I Cannot Pray...

"Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

Luke 11:1 (NIV)

     I haven't posted for awhile...but I only post when I feel that I have something to contribute that will inspire, uplift, and challenge those who read my blog. To those who have been following me, I hope that you will continue to be blessed by my thoughts that I share. Most of us are familiar with The Lord's Prayer, and there are many great teachings and messages on this part of the Bible.

      I found a devotional in a Christian magazine that shed some light on what we often overlook when we read or pray from Matthew 6:9-13 which is known as the Lord's Prayer, or Our Father. I believe that the message is contained within the message, and will speak accordingly to the need of each person who reads:

I cannot say OUR if my religion has no room for others and their needs.

I cannot say FATHER is I do not demonstrate this relationship in my daily life.

I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN if my interests and pursuits are in earthly things.

I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME if I who am called by His Name am not holy.

I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME if I am unwilling to give up my own sovereignty and accept the righteous reign of God.

I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life.

I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN unless I am truly ready to give myself to His service here and now.

I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD without expending honest effort for it or by ignoring the genuine needs of my fellow man.

I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US

If I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted.

I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer

I cannot say THINE IS THE KINGDOM if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.

I cannot say THINE IS THE POWER if I fear what my neighbors and friends may say or do.

I cannot say THINE IS THE GLORY if I am seeking my own glory first.

I cannot say FOREVER if I am too serious about each day’s affairs.

I cannot say AMEN unless I honestly say, “Cost what it may, this is my prayer.”

-Author Unknown

If anyone knows of the original author and/or source of this devotional, please comment so that proper credit can be given.

Grateful...Grateful...Grateful!

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

I Cor 3:25 (NLT)

    November is known for the many preparations we make for the Thanksgiving season, whether we believe in the tradition of celebrating for one day or just enjoy gathering with family and friends over delicious meals, we can all agree that we all have much to be grateful for everyday. Even when we think that we have nothing to give thanks for, as long as we are still alive, we can be thankful for hope. Someone else is watching how we deal with our situations so they can learn how to handle their own difficulties.

     During this season, it's also a blessing to learn how to enjoy the things that we have already received, as we watch the blessings that are already in progress. The temptation to focus on what we don't have can be very great and can keep us in a cycle of constant frustration and unhappiness, which is a trick of the enemy. Sometimes it's a challenge to be happy for others when their lives seem to be progressing at a faster rate than ours...but as worshipers of Christ, we must always remember that our life path is a combination of God's will and our choices. We can't change His plans but we can make changes that are in our control. What is out of our control, we must learn to accept! If we think about it long enough, there are many things that we can change that can make our lives more manageable:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

     This Thanksgiving and all year, let's look at life from a place of gratefulness, and enjoy what we have right now. Tomorrow is not promised...so ask God to give us a heart and mind to appreciate everything good that is around us. Life becomes so much more beautiful when we are grateful!

     Please enjoy this video by my artist friend, Cherie Romar:

Are You In?... (Social networking, that is)

Wisdom is the most important thing; so get wisdom.
    If it costs everything you have, get understanding.

~Prov. 4:7 (NCV)

 

 

      Social networking has become one of the easiest ways of communicating with large numbers of people inexpensively and quickly, in real time. I can't think of a better way of reaching people from all corners of the world than by using one of the online networks. You can text, chat, e-mail and instant message several people and have multiple conversations at once...just don't get your devices mixed up!

     Global communications also make it very easy to share encouragement and the Good News of Christ with others, even if we don't directly witness to them one-on-one. With the many quotes and the ability to cut and paste from Bible pages, we have a lot of opportunities to send positive messages through various social networking sites such as Facebook(TM)*  Twitter (TM)*, Tumblr (TM)* blogs, and newsfeeds. Networks such as LinkedIn(TM)* are another way of doing professional networking with people with whom we have similar interests.
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     There are probably still many of you who don't feel comfortable on social networks because of privacy concerns, or because of some of the unsavory behavior that goes on a lot of the time, but a lot of that happens due to people not knowing how they work, or not taking the time to adjust their settings for the most security.

     Before opening a social networking account, decide on your reasons for having one. Are you going to use it to keep in touch with family members and friends? Would you like to network with people who share common interests or to meet new business contacts, or maybe a combination of all of the above? If you have an account, and privacy is a concern, are you familiar with how to adjust your settings to allow limited access to your information?  For example, on Facebook (TM), you can make your posts public, limited to friends, friends except acquaintances, restricted from certain people, or to yourself only... and can change the audience for each post according to groups of people that you want to reach. Also, you can use a nickname or pseudonym that you post under, as long as you are not impersonating anyone else. You can also choose to leave personal information off of your page such as your location, birthday, hometown or any other facts that you want to keep private, but also remember to respect other people's right to privacy.

 

 

A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

~Prov. 18:24 (NKJV)



     When sending out  friend requests, what motivates you to connect with people? Are you reaching out because you find certain people interesting, for marketing purposes or to increase your data base? If you aren't sincere, people will eventually drop you if they feel that you are only contacting them to enlarge your list of friends and have no real interest in them. At the same time, use discretion when accepting friend requests, because everyone who sends a request doesn't necessarily have a good reason for sending one.

     Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting information on how to have to best experiences with social networking, what I've learned, and what has worked for me. In the meantime, are you in?

Blessings...

If you would like to learn more about how to secure your Facebook account, here's a link to Facecrooks.com:

http://facecrooks.com/Internet-Safety-Privacy/how-to-lockdown-your-facebook-account-for-maximum-privacy-and-security.html

*Facebook, Facecrooks.com, Twitter, Tumblr and LinkedIn are registered trademarks...and the use of these examples is not an endorsement of any of the above...use them responsibly, and at your own risk.

A Heart That Lets Go

     December 31, 2009 was the International Day of Forgiveness. I had never heard of this before, but a friend sent an e-mail about it and it really piqued my interest. I posted it as an event in Facebook, because I wanted everyone I knew to participate. It did not require a special meeting place or preparation, only a heart to truly forgive everyone and anyone who had ever done anything to harm us, whether they deserved it or not. Many people responded, some did not, but it didn't matter to me, I knew that I had to take part in this event for myself. I had recently gone through a very difficult season of life and it seemed that most of the people who claimed to be my friends had abandoned me. A few of them actually turned out to be enemies, and one of them even tried to turn my family members against me. I had to make a choice to either return the evil, or completely let it go, so that Day couldn't come quickly enough for me.

    On New Year's Eve, I drove out to Dockweiler Beach, and sat down on a rock with a sheet of paper and a pen. I wrote down the name of every person that I could think of that I needed to truly forgive, and prayed for each one of them. When I finished, I took the list out to the shore, and send it away into the tide. It was so freeing to watch it go out, under the waves. I began to feel sorry for some of the people, because I began to see them as they were; that they really were unable to do any better than what they did. I thanked God for life, health and strength, and asked Him to help me to never do any of those things to anyone else. I found a seashell with holes in it, and put it on my bulletin board to help me remember the day.

     There is a line in the song entitled A Heart That Forgives by Kevin Levar says: " A heart that lets go is a heart that will know so much freedom". I thank the Lord for freedom today, so I can go on with my life. Forgiveness does not change what people have done to us, but it helps us to live our lives to the fullest.

     Be blessed...and forgive.

Thanks to Jeneen Harris for the top photograph...