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February 7, 2012, at 9:00 am Inspiring Media When all the world is under fire
When skies are threatening to thunder and rain
And I am overcome by fears that I can’t see
If everything is Yours
Everything is Yours
If everything is Yours
I’m letting it go
No, it was never mine to hold
No, never mine
Who could command the stars to sing
Or hold the raging seas from breaking through the doors?
And tend the fragile roses with the very same hands
If everything is Yours
Everything is Yours
If everything is Yours
I’m letting it go
I am, I’m letting it go, letting go
Yeah, I’m letting it go
‘Cause everything is Yours
Yeah, everything is Yours
If everything is Yours, God
And everything is Yours
If everything is Yours
I’m letting it go, let it go, let it go, let it go
It was never mine, no, no
It was never mine, never mine
(From the CD “The House You’re Building” by Audrey Assad)
February 6, 2012, at 9:00 am Journaling, Prayer So let’s talk about prayer today. Or more specifically, let’s talk about the organization of prayer today. How do you keep track of requests and answers to prayer? Do you write it down in a journal or notebook? Do you just have a list in your Bible? Do you not write anything down at all? What’s your method?
I’ve thought a lot about this in the past year and have tried quite a few methods in my time. I’m always looking for the perfect system for just about everything I do and prayer is no different. I have a few reasons for wanting some type of prayer journal/record:
1 – I need to see IN WRITING what God is doing in my life through prayer. Without writing my prayers or requests down and noting their answers I find my faith in God begins to waver. When I don’t have a tangible reminder of his goodness to me through answered prayer, I tend to forget all about it.
2 – I need to be organized. I’ve given up trying to go with the flow, as I’m just not that kind of person. If I don’t have some type or method of organization, I feel I’m forgetting something important and I live with this feeling of dread.
3 – I need to be responsible. By this, I mean that if I said I’ll pray for you, I want to carry that through and actually pray for you. If I don’t write your request down, there’s a good chance I’ll forget it completely. I don’t mean to, I just know that there’s a great likelihood that I will.
4 – I need to stay on track. Without some kind of organization, I find my prayer time can end up all over the place and I never seem to pray for what I started out praying for. If I don’t write things down my mind wanders.
5 – I need to be well-rounded in prayer. I’ve found that without some type of list or guide, I end up praying about whatever is broken or squeaks the most in my life. And while those things probably need the most prayer, I end up praying about them exclusively and not praying for other needs that are just as important, even if they don’t feel as urgent. Having a list of requests and topics to read through before I pray helps me to pray wider and deeper and not just dwell on the problem of the moment.
So with these reasons for needing some sort of system, I’ve tried it all: notecards, 3-ring binders, pocket notebooks, hardbound journals, paper lists, published journals, and who knows what else. I used Becky Tirabassi’s My Partner Prayer Notebook for several years. I built my own 3-ring binder system back in the early 90′s and used that for several years. (All those pages are gone now, which makes me sad.) I’ve used 3×5 card notebooks, 4×6 card notebooks and individual notes cards for each category/person I pray for. I have journals with prayers written out that run 20 or 30 pages long! (I was suffering a lot of angst during that period!) I’m pretty sure there’s not a method I haven’t tried.
All of them had their good and bad points, for the most part. I don’t believe there’s any one plan that’s perfect. For the most part, I’ve found that various seasons of life make one way more useful than another. And that’s about the best advice I can give. I do recommend that most people use a plan. It’s the rare person who can use no plan, list, method or journal and pray effectively. Our world is just too chaotic and our schedules too overbooked to have the right mindset for prayer without some help.
At the moment, I am using a list-like format, keeping several lists in the back of my journal. As a request is answered, I am highlighting it so that I have a record of answered requests. My journal also contains sermon notes, quotes, written prayers, song lyrics, journal entries, and anything else I want to write down and reflect upon. It makes sense to keep my requests in the book as well so that I can have everything together. I carry it with me everywhere and enjoy having the opportunity to write when the moment strikes.
Some people write their prayers out by hand. I do this with my personal requests and have found that a helpful way to process what God is doing in my life. I do not generally write out all my intercessory requests, partly because that would take me too long and partly because many of those things are confidential and I can’t go into them in detail in a journal. So I start out with writing down some thoughts of praise and worship, flipping to the back of my journal to pray through my list of intercessory requests and then flip back to the journal section to write down my personal prayers.
I used to worry that people will read my journal and get a way-too-honest look at my life, but I’ve gotten over that as I grow older. I’m pretty sure people know I’m not perfect and don’t expect me to be. I’m pretty sure most everyone who has the chance to swipe my journal and read the entries have too much character to do so. And I’m pretty sure no one wants to read my journal anyway!
I have a long list of questions that help me get started some days when I’m not sure what to write about. I’ve pulled them from various sources throughout my years of journaling. Starting next week, I’ll post one every Monday for those who enjoy prayer journaling. I hope they are a help to you. You’ll be hearing more about prayer in the blog and in our newsletters through this Spring as we focus on effective and consistent prayer.
So I’m wondering about you. Do you have a system or method you use to remember prayer requests and pray responsibly. It’s a big job to carry someone’s burden to God in prayer. Have you found ways to do it more effectively? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what works for you, so please share in the comments.
February 3, 2012, at 9:00 am Inspiring Media, Spiritual Life Just about the time I start to really enjoy a book, I find some blogger who hates it. For every book that’s advanced my spiritual growth, my understanding of Scripture, my confidence in prayer, or various other areas of growth I can find someone who thinks the book is terrible, wrong or dangerous. For every blog extolling the virtues of Beth Moore, I can find two who think she’s the antichrist. For every point of view, there’s an opposite and vocal dissenting opinion.
It’s gotten to the place where I’ve stopped reading a lot of blogs because the cacophony of dissenting opinions all over the globe drown out any message or joy I’ve gained from the book or resource they’re arguing about. For some reason, we Christians can’t seem to get along so well when someone disagrees with us.
So it is with great trepidation that I reference a recent devotional I’ve been reading. Partly because I’m sure some blogger out there has decided the book is heretical, and partly because I’m sure many people will dismiss it the moment they read the title. So let me start with a few disclaimers…
1 – Devotional books are to the spiritual life what an appetizer is to the meal. If you only live on appetizers, you’re likely to go hungry and have health issues. If you only read devotionals, your spiritual life will be weak and malnourished. I use devotional books to open my quiet time, as a sort of pathway into a reflective mood and quiet heart. At times, I use them in the middle of my day when I need some encouragement or an attitude reset. They are never the bulk of my quiet time or the substitution for time spent in God’s Word.
2 – Devotional books are varied and not all are created equal. Some are fluffy and happy, some are thought-provoking, some are convicting, others are encouraging. Most all have their place. In the middle of a day full of bad news, a happy devotional reminding me of God’s love is just the thing I need. When I sit down to read God’s Word or pray, something thoughtful is especially helpful. In addition, some people find that one type is particularly helpful at a certain season of life but unfulfilling at another season.
3 – Everyone responds differently and some people respond best to narrative. Many educators would tell you most people respond to story more than facts. It is true that marketers and salesmen know that to influence sales and change behavior, narrative is the easiest way to reach someone’s emotions and heart. Jesus knew this, as he used parables quite effectively during his ministry on earth. The best commercials use story, as do the best print ads. Some of your favorite sermons or class lectures most likely used narrative to convey the point in a way you can remember.
Now, with these three statements out of the way, let me tell you of a gorgeous devotional book I’ve been using lately. It’s called A Jane Austen Devotional. If you purchase the print version, you get a beautiful cloth-bound edition that looks like an old book with a fabric cover. (This is one thing I miss about Kindle books – beautiful covers!) But the inside is where it shines. Using a small section from one of Jane Austen novels, the book reflects on spiritual life and character, much like a youth pastor will use scenes from a movie to set up a lesson for his teens.
While I am sure there is some blogger or reviewer somewhere who has waxed eloquent on how silly this book is, I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised by it and delighted to read it. First of all, reading Jane Austen takes some mental skills as we don’t speak as intelligently today as her characters do. Secondly, Miss Austen has a great ability to define characters and make them come to life. Using her paragraphs to talk about Godly character is actually quite insightful since she seems to understand human nature and character well. Her books are populated with real people with real faults and they suffer the consequences their actions bring.
As the devotional author brings the theme from the Jane Austen book into modern day actions and thinking, she does a good job of making it relevant and personal. And there’s always something to think about beyond the length of the devotion. This recent comment had me thinking all day about what I do with the little moments of my day…
Make no mistake: the choices that govern your time have direct bearing on the way you lead your life.
I will admit this devotional isn’t for everyone. Those who spend hours a day in Bible reading probably find little to recommend in devotional books at all. And that’s okay, everyone gets to pick what they like and don’t like. But I recommend this volume for those who like devotional books, who don’t rely on them as their only spiritual food, and who responds well to spiritual truth through the use of narrative. I’m enjoying it and finding much to think about some days from the readings.
February 2, 2012, at 9:00 am Spiritual Life Most merciful God, order my day so that I may know what you want me to do, and then help me to do it.
Let me not be elated by success or depressed by failure.
I want only to take pleasure in what pleases you, and only to grieve at what displeases you.
For the sake of your love I would willingly forgo all temporal comforts.
May all the joys in which you have no part weary me.
May all the work which you do not prompt be tedious to me.
Let my thoughts frequently turn to you, that I may be obedient to you without complaint, patient without grumbling, cheerful without self-indulgence, contrite without dejections, and serious without solemnity.
Let me hold you in awe without feeling terrified of you, and let me be an example to others without any trace of pride.
- THOMAS AQUINAS, Italian theologian (1225–1274)
February 1, 2012, at 9:00 am Spiritual Life When I was in my early elementary school years, I was often the recipient of something called “the tally.” In fact, I got more than my fair share of tallies in my 1-3 grade years. Tallies were little strips of construction paper that acted kind of like demerits. My teachers would make bulletin boards with some kind of paper cutout for each student. Sometimes it was doghouses, another time it was pickup trucks, another time it was flower pots, and I can’t remember what else they used. There was a list of things on the board you could get tallies for. When you did something on that list, the teacher would tell you to put a tally in your doghouse or flower pot or whatever. If you got too many tallies in a given period, your parents got called in and if you’re parents were my parents, you got in trouble at home.
There were two things I got tallies for over and over and over. One of them was “talks too much” which I’m sure you can hardly believe. The other should come as no surprise either for those who know me, it was “attitude lacking.” My spiritual gift of sarcasm was evident early on in my life and my teachers were not nearly as amused with it as I was! I was in trouble for a bad attitude quite a bit.
I’d like to say I’ve matured, but that is not the case. In fact, I am probably a bit worse now that I was as a child. I still haven’t learned how to keep the bad attitude away. But I have learned how to send it away. As much as I try, I cannot keep the bad attitude from showing up. But like everything else in adulthood, I make the choice to entertain him for a time or send him on his way.
Monday was a horrible, no-good, very bad day for me. By noon, I was waist-deep in a rotten attitude and bad case of the “poor me’s” that was getting ugly. So shortly after lunch, I decided to head home and go back to bed. Obviously, I needed a reset. As I lay there on my bed, I spent a few moments complaining to God about my day and then I asked him to take this whiny attitude away and replace it with his joy and peace. I made the choice to make the rest of my day better because that was all I could control.
Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time and effort trying to keep a good attitude and avoid a bad one. But that has largely been unsuccessful. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I haven’t found a way to keep the bad attitudes from showing up. So I’ve stopped trying to be perfect in this area and started focusing on being quick to choose the other option. Because once a bad attitude shows up and I decide to let it stay around, it gets harder and harder to send him packing. He moves in like those mucus guys in the Mucinex commercial, with tons of baggage and friends and before long, life seems bleak and unfair. And then it takes so much effort to get my joy back.
January 30, 2012, at 9:00 am Spiritual Life In the land of instant everything, we’re not so good at waiting. I’m just as guilty as the next person, eating cold pizza from the box because the microwave takes too long. We like things fast and we get cranky when we have to wait.
I find it especially difficult to wait when I think God is prompting my heart toward something. You’ve probably been there too. God begins to burden your heart about something and all you want to do is act. Yet the way to act isn’t clear, the door forward is closed or you are promptly handed a big basket of complications you didn’t plan on. And so the waiting for God’s timing begins.
I took comfort recently in studying the burden God placed in Nehemiah’s heart in Nehemiah chapter 1. The walls of the city of Jerusalem have never been rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity and when Nehemiah hears of the sorry state the city of Jerusalem is in, he begins to weep, praying and fasting before God. Chapter one ends with a single sentence telling us that Nehemiah was cupbearer to the King. He had the position to gain the King’s ear. That gets us excited, anxious to hear what miraculous thing is coming next.
And we’re right – God does bestow favor on Nehemiah and the King agrees to help repair the wall by empowering and financing Nehemiah to do the work. Chapter two details the conversation between the King and Nehemiah and the great answer to his prayer. Here’s the thing though, four months pass between chapter one and chapter two.
Four months is a lot of waiting. It’s a lot of time to carry the weight of a burden, to want to act but have no power or authority to do so. I’m guessing those months were quite painful to Nehemiah. And I’m sure some of you can relate. God’s calling and the burdens God places in our hearts often need time to settle, to grow or to clarify. If those burdens require the participation of others, time may be needed to bring them to the right tenderness of heart. There are a multitude of reasons why the burden comes with the assignment to wait. And boy, is waiting hard.
The story of Nehemiah is encouraging to me on so many levels, but today I’m encouraged by all the times of waiting. That doesn’t mean God isn’t moving. Waiting doesn’t mean the burden wasn’t from God. Waiting just means it’s not time yet. But one day, it will be.
January 29, 2012, at 9:00 am Spiritual Life My nephew has recently become a big fan of Doctor Who. This excites me to no end because I adore Doctor Who, have all the rebooted series on DVD and can probably recite large portions of dialog from favorite episodes. While at the age of 8, he’s a bit young for all the episodes, but he’s able to watch several from each season and is the proud of owner of his very own sonic screwdriver. (The Doctor’s only “weapon.”)
The Doctor is only the latest in a long string of characters he’s been into: Superman, Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Captain America, Thor, Batman, and on and on. All of Evan’s favorite fictional characters are heroes–strong, brave, save-the-world types who do what’s right no matter the cost. Boys just love the superhero in all forms.
And I don’t believe it changes. In fact, I think there’s a deep longing in men to be the hero, to save the day. They may not recognize it as such, but they want to be the hero. I realize I may be overgeneralizing here, but I’m pretty sure I’m right for the most part. And it’s had me thinking lately about some of the men in our lives–our fathers, husbands, sons, nephews, uncles and grandfathers.
They don’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, or defeat Darth Vader to save the universe. They have probably never fought off alien invasion or put on a bat costume to rescue Commisioner Gordon. But they are heroes nonetheless. Their heroic deeds are mistaken for the mundane such as putting up with a mean-spirited boss to provide for his family, working two jobs to put kids through college, taking out the trash in the middle of an ice-storm, praying faithfully for a wayward child, worrying about finances and coaching their daughter’s soccer team.
I think of my uncle Mike, who provided the time and attention my brother and I desperately needed when my father left during my teenage years. I think of my brother who faithfully cares for my mother and me as well as his in-laws. I think of my nephew who loves to share and wants to help everyone be happy. I think of my grandfather Haines who gave a love for God’s word and teaching others what God reveals to me. They are all heroes to me in their own way.
How about you? There are lots of heroes in your life. Maybe you could take a moment and let them know how heroic you think they are. They want to be your hero. They’ve wanted to be a hero since they were young. I’m sure of it.
January 27, 2012, at 9:00 am Inspiring Media, Quotations Standing at my window, hidden by the night
Harboring the private wounds, safe and out of sight
There’s an agony in living, but there’s a comfort in the truth
That no one knows my heart better than you.
I can face a lot of people with this sanguine act of mine
Guarded by the eloquence I sometimes hide behind
But it’s a veil of false pretenses that You can see right thru
‘Cause no one knows my heart better than you.
Part of me is reaching, and part of me holds back
But when it comes to You I am a doorway
You’re free to walk into
‘Cause no one knows my heart better than you.
There’s an agony in living but there’s a comfort in the truth
That no one knows my heart, oh, no one knows my heart
No one knows my heart better than you…
[Recorded by Susan Ashton]
January 26, 2012, at 9:00 am Prayer I was reading this familiar prayer on Sunday and the notation following the prayer encouraged me to go back through the prayer and read it a sentence at a time. After each sentence, pause and pray about specific situations or people that come to mind when meditating on that sentence. Talk about powerful! That was such a blessing and helped me pray more specifically about some things going on in my life. I encourage you to take a few moments and do the same type of slow praying through this prayer in regards to your own situations in life. I’m sure it will bless you.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace,
That where there is hatred, may I bring love;
That where there is wrong, may I bring a spirit of forgiveness;
That where there is discord, may I bring harmony;
That where there is error, may I bring truth;
That where there is doubt, may I bring faith;
That where there is despair, may I bring hope;
That where there are shadows, may I bring light;
That where there is sadness, may I bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek to comfort, rather than to be comforted;
To understand rather than to be understood;
To love rather than to be loved;
For it is in giving that we are received;
It is by forgiving that we are forgiven,
And it is by dying that we awaken to eternal life.
Attributed to FRANCIS OF ASSISI, Italian monk (1181–1226), and others [PD]
January 25, 2012, at 9:11 pm Question of the Week Our “Question of the Week” feature hasn’t been a big hit, although I wasn’t expecting a huge number of posts. Unless everyone will really miss my answering the question each week, this will be the last week of this feature.
Our question is… What dish do you make for company when you don’t have a lot of time to cook or plan ahead? (Recipes are welcome!)
Since my nephew is almost always the one stopping by for dinner at the last minute, I make a mean pizza bagel. (Remove box from freezer, open box, slide bagels onto tray, heat in over according to box directions.) I also can order chinese food efficiently and it’s always a big hit!
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