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Praying, IV

Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, above all that we ask or think. Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how He delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ; and expect great things. –Andrew Murray

Oh Lord, my great Shepherd and the Shepherd of my children, cause me to believe with power, to not limit You in my prayers, to not presume to know Your greatness, and give me the courage this morning to expect the unexpected.

Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that commands as well as asks? God baptize us with holy audacity and Divine confidence! He is not wanting great men, but He is wanting men who will dare to prove the greatness of their God. But God! But prayer! –A. B. Simpson

Give me the faith to command with my prayers. Give me audacity and confidence through the righteousness of Christ with which I am clothed! Cause me to dare to prove how majestic and miraculous You are. Put words in my mouth this morning that will accomplish this.

1 Peter 5:6-11

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Oh Lord, You humble us; please take away our anxieties this morning. The devil seeks to devour my soul, give me the strength to resist him now! Remind me, O Father, that regardless of today’s outcome, that we have a glorious hope for the future: including eternal glory, restoration, confirmation, strength, and establishment. Hallelujah!

Proverbs 3:1-2

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.

Heavenly King, I pray this for my Hosanna-Baby. Teach this little covenant child, even in its teeny-tiny state. Faith is a gift from You; teach this child in my womb, cause his or her heart to keep Your commandments. Add length of days and years of life to this child. Bring abundant peace to Hosanna.

Romans 8:6, 11

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Above all, my God, set my mind today on the Spirit. Give life through Your Spirit!! Give LIFE, O God!! Save, Lord!!

AMEN!!!

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Praying, III

2 Timothy 1:7

God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Oh God, allow us not to give in to a spirit of fear, but give us power by Your Spirit, love beyond measure, and self-control that we can not explain. Please fill us with Yourself and take away the dross that we feel threatening to choke us today.

Psalm 29:11

May the LORD give strength to His people!
May the LORD bless His people with peace!

Strengthen us today, Lord, in body and in faith. Build our spiritual & physical muscles. Bless us with peace that passes our understanding and that overflows from our hearts out our fingertips.

Isaiah 26:12

O LORD, You will ordain peace for us,
for You have indeed done for us all our works.

Among the nations, and in the sight of the Church as well as the heathen, O Lord, bring us peace. We do nothing without You. We have done nothing apart from Your ordained will. We continue to seek Your wisdom and ask for Your guidance. Prepare our footsteps and set our hands to the works You have ready for us. Give us peace as we move forward in whatever direction You are about to lead.

1 Kings 8:57

The LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us or forsake us…

Be with us, God, today as we wait. Be with us, Lord, tonight as we try to sleep. Be with us, Father, tomorrow as we walk the hard steps into the doctor’s building and as I lie down upon the ultrasound table. Be with us, King of the universe, as our ears and eyes prepare to hear and see what news You will deliver us then.

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Praying, II

Psalm 115:3

Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.

Oh God who lives and reigns in heaven — be pleased to shower Your mercy and covenantal love upon us. Be pleased to grant life to our tiny child, and be pleased to show your miraculous works to the nations!

Isaiah 45:7

I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the LORD, who does all these things.

We know, Lord, that You are in control of all things. No matter what is contained in Your perfect will, it is Yours and it is perfect. Even when we can not see the breadth and depth and width of it as You can.

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.

As I struggle with the “blessed is the man who…” concepts in Psalms 127 & 128, I am encouraged by this “blessed is the man” concept. We are not exempt from Your blessings, Lord, simply because we have a very limited number of arrows in our quiver & olive shoots around our table. We praise You, O God! Cause us to remain steadfast, and cause our eyes to be upon the crown of life!

(And let me just add to that thought: earth is not the point. If earth were the point, I would be in total 100% despair. But earth is not the point. Life on earth is but a passing breath. In the eternal ranks of heaven, my olive shoots are many and my arrows are many! Thanks be to God!)

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Praying

As we go to war as the body of Christ, praying for the life of the baby in my womb — and as we anticipate the news on Thursday of whether the doctors are right or whether God is going to prove them majestically wrong — I want to share verses with you that are on this mommy’s heart as I pray for this child.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Hebrews 11:3

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

With His words, with the Word, our God can sustain this baby’s life. With just a simple word. With a breath. With a vowel. It is not too hard for God.

Jeremiah 32:27

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

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Reformation Day Costumes

Our church had its annual Reformation Day party tonight, and the theme was Scotland. Thankfully we’ve got connections for great outfits. We may not have won the “best family costumes” award, but we were the most authentic, wearing outfits from Scotland and all that. :)

Here’s the evidence.

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Save, Lord!!

As of an hour ago, our Hosanna baby is alive!! However… The baby is measuring small. And the heartbeat is extremely slow.

If there is one thing I wasn’t really expecting to get out of the ultrasound today, it was ambivalence – and that’s exactly what God gave us. It’s better than “the worst” but it certainly isn’t what we had prayed for. The doctor was not overly hopeful.

Please beg God with us for a miracle.
Ask Him to preserve this precious little life.
This isn’t a medical problem – it is a child. Our child.

Oh God, save this baby! Hosanna in the highest! Save, Lord!!

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Third Street Paper Co

There’s something super fun about a giveaway… something super fun about winning it… and something super fun about getting the beautiful things in my mailbox!

I couldn’t not share these with you all. Aren’t they terrific?!

I highly suggest you pop over to Third Street Paper Co and grab yourself some stationery. It’s delightful.
And hey, it’s run by the girls I was best friends with growing up. That’s just icing on the cake. 😉

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Some fall delights


Apples from a local orchard… Pine needles in the backyard… Pumpkins in our garden… Candles for our babies… The well drilling truck on our property… Playing in septic perk holes… Playing at the park… Walking through crunchy leaves…

These are some of our fall’s delights! Thanks be to God.

We have a couple blood draws, an important ultrasound, and likely more traveling for medical treatment this week. Please pray with us for God’s grace this week, as we continue to seek His delights in our life all around us.
And especially as we beg Him to show mercy to our Hosanna-Baby!

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Let Me Find Thy Glory In My Valley

“Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.  Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.”

~The Valley of Vision~
A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions