circle of strength

The following is an entry from my journal of 2001. While praying for my family tonight, I went back to reread some of my old journal entries. I hope these excerpts bless you and gives you hope and strength for whatever your family may be facing at the present.

Oh God, what do you desire for my family today? That they may be one, that they glorify you--that they have peace? You said, "My peace I leave with you." Grant us Your Peace.

Father, I thank you that you have blessed our family with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

I pray that all of our homes will be built with skillful and godly wisdom--that by Your understanding each couple will establish their home on a sound and good foundation and that by Your knowledge all the chambers will be filled with rare and priceless treasure.

Our homes are securely built on the Rock--revelation knowledge of Your Word, Jesus is our cornerstone. Jesus is Lord of each household. Jesus is our Lord--spirit, soul, and body.

Whatever may be our task today, let us work at it heartily as something done for You, Lord, and not for men. Let us love each other with Your kind of love, and we will dwell in peace. We deposit our homes into Your charge, we entrust our loved ones to Your protection and care.

Father, as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord in Jesus Name.

November 2, 2001--Oh God, that my family would come to you today and eat the richest of fare--Let them eat so that their souls may live--This is my prayer for them today. -- From Isaiah 55

I pray that they will seek you while You maybe be found, that they would call on you while you are near--I pray that each one would turn from sin in their lives and that you would have mercy on them Father God.

In the Name of Jesus I pray and confess Your Word over my children and grandchildren, my nieces and nephews. Lord, I surround them all with my faith--faith in YOUR WORD that you watch over it to perform it--I confess that they are disciples of Christ taught of the Lord and obedient to Your Will. Great is the peace of my children, because You, God, contend with that which contends with my children, and You give them safety and ease.

November 7, 2001

Dear Family, I pray that all of you would be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. I urge you and pray that you put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. I pray that you realize that your struggle is not against flesh and blood but against forces of evil in the heavenly realms--

I pray that you put on this full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything--to STAND.

I pray for our whole family that whenever we open our mouths words may be given so that we will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

From Acts 20:32--Now I commit you to God and to the Word of His Grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Now you see why we need so much prayer--smile!

(most of these prayers were taken directly from scripture)

a rose for you

This rose is not perfect but I do think it is beautiful and if you are a regular reader this is just for you. I know from my stats that I have at least a few regular readers who have never commented or stopped by to say hello.

I don't live on comments. I try to write what God lays on my heart each time I post. I don't want my blog's identity to get "caught up" in how many comments I get. But I would love to get to know you. So this is my personal invitation for you to stop by and visit for a minute or two if you would like. I have made a few good friends through the internet and it is such a great joy. I love people and am interested in you and how God is working in your life, your joys and triumphs, your struggles and tears.

If you do not have a blog or a blogger account, you can scroll through the ID section and choose "anonymous" to comment. Of course, I would like for you to sign your first name if you feel comfortable doing so.

If you would like to comment but don't want to do it publicly in the "comment" section, please go to the contact button in the top left sidebar, click on it and it will take you to my email address.

If you choose to remain quiet, that is just fine. I hope you will always feel welcome to come back and know that I am praying for all my readers, the quiet as well as the more vocal.

And if you are dropping by today for the first time, welcome--the rose is for you also.

God bless you with all His riches in Christ Jesus,




photograph: one of several roses my husband gave me on a recent birthday

Preparing and Cultivating

A few weeks ago our daughter-in-law drove several hours to come over and help us get our flower gardens prepared and planted.

We brought in lots of rich soil.

We planted bulbs.

My husband spent many hours driving

to get mulch to protect the plants from drought and heat,

So that one day our gardens would resemble this one that we have worked hard on in the past.

All of this reminded me so much of cultivating the life that God desires in me. The Holy Spirit ultimately does the work in me but I must make some preparation.

The sacrifice our daughter-in-law made driving from a far distance to help us reminded me of mentors and spiritual guides along this Christian walk. How wonderful to have those in our lives who care about us and our Christian growth and are willing to listen, to give Godly advice, and to lift us up when we are down.

The rich dirt and the mulch reminded me of the parables of the sower of seeds in the New Testament.

Jesus said in Matthew 13:18-23

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

From Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart,

for it is the wellspring of life.

Father God, I pray today that I will have eyes to see and ears to hear what your Word says about the cultivation of my soul. I pray that you will guard my heart for it is the fountain that waters my being. I pray that I will fill it with sweet things of you so that my mind and soul can be drenched with the life that comes from your waters.





I long to be carried under by living rivers from Him.

preparation

A few weeks ago our daughter-in-law drove several hours to come over and help us get our flower gardens prepared and planted.

We brought in lots of rich soil.

We planted bulbs.

My husband spent many hours driving

to get mulch to protect the plants from drought and heat,

So that one day our gardens would resemble this one that we have worked hard on in the past.

All of this reminded me so much of cultivating the life that God desires in me. The Holy Spirit ultimately does the work in me but I must make some preparation.

The sacrifice our daughter-in-law made driving from a far distance to help us reminded me of mentors and spiritual guides along this Christian walk. How wonderful to have those in our lives who care about us and our Christian growth and are willing to listen, to give Godly advice, and to lift us up when we are down.

The rich dirt and the mulch reminded me of the parables of the sower of seeds in the New Testament.

Jesus said in Matthew 13:18-23

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

From Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart,

for it is the wellspring of life.

Father God, I pray today that I will have eyes to see and ears to hear what your Word says about the cultivation of my soul. I pray that you will guard my heart for it is the fountain that waters my being. I pray that I will fill it with sweet things of you so that my mind and soul can be drenched with the life that comes from your waters.











I long to be carried under by living rivers from Him.

Silencing the Impatiens

Worked in the yard some yesterday. Planted some little vine-type stuff that is so beautiful but doesn't cling to its host like ivy does. After our trip to this garden, I decided to paint a rock with the quote, "How lovely is the silence of growing things."

Have you ever tried to paint on a really lumpy and bumpy rock--what is supposed to be precise lettering--oh well--and well I won't even mention my age or my physical condition. I almost posted over at Ann's today (thankful that I could get down on the ground to paint, but I couldn't get up to go do it--)

It turned out okay but it could have been better.

Notice the pretty little impatiens planted all around the rock--just sitting all perky there in the rich soil growing in utter silence--

And then I come along and sit on two while I am painting the rock--I almost had to change the quote--you've never heard such screaming in your life from two little squashed plants--oh well.......

Sorry for how many times I said "well."

I long to be able to get up after I get down.