What's Next?

If you finished studying Sacred Signposts, you might be looking for a new Bible study. I have a few suggestions.

If you just want a schedule of scriptures to read, turn to the back of your book and you'll find a schedule to read through Psalms in 60 days.

If you want to learn more about praying scripture, consider 31 Days of Praise or 31 Days of Prayer. Author Ruth Myers collected scriptures on various topics and phrased them as prayers. Each daily reading is only two or three pages long, and at the end it lists all the scriptures Ruth Myers used. If you use this in a discussion group, you might study three or four daily readings each week, and look up all the verses and talk about them. A leader could do a little prep work and find a few cross-references in her Bible to stretch the discussion time out a bit.

A great Bible study on prayer is Catherine Martin's Passionate Prayer. This is a 30 day devotional. For a group discussion, I recommend the Passionate Prayer Quiet Time Experience. This will have a little more homework than Sacred Signposts. You will look up a lot of scripture and read quotations from classic Christian authors. I highly recommend it.

If you want to learn about meditating on scripture and memorize a few incredibly encouraging verses, look at the Loving God with All Your Mind workbook, by Elizabeth George. I just finished using this workbook with a group of ladies at church, and we found we enjoyed it more when we did not use the DVD that can accompany it. There was plenty to think about and discuss in the workbook, and we wanted to spend our time in the Bible rather than watching the DVD. The DVD was an extra--it was not needed for the book. There is a longer version of this (not a workbook) but this one has more scriptures and is easier to discuss in a group setting.

If you'd like a book on the topic of praise, check out my Praise Patterns book.

In September I will have a new book available. The title is Only for my King: a Song of Service and Surrender. Its topic is serving God, and it will explore Biblical characters, historical Christians and contemporary Christians who served and surrendered to God.

Gratitude

I need to apologize to the ladies studying Sacred Signposts at Lewis and Clark Bible church. I haven't posted anything for you lately! Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers even when I don't post.

I am thinking about the Gratitude chapter today: praising the all-powerful Lord who lived a meek and lowly life on this earth.

I bought a copy of Keith Getty's Piano Hymns for my husband. Yesterday I was trying to play the arrangement of "In Christ Alone" which is far beyond my limited musical abilities. I was sputtering about the key changes and how I really wanted it "just written like a hymn" -- and I didn't realize I was doing this audibly. Lydia was listening to me, however, and she politely pointed out that "Maybe that book is written for more skilled people, Mama."

I laughed and agreed with her.

Later I thought about the title of the song, and how thankful I am that I can stand and live and have a ministry "In Christ Alone." It's all about Him. Not me. Not my skill (or lack thereof). He is the reason I have anything to share with you. He is the reason I rejoice.

And suddenly I was humming a line from another song:

"And life is worth the living just because He lives."


I added this to the list at Thought Provoking Thursdays, hosted here.

a little more about Faith

I received this in an e-mail from Dayspring and I thought it complemented the Faith chapter.

The Measure

You are my portion, O Lord. Psalm 119:57 AMP

Let the grace of the Lord be the measure of your sufficiency;
let the peace of the Lord be the measure of your quietness;
let the power of the Lord be the measure of your strength;
let the goodness of the Lord be the measure of your contentment;
let the love of the Lord be the measure of your service;
let the faithfulness of the Lord be the measure of your trust;
let the beauty of the Lord be the measure of your worship;
let the fullness of the Lord be the measure of your joy;
let the sovereignty of the Lord be the measure of your confidence;
let the promises of the Lord be the measure of your expectations;
let the coming of the Lord be the measure of hope.

--Roy Lessin

praying for faith...and with faith

This is a prayer from my journal three years ago. My father's health was failing, and I was stressed. Praying through Scriptures -- using the words of Scripture and responding to them -- brought me so much comfort and strength. Praying this way really helped me to put my faith into words, and to trust in the reality of "Christ Over Me."


Praying with Psalm 22-24

Lift up your heads, you gates!
Rise up, ancient doors!
Then the King of glory will come in.

O King of glory,
Creator of heaven and earth,
Lord of love and mercy,
I invited You into my life
on a spring afternoon
when I was four years old.
Thank You for never leaving
even when I forget You're here
and try to carry all
my burdens alone.

Do not be far from me,
because distress is near
and there is no one to help.

Sometimes "distress" seems closer to me
than You, Lord.
But You live within me
and no one -- and nothing --
can be closer than that.

The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.

I'd like more money, Lord.
I'd like some assistance with the responsibilities
of being the only child of an ailing father.
I'd like to fly away to Ireland today.
But I have You, Lord,
and I have a loving husband
and children
and a house
and two cats
and thirty-seven varieties of tea in the pantry --
so, really,
I lack nothing.

He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths
for His name's sake.

Last week, Lord,
on a stressful day,
You provided refreshing green scenery
and precious amusing memories
to keep me company.

Even when I go
through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff --
they comfort me.

You are with me.
You comfort me.
Truly, Lord,
I lack nothing.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and faithful love
will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I live.

Sometimes I feel that stress and exhaustion
and headaches pursue me --
but You promise that Your goodness and faithful love
will be with me every day.

(Psa. 24:7, 22:11, 23:1-6)

Praying for Strength

Hello, Lewis and Clark ladies (and other readers), this week you're reading the Strength chapter.

Here is a simple prayer based on Psalm 38. I wrote this in a busy season several years ago, and I'm re-using it this month. I love discovering prayers from a few years ago and remembering how God answered! Those memories help me to trust Him now.

Lord, my every desire is known to You;
my sighing is not hidden from You.

I put my hope in You, Lord;
You will answer, Lord my God.

(Psalm 38:9, 15)

Lord, You know all the activities and responsibilities I am juggling this month.
You are my Hope
my Strength
and You will enable me to accomplish Your will.

Praying for Protection

If you're reading chapter three this week, you're praying for protection. I looked back at my prayer journal in search of a prayer on this topic. I found this.

Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.

...The earth is full of the Lord's unfailing love.

We wait for the Lord;
He is our help and shield.
For our hearts rejoice in Him,
because we trust in His holy name.
May Your faithful love rest on us, Lord,
for we put our hope in You.

Proclaim with me the Lord's greatness;
let us exalt His name together.

Those who look to Him are radiant with joy...

(Psa. 33:1, 5, 20-22, 34:3, 5)

Oh Lord,
Thank You for walking with me through this long day.
You are my help, my shield, my hope, my joy.

praying for light

This week the ladies at Lewis and Clark Bible church are studying chapter two and praying for light.

Because of our God's merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us
to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
(Luke 1:78-79, emphasis added)

It is a peaceful day when I see the Lord as my Dawn, my Sunrise. Any light that brightens my day comes from Him.

O blessed Lord, beyond the moment's sorrow
I see above, beneath, before, behind--
Eternal Love. Give me today, tomorrow,
A quiet mind.
--Amy Carmichael, Mountain Breezes, p. 139)

When I pray this poem, I like to substitute whatever I'm feeling for the word sorrow: anxiousness, exhaustion, blahness, joy.... Beyond my changing emotions, I want to see Him, Eternal Love and Light.

The Savior is a great source of comfort to us...Many live in the darkness of divorce or in the shadow of death. Some watch a loved one slowly disintegrate before their eyes. Others, in seemingly “perfect” circumstances, live in the deepest darkness of all -- depression that nothing seems to penetrate! Listen to the Good News! There’s light at the end of the tunnel -- look up and see Jesus standing there! Hear what He says: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12) --from a blogpost by Jill Briscoe.

Distractions and Interruptions

This is a special message for the ladies at Lewis and Clark Church who are studying Sacred Signposts...but you're all welcome to read it.

Do you often get interrupted or distracted when you're trying to pray? Let me share a story with you.

It's a true story, and it happened during the Second World War. There was a professor called Jack who lived in a country village in England. He loved solitude and quietness because he was not just a professor but a writer—an author of Christian books. He needed quiet times to study and write. But during that time, many parents in London sent their children away from the danger of the bombs that were falling on the city so regularly, and people in country villages let these children stay with them. Jack felt that serving others was the way to put Christianity into practice, so he agreed to let several children stay with him. They interrupted his work. His home was no longer quiet. He was distracted.

But one rainy day one of those children began playing in an old wardrobe and wondering what might be behind it. And suddenly, this interruption gave the professor an idea: the beginning of a story.

You've probably read that story: it's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The professor, though he liked to be called "Jack", was C. S. Lewis. Eventually the story became a whole series of books that have blessed so many people, adults and children alike, for decades.

That interruption became a blessing. And beyond that one scene, having children in the house and getting acquainted with them helped Lewis to write in a way that was so fascinating to children.

This story reminds me to thank God for the interruptions and to realize that He's in control.

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men. (Colossians 3:23)
I like this verse. It tells me that whether I'm reading my Bible or getting my daughter a bandaid, I'm still serving God.

I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
This verse reminds me that the work God is doing in me today–whatever He is calling me to do or change—He is the one who is doing the work. It is in His strength that I follow Him. Even when I'm interrupted or distracted, He has begun a good work in me and He won't give up.

So if you're distracted today, trust God to make those interruptions into a blessing.

Welcome, Lewis and Clark Ladies!

Here's a little welcome video from me to the Bible study meeting at Lewis and Clark Bible Church in Astoria, Oregon.

If you're looking for the music listed on page one, it's here.

Thank you again for taking this journey of prayer with me.