Definition of prayer

A friend of mine described prayer as such...I just had to share..

"Prayer is so beautiful..when someone sees your broken bleeding heart, picks it up and hands it to Jesus." -S.Rose

24 hours of prayer

Westside just made it through another 24 hours of continuous prayer. From my own experience and from what I heard from others this was very much needed. It was refreshing and reviving.

For myself, being a new mother, there are very few times that I get to sit in complete silence without any distractions, without a list of things going on through my head to do in the next minutes, hour or day.
I beleive these moments of 'intentional prayer' are much needed and unfortunately with the distractions of this world, they are sometimes difficult to acheive. Although Aleandro was with me, he fell asleep a few minutes into entering the room, so I really had the opportunity to sit.. be still with God..read His word and... just listen.

I left the prayer room refreshed and encouraged. I was reminded of God's promises. As I walked out, I felt like I was standing taller, feeling stronger, standing firmer in my faith and belief of who my God is and what He can do.

I returned to the prayer room that evening for community worship. It was intimate..so real.. so pure..so transparent.
I was amazed to see the walls filled with prayers, cries to God, requests and thanksgiving. It was beautiful. I saw the heart of God's people written out before me. God's heart through our prayers.

His Word on my heart.

.

"You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not in ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets but on tablets of human hearts."

2Corinthians 3:3

My intention

I met someone for the first time tonight who has recently (a year or so) come to know Jesus. It was so refreshing and such a reminder to me. It brought me back to all of the experiences I have gone through in the past few years , to the feelings of thirst, the unveiling of truth, the restoration, the healing. It reminded me of the pureness of God's love..

It also reminded me of how transparent I used to be. I beleive that I have become more guarded, more selective and in all honesty lazy...

I went back and reviewed my facebook blogs, and this blog and realized that amongst many other things.. one practice that I need to get back to is blogging.

I never used my blog as a voice to the world, but more so as my journal of thoughts, lessons learnt, experiences. I used to blog often on Sundays after the gathering, collecting my thoughts and impressions.These Sunday blogs forced me to reflect on the message a little while longer, forced me to go a little deeper.

Intention- For any relationship to grow you must be intentional in spending time with the other person.
I must become more intentional about spending time with God.

Church and community

"The church is not something additional or optional. It is at the very heart of God's purposes. Jesus came to create a people who would model what it means to live under His rule. It would be a glorious outpost of the kingdom of God, an embassy of heaven.

This is where the world can see what it truly means to be human. Our identity as human beings is found in community. Our identity as Christians is found in Christ's new community. And our mission takes place through communities of light." - Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

Prayer meeting

Joined Westside for prayer this evening. It was invigorating and refreshing.

Praying for others and prayers of thankfulness and gratitude definitely made me feel closer to God tonight.

My husband.

It is 7am and Joel has just left for a new job. It is a temporary position with a kitchen accessory store. He somehow managed to make a deal with the manager to work for them sporadic days in order to still be able to look for a better job.

I am thankful that this woman gave him this opportunity.

I have never met a more determined man. He does not let things get him down for too long and just keeps pushing forward. Although still within reason, he dreams much bigger than I do. This is slowly teaching me to let go and to beleive that big dreams through hard work could 'possibly' be attainable (I'm working on it.)

There are times where I overhear Joel being interviewed over the phone in french (which he only began speaking last year) and am so proud. I am so so proud and in awe. I put myself in his shoes and it sends a pang straight to my heart.

I am so thankful for Joel. I pray for the right opportunities to open up before him, that we continue to trust that we are simply in waiting and that God is preparing him for that 'perfect' job. I pray that God bring his dreams to fruition.

Love.

As I search to be closer to Jesus and as I pray to have more faith, I am often drawn to all of the blessings he has brought to my life. I am thankful because I have truly been so so blessed in the past 3 years.

Nonetheless, I am now searching beyond those memories. I want to be thankful to God for who He is.. beyond all that He has done for me.

I am searching to love Him with a deeper love. I want to love Him simply because of who He is, who He has been and who He will always be.

Waiting....

As I wait on news from a company on whether or not my husband got the job..I hold on to the promise that God made me.

He provides.
In His time.
When we have faith.

Over and over again, God has reminded me that He will always come through. The result is not always what is expected, which that in itself is sometimes hard to accept. Nonetheless, looking back... God has had providence in my life.

I pray more than anything.. for more faith. To trust that whatever may come, God has it all under control.

A pause to remember..

June 16th. Without fail, a day every year where I am reminded of all that God has done and how great He is.. A day where I look back and reflect. An anniversary which allows me the time to pause for a moment and thank God.

"Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about all his miracles.
Be glad that you are his;
Let those who seek the Lord be happy.
Depend on the Lord and his strength;
always go to him for help.
Remember the miracles he has done;
remember his wonders and his decisions.
You are descendants of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
He is the Lord our God.
His laws are for all the world.
He will keep his agreement forever;
He will keep his promises always."

Psalm 105: 1-8 NCV.