Pray!

Pray!!

Have you ever had an overwhelming feeling that someone must be praying for you?!  It’s like the enemy is coming at you so hard and fast, but somehow you’re still standing.  It’s songs on the radio, messages from your favorite speakers, calls and texts from friends, telling you everything is going to be okay.  You should be completely falling apart, yet you have a fight in you that feels supernatural.  

I am right there, on the inside I am scared and crying, but everyday the Father keeps moving me forward.  I hear a voice in my spirit that says - you’ve got this and everything’s going to be just as it’s supposed to be - don’t give up, and keeping smiling.

I know in my heart that it’s the prayers of someone or maybe someones, that have me in this place.  I have so many friends who are prayer warriors so really it could be any one of them lifting me up right now.  I don’t know for sure who it is, but I know for sure that it’s working and I am so thankful!

Whoever you are, I thank you from the depths of my heart.  I know without your love and faithfulness, my battles would be so much harder.

Please know that I am praying for you all just as hard.  I am committed to lifting up the people I love everyday and it seems like the Holy Spirit is constantly putting people on my heart to pray for, even ones I haven’t seen in years.

He is good y’all and He loves us so much! 

His Word says…

Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Psalm 102:17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.

I could go on and on with these verses, there are so many.  He is definitely calling us to pray and prayer draws us closer to Him, which is right where we want to be.  

So, again, I say thank you to all my faithful warriors, you know who you are!  And to everyone out there reading this post I am just as committed to you and I would love to be lifting you up!  Please feel free to email (1611baestreet@gmail.com) your prayer requests any time!  Together we are better!

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.

It Is Well

Psalms 121:1-8  I look up to the mountains-does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let me stumble;  the one who watches over me will not slumber.  Indeed, the one who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.  The Lord stands beside me as my protective shade.  The sun will not harm me by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord keeps me from all harm and watches over my life.  The Lord keeps watch over me as I come and go, both now and forever.

I am up, it’s two am, and I cannot sleep.  A million thoughts are running through my mind, but You Lord know them all.  You are wide awake and here with me.  All that I worry over this night you have already taken care of.  I am beyond thankful. I have no idea why you love me like you do, but I rest in knowing that you do.  

Before I was born you knew me.  You placed me in the exact time and place you designed for me.  The circumstances of my conception, and of so many others, go completely against your Word and what you would have for us, yet you choose to come into the midst of them and somehow make them beautiful.  You are the giver of life, and life can be really hard, but it is also divine.

I hung out with one of my very favorite people on the planet tonight. It wasn’t planned, it came together very last minute, but I know it was you, because it was exactly what we both needed.  We talked for two hours about you, about us, and about all the crazy that comes with life on earth.  We talked about the condition of man, the condition that Adam and Eve left us in.  We talked about our parents, and what it was like for them as children, and what it was like for us as children, and there is so much disfunction in both of our families;  so much disfunction in most families, yet there you are, right in the middle of it all. You see everything Father, all the times we win, all the times we lose, and all the times we want to give up completely.  In all these times you stand with us and cheer us on! 

I love Hebrews 12!  In verse one it says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses to the life of faith, and because we are, we are able strip off every weight that slows us down, and leave behind the sins that trip us up.  We can run this race you have set before us with endurance.  It says in verse 12 and 13 that we can take a new grip with our tired hands and strengthen our weak knees.  We can mark out a straight path for our feet so that those who are weak will not fall, but will become strong.  And how do we do this?  Verse 2, we do this by keeping our eyes on you Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. The champion of heaven who endured the cross, for all that any of us will ever go through.  In Christ there is so much victory!

And so I sit here tonight, with my thoughts and my worries, and I lift my eyes to you Lord.  I can go back to bed and rest my weary head because you have taken care of it all.  You are fighting my battles, you have conquered my fear, and you love me with a love I cannot even understand.  

Thank you for leading me straight to this song after I wrote this post.  I am undone by the way you choose to speak to my heart!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqo4Un2uZI

Oh How He Loves Us!

As I write this post this morning tears are flowing down my face.  I tell you now, if you don’t know God you are missing out!  He is truly the lover of our souls!!  He is the creator of the universe and the designer of your heart.

His Word says in Psalms 139:13

For you formed my inward parts;  you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are you works;  my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;  in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

And in Ephesians 2:10

You are God’s workmanship (the NLT says God’s masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God LOVES us!!!  All day, everyday, He loves us!!!

If you do not know this God who loves like no other, I would love the chance to introduce you to Him.  Please comment below with your email address and I promise to respond.  It is my greatest desire to share His love with others, and I would love to share it with you.

Back To Work!

The kids go back to school on Tuesday so it’s time to get back to work!  I thought I would share a few pictures of a piece I recently finished and see if I could round up some business.  From unfinished wood to driftwood fabulous!!  

Give me a shout if you have a piece that needs new life.  Also thinking about teaching a few classes in the fall.  Would anybody out there be interested in learning a few paint techniques??

Life Is Hard!

Because he bends down to listen, 

I will pray as long as I have breath!

Psalm 116:2

Life is hard!  Really, really hard sometimes!  I am going through some terribly hard life right now! I’d love to pour out all the details, however in this moment the details involve people I love very much, and I am not sure they are ready for the details to be spilled.  In these seasons, I am so very thankful for a God who is faithful to listen.  I can pour it all out to Him, all the deep, scary, ugly emotions, and He never runs away.  In fact, His Word says, “he bends His ear to listen when I pray”.  How amazing is that?!?!  The creator of the universe bends His ear to listen when I pray.  I am completely overwhelmed!  

As I poured out my heart this morning I asked the Father to show me who He is.  Often when I pray I think of Jesus, but this morning I wanted to concentrate on the Father.  I asked for a picture of His character, and He reminded of all that I already knew in my heart.

I believe even when we know a thing deep in our heart, we still need to be reminded from time to time.  So with that, let me remind you.

Psalm 86:5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Psalm 86:15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalms 145:8-9 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

Psalms 103:8-12 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect.  The Lord’s word is flawless;

he shields all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 16:5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

Micah 7:18-19: Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Father, today I thank you for all these promises. I thank you for being a faithful God and friend.  I love you with all of my heart, and pray that every person who reads these verses will know deep in their heart that you are madly and deeply in love with them.  In the sweet name of your son Jesus I pray, amen.

Sweet Friendship!

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.  Proverbs 27:9  I had not read this verse until my friend Ashley shared it along with pictures from a weekend that was dear to my heart.  It is such an awesome verse and oh the truth it holds!  I am so blessed when it comes to precious friends; I have many and they all hold such a sweet spot in my heart.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with a few of them and I wanted to share a little about what I took away from it.

Someone in the bunch (who I happen to hold especially close to my heart) opened up her heart and shared her feelings and it really shook me up.  This precious one told me she feels unloved and unwanted in several friend groups and even sometimes with family.  Well, I could hardly believe my ears, because she is truly one of the most loved people I know.  I couldn’t name one person that knows her that doesn’t adore her!  So where do those feelings come from? Straight from the pit, that’s where!  After she shared that with me I made her confess it to our group (and I do hope she forgives me for that), but as she shared with the girls I realized the sad thing about it is this, so many of us feel this way on a daily basis!  For some it may not be feelings of being unloved, but maybe you’re more like me and have feelings of being the dumbest one in the bunch or like me you are an over thinker.  Sometimes I will spend hours replaying conversations I’ve had over and over in my head;  afraid I have hurt someone with my words or been careless with their feelings.  How about you?!  Does this happen to you?  What are your struggles?

Let me tell you just a few verses that I cling to when these feelings come and I can’t shake them.  Let me also remind you feelings cannot be trusted!  We must stand up everyday and hold on tightly to the truth, over our feelings!

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded (keep your mind on Jesus); be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your sisters and brothers throughout the world.

James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, (and all of his nasty lies) and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

Psalms 62:1-2  I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

Romans 8:1-2  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  Hallelujah!!

Romans 8:37  In all things we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us!

And this is one of my very favorites …

Romans 8:38-39  And I am convinced that NOTHING can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed NOTHING in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I hope these verses help you as much as they help me.  And that reminds me of another …

Psalms 121:2  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  He will not let my foot be moved;  he who keeps me will not slumber. 

And just one more … 

Jeremiah 15:16 You Words were found, and I ate them, and Your Words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Please feel free to share any thoughts, struggles and verses that help you.  I would love the opportunity to pray for you so please share any prayer requests as well.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my heart and remember sweet ones, YOU ARE LOVED!!!