Looking for Hope . . .

A prayer by Max Lucado in response to the Conn. school shooting:

Dear Jesus, 

It's a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated.The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod's jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.
Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.  This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.

Hopefully,Your Children

Reminders cont....

Mathew 6:27
And which of you by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life.

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Mathew 6:25
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

I Corinthians 7:32-34
I want you to be free from anxieties.  The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.  But the married man is anxious about wordly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unamarried or betrothed woman, is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit.  But the married woman is anxious about wordly things, how to please her husband.

Reminders/Comfort

1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Psalm 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Mathew 11:28
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

We are all a little weird . . .

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
                                                                           -Dr. Seuss

Super Mom

It has been months since I last posted, and soooo much has happened in a short amount of time.  Life has been awesome, exciting, lovely, and unpredictable.....all because of a certain man that God has finally brought into my life!  For the first time in a long time, I'm excited for the future. =)

But the reason I'm posting today is because we just passed Mother's Day, and as much as I'm thinking about my mom and how much she's done for me, I'm thinking about what kind of mother I hope to be.  Since my life is finally headed in that direction (yay!), I've been praying, begging really, for the grace and discipline to be a godly mother to my future kids.  That pressure I put on myself, although high, is lessened by the fact that no matter what my parenting "techniques" are, my utmost duty is to pray for my children that God intervenes in their life at an early age.

All that being said, I came across an article where a mom wrote a wish list for her kids.  I really like the list, and think it will serve as a good reminder in the years to come.

"Here’s my wish list.

I hope I raise a child who says “thank you” to the bus driver when he gets off the bus, “please” to the waiter taking his order at the restaurant, and holds the elevator doors when someone’s rushing to get in.

I hope I raise a child who loses graciously and wins without bragging. I hope he learns that disappointments are fleeting and so are triumphs, and if he comes home at night to people who love him, neither one matter.
Nobody is keeping score, except sometimes on Facebook.

I hope I raise a child who is kind to old people.

I hope I raise a child who realizes that life is unfair: Some people are born rich or gorgeous. Some people really are handed things that they don’t deserve. Some people luck into jobs or wealth that they don’t earn. Tough.

I hope I raise a child who gets what he wants just often enough to keep him optimistic but not enough to make him spoiled.

I hope I raise a child who knows that he’s loved and special but that he’s not the center of the universe and never, ever will be.

I hope I raise a child who will stick up for a kid who’s being bullied on the playground. I also hope I raise a child who, if he’s the one being bullied, fights back. Hard. Oh, and if he’s the bully? I hope he realizes that his mother, who once wore brown plastic glasses and read the phonebook on the school bus, will cause him more pain than a bully ever could.

I hope I raise a child who relishes life’s tiny pleasures—whether it’s a piece of music, or the color of a gorgeous flower, or Chinese takeout on a rainy Sunday night.

I hope I raise a child who is open-minded and curious about the world without being reckless.

I hope I raise a child who doesn’t need to affirm his self-worth through bigotry, snobbery, materialism, or violence.

I hope I raise a child who likes to read.

I hope I raise a child who is courageous when sick and grateful when healthy.

I hope I raise a child who begins and ends all relationships straightforwardly and honorably.

I hope I raise a child who can spot superficiality and artifice from a mile away and spends his time with people and things that feel authentic to him.

I hope I raise a child who makes quality friends and keeps them.

I hope I raise a child who realizes that his parents are flawed but loves them anyway.

And I hope that if my child turns out to be a colossal screw-up, I take it in stride. I hope I remember that he’s his own person, and there’s only so much I can do. He is not an appendage to be dangled from my breasts on the cover of a magazine, his success is not my ego’s accessory, and I am not Super Mom."

Taken from  "Am I Mom Enough? A Motherhood Wish List"  by Kara Baskin

How would you love someone without prayer?

"I woke up in the middle of the night recently with this rather odd question in mind:
How would you love someone without prayer?
I mean, what would it look like if you loved someone but couldn't pray for that person?
It was a puzzle to me.
I couldn't figure out what it would look like.
Love without being able to pray feels depressing and frustrating, like trying to tie a knot with gloves on.
I would be powerless to do the other person any real good.
People are far too complicated; the world is far too evil; and my own heart is too off center to be able to love adequately without praying.
I need Jesus."
 - A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

Quotable Quotes

" If you are not praying, you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent, are all you need in life."

-A Praying Life, Paul E. Miller