Category Archives: faith

Encircled…

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“Behind and before You encircle me and rest Your hand upon me. ” (Ps 139:5)

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Oh God you are my PROTECTOR.

“Behind and before You encircle me and rest Your hand upon me.”

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Oh God you are my STABILITY.

“Behind and before You encircle me and rest Your hand upon me.”

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Oh God you are my FOUNDATION.

“Behind and before You encircle me and rest Your hand upon me.”

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Oh God you are my SUPPORT.

“Behind and before You encircle me and rest Your hand upon me.”

Like the seamless garment Jesus wore upon the earth…

I am encircled in Your love. Clothed in Your presence.

“Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.” (Ps 139:6)

Wrestling…

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Have you ever noticed the greatest blessings come after the darkness of faith?…

The darkness of a night wrestling with God?

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Prideful, false self grapples with God…

as He forms us into our real identity…

Rescuing and reclaiming us as His child.

The night…the wrestling…and with the new dawn of light…

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The Blessing.

In the wrestling…is the Becoming.

In the becoming…is the blessing.

Blessing given to then go forth and bless.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.” Jer 17:7

Divine Appointment…

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“Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place where he prayed.”

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Where is your deserted place to pray? That place where you usher in the day? Wrapped in the holy hush of the new day?

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 Is it a prayer chair? …a nook in the garden?…on a threadbare carpet beside the bed?

Where is that place you greet the day?

That place that you bow your head and heart in humility in the truth…

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You are God…I am creature.

Where is that deserted place you pray that affirms you in love and purpose as you offer the gift of the new day to the Father?

May we know who we truly are in God in the gift of each morning and may we experience the deep abiding peace that comes from finding that deserted place ….

Which becomes our sacred place of divine appointment.

 

 

The Word…

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Lord, who can grasp all the wealth of just one of your Words?

What we understand is much less than what we leave behind…

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Like thirsty people who drink from a fountain.

Your Word, Lord, has so many shades of meaning, just as those who study it have many points of view.

The Lord has colored His Word with many hues, so that each person who studies it can see in it what he loves.

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He has hidden many treasures in His Word, so that each of us is enriched as we meditate on it.

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The Word of God is a tree of life that from all its parts offers you fruit that is blessed.

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It is like that rock that is open in the dessert, which from all its parts give forth a spiritual drink.

(Ephraim the Syriac, Deacon from the 4th century)

“Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.” Ps 119: 105

Have a blessed Sunday.

A Reflection of the Son…

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thepioneerwoman.com

Shoot for the moon….

And even if you miss….

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You will land with the stars!

Direct all in your life toward the light….Strive to be a reflection of the SON…be that fixed point of light that directs others home.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” 1 Peter 2:9

Stars – David Crowder Band

Praise Report….

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This is a bit different than my ordinary posts…but I felt compelled to share a story…and to say thank you.

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I wanted to pass on a huge praise report!

 I was to have surgery yesterday morning for a growth found in my leg ….it had become badly infected in December and I’ve been on multiple courses of antibiotics. The infection was severe and stubborn. And it had set my entire body into a state of chaos. At its worst the growth was as big as a man’s hand and deeply imbedded in my thigh. I have been greatly blessed at all the prayers that have been said for my healing.  And I had received anointing of the sick twice. Yesterday morning before surgery I told the nurse that others had been praying, and I didn’t think I needed to have surgery because I felt that the growth was gone. I am usually not that bold, but I had such a confident spirit. I’ve never had anything like this happen before, and it was as if the words just came out with conviction. She looked at me a bit like I was crazy and told me she would get the surgeon. He came in immediately and I told him the same thing…others had been praying for me and I felt that the growth was gone. He said he wanted to examine me, and as he did his eyes got big and he said, “you are right….it is gone!”  He seemed shocked as he had been monitoring it all along. I smiled and told him God is good and there is power in prayer. He left the room with a real skip in his step and I heard him go tell others the news.

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God IS good and cares about all the details in our lives….yes even something like a growth in our leg. I pray this story blesses each of you…there were many known and unknown who shared they were praying for me through this blog, and perhaps others in the silence of their hearts as I shared on my blog that I was “under the weather”. I had other prayer friends” locally and across the states praying as well. I believe God smiles on His children coming together in prayer for a common intention.  We can never discount the power of our prayers or think they are insignificant. God is the God of all details…and His love longs to free us from anything not of Him. I may be the recepient of this miracle that kept me from the trial of surgery and the subsequent recuperation…but anyone who prayed…known or unknown…too are a part of this story, and from the bottom of my heart I say thank you.

image via interruptingthesilence.com

 

Our faith need only be as big as a mustard seed…God takes care of the rest. To BELIEVE is to allow God to act in our lives and in the lives of others. And as for me….I truly heard those words of Jesus echoed in my heart and I pray they are branded there so I may never forget…”Daughter, your faith has saved you.  Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” Mark 5: 34
“I will always hope in you and add to all your praise.  My mouth shall proclaim your just deeds, day after day your acts of deliverance, though I cannot number them all.  I will speak of the mighty works of the Lord.  O God, I will tell of your singular justice.” Psalm 71: 14-16

Cast into the Deep…

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The deeper we worship…the deeper we live our lives.

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And…

The deeper we live our lives the deeper we worship.

Why? The two are one and the same.

Our lives, one with God, are worship.

image via fhcworship.wordpress.com

 Our lives  lived in Him are His praise and Glory.

And our worship of Him is our lives.

Is your life restless?

Look at your worship.

Is your worship dry and distracted?

Look at your life.

When we pray for a greater desire to more deeply worship, we too are asking for the grace to more deeply live in His Life, in His Love.

Through Him, With Him, and In Him.

image via catholicyouthministry.com

Let us all cast our nets into deep waters…

and Live His praise and Glory.

“so that we might exist for the praise of His glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” Eph 1: 12

What Gets You Up in the Morning?…

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What gets you up in the morning?…

A desire to check off items from the to – do list?

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A recipe for burnout.

What gets you up in the morning?…

A desire to accumulate riches, honors, and personal gain?

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This shrine to self is built on a shaky foundation.

What gets you up in the morning?…

Cruising through the day not much thought why?

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Those are shallow waters to swim in.

What gets you up in the morning?…

We exist for the PRAISE of God’s glory.

image via oneyearbibleblog.com

How do we praise God with our lives?

By being the best “you” that “you” can be right where God has placed “you”!

Doing all for God in thanksgiving and praise for the gift of life He’s given you.

Even the smallest and most mundane occasions in our daily life become a gift of love back to Him.

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Sweeping the kitchen floor…presiding over a business meeting…taking out the trash…exercising…making meals for the family…taking time to talk to those who cross our path…8  hours at a desk job.

All given to Him…for Love of Him.

What gets you up in the morning?

The Apostolate of Daily Life!

Morning Offering Prayer:  Oh my God, I offer You all my thoughts, words, actions, joys and sufferings of this day in union with my Lord, Jesus Christ.  I want to make each of them an act of perfect love giving constant witness of You to those around me. “

“In Him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of His will, so that we might exist for the praise of His glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” Eph 1:11-12