Take Me Deeper - Weeks 4 and 5

With the launch of my grief course last week, I'm a bit behind in posting for Take Me Deeper.

Week 4's topic was Transform Faithfully. I focused on the 2 concepts of His Faithfulness and My Faith

 Great is Thy Faithfulness.

My pastor's definition of faith caused me to dig deeper. Fearless and unashamed? Okay. I get that. But "Aggressive" isn't a word I normally associate with faith. I think maybe this is the type of faith that enables you to pray for the BIG things. It's the "saying THANK YOU, GOD, before I physically see the answer" kind of believing. It's the stepping out and not just sitting back, waiting for things to happen kind of believing. #tmd2015









Week 5 was Purposeful Transformation

We are in a partnership with God in the transformation process. He will absolutely do His part without fail. It is up to us to do our part, too.

I drew a girl with a wilted plant. The plant leaves represent some of the parts of me that require God's input: Prayer, Ministry and Bible Study. I have begun the work in these areas, but I need God's help to grow them. So I gave her a broken watering can and a rain cloud. She's looking up expectantly - waiting for God to make good on His promises.

Jesus, bring the rain!

 Prayer: Precious Father, I praise You for Your faithfulness. Help me to have BIG faith, even in the small things. Make me accountable for my part of our work together, for I know You are ready to go to work on my behalf. Bring the rain, Jesus! Help me grow!

Good Grief Course Members: Please forgive the confusion

I accidentally invited you to join my MAIN BLOG, 13Prayers, which should have remained public.

Once I realized my mistake, I then invited you to the Good Grief course.

Please join the Good Grief course using the link provided.
My 13Prayers blog does NOT require a link to access. (But feel free to follow me there as well, if you wish.)

I apologize for any confusion this may have caused. Lesson learned: do not attempt new computer skills in the midst of a home renovation. You are likely to be distracted...

Prayer Resources - Part 3

We've been looking at some of my favorite prayer resources. First, we looked at the Bible and the My Partner Prayer Notebook. Last week we discussed books by Kay Arthur and Paul Miller.

5. Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets

Oh, wow! Where do I start? This is a heavy-duty, mind-blowing study of intercessory prayer. This book I would read a chapter at a time and then stew in it for a week or more. Sheets cites countless Biblical prayers as his basis for this jam-packed volume. His discussion on various types of praying makes up the bulk of this book and will have you shaking your head in amazement that you hadn't seen his insights before now. It is my intention to do either a course on or a multi-week look at this book. Soooo much goodness!!

I think the one thing that really got me hooked was when Sheets asked "Is Prayer Really Necessary?" After all, God is God. He created the universe. What does He need with me? I'd always been thinking that God would/could make things happen whether people prayed about them or not.

I'm not sure I can do justice to Sheets' explanation, but I'll try:

God's original plan - He gave man dominion over the entire earth and all creation. Adam was God's manager. Adam was in charge. Adam messed that up, and the enemy even offered control back to Jesus. 

(Luke 4:6-7) And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

So...God is all-powerful, but He limited Himself to working through human beings.

He tells us to pray for His kingdom to come (Matt 6:10); for our daily bread (Matt 6:11); for workers to be sent for the harvest (Matt 9:38). Why am I supposed to ask Him for something He already wants to do if it's not that my asking somehow frees Him to do it?

When Elijah prayed for rain after 3 years of drought, it was God's idea. God's PLAN. God's directed timing for the prayer. BUT GOD DIDN'T SEND THE RAIN UNTIL ELIJAH PRAYED.

Boom!

If that doesn't give you an entirely different view of "You do not have because you do not ask God "(James 4:2) then I don't know what will! 

So this is my understanding of it all:

God built us this earthly house to live in and gave us the keys. (Adam messed up and gave a copy of the key to the enemy, so he's running around like he owns the place.) But God is the OWNER/OPERATOR. We are the managers/tenants. 

God still has plans for the property, but since we're here, He needs to get our "Okie-dokie" before He starts work.

Oh, my heart breaks for the potential of things I never bothered to pray for! For the days I was "too busy" or "too tired" to activate God's blessings and work.

Prayer: Forgive me, Father, for the times I tied Your hands with my silence. I ask now that You give me a fire in my heart for prayer and for seeing Your will come to pass. Show me the things You need me to pray for. Do not let me become complacent and weary. Grow in me a passion for the prayers that will free You to change lives.

Prayer Resources - Part 2

Last week we looked at the Bible and Becky Tirabassi's "My Partner Prayer Notebook" as resources here. Today, we'll look at 2 more.

3. Lord, Teach Me to Pray by Kay Arthur

If you have never done a Kay Arthur Bible study, I challenge you to do one. She relies on scripture as the basis for everything. This resource comes as a book: Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days and as a workbook that CAN be done with a group - including videos. This is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with the scriptures that deal with prayer. It is set up as a 4-week study: 1-Learning to pray God's way, 2-It's all about Him, 3-You belong to God, 4-Staying in the Word. The book is available at Amazon here.

There are lessons on: the names of God, the Lord's Prayer, even 'When Our Prayers Seem to Hit the Ceiling.' Man, I've felt like that before!

4. A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

This text changed the way I look at prayer. I'd always seen prayer as "conversation" with God. Miller challenges the reader to see prayer as a relationship, so his book is about getting to know God. He writes, "focusing on the conversation is like trying to drive while looking at the windshield instead of through it."

Also, "We have an allergic reaction to dependency, but this is the state of the heart most necessary for a praying life. A needy heart is a praying heart. Dependency is the heartbeat of prayer." Amazon has the book here.

With God as Father, won't He want to listen to His children? With God as Father, shouldn't we desire to spend time with Him?

I didn't get a chance to photograph the spectacular sunrise yesterday, but here is one of my favorite sunset pictures. I included it today because seeing God's artistry in nature always brings me to prayer. To praise Him and to be with Him. And that's really the key, isn't it?

Take Me Deeper Week 3

Transform Submissively:

The Scripture:

2 Cor. 3:18-"And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect His glory even more."

Lessons Learned:

Moses wore a veil to hide the glory he'd received from spending time so close to God. NOW is the time for the veil to come off. We spend time with God, and He wants the world to see. We reflect His glory-whether the world is ready to see it now or not.

SHINE ON!

Behind the Art:

I used kitchen foil for a border to remind me to be a mirror that reflects His glory. In the lower left, I put a clay heart in the Master Potter's hands. All the pieces of my heart belong there.

The horse in the bottom right is a reminder that submission doesn't mean weakness or "doormat-ness." The horse submits to its Master. It uses its strength and skill to do the Master's bidding. The BEST horse is the one who wants to PLEASE the Master and is devoted to Him. They have spent time together and have a special bond.

My Process:

This is Week 3 of the Take Me Deeper study from His Kingdom Come. If you haven't signed up to join us there, you should!    #tmd2015    #week3tmd

I gessoed the pages and put down at layer of gelatos. The stencil on the right is where I used a baby wipe to remove the gelato base and then sprayed with Dylusions white.

Prayer: Dearest Father, Remind me to place ALL the pieces of my heart into your gentle hands. Help me to SHINE ON in your name and reflecting YOUR glory. In Jesus' name.

     ****FREE CLASS ON GRIEF starting Friday, January 23*****
Go to Good Grief for more information.

Prayer Resources - part 1

I firmly believe in the power of prayer. (I guess having a blog named "13 Prayers" would be kinda goofy otherwise.) And lately, my prayers have gotten...visual.

In fact, currently my intercessions  are gathered on a ring. Each prayer is a tag that I created during my initial prayer for that person.


 
Prayer is more than just a "Gimmee" session with God. Prayer is a 2-way communication system. We have prayer as a way to honor, glorify and praise God. As a time when we can thank Him for all the blessings He has given us. And, yes, as a time to make our requests known to Him.

I suppose I've been a student of prayer all my life. As I bring you along to explain how I got to the point where I art my prayers on tags, I thought today I would begin to detail some of my favorite resources.

1. Bible

You can't beat God's word as a resource of how best to communicate with Him. Visit an online Bible site like Christianity.com's online Bible search here and enter "Pray" in the search box for a list of verses in your favorite version.

Some of my favorite prayer verses:

Matt. 6:5-6  "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Teaching us that prayer is best done in private.)

Matt. 6:9-13 "This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (Teaching us that true prayer contains many elements such as praise, confession, intercession for others and requests for ourselves.)


Matt. 14:23 " After he [Jesus] had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone." (Again, teaching us and demonstrating that Jesus prayed alone.)

Luke 6:28 "Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Teaching us that our prayers should not be reserved only for those we care about. This is a command to pray for our enemies.)
 

2. My Prayer Partner Notebook 

This is a product by Beck Tirabassi. I was fortunate to hear her speak on prayer back in the day. The first time I started writing down my prayers, this is what I used. It's a very easy system that uses dividers for different parts of your prayers and to also organize other notes from your spiritual journey. Over the years, I've tried different ways to keep my prayer time organized, and I keep coming back to this. Everything is tucked into a small 3-ring binder. I still have mine from 20+ years ago. For info on Becky Tirabassi go here. The notebook is available in her store or at Amazon here. There is a workbook that goes with it that could shake up your prayer life: Let Prayer Change Your Life here.

You see, writing prayers down does a couple of things for me:
--helps me stay focused while I pray. Sadly, my mind like to go hopping off on little bunny chasing adventures while I pray. I start out strong, but can somehow go from praying for Daughter to find a place to live to planning meals for the week with very little nudging. Seems that the day-to-day creeps in when I'm not looking.
--Helps me track prayers. How exciting to have a list of requests and answers! When did I start praying about this? When did God answer that? What a blessing it is to sit down with my notebook and reread requests and how God faithfully answered!!

I'll be sharing more about prayer resources over the next few weeks. But remember this: HOW you pray isn't as important as DO you pray. God wants to hear from us. Has He heard from you lately?
 

Take Me Deeper Week 2

I'm learning so much with our January study on Transformation at His Kingdom Come! If you haven't stopped by to see, please do so here.

Our 2nd week's study is on being Vulnerable.

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 

For me, the key question from the study was:

"Like Paul, will spiritual growth - growing deeper in our relationship with Christ – be enough of a prize for you to risk being vulnerable, so that in your weakness, Christ’s power may rest on you?"

Will I risk being vulnerable - risk being able to be hurt - to grow deeper? 

This became my focus for my journal page. I used Google to find a heart that looked like it had been armor-plated. The original image was entirely covered with "metal."

Then I searched for a zipper image and layered the two. I added paint over the "exposed" portion to indicate vulnerability. 

I added the heart to a background of  book paper and one of my favorite stencils. These are Apple Barrel acrylic paints - my new favorite trio: Kiwi, Key West & Tropic Orange.


I put "My grace is enough" in the top right corner. God gave me this verse late last year as my focus verse - before I got involved with HKC and TMD. I love how God works.

I want access to His power.
Daily.
Therefore, I must open myself up.

But here's the lesson: If I will open my heart, God has a more tender surface on which to write.

Bam!

Prayer: Dear Father, Open my heart to you. Give me a fearless openness so that You can mold me and use me for Your kingdom.
 

Who Knew What I've Been Missing?!

Dear Fellow Travelers,

Have you ever had the experience where you were doing something and didn't realize that other people were out there doing the same thing?

I've had a lot of that lately.

I'm not saying that I think I'm full of all these new ideas or anything. In fact, the opposite is true. I'm just surprised that I've been here in my little secluded corner of the world and I've actually accidentally hooked into some really cool stuff that's been out there for a while - and I'd been missing out here in Smalltown America.

#1: FaithArt Journaling. This is a real thing. It's not just ME finding scriptures and Faith quotes and writing them out in fancy lettering. It's a thing. Other people do it. And it even has a name. Who knew?

#2. People are listening to God, and He gives them a word to focus on for the year. I'm telling you I feel like I've been living under a rock! I assure you I didn't just get the Internet last week. As I was doing my daily Bible study last year, I noticed a crazy number of scriptures that used the word "Honor" showing up in my studies. After prayer and more study, I accepted this as a word from God and spent the remainder of the year working to see that He received Honor above all else.

This year, He very clearly asked me if He could be Enough for me. It's a humbling question. I will strive to make Him my Enough daily. He has something amazing to teach me in this area, in this year. I want to be open and watching for it. I'm using it as my Logos365 word on His Kingdom Come. See the link on the right.

#logos365












Oh! I almost forgot: Happy January! Here's my January calendar page. I did get those calendars done...



Prayer: Beloved Father, Thank you for loving me ENOUGH to want me. To care for me. To want what's best for me - which means YOU WANT TO BE MY ENOUGH. Forgive me for waiting so long to see it. Your patience with me is amazing! I am so blessed!! In Jesus' name.

Take Me Deeper - Week 1

I'm so excited to be part of His Kingdom Come's Take Me Deeper project. Fifty-two weeks of Bible study and art. And it all starts today!

The focus for January is Transform.
Here is my canvas for the month. I used black thread to make a mess of a seed and green embroidery thread for the "transform" stem that grows through the cross. I used a heart punch and gelli-printed dictionary pages as flower petals. I used the hymn "I Surrender All" as background fodder.

My thinking here was that I'm such a mess, but my transformation is possible only through the work of the cross.That my mess of a life can end up blossoming into love - through the cross.


#tmd2015




I've picked a word for 2015. For Logos365. Well, God gave me a word - Enough. As in: God is my Enough. Here is my spread in my journal:


#logos365







And this week's lesson is: Transform Willingly. I used a Google image of Earth and punched out the heart. Acrylic paint with a Dylusions stamp background. The cross is watercolor with ink dripped. I used leftover gelli-printed dictionary pages from the flower above to punch out the hearts.

This is my testimony. I was focused on the world. To the point that I lost all hope. Then someone showed me the cross and the hope available through Jesus Christ. Again, the cross creates the transformation. From worldly heart to willing heart. It ends with worship. Sacrifice is true worship. (Romans 12:1-2)
I hope you will join us at his-kingdom-come.com for this amazing study. I've included a link on the right.

Prayer: Dear Father, Thank You for Your work through the cross that provides to me the chance to transform into something/someone that You can use. Today I willingly offer my whole heart to You. For Your work. You are my Enough.