National Day of Prayer–May 3rd, 2018

Posted on May 2, 2018 | Leave a comment

National Day of Prayer 2018

Pray for America

Please take time tomorrow to pray for our nation–its leaders, churches, schools, families, military, etc. Whether you join a large gathering to pray, or just pray with one or two people, you will be joining your voice with thousands of people across this nation–humbling yourself and asking God to intervene in these perilous times.

National Day of Prayer Theme for 2018
The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. In 1988, the law was unanimously amended by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on Thursday, May 5, 1988, designating the first Thursday of May as a day of national prayer. Every president since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation.

Prayer brings people together. Prayer builds bridges between opposing persons and even political parties. Prayer reminds us that we are created in God’s image and He desires for us to represent Him everywhere we go. Prayer brings UNITY.

In 2018, our theme will be Pray for America – UNITY, based upon Ephesians 4:3 which challenges us to mobilize unified public prayer for America, “Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

For more information go to the National Day of Prayer website. You can find a prayer guide there as well as see if there are any organized prayer events near you. There will also be a Livestream available at 7:30 PM EST.

 

 

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I Want to Soar Like an Eagle

Posted on February 14, 2018 | Leave a comment

Is. 40:31

My husband and I once asked each other what we wanted to come back as if we had a choice. (Disclosure—we don’t really believe in reincarnation!) I immediately said, “An eagle!” He said, “A bear!” Our logic—he would be able to catch lots of salmon to eat on the banks of rivers. Me—I love to travel and I love high vistas, and an eagle represents a sort of wild freedom and strength to fly high above everything life might throw at me.

Lately, I’ve been struggling with some real and some imagined issues that come with aging. My body isn’t as strong as it used to be. I’ve developed pains and physical issues and sometimes I focus too much on these instead of trusting God to meet me in whatever situation I face. Continue reading →

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Posted in God's Creation, Living the Christian Life, Meditation, Nature

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Freedom in Fasting

Posted on January 7, 2018 | Leave a comment

A fast that God approves

Many churches and individuals begin the New Year with a 21-day Daniel Fast. My church has done it for the past several years and I have participated in many of them. Last year I did not because I dreaded facing weeks of preparation reading labels, spending extra money on appropriate food items, looking for recipes that were Daniel-fast approved, etc. etc. etc.

(In 2016 I wrote a post about why this approach to fasting was troubling to me—see the link below to read that post).

To me this whole modern approach to fasting seems to be the antithesis of Daniel’s motivation for fasting. Daniel 10: 1-3 says he was in mourning because of a vision: “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.” (NIV)

Two things strike me about Daniel’s fast in this passage:

(1) Daniel’s motivation for fasting was about a Great War he saw in a vision. What if we entered our fast truly mourning the “Great War” the enemy is waging against our nation, our culture, our youth and the Church and crying out for God’s intervention.

(2) Just as Daniel entered his fast focusing on the spiritual by denying his flesh and refusing the king’s rich food—so our focus for fasting should be on denying our flesh and humbling ourselves—not spending our time focusing on what foods we can and can’t eat during the fast.

This year I am participating in the fast, but with a new freedom. I’m simply giving up what I personally consider my “choice, rich and pleasant foods” and focusing my attention on spending time drawing near to God in His Word, in worship and in prayer.

If you are participating in a fast this year, I suggest you search your motives and seek God for how He wants you to fast. Trust Him to lead you.

Click here to read my other post about fasting: The Daniel Fast: Are We Really Denying Ourselves?

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Posted in Fasting, Living the Christian Life, Prayer, The Church

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Asking God Those “How” Questions

Posted on December 21, 2017 | 2 comments
The Annunciation

The Angel’s visit to Mary.

While I wrote this post last Christmas, I wanted to share it again because the contrast between Mary’s question and Zachariah’s question always challenges my faith.

Have you every asked God “how”something He has said to you would ever come to pass? Two biblical characters, both of whom received angelic visitations before the birth of Christ, asked that same question. And God’s totally opposite response to both “how” questions may surprise you.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Christian Holidays, Jewish people, Trust

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Christmas Memories

Posted on December 16, 2017 | 1 comment
Thankfulness at Christmas time

Christmas traditions remind us to be thankful.

In the Old Testament, God commanded that certain festivals and celebrations be held annually as a reminder of what He had done for His people. These celebrations were a vehicle to bring together the entire family, community and nation to celebrate God’s great mercy and to remember to be thankful for all He had done for them.

While God does not instruct us in how to celebrate Christmas, we can use whatever traditions we’ve embraced to help us remember God’s great deliverances in our lives and to be thankful for all our blessings.

Each year when I open my box of Christmas ornaments to decorate the tree, I discover so many memories connected to each ornament. I have ornaments from my wedding shower (a December wedding), ornaments from many of the places I’ve visited in my travels, a few left over from my childhood days, special ornaments marking baby’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd Christmas, and even some homemade ornaments from my daughter that still grace the Christmas tree.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Christian Holidays, Thankfulness