My Son's Ministrations

Dear Lord,

As You know, my two-year-old son dropped a step stool on my foot today, and I sat for some time with an ice pack on it.  He was so cute as he came up to check out what was going on, commenting on how soft it was (one of those with a cover), and that, “Mommy got hurt.”  As he petted the ice pack, drove his truck over it, and commented that he needed one, too, I found it amusing to consider being the subject (victim…) of his ministrations one day.

He was very sweet about it, and claimed that I also needed a bandaid.  It’s been interesting trying to teach him when certain things are needed and when they’re not.  It is fun to see when he grasps new concepts, but some have not yet taken hold.  I enjoyed talking with him today about me getting hurt, and about what is an appropriate ministration, and what not.  I do wonder if and when he might take care of me in the future, and I pray not only that he would have a much better concept then of what to do, but that I would be a “good patient” and reflection of your glory.

Thank You for my son’s “ministrations” today, and for the reminder they were of when I played doctor with my great-grandmother.  She was most certainly a good patient of my “ministrations!”

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Ice Packs

Dear Lord,

After my two-year-old son dropped a step stool on my virtually bare foot this morning, I was most certainly thankful for ice packs.  The cold slashed the pain to nothing when I kept my foot still, and made it a bit easier to limp around.  Not to mention the fact that it kept the swelling down.  I am thankful for the basic knowledge to use an ice pack.  A lovely bruise is forming, and I’m not quite certain of the extent of the damage, but I’m thankful that nothing seems to be broken, and that the pain seems to be somewhat minimal.

Thank You, Lord, for Your care.  I know that You allowed it to happen, and, for that reason, I can be thankful for it.  It helps that it wasn’t horrendously painful (if more than I’ve had for awhile).  I had unshed tears from the initial drop, and it was a bit hard not to cry.  Yet even so, I knew You were in control.  I know that the greater the pain - whether emotional or physical - the harder it can be to keep that perspective.  I thank You that You are training me in that direction, because life is so much more joyful when You are my focus.  Thank You for Your love, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

My Portion

Lamentations 3:24

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”

Dear Lord,

I have seen this phrase in a few places in Scripture:  “The Lord is my portion.”  I have considered its meaning, and while I am not certain of its whole meaning, I know what it means to me.  You have been given to me - or more precisely, You have given Yourself to me.  Not in the sense that I am Your master, by any means, but in the sense that not only do You love me, but You have given me Yourself to draw upon to be my strength, my shield, my Savior, and my friend.  You are everything.

You are my portion.  You are all that I could ever need, because You will use any and all of Your resources (that thought sends me into awe!) on my behalf.  You are always working to conform me to the image of Your Son, and that I might shine Your glory.  We so often seem to think that being conformed to the image of Your Son is “no fun.”  How wrong is the thought!  Every moment spent with You is a moment of Joy!  To be the recipient of Your love is a delight and peace beyond words.  

I pray that You would keep me in the perspective of You as my portion.  That thought still makes me shiver.  How vast must be my portion!  Beyond imagining.  I think the most awesome thing about it is that You do this for each of Your children.  You are not “thinned” by lavishing Your love; You are boundless, limitless, and Your resources are infinite.  You. Are. Amazing!  And I beam with delight as I love You.  Thank You, Lord!

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Finding a Doctor

Dear Lord,

Thank You that I finally found a doctor who will take my insurance.  I knew You were in control during the search, but I must admit, I was getting a bit discouraged after having called nearly ten different doctors listed on my insurance website who did not, in fact, take it.  Thank You that You are in control.  Thank You, too, that the doctor is also one who has a good reputation.  That’s always comforting to know.

I praise You that You always take care of me with my good (to be conformed to Your image) and Your glory in mind. (Romans 8:28-31)  Thank You for Your goodness.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

"How Great Thou Art"

“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the starts, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed…

“Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.”

Lord, I thank You for this hymn, because I find myself praying it sometimes.  “When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.”  At night “I see the stars” and sometimes this song just seems to sum it up so well - how great Thou art!

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Email

Dear Lord,

It’s strange to think that I haven’t written a thankful thing on email, yet.  It’s certainly something that I use every day.  Thank You for the ability to write my thoughts down, edit it however many times I want to, and then send it off for the person to receive in his or her inbox immediately.  You know that I struggle with expressing my thoughts verbally, but writing seems to be the best way to organize my thoughts.  I am very thankful for that ability.

Honestly, though, I’m most thankful because it’s just easy.  Part of that ease comes from the above, and the fact that I find it easier to communicate when the person isn’t right in front of me (something that I think You are continuing to work on in me).  Yet I can also use it as a sort of to-do list of reminders from people, I can access it whenever I want, wherever I want (thank You for my iPhone!), and reply whenever I want.  Not to mention, I can communicate with an entire group of people who can respond in kind and keep everyone apprised.  It’s just easy!

Thank You, Lord, for email, and that it makes it easier for me to communicate.  Sometimes I feel as though I have a communication handicap, and email makes it easier to break through that.  Help me to focus on You throughout the day, until You permeate all my communication.  May my communication bring You glory.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Picnics

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the ability to go outside and have a picnic with my little family.  It’s so nice to get out into Your creation, and You orchestrated just the perfect weather for it today!  Our impromptu picnic in the front yard was both fun and peaceful.  Little Man enjoyed himself as he played with pill bugs, sticks, flowers, and just generally explored.  My husband and I enjoyed lying on the blanket beside each other to gaze up at the tree - and at our romping two-and-a-half-year-old.  Thank You for the peace that Your creation practically exudes.

Thank You that we can draw our peace from You, knowing that You “…cause all things to work together for good to those who love [You], to those who are called according to [Your] purpose.  For those whom [You] foreknew, [You] also predestined to become conformed to the image of [Your] Son…”

Thank You for Your care, Lord, and thank You for picnics!

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Learning to Mother

Dear Lord,

During those times when I’m so tired, but my little man wants to do something with me, thank You for teaching me to mother.  I am learning to treasure my time with him, and to pull upon Your strength for the energy and joy to spend some time with him.  Thank You for the knowledge of what I can and cannot do in those moments - or perhaps even should and should not do - and for the attitude change in me.  Thank You for the shift from myself to You and my child.

In some ways, we mothers have to keep going, but I thank You that I don’t have to look at it that way.  I am not a martyr - I don’t deserve better than I receive, but receive more than I deserve in Your grace.  To serve You is a joy, and I am learning to serve You - and my child by extension - by mothering.  Thank You for this incredible journey, and for what You are teaching me through it.  I pray for my little man, that You would be working in his heart, and that I (and his father) would be good examples to him of Your love.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Possibilities

Dear Lord,

Thank You for possibilities.  As my husband is a couple weeks from finishing his Associates degree and looking for work, You have placed two interesting job possibilities before us.  One would be a substantial increase in our income, allow us to move sooner rather than later, and open a whole world of possibilities.  We don’t want to get too excited, since You haven’t actually given the job to him (yet?), but the Anticipation and thoughts this has aroused have been very fun!

Thank You, Lord, for how You use possibilities.  As I try to keep my hope and thoughts fixed on You, it has been fun to consider what we might do with the extra income.  Initially, of course, the thought was simply, “MOVE!” as one of our foremost desires is to move into town and cut down my forty-five minute drive to work (among other pluses).  Yet that would also mean that we could invest, I could cut back on work if needed, we could increase the amount we could put toward Christmas and birthdays, etc… and a plethora of other things, like hobbies.  

However, as my husband and I considered what You would have us do with the extra money, and that it would be Your money, we realized that our home purchase could be geared toward the ability to entertain others - a dream You’ve given us in the past, but that our location has hindered.  We could give more to our church’s building campaign.  We could give to our friends and others in need.  Certainly, we don’t think You’ve called us to give it all away, as our first God-given responsibility is to care for our family, but it’s exciting to think how You can use the money, and how we can align our desires with Yours.

It also got me thinking about some of my considerations of mini-business ventures, and what my motivation was behind them.  To some degree, I associated them with my hobbies, and thus they would also be a bit of fun, but the main reason that I even considered them was that I felt the pressure of supplementing our income.  I had given it a considerable amount of thought under that pressure.  Those ideas weren’t bad, but my motivation was not entirely pure, or reasoned out.  Thank You for using this job possibility as a way to reveal that to me.

And so, though I do pray that this job possibility would become a reality in Your will, I am thankful for it, even if You don’t give it to my husband.  We don’t want to do something outside of Your will, anyway.  Thank You, Lord, that You use everything!

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

His Tackling House Projects

Dear Lord,

Thank You that my husband will purposefully look around the house for projects that need to be done.  Yesterday, I enjoyed the pleasure of hearing that, rather than doing homework that day (which would be done later by the due date), he was going to work on some house projects.  I was pretty stoked.  One of our major goals, as You know, is to move into town, which means that we’ll need to sell our house for enough to at least come up with a down payment.  Anything we can do to raise its value will be helpful.

That he looks for and tackles those house projects tells me that we are working toward the same goals, and it also tells me that he is willing to put forth the effort to provide for me.  Thank You, Lord, for Your work in him.  Thank You, too, for Your work in me that allows me to see it.  I pray Your blessing on our moving and house endeavors, and that I would continue to look for Your grace and love in it.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Clothes

Dear Lord,

I just wanted to thank You for clothes.  I thank You for the covering they are, but when I consider that they weren’t necessary before the Fall it makes me wonder:  would we have ever gotten to the point of using them had we not sinned?  They provide such a vast variety of customization!  Even before the Fall, You included in Your creation the means by which we could make clothes.  In Your infinite wisdom, You always have the future in mind, but I do wonder if we might have used clothes - at least for some things - before sin came onto the scene. 

I thank You for clothes and how we can express ourselves through them.  I don’t think I’m as “gung-ho” for them as most girls, but I do enjoy a long, flowing dress!  I know You give us variety in our created bodies, but clothes - from one set to another - can make us look so different!  I rather enjoy being able to change my look sometimes.  And I am glad that I can look to You and know that You were the One who made that possible.  It’s so awesome that I can glorify You by enjoying You!

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

His Date Night Intentionality

Dear Lord,

Thank You that my husband is intentional about making our date nights happen.  During the course of our week, I can tell that it’s high on his priority list.  (Our regular night had to shift due to a different schedule.)  My husband keeps it in mind when planning the week, and doesn’t seem to let more than a week-and-a-half pass - two at most - before we spend some time with just the two of us together.  That priority tells me that he also prioritizes me, and - You know - that’s nice!  It’s also such a beneficial time for us to connect, and that’s nice, too.

Thank You, Lord, for my husband’s intentionality about having a “regular” date night.  Help me to be as intentional about supporting him as his wife.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Being with You

Dear Lord,

I’m just thankful to be able to be with You.  You are always with me, and I have but to think on You to recognize Your presence.  You are my strength and peace, my hope and help.  I don’t have to wait until a calamity strikes to look to You.  In fact, I shouldn’t.  More often than not, You seem to prevent the calamity if I look to You first.  Thank You, Lord, for Your presence, and the peace of just being with You.

Thank You for Quiet Times, that they are a specific time set aside to spend with You and nothing and no one else.  Thank You for Your Word, that You speak to us through it, and teach us more about Your truth.  Thank You for Stillness, that I am more cognizant of Your Presence in its midst.  Thank You, Lord, that I can be with You.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Salvageable Blanket

Dear Lord,

As You know, my little man’s most-loved knitted blanked has been falling apart for some time now.  I’ve been meaning to take the whole thing apart and redo it, since it’s been slowly unraveling, but have been a little loathe to take it away from him for the 4-5 month period it would take to reknit it.  Thank You that when I finally took it apart last night, I didn’t have to rip out the entire thing.  I think there’s about a month’s work that I was able to salvage, and thus, one less month that my little man will have to be without it.

Thank You, too, Lord, that I am able to salvage the blanket at all.  I think it’s pretty cool that I can rip out and remake something that he loves, and I don’t even have to spend additional money - just time doing something that I already love to do.  Thank You, Lord, that I can serve him in that way.  Thank You, too, that with You as the focus, I can also lift that service up to You in worship.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Looking at My Husband

Dear Lord,

I really enjoy looking at my husband.  It isn’t like he’s super model material, but I do appreciate the lines that You created in him.  Some of his muscles show because he has made an effort, and others simply because you made him that way.  Studying his figure reminds me that I appreciate his effort.  Yet, I would still enjoy looking at him even if he didn’t.  I think I just love looking at him because he’s mine.

You created love as a choice that, when practiced, begets those wonderful feelings that we all pursue.  I am so glad that You didn’t create it as a feeling that we can “fall into” or “fall out of.”  So many “fall into” love, and it doesn’t last because they don’t cultivate it.  Knowing that there will be times when I don’t feel like I love him make me more intentional about cultivating my love for him (ie thinking about him, dwelling on the praiseworthy things (Phil 4:8), etc.).  That knowledge also allays my fears of “falling out of” love.  It’s normal in a sinful world.  There will be times that I allow my self-love or some other idol to overcome my love of my husband.  It doesn’t have to stay that way.  Thank You that we take a much greater role in our own feelings.

I thank You, Lord, for “looking at my husband,” that it is one of the ways that I can cultivate my love for him.  To look at my husband is, for me, to think on him and on how much I love him.  I have used it often enough that I have associated those “wonderful feelings” directly with it.  It’s not nearly so hard to remember my feelings of love for him, because I have associated an action with certain thoughts that lead to those feelings.  Sometimes he’ll ask what I’m thinking when I look at him, and I can only reply that I’m twitterpated.  It isn’t that he did anything, it’s simply that I’m taking a moment to enjoy the thought of him.  It makes me smile, and I’ll often feel the warm fuzzies of infatuation.

Help me, Lord, to translate the knowledge of how my love for my husband works, to how my love for You works.  To look on You and think on You and all of Your qualities - or attributes - is to remember my love for You, and I should be intentional about doing it.  You created marriage as a reflection of Your relationship with Your church - Your children.  Help me to remember that, and to not only apply it to my personal relationship with You, but also to be mindful of how I reflect that to others.  May Your glory shine, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Chairs

James 1:2-4
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Dear Lord,

Chairs are definitely something that I have taken for granted.  Usually, I don’t really notice how nice they are to have until I don’t have one.  Yesterday, it was a different reason; my fibromyalgia had kicked into a higher gear.  By Your good work in me, You have started to train me to look for what I’m thankful for to You, and to very intentionally shift my focus to You when I’m in pain, in order to remain in Your joy and continue to witness.  Thank You so much for that training.

It was in that setting that I discovered that I was very thankful for chairs… more specifically, my office chair, which is adjustable.  As I folded bulletins at work for our Sunday service, I discovered that the height of my desk was actually a bit higher than was comfortable.  With a smile, I knew that was no problem, since You had provided me with an adjustable office chair, and I was working away with less issue with the lift of a lever.

Thank You, Lord, for chairs.  Thank You most especially, for that shift in focus You have taught me.  I pray for Your “endurance [to] have its perfect result” in me.  Thank You for the opportunity to increase in Your wisdom.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Sunglasses

Dear Lord,

Thank You for Your timing in providing me with a pair of sunglasses before facing the bright hot sun on my walk.  I hadn’t expected it be like summer a couple days after I perused the sunglass racks for a pair on clearance.  Thank You, too, that it was only $4!  (Oh yes - thank You for Ross!)  My walk was a much more pleasant experience with sunglasses.  It’s amazing the difference it makes when I actually enjoy my exercise.  Thank You for making the discipline nice this time around!

In Jesus’ Name, amen.