It's OK to Ask

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you. Luke 11:9 NIV

Recently I was shocked, people admitted that they feel guilty for asking God for things. One person even shared he didn't know how to talk to God. He just recited the prayers he knew.

For me asking is just a part of the talking with God. I don't pray for a million dollars and I don't ask the Lord to hurt anybody. Generally I just talk to God like he's my best friend, He is by the way.

If we use the word PRAY, it can be used as and acronym to help you know what to pray.

P-praise...I honor Him, He likes to hear my praise and adoration I have for Him. I even thank Him for things that seem weird. Like today the A/C unit froze up again, last time it needed a good cleaning. So I figured we can handle that ourselves. First though I have to get the unit thawed out. I remembered what the A/C repairmen said about how to run the unit so it won't freeze. Keep the fan on on instead of on auto, so I did that and turned the unit off for an hour.

A half hour later the fan shuts itself off, no read out on my control. So I waited and prayed it would come back on a half hour later. No deal, now I need to call the repairman. He calls me back and knows what the problem is. Then he explains to me how to fix it. Now how many A/C guys would tell you that. God didn't exactly answer my prayer the way I intended, instead He let me see that there is still people who are there to help you out.

R-repent...This is a time when I seek forgiveness for things I have done. I may be a Christian, but that doesn't stop me from making mistakes. I need to come to the Lord and let him know when I've screwed up. He's OK with that, He'll just wipe my slate clean once again. Then I try really hard not to mess up again.

A-ask... He tells us to ask. Usually I ask for others needs first. I ask Him questions I need answers to. I don't know everything and I really need His guidance. Especially when I have tough decisions to make. This is when it's OK to ask Him to meet your financially needs or any needs. He knows how much money I need and He will provide. He never ceases to amaze me in providing for our needs.

Y-yourself...See it's OK to pray fro yourself. Often I'm asking for the strength I need to get me through the day. Sometimes I pray for things I desire, it never hurts to ask all He can say is no or not now. Ocasionally he does say "yes".

Just remember prayer is simply having a conversation with God. He loves to hear from you, even if you have to start with the simple child prayer you learned. Any conversation is better than no conversation. God is there 24/7, he longs to have you come to Him. Don't be afraid, he won't bite.

Adopted Into the Family

"... who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of  light." Colosians 1:12b NIV

"You're now Hannah Stuart." A three year old boy in my care shared.

"No, I'm not I'm Hannah Jones," the three year girl answered back.

The argument continued then I heard his logic. "No, you were adopted. You're now Hannah Stuart because I'm James Stuart."

He made a good point. Of the nine kids in my day care five of them recently were adopted into families: two to one family and three to another. The little boy just assumed since he was adopted and his last name changed, and this little girl was adopted too. They both must have the same last name.

I had to explain that a different Mommy and Daddy adopted her, so her name is different. He hasn't quite got it and still insists on calling her "Hannah Stuart".

He did get me thinking though. About how we are each adopted when we accept Christ as our personal Savior. Maybe we don't get a name change, but we do get our name written into God's family. We take on the name child of God.

We are guaranteed an entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. We become God's sons and daughters.

Today our preschool lesson was about everyone being allowed to be in the family of God. We need to treat everyone as our brother and sister. How interesting, all of us are family!

So welcome to the family! My brothers and sisters in Christ.

Storms Will Come

The disciple went and woke him, saying "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" He asked his disciples.

Eerily it looked, but strangely familiar as we drove to church on Sunday. My husband prepared for the down pour by turning on the wipers. Funny how when driving down the road you can see the wall of water just waiting for your arrival.

At times we can have a chance to prepare for the storm. We see the clouds. We hear the rumble of the thunder. Sometimes we're warned a week ahead of time that a storm could be approaching.

Other times though, there is no warning. The storms just happen. Like on one of our field trips this past summer. We were perfectly happy playing putt putt in the morning. We usually get afternoon storms, next thing I knew I felt a rain drop then another and another. "Oh, one of these quick passing sprinkles, right?" No, as we finish the hole we were on, the sky opened and poured on us. We were soaked.

Life can be like this. Sometimes we have a feeling something bad is going to happen. Or we see the warning signs. Sure enough a storm approaches, we're prepared. We have our umbrella close at hand and we're ready to face this storm head on.

Other times though there is no warning sign. We're dealt on unexpected blow, we get soaked. the storm can be tough to bare. We can get through it, it's just a lot harder.

Either way this is where our faith can come in and help us weather the storm. We call out in a panic and the Lord comes to our rescue. He calms the storm, he dries us off, and helps us get through. All we need is a little bit of faith.

God Does Hear

Ask and it will be given to you...For everyone who asks receives Matthew 7:7a & 8a NIV

Funny thing, usually for my birthday or Christmas I don't really have a want. This year though I did. I researched about this item and decided that I really would desire to own it.

I've been working really hard to keep us on a budget. Every week I figure out how much we're going to make and what needs to be paid. This is working out very well. So last week with my birthday approaching I budgeted a certain amount.

This was kind of weird for me to do because I really don't want to spend money on myself. Last year I didn't want to spend money on me, I just wanted to go camping. This year though I set money aside. This item I desired I researched about the different kinds, not the price.

So now came the time to shop, I didn't plan to purchase it myself just leave a hint for my husband. Anyway the amount of the item exceeded the budgeted amount. In my head I tried to justify spending that much money on me. I couldn't do it. It's better to stick to God's plan then my own anyway.

The next day, I gave up on the idea at least at this time. I had a little talk with God, "I'm not giving up hope on this. I know you can give me the desires of my heart and one day you will. Just right now this is a want not a need. Lord, I know you supply our needs and sometimes our wants. Maybe some day I will be able to have this item."

With that done I tried not to think about it. My birthday arrived, and we were camping. Camping is such a nice way to relax. The birthday wishes came (even from a spider who decided to shower with me). I had a nice lunch with some of my family, swam, and then yes it was present time!

I open each package that was chosen for me. It came time to open the one from my parents and guess what--they had purchased the item I wanted. I was touched that they'd spend all that money on me. God answered my prayer through my parents, and now I get to enjoy the item!

God really does care about our wants and our needs.