~Snow Day~

Sometimes, especially in winter, I dream of living somewhere on this earth where the winters are actual winters with freezing temperatures and snow, that is everywhere. :D Maybe someday it will happen haha... I don't know what it is about the snow, but it makes me feel so warm inside (even though everything else is usually freezing). Just seeing everything covered in a white layer brings such a peaceful attitude to my spirit. With all the negative in the world, a completely white layer over everything makes it as if God is sending His cleansing spirit over us. Helps us slow down. And look at old things in a new way.

Down in the valley where I live, we haven't had too many days below 35 degrees this year and with that came the lack of snow. I have been so hopeful for the days that it will snow us all in but that hasn't exactly happened yet...YET! It did, however, just snow in the hills around the valley and before we lost the chance to enjoy it my mom and I geared up and had a wonderful snow afternoon!

It is so amazing to walk in God's creation when it is all covered in this white powdery stuff. It's like being transported to a different world!

Five Practical Ways to Stay Connected with God

"The one concern of the devil, is to keep saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion; he laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray."

Those words above are from a Methodist Minister named Samuel Chadwick and is probably one of his most famous quotes. Chadwick is completely right when he said (in other terms) that the devil doesn't care about what happens "over there," as long as it doesn't interfere with his plans. 

Have you ever heard that other quote that says (in my own words) "Be that kind of person, for when you wake up the devil goes, Oh no! They're up!" I believe that what this quote is also saying, is that when Spirit-filled people wake up to a brand new day, to do God's work, the devil is probably thinking, "Oh man... I'll have to work extra hard today because that God-powered person is going to mess up all my plans!"

Then in my head, "Haha (in an extra mischievous way)... my goal today is to undo all of satan's deadly plans!"

This scene is a never ending battle between the good and evil in our world. I am just so thankful that in the end, I know what side wins! Can I get an AMEN! 

We are not in this world fighting against an enemy who is flesh and blood but against unseen evil spirits (Ephesians 6:12). Because of that, we also can't use physical weapons to arm ourselves; we need spiritual armor from God (Ephesians 6:10-11). 

One of the most profound and beneficial ways to be on guard against those evil spirits is to constantly be in tuned to God. Always having that open line of communication and always looking to the Holy Spirit to lead and direct you. 

  

However, you might ask/say, "How do I always keep a line of communication open with God? It's not like I can sit and pray for 24/7." "How can I make God my FIRST?" "I am really busy in the mornings and can't seem to fit time with God in, although I know it is really important." If any one of these questions relates to you, don't worry, because you are not alone! I struggle with these situations every day and every day it is a growing experience. 

1. It first starts with a DESIRE. You gotta want to spend time with God and want to be filled with His Spirit.
2. Then starts the DISCIPLINE. After you have the desire to get something done, be patience and be willing to put some work into it.
3. Lastly, the steps to walk with God every day will become a DELIGHT! You will be waking up every morning with enthusiasm to greet God first and to include Him on every little moment in your life.    

 Don't give up on something that takes time and effort, because, in the end, you are going to be so glad that you kept with it! 

      1.  Greet God with a "Good morning" when you wake up!

I started doing this consistently about 6 months ago and when I started I have to say that it felt kinda weird. There I was, sitting (or laying) in my bed, looking up to Heaven (in reality my ceiling), and saying "good morning" to an unseen figure. But now, I love it! I enjoy waking up every day and telling God "good morning!" and now I feel "weird" if I don't! 😄

      2.  Get in God's Word EVERY DAY! 

Even if you don't have an hour or even ten minutes (as the result of waking up late...I know I'm guilty🙋), make it a priority to get God's Word inside of you. It can often be difficult to include this time without letting it become rushed, to the point where you don't remember/understand what you've just learned. 
In these situations (when time is limited), you need to find what works best for you. For me on my early school mornings, that come with a 40-minute drive, I turn on a sermon. My favorite to listen to, of course, come from Church of the Highlands😊. I have also recently listened to sermons from Elevation Church and Paster Jon Gray (you can find his sermons on YouTube). 
Convert whatever time you have or whatever situation you are in, as a time to soak in God's truth. Although, remember that God wants your everything. Work towards getting up earlier to have that special, dedicated time with Him before you have to rush out of the house.   

      3.  Retrain yourself not to "clean up" 

God wants you as are. He wants your imperfect self so He can make you as "white as snow."
Because of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross, we no longer have to worry about not being "good enough" to enjoy God's presence. He welcomes us all into His family (tax collectors, fisherman, Pharisees, hookers, retailers, businessmen, students, government workers, etc....).   
Instead of waiting for that perfect moment when everything in your life is "put neatly in its place," invite God in and He will help you through the process. In fact, the process will go a lot smoother if you do!
So, when things aren't going your way, having a bad day, or maybe you were mean to that kid at school (or a co-worker), go to God, tell Him what happened, and ask Him to help you make things right.

      4.  Invite Him along!

Ok so this one might be a little strange for some of you, but hear me out! God loves to hear from you! For us living at home (or who might have families), how would you feel if your family member just said "good morning" to you and then nothing the rest of the day until evening? It would probably leave you with the feeling of being ignored. Well, how do you think God feels when you leave Him at home (or even at Church)? In addition to my "spontaneous" post yesterday, God wants you to invite Him along!
No matter where you are (in the car, in line, on hold, at work, at school, etc) God can be right there with you. If you're struggling He can give you peace and if you are celebrating, He would love to celebrate with you!
Talk to Him as if He is standing right beside you! If you want, you can even write letters to Him to express your feelings. Another avenue could be in your creativity!
Whatever and whenever it is, know that you have a tag along (and "participater") if you let Him!

      5.  End your day with thanksgiving and a re-focus

Last one! Now that you have made it through your day with God at the center, you can't stop at bed time!
Use some time before you go to bed to re-gather your thoughts from the day. Start off with praising God for the things He is and has done/ is doing in your life!
Then, if anything needs to be reconciled, make it a priority to seek God's help and forgiveness. Ask God to help you do better tomorrow, which is a BRAND NEW DAY! Ask Him to go ahead of you and prepare the path that you will take.
Right before you go to sleep, tell God how GREAT He is and seal it with a "goodnight!"😊

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Well, there you go! My five practical ways to stay connected with God throughout the day and every day! Do you have any tips/ways that help you keep God at the center? If you do, I would love to hear them! Please comment below or send me a message!

C O N T I N U I N G with P R A Y E R

Welcome back! I hope that you had a good week and that maybe something fun is planned for the weekend! Because who doesn't LOVE to just chillax and re-collect themselves for the coming week? I know I do!

This weekend I am actually getting together with some other ladies that want to start blogging and so we are throwing a "blog start up party!" It should be really fun and I am looking forward to it! I will make sure to share about it afterward! :D

Speaking about having that time over the weekend to renew ourselves for the coming week, this is the last weekend of the 21 Days of Prayer. :( But don't be alarmed! Even though there won't be a video to watch, you can still continue this rhythm in your everyday life. In fact, I pray that you do. 

Today I am going to share with you two different prayer outlines that God gives us in the Bible and that we can use every day to have that time of renewal and strengthing. 

1. The Lord's Prayer

The first outline that I am going to share with you is the Lord's Prayer. I shared this outline in one of my previous posts called Camel Knees. Please check out that post to learn more in depth about using the Lord's Prayer outline in your prayer time.

Jesus gave this prayer to His followers as not only a standard prayer to pray but as a guideline of WHAT TO PRAY.

He wants to know our hearts and our hearts long to know His.

This is a great prayer outline to start out with, as it is simple to remember and easy to use.

*The picture above is a sneak preview of my new journal Bible, that I am excited to share with you in an upcoming post!

2. The Tabernacle Prayer

Second, I want to share with you a more in-depth outline for prayer that was formed from the design of the tabernacle. The tabernacle in the Old Testament was basically the Israelite's portable Church; a place where they went to worship and offer sacrifices to God. Even though we do not practice most of the Old Testament's old ways, the truth and principals that are found within its pages still hold true.

Hebrews 9:1-9 recounts in short what the tabernacle was and how it was set up, but if you want to dig deeper, look up Exodus chapters 35-38.

To come into and dwell in the presence of God, there is a protocol that needs to take place, and it always starts with praise and thanksgiving.

The Outer Court

Psalm 100:4 tells us to enter God's gate with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. 

Start your prayer time with praising God's name (just like we have been doing in the 21 Days of Prayer). This gets your mind set on things above and focused on who God is and who we are in Him.

1. The Brazen Altar

The next stop in the tabernacle was the altar where the priests made the sacrifices but because of the ultimate sacrifice that was given on your behalf we no longer have to make the daily sacrifices. I am so thankful for that!

Take time to reflect on this wonderful gift, because it is ONLY through God's Son that we are able to come into God's presence and have a more personal relationship with Him!

2. The Laver

The laver was a bowl of water for cleansing. From their reflection, the priests would see their imperfect selves, but at the same time, they were letting God wash them clean and strip away any negative aspect of their lives that would prohibit them from fully enjoying God's presence. Check out Romans 12:1-2. 

In this moment, also take the time to pray through the Fruits of the Spirit. Ask God to help grow you in certain areas of the fruit that you might be lacking or if there are areas where you feel pretty good, ask God to continue igniting those areas. 

The Holy Place

Now you are able to meet with God more intimately.

3. The Candlestick

The candlestick represents the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit who fills us with God's Spirit and desires. Ask Him to take out your own desires and replace them with the desires of God's heart.

4. The Table of Shewbread

Bread in the Bible represents God's Word and God will sometimes use His Word to speak to you. Use this time to be still and listen. 

5. The Altar of Incense

The altar of incense was the last step of the priest before he would go into the Holy of Holies. Here he would bring the burning coals from the brazen altar to ignite the incense. This is another time to remember who God is and what He has done for us. Worship in this moment and because this is an intimate time, do whatever your heart calls you to do. Break out that instrument you play, listen/sing worship music, or thank God for who He is by calling upon His various names. 

A few of God's names are:
Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will Provide
Jehovah M'Koddesh - Who makes me holy

Jehovah Rapha - My healer

Jehovah Shalom - The Lord is peace
Jehovah Tsidkenu - My righteousness

Hebrews 12:15-16 also tells us that we can worship God through our services or giving.

Holy of Holies

Directly in God's presence.

6. The Mercy Seat (the Ark)

Because the veil was torn on the day Jesus died on the cross, we are now freely welcomed into God's presence. 
The priest went into the Holy of Holies only once a year to intercede for the Israelite's sins. 
Intercession: to work with God on behalf of other people
Use this time to pray for those who have authority over you and for those around you (1 Timothy 2:1-4):
- pray for our nation's leaders, state leaders, and local leaders
- pray for your family, those close to you, and those that need to see God's love
- pray for your Church, its needs, and the leaders there
- lastly, pray for your own needs 

End your prayer time with more thanksgiving and just enjoy the time that you just spent in God's presence! 

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Click on the picture below to print (or save for later) a summary of the Tabernacle Prayer. 

*This printout was put together by Church of the Highlands
You can also check more resources on prayer here

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Wow! That was a lot of information and if you are reading this then you are totally awesome and I commend you for wanting to grow your relationship with God!! :D

Stay Tuned for next week as I will be sharing some tips/ways that I have found help me to keep God at the center throughout my day and to bring Him into my morning first!

2 1 D A Y S of P R A Y E R

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Christmas and time bringing in the New Year! WOW... I cannot believe 2017 is already here! 

A new year to restart.

A new year to set goals,

A new year to plan adventures.

And a new year to grow deeper in LOVE with God. 

As we start off this new year, I would like to invite you to prepare your mind and heart for what God has in store for you. To refocus your eyes on Him and to give Him your FIRST every day.

There are many ways to do just that, but I believe and have been taught that the most essential part of giving God your FIRST is through PRAYER. 

Getting up and giving Him those FIRST MOMENTS of your day is essential to growing that deep relationship with Him. 

Trust me when I say that I have not yet mastered this art (so to say). It is still very much a work in progress, but I am excited to really dig in and commit my FIRST MOMENTS to GOD this year and the years to follow.

I love listening to sermons from a Church in Alabama called, Church of the Highlands (mentioned them previously in Camel Knees). I have learned so much from the pastors and it is from this Church that I have learned the importance of PRAYER. 

Two times a year they hold a 21 Days of Prayer event (in January and then in August). These 21 Days are meant to be days of renewal and planting. Seeking God FIRST, with people all over. 

I invite you to jump start the impact that PRAYER will have on your life with me, as we dig into God's Word with Church of the Highlands and others.

Click on the picture below to go to the 21 Days of Prayer website to learn more!

If you decide to follow along on this 21 Days of Prayer with me, please comment below! I would love to get to know you and build a community of encouragement!  

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I am so excited to start this new year with you all and I am thrilled to show/share with you so many new things! So stay tuned!

P.S.

I am so in love with my new PRAY glass water bottle that I got for Christmas, that I just had to share it with you all! 

It came from YouInfuse which was created by an AWESOME lady who's name is Monique McLean.

Monique is a woman who has a heart to fully serve God. She is an encourager to others and an inspiration to me. Monique also did her own version of the 21 Days of Prayer that I did last year. If you have a spare moment in your day go over to her website and check it out!

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Have a Blessed Day! :)

Camel Knees

If you were to ask yourself how much devoted time you actually spent with God, what would be your reply?

Do you ever tell yourself that you do not have time at that moment to spend in God's presence? Maybe you feel like you never pray the right way and so God will not listen. Or do you compare yourself with someone else that you think has their time with God all planned out...?

Many people, including myself, struggle with these feelings...these insecurities about our time with God. But once you see that talking to Him is just like talking to a friend, it gets a lot less complicated.

Our personal time spent with God are not meant to be put by the wayside for when we have more time or when we can get it planned out just right. We are human and everybody has their own way(s) of communicating with God and whatever your way is, God is everlasting, love, unchanging, and will always be ready for that time with you. All you have to do is initiate your side of the commitment.

It is amazing how God gave us His Word to equip us on how to live out our Christian lives! My mom and I started listening to some sermon messages from Chruch of the Highlands (I would definitely recommend checking them out!) and in one of Pastor Chris' messages entitled Teach Us To Pray, he points out something I never really thought of before and that is how Jesus gave a guideline on how to pray. Which it is just awesome how Jesus breaks these things down for us to understand clearly and to help us get comfortable with praying, and to also help us realize that praying does not have to be difficult!
Ok, it starts off in Luke 11:1 when Jesus' disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray and I just love Jesus' humble attitude, because He never says "Are you kidding me! You guys have been with me for this long and you have not caught on how to pray yet?" Let me tell you something, if you are not sure, have doubts, or just do not know, never be afraid to ask your question(s). Pray about it to God, ask a leader/pastor at your church, and better yet, if you have God fearing parents then let them in on your doubts and questions (I'm sure they would love to talk about it with you).
Now back to our story on how to pray. :) In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus goes on to tell His disciples the famous Bible prayer that we know now: The Lord's Prayer, and through this prayer, there is an outline that we can use in our prayer lives.
The Lord's Prayer Outline:*
"Our Father in heaven"

          ~ God wants us to connect with Him relationally. He adopted us into His family (Romans 8:15) and He loves being called "Father." I believe when we recognize Him as something more than just a God in the sky, our relationship with Him begins to form a deeper meaning.

"Hallowed be Your Name"

~ Worship God's Name when you pray, because His Name has power. In Proverbs 18:10, the author says how "God's name is a place of protection . . ." 

"Your Kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"

 ~ Pray God's agenda first. God has a prayer list of His own and when we align our hearts and passions with God's everything will fit into place (Matthew 6:33).

"Give us this day our daily bread"

~ Depend on God for everything and pray for what you need even if you do not need it. We need to communicate with God that we need Him (and we need to remind ourselves of this also). Psalm 121:1-2

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"

~ Get your heart right with God and others. When you pray, "Lord, search my heart and point out anything that needs fixing." This is also something that we need to do daily because as humans we cannot go through a day without sinning. 1 John 1:9

"And do not let lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one"

~ Since God cannot lead us into temptation Himself, the part where it talks about that can be translated to do not allow me to be led into temptation. This part of the prayer is where we engage and recognize that we are in a spiritual battle against the evil powers of this dark world (Ephesians 6:12).

"For yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever"

~ Express your faith in God's abilities. None of what has happened in your life is because what you did and even when things seem impossible in life just remember that nothing is too hard for our mighty Father (Jeremiah 32:17). Revelation 5:13

*I got this prayer outline from a sermon message that I listened to from Chruch of the Highlands and would recommend listening to it to hear the full endept message (click on the message title above).

 There you go! Your own personalized outline for praying. Always remember when you pray, God wants to hear from YOUR heart. He wants to connect with you, with what your feeling and even though you might feel that He has no idea what your troubles feel like, remember that Jesus once walked this earth and has already experienced stuff and suffered just like us if not more. 

Have a great spring break and enjoy your prayer time with our Heavenly Father!

<3 Izzy