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

February 4, 2018

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

Thank You Lord for our beautiful military brats.
Thank You for their global experiences.
Thank You for their unique perspectives.
Thank You for their diverse community upbringing.
Thank You for their brave outlook.
Thank You for their practice time of leaning on You.

Tis so sweet to trust You with their lives, and see them thrive under Your plan.

Just to take Him at His word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know, thus sayeth the Lord

We rest on Your promise that You love our children
We rest on Your promise that You hold the final victory
We rest on Your promise that You will be with them always
We rest on Your promise that no sacrifice is wasted

Jesus, Jesus How I trust You!
How I've proved You o'er and o'er
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus

Precious Jesus who became a little child for us
who had to grow up
had to be humble
who always loved
and had compassion for all the unlovables
whose words pierced the soul
who gave everything

May You always be precious to us
May You be precious to our children

O for grace to trust You more

Lord we look to see what You will do with our children's lives
When dreams fall to ashes, we trust You to bring beauty again
When hard times come, we trust You to make our children strong

Father God please help the children of the deployed learn to trust You. May they find their confidence in You, beyond where their parent is.
We pray for our prodigals. Thank You Lord for Your grace and mercy. May they be broken from their pride and turn to You.
We pray for our kids who are lonely. May they find good friends, partners in living this life for You.
We pray for our kids who are sick. We ask for Your healing touch.
We pray for those struggling in school. May they have confidence in You for their purpose and their future.
We pray for our foster and adopted children. Lord give them the grace to truly accept the love offered. May they find their forever homes. May the courts rule according to Your will.
We pray for those making life decisions. Lead them through Lord.

And we pray against the spirit of suicide for this generation that seems so prone to it. Lord, please thwart all evil efforts to harm our veterans, our military members, our children.

I'm so glad I've learned to trust Him
Precious Jesus, Savior Friend
And I know that He is with me
Wilt be with me to the end.

Whatever it takes, teach our children, Abba.
Amen.

'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Written by Louisa M.R. Stead
CCLI #7051633

January 28, 2018

Praying with excerpts from Psalm 118 today:

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.

Let the Air Force say, "His love endures forever."
Let the Army say, "His love endures forever."
Let the Navy say, "His love endures forever."
Let the Marines say, "His love endures forever."
Let the Coast Guard say, "His love endures forever."

Oh Lord, may all our ranks know Your love. Thank You for Your goodness--for every flight that comes home, for every boat that completes its mission, for every dad that returns to scoop up his child. Thank You for every act of heroism.

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
He brought me into a spacious place.

Lord, we pray our forces would not get cornered. May they see Your way for all maneuvers.
May all of our warriors cry to You.

The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.

God, please make our fighters brave only because they trust in You.
May we be victorious because we are doing right and following You.
Please bless our military's efforts to help the oppressed.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than in princes.

Father God we pray for the military members we love. May they take refuge in You. May they see Your hand  and turn to You.

The Lord is my strength and my defense;
He has become my salvation.

Lord, please be the defense of our soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea.
Please keep safe our sailors in the Pacific, the East China Sea, the Persian Gulf.
Please surround our airmen in the endless blue sky.

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
The Lord's right hand has done mighty things!

I will give You thanks for You answered me;
You have become my salvation.

Thank You Lord for the many who have come home safely, repeatedly. May we not take for granted Your saving grace.
Thank You for the many who have turned to You. Thank You for giving them peace.
And we pray for our warriors who are hurting. May the enemy of suicide be kept away from our veterans.

Lord save us!
Lord grant us success!

We thank You for our military--for our technology, for our equipment, for our bravery, strength, resolve. Thank You for many good missions accomplished, and we ask You to help us to continue to do so.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.

Lord You are strength and love.
You are power and grace.
May we follow in Your ways.

January 21, 2018

Lord we need You--even to love You!
The Great I Am is truly our all in all.
And we ask for Your continued mercy on our days.

When we scream at our kids, again,
Lord have mercy.

When we hurt and get hurt by our spouses, the ones we love the most
Lord have mercy.

When the smallest bill, change of plans, hiccups send us into an anxious tizzy
Lord have mercy.

When we forget You are God all-powerful
God all-loving
Lord have mercy.

When we're criss-crossing the country, creating homes like so many migrating birds
Lord have mercy

When we're facing days alone with our love on the other side of the world
Lord have mercy

Thank You Lord.
Thank You for mercy from creation to the cross to eternity
Thank You for Your new mercies we see every morning.
Thank You for being with us in every step of this crazy, wonderful military life.

Please help us have strength and joy for our family.
Please help us be lights for our community.
May we be examples for our children, steady rocks for our friends.
And may we be brave in following You--
Ready to tell
Willing to get dirty
And to risk pain
Believing in God-sized things
in God-sized mercies.

Amen.