Life Can Be So Boring...

I know, how on earth can I say that, right? With all these kiddos to care for, life is anything but boring. There is always something to do, something to clean, something, something, something. However, it has been brought to my attention, from the pulpit no less, that I've been neglecting my blog and facebooking too much, so here it is...thanks Walt!

I wonder, are you the type of person who writes in your Bible? I am. I hope that when I get to heaven the Lord doesn't tell me it was offensive to Him. I just like to write myself notes of the things I've learned, the people that have been put on my heart, etc. The other day, a friend sent me some scriptures, via facebook, to encourage me. I picked up the first Bible that was handy, we have plenty of different translations around with a husband studying to be a pastor! As I began looking up the scriptures she sent me, I came across a scripture that I had prayed over my husband, as well as, some friends. I had their names and the date written. The date was 2006! I was amazed to realize that I'd been dating and naming scriptures that long. Rereading the scripture gave me great comfort, as I prayed again for those listed my the scripture.

Which brings me to my next question: do you pray scripture over people or do you just pray? I prefer to pray scripture over people. I have no reason for doing this, except that God knows His own Word, and I believe that the Word of God is living and active, so to me that makes it the perfect thing to pray over people, not my own words. I use the example I found in 2 Chronicles 20. King Jehoshaphat begins to pray being surrounded by enemies. Did he begin his prayer with "Help us?" No. He started talking to God about God. King Jehoshaphat begins this very important prayer focused on what God has already done and who God is! I think we honor the Lord when we pray His Word, His promises, and say how He has already done great things in our lives. Obviously, I can't write all the things I'd like to in my Bible, and a notebook comes in handy for that. I have notebooks, one per year mostly, that have pages and pages of prayer requests, personal thoughts on life and on what the Lord is teaching me. My notebook and my notes on the pages of my Bible are to remind me of what God has done or shown me as I walk this journey with Him. I think it is vital to our walk with Christ to have the ability to remember. In my case, I lack the ability to do that on my own, so notebooks and notes on pages are the solution. I do not allow the enemy to make me feel bad when I don't write anything for several weeks or days. This is another reason why I think some don't write in notebooks, because they don't like to be reminded that they didn't make time for the Lord. Don't fall in to this trap! The Lord is a loving God and isn't going to stand over us with our own notebook and say: "Why is there no entry here and here and here?" There are many days where I get some scripture reading in and that's it. There are other days where I have to sit and write the things going on in my soul.

The King finishes his prayer just asking for God's help. He doesn't try to tell God how to help him, or ask for specifics, he just asks for help. This is another point, but I'll save that one for later. The Lord answers the King's prayer in a way that only God can and I'm not going to tell you how either! Go look it up and see for yourself how the Lord answered the King's plea for help. I have to tell you that in my Bible I have a lot written on the pages containing this story. And even now, looking at it again I could make more notes!

Make notes for yourself, in your Bible or in a notebook, or better yet both! They are a reminder to us of what God has done in our lives. When life gets boring (stale), or stressful beyond what we think we can bear, go back to those notes and see how God worked before. He is a God who keeps His promises, we can rely on them. We can rely on Him.