Author Archives: Marie

Unknown's avatar

About Marie

Happily married to the same awesome guy for many years. Love God, reading, cats, and travel. Avid crafter especially counted cross stitch and crochet.

5 Prayer Prompts

Posted on by

holding-hands-752878_960_720

Do you have times when what to pray evades?  Of course you do.  I do.  Everyone does.  There are many ways and methods of prayer.  Spoken.  Written.  Thought.  There are acronyms to keep us focused and cover all the things we ‘should’.  (ACTS – Acclamation Contrition Thanksgiving Supplication   PRAY – Praise Repent Access Yield)  How about just going before the Throne and giving God all that’s on, or in, your mind/heart.  Here are some ideas:

Tiny Praying HandsA prayer totally devoted to thanks for His provision.  Do one for each letter of the alphabet.  This could become quite long since He gives us EVERYTHING!

Tiny Praying HandsPrayers for someone who is causing you problems.  Not just what is happening on the surface but the whole story.  Dig in and lay it out.  Like King David did in some of the Psalms.  Don’t forget your part in it.

Tiny Praying HandsPray for our country and its leaders, its people, its problems, its challenges…

 

Tiny Praying HandsPraise Him!  Close the door and sing His praise.  Not just one song but maybe a whole CD.  Write a poem.  Take a walk and focus on His creation.  Draw.  Paint.  Sculpt.

Tiny Praying HandsCall a friend! (Matthew 18:19)  Grab your prayer lists, find a quiet place, and lay it all before God.  Agree before hand to stay totally focused on God.

Pray On prayer warriors.  God wants to hear and respond.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers, incline Your ears, and grant us Your peace.  Help us as we strive to experience Your presence.  Let our prayers and our words be a pleasant fragrance before Your Throne.  Make it so in Jesus name.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

God’s To-Do List

Posted on by

wood-721871_960_720

What if God kept a list?  A ‘to-do’ list of sorts?  I’m sure if He did he would have every name of every person that has ever been.  Let’s clear this up.  God does NOT keep a list.  Both the Old and New Testament attest to that.

“But I, yes I, am the one
    who takes care of your sins—that’s what I do.
    I don’t keep a list of your sins.”   Isaiah 43:25

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.     1 Corinthians 13:5-7 

But what if He did keep a list?  Might it look like this?

Adam     Loved & Forgiven

Eve     Loved & Forgiven

Jael     Loved & Forgiven (Judges 4:21)

David     Loved & Forgiven

Daniel     Loved & Forgiven

The Disciples of Jesus     Loved & Forgiven

The Woman at the Well     Loved & Forgiven

Everyone     Loved

All Believers     Loved & Forgiven

Did you catch that?  Everyone is loved by God.  His heart is broken by those who refuse to believe.  Those who will not recognize they are sinners…  Those who simply say there is no God…   Those who say I am more important, intelligent, talented…than the Great I AM…

Even though God does not keep lists, He loves and wants to forgive every person.  He will!  All we need to do is ask.

Abba, Father, give me a heart to reach out to those who do not know You.  Grant me the ability to know when I should share Your love and what I should share of Your Message.  Let me love like You and forgive with total forgetfulness.  Make it so in the Precious Name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

Signs

Posted on by

Sign Collage

Look around!  They’re everywhere!  Stop signs.  Sale signs.  Billboards.  Not just ‘man’ signs.  God did some pretty spectacular ones.  The rainbow.  The Babe in the manger.  Reversing the sun.  What?  Take a look at Isaiah 38:7-8.

Here’s the story in a nutshell.

~Hezekiah got sick.  Isaiah went to visit him and told him he was going to die.

~Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed, pointing out his righteous life.  He asked for nothing.

~God heard his prayer and gave him 15 more years.

~God said he would give Hezekiah a sign to assure Hezekiah He could and would do what He said He could.  God moved the sun’s shadow 10 notches backward on the sundial.  The near impossibility of that happening then or even now is astronomical.   Even though the people of that time believed the sun moved around the earth it was till going to be a really big event.

Are you watching for His signs?  (I’m not really referring to end times here.)  When God wants our attention He can use several ways to get it.  Working/speaking through other believers – Isaiah spoke God’s message to Hezekiah.  Motivation to pray and seek answers – Hezekiah turned to the wall, toward God in prayer.  Everyday activities, like watching television or listening to music, will start pointing you in the direction God wants you to go.  Discomfort/sickness – Hezekiah was on his death bed.  God signs are visible but we must be watching, waiting, and ready.  All we have to do is look!

Ah, Lord God, open my eyes, my ears, my heart, my mind to where You are working and what You want me to see.  Give me the ability to take all that is going on around me and see it through Your eyes.  Let me hear Your voice as I try to determine the right response.  Give me wisdom and knowledge to see it Your way.  Make it so in Jesus Name.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

I am a part of Holly Garth’s Launch Team for her new book, You’re Already Amazing.  From time to time you will see some of her work in this spot on the blog.  Enjoy it with me.  She is a very gifted writer for such a time as this.

With Jesus

You can also find this post in Pondering and Prayer.

Abba’s Child | Book Review

Posted on by

Abba's ChildDo you wonder about God’s personal love for us?  Do you have a background of little to no love as a child and have always been searching for it?  Are you a perfectionist with thoughts of I’m just not good enough?  This book might be for you.

God’s love (and grace) has nothing to do with not living up to your own or other’s expectations.  It is simple in its complexity.  It has little, to nothing, to do with you/me and everything to do with the One who forgave every complex bit of ourselves on the cross.  We are so wrapped up in what we think is expected that we choose to lay the burden on others and of course the media.  He loves us and He wants us to converse (i.e., pray) with Him without judging ourselves or letting others judge us.

This book is really about understanding the characteristics that are not particularly valued in our society.  Love, gentleness, lowliness, humility, sharing, tenderness, caring and more.  We have grown up thinking self-sufficiency is of the utmost importance not realizing that the far more important concept (to use an overused cliché) is to ‘let go and let God’.

Forgiveness is another of the characteristics that is not valued.  The book goes into great detail on this subject.  It is impossible to be considered Abba’s Child if we do not learn to forgive.  Whether it is a personal affront, abuse, a legacy of racism, or any other sin against us Jesus says to forgive just like we would be expected to be forgiven.

Abba’s Child is an excellent study in understanding how love, grace, and forgiveness work together.  I highly recommend this book.  It should be read by and on the bookshelves of every believer.

One last thought…Let yourselves be loved!

A copy of this book was provided for me by Tyndale Blog Review Network/NavPress.  No other remuneration was received.  The thoughts and ideas in this review are entirely my own and are based totally on the book.  If you click on the book picture it will take you to NavPress where you can purchase the book. (I am not an affiliate of this company and receive nothing from them for this option.)

I WILL SING

Posted on by

Let me sing to God all my life long

When are you most happy? Content? Calm?  Are you like David and know God’s closeness and approval through music?

There is a continual musical theme throughout the Bible.  From God speaking the world/universe into order (Which can also be translated ‘singing’.) to the Heavenly Host at the birth of Christ, to the massed choirs of Heaven singing at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.  From Bach to Mozart to Beethoven…Casting Crowns to Selah to Matt Maher it’s all pleasing to Him.

God loves a good song!  For Him.  To Him.  About Him.  He has surrounded Himself with choirs of angels.  He hears the beauty, joy, peace, sadness, melancholy, and delight of each note and sound.  He loves it!

Abba, hear my song.  Let each note, each phrase, each verse be pleasing to Your ears.  Let my life be a continual song of praise to You!  Make it so, Lord!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

You can also find this post in Pondering and Prayer.