Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day to you and yours!

Auntie Lorrie and Daddy left for PA after lunch.  There were tears shed, as there always is when our beloved Lorrie leaves.

I cheered up the kids with chalk, paint, sand and water.  Oh, and Popsicles!

My Gratitude List

I'm thankful for....

- every family who gave a beloved son, a beloved husband, for my freedom.

- my husband's kiss goodbye. 

- Lorrie bringing presents for the kids, including the game Trouble.  Finally, something we can all play together--including the two year old! 

- sand castles.

- family bike rides (Mommy jogging along with the jogging stroller).

- a couple days without rain (t-storm expected Sun. eve.,but then no rain for two days).

- new birds for Peter while hiking with Lorrie and Paul (cedar waxwing, yellow warbler, tree swallows, and a baby turtle).

- nighttime talks with my sister-in-law while husband was at work.

- chocolate turtle pie (I accidentally looked at the nutrition info--not pretty, 480 calories, 27 grams fat. The most fattening thing I've ever consumed!  No more of that........okay.........maybe on a holiday.).

- sidewalk chalk flowers. 

- two year olds on training wheel bikes.

- a blue-eyed boy; a brown-eyed boy.

- four-year-old girls singing Baa Baa Black Sheep.

- pink and purple flowers blooming all over.

- corn on the cob.

- mashed sweet potatoes.

- big rubber balls in purple; new sand toys.

- little girls painting with the easel.

- Jack the Black, our hamster, who still delights Peter.

Postcards for Memorial day found here:  http://www.usmemorialday.org/images/cards/index.html

Praises! and observations

- During a three-hour tornado warning last night, Peter, very upset, hugged me through his tears, saying, "Just in case we die in an hour, I want you to know that I love you so much."

- Trying to make light of it in the third hour, I prayed, among other things, "Dear Lord, remind us that our hope is in you, and not in our clean underwear."  Paul giggled, but Peter was not amused. (Seriously, my worst fear from a tornado, besides knowing that my family is with me and safe, is wondering where my next pair of underwear is coming from.)

- Auntie Lorrie coming for a visit from PA on Friday, taking husband back with her on Sunday, to pick up his friend's mother's old vehicle (1986-year sedan, but with mileage under 40,000)  Husband's nephew worked on the car, fixing several things.  I am very relieved because during tornado warnings I will have a vehicle (our van) to take the children to my aunt's basement, eight minutes away.  I've never heard a tornado siren, but hopefully we'll be given at least twenty minutes to pile all in the van and get there?

- Paul, my art-filled soul, ordered another used Usborne Art book from Amazon (Art Ideas), and checked out their third one from the library (Art Projects).  He does art for at least two hours a day, and oh....how he's in his element!  His whole body exudes joy while he creates. I'm nervous about him getting paint on that library book, though.  I'm so glad for used books, usually purchased for a few dollars plus shipping.  Some of the Usborne Art books list for over $100, but if you keep searching, you can usually find an older, cheaper version. Some of the expensive versions are combination books.

- Husband taking Peter on an early morning birding trip last Saturday.  Peter talked about it for hours--he was overjoyed....but sad it had to come to an end.  It made for a long day for Daddy, who still had eight hours of work to do.  They walked about five miles, so husband was on his feet all day.

- Hearing the kids painting in the dining room while I type this.  I love their conversations during creation times.....ooohs and aaahs over each other's work, and a lot of joy.

- A sweet e-mail friend, whom I met through this blog, offered to tell us about her prayer life.  Anyone else in?

- Miss Beth is in love with chipmunks! We have one that feeds on seeds found under our feeders.  She can't say the first part of the word correctly, but I understand the 'munk part.  So cute to hear her shout with glee, telling Momma she sees a chipmunk.

- Studying the Lord's prayer...learning more of His heart.  I think I'm ready to do a post on it...the next time I have a night free for writing.

- Boys all a wonder at creation....learning that starfish lose appendages and then grow them back.  The fallen off appendages become new starfish!

- Miss Beth's had her fill of painting....time to say... Have a good day! Lord Bless You!

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?