I stumbled upon these heart rending posts this week.
May this weekend find you full of faith, hope and love!
“I’m praying for you today,” I texted to a friend.
They replied, “Thank you. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to burden you.” Their response soaked into my brain and percolated. Is this a burden? How do I respond?
“It’s a privilege for me to pray for you.” I read my response and then added, “And I’m not being trite.”
Why is it when there are deep things to say that words seem so inadequate?
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I have made a life out of choosing the right people to follow. When I desired a closer relationship with God, I found a godly mentor and followed in her footsteps. When I wanted success professionally, I emulated someone who curried favor with the boss.
Years later, in my husband’s first pastorate, there was no one to follow. We were the leaders. I no longer had a Sunday school teacher to show me the way. There was no pastor to meet with, except for the man I slept next to every night. I learned to fill myself up by reading books, listening to speakers, and worshiping to Christian music in my car. I made certain my mentors were godly and biblical. I followed them from a distance. And for a while, it worked.
But lately, I’ve been unsettled.
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I retreat to the only room in the house where a mother of three can find solitude. The exhaust fan rattles and the water flows into the cold ceramic basin creating a temporary oasis. Here, I can read words and pray prayers and think. After some wisdom from Elisabeth Elliot my thoughts turn to people – the newcomers with pure hearts and unsteady hands seeking a place to serve, the neighborhood children who live with every form of family dysfunction, and the fast friends who are traveling to see loved ones they long to hold.
I close my eyes and bring their names before the throne. I ask for wisdom, guidance, direction, calling, protection, and provision. I tell Him their situations as if He doesn’t know them. I ask Him to intervene, to make himself known, and to reveal His glory.
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Posts I’m Reading
Choosing Gratitude
Today, I join the gratitude community — a band of God seekers who count gratitude by the thousands. Our leader Ann is a broken vessel beautifully mended. She started this grace-counting and encourages us all to live fully right where we are. Dear sister, thank you for pouring yourself out on the page for the rest of us.
Gratitude begins with:
#1. A pastor-husband who talks about loving his wife from the pulpit and then lives it out every. single. day.
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