I subbed a class yesterday I don’t normally teach.  One of the funny senior gals that I haven’t seen in a while came and sat by me on the chairs while we waited for the previous class to finish.

When we both stood up as the other participants filed out of the fitness room, she asked if I was teaching that class today. 

I replied, “Yep.  I’ve been asked to do that.”

Then she (a very tall lady) ducked down quite a bit and said, “Then I will keep my head below yours.”

Keep my head below yours.

Keep my head below yours.

Keep my head below yours…

The following verses were just playing from the iPod in our kitchen…I heard through Facebook from a friend about these CDs.  Turns out, our church uses them in the kids’ area!  You know how I feel about God’s Word.  These are such a great way to get it into our kids’ little minds. 

The words spoke to me this morning.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thess 5:16-18

Blessed are those whose strength is in You,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass the Valley of Weeping,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,

til each appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:5-7

I’m tired, I’m worn

My heart is heavy

From the work it takes

To keep on breathing

I’ve made mistakes

I’ve let my hope fail

My soul feels crushed

By the weight of this world

And I know that You can give me rest

So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win

Let me know the struggle ends

That You can mend a heart that’s frail and torn

I wanna know a song can rise

From the ashes of a broken life

And all that’s dead inside can be reborn

Cause I’m worn

I know I need

To lift my eyes up

But I’m too weak

Life just won’t let up

And I know that You can give me rest

So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win

Let me know the struggle ends

That You can mend a heart that’s frail and torn

I wanna know a song can rise

From the ashes of a broken life

And all that’s dead inside can be reborn

Cause I’m worn

My prayers are wearing thin

I’m worn

Even before the day begins

I’m worn

I’ve lost my will to fight

I’m worn

So Heaven come and flood my eyes

Yes, all that’s dead inside will be reborn

Though, I’m worn

I’m worn

Tenth Avenue North, “Worn” via  www.elyrics.com

Thought I’d share some verse prayers I pray for people in my life who don’t know Jesus.  I’m sure you have neighbors, friends, family members, too, that could use prayer.  Take these, print them out, put his or her name in the blanks, and get busy praying in His Power!

Remember, though, the enemy wants to avoid the Sword of the Spirit at all costs (Eph 6:17b).  If you decide to wage war this way, he will be all over you.  Do. it. in. community.

Do it in community!

Jesus, we confess that every living soul belongs to You (Ez. 18:4) that you take no pleasure in the death of anyone (Ez. 18:32) that You are righteous in all your ways and loving toward all You have made (Ps 145:17) and that You are patient with ______________, not wanting him to perish but to come to repentance (1Pet2:9).  May________________ repent and live!

LORD, on behalf of _________ we confess her offenses and sins weigh her down and she is wasting away because of them.  How then can she live?  Thank You that, as surely as You live, You take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather desire them to turn from their ways and live.  May ___________ turn!  May she turn from her evil ways.  Please move in _____________’s heart so she will not die.  (Ez. 33:10-11)

Master, please circumcise ___________________’s heart and the hearts of his descendants so they may love You with all their heart and with all their soul and live (Deut 30:6)

Please make ___________a worshiper of You and open her heart to respond to our message (Acts 16:4)

Open _____________________’s eyes and turn him from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to You, God, so they he may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Christ.  (Acts 26:18)

Sovereign Lord, give ____________ an undivided heart and put a new spirit in her; remove from her her heart of stone and give her a heart of flesh.  May she follow Your decrees and be careful to keep Your laws. May she be one of Your people and You be her God (Ez. 11:19-21)

Jesus, we confess that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to _________________ by which he must be saved.  (Acts 4:12)

In Your Name, when _________________hears the message of Your kingdom, please protect her from the evil one who wants to snatch away what was sown in her heart, so she cannot understand it (Matt 13:19).

Holy Spirit, come and convict ______________of guild in regard to sin, righteousness and judgment … Please guide him into all Truth (John 16:8, 13)

God, You command people everywhere to repent…May ______________repent, then , and turn to You that her sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from You. (Acts 3:19)

Jesus, we declare You are the Bread of Life.  May ________________come to You and never go hungry.  We know Your will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him has eternal life.  No one comes to Jesus unless, You, Father draw them.  (John 6:35, 40, 44)  Please draw _______________ to Yourself (John 12:32).

Remove the veil from _____________________’s eyes so he can see the light of the gospel.  Shine Your light in his heart to give him the light of the knowledge of Your glory in the face of Christ (2Cor 4:4-6).

Show _________________ the deceit in storing up treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  Help her store up for herself treasures in heaven…(Matt 6:19-21).  Engrave on her soul that a woman’s life does not consist of the abundance of her possessions (Lk 12:15b).

May __________________ soon confess with his mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in his heart that You raised Him from the dead, so he will be saved.  (Rom 10:9)

We know the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (2 Cor 2:14).  So please, Jesus, open_____________’s mind so he can understand the Scriptures (Lk 24:45).

Show to _________________’s spirit that Your way is perfect and Your Word is flawless (2 Sam 22:31)

Show ______________________that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16).

Put people in ___________________’s life who will gently instruct her; grant her repentance leading her to a knowledge of truth.  Please cause _________________to come to her senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken her captive to do his will (2Tim 2:25-26)

Help ________________ overcome his unbelief (Mk 9:24b)

Thank You that you came to seek and to save what was lost, Jesus (Lk 19:10).  Seek out ____________________________.

Sovereign Lord, please wash ________________, sanctify her and justify her in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by Your Spirit (1Cor 6:11).

Grant ____________________ godly sorrow that brings repentance, leads to salvation and leaves no regret… (2 Cor 7:10)

Show Your greatness and holiness, Lord, and make Yourself known in the sight of _____________________.  Then he will know that you are the LORD (Ez 38:23).

Rescue _________________ from the dominion of darkness and bring her into the kingdom of the Son You love, in whom we all have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14).

God, thank You that You reveal Yourself to those who do not ask for You; You will be found by those who do not seek You.  To ________________ who doesn’t call on Your name, say ‘Here am I, here am I’ (Is 65:1)  Thank You that You reveal Yourself to those who aren’t even looking and don’t deserve it – just like You did for me.

* If you want a good resource on praying His Words back to Him over situations, I have come to A-Dore the book “Praying God’s Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds” by Beth Moore. 

I even copied an idea from someone and had it taken to one of those Kinkos/Fed Ex places and they took out the binding and inserted one of those spiral-bound things.  So I can flip it easier, take it with me, etc.

Have I mentioned His Word is Powerful?!

Heard this song today on the radio.  The announcer said it won Song of the Year.

When Mike Weaver of Big Daddy Weave accepted the award, he simply stated:

“I used to hate my own guts.  But I don’t anymore.  Because of what Jesus did for me.”

Enjoy the Truth of the lyrics:

Seems like all I could see was the struggle

Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past

Bound up in shackles of all my failures

Wondering how long is this gonna last?

Then you look at this prisoner and say to me

“Son, stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”
 
I am redeemed!

You set me free!

So I’ll shake off these heavy chains

Wipe away every stain

Now I’m not who I used to be

I am redeemed… I’m redeemed

All my life I have been called Unworthy

Named by the voice of my Shame and Regret

But when I hear You whisper “Child, lift up your head”

I remember, oh God, You’re not done with me yet!

Because I don’t have to be

The old man inside of me!

Cause his day is long dead and gone because

I’ve got a  New Name

A new life – I’m not the same

And a hope that will carry me home!

I am redeemed!

You set me free!

So I’ll shake off these heavy chains

And wipe away every stain

Now I’m not who I used to be!

Oh God, I’m not who I used to be!

Jesus, I’m not who I used to be!

Cause I am redeemed!

Thank God, redeemed!

Big Daddy Weave, “Redeemed” via www.elyrics.net
 

This quote won’t be perfect because I heard Beth Moore say it on a video that went to the Bible Study I did. 

Here’s my memory of the quote:

“A while back I was just so upset about something someone had done to me.  I kept telling God all about it.  He invites me to do that when I’ve been hurt, but I just kept it up.  Finally, I sensed Him say to my heart:

‘Child, what would you have me do with them?’

My heart finally softened, and I said to Him, ‘Show them the same mercy and grace You’ve shown me.'”

I’m so grateful our God is a God of kind words.

Yesterday He redeemed some words for me.

When Caden got in the car after 4-H he was sad that I had let Caleb get a $1 toy as a treat for doing a good job in some errands we ran. 

When I explained why he got it, Caden cried, “But what if he teases me with it?  What if he says, ‘Here, you can have it,’ but then he changes his mind and takes it away?  What if that happens?”

Later we saw our neighbor across the street again.  The boys both wanted to pet her dog, Rosie.  When they took a step back when she jumped up (she’s a small dog), Pat said, “Oh, she’s just excited!  She loves you and wants to play!  You use your hands to play, but since she can’t do that, she uses her mouth.”

And later, when Caden asked if he could shoot his cap gun in her yard, I go, “No sweetie.  It might scare Rosie.”

And Pat added, “Her ears are more sensitive than yours.  Did you know that?”

Just dropped Caden off at 4-H camp. 

Sweet boy.  He’s nervous.  Monday – Thursday, 9:00 – 2:00 all through June.  That’s a long time to be away from Mom.  Fortunately, Dad is just down the hall and reminded him over and over he’ll check on him and protect him.  I reminded him to keep a thick skin and a tender heart, then prayed the God of the Universe would help him have a great first day and make some friends.

Little man and I are going to the YMCA for my first Silver Sneakers class.  He likes the Kids’ Zone, but has never been there without his big brother.  Big first day for all of us.  (Fortunately, his time there will be short.)

On the way to 4-H, we drove by the preschool/church Caden just graduated from.  He saw a big banner and goes, “Hey!  They’re having a sale at my old school.” 

I looked and go, “Hmm…I think that was advertising VBS.”

He said, “You could be wrong.  We both could be.”

From the mouths of babes…

Heard this today:

She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying but the canyon’s ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She’s another two years older
And she’s three more steps behind

Does anybody hear her? 
Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she’s going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her?
Can anybody see?

She is yearning for shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searching for a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away

Does anybody hear her?
 Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she’s going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her?
Can anybody see?

If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we’ve never even met her

If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we’ve never even met her
Never even met her, never even met her

Does anybody hear her?
Does anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she’s going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her?
Does anybody see?
Does anybody even know she’s going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her?
Does anybody see?

He is running a hundred miles an hour

In the wrong direction

Casting Crowns, “Does Anybody Hear Her” via metrolyrics.com

“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
⁹ The wise will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed and trapped.
Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom do they have?
¹⁰ Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.
¹¹ They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.
¹² Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,
says the Lord.

¹³ The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. ¹⁴ Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” ¹⁵ Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. ¹⁶ I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.”