Wanna experience God doing some AMAZING things? Amp up your prayer life!!! I am blessed to belong to a church that believes strongly in the power of prayer. Even more blessed to belong to a women's group that is just starting to realize the power we have in Christ through prayer.

Now I'm not talking your grocery list kinda prayers, I'm talking Holy Spirit lead prayer, the kind of prayer where you're down on your knees getting real with God. The kind of prayer where you don't do all the talking, the kind where you take time to listen as well. That is when God speaks, God leads, God shows up!! I know you're thinking, I don't have TIME for that kind of praying, I'm telling you MAKE time. Once you experience God through prayer you won't want to pray any other way, you will, but you'll LONG for the kind prayer life where God speaks to you.

The book we're studying in our women's group is called Intercessions by Joy Dawson. Here's a list she gives that takes you through some steps for praying. Give it a try!

1. Praise God for who He is.
2. Make sure your heart is clean before God by giving the Holy Spirit time to convict should you have any unconfessed sin.
3. Acknowledge that you cannot really pray affectively without the Holy Spirit's enabling.
4. Deal aggressively with the enemy. Come against him in the all powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Sword of the Spirit-The Word of God.
5. Die to your own imaginations, desires and burdens for what you feel you should pray for.
6. Praise God now for the remarkable prayer time you're going to have.
7. Wait before God in silent expectancy, listening for His direction.
8. In obedience and faith take action to what God brings to your mind, believing.
9. If possible have your Bible with you in case God wants to give you direction or conformation through His word.
10. When God ceases to bring things to your mind for which to pray, praise Him and thank Him for what He has done.

Now do you have to follow a list every time you sit down and pray, no of course not, however, making your prayer life more than just the grocery list of things that you'd like God to do for you is so powerful. You WILL see things happen and God WILL talk to you, if only you take time to listen!!

This has been a difficult and interesting 4 days. 4 days is the number of days I've been off of Facebook. At first it was about what I should be doing if I wasn't spending time on Facebook? I wandered aimlessly through the house for a bit, I saw all the dusting that needed to be done, the laundry that was waiting for me and the floors that needed to be washed. I quickly went into panic mode thinking there was no way I was going to fill up my time with housework. That can't possibly be what God meant when we told me to fast from Facebook. So I put on my art clothes and headed to my studio, and that's pretty much where I've been when I haven't been working. I've been productive, which is good right? Except I'm not feeling like it's good. I mean, yes, I've been praying a lot, and praising a lot, which is what I do any time I'm in my studio, and well, most the time when I'm not in my studio. So what am I learning from all this?

What I'm learning is actually quite surprising to me. I'm learning that there are things that happen all during my day that are pretty awesome, God shows up all day long!!  I've learned too that I can't keep these things to myself, I need to share them. I need to share the way God blesses me, ways that He speaks to me, things that are AMAZING that He does all day, every day!!!  If nothing else it's renewed my dedication to discipleship and evangelism.

So, with new eyes, and full awareness of who He is, and how He shows up in my life, I am returning to Facebook so I can share it with all of you.

Every once in a while I get to a place of comfort, a place where everything feels good, feels right, it's mostly a good place. However, it's also a place that makes the anxiety creep up in the back of my brain every now and again and put me on full alert. Usually when I'm in this place it becomes abundantly clear that this is just a resting area. That it's just a pause in life giving me a moment or two to recharge and get ready for the next big thing. As usual, when I see that next big thing coming around the corner, I tend to try to look the other way, to pretend I didn't see it and inevitably that thing that I'm trying to avoid is looking me right in the face and to ignore it would be near impossible. Usually that next big thing is another change in my life that God is calling me to make. Not that I don't want to do what pleases God, I do, but oooo change is so hard. Especially when it's something that doesn't feel to me,  like it needs to be changed. However, I know that "tap on the shoulder", that "whisper in my ear" that tells me otherwise. I've also discovered, this time, as with many other times, He doesn't stop at the gentle tap or the whisper, sometimes He screams it at me loud and clear so that I cannot deny Him, so I cannot pretend I don't know what He's telling me.

Here's the kicker though, I know that if I just surrender and do what He's asking, He will bless me for it. He will use me in new and exciting ways. He will reveal Himself to me in ways I've not seen before. I so want that!! So if that is the case why does it feel like I need someone to pry my fingers away from that thing I'm hanging onto so tightly?

I've got lots of praying to do, and lots of listening to do so I know exactly what this looks like for me in His eyes. Now, where did I leave that white flag of mine?

A few things I've encountered this week have made me think quite a bit about marriage. I have been blessed with a good marriage, one that functions like a well oiled machine. I have over the years come to learn that the way our relationship functions is not the norm. At this point in my life I can attest that to God working in our lives, however, there was a time when God was not first in our lives and yet our marriage still worked so well. On the flip side though, there are people I know who very much put God first in their lives and yet, struggle with some of the challenges that marriage bring. I don't have all the answers, but I did make an observation today.

I read something today that talked about how single people are in search of that perfect mate, that perfect someone to fulfill all their needs. The person that is going to love them for who they are and accept them with all their flaws and idiosyncrasies, yet their standards are such that the person they are looking for can't be themselves and have flaws and idiosyncrasies of their own.

In my opinion, marriage shouldn't be about finding someone who will be the perfect mate to fulfill YOUR needs, marriage should be about finding someone whom you love so much that you want to spend your life trying to fulfill THEIR needs. Marriage should be about wanting to do what it takes to make the other person happy. If both spouses are doing this, if both spouses are loving each other enough to make themselves second and their spouse first, then one would think that it would be a relationship that works.

I am the first to admit that I am a selfish person, yet I take great joy and pleasure in doing things that make my husband happy. Even simple silly things like grabbing a chocolate bar for him when I'm in the check out line cause I know it will make him happy. There are things that I also give up or don't do because I know that it would not make him happy. In doing so though, I don't feel as though I'm giving up or compromising my wants or needs, nor do I feel cheated. I'm happy to do these things because it gives me great joy to fulfill his needs/wants and to make him happy. In turn he does the same for me, it humbles me greatly to think of and realize all that he does and all that he gives up to be the husband I need him to be.

In doing this, in giving up and sacrificing and in putting the other first, we have built a beautiful relationship that is exactly what God had intended. A relationship where neither of us put ourselves first, where we think of the other before ourselves. A relationship where because we are fulfilling the others needs/wants, we find ourselves fulfilled as well. A relationship where two truly have become one.

Jesus showed us how to love, and He did it be serving others, by making sacrifices even unto death for us. Jesus didn't come into this world to see if He could find someone who would fulfill His needs, He came so He could fulfill ours. In turn those that love the Lord find themselves trying to live their lives in a way that pleases Him. We, the Church are, after all, the Bride of Christ.

Living a life of faith as I do, I always try to look back at things that I've gone through in my life, or the things that have affected my life, especially the difficult things and most always I can see where God has used what I went through in one way or another for His Glory.

Today is a day that most Americans reflect back on the terrible tragedy of 9/11/2001 when terrorists came into our country and changed peoples lives forever. I don't know anyone personally that lost a loved one that horrific day, and my heart goes out to those families whose lives were impacted directly by those attacks. However, being an American whose country was violated I try to see how God has used this for His glory and I see a country that raises their flags prouder than they did before the attacks. Our US Anthem has greater meaning to more people than it did before. Americans who stand in unity for the pride of their country.

On this day 11 years ago, hero's stepped forward in a big way. God used His people to make a difference in peoples lives. Not only do we have a renewed and greater respect for our firefighters and police officers because of the bravery they showed on this day, but also a glimpse into how common every day people come together in a time of crisis. I'm reminded of the passengers on flight 93 that boldly stepped forward and put their lives 2nd and the lives of others first. The story of that flight and the courageous things that took place have forever impacted the lives of others.

I'm sure there are many, many other stories that have been and could be shared by countless other people as to ways that through this horrific tragedy a blessing was brought forth.

Does God cause bad things like this to happen, no, but when they do, He uses them to bring forth His Glory and to show His abounding grace and mercy. You just have to be willing to look for them.

The other night I was laying in bed reading my book after having taken my sleeping meds. I'm not quite sure if it was something I read or if it just happened, but suddenly I got this ache in my chest. Not like a I need a doctor kind of ache, but more an I'm missing something kind of ache. I put my book down to pay attention to the ache so I could figure out where it was coming from. It was coming from my creativity. I do believe my creative soul is weeping, in mourning for the things it misses doing. I believe that there is a paint brush shaped hole in my heart at the moment.

What is so odd about this is that despite my longing for creativity, and the smell of paint and the feel of it between my fingers, I struggle to make myself go to the studio. I have no idea why this happens, it certainly makes no real sense. It doesn't seem to matter if I have something I'm supposed to be creating, or if I've got no preplanned agenda, just the thought of getting there is so difficult. Maybe part of it is that I don't have an idea. Maybe that's what I need, an idea. A reason to go there, something that I feel I need to get out. When I think of other things that have motivated me in the past, they've stemmed from either deadlines or ideas. I have no deadlines. I have no ideas. I see things others have done and thing, "wow, that's so kewl" but then guard myself from trying to recreate something someone else has already done and feel the need to create something of me, and not something stemmed from someone else.

I'm curious, all you other artist types out there, I can't be the only one struggling with this, do you struggle with this? How do you get past it? Where do you get ideas? How do you start from nothing and come up with something?

I need to refill that paintbrush shaped hole and ease my creative souls groaning.

I have been remiss for not telling you all about the newest member of our family. This beautiful young lady is Lexie. We have known Lexie since she was just a little girl, she grew up next door to us. She's the same age as Melissa and so she fits right in with the girls.
There have been many days and nights that the echo of her infectious laugh has graced our home and we are blessed for it. Her smile lights up a room and she's kind, gentle and loving.

I'm so proud of all this young lady has accomplished and how she's stood strong amid the trials and frustrations that life has thrown her. She's standing on her own two feet and she's carving out her own little niche in life.

Lexie will be a senior this coming fall, and through no one's prompting or telling her she has to, she's done well enough in school that she will be graduating early. While others will be in school till Summer, she will be done in January. College is just on the horizon for her. She has drive and determination and she is taking responsibility for her own future.

Strong as she is though, she has a sensitive side, the side that shows up every once in a while when life gets a little jumbled and she feels overwhelmed. The part to her that makes me want to hold her in my arms and make it all go away. I think sometimes she doubts that our family will be here for her forever and ever, but nonetheless we just keep reminding her that we're not going anywhere. If we could right this very minute we would adopt her and make her Lexie Gifford, however, due to certain circumstances we have to wait a while for that to happen. Even though she may not be Lexie Gifford legally, she's already Lexie Gifford in our hearts.