I Am Never Alone

By Elaine James –

 

“I’ve prayed for you since you were baby. You are the one who had asthma, right? I know things were difficult for you,” the nun softly said.

 

While celebrating my aunt’s 90^th birthday and her 60^th Jubilee in the religious life as a nun, one of her friends at the retirement center, who is a nun also, spoke to me.  Her words surprised me as I repeated them back, “I have been prayed for since a baby?”

 

As I walked away God showed me in a flash the answers to her prayers. I no longer suffer from asthma. I was introduced to Jesus at a very young age. I have had a hedge of protection around me, and that explained so much of my life.

 

As a child I had fears that came from my illness and from observing my parents dealing with their brokenness. They ended their marriage after twenty-seven years. From my mom’s deep issues with anxiety to my dad, who had so much anger, life was difficult. My mom did not want to live when the twenty-seven year marriage ended. I became anxious and angry about life. I was in need of my own inner healing.

 

The prayers of the nuns helped me to truly find the peace of Jesus. My aunt, now long gone, had given me a lifelong gift.

 

Some days do you catch yourself saying “I don’t have anyone to pray for me?” All prayers from scripture live on. They hold true for you and me today.  Peruse the beauty of the Word for the prayers of the faithful and realize those prayers live on in our lives.

 

Paul prayed, “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9 NIV).

 

Jesus prayed, “…Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21 NIV).

 

Jesus prayed for you and me. His prayers never die. They live on. We can count on that.

 

I know I am never alone. I have my God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and the prayers of the faithful.

 

We don’t have anyone? We can shut our mouths and unclog our minds from that lie!

 

PRAYER:  Father in heaven thank You for reminding me that I am never alone. Amen.

 

Decorator of the Mind

By Elaine James –

 

Stinkin thinkin! I felt like giving up. I had had this back pain for months. Things weren’t getting better. I tried many avenues for healing and nothing had changed. Fear was creeping its ugly head into my brain, and interrupting my peace with the interjecting question, “What if…it is something serious?”

Over twenty years ago I had to address the problem with my thoughts; to think about what I am thinking. My conclusion was that I had to re-train my brain. I went through four steps:  awareness, acceptance, action and available. Those four steps were the technical ways I was led to inner healing.

My fun personality likes to put it this way:

God reached down and did what I love most: decorate and shop! He decorated my mind as I shopped through the Word picking out my favorite verses that help destroy old patterns of thinking and gave me a new sense of freedom and perspective. Not Elaine’s perspective, but God’s perspective. In my newly decorated mind I have this brand new gorgeous shelf now full of thoughts filed neatly with plenty of space for other thoughts. I feel lighter and brighter to shine with the glory of God, awaiting the moment to speak to any audience of overloaded or stressed-out lives to welcome this “God Story.”

My favorite verse that was the catalyst to this process was:

“We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity” (2 Corinthians 10:5-6 MSG).

I can now rejoice that He is enough for me. When I am in pain I remember the powerful God-tools and in my awakened state, I choose the path Jesus taught me and together we walk the road.

PRAYER:  Father in heaven thank You for the powerful God-tools. Thank You for reaching down and clearing my mind obstructions and bringing me to a place of peace. Amen.

 

Stop and Smell the Roses

By Cheri Cowell –

 

Some of us are always on the go. We take two things off our to-do list and add six more. There never seems to be enough hours in the day. More than once we’ve said if we could clone ourselves for just an hour we might catch up. But the truth is, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if we got to the end of the list. We watch other people who seem to relax while the laundry is piled high and the weeds are overtaking the garden, and we wonder how they do it. How can they relax when there is still so much to do?

Perhaps these people have learned the secret of true rest. They realize not one of us is promised another minute of life, and all that striving and labor won’t add a day of living. So it is good to stop and smell the roses, to rest and relax, even when the to-do list is a mile long. Take some time today to smell the roses, to take a walk in the woods, to watch a sunset or sunrise, and thank God for another minute of life.

“One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:6 NASB).

Prayer: Help me to resist the urge to keep going. Instead Lord, help me to stop and rest, and while there to smell the roses.

 

 

Sparkling Clean

By Cheri Cowell –

 

There is something special about a clean house. When the floors are mopped and vacuumed, when the cobwebs are swept away, when the dust layer is removed and everything shines, it feels good. If there were a magic wand that would create this wonderful scene, the stores wouldn’t be able to keep those wands in stock. Unfortunately, someone has to do the work.

Sanctification is the big word used to describe the cleaning God does in our hearts as we submit our lives to Him. The scriptures say God desires to present us blameless before Him. Said another way, He wants us to be made holy from the inside out, clean and pure like a freshly cleaned house.  Our part is to submit to the process of having every area of our lives opened for Him. There is no magic wand, and sometimes God has to scrub really hard to remove layers of dust and grime, but in the end, we will shine and sparkle for Him.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5: 23 NKJV).

Prayer: I want to be pure, holy, and blameless for You so I submit to the cleaning process. Make me sparkle for You.

 

Peace Like a River

By Cheri Cowell –

 

The word ‘obey’ is not considered a positive word today. Ask children to tell you what the word ‘obey’ means and many would have no idea. We don’t stress obedience. Perhaps this is because we struggle with our own obedience. It feels like we are surrendering, giving up, even losing. That’s because at the heart of obedience is the requirement of humility. Humility asks us to bend and finally surrender our wills.

Yet, the amazing thing about obeying God is the peace that flows through you and your life when you finally surrender to him. Like a full-flowing river, peace will wash over your life when you quit struggling and finally surrender. When you obey and give up your right to be right, good things flow to you like rolling waves of the sea. When your will is fully surrendered to God, peace will flow in your life like a refreshing river.

“If you had obeyed me, you would have had peace like a full-flowing river. Good things would have flowed to you like the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:18 NCV).

Prayer: I admit I struggle with obedience and the humility required, but I long for my life to flow with peace. So, help me to bend and surrender my will to Yours, God, so good things will roll in my heart like a refreshing river.

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