Tag: PRAYER

2020 Year of JOY

2020 included many reasons to be discouraged. Pandemic isolation, advanced lung disease, lengthy hospitalization, 55th anniversary plans changed, birthday and wedding plans cancelled, death of friend, and miscarriage.

However,  the word “Joy” kept showing up in devotionals, scripture, and teachings. Great joy, joy unspeakable, reckless joy, the joy of the Lord is my strength, intimate joy, surprised by joy, and Secret joy.

God prepared my journey of joy in late 2019 at a Women of Joy Conference. Nervous about leaving my husband by himself, I ventured out with ladies from my church. We had a great weekend of teaching, worship and yes, JOY!

Friday, the worship songs were too contemporary for this 70+ gal. But on Saturday night Michael W. Smith led worship and all the songs were familiar and favorites. I was able to release the heavy concern for my husband and the “what ifs” of the future and worship. The reckless love of God overwhelmed me and allowed God to flood my soul.

My journal records – “Thank you Lord for showering me with that overwhelming, never ending reckless love of God, I didn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, yet you gave yourself to me. Thank you for touching my inmost being with your spirit. And thank you for taking care of John while I was gone.” (Even though when I returned, he had not been able to get TV remote to work most of weekend and too embarrassed to call anyone for help.)

Christmas brought a gift from our granddaughter and her husband for a family photo shoot. Pure joy. Next day golf with son and grandson added to my joy.

Then on January 1, 2020, changed the calendar cube and noticed the scripture on the bottom.

 Psalm 126:3  The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Opening my prayer journal to favorite verses noticed that most contained the word joy. Most favorite –

3 John 1:1-4 
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Then these two entries:

12/21/19 – Father God being in your presence is my joy.  There is nothing like knowing you and the peace you give.  My desire is for our sons and grandchildren to know that joy and peace.

1/7/20 – It is a joy to Jesus when we are intimate with him – never lonely, never need sympathy – never leave impressions of ourselves but only that Jesus is having his way with us. Hallelujah! That is joy.

Photos from 2020 show much joy experienced even though most of our plans failed. 

So, my friends, (as my husband would say when he preached) you can experience the joy of the Lord even in the presence of challenging times. He is our joy.

Jude 24-25

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great JOY into his glorious presence without a single fault.  All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time!

The Rest of the Glory Story

Exhausted from unpacking, the glow of the security light seemed to say, “it’s gonna be alright.  You are home!” It was July 2005 and we were partially moved in.

Each night for sixteen years I would think,” thank you Lord for my house.”  Then getting into bed I’d tell my husband, “Did I ever tell you I just love this house?  Thank you for building it for us.”

One day, I thought I heard God say, “What if I asked you to give up your house?”

My response was “Can’t imagine that, but you know best and I pray you will make me willing.” Never thinking He would!

Our family enjoyed sharing life on Shekinah Lane – John’s folks on the corner and our son and family down the road.  All John’s family would come for holidays and we thought we would live there forever.

But God had other plans.

In October of 2020, our son was blessed to find property off N. Mauney Road.  We prepared his house to sell.  It sold in a month – he moved out and stored his belongings in our barn and he and grandson began task of clearing and built a road into the property. 

Two campers, several loads of gravel and many manhours later, the road to Strick Hollow was in.  They had trouble completing the road for people driving in thinking a new subdivision was being built.

Isaiah 40:5  And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.

Our lot was cleared next to build a smaller, one-level house.  Plans needed to be decided, when to sell our house and how.  I listed on Zillow in February.  Then in April decided to list with agent – which was the best decision. Dana Nelson of Coldwell Banker not only staged our house for showing but prayed with us for right buyer. 

“Making Mountain Dreams Real”

Coldwell Banker High Country Realty

Blairsville, GA 30512

  • 706-835-7906
  • 706-745-3500

Have you ever had your house prepared for showing and try to live in it???

I stashed our stuff – in closets, in wardrobes and of course cleaned the house constantly.

All the while praying for the right family to purchase our Shekinah Lane property.  I just wanted someone to love this place like I do.

Our mountain view was crowded out by trees putting on their spring leaves.  Tulips bloomed and roses showed their stuff.  The yard looked amazing as it greened up with spring rains.  The snowball bush I purchased last year was in full bloom as prospective buyers began to come. 

God answered our prayers, the family who purchased our property love it and are so excited to be living on Shekinah Lane.

Isaiah 40: 6“All people are like grass,
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

The last few months have been a whirlwind.  Preparing for moving sale – packing, moving and settling in our neighbor’s cabin.  What a blessing – neighbor’s cabin just down road from our house on Shekinah lane.  Wonderful friends and neighbors helped with all the moving. 

Just as planned, Kevin Green and his crew finished the house (well mostly, except for air conditioning which was backordered) by end of July.  We began moving things first week of August and have been unpacking since.  Everything will not fit in smaller house!  Still filling shelves at Habitat and our church’s Elijay’s Closet. 

No, I never expected to move from Shekinah Lane.  But God has this season of our lives in His hands; and, our son and grandson are sharing the glory of seeing God move in our lives. 

Shekinah Lane needs to be updated to 29 moves in 56 years and I discovered additional things that made it all the way to add:

  • Amber bowl
  • Horsehead lamps
  • corning mixing bowls. 
Horse head lamps!

So we are now living on Strick Hollow Road! 

Can you see that mountaini?
Not finished yet – but it is coming! Yes, we have a family relic shelf.

Isaiah 40:12   Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?

Those hands are big enough to take care of us!

The Porch

View from my swing
View from my swing

A cup of green tea and my Bible accompany me to the swing on my screened-in porch.  The humid July day requires the ceiling fans to be pushing the small amount of cool air available for a few hours.  The furnishings remind me of people in our past who have blessed our lives and to pray for them.

The black wrought iron table and chairs were on my in-law’s porch the 11 years they lived near us – just off Shekinah Lane.  The overflow of relatives sat at this table for many family gatherings.  So this set reminds me to pray for family.  Also, on the table is a twig man made by talented neighbor – bless her Lord.

Warning sign
Warning sign

The “Do not Pee from the Porch” sign brings a chuckle of a Sunday School class Christmas party.  The sign was transferred around through a White Elephant game.  We won it.  Dear friends sharing the celebration of Christmas with fun times. Bless them Lord. Also, my grandson who the sign applied to when he was younger.

A wood plant stand was made by a boy at Teen Ranch in Michigan causing memories of our “boys” who are now men –  praying the short time they lived at the ranch they were exposed to the Gospel in flesh patterned by staff who loved them in the Lord.

A plaque from my daughter-in-law encourages “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” She is going through a time of physical pain and can use this thought and my prayers.

Plants thriving in the heat of summer – one from former co-worker, another a gift from a neighbor when my husband had surgery.  These plants have grown, been divided and are flourishing.  May my prayers increase the blessings for my friends.

Tall table for a view

Tall table for a view

A tall table and three chairs make our mountain view easier to see – a gift from neighbors who are struggling now with major surgery.  Please heal and restore Lord.

Wicker chairs from a new friend look so elegant on our porch.  Bless my friend as she helps me finish my book, Shekinah Lane, to be printed soon.

Welcome wicker
Welcome wicker

Can’t help but think of my economical husband who did not want me to purchase furniture for the porch.  Did he know, or did God know that I needed these gifts to help me appreciate family and friends, and pray for them in my quiet time on the porch?

Zephaniah 3:17 New King James Version (NKJV)

17 The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

 

First not possible without last

An evaluation of my book proposal arrived.  The same questions were posed, the same things I have been wrestling with for over three years – Who is your audience? Why are you writing? What is the thread that will pull the book together?

After searching my first five chapters and the questions presented by the editor I answered the questions.  Who is your audience? – My family and friends mostly, really anyone who wants to follow God (although I learned that if you say anyone that means “no one”).  Why write – to show how God worked in our lives.  What is the one thread to pull it together?  – The glory of God.  Seemed simple enough to me.  But it was not enough.  Or it was not clear enough.

Examining my writing and trying to answer the questions, I prayed for wisdom to help me find that thread and something people who read my book can grasp for their lives.

Then the inspiration came.

I just reviewed the chapter about our time in Mississippi and the small church my husband served that needed a piano player.  We prayed for a piano player and God provided five piano players.

I was one of the piano players in the Mississippi church although not much of an answer to prayer since I was very limited in ability.  Although I have not played much since my husband retired from preaching ten years ago, I was impressed – no God seemed to speak directly to me,

“Go downstairs to the piano.”pat.piano

Even though my piano skills are still limited, I love to play old hymns and choruses and worship the Lord.  Thinking the Lord wanted me to worship and take my mind off the book for a while, I obeyed.

The hymnal was open to the chorus on the right side of the page “Oh How He Loves You and Me.”  Surprisingly I picked up the song in A flat and remembered the chord inversions and arpeggios I learned years ago in an adult piano course.

After relaxing my mind I turned to the left hand page and the song was a familiar hymn “My Saviors Love.”  You may know it better by the first line, “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene.”  After playing this song for a few verses, I thought, “Ok, the love of God.  Yes, that’s what I am trying to convey in my writing.”

Then I noticed the scripture listed under the title of “My Saviors Love.”  It showed, “The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me.”  Then I observed the scripture reference Galatians 2:20.  My life verse is Gal 2:20.  A chill of confirmation of God’s purpose.

I always concentrated on the first part of that verse – Christ living in me –  and how I determine to live by faith in the Son of God.  Yes, but it seems God wants me to focus on the last part  – for the first is not possible without the last.  Here is the verse:

Gal. 2:  20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Then I looked at the scripture under the song, “Oh How He Loves You and Me.”  The verse is John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”  Another Holy Spirit chill.  This is the concept used in my book introduction from John 17 where Jesus shares his high priestly prayer.  Here is an excerpt:

In John 17, known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, verse 23 says God loves us even as he loves Jesus.  Hard to comprehend he could love us that much!  Reading this chapter again recently I realize not only does God loves us as much as He loved Jesus, but Jesus shared the glory God gave him with us that we may be one so that the world may know about him.  That is powerful.  God gives us his Shekinah glory through Jesus.

John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

Have I found the thread to pull the book together?  I’m not sure.  I do know that the purpose of the book is to share the stories of our lives and help readers know that Jesus loves them and gave himself for them.  They cannot live for him until they truly comprehend how much he loves them.  For the first is not possible without the last.

 

My Sister Needs You

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with the needs around you?  How can I encourage my sister?  I worry for her, her health, her state of mind.  What can I do?  I feel so helpless.  Lord, please help me to extend hope and encouragement to her.

Her husband is terminal.

She has no husband.

Her child is wayward.

She received a bad report from the doctor.

Her life is so busy with children and responsibilities are so great.

She is facing an empty nest.

She is alone.

She is taking care of an elderly parent.

She doesn’t know how she will pay her bills this month.

Then I find the verse in Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

peace2

God’s word always comes through with just what is needed.  I may be helpless but he is able in every situation.

Please Lord give her your peace.  I cannot begin to know her pain, feel her hurt, and comprehend her desolation.  But you comfort the grieving, uplift the discouraged and give faith when there is no hope.  Be her rock, her refuge and her redeemer.  Be her husband, her hope, her haven of rest.

Help her to realize that Jesus is interceding for her and me too Lord.

 Psalm 62:6 NIV)6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 91:2 (NIV)2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Isaiah 54:5 (NIV)For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;he is called the God of all the earth.

Romans 8:34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one.  Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

interceding

 

Thank you Jesus for interceding for my sisters and for giving me your word to strengthen my faith in you.  You do all things well.

Remember sweet sister Jesus is interceding for you!  And I agree with his prayer!

 

 

Forget to pray?

We arrived at the doctor’s office and they prepped my husband for surgery.  The doctor entered the room and stopped, placing his hand on John’s shoulder, “I pray with all my patients prior to surgery, do you mind if I pray for you?”

 

twins

Have you ever intended to ask for prayer and because of busyness forgot to ask?  In preparation for my husband’s surgery I remembered to eliminate vitamins and medicines that might be blood thinners.  His surgery was scheduled on our calendar.

Doctor appointments, preparing food for a friend, and playing golf the day before the surgery (because he would not be able to play for two weeks) filled my schedule.  I failed to contact family and let them know the specific time of the surgery.

Sometimes we think we can handle it, right?  “I’ve got this” we convey to others.  It was only a minor surgery to remove a small sore on his arm.  The doctor had biopsied it a few weeks before.  The result was basil cell carcinoma cancer.  Not to worry right?

The day of the surgery, I talked to my sister on the phone and told her the results of the biopsy.  She shared with me that her husband’s skin cancer began as a basil cell carcinoma.  Her husband died two months ago from skin cancer.

Kind of changed the scenario.  Maybe it was not just a minor surgery.  No time now to contact people to pray.  I needed to be at my computer, just can’t text that much information on my phone.

How often do we have the attitude “I’ve got this.”  In the busyness of life we somehow think we are in control of things.  The smartphone keeps us organized with our calendars and to do lists.  We are self-sufficient in so many areas.

The definition of self-sufficient is: – able to maintain oneself or itself without outside aid; capable of providing for one’s own needs.  We operate that way most of the time, don’t we.  At least I do.  Sure, I pray and seek God’s guidance and help.  But we need others to come along side of us and share the burdens of life.

Here are some suggestions to help us remember to ask for prayer:

  • Plan ahead – place prayer request on your calendar
  • Email friends and family of need
  • Contact your church
  • Share need with prayer groups
  • Facebook – good for prayer requests

Praise God, he had someone pray for my husband even though I forgot to ask for prayer.  What a comfort the prayers of the doctor were to my remorseful soul.  Thank God for a Christian doctor.

Are you drifting into self-sufficiency and not relying on the prayers of friends and family?  Maybe it’s time to seek the support of others.  But most important, seek the all sufficiency of God.  He is our greatest resource.

 

2 Corinthians 3:5 King James Version (KJV)

5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

 

 

Who will Purchase My Tupperware?

My treasure’s worth was soon to be discovered.  Browsing in a thrift store I spotted a large Tupperware cake carrier.  It was a deep yellow color from age.  Only $1 made it mine.

I wondered how many cakes were prepared and stored in this relic.  How many church dinners or family reunions were topped off with a crunchy crusted pound cake, carrot cake or maybe (heaven forbid) a devil’s food chocolate cake.

Was the previous owner a good cook?  Did her family gather with delight to see another confection revealed from the cake carrier?

Did the store realize the value of this container?  It looked like an extra tall cake carrier.  Back in the day it would have cost much more.
I brought it home and filled the laundry room sink with bleach and hot water and soaked the cake carrier all day.  I learned that at my first Tupperware party many moons ago.

It did not look as tall after removing the yellow stain.  Comparing my prize with my cake carrier in the pantry was a disappointment.  Not an extra tall cake carrier as I had assumed and needed (on occasion) but exactly the same size as mine.

Now what do I do with it?  The plan has been to DE clutter our house and eliminate things we don’t use and here I have another container that I don’t need.  Making a cake for a funeral or for a new neighbor and telling them to keep the container is a possibility.  But most people purchase a cake from the local grocery store and use the plastic container and then throw it away.  They may not realize the prize they have in this refurbished cake carrier.

Can’t help but wonder who will purchase my Tupperware cake carrier.  When I am gontuppewaree and my family cleans out the kitchen will they sell my large Tupperware cake carrier that stored many a carrot cake?

It may end up in a garage sale or donated to the local thrift store.  Hopefully someone will realize the value of the container and maybe bleach it and make a cake or at least place a bought cake inside and keep fresh a few days longer.

More important –

  • Will they remember how valuable they were to me?
  • Will they remember how much I prayed for them to be filled with the love of Jesus?
  • Will they be willing to share that love with others?
  • Will my culinary skills be my legacy
    or my love for God
  • and desire to be filled with His Spirit?

What will your legacy be?  Will your family know how valuable they were to you?

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 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,  19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.