(Updated)The Prayer Warrior Life: Be Vigilant

When you start a spiritual practice and get through that initial fight with Satan, it's all good. Even amazing. Whether it's newly disciplined Bible reading, or disciplined prayer, or disciplined giving, or regular hospitality....whatever, you feel triumphant. You've established a habit.

Let's face it, forming a habit that doesn't include chocolate or other obvious delight, like a lazy Sunday nap or a sunset beach walk, is hard. It can be so hard it hurts.

Are you praying daily? Congratulations!

Realize something now, though. You can never relax in your spiritual habit.

Oh, I know what you'll say. But the habit feels entrenched. This will last forever.

No. You're still on a slippery slope. Never let your guard down.

You can't say:

Well.....the thirty minutes of prayer will still happen tonight--it's part of who I am now--but right now, I really need to......

Before you know it, something else interferes (especially if you're a mom).  Satan still whispers that you need this or that instead--maybe not as loud as when you first began your habit quest, but rest assured, he's still there, making ugly.

Why must you be so vigilant? It has to do with that beautiful, tragic gift called free will.

I've written before that I'm a Calvinist, basically believing that God chooses us. We don't have the capacity to choose him, as spiritually dead beings.(Feel free to disagree, as always.)

But what about after salvation is secure? Once we're chosen--saved and written in the Book of Life--do we have the capacity to choose God over ourselves?

Let's explore that.

Our salvation awakens our spirit and allows us to hear God.  The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and he whispers guidance.  He nudges us in the right direction.  Our part? Yes, I'll go there.  I'll do that.  I'll say that.  We still must apply ourselves....we still must exert our free will and say....Yes, I'll obey.

Obedience and free will don't act as a team. No surprise there, right? One is always vying for first place.

And yet, nothing good happens in our spiritual lives without the daily practice of dying to self. Obedience knows she must die to self. But free will? She's always looking for a party.

The Holy Spirit reigns in free will. If we let him, he'll channel free will to glorify God.

The problem is that, over time, with complacency, we grow less receptive to the Holy Spirit's nudges, making it harder for Him to affect heart change....making it harder for him to reign in free will.

Without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing. We are nothing. That's why we must keep our ears and our hearts tuned in. That's why it's so crucial that we develop, and keep vigilant about, a prayer and Bible reading habit.  

So the answer to the question: Do we have the capacity to choose God over ourselves once we're saved?

Is yes.....if we're praying and reading the Bible habitually.

Pray for your yes. Pray about your spiritual habits...that the Holy Spirit will reign in your free will. Start your day with words such as these:

Our Father, help me to die to myself today. Help me to choose you all day. Help me to read and pray today, as planned. Increase my sensitivity to your Spirit. 


Notice the as planned part of that prayer. Be intentional. Have a plan, even if it requires (at first) sticky notes in several rooms. For example, in the bathroom, pray for husband...reminded by a sticky note on the mirror. In the kitchen, pray for the kids.....reminded by a sticky note over the sink or the stove. This may sound crazy to those with two kids. But to moms of many (or moms of littles), it isn't crazy.

Crazy is the number of times they've fluffed their husband's work shirts, due to all the interruptions.

The number of kids you have, the number of years or months between them, and the age of the youngest, will determine how innovative you must be. Caring for a baby and a two year old at the same time is probably the most challenging. I've done it twice. My prayers are with you on that.

But don't wait on this. Sit down with your husband and brainstorm ways you can make prayer and Bible reading habitual. I could give you more specifics, but each family situation is too unique. I think your husband would be better at helping you come up with strategies. Plus, you'll need his help with the kids, probably, to make your spiritual practices habitual. Bring him into the equation now, because after all, he's your spiritual leader, not some mommy-blogger wannabe.

Your ability to choose Him daily...to hear Him...to obey Him, depends on it.

Tears of Hope

I just couldn't carve out any writing time last night.  That always discourages me.  Writing ministers to me, somehow.

The answers to the literary questions are posted in yesterday's comments. I'll have time to write an Author's Corner post soon--not that it matters so much, I know.

This morning, as one side of the french toast grilled, I read this.  It's the latest of Kristen Welsh's African updates.  Yes, her kidneys healed, and she just concluded her amazing time in Africa.  The last day brought buckets of tears.

Now I know why I had no writing time last night.  It was because God wanted her post to spread like wildfire, changing hearts everywhere.

Please read it.  It is so powerful (and not long at all--many pictures, fewer words).  I hesitate to copy and paste it here, as it contains pictures of her visit with one of her sponsored children.  Seems inappropriate to repost it here.

Name That Novel

At the writing of my last Author's Corner, we were just starting Miss Hickory, by Caroline Sherwin Bailey--a 1946 novel that won a 1947 Newberry Medal. It's very imaginative, entertaining, delightful......until the end.  When I read the very last page, and turned the page to find no more story, I was shocked.
 


What....that's the end?  Who ends a book like that?   For kids?  Who. does. that?  (I said none of this in audible tones--it was dismay all in my head.)

My son Paul looked at me, started crying, and said, "That's all there is!?"  I tried to stay calm and cool, not really saying what I thought.  I'm a happy ending kinda gal, but I don't want to project that propensity onto my children. Plus, Peter hadn't reacted yet.  I didn't want to influence him one way or the other.

Turns out, Peter just accepted the ending.  No problem.  Meanwhile, Paul, who must be a happy ending kinda guy, got real mad at the author....stomping to the bathroom to brush his teeth for bed, crying in frustration.

The fact that Paul was so affected hints at how much he loved Miss Hickory, the main character.  He did love her.  She was spunky, bossy, full of reprimands.....yet caring too.  Her antics and her commentary entertained, as did the details of her hard winter, passed in a borrowed robin's nest.

I hesitate to say too much about these books, lest I ruin the story for someone.  You'll like Miss Hickory, sure enough--especially if you like nature--but if you prefer happy endings.....well, don't bother with this one then.  The ending is more bizarre than sad, but it leaves you with the same emptiness.

Just ask Paul.

The next day I searched our bookshelves for another Newberry winner.  My goal is to read all of them aloud before the kids grow up...or at least, all of the morally acceptable ones. We had some with content too mature for their ages (like Jacob Have I Loved), which I need to read first before approving (Did anyone read that one?  I read mixed reviews on Amazon), and then some with a grade level too low, technically speaking, to be a read aloud.

One library in the area places all the Newberry and Caldecott winners in one bookshelf.  I love that!  So easy.  But I couldn't get there in time for the night's storytime, so I settled on a short fourth grade book we had at home.

I'll give you some hints and a passage.  See if you can guess the novel.

On a night when the moon gazed down like an evil eye, the young prince appeared in Jemmy's chamber.

"Boy!  I need a manservant."

Jemmy saw that the prince was wearing a black cloak and carrying a wicker basket the size of a sea chest.  "What you up to now?  Walkin' in your royal sleep, are you?"

"I'm running away."

Hints:  adventure, comedy, humor, fables, folktales and myths, won a Newberry Medal in the 1980's, 4th grade equivalent, three words in the title

Can you name that novel?

Following that short book, we started another Newberry winner, which we're nearly done with.  Here is an excerpt:

Rachel and Jerry were in the habit of having discussions as to what was the most important of anything--the most important, or the prettiest, or the best, or the funniest.  For instance, in the dictionary, almost their only picture book except for Mr. Pye's books of birds, they had excited discussions over which was the prettiest fish on the shiny colored page of fish, or the prettiest bird, or butterfly.  One favorite discussion of theirs was the one they had whenever they played train, calling out like conductors, "New York to Boston!"  Which was more important, they asked one another, New York or Boston?
"New York," Jerry would say.  "Because it has the Museum of Natural History in it."
"Boston," said Rachel.  "Because it sounds more important."
"Why?"
"It just does."
Rachel couldn't explain the reason she thought Boston sounded more important than New York, but it probably had something to do with the roundness of the letters, the B and the o's.  For the same reason she thought London sounded more important than Paris, though Paris sounded prettier.  Sometimes, since Jerry was one year older than she, she wondered if she, too, should not say, "New York."  Still, to her, Boston sounded rounder, bigger, more solid--more important.

Hints:  Won a Newberry medal in the 1950's, mostly because it so beautifully, so accurately, captures the essence of childhood.  No, it doesn't move at an exciting pace, and the sentences are long, even sometimes awkward.  But it deserves to be a classic, nonetheless.  The story never leaves the head of a nine- or ten-year-old.  Brilliant!  Set in a typical, 1950's middle-class neighborhood.  Contains an endearing, hilariously funny, church pew dusting scene.

Can you name that novel?

Rejoicing, Thanking

Colossians 2:7

Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

My Gratitude List

~ Lying down to nurse the two year old at noon everyday

~ Usborne Art books 

~ Paul's insatiable desire to create art

~ Reading about how the Groves family is enjoying the littlest Groves

~ My husband has that new job, after one more formality (hiring committee getting final approval from board)

~ Hard hallelujah for how poverty messes with your mind (one step forward, two steps sideways, one step back, never really getting anywhere)  Please pray for an issue with the van?  Thank you.

~ Understanding firsthand the hopelessness of poverty, and the message it conveys

~ Knowing my hope is in Christ, in heaven, and not here....that I'm a pilgrim here

~ Kids playing ice hockey on the table with their newest ice ball

~ Husband running out of gas on the freeway and Mary having a good attitude about us leaving our just-served dinner to take him a can of gasoline (twenty-five minutes away).  I was irritated (knowing this was an ADHD thing, like the keys), but Mary was excited about "rescuing" him. "We're heroes...coming to the rescue!" By the time we got there, we were all happy to be his heroes.  He got tears in his eyes at the wild grace of a four year old. And I got tears because of his tears, and because of Mary's contagious sunshine. (She still whines plenty, but that contrasts with her other, joyful self.)

~ Having disabilities in the house calls for wild grace.  We are all learning, slowly.....but it is good.

~ A tie with Paul in checkers....three kings to three kings.  His strategy?  Keep moving around, going nowhere but staying safe, until the opponent gets so board (pardon the pun) with the game that she lets him jump all her kings......just to get it over with.  Phew!  That boy is very competitive!  I am not, and I hate board games really.  I have to force myself not to let him win early (he's pretty skilled).  He would figure me out and be disappointed.  Nothing makes Paul feel more loved than having a board-game companion.  It's true, isn't it, that most kids feel more loved by our companionship, than by our housekeeping?  That's hard when chores are piled up, but we have to keep reminding ourselves of it.

~ The new job means no more night work....leaving house at 7:15 AM, returning 6:40 PM, Mon.- Fri., along with five hours on Saturday morning.  A day and a half off!  An answer to prayer!

~ Next week is VBS and I work the nursery.....holding a six-month-old baby for five evenings!  Yeah!

~ Prior to today, Mary (age 4.5) made people with large heads--arms and legs coming out of the head.  Her brothers chuckled at these creatures, calling them "head bags".  A few days ago I gave Mary a triangle block to trace under her circle heads, so her people could have bodies (I called them dresses).  With that, she learned to put the appendages in the right places.  Today she made her first person, correctly, without any shapes to trace.  Her brothers were very happy for her, congratulating her and telling her, "Hey, that's a real person!  Not a headbag!" She was so proud!

~ Another mother of four young'uns decided to make Tuesday her library day.  I "chase" my two year old around the children's section (her youngest is in a stroller), so we couldn't visit much.....but I look forward to getting to know her better.

~ Three years ago I probably would have told you I wanted to get out of poverty so we could do more, have more--provide more opportunities for our kids.  Now, I can say without hesitation:  I want to get out of poverty so we can give more!  That's what the Holy Spirit does to the human heart! Don't lament too much when trials come......for they produce fruit.

Trust. Wait on Him.  Keep your eyes heavenward, while giving thanks for the blessings before you.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

The Plot Thickens For Shaun Groves

The plot thickened very recently in regards to Shaun Grove's new album. It's now a crucial fundraiser!  Since it won't be played on the radio or sold in stores, his loyal fans are key in bringing in the financial harvest.

Some time ago, Shaun and his wife decided to be obedient to God's word in regards to the global orphan crisis. And, oh my.  It is a crisis!  I'll write more about the orphan crisis soon.

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


Isaiah 1:17
learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.


Romans 2:13
For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

Anyhow, they thought they had six months to a year to come up with the many thousands of dollars it takes to adopt internationally.  I've heard numbers such as $40,000, but I don't know if it will reach that high in Shaun's case. I can't imagine it being much less.

Yesterday, they picked up a four-year-old boy who needed immediate placement.  All details have to stay under wrap, since it's an extremely unusual case.  I can't wait to see what God has done!

Read more about it here:  This Much I Can Tell You

And here are some excerpts from his post, for those of us who never have time for links.  These excerpts aren't going to flow together, mind you, since this isn't all the post.  I just chose a couple paragraphs:

The story of how he came to us is truly remarkable but can’t be told. We also won’t be posting his picture or his name anywhere either. All this secrecy because this is no ordinary adoption. In fact, this is such an unordinary set of circumstances that our agency, attorneys and his country are figuring out together, as I type, exactly how to proceed from here.

Here’s what I can tell you. And this is important. We need your prayers. They work!

He’s not officially our son yet. There is much work to be done by many wise and compassionate people on both sides of an ocean.

See, because we thought we had another six months to a year of this adoption process, we had budgeted accordingly. And because this child needs stability and routine very much right now, I will likely be canceling appearances for the next couple weeks or more – not ideal financially but the best for him. Now, we don’t know, but it is highly likely that we will need adoption funds much sooner than we’d anticipated – and possibly more than we’d originally thought too.

So, we’re not asking for donations. We’re not having a garage sale. (Yet.) We’re simply asking that you continue to champion this record, Third World Symphony, across the internet and in the real world too. It won’t be in stores. It won’t be on the radio. So, you are our marketing strategy…and now you are our adoption fundraising team. There’s not a better one in the world!

Listen to the album below or at soundcloud.com. And pre-order the CD today at shaungroves.com/store or buy from iTunes starting August 30th, 2011.