Cloud of peace...

My prayer:

What a weird mix of good and bad stuff today God. I don't know if I did a good job today but at least I survived. On days like today, that seems like quite an achievement! 

I guess when I really look at today objectively, nothing horrible happened (except dropping my sunglasses in the dirty toilet...that was pretty horrible). But seriously, compared to the real problems in the world I shouldn't complain. I definitely let stress get the better of me at times today. 

I would love to get to that place where I live in the middle of your peace no matter what. I have met people like that. People who, no matter what is happening around them, they remain in your peace. I think that would be a pretty wonderful way to live. And the truth is, you ALWAYS work things out for me so I should be at peace. Help me to get there?

What God Said Tonight:

You have my peace, whenever you want it. It is always with you and in you because I am in you. You can choose to experience that peace or you can choose to stress and worry. But always remember that you are making a conscious choice to do so. 

You always have access to my peace. You may want to keep some reminders about that around handy that you can see when you run into stress. You know my promises around peace and how I have promised to take care of you. Keep those readily at hand to remind you in those tough times. 

Truth is, you are a lot more at peace today than you have been in the past so this is simply a continuation of that journey. It is the next level of peace in any storm. 

Feel my peace surround and cover you tonight. Like a cloud, let it surround you and block out the worry. Rest in my peace and know that I am God, your Father.

More Mary, less Martha...

My prayer:

Today was pretty crazy God. I was barely able to keep up most of the day. Thank you for being my peace in any storm. I always have you to lean on. I can always count on a place of peace and stability in you. 

How in the world do people survive without that? I wouldn't last a day if I couldn't lean on you!

Love you and can't wait to hear what you have to say tonight...

What God Said Tonight:

You can watch the people, people all around the world and you will see, money is not the key to happiness, even family is not the key to happiness. The key to happiness is being safe, with people you love, and having a challenge to accomplish. That is a sure tried recipe for happiness. 

I want you to be happy. I want you to enjoy life. So often you get too wrapped up in the problems and forget to enjoy. I need a little more Mary and a little less Martha from you right now. 

I love you more than anything and I want you to be happy.

Hands off...

My prayer:

Amazing Father. I need your help. You always say when I need help I just need to ask, so I am asking. 

This crazy project is not going very well. I just want to finish it; but, when it is done, me and everyone at the office has to live with the results so I want it to be done right. I have tried my best and it is not working. I have asked for help and it is not working. I am frustrated and want to say I quit, but it has to get done and there is no one else to do it. I need your help. 

You have done much bigger things than this. Even this week you have already performed mighty miracles. I just need a little miracle, in a very real and mundane situation.

Thank you God for being my Father and my help in every situation.

What God Said Tonight:

I wondered when you were going to get around to asking for my help. I have watched you struggle with this and I have wanted to help but until you took your hands off long enough for me to get my hands on it, my hands were tied so to speak. 

I am your ever present help. I am always here and always ready to help. But, for me to help, you have to let me in. 

I will take care of this. You will surprised at how easy it from this point forward. The things that you could not make sense of will seem so simple now. I will give you everything you need. I am here for you always in all things and I love you. 

Unique love...

My prayer:

Awesome God. I am so crazy in love with you. All I have to do is stop for five seconds and start to think of who you are and all that you do and I am overwhelmed with how wonderful you are and how much I love you!!

Thank you for "C's" praise report of healing from MS today! That blessed and encouraged so many people. You are wonderful!! Wait, I already said that. I just run out of words God. 

I always loved how Bishop L always use to start the year with the alphabet praise. Let see if I can come up with 26 words to describe how wonderful you are starting with each letter of the alphabet...I may need some help with "X"...

You are awesome, beautiful, caring, delightful, excellent, fabulous, GREAT, highest, incredible, Jesus, knowing, loving, marvelous, newsworthy, overwhelming, perfect, quality, regal, stupendous, terrific, unstoppable, victorious, xiphoid (as in your word is like a double edged sword), Yaweh, and zenith!

LOVE YOU!!

What God Said Tonight:

You make me smile my child. I love you too. I always will. 

Be confident in my love for you. Not just confident in my love for all humanity, but be confident in my love for you. 

My love for each of my children is somewhat different. My relationship with each of my children is different. My love for each child is not greater or less than others but it is different. 

I love you specially because you are you. I love you because I am love, but I love you because of who you are as well. I have a special and unique love for every single one of my children. I have numbered the hairs on your head and I save your tears because I am so in love with you. You are never out of my heart. 

Go and rest. Tomorrow is going to be good.

Permanent protection program...

My prayer:

Today was pretty wonderful God. A mix of a lot of my favorite things again. You are awfully good to me. I love being your kid. It comes with some pretty amazing privileges. 

I don't know what all you have planned in my life next but it looks like it is going to be exciting and you know I love exciting! I see so many possibilities and have no idea which of them will work out, assuming any of them do. 

I also see some real dangerous possibilities. I can see how if I am not extremely careful, I could fall into temptation that I might not be able to pull out of. 

God, please protect me, from everything, including myself. Help me to make right decisions, keep me from temptation and deliver me from evil. It is an old prayer but I need it as much today as they did when you first said it. 

What God Said Tonight:

I am your protector for eternity and I never let down my guard. You are in my permanent protection program. 

The only way out is if you choose to get out. You have control over your own decisions and your decisions can put you in positions that can result badly for you. I will always bring you out. I will always be waiting with open arms to welcome you back home when you turn back to me. But, when or if you choose to move away from me, if you choose a path that is clearly not my will and runs contrary to my word, that moves you outside of my realm of protection. 

I don't condemn you. I died for your sins. But, until you turn from those decisions and return to me, I can't keep you protected the way I want to. I will still love you. I will always love you. I will always have a way out for you. But, try to make decisions that are in line with my word. 

You know my word. You know the truth. Use that truth to make decisions and you will live forever under my covering for you. Stray, and you make yourself vulnerable.

Tomorrow is not promised...

My prayer:

Wonderful Father. You have always said that we are not promised tomorrow and days like today really bring that home. Cousin "D" left to be with you today. No warning, he was just driving along and got t-boned in an intersection. Everything was going so good for him and then suddenly, he isn't here anymore. 

I am grateful that he is with you and we will get to see him again someday. But, I feel so horrible for his wife and kids. Such a huge loss in their lives.

Then, I turn on the news and see that Oklahoma is getting hit with more tornadoes and flooding. More people have died. It is hard to understand God.

I know that death doesn't mean that it is over for us. It just means we get to live in heaven with you which is not a bad deal at all. But, it is pretty hard on all of us left behind. There are people in our lives that when they are gone, they leave a hole and those holes are pretty hard to fill.

I pray God for comfort and healing for everyone who has lost someone close to them. I pray that you help us through it and that you fill those holes.

Thank you Jesus.

What God Said Tonight:

It is easy to focus on the one that is gone. It is the obvious thing to do. And, you will miss them. You will mourn your loss. But, when the mourning time is over, what I need you to do is focus just as much on everyone who is left in your life as you did on the person who was taken from you. 

There would be a lot less regret and sorrow in your life if you spent dedicated and focused time appreciating the people around you more often. You truly are not promised tomorrow, so if there are things you want to say, people you want to hug, do it today. Don't put it off until tomorrow. Never procrastinate when it comes to love. Love now and love often. 

Leave every interaction with the conscious knowledge that you may never see that person again. And, if you don't, did you leave them with the words you want them to remember and the words that you would feel good about remembering?

It is a way of living that may feel strange initially but will yield great love and little to no regrets in your life. 

Falling in love with God...

My prayer:

Thank you God for the amazing time of worship at the river tonight. I love those unexpected moments with you. Your presence was strong and so beautiful. There is nothing better than your presence. 

You are with us always but there are moments, like today, where I get to focus on and recognize your presence and those moments are amazing. Your presence brings peace and beauty and love and healing. It brings everything I need. You are so truly wonderful God and every moment in your presence is a gift. 

What God Said Tonight:

I am who I am. I love that you enjoy my presence. I enjoy yours too. That is really the basis of any good relationship, you need to enjoy being around each other. The same is true with me. 

That is what I desire. I don't want you to go to church from obligation. I don't want you to read the Bible or pray from a sense of obligation. That is not love. When you love someone, you want to be with them, you want to learn more about them, you want to do things for them. 

When you spend time with someone out of obligation or do things for them out of guilt, that is bondage. And, I came to set you free, not to place you into bondage. I am your freedom, not your chains. 

I hear your thoughts already churning. There is a time for obedience and faith. You can't always go just by your feelings. But those should be seasons where you learn something, not a way of life. Your way of life should be a life of being in love with me. And, if it  is not, we need to work on that. 

I already love you like crazy so that part is done. Now, I just want you to love me back. With that love, with that real love, so many other questions, worries, and doubts go away. Fall in love with me all over again.