Prayer

 

How is your prayer life? My family regards itself as prayer warriors. I’m sure you’ve heard the term. It means someone who reaches for prayer as their first line of defense. Someone who falls into conversation easily with Christ in times of rejoicing and trouble.

One of the pastors I was listening to this weekend freely admitted he had a rocky prayer life. His theory was that even for Bible-toting Christians, prayer becomes difficult because we need to see instant results. We pray for a medical miracle and the patient passes. We pray for a promotion at work, and we are passed over. We pray for a child, like Zechariah and Elizabeth, and we do not conceive.

What we fail to recognize is that the patient we prayed for was in pain and needed relief. We were not prepared for the promotion or needed a nudge to leave a company that was not ever going to use our talents. Perhaps there is another child looking for parents, or, like Elizabeth and Zechariah, you are destined to become parents later in life.

In Luke 1:13(NIV) …. Your prayer has been heard …

 

YOUR prayer. All of your prayers. Everyday. Talk to Christ today. He hears your prayers. He sees your tears and hears you crying out.

What does it take to be a prayer warrior? Ten minutes per day? 20 minutes per day? Or the ability to unleash the mightiest weapon we have at our disposal throughout the day as needed in rejoicing and in need. Your prayer will be heard.

#In Remembrance

 

Veterans Hospitals

Several years ago,  I went to the Veterans Administration hospital with my father-in-law. We were spending a lot of time there  - and to be honest when I left the house, it was just another appointment. This visit was quicker than most though and when we came downstairs to wait for my son to bring the car around, a man just seemingly appeared before me.
I never saw him come through the door - probably because I wasn't looking - but the logical mind says he had to enter that way. Pushing a wheelchair before him, he backed it into a corner to stabilize it before turning to sit. Glowing with a smile the size of Texas, he commented on the weather and then asked if we had taken part in any of the Pearl Harbor Commemorations. Shaking my head "no," he continued saying he was a part of a group of survivors who go to an adult daycare center in the area. Speaking about Pearl Harbor, his mood changed dramatically, but his eyes were still bright and beautiful behind long lashes.
Our exchange was short. Too short. He was a man I would have liked to have had a conversation with and gotten to know. His memories burn bright and his loyalty strong, even though age was taking its toll.
There are many more men and women - modern soldiers -in uniform today - with the same loyalty beating within their chests. They wear the uniform out of patriotism.
They do not wear the uniform to fight. They wear the uniform to spread freedom and stop the outrageous treatment of fellow human beings.
During the Vietnam war, protesters spit on returning soldiers. Today, history has repeated itself. Protesters are once again spitting on soldiers serving at the behest of their government.
Protest the war. Write your Congressman, but don't spit on patriots. Tell them thank you for providing the blanket of safety you sleep soundly under tonight.

Searching for Grace

 

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”  Romans 5:1(NIV)

 

Have you ever been at a juncture in your Christian walk where you doubted God’s grace covered the sin you had committed?

As I recounted in an earlier blog, Church Is Full of Hypocrites, I can assure you, this is what kept my father from entering the doors of a church for years. It wasn’t only because of his sins, but what he outwardly judged as the sins of others. He had the impression that you had to be in a state of perfection to sit in a pew. Wrongfully so, I might add.

I experienced this phenomenon at a very young age. I truly believed all the adults in my life were perfect. At the age of five, I was given a live gift of several ducklings to take care of. My greatest wish was to see them swim. Slipping out back one morning to dutifully feed them and see if I could interest them in swimming, I inadvertently drowned one of the ducklings. I tried frantically to revive it. I knew I had to face my parents, and on trembling legs, I did so. I had taken a life.

You do not have to attend church long to know that taking a life is not a sin easy for man to forgive, what would God think of me? I was deeply ashamed. A miracle happened when confessing with a trembling voice. My earthly parents met the news of my sin with love, understanding, and forgiveness.

Grace is a concept hard for many of us to grasp. Have you ever tried to do something for someone, a co-worker or a neighbor out of the goodness of your heart and because they were not Christians, they were suspicious of your motives? I’ve had this happen several times. I bring this up now because grace is offered to us from God in just that situation, with no strings attached:

1.      There is not one person on earth that deserves grace.

2.      We cannot earn grace. Not by good works, by being a good person, or by a large bank account.

3.      Grace is there for the taking … for everyone. It doesn’t matter what corner of the world we live in; the good news is here for everyone! Each one of us comes to grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are justified through the blood. You see, Christ’s crucifixion was not the ending of a story, the end of a thirty-three-year life, it is the completion of a promise. God sacrificed his son for our salvation. Christ knew of his destiny, and he went willingly. None of us deserve the sacrifice, yet we have received it freely. Christ’s crucifixion is the beginning of a beautiful story of love.

“This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans3:22-24

 

Do you feel separated from God in your life at this moment? Fear not. There are times in each of our lives when we become separated from our Lord and Savior. Perhaps you just became busy, involved in this modern life, disinterested, or angry over a situation that truly had nothing to do with God. God is waiting next to you now.

Please remember: It is always us that has moved, not God. He stays with us, waiting for us to reach out and take his hand once more. Grace awaits each one of God’s children.

Today:

1.      Begin reading your Bible again. Do you have a favorite passage, or are you new at reading the Bible? Just sit down and open it up. God will guide you. Read a bit each day.

2.      Pray each day. A few moments in prayer can heal your heart and soul. Just speak with God as if he is an old friend: He is.

When you feel ready, either go into a service near you or call a Pastor at a nearby church to learn more about their services and what they believe. They will be there to welcome you when you come in the following Sunday

The Five Magic of Sleep -Steps for Newborns

    For Nine months, we sleep and play undisturbed, floating in a temperature-controlled medium, eating at will, lights on dim with noise kept to a comfortably low constant hum, our mother's pleasant voice, the tinkle of her laughter ... ah,'

All of that changes in a cold splash of steel and bright lights, and noise, and if we aren't cooperative, I hear a quick slap to the patoot!

   I'm pretty sure all I would want to do would be sleep for the next few months. After bringing home six little ones from this tortuous adventure, I can assure you, their ability to sleep seems to dissolve about the time you leave the hospital and you walk through the door to your home.

 If you're anything like many parents I've known, this is when you start to doubt your ability to parent.

Let me stop you right there. I assure you, all you need is love and your instincts. If you have those two things, you're good to go.

Your baby wants to return to what he/she had. So ... give it to him.  Within reason. I will explain. You have to attend to your baby while also looking after yourself.

TRUE:

You cannot spoil a newborn by holding it too much.

However, you can wear yourself out, make yourself a nervous wreck and make the baby so nervous it won't sleep. So, if you have done the following things:

1. Given the baby a warm, soothing bath. (If you can, there are baby baths with lavender or chamomile which help promote sleep);

2. Put a clean onesie or pajama and diaper on the baby, according to the weather and heat in the house;

3. Dimmed the lights in their separate room. Yes, separate if you can do so. It will be okay. Make sure the crib or bassinet is to code. If you need help purchasing one, there is help out there! Your baby's safety is paramount when sleeping!

4. Be flexible, yet consistent with sleep/naptimes. I know this sounds confusing, but early on, the baby will eat often. Depending upon breastfed or bottle-fed will determine how much (or how long) you need to feed. After you hit the nutritional limit for your baby's age, the baby is not eating for nutritional requirements. It is eating for comfort. You must not allow them to do this.

 If they need a little bit of mom in a rocker, give them mom in a rocker. 

If they are older and they need a little bit of mom on the floor to play and some floor exercise, give them mom on the floor for some floor exercise!

Make sure the errands YOU want to run do not interfere with the nap schedule baby sets for himself.. If you do, the baby will get overtired, he will cry uncontrollably and for the rest of the day, you will have trouble relaxing the baby and getting him back on feeding/sleeping routines, depending upon how easy of a baby he is. The bright side: This stage only lasts until they are out of the house.

5. Start early restricting electronics in the bedroom. No t.v.s for noise. No screens at all that emit blue light. If you have older children that can be propped, avoid the impulse to prop them in front of the television or an iPad, or your telephone to watch a program. Not only is it unnecessary, but it is also lazy and will deplete their focus on other things in the long run. I am convinced as an educator that this is the way we have bred our children not to be able to sit and focus on seatwork by the time they get into school.

After you have done these Fice Easy Steps To Sleep for both of you, if they fail, and there are nights or days when they will; When you cannot hold them or do one more thing for them, lay them down. It doesn't do Mom or Dad or Gram or Baby any good to be wound up beyond all measure.

One of the first pieces of advice I gave each of my children as they brought my precious grands home is that you don't want to get so upset that you can't control what you do. Lay that baby down. Put baby in the crib. Let it cry. A baby comes to no harm crying. They learn to self-soothe. It is an ability we all have to learn at some point in our lives.

Take it from me, new parents, you're doing fine. Do everything you do for your child in a spirit of love. Everything will work out in the end. The adventure will be amazing.

A Prayer for October

 Almighty God,

October is filled

with beauty and blessings.

May I never

take the wonder 

of your creation

for granted.

ANONYMOUS

Church is Full of Hypocrites

 The church is full of hypocrites. 

There, I said it, or rather, my Dad said it. It was one of his "Dadisms" whenever I asked him to attend church with our family. Exasperated one day, I asked him what he meant. Dad was a kind man. To many, who liked to judge, he hadn't lived a "Christian" life.

All of his missteps had been on the outside. You see, Dad was an alcoholic. Having alcoholism makes you act out in a certain way at times. For some people, if you are normally hard-working, can make your work history sporadic. It can make you do things out of character to get money for alcohol because that is all-consuming, your guiding star. Unless Jesus is put in that driver's seat, Alcohol sits there and commands your mind. That isn't what this article is about though. Not really. 

It is about judgment. The judgment Dad made about Church folks. I've got a whole different lecture about the judgment church folk made on my father, believe me!

Anyway, Once I understood that Dad thought everyone going to church thought themselves blameless and without sin. I understood some things. He thought that also. He thought SOME of the people sitting in those pews were sinless. Any student of the word, KNOWS  that to be false. I told him, we sit in those pews because we all sin. 

 I KING 8:46 "WHEN THEY SIN AGAINST YOU -FOR THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES NOT SIN..."

The other enlightenment I had was that because he believed that you had to be pure before you entered a church, he didn't feel he was worthy to do so. Even though, he knew from personal experience there were people sitting in those pews not living the life Christ prescribed because they were persecuting him and making him not feel worthy.

Let me caution you that some of us wear our sins on the outside and some on the inside. If you are living your life for Christ, the gift he gives you is for discernment, not for judgment. There is a difference that I caution you about, dear brothers and sisters.

If you are sitting there today at home not feeling worthy of joining in worship because someone has shamed you for your lifestyle or for a disease, or for any other sin against man or God, I say come. Shame on that Christian. It is not your cross to bear. We all stand before God only to answer for our own individual sins. You should be welcome in the house of God.

Creative Corner

Congratulations to OMAR ABED

upon publication of his book, You, Me, and a Tree.

Two people care for a seed as it grows into a tree. In return, the tree nurtures their relationship!

www.kaileipewbooks.com

#PB23BUNCH