Category: PrayerPoints

The pause that refreshes!

Instead of doing a little bit each day, we have chosen to travel by doing some really big days with at least a full day off. Yesterday was a big day. We crossed another time zone and traveled through some barren lands in west Texas. The soil turned red and then changed to sandy. There was flat land and then some hills. I even got a notification on my phone about the phone rates in Mexico. We weren’t quite in Mexico, but we were close. When we arrived in Silver City, New Mexico we were very happy to find our hotel and get out of the vehicle. We needed to stretch! Thankfully, we won’t have another really long day in the car until next Monday but we will have full days between now and then. While we are in this area of the U.S. we want to explore. New Mexico and Arizona are new states for me so I am pretty excited!

Sometimes, the journey we are on is full of long days and we need to create our places where we take a break. There is only so far we can drive; only so much we can negotiate. Going further and faster isn’t something everyone can do. It all depends on our goal for the journey but our bodies, minds, souls, and hearts need a break and need to be refreshed.

Where can we go for refreshment?

 

CWwGod’s Word refreshes! God’s Word can provide encouragement for any journey. Even though The Book was written so many years before my life, I am always amazed at how His words can convict, comfort, and cleanse me!

God built in rest for us as through the Sabbath. Sadly, it is too easy in our world to be so caught up in achieving bigger, better, and more that we skip the Sabbath and wonder why we are exhausted. But as we turn our attention to God, we gain His perspective.

Heavenly Father – Draw me to you. Your refreshment is vital to my life! Amen.

On the Road,

Liz

A Step Ahead

In the book of Acts, Barnabas mentors Paul. Later, Paul mentors Timothy. There is always someone ahead of you on the road in life and there is always someone coming up behind you on the path.

Are you willing to share what you’ve learned?

If you know of a great spot to stop or an important place to avoid, you probably share that information with someone who is looking for recommendations. In life, there are many opportunities to give someone a “heads up” as they are on their way. Sometimes it’s encouragement and other times it is a word of caution. Maybe all you can do is listen and pray for them.

Are you willing to learn from others?

Likewise, there are times you are in a place where you can look to others who have been on a similar road. Maybe you are dealing with a wayward child, an aging parent, or a difficult crossroad in life – do you seek wise counsel? It may be that all they can do is listen and pray for you. But being heard and prayed for might be just what you need to provide encouragement for your journey.

At any point in life we can encourage, caution, and take heed. There is always someone who has been where we are going. And there is always someone who is headed to the place we just came through.

God loves when we care enough for His people to share His love and grace and promises with them. We might only be “a step ahead” but sometimes our presence is all the encouragement someone needs!

Heavenly Father ~ help me to listen to those ahead and be willing to share Your good words with those who are coming up from behind! Amen.

On the Road!      ~ Liz

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On Being Prepared

When we headed out on this trip we left winter in New York. I knew we were going to warmer weather so I didn’t pack a lot of clothes for cold temperatures. Sometimes, what it’s like where you have been isn’t at all how it will be where you are going.

Do you need what you have?

Do you have what you need?

What is essential for the journey? I find that I like to have quite a few things along with me when I travel “just in case”. Trying to be prepared for a trip and all possible scenarios of need can be exhausting. Of course, when I “need” something and I have it along, I am thrilled to know I am prepared. But trying to find it in the special place I tucked it away? Good luck! There is nothing worse than being prepared but being unable to find the item.

Is it possible to prepare for every potential situation?

I try to make sure I have the basics and then be resourceful with what I have. But there are too many times I rely on my preparedness instead of relying on God and His provisions. I need to trust that God’s provisions will be enough to meet the needs of the day.

What is it you need for today?

I loved the reminder that showed up for me this morning. I was searching for the word “need” in the Bible and this verse from Exodus made an appearance:

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

I know that “being still” is a challenge for me which is why it is a focus for me during this Lenten season. Have you settled on a verse or two to focus on? Have you had the principles for those verses show up in unexpected places?

Heavenly Father, help me to accept Your provisions for this day. Amen.

On the Road,

Liz

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Delays, Detours, and Disappointments

smallwaterfallpp I love when a new opportunity comes about that I can take advantage of. It usually isn’t something in the original itinerary – more of a last minute addition that we decide to explore. It is usually a fun, little surprise. But unplanned detours and delays are not exactly my cup-o-tea – especially if I have a timeline I am trying to accommodate! What about you?

How do you deal with delays, detours, and disappointments?

Usually, my biggest concern is with losing time and getting off track. I don’t mind being flexible when I have planned for it but when there is a place I really want to get to and I am delayed or, heaven forbid, prevented from reaching the destination altogether, I can get a bit cranky.

But if I am teachable in the midst of unmet expectations, I can learn a lot.

I don’t often knowingly choose the difficult road, though sometimes a life detour takes me there. But a lot can be learned from a delay. A new vision can come from a detour. A richer relationship with God can come from disappointment.

I am thankful God redeems my life. If I look back through the years, some of His deepest provisions for me came to me through delays, detours, and disappointments that were not in my plan.

Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5 NIV

Heavenly Father—thank you for providing for me in the delays, detours, and disappointments in order for me to see You at work and have a deeper relationship with You!

On the Road,

Liz

Time Zones

zoneswAs we are out and about we are going through different time zones. We left New York on Tuesday and will ultimately end up in Arizona. When I text or call people as I travel,  I really need to think more about what time it is where the person is I am trying to connect with.

I often turn my phone on silent at night so my sleep doesn’t get disturbed but I have run into a lot of people who keep their phone on all the time so they can hear texts and phone calls in case of an emergency. But, if I wake up at 4am and piddle around and then send a text to someone at 6am my time, it might be only 5am their time! I have done it a time or two. For those of you who have been disturbed by this, I am so very sorry! Believe me, I am the last person who wants to disturb anyone’s sleep!

Have you ever thought of an important message you wanted to share with someone else but it wasn’t the right “time” for them to hear it?

There are times we communicate with people who are not quite awake or ready to receive the message. Maybe they are in a different zone or station in life or maybe they don’t see where their path is headed (even though others around them see things seem to be going in a dangerous direction). Our message might be heard too early to be heeded or too late to make a difference.

Prayerfully consider your timing as you contemplate the messages you send. And, above all, pray for God’s discernment on what to say and when. Timing is often important! Just because you are in a good “zone” for conversation does not guarantee the other person is.

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

On the Road,

Liz

Old Doors and New Views

 

olddoorwsSometimes we don’t notice the things around us until we see them in a different context or from a new vantage point. How we see things and what we see are very dependent on where we are at the moment and where we are looking. Knowing that about ourselves is important.

When it comes to matters of life and faith, it is important to have a few solid Christians to talk with and get their perspective on tricky matters. We might not be able to see our options. We might not be able to understand how someone we care about could make such terrible choices. We might be unwilling to consider a different perspective on a matter without the help of someone we trust to show us another way of looking at things. We can benefit from one another’s life experiences and perspective, particularly if we are navigating through a difficult time.

It is even more important to consider God’s perspective through His Word and through a healthy, trained pastor. 

Sometimes the very things that have been around us for many years have been overlooked because they have always just been a part of the picture. As you travel through life, look around. Look up. Look down. Take time to absorb where you are. Be open to seeing situations from a different point of view.

Ask God to give you fresh eyes for your circumstances.

And if you chose a verse to ponder, I would love to see it!

On the Road,

Liz

Are you coming or going?

I was thinking about the verse I want to rest upon during Lent. There will be a lot of movement in my life in the upcoming months so this one seems appropriate:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

And this one is always good to keep in mind because while we are not “of this world” we certainly are here in this world for a purpose:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

But here is where I have settled:

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We are often coming and going and not taking enough time to reflect, rest, and be restored. The focus for 2017 Lenten PrayerPoints will be devotional thoughts that relate to being “On the Road”.  Certainly, a part of traveling means rest and standing still. Sometimes we choose our times of “still” and other times we do not. “Being still” might be an uncomfortable place to be–especially if someone is known as a “doer”.

If you decide to have a verse or chapter or book of the Bible to focus on during this season of Lent, I would love to hear what it is! Write it out, sketch it out, go to canva.com and create some digital art, or do whatever you need to do to connect with the verse and tuck it away in your heart and mind. And then pay attention! Whenever I do this, I see God’s connecting points for me in conversations with others, in sermons, in songs, and in my life. Ruminating on Scripture is always a good idea.

I am praying for all of us as we journey with God and spend time with Him during this season. May He find hearts willing to learn, grow, and change to reflect His love and grace and forgiveness more accurately. As we travel through life we will meet many travelers. We can give more to others when we ourselves are refreshed.

On the Road!

Liz

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Where are you going?

WHERE are you going?

Where are YOU going?

Where are you GOING?

 

Emphasis makes a big difference in each of those questions. Sometimes we don’t necessarily have an end goal in mind–we are just out and about. Sometimes it’s ok to not know the destination because, truth be told, we often think we have a place where we will end up and we are really disappointed when we don’t ever get there. Or we don’t get there the way we imagined we would.

Sometimes we strive for a goal and find we never get there because we took the wrong path or we had a misinformed goal. For example, if one grows up in a family with a lot of tension or sadness due to money struggles, one might think that amassing a lot of money will lead us to “happiness”. It rarely works that way.

Where do you hope to be and how do you think you might get there?

It is always good to think about our life’s direction in general, but the Lenten season is a great time to consider if we have strayed off the path of forgiveness, grace, mercy, love, service, prayer, kindness, sacrifice, self-control, or [fill in the blank]. Drifting away a bit may not seem so bad when we can see the road but we can quickly lose sight of the road altogether. Sometimes we need to “reset”, get re-oriented, and start again.

GOD’S WORD informs our LIFE and impacts the decisions we make.

So let’s get informed! What does God have to say? Grab your Bible or download a Bible App on your phone. Look for a verse or two you might want to commit to memory during this Lenten season. Write it out on an index card, in your journal, or make a digital image so you can have it on your phone. I would love to see your verse and if you do anything creative with it. Of course, being creative isn’t the point but pondering it is! When we take the time to read God’s Word, ponder, and pray, He changes us. And, we likely will find a new perspective on our travels–both on  where we are going and where we have been.

So, where ‘ya headed?

~ Liz

Quick note: Don and I will be “on the road” and I will be posting things as we travel. We would appreciate your prayers for a safe journey!

 

 

 

PrayerPoint ~ Letting Go and Living

I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life I have held on to things for far too long…

A pair of pants I wore many moons (and sizes ago).

A momento from an old flame.

A wound from a friend.

Disappointment in myself.

Last year, I had the opportunity to help a family member do some purging. If you know me well, you might be laughing because you know I have some purging of my own to do. And I actually am getting around to doing just that! But the stuff seems to multiply quickly if I am not proactive and intentional.  I often set things aside to deal with later and then, when later finally comes around, the opportunity or need has passed. Well, at least, when I make my next pass, it might be easier to toss!

Sometimes I hold onto things because they are interesting, I need to know more about it so I can make a decision, or it is something that needs to be saved. Sometimes I hold onto an item that is simply too difficult to release for any number of reasons. Trust me, the person who has to sort through all your treasures after you die will be thankful if you don’t have lots of piles to sort through. Start purging!

But those old wounds?

Release them!

I don’t know that this can be done on your own.

I know I can’t do it on my own. 

But these things — they need to go! I am pretty sure they can suck the life right out of a person. You’ve seen people that are drained and depressed by old wounds. Their pain is evident.

Do I want to look like that? 

Do I want to LIVE like that?

I don’t.

I can’t.

I can’t because that isn’t living.

I need to place it all “At the Cross” and work through the process of forgiveness!

Below are the lyrics to a song that I have loved for quite some time. The melody is just as sweet.

I know a place, a wonderful place
Where accused and condemned
Find mercy and grace
Where the wrongs we have done
And the wrongs done to us
Were nailed there with Him
There on the cross

At the cross
He died for our sin
At the cross
You gave us life again

Are you holding onto something that you need to let go?

 

PrayerPoints ~ Easter Sunday, March 27th

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Today’s PrayerPoint ~ Psalm 150

He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed! 

Alleluia!

The work of Easter is remembered and celebrated today around the world but Easter is for every day! Jesus saving work is for each of us. Happy Easter today and every day!

“Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.” Psalm 150