Riptide...

My prayer:

What a wonderful day God. What a wonderful weekend. I feel blessed and at peace tonight. 

I am sorry I got so out of balance again last week. I do know better and I will try to do better. 

I ask God that you make me a blessing to everyone around me this week. Help me to stay balanced and focused on you. Help me to not get so caught up in the craziness of life. You are my ever present help and I am so very grateful. I need a lot of help! :)

What God Said Tonight:

Remember when you got caught in the rip tide? Life is like that sometimes. You can get caught in a cycle that can kill you if you stay in it long enough. 

Remember what I told you when you were in the rip tide? If you don't do something different you are going to die. You listened then I want you to listen now. You are out of the rip tide for now. But, when or if it happens again, I need you to recognize it sooner and do something different right away. 

Don't get drug down by the waves of complications in life. Swim sideways, swim under, whatever, but don't get stuck. I will warn you if you will listen. Next time, when I warn you, change something right away. 

You will see a grater freedom and strength in your life if you do.

Pity party cancelled...

My prayer:

What a wonderful and generally perfect day God! Slept in, great hike, time on the mountain with you, great church service, dinner with good friends, and now, quiet time with you. I REALLY NEEDED THIS DAY!! 

Sometimes I look at myself and wonder why you put up with me. It seems like I just continue to struggle with the same stuff year after year. It is boring! When will I find and maintain balance in my life? When will I remember that when I try to do stuff on my own power I fail and when I lean on you I succeed? When will I remember that if I don't keep the Sabbath holy, I get all out whack?!

I get so frustrated with myself. I know all of these things. You have taught me well. And yet, I continue to forget them over and over. I am just kind of sick of me tonight. 

How about I shut up and listen. That usually works a lot better.

What God Said Tonight:

If you treated others the way you are treating yourself tonight, you would not have anyone who loves you. You would scare them all away. When did you decide it was ok to treat yourself worse than you would treat a stranger? 

I am your Father and I will correct you as needed. You do not have to heap guilt on yourself. I will show you new ways of coping with life, as long as you are willing. I will help you change and grow and move into the future I have for you. 

To think that you have not grown is simply untrue. You have evidence to show your growth if you will look at it. Time to come out of feeling sorry for yourself and remember who you are and what your purpose is. It is time to treat yourself with at least as much grace and mercy as you show others. It is time to remember that I love you and I don't take kindly to people who talk badly about my kids. Even when they are talking badly about themselves.

Your life is a process, not a a destination. You will always be growing and changing. You will always be learning. The fact that you could so easily recall and state some of the major lessons you have learned over the last several years is a really good thing. 

Now, rest in my love for you. End this day with the joy and peace that we shared. Start tomorrow with a new sense of purpose and be ready to see great things happen. 

I love you now and forever.

Turning away from God...

My prayer:

WooHoo!!! You got me through this INSANE week God! That in itself is an absolute miracle!! I honestly don't know how anyone survives this life without you in it. If I did not have you to lean on, I would have been dead a long time ago. 

I am SO ready to spend a quiet day with you tomorrow. We are going to hit the trail and sit on top of the mountain. I will sing to you and bask in your amazing presence. It has been MUCH TOO LONG since we have done that. To spend a whole day resting and hanging out with you, that is heaven on earth. Thank you for the luxury to do so. Not everybody gets that chance.

God I pray and ask that tomorrow be a wonderful day of rejuvenation for all of us. Give us rest and fill us with you fire and energy to tackle the next amazing opportunity that you have for us.

LOVE YOU!

What God Said Tonight:

On a mountain top or in traffic, I don't care where we spend time together as long a we do. I miss you when you get tied up the business of life. 

I am God, so I can survive, but I miss you. I created you for relationship. I created you to be mine. When you let other things take you away from me, it is painful for me. I am not bothered by the people who speak badly about me. They don't understand, they don't know me. What hurts me is when people who know me, my children, turn away from me. Sometimes it is in sin, sometimes it is in anger, and sometimes, it is simply letting "life" get in the way. 

I love you and I long to be your only focus again. I am with you always. I have never left you and I never will. Turn to me and embrace me. I promise when you do, when you remember, everything else will get easy again.

Exhaustion...

My prayer:

Awesome God. I feel like I am coping out again but I can barely keep my eyes open. I am beyond grateful that you brought me through another day and for all of the wonderful favor you continue to pour out on me. I thank you for so many answered prayers for so many people. I love you God and am primed to hear what you have to say tonight. 

What God Said Tonight:

Everyday is a brand new opportunity to be the best you can be. But every day is also an opportunity to know me better, deeper, more than you have before. The more you know me, the more you know my promises. The more you know my promises the less hard you have to work. 

I never intended for you to run yourself to exhaustion. That is you and your drive that is doing that. I only want good things for you. I only want balance, joy, and peace. I have it all here for you but right now, there is too much getting in the way so you can't see it. 

Get you true Sabbath in this weekend, things will look better when you are back on schedule with me. 

What fathers do...

My prayer:

Some days, like today, it is just one gift after another from you God. THANK YOU!!! You are so wonderful to me and so much better than I deserve. You even gave me stuff today that I needed but never asked for! You are so wonderful!! I guess I said that already but it is TRUE!!! LOVE YOU!!

What God Said Tonight:

I love you. You are my child and I will take care of you all the days of your life. 

You don't always have to ask me for things. I know what you need. If you and I are in relationship and talking all the time, when you include me in your life, 

I know and provide for all of your needs. I have enough and I love you so much. I will make sure you have what you need when you need it forever. That's what fathers do. 

Who you are...

My prayer:

Mighty God. My brain is so tired from this day that I can't really think anymore. All I want to do is to lay my head on my pillow and turn off my brain. But I have to hear from you before I do. I can't end a day without hearing what you are thinking. 

I love you God. Thanks for bringing me through another one and thanks for the good report from the doctors on little A! Your healing power never ceases to amaze and delight me!!

What God Said Tonight:

I am delighted by you my child. I know that this time is difficult but you do not lose faith and you do not turn from your commitment to me and my will for your life. 

You have been doubting yourself and that is because you are in uncomfortable waters. But, your surroundings and your circumstances do not define who you are. I define who you are and I say you are a prophet, a king, and a priest. I say you are the head and not the tail. I say you are above and not beneath. I say that you are more than a conqueror and I will make sure that you prosper in all that you do. I am with you and I will make you succeed. 

Go and rest but remember who you are in me. Take that confidence with you wherever you are.

Rest in God...

My prayer:

Awesome God. Seems like every conversation for the last week or so, at least the ones here at night, has been about the future and you plans and will. It seems kind of odd. If I don't know by now that you will work out everything for my good, I doubt I will ever know. You have shown me so many times. But, it is never a bad thing to be reminded. 

I just feel like the bigger struggle for me is to get through each day right now. There is so much happening and it is just constant. It is all good stuff, exciting, and so much of it is for you and your Kingdom which is WONDERFUL. But, for example, I just remembered another thing at work today that did not get done and had to shoot off an email to explain. 

I am generally worn out and feel like I need a rest. Just a few days with no one needing anything. I am not sure how to make that happen right now. God, I need that rest and rejuvenation that only you can provide. Give me strength to do everything that you have for me to do, please.

What God Said Tonight:

I am present, past and future. You know your past, you are living your present so I tell you about your future. It is part of what I do. I make the unseen, seen. I make the unknown, knowable. 

Your now, your present is a result of your past and a jumping off place for your future. How you deal with your now, what you do with it, decisions you make will determine which path we take forward. Not choosing, not making a decision is actually making a decision. It is just a decision that allows everything to stagnate instead of moving forward. 

I am here to help with your present, past and future. I will help you let go of your past, live today and reach for tomorrow. I am your ever present help. I am your strength and I am your joy. Find your rest in me.