Disconnected

Have you ever felt disconnected from God? Sometimes I find that after having several major "high" days with Him I then feel disconnected. It's strange. I feel like my prayers are hard to form and they don't reach any higher than the ceiling. Because I know that our relationship with God should not be based on our feelings, I find that in these times the best thing for me to do is pray the scriptures. If this happens to you and you just don't know where to start, I recommend the Psalms. One of my favorite prayers to get back in touch with the Lord is:

Psalm 19:14

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Remember, our words to the Lord are not a magic incantation. Our words should be from our heart and our truest deepest concerns to Him. Another scripture that I love referring to when I feel disconnected is:

Romans 8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

So even when I feel disconnected sometimes I just ask the Spirit to lift me up to the Lord and pray for me and I sit quietly in His presence.

Father, thank you for you Word. Thank you for leaving us with such wisdom to help us get through each and every day. Father, for those times that for whatever reason we feel overcome or distant from you, I pray that your Spirit would lead us back to your Word and guide us, lift us up to You, and that You, and You alone would renew the peace in our heart, the unsurpassable peace that only you can give. In the precious name of Jesus I come to you, because it is only because of Him and through Him, that I am even able to be reconciled to You. Amen.

Do the Right Thing

I don't know about you but I can tend to be a creature of habit. Last night I was out of my routine and because of that I got to bed later than normal, and because of that I had a very difficult time sleeping, and because of that I struggled to get up this morning. As I was fighting it (in my head)...should I get up...should I sleep in...ugh...the thought came to me, get up, do the right thing. I know this is not some profound eye opening lesson, but it did reinforce to me, just because my routine was out of whack doesn't give me a pass on doing the right thing. So for all of you who also struggle when your routine gets re-routed, or those of you who just struggle with getting up early, this one is for you:

Father, I thank you so much for giving me another day and another opportunity to share my love for you with others. Thank you for even the smallest of lessons, like that gentle reminder to get up and do the right thing. Thank you for your loving prodding in the morning. And Father, for all of us who struggle when our "routine" is disrupted, I thank you so much for showing us that those interruptions can be the greatest blessing of all. In the precious name of Jesus, amen.

Are you a Cowboy?

Watching the movie The Cowboys with my husband and the Lord gave me several lessons just one from one small scene. For those of you who don't know this movie, it's a John Wayne movie where he leads a dozen or so (I think) small boys into a cattle drive, a rough cattle drive, because he has no adult men to work with him. In this scene he (John Wayne) is in a one room schoolhouse explaining to the boys that this is going to be hard, they will be fed, get little rest, and work hard. It will be tough, very tough, but there will be a great reward at the end. He tells them to meet him at 5 am to get started on this tough journey.

One boy, the smallest of the bunch, raises his hand and asks "sir, all of us?". John Wayne calls him up to the front, has him stand in front of a chalkboard, and draws a line just above his head. Then JW says "anyone as tall as this line". The boy is crushed because he is not that tall. JW leaves the room and two of the older boys go up front and lower the chalkboard so the line is right at the boy's head. The smaller boy smiles hugely.

I said to my husband, "all kids, of all generations, always in such a hurry to grow up thinking that being an adult is so much better". I walked into the other room and immediately I saw the lessons in this.

1. When we follow the Lord our journey is hard but we are fed, we get little rest, and there is a great reward at the end!
2. The best way to begin our journey each day is to meet Him early.
3. We are small children, always in hurry to grow up.
4. If we are surrounded by fellow believers, more mature than us, they will encourage and protect us.
5. And lastly, as children, we need to remember that we look at things and think they are better, or easier, or more fun, but God, and only God, knows what is best for us and what will harm us. We need to be careful to stay under His protection and remember that when we err, and we will, and He disciplines us, it's because He loves us. He is protecting us from harm.

It is absolutely amazing to me, every day, how the Lord puts these picture images, these lessons, into my head in the blink of an eye. I love Him so much!

My prayer for you today:

My gracious heavenly Father, my Daddy, my Leader, I love the way you speak directly to my heart and my mind. Thank you for always speaking and teaching and guiding. Lord, I lift up everyone who is reading these words today and I pray, Father, that they read these words and understand how you love us and are always watching out for our best. You are our Protector and Provider. You are not a cruel taskmaster but you walk us through the battles. You are honest and let us know that this journey is not easy, but You are always there. You teach us your ways so that we will grow and trust in You. I thank you for loving us so much. I thank you that you put us in places where we have other believers around us to help us and support us, but You are our ultimate protection and provision. I pray Father, for everyone reading this that they grow in you each day, that they love you more each day, and that they hear your voice, and learn your lesson, each day. I love you, daddy. Thank you for your ultimate teacher, guide, and sacrifice, your son, Jesus. It is in his precious name, and because of Him, that I am able to come to you and lift up others. Thank you father, thank you Jesus! Amen.

Love Each Other, Not the World

<sup>Today my prayer for you comes from the book of 1 John, chapter 2. The scripture says:




1 John 2:9</sup> Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

and it continues

^{1 John 2:15} Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

so Lord, my prayer for those precious ones that are reading your Word today, Father, I pray with everything that you have put in me that today those of us who call on your name and are your children would start loving each other as much as we say we love you. I pray that we would look upon each other as you look upon us, that we would look past the faults, the differences, and the humanity, and instead see what you see. That we would support each other, love each other, pray for each other, and not be as those that are without you and point fingers with hateful spite dripping from our lips. How sad this must be for you to see your children backbiting each other. Forgive me Lord for all of the times that I have dripped poison with my mouth towards one of your children. Forgive me Lord. I pray, Father, that for each child of yours that I have ever said or thought one spiteful, hateful, unforgiving thing toward that you lift each one of them up and bless them greatly Father. Forgive me for sinning against them and against you.

And Father, I pray that your children, including me, would see how much we have become of this world. Show us, through your eyes, how we have become dirtied and tainted, and have lost your glow. Cleanse us Father. Remove our desire for this world and the things of this world. Take the love that we have for this world and the things of this world and multiply it by ten times turning it into a love for you! and your Word!! and a desire for your holiness in us. I know you will do it Father because I know your desire for us is that we desire you.

Forgive us Father for our sins, thank you Lord for the cleansing through Jesus. May we walk through this day with your Holy Spirit pouring out of us, everywhere we go, like a wave following us, touching every person we pass by. May your Spirit hit people deep in their hearts, in their souls, and revive them toward you Lord.

I ask this in the mighty name of our precious Lord, your holy Son, Jesus.

Amen!

Every Day, a New Beginning

For those of you who were following my blog, Everyday Beauty, I'm sure you have noticed a change in the name to "Choose This Day". There are a couple of reasons for this change. Let me give you a little history.

When I began Everyday Beauty my intent was for it to be a beauty blog. As I have stated in a prior post, the Lord, my Lord, had another plan. I followed His lead and the topics of my blogs changed. A little over a month ago, maybe even two months, I'm not sure, I felt He was shifting my focus from the blog to an even greater prayer life with Him. Some very close, personal, alone time. Many things in my life changed drastically. Maybe not to the outside eye looking in, but in my heart, internally. I was led to pray not only to for Him to lead me and my husband to a church home (we had not been attending church for wayyyyy too long), but more importantly to pray for the heart of Christ.

I began praying for Him to change my heart to love what He loves and hate what He hates. He, as always, has been extremely faithful. We have recently started a new journey with a wonderful church family and more importantly He has been molding, softening, and changing my heart even more than I could have ever anticipated. My prayers have changed so much, from being so focused on me to mainly focused on praise and worship of Him and interceding for others, so much so that I often literally feel pain and have tears rolling down my face. Not pain like a pain you get when you hurt your physical body, but a deep, heartfelt, spiritual pain. Hard to explain if you've never felt it. At times I've thought why did I ask for this but I know that question was not from Him. He has blessed me with a HUGE gift to intercede for others in prayer.

Now, just this morning in fact, He has directed me it is time to begin the blog again, to share with others in prayer. Prayer for me is very personal, just my time with Him, and it will continue to be that way where there are many prayers that are just between me and Him and won't be shared. However, this platform is for you. What He has put in my heart is to share prayers and personal experiences with you in order to uplift and encourage you. Encourage you, not only through the prayers, but encourage you to sit and have conversation with Him yourself. He longs to spend time with you and soften your heart toward Him and others, as He has done for me. Trust me, if He has done this for me He will absolutely do it for you.

So, back to the name. The reason for "Choose This Day"....it comes from the book of Joshua.

Joshua 24:14-16New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

And so, this day, I choose to serve the Lord. I encourage you to do the same. Each day we have a choice. Each minute of each day we have a choice. I pray you make the choice to follow Him.

My prayer for you today:

Father in Heaven, the Almighty creator of the universe, most Holy, most powerful, and yet most merciful Lord. I thank you for your love and compassion that you have poured out on your people through your Son Jesus. I thank you for your patience and mercy that you have with us. I thank you for being my father, my daddy. I thank you for allowing me the privelege to lift up others in prayer. I ask you father, if there is any pride in me to remove it and to not allow my sins to hinder the requests for others. Please father let them be blessed through these prayers in spite of my faults and only because I plead for them through the blood of Jesus who is mighty and powerful, and the only way of salvation. I ask father, for everyone reading these words today, that you reveal yourself to them in such a way that they cannot deny you. They cannot say "it's a coincidence" or "god is not real" or "god doesn't talk to me". Father, I pray for each one reading that they come to know you so intimately that they feel there is just not enough time in the day to worship you and spend time with you. That you become more important to them than even the air they breathe. Yes, father, I do ask for blessings for them to help them get through each day, but moreso father, I ask that their desire for this world grows dim and their desire for You burns hotly. I love you Lord. Thank you for this privelege. In the mighty, all powerful, filled with amazing grace, mercy, and love, name of my savior, Jesus, thank you for hearing my prayers and I can't wait to watch you work! You're amazing father!!!! Amen.

Sin and the Chocolate Muffin

This morning I was eating a chocolate muffin for breakfast and my dog Cooper sat staring at me with those huge, sad, puppy dog eyes...drooling and I knew in my heart he was thinking "please mom, just one bite, I love chocolate muffins...they look so good, so yummy, I want, I want, I want". Well it was easy to say no because I knew it was bad for him. Chocolate can make a dog very sick. I said to him, "honey, you know mommy loves you, and you know I want to give you anything you want, but I will not give you something that is going to make you sick". And at just that second it came to my mind that that is exactly how God feels toward us regarding sin.

When God tells us, through his word, not to do something, it's not because He is being mean, or being a taskmaster, or trying to take away our fun...it's because He's our dad and He loves us and He is protecting us. He's trying to keep us from doing something that is going to make us sick by bringing sin into our lives. He's trying to keep us from harm.

If you are a parent let me ask you....if your child was reaching for liquid dish soap to drink because it looked pretty and tasty, would you just stand by and say ok? No! You would run and yank it out of their hand and say no. Now your child might start crying or even pitching a fit, but you don't give in and give it to them because you know it's bad for them, it will make them sick, possibly kill them. That's what sin is to us. It will make us sick....but it won't possibly kill us...it WILL kill us.

God gives us his laws because He loves us. He is telling us, hey, don't do that, it will kill you!!! Unfortunately, we all sin and that is why Jesus came...to wipe those sins, that disease, from us. To rescue us from ourselves, to save us, to cure us!! If you have the disease of sin Jesus can, and will save you too, all you have to do is ask Him. Just tell Him you have sinned, you're sorry, you don't want to sin anymore, you recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, He came and died on the cross to pay for our sins, He rose on the third day, and now He is at the right hand of the father interceding for us every day. Ask Him to forgive you, to cleanse you of your sins, to come into your heart, and to guide you for the rest of your life. Ask Him to keep you from delving into that poisonous sin each and every day. He WILL do it because He IS your loving father and He wants you to live.

I pray you go to Him today and trust Him to save you.

Father, Lord...my Daddy

I grew up without a father. My mom and dad got divorced when I was very young, less than five I believe, and I didn't see him after that. I have very few memories of him and none of them are good. I didn't know it until much later in life that a lot of the issues I had with relationships with men were because I didn't have a good relationship with my father. In some respects that is very sad but in others, at least I didn't have to overcome an abusive father...just no father.

So, when I became a Christian it was hard for me to relate to God the Father. I could easily accept Jesus. He seemed loving, caring, compassionate, smart, sacrificial, and on and on. But God the Father, well he was just plain scary, right? Wiping out people in the Old Testament because they didn't listen to Him or weren't perfect. Right? Wrong!!! My perception of God the Father was totally off-base and that is because I was thinking of Him in terms of a worldly father. Also, apparently when Jesus said:

John 14:9

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

 

I guess I just breezed over that part....

 

You see, Jesus is the embodiment of the Father. He is our physical representation of everything that the Father is. Until you come into a personal relationship with Him it is truly hard to comprehend, at least it was for me. But now, each and every day I grow closer to Him, because of Him!

 

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

 

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

 

When I first became a Christian I prayed to Jesus because I was afraid to pray to the "Father". Those times that I did pray "Father" I felt a distance, as though I was not being genuine, as though I was just reciting something to an audience. I started to then pray by saying "God" instead of saying father, because I couldn't relate to father and it sounded so distant and harsh to me. One prayer I asked, and He has responded hugely, is God please let me grow closer to you, let me see you and love you as a father, not a father as one of this world, but the father you truly are. Friends, let me tell you something...He loved that prayer! You know how I know? Because now when I talk to Him not only do I not feel a distance, I now feel love. I still don't call Him father because for me that sounds so formal. To me He is Daddy.

 

I pray for you also to have a relationship with my Daddy...for Him to be your Daddy...Come to Him, He will take you on His lap, hug you tight, listen to your prayers, hold your hand, and guide you. He loves you and has provided for you the best friend, mentor, teacher, and above all, saviour that you could ever hope or dream for in Jesus.