left without giving any notice and moved to a different state.  These kids were what you would call challenging and I was a 22 year old newlywed fresh out of college.  I had done my student teaching in a Gifted and Talented class of second graders in an affluent area. 

Now my job was teaching sixth grade to low socio-economic students who set out to make teacher’s miserable, if possible.  How do you survive in what seems to be an impossible situation?  You turn to God.  Sometimes you know that you need divine intervention to get through difficult situations.  This was one of those times.  I refused to let those kids win.  I figured out that they really loved being read aloud to, so reading aloud to them on Fridays became a reward for getting through the rest of the week; a reward that they constantly requested and were willing to work for. 

It was never easy, but I knew that with God’s help I could get through this and maybe even help a few of those students to become better readers.     “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” became my daily mantra and is truly the promise from God that I needed to survive that year.  And I did survive and I went on to be a really good teacher, always seeking God’s help. Do you need divine intervention in your daily life? Let God help you today!

 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

 

God's Promises

There was a time in my life when I started having panic attacks.  Physical things were happening and I really thought that a panic attack was too simple an answer for what was going on physically. Doctors couldn’t find any big medical issues, but I became convinced that I was seriously, physically ill and might have been on the verge of having a heart attack at age 33. My physical symptoms were beginning to affect every aspect of my life; I was consumed with fear and I was starting to become depressed.  I had no idea what was happening to me or why.  I was involved in a good church, had good Christian friends and was doing my best to live a Godly life, but my emotions were getting the best of me and in the area of faith, I was failing miserably. 

But… I was still muddling through and trying to read God’s Word and spend time in prayer.  One day when I was at an exceptionally low point I was literally on my living room floor praying and reading and God put a scripture right in front of my face. There it was…my promise from God.  I knew at that point that I was going to get through this trial , as well as others. (I have had to remind myself of the promise that He gave me on that day). Many of us are seeking answers, but where do we go to find those answers? If we don’t spend time in the scriptures we may be missing important answers from Him.  We are missing out on His promises. He spoke directly to me through scripture that day and that has happened often when I have been actively seeking scripture for answers to important life questions, but we have to spend time in the Word with Him.  Seek Him for your answers. 

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Read Jeremiah 29:11-14.   Spend some time in God’s word today.

Be a Doer

Get Started Today

Ecclesiates 11

I had a difficult time putting pen to paper when it came writing a devotional for this week.  Everything I read in the Bible applied directly to me and I was all over the place, (which means it should be easy to come up with several ideas for future devotionals because there are a lot of areas in my life that need work).  I finally decided to share one of my immediate concerns with you.

I decided to retire at the end of the school year in June.  I loved my job, but I drove a far distance, had to get up at 5 am everyday and I was just tired.  I have some things that I would like to do, dreams I would like to chase and hobbies that I would like to pursue.  One of my fears about retirement is that I seem to be able to waste a whole day and not accomplish much, so I have started trying to keep a day planner and actually plan out my days and get some of my want to's penciled in and scheduled on my calendar.  I am trying to make productivity a habit. I am also trying to make reading my Bible a habit and writing these short devotions helps.  I know that I need to get up fairly early in the morning and get my day started and I have scriptural proof!  

I've been reading in Ecclesiates and there it was in verse 11.  I think God is telling me to get up every morning and get started; chase my dreams, make plans, schedule classes and trips!  I know I can't be the only one that struggles with actually getting started.  He wants us to spend time in The Word and spend time with Him.

Start today by getting up early and reading Ecclesiates 11 and spending some time with Him and then make a plan and get busy!

“The secret of getting started is getting started.”

— Mark Twain

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, and whether both will do equally well. Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.    Ecclesiates 11:6-7

Trust in Him

My son loves for me to tell this story; he was 5 years old and we had an appointment at the Texas Medical Center near the Houston Zoo. We had friends with us because after the appointment we were going to spend the day at the zoo. We were two moms from a small town and 4 young children, (moms know how stressful it can be going to a big metropolitan area with 1 baby, 2 toddlers and 1 five year old). We had to drive into the city and park in a parking garage.  After the appointment we were in the elevator heading back to the parking garage when I realized that I had no idea what level we had parked on (and this was before cell phones did anything other than make emergency phone calls, so no taking a picture of your parking spot).  I looked at my friend and asked “Do you know what level we parked on?”  She did not, but my 5 year old son piped up and said, “We parked on level 5 next to a Ford Explorer.” My friend and I both looked at each other and I thought, “Do I really trust a 5 year old to guide us?” I kind of figured that I didn’t really have anything other ideas, he was the only one with any clue where to start looking for the car.  We rode the elevator to level 5, got out and there was the car, right next to a Ford Explorer.  I reluctantly trusted a 5 year, but he was right!

I think sometimes we kind of treat God the same way, instead of trusting God we only follow His guidance and direction when we have no other options and He is our last resort.  We reluctantly trust Him when we know that He has never failed us. God should be our first resort and not our last.  He wants us to trust in Him and seek Him.  God will never steer us in the wrong direction, but we have to seek His wisdom.

Seek God's wisdom in your daily life starting today and trust Him!

Psalms 9:10

Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

All Things Work Together for Good

Romans 8:26-28

We all deal with troubles and challenges each day and sometimes those challenges don’t get resolved overnight.  This has been a rather challenging few months in our family. Last September my husband developed a blood clot and was diagnosed with a blood disorder and then in November my 77 year old mother fell and broke her neck, due to her age and other health factors the best option was for her to stay in a neck brace and give it time to heal.  

My mom went from being totally independent to totally dependent; for several months she had to move in with us.  She is now back in her own house and pretty independent again; she can’t drive and she does have some limitations, but she is so much more independent than she was in the beginning. 

These things have affected my whole family and I know at times it has been difficult for each one of us, but being believers, we know that we are supposed to trust God to give us what we need to handle these situations and to grow from our struggles. 

God has reminded me of His word in Romans 8:26 -28 that tells us that even in our weakness when we don’t know how to pray or what to ask for, that we have the Spirit that intercedes for us.  There have been many times in my life where I have put this to the test.  I have felt helpless and despair and I knew I needed God’s help, but I couldn’t really come up with the words to pray.  I truly believe all we have to do is say “God help me” or call His name and the Spirit will intercede for us when needed. 

In the last several months I have put this to the test once again and God has been faithful. Here we are 9 months later and we can all see light at the end of this challenging tunnel.  My husband is doing well and my mom finds out this week if she can finally take that neck brace off for good and begin some therapy to get stronger and get back to being 100% independent. 

Romans 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

That doesn’t mean that everything is easy and fun, but it does mean that He will take care of us and grow us through the difficulties in life if we only call out to him.  This week when you face challenges just remember God’s promises in Romans 8:26-28 and call out to him.  He will give you what you need!