March 4, 2018

"Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up before God from the angel's hand." --Revelations 8:3-4

Oh, Sisters! Can you imagine? A vessel holding the prayers of the people, the essence of them rising to the Lord God.
And we have added our drop in the bucket. He hears every one, and each one 'avails much.'
Let's be encouraged to press on!

Ah Lord God!
Do you smile when we dance? Or laugh to see us flying on a sled behind a dog team? Do you nod in approval when we run our fastest? Do you guide our hands when we paint? Do you love to see our joy when riding a galloping horse? Does your heart swell when we are kind to the least of these? Do you say 'yes, yes' when we work out a math problem?

We know you sing over us--sing with us. We know you kiss us with the peace of sleep. We know you enjoy just sitting and being with us.

Thank You for loving us Lord! You have made us a little lower than the angels, and given us this incredible world as our garden to maintain. Thank You for animals to train. Mountains to climb. Scientific mysteries to work out. Art to create.

But Lord, we often lose our way. We lose sight of what our mission is. You seem hidden. Speak to us Lord. Restore the joy of our salvation. Renew our sense of purpose and send us out. Don't let us discount our ministry in the face of the talents of others. Don't let us ignore the important because of the busy.

Help us to be the wives, the mothers, the friends You would have us be. Give us the courage to pursue the gifts You have given us--as teachers, encouragers, pray-ers, artists, servants.

We pray this for our husbands...

We pray this for our children...

We pray this for our warriors. Lord protect them. Make them skilled in their work. Help them to navigate the difficult emotional worlds they need to handle. As only You can do, turn their deepest hurt into their greatest turning point.

Lord please protect the warrior's wounded heart. Please turn the tide of veterans' suicides.

Lord we pray for the families of the fallen.  Hold them close to You Lord.

Lord, we pray for all the daily's--the cold and flu so many are battling, the financial concerns, the houses needing rented or sold, the decisions that need to be made, the loneliness of those with deployed loved ones, the endless to-do lists. Help us Lord. Guide us through and help us to rise above them.
Lord use us! We desperately need to know that we have a purpose. You created us that way, and You only can fill that need. Use us to change Your world--starting today, starting right here.

Amen, Lord; Amen.

February 25, 2018

"...love one another deeply, from the heart...
All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers, the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever."
--I Peter 1: 22, 24, 25

Lord God,
if these children of ours are grass,
flowers fading,
help us to show them Your Word.
Please birth them into the eternal.
Help us to love them deeply.

When our prodigals spew hatred--
help us to love them deeply.
When our little ones' needs leave us exhausted--
help us to love them deeply.
When the world tells them they're not good enough, they don't make the cut--
help us to love them deeply.
When their hormones and emotions and words are raging--
help us to love them deeply.
When all seems right and it's easy for them to be comfortable--
help us to love them deeply.

We pray for their parents in planes flying away, on ships in big waters, in countries where they are hated. Please keep them safe, bring them home.
We pray for our children's hearts as they realize they can't always trust in people. Help them to trust in You. Please calm and guide them with Your incomprehensible peace.
We pray for their friends. May they sharpen and influence each other for good.
We pray for their studies. May they do their best, but find their worth in You.
We pray their lives would glorify You.

Lord we pray for their safety.
For their innocence.
But most of all, we pray they will follow You.

We pray for those who are ill. Lord, please bring Your healing touch to these many with colds and the flu. We pray for the grand baby whose feet need to turn out.
We thank You for good insurance and medicines and doctors and staff.

We pray for those who are newly adopted, and those waiting for a forever home. Hold them close Lord.

We pray for those about to be born. Lord please bring them safely.

And we pray for those who are desperately lonely. Lord, please bring friends. May they turn to You.

And Father God, please be with our hurting warriors and their families. Only You can truly touch them.

Eternal God, we thank You for these little creations. We thank You for our days with them. We thank You for the love they bring, and the love we can give. We thank You that though they are as fragile as grass, You can bring eternity.

February 18, 2018

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

attributed - sir francis drake -1577

Lord, we all are homesick. We are longing for a place where we are understood, supported, loved. We are longing to be with You.

Thank You for the glimpse we get of that in our chapels. Thank You for the volunteers--the ones who teach the kids, rock the babies, hand out the bulletins, drive the widows, play the music. Thank You for quick and sturdy friendships. Thank You for Your Word being proclaimed. Thank You for refuge, and recharge.

And we pray that our chapels will be a taste of our heavenly home for more people. Disturb us Lord. Don't let us grow complacent. Don't let us wait for someone else to step forward. Give us joy in doing Your mission.

We pray for our chapels in Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea and other places around the world. And for the ones on the ships, on the home bases. May they be beacons of Your hope and may they be life-changing for our deployed.

Lord use us. Use us to save our veterans from depression. Use us to strengthen their marriages, show them hope for a future, help them raise their children, help them find a purpose. 

And Lord please use our warriors. May their missions be right, and be successful. May the innocent be protected. May the Christians shine in the ranks. 

We pray for supplies

for working equipment

for good communication

for health

for sleep.

We pray You will guard their hearts.

We pray for those preparing for deployment, and those preparing to come home. Lord, be the grace that surrounds them.

We pray for those considering the military. Please guide them in the way they should go. Help the new recruits to push themselves, and find their strength in You. 

We pray for the health of many friends with all this flu going around.

We pray for houses being bought and sold and rented. Lord, we trust in You as our all-providing Shepherd. 

And we trust in You to lead us. We pray for the new orders coming--give us peace as we accept our new adventures. We pray for wisdom for the promotion boards. We trust You in all.

Thank You for blessing us with this life, and using us.

Amen.

Amen.

February 11, 2018

O Great Creator,

I ask You to re-create me.
Make me courageous where You find fear
Patient instead of controlling
Totally sold out instead of cautious

Make me willing to sacrifice--
to pour out--
with no hope of recovery--
no guarantee of any silver lining--
only willing to do whatever You ask
willing to die, even slowly, daily

Take all I have in these hands
And multiply, God, all that I am
And find my heart on the altar again
Set me on fire, set me on fire
Oh, take all I have in these hands
And multiply, God, all that I am
And find my heart on the altar again
Set me on fire, set me on fire

Here I am, God
Arms wide open
Pouring out my life
Gracefully broken

My heart stands in awe of Your name
Your mighty love stands strong to the end
You will fulfill Your purpose for me
You won't forsake me, You will be with me

All to Jesus now
Holding nothing back
I surrender

Your power and work in me (work in me)
I'm broken gracefully (broken gracefully)
(I'm strong when I am weak)
I will be free (I will be free)
Your power and work in me
Are gonna work in me (I'm broken gracefully)
I'm strong, I'm strong
I will be free

Here I am, God
Arms wide open
Pouring out my life
Gracefully broken**

More of You Lord--
fill us with more of You
show us how to love You
so we can make this sacrifice
so we can be gracefully broken

So when we wake to a sick kid,

may we be gracefully broken.

When we get the call for a deployment,

may we be gracefully broken in Your hands.

When the orders are for far away,

may we be gracefully broken.

All because we trust in You.

We pray for those with pending deployments. Help there be grace in the home, and Your peace.

We pray for those with hurting marriages. May You break the pride and draw them to each other.

We pray for those whose hearts are far from You. Hound them Lord.

We pray for those whose loved ones are around the world. May You be their true comfort.

We pray for those with illnesses and sick children. Lord, please bring Your healing touch.

Please be with those whose parents are failing.

Please encourage those whose children are running.

We look to see Your power at work in us.

Thank You Lord Jesus, Amen.

Click Here to sing along with Gracefully Broken

**Gracefully Broken

Written by Matt Redman, Katie Torwalt, Jonas Myrin, Brian Torwalt, Tasha Cobbs

2017 Capitol Christian Music Group
CCLI#7051633