It was a quiet night. I had asked each woman to bring a candle and a favorite saying or verse. The ladies came and their voices were excited. They wondered what I was going to do with the verses or whatever they brought. It was an evening meeting. I looked at the women in my group and wondered if they would be touched in some way by what I had planned. I was younger than most of them and wondered if they would participate. I told them I was first off. I would show them what I wanted. First, I told them my verse, and it settled. I wrote my thought on the board. Then I lit my candle. I asked them who wanted to be first. One woman volunteered. I then wrote a message on the board. Then she put her candle on the table next to mine and lit her candle. Then the next one went. Everyone participated (which surprised me).

. . .

Linda

     This verse works as a reminder to me – to keep close to God.

“Jesus saith unto him. Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” – John 20:29

Jeannette

     I find a challenge in this verse, to put God first with eyes on his holiness.

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” – I Peter 1:15;16

Wanda

     For Thou art my God—praise Thy name. How wonderful and great things He is doing for me.

“Praise to the LORD- LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.”- Isaiah 25:1

Mary

     I learned this verse from my father. It has always been precious to me.    

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” –  John 3:16

Anne

     When God is in control, He covers me. I can do all things through Christ.

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:3

Cheryle  

     Defines my purpose—and He watches me and makes sure what happens, should happen.

Philippians 4:13 see above

Sarah

     God helps me and can multiply with strength, and boldly he does it, before I think.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive Mercy and find grace to hope us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16

Alison

     God will quiet us. “He’s got this!” I can feel it relaxing me. Especially when I speak it on a prayer walk.

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves, He will take great delight in you; in this love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”– Zephaniah 3:17

Elizabeth

     I am unashamed. I am safe.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” – Romans 1:16

Norma

     This speaks of the closeness I feel when I say, I am crucified with Christ. It’s a precious verse to me.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

. . .

Every single one of the women shared a verse and how it had helped them through the trials of life. As they shared I wrote their thought on the white board. When they were finished and everyone had lit their candle, one of the women turned off the lights. I quietly read the words to the group of women. The candles were all lit and the light from the flames made the room feel warm and peaceful. No one moved. No one talked. We were all quiet, reflective, and peaceful. Then we were done. The ladies came up to me and said it was one of the best meetings we ever had. They thanked me. Then they quietly left. They had blessed me. And especially Mary, it was the first and only time she actively participated in front of the church ladies. What a joy it was to see her share her verse with the ladies.

I wrote down what they had shared. It still is precious, though some of the ladies are no longer here. I’m glad I saved it.

That was a special moment.

Take a deep dive and really look at yourself. Than do it again. Where are you strong. Where could you improve. What is your goal? Once you do that, notice where you’ve grown. Maybe you noticed some weaker areas. Make note of them. We always get to move forward. I don’t know about you, but I want to move forward in a positively good way. So, I’m not just going to wait for what happens, but I’m going to make, trust God, hope, and will for the best possible way forward.

First off, it is up to you to know the end game. No one else can do it for you. Figure it out. You can do it! I’m just going to put some things out there that I think makes a difference. You can sort them how you want.

Love is essential. Love makes a way. Love blesses. Love cares for needs even when you’re tired. Love gets you through the terrible days in each and every way. Love is critical to the success of your life.

Laughter and humor makes your home fun. Pastor Pete would often say to us, “Are you fun to live with?” That’s a good question that we should ask ourselves. Lighten up, We can be too serous at times. Enjoy your time together. Sometimes we just have to make ourselves easy to live with. I remember when my youngest daughter went to the insurance office with me. On the desk was a jar of candy, I noticed her noticing it, but I had coached her to not ask for anything, and she didn’t. Instead, she asked about the things on the desk, what she used them for and etc. You know how that went. In just a couple of minutes she was offered a candy.

Validate, accept everyone’s uniqueness. Play to people’s strengths. Encourage the areas of interests. Be sensitive to their fears. Minimize comparisons. Strive to know your child as a person, especially as he enters his own. Some people do this extremely well. Those people stand out. On the opposite end, be careful with your criticisms. A child’s spirit is easily crushed.

Another tool is prayer. Prayer is a resource always available to you. We pray for protection. We pray for spiritual needs, salvation and growth. We pray when someone’s sick, we pray, pray, pray. I remember when my first son got his driver’s license. I prayed for him. He needed the license to go babysit his nephews. He made it, then driving to and from babysitting. Prayer is such a wonderful habit.

Develop a spirit of gratitude. It took me awhile to make this one grow to become a part of me. When life is rough it is hard to remember to to give thanks to God. We develop a spirit of gratitude. Our homes reflect the gratefulness of our hearts. We should give thanks for the many wonderful ways God brings so many big and little things into our lives.

Give praise in all things, good and bad. Praise releases God to work in a situation. It takes some time to learn this one. The more you praise, the less you complain. You can’t praise while you’re complaining.

Shape their lives for Jesus. Disciple is part of it. It is unwise to hover and smother (to act like helicopter parents), but it is also unwise to not have limits and boundaries. Children need structure. The structure helps them control their impulses.

What area spoke to you? There are so many ways God speaks to us. If you noticed one sentence, think about it. I originally wrote this like sixteen years ago when my oldest daughter was expecting her first child. I shared it at a baby shower in my mother’s home. So much has happened since then…she has seven children, lives in Florida, and is a busy mother. I think the same concepts I wrote back then are true today. God gives us opportunities to grow, and change, and develop, and bless, and hope. He blesses us as he brings us along.

One of the weirdest things happened when I had my stroke three years ago…I tried, but couldn’t, pray. My mind wouldn’t focus. I couldn’t keep my thoughts in one place, together. I’d start to pray but my mind wouldn’t, couldn’t focus for more than a few seconds. That was quite frustrating. Before that, I had gotten to where I would take a long precious time in prayer, but I couldn’t do it anymore. I just couldn’t. I wanted to. I tried to. But the words and thoughts weren’t there. It was a struggle.

You know, when you can’t pray your life feels empty. The problem was my mind couldn’t think rationally or for very long. I loved praying but I no longer could. Prayer is such a strong part of a Christian’s life. We are fortunate that God has given us a way to speak to and with him. Thankfully I can pray now. But not as well or as completely as I used to. Prayer is a way of speaking to God. It is beautiful when we are given the time and effort to spread our wings and reach up to the heaven with our words, like we say in a prayer. God hears us.

Twelve or so years ago I decided to look beyond my protestant faith to see what I would find. I knew what I believed but I was afraid of what I didn’t believe or accept as worthy of my Christian belief. I read Chesterton, some priests, other people of the faith, Saint John of the cross etc. which practiced a different form of belief than I did. I did a search in the Christian realm but not just of one’s I completely agreed with. I was totally shocked by what I found. I talked with an Anglican priest, I talked at length with a Trappist priest, I read many books which are not protestant in dogma. I spent a year visiting a Trappist Monestary one hour per week I was blessed through the circle I participated in. God spoke to me.

I learned that it matters what your heart believes. I came away from the different authors with a realization that we may differ on many things but the belief about our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is what is critical. What does the Father do? What is the Son responsible for? What does the Holy Spirit mean to us? Each one of these has a direct plan to do and be what they are responsible for in our lives. They work together and yet they have separate parts to play in our lives.

When I pray I am basically talking to my heavenly Father although the others are present. I picture him in the room with me. I imagine he is with me when I talk to him. Sometimes I address him as I talk to him. I imagine he is standing next to me on my right side. God is there. God knows what I am saying, thinking, and doing. He speaks to me. Sometimes I am aware of his presence. How so? I completely shut down and think and listen. His words are not one I can hear, but I still know what he has to say to me. But it takes some doing, his words speak in my mind. Slowly and preciously I can discern what he is saying. His words are precious, quiet, and measured.

I ask God to cleanse my heart before I speak to him. I don’t want my actions or negative words to cause disruption between us. I get as quiet as I can before I listen, wait, think, praise, and give myself to him, for I don’t want to hinder my prayer. Sometimes it takes a good while until my heart is ready. I wait and listen. I talk quietly, and wait, and talk some more. I repeat the process, waiting, listening, and talking.

There are times when God seems quiet, but he’s not. He may not make himself known to you, but he is listening. He may seem far away, but he is not. He hears you. There is a lot of reasons for why God does what he does that I don’t understand, but I know he loves me and he loves you even when he doesn’t make his presence known to us. If you have a chance today, take some by-yourself-time to seek our Lord and wait for him to minister to you. It’s a precious and holy time. Well worth the time it takes, you’ll find out.

Please let me know how it’s going and what God is teaching you.