The Hey You Lady

There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 In reading these verses, I am reminded times that I've gotten into a jam in my life because of choices that I made and the consequences of those choices. Whether the problem was with finances, relationships, taking care of my body, or anything else, I was convinced that since I, in effect, set the chain of events into motion that got me to that point, it would be up to me to act upon more decisions to get myself out. But guess what? In the area of life where I made the bad decisions, I was weak. If I weren't weak, I would have used better judgement and not be in such a mess. I was told by someone years ago, '...

A week or so ago, my Saturday study group's topic was on Praise for the Spirit - the discipline of Silence. The study guide said that "For many of us the disciplines of silence and meditation are difficult for us to pursue. We want to complete a task - read through a book of the Bible, or pray through a l ist of needs. Sometimes, however, God wants us to simply come before him and hear his voice." It had never occurred to me that silent prayer isn't simply praying without sound, like most people think it is. Rather, silent prayer is when we are silent and still before God. It's when we have poured ourselves out, come to Him as empty vessels, and have surrendered to His will. We come to our Abba like a child nestled in daddy's lap, and receive rest in His loving arms. We come to the Living God silent, as a patron of the arts, attending a symphony of grandeur, and leave His presence in awe of the sounds and textures blended to reveal the perfect creation of the...

The Christian celebration of Epiphany is celebrated on or about January 6 every year. It commemorates the event of Jesus being acknowledged as the Messiah by the shepherds and the three Magi, when he was still an infant. At my church, the kids have a tradition of making Epiphany stars out of metallic-colored cardboard, painting a different word on each star, and tying a ribbon through it to wear around your neck or hang on a wall. I decided that this year I would make an effort to live out whatever the word is on my star. On Epiphany Sunday, 9-year-old Tyler proudly hands me a star that he had made himself. The word on it was "peace." Right away I thought, ok, how do I "do" peace? Fast-forward to May. It seems as though for the past couple of weeks, God has put the word "surrender" on my mind and heart more than any other. It seems as though I've had an "a-ha!" moment, an epiphany, about surrender and peace. When two sides are in conflict, pe...