 “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Recently I was cheering on my granddaughter as she filled in a “connect the dots” activity sheet. For myself and probably anyone beyond preschool age the design was apparent; but for my young granddaughter, this was a fun challenge. As she was drawing the line between the final dots, she squealed the answer in delight. It was the sound of revelation and excitement! My response was quite similar when the Lord brought to light an answer to my prayer, “Lord teach me to pray!” The request had come at a time when I was feeling that my prayer life was far less than powerful and effective. (James 5:16) I truly wanted His guidance; but in the days to follow, I didn’t feel like I was getting a definitive answer. So I heeded advice that a Christian mentor had once given me; keep doing what you know you are supposed to do. In this case, I kept praying! During the months that passed, my “connect the dots” design was still rather unrecognizable, yet I was moving forward slowly. Then the day arrived that the dots were connected. The Lord began to speak to my heart as I read Mark 14:36, “And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” We know this is the prayer of our Lord as He was getting ready to go to the cross for you and for me. As I read and meditated on this verse, the Holy Spirit guided me to look at the parts of His request. In this time of great anguish, Jesus shared three things with God the Father. He acknowledged that God the Father can do anything, He shared what was on His heart, and then submitted His thoughts and desires to the Father’s will. On that day; I realized that it wasn’t just any design, but it was God’s design for me. God’s design was to bring me to the cross. I needed to be reminded that it is because of Jesus’s finished work at the cross that I can talk to God in prayer. The Holy Spirit also opened my eyes to see what was missing in my prayer life. It’s hard to verbalize, but the best way I can describe it is that I needed to learn to bow my heart with each request. I know that many of us don’t typically go to our knees when we pray; but for analogy sake, think of bowing our knees as the act of lifting up your requests. I picture a bowed heart as the spiritual act of awe and trust; a heart that joins the voice of prayer. A bowed heart says... Nothing is impossible for God God desires to hear what I ask of Him God’s will be done With great joy my, heart squealed in delight that day. The Lord answered my request so specifically and beyond what I asked and imagined. My prayer for you and me, as found in Mark 14:36, is that we will have God’s heart in prayer! AuthorKim White
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 Micah 7:8 My oldest son Logan has an impressive talent, he can stand flat on his feet and do a full back flip. He began learning this flipping ability at age seven. I was inside the house while he was playing on the swing-set outside, I heard him call out, “Mom come watch me”. I stuck my head out the screen door as he climbed to the top of the swing-set. I thought he was going to show me how he could cross the monkey bars. Instead, before I could stop him, he did a front flip about 5 feet off the ground landing flat on his back. I ran over to discover he had knocked the wind out of himself. This was a new experience for him, and he looked at me with wide eyed terror as he squeaked out, “Am I going to die?”. Logan’s flipping failure, and his ability now reminds me of Micah 7:8 (NIV) “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light." When we trust Jesus as our Savior we become children of God (1John 3:1). We can never be bad enough to lose our status, or good enough to earn it. It is by God’s grace and mercy through the death and resurrection of Jesus that we belong to Him for eternity (John 3:16, Romans 6:4-5). But learning to follow Jesus can be painful and there are times when our sin will stagger us and leave us feeling like we got the wind knocked out of us so to speak. Honestly, as women, wives and/or mothers there are things we do that bring guilt and shame. Things like losing my temper with my kids because we are running late for an appointment because I was on FaceBook and lost track of time. Or treating my husband with disrespect when he is standing with the fridge door open and asks “where is the mustard?”, as I spot it from 10 feet away. Or when I am driving down the road with my kids in the backseat, singing my favorite praise song at the top of my lungs and a guy pulls out in front of me and I yell “watch what your doing jerk” as I speed past and cut him off. Yup there I am flat on my back! Micah 7:9 goes on to say that “because I have sinned against the Lord I will endure his wrath.” But this is great news because Romans 8:1 says “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The enemy wants to fool us into believing that because of our sin we are doomed to be failures. He whispers all kinds of things like “you’re a terrible mother”, or “I can’t believe you call yourself a follower of Christ when you act like that." He does this to keep us flat on our backs. Yes, God does not take sin lightly, He hates it and He wants His children to live free from sin, so He will discipline us. But even this is good because Hebrews 12:5-11 tells us “the Lord disciplines those he loves” because we are his children and He wants to teach us to avoid the sin that weighs us down. As a 7 year old boy, Logan laid on the ground barely able to breath after his failure. But he did not stay there, he got up and kept trying (although it was many years later before he tried it from that height again). Today it is one of his favorite tricks! I think that is what the Lord wants us to do in our failure, he wants us to get up and say, because of Jesus “Do not gloat over me my enemy, for though I have fallen” all praise and glory to God, “I Will Rise!” AuthorJulie Fuller Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  I vividly recall being in the shoe department of a retail store when I heard a child call out, “Mommy, where are you?” In a peaceful, reassuring voice the child’s mom replied, “I’m right here, follow my voice.” The mom continued to guide the child with encouragement until the reunion was obvious to those within earshot. “Mommmmmy!”, said it all. I have replayed this scene, in my mind, many times. It always makes me think of my relationship with the heavenly Father. As His child, I desire to hear His voice speak to my heart and guide me. One of the first verses I memorized was James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (ESV). Some translations say to “Come near to God.” My desire is to come running into my Father’s outstretched hands, but I must be honest, I don’t always do that. Even this morning, as I sat down to read my Bible, my mind was all over the place. The rapid, random thoughts brought me to the point of anxiousness. I was trying in my flesh to make order of my thoughts. Finally, I drew near... I followed the example the Lord made known to the prophet, Jeremiah, “Call to Me and I will answer you” (Jeremiah 33:3, ESV). I called out in prayer for Him to help me concentrate. As I started praying, He quieted my soul. Was there something magical about it? No! But, by faith, I chose to believe He would do what He said He would do. I called. He answered! The author, Evelyn Christenson, of “What Happens When Women Pray”, would have called my prayer an “SOS” prayer. I definitely needed help! Thankfully, with my mind quieted by the Lord, I could now draw near by approaching Him in The Word. It is here that He speaks to our hearts. I have heard some people say, “I wish He would speak to me when I read my Bible!”Our Lord longs to speak to each one of us through His Word...even more than we want to hear from Him! On the inside cover of my Bible, I have written a few quotes from Andrew Murray’s book, “ The Inner Chamber and the Inner Life.” These words are a wonderful reminder to me as I open the Word of God. “The Word of God is a living Word. It carries a divine quickening power in it.”“These words are full of the life of God. God is in them, and makes His presence and power known to them who seek Him in them.” Lord, today, may we each choose to draw near to You. And may we hear You speak to our hearts through Your living Word. AuthorKim White  “Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” Imagine a group of young children being asked the question, “How big is God?” I would imagine that some would share by demonstrating on tiptoes with arms outstretched and fingers wiggling to attempt to stretch even higher. Some children would probably say, “He’s bigger than ______.” The blank would be filled in with words like “mountains” and “the tallest building ever.” And this would all be shared with great confidence. The Bible, also tells of God’s bigness: Isaiah 55:9 reveals to us, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” With a childlike faith (Matthew 18:2), I invite you to meditate on God’s ways. Bring this verse into the inner chamber of your heart and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. And what are some of the things that He knows about each one of us? Luke 12:7, “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” Psalm 139:2-4, “You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.” (NLT) How powerful is our BIG God? Jeremiah 32:17, “Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” Psalm 147:4-5, “He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.” This is obviously only a small sampling of the vast number of verses that reveal our truly magnificent God. The purpose of sharing these verses, though, is to help you with a challenge. I would like to challenge you with the same challenge the Lord laid on my heart recently. Let ME be BIG in your life! My immediate thought was, “I’m trying to Lord!” Then He seemed to reveal the areas in which I needed to be stretched and to trust more completely.
Whatever the thought that replays through your mind continually, usually causing anxiety and/or fear; I challenge you to hand it over to our really BIG GOD! He knows all about it. He is just waiting for you to entrust it to Him. To borrow a saying from a bumper sticker I once heard about… If your problem is too big, then your God is too small. With arms stretched up high, offer your concerns and struggles to the Lord. You may even want to wiggle your fingers like a child --- not only to demonstrate His bigness, but also as a picture of no longer holding tight to your problem! AuthorKim White  “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” There is a scene from the movie National Treasure that has resonated with me since the first time I saw it. It is a brief conversation between the two main characters, Abigail Chase and Ben Gates. In the scene, Ben has just finished beautifully articulating to Abigail why finding the treasure is so important to him. After he finishes speaking, Abigail smiles playfully and asserts to Ben that, “People don’t really talk that way.” He responds to her by stating, “I know, but they think that way.” In the movie, Ben’s entire life is encompassed by an overwhelming desire to find the treasure that he believed to be real. This desire led him to think differently about his quest and to speak unashamedly about the object of his affection, the National Treasure. As Christians, do we display this same kind of tenacity when we seek after the Lord? Or are there other “treasures” that we find ourselves thinking and speaking more passionately about? The Bible says that, “Where your treasure is, there your hearts will be also.” Matthew 6:21 And… “From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 So, when the Lord is the treasure that we are seeking after, it will be His goodness that fills our hearts and overflows from our mouths. If we consider the Psalms, it quickly becomes evident that the authors viewed God as their greatest treasure. The psalmists composed and sang verses like, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Psalms 42:1 And… “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalms 27:4 The passion that the psalmists had for the Lord was expressed so beautifully in their poetry and to this day, their words are still captivating hearts and minds. Yet, Satan would have us believe that, “people don’t really talk that way”. He hisses this lie at us in a desperate attempt to diminish our testimony. He wants us to remain silent and to be too embarrassed to say things that will glorify Christ and stir unbelievers to repentance. But, don’t ever let the enemy discourage you from singing praises to God, from declaring the Truth where there are lies, or from speaking love to the broken-hearted. Always allow your mouth to overflow with God’s goodness. The world needs Christians whose lives are encompassed by an overwhelming desire to discover Christ and who are unashamed to proclaim His glory. Let us not be a generation of believers that merely “think” boldly about our Savior. Instead, as we draw nearer to Him each day, may there be an obvious change in the way that we “talk” with the world around us. AuthorMarsha Sommer  "He must increase, I must decrease." When Logan, our oldest son was little his favorite ride at Busch Gardens was the kiddie airplanes. I remember the first time he rode them by himself; he was filled with excitement as the ride went round and round and up and down. Every time he passed by I stood on my tiptoes and waving like a crazy lady, praying that he wouldn’t fall out. Fast forward 16 years and now I am sitting on a crowded airplane (a real one) with that same son, 10,000 feet in the air getting ready to parachute out. Suddenly, that ride at Busch Gardens seemed so small by comparison. As mothers we want to protect our children from life’s difficulties and uncertainties. If he doesn’t get enough playing time in the game, we confront the coach. If her friend said something mean to her, we call the girls mom and get it worked out. If he really wants a certain teacher this year we and go to the school and make it happen. There are certainly times when we need to step in because our child is in an unsafe situation, but more times than not we do it because we want to make sure our child is happy. John the Baptist, when questioned about Jesus’ growing ministry as his own ministry was declining said, “He must increase, I must decrease”. James 1:2-4 tells us that the troubles in life are an opportunity for our faith in the Lord to grow; as our faith grows the Lord becomes bigger and bigger to us. He increases. In His increasing He prepares us to trust Him to do what he calls us to do. We will be able to say, “Lord I do not know what is going to happen, but I trust your sovereignty, goodness and love for me as I walk through this.” When we approach difficulty and uncertainty in this way we come out on the other side with a stronger, deeper trust in the Lord. Walking to the edge of that airplane, counting to three and jumping out is probably the most dangerous, frightening and uncertain things Logan and I have ever done. And quite honestly jumping out of a plane has NEVER been on my bucket list but it was on Logan’s. I remember waiting to board the plane thinking I could be the coolest mom in history, or the worst mom ever depending on the outcome. We could have avoided the danger, I could have stepped in and refused to allow Logan to go sky diving, but I would have taken an incredible adventure away from him. A chance for him to face danger and uncertainty and be brave, which is an important lesson in a young mans life. The Lord has a great adventure planned for our children, but in order for them to live it out “He must increase”. For this to happen our children occasionally experience difficulty, challenges and uncertainty. (That “trouble” James talks about so their faith will grow.) In the end, isn’t that what we ultimately want for them? For their faith to be so strong they are willing to jump into any adventure He calls them to, even if it is not one we would personally call then to? One that allows Him to increase and us to decrease. Learning to fully trust Him in the process. AuthorJulie Fuller  Psalms 139:13 In the summer of 2002, my co-worker registered for a sprint triathlon in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This event involved a .5 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run, ALL IN ONE DAY! This event came at a very difficult time in my life where there were a lot of changes and attempting one more new activity was unsettling. However, I felt as though I should participate and began training. On race day, I packed my goggles, running shoes, bicycle, helmet and other essential race accessories. After singing the National Anthem, I started swimming freestyle with at least a hundred other women. Within the first 5 yards, I was kicked in the head. A few strokes later, I got kicked in the chest. I thought I was going to drown. The swim was grueling and when I made it back to land, I wanted to kiss the sand. I was delirious after the swim and couldn’t find my bike. A friend who came for support, directed me to my bike where I strapped on my helmet and got on my fat-tire bike. There was a strong headwind pushing me backward rather than propelling me forward. When the challenging bike segment was completed, I removed my helmet and began running on extremely wobbly legs. I believed that this was one HUGE mistake and I felt like a failure and was questioning every area of my life. During the run, I heard spectators yelling, “Go, 14901, you can do it! You’re gonna make it!” I realized that they were yelling to me! They didn't know my name, but they were calling me by the race number that was pinned to my t-shirt. As I was questioning whether I would make it to the finish line, I felt the Lord speaking encouragement to me through His word: “I see you: They don’t know your name, Beth, but I do. I formed you while you were in your mother’s womb; I know the number of hairs on your head. I love you and am singing over you. I have a good plan for you!”** The Lord was my running partner! In the midst of physical and emotional exhaustion, in the midst of complaining, being dirty, sweaty and stinky, I no longer felt invisible, discouraged or defeated. God saw me and knew all that I was facing in life. He reminded me of His amazing love and I was able to sprint across that finish line! Wherever you are, whatever you are facing, God’s love for you is perfect, unconditional and complete. We can either fix our eyes on our limitations and our circumstances OR we can fix our eyes on the Author and Perfector of our faith. When we focus on Him, He will get the glory and honor and when we cross that final finish line, He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Let His Word be encouraging during challenging times: Psalms 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Matthew 10:30 And even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to proper you and not to harm your, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 AuthorBeth Calhoun “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day passed.”  I sat watching my week-old granddaughter as she lay in her cushioned bouncy seat. Her eyes were wide open, quietly looking up at the space above her. She was so small, so tiny, so vulnerable. I was struck by her vulnerability, being so small in a big room, in a big house, in a big world. If she didn’t have loving parents, an adoring big brother, a loving grandmother nearby, how would she survive? Yet that is how we all come into the world; small, vulnerable human beings. By comparison, I was a huge baby when I was born, the largest my mother’s doctor had delivered in his 30-year medical career. My parents tell me that I was a miniature of my father in appearance. Still, I was small and except to my parents and grandparents and the rest of their family and friends, I was insignificant. No newspaper headlines proclaimed my arrival in the world. It wasn’t reported on the local news. It was a grand event for my family who welcomed me with great love, but just a tiny blip in the events of a big world. Even so, my Heavenly Father, the God who ultimately created me didn’t think me insignificant. The Psalmist David wrote in Psalm 139 that God had already planned out my days even as he was knitting me together in my mother’s womb: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day passed.” (Ps. 139:16) All of these thoughts passed through my mind as I watched my new and already greatly loved granddaughter. How any of us survive in a world so big is really miraculous; yet we do survive. We survive and become the parents and grandparents of new small beings. Watching my granddaughter, my thoughts drifted to how big God is and how He looks out for the small things of His creation. I thought of the words of David in Psalm 8: “LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!... When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Ps. 8:1, 3-9 NIV) All of us are significant, every single person that has ever been born, because we have a Heavenly Father who says we are. AuthorDonna Brown  "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Most of us have experienced a time when our children were afraid and wanted us to check under their bed or in their closet to make sure that nothing was looming under or with in that would harm them. As we entered their fear of the unknown, they stayed far from the door in case trouble appeared. They awaited our reaction, looking for the love in our eyes, the smile of encouragement, and a walk of confidence.
What is it that you need to walk "into" today? Is there a conversation you feel led to address with your husband but you fear his response? Are you doubting yourself as a mom and unable to face this day with confidence? Are you frustrated by a behavior that your child continues to exhibit and you can’t muster the mental strength to deal with it? Is there someone to whom you need to speak truth in love but are concerned they won’t hear your heart? It might be that you need to address an overwhelming financial issue that youare avoiding. Or, are you nervous about an upcoming appointment? The good news today is that the Lord will go before you!! He goes before us in His love, power, wisdom and peace, (just to name a few!) Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Whatever your day holds, God is holding it!!! He is going before you into it. He is with you and will not leave you alone. However, He does command that we be not afraid or discouraged. You may ask, “But, how do I do that?”Just like children walking into the unknown, they ask their parents for help. We must ask our Heavenly Father for help. As a believer, we talk to our Father in prayer with faith, trusting He will take care of us. Do you need encouragement and strength to let go of your fears? May the power of the Word found in Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) minister to you now. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Lord, You know what we are walking into today. We thank You that You will lead us (Ex. 13:21a) and make the rough places smooth (Is. 45:2 NAS) as we keep our hope and confidence in You alone.  “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not, they are new every morning.”? I love the times when I’m reading the Bible and words are jumping off the page...filling me with wonder and excitement, like a treasure hunt of sorts. Well, I had one of those days just recently while I was reading about the two blind men in Matthew 20. When I read The Word, I typically ask the Lord what He wants to reveal to me in the passage. So on this particular day, I asked what I may be blinded by in my own life. This question of poor eyesight brought back to mind a story my husband, Bill, shared with me from his childhood. During an eye exam at school, Bill was told that he should seek further testing on his eyesight. He had no idea that he wasn’t seeing things clearly. So when he walked out of the eye doctor’s office wearing his new glasses, he saw the white snow more vividly and the words on the street signs more clearly. He was in awe! Now these two men in Matthew 20 were very aware of their blindness. And at the end of Matthew 20:30, “they cried out, ‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”’ And Jesus responded with a question: “What do you want me to do for you?” They answered, “let our eyes be opened.” When they were crying out for mercy, could it be they were thinking about Lamentations 3:22-23: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not, they are new every morning.”? Whatever the blind men may have been thinking, Jesus knew their hearts trusted that He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do. And Jesus gave them sight. Today, is there an area in your life where you are not seeing clearly? Does one of your children need a little one on one time with you? Have you been negative with your husband recently? Is there a friend or family member you need to reconcile with? Lord, let our eyes be open to what You want us to see! Like the beauty of new fallen snow, may we see Your mercies more vividly and Your words of guidance from The Word more clearly. AuthorKim White |
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