Shine...

My prayer:

Awesome God! You are so wonderful. What a long but fantastic day! Thanks for the new friends tonight! I haven't had friends in New Zealand before and now I do! 

I love the diversity of your people all around the world. Different cultures, different ideas, different ways of dealing with life but at the core, we all have so many things that are the same. The same creator, the same need to love and be loved, the same curiosity that helps us to grow and learn and be more tomorrow than we are today. LOVE IT AND LOVE YOU!

What God Said Tonight:

I wish sometimes that you could see things the way that I see them. I wish that you could handle it. When you look at the world, at my children from this vantage point, there is nothing more beautiful and nothing more heart breaking. 

If you are not going to believe in me and trust me with your life, that is one thing. But if you are going to believe in me, say you trust me, your life should look different than the rest of the world. You should be recognizable  You should be a bill board for a life with me. If people can't look at you and say, there is a woman or man of God, then we are missing great opportunities together. 

I know it is a sacrifice. I know living life for and with me is not always easy. But it is always worth it. Please, make sure your life reflects me.. You, my children are so beautiful and given the opportunity you can shine like emeralds and diamonds. But, when you live just like the rest of the world, when no one can tell the difference between you and the world, when your love does not shine through, it is like a diamond buried in coal and dirt. It is still beautiful, but no one would know. 

Shine for me and let the world follow.

Something more...

My prayer:

Thanks for healing me tonight God! I love your healing power. Whether you are healing me or someone else it is so amazing, wonderful, cool, awesome, and down right fun to watch you take something that is trying to hurt, and in some cases kill, us and you just take care of it!

Out of all the gifts and promises that you have given us for this life, I think that is my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I love that you protect us, provide for us, teach us, love us, and cause us to be favored. I love all of that. But, if I had to pick a favorite promise, a favorite gift, I think healing would probably be it. I LOVE YOU!!

What God Said Tonight:

My healing for you goes beyond the physical. You have only begun to tap into the promises I have for you. You are going to see and do so much more. 

This life, the one you are living is good, but it will never fully satisfy you. You will always know that there is something more, something that you have not experienced yet. And you will be right. There is something more. There is me and my Kingdom which is as real as you and me; although seldom seen. 

I love you daughter and I will guide you wherever you want to go.

Hockey equipment...

My prayer:

So I got to relearn another lesson again today God. When did I forget that you can make the impossible, possible? 

By noon today, it looked like there was no way possible I could get everything done that needed to get done, even if I had the rest of the week to do it. The mountain was too high. But, then I remembered that you are on my side, did each thing you put in front of me, and got it all done with time leftover for a work out!

Thank you awesome God! Everything I am that is good is only because of you!

What God Said Tonight:

I am like hockey pads. I don't do the work for you but I make it possible for you to do the work and I protect you while you do it. 

Could you play hockey without the padding, gloves and helmet. You could but you wouldn't be able to play very long because you would get hurt and have to stop. 

With me on your side, you can stay in the game longer and get more accomplished. I am a hedge of protection around you and I make it possible for you to do what you are called to do, each day. 

I love you sweet daughter and I am in this life with you to be your ever present help.

Introduce God...

My prayer:

Amazing Father God. You created it all. You spoke the universe into existence and you breathed life into man. You fashioned woman out of a rib. Then, you gave us one rule. We broke it. You provided a way out for us anyway by making yourself our sacrifice. And, because of all of that, I get to talk to you everyday and hear your voice. I get to have a relationship with you. 

If someone were to pitch that story to Hollywood, they would have turned it down. It is too unbelievable  But it all happened, and without it, I would not be here with you now. 

I think that is why we struggle so much to explain you to people who don't know you yet. The story is unbelievable, you are indescribable, and our relationship is unlike anything else on earth. But somehow, millions of people come to you everyday anyway. We are so hungry to be reunited with you Father. Even when we don't know what it is, we hunger for it. We hunger for you.

What God Said Tonight:

I don't need you to explain me. I just need you to introduce me. I will take care of the rest. It is no different than what you do at your job everyday. You connect people. That is all I really need from you. Connect me with all of the people in your life that don't know me yet. 

I will take care of the rest. I will help them to see what a life with me will be like. I will show them your life and other lives as examples. I will fill them with my Holy Spirit power. I will win them over, just like I did you. 

You just have that first part, but don't neglect it. I need it. You know how it is. Especially in this busy world. People are not going to pay attention unless they are introduced by someone they know and trust. So, introduce me and I will do the rest. I love you daughter.

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.