Category Archives: Prayers

Clearing the path…

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One of the tasks in the milkhouse is carrying out the crates that hold all the bottled milk. These aren’t light, so strong arm muscles are a requirement. As I watched a son struggling with a full crate, I noticed how he took extra steps to avoid tripping over a bucket that had been placed directly in front of the doorway. I thought it was interesting how he never took the time to clear his path to make his walk easier. He just kept avoiding it to get out – even though that meant awkward movements with a heavy load. Me? I would have moved the bucket FIRST – in hopes of smoother sailing with my heavy load. So, I wonder, which perspective is better? Or is it not really about one being “better”, but about what our focus is on?

Since I’m older than my son, I’ve experienced “falls” from not taking the time to prepare. But I could also say that I’ve had scenarios where I’ve spent so much time preparing, that I turned the entire situation to being about me, instead of what needed done. So, while I can see the wisdom in advising my son to clear his path first, I think I should also commend him for not allowing an obstacle to deter him from his task.

Father, thank you for giving me this moment with my son. Thank you for opening my eyes to the beauty of innocence in a world where the push is for our children to be mini-adults before they are ready.  In our urgency to complete the tasks before us, help us to learn how to clear the path to You, so that the obstacles will not hinder us from the REAL task, fulfilling Your Will, not ours. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Father, I echo Paul’s words. May Your Truth continue to make Itself evident to me as I search for You in every moment. AMEN

Redeeming the “nooks & crannies”

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Michael asked me what was wrong the other morning, as I was a bit frazzled & cranky.  Both boys were eating breakfast, but stopped to look at me for my answer.  I started to explain how there are just so many “things” we’re trying to get done right now, but some days it seems like you’re going backwards.  Everything seems to depend on something else to be done FIRST.  I sometimes struggle with where to begin, and in my uncertainty, I allow my circumstances to determine my attitude.

Both boys listened to my ramble & acted as though they understood… Then Michael said he was amazed at all the “nooks & crannies” there were… I smiled.  He WAS listening! 🙂

Made me reflect on my daily prayers.  I KNOW that the Lord is in control.  I KNOW that since I am one of His children, I am on the side of Victory in the end.  I KNOW the words to pray for His Strength to get me through this day, and I KNOW the words to pray at the end of the day to thank Him for helping me throughout the day… SO, why is it, I allow Satan to win in the “nooks & crannies”??   Well, I know the answer to that, too:  Because “we live in the shadow of ‘the fall’.”

Father, I thank you for pointing out that You don’t just want to help me with the overall picture – You care about even the most mundane tasks.  Clarity will come if I allow Your Peace to roadblock Satan’s traps.  Seep into all my “nooks and crannies”, Lord.  May I allow You to help me be victorious in all the little battles throughout my day, and may I remember this lesson, fresh each day.  Amen. 🙂

One of my favorite music groups is Selah.  They sing a song called “Unredeemed”, that I absolutely love, and have on my playlist.  One of my favorite lines is, “We live in the shadow of the fall.  But the cross says these are all:  Places, where grace is, soon to be… so amazing…”  Just thought I’d share the rest of the words.  🙂

The cruelest world
The coldest heart
The deepest wound
The endless dark
The lonely ache
The burning tears
The bitter nights
The wasted years

Life breaks and falls apart
But we know these are
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that’s shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

For every choice that led to shame
And all the love that never came
For every vow that someone broke
And every lie that gave up hope
We live in the shadow of the fall
But the cross says these are all
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that’s shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But you never know the miracle the Father has in store
Just watch and see
It will not be
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

Cute, but NOT REALLY….

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I can’t even begin to tell you the sickening feeling I felt this morning as I walked home after milking. I looked out toward our house & saw a beautifully colored herd of calves IN OUR FRONT YARD DOWN BY THE ROAD!!! I yelled to Mike & our bodies went into “adrenaline mode”… Thankfully, the happy herd came toward ME & away from the road. Our backyard has an old picket fence around three quarters of it, so we managed to get them to go in one of those corners, by our house. The boys and I were able to keep them here while Mike scrambled to put up a temporary fence along the open section.

 

So what did Mike use for the temporary fence?? Extra metal fence posts & old cattle panels from when we took our “eggmobile” apart several years ago. They’ve been “waiting” for us to clean them up, but we hadn’t gotten to that yet…

Once the “fence” was complete, we all felt more secure. If this mini herd decided to run together, at least this should keep them contained in our back yard. Fortunately, all it took was coaxing from the lure of a bottle bucket to get a couple calves following us. The rest followed suit, and all babies are back in their home, safe & sound! 🙂

Dear Father – we are so thankful that none of our calves were hurt this morning as they adventured outside of their fence. Too often we’ve forgotten about the “function” of our picket fence, because we dwell on how it doesn’t “look” nice, with peeling paint & loose boards. You showed us today, the value of its function, and we THANK YOU! It’s so amazing to me how you incorporate our “mistakes” into Your plan. May we not be discouraged with long “to-do” lists, but be encouraged that as long as we do our best to be wise with our moments because we are ALWAYS working for You, You can use ANYTHING to help us.  May this incident cause the four of us to be extra diligent in backing each other’s work up – like double checking gates, so that we don’t repeat this same mistake again. AMEN

 

It’s official: We’ve gone bananas!

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We bought the last of ALL the bananas at our local grocery store this week… Spent an evening peeling & chunking them for freezing.

I guess we should be set to make our kefir shakes for a little while, lol! 🙂

Sadly, our Waynesburg IGA is closing its doors very soon. 😦 Even though we didn’t need to shop here a lot, it sure was nice to have it for when we DID need something.  Ours prayers go out to all the people who have lost their jobs, and for our community – at the loss of another local business.

Thank You, Lord, for sending some rain!

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10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

ISAIAH 55:10-11

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

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Matthew 28:1-7  1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Mark 16:1-8  1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

John 20:1-9   1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Prayer to STAND under temptation

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Father, today I feel pulled to plead with You for strength for those who are overwhelmed with an addiction.  Tears brim so easily as I think of my personal family – where alcohol has destroyed so much.  I want to be angry with You – for repeatedly placing temptation before us – until I remember that I’m falling for an erroneous teaching.  Your Word in James, Chapter 1, says that “each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.” I pray, specifically, that these temptations become more bold & obvious to us – so that it can be clearly & quickly realized the-evil-one is the author.  That it be such a “distaste” to our bodies that we will not waver from finding the “escape route” You promise us in 1 Corinthians 10:13:  “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”  I beg You, Lord, to please intercede for those who need strength to STAND UP.  Break whatever it is that hinders them from coming to & relying on You.

There is such HOPE in YOU – keep me from “being deceived…”. Help me to remember that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  (James 1:16-17)  Strengthen me, O Lord, to persevere in prayer both for my family & others.  May I join with my fellow brothers & sisters in Christ to be Your hands and feet in this dark world.  Amen

Children and sanctification

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Father, in my charge to teach my children how to be respectful in their speech, may I not stomp out the childlike innocence in their ability to see people from Your perspective. There are moments when I curse their timing at inappropriate comments or interruptions – and I think, “I really must work harder at teaching them a better way to speak.”  In so doing, may I not corrupt their minds to look for weakness first.  Allow their simple honesty to keep me humble.  Use them to remind me how to associate people with their abilities instead of their disabilities.  I’m amazed at how You use our children in the role of sanctification!  Thank You, Lord.  Amen

{Prayer inspired after one of my boys associated Joni Eareckson Tada as “that artist” instead of as “a quadriplegic who is a gifted artist”. Both are factual statements, but I was struck at how much more beautiful his perspective was!}

Debris…

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Have you ever seen debris on the ground and thought, “Someone should really pick that up,” and then walk right by it?  I HAVE

Have you ever seen debris on the ground and thought, “That would be a good chore for someone else to do,” and then forget to ask them but still not take care of it yourself?  I HAVE

Have you ever gotten irritated with someone else because they didn’t do what you never asked them to, but neither did you?  I HAVE

The Lord put me in my place this week.  As I settled in to do an undesirable task, I had the beginnings of resentment & self-pity brewing in my mind.  I was refilling our bird suet log feeders – a VERY MESSY job, and I was having some difficulty with it.  I knew the direction my mind was going was NOT GOOD, so I looked UP out of desperation AND for strength.  (A habit we are all trying to get into…)

Psalm 121

 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
   where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.

 3 He will not let your foot slip—
   He who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, He who watches over Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

 5 The LORD watches over you—
   the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
   He will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
   both now and forevermore.

What did the Lord focus my eyes on as I glanced back toward my project?  THE DEBRIS IN MY DRIVEWAY THAT I HAVE BEEN NEGLECTING ALL WEEK!

Many vehicles come in and out of our driveway, and sometimes things fall out when doors open.  Well, there has been a plastic knife laying in our driveway, but I have been TOO LAZY to pick it up each time I have walked by it.  Instead, I would think about it, delegate it in my mind, and ultimately:  do nothing about it.  I couldn’t help but smile, as I realized that, yes, the Lord was using TRASH to teach me a lesson, lol!  You see, the problem I was having with refilling my feeders, had to do with breaking the replacement suet into small enough chunks to fit into the holes on the log.  The suet was still hard enough that I could not use my hands to break it up.  My hands were “suet-ty” and I didn’t want to go back in the house… SO, you guessed it – I went & got that plastic knife from the driveway, and it worked like a charm!  🙂

Lord, thank You for having such great patience with me!  I’m ashamed at how often I allow my selfish & lazy attitude to keep me from doing what I know is right.  I love Your sense of humor – that You can use “debris” to crack my stubborn pride.  Strengthen my hands, O Lord, to focus more on what I can change about myself to be more like Jesus, rather than how I think You need to change other people.  I also realize that unless I can progress in these “little scenarios”, You cannot entrust to me the larger tasks for Your Kingdom.  I can see the blessings in being refined – USE ME LORD, TO FULFILL YOUR WILL.  Amen.