Weeds

I really need to wash my truck.  And mow the yard.

Kidding, kidding.  (Ok, I do need to wash my truck.)  But I spent my morning mowing and pulling weeds.  My yard is in the progress of being transformed and recently we tilled the entire backyard and laid sod in a certain pattern.  Now we need to go back and fill in the giant dirt patches with beds and shrubs and flowers and mulch and river rock and...  you get the picture.  PS - this picture is not of my yard, or my truck.

In those giant dirt patches there have been weeds sprouting.  And so I strapped on my gardening gloves and went to work.  The weed pulling today was actually a lot of fun!  Because we had tilled recently the weeds that were there didn't have strong root systems.  They came right up with a gently pull.  Joy!

As I was working I couldn't help but think about how sin in our lives is like a weed.  When we let little sins stay they tend not to stay little.  They grow.  And the roots dig deep.  If ignored, weeds can take over an entire yard (or truck as shown above) and kill everything living in their path.  Sin grows and spreads like a disease and can take over your life.  It can damage your health, your relationships, your finances, your faith.  

I'm suggesting that we keep our noses in the Word of God and keep our prayer lives active in order to weed the sin out of our lives.  And when it does sprout up - it will be much easier to pull by the roots and get rid of.  

Song of Solomon 2:15

¹⁵ Catch for us the foxes,
   the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
   our vineyards that are in bloom.

(Foxes.  Weeds.  You get the idea.)

Say your prayers,

Sweet dreams,

I love you,

Goodnight!

Denise

Prayers

Can I share with you a few tips that really help me keep my prayer life real?

1. Pray daily.  Many times a day.
2. Talk to God.  Talk to Jesus.  They know your heart and can understand your words.  You don't have to get all King James on them.  Prayer doesn't have to be made complex or extravagant.
3. The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and is ready to do the praying for you if  you don't know what to say.  Ask for His help.
4. If you tell someone that you'll pray for them, for goodness sakes DO IT.  Don't let 'prayer requests' be a thin disguise for Christian gossip.  God knows the difference.
5. Pray daily.  Many times a day.

If you need some material to work with please consider the following:

Victims of the recent tornados.

Children with pediatric cancer.

Our world leaders, our pastors and our emergency personnel.

Folks who are lost in this world and don't have a home to go to.  

The mentally ill suffering silently or in hospitals and prisons.

Your friends, family and most of all your enemies.

Remember to be THANKFUL, ASK FOR FORGIVENESS, and PRAISE GOD in each prayer.

Something my sisters (have I mentioned that I have 5? and a brother) and I always said before going to sleep:

Say your prayers... sweet dreams... I love you... Good night!

Nighty, night my sweet readers.

A Promising Future - and what to do until then...

Last post on waiting, I promise.  :)

PS - I have memory loss issues both short term and long term and cannot really promise this will be the last post on waiting as I might forget that I wrote about it already.

Tired of sitting around like a bump on a log?  Is there action to take while you're waiting on God to fulfill His promises or answer your prayers?

You bet!!  Here are some of the verses that really helped me as I climbed out of the pit.

Where is your focus?  Where is Jeremiah’s focus here…

Lamentations 3:19-23 

 ¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
   the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
   and my soul is downcast within me.

Then Jeremiah changed his focus…

²¹ Yet this I call to mind
   and therefore I have hope:

 ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.

 ²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
   to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
   for the salvation of the LORD. 

Know where to find your strength...  

Isaiah 40:27-31 

²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob?
   Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
   my cause is disregarded by my God”?

²⁸ Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint. 

  

God's grace will come.  His promise will be kept.  You will be blessed...

Isaiah 30:18

 ¹⁸ Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
   therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
   Blessed are all who wait for him!

Where is your hope?

Psalm 130:5

 ⁵ I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
   and in his word I put my hope.

How can you know that God will keep His word?

Isaiah 55:10-11

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
   come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
   without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
   so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

How do the two verses prior reassure us when the delay is long or the process is confusing?

Isaiah 55:8-9

 ⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

What are the benefits of believing God while we wait?

Romans 15:13

 ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So what will you do between now and the big day?