Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Warmer Weather
Friday, April 25, 2014
Prayer
I’m Tired of Praying the Same Prayers
Lynn Cowell April 24, 2014
“‘Not so, my lord,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.’” 1 Samuel 1:15 (NIV 1984)
Just not having a good day. I’m tired of praying these same prayers!
I debated whether or not to update my Facebook status to reflect how I really felt. Not every day is a good day. This day was especially hard as I held my prayer journal. I thought, I just don’t have it in me to pray those prayers again. I’m exhausted, worn out. I might be able to read my Bible, but pray? Not today.
I decided to share the reality of my emotional state on Facebook. Hoping my words would encourage someone else who was having a bad day and struggling to pray for things that break her heart.
There was another woman whose prayers were hard to pray. Her name was Hannah, and for years she prayed for and longed desperately for a child.
Each year, Hannah traveled with her husband to worship the Lord. One year in particular, the burden of her prayer was more than she could take. The Bible says, “In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD“ (1 Samuel 1:10, NIV 1984).
As she prayed in her heart, her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. The priest thought she was drunk! “‘Not so, my LORD,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled … I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief’” (vv. 15,16).
Eli, the priest, sensed Hannah’s pain and stepped into her situation with words to encourage, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him” (v. 17). The story tells us that Eli’s words made a difference, and Hannah left no longer sad.
While a priest didn’t respond to my Facebook status, my dear friend Julie did. She had read my post and called, asking, “Are you OK?”
With those three short words, my dam of keeping-it-all-together broke. “No, I’m not.” The flood of weariness from unanswered prayers poured out.
From there, my friend reassured me she was praying for me, but it was her challenge that did my heart the most good. Her words enabled me to “go in peace,” like Eli told Hannah to do.
Julie encouraged me to pick up my prayer journal. Not so I could pray the prayers again, but to see God’s faithfulness in the past.
“Go through and read all the prayers God has answered in your life,” Julie said. She assured me that remembering God’s goodness would fuel me to keep praying and trusting God for those answers yet to come.
I recognized wise advice, so I took my prayer journal and read of God’s faithfulness to me and my family. In fact, I read it out loud. It made a difference in my attitude.
God finally answered Hannah’s prayer for a son after many years of prayer. And while I don’t want to wait years to see answers to my prayers, Hannah’s story inspires me to keep worshiping, praying and looking for His answers.
Do you have a prayer you are weary of praying? Maybe it’s time to focus on God’s faithfulness in those answered prayers in your past.
Dear Jesus, You are faithful, always. Though I may grow weary in praying for Your will and Your ways to be accomplished in my life, You never grow weary. Though I may not see what You are doing, I know You are working. Today, I rest in the comfort of what You have done in my past and all You will do in my future. In Your Name, Amen.
http://proverbs31.org/devotions/devo/im-tired-of-praying-the-same-prayers/
Lynn Cowell April 24, 2014
“‘Not so, my lord,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.’” 1 Samuel 1:15 (NIV 1984)
Just not having a good day. I’m tired of praying these same prayers!
I debated whether or not to update my Facebook status to reflect how I really felt. Not every day is a good day. This day was especially hard as I held my prayer journal. I thought, I just don’t have it in me to pray those prayers again. I’m exhausted, worn out. I might be able to read my Bible, but pray? Not today.
I decided to share the reality of my emotional state on Facebook. Hoping my words would encourage someone else who was having a bad day and struggling to pray for things that break her heart.
There was another woman whose prayers were hard to pray. Her name was Hannah, and for years she prayed for and longed desperately for a child.
Each year, Hannah traveled with her husband to worship the Lord. One year in particular, the burden of her prayer was more than she could take. The Bible says, “In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD“ (1 Samuel 1:10, NIV 1984).
As she prayed in her heart, her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. The priest thought she was drunk! “‘Not so, my LORD,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled … I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief’” (vv. 15,16).
Eli, the priest, sensed Hannah’s pain and stepped into her situation with words to encourage, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him” (v. 17). The story tells us that Eli’s words made a difference, and Hannah left no longer sad.
While a priest didn’t respond to my Facebook status, my dear friend Julie did. She had read my post and called, asking, “Are you OK?”
With those three short words, my dam of keeping-it-all-together broke. “No, I’m not.” The flood of weariness from unanswered prayers poured out.
From there, my friend reassured me she was praying for me, but it was her challenge that did my heart the most good. Her words enabled me to “go in peace,” like Eli told Hannah to do.
Julie encouraged me to pick up my prayer journal. Not so I could pray the prayers again, but to see God’s faithfulness in the past.
“Go through and read all the prayers God has answered in your life,” Julie said. She assured me that remembering God’s goodness would fuel me to keep praying and trusting God for those answers yet to come.
I recognized wise advice, so I took my prayer journal and read of God’s faithfulness to me and my family. In fact, I read it out loud. It made a difference in my attitude.
God finally answered Hannah’s prayer for a son after many years of prayer. And while I don’t want to wait years to see answers to my prayers, Hannah’s story inspires me to keep worshiping, praying and looking for His answers.
Do you have a prayer you are weary of praying? Maybe it’s time to focus on God’s faithfulness in those answered prayers in your past.
Dear Jesus, You are faithful, always. Though I may grow weary in praying for Your will and Your ways to be accomplished in my life, You never grow weary. Though I may not see what You are doing, I know You are working. Today, I rest in the comfort of what You have done in my past and all You will do in my future. In Your Name, Amen.
http://proverbs31.org/devotions/devo/im-tired-of-praying-the-same-prayers/
My Thoughts:
When I read this devotion a few minutes ago, I knew it was God acknowledging the words that have been filling my prayer journal the last few days. I often scan back through my prayer journal to see how God has been working in my life. I want to see the answers to my prayers, but too often my mind focuses on the pain I read in my pleas for His help and direction. I see the same prayers over and over and wonder if He is ever going to answer them for me. I know that there is purpose in waiting, but when I feel exhausted by life it is hard for me to find that purpose and stay focused on His faithfulness. Not sure where this day will take me, but for now I am going to open my journal again and pour out my heart to the One who has everything in His control.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Still Decluttering
Hard to believe that it has been over a month since my last decluttering post. I haven't given up, life has just been busy. The kids and I spend a wonderful week in Florida with the Bertsch/Pfister family and then a few days after we returned I headed to Missouri for the Empowered to Connect Conference (I will probably share more about each of these events in future blogs posts). In between my two trips Amanda Frauhiger came over and helped me clean out my kitchen cupboards. Through the process I figured out that I had too many bowls, way too much glad-ware, and three junk drawers. Leaving my house (it is all sitting in boxes in the dinning room) are over 8 cookbooks, 20+ small plastic containers, around 10 serving bowels of various sizes, a large roaster, and a lot of other small items. I ended the clean out effort with a trip to the store for plastic baskets to keep my smaller kitchen items more organized. While I was at the conference my parents stayed with the kids and my dad took out Moriah's old closet system and put in new bars and shelves. I spent an afternoon last week painting her closet while the kids played with friends (a big thanks to Jesse Steffen for keeping them).
Before
After
Before
After
On Saturday Courtney and Jodi Pfister organized a group of friends to help me clean out two of my most dreaded areas in my house-the garage and the basement storage room. I feel so blessed that Ked Ringger, Jason and Anna Lantz, Jay Gerber, Byron Gerber, and Keith and Kay Gerber all gave up part of their Saturday to join Courtney and Jodi (hopefully I didn't miss anyone). My windows are sparkling, the landscaping is ready for spring, and both the garage and basement look 100% better than when we started. I also have a large stack of items that I am getting rid off (I didn't feel like counting this time). Now for the before/after pictures:
Garage Before
Garage After
Basement Before
Basement After
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