From Frazzled to Fun

Have you ever wondered why you should persevere in prayer?

• To persuade God to overcome his reluctance?
• But what if we know it is God's will?

Dutch Sheets shared an insightful message on this a few days ago that has me extra excited about the power of prayer and why we must persevere.

Dutch shared that "just as invisible elements of our natural world can be measured, such as oxygen or carbon dioxide, there are unseen spiritual substances, as well, which are no less real and exist in varying degrees or measures."

This is important when we realize the truth that God has made a decision to work on earth through humans.

In the Bible we see stories that demonstrate times when something was God's idea, God's timing, and God's will. Yet it took persevering prayer to accomplish it.

"I realized that when perseverance in prayer was necessary, it wasn’t to persuade God or overcome His reluctance. It was to release more of His power," said Dutch.

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Calling all mama bears! 

Can we agree that we've never seen a time like this? We might think that our battle is with people or a political party or other things we can see, but let me remind us that  God's word says our battle is in the unseen:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12 NIV

Every struggle plaguing us is a battle between darkness and light, death and life.

Death, you say?

• the death of over a million innocent & defenseless lives every year through abortion
• the death of many through a virus
• the death of a government run by the people and for the people
• the death of the nuclear family as designed by God
• the death of children's God-given destinies as they are tricked into believing they are not what God created them to be
• the death of children's God-given destinies through sex...

Do you ever just feel like giving up?

You have hopes, but keep hitting roadblocks...

it's just too hard?

I had that day a few months back and God sent me a message at just the right time --

It came out through my printer!

Please allow me to share the story with you through this video.

It encouraged me, and I hope it will also encourage you.

Comment and let me know that you are choosing to NOT quit.

If you have a friend who is ready to quit, please share this post with her.

Blessings, my friend!

I think most agree at this point we find ourselves in that God is our only hope.

This past year we have seen everything else crumble around us. It's time to, in unity, lift up our eyes to the One who can help us.

Would you like to join me and thousands of others on a 40-day prayer journey?

WayMakers for years has been publishing a 40-day prayer guide leading up to Easter that includes prayers of biblical hope.

Every year I look forward to praying through it, knowing the powerful prayers will be mixed with people from all around the world. It's so exciting!

So, order your copy today and let's get started. 

For yourself:

Get the Seek God for the City 2021 eBook here. (Or you can also order a paper copy of the book there.)

For your kids:

With specially-written prayers from the same Bible verses, the Children’s Guide to Seek God for the City 2021 helps families pray together and empowers kids to learn how to pray for their community. Get the no-cost,...

Happy Valentines Day!

I made this printable 1 John 3:18 scripture -- download it, print it off, and post it in your home. If you have a 4x6 frame on hand, this will fit into it perfectly.

I pray will be a blessing to you and your family.

Helping moms move from frazzled to fun moms drives me every day.

I strive to inspire moms to turn their eyes up to the Lord, and take practical steps in their homes to make things more sane so they have more space to love Him and their family.

Download this gift, then share this post with a friend so the scripture can bless her family, too. 

“They say Aslan is on the move— perhaps has already landed.” Yes, I do believe He has.

In July, as I took long walks in the Eleven Mile Canyon while my husband fly fished, I spent hours in prayer. I rarely encountered people, so it worked really well to just go ahead and talk out loud to God.

Over and over again I heard out of my mouth “Roar, Lion of Judah” and I imagined that great lion Aslan, from the Chronicles of Narnia series, standing boldly up on the high cliffs.

When I came home and told a friend about all the “Roar, Lion of Judah” proclamations, she asked what that meant. I told her I was not exactly sure.

All of 2020 I had my phone screen saver set to a Lion and Lamb in the clouds picture, and I had been reflecting much on Jesus, the Lion of Judah.

I was captured years before by the lion Aslan, the central figure of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the other Chronicles of Narnia books.

He shows up in chapter twelve as...

2020...BEST YEAR EVER...period.

This past year goes down as my most ironic calendar ever. 

Every day in the midst of "one more" unprecedented and unexpected change, I kept seeing...

BEST YEAR EVER. Haha.

On New Year's Eve my family and I lingered around the table and I was blown away as we recounted how many great things actually DID happen in our lives in the midst of all of 2020's twists and turns.

I am grateful the first week of January 2020 I felt the Lord whisper to my heart Redeem the time on your knees. 

As I sought to honor that directive and carved out more time than usual to pray and be in the Word, I saw Him multiply my time in unexpected ways and was reminded of Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

If I had known in January all the challenges that the next 12 months would hold, it would have been too heavy a burden to bear.

But day by day the Lord met me as I bent my...

I pray a blessed Thanksgiving for you and your family this year.

I would guess your kids aren't being taught the strong Christian origins of not only Thanksgiving, but the founding of America itself?

I know I never heard it in school, and much of it I only learned this year after doing some digging.

Hear my short teaching on what I discovered.

A few things included in that teaching:

• The first landing of America in 1607 included a group that erected a 7-foot oak cross and prayed (after they had spent 3 days ashore on the ship in repentance and prayer to embark as "right" with the Lord)
• At that first landing, Rev. Robert Hunt consecrated the continent to the glory of God. In covenantal language he declared, “…from these very shores the Gospel shall go forth to not only this New World, but the entire world.”
• Thirteen years later in 1620, the Pilgrims came to America in pursuit of holiness and the building of an ideal Christian...

Weary? Not surprised.

I'm praying for you.

And I have a special song for you.

Listen here and really take it all in.

You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast, 

because they trust in you. 

Isaiah 26:3

Dear sister, let's look to the Lord's strength and keep our minds steadfast on Him. He is the Ancient of Days, the One who parted the Red Sea, the One who is Always True and Always Able. 

We are living in exciting times -- we must make sure we get right before the Lord and then stay in constant prayer as we go through our days in such a time as this. 

I believe we are about to see the Glory of the Lord like we have not seen in our lifetime.

I also believe God is looking for faithful servants who are willing to walk forward in courage and accept His power from on high to be used in great ways for His Kingdom's purposes.

I'm raising my hand. Will you join me?