Never lose sight...

No matter the circumstances, never lose sight of the victories.

Remind yourself of the many times that God has proven Himself faithful and praise Him that His mercies are new every morning - stir up a grateful heart as you enter into His gates for a minute of praise.

Taken from Darlene McCarty's One Minute of Praise

Lifting Hands

On the parents' prayer blog, I've picked a theme for the month of July.  Following Stormie's 18th chapter in The Power of a Praying Parent, July's weekly prayers are focused on praying through our children's rooms.

"Everyone's house needs a spiritual houseclaning from time to time, especially in the rooms where our children sleep and play.  The Bible says if we bring anything detestable into our homes, we bring destruction along with it.  A holy housecleaning should be done periodically as a matter of principle, but definitely whenever you feel troubled by something in your child.  If he or she is becoming fearful, rebellious, angry, depressed, distant, strange, a disciplinary proglem, or having bad dreams and nightmares, sometimes simply praying through the room can change things quickly.  Singing Christian songs, humns, and worship choruses in the room is also very effective."  Stormie Omartian, ch 18

Enter of the rooms of your child(ren) and pray this prayer:

Crowd out any darkness which seeks to impose itself here, and let no spirits of fear, depression, anger, doubt, anxiety, rebelliousness, or hatred (name anything you've seen manifested in your child's behavior) find any place here. I pray that You, Lord, will make this room a holy place, sanctified for Your glory.


"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil." Isaiah 1:16

May we join our hearts together in prayer, by lifting our hands and raising our voices to the One True God for the sake of our children.

Here's the link.

Thursday - The National Day of Prayer

(This is a commercial from last year, so the date at the end is wrong)

Not sure where to start? Here is the prayer guide featured on my county's National Day of Prayer website.



PRAY FOR PERSONAL RENEWAL AND MORAL AWAKENING
Ask God to help us:

• confess our sinfulness
• seek His direction
• obey His commands
• rely on Him instead of ourselves
• Reach out to others in love and kindness

PRAY FOR CHURCHES AND MINISTRY ORGANIZATIONS
Ask God to help them:

• stand strong in their convictions
• be bold in their witness
• meet America's spiritual needs
• be a place of hope and healing

PRAY FOR OUR MEDIA, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES
Ask God to help them:

• reflect godly values in their work
• be accurate and fair in their presentations
• place a high value on truth and decency
• be responsible with their influence
• bring positive change to our culture

PRAYER FOR THE IMPRISONED AND PERSECUTED
Ask God to help them:

• endure their hardships
• find joy in the midst of trials
• encourage one another
• experience and offer forgiveness
• find comfort in their faith

PRAY FOR THE FAMILY
Ask God to help us:

• commit to the permanence of marriage
• place a high value on all human life
• serve one another in love and dedication
• restore broken relationships

And, don't forget the blog, Lifting Hands, to lead you in prayer each week concerning your children. Join me and the others who follow as we pray together for our children.


"May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." Psalm 33:22

An Advent Prayer

Father in heaven, we are now less than 1 week away from celebrating your Son's birth.

As the days get closer and the holiday rush comes upon us, help us to keep in sight the true reason for the season.

We love the presents, but we thank you for the present of your Son.

We love the lights all around us, but we are grateful for the Light of the world.

We love the decorations, but we are mindful that we don't have to decorate our life before we come to you; that you are more concerned with the internal decoration of having Jesus as Lord in our hearts.

The days are getting closer, so we pause again, to recognize you, our grown-up Lord and Savior.

Help us always to have room for you in our hearts.

In your name, Amen.

*Taken from The 25 Days of Christmas

heavy heart

I'm still here...for anyone who may have stopped by to look for me.

This week, one of my best friend's is dealing with the very unexpected death of her mother.

My heart is so heavy for Tanya, her dad and two younger siblings. Tanya is my age, with a great husband and 4 young children.

What makes it harder to bear is that this family had to lay a daughter to rest less than 3 years ago.

And a son 12 years ago.

My dear friend has buried two siblings and will be burying her mother this week.

WHY?

Why so much to one family?

As I spoke to my friend this morning, God placed a portion of this scripture on my heart to share with her and I'll share it here.

Isaiah 55

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Here it is again, but from The Message.

Isaiah 55:8-11

"I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." God's Decree. "For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed.They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

May you each take the opportunity to hold your loved ones close this week and tell them you love them.

I Need You - You're All I'm Living For

Ja*rs of Cl*ay is one of my favorite groups!! Enjoy!






Strangely out of place
There's a light filling this room
Where none would follow before
I can't deny it burns me up inside
I fan the flames to melt
Away my pride
Do I want shelter from the rain
Or the rain to wash me way?

I need you, I need you, I need you
I need you, I need you, I need you
You're all I'm living for

I might sound like a fool
But I think I felt you moving
Closer to me
Face to the ground
To hide the fatal cut
I fight the weight
I feel you lift me up
You are the shelter from the rain
And the rain to wash me away

need you, I need you, I need you
I need you, I need you, I need you
(All I'm living for)
I need you, I need you, I need you
You're all I'm living for
All I'm living for
You're all I'm living for

Face to the ground
To hide the fatal cut
I fight the weight
Feel you lift me up
Can't deny it burns me up inside
I fan the flames to melt away
My prideOnly had a second to spare
But all the time in the world
To know you're there
You are the shelter from the rain
And the rain to wash me away

I need you, I need you, I need you
(All I'm living for)
I need you, I need you, I need you
(All I'm living for)
& I need you, I need you, I need you
You're all I'm living for
All I'm living for
All I'm living for
All I'm living for
You're all I'm living for

Two things

Just wanted to share two things with you today.

Click the 'interceding for our children' button on the left.

And, this video has had a huge impact on me since I saw it last week. I must share it with you all. It is about 5 minutes long - if you can't take the time now to watch it, please come back - and watch it until the end.

And, Jessy - if you are reading - I pray you are, know I love you and I really want you to see this video too!

Introducing...My new project

"We try to do the best we can raising our children. Then, just when we think we've got the parenting terrain all figured out, we suddenly find ourselves in new territory again as each new age and stage presents another set of challenges. Sometimes we sail through smoothly. Sometimes we encounter tempests and tidal waves. Sometimes we get so tired that we just want to give up - let the storm take us where it will."

"We don't have to be tossed and turned by these winds of change. Our children's lives don't ever have to be left to chance."

"We don't have to pace the floor anxiously, biting our nails, gnawing our knuckles, dreading the terrible twos or torturous teens....Nor do we have to be perfect parents."

The good news is, we can start right now, this very minute to make a positive difference in our child's future.

"At every stage of their lives our children need and will greatly benefit from our prayers. The key is not trying to do it all by ourselbes all at once, but rather turning to the expert parent of all time - our Father God - for help. Then, taking one step at a time, we must cover every detail of our child's life in prayer. There is great power in doing that, far beyond what people imagine. In fact, don't ever under-estimate the power of a praying parent." From Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Parent

After beginning this book, the Lord stirred up a desire in me to share this burden of prayer for my children with other parents.

Out of this desire, came a blog - a become a place where you can come and say a prayer for your children (old or young). To read more and begin to pray with me for our children, click below.

"The battle for our children's lives is waged on our knees. When we don't pray, it's like sitting on the sidelines watching our children in a war zone getting shot at from every angle. When we do pray, we're in the battle alongside them, appropriating God's power on their behalf." (S.O.)


Blessings,