-- the beauty of prayer --

Have you ever prayed for a life moment...the type where you are spun around...and the prayers that you had prayed...are being answered. It's as if you were wathcing a miracle unfold...without even being the writer or the author of those moments. They are raw moments...the moments that you live for...the ones that you often hope don't have to end...but then reality happens...kicks in...and overtakes those moments. I can remember a few years ago being awoken from a deep sleep and God asking me to pray for someone...//...I hadn't met this person...but I knew that God had asked me to pray for them. I knew that it was not only a defining moment in my prayer walk with the Lord, but a moment that I knew I had to obey. I was frustrated and annoyed with being awoken at that 3am hour and out of obedience I prayed some simple prayer. I had no idea that this person would actually exist and actually become a friend. Years passed on...and faith grew...but I never forgot the moment where God woke me that night...from my deep sleep...and entrusted me with the simple prayer. He chose me in that moment for some reason...I will never understand...maybe it was because I would be obedient...and maybe it was because He had some grander plan. I don't often question why God asks me to pray for people...but I did that night...and I still do today. In recent months, I have prayed specific prayers for people...and have watched those moments happen...prayers answered...// It's the beauty of seeing those prayers answered...that the Lord spurs on my faith...to know what He can do for one...He can do for another. I myself this year...prayed specific prayers for specific things...and they happened...it's the beauty of faith...the beauty of His work...the beauty of His character...and the beauty of prayer...// When a prayer is prayed...we are sending messages to the Lord...for the desires of others...desires for ourselves...that hopes and dreams would come true...and that ultimately His destiny for our lives would be known. That clarity would be captured in times of despair, that His grace would be given, and His mercies made new. That hope wouldn't be shattered...but spring forth truth. That life would be well lived and health would be renewed. That strength would come from His love...and that we would soar like the eagles. That in this barren land He would teach us how to live and shine. That He would give us faith for what is unseen. That He would give us joy for better days. That He would allow His character and love to flow from our lives. It makes my heart happy to pray prayers...but it makes my heart smile and joyful when they are answered. What a moment of faith...even if it's as small as mustard seed...that one should pray...for even that prayer will be answered...// Never underestimate the power of prayer...//

- Perfection -

2 Samuel 22:31-33 *** As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. *** No matter what challenges cross our paths...He is there...making the paths of life straight! He is fighting on our behalf...striving for us to be victorious! His ways are PERFECT and shine bright in the darkest of times...// His plans are something beautiful- in which only He could design! He has no flaw- and His love is made PERFECT in OUR weakness! Embrace His Perfection // Allow Him to Fight // Lean into the Dark // Take up your Shield // Shine the Light // Be Victorious // Give Him the Glory //

-- YOU --

You shine when no one else sees... You grasp light when the dark closes in... You are the ray of hope that pierces the soul...// You are strength when I am weak... You are found when I am lost... You are the grace that floods the soul...// You are the rescuer when I am in trouble... You are the deliverer when I need to surrender... You are the mercy that captures the soul...// You give clarity when questioned... You give favor when it's undeserved... You give unconditional love to the soul...// You allow the soul to shine... You allow the heart to heal... You allow the battle to be won...//

** Pure Joy **

Memories and moments of peace flood my soul and cause me to want to stop time. I wish I could stop time...and freeze it! What I wouldn't give to bottle it up and hold it close til it should be released. I am reminded that God has a purpose and time for all things and all situations. In the midst of a long week, I was reminded of the true meaning of God's timing and how He uses time to protect us. I was also reminded of what it is to have true joy for another person. You know the type of JOY that you wanna bottle up and release when you have a bad day. It's a JOY that has only been granted thru the Lord's peace. There are seasons of JOY...PURE JOY...JOY that the Lord presents as a gift so that we can truly experience His grace. Often times prior to a season of JOY, we go thru valley's where we struggle, and where a battle rages between what is good and what is right...// We have to be diligent thru the valley to see the season of PURE JOY! In the valley there are times to remain still and to be ever present with the Lord...to see His beauty...to feel His love...to know His heart...to hear His voice..and to feel His grace and mercy within the soul. To feel PURE JOY...is a gift...the gift of knowing that once you have endured time and allowed His Spirit to protect and guide...He will allow you to shine. Every day there is the PURE JOY...of knowing that I serve a God who makes my JOY complete! He may give me times of trouble, frustration, and hardships...but it's not to steal my JOY...but to make my JOY stronger and to purify my soul. ** May you find PURE JOY in the memories and moments of peace that flood the soul **