Thanksgivent

This year has come with its own struggles that have been challenging and at times, overwhelming.  Some of those struggles come from growing pains and being challenged with new things to stretch  and develop. Some struggles come simply from being alive. And some struggles from poor decisions and learning boundary management, from taking matters into your own hands and timing and not trusting in God or from simply being hurt and wronged by others.  Those last ones are the struggles that can really threaten to cripple and to rob me us of our hope and trust.

As Thanksgiving ends and Advent begins- we focus this week on both thankfulness and hope. This year I am thankful for the challenges and hard times because, while they cause wounds, I have Jesus, and he brings hope. He allows these wounds to heal and move from festering and infected, to scars.  He comes in and tends to those wounds, bringing hope and healing like the gentle shepherd that he is.  The scars will always remain there as reminders, but they won't be open and festering, putting our health in danger.  As we walk into this Advent season, I am thankful that He is at work bringing healing and Hope in my life.

Prayer for Paris

I lift up Paris and all of France, but not only France... the whole world.  I grieve at the loss and the fear and the pain.  But you God grieve more- seeing our pain and suffering as your children, knowing this is not the way you intended it to be.  I grieve for the pain and brokenness in the lives of those who would think such cowardly actions are an acceptable and appropriate way to advance a cause or message.  It makes me angry- and I cannot imagine how I would feel if this happened to my family.

Into the lies and hardness of their hearts, the death they walk in; I pray that you would speak life and truth. I pray that you would transform them as you did Saul into Paul.  Your heart breaks for your people on all sides of this situation.  I pray that instead of animosity towards one another, instead of blaming one another and focussing on divisions, that you would unite us in love as we are all made in your image.

My heart grieves for the families and friends of those who were killed in Paris.  It breaks knowing the pain and sadness affecting so many lives there- as one who has been through a school shooting and city riots, my heart breaks for the fear and the anger that such events cause. I pray for comfort and peace in the lives of those touched by this chaos- and throughout the world.

I pray that such actions, with the clear and explicit intent to cause fear, would not be allowed to run our lives.  I pray that we would not turn a blind eye and let regimes be set-up on the basis of fear, as they have risen up before, causing death and war. I pray that there would be those who stand up and fight for what is right, with courage even in the threat of death.  

With Veteran's day having been celebrated this past week, I thank you for the lives of those who have fought, are fighting, and will continue to fight for freedom and justice- who stand and fight for what they believe.

Unite us for your kingdom.  Fill us with your love that we might be able to love those around us and change this world.  Let us cling to the only hope there is, new life at the sacrifice of your perfect son for each of our sins which is the only truth that can even enable us to reach out, love, and forgive those who have hurt us and who are different than we are.

Right here, right now

To follow God your whole life isn't just a  decision you make once, or a new year's resolution. It's choosing him and doing His will second by second. The seconds add up to minutes... minutes to hours and hours to days, weeks and months. That's how you spend a lifetime obeying God. It starts with the moments right now.