October 2014 Blog Posts (19)

I pray for a list of extended family members each night after I lie down in bed. I have specific scriptures memorized that I pray over for some family members. I have prayed for some of the children on my list every day of their lives.  Of course I sometimes fall asleep before I finish the list. There are worse ways to go to sleep. And since I pray for them in a certain order, I am able to pick up the prayer in the morning as far as I…

As I was thinking about Halloween at the end of this week, I started thinking of jack-o-lanterns, costumes, masks, etc. Children always have a good time deciding who they are going to be and what they will wear as they go trick or treating and of course eating their treats.

            It reminded me of how some times we as grandparents tend to hide, conceal or…

 “You’re not free until you’ve been made captive by supreme belief.” (Marianne Moore, “Spenser’s Ireland,” 1951)

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea, we may feel we have no other choice than to run or engage in mortal combat. If we audaciously take on an evil army as a solo warrior, we set our self up for flat-on-our face defeat. If we deny the gravity of our situation, we do not alter reality. Feeling trapped with no way out, we may panic. There are many…

“Play so that you may be serious.” (Anacharsis, c 600 B.C., quoted in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, 4^th century B.C.)

On this day in 2004, after an 86 year wait, the Boston Red Sox finally captured a World Series trophy. Celebration was intense when success finally happened. Victory was sweet because it was a long time coming.

After last night’s game, with Madison Bumgarner pitching a shutout, the Royals’ hope of winning the World Series…

Lately, I’ve seen an interesting quote circulating. “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, Thank you, that would suffice.” Is that true? How does one reconcile this idea of only saying thank you, with Jesus’ comment to Peter, “I have prayed for you” (Luke 22:32), Paul’s frequent reminder to those to whom he wrote that he was praying for them, or James’ instruction to “pray for one another” (James 5:16). A colleague, who took the time to count, says 78% of the prayers in the…

We often think of prayer as a lone vigil. And sometimes it is. But the Scripture also teaches us to pray together. Nearly all the references to the powerful prayer in the early chapters of Acts are plural. "They lifted their voices together in prayer.” (Acts 4:24)

Do you have a Bible study or prayer group where you can share prayer requests? Praying together is one of the most powerful things we do as a church. In Matthew 18:19 Jesus gave us a…

During this autumn season, I would like to share a guest blog by Cathy Jacobs from “Passing the Legacy” ministry. Cathy shares with us that God has called grandparents for Such A Time As This. God wants grandparents to leave a godly legacy for their grand children with their prayers and pass on their faith in Jesus…

“The man whom heaven helps has friends enough.” (Euripides)

God directs our days—overshadowing when life overwhelms, energizing response-abilities, calming chaos, influencing decisions in puzzling crossroads.

God is our Night Light—inspiring us with nocturnal melodies, illuminating every step by His Word Lamp, protecting us from enemies of our soul lurking in sinister alleys.

God is our Morning Wake-Up Call—igniting…

“God is in control. This is no time for fear—it is a time for faith and determination.

There is a bottom line drawn across the ages. Culture can make its plan, but the line never changes.

No matter how deception may fly, there is one thing that has always been true and will be true forever.

He is still the Lord of all we see, He is still the loving Father watching over everything and you…

Prayer is certainly bound together with love. Prayer is the expression of love. And love ought to be the motivation for our prayers. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus commanded His followers, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” You do not love your enemies, if you are not praying for them. And prayer is a powerful means of developing love for those who are difficult to love. I believe it is an expression of love to pray for someone…

I have an answer for you. I was a frustrated long distance grandparent with little involvement in the lives of my grandchildren. However, God showed me how I could impact the lives of my grandchildren by purposefully praying for them, if they lived nearby or faraway.

God gave me a passion to intentionally pray for my grandchildren. Now I want to share with you…

One of the best things about the discipline of praying for organized lists of people is that God impresses me with difficult people to pray for. It strains my prayer life to pray for people I do not necessarily like. It stretches my faith to pray for people whom I can hardly imagine changing.

I pray daily for family members who have ruined their lives and the…

When you find you’re competing for the minds and hearts of your grandchildren with the draws of the world, how do you grandparents get into the competition?

In a recent survey I found that one of the most difficult challenges grandparents face today is having a strong desire to influence your grandchildren in a positive way and having the parents oppose you.

The world’s evil forces continually pull at us and at our…

“To be individually righteous is the first of all duties, come what may to one’s self, to one’s country, to society, and to civilization itself.” (Joseph Krutch, 1964)

“If you don’t mind my saying so” people state before voicing their opinions. But the following thoughts are not merely my opinions—they are convictions based on the Scriptures.

Believers in Jesus Christ are different from infidels. Forgiven by heaven’s flawless Lamb,…

“Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” (Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895)

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to three neuroscientists whose work is answering the question why we know where we are and where we’re headed.

John O’Keefe (University College, London), May-Britt Moser (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), and Edward Moser (Norwegian University of Science and…

My grandchildren range in age from 11 to 32 years but now I have 2 great-granddaughters less than 18 months so I am again praying for infants and toddlers. If you have infants and/or toddlers you may appreciate these suggestions of how to pray for them.

For Infants, pray they will:

1. Develop a strong sense of security as they bond with their family.

2. Feel safe and secure in their surroundings.

3. Grow…

Christian Grandparenting Network has a passion to encourage and equip grandparents to pray for their grandchildren. Our mission is to challenge grandparents around the world to intentionally and regularly come together to pray, interceding for their grandchildren, children and 

communities. In the Pray! Magazine, Arlyn Lawrence writes, “Intercession is one of the ways God designed for us to partner with Him in bringing His loving presence into our aching…

Kingdom Greetings Prayer Partners,

It gives me great pleasure to announce to you the "Spiritual Warfare Series" that will occur on Friday nights this month on the Prayer is my Passion Prayer line.

We will be having in depth Teachings on various topics relating to Spiritual Warfare and then we will climax on Friday, October 31, 2014…

Most Believers cling firmly to the promise of God in Romans 8:28. I am no exception. But it is important to note that this promise is linked with the promise in verse 26 of God's help in our prayers. Am I saying the promise only applies if you are praying about your difficult circumstances? No, I am not saying that. But I do believe God will use difficult circumstances to teach you…