Conversations, Reflections & Meditations


	Main Page \| My Articles for The Life Connection \| Prayers and Meditations \| Poetry Haida Gwaii Reflections \| Education & Home-School \| Family
Sign Guestbook \| View Guestbook Comments? Questions? [email protected]	Prayer topics Wow, Your Ways are Not Our Ways! Anyway, Thank You! A 'Lt. Dan In the Hurricane' Kind of Moment!" Longing for Clear Leading Corporate Prayer... Worship, Not Ritual My Spirit Caught and Wrapped Up With Yours Wow, Your Ways Are Not Our Ways! Anyway, Thank You! Date: June 18, 2005 Dear Lord, On Wednesday night I prayed for protection because of the goings-on at the neighbour’s house across the alley – and last night it burned down. Wow, Your ways are not our ways…. Anyway, thank You! Return to the top A 'Lt. Dan In the Hurricane' Kind of Moment Date: June 19, 2005 Okay, Lord, just to say, I know You are in control. Pastor _____ told my son that this is one of the “character building” things. But Lord, what’s the point in letting his bike get stolen – at church, of all things! Okay, so I know You know what You are doing. Only – please help my son. He’s so upset. I’m tired of people stealing. Well, I expect You are, too. I guess this is a “Job” moment. All his friends spouting platitudes about how bad things only happen to bad people. Baloney! This is definitely (as far as I can tell) a “when bad things happen to decent people” moment. That doesn’t “make sense.” When he worked so hard to earn money to buy the bike so he could have transportation to a better job. Ha. Okay, I’m finished griping. So now I’m asking You to return it – in perfect shape. (And our other missing stuff, too, while You are at it). I don’t mean to be rude. You tell us to ask our desires. That is my desire. If it is a bad one, I guess You’ll just have to ignore it. Anyway, I do love You. I do trust You. I do know You know what’s going on, and can not only control it, but also fix it. Thank You for doing that right now, Mighty God. Amen… ……So on the way back from visiting my parents, I just kind of hollered. (After kind of dumping on them about the whole bike thing). Well I felt kind of like Lt. Dan (in Forrest Gump) “making his peace with God,” while sitting up in the mast in the hurricane. Thank You, Lord, for Your patience with me. I’m sorry I got so upset. Being so tired doesn’t help… but that’s an “excuse,” isn’t it? My son is really upset. More than I’ve ever seen. Help him, please, Lord. Thank You…. ……. My son is still terribly upset this morning. I did his paper route. He has an appointment this morning to set his school schedule for this year. And he doesn’t even want to get out of bed. Lord, please do something! He also has final exams this week. It “seems to me” that this is not good timing. However, of course, You have all things under control, a plan and a purpose for everything. And of course this “suffering” is not nearly as bad as lots of people face every day, like in Sudan and Iraq right now, or even in our own country and city, where lots of innocent people are hungry and abused. What kind of world is this? Yes, I know, an evil one in many ways – and our fault for choosing to follow the enemy rather than You. I was thinking maybe You are punishing me, or at least trying to teach me more about something, like giving my kids over to You even more completely than I realized was possible or necessary. It is like I am seeing another area in which I am hanging on, trying to “save” my children from unfairness, pain, etc. I didn’t really see myself doing that up till now. Maybe it is a lesson for my son, too. Whatever it is, please be merciful (I know You are) about his exams. I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t be trying to “second-guess” Your motives. One thing I see for sure is that Your ways and thoughts are most definitely not our ways and thoughts. Thank goodness You see the “big picture.” I am coming to realize more and more how little I see. And how that is reflected in my poor reactions (freaking out, being angry and upset, having a really hard time to “praise God anyway”) and decisions about things when these little crises occur. Please forgive me. And please help my son. …….. _____ phoned me to say that people in the church are getting money together for a new bike! I am sorry for my anger about the bike being stolen, and my attitude toward what people said. Please forgive me (though I surely don’t deserve it) and please pour Your Holy Spirit into me. Put Your hand on me. Help me to obey You and live by Your principles and purposes, even when they make no sense to me. Help me, dear God. Amen. Thank You. ……… _____ just phoned to ask about the bike. She told me there was a man a few years back who stole a bunch of stuff from the church, and the Pastor kept praying for him, and eventually he got saved, and now is a pastor! Wow! I should be praying for whoever took that bike. Oh, goodness, I didn’t even think of it. Dear Lord, please bring that person to Yourself in a miraculous way! (Even use me, if You want to!). Thank You. (She also mentioned that it is fortunate that whoever stole the bike did not also take the offering box and debit machine and all the other valuable things that were there. Thank You, Lord. It could have been a lot worse!) Return to the top Longing for Clear Landing Date: June 22, 2005 I just got an email from my brother. He has been hired as a part time youth worker for their church. And it was confirmed in so many ways. That’s the kind of clear leading I long for, Lord…. Of course, he waited a long time for this kind of thing, working for “free” for years. And he got something he totally didn’t even imagine, but which he totally loves. That is our mighty God! Return to the top Corporate Prayer... Worship, Not Ritual Date: June 23, 2005 I am looking, as I sit here, at my collection of books on prayer. Lord, I want to know more about prayer. But what I really want is to become a truly effective pray-er. Teach me, strengthen me, guide me, help me, dear Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Thank You. I was talking with ____ about prayer, and he seemed to think that corporate prayer is not too important, and that actually it may be kind of dangerous because it can become ritualistic. But can’t that happen with individual prayer, too? I think that unless you really keep on desiring to increase and deepen your relationship with the Lord every day, every aspect of your “spirituality” can become little more than dry, empty ritual. I think there is power in corporate prayer, and that God honours it, as many scriptures show. Individual prayer, daily, constantly, is crucial, but we are also to join together to worship God, and prayer should be a really important part of worship. Return to the top My Spirit Caught and Wrapped Up With Yours Date: June 30, 2005 I just finished my prep/study – as much as I can for now – for prayer time at camp. Oh, my Lord God! How much You have taught me! How You have caught me – caught my spirit and wrapped it up with Yours. Continue to grow me and make me like Jesus, dear Lord! Help me, Jesus, to be like You. And oh, dear God, this camp meeting: Your will be done. And all to Your honour and glory! Amen. Return to the top
Main Page \| My Articles for The Life Connection \| Prayers and Meditations \| Poetry Haida Gwaii Reflections \| Education & Home-School \| Family


	Main Page \| My Articles for The Life Connection \| Prayers and Meditations \| Poetry Haida Gwaii Reflections \| Education & Home-School \| Family
Sign Guestbook \| View Guestbook Comments? Questions? [email protected]	Prayer topics Wow, Your Ways are Not Our Ways! Anyway, Thank You! A 'Lt. Dan In the Hurricane' Kind of Moment!" Longing for Clear Leading Corporate Prayer... Worship, Not Ritual My Spirit Caught and Wrapped Up With Yours Wow, Your Ways Are Not Our Ways! Anyway, Thank You! Date: June 18, 2005 Dear Lord, On Wednesday night I prayed for protection because of the goings-on at the neighbour’s house across the alley – and last night it burned down. Wow, Your ways are not our ways…. Anyway, thank You! Return to the top A 'Lt. Dan In the Hurricane' Kind of Moment Date: June 19, 2005 Okay, Lord, just to say, I know You are in control. Pastor _____ told my son that this is one of the “character building” things. But Lord, what’s the point in letting his bike get stolen – at church, of all things! Okay, so I know You know what You are doing. Only – please help my son. He’s so upset. I’m tired of people stealing. Well, I expect You are, too. I guess this is a “Job” moment. All his friends spouting platitudes about how bad things only happen to bad people. Baloney! This is definitely (as far as I can tell) a “when bad things happen to decent people” moment. That doesn’t “make sense.” When he worked so hard to earn money to buy the bike so he could have transportation to a better job. Ha. Okay, I’m finished griping. So now I’m asking You to return it – in perfect shape. (And our other missing stuff, too, while You are at it). I don’t mean to be rude. You tell us to ask our desires. That is my desire. If it is a bad one, I guess You’ll just have to ignore it. Anyway, I do love You. I do trust You. I do know You know what’s going on, and can not only control it, but also fix it. Thank You for doing that right now, Mighty God. Amen… ……So on the way back from visiting my parents, I just kind of hollered. (After kind of dumping on them about the whole bike thing). Well I felt kind of like Lt. Dan (in Forrest Gump) “making his peace with God,” while sitting up in the mast in the hurricane. Thank You, Lord, for Your patience with me. I’m sorry I got so upset. Being so tired doesn’t help… but that’s an “excuse,” isn’t it? My son is really upset. More than I’ve ever seen. Help him, please, Lord. Thank You…. ……. My son is still terribly upset this morning. I did his paper route. He has an appointment this morning to set his school schedule for this year. And he doesn’t even want to get out of bed. Lord, please do something! He also has final exams this week. It “seems to me” that this is not good timing. However, of course, You have all things under control, a plan and a purpose for everything. And of course this “suffering” is not nearly as bad as lots of people face every day, like in Sudan and Iraq right now, or even in our own country and city, where lots of innocent people are hungry and abused. What kind of world is this? Yes, I know, an evil one in many ways – and our fault for choosing to follow the enemy rather than You. I was thinking maybe You are punishing me, or at least trying to teach me more about something, like giving my kids over to You even more completely than I realized was possible or necessary. It is like I am seeing another area in which I am hanging on, trying to “save” my children from unfairness, pain, etc. I didn’t really see myself doing that up till now. Maybe it is a lesson for my son, too. Whatever it is, please be merciful (I know You are) about his exams. I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t be trying to “second-guess” Your motives. One thing I see for sure is that Your ways and thoughts are most definitely not our ways and thoughts. Thank goodness You see the “big picture.” I am coming to realize more and more how little I see. And how that is reflected in my poor reactions (freaking out, being angry and upset, having a really hard time to “praise God anyway”) and decisions about things when these little crises occur. Please forgive me. And please help my son. …….. _____ phoned me to say that people in the church are getting money together for a new bike! I am sorry for my anger about the bike being stolen, and my attitude toward what people said. Please forgive me (though I surely don’t deserve it) and please pour Your Holy Spirit into me. Put Your hand on me. Help me to obey You and live by Your principles and purposes, even when they make no sense to me. Help me, dear God. Amen. Thank You. ……… _____ just phoned to ask about the bike. She told me there was a man a few years back who stole a bunch of stuff from the church, and the Pastor kept praying for him, and eventually he got saved, and now is a pastor! Wow! I should be praying for whoever took that bike. Oh, goodness, I didn’t even think of it. Dear Lord, please bring that person to Yourself in a miraculous way! (Even use me, if You want to!). Thank You. (She also mentioned that it is fortunate that whoever stole the bike did not also take the offering box and debit machine and all the other valuable things that were there. Thank You, Lord. It could have been a lot worse!) Return to the top Longing for Clear Landing Date: June 22, 2005 I just got an email from my brother. He has been hired as a part time youth worker for their church. And it was confirmed in so many ways. That’s the kind of clear leading I long for, Lord…. Of course, he waited a long time for this kind of thing, working for “free” for years. And he got something he totally didn’t even imagine, but which he totally loves. That is our mighty God! Return to the top Corporate Prayer... Worship, Not Ritual Date: June 23, 2005 I am looking, as I sit here, at my collection of books on prayer. Lord, I want to know more about prayer. But what I really want is to become a truly effective pray-er. Teach me, strengthen me, guide me, help me, dear Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Thank You. I was talking with ____ about prayer, and he seemed to think that corporate prayer is not too important, and that actually it may be kind of dangerous because it can become ritualistic. But can’t that happen with individual prayer, too? I think that unless you really keep on desiring to increase and deepen your relationship with the Lord every day, every aspect of your “spirituality” can become little more than dry, empty ritual. I think there is power in corporate prayer, and that God honours it, as many scriptures show. Individual prayer, daily, constantly, is crucial, but we are also to join together to worship God, and prayer should be a really important part of worship. Return to the top My Spirit Caught and Wrapped Up With Yours Date: June 30, 2005 I just finished my prep/study – as much as I can for now – for prayer time at camp. Oh, my Lord God! How much You have taught me! How You have caught me – caught my spirit and wrapped it up with Yours. Continue to grow me and make me like Jesus, dear Lord! Help me, Jesus, to be like You. And oh, dear God, this camp meeting: Your will be done. And all to Your honour and glory! Amen. Return to the top
Main Page \| My Articles for The Life Connection \| Prayers and Meditations \| Poetry Haida Gwaii Reflections \| Education & Home-School \| Family