Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. - James 5:16
Do you have someone you always go to for prayer? You know who I'm talking about. The person you can spill out your prayer requests to and just KNOW that he or she is actually going to pray for you?
I like to call these people "Prayer Warriors," and the truth is that these people are very few and far between. They're the ones who are upfront and honest about prayer. If they're really going to pray for you, they'll let you know. If they don't feel led to pray for you, they'll respond by saying, "You'll be in my thoughts," or "I'll be thinking of you." And whatever they tell you, you can rest assured that it's the truth.
How do I know this about Prayer Warriors? Because I consider myself to be one.
Praying for others is a job I don't take lightly, but I have to admit that it can be a bit overwhelming. At this point in time, I'm a prayer warrior at my church. We're a working church, so we do a lot of community outreach and we ask for prayer requests wherever we go. The slips of paper that people write their petitions on always end up in my hands, and I commit to praying for them as much as possible.
Today, though, I found myself carrying home another bundle of prayer requests, this time from my fellow church members. I honestly wanted to cry, but I committed myself to having a private conversation with God as my husband drove home.
Me: God, I'm not sure how to handle all this. I know I'm supposed to pray for these people, but I feel so overwhelmed and unqualified. How do I do these prayers justice here on earth when I know that You already know these people's hearts?
God: You write them down and then write down what comes to mind after you've prayed for each one.
Hmm. That seems simple enough, and it takes care of the major issue I was having with all these prayer requests: actually feeling like I was doing each request justice by praying for it individually rather than lumping it together with others.
After taking care of my usual Sunday afternoon prayers, I sat down on my bed with a notebook, tape, pen, and the pile of requests. Each request got taped down to its own sheet of paper and I began praying for each one during the process. Once I had them all placed in the notebook, I started praying over each one and waiting to hear from God.
Wow. I felt like I got something that I was desperately needing: clarity. I don't know the majority of the people I'm praying for, so I start feeling like I can't adequately pray for them. The answers came so randomly, but I started scrawling words down on paper, never questioning what it was all supposed to mean...because God knows.
If you're a Prayer Warrior like me, I sincerely pray that God gives you the stamina, strength, and endurance to continue on with this journey. If you're not a Prayer Warrior, but you still have a heart to pray for others, take time out today to ask that person you always take your requests to (your Prayer Warrior) how you can pray for him or her. Chances are you'll get one word requests like "peace" or "strength," but chances are that those things are exactly what that Prayer Warrior needs. And if he or she does give you something to pray for, don't take it lightly! We don't share our requests with others very often.
Until the next whisper,
Emily
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
A Cause for Celebration
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24
This past Tuesday, we were celebrating around our house. My husband reached a major milestone in his career with the Navy - 15 years served - and my oldest son finally got his first loose tooth. I'm sure it's pretty obvious what the biggest cause of celebration was, but the loose tooth was certainly special in its own right.
I found myself thinking of all my husband's achieved throughout his career during the day, and I realized just how much we've celebrated his accomplishments over the last 15 years. Advancements in rank, medals and ribbons received, homecomings from long deployments, graduations, and so much more. And then, like so many other military wives I know, I started to compare my moments of celebration to his. Well, the list was pretty short.
You see, military wives have a habit of falling into the same trap that I found myself in on Tuesday. We try to compare our achievements with our husbands' in an attempt to some how measure up to them. There's no doubt that for most of us, what we've been able to accomplish during their time serving pales in comparison. Or does it?
Certainly, being a military wife means that our lives pretty much revolve around what our husbands are doing. We move. We cry. We write countless letters and emails. We move again. We pack care packages. We check the days off our calendars. We wait for phone calls. We welcome them home. We cry some more. We make new friends. We move again. We cry. We smile through the tears. And we do it all, over and over again.
I found myself thinking, Gees. The last 15 years have really just been about him. I wonder when I'll get to have some great moments of my own? Then, the words of Psalm 118:24 began ringing in my ears.
I couldn't help but realize what God was trying to show me. I have moments to rejoice in each and every day. And for my fellow military wives, so do you.
No matter how much I may feel that life revolves around my husband's career, I'm doing some pretty great things that should be celebrated too. Those moves I mentioned earlier? I planned them AND made sure our house was ready to be packed up. Those letters and emails? I spent countless hours preparing them and I KNOW my husband found joy in reading them. Those care packages? I found some creativity deep down in me and made each package a theme. He told me he looked forward to seeing what'd I'd come up with next. Those phone calls I waited for? I didn't wait for them at home. I kept living my life even with a cell phone by my side. Those new friends? I enjoyed spending time with them, and they brought me so much happiness. Those tears? They didn't show my weakness; they showed my strength.
But I've got more to celebrate than that. I've become a GOOD mom. I wake up early every morning and get my day started - no pajama days for this girl! I've made a strong name for myself in my teaching career. I make a mean pot of gumbo. I know how to get my youngest son to stop crying. I've taught my oldest son about God's amazing love. I am strong. All those things? All those wonderful things? I need to celebrate them more often.
Like the verse from the Psalm says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
I challenge you to rejoice today, friends. Find those things you're accomplishing, no matter how small they may be, and celebrate your victories. And then, when your husband gets home, thank him for standing by YOUR side. You are the amazing woman you are today because of him AND his crazy career.
Cheers to that!
Until the next whisper,
Emily
This past Tuesday, we were celebrating around our house. My husband reached a major milestone in his career with the Navy - 15 years served - and my oldest son finally got his first loose tooth. I'm sure it's pretty obvious what the biggest cause of celebration was, but the loose tooth was certainly special in its own right.
I found myself thinking of all my husband's achieved throughout his career during the day, and I realized just how much we've celebrated his accomplishments over the last 15 years. Advancements in rank, medals and ribbons received, homecomings from long deployments, graduations, and so much more. And then, like so many other military wives I know, I started to compare my moments of celebration to his. Well, the list was pretty short.
You see, military wives have a habit of falling into the same trap that I found myself in on Tuesday. We try to compare our achievements with our husbands' in an attempt to some how measure up to them. There's no doubt that for most of us, what we've been able to accomplish during their time serving pales in comparison. Or does it?
Certainly, being a military wife means that our lives pretty much revolve around what our husbands are doing. We move. We cry. We write countless letters and emails. We move again. We pack care packages. We check the days off our calendars. We wait for phone calls. We welcome them home. We cry some more. We make new friends. We move again. We cry. We smile through the tears. And we do it all, over and over again.
I found myself thinking, Gees. The last 15 years have really just been about him. I wonder when I'll get to have some great moments of my own? Then, the words of Psalm 118:24 began ringing in my ears.
I couldn't help but realize what God was trying to show me. I have moments to rejoice in each and every day. And for my fellow military wives, so do you.
No matter how much I may feel that life revolves around my husband's career, I'm doing some pretty great things that should be celebrated too. Those moves I mentioned earlier? I planned them AND made sure our house was ready to be packed up. Those letters and emails? I spent countless hours preparing them and I KNOW my husband found joy in reading them. Those care packages? I found some creativity deep down in me and made each package a theme. He told me he looked forward to seeing what'd I'd come up with next. Those phone calls I waited for? I didn't wait for them at home. I kept living my life even with a cell phone by my side. Those new friends? I enjoyed spending time with them, and they brought me so much happiness. Those tears? They didn't show my weakness; they showed my strength.
But I've got more to celebrate than that. I've become a GOOD mom. I wake up early every morning and get my day started - no pajama days for this girl! I've made a strong name for myself in my teaching career. I make a mean pot of gumbo. I know how to get my youngest son to stop crying. I've taught my oldest son about God's amazing love. I am strong. All those things? All those wonderful things? I need to celebrate them more often.
Like the verse from the Psalm says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
I challenge you to rejoice today, friends. Find those things you're accomplishing, no matter how small they may be, and celebrate your victories. And then, when your husband gets home, thank him for standing by YOUR side. You are the amazing woman you are today because of him AND his crazy career.
Cheers to that!
Until the next whisper,
Emily
Monday, June 4, 2012
Faith Whispers
It's been awhile since I've written in this manner. Too many times I've gotten caught up with my daily tasks. Work. Family. Maintaining friendships. Keeping a house running. You know how it goes.
I left this my writing on this blog a year ago. I had originally titled it "The Woman Who Prayed" because I thought that's what my focus needed to be...prayers. I had so many ideas for things to write that I could barely keep up with my own thoughts. I got overwhelmed with it all, and when I went back to work in August of last year, I chose to walk away from my writing.
I've felt the urge to write again for awhile now, but finding the time to do so is always hard. Then I get caught in the all too familiar worry. What if no one reads this? Better yet. What if no one LIKES this?
I chose to rename this blog "Faith Whispers" because it's where God led me. It doesn't matter if no one reads my words. It doesn't matter if I don't get a single compliment or comment. What matters is that I listen to God's whispers and write when He tells me to about the things He wants me to.
So that's how "Faith Whispers" came about. As you can see, I chose to leave up the writing I'd done previously because, well, writing is a journey, and the journey I was on last year has led me to this one.
If you're choosing to follow me on this journey, I would hope that you'd grant me patience. I'm not quite sure where God is leading me with all of this, but when He whispered that I needed to get back to writing, I listened. I hope this time I'll choose to continue listening to His whispers that way you'll have words to read!
Until the next whisper,
Emily
I left this my writing on this blog a year ago. I had originally titled it "The Woman Who Prayed" because I thought that's what my focus needed to be...prayers. I had so many ideas for things to write that I could barely keep up with my own thoughts. I got overwhelmed with it all, and when I went back to work in August of last year, I chose to walk away from my writing.
I've felt the urge to write again for awhile now, but finding the time to do so is always hard. Then I get caught in the all too familiar worry. What if no one reads this? Better yet. What if no one LIKES this?
I chose to rename this blog "Faith Whispers" because it's where God led me. It doesn't matter if no one reads my words. It doesn't matter if I don't get a single compliment or comment. What matters is that I listen to God's whispers and write when He tells me to about the things He wants me to.
So that's how "Faith Whispers" came about. As you can see, I chose to leave up the writing I'd done previously because, well, writing is a journey, and the journey I was on last year has led me to this one.
If you're choosing to follow me on this journey, I would hope that you'd grant me patience. I'm not quite sure where God is leading me with all of this, but when He whispered that I needed to get back to writing, I listened. I hope this time I'll choose to continue listening to His whispers that way you'll have words to read!
Until the next whisper,
Emily
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