I Need Your Help!

In order to truly bless readers with a prayer series, I need some volunteers.

Yes.  That means you!

I have enabled anonymous comments, and would like three volunteers to comment once a week about their prayer lives.  You will follow a simple format, such as:

- What went well
- What was difficult
- What did you learn?

You don't have to chronicle each day.  Just tell how it went for you in a week's time, as a whole.

I will give you code names, such as anonymous 1, anonymous 2, and anonymous 3.  It would probably be helpful to give a little information up front about the number of children you have and their ages, whether you are twenty-something, thirty-something, forty-something....and how long you've been a Believer.

If you say no to this, let it not be because you think you pray less than most people.  Most people don't pray much.  Or, they pray a lot for a week, and then not at all for three weeks--except for a few desperate sentences uttered to the Lord here and there (which is better than nothing--any discourse with God is good).

And the Bible does say we should pray without ceasing, so sentences uttered here and there, all day long, are excellent.  If that is where you are right now, than write about that.

God works with us right where we're at. I've been a Christian for fourteen years, and His message to me now is this:

I expect more discipline from you now. I expect you to live the Word, not just read it.  


I've learned over and over that I can't live the Word, without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives the Word through me.  Self-effort gets me no where--except at the very moment I sit down to pray.  The Spirit gives me the words--I don't even do the actual praying.

My part is to make regular full stops, and utter the first word.   Same as with Bible reading.  Our part is to sit down at regular intervals, and open the Bible.  I believe most people will agree, that simply sitting down and opening the Bible, is the hardest part.

Prayer is communing with the Spirit.


Prayer is the avenue by which we live the Word.

Bible reading is the avenue by which we learn the Word.


The Spirit is with us during both.

Please join me?  By volunteering, you will automatically have some accountability--something we all need.

Don't worry about how well you write.  Just jot it all down as an anonymous comment, or in an e-mail to me, christine4431(at)ymail (dot)com.  I will edit each entry for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation. Once a week, I'll publish them in a Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior post.


Please help?

Edited to add:  On second thought, I think it would work better if you just give me the name you want to use to identify your posts.  Either your real name, or a name you pick out.  Thank you!

Why Do We Struggle With Prayer? Into a Life of Prayer: A Journey, Part 2

To read part 1, click here.

The sad truth is that only a remnant in the Church has an effective prayer life.  If your own prayer life is lacking, don't be ashamed.  You are not alone.

Why is it so hard to pray?  Why do so many of us fail?

Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”


We are born again Christians--new natures, in old bodies.  Our desire is for holiness, but we live in a body of sin.  Until we die and go to Heaven (and get new, perfect, sinless bodies), we are stuck in our present body, constantly struggling to be Holy.  (Romans 7:18 - 8:4)  God designed it this way so we would be dependent on Him--so that all glory would go to Him.

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

Many things hinder our prayers, all under the umbrella of the flesh. Here are some examples:

- unbelief in the power of prayer; hopelessness

- chasing after the things of this world; worldliness

- broken relationships; discouragement

- ongoing sin

- the enemy

But, there is hope!  Though our flesh is weak and hinders our prayers, it does not prevent them.  Nothing can separate us from Christ--from communing with Him in prayer.


Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:


   “For your sake we face death all day long;
   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.


No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 


If you're having trouble praying, or sticking to a habit of prayer, the answer is.....wait for it......more prayer!  More prayer is more of Christ. 

When we choose to walk with the Spirit instead of the flesh, the Spirit intercedes for us, helping us to be holy.

Romans 8: 26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.


Friends, I beseech you, walk with the Spirit.  Pray.  Do it with me!  There are a mere seventy readers out there.  A remnant.  Seventy people, praying like warriors, can do mighty things for Him.


Choose prayer.  Choose Him   Choose life abundant.  Choose holiness.  


Are you in?


What are you waiting for?  

Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior--Days 4 & 5

I published something this morning about art, but since I don't think I'll get any writing time tonight, I wanted to update you now on my praying.

To read about Day 1 of a Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, click here.

To read about Days 2 & 3 of a Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, click here.

To read the first post in my prayer series Into a Life of Prayer--A Journey, click here.

Here I will chronicle Days 4 & 5:


Day 4 was my day to pray alone.  On the other pray-alone days, I started almost immediately after putting the boys to bed (unless there were dishes to do).  On night 4, however, I was thinking about the cute, new-hat pictures I wanted to download of my girls.  It had been a difficult evening with my older son, and I wanted to drink in the blessing of my girls--in photos.

Now friends, let me tell you, I failed.  The Holy Spirit said to me:  No!  Do it like the other nights. Put God first.  No photos, no e-mail, no news, no other writing.


I told myself I would just download the pictures, writing something about them another time--thereby getting to my prayer in a just a few minutes.

But no, my desire to put me first--my desires first--trumped my desire to be a prayer warrior.  I ended up writing about what my girls meant to me, instead of getting to the prayer.

In the midst of my post about the girls, Beth woke up coughing from allergy-related post-nasal drip.  After settling her back down, my Mary had a night terror, which occasionally happens lately.  I held her through it until she fell asleep.  While holding her, I fell asleep until Beth cried out again from her room.

You've heard people say you'll never sleep well again until your kids leave home?  Yeah.  Right on.

I'm not complaining, mind you.  I love my little ones.  And I'm sure I'll love staying up late, listening to my teenagers pour their hearts out.  That is coming, people tell me.  Teenagers take up your sleep time too, not with their snotty noses or night terrors, but with their complicated feelings.

I never got back to the living room at all that night.  I awoke at 1:30 AM, brushed my teeth and washed my face, and headed back to sleep.  If I had attempted to do much more, I probably would have suffered insomnia the rest of the night.

I was horribly disappointed in myself.....but I learned a lot.  Always put God first. I can't even entertain other ideas for my time, until I've put God first.  To experience all that He has for me, and for my family--in terms of relationship--I simply must put Him first.

The next day I tried to make up for the previous night's prayer time, by praying as I was nursing Beth to sleep for her nap.  This is a regular prayer time for me, but not a long one, or a particularly organized one.  I kept losing my focus, and never got beyond Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving.  My mind skipped around shamefully.  It made me realize that my prayer blog is my saving grace, in terms of disciplined prayer.  I can focus so well there, praying for thirty minutes without even thinking about it.

The next night, Day 5, was husband and wife prayer night.  We got back from church at 8:45 PM, and started putting the children to bed.  Peter's OCD flares up after church for some reason, so Sunday night is always emotionally exhausting.  As well, the children are all over-stimulated, which makes for a fun night  exhausting tuck-in time.  I can't wait until our schedule allows for morning church!

As soon as the last child fell asleep, I went right to the living room to join my husband.  I starting praying as soon as I sat down, so the enemy wouldn't have a single minute to work on me.

I prayed for about fifteen minutes, then it was husband's turn.  From sheer exhaustion, I partially reclined in the easy chair as he began praying.  I spent time in the sun that day with the children, which always seems to sap my energy.

Not that four young children can sap your energy or anything.

Yeah...it was the sun.

My poor husband.


I actually fell asleep toward the end of his prayer!   Can you believe how spiritual I am?

Other than this revealing information, I wanted to tell you about something I'll definitely use for tonight's prayer.

A list.

Yes, in order to consistently pray for the people in my life, I can't do without a list.

I plan on keeping a list taped to the side of the computer, which will include:

- my immediate extended family, husband's immediate extended family
- other family, less known to us
- neighborhood families
- friends from other states
- friends from Ohio
- my online friends
- church acquaintances, pastors

I will rotate praying for all the people and needs on this list.

So, friends, that's my update.

How is it going for you?

(Part 2) Art for Kids--Making an Investment

Last week I wrote about investing in art books for children.  Today I'd like to cover the art supplies you'll need on hand as your children explore different art techniques.

The book above, which we recently obtained (we bought a used, 2002 hardcover, 12x9 edition), teaches basic art techniques, including:

tissue paper collage
oil pastel resist
collage with ink drawing
dragged paint
tissue paper rubbings
cardboard and potato printing
cut paper
techniques for trees
printing with a sponge
fingerpainting
pastel and ink resist
creating textured papers
brushstrokes
techniques for skies
mixed media collage
painted patterns
patterns with plastic foodwrap
watercolor washes
tissue paper and glue collage
printing with an eraser
techniques for water
wet inks and chalk pastels
blow-painting
adding gold highlights
tessellating and transforming shapes
continuous line drawing
techniques for fur
wet-on-wet painting
magazine paper collage
wax resist and splattering
paper collage
oil pastel resist and splattering
techniques for feathers
watercolor effects
chalk pastels
lifting off watercolor paint
scratched paint and pastels
collage with found objects
pencil and eraser drawings

If you're like me, you've never heard of many of these techniques!  My own education lacked any art emphasis--no performing arts, no visual arts.  I want more for my children.  I can't very well jump into a music curriculum for them--me, who can't carry a tune--but I can do something.

I can make time for them to participate in the Christmas Pageant every year, and in other productions; I can sign them up for basic music classes when they're appropriate for our budget; I can purchase simple recorders (a basic musical instrument) and accompanying book; and especially right now, I can invest in art materials they can explore at home.  

Let me say again here that my boys (ages 7 and 9) use our new Usborne art book independently (as well as our Usborne drawing books), due to the excellent illustrations and explanations.  If you're busy with little ones at home, your older children can still glean much from a good basic art skills book.

You'll likely need the following supplies on hand, if you do invest in a basic art book.  I plan on keeping this list in my purse--purchasing them a little at a time.

Paints
- watercolor

- acrylic

- poster

- gouache

Pastels (usually sold in sets)
oil pastels
chalk pastels

Inks
colored inks, which come in bottles, or you can use ink from a pen cartridge

Paper
- thick watercolor paper that is 190gsm (90lb) or above that won't wrinkle too much when you paint on it

- bristol paper coming in pads or individual sheets (wrinkles when you paint on it)

- colored writing paper

- textured paper

- old magazines

Pens
felt-tip pens with permanent ink


Enjoy their creativity, letting it color your world!

Let the Blessings Flow

My Gratitude List

- sisters in pink hats

- sisters side by side in the mud

- a dent in weed pulling (many hours left)

- sunshine making the greens so brilliant

- six people at the dinner table

- whole wheat and flaxseed pancakes with mixed berries ( 5 to 1 ratio on the wheat and flax)

- a quiet house after a noisy day

- a yard with shade trees

- flowerbeds full of weeds, to give us something to do together ( together is my favorite thing, when it comes to my family...together is beautiful)

- sisters who kiss each other good morning and good night

- sisters who squeal and giggle at each other as they ride bikes, and trade bikes

- penny rides at the ice cream stop

- the eyes of a child, when you put an ice cream cone in his hands 

- a yard to delight my children (I never watch my children on the lawn without thinking about all the children raised in apartments..or worse.  My children are blessed.)

- my heavenly father, who gifted me with daughters when I was 40 and 42 years old  

I think most women will tell you that their unplanned babies brought very special blessings....which is why I say....let the babies come!  Say no to anyone else, but never to God.  He knows everything!  My girls are pure sunshine to me--brightening even the darkest days.  My boys are just as wonderful, of course--hopefully that truth is evident on this blog.  But somehow God knew that without daughters--these two daughters--our lives would be too heavy.  That's the only way I can describe it, when I think of life without them.  Heavy.  The various disorders we've got going on here contribute to that word heavy.  What do we really know about our coming years?  Nothing.  Only God knows. We can't afford to say no to Him, can we?  

As an aside:  Whenever I say something like this--I'm sure it annoys some out there--I don't mean to imply that a woman should discount everything a doctor has told her about her reproductive health.  I know a woman who nearly died from preeclampsia, twice (her two children are healthy).  Her doctor asked her not to get pregnant a third time, as it would be too dangerous.  Unless God gives a very clear message otherwise, I think we should listen to our doctors--really skilled, experienced doctors--unless they advise something akin to abortion.  

I don't understand infertility, in terms of why God would allow such a horror, when so many woman have plentiful babies.  Infertility really is a horror.  But I do know Him.  I trust Him.  It is so hard to do that.....to trust Him.  But we must.  He provides the tools, the giftedness, the wisdom, the grace, to carry out His design for our lives.  When we trust Him, blessings flow....our lives are all that He meant them to be, here on Earth.

If you're like me, and your husband has already decided you will have no more babies, submit to the decision in your heart. (Yes, it is so hard!) In your coming years, maybe God has orphans for you to adopt.....and a changed heart for your husband?  Or a family member's children to care for?  We just don't know, but I believe God honors our trust in Him.  And He is pleased when we respect our husbands, who are just trying to do their best.  Leadership is hard.