Tree Talk

When I was younger, I remember my mom specifically coming into my room late one night and before we prayed she bestowed her wisdom upon me.

“Alicia,” she said. “I want you to not always pray for the same tree. Know that you can talk to God about anything you want! Don’t always just say the same prayers over and over, but tell Jesus what is on your heart.”

I folded my hands trying to figure out what my mom had just shared with me. So I began my prayer as normal. Something to the effect of, “God, I thank you for Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad and Laura and Diana and winning the last baseball game. God, I also pray for our crape myrtle and our pecan tree.”

The next night I prayed something like this, ““God, I thank you for Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad and Laura and Diana. I also pray for Grandma and Grandpa’s pecan tree, umm, and our pecan tree....” I peeked out of the corner of my eye to see if I would get in trouble praying for God to the same tree! I ran out of trees to pray for at that point!

While my mom was just trying to teach me to talk to God and pour out my heart to him, I only heard to pray for different trees. There are times our prayers may look the same for a while, “God please somehow heal my back.” Or “God, help me be content in my singleness.” Or “God, you have to help me on this test!” But we must be laying our heart before the throne and presenting our requests to the Lord.

Do you feel like there is something you need to lay down at his feet asking for His will to be done and not your own?

Are you praying your heart out when you talk to God? 

Walking in Love

I've been thinking a lot lately about loving one another.  How horrible of a terror it must be to not be able to love.  But even moreso, how scary and terrifying it must be to think you can't love well.  1 John 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death."  Did anyone else just read what I did?!  'Anyone who does not love remains in death.'  That's a scary thought.  Sometimes Satan tries to tell me i am a lousy friend.  That what I say and do is not received as love by the receiver.  I don't like that thought. 

To have someone not understand that I care for them, to see someone I care for be hurt, and people kicking your chair in the movies are three things I am not very fond of. 


I had a long talk today with a friend of mine and she is struggling with a little bit of the same thing.  How one receives love, verses how one expresses it and where it all gets lost in translation.  One of my friends over break randomly asked me this as we were watching TV, 'How can I best love you as a friend?'  I've never been asked that before.  It made me wonder if there is anything I could or should do different to let my friends know how much I care for them and feel blessed God has given me such sisters and friendships.  Satan's been trying to scare me and chase me off telling me why bother when my efforts will be lost in translation.  It is up to the Holy Spirit to get the message across once it leaves my hands.  My friend came up with this illustration referencing something else but i think it is valid here.  She said if she walks in deep snow leaving footprints, and a while later a boy walks in her steps to save time, it doesn't give her credit because she did not purposefully walk there for the boy.  She was walking because she had some place to be.  I see it as how cool is it she could bless the boy and make his path easier without knowing she did so.  How cool is it she could express her love for people without even knowing it (and she does have a sincere love for all people). 

Reposting from my Xanga 23 Jan 2007

Love Lavished

My four year old niece was running around playing hard as I sat with my family for a holiday.  She made up stories for her dolls and danced them off down the hall.  After a while, she returned to the living room to find myself, my sister (her mom), and my brother-in-law sitting on the couches.  She crawled up onto the couch, extended her legs onto her father's lap and said, "Daddy, rub my feet?"

My brother-in-law, unable to turn down the request, rubbed her feet for about a minute when she popped up and exclaimed, "Thank you Daddy!"  as she shuffled off back to play!  I have no doubt she learned this request from my sister, and while it may not seem like a 4 year olds feet could be so sore to warrant a foot massage, her father fulfilled the request with glee.

It got me thinking, it was simple request for a moment of rest.  A brief pause in running around to spend time with her Daddy.  Her dad savored the company.  How much more does our heavenly Father sit awaiting us to plop into His lap and rest with Him a bit?  Will we stop running around for a moment to rest?  Work well, rest well, acknowledge and know He who never slumbers or sleeps so we can rest!

Spider Warfare

This is my thought for the night.  I almost do not like spiders more for interrupting my peace than invading my space!  You can live outside, that's normal, but not in my house!  I am going about my evening peaceful and then BAM!  All of a sudden my heart is racing and the age old "kill or free?" question comes into my mind!  Whatever I choose, I have to act quickly and keep my eye on the beast lest it take over my home in the split second I blink and call all of its buddies to the fight!  

Yet, when I'm in the midst of Spiritual Warfare, I take my eyes off and slowly and surely my house and peace are being invaded.  There is a war happening and I'm over here struggling to remember the precise lyrics to the song I'm singing.  My attention, my focus are lost on the battle.  

O Lord, let me not become comfortable without you and you alone nearby.  Keep my eyes alert and my heart at rest in your presence.  Give me your strength to fight and do not let me be comforted by the status quo of this world.

Parachutes

There is something about music that can speak to our souls.  Maybe it's knowing someone I can relate to had an experience, put it into words, and added music in a way that conducts a melody that builds.  I love to share music with friends and hear what they love as well.  One of the best places this can happen for me is on road trips.  In fact, at this moment I have 81 playlists in my iTunes for whatever the occasion calls for!

On my latest trip up to Seattle, my roommate was DJ-ing for us.  She came across a playlist of mine called "Epic Playlist."  I mean how could you see that and not!

So she hit play and 'Come Sail Away' started us off followed by 'The Final Countdown' and then 'Deathbed' by Relient K.  I defined Epic in this playlist as songs that started of slower and built causing you to desire it would never end!  So then came my favorite Coldplay song!  Parachutes.  The artists builds to sing,

"Oh the adoration; But how much strength does it take
For exploration; For split decision
Or are you stronger to Remain..."

I'm singing along with passion and telling my roomie how much  I love Chris Martin's early stuff.

"That's not Chris Martin," she said flatly.

"What?" I inquired.

"That's not Chris Martin!" she added with her fiery voice!

"What do you mean this isn't Chris Martin?  Listen closer.  People have told me they don't like Coldplay before and then I've played them this song and they change their mind!  It's a bonus track from their album Parachutes!" I replied.

"Dude!  No it isn't!"

And thus began the unraveling of 12 years of my life!  Like shattered glass above my head this image I had so fervently stood on had crashed in an instant!  We googled lyrics and found the band Guster.  I had never even heard of the band Guster before!  In my iPod the artist is named "Coldplay" and for years I had not only bought the lie, I had spread it to others!

With passion and fervor I would've bet this was Coldplay's hidden track from their first album (That's why so few had heard of it see?  Only the devout Coldplay fans would know it.  A club in which I was a member early on.).

But passion does not change a lie to the truth.  We can passionately believe our career, family, spouse, dog, car...any of these things or a combination of them like the numerous options on a Mexican menu, will fulfill us.  But no matter how much we tell ourselves or others these fulfill...it's a lie.  Only God's love and purpose for us can fulfill us.  Only who we are in Him is true.

So while I embrace the truth of my fulfillment in life spurring out of my identity in Jesus.  I'll edit my iTunes playlist artist to read as it should be: Guster.