My husband Matt asked a very interesting and thought provoking question in his sermon this past Sunday. Here it is: "If God answers 'yes' to everything that you prayed for last week, what would be different in the world today?"
The second he asked us this, I started to think about that. And I haven't stopped thinking about it. As Christians, we do a lot of prayin'.....at least I hope we all do. I have gotten caught up in the boring prayers, the usual ones, the ones that don't push or challenge God at all. You know the ones......"thank you for this day"..."thanks for this food"..."please keep us safe today"......and the list goes on. Please don't misunderstand me. These things are GOOD to pray about! It's good that we are thankful for the day because life is so short and God created it anyway! And yes, I am very thankful for food to eat....especially chocolate. :) And with our 2 oldest daughters in school and other activities now, a prayer for safety is something I think about a lot. So pray about those things. God loves hearing from you. But I was reminded to challenge Him a bit in my prayer life.
The biggest "requests" that came to my mind that I prayed about just this past week are:
1) Please bring peace and comfort to Uncle Dick and Aunt Flora in the loss of their daughter Bethany,
2) Please heal Jenna of her brain tumor, and,
3) Please let her (2 girls I was specifically praying for) know how much she is loved and valued by you...right now.
So in thinking about all this, and trying to answer Matt's question for us, this is what I came up with.
1) Matt's cousin passed away unexpectedly a little over a week ago. What if that peace and comfort just came to them so easily? I know they are hurting, as I would be...no doubt about it, but I do KNOW and BELIEVE that peace and comfort will come. Maybe not full understanding, but peace. And maybe we won't "feel" that peace and comfort every single moment we are away from those we love that are taken so suddenly from us, but I know that the kind of peace and comfort we long for will happen one of these days for us faithful believers and doers in Jesus....and that's Heaven. Can't wait for THAT kind of peace. THAT kind of comfort. But in the meantime, what do we do? We pray those big bold prayers that we can BE peace and SHOW peace and TELL of the God of comfort to a world that doesn't have it. Wouldn't that help change the here and now? Wouldn't that provide hope to those that have never had any?
2) Some friends of ours that we went to OCC with have a daughter named Jenna. She was recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. I won't tell the whole story, but Jenna is only 15 years old. My family, along with so many others all over the world, have been praying for her, as well as her parents Jeff and Johanna and their other kids. The positive news is that this tumor is treatable, and Jenna has already been showing others the testimony of God's goodness and grace. Thankful for that. I hate cancer. Even more, I hate cancer in kids. It just breaks my heart knowing what those families have to endure and suffer through. So what if TODAY, the doctors told Jenna....."no more cancer"! How exciting would that be? After all, I'm sure everyone praying has included this in praying for her. How would this change the world? What would be different? I think A LOT would be different. Those doctors and nurses, and other patients and their families that she has impacted because she is a Christ-follower, would hopefully start believing in our great big God too. The ways this could change the world would be amazing! What would be awesome if there was just no more cancer ever......but what would be even better is that the WHOLE WORLD WOULD HEAR that our God....OUR GOD...is STILL a God of MIRACLES!
3) I can't go into details or give names, but this past week I was praying for a couple of teen girls. Prayers for encouragement, peace about something specific, for them to truly know how much they are loved, valued, and the importance they have in this world, no matter if others don't see it sometimes. People are pretty good at "faking it", letting us know sometimes that "I'm doin' ok" when asked. We all are guilty of that. So I'm not sure how this will turn out, but I'm still workin' on them. As some of you know, I coach a high school girls' tennis team. Besides teaching my players what needs to be taught "on the court", I also try and take the opportunities "off the court" as well to teach them about life in general. We've all had those coaches or teachers that have inspired us, taught us, challenged us to be better people.
Last night, we had a JV match out of town. I was sitting on the bleachers with a couple of my players watching a doubles match. I won't give the whole story here because it's too lengthy, but the girls were asking me some good questions and somehow we got around to the following conversation.
Player to me: "So you're sayin' that God has a path for our life, that we should follow it, and stay off the wrong path?"
Me: "Yes, that's what I'm sayin'."
Player: "It's kinda like Candyland....don't take the wrong path."
Me: (Chuckle)........"Sure". :)
(and by the way, I had permission from this girl to share that :)
Having 3 daughters myself, it is my heart's desire and my husband's also, that each of our girls know how much they are loved, not just by us, but by the ONE that loves them even more than we possibly could. He gave them life......how incredible is that kind of love? And having girls, and coaching girls, God has brought to me this huge passion in life to show them just how much they are valued. The world tells differently. The world de-values us, makes us feel like we are no-body's, and doesn't care what we have to offer. I was thrilled that this girl "got it" last night. Not sure what kind of a seed that planted, but I know that God can make it grow inside of her. Every life is beautiful....even tho' some don't "feel" very beautiful on the outside. Thank God that He looks on the inside!
I wish you could've seen her face. It's like that was the first time she'd ever heard that before. That is both sad and exciting to me. Sad because someone should've already told her. But excited because now she knows. So if God lets these girls, these kids (boys included), know their true worth and value in life, that He loves them so much, how would this change the world? Oh wow, the possibilities! Those kids that didn't know it before but that now do, can go out and tell others how much their God loves and values and cares about them! It would be a true ripple effect. Kids that can grab a hold of this would become adults that would then raise their kids to grab a hold of the same thing. And not just grab a hold of their true worth and value, but how we deal with trials, our hurts, relationships, etc. would all be different because hopefully it would be according to what God wants us to do. A society full of Jesus followers!!!
So here's my challenge to you, just like Matt challenged me. Pray. Pray about anything and everything you want to talk to God about. But don't forget the big bold prayers too. Ones that can change the world. I don't know about you, but I'll never look at the game Candyland the same way ever again. :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
"Wow...I'm full!"
How many times have you said those words, "Wow...I'm full!!!" Anytime I have overeaten, I have said that. I love being able to go out to a nice restaurant and enjoy their good food with so many options. But I stuff myself....full. Then I sometimes feel miserable, and at that point am very thankful for the little bit of stretchy waistband in my jeans! I should've known better and quit before I got that full. Now there's no room for anything else...especially when the waitress/waiter comes back to your table and asks, "Are you saving room for dessert?" CHECK PLEASE!
What other things do we get "full" of? Maybe you've had your fill of other people's griping, complaining and whining around about their life. It seems with people like this that nothing at all can ever go right and it's always "someone else's fault". I get my fill of that with people sometimes when they come to me and ask for advice and are wanting help figuring things out, but they don't ever make any changes to their life. I then say, "I've had my fill of that" and you wipe your hands clean of it all. It's not that I don't care....but eventually those people have to take some ownership in their life.
Or maybe your kids are drivin' ya up the wall! They're tired, grouchy, & fightin' with their siblings and all of a sudden we say, "I've had it....I've had my fill of this!"
Pet peeve: People that go on and on and on about themselves. Bragging constantly. It's all about them all the time. Annoying, isn't it? You've met 'em. Everyone has. It's those kind of people that hardly ever ask about your day and always talk about what's goin' on with them. I have learned to "tune out" of these one way conversations. And I've started to realize that these people that have to inflate themselves all the time is because of their false sense of humility, but also their lack of self-esteem. Of course, they probably wouldn't say that tho'.
Told ya....it's always "someone else's fault" that I get full.
But.....what about me? And what about you?
Jesus says in James 4:10 to "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." And in I Peter 5:5b..."All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Also read Philippians 2:3-11.
We are told not to boast (about ourselves), to put others first, to not be FULL of ourselves. That's tough to do sometimes, isn't it? We receive compliments from others and we think to ourselves, "I must be pretty special!" Or we look around and think we are better than someone else or we can do a better job than them. Our head is now gettin' bigger and we are full. Have you ever been around those kind of people that make you feel "less" than them? It's not fun for sure. Let's make sure we don't treat others like this so that they don't say of us, "I've had my "fill" of her!" And please don't misunderstand me. There are appropriate times to let others know what's going on and most definitely praise your kids, for example. In fact, as parents, we DO need to encourage them! But sometimes, enough is enough already. I mean after all...there IS a God and we're not it!
What then should we be full of? Let me suggest one to you: the Holy Spirit. Memorizing and actually working on "doing" the 9 fruits of the spirit that are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 would be a good start of becoming full of something besides ourselves. I wonder if all of those were in check, how much less of us and more of Him would actually take place?
Ask yourself this question: "How can there be any more room for God if I'm so full of myself?" So move over (insert your own name)....and become full of GOD!
Acts 11:24: "He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." How would you like that to be said of you by Jesus Himself someday? Sounds good to me...
What other things do we get "full" of? Maybe you've had your fill of other people's griping, complaining and whining around about their life. It seems with people like this that nothing at all can ever go right and it's always "someone else's fault". I get my fill of that with people sometimes when they come to me and ask for advice and are wanting help figuring things out, but they don't ever make any changes to their life. I then say, "I've had my fill of that" and you wipe your hands clean of it all. It's not that I don't care....but eventually those people have to take some ownership in their life.
Or maybe your kids are drivin' ya up the wall! They're tired, grouchy, & fightin' with their siblings and all of a sudden we say, "I've had it....I've had my fill of this!"
Pet peeve: People that go on and on and on about themselves. Bragging constantly. It's all about them all the time. Annoying, isn't it? You've met 'em. Everyone has. It's those kind of people that hardly ever ask about your day and always talk about what's goin' on with them. I have learned to "tune out" of these one way conversations. And I've started to realize that these people that have to inflate themselves all the time is because of their false sense of humility, but also their lack of self-esteem. Of course, they probably wouldn't say that tho'.
Told ya....it's always "someone else's fault" that I get full.
But.....what about me? And what about you?
Jesus says in James 4:10 to "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." And in I Peter 5:5b..."All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Also read Philippians 2:3-11.
We are told not to boast (about ourselves), to put others first, to not be FULL of ourselves. That's tough to do sometimes, isn't it? We receive compliments from others and we think to ourselves, "I must be pretty special!" Or we look around and think we are better than someone else or we can do a better job than them. Our head is now gettin' bigger and we are full. Have you ever been around those kind of people that make you feel "less" than them? It's not fun for sure. Let's make sure we don't treat others like this so that they don't say of us, "I've had my "fill" of her!" And please don't misunderstand me. There are appropriate times to let others know what's going on and most definitely praise your kids, for example. In fact, as parents, we DO need to encourage them! But sometimes, enough is enough already. I mean after all...there IS a God and we're not it!
What then should we be full of? Let me suggest one to you: the Holy Spirit. Memorizing and actually working on "doing" the 9 fruits of the spirit that are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 would be a good start of becoming full of something besides ourselves. I wonder if all of those were in check, how much less of us and more of Him would actually take place?
Ask yourself this question: "How can there be any more room for God if I'm so full of myself?" So move over (insert your own name)....and become full of GOD!
Acts 11:24: "He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." How would you like that to be said of you by Jesus Himself someday? Sounds good to me...
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