Pray the Hardest, when it is the hardest to pray

Not rendering correctly? View this email as a web page  here . The  Process Before  the  Promise LYSA TERKEURST November 1, 2018     “I waited patiently for the L ORD ; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1 (ESV) Are there any deep disappointments in your life that seem to be lingering on and on? Do you feel like you’ve prayed the same prayers over and over, with little to no change? I understand how hard that is. Over the last few years, I’ve walked through some of the most heartbreaking seasons in my family, marriage and health. And although the circumstances of your life may be different, you probably have middle-of-the-night moments wrestling through your own tears. You, too, have memories that still hurt. Realities that make you swallow back tears. Sufferings that seem forever long. And you’re disappointed that today you aren’t living the promises of God you’ve begged to come to pass. In your most...

Beautifully Rooted in Grace Who I am in Christ? How would  you describe a woman in Christ? I would start with the two words.... Beautifully Rooted. Yet a lot of adjectives could go at the end of that. Beautifully Rooted in Hope. Hope that things will turn out right. So much hope that she believes she already has it. When she has that hope rooted in her, she should be able to Love. Beautifully Rooted in Love. Caring for people when they need cared for. Having the patience to deal with the hardest people. Not holding any records of wrongs. All of that will lead her to Grace. Beautifully Rooted in Grace means to do things to other people that they don't deserve. Free to be who you are in Christ. The chains are gone. We should give it as much as we get it. Giving a lot of chances to the people we care about. When you have Grace, you should have the Fear of God in you. Beautifully Rooted in the Fear of God. Wanting to do what is right and knowing...

Press Through Unanswered Prayer LYSA TERKEURST October 18, 2018     “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 (NIV) I opened the anonymous letter, and my heart sank. It was from another mom who wanted to make sure I had a list of all the ways one of my daughters was falling short. There in black and white, she listed my daughter’s mistakes, shortcomings and frailties. And then just to make sure I took her nameless letter seriously, she informed me she’d be sending a copy to my pastor. My initial reaction was to figure out who sent this so I could assure her we were working diligently to help our daughter course-correct. But as I reread the letter, I discerned it wasn’t sent from a place of love for my family nor a heart that wanted to help. From the language she used and the fact that there wasn’t a way to contact her, it was obvious she did...

Living Like  a  Chosen Woman HEATHER HOLLEMAN October 17, 2018     “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last — and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” John 15:16 (NIV) Some days I live as if I’m  still waiting for someone to choose me  for something that will change my life and heal the ache in me to feel special and significant. I feel overlooked and rejected in large ways, like when other women receive promotions or awards, or in small ways, like when friends socialize without me. Why do I still long to feel chosen by certain people? And why am I still waiting to feel  chosen  for some special calling  that would make life more meaningful? I asked God these questions as I walked around my snowy Pennsylvania neighborhood. My heart felt as cold and barren as the landscape around me. Even after f...

           The title is a saying that I have been thinking about since the Women's conference. I didn't get it at the conference or even right after it but now I am starting to get it. I am starting to get how that looks at this moment in my life. It is an unusual way but it totally makes sense with what I am going through right now. Here is what it means to me right now:            It means: Be open to other ideas, people, and/or situations. I didn't realize how closed minded I was before the conference. I don't even know how I got to be closed minded. It had to happen over years and years. I wanted one thing and only one thing. That went on for years. I would act like I was up for anything and try to be open but really I wasn't. It kept me in bondage for a long time. Since I gave those things up at the foot of the cross, I've been wanting to be open minded and heart more. I've seen why I was that way and that was because I w...

           Life of war is a real thing. That is what I am finding out in this moment of my life. This past week has been so, not really hard, but exhausting and just emotional for me. I am still struggling from what I gave up in my life a few weeks ago. Still trying not to go back to the before ways, but to tell you the truth it is hard. I don't want to go back and that is why my life is a war right now. That is why I haven't really wrote anything very personal for a week or so because I have just been taking everything to God. That is where it needs to go in the first place.             It all started a week ago today and it is now off and on with me. I never had to fight so hard for something that I believed in until this past weekend. I was actual feeling the tug in both ways. They were both tugging at my heart. One saying that you don't want to move on because you won't get anything better while God was telling me you need...

Completely Trusting Our God of Completion LYSA TERKEURST October 11, 2018     “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 (ESV) Is there a desperate cry within your heart that you’re longing with every fiber of your being to see come to pass? I know what that’s like. In my own life, I’ve watched minutes turn into days and weeks into years, as I’ve tried to learn to make some sort of spiritual peace with seasons of waiting. On my good days I stand assured, “It’s just not God’s timing yet.” But on my less stellar days I crumble, afraid and hurt, “God, why?  When? You know how much my heart is aching.” What is that hurt, that desire, that prayer you’ve brought to God countless times? If we turn back to the Old Testament in our Bibles, specifically the boo...

Afraid to Turn the Next Corner LYSA TERKEURST October 9, 2018   “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV) You know how some people love the thrill of being surprised? They love surprise parties. They would love to show up at work today and learn they are being whisked away from their desk for a surprise vacation in just a few hours. They would even love to have one of those makeover shows show up at their house with a film crew and learn they're getting a whole new wardrobe. Surprises feel thrilling to them. Like how some people feel when a roller coaster ride they thought was over suddenly takes off again and starts doing upside-down loops. They throw their hands in the air and embrace the thr...

     I will admit that I am crying as I am writing it out on here. This is also the first time I am saying it so it is a real prayer. I just thought it might be a good idea for it to be out there for other people to pray if they wanted to.  I might expand on it more later tonight but in my own personal way and you can do that too but here is just the basics for now.                    Dear Daddy,                   After hearing and knowing what you have gone through for me, I can't think of one single reason why I would deserve something like that to be done for me. Well, I can think of one reason but to my human mind it isn't enough and doesn't make sense. That one reason is because you love me so MUCH! You loved me enough to die for me. You loved me enough to sit there meek and mild when you could have said something and stopped the whole thing. You could have told ...