Lynse Leanne

I wonder what God thinks when we pray again for the first time in a long time…

Is he like the guilt giving person that hears a voice that hasn’t come to church or has been absent for a while and smirk and say, “finally, it’s about time I hear that voice again.”

Or is He the gracious one that hears the voice and His heart leaps for joy at the fact that He gets to hear from you?

You know when you’re in a large group of people and you hear a voice.  Maybe it was a friend that has been away for a while but has returned.  You hear their voice and your ears perk up.  Your heart jumps with excitement.  You aren’t wondering where they have been, you are just excited that you are hearing from them.

That is how I think God is.  No guilt.  No shame.  He is just excited that He gets to hear from you.

What do you think?

I was in a group of people who was praying the other day and i noticed that 2 out of the 13 had their eyes closed during the prayer.

I, obviously was one that had my eyes open….so you know i am an eye open prayer….but i would like to know….

Do you pray with your eyes closed or open?

I was talking with someone the other day and talking about how we become our parents.

To be totally 100% honest i have this underlying fear in my life and marriage that i will end up like my dad….after 26 years of marriage i will decide for one reason or another that i am out. i dont want to do it anymore.

But i know what the word says and i am totally committed to God and to my wonderful husband Chad.

She brought this thought to my attention….it is all in perspective.

She asked,

well, who is your daddy?

She then encouraged me to change my perspective to realize that God is my dad and He is making me just like Him. Holy, blameless, committed…someone after His own heart.

So, i would like to encourage you today to think about it….change your perspective.

Who is your daddy?

I am not going to try and hide the fact that i have been going through some rough things….i may not talk about them to everyone….maybe one day, but right now i am keeping it to a small group of people.

But as i have talked to some people about these things they just quote scripture back at me. They give me the truths from Gods word and i so appreciate that…but at the same time i am a processor. i need to think about things and talk them through….Some times it frustrates me when all people do is give me the “God is in control” or “Jesus loves you” or “God promises to ____________.” i need to process things through and talk them out.

it is the only way that i will deal with things. If i dont talk them through and process it i dont really deal with it. I am a believer in counseling….not for the rest of my life, but to have a safe place to talk things through when i need it.

How do you process things?

WARNING: I kind of get on a little soapbox so please excuse me.

My husband and i were talking last night about our Jr. High kids. Some of them come to Church of the Highlands and others dont. but they still love God.

With the recent election and inauguration of our new President and the promise of no partisan lines i have been thinking alot about it in the church. And then Pete Wilson posted here asking “why do you go to that church?”

Here is what ticks me, I find in the south and the buckle of the Bible belt that there is a church on every corner and most of them want you to come to their church. and there is the denomination fight over whose services are more relevant or scripture based.

I dont think that God really likes that whole process that the American church gets stuck in. I am not saying that I am so open minded that you can go to any church and worship any god, but why does it matter if they choose to go to the Baptist church down the road or the Presbyterian church across town? They are worshiping the God of the Bible.

Anyways, i think that as the Body of Christ we need to be willing to step past our “partisan” lines in the church and be the Body. each church and denomination serves a purpose and people are touched and lives are changed by their ministry.

Today i want to encourage you to pray for the churches in your city. Pray that God would influence people and change lives. Pray that God would give the Pastor a word for the people under him/her.

We are the body and i think as the American Church we need to start acting like it.

How can you pray for the Body of Christ as a whole today?