Prayerful insights

I've been studying a book:  Prayer by Philip Yancey.
This is probably the 4th or 5th time that I have gone through this book.
It never gets old.
These human reminders of why?  how?
So many great stories, examples, little tidbits, and quotes.
I love it and recommend it!

Right now I'm in the chapter about unanswered prayer.
It's probably the most difficult topic surrounding prayer.
A few of the notes I jotted down:

*pray for companionship, not petition.  God knows.
*God's ways are not our ways.
*prayer changes us, not God.

So, my thoughts are that we just have to trust..........but it was still confusing, even unsettling at times.
Then last night I received a text asking me to pray for a young mother who has received a cancer diagnosis.  And at that moment a thought entered my mind....

            When we pray for healing, our prayer is ALWAYS answered!

God spoke this to me!  I heard this thought and began to explore it using everything I know to be true about God and His promises. 

This world is not our home.  This life is the journey, not the destination.  These are two truths that I cling to!

So if we suffer a serious illness or accident, and prayers for healing are sent up and our earthly bodies die anyway;  OUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!  We are home!  Completely healed!

And if we recover and our earthly bodies live on, Our prayers have also been answered!  We continue our journey!

It's hard to see and understand things from God's perspective.  We aren't meant to.  We need to trust in His perfect plans. 

But there is a peace in KNOWING  that God does answer prayers.

lets ramble on......

i really want to blog more.  its not that i don't have anything to say.  i have lots to say.  some of it a lot of people don't want to hear.

i'm a square peg that doesn't even try to fit into a round hole.  screw it.

get it?

my mind works in mysterious ways.......

i can't think of anything i've been thinking about blogging about.  i need one of those little mini voice recorders so i can talk to myself.  i think of topics and usually its when i'm not near a pen paper.  i've got notes in my phone.  but my phone is way over.....

there.

so i'm just going to ramble for today.

i'm going to tell you a little about my hopes and dreams for this day (since its just 8:19 am)

i woke up at 5:30 this morning.  the time change has me off a bit.  i want to go with it.  i accomplish so much more when i get up really early.  i've been a lazy butt in the mornings lately.   it's jeff's fault.

did my bible study.  i'm in matthew 20: 1-16.  it's not about senority or time invested:  it's about God's grace.  that's it.  He is the boss and He can do whatever He wants, who are we to question God?

went on facebook for a bit....tried not to tick anyone off.  that is hard for me.  bite your tongue, karen.

cleaned up bubby's hideout.  thats what i'm calling my craft room now.  i'm a messy doer.  eventually you can't think amongst the mess, so you have to just DO IT!!!

i discovered that i could plug my kindle into the little tiny speakers the kids left behind when they all abandoned me (got married and moved out).  now i can listen to my music on pandora a lot louder down there in bubbys hideout.

i've had my second cup of coffee and breakfast.  for anyone that is interested breakfast was two whole grain toast with cottage cheese and homemade cranberry preserves.  yum!

now.....onto plans for the whole big rest of the day.
clean and straighten
pray
walk
pray
at least one hour of outdoor cleanup (garage, compost, or garden)
pray
at least two hours of wood cutting and brush piling
pray
crafting!
pray
grocery list
pray
no cooking (leftovers for dinner) yes!!!!!!!!!!!!
working on november activities for ethan.
pray

i'm going to remember this:  in all things i do i will try to glorify God.  in my thoughts, actions, deeds, words...everything i do.
i will fail.....God knows this.  And He loves me.  and He helps me.  And He won't let me just be.  He won't let me continue to fail.  He will help me over and over and over again.  Because He is just that awesome of a Father.

so..........

i will try to think of some really interesting topics because i seriously would like to blog more often.
thanks for listening to me ramble.

step one

step one

these are the 20 week ultrasound pictures of my five precious grandsons

i've always kept them on the table next to my bed.

i've moved them to a shelf in the livingroom where i will see them all day long.

and where everyone who comes into my home will see them.  

i've printed out and framed this prayer

this is step one.

watching a video of a pastor preaching about abortion

he said these undercover videos of planned parenthood employees talking about selling dead baby parts  ......had undone him..........

i'm undone too.  saying i'm prolife is no longer enough. just wearing a tee shirt with a logo is not enough.  i have never done enough.  i have never prayed enough.  i have never spoken out enough.

55 million dead babies since roe v wade.  not to mention the one who died before.

if thats not bad enough.....if killing your child is not bad enough.....dealing in dead baby parts....

i'm rambling

my thoughts are all over the place, but my focus right now is going to be on prayers.

God is showing me that i can't be silent.  i know that. i've been silent too long.  

55 million.  just think about that............

some of those 55 million are family members.  and i was silent.   

i don't yet know what i'm going to do.  

people have been praying, protesting, loving

and yet 55 million dead  and no remorse.

*disclaimer for anyone who is wondering:  i have never had an abortion and when i say family i am referring to my extended family, not my children.

Day #8 not being judgemental

not be judgemental?

is it even possible?

even when we think we are not.

we are.

i do it all the time.

i judge people by the car they drive:  crappy old clunker must be a welfare mom on her way to walmart.     brand new lexus must be a snooty rich lady on her way to get her nails done.

i judge people by what they are wearing (i'd hate to think what my attire speaks to others, ugh)

i judge people by what they do and what they don't do

i judge people by all sorts of standards.

i think its human nature to draw conclusions about people when you don't know much about them.

doesn't make it right and it's totally unproductive.

i personally have been working on it.

my being judgemental, that is.

when you stop to realize that everyone else is just like me. with a story.  good or bad or somewhere in between.

everybody comes from somewhere and everybody is going somewhere.

why are we here?

i've found that answer for myself.  isn't it my obligation to help someone else discover that answer?

and how can i do that if i don't get past the facades of life?

my first step on this journey?

prayer.

instead of my first reaction to someone being to judge them.  i pray for them.  i lift them up to God and ask for a blessing for them.

whether it's a coworker, or someone you pass in walmart regularly (that happens a lot here in maine!), or a stranger walking down the road.

pray for them.

it's like giving them a gift

and receiving one yourself