this little light of mine, i'm gonna let it shine....shine, shine, shine, let it shine:)

Another start of a new week, in reading posts this morning my heart smiled, I did not see one whiney post about how bad Monday is, I did not read one post of negativity for this day:) Yippee!!! So many positive posts this morning, so many well wishers to others for a  great day, so much joy and happiness oozing from the page:) I am sure that our Father in Heave is much pleased with this turn of events:) We had a most fantastic lightening and thunder storm last night then the bottom feel out and it rained for hours. This morning it is as if the birds are singing a new song, one of clean, pure, joy. The sky is filled with cotton ball clouds with some darker more ominous ones in the distance, it looks like more rain might be in our future, I so wish I could bottle it up and send it down south to those who are so desperately in need! I will continue to pray for this! We are at 68 degrees this morn, a bit more still than usual, the sun coming and going as the clouds make their way to other areas. I praise his Holy name for being afforded the opportunity to sit out and get this blog piece done. 

     In prayer this morning, I was sitting here conversing with my number one, enjoying the beautiful canvas he has made for us today, I was praying my usual morning prayer, one filled with only good things for all, I prayed for less pain, for healed hearts, for health, for our country, for our soldiers both on foreign and home soils. I prayed for peace, calm and comfort, for strength in all that we encounter today and special specific prayer request that have been posted. I lifted these issues up in the name of Jesus Christ and said my amens. I waited for special instruction from our heavenly father as to what I needed to write about this morning and nothing came, I asked what I could do to make a difference today and nothing crossed my heart. As I sat here waiting, nothing..I laid my head back and let the sun shine on my face, the warmth was amazing, it seemed to absorb in to my face and run down the length of my body, my heart felt warm and full of happiness the feeling of "awww, does it get any better than this" crossed  my heart. Really, what more is there, I have freedom to sit outside and worship my savior and my father in heaven, I have a roof to shelter me from the elements, food to nourish my body, all of my basic needs are met and I have a heart filled with love for all. Sure I could have nicer things, I could have a fancy home, I could have expensive automobiles, I could have filet mignon every night for dinner, I could, I could, I could....I also could have NO shelter as my residence, I could not have the freedoms that I have, I could be hungry with no hope for food, I could be, could be, could be...So I just want to bear testimony this morning that I know Jesus lives, I know that he works in my life, I know that our Father in Heaven gave us his son so that we could have eternal life, I know that even in my times of strife and unrest that I am shielded by him, I know that as long as I have faith in my soul, I have love in my heart and I have hope he will never leave nor forsake me, I know that in all things there is beauty, I know in all people there is basic goodness, I know that I am here as a helpmate to any and all that need a friend, someone to share concerns with or just ears to listen. I pray that this day your testimony of our Lord and savior is full, that you know exactly who he is and that he resides in your heart, I pray that your spirit is a light today and that any storms you encounter today will be lulled. I pray for your peace of mind, for your spirt, and for your tenacity to keep on keepin on. Share your love for Christ with someone today, you never know when you will earn another brick for your house in heaven. God is love, share it with someone new today:) May blessings be in abundance for each of you and yours! 

God for everything that we need, that by it we praise him in the very best way; that by it we lift up our souls from earth to heaven and unite them closely to God." "Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And Forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil. Amen For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory for ever and ever. Amen" A simple prayer of 'Thanks Be To God' when we wake up starts the day with His name on our lips. Dedicating the day ahead to the Lord will result in a calm and peace in all we do and a fruitful day's work, yes even when things seem to go wrong. Rather than curse the mishap, say 'Thanks Be To God' or 'Praise You Lord'. Here are a few nice little morning prayers to set the tone for the day: "God of my life, I welcome this new day. It is Your gift to me, a new creation, a promise of resurection." "Dear Lord, I thank You for the Grace of being alive this morning; I thank You for the sleep that has refreshed me; I thank You for the chance to make a new beginning." "Dear Lord, I give you may hands to do Your work; I give You my feet to go Your way; I give You my eyes to see as You see; I give You my tongue to speak Your words; I give You my mind that You may think in me; I give You my spirit that You may pray in me. Above all, I give You my heart that You may love in me - love the Father and love all humankind. I give You my whole self, Lord, that You may grow in me, so that it is You who lives, works and prays in me. Amen." Angels are spoken of frequently in the Bible and we should be aware of their existence. Jesus was supported by the angels during his trials in the desert before He set out on His work. We each have a guardian angel and a lovely little prayer for both morning and night is one to ask our guardian angel to watch over us. "Oh Angel of God, my guardian dear. To whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule and guide me. Amen" A lovely way of giving the day over to the Lord is in simple conversation with Him, chatting as if to a member of the family or a good friend.: "Good morning Lord, it's great to be with You again today. I'm glad You are going to be with me today. Help me in all I do and say today, bring a smile to my lips for all I meet today, place on my tongue kind and gentle words for all I speak with today. And when the day's over bring me home safely." By getting into the habit of chatting with God like a child chats away to a parent, we will bring God's presence within us to the surface and enjoy His company. May Jesus and our Father in heaven bless you this day:)

Call to prayer, please come and pray with us! Bless you for your time!!!

  

 Well another day is coming to a close and what a rewarding day it has been, God guided me this morning into something that I did not even realize was weighing heavy on my heart, after following his lead I was able to overcome something that was not right in my heart. This evening I feel renewed and I feel so at peace in my heart! Thank you Heavenly Father for pointing out to me the need to release!
      Tonight I come to you and ask that you will pray with me, that you will take moments to pray for peace on earth, to pray for our soldier who are on the war front to ensure safety for us, for our government that is in such need of putting God back into the equation, when we leave God out, how can we overcome, how can we grow and flourish, just like a flower bed, when we take nurturing and care we get an overgrowth of weeds which eventually kill off even the most beautiful flowers. Pray with me for the broken hearted, for the terminally ill, for the ones who suffer depression, for those who are dealing with health issues, for those who have lost their way, Father I come to you tonight in plea for each of us, for we all suffer some form of problem we all need you Father, we need to you hold us when we are scared, we need for you to carry us when we are weak, we need you to direct us when we have lost our way, we need for you to deliver us when you call us home, we need for you to continue to love us. I ask these favors in the beautiful name of our Savior jesus Christ, amen and amen again. I love you Lord and so appreciate all the blessings you shower me with, I vow to live each day seeking only your favor and refuse to hold anger in my heart ever again. Thank you so much for the lesson today and thank you for pointing out to me where I was lacking and what I needed to do to correct it.
    
In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord gave us a moving example (as depicted in this painting above) how we can offer up our anxieties to God while trusting in His will. Knowing full well, and dreading, all the pain He was about to endure within a matter of hours he said “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt 26:39)



In prayer we can ask God to give us that kind of grace and strength to trust that He indeed will bring us out of the valley of the shadow of death, stronger and in better shape to reflect His glory and assure our place in Heaven with Him than we were before.
As He showed us so strikingly with His resurrection, evil doesn’t get the last word with the Word made flesh, as St. John called Jesus in his Gospel (John 1:14)!


Don’t be afraid to pray to God for relief of your burdens. If relief is not in sight, ask Him for the graces you need to endure in these troubled times. Remember as well to keep your eyes on the prize: heaven, where “God will wipe way every tear…and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Rev 21:4).


Also, feel free to ask for prayers for yourself or others. (and tell your friends about it as well!)

Evening call to prayer, will you get "on bended knees" and pray with me?

As night comes upon us, and this day comes to a close, we prepare for the next paragraph in our book of life! I pray that this day the dreaded MONDAY has been a good one for you, that you welcomed it with a great attitude and that you have been able to see good results! Today has been a "swelling" day for me, I have health problems and sometimes my legs, ankles, and feet will swell to the point of bursting open, I know they will  not rupture but it sure seems to the point, so I ask if you would say a prayer for me, I am due to travel tomorrow and can only imagine if the swelling does not come down, how uncomfortable and horrible the drive will be! Thank you for always lifting prayers, for joining me when I call out and for praying for me when I am in need! This morning I made the call for special prayers for a dear lady and her children who are saying goodbye to husband and father, I ask that you continue to pray for her, when we marry and have children I think we never think about having to say goodbye to our spouse, please lift her to our Father in Heaven that she might feel comfort, calm and peace and that his children know that their dad is in heaven now, waiting for the day that God bring them and his wife home to him. I ask you to join me in continued prayer for all those suffering, to continue prayer for those who are away from their loved ones as the holiday weekend is fast approaching, for those who are overseas fighting as we celebrate our independence  with bbq, cold drinks, laughter, joy, and fireworks... they fight so that we can keep our independence and freedom! Also please if you have special prayer request, if you know of someone in need, either comment here or leave it on my facebook page so that we can add it to our circle of prayer. I have seen the power of prayer, I have seen miracles and I know that if we humbly pray, we can make a difference! If you would like to be a part of the circle of prayer please join my blog spot, I try and post prayers as they are requested so that we can pray right then and there, this is so very important and I look forward to praying with you! Love in Christ to each of you, you are important and you are loved!!! God bless each of you with peaceful sleep, beautiful dreams and may the day look hope filled and joyful when you arise! 


A Prayer by Thomas Merton
from Thoughts in Solitude

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 that 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 will I 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. 

A time to pray! "mass prayer produces miracles" Join me if you will!!

Happy Sunday evening, today has been a lovely day the weather has been perfect, 85 degrees and steady breeze, and sunshiny skies:) I love Sunday's, love, love, love them. Today I have been in thought very much of my Megan, she is the absolute love of my life, when she moved out of state I thought I would not now how to breath, but it was detrimental in her life to make the move and the "cutting of the cord" has been wonderful for her. She is in a relationship with a dear, dear young man, one who I know is her forever partner, one who I know will take very good care of her, is willing to work side by side with her and is fair and honest. I have only been with him a few times but love so much the person that he is...kudos to his parents, I know he is very pleasing to them. I will get to visit with my daughter in the next few days and I will be so very excited to just be breathing the air that she is breathing:) The song I am posting tonight is how I felt the day I gave birth to her and is the way I feel today, I hope you will listen to the words and relive the beautiful unconditional love you felt when yours was born:)
Tonight I have a special prayer to add to the circle, a good friend to many is in fear for her mother, she is suffering some problems with her heart and is in the hospital awaiting a scan tomorrow, please pray for this lady that she is able to rest comfortably and that she will be able to reserve her calm while waiting for the test to be done, please ask with me for our Father in Heaven to touch her heart, to hold it in his healing hands and make it a simple fix. I also ask that you get "on bended knees" with me and ask special mercies on all that are suffering loss, emotional, physical, and spiritual woes, those who are lost and feel that God has taken a step back from them, those who are healing from surgery's, those struggling with finances, those who are unemployed, those who are still rebuilding from the storms, those in the floods in Minot, North Dakota, those who are in the military fighting for our freedom, for our ministers, for our government and lastly for ourselves, Pray for relief, pray for comfort, pray for peace, pray for calm, and pray for strength to help us get through the hard times. Tonight may you be blessed with a wonderful peaceful sleep, may God be a shield for bad dreams, may he be a soft pillow for you to lay your head on and a wonderfully warm blanket that you cover with! God bless you so much, thank you for coming and lifting prayers with me, thank you for being my friend and know that you are loved!!!!

If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself shall suffer through the strain,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse or hard, or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in Thy fold,
When Thou hast given me some fort to hold,
Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee;
Forgive the secret sins I do not see;
O guide me, love me and my keeper be,
Dear Lord, Amen.

Lifting prayer for peaceful sleep to you and yours!!!

Boy I am really late tonight in posting, but it is worth being late, I got to sit and visit with Wayde's two sons tonight, it is always such a thrill and a joy for me to have them come over and spend time with us!  I love my little family so very much, I miss my daughter but know she is happy in her little life in Kansas so have to put the missing her on the back burner and just be proud for her, Wayde's sons live not far from us which makes it nice and convenient for visits, all three are now grown adults and it has been a thrill to watch them grow and mature! I pray that each of you has time with your families whether near or far, I know a phone call, text message or even an email is not the same as in person but at least it fills the void. Tonight I ask you to please continue to pray for all of those who have come and ask special prayers, I ask you to continue to join me each day and evening in prayer, I have seen many times the miracles that come from continued prayer! May your nights sleep be filled with sweet dream, may the morning be bright and shiny and may the spirit of our Lord and Savior be with each of you as you fill your spiritual tank tomorrow! Love in Christ:) 

Prayer for Peaceful Sleep

Lord God,
send peaceful sleep
to refresh our tired bodies.
May your help always renew us
and keep us strong in your service.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Into your hands, O Lord, we commend our souls and bodies, beseeching you to keep us this night under your protection and strengthen us for our service on the morrow, for Christ's sake. 
Amen.