"Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12), but those who refuse to give up hope remain joyful. Be content with what you have, refuse to focus on what you don't have; love others; and stay hopeful concerning what you want and need."
Please pray for Crystal's father who is in the hospital.
Please pray for Tyler who recently fractured a bone in his sinus cavity.
Pray for Becky for healing and relief from arthritis.
Please pray for Don for safe travel this week.
Please pray for Pastor Allan and his family for safety during their vacation.
Pray for Alma who is having pain in her neck and numbness in parts of her head/scalp.
Please pray for Dean's niece who is in the hospital and on dialysis; and for his nephew who recently had a stroke.
Please pray for the people of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia who are now and have been in the path of these storms/tornadoes.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23, NIV)
Recently my daughter got some seeds as a “bonus” that came with a pack of yogurt. She was so excited to get them that I decided to take the opportunity to help her learn how to take care of flowers. Unfortunately, I have what I would term as a “black thumb”; and being that I cannot teach what I do not know, I decided to call for reinforcements. All I can say is, “Thank you, God, for Aunt Kelly!” A couple of weeks later, Kelly, Zoe, and I took a trip to Lowe’s Hardware to get soil, seeds, and the basics for planting a few small flowers. That night we took them home and I made supper while Aunt Kelly and Uncle Allen walked Zoe through the seed planting process.
Once the seeds were planted, Zoe started to ask, “When will they grow?” We all answered with, “It might take a while.” Each day after that, Zoe went outside on the deck to check her plants and continued to ask, “When will they grow, Mama?” I told her over and over that it would take some time, but one day I found myself saying, “Most of the growing takes place below the soil, and then all of a sudden, one day you will see the flowers begin to bloom.” And the minute that came out of my mouth, I began to think about the works of God in our lives. Each day we may ask God to help us in certain situations (i.e. healing, personal growth, the reconciliation of a relationship, the growth of a ministry, etc.); but we may not see the evidence of that help for quite some time. Just like with the flower, God takes His time working “below the soil” so that when we see the end results of His work for us, we know that they can only be from Him. He takes His time to make sure that we get something more beautiful than what we imagined in the first place. So the next time we are asking God for help, let’s give Him time to work “below the soil”; and in the meantime we can trust Him and praise Him for the beauty that is to come.
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV)
There’s a really beautiful song by Joan Osborne called , “One of Us”. The chorus goes:
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin’ to make his way home?
The question, of course, that begs to be answered is, “What if God was one of us?” Well, what would you do? If you saw Him sitting next to you, not knowing who He really was, how would you treat Him? Would you smile and ask Him how His day was? Would you give Him bus fare if He was without change? Would you find out His needs and pray for Him? Or would you give Him a nod and walk off, thinking of what you’re going to have for dinner… how much homework your kids have… where the extra money is coming from for the doctor’s visit next month? We‘re all guilty of letting the world get in the way of God. The point is that God is in every face we see. Some people put up walls and make Him harder to distinguish, but He’s always there. He’s in the face of every student walking to class concerned about their mid-term. He’s in the face of every squealing child at the park who just took their first trip down the ‘big’ slide. He’s in the face of every woman who just found out that her first child is going to be a boy. He’s in the face of every man who just found out that he will have to go through chemotherapy to survive. God is always there, and part of connecting to Him is connecting to each other. Remember, we are the ‘body of Christ’? One finger doesn’t function as well without the other four: the left leg doesn’t function as well without the right. We are all connected through God, and we need that connection to function properly. “..there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:25-26, NIV). Let’s do what we can to keep ’the body’ strong.
Tonight as I was flipping through the TV channels I came across a story on Oprah about a woman named Ruby.Ruby is a severely overweight woman who decided to use “reality TV” to help others deal with the physical, spiritual, and emotional issues associated with being overweight in today’s society.As I was listening to her very inspirational story, Oprah made a profound comment.She spoke about taking our journey “one victory at a time”.I agree, and believe that God does want us to live from “glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).We need to look at the whole picture, though.It’s important for us to take things ‘one step at a time‘, live ‘one day at a time’, or ‘moment to moment’; but sometimes those ’steps’ and ’moments’ don’t seem so victorious.There are times when the struggle seems just too much.Think about today’s economy.Like it or not, it has affected us all.We all seem to be doing whatever we can just to keep going, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem to be enough.That’s why living in the moment is so important.“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.Each day has enough trouble of its own.”God is the God of our past and our future; but most importantly He is the God of our present.He even calls Himself “I Am”. (Exodus 3:14)No matter what piece of our journey we happen to be on, God is there.In that moment of pain, He is there.In that moment of fear, He is there.Even in that moment of failure, He is there.God is there to pick us up, wipe our tears, calm our fears, forgive our sins, and help us move on.It is in that moment, that we experience His victory.
Please pray for our own Tericia Eller and her family as they will be moving soon.
Praise God! The tests for cancer came back negative!
Please pray for D in help with his business.
Please pray for all the students to finish the Spring Semester strong. We are a tired bunch.
Thank you, God for healing Vonda. She is recovering from her first (and hopefully her last) bought of bronchitis.
Please continue to pray for our country, for wisdom for our leaders, and for revival in all of our hearts.
"... Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:6-8, NIV)
Lessons, Prayers, and Praises is an extension of Lessons in a Shell Ministries. Our mission is to encourage the body of Christ through prayer, praises, and lessons from the Word of God. We hope that we are a blessing to all who come to us.
I am first and foremost a child of God. I am also a single mother, a full time student, and the founder of Lessons in a Shell Ministries. I live in Boone, NC, and have been here the majority of my life. I believe that I am blessed and highly favored by our God; and am grateful for all the help he gives me every day of my life. Praise Him!
