PRAYER BRIDGE!

PRAYER IS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN PANIC AND PEACE! (MUFHH, marginalia)

I found that bridge recently at Juney Whank Falls in Deep Creek!

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow."

PRAYER BRIDGE, A peaceful place. A place to pray. 

A place of refuge.

Waterfalls above and rushing water below!

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3) 

An unusual place to find rest and peace but it was there!

Peace was there and rest came....because God was there!

Let us exalt the LORD on bended knee---at a "bridge that removes panic and restores peace!"

FRIDAY FOCUS!

Friday Focus, again!?

MORE OF THEE. LESS OF ME!

Pithy with a punch. A heart issue.

Easy to know in my head....harder to overflow from my heart & live out.

I must be a slow learner as refocusing is a daily, even hourly occurrence.

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want but i do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)

Be gone, self-centeredness! Self-pity stinks!

Today's New Morning Mercies (6/16) entry zeroes in on obstacles of our faith focus.

Self-focus sins that can permeate our actions:

• Nasty retort
• "Me-first pride"
• flash of lust at the mall
• addictions to little pleasures
• impatience with a loved one

.....to name a few. I could lengthen the list as I wait for doctor to return my call....as if I'm his only patient.

O Lord may I refocus....and allow you to rescue me from me!

THE LORD'S PRAYER #2

Our Father which art in heaven.....HALLOWED BE THY NAME! That must be the KJV because those word's came to mind as I recited the Lord's Prayer. NET, which Stacy Tyson quotes, translates "Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored."(NET) Holy. (NLV) Sanctified (TLV)P. D. Tripp says this second part of Jesus' model prayer frames everything that prayer is about.....as it reveals how precious the hallowed grace of Jesus is. (New Morning Mercies, May 5)

Tyson also states "be honored" more literally translates in modern terms as, "Let your name be sanctified." (The Best Times, March 2023)

Sanctified? 

Holy and unique. God worthy of reverential respect and awe as there is none like Him. (Psalm 86:8-9)

These days our prayers to our revered, glorified, worthy of praise Lord are the only Hope for the sanctity of our nation and the world.

MEASURING UP!

Measuring kids height on the side jambs of an upstairs door was a part of "growing up" at our house. These days it has extended to spouses and grands.

Often kids' friends would measure as well---some "cheating" to make them selves "taller." Years later these friends have brought their kids in to measure on the door & boast of their own measurement. Teddy. Tony. Katy. Stephanie.

What fun---especially when their own kids (Evan) see the discrepancy of height at the tippy-top of the side jamb compared to their true measure.Then they add their own measurements to compare to dad's "correct" one.

  

Measurements are a part of many aspects of life beyond physical to academic or career success, sports' prowess....even spiritual growth. What about righteousness? Could any of us measure up. 

NO is the answer. Paul David Tripp says it best.......Jesus has measured up on your behalf! (New Morning Mercies, January30)

LENS ON LIFE!

Paul David Tripp said it well. Prayer calls one to abandonment and submission. Abandonment of present day reality of self as the only "lens" perspective of life is too prevalent. Submission to Christ requires us to let go of "our" momentary agendas and to be committed to take up His view of eternal hope. 

God cares about our present life---with us, for us and in us.(New Morning Mercies, January 28)

What prepositions for life! But God....goes beyond. Lens that go beyond "the now" to see eternity. It's the "long view."

It's the view of life that opens a door beyond death. 

After four recent funerals, it's the "lens on life" in Christ, which brings hope! AMEN!

DNA OF FAITH

Do you have a DNA in your faith? Is it recognizable in your life?

In other words.....What are the fundamental, distinctive characteristics that are unchangeable in your life of faith?

Foundational tenets of the Christian faith are the Triune God, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the son of God, who forgives sin that separates us from the Father and redeems us for his glory.

Above statement includes perspicuity of Scriptures for us to clearly understand. Inspiring. Inerrant. Sufficient.Grace-filled. 

What does life of faith look like when lived out? 

Full of grace? Peace? Kindness? Listening ears? Gratitude.

Does faith in one's life; love God first, love others as self, serve others well to His glory, and forgive others, encapsulate it?

DNA of the faithful includes, knowing "God is always with us" and gives confidence and trust to joyfully live a life of grace toward others. As Paul David Tripp states, "grace toward others grows best in the soil of gratitude." (New Morning Mercies, January 19)

CUPPA GENEROSITY

Generosi-TEA! Let's start our last day in 2021 with that cuppa!

As we turn the corner to a New Year, lets turn from getting to giving!

Robert Morgan would punctuate the above sentence with a divine exclamation point! (All to Jesus, Day 365) 

Where do you find yourself? 

I have to give. GRUDGINGLY

I Need to give. UNDER EXTERNAL COMPULSION

I want to give. CHEERFUL, EAGER & READY TO GIVE

How is your spending trending?

A year in Paul David Tripp's, New Morning Mercies has kept me focused on More of Thee and less of me......aka give to others more than to self. "Give us the grace to look at ourselves in the mirror of God's word. Powerful redeeming grace to remove of our heart of stone and replace them with hears of flesh"----giving hearts. (New Morning Mercies, December 10)

TAKEAWAYS:

Give self first to God.

Generous Giving is rooted in the grace of God.

Generosity is about Spirit, not resources.

Donate to your church or favorite charity. Give your time to pray for others.

Keep sipping your cuppa generosity-TEA throughout the coming year!

TUESDAY TRUTHS

Trio of Tuesday truths taken from Paul David Tripp's New Morning Mercies........my own paraphrasing.

1. True prayer is more than a "Wish list" from God the Deliverer.
2. Prayer is abandoning a life of demand and complaint....giving myself to a life of thankfulness.
3. True prayer happens at the intersection of surrender and celebration.

May the Lord use our submission (our proper place) to His purpose/His will (His proper place) Those "proper" positions will release us from our own bondage to SELF!

MINDSETS

I have decide to spare you my quotidian details involved in my circular thinking that led to this blog. 

Mindsets are earthly focused or focused above. (Colossians 3:1-2)

I think most earthly mindsets fall into one of two categories. Whether it's in your relationships, careers, finances, recreation or entertainment.

Self or others. Which is it for you?

Are you self-absorbed in your thinking?  Actions can follow your thinking.

Are you Other-Oriented? 

Others know, even if you don't.

You might pray as Ronnie Stevens wrote.....

Lift us up out of the pit of perpetual self-regard. 

Cause us to be other-oriented.

 (Path to the Cross, entry July 10)

???????

What does one do with a heavy heart????

I know.......but I'm still struggling. 

Yesterday, I couldn't even write. Praying God will use this sadness and dark night of my soul---not for me as much as for others in transition.

But God.....in His love and mercy, has me hear my hubby's voice reading Paul David Tripp's words, "Facing disappointment and failure?" (New Morning Mercies, March 18) The entire entry captured the brokenness I was feeling, and the unrealistic expectations I live with. From Romans 8 he uses Paul's descriptor's to add weight to said brokenness; subjected to futility (v. 20), bondage to decay (v. 22) greater grace reminds one of an eternity yet to come. 

......but God's grace is greater than you could ever have imagined it would be. Biblical faith lives at the intersection of shocking honesty and glorious hope. (NMM, 3/18)

???? diminish because the answer of grace is once again closing in on my wounded heart!

TWENTY FIVE WORDS OR LESS (AGAIN)

Can she do it? If she counts words without characters she can.

Prayer = lens to life. More than right now ME prayers. 

With. For. In you. Submission to Him.

Thy will be done. Right here. Right now!