Growing in Your Conversations With God

Have you ever stopped to pray and thought it felt awkward? Felt yourself saying the same rehearsed prayer over and over? Felt like your prayer time was a one way conversation? Prayer seems like it should be easy, but just like many other things in our lives we must learn how to pray and then practice prayer often.  The Bible provides the tools we need to learn how to pray and grow in our conversations with God.

My prayers seem to fall into the same pattern.  Lord, please help the baby sleep through the night.  Father, please help me keep a calm tone with D.  Lord, I pray that you would give us direction.  Lord, you get the picture.  I just name off a list of things and go on.  It is all about me and what I want or need and I often repeat the same things over and over again.   It is almost like a get in/get out approach.

I often need to remind myself that I am not making my shopping list or writing out a wish list to Santa Clause.  Prayer is SO much more.  It is a conversation with the one true, living, sovereign, creator, God.  If that doesn’t take my breath away then nothing will!

What Is Prayer?

• Prayer is how we communicate with God: get to know Him better, praise Him for who He is and what He has done.
• Prayer is a spiritual discipline we learn.  It isn’t something we automatically know how to do when we begin our relationship with Christ.  It doesn’t necessarily come natural and often can seem hard.  I relate learning to pray with my experience nursing my boys. Before I had kids, I always assumed that breast feeding would naturally be easy. Umm...that was not my personal experience. Trying to nurse my firstborn resulted in many tears for him and for his momma.  It took practice.

Why should we Pray?

• We show our dependance on God an not on our own plans or abilities when we pray.
• Scripture commands it. (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Luke 18:1, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 4:2)
• Confession of Sin
• We pray to lay our requests before God.  I know that seems to contradict what I said earlier, but God does want to know our desires, but we first make sure our attitude and our heart are right.

How should we approach prayer?

• Reverence and Awe: When we pray, we need to remember that we are praying to the God of the universe and approach Him with awe and reverence not with a demanding attitude or with a list of requests that we expect Him to fulfill instantly.  I know that as women we are tired, run down, and sometimes we feel like all we have is 30 seconds, but would I approach the President of the United States or the Queen of England the way I often approach God?  Sometimes we take for granted the position we have in Christ that allows us to speak directly to God the Father.  Because Jesus serves as a believer’s High Priest and mediator, we can pray directly to God.  Old Testament believers did not have that privilege.  I am not implying that there is a formality or process that you have to go through and that God can’t hear your prayers at any time and in your moment of desperation. It is the attitude of our heart that is crucial to how we approach prayer ... coming to Him not with the focus on ourselves but with the focus on Him.  
• Worship: Think of the example of Mary in Luke 10 and John 12. We don’t usually think of this scripture in light of prayer but it has a lot to say about our attitude and how we approach the King which is what we are doing when we pray! 

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (emphasis added)

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:1-8

Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus and LISTEN to Him in the Luke passage.  In the John passage, we see her giving the best gift she could give to Jesus. This is how He wants us to approach Him in prayer.  Not with a demanding attitude but rather with an attitude of worship and humility. Giving Him my very best…whether it be time, words, or just my heart.  

Questions to Ponder:

When I pray,  do I pray to praise the God of the Universe, to thank Him for who he is and what he has done?  Do I pray to get to know Him better or with a shopping list of demands for Him to meet?

When is the last time I sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to what He wanted to say to me?

Be Mary…sit at His feet.  Give him your best.  Lavish your love on Him as He does on you.  Praise Him for who He is and what He has done for you. Pour out your heart.

7:30 PM

Two closed doors = Two sleeping boys = Quiet time for Mom & Dad

Random Friday

Sickness: Pedialyte, mounds of sheets/towels/jammies, and Lysol: can you guess what has been going on in our house the last 24 hours?  Yep, a stomach virus.  Big brother has been a sick little boy.  I am hoping we are nearing the end and praying that little brother doesn’t come down with it.

Rangers vs. Cardinals: I love reading the Facebook status updates during the World Series.  Growing up in Arkansas, most of my family and friends are Cardinal fans since that is probably the closest MLB team to us and of course our Texas friends are Rangers fans.  It is comical to read the comments from the opposing sides.  Personally, I am pulling for the Cardinals, but I will admit that I haven’t watched a game of the World Series.

Motherhood Is a Calling: I ran across this article again this week.  When I first read it, I wrote these last two paragraphs out on the chalkboard in my kitchen.  It was especially good to read after battling the sickness with D!

"Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone."

Have a great weekend!!

Meet My Friends: Erin "What Should I Be Doing?"

Hal and I have moved several times since we have been married. We have loved experiencing new places, but far the best thing about the moves we have made is meeting amazing people. I met Erin while we were living in Florida. She is one of the most encouraging people I have ever meet.  I love that her post below she mentions to have a pleasant countenance because that is one thing I will always remember about Erin.  You just want to smile when you see her because she radiates JOY!  A few weeks ago she wrote a post about how as stay at home wives and mothers we feel like we have to explain what we do on a daily basis. She is following up that post with a guest post today answering the question "What Do I Do?" with "What Should I Be Doing?"


Erin is a pastor's wife, mother of a sweet girl, teacher, and coach. She loves to run, study God's Word, and spend time with family and friends. She blogs at Rainer Adventures.


What Should I Be Doing?

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog on finding my identity and validation in Christ instead of a paying job. Instead of answering the question “What do I do?” I realized the question that should be asked is “What should I be doing?”

Thankfully, God’s word always has an answer. Some of the things that I should be doing are:

 “Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

o   I read about a friendly reminder to pray for our husbands here.

o   My favorite resource to pray for my child is the 31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for your Kids.

o   In a recent conference I’ve been listening to a cd on which the speaker talked about praying for the individuals who gave you certain gifts or your family when you are folding their clothing. When you see those items, say a little prayer for them.

-          “Rejoice always… give thanks in everything” 1 Thessalonians 5:16/18

o   Having a joyful countenance goes along way. It draws others near to you.

o   You are much more appreciative of the things you have.

o   Your days are just better when you are happy and thankful.

-          “Search for the Lord and for His strength; seek His face always”  1 Chronicles 16:11

o   Spend time with God everyday! This time is not meant to be a burden but a time of refreshment. We should spend time with God first out of obedience, knowing that the desire and delight in God’s Word will come when we are faithful.

-          “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness- without it no one will see the Lord”   Hebrews 12:14

o   When I drive, grocery shop (yes, even in Walmart!), etc. I should be pursuing peace. Because of my impatience I don’t always do the best job, but God tells us patience is one of the fruits He has given us (Galatians 5:22)

This list is not all-inclusive, but these verses have given me a great starting point and have been good verses to commit to memory. I love how God has given us His Word to direct us in every situation.

Homemaking 101: Tips and Tricks

I love it when I run across a product that makes keeping my house in order easier.  I love it even more when it is something that I don't have to run out and buy because it is already in my house!

Stainless Steel Appliances

Stainless Steel appliances are beautiful, but what were we thinking when we bought them for our new kitchen?!?! They looked beautiful for about 2 weeks until the sticky fingerprints and water spots appeared.  I had been warned that they would be hard to take care, but desire for the hip thing outweighed my sensibility(that is a subject of a different post).  I have tried numerous horrible smelling cleaners with no results.  I decided to Google “water spots on stainless steel appliances” and Google came through once again!  Olive Oil.  I read the suggestion and thought it was worth a try and VOILA ... shiny, clean appliances!  I put olive oil on a paper towel and rubbed it on the front of the dishwasher and then buffed it with a clean towel.  A super cheap and easy solution.

Shiny and beautiful!

Stubborn Stains

There are many reasons I wish I lived closer to family, but on a completely selfish note, I wish I lived closer to my Maw Maw because she is a laundry miracle worker!  I am pretty sure she can get ANY stain out of anything.  One of the tips she passed along was to use Dawn dishwashing liquid on stains.  I don’t even keep another stain remover in my laundry room.  It has been known to get out stains that have been washed and dried several times. 

Good ol' Dawn!

Do you have a secret homemaking tip?  Leave a comment and I will come to your house and do your laundry for a month ... JUST KIDDING, but really, leave a comment and share your tips and tricks with us!

5:37 PM

Green Bean Goodness

Date Night

Hal and I often talk about how we took for granted the time we had alone together before we had kids.  We were blessed to be able to travel a lot before kids, but I don't think you completely understand what a blessing that time is together until you are not able to get the one-on-one time quite as often when kids come along.  We both know it is important to get that time, but it seems life often gets in the way. It doesn't have to be an elaborate meal or a big event, it is just important to spend time with your man when your attention can be solely focused on him and not the hungry baby or inquisitive 3 year old.  Since we took my mom with us to Disney, we were able to sneak away each night for some much needed Hal & Lindsay time. 

Monday night after we put the boys to bed, we just walked down to the pool area at our resort and put our very tired feet in the hot tub. It was nice to talk kiddo free and my sweet man bought me a Pumpkin Spice Latte to go along with the conversation.  

Tuesday night we headed to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping without D's input.  Going in a store with him wasn't a pleasant experience.  He was sure he needed everything he saw! Of course we managed to spend some $$$, but we did pick up several Christmas gifts.

Wednesday night we left mom with both boys and headed back to Epcot around 5:00. We had planned on doing dinner at one of the restaurants in the World Showcase, but once we saw the International Food & Wine Festival our plans changed!  We had the best time walking around and trying food from the different countries that we wouldn't have normally tried.  Each country offered a few different choices.  It looks like we are eating a ton and we did try a lot of things, but the portions were small.  We enjoyed it so much that we would plan our next Disney trip around this festival.  Here is our culinary trip around the world!

Greece: Fried cheese with honey and pistachios

France: Coq au Vin

Ireland: Cheese plate with apple chutney

Japan: Spicy Tuna Rolls and Pork Kakuni(spare ribs)

Poland: Keilbasa and Potato Pierogi

Italy: Ravioli di Formiaggia all Emilliana

Ready for the fireworks!

We found freshly made carmel corn in one of the stores in Germany.  If I could make this for my husband at home he would be a very happy man.

Epcot Fireworks

What is your favorite date night?  Share your ideas with us.  How do you make date night a priority?

To Honk or Not to Honk

I come from a line of road ragers. I try to keep my cool when driving and remember that I have little ears listening and that I never know what kind of day the other person might be having. I normally do a pretty good job, but a few weeks ago I wasn’t successful. We were out of a few things that we usually pick up a Sam’s, so I decided to take the boys after their naps. We loaded up and headed off to Sam’s. The exit I took off the interstate had two lanes that stop at a traffic light before merging on the main road. I stopped at the light behind an SUV.  Beside us, car after car turned right at the red light because there wasn’t any oncoming traffic. B is not a huge fan of his car seat but if we don’t have to stop for too long he does much better. It felt like I was sitting there for 10 minutes and B was starting to fuss.  I was having this whole conversation in my head about whether or not I should honk at the driver in front of me. Finally, I lightly tapped the horn and no movement.  What??? I was sure that would do the trick, so a few seconds later I do it again, but no movement.  We continue to sit there as cars to the right zoom past us. The light then turns green and we move on. I am feeling super guilty at this point because my honking didn’t even get us anywhere, but my guilt quickly turns to embarrassment as I follow the car all the way to the Sam’s parking lot! I kept thinking, “It’s okay, she will turn.” Of course we parked on the same aisle and were putting our kids in the carts right next to each other. I just wanted to crawl under my car!  Maybe she realized I was the rude woman behind her or maybe she didn’t, but either way I was mortified. What felt like 10 minutes was probably more like 2 minutes.  I could have put my patient panties on for 2 minutes! This was one time I was grateful that I didn’t have anything representing Jesus on my car. Instead I just made Arkansas and Mississippi State look bad!

All joking aside, it was a reminder to me that living a holy life means living it in all aspects of my life and at all times during the day. It means leaving it when it isn’t necessarily convenient for me to do so. Maybe it isn’t necessarily sinful to honk at someone, but my heart attitude was nasty.  Thankfully, I haven’t had any more road rage episodes since then!

Lessons From a Week at Disney World

• Trying to teach an almost 3 year old to wait in a line for 40 minutes to ride Dumbo is impossible and can stretch the limits of anyone’s patience! “Stand up!” “Keep your hands off the chains.”  “It will be our turn in a minute.” Those are just a few of the MANY things I repeated during our wait.  He throughly enjoyed it and his laughter was priceless, even if the ride only lasted 3 minutes.

Riding Dumbo with my little man

• Baby Care Stations are AMAZING.  I ran across the Baby Care Station at Magic Kingdom and I am not sure that I could have survived our trip without them!  I was able to feed and change little man and even washed bottles at the station.  

• Grammy’s are essential to a satisfying Disney experience.  They hold babies, take little boys to the potty, get bottles ready, and just enjoy watching the joy on your kids faces as much as you do.  Don’t do Disney without one. :)

Grammy with her boys

• From backscratchers to measuring spoons, if you want to bring home a Mickey Mouse souvenir, you can find it.

• You learn something new every trip you take to Disney.  This time we discovered that character breakfasts may be a little pricey but they get you in the park before the big rush.  We also discovered that you can get a Fast Pass at Magic Kingdom to see Mickey, Minnie, and a few of the princesses. Fast Passes are amazing and minimize the stress of waiting in line!

• You can understand couples arguing at Disney even in a different language.  I may not have understand the actual words but I understood the emotions!  When you have small  kids and it is hot and you have spent 6 hours at the park, it is easy to get frustrated!  We walked past a couple at the Magic Kingdom late in the afternoon who were having a heated conversation in Spanish while looking at their map.  Their children were crying in the stroller.  It was hot and late in the day.  No translation needed.

Drew was fascinated with the park maps. :)

• Trips like this are lessons in how to turn lemons into lemonade, especially for this planner personality.  I feel like I experienced a “Growth Moment” several times on this trip when our plan didn’t quite work out as we had expected.  Instead of letting it stress me out completely, I was able to adjust adjust and move on.  Wow, that is so much easier than my normal response.  I am pretty sure my hubby would say the same thing!

We really did have a great time.  I will probably have another post to do after our 12 hour car ride home with two boys who are very tired!

9:12 AM

Love this man ... and the way he loves my boys.

Lessons In The Wait: Longing To Be A Mother

Although I never personally struggled with infertility (at least not so far), I do have several close friends and family that have faced this difficult battle.  I have watched both of these ladies that are sharing with us today walk through this difficult season.  I know you will be encouraged by them as much as I have been!

Amy and her husband struggled with infertility for almost 4 years.  After repeated treatments and no diagnosed reason for their inability to conceive, they began the adoption process.  In August of this year, they received the call they had been waiting on for almost a year.  Their precious son is 2 months old. 

Kathy and her husband dealt with infertility for almost 20 years.  During those years she was able to share in the lives of her 9 nieces and nephews and the numerous children she taught.  After several different treatments, they chose to pursue adoption.  They welcomed two brothers into their home in 1999.  This year, the oldest will graduate from high school.

Amy and her husband, Donnie, with their
son.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned as you waited on God to answer your desire to be a mother?

Amy: The greatest lesson that I have learned from waiting is that God is always in control. He is always faithful to meet all of our needs right when we need Him.

Kathy: The greatest lesson I learned is that God is in control, not me!! He has an ultimate plan for my life and His timing is perfect! I know that may sound simple, but I truly believe many Christians try to live their life without truly getting hold of this truth.

What do you wish that would have known now that you have a child/children?

Amy: How fast time flies when you are with them. I kind of knew that time would fly by, but man I can't believe that he is almost 2 months old. 

Kathy: That it's not as easy as you may think from the outside looking in. I could be critical of parents before I became one, thinking I had better ideas of how to handle children. After all I'd worked with a lot of children - I just didn't live with them and invest my heart in them as a parent does - didn't know the inner struggles. Teaching a child to follow God's truths is a lot easier than training them ~ they really do mimic what they see. 

Sometimes, people don't know what to say or how to pray for someone who is struggling with infertility. What would you suggest they say or how would you suggest they handle it?

Amy: Honestly, I would suggest that people just say that they are praying for God's will in the lives of their friends. That was more encouraging to me than anything. I also appreciated when people just listened to me and let me express my feelings at that particular moment. It did not help when people said that they understood what I was going through when they did not have infertility issues. It also didn’t help when people told me not to think about things (because that is pretty much impossible when you are going through infertility treatments), or even when they said that it just isn't the right time. I think that kind of sounds harsh for me to say because in my heart I knew that part.  We knew that God had a special timing for us, but hearing it over and over did not make things any easier.

Kathy: Offer a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, and sincerely praying with you - not just say 'I'm praying for you.' - do it together. I had so many say to me that 'when you quit focusing on it it'll happen'. Like Amy said that's pretty much impossible with infertility treatments ~ you are having to track so many things! Don't shy away from me because you have children. Be sensitive, but trying to spare my feelings by shying away from me hurts - we love being around and with children. Their faces are our proof God answers prayers. 

Kathy with her husband, Steve, and her boys, Kyle and Dallas

What is a scripture you clung to?

Amy: 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 - “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”   It is also the life verse we have chosen for our son and it hangs in his room as a reminder.

Kathy: When teaching in a Christian school our class was to memorize Psalm 34:8-19, and Steve and I were struggling to understand God's will in this area. These verses soothe my soul even today. Especially verses, 8, 15, 17, 18. Even though at the time we didn't memorize it, verse 1 of that chapter was also a blessing/challenge.

 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; 

   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. 

9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people, 

   for those who fear him lack nothing. 

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, 

   but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 

11 Come, my children, listen to me; 

   I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 

12 Whoever of you loves life 

   and desires to see many good days, 

13 keep your tongue from evil 

   and your lips from telling lies. 

14 Turn from evil and do good; 

   seek peace and pursue it.

 15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, 

   and his ears are attentive to their cry; 

16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, 

   to blot out their name from the earth.

 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; 

   he delivers them from all their troubles. 

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted 

   and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

 19 The righteous person may have many troubles, 

   but the LORD delivers him from them all. Psalm 34:8-19

I thought I wold finish up with a statement that Kathy made as we were putting this together.

Looking into the eyes of your child ~ whether God gave them to you biologically or through adoption ~ and hearing and saying' I love you' is such a privilege. 

If you have struggled with infertility, how did God encourage you through the process?