PERPETUAL PRAYERS!

Perpetual prayers so easily come forth for peace as we face life or pray  for others who relish such prayers as well. 

Recently, alone on a damp precipitous perch while hubby and grandson, Owen. hiked near-by, I left behind all the petitions.

Praises came forth! For me, circumstances too often lead to pleas/petitions. I needed to be still and allow the Lord to touch my soul that praises might come forth from my inmost being. (Psalm 103:1)

Reflecting this morning on that time on the "cliff", a knock on the door got me out of my prayer chair. Neighbor, John, had found a letter in the grass----damp from several days of due. But God used it to bless me greatly. It was answer to one of my perpetual petitions and it prompted praise. I had been anxious for an update from her and here it was!

Petition ▶️ Prayer  ▶️ Praise ▶️ Prompts 

▶️Perpetual Prayers & Praise Together

May praises for Him always be on my lips! (Psalm 34:1)

CASTING CARES!

Casting is difficult in the rushing waters of Deep Creek according to son-in-law Corey. It can also be difficult in Colorado according to my nephew Ryan, who ties his own flies  Casting is difficult. From getting better at casting to fly-fishing is what grandson Caleb works on all the time in his fishing adventures.

I, on the other hand, had to have lessons years ago on "casting."  Celebrating in Serenbe, GA as  the "Baby" of our group turned 60, we all gave it a try. I didn't learn much but it was so fun exploring "the "high church" of fishing which fly-fishing has been labeled. (Fishing gear hard to see but we did have some. It came with an instructor.)

As we have all aged exponentially, we have learned the need for casting. 

Nowadays, "casting" is the importance of letting go of "what ifs" of medical testing and the "fear of the ramifications of the latest malady" discovered. Lots of praying. Lots of fellowship on the same side of the struggle as we groan with and for one-another. Casting for a fish is nothing compared to the need to cast our anxieties and worries for each other to the only One who can bring comfort. Jesus, who cares for each of us, His children! 

Lately, as the cares of our hearts are many, His consolations cheer our souls. (Psalm 94:19)

So.....I keep prayerfully "casting" for dear friends.

CRACKED POT!

Beautiful Garden Pot. A pot with a history. It was given by sweet friend Julie, when she moved to DC & then on to Florida. A friend who joined with me in prayer for our terminal cancer friend, Claudia. It seems one of us was always with her even at the hospice center. That adds to the beauty of the pot.

Yet, there's another side....often hidden from view. A brokenness I've tried to keep hidden, since the Feb.'22 ice storm.....even though I know the beautiful story of its history.

Like me. A cracked pot. Rarely do I show my cracks. 

But God in his love and mercy....is close to me even when I am broken and crushed & choosing not to show my cracks.

He does not despise my brokenness. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

HALLELUJAH!

A-MAZE-ING!

Memphis has received bad press lately---

going beyond the local and state level to national & world news.

But.....the September/October 2022 4MEMPHIS Memphis, delivered to my driveway, reminded me once again, 

"Seek the peace and prosperity of the city 

in which I have placed you. (Jeremiah 29:7)

The same day, the nightly news shared another reminder! The Halloween maze will open once again but without the planting of corn in a design. A robot will now do all the work!

That was not the best reminder. The best reminder.....

....to me was recalling Acts 17:26. It was God who made all the nations ....to inhabit the whole earth, marking out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their dwelling place. (paraphrase & emphasis, mine) ESV verse 27 states God's purpose for those boundaries, "so that they should seek, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet, he actually is not far from each one of us." (Though it might sound like me, even "actually" is ESV, not mine)

4MEMPHIS publisher Jim Walker's comment said it well, "....brokenness is their inspiration to bear fruit by loving their fellow Memphians. (p.26) 

The A-MAZE-ING truth is that God is near me right here in Memphis; He has me here for a purpose, regardless of scary reports from Nightly News. (Psalm 34:18)

Choose Sadness

What!! CHOOSE SADNESS!
Sadness is the polar opposite of joy. I know that.

Maybe, I should have written, "Choose to Feel."

As one who usually chooses to suppress, repress or stuff feelings, I decided to give myself permission to feel sadness.

If Memphis readers read today's, 1/4/2017, Commercial Appeal's front page, above the fold headline, they might understand the source of my sadness----we're not talking life or death sadness. Yet, for me it is truly a lament. Hubby heard me wailing!!
Though to many, (50, I think) it will be a loss of even greater proportions as it affects their income as well as their own passions for books.

Some feelings are legitimate for me even if they don't make sense to others. What crushes my spirit might not phase another. But God....is near, regardless. (Psalm 34:18)
So today, I choose to feel sadness.