Pray like there's a God who cares! Wait...there is! :)

Read This: Psalm 116:1-2
I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. 
Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!

Think about it:
Some days I wonder if God even listens to my prayers, and then there are days when it's so obvious he listened. He especially likes to answer my prayers in creative ways, ways that will test me and help me grow in my faith. Like today for instance, he answered a prayer I had last night. I prayed, "Lord, please help me to really love others, no matter what! Help me to embrace their quirks and annoyances, their abrasive remarks and rudeness. Help me to have BIG grace when there's so LITTLE everywhere I go!" Sooooo...today, my husband and I were eating at a Japanese steakhouse, and we were seated at a table with several interesting people. LOUD, PICKY, COMPLAINING PEOPLE. At first I was outraged....my lunch is supposed to be RELAXING! And then it clicked! "Jessica, you said you wanted to love others...so here's your chance!" "Thanks, God," I said under my breath with a smile...and then chuckled and looked at my husband. I said, "I prayed a prayer last night, and..." He looked around at the table and said, "Don't worry, I think I have an idea what you prayed about." We both laughed and then tried our best to make the most of the LOUD, PICKY, COMPLAINING lunch. The next hour I tried conversing a little bit with a very quirky lady to my left, and while it was somewhat difficult, hah!, I did it better than I usually would, all because God was at my side, helping me along in my request to love others. Makes me think about a time when I worked at a camp, and one of the cabin leaders prayed for patience. Well, the next week, Patience Smith arrived! All 5 feet of her! And boy did she test your patience! Anyway, I want to encourage you that God LISTENS! He listens to everything, and answers in his own way and in his own time...why? Because only He knows what's best for us! If you're like me, and you're praying about some weightier issues...keep praying! He hears YOUR voice! Never give up hope! Pray as long as you have breath! :)

Pray about it:
Got something weighing on your heart? Take it to the God who bends down and listens.

Live it:
Don't just pray when things are BAD...pray when things are GOOD! Thank Him for all he has done, and all he will do!

I hope you had a Marvelous Monday!

Sincerely,
Jessica :)

Show a little love...and some tenderness :)

        

Read this: As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will soon give glory to the Son. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:31-35 NLT)

Think about it: Isn't it interesting that most of us want others to love US, but we all to often neglect loving others. Unfortunately, I find this to be something that happens at church...shocker, I know... And I know that I'm very guilty of this...Too many times I take the easy way out of having to meet new people by not making eye contact as I walk briskly by or making small talk because I don't feel like using up my time to get to know the other person...I'm just..."too busy." But deep down I know that I just don't feel comfortable. I don't want to come out of my comfort zone and get to know the other person. It's awkward getting to know someone. It's all "small talk, small talk, small talk." And besides it's much easier to just go talk with the people you already know. But here's the thing...God calls us to LOVE others...not just pretend to (Romans 12:9). He tells us not to neglect others...to treat them with brotherly/sisterly love (Hebrews 13:1-2). He calls us to love others as He as loved us (John 15:12-15). He calls us to love others at church and outside of church.

Now the struggle with not loving others doesn't apply to everyone... I know many wholehearted, welcoming people who have no problems loving others and opening themselves up to new friends. In fact, I love those people! They know what's up! I admire them for their Christian love, and I hope someday to be just like them. But for those of you who are like me, who find it hard to mingle with others and make new friends, let's get out there...let's start taking risks and letting others know they're loved. Let's show them what Christ's love looks like through our welcoming attitudes. Let's not cling to our cliques and our comfortable circle of friends. Let's really love others and not just pretend to love them. Imagine what all church's would be like if we showed love to the new people that come to our Sunday morning services, our Sunday school classes, our youth groups. Let's be the hands and feet of Christ, loving others even when it's uncomfortable. You were the new person once...what if someone hadn't taken the time to talk to you? I wonder what your life would be like then? For me, I would have missed out on a lot of God-sized moments in my life if someone hadn't taken the time to show me sisterly Christian love. Just think about it...when we love others we are not only allowing God to use us, we are playing a HUGE part in God's story. We are experiencing God on an intimate level while also inviting someone else to experience their part in God's story. Wow! I know! It gets me every time I think about it.

Pray about it: If you're like me, and find it hard to welcome others and show them love, pray that God would open your heart to see others as he sees them. Thank God for loving you for who you are and ask him to help you do the same for others. Ask Him to give you courage when stepping out of your comfort zone. Ask Him to give you the right words to say to that new person. You can even ask Him to point you to the right person to open yourself up to...to form a friendship. Ask Him to help you not neglect others and to show them hospitality and love.

Live it: Now go...be loved by God and because of His great love...love others...

As Paul said to the church in Corinth, "If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!" (1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NLT)

Here's to a beautiful new beginning for you and me.

By the way...I love ya!

Sincerely, your sister in Christ's love,

Jessica :)

P.S. I owe the title of this article to Hootie and the Blowfish...some of you will know what I mean ;)