SOLACE FROM PSALMS!

Looking to the Lord for help can be as simple as a glance from my prayer chair out the window and up past the treetops to the mountains.

The help can come from the One who made those mountains.

What is God's help and why do i need it? 

Simply put, I need Him as I am praying for others.

Assistance. Reassurance.

I will raise my eyes to the mountains;

 From where will my help come? (Psalm 121:1, NASB)

I know He provides help.....needed spiritual refreshment. 

Think shade. In His Presence, He keeps, guards and protects. (Psalm 121:5)

Praying for others whom we love can be draining. But God can lift us as we look to Him. 

Solace is found. A cool breeze from the refreshing shade, only He can provide.

ABOUND IN HOPE

Yesterday's F.O.C.U.S. verse was Romans 15:13 as I was praying for a Ukrainian gal who is very much in need of the God of all hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so by the power of the Holy spirit you may abound in hope.

I also visited a widow lady at her new assisted living facility and there on her counter was Romans !5:13, in part. 

My Monday meditation had certainly included that but it even went beyond as I applied the F.O.C.U.S. formula. Because of my meditation time, I knew how to "fix my eyes on the unseen" part of the verse. Believing and abounding.

Beyond that it was like a blessing from the Lord...a God wink, of sorts from Bobbie's kitchen counter! Close to skywriting from above.

Needless to say. I am now abounding in hope for an answered prayer from Ukraine.

KINDNESS : PAID FORWARD

Saturdays have been a special prayer time for me for 25 years now. As the years have gone by, many young folks have been a part of those prayers. 

My K4K list----Kids for the Kingdom.

Just last month I met an answer to one of those prayers for a godly spouse--Michael, Sara Beth's fiancé. I've loved attending weddings of couples who are answers to those prayers as well. 

For the last couple of years the focus of those prayers has been on kindness. Practicing kindness without prejudice. 

Meet Charlotte one of my Kingdom Kids. A girl with a heart for kindness.

This morning, I received a text from her Grandmother, Linda, telling me that she is one of 10 finalists in the Seasalt Kid's Superstar Search.* When I heard her interview, it was if receiving affirmation for praying for her and other youngsters on my list to practice kindness as a way of paying it forward.

* If you want to hear her "super power" answer just click on the  blue Seasalt Kid's link above---you can even vote for sweet Charlotte, who knows the One who is the true power in her life.

REFOCUS NEEDED

My heart hurts! Not necessarily for me, but especially for others. 

The last two weeks have been filled with tragedy for many in my "friendship circle" and in the household of faith. Physical pain. Emotional pain. Fear. Grief.

Sudden death of a grandson of a Pi  Phi sister, unexpected death of 39 year old girl racquetball champ from hubby's team, deaths of 2 mothers of Bible study chums & a high school chum, death of a younger brother of former Houston High teacher, painful treatments for multiple myeloma of a dear friend with a stem cell transplant looming, lung cancer of friends brother, neighbor's daughter facing surgery, and a less than perfect diagnosis for my MAC cancer mentor, Michèle.

What is one to do? Continue to pray comfort and strength for those with such great loss and Romans 12:12 for those in midst of struggles that they will remain joyful in hope, patient in affliction and fervent in prayer. Prayer might not sound like much "doing" but it's the best thing to "do" during those dark times---offer prayer..

Refocus & Recall... Michèle's Words

"Uncertain of the future, but sure of the One who holds it"

Pa-TEA-o Ponderings

Unseasonably cool temps. A hot cuppa. A quiet patio. 

Contemplation......more like a mishmash of thoughts. Meshed with scripture. 

So begins a time of meditation.

Sa-TEAs-fy---How did I miss the verse from Psalm 145:16 last week? Maybe because I needed it this morning to pray for D.W. in NY, knowing God can lift the bowed down and "satisfy desires" of those who are near to Him and call on Him.

Proverbs 3:7-8, another miss---nourishment. It's that fear of God....reverential love and respect that nourishes (fer-TEA-lizes) our growth, all the way to our bones....bringing great refreshment. 

Drought conditions in the west---wildfires so dense that darkness prevails even in the middle of the day. Physical darkness akin to spiritual darkness. A captivi-TEA of sorts, when one can't see beyond the darkness.

How about in a "dark" room of depression? Is it just physical when one can't see hope for a better tomorrow? How does light penetrate a heart darkened by despair? Does she know that the Lord is with the lowly and crushed in spirit? (Isaiah 57:15)

How do I pray about the invasion of darkness in Ukraine? Against the darkness of a Russian leader's heart? How do I encourage "my" Ukraine girls to know that God is there even in the darkness? God is there....for even the "darkness is not dark to Him." (Psalm 139:12) 

My prayer---

May His light dawn in the darkness and (Isaiah 58:10) and penetrate thru the darkness of wildfires, depression, wars and hearts of evil men.

A cuppa "tea" ponderings, served on a pa-TEA-o, that prompted prayers for others.