Praise Prayer

by Drason

1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Prayer
My heart rejoices in the Lord;
In the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
For I delight in your deliverance.

There is no one holy like the Lord;
There is no one besides you;
There is no rock like our God. (Now I can’t get that song out of my head.)

Do not keep talking so proudly
Or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
For the Lord is a God who knows
And by Him deeds are weighed.

The bows of the warriors are broken,
But those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
But those who were hungry hunger no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
But she who has had many sons pines away.

The Lord brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and He exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust and
Lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes
And has them inherit a throne of honor.

For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
Upon them He has set the world.
He will guard the feet of the saints,
But the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

It is not by strength that one prevails;
Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven;
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

He will give strength to his King
And exalt the horn of His anointed.

Man, we just don’t pray like this anymore. When we pray we usually ask for something. We don’t just pray to praise. There is a paper in Billie’s class that says
C-confess
H-honor
A-ask
T-thank
I was always taught to thank first, then ask, then praise (honor), and to confess somewhere in there if needed. How about just praising? What if every time I called one of my friends it was to ask them for something? Never to just see how they were doing, or to tell them how much I liked them, but just to ask for something? Would they think I loved them? Would they think I cared about them? No. They would probably start wishing that I wouldn’t call. Thankfully God isn’t like that, but I bet He wishes we would just pray for Him every once in a while and not just pray to ask for things. Every once in a while, when everyone is out of the house or wrapped up doing their own things so they don’t interrupt me, I like to just sit down and talk to God about things, just like I would talk to a friend. Nothing necessarily about my life or what I should or shouldn’t do, just talk. About world events, things that are happening in my life, how He is doing, what He is thinking, etc… I am sure He dumbs down His end of the conversation for me, but I really like it. And I am sure He does too. I know this sounds a little feminine but I like to talk. I enjoy talking to Amanda, and Mac, and Marshal, and Mason, and Sam, and Fritz, and Michael, and my grandma, and God. It is nice to have that kind of relationship with Him that I can do that. I think He likes it too.

God, you are the God of justice;
You lift up the deserving and tear down the corrupt.
You are the only righteous judge.

You know everything and see every deed and intention.
Through your wisdom the earth was created. Through Your love are we made whole.
You know every act ever committed, and you lift up and tear down as You see fit.

You are the Lord Almighty. You are the Alpha and Omega. You are the redeemer.
You are.

You are an unblemished lamb and a roaring lion;
The Lord of all that was and is and ever will be.
You give and you take;
You are gentle and strong,
You are the best and see the worst.
Lord, You are my God.
Amen.

Costly friend

Buy some Rogaine - you need some more hair on your head to be attractive, appealing, or even successful

Watch the latest Adam Sandler movie - in theaters soon

***** Financial - spend you money, spend, spend, spend - use the *****Card and get cash back bonus awards

Would you keep around a friend who talked to you like this? Who constantly promoted some new product, service, and made comments like "only the very best people have this - do you have this?" Of course not! But my stupid TV is blaring these messages all the time. The kid channels are worse - less subtle than the adult version of a once bald man now surrounded by babes. The kids channel comes right out and says you're not cool if you don't have this amazing toy, the coolest shoes, the latest video gaming system.
I wonder how much happier I would be without a "friend" that constantly tells me how unworthy everything I own and everything I spend my money on, and even how I look is. Yet almost everyday I invite this into my living room.

Then I remember something Pastor Noel said about how people measure their happiness - He said he had seen a study or read somewhere that people measure their happiness by their stuff compared to their neighbors and friends stuff, if they had the latest iphone, SUV and gadget from an infomercial- then they would be happy - if not - then they would struggle to make more money, so they could spend it all the faster on the latest trend.

Hebrews 13:5&6
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

Philippians 4:11-14
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ,who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

How much does this friend in my living room cost me? Not the monthly bill that I pay to have the service, although that too could be considered, but the cost measured in being satisfied with what I have? How much temptation do I pay to have pumped into my home?
Just some thoughts for today
Amanda

Bulding a Shrine

I like to blog. I like to share things about my family, what is going on in our lives, but this is a shrine.
A shrine is something careful constructed over a long period of time - some would say the building of a shrine is never complete (I can see how a blog would be that way) that those who worship at a shrine are constantly adding to that shrine, leaving offerings. A shrine is a monument to something, it shows devotion of time, money, resources to create an eye catching, worship drawing, all encompassing monument.
So what is this a shrine to? Sometimes I post about quiet times, things I have seen in scripture that spoke to me, and in those moments I was building a shrine to my Creator and Sustainer, adding a little bit here or there as an act of worship or devotion. Other times I have posted things about how God has worked in our lives - singing His praises - I have build a shrine to how Great He is. But then, mixed in with the good Shrine - have been things that we're a shrine to my family, to me, to my opinions. These things have left a bad taste, they have messed up the good shrine and made it a convoluted mess. So today in my quiet time this spoke to me;

Jeremiah 9:23&24

23 This is what the Lord says:

“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,

or the powerful boast in their power,

or the rich boast in their riches.

24 But those who wish to boast

should boast in this alone:

that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord

who demonstrates unfailing love

and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,

and that I delight in these things.

So here is to the end of one shrine and the beginning of a new shrine - one that boasts only in the Lord.

Friends

I ran across this today and I thought I would post it. I am not the type of person who has ever been the most popular or sought after - but I have always had some very close friends. My friend Laurietta comes to mind (among others) - we have been friends since we were in the 5th grade - we have gone through a lot together - I love her so much - my heart hurts when I think about how much she is hurting. She is a true friend, honest, she doesn't pull any punches!, and always there. She is not easily offended - even when a few months ago I wasn't able to drive up to Lima to see her - she wasn't angry, she didn't hold onto a hurt, she called me when she was in Newark and we were able to spend the day together - and I did manage to make it to Lima another day for a visit. I have also been blessed with many other friends, some at church, some from school, some from the time I was a little girl. When I read this tonight I just had to post it, I am so blessed to have such good friends. Thanks to all of you =]

What does the Bible say about friendship?
By Pastor Chuck Lovelady
I will start by describing what friendship is not. Friendship is not using someone to get what you want. If you only hear from somebody when they want something, they are an acquaintance, not a friend. Genuine friendship is not mutual encouragement to do the wrong thing. It is not promoting co-dependence or any other unhealthy behavior. Let’s look at what the Bible says about friendship in the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 27:6, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” A friend will tell you the truth and confront you even if it hurts, because he or she wants what is ultimately best for you. I have a few friends who will tell me when they think I am wrong and they are very valuable to me. When you don’t share your concerns about someone’s direction because of fear of offending them you aren’t being a friend.

A couple years ago a relative told me that her friend was making a terrible mistake by marrying this certain man. I asked her if she had expressed her concern to her friend. She said she hadn’t because she did not want to hurt their friendship or her feelings. Unfortunately, her friend is now going through a messy divorce after a short disastrous marriage.

Proverbs 17:9, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” A friend loves and accepts you and does not gossip about your private matters. The thoughts and feedback from people who love you are very helpful. The ability to feel completely secure in a relationship is a marvelous gift to give and to receive.

Proverbs 18:24, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” The first part of this verse describes the danger of too many indiscriminate relationships. The second part describes the value of a true friend. When my father passed away last fall I made several trips in the following months to Portland to settle his affairs. The presence of an old friend at key moments made a difficult job a little easier.
Last year I attended my niece’s high school graduation party. She had a book for people to write notes to her as she faces adult life and starting college. In this book I wrote, “A true friend is someone who wants what is best for you. Seek to have those kinds of friends and seek to be that kind of friend to other people.”

Enough for now,
Amanda

Raising your child is illegal

If you have children -
YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!




Oh, wait, only if you want to raise them right.

Ten things you need to know about the substance of the CRC:

Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children.
A murderer aged 17 years and 11 months and 29 days at the time of his crime could no longer be sentenced to life in prison.
Children would have the ability and right to choose their own religion while parents would only have the authority to give their children advice about religion.
The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
A child’s “right to be heard” would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
According to existing interpretation, it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than it does on children’s welfare.
Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure.
Christian schools that refuse to teach "alternative worldviews" and teach that Christianity is the only true religion "fly in the face of article 29" of the treaty.
Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent.

Very very scary,
Amanda

A really good read!

So many times books on Grace are very skewed to one side or the other.

There are many books written on forgive and forget, lack of common sense judgement and restoration no matter what the offense. There are also a lot of books written on legalistic approaches to grace - "How to" implement your view on others, and working your way to Heaven in addition to, or as a substitute for, grace. This book is neither.

This book is the best book (other the the Bible - duh) written about Grace that I have ever read - and I read a lot of books. This book gives real life examples that people will and have faced, and explains the main reasons for declining church faithfulness, failure, and lack of closeness with God as a believer - a lack of understanding of Grace!

I can not recommend more strongly that you get and read this book cover to cover - if you like you can borrow my copy =]

-or-

you can buy your own at Christianbook.com for about 10 bucks.

Enjoy

Amanda

More Prayer

God answers prayer. It is just that simple. A little while ago I made a prayer list of all of the things that were going on in my life - sure I had been trying to pray about them from memory - but in typing them out I found that I could easily add to or take away from my prayer list and organize things so that I could remember to pray for certain things.

I would strongly encourage you to do this - especially in a word document that you can easily add to or change.
I organized mine into 5 categories - My Family, Myself, Our Church, Our Friends and Extended Family, and Our Desires.

So far -

I am praying for a friend that I know struggles with money, they work hard, they budget well - they are just broke - when their well pump and refrigerator both died on the same day they were a little upset
- Praise God - both items were donated to them within a day.

I am praying for a friend that is having a hard time with some medical issues they are in denial about. I found out last night they had agreed to go back and see their family doctor - I was also praying for this person's immediate family as they are rightly concerned - I can not tell you how happy seeing the joy on this family member's face made me - when they told me about this last night!

I am praying about a friend's salvation - they used to profess interest in God - but once they got married they completely gave that up. Last night I ran into a friend of this friend and heard about how God is working in their lives through a job loss and some other circumstances. I am praying that God will use this for good to bring this person and their spouse to the Lord.

James 5:16-18
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

This was in one of Noel's sermons about a month ago - Praise God for a Pastor who preaches the Word.

Keep Praying,
Amanda