Slowly, over the past 13 years I have learned that my experience of God’s presence ebbs and flows. There are times when I am on my knees worshipping and His presence overwhelms me. It’s as if He is so close I can barely breathe. But there are other times when I am praising Him and while it’s a great time of praise, He might just be silent. What I have come to realize is that as fragile human beings I don’t believe we can handle, intense experiences of God’s presence 24/7. I think if we had that we would become emotionally and physically exhausted. In heaven, we will have new bodies and we will be able to handle the continual pleasure of His overwhelming sovereign presence. Here on earth, I believe we are to enjoy and savor the moments when His presence is intimate. And during the times when we don’t feel His presence, celebrate the fact that we are craving His presence.

Now of course we must also examine our hearts for sin. Because sin makes us want to hide from God, so if we are the ones hiding we likely won’t experience the pleasure of HIs presence. But, if there is no sin and you just feel somewhat blah, your body might just be tired, or God may be inviting you to trust that He is there even though you don’t feel Him. Don’t be discouraged. Just keep continuing on in your journey of praise and realize that your experience of His intimate presence will ebb and flow. You might pray, Lord Jesus, I praise you that you are here even though I don’t feel your presence. I will choose to simply trust and relax, knowing that you haven’t abandoned me.”

I would love your thoughts. Leave a comment, I love hearing from you!

It was during those very challenging years that I learned the power of making praise a priority in my life.  Friend, no matter what is going on in your life, try praising God for who He is. Praise Him by faith that you can trust Him even though you may not feel that way. Praise Him that He loves you, even though you may not feel that way. Praise Him that He is good even though you may not feel that way. When you choose to make praise a priority in your life God transforms you in ways you can’t even imagine. So why not give it a shot? Thoughts?

Bowing in trust when I feel like pacing. When I worry, I pace. When I feel anxious, my body needs to move!  I have learned that when I am pacing back and forth, waiting, I need to get on my needs and declare by faith, “Lord, this waiting feels like forever, but I bow before you and I choose by faith to trust you.” David writes in Psalm 37:3, “Trust in the Lord and do good.”

Raising my hands in praise when I feel like biting my nails. Praise unleashes more faith in me and calms my heart. When I am waiting and it feels like forever, I choose to turn on my praise music. I make a choice to praise God that He is in control even when my emotions are screaming something different. David writes in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Laying down my burdens when I feel like picking them up. I often write down what I feel burdened about and picture myself giving that burden to the Lord. Then when that burden comes back into my mind I remind myself that I have already given it to the Lord. This is the idea that David is getting at when He wrote, “Commit your way to the Lord.” (Psalm 37:5) The word commit carry’s the idea of rolling our burden onto the Lord.

Sitting still when I feel like taking action.When I am waiting for something, I find it difficult to not jump in and take action to sort of, “Help the Lord out.” What I have found is that God doesn’t need my help. Most often, He simply needs me to wait until He says the time is right. I can come up with every plan in the book to try and speed things up but usually to no avail. When He declares “it’s time” things start to move. The hardest posture of waiting is to “Be still before the Lord and wait.” (Psalm 37:7) To be still physically is one thing. To be still mentally is even more difficult.

What about you? What are you waiting for? What posture most speaks to you?  Leave a comment and your name will be entered to win a free copy of Finding Calm In Life’s Chaos!

David wrote, “show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me.” (Psalm 25:4-5 NLV) As you move through out your day today, facing countless decisions, may this prayer encourage your heart.

“Lord I praise you that you are the God of all wisdom. (Romans 11:33-36) Your Word tells me that when I don’t know what to do, I can ask and you will generously give me the wisdom that I need. (James 1:5) So Lord Jesus, I ask you today that you will show me the right paths to go, point out to me the road that is right for each of my children. Lead me moment by moment through out my day as I look to you continually.(Psalm 25:4) And I praise you in advance for the wisdom you will give!” Amen. 

Peace didn’t com right away but, eventually I feel asleep on that dirty cot. The next day I went back to the guest house in Nairobi to take a shower and STeve came to stay with Bethany. When I arrived back at the hospital, Steve was super excited!  A monkey had come to Bethany’s window and for the first time in four days, she sat up and looked out the window and shouted excitedly, “Monkey! God had graciously healed our daughter.

The Psalmist, David, wrote, “Every good thing I have comes from you!” (Psalm 16:2 NLV) Our children are a precious gift from God. As mother’s we love them beyond imagination but ultimately we must surrender them to the Lord, because they are a gift from God. They are not ours to keep, control or idolize.  They are ours to surrender for God to use for HIs glory.

Today, whether your child is a toddler, teen or adult, maybe you need to pray this prayer of surrender, “Lord Jesus, you know how much I love this child (put in their name) but this child belongs to you. I surrender this child to you. Whether you answer my prayers in a way that makes me happy or not, I will choose to praise you.”

Today, I’ll be giving away 2 copies of Be the Mom by Tracey Eyster from Family Life. https://www.facebook.com/BeTheMom But, You must leave a comment to be able to be in the drawing to win.

Unfortunately, the pressure to perform and be perfect, impacts our kids. When we are insecure in our performance as mothers we slip into comparing our children with other children.  When we compare the accomplishments, or the abilities of our children with the abilities of other kids, we end up feeling envious. There will always be a child out there who is ahead of your child in some area.  Here’s the thing, God is not calling you to raise perfect children!  He wants you to model the grace that He continually offers. Your kids will mess up and fall short. Rather than comparing your child to another child, praise God every day for the uniqueness of your child. Every time your child messes up, thank God for the opportunity to demonstrate His grace. If you want to stop feeling envious of another mother, or her child, stop comparing.

Parenting is the hardest task any of us will every do. I think God intended it this way to keep us on our knees. As we move through out this week, would you dare to praise God each day for each one of your children? Every time you are tempted to compare, whisper this prayer, “I will praise you, Lord with all my heart for (put in the name of your child). Thank you for the opportunity to model grace and forgiveness. Thank you that you designed (put in the name of your child) with intentionality and that your desire is to mold me into the image of Christ as I parent. Let (put in the name of your child) see the grace of Jesus in my life.” Amen.

All week I’ll be giving away prizes. Today, I’m giving away a copy of Freedom From Performing. But, in order to be entered in the drawing, you must leave a comment. So, comment away!

Steve and I are going out of town for the next two days. We’ll be going to a house in the mountains to pray and write.  I won’t be able to upload my blog over the next few days, but, I covet your prayers as we go.

Please pray:

1. For the ability to sink into the Lord’s presence.

2. For creativity to write and prepare messages.

3. For rest.

Thanks so much -

I’ll be back on my blog at the end of the week!~

Psalm 63 is one of my favorites. David wrote this Psalm while staying in the desert hiding form his son, Absalom. Desert places intensify our cravings. David was craving God. He writes, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you: my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dray and weary land where there is no water.” (vs.1) He goes on to write, “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied.” (vs. 4-5) David was hiding out in a cave. It would have been easy to pray, “God, my soul will be satisfied when I return home to the palace and when my kids all love me again.” Instead, David prays, my soul will be satisfied with your love, Lord. In other words, You are enough.

As I was meditating on this Psalm, thinking through different longings of my heart, I asked myself, what will it take to feel satisfied? Every now and then I need to remind myself that Jesus is enough. Here are three questions to think about today:

1. What am I craving today?

2. What will it take for me to feel satisfied?

3. Is Jesus enough?

I’d love your thoughts!~

The prayer of Examen is a method of prayer developed by Ignatius of Loyola in the sixteenth century. He designed this prayer as a method to determine God’s will and to become more fully present to God’s movements in our lives. When you practice the prayer of examen you sit still, quiet your heart and ask  the Holy Spirit to examine your life. (Psalm 139:23-24) If there are attitudes or actions in your life that are preventing your further growth the Holy Spirit will bring those to mind. Confess those areas and then celebrate the God’s grace in your life. He promises that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We don’t have to feel fearful to confess our sins. We simply express our sorrow over those areas that have hindered our walk with Christ and then receive HIs grace. I think of the prayer of examen kind of like taking a spiritual shower.

Try it and then I’d love to hear from you!

I’ll be the first to admit, I have confidence problems. Self-doubt can sabotage my sense of well being especially in the area of my calling.  It’s easy to let my confidence be tied to how successful I am in speaking and writing.

As I have been studying the life of David, in I Samuel, I realize that he probably had to deal with self-doubt as well. Samuel tried to anoint every one of his other brothers feeling that they had the “goods” to be king. Yet, God chose David, the youngest and perhaps the least gifted. Even after he was anointed as the next king, he had to deal with Saul who continually tried to murder him. Death threats will definitely mess with your confidence, don’t you think? Yet, while David was fleeing and hiding from Saul He wrote, “My heart is confident in you, O God!” I love that! Where does that type of confidence come from?

For me, it begins with the knowledge that though I am inadequate for the calling God has placed on my life, He is more than adequate. My confidence and yours need to be tied to the Spirit of the living God. He promises that everything He calls us to, He will be faithful to complete. (I Thessalonians 5:24) What I have discovered in my own life and you probably have as well, is that God will call me to challenges I can’t handle. Sigh. That way, there can be no mistake about who’s accomplishing the work!

Thoughts?