A talk with God

Prayer: noun  /prer/ an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought

Each night when it is bedtime, the 3 littles and I all pile on my bed, talk about our "hi-low" parts of our day, and then we each take a turn and pray. Each one of them, including myself, pray the exact same thing every single night. When it comes to my prayer with them, I will pray for specific things for each of them, but for the most part, I pray the same things each night.  

                                                 

                                                     I struggle with this on a daily basis.

                                                              I am going to be real.  

I don't know how to pray.  Is there a correct way to pray? To be honest, I am not quite sure. You and I may have a conversation with one another and you could share your struggles with me, ask me to pray for you and I'd say that I'd be more than happy and willing too. However, beyond that point, I become at a loss for words. How do I pray for my friend?  I have no clue; and that makes me sad.

I then bring myself back to the realization of that, well, our thoughts to the Lord are our prayers, my prayers. He knows them before I speak them silently from my mouth.  He knows our every thought before they are even thought (if that doesn't just blow you away, because I sure do think A LOT!) 

As I drove into downtown this morning, I was reminded from a song, "when you don't know what to say, and the words won't come, just say Jesus."

                                                                     JESUS  

What an awesome reminder that we, I, don't need a proper prayer, there is no right or a wrong way to pray We can speak his sweet name, and HE knows our hearts.

I pray you will be blessed and encouraged today.

Blessings!

XO

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  Romans 8:26

We all need rest

I haven't posted anything in the past few weeks because, well, my heart has been a little heavy.  I have been trying to be inspired or "search" for the correct thing to talk about and it just never came to me; until this morning.

A very dear friend of mine (K) sent me a message out of the blue this morning and said, "I woke up with you on my heart, is everything okay?"  I responded to her, thanking her for reaching out, that in fact, I was not doing that well.  I shared my heart and we left it at that. I know this friend, without a doubt is praying for me, and I for her, and in 3 weeks when we chat again, we'll pick right back up where we left off!

On my drive to work, I frequently listen to praise and worship, and consider this my alone time with God. Because as you know, with 4 kids, it can sometimes be difficult to have "quiet, alone time" with Him. So this morning, after responding to (K's) message and on my way into downtown, I let my guard down. I began to reflect on my response to her about what was going on in my life. I began to pray and meditate, and sing, not so quietly to the Lord.  My heart has been heavy for quite sometime now, for someone very dear to me, someone who is very much loved. He has been going through a difficult time. His disappointment has become my disappointment, and when he is discouraged, I've become discouraged. I feel I am in constant prayer for the situation at hand, sometimes finding myself asking God, WHY? Why can't this situation be turned around? When will his situation get better? It HAS to get better! It can't get any worse than this, or can it God? And then as I continued my drive, I felt this sense of peace come over me ... these burdens that I have been carrying for my loved one, the heaviness that I've had on my heart for weeks, and even some sleepless nights should be placed out of my mind because God is already carrying these burdens. 

He says in Matthew 11:28-29 "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  

Just as I have carried a heavy heart, I was reminded today there is no need too.  I know that our God is in control of this situation, and although "I" "we" "he" wants this fixed now, we both know that it will all be in God's timing and His is ALWAYS better than ours.  

Blessings!

XO

Patience little one

I do not have patience. Let me repeat. I. DO. NOT. HAVE. PATIENCE.

                                                           Oy.

How I do wish I had this gift that so many do have.

I am a goal setter. A go "getter". A, things need to be done right now type of person only in some aspects in my life. Maybe some of you have that type of personality as well. On the other side of that personality of mine, I am laid back, a tad high maintenance every now and then, and shy especially if I don't know you.

But let's get back to this patience thing. I just don't have it and it is something I am beginning to yearn for. I am finding it is doing me more harm than good. It is becoming a huge obstacle for me to overcome. I want to be able to do everything in my time. To get it done. To take my own path and not wait on God. God knows my heart and your heart. He knows every desire we long for even before we speak of it.  He knows our needs and he knows our selfish wants. But what God wants from us is to be patient in these things, and  if it is His one and only will, things will come to pass. He wants us to have dreams too! One of my dreams? Crazy and weird as it may sound is to have a classic southern home, with navy blue shutters and wrap around porch. An acre of land with a few goats and a cow with no name (because we'd eventually kill the cow for meat, it's cheaper with a large family, and Josh and I will definitely have a LARGE family) But that is besides the point. 

All of my girls have the "Jesus Calling" devotional by Sarah Young.  It is an amazing feeling knowing that all 3 girls are in God's word daily, reading the same thing as me all on their very own level. Last night Lily asked if she could read hers aloud before bedtime. Well it was late and I was growing rather impatient that the 2 little girls and my little mister were still wide awake and I snapped and said no!  Their faces of disappointment grew and I withdrew my "no" to a sure, but "hurry up (which that is another topic I'll touch on another day), it is past your bedtime!"  God spoke to me right there. It was like a slap in the face. Ouch. Lily began to read and it was like God knew EXACTLY what I needed to hear. 

From Jesus Calling, January 9 "I AM WITH YOU AND FOR YOU. When you decide on a course of action that is in line with My will, nothing in heaven or on earth can stop you."   "Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come. One of the main ways I assert My sovereignty is in the timing of events. If you want to stay close to Me and do things My way, ask Me to show you the path forward moment by moment. Instead of dashing headlong toward your goal, let Me set the pace. Slow down, and enjoy the journey in My Presence."

My prayer today is this: That I will stop trying to persuade God of the things I want. He knows my wants, my needs and my heart. He has MY best interests at hand. He has mapped out my life. All I need to do is open my heart to the path he has laid out for me and join Him on it. To be patient. It is not my timing, but His.  

Blessings!