The Calming Voice of a Friend

Earlier this week, preparing to speak to a group, I didn't  feel totally comfortable with what I had prepared. My friend Vernon has always encouraged me to be "prayed up", do my best and let God do the rest. Honestly, it's adventurous and fun to be be praying for everyone and everything ahead of time. But you know how you just get that "am I ready" moment? So,  jumping into the car, heading to the event, I placed a call to a friend who I knew would pray for me when she got the message. Just leaving that message gave me a sense of "ok, I can breathe". So, imagine my delight when about 15 minutes later, just as I pulled into the parking garage, she called... we chatted for a few minutes and then, even with many things happening in her own life, she prayed for me and over me. Ah, the calming voice of a friend. The transforming power of prayer that pours the Spirit of Jesus over our "whatevers" and ushers us into His presence.

My friend's voice brought me to Jesus, who took me through the evening. What gracious gifts we are to each other when we step outside what we have going on and reach out to others. This week, may our voices bring others to Jesus who will walk with them through their struggles with His peace.

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

Inviting God Into Our Chaos

Over the last few weeks, a new work assignment has thrown my life into relatively minor chaos, but chaos none the less. It has been enough to give me pause on my internal sense of calm. The assignment will last for 12 weeks, so rather than wrestle with it, I asked God to join me. Picture that conversation for a minute... your cell phone rings, it's Jesus on the the other end and after exchanging pleasantries with your ultimate BFF, you say "Hey, do you want to join me as I am totally discombobulated, off balance and generally grumpy?" Instead of silence on the other end, He says, "Absolutely! Be right there."

So each morning that I hop in the car and head off to work this gig, I am accompanied by the God of the universe.  As the song says, "He walks with me and He talks with me along life's narrow way" and He keeps the conversation going all day.

Whatever we're challenged with this week, let's pick up the phone, get Jesus on the line and invite Him to come and join us in the midst of the chaos.

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace...             Matthew 11:28  (the Message)

Song: "In The Garden" Charles A. Miles

Sunrise…Sunset

Are you a sunrise or a sunset person? Nature is awesome to me, so I try to stop and take in as much as I can get. A few evenings ago, I was driving at sunset and the sky was ablaze with orange, orange and orange. There was a line of dark cloud just above all the orange, which made it all the more bright. It was as if the entire horizon were engulfed in a fire.

Then I began to think how personalized each sunrise or sunset is: by location, by angle, by elevation- God sends both the day and the evening into our lives with divine artwork. And, the God who does that surely can cover every other detail of my sometimes overloaded life...

This week, let's take them in… and when we do, acknowledge our God's infinite power and His infinite desire to step into our daily, sometimes overloaded lives.

"His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from His hand, where His power was hidden." Habakkuk 3:4