Thursday, April 24, 2008

Prayer Time

This prayer has been on my heart for quite some time now. It can be found in Matthew chapter 6. You Bible scholars already know which prayer I'm referring to. Well, this is how I interpret the prayer. This is how I try to pray on a daily basis. I don't always succeed, but it's a good start. I also posted a link for you to see this prayer through the eyes of a child. Truly precious! I hope this blesses you as much as it has blessed me to work on.

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Our Father who art in heaven - Lord, Savior, King, Jehovah, Elohim, Abba, Daddy, God

Hallowed be Thy name - Your name is: Holy, Mighty, Wonderful, Worthy of all glory, honor and praise, Powerful, All-knowing, Compassionate, Righteous, Amazing, Counselor, Provider, Healer, Comforter, Love...

Thy kingdom come - Reign over me now, in this present time. Be in my life. Be real and relevant to me.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven - Let the things I do in this life be a rehearsal for eternal life with You. May all my thoughts, words, actions be worship to You.

Give us this day our daily bread - Give me what I need for today, for right now, no more, no less.

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors - I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. Please forgive me. I understand and accept that nobody else is perfect. Help me forgive those who have wronged me in any way. You did it for me. I want to show the same grace to others that You showed to me.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - When I am tempted, as Jesus was, help me to be sinless and blameless as Jesus was. I know I will have daily opportunities to do what is right and what isn't. Help me to always choose the right thing. Deliver me, Lord.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever - You made all of this. You own it all. It is Yours and I am Yours. All glory, honor, power, praise, blessings, worship goes to You, not just now, but always, beyond the end of time.

Amen - Let it be so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

What A Week!

God is doing some amazing things in my life, as well as Steph’s. She and I have built our relationship on Proverbs 4:23 (Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life), and our hearts have been tested quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. See, I went to Tulsa for the International Soul-Winning Workshop last week, which meant that we wouldn’t see each other for a week. We needed that. God worked on us individually and as a couple.

For example, JJ and I left Tuesday morning on the ten-hour drive to Tulsa. That morning before we left, she sent me a text message saying that we should take time over the week to have a mountain top experience, some quality time with God. She told me to look up Luke 6:12 (check it out). When we arrived in Tulsa she was at Bible study and would you believe that the speaker brought up the exact same scripture? I know, coincidence, right? Well, tell me it’s also a coincidence that the week before, the same speaker brought up the exact situations that she and I had been discussing the previous couple of days and told us we needed to take action on those very situations. That seems like no big deal until you put it into perspective. We were in a room with over 800 people!

So we start on this journey up the mountain and God’s talking to us non-stop. He’s talking to us through speakers, songs, scriptures, even friends. It’s an amazing experience. Saturday rolls around and JJ and I are planning on driving back the next morning...until the van broke down. Enter Sean Algaier. He comes to where we are, takes us to a safe place to have the van towed, loans us his car so we could get to our housing site to get our stuff, puts me up in his home one night, and gives me his Rapid Rewards free flight ticket on Southwest so I can get back to work! He reminded me what it meant to be a servant and to simply care. He reminds me so much of my brother, Ron, who passed away five years ago this past Friday. Yet another reminder that God is good. As an act of gratitude, Steph prayed that He would bless Sean and Misty like crazy. The very same day Sean got a phone call from a friend who had a 32" flat-screen tv with surround sound. He gave it to Sean and Misty for $50. Talk about prayers being answered right away!

There is so much to this story that I don’t have time to share. However, I will say this: God is moving in me. He’s showing me things that I already knew and forgot, as well as things I didn’t know but needed to. He’s trying to make this new man. He’s trying to make Steph this new woman. It’s time for all of us to break down our barriers and let Him make us what He wants us to be. Let’s make it happen!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate