THE JOURNEY'S END

T

he impression the Lord gave Margee  for this station “…was a place to BE with Him; to celebrate that my name is written in the Book of Life because of the sacrifice Jesus made to make that possible; to celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb with Him; and to worship Him.”

When Paula talked with her about the station, Margee says, “The Lord immediately gave me a picture in my mind.  The station was to be a garden-like setting with a bench at the entrance (to contemplate the amazing grace of God who included me in His Book of Life.)  The throne was to be placed just behind the round, intimate wedding table (a place of parental pride and joy).  At the wedding table would be the marriage supper of the Lamb.  There also needed to be a comfortable place to recline, listen to worship music, enjoy God’s awesome presence and express gratitude for God’s unspeakable gift.”

One of the challenges to Margee was that she and her husband were leaving town for the summer on the morning right after set up.  Because they had a lot of preparation to do for the trip, and they would not be there to take it down the following Saturday, she didn’t think it would even be possible to prepare a station.  “BUT GOD made the process so much easier than I could have imagined!  There were a few generous people and some dear friends who stepped in and helped provide items, iron panels, type scriptures, and set up and tear down the station.  It would have been impossible without them,” she says.

“BUT GOD made the process so much easier than I could have imagined!”

The Lord met Margee early in the preparation and impressed on her heart not to take too much credit or too much responsibility for the station.  “When I remembered that, it was a stress free adventure to trust Him to locate needed props or create things that were beyond my skills.”  She says, “It’s hard to explain, but it felt like He knew what He wanted for the station, where to get it or how to get it done.”  At one particularly hard point, “I sensed Him whisper to my spirit, ‘Don’t you think if I gave you a picture of what should be in the station that I can accomplish it?’  For almost every item in the station, there is a special little story of how God led and provided.”  Margee felt privileged and blessed to experience what she calls an “intimate journey with the Holy Spirit.”

“My life has been filled with exhilarating mountains, difficult valleys and peaceful meadows,” Margee says.  “I can’t imagine being on this journey without the Holy Spirit’s counsel, comfort, companionship, guidance, correction and healing.  When I’m in a time of resting, I try to soak in God’s presence, knowing it is preparation time for the next challenging adventure.  I look forward to celebrating with our Bridegroom at the JOURNEY’S END.”

THE STORIES BEHIND SOME OF THIS YEAR'S PRAYER STATIONS

Finally . . . some of our next entries will be featuring reflections from some of the people who made prayer stations.  Lezlie Shortsleeve has been interviewing some of the prayer station creators, and we begin with what was the "last" station, "Journey's End."  Check out the following entry.  More to come!

for the 24/7 prayer event…more to follow!

TELL US YOUR STORY from our week of 24-7 PRAYER

Our 2011 week of 24-7 prayer is one for the history books!  It was a wonderful time as God once again underscored the deep and beautiful ways He meets with us when we set aside time and space to draw near to Him!
Comment here below this blog entry to share your stories.  We so often hear bits and pieces here and there of what God has done, but this year we really want to hear YOUR story so we can praise and glorify God together!

NOTE: This blog is moderated, so there will be a delay before your story shows up.  Watch for it!

St. Patrick's Breastplate

I love the REAL St. Patrick, who interestingly was neither Catholic, nor a leprechaun!  He was a godly man who gave his life to serve God and led many to Christ.


I also love being reminded this time of year of his beautiful prayer which he wrote, called "St. Patrick's Breastplate," as well as sometimes being called the Lorica, and Deer's Cry.  It has been turned into hymns, and gone through various translations over the years, so it sounds a bit different from time to time, depending on which version one is familiar with.  I love it's depth and scope and comforting power, as it keeps our riches in Christ before us in every line and stanza.  Every time I read through it (and also when I recall the parts of it I have memorized), I am blessed with the awareness of God's overwhelming Presence and power in, around, and for me.


Here are two videos that each share St. Patrick's Breastplate in different ways. The first video is of a beautiful song based on it.  You will see as you watch it through that it has not only lovely idyllic scenery, but a powerful everyday application as well!


(NOTE: before you play the videos, disable the sound on the worship music player to the right by hitting pause)




The second video is a reading of my favorite version of the whole prayer-poem.  It's nice because you can see the words as they are read.  I have come to love the rhythm and power of reciting this out loud, which is easy enough to do by reading along with the sound on this down.  You will recognize parts you may be familiar with, but many of us do not realize the grand whole that they come from.  What a rich heritage those who have belonged to Christ and gone before have left us.

Enjoy!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!


(NOTE: remember to disable the worship player to the right by hitting pause)

Our WEEK OF 24-7 PRAYER is coming soon!

It's coming!  In fact, it's almost here -- our annual week of 24-7 non-stop prayer.  We clear most of the chairs out of our sanctuary, and set aside a whole week, 24 hours a day, to come and be with Jesus.  This year our theme is "Pilgrimage".  Check out our 24-7 page here for more info.  We will be updating with more about the theme, how you can join our community of prayer-hearted friend to help prepare before, and also help during the week of prayer, and for info on signing up for an hour slot.


MARK YOUR CALENDARS for April 15-23!!!  One week, one thing -- Jesus!



WEEK of 24-7 PRAYER page

UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE . . . Sacred Space this Friday

SACRED SPACE this Friday, March 11, 6-10pm

A safe place to seek His face and spend time in His Presence.  Simple prayer stations and special worship in a meditative atmosphere.  Come and go as you like.  We will have a special prayer station and prayer circle focusing on Arizona CityFest.

What does social justice look like in MY TOWN?

Prayer connects us with God's big heart and the compassion of Christ, as He encourages us to see, pray, and reach beyond ourselves.  Because of this, we are exploring together the issue of social justice (more on that in a future post).  I got a kick out of, and also really was encouraged and inspired by, this recent post on the 24-7 Prayer blog regarding Alana Wiens’ and how God worked in her heart as He transformed her passion for social justice into a size and shape to make a difference right where she is.  Read about her story here: My Town: Justice is local 

PRAYING TOGETHER - for physical and spiritual hunger

This Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm in B1, we will be "Praying Together" for the issue of physical hunger, which is one of the Arizona CityFest's focus points.  We will also be learning about how we can pray for friends and family to come to know Christ - and of course actually praying for them!  Everyone is invited to come, pray, and also if you are able, bring an item of canned food to support our Open Door Food Bank and bless others.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY - BIGGER

Lord, I am overwhelmed today with the bigness of so much frailty and need - mine and all around me.  Help me to trust You to the point that I am overwhelmed even more by how so much bigger You are.

A New Year - A New Way to Pray?

 

Have you ever heard the expression “praying the scriptures” and wondered what that actually means? How do you pray the scriptures? Do you just repeat the verses to God? What does it mean? How do you do it?

Praying the scriptures is not as confusing or intimidating (or, frankly, as tedious) as it might sound. The first step for me is to simply slow down a little as I read through a passage. As the words on the page describe events in someone's life (such as in the Old Testament or Acts), I can think about their responses to God, His responses to them, and what my responses might be in similar circumstances. My circumstances are different but might the same challenges be present? What are my needs and desires regarding the challenge? When I pray for those needs and desires, I am praying the scriptures. When the verses I read are words that reaffirm God's love for me or remind me of the freedom He died to give us, and I linger there awhile, I can imagine how my life would change if I truly believed that in every corner of my heart. It's then that I'm led to pray for that depth of belief to be true of me, and suddenly I'm praying the scriptures.

I could try to explain it some more but sometimes it's just better to see it. When I was at a recent writers' conference, I met a writer who is doing just that for us. Diane Guthmuller is showing us through her blog what it looks like to pray the scriptures. It's her 2011 Prayer Journey where she's reading through the Bible and posting prayers based on what she's read. It's a perfect time to jump on board and subscribe to her prayer posts. She lists the Bible passages from which her prayer comes so we can see how she turns her scripture reading into prayers. I've subscribed to her posts and they arrive in my email every day. I'm enjoying the life, and depth, and personalness that she's bringing to Bible passages for me. It gives me keener eyes to see my own life in the lives, needs, and challenges written about in the Bible. If you've ever wondered about “praying the scriptures” give this blog a look.