“…Scripture without prayer has no soul; prayer without Scripture has no substance.”
– Eugene Peterson
I’m coming to agree with Eugene Peterson, perhaps we cannot disentangle prayer from God’s Word, there is a twining together, as God embodies His Word.
Scripture becomes the seeds for my prayers. “The seed is the Word of God.” (Luke 8: 11)
I’m starting with a confession because this is where this all began for me. There were four to five years that I only read the Psalms when I read the Bible, which I do up to an hour a day. Let me clarify, I could have read from other books of the Bible, but, somehow, my heart drew me over and over to the Psalms, almost exclusively. I was drawn to them. I couldn’t make myself stop.
Every day after my time in the Bible, I’d promise myself – ‘Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll read the Gospels, or Isaiah. I’ll read any other book besides the Psalms’. Then, tomorrow came, and I found myself opening up my Bible to the Psalms, yet again. I poured over the Psalms, I couldn’t get enough. I ate them as only a hungry person can.
[Read more…]True fact – I have a tough time giving thanks during Thanksgiving and Christmas season.
I get a sense I’m not alone in this – particularly in this unprecedented year of 2020, with all the loss and isolation and divisions that have marked the year .
I know if you and I look at our circumstances, most particularly, the new holiday restrictions, lock-downs, stay-at-home orders, pandemic fears, family worries and losses, our natural responses probably tend to be far from thankful. [Read more…]
Where in your life are you trying to hold it together?
You know the struggles you’re facing – the places you are having a hard time bearing up, keeping life going.
In my household when things are happening – things that cause my gut to churn, my teeth to clench, my mind to whirl and if I’m with my hubby talking through the stress – the whatever, that is threatening our peaceful life balance – I’ll often look down. Down at my hubby’s hands, and often his hands are tightly clenched – into white knuckled fists – ready to fight. [Read more…]
If there is anything the COVID-19 has given me, it’s been time. Its been altered – set down into a new place – life is not the same.
Having more time carries a huge weight of responsibility with it. I’ve been experiencing a load of guilt as I observe my neighbor take down a good acre of 60 foot alder trees and re-landscape his entire yard into a green grassy acre with mounded garden beds of lush flowerbeds, and even a waterfall feature, while the weeds in our garden are growing to unprecedented heights. I have more time, but what am I doing with it? [Read more…]
