Multitude Monday

 

Here are some of the things I was thankful for this week:

1201.  Lots of rain- washing away the pollen
1202.  And making green grass grow in our yard


1203.  Seeing our oldest son's prayer life continue to mature
1204.  Seeing his little brother's prayer life grow, too, as he emulates his big brother

1205.  Husband getting to and from Hawaii safely (nice business trip, huh?)
1206.  Parents willing and able to help me manage some scheduling conflict while husband was away

1207.  Spring cleaning progress- playroom and home office/homework room done

1208.  Free Ice Cream Cone Day at our favorite ice cream shoppe

1209.  Being the Mystery Reader in our first grader's class- sharing this family favorite with his class


1210.  Leading a successful PTO project for the school


1211.  A morning of fellowship with moms from my Wednesday morning Bible study


1212.  Rain holding off while we enjoyed our daughter's outdoor field trip


1213.  Celebrating our boys' accomplishments at the Awana closing ceremony


1214.  A fun girly weekend at the beach for our daughter with my sister at her family


1215.  A beautiful day at the baseball fields

You can read why I got started counting the gifts here.

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 70

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.


Psalm 70

"But may all who seek you 
   rejoice and be glad in you; 
may those who love your salvation always say, 
   “Let God be exalted!”  Psalm 70: 4

I struggle to balance growing in Christ with resting in Him.  I can easily see where I am falling short in this life and be disappointed in the slowness or lack of progress in my areas of weakness.  Then, I am great about making a plan for change and growth.  Sometimes, I will see the change and growth I was hoping for- to God's glory!  But often, I do not.  And I struggle with that because the sins I want to have victory over are certainly things God wants to change in me.  And I do truly seek God's strength to change, using His Word as a guide and His saints as partners in prayer and accountability.  So often, I am left perplexed- I know God would want this change, I am seeking Him for the change, why then, in the end, do things stay the same?  


I wish I knew the answer.  I think I understand pieces of it.  Lately, though, God has been exhorting me to lay aside my agenda for change.  To forget the carefully laid plans I have for freedom and simply come to Him to rejoice and be glad in Him.  To come and receive soul satisfacion.  I'm trying but old habits die hard.  But perhaps this is true freedom?  Knowing that despite the wretched woman I am, I am loved by God.  I am not defined by my sin or my struggle but by Him who lives in me and whose blood has covered my stain.  And because of this, I can rejoice and be glad!


Father, thank You for reminding me that the ultimate goal of this life is to find my soul's satisfaction in You, to rejoice and be glad in You.  Help me to lay aside my own agenda and walk in the freedom You have already bought for me.  Give me joy in this journey!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 69

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.

Psalm 69

"But I pray to you, O LORD, 
   in the time of your favor; 
in your great love, O God, 
   answer me with your sure salvation."  Psalm 69: 13

These are words that are easier to say than to live.  Waiting for Him to answer in the time of His favor and according to His great love is difficult.  I might think I trust God's timing and wisdom but there are times when truthfully I wonder why everything is not going according to my own plan, my hopes, my dreams.  


This is a truth I have had to explain to my ten-year-old lately as he questions why God did not answer his prayer the way he wanted, at the time he wanted.  I've given him the best solid answers I can, with examples from his own life of waiting on God and receiving a blessing later, but in the end it is something he has to wrestle through with God.  Something we all have to wrestle through, no?  In the end it comes down to faith- do I believe that God is good regardless of my circumstances?  And also, trust- am I willing to endure this circumstance, trusting that He works all things together for good?   

Father, give us faith to believe You are good, You are loving, You are wise, You are working in our lives at all times.  Give us hearts that trust that You will answer in the time of Your favor and in Your great love- hearts that trust in Your timing and love.  Help me to come alongside my son as he wrestles through these truths with You.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Somebody Stop This Ride...

I wanna get off!!!

Bloggy friends, I've missed you!  I always forget how crazy Spring is for us.  Both boys have birthdays.  Spring baseball starts.  School is winding down which means that end of year after-school events are winding up.  Since we made our big decision to homeschool next year, I have spent much of my free time researching curriculum.  And, for some unfathomable reason, I have had this drive to spring clean.  I mean really spring clean.  Like under the beds and in the attic, spring clean!

All this has left me little time to blog :(  I have so much I want to share here.  I have so much to catch up on on your blogs!  All this to say, I am not sure when I will have the time to do these things.  Hopefully a few days, a week?  Maybe a few weeks???  I hope not!

Either way, just wanted to pop into this space to say hello :)

Multitude Monday

 

Here are some of the things I was thankful for this week:

1201.  Daily rain to wash away all the pollen
1202.  And make green grass grow in our front yard!

1203.  Watching my oldest's prayer life continue to grow
1204.  And his brother's, too, as he emulates big brother

1205.  T getting to Hawaii and home safely (some business trip, huh?)
1206.  Parents willing and able to help me manage some scheduling conflicts while T was away


1207.  Spring cleaning progress- playroom and home office/homework room done!

1208.  Free Ice Cream cone day at our favorite ice cream shoppe

1209.  Being the Mystery reader for our first grader's class- reading this family favorite


1210.  Leading a successful PTO project for the school


1211.  A morning of fellowship with mom's from my Wednesday morning Bible study


1212.  Rain holding off for daughter's outdoor field trip


1213.  Celebrating the boys' accomplishments at the Awana Closing Ceremony


1214.  Daughter going with my sister and her family for a weekend of girly fun at the beach


1215.  A beautiful Saturday spent at the baseball fields

You can read why I got started counting the gifts here.

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 68

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.

Psalm 68 

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
   who daily bears our burdens.     SelahOur God is a God who saves;
   from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death."  Psalm 68: 19-20

I have a very dear friend who is suffering right now.  As I prayed for her this morning, I asked God to help me be a support to her, to be His hands and feet to her.  I asked for a verse that I might share with her to encourage her.  Then I read these two verses in Psalm 68 and I knew these were what God wanted me to share with my sweet friend.  No matter how heavy our burdens, we are not alone with them.  He daily bears our burdens.  He is a God who saves and provides an escape from death- literally and figuratively.  When life is so hard and we feel like the walking dead, He has an escape from that, too.  So, I will pray that this suffering will do the work God has in mind for it in my friend quickly and that she escapes this time stronger and full of joy.

Father God, I lift up my sister and dear friend to You.  I ask that You remove from her mind confusion and dismay and give her clear thinking and wisdom to make decisions at this time.  Remind her that she is not alone in her pain but that You are daily bearing her burdens.  You are a God who saves, who provides escape from death.  After you have used this time of suffering in her life for her good, I pray that she would escape this time stronger and full of Your joy and peace.  Help me to know how to minister to my friend- to be Your hands and feet to her.  Thank You, God, for your love for her!  In Jesus' name, amen.

The 5Ps of Personal Bible Study

At the end of April, our church hosted a two day live simulcast event featuring the teaching of Priscilla Shirer.  At the time of the simulcast, none of us knew much about Priscilla except that she is the daughter of Dr. Tony Evans and one of the speakers at the Deeper Still events with Beth Moore and Kay Arthur.  As it turns out, Going Beyond was a wonderful event with the theme of looking at life's interruptions as opportunities and gifts from God rather than as annoyances or even tragedies.  I know from experience that this is not easy- it is one of many motivations for counting the gifts.  It was good to challenged on this again by Priscilla's teaching from the book of Jonah.  There was also a beautiful two part prayer experience at the event that touched every woman there- it was the one thing every woman who completed a survey mentioned as an important part of their experience that weekend.  

At Going Beyond, Priscilla also described a tool she uses for Personal Bible Study and I wanted to share it here.  I have been using it fairly regularly and it has been WONDERFUL!  I have heard God speak to me clearly each time I have used the method.  This is not something Priscilla dreamed up on her own.  It is a type of Inductive Bible Study, actually.  She shared it so simply and clearly though, that I think many who had been wary of delving into Bible study on their own in this way before felt empowered to try. 

Priscilla calls her tool The 5Ps of Personal Bible Study.  The 5 Ps stand for:

1. Position (yourself to hear from God)
2. Pore (over the passage) and Paraphrase (the major points)
3. Pull (out the spiritual principles)
4. Pose (the questions)
5. Plan (obedience) and Pin (down the date)

Here's how it works in practice.  Simply grab your Bible, a journal and a pen.  Choose a short passage of scripture- 1 to 3 verses at a time- to study.  You can work methodically through a book or large passage of scripture or you might choose several scriptures related to a topic you want to study after looking them up in a concordance and work through them over a period of time.

1. Position:  Simply take a few moments to quiet yourself before the Lord.  Worship, pray and clear your mind of other concerns.
2. Pore and Paraphrase:  Ponder the passage you chose.  Contemplate and meditate on it.  Personally, I read it aloud several times, stressing different words each time in an attempt to "hear" all the possible meanings of the verse.  After you have pondered the verse(s), write a simple paraphrase of each verse of the scripture you chose.  Do not do anything more than write it in your own words for this step.
3. Pull:  Take each verse of the passage and pull out the spiritual principles it conveys and write these principles down.  This is simpler than it sounds, trust me!  To do this, consider what the verses mean.  Ask yourself these questions: Is there a promise, an attribute of God, a boundary for me, an encouragement, an instruction, conviction? 
4. Pose:  This is the part Priscilla calls the "Divine Dialogue."  It is where you examine whether your life lines up with the spiritual principles the passage lays out.  It's here that you allow the Holy Spirit to convict, correct, encourage, etc. you personally.
5. Plan and Pin Down:  If the Lord has revealed an area in which you need to grow as a result of the above process, here is where you strategize how your can bring yourself into obedience with God and His Word.  You might simply need to act in response to what you've heard (i.e., call someone and forgive them) or you might need to determine a process for bringing yourself in line with the truth (i.e., getting a prayer and/or accountability partner, etc.)  Then, you pin down a date for following through on your plan.

I've been using this tool in my morning Quiet Time and depending on the length of the passage I study each day, the whole process has been taking about 20-25 minutes. Using the 5 Ps method, I am doing my own topical Bible study on obedience!  I am working through about 20 passages of Scripture- studying one each day. 

I'm linking with Kristen and Works for Me Wednesday today!

Multitude Monday

 

Here are some of the things I was thankful for this week:

1169.  Homemade Retreat (More on that soon!)
1170.  Re-evaluating my Mission Statement
1171.  Hearing from Him
1172.  Kat and all her wisdom and tools at Inspired to Action
1173.  Setting goals, making decisions and plans, a defined direction
1174.  Two new apps to help with all of the above: Things and HomeRoutines


1174.  Knowing I need prayer
1175.  A faithful prayer partner


1176.  A peaceful morning before school


1177.  Beautiful color springing forth all around us

1178.  A plan for much needed Spring Cleaning
1179.  One closet down- many more to go!
1180.  Giving our excess to help others
1181.  A sparkling clean car- even if it won't last very long


1182.  Little boys' love for all things baseball


1183.  Little girl's dance recital

1184.  Time to tackle some much needed yard work
1185.  Husband who is not afraid to get his hands dirty
1186.  Husband who remains optimistic about growing actual grass in our yards despite my wails of disbelief


1187.  Priscilla Shirer's 5 P's of Personal Bible Study

You can read why I got started counting the gifts here.