She Thinks She's Witty

Day 4 : Psalm 46:10 Read : Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God!     I am exalted among the nations,     I am exalted in the earth.” My Prayer : I try.  I try to be still.  I sit.  I wait.  I scratch my ear.  I push up my glasses.  I think about eating a cupcake.  Then I catch myself and try to be still again.  I don't know why it's so hard, God, to just give you a few minutes.  You deserve so much more.  I'm sorry, Lord, for letting you down, Time after time, When you give me everything .  Please help me to be intentional during lent.  To find time to be still And listen for you magnificent voice.  Amen.  Prompt from Writing to God: 40 Days of Praying with My Pen by Rachel Hackenberg

Day 3 : Humility (I know it's not actually Day 3, but I'm catching up. Trust me.) Read : Isaiah 40 1-2 “Comfort, oh comfort my people,”     says your God. “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem,     but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence,     that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough,     and now it’s over and done with..." ...27-31 Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,     or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me.     He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.     He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.     And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired,     gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and dr...

Day 2 : Daily Blessing Read : Ephesians 6:10-18 (MSG) 10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. 13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brot...

Yeah, I let Lent slip on in again without starting my Writing to God and I never finished last year. But here I am again, attempting another year of Lenten practice. Better late than never? The Book : Writing to God by Rachel Hackenberg Day 1 : Caffeine Read : Ezekiel 37:1-3 (MSG) God grabbed me. God’s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Master God, only you know that.” My Prayer : Just because a bone is dry doesn't mean all the flesh is gone. A clean bone is one thing. A bone with dried flesh is another. Gross. Stinky. No hope. We dry up, God. But it wasn't a clean dehydration. We have leftovers, reminders of what made us dry up in the first place. Clean us off and pick us up. Breath new life into us. Each year we need to be reminded o...

Scripture : Habakkuk 2:1-3 Duly Noted Fair Trade The goodness of the deed  Is in it's name. You expect God to trade fairly You expect others to trade fairly Why not support those  who make it their trade to be fair. Simple. Not complicated. Help them. Help yourself. Help your world. The world is not as bleak as it seems When there's even a little bit Of fair trading going on Somewhere on this big 'ole rock! Peace & Kindness

Scripture : John 1:1-5, 14a Enveloped in Love A healing kiss for a booboo A joke in anxious times A smile A "how you doing?" text Being together Being present Beside me Caring with hands Caring with hearts Destined to cross paths, be in each other's lives, live together, work together, play together, cry together. Embracing Jesus' message God knows best. Daddy knows best. Hearts & Hugs, Rachel

Scripture :  Ecclesiastes 3:1-20 Every Moment I've hit that point, God, Where I remember that I need you. It's not that I forgot,  I just start to go numb with the knowing you'll always be there. It's not that I want to be tested, It's definitely not that I want bad things to happen, But I know you are there when they do. I take you for granted on the good days But I need to remember you on more than the bad. Thanks for sticking with me through the ups and downs the good and the bad For better or for worse, We're in this together. Love & Appreciation, Rachel

Scripture : Psalm 46 In and Out Help me to remember to breath, Lord. In Out In Out I get nervous, In  Out I get apprehensive In Out I start chasing my own tail In Out I take on more than I can chew In Out Like caffeine running through my veins I get jittery I get anxious My stomach churns My brain ticks on What did I forget? What comes next? What am I trying to catch up to? In  Out In Out You are my breath, O God. Help me to remember to breathe. Pause to Pray, Rachel

Scripture : Isaiah 40 Day by Day I wake up with a smile on my face. I sit for a moment deciding what to do first. God has been up for several hours already, Made breakfast,  done the dishes, And made a beautiful afghan. I head to work to start my day, Going over my to do list in my mind. God has already solved to major world crisis, Found a new kind of fossil fuel, And healed 1,000 people of their diseases. I'm done for the day. I reward myself with a TV show to unwind. God works late into the night, Makes a three course meal for the family, And teaches a young girl with no vocal box to speak. I don't want to be God, But God's never ending power and love Will never give up on me, Even when I fall a little short. Hope & Humility, Rachel

Scripture : Ephesians 6:10-18 Armor of Champions I sense a quest coming on. Find the cloak of invisibility. The wing of a broken winged bat. The necklace of eternity. On the surface, this verse sounds Like something straight out of A fantasy novel. But the difference is That God can actually clothes you in truth Shields you from harm And keeps you safe. He is your armor. His love is what keeps you safe. He empowers you to save yourself. Not from the evil dragons of the world, But from those things that would hurt you. Even from yourself at times. Trust in your armor to keep you safe,  Trust in God's warm embrace, And you'll save the damsel in distress, You'll make it to the castle in one piece. Peace & Hope, Rachel

Last year I kicked off Lent by preaching at chapel on Ash Wednesday. Then I was faithful (pun intended) in my Lenten practices and made it through Rachel Hackenberg's book Writing to God . This year, I'm starting Lent with a sermon on the 1st Sunday of Lent. Very nervous but it doesn't actually have much to do with Lent, lol. I'll post it here afterward. (But like for reals, not like I said I would post my chapel last year and then didn't.) But, as I was trying to decide what practice to try this year, I decided that I would like to revisit Hackenberg's book and see the difference--if any--a year has made in how I react and write my responses to her prompts. So, here's the first one: Scripture : Ezekiel 37:1-3 Dear Rachel, Do more than tread water. Do more than stay afloat. Do more. Do more than what you're supposed to do, What you think you should do, What is expected. Don't get stale. You were gloriously made. Live gloriou...

Here it comes! 3 days away from NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)! This is my 4th year of trying to write 50,000 words in one month. I have never done it before, but I'm feelin' lucky this year. Or at least determined.  2013 was the year that I finally made it all the way through Lent with my discipline of blogging a prayer from Writing to God  by Rachel Hackenberg every day. Who knew 13 would be lucky this time 'round? Now, it's going to be the year that I finally win NaNoWriMo and get my very own printed copy of my novel at the end. Maybe I'll even buy myself the winner T-shirt if I make it, who knows?! I've been working through the book Ready, Set, Novel!  by one of the creators of NaNoWriMo, Chris Baty , in hopes of being prepared for November. I've made pretty good progress and I have a few days to cram the last bits in.   But let's get to the real reason for this post. I've been seeing a lot of " NaNo Survival Kits ...

Since I've never made it through Lent doing something the whole time before, I'm not quite sure now, what comes next. I thought maybe it would be good to reflect on my experience. Here are a few of my observations from my writings throughout Lent: It was really hard, at least at first, to not edit, fix, check grammar, or write a disclosure about my prayers. I wanted to clarify what I was thinking or justify my thoughts. Edit it to sound better or be more appropriate. But Rachel Hackenburg, the writer of the book I used, Writing to God, warns against this from the very start. I had to trust that these prayers were between God and me and even when I wasn't the most eloquent  he knew what I meant at the heart of the prayer. Some days, the prompt prayer that was provided was simply...nice. Other days, I was either Too happy to be sad when that's what the prayer suggested or too melancholy and stressed to be happy... Then, there were the days when I was bursting w...

I just wanted to say that I did make it through all of Lent with only missing my devos once. On Good Friday, it was 12:35am by the time I remembered to do my devotions for the day. They didn't get put up on my blog until now because I was away and didn't have very good internet access. Anyway, here are the missing devos. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter! Day 38 Scripture : Revelation 21:22-23 Images of God Word Web Day 39 Scripture : Luke 6:20-26 Teacher Jesus, your teachings are so wonderful. They would create a great and mighty nation under you if only we would let them. Please help us to understand your teachings and give us the courage to carry them out in your name. Amen. Day 40 Scripture : Psalm 51 Haiku Happy Procrastination I just can't make myself go Get me going, God! You know that is one of the things I struggle with most, God. Thank you for helping me and please help me do better in the ...

Scripture : Ephesians 3:14-21 Thank you. I love you. God, as I get busy, I get stressed. As I get stressed, I get forgetful. Forgetful of you and your glory and your unwaivering love. Please help me to not only  pause in my stress and busy  life to ask your help but also to take time to tell  you I love you. Tell you thank you. I love you, Papa God. Thank you. Love & Light, Rachel

Scripture : 1 Samuel 1:9-18 Come On God, help me pull myself together. I know what I'm doing wrong but I can't stop. Help me, guide me, give me strength  to fight against myself and to finally win. Fear & Hope, Rachel

Scripture :  Matthew 8:1-4; 14-15 Soft Hands Sometimes my words are gruff, angered, unthought out. May my hands be gentle and may I let them  do the talking when my mouth doesn't know  what to say. Silence & Kindness, Rachel

Scripture : Genesis 2:4-14 Rain, Snow, Sun, Clouds It's hard to thank you for the snow and icy rain, but it's your creating and a gift. So thank you. But thank you also for sunny days, birds singing in the trees and flowers popping up through the ground. Thank you for starry nights, cloudy days, and sunshine rays. We thank you for the snow and cold, but we're ready and  thankful for the sun and warmth when it's time! Hope & Sunshine, Rachel

Scripture : Luke 19:1-6 Patience Sometimes I can't find the stillness, God. In my mind or in my life. It's there if I take the time, but I don't usually have the patience to take it. Please give me patience and stillness and a calm heart when all I want to do is flit about in a panic. I know with you I can accomplish whatever I am worried about. I just need to be still. Amen. Love & Peace, Rachel

Scripture : Genesis 32:6-12 Keep Them Safe God, hold my memories for me, please. Hold them, keep them with you,  take care of them. They are precious and sometimes I'm careless with them. I lose them. Hold them for me now and keep them for me so that when I need them, they will be there. Thank you, God. Amen. Thoughts & Hugs, Rachel