In Jesus' Name

Matthew 6:7-13
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
 Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’”

I went to dinner with my daughter, Sara, and her family one evening. My granddaughter, Ella Cate, offered the prayer for our food. Sara reminded her to address God at the beginning of the prayer, then end the prayer in Jesus’ name. As we ate, Sara and I talked about why she taught Ella Cate to do that.

We address God because He is the creator of all mankind and our Father. We end asking in Jesus’ name because He is the one who restored our relationship with God after Adam and Eve disobeyed.

God made me, He breathed life in me, and He is the one who hears every prayer of every person. The beautiful thing is—He wants to hear from us.

When Adam and Eve failed to listen to God in the garden, they broke our bond with God. But Jesus restored it. He connected us back to the Father through his sacrifice on the cross.

When I pray, I want to address God and seek Him. Then, I want to speak the prayer in Jesus’ name. The Holy Spirit is in this too. The Spirit speaks when I can’t. He carries my prayers to God.

As Jesus teaches in the Lord’s prayer—Speak to God in reverence, seek to be a part of His kingdom. Do the tasks and touch the lives He lays on your heart. Ask for provision and forgive others. Seek protection from the temptations in this world, and be covered with grace, so the devil stays away. All of this in Jesus’ name.

Golden Beauties

Even with the lack of rain in our area, these beauties are blooming in the park.

The showy golden blooms of the helanthus decapetalus (thinleaf sunflower)

brightened the path we walked on. 

I'm always amazed at the variety of flowers in our area, and the glorious colors.

Their golden hue reminds me cooler weather is coming soon.

 

Grant me the Serenity

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” -The Serenity Prayer

This past week, I spent a couple of hours pulling expired black-eyed Susans out of my flower bed. Their brown eyes winked at me and said, “We’re done.” As I popped them out of the ground, I felt the muscles in my legs pull.

As I ripped the stems from the soil, I found room to move one of my lavender plants. I had planted the English lavender too close to the French lavender, and the French version took over the English one. After digging up and dividing the English lavender, it now has plenty of room to grow.

Change isn’t easy, but it needed to happen in the flower bed. The dead plants needed removed and the lavender needed space to flourish.

I’ve never been great with change. As I’ve grown older and hopefully wiser, I’m a little better, but at times uncomfortable and uncertain. The uncertainty is what stirs my anxiety. The not knowing why a change happened, or why I should make a change. I’m sure you get it. I don’t know many people who embrace a shift in life and roll with it, without struggle or question.

In the flower bed, the process gave way to growth. Removing the dead stems and moving the lavender allowed the garden to grow again. Even though my leg muscles ached, the rearrangement of the garden was good. Most of the time, change leads to personal growth, even when I don’t like it.

In life, I’ve had to accept the things I can’t change and place them in God’s hands and trust Him with all my heart. I’ve had to muster the courage to change what I could, still trusting God with the results as I prayed for understanding.

I’m thankful Jesus never changes. He stays the same, no matter what, and I can depend on Him.

Pray about change and trust God.

God's Gifts

The visitors who come to my flowers bring me joy.

Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds flit from flower to flower.

They search for the sweet nectar.

Like these creatures, people go from one thing to another 

looking for the next best thing.

That's natural for the bugs and birds, but for people, it's exhausting.

Take time to stop and experience God's gifts.

Seek to be satisfied by His love and grace.

 

Why Worry?

Luke 22:25-26
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Worry is worshipping your problem. Prayer is surrendering your problem.”

I remember the day I walked Sara to the huge yellow school bus at the end of the short driveway and handed her over to ride the bus to school. The next year, I repeated the act with Maggie and a few years later, with Hannah. For a young mom, it wasn’t easy sending my babies to school. I wanted to go with them and watch over them.

Looking back, now that all the girls have made it into their forties, they were prepared for their first steps toward independence. They all succeeded and two of them went on to work in the education field and one in non-profit.

As a young momma, I spent time worrying when I should have been praying. Over the years, those worries did turn into prayers. I still ask God to watch over my kiddos every day. Plus, all the people we’ve added to our family along the way.

Jesus wants me to trust him instead of fretting over something I have no control over. Yes, I prepared my kids for school and moving forward, and that’s all I could do, except pray and be available.

In Luke, Jesus speaks to the people and asks how worry can add a single hour to their life. If anything, worry tears away at us. Worry produces stress, which causes health issues and doesn’t take me anywhere but into a tailspin.

Jesus’ wisdom speaks into my heart as I’m reminded not to worry and instead to pray.

 When worry niggles at you, seek Jesus, pray, and trust Him.

Welcome September

The black-eyed Susans are beginning to fade as September unfolds.

These beauties are my favorite. 

They always show up around my birthday in July.

Sunday, I watched the humming birds enjoy the last of the sweetness.

As summer fades into autumn, I appreciate the season's change. 

I love living where the seasons move in a cycle. 

Cooler weather is around the corner.

And that makes me smile.

 

God's Friend

Isaiah 41:8-9
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.

James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

"We'll be friends forever, won't we, Pooh?" asked Piglet. "Even longer," Pooh
answered. 

I’ve had a few book signings recently. At each one, I’ve met new people, and visited with returning readers and fellow writers. When I went back to my hometown, to the building where my library career started, I had the joy and honor of being in the presence of three of my dear high school friends.

They may cringe when I say this, I might too, but next year marks our fiftieth anniversary for our high school graduation. Time goes too fast.

Even though I moved away from Lynchburg, I’m blessed to have communication with so many I graduated with. Bev, Colleen, Garnet and I reminisced, shared updates on our families, travels, and books we’ve been reading, and simply enjoyed seeing each other.

There’s a song I remember from childhood, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” We may have sung it in girl scouts. I’m not sure, but it still rings true. Those friends from our youth are precious indeed.

One friend I discovered in my youth was Jesus. He’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother. In Isaiah and James, we read of God calling Abraham his friend. How incredible to be known as a friend of the Lord God, who created the world.

Even when I have failed in my friendship with Jesus, he stuck with me. He loved me and called me closer to him. I’m beyond grateful for Jesus’ love and kindness and the sacrifice he gave, so I might be called God’s friend.

Take good care of your friends and seek Jesus, who loves you more than anything.