still growing

Monday, March 14, 2016

Blessed God,

I was coming here before You with my thoughts heading in one direction. The moment I saw the date all of my thoughts changed. How I ask You right now to take control of every bit of my thinking.

Today marks another anniversary of the passing of a very dear loved one. Father, I could so easily get lost in the details of that day. Again I ask You to guide my thoughts.

Holy God, I love You. And, oh how I thank You for all the work You have done in our lives.

Six years ago I had opportunity to study and repeatedly determine to stand firm in the Truth of Colossians 2:7. Thank You Father for preparing me for one of the biggest challenges of my life by presenting me with the apostle Paul's words to the believers at Colosse.

The Life Recovery Bible cites the purpose of Paul's letter as showing us “that Christ is the only real source of power in our life.” Thank You Father.

Thank You that this morning I get to seek Your Word and continue to “Let my roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him, so I will grow in faith, strong, and vigorous in the truth I was taught. Let[ting] my life overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done” (Colossians 2:7).

From here I get to refer back to Jesus' own words describing Himself as “the true vine, and my Father as the gardener” (John 15:1). Holy God, again I thank You.

Thank You for pointing me again to this particular chapter. The Life Recovery Bible comment for verses 15:1-8 tells us “God desires that our life be like the fruitful branches of a grapevine. The only way to be fruitful is to remain connected to Jesus, the vine, and to allow God, the gardener, to prune our life to stimulate growth and fruitfulness.”

After an entire day of yard work yesterday (and the aches this morning to prove it) I thank You that You ARE our Gardener.

The footnote continues, “It is God's cultivating, weeding, and pruning in our life that brings forth spiritual fruit, character development, and progress in recovery. Just as sustenance for the desired fruit comes through the vine, so fullness of life comes through faith in Jesus Christ. We need to stay close to Jesus, the source of power and practical help for recovery.”

Thank You! Thank You, Father. Thank You, Jesus. And thank You, Holy Spirit. Thank You for earthly reminders that our strength, future and potential fruitfulness relies in our staying connected with You.

Bless us this day Dearest Lord. Keep us intimately connected with You. We love You. We long to serve You. And we ask that You continue teaching us to do it well. Thank You. Love you. Amen.

(474 words ~ 9:35 a.m.)

Ultimate Being in existence

Sunday, March 13, 2016 (6:07 a.m.)

Awesome God,

Thank You for who You are. Which invites the question, who exactly are You?

(7:17 a.m.)

Searching. Reading. Looking. Finding.

This conclusion from godandscience.org's Evidence For God speaks plainly. “God is the ultimate Being in existence, perfect in power, love, and character...”

Words like omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent come to mind. And lead to even more questions. Attempting to keep it all simple I breathe in deeply and let go of striving to understand.

Ultimate Being in existence, perfect in power, love and character, be with us this day. The plans we've made, the goals we've set, keep our focus on You.

You are who we long to serve, glorify and enjoy. Make it so. In our words and through our actions. Lead, guide, direct and make us obedient to Your call upon us.

We love You Father. Thank You for who and all You are. Amen.

(153 words ~ 7:43 a.m.)

-est

Saturday, March 12, 2016 (5:04 a.m.)

Holiest God,

Just as I awoke this morning, I began thinking of You as best. Greatest. Kindest. -est. The superlative of adjectives. The highest degree of comparison. That's You!

Wanting to give You Your due, I searched for “-est” words that might be found in the Bible. I was quite surprised to be introduced to something I'd never considered before.

Not only is Your Word broken up into two Testaments with a total of 66 books, the chapters and verses are all counted as well. How have I never thought of this before? And why is it so interesting to me now?

Blessed God, thank You for surprises. New-to-me information. Details. Facts. Awareness that once again leads me to becoming eager and excited to tell [AGOG]. The smile on my face acknowledges the joy I'm feeling within. Thank You Father.

Thank You for all You provide us. Thank You for the teachings of others. Thank You that You are indeed “-est”! Use me today exactly as You wish. I love You. Thank You. Amen.

(181 words ~ 7:52 a.m.)

And...

Friday, March 11, 2016 (6:48 a.m.)

Loving Lord,

Thank You. Thank You for good rest. Thank You for a beautiful sky. Thank You for thoughts. And hopes. And dreams.

Thank You also for challenges which help us grow. Thank You for indecision. And the opportunity to bring all of it to You.

Father, I have no idea where in Your Word to go this morning. There is so very much to learn. So many pages of history and Truth and promises in which to delve.

I love You Father. You are good. Holy. And I long to serve You as You would have me serve. Guide me. Direct me. Lead me. And teach me. I love You.

There is no end to all of the “and...”s with which we can describe You. Thank You that You are limitless (Revelation 1:4). And perfect (Matthew 5:48). And...

Use me to Your good. And to Your glory. As only You can. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(159 words ~ 8:24 a.m.)

launching point

Thursday, March 10, 2016 (5:28 a.m.)

Most Dear and Blessed God,

I am here again. Looking to You. Asking Your blessings. Seeking Your Truth. Knocking on Your door of promises. Yes, Father. I am knocking on Your door of promises.

Let me be clear with You here. I have no idea what this really means. Yet I acknowledge the pull to learn more.

Blessed God, how I thank You for the pull You have on my heart. My soul. My mind. And my strength. You are so good. So faithful. So loving. So kind. Please continue Your work in leading and guiding me to all You require of me.

Yes please Father. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 is my launching point this morning. Direct my emotions, desires, thoughts and actions accordingly. I love You. I thank You. And I praise and fear You.

Bless us. Keep us. Make Your face shine upon us and give us Your peace (Numbers 6:24-26). Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(163 words ~ 6:36 a.m.)

implementation

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 (5:53 a.m.)

Holy God,

I just got a HUGE flash of fear. My whole being wants to be angry and throw around my own will. Thoughts of stomping my foot and just showing up on someone's doorstep unannounced are countered only by thinking of calling to cancel a previously scheduled meeting. And this is friendship? I don't think so.

Father, I'm turning to You. Confessing a myriad of emotions. Anger being the first. Immediately I remember that anger is easy and covers a multitude of feelings. Help me look under the irritation to the pleasure and good humor [antonyms].

Holy God, this is big stuff. I've been living inside my head for over a week now anticipating all the directions a much needed conversation could possibly go. I don't want to be afraid. I long for the courage to speak Your Truth in love, without the slightest hint of my own opinion or frustration.

I confess to You right now, I don't think I know how to do that. I love You Father. Plain and simple. And everything inside me wants desperately to turn tail and run. I don't want to be involved. My heart is racing. My head is pounding and I just want out.

This is all not safe for me. It's uncharted territory. I surrender it all up to You Blessed Father. My thoughts. My hopes. My what ifs. My he saids and she saids. And yes, my tears. Especially the tears.

I don't like to hurt people. There's a bitterness brewing and I'm embarrassed and ashamed of it. All the “I'll show her”s of my past life are wanting desperately to rear their ugly heads. So again I ask, Blessed Father please guide and direct me in Your Word.

Holy God, how I thank You. Thank You for allowing me to come before You with all of my hurts and hopes. Thank You that I don't have to run off in any direction other than straight to You. Thank You that I trust You to guide every single part of my life.

Thank You for the opportunity of letting my Life Recovery Bible just fall open to what You would have me read this morning. David Confesses His Guilt (2 Samuel 12:13-25). From there I turn to Illustrated Bible Handbook and learn even more.

Holiest God how I thank You for calming my spirit. Reading and learning lead to implementation and that is exactly what I ask You right now. Teach me to use Your Word, Your Truth and Your promises to Your good and to Your glory.

I trust You Father. I need You. I depend on You. And I ask You to guide and direct my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength in loving You, others and myself as You would have me love (Mark 12:30-31).

I look to You for guidance and courage. I love You. I thank You. And I look for Your leading. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(504 words ~ 6:51 a.m.)

fine, good things

Tuesday, March 8, 2016 (5:15 a.m.)

Holy, Loving God,

Thank You. There was sleep. Refreshing, restorative sleep. Thank You. And there was awaking. To thoughts and wonders and You.

Thank You Father. Thank You that we get to come before You with our thoughts and wonders. Doubts and fears. Hopes and dreams. Yes Father. Thank You that You call us to love You with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength (Mark 12:30).

This morning I come to You asking. Seeking. Knocking (Matthew 7:7). My former tendency was to act first, pray after. Thank You for helping me want to filter my desiring, thinking and doing through You prior to actually taking action.

We have changes in plans that can go one way or another. Take the lead here Lord. I spend far too much time in my head attempting to reach our best case scenarios. Today I toss it all up to You asking simply for YOUR best for us.

Thank You that upon awakening this morning Your Word came promptly into play. Thinking first on the whatsoevers (Philippians 4:8) my mind started wandering over to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and the defining qualities of what all love is and what all it is not. From there my thinking turned to the blessings Jesus listed in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:12-26).

I confess to You Dearest Lord, I have yet to spend much time learning or practicing the beatitudes. I long to live this day as You would have me. Work in, with, by, for and through me that I will reap and sow (Galatians 6:7-10) all that You have for me.

Father God, You are good. You are holy. You are my example of all I long to be. Do all You must in making me aware of all the “fine, good things in others” that You would have me dwell on (Philippians 4:8). I love You, Dad. Thank You. Amen.

(330 words ~ 7:01 a.m.)