Tag Archives: Christ

Sometimes all ya need is a lil light

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Admittedly, I’ve been somewhat of a downer today. The first day of Bella not being here I am sulky and tend to pout. SO, I think you all deserve a burst of sunshine! I mean, it’s the least I can do for my faithful and trusted readers.

I have this friend, Courtney. She is the kind of mom that other kids see and wish they had.  (No offense to all of the boring, less awesome moms out there.) This girl is stellar. Not only is she a rock-star mama (see picture below of the shaving cream art on the mirror), she is also one of the most creative people I know, turning the ordinary everyday into extra-ordinary masterpieces. I don’t know how she does it, but she does! It’s something we can all strive for.

So today I am cruising her website looking for her site button to add to my blog, only I keep seeing posts that draw me in and before long I forget what I am looking for. I’m downloading free printables and commenting on the priceless knowledge that she and several other incredible women are pouring out on the page FOR FREE! Did I mention that this wealth of information is all in one place for FREE. (Just didn’t want you to miss that.)
You will find links to each pdf at the end of this post, but you MUST visit her website to find these…
                   ABC Scripture Cards
             My Lil Money Jars TM

Look at this oh~so~fun way of displaying the cards…


There are also great ideas on praying for our children. This one is my favorite from Ashley…

Click on the links to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Here she is! The beautiful…the talented…the incredible…Courtney. Though I rarely tell her, she inspires me to be more. Not to settle for mediocre motherhood. I admit, there are times that I am envious of her creativity, her remarkable skills, her beauty inside and out. And then she will post something about how “normal” she is. It gives me hope and also challenges me to look outside of myself and walk alongside not only other mamas, but women from all walks of life who just need to know that they are not alone. She is the epitome of the woman described in Proverbs 31:10~31  

Get to know her. You will be better for it!

Click here for Courtney’s contact info. If you just can’t wait the time it takes to click a link, have a page load, click another link, wait for another page to load…visit her on our favorite social media site by clicking the icons…

Here are those super spectacular pdf. docs I was telling you about.
My Lil Money Jars Tracking Sheet ~ Blank
My Lil Money Jars Tracking Sheet ~ Sample
Conversations For Lil Ones
Fun With Scripture Memory
Ron Blue On Money Management
Light ‘Em Up ~ List Of Ideas
Light ‘Em Up ~ Family Planning Tool
Light ‘Em Up ~ Gift Tags
Mom, Will You Just Play With Me!
Clean Slate Club Plan

The Shadows

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Lord, I have cried out
pleading throughout the night
for Your provision
guidance and
serenity

I lay before you now
downtrodden
face to the ground
acutely aware of how unworthy I am

To even be in Your presence is
so much more than I deserve
and yet, You know that
it is the only thing sustaining me

God, I am afraid
though You clearly say that
I am not to fear what man can do
I tremble at the possibilities
that mere humans hold over me

I was so sure
Lord, was it too much
was it too little
was it all an illusion

I am angry
search me
and reveal what is in me
that’s being allowed to rise up and steal my joy

I am sad
fill me
replace my sorrow with
the security of Your faithfulness

I am confused
breathe clarity
into my circumstances
so that more will be revealed

What I once thought was silence
I now know is peace
I feel Your presence
as You lead me to the cross

That sacred ground where you took upon yourself all the evil of the world
as you were nailed to a tree created by your hands
how can I even think of
continuing to carry anything but forgiveness

You are good
even in the uncertainty of this life
You are the only honorable part
of the story

You alone know my heart
You see the ugliness that festers
I am unable to change that
without Your divine intervention

You are God
and
I am not
Thy will be done

1-Minute Meditation: Awareness

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“God made the world for the delight of human beings–
if we could see His goodness everywhere, His concern for us,
His awareness of our needs: the phone call we’ve waited for, the ride we are offered,
the letter in the mail, just the little things He does for us throughout the day.
As we remember and notice His love for us, we just begin to fall in love with Him because He is so busy with us — you just can’t resist Him.
I believe there’s no such thing as luck in life, it’s God’s love, it’s His.”

Mother Teresa, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (pronounced [aɡˈnɛs ˈɡɔndʒa bɔjaˈdʒiu]),
was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun who founded the
Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta), India in 1950.
For over forty years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying,
while guiding the Missionaries of Charity’s expansion,
first throughout India and then in other countries.

For source of information click here

Sanctuary

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Father, here I am
exposed
my petitions laid out before You
as a day of uncertainty is dawning

It is You whom I trust
not I
I grow weary at the slightest task
Your strength endures

My heart is heavy with my will
it longs to delight in Yours
though You remain silent
the peace from Your faithfulness
calms my restless mind

Speak into my being
I beg You
search me
reveal where faith is lacking

I trust You
my Savior
I need You
my Deliverer

This world and all of its wickedness
has filled my dreams throughout the night
until I awoke
heart pounding
gasping for a breath of truth

Here I am
pensive
deficient
exhausted from a night of wrestling darkness

I come to this place
before dawn
between sleep and the demands of the day
my quiet sanctuary

Where else would I go
my King
my Lord
my Redeemer
You are all there is

1-Minute Meditation: Merton Prayer

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In Thoughts in Solitude, Part Two,
Chapter II consists of fifteen lines that have become known as
“the Merton Prayer.”

“MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and
the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that
I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and
you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

– Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude”
© Abbey of Gethsemani
Thomas Merton
1915 ~ 1968

The Merton Prayer Translated Into Other Languages

Spanish Merton Prayer
Dios, Señor Mío, no tengo idea de adónde voy. No veo el camino ante mí. No puedo saber con certeza dónde terminará. Tampoco me conozco realmente, y el hecho de pensar que estoy siguiendo tu voluntad no significa que en realidad lo esté haciendo. Creo que el deseo de agradarte, de hecho te agrada. Y espero tener ese deseo en todo lo que hago. Espero que nunca haré algo apartado de ese deseo. Y sé que si hago esto me llevarás por el camino correcto, aunque yo no sepa nada al respecto. Por lo tanto, confiaré en ti aunque parezca estar perdido a la sombra de la muerte. No tendré temor porque estás siempre conmigo, y nunca dejarás que enfrente solo mis peligros. ···

– Thomas Merton, “Pensamientos en la Soledad”
© Abbey of Gethsemani

Portuguese Merton Prayer
SENHOR, MEU DEUS, não tenho idéia para onde estou indo. Não vejo o caminho adiante de mim. Não posso saber com certeza onde terminará. Nem sequer, em verdade, me conheço. E o fato de eu pensar que estou seguindo tua vontade, não significa que realmente o esteja. Mas acredito que o desejo de te agradar te agrada, de fato. E espero ter esse desejo em tudo que estiver fazendo. Espero jamais vir a fazer alguma coisa distante desse desejo. E sei que, se agir assim, tu hás de me levar pelo caminho certo, embora eu possa nada saber sobre o mesmo. Portanto, hei de confiar sempre em ti, ainda que eu possa parecer estar perdido e sob a sombra da morte. Não hei de temer, pois tu sempre estás comigo, e nunca hás de deixar que eu enfrente meus perigos sozinho.

– Thomas Merton Na liberdade da soli

French Merton Prayer
Seigneur mon Dieu, je ne comprends pas du tout où je vais. Je ne vois pas la route devant moi. Je ne puis savoir avec certitude où elle aboutira. Je ne me connais pas non plus en réalité, et le fait que je pense me conformer à Votre volonté ne produit ni ne signifie mon obéissance effective. Mais je crois que le désir de Vous plaire Vous plaît en effet. Et j’espère avoir ce désir en toutes mes actions. J’espère ne jamais rien faire sans ce désir. Je sais que si j’agis ainsi Vous me conduirez par le droit chemin, même si je n’en sais rien. Aussi mettrai-je toujours ma confiance en Vous, même si je me crois perdu et dans l’ombre de la mort. Je ne craindrai pas, car Vous êtes toujours avec moi, et Vous ne me laisserez jamais seul en face du danger. ···

– Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude”
© Abbey of Gethsemani
© by Edition d’Histoire et d”Art por la traduction française

Swahili Merton Prayer
Bwana Munga Wangu, sijui niendako, nashindwa kuiona njia mbele yangu, wala siwezi kujua kwa hakika kwanba njia hiyo itakomea wapi. Kwa kweli hata mimi mwenyewe sijifahamu, na yale ambayo nafikiri nafanya kufuatana na mapenzi yako, inaonekana sina hakika nayo. Lakini naamini kwamba tamaa ya kukupendeza wewe kwa kweli ninayao. Natumaini kwamba ninayo tamaa hiyo katika yote nifanyayo. Naamini kwamba sitafanya lolote nje ya tamaa hiyo, na kamwe sitafanya hivyo. Wewe utaniongoza katika njia iliyo sawa ingawa sijui lo lote. Kwa hiyo nitnakuamini daima ingawa naweza kuonekana kupotea katika kivuli cha mauti. Sitaogopa kamwe kwa kuwa wewe upo pamoja nami daima, na wala hutaniacha katika hatari peke yangu. Amina.

Translated from English into Swahili by Sr. Christa Kimashi & Sr. Frieda Kisaka

For more translations click here

Related Posts:
1-Minute Meditation: Brennan Manning
1-Minute Meditation: Wendy Moore
Scriptures for a Sound Mind

For the Father of my Children: A Prayer

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God, I approach the throne of grace filled with gratitude and thanksgiving.
When I think of what you have made from my ruin, I am overwhelmed in the best sense of the word.

Please hear my prayer before you now. May it rise up and be pleasing to your ears.
Thank you for blessing me with a strong man. Not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.

Thank you for his hands that provide, his heart that loves and his faithfulness of soul.

God, I want to be the woman who exceeds his expectations, compliments his nature and provides a sanctuary for him to return home to after a long day’s work.
Whenever my name is on his lips, may it be sweet like honey and evoke peace of mind.
I cannot do this without your help. I have tried. I am so ill-equipped, Lord. I am selfish and self serving. My ways are not your ways and left to my own devices, I will fail.

Please place your hand in this marriage.
In our coming and going.
In our conversation.
In every interaction.
Take captive every thought, every gesture, every action and be glorified through it.

Command my words. Remove my breath before I speak anything other than admiration for listening ears to hear. I release my inadequacies from having any power over my ability to show love for this man.

Prevent any and all resentment, bitterness, anger, unforgiving or hurtful thing from welling up inside of me with the potential to harm. I know that these things are not from you. They originate and feed in darkness. Shine your light brightly into every crevice of my being. Expel any and all wrongful accusations and doubts.

Graciously remind me that this man has fought for me in every way possible and would give his very life to protect me. May I treat him as the Champion that he is, building him up and removing any doubt of my loyalty, respect and deep appreciation for the man that he is.

The strength, passion and love that he bestows is, at times, difficult for me to accept. Strip me of insecurities and may I never take the rarity of his devotion for granted.

Open my eyes to the things I am missing.
Help me listen more and speak less.
Remove any toxic tendencies that would cause me to blame him for self inflicted wounds or those projected onto me by others.

Provide the words when needed to disagree.
May they be respectful and from a place of kindness and love.

God, I am not perfect, nor is he.
We are, however, perfect for each other.
May our love, friendship, family, parenting, faith and work, echo your promises and reflect your grace.

Thank you for these children who have been entrusted to us.
May we parent in such a way that they never question our love for you, our love for each other and our love for them.
May there be more beauty than pain,
more happiness than sorrow,
more thanksgiving than complaining,
more prayer than worry,
more fond memories than remorse,
more love than not.

You are faithful. You are lovely. You are holy.
May all the praise, honor and glory be yours in our fleeting time on this earth and continue throughout eternity with you, Jesus.

In your name I pray all of these things.
Amen

Come to the Edge

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These early morning encounters with my Savior have become sacred.
I never would have thought that being awakened before dawn would be something I cherished or even welcomed. However, now in these moments, it feels like a personal invitation from the King to come and sit in His presence.

I have been meditating on a quote that I first heard from my dad when I was much younger. It’s by Guillaume Apollinaire;
“‘Come to the edge,’ he said.
They said, ‘We are afraid.’
‘Come to the edge,‘ he said.
They said, ‘We will fall.’
‘Come to the edge,’ he said.
They came.
He pushed them
and they flew.”

There is an edge in my life right now.
One that could be a place of great clarity and promise.
But I’m afraid.
So I sit here in the silence of early morning and ask the Father for guidance.
There is a beautiful stillness,
A comforting acknowledgement,
A desire just to be in His presence, soaking up His faithfulness.

It is a place where the only requirement is that I show up.
Nothing is demanded of me. Nothing.
There is perfect peace as I listen to the symphony of nature just outside the window.

I bring this internal stirring to the One who knows me best.
I lay it at His feet.
I will wait for direction
and in the meantime I will rest in the evidence all around and inside
of His provision, unrelenting grace and love without conditions.

Have you come to the edge of something potentially wonderful? What’s holding you back?