Word of the Year

Time

- a point of time as measured in hours and minutes past midnight or noon.
- plan, schedule or arrange when (something) should happen or be done.
- the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, past, present,  
   or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events
   succeed one another.

Last Fall when we were presented with the question at Women Unplugged, "What is one of the most meaningful gifts you've ever given or been given?", I didn't have an answer. As I left Heartland that morning, I was still pondering the question. As I did, I began to feel ungrateful. I have received many beautiful and meaningful gifts over the years; jewelry that was purchased with purpose and meaning, Mud Pie dishes that friends and family have given toward my dish collection "addiction", and lots of others. All very meaningful.

As the day went on, I realized, however, the most meaningful gift for me was and is TIME. My daughters know one thing I treasure is coffee or lunch out with friends. Time away from life's demands, just to talk, share, pray, over a good cup of coffee or meal.

Time with my Mom, who lives in Montana. Time with family and friends that still live in Montana. When I travel back, I make sure I contact everyone to set up a time to get together, just so we can have a little time to reconnect.

After our last class reunion, my girlfriends and I decided we needed to get together more often than every 10 years. We discussed the fact that we had lost several friends to cancer and other situations, and recognized time is priceless. We have since met every summer, rotating to each other's homes/cities, enjoying each other's company while we just be.

And after almost 30 years of marriage, time with my husband. We were great at doing date night before we had our girls. Once they were born, we dedicated every free moment to them. Having fought infertility, we were willing and ready to spend all of our time with these precious gifts. Date nights went away and really, time together went away.

Well, life passes by and they grow up. Along the way, life throws you unexpected trials that consume your every waking moment. Time is spent on your knees praying for your child to do well, to be successful as she moves away on her own. Time is spent praying your child will surrender, and be healed of the ugliness life has dealt her.

Time becomes spent in prayer, for your husband & his career, your marriage, your children and their life choices, for family, and for the beautiful friends God has placed in your life along the way.

And finally, time is spent again with my husband; date days and date nights. A real treasure getting to know each other again, spending that one on one time we knew so long ago. Time planning our trips to visit our oldest daughter in Dallas, travel to see family, and just travel.

Many gifts we hold in our hands, place on a shelf for display, or give away. But the gift of Time is one we can share and hold in our hearts forever.

May 2017 be a year where you allow yourself Time; time to be intentional, time to be restored, time to get to know your spouse again, time to pray, and time to get to know Your Heavenly Father more. After all, He is the giver of time.

With that, my word for 2017? "Time"

Blessings,

Chris Jones

Chris is a prayer warrior among our community. Her words feel like a prayer from her heart for all of us. 

If you're curious about or considering a word for the year of 2017, WU Coordinator Kristy Smith recommends reading this post by Margaret Feinberg with a FREE download to walk you through prayerful exercises and asking God what word He wants to awaken you to this year.

What Happens When Copycats and MapMakers Engage the Word

I've always loved maps, but I haven't always loved the Bible.

Sometimes I had it right and it stuck mostly, memorizing scripture, like a poem in your pocket:) Or a cross.

Over years, God's Word became dead to me, as dead as Tevye's daughters*---still alive to their lovers, but rejected, ignored, seemingly forgotten.

I opened the bestseller, the life-changer, the illuminated text.

It lay flat.

Black or red, the font color mattered none, it was Greek to me. If only I had known about the copywork.

A few years later my daughter and I pressed Prismacolor leads to yellowed paper week after week. Great books we didn't completely understand, Paddle-to-the-Sea, Minn of the Mississippi, others, informed the mapwork, instructing us as we traced, etched, copied. Rivers blue, states green, trails hunchbacked curving up, then down for hundreds of miles, mountains upside down and V's. 

The great books became our American story over a year. My daughter and I treasured them as we mapped the characters' journeys over hill and dale. We slapped our maps up on the wall with sticky tack. They hang there still, the edges curling up so, aging nicely as a five-year superhero zooms past, then a swishing setter tail gives the Eastern US a good whack. We come home and find it lying on the wood floor.

Years before, hallowed, hollowing hunger squatted inside

Longing for a satisfying meal.

I wanted to hurl all the volumes I was reading about the Book, this bestseller, life-changer, illuminated text,

At my kind, deep friends,

The ones who sat together encscribing it on their own hearts and each other's with pens of fire. They did a simple act, of turning a piece of notebook paper on its side. 

They turned the paper, turned to pages in the Word, and it turned them upside down.

I hadn't realized it was all around me, they were all around me, this living, working entity of love until I could smell it, like my neighbor's smoking barbeque on a fall night. I wanted some of that.

I missed the memo about the homework, the copy work. They copied scripture, and put it in their own words. It was like learning Geography. To learn maps, you map. Copying corners and curves, boundaries and borders. To learn God's word, they wrote it, copying curves, letters, ball and stick, sloping, typed. They felt it with their fingers, read it with their eyes, mouths, and retold the story to themselves, to one another, again and again. 

The Word Lives whether we want it to or not; engage the living Word---Jesus, and He engages us to engage others.

That sweet striped-socked girl and I could have copied the U.S., the world by our lonesomes, but I'm so glad we got lost in the stories instead. My sweet girl could have spouted capitals and states back to me in a breath. But we traced and copied each word with care, the great skillet handle of Florida, the encircled star of D.C., she, learning for the first time, me remembering renewed. 

My Bible-reading friends could have copied alone or kept their findings to themselves. But they shared. They retold the story to one another, to me, anyone who would listen! In community, with friends, family, a group. Don't miss the crucial bones of the work: ordinary words become extraordinary together. 

Because when we speak God's story and share it, God creates transformation and transparency, etching it into our very souls. Because who doesn't want to hear something good, something life-changing, illuminated?

When was the last time that #1 bestseller of all time changed how you live?

Try turning the paper with me. 

• Take a sheet of notebook paper and turn it horizontal. 
• Draw two vertical lines to make three columns, like this.

• Copy a few verses: three to five? Smaller is better, but more than two for context. 

Column 1: copy the verses verbatim.

Column 2: Write each verse in your own words. 

Column 3: Create an I will.... What is something doable, tangible I can do based on what I read? Smaller is better! One great act of love is just 10 small ones completed over a season. 

I will read a book with my toddler. I will write out my prayers for my spouse. I will ask my co-worker out to lunch. 

Share your small story what God is doing in you with someone and see what happens. You might find yourself turned on your side, in a good way, living a story you've always wanted to love.

- Christina H.

*Fiddler on the Roof, anyone?

Praying Hard

I’ve never been very good at the discipline of prayer. Let me clarify -- I’ve never thought I was very good at what I *thought* an “effective” prayer life should look like. About a year ago, I found myself in the middle of a situation I couldn’t quite comprehend and it felt pretty earth-shattering.  In all honesty, the circumstance itself probably wasn’t all that dramatic, but I had just been in a spiritual season of spring -- new things growing in me, new hope springing up, deepening faith.  Going from that beautiful amazing place and taking a sharp turn into something that felt dark and confusing made me dizzy.

I found myself on my knees, quite literally, several times a day. I was desperate for an answer from God. I claimed His promises, I prayed scripture, I laid my heart and hands open before Him. I prayed a lot. I prayed hard. I committed to beginning and ending each day on my knees before the Lord. I did that for several months and, as of right now, no visible answer to that situation has come.

Somewhere along the line, I stopped going to my knees as often. After a while of not hearing or seeing a “direct” answer from God, I guess I got bored or thought it best to “move on.”  Prayer can be a tedious business.  Maybe that’s why I tend to give up so easily. I’ve been saturated by the instant-gratification mentality of our culture.  Prayer is very rarely about instant gratification.  

For the past few weeks we have been talking on Sunday mornings about the “agonizing, utterly contemptible, blessedly redeemable act of waiting.”  I think waiting and prayer go hand-in-hand in the Kingdom.  We’re really always waiting on something from God, and He invites us to be active in the waiting through the discipline of prayer. Whether we are waiting for healing, restoration, a clear path, or a word from Him, God instructs us to pray always (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

On the first week of the series, Dan encouraged us to take whatever we were waiting for and change our prayers to ask for more of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)  I can tell you that even though no “answer” came from that intense season of on-my-knees prayer, God met me in ways I never would have imagined.  Even though I didn’t see God answering me in the way I was hoping, my prayers started to change. I began to approach God differently. He met me there on my knees and whispered to my heart, “I see you. I hear you. I love you. I’m going to give you something so much better than what you ask for. I give you Myself.” And that’s exactly what He did.  He spoke identity to me in those moments.  

He taught me the value of contending on behalf of others, whether or not they ever know someone is praying for them.  He taught me to come empty handed before Him and wait with expectation and hope.  

And now I find myself still waiting on a lot of things, but the desperation factor has lessened. Sure, I’m waiting on God, but I’m not praying about those things as often. Why is it that it often takes the dire situations to bring us to the feet of the Father?  So I am praying that God will stir my heart to passionate prayer for the things He cares about and for His kingdom. And I’m praying for strength and discipline to not “give up” on my prayers when I don’t see the answer right away. In his book The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson talks about how God instructed the Israelites to march around Jericho seven times and blow their trumpets before the walls would come down. Batterson wonders, “What if the Israelites had stopped circling on the sixth day?” and he concludes that they would have forfeited the miracle God had waiting just around the corner for them.

Prayer is a mysterious thing, and so is waiting on God. There are prayers that in His divine wisdom, God chooses not to answer in the way we expect. But He always hears us and always gives Himself if we will just ask. And He is always better than whatever it is we are waiting and praying for.

What is it that you are waiting for?  Do you need to “draw a circle around it” in prayer again? How is God changing you through the waiting? Thank Him for those things and keep on asking for more of Him.

Meredith M.

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 

Genesis 1:2 (NLT)

All passages about water and oceans speak to me – I’m sure in a former life I was a mermaid (and I mean that in the most reverent manner possible).

My soul aches for the tide, and the sand, and the salt water and sea foam, and even the seashells.

But more than anything it’s the undeniable presence of God in the roar and whisper of every crashing wave. 

Something about standing on the shore and feeling the salty mist makes me vulnerable and small – bringing me to my knees (quite literally if He wanted).

I can’t hide from His presence, nor do I want to, I simply soak in as much as possible. I know that when I return home and am no longer sandy and staring into His awe-inspiring creation my soul will start aching. 

I try desperately to cling to the small vulnerable part of me, that’s held captive and breathless as I meet the Spirit of God hovering over the surface of the water.

I’ll make mermaid jokes to my husband, but its not about the water or the sand or the freedom of the sea.

It’s about meeting with God and collapsing into the power of His mighty creation.

- Jessica V.

How To Live Prayer

I resisted because it made me feel a little crazy; praying in the rain at 6 a.m. on your knees is like that. It’s not a matter of not liking early morning. I am proud.

I pray to God---my life a prayer---and wait for what He'll say and do. My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching til morning, waiting and watching til morning. Psalm 130:5-6 (MSG)

I look down at the wet wood under my robed knees. Planks needing paint, patterned and scratched, scraped. Yes, I kneel on the back porch. Surrendering my cozy couch comfort and my idea of the best way to hear from God. Get your toes wet.

God talks to me, in my head---it feels audible. He pushes me past the french door stainless steel handle, out onto the plastic pronged mat that stabs my feet. I bend my knees down and rearrange my robe. A quick check to ensure neighbors are not watching. Thank you God for the leafy hedge.

That day I prayed in posture. Sometimes I pray in black ink, maybe a morning dim whisper.

To make your life a prayer, you must hear it, see it, say it, do it. BE IT.

As Anne Lamott titled her book with three small prayer words, Help, Thanks, Wow, maybe a word is all you have. Exhaling frailty starts as a seed in your soul.

Prayer seems daunting. Where to start. I forget to start. If I start, I might never end!

Pray small. Pray questions. Pray answers. Show up early. Show up late. I bring Him hard stuff, easy stuff, stuff I don't want. Bit by bit, a giving over, dependence, the sky itself is lifting into morning. The rough night fades, sometimes a whole lifetime of rough nights fade too.

I am full of expectation in this space between dark and light.

- Christina H.

Carry One Another's Burdens

God teaches us in his word to carry one another’s burdens.  In Galatians 6:2 it says, "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Think of how many burdens we carry on a daily basis…minute-by-minute basis, even.  Tasks that need accomplished, bills that need paid, not to mention just living day-to-day, in the little things.  As mothers and wives, we are like pillars in a building, holding it up.  It’s as if we are responsible for the emotional climate in our home.  As Dr. Phil says, “If Mom isn’t happy, nobody is happy.”  Can you relate to that quote?  I know that I can.  Often when I am stressed, my husband and children become stressed. 

This week, I was praying for someone over the phone, as they told me about situations beyond their control causing them to be in a great deal of stress.  Bills they could not pay, and accumulating, like a slap face month after month.  This is a terrible burden, and thankfully, this person shared with me their stress so that I could carry the burden with them to God.  As I prayed, I began to believe in my heart that God really does not want us to be stressed, and I said it out loud.  Stress is a joy killer, and God says in Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”  How do we obtain the fruit of the Spirit?  I believe the answer lies in just a few chapters before, in Galatians 3:17-19, it says, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

As Christians, we have asked Jesus to dwell in our hearts.  With his very presence abiding in us, we have the availability to receive what the word of God promises us.  I pray that you are able to grasp these truths and begin to walk in such joy that our homes are filled with the fruits of the spirit more and more each day, each moment. 

I believe this is a season that we can learn to cast our cares, and all of our burdens on the Lord…in Psalm 55:22 it says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

- Jennifer G.

Your Calling is Calling

Photo by topfer via stock.xchg

As I sat with a friend for a cup of coffee this week, I was in awe of her beautiful smile and contagious laughter.  She has gone through more heartache than you can imagine, and here she was laughing with me as I #hashtagged a few words in our conversation.  Something she said struck me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  She said that we as a people, are messy, and thank God that the church doesn’t mind mess.  If we look through scripture, we can see that through facts, Jesus certainly doesn’t mind mess.  He was born a messy birth, and died a messy death.  He hung out with messy people, that fought over who was better…as Steve Weatherford so awesomely reminded us a few weeks ago.

Have you ever felt like a mess?  I know I have…but that same lovely friend reminded me so humbly in her Facebook status, that she’s “His mess.”  Now, that is some good news of the cross!  It’s the reason we’re here, to realize just that.  We are beautiful, intelligent, powerful, and poised women.  We are positioned to cause the ground to shake.  As Jenae Weinbrenner powerfully pointed us to a beautiful reminder of a few Wednesday’s ago, “Why don’t you act like you’re loved?”  I love that she and her husband say that to each other…what an incredible practice they have.

As we go throughout our weeks, the days and hours in between Mothers Together, it might be the furthest thing from our mind, our calling, that is.  The very thing we’ve been discussing.  I can assure you that your calling is calling, as Shelley Winkler reminded us.  I am thankful for the mighty women who we have had the privilege of hearing their stories in this beautiful Mothers Together season.  These women pioneer a movement here at Heartland, to disciple those who make disciples, who make disciples.   

I have news for you.  These women believe in you, just as Jesus does.  God said that he has plans for us in Jeremiah 29:11.  “For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.”

Have you taken the time to think about your passions…that which brings you joy?  Many of us are moms.  In fact, that is a huge calling in and of itself.  God may have more for us…he may have more for you.

I’d like to leave you with is something one of the ladies at my table said last week.  “There may be something HUGE just around the corner,” and she’s right.  Are we willing to venture out as pioneers ourselves?  Are you willing?  

- Jennifer G.

Prayer: Let’s keep each other warm!

Let’s look at some realities for all of us ladies that attend “Mother’s Together.”  There is snow, ice, and freezing cold wind outside!  That’s pretty much ALL we have in common.  Within every walk of life, there are ups and downs, peaks and valleys, and then there are the moments where everything seems to just be mundane, going through the motions. 

Writing about prayer is an honor, and every time I sit down to begin, I have to really wonder what you need to hear.  What you need to hear today, in this moment, in your moment.  Speaking to people who are suffering loss, tragedy, and illness, or celebrating new life, promotions at jobs, and a new house.  Those who have lived in their “new” house for years now, wait for their husbands to come home from their next shift, whether it is in flight for days, weeks, months, years, or hours.  I met a woman a few months ago, who has four children all under the age of four.  Her husband is away at war, fighting for our freedom.  He’s been away for years…and each time she visits, they have a new bundle of joy to welcome into the world.  ☺  How bittersweet that must be for her.  To finally be embraced by the love of her life, then to fly home with doctor visits by herself…to the birth and then the care taking of all four children who long for their daddy.  I pray for her a lot.  I have to be honest when I say that I cannot remember her name, but God does.  There are people all around us who need our prayers.  We can relate, because we need them as well.  How can we pray, unless we know what to pray?  The bible says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  Hosea 4:6  

My blog this week holds more questions than answers.  Where are you in your life?  What do you need?  Who can you ask for prayer, and share joys and sorrows with?  Jesus knows what to pray, yes.  It says in Romans 8:34 “…Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God and is also praying for us…” I think that it’s awesome to know that he is praying.  I also think it’s awesome to know that we need each other.  Matthew 18:20, “ Where two or three people meet together in my name, I am there with them.”

When you search the word “Pray” at biblegateway.com, it comes up with 424 results.  I believe that means it’s important, don’t you?  Our prayers are important, but let us take a moment to listen to this scripture that hits home for us in Psalm 35:13, “But when they were sick, I put on black clothes. I made myself low by going without food. My prayers for them weren’t always answered.”

Our prayers aren’t always answered.  But that doesn’t mean we just quit.  Take a moment to sit still and think of moments in your life where there was definitely an answer to prayer.  Write it down, and share it with your table.  Let’s do this together…we need encouragement right now.  It’s cold outside!  

- Jennifer G.

Love

Photo by Didok

Love is a topic that can be discussed and thought about for hours upon end.  Here are a few quotes and scriptures on love:

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”
― Elbert Hubbard

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

1John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord appeared to us in the past. He said, “I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. I have kept on loving you with faithful love.” 

We have just been asked to really think about what we are chasing.  And we have learned that, no matter what, Jesus chases us.  He says in Revelation 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If any of you hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with you. And you will eat with me.”

What are you chasing?  Is this something you’re still asking yourself at the end of our study?  I chase many things.  I will look online for the perfect purse or camera, the perfect Christmas gift for my Mother-in-law…it can get out of hand, trust me.  

Though he pursues me, I cannot say that I always chase Jesus back, or allow him to continually “be” with me. There are times that my day will stop flat in it’s tracks because of the news of a loved one’s loss or suffering and I am chasing God with prayer.  What I have realized is he is right there, chasing me, and all I have to do is turn toward him, and he’s ready and waiting and willing.

This week, I had devastating news about one of my beloved friends.  At first, my heart was so broken; all I could do was cry.  But, I began to pray for her, and asked God to allow her to feel the prayers from everyone who was praying.  I heard from her last night, and she literally said, “Prayers are holding me up.”

So I ask you, as we go into the craziness of the holidays with the turkey, ham, and casseroles, the planning, and the searching for the perfect _______, don’t forget to allow Jesus to be with you.  His peace is a breath away, and we don’t have to do anything alone.  Even the seating arrangements!  

Here is a song that goes with what I am trying to get across through today’s blog.   There is a link below to the song.  It is by Tenth Avenue North, a Christian band.  Listen to it, and allow Jesus to catch you today.  Turn from whatever it is you are chasing, and turn to him.  

Below are the link and the lyrics (they are on the video with the song as well).

Blessings to you as we begin the “Most wonderful time of year.”

- Jennifer G.

Photo by rob_gonyea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CUGTIWCFyo

"Beloved"

Love of my life

Look deep in my eyes

There you will find what you need 

And give me your life

The lust and the lies

And the past you're afraid I might see

You've been running away from me, yeah 

You're my beloved lover

I'm yours

And Death shall not part us

It's you I died for

For better or worse

Forever we'll be

My love it unites us and it binds you to me

It's a mystery 

Love of my life

Look deep in my eyes

There you will find what you need 

I'm the giver of life

I'll clothe you in white

My immaculate bride you will be

Oh, come running home to me, yeah

You're my beloved lover

I'm yours

And Death shall not part us

It's you I died for

For better or worse

Forever we'll be

My love it unites us and it binds you to me, yeah

You've been a mistress, my wife

Chasing lovers that won't satisfy

Won't you let me make you my bride

You will drink of my lips and you'll taste new life

You're my beloved lover

I'm yours

And Death shall not part us

It's you I died for

For better or worse

Forever we'll be

My love it unites us and it binds you to me

It's a mystery

Prayer and Persecution

Losing relationship with people is one of the most heart wrenching things we can go through as women.  It could be rejection from someone that you considered to be a friend, or a friend abruptly ceasing communication with no explanation.  For me, it was someone who I was close to my entire life.  I trusted her only to find out she had been gossiping about me behind my back.  When I asked her about it, it was even more painful, because she said some things that were un-true and indicative of her true feelings toward me. 

Why am I sharing this with you?  As women, relationships are important to us.  Having a safe place to fall and to be real is crucial to our emotional well-being.  Times like these really put our prayers and our belief in the power of prayer to the test.  We are called to be prayer warriors praying without ceasing for ourselves, our families, and on behalf of others so that we may be transformed and forged into a stronger weapon for Christ.  Warriors have a calling and see beyond the task at hand to the bigger picture.

David was a prayer warrior, and he cried out to God many times in desperation. Like in Psalm 79:8 he said, “Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.”  Or in Psalm 142:6, “Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.”  Do you allow yourself to cry out to God in these ways?

The Bible is full of compelling reasons and ways to pray.  

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Eph. 6:18

Then I read scripture like the Sermon on the Mount: 

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.  He said:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’” Matt. 5:1-12

Are there any of these, “Blessed are those who ‘_____,’” that you can relate to?  It seems contradictory to say it’s blessed to be insulted, persecuted, or spoken falsely of.  However, the word of God states it to be the truth.  I believe the whole Bible.  Not sections or portions, but the entire living word of God and I am choosing to believe these words spoken by Jesus about how is blessed. 

All I knew that my heart was torn into pieces as I lost every ounce of what I thought I had in that friendship.  If you feel like you are mourning, poor in spirit, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure of heart, a peacemaker, or persecuted because of righteousness, you are blessed.  If you are persecuted by people who persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you, you are blessed.  This is what the Bible says.  Read your promises.  Hold onto those promises.  Believe in those promises.  Sometimes a promise is all we have.

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” Heb. 11:1

Thankfully, I found a scripture that Jesus was praying for me as the great intercessor.  Jesus said, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” John 17:9

I had to face the hard truth that this person was no longer safe for me, and mourn the loss of what we had, or what I thought we had. The pain that followed was excruciating, and learning to trust again was almost impossible, as I was so afraid to be vulnerable enough to put my heart out there again.  What’s great about prayer is that God accepts a great big “HELP!”

Trusting again began with Jesus.  If I could trust him, I could entrust him with my heart, and ask him to put people in my path that were friends that I longed for.  True friends, even just one!

I want to encourage you, that as I spent years getting to know Jesus as my friend, he taught me how to be a friend, one that I would want.  He began to bring people into my life, and it felt like Christmas morning!  If you are feeling alone, or if you’ve been betrayed, look to Jesus.  He’s where our help comes from.  Here is a great song to listen to and allow it to become your heart’s cry….”Help!” 
- Jennifer G.

God I look to You, I won’t be overwhelmed

Give me vision to see things like You do

God I look to You, You’re where my help comes from

Give me wisdom; You know just what to do

I will love You Lord my strength

I will love You Lord my shield

I will love You Lord my rock forever

All my days I will love You God

Hallelujah our God reigns

Hallelujah our God reigns

Hallelujah our God reigns forever

All my days Hallelujah

- song by Jenn Johnson

Little Red Mailbox

My two youngest daughters are ages seven and nine.  They love to play, with anything itsy-bitsy.  Squeakies, pocket tablets, miniature pens, pumpkins…anything small-scale!  Last weekend, I bought a little mailbox for them; the flag actually goes up and down just like a real mailbox.  

Immediately, the girls began to use it to write each other letters, raising the flag when the next note was ready.  Every note was a communication of their love toward one another.  One of my favorites was from Aleya (age 9), to Brooke (age 7), saying, “Dear Brooke, I love you.  You are fire burning on the dance floor.”  Obviously, this was written in their own love language toward one another.  

In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, “And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’”  

I believe prayer is as simple as that little mailbox.  It can be fun, and in our own love language.  In John 10:27 Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

We all have different ways of communication, and with those ways, we grow our relationships with one another.  Perhaps there’s a misconception that we need to pray in a way that is hard or exhausting.

There are many passages where Jesus goes away to pray.  One of the passages, Luke 5:16, reads “But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.” (See also Mark 1:35, Mark 6:45-46, Luke 4:42, and Luke 6:12.)

I know that as a mother, I find time to slip away.  Sometimes, I slip away to browse purses online, or shoes.  Other times, I will use that time to spend with God, and those are truly the only times that fulfill and refuel me.

What’s great about it is that I talk to him in my own way, and he speaks to me in the way I hear him.  We are each unique, and God is a good Father.  He will show up where we invite him.  If it’s with a cup of coffee, He’s there.  If it’s in the word, He’s there.  If it is laying down in silence telling him that you’re here and listening, He’s there.  If God’s word is living and active, just like Hebrews 4:12 tells us, and there’s no “formula” to prayer, or spending time with God, couldn’t it be through a little red mailbox?  

- Jennifer G.

How Should We Pray?

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When Jesus’s disciples asked him how to pray, Jesus gave them what is called, “The Lord’s prayer.”  We find it in the book of Matthew, chapter 6, right in the middle of "The Sermon on the Mount.”  

“Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matt. 6:9-13)

So many times in my life, I do not find myself thinking this way.  It is something that I need to intentionally remember to come back to.  If I really want to get to know the Father, do I need to pray this way?  I can’t answer that…(I just figured that out).  However, I do know that after 9 years of my life REALLY laying before him, following him, and allowing him to love me, allowing him to change me, forming me into his image…allowing him into those ugly places that I can’t change (you know - the one only our kids and husband see and hear with a very quick apology, “I am sorry, mommy shouldn’t have yelled”), I know it is more than a word.  It is a relationship.  

If we base our conversation with him on this prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, we are stopping everything, and going to the Father.  Our Father, in heaven, you are holy.  Your kingdom come…seeking out what his kingdom is.  Your will be done...searching, what is his will?  On earth as it is in heaven...let heaven come to earth.  Let heaven come, where is heaven, and how can it come?  These are things that we cannot wrap our brains around, yet this is the guideline for how to pray.  For yours is the kingdom, yours is the power, and yours is the glory forever, amen.  To me, this prayer is going to God - my father, your father - and giving him praise.  Letting go of my will, my way, and asking him what to pray.  Humbling myself and seeking his kingdom first before my own.  

I implore you to go on a journey to re-direct your prayer life.  Start small, simple, and sweet - take a deep breath, and open your bible or laptop to Matthew chapter 6.  Let everything within you go there to the Sermon on the Mount.  If you have just 3 minutes in your bathroom as “quiet time,” he will take it. I used to utilize my daughter’s naptime for this.  Was it hard giving him that entire two hours?  Not after I began to know him.  Getting to know him, and his love, is life.  So many times, I will hear someone say, “live life to the fullest” - my life is Jesus.  If I am to live, I need to breathe - he is my breath, he is my everything.  Now, my children are in school and I have many more than 2 hours.  Those napping moments shaped me - formed me into the woman I am today.  

If you hung out with me, you would see flaws really quick.  I fail.  We all fall short. But, I get to choose what I do during alone time hours, and spending time with him is and has always been the best choice. 

- Jenn G.