Prayer 1/24/11

Lord I commit today to you.  I thank you that you are full of grace and you cover today with your special anointing and you anoint my head with oil. 
I ask that you would give me a helping hand today while I take care of the kids.  There are days where the stress of the chaos is just too much.  I ask that you would put a guard over my mouth; I don't want to wound the souls of my children.  Help me to lean more into you and your heart for them.  I need your wisdom and love for them.   Send your angels to minister to the hearts of my children.  May they learn to have a heart for you.  Help me to know how to constantly point them to you and your goodness.  Take the "work" out of my thought process on how to teach my children about you, help it to flow naturally and with ease. 
I ask for a special anointing on Josh and Saray and their desire to eat.  They just havent had much of a desire to eat, and if they do eat its very little.  I ask that their appetites would grow and that you would give me creative food ideas that they would enjoy and eat.  I really struggle in this area with them.  I really need a gentle spirit to replace my anxious and quick to be frustrated heart. Help me to be at peace with you and the fact that they are being cared for by you, regardless if I get them to eat or not.  You are providing for their little bodies.  Thank you.  Reminding me of this during the day when I feel a quite sense of frustration.  Again, put a guard over my mouth.  And instead of anger words, help encouraging and praise words flow from my mouth.  I want to be rich in love towards all three of my children.  I give you my frustration right now.  I lay it down before you and ask that you would take it.  I rest in you, with confident trust, that you are going to help me and the kids.  Thank you for your grace and mercy on TODAY.

I lift up my marriage to you, I ask that you would help Jer and I grow in our love for one another.  That we would take great joy in still getting to know each other.  Give us helpful tips on how to express our love to one another.  Right now we just crave it, but don't have any real knowledge on what needs to be done.
I ask that you would draw Jeremiah closer to you, remove every obstacle and dividing wall.  Show him your heart and your love for him.  Grow in him a desire to be more like you and a desire to dive into your Word and to know the truth, inside and out (give that desire to me and the kids as well.)  Help him to know how to step into the role of being the spiritual leader.  Reveal yourself to him as he reads the Word, be like a mirror and help him to reflect you and your love, gentleness, etc. 

I lift up Lael to you again today.  I ask that you would continue to do a healing work in her heart and life, especially since there are 2 big gaping holes in her life where her parents used to fit into her routine and life.  Show her your grace for this new season, especially as she steps back into her role as being a pastor to so many people in need.  May the Holy Spirit remind her of the truth and give wisdom in area where there is lack.  Show her your continual great unconditional love for her and Andrew and the love you still have for her parents.  There is no end to that love. 
Again, I ask that you would provide the right time for Lael to come and visit.  That has been something on my heart for the last 3 years now.  I ask that you would redeem the time that we didn't get to have while I was in AZ.  I ask for a double portion.  Even though I know you that the time I had with Fran,  Judy and Paul was important, I feel like I missed out on a great opportunity to befriend Lael and to grow as sisters and friends in Christ.  I thank you Lord that you redeem the times.  

Thank you for providing opportunities to be shine your love and light.  Help me to  be more sensitive to your leading, not only in actions but in word and my posture with people.  I feel so much regret after being with someone, like I just didn't have the focus, and I missed out on what could have been or what was said, etc.  Help me to be a better listener and responder that responds with God's love and words.  If I use my own words, I fail and I feel it. 

I lift up the time that we have with Fran and Becca this week.  Help me to be sensitive in the right areas and stand true to the truth of God.  Guard my mouth when I speak, even in chatting.  I do not want to to have an idle tongue, but i want to have an anointing on my tongue and my words. 

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for today.  Help me to live in this moment and enjoy my kids and not be focused on tomorrow or the next day or the next month or year.  I need to treasure these days with my kids and my husband. 
Thank you for being my helper; I don't have to raise these kids on my own knowledge, or lack of.  Thank you!  I couldn't do it without you.  Help me to teach the kids about you.  May they have hearts to love and serve you all the days of their lives. 
I expect you Lord to do great things in and through me. Today is my breakthrough!
Something good is going to happen to me today! 
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Lord, I lift up Lael to you.  I ask that you would strengthen her and enable her to reach beyond her breaking, grieving heart and reach out and take your hand.  help me to know how to encourage her in this season.  I also ask that the season would come when we would have time to commune in person.  I ask for an incredible bond and friendship to be solid and founded in you. 
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I lift up Jeremiah to you today.  I ask that you would give him the energy he needs, the strength he needs to learn and act on what he does know. 
I seek you Lord...help me to know how to love him and respond to his needs in the right attitude.  Help me find ways to bless him and surprise him to love. 
Draw him closer to yourself; put a yearning in his heart for your presence and your Word.  Call him up.  Show him that in you there are great things, not just having needs met, but the God-shaped hole is filled.  Please show him how to depend on you in everything and how to pray.

Gen 1& 2

Was reading in Genesis this morning and I discovered a lot about just those first 2 chapters of the Bible.  A few things that stuck me:

Eden means "pleasure" in Hebrew.  -  I think it's amazing that God would name the place he dwells with his people pleasure.  He takes pleasure in being with his people.   He delights in me and sings over me.

 The Rest of God:  Rest definition: 
rest ¹  (rst)

n.

1. Cessation of work, exertion, or activity.

2. Peace, ease, or refreshment resulting from sleep or the cessation of an activity.

3. Sleep or quiet relaxation.

4. The repose of death: eternal rest.

5. Relief or freedom from disquiet or disturbance.

6. Mental or emotional tranquillity.

7. Termination or absence of motion.

8. Music

a. An interval of silence corresponding to one of the possible time values within a measure.

b. The mark or symbol indicating such a pause and its length.

9. A short pause in a line of poetry; a caesura.

10. A device used as a support: a back rest.

11. Games See bridge¹.

v. rest·ed, rest·ing, rests

v.intr.

1. To cease motion, work, or activity.

2. To lie down, especially to sleep.

3. To be at peace or ease; be tranquil.

4. To be, become, or remain temporarily still, quiet, or inactive: Let the issue rest here.

5. To be supported or based; lie, lean, or sit: The ladder rests firmly against the tree.

6. To be imposed or vested, as a responsibility or burden: The final decision rests with the chairperson.

7. To depend or rely: That argument rests on a false assumption.

8. To be located or be in a specified place: The original manuscript rests in the museum.

9. To be fixed or directed on something: "His brown eyes rested on her for a moment" (John le Carré).

10. To remain; linger.

11. Law To cease voluntarily the presentation of evidence in a case: The defense rests.

v.tr.

1. To give rest or repose to: rested my eyes.

2. To place, lay, or lean for ease, support, or repose.

3. To base or ground: I rested my conclusion on that fact.

4. To fix or direct (the gaze, for example).

5. To bring to rest; halt.

6. Law To cease voluntarily the introduction of evidence in (a case).

Gen 15

Genesis 15

Abram Promised a Son

 ¹After these things ^(A)the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying,
         "^(B)Do not fear, Abram,
         I am ^(C)a shield to you;
         Your ^(D)reward shall be very great."  ²Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
 ³And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one ^(E)born in my house is my heir."
 ⁴Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; ^(F)but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."
 ⁵And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and ^(G)count the stars, if you are able to count them " And He said to him, "^(H)So shall your descendants be."
 ^6(I)Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
 ⁷And He said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of ^(J)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(K)give you this land to possess it."
 ⁸He said, "O Lord GOD, ^(L)how may I know that I will possess it?"
 ⁹So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
 ¹⁰Then he brought all these to Him and ^(M)cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(N)did not cut the birds.
 ¹¹The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
 ¹²Now when the sun was going down, ^(O)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.
 ¹³God said to Abram, "Know for certain that ^(P)your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where ^(Q)they will be enslaved and oppressed ^(R)four hundred years.
 ¹⁴"But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(S)with many possessions.
 ¹⁵"As for you, ^(T)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
 ¹⁶"Then in ^(U)the fourth generation they will return here, for ^(V)the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."
 ¹⁷It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which ^(W)passed between these pieces.
 ¹⁸On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,
         "^(X)To your descendants I have given this land,
         From ^(Y)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
 ^19(Z)the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite
 ²⁰and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim
 ²¹and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite."

Malachi 1:1-2:17 (second round of reading)

Lord I ask that you would give me an open ear to hear what you have to say today.  Help me to be sensitive to your leading and your voice.  I commit this day to you.  Thank you for another day to live and breathe.  Thank you for your grace and your new mercy today.  Help me to grasp your grace and mercy in a new way. Also, thank you for helping me to be the Mother you want me to be.  I do not have to compare myself to others and I do not need to compare my children to other children.  You made us all unique.  I want to do all my work unto you today, Lord.  Thank you for helping me to live in You.  God LOVES ME!  You've chosen me on purpose and picked me out.

*Stop trying to be perfect* You're awesome in Christ, beautiful, accepted, and made in the image of a wonderful God.
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A Call to Faithfulness

 ¹⁰ Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors? ¹¹ Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols. ¹² May the Lord cut off from the nation of Israel^[f] every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
 ¹³ Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. ¹⁴ You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
 ¹⁵ Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.^[g] And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,^[h]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”

¹⁶ “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,^[h]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
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Revelation 21

The New Jerusalem

 ¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.^{[a] 4} He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
 ⁵ And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. ⁷ All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. ¹⁹ The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones:^[e] the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.
 ²² I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. ²⁴ The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. ²⁵ Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. ²⁶ And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. ²⁷ Nothing evil^[f] will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Psalm 149

 ¹ Praise the Lord!
   Sing to the Lord a new song.
      Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.
 ² O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.
      O people of Jerusalem,^[a] exult in your King.
 ³ Praise his name with dancing,
      accompanied by tambourine and harp.
 ⁴ For the Lord delights in his people;
      he crowns the humble with victory.
 ⁵ Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.
      Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.
 ⁶ Let the praises of God be in their mouths,
      and a sharp sword in their hands—
 ⁷ to execute vengeance on the nations
      and punishment on the peoples,
 ⁸ to bind their kings with shackles
      and their leaders with iron chains,
 ⁹ to execute the judgment written against them.
      This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.
   Praise the Lord!

NEED EXCHANGE FOR HIS FULLNESS

Faith is seeing your need and then seeing His FULLNESS.  Faith is bring your emptiness to his fullness. 

See your need, and exchange it for HIS Fullness - that is faith.  We are no more in the old...there is no veil.  There are no more steps.  Jesus came once and for ALL, so that we could come through any veil, any ceiling, any human, and just BE with GOD, in all his fullness.

See your need?  Stress, tiredness, broken body, breaking heart?  Take FROM HIM in all his FULLNESS. 

Take from HIM, take some more.  Need more?  Take more.   

He has made us priests and Kings unto God.  

See your need and EXCHANGE it for His Fullness - that is faith. What do you need? Take from him. Need more, take more. It is his gift for you.

 (watched Joseph Prince on TBN this evening...great speaker/preacher)

Holy & Perfect

God has already made me holy and perfect. The work was finished on the cross. There is no striving to be, it is already done...It is who I am NOW in Christ. What an amazing thought to think on.

 Help me Lord to continue to grasp this.  You have done so much for me.  You tore the curtain so I can dwell with God and have FULL access to him and his Kingdom.  I do not want to live (even in my thinking) like the people had to in the Old Testament.  But I want to live free to access God through Christ Jesus.  His blood was shed so I can come in.  

I am HOLY and PERFECT...I am HOLY and PERFECT in HIM.  I am nothing less than this.  Lord, give my heart and mind a new revalation on these matters and that I have FULL access to YOU.  I am not limited, you have given me the key codes, and no this is no trial period of 30 days.  HA.  THANK YOU JESUS for being our mediator and thank you God for making a way.

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Matthew 5:27-48

Teaching about Love for Enemies

 ⁴³ “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’^[h] and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies!^[i] Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. ⁴⁷ If you are kind only to your friends,^[j] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. ⁴⁸ But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. [without flaws - already done because of Jesus Christ. - I AM PERFECT ALREADY!]

Lev 4:35, 5:10, 17:11 & Heb 7:27, 9:7-10:22 & Mark 14:24

Hebrews 9:14

¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,^[a] so that we may serve the living God!

Jesus sacrificed for all our sins once and for all when he offered himself.  Christ is our mediator.  We have been made HOLY through the sacrifice of the body of Christ once for all. 

Thank you Jesus for giving up your unblemished life for us.  Thank you for tearing the curtain in the temple and for going and preparing a way for me to enter and dwell with God.  What an amazing gift!  Holy Spirit, reveal to me more about the price that was paid and how it affects my life and how I should live.  I am made right through the blood of Jesus!  Show me the depth of your love and unconditional price that was paid.