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Why I’ve Tried Stop to Saying “I’ll Pray for You”

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May 162013

I know many people have “one word” they are focusing on for the year. While I have not been entirely focused on this concept, I have felt God calling me to a specific area of focus this year. For me, that word is obedience.

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Obedience: to follow. No matter what.

Yes, I made up that definition. But truly, I feel like God has been reminding me in ways, big and small, my only job is to follow him. To be obedient.

We know we’re supposed to obey God, right? I mean, it sounds simple. And it’s all over the Bible, the command to obey.

Here are some examples in God’s word (emphasis is mine):

“Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22

“Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23

“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” 1 John 1:6

So what does this look like in real life? Just because it’s stated over and over again doesn’t mean it’s easy to actually live out.

For me, God has been speaking in many ways. I could give you lots of ways God has spoken to me about obedience. Today, though, we’ll just go with one. One of the ways it’s been clear I need to be more obedient is in prayer. Let me give you an example:

Have you ever had someone tell you something and asked you to pray for it and then you walk away and realize 3 days later you haven’t spent any time actually praying for that request? I know I have. And I always have the best of intention. Well, in my intent to be obedient this year, I don’t ever want to forget to pray when someone asks me to. When I tell someone I will pray for something, I want keep my commitment to them and to God. I want to be obedient to God’s call to lift up each other in prayer.

Because of this, I’ve stopped saying “I will pray for you” and I’ve started saying “Can I pray for you right now?”

I may have the best of intentions. I may actually do it later. But in order to be obedient to the call of prayer, I’ve started just praying. Right then. Here’s what I’ve found:

*It allows the two of us praying together to share a moment that neither of us would have if we would have prayed separately.

*It often gives immediate peace to the person being prayed over.

* It means I really DO pray for whatever focus needs my prayers and I don’t get swept away in the rest of the day’s task.

*Later in the day, it actually brings that moment to my mind and makes me more likely to pray for the event in the future, even days beyond the initial prayers.

This works with kids, with friends, with fellow ministry volunteers. What I’ve found is that most people really appreciate being prayed over, right then and there. In fact, no one (that I already knew to be a believer) has ever told me no.

So I encourage you: stop telling people you’ll pray for them and start praying WITH them. I think you’ll find we are a more connected body of Christ and we’ll be more connected TO Christ.

Kids Club 2013 Devotional (Day 1: Map)

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May 142013

If you’ve been around The Crossing for a while, you probably know that one of our favorite weeks of the year is Kids Club, our camp-like spin on VBS. We would also like to give you a glimpse of this year’s theme along with a special resource to help equip you–both parents and volunteers–for follow up conversations to come. Each week, we will post the next portion of our parent/volunteer devotional to the blog.

You can click on the image below to make them appear larger or download the entire thing here.

Motherhood and Fear

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May 072013

Most mothers (including myself) have had to deal with fears when it comes to our children. It is a very common emotion from the very moment you find out you are pregnant and especially when you first hold your baby in your arms. Our fear comes in all shapes and sizes and can hit us in any place or moment. I remember right after my oldest was born, I struggled with some of the worst fears I had ever experienced in my life. I couldn’t stop thinking about what “could” happen to him. I find that now my fears come when I wake in the middle of the night and start to think about something going on in one of my children’s lives. It is a real downward spiral from there if I don’t stop and do something about it quickly.

The only way I have found to combat these fears is to pray and to meditate on scripture that helps me fight this battle against fear. A few verses that I find myself running to are:

“In the night I remember your name, O Lord.” Psalm 119:55

“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6

Fear is defined as “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.” Most of the things I fear are of the imagined kind but the emotions I feel are no less real than if there was a true danger about to occur.

Then sometimes our fears are realized and we are faced with the reality that we live in a sin stained world. I’ve faced fear when losing a child in a crowded Disney World at closing time, fear at losing a toddler at a park near a lake, finding out my child has type 1 diabetes that will affect her the rest of her life, fears when my teenagers drive around in the car late at night and many others. Life is full of times when we face fear straight on and need to trust Jesus with them.

I recently ran across a few short blogs on Girltalk and thought I would share a few with you. All of them deal with the fears we face as mothers. And all of them spoke to my heart and encouraged me to listen to Jesus’ words “Do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Sparrows and Sovereignty

“On Purpose” from Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing

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Apr 272013

Not only is Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones something kids of a wide age range can enjoy, but it’s something that stirs my own heart every time I read it. In fact, I’ve been reading one each morning before most of the kids are up. It’s a quick and beautiful reminder of a truth about God and what that means for my life.

I wanted to share the one I read to my preschool daughter this morning called “On Purpose”. What if we each lived our days with this truth in our hearts? And what if our kids–perhaps especially our daughters in this beauty-obsessed culture–grow up living out a truth like this?

ON PURPOSE

by Sally Llloyd-Jones

Did you just end up here on earth? Was it all by accident?

The Bible says it wasn’t a mistake or an accident. It was a plan.

You didn’t just end up here. God put you here on purpose.

God wanted you here, and he had to have you here right now. Because he has a wonderful plan for you–something that only you can do.

Every single thing about you–the color of your eyes, your name, what you love, every day you will live–God knew before time began.

Even before you were born, he loved you. You began in God’s heart.

You are his. Made by him. Made for him.

“You saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me…before I was one day old.”

PSALM 139:16 (NCV)

Here is the trailer video that will give you an idea of what to expect if you order this delightful devotional. The art work makes my heart sing as much as the words do.

Mom Guilt

Devotional, Family, Parents No Responses »

Apr 102013

I haven’t been a mom for very long. Not even for a year, actually. But 10 months has given me plenty of time to experience Mom Guilt. Perhaps you’ve heard of this phenomenon. No matter how much you do in a day, there is almost always something to feel guilty about. If my child is clothed, fed, and well loved, then I probably feel a bit guilty that I’m in sweatpants at 6:00 p.m. and just ordered pizza because I forgot to get groceries. If I’ve managed to workout, shower, AND put on make up, then I probably feel a bit guilty that my husband watched our son for a couple of hours so I could have a break. I could go on but you get the idea.

There is something in our culture telling moms that we can do it all. All you have to do is open the latest issue of Real Simple, visit Facebook, or open Pinterest and you’ll understand why. We are bombarded with recipes, projects, ideas, and philosophies every day that tell us that we can, and should, accomplish all of these.

I came across this blog post by Stephen Altrogge a few months ago and it spoke to the internal struggle I was facing every day. The title is blunt, “Dear Moms, Jesus Wants You to Chill Out”. I laughed when I saw it, but I knew it was true before I even read it. I encourage you to read his post because Altrogge says it better than I can explain or summarize. He points out that the Internet has given moms quite a few reasons to “freak out” about being failures. The only real, Biblical job description we have as moms is to love God, love our husbands (unless you’re a single mom, of course), and love our kids. The way we do these three things is going to look different for each and every person.

I was thankful for this reminder when I read Altrogge’s post, and I’m still thankful for it today. But the truth is that I fail at my Biblical job description everyday. I will never love God enough, my husband perfectly, or my child correctly. But that’s okay because Christ does all those things for me. I am free to fail in both my daily to-do list and my imperfect, selfishly tainted love for God and my family. My daily identity for success in whatever I’m supposed to be doing is Jesus Christ. So yes, I do need to reign in the mom guilt in which I tend to wallow. And yes, I do need to chill out. But ultimately, I need to be resting more in the grace of Christ.

Living on After Easter: The Ceramic

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Apr 042013

In the morning bustle, I grabbed two coffee mugs–one for me and one for him. I knew he had eight minutes to leave. Ten if we pushed it, he told me. I rushed the mugs over to the pot, trying to bless him with good brew to get him through an early morning. As I passed the sink on my way to the coffee, the porcelain crashed against the ceramic and in an instant, the mug was in shards all over the ground. He rushed out and quickly swept away the remains of the accident. Of the mess.

He got to work on time, if you’re wondering. And I hopped in the shower. I heard a clinking. As I toweled off, I realized what it was–she, the big pup, had a piece. I grabbed it away from her–a task considering how much she wanted to hold on to it. Who knows why.

I continued getting ready, picking out my attire for the day. I went on with my makeup. I heard the clinking again. This time I didn’t immediately recognize it. I made my way to the kitchen and saw her with another piece. As I lunged for it, she backed away. It had punctured her gums. The piece was shiny and red as fresh blood covered the metallic color. She really didn’t want me to have it. She was hurt but she thought keeping this thing, this remains of a mess, was hers to keep. That it would provide her…something? Fun? Enjoyment? Control? I could tell by the way she shuddered at my touch she was afraid to let me have it. She may have known the pain but she was too scared that my touch would only cause more pain.

I waited until she relaxed and grabbed the piece from her, getting a glimpse of the laceration on her front lip. She wouldn’t let me touch it. It was too fresh. After a few seconds, she realized the thing she wanted so badly to keep from me was the thing that had caused the pain in the first place.

Immediately after I took the ceramic, and the pain with it, all she could do was stand in shock. And now? Just moments later? She is playing fetch with abandon. Coming to me, realizing I took the bad stuff and gave her freedom to play with things that are hers for the taking. Not the painful shards of glass that will leave her hurting.

I hope today, as you think about your life and what role Jesus plays within it, if you are holding on to something painful, you will recognize it for the pain it holds in your life. Do you have such a tight grip on it, knowing that control may mean pain but being too afraid of the alternative to surrender it to the kind hand who will make you whole again?

” But God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Sometimes Easter gives us the pause we need to think about this miracle. That He, the perfect one, died for our pain. For our sin. For the things that keep us separated from him. For the things that make us separate ourself from him, knowing we’re hurting but terrified to take our sorry condition to him. Afraid and alone. He did all of this for us and in one miraculous weekend, he died and rose to graft us in to his family. We sang about it. We shed tears. Life should be different.

But now, it’s the week after Easter. The week after Easter, it’s easy to pack away our eggs, bunnies, pastel crosses, and all the pain and subsequent thanksgiving. The services from last week? Powerful. But over.

We don’t have to live like Easter never happened. We shouldn’t. We don’t have to suffer, to be afraid, to wonder what will happen if we let the pain and the longing go. We can rest in his promise that he will take it and we are free to run with abandon. To chase after him and him alone, not only at Easter but every day, all day long.

Let me learn by Easter paradox…

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Mar 282013

I don’t think it’s an accident that the most beautiful things of this earth aren’t typically so in the predictable sense. The things that move us the most quite often involve a contrast of some type, an element of surprise.

Wildflowers creeping along a crowded highway.

The intricate wrinkles on my grandmother’s hands.

A quilt created entirely from scraps that sits on my bed.

Weeds left uncared for. Signs of aging and decay. Leftovers that otherwise had no use. Symptoms of the curse redeemed. Beauty rooted in what doesn’t seem to make sense.

Why is my heart captured by such things? Perhaps because this contrast is merely an echo of something greater. Perhaps because the face of beauty itself is described in this way.

…he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
    a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
-Isaiah 53:2-5-

With wounds we are healed. Grace at its very core is a paradox. Something so costly, so undeserved, is given freely. A gruesome, torturous method of execution becomes the central icon for redemption. A story I’ve heard since I was a little girl continues to contain an element of mystery. My faith, my hope, and my peace secured, only because the righteous died for the unrighteous. Darkness and light, bondage and freedom juxtaposed. And all this was for our salvation.

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;
Let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.
-The Valley of Vision, A Puritain Prayer-

Family Easter Celebration 2013

5th Grade, Devotional, Easter, Elementary, Event, Family, Lent, Little Ones, Music, Parents, Preschool, Uncategorized No Responses »

Mar 222013

Last Monday evening, hundreds of Crossing Kids and their families gathered to prepare for Easter and worship our Savior with Jason Houser from Seeds Family Worship. As you can tell, young and old had a great time singing and dancing in the auditorium.

After our time of praise and worship, families moved to classrooms where they created their own Resurrection Gardens to help them prepare for Easter at home.

If you weren’t able to join us, be sure to pick up an extra copy of the garden materials along with our Family Easter devotional and free Seeds of Easter CD near the Crossing Kids registration area on Sunday.

What does it have to do with me?

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Mar 192013

I’ve spent the past 52 days reading through a devotional by Paul Tripp called Whiter than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy. In a lot of ways, these devotions have prepared my heart for Easter even though they are taken from Psalm 51. I wanted to share a few parts that have been meaningful to me and hopefully will encourage your soul as you prepare for Easter.

Day 27 “Every sin is vertical, no matter how thunderous the horizontal implications of it are. It’s God, for whom and through whom we were created to live, whose boundaries we step over, because we don’t love him the way that we should.”

My sin is first and most importantly against God. I step over his line every day and in many ways as I deal with my family, friends and co-workers.

Day 29 “Iniquity is best described as moral uncleanness. This word points to the comprehensive nature of the effect of sin on us. Sin is a moral infection that stains everything we desire, think, speak, and do…Sin is best defined as falling short of a standard. In our moments of best intention and best effort we still fall short. We’re simply unable to reach the level of the standards that God has set for us.”

My very nature is sinful, not just my actions. Every think I do is tainted by my sinful thoughts and attitudes. This can be discouraging at times but also is a good reminder that even when I think I’m doing well, I am still falling short and in need of a Savior.

Day 35 “What does it have to do with me, this private dinner in a rented room? What does it have to do with me, this basin unused with proud men at the table? What does it have to do with me, this dark garden echoing with painful prayer? What does it have to do with me, these three asleep, with a friend in torment? What does it have to do with me, this kiss of death with soldiers as witnesses? What does it have to do with me, these trumped-up charges by jealous men? What does it have to do with me, this bruised and bloody back? What does it have to do with me, this crown of thorns with flowers removed? What does it have to do with me, this Roman ruler washing his hands? What does it have to do with me, this dirty bloody man nailed to a tree? What does it have to do with me, these criminal companions hung on either side? What does it have to do with me, soldiers gambling for the clothes of the accused? What does it have to do with me, sword to the side to finish him off? What does it have to do with me, this scarred corpse placed in a borrowed crypt? What does it have to do with me, these women surprised at the body gone? What does it have to do with me, this story so removed, so long ago? What does it have to do with me, this one wise and suffering man? What does it have to do with me, Palestine graced, hope rejected? What does it have to do with me? This story is my story, each chapter is for me. This unattractive man of humble beginning and ignominious end is the Hope fo the Universe. Mercy is what it has to do with me; it is what the sin struggle of my heart, like the heart of David, requires.”

So what does Easter have to do with me? These questions reminded me that it has everything to do with me. I need a Savior. I need to be rescued from my sin. I need what Jesus did for me on the cross. I need a Redeemer who lives.

Day 36 “And so the whole redemptive story marches toward Immanuel, the Redeemer who would destroy sin’s dominion in our hearts by making our hearts the place where he, in his power, wisdom, and glory, would dwell.”

Praise be to God for Jesus!

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