Thankful Thursday ~ the gift of prayer

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you…” 1 Samuel 13:23a

Flowers, cards, gifts, love notes, chocolates, date night all tell us it’s Valentine’s Day. How do you and your husband celebrate Valentine’s Day, or, do you celebrate Valentines’ Day?

At the very beginning of our relationship my husband & I agreed we wouldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. It’s not that we don’t celebrate our love for each other b/c we do many times throughout the year. It’s just that when we were poor college kids we didn’t have the money to get caught up in the expense of celebrating Valentine’s Day. Now, 19 years later we are still very aware of the expense that many people put into Valentine’s Day but we choose a different way to celebrate our love for each other.

One of the ways I celebrate my love for my husband is to pray for him. A few years ago as I read through the book The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian I wrote a series on Praying for our Husbands.

Praying for our Husbands - As Spiritual Leader

Praying for our Husbands - His Responsibilities

Praying for our Husbands - Intimacy & Affection

 

When I pray for my husband I give him one of the best gifts I can ever give him. Each day he faces challenges. When I pray for him I help give him the strength he needs to face those challenges.

Do you pray for your husband daily? Would you take some time tonight over dinner or after the kids have gone to bed and ask him how you can pray for him? You will be amazed how much your prayers will mean to him.

As I concluded my series on praying for our husbands my husband Jeff shared what it meant to have me praying for him. You can read his perspective here.

Are you unable to ask your husband how you can pray for him? Stormie Omartian’s book The Power of a Praying Wife is a great resource.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

·      Thank God for the ways your husband blesses you.

·      Ask God to give him the strength to make the right decisions.

·      Ask God to guard his heart & mind from the temptations he faces everyday.

·      Ask God to strengthen him to follow the path God has laid before him.

·      If he is an unbeliever pray that he will open his heart to God’s Saving Grace.

As you pray for your husband pray also that you will be the Godly wife God has called you to be. Seek His will & direction for your marriage.

Is there a way I can pray for you? I would be honored to pray for you and your marriage. Leave me a message telling me how I can pray for you.

Continuing the Joy Dare #1060 - #1065:

·      Another year celebrating the life of my husband

·      A life that is lived 100% to honor & glorify God

·      A Man after God’s Own Heart

·      A faithful husband

·      A father who loves his children & desires to raise them according to God’s Will

·      A loyal Friend

Taking the Joy Dare of counting 1000 gifts with Ann at A Holy Experience 

In His Calm,

Mary

Refocus ~ Sanctuary

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“Lord, prepare me to be a Sanctuary, Pure & Holy, Tried & True. And with Thanksgiving, I’ll be a living Sanctuary for you.”

Over the years the name for the place of worship in a Church has changed from Sanctuary to Worship Center. I haven’t embraced that change easily. In my mind a Sanctuary is a place of reverence & honor. When we worship God we show Him reverence & honor. For me a Worship Center seemed less formal & more relaxed…in a way less honoring.

As my personal walk with Christ grew I realized it’s not about the name of where I worship or the style of my worship, it’s about the attitude of my heart.

·      My heart must kneel before God in Honor & Reverence.

·      My heart must be willing to bow before Him humbly laying before Him my sin, my pain & my fear.

·      My heart must be willing to hear what He has to say.

There are days when my heart is not the sanctuary it should be. This morning was one of those days. I was frustrated, impatient & unhappy.

After walking a bit too loud & closing doors a bit too hard I sat in my car & took a deep breath. Ugh!

I began praying Psalm 19:14

Lord, “May the words of my mouth (and my actions) and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock & my redeemer”.

As I prayed, the lyrics to the song Sanctuary came to my mind. As I sang the song I felt my tension ease & my mind settle as I began to Refocus my heart & mind on Christ.

My heart, mind & body are a Sanctuary to God. When I am frustrated & unhappy I am not pleasing Him by acting & saying things that don’t honor him.

Some days I must, minute by minute Refocus my heart & mind on Him, other days it is much easier.

When my attitude & heart are focused on worshipping God my body becomes His Sanctuary, “pure & holy, tried & true”.

These days whether the place I worship is called a Sanctuary or Worship Center no longer takes center stage. What I am focused on is an attitude of praise, thanksgiving & worship.

What is the attitude of your heart, mind & body?

Do your actions & words please & honor God?

I am linked today with Melanie at Only a Breath for her One Word Linkup party.

In His Calm,

Mary

Thankful Thursday ~ Under the raindrops

Rainy days...

When they come we duck & cover our heads in protection from the falling drops that mess up what we spent so long perfecting that morning.

We run for cover to get out of the soaking, cold rain instead of standing under it & allowing it to seep into the deepest parts of our shoes.

When the rainy days of life come do we duck & cover our heads protecting ourselves & our lives from what's sure to topple our perfectly put together lives?

Do we run for cover to get out of the soaking, cold rain that will shake us to our very core...or do we reach out for God's Hand of Protection?

• the hand that lovingly reaches down to guide us to His Path and His Protective Covering

• the Hand of The Potter that Molds us and Makes us.

"But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the LORD. ' Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.'" Jeremiah 18:4-6

God brings rainy days into our lives that topple the idols we build.

God brings rainy days into our lives to melt our hearts of stone.

God brings rainy days into our lives in order to strip away the barriers that keep us from seeing Him and reaching out to Him.

Sweet sister won't you see these rainy days as God's way of reshaping you...reshaping you into the woman He knows is best.

Reach out to him in the rain and grab tight to His Hand of Protection and Grace.

Continuing the Joy Dare #1051- #1059

• an afternoon of fun at the park & playing in the woods with friends
• the season of life when I can sit on a park bench & catch up with a friend while the kids play
• baseball & softball signups
• crisp, cool winter mornings
• unexpected phone calls
• following God in the midst of the unknown
• the hope of something new
• discipling a sister in Christ
• moving on despite the pain of loss

Taking the Joy Dare of counting 1000 gifts with Ann at A Holy Experience 

In His Calm,

Mary

Marriage Monday Flashback ~ Giving it all to Jesus

 Life has been busy the last few days and I have needed to spend time with my husband & children. As I minister to them I wanted to share with you a post from 2011.

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"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7

Something caught my eye as I was sitting at my computer early one morning. First I saw a quick, small shadow flash out of the corner of my eye. When I looked I didn't see anything so I went back to my reading. Just a few minutes later I saw another flash of a small shadow out of the corner of the same eye. Again, when I looked I saw nothing. Then again a few minutes later I saw the same flash. This time when I turned my head I spied the shadow. It was a small spider not any bigger than the nail on my pinky. It was scurrying around all over the other side of the windowpane next to me. I watched it for a little while and wondered what it was up to. I really have never seen a spider move so quickly and sporadically. I thought at first it was spinning a web but it wasn't. It just appeared to be scurrying around aimlessly.

As I watched the sporadic movements I started thinking about how in our marriages we can sometimes be like that spider. When we have issues in our marriage we sometimes wander aimlessly flitting from one place to another searching for answers never to find them. 

• We look to the world or someone else to fill the void in a loveless marriage.
• We lash out at our husband thinking if we hurt him the hurt he has caused will go away.
• We go on a shopping spree blowing the budget because our husband doesn't see the importance of a budget and we are tired of fighting about it. 

Does this sound like you? Do you feel like that spider? Do you feel like you are running yourself ragged trying to fix the problems in your marriage? Are you tired of trying with all your might to make things right only to fall on your face in frustration or failure?

Oh sweet sister there is a way to stop scurrying around. There is a way to fix the problem. That way is JESUS. Turn it over to HIM. Whatever problem you have in your marriage give it to the One you LOVES you. Our verse today tells us to "present our request to him". You may be to the point where you are at your whits end. Its ok if you cry or scream. You can talk to Jesus however you need to talk to Him. The point is turning it over to Him. He knows what you need and He LOVES you. When you lay it in His Hands completely he WILL give you the peace you need. And He WILL get you through it!

I would love to pray for you. Please leave me a comment and let me know how I can pray for you and your marriage.

Refocus ~ Focusing on The Cross

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:1-2

Where is your focus? Upon what are your eyes fixed?

Do you see the dream God has given you clearly before you or do you see a blurry figment of your dream?

Oh so easily we become distracted by the things around us. We take our eyes off God, instead looking to people around us for the answers and direction we seek. We loose sight of the dream God placed in our hearts. The busyness & needs of those around us distract our mind & thoughts. Flashy lifestyles & desire for power lure us from the true focus of God's plan & call for our lives.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles".

What or who hinders you from pursuing the dream and call God placed on your life? What sin has entangled you, blurring the vision of the dream God placed in your life? What do you need to "throw off" that is keeping you from finishing the race God has called you to?

"...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."

The dream God gives us may not be reached with a fast sprint. It may be a marathon in which we must persevere and pace ourselves. There may be times when we become tired, lose our focus & stray off the path. But God has surrounded us with a "great cloud of witnesses" who will be there to encourage & strengthen us and point us back to the path that God has placed before us. Do you have someone-mentor who will come along side you and help point you back to the dream God placed in your heart?

Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. He endured the shame, discouragement, pain & heartbreak of the Cross for us and NEVER lost sight of the plan God had for His Life!

When we keep our eyes focused on Him & The Cross we will not lose sight of the dream God placed on our lives.

Have you lost focus on the dream God placed in your life? What do you need to do in order to refocus on The Cross & the dream?

In His Calm,


Mary