Just following Jesus in my real life...

Thursday, January 7, 2010

From the prayer room...

Fourteen of us from truelife church are here at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City this week. For those who have never been here are snippets of prayers and songs going forth from this 24/7 house of prayer now in it's eleventh year...

Apprehend our hearts

Lord Set us apart

Awaken my heart to Your love

Awaken my heart to Your Words of Life

All I want is You

And all I need is found

Only in Your heart

It takes You

To love You

So I ask You

Draw me away, draw me away

Many want the power

But will you wait one hour

with Me, with Me

Somehow my weak glance has overwhelmed You

Somehow my weak love has stolen Your heart

Send Your wind once again

Like You did at Pentecost

Let Your Word go forth in power God

There is also a great emphasis on the Bride crying out for a return of the Bridegroom

Interspersed throughout with
Intercession for Israel and other nations and cities
Intercession for revival in America
Intercession for the youth in America
Intercession for specific ethnic groups in America
Intercession for the government

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Pilgrimage...

We had left our position as assistant pastors at a church on the beautiful southern coast of Oregon. The house was all packed up. We had completed our farewell service, and checked into a motel for the night. Our girls, a toddler and two young ones in elementary school, were sound asleep in the bed next to us. But husband and I were wide awake in our bed...wide awake and crying. What in the world were we doing, leaving this place we loved, this church we loved, these people we loved? And for the next four months we wondered and wandered, not understanding God leading us out, without making it clear what He was leading us to. And that's when Psalm 84 became personal and real to me. Not just the Word, logos, but the Word, rhema, the Word became a now word for me, to me, personally. Psalm 84 (my thoughts) 1 How lovely is Your tabernacle,O LORD of hosts!(For Your dwelling place is my true home O God, and you are the True Love that I long for.)2 My soul longs, yes, even faintsFor the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (When I feel empty, when I feel dissatisfied with my life, it is really You that I need. For You alone are the answer to the longings and desires of my heart.)3 Even the sparrow has found a home,And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God.4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;(The cry of One Thing...that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 27:4)They will still be praising You. Selah 5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.(Not to a physical place...but a pilgrimage to You...to Your heart. Your heart is my true home Oh God!)6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,(This is the valley of weeping...God make my place of weeping a place of revelation, a place of spirititual refreshing. I choose to dig a well in my place of weeping...now fill it Lord, fill it.)They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools.7 They go from strength to strength;(Strength to strength, daily strength, strength to put one step in front of the other and to keep walking.)Each one appears before God in Zion.8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 O God, behold our shield,And look upon the face of Your anointed. 10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.(Absolutely!)11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. (So true! No good thing, no beneficial thing, has He withheld from me!)12 O LORD of hosts,Blessed is the man who trusts in You!(Again today, I place my trust in You. I believe You God. I trust You God.) We spent that whole fall staying with family and friends. And then the holidays came and we still had no open door for a place of ministry or a home. We were not going to have a home of our own for Christmas. But God was so faithful. We saw His miraculous provision in a personal way, and family and friends made sure our holidays were special. Right after the new year we moved into a little white parsonage,right next to the church that we would pastor for the next several years. And yet, over 20 years later, my pilgrimage continues...my journey to His heart, to knowing Him better, more intimately, my journey to trusting Him more, to really dwelling in Him and He in me. And all along the path, His Word has been my song, my sustenance, my strength. (Psalm 119:54)

Monday, January 4, 2010

Bubbling...

Somehow, someway, a bubbling joy and sense of expectation have replaced December's meltdowns and Martha moments. Maybe its the new year with its clean fresh journal pages, its empty squares on the calendar, its new beginnings, its fresh start. Even the very number 2010 is so fat, round, and even! It seems kind of fat and pregnant...pregnant with possibilities.
The last week of '09 until the second day of '10 was spent in a condo by the sea, with my husband, our girls and their families. (gratitude #195-thank you God for the precious time with our family and with You, in my favorite place by the sea!) Tomorrow, youngest daughter moves to Missouri, and for the first time in quite a while, we won't all be living together in the same city. While I am absolutely certain she is doing the will of God, I mourned a bit over her leaving. But again, a bubbling sense of expectation is springing up within. God is going to do something amazing with that girl...with all of my girls...with all my descendants. I believe that with all of my heart. And in my heart is bubbling up expectation, joy and gratitude. Thank You God.

196)A gorgeous day at the beach and a wonderful walk.

197) Sandollars and other assorted beach treasures.

198)Homemade cinnamon cranberry bread

199) Grandkids ringing in the new year with pots and pans

200) Newspaper party hats

201) A walk on the beach with hubby

202) Watching "girl movies" with my daughters

203) Watching baby grandaughter having so much fun in the tub

204) Seeing how much the aunties love their long awaited baby niece

205) Six year old grandaughter and five year old grandson swimming like fishes in the indoor pool

206) Reading books with the grandbabies

207) Grandson and grandaughter looking for constellations in the night sky

208) Finding notes from my five year old grandson tucked into my Bible

209) Getting a notice from the electric company that their rates were increasing, but our bill went DOWN $40 a month

Friday, January 1, 2010

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elizafayestewart@gmail.com

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Happy NEW Year...

Happy NEW Year to all of my blog friends and family!
My prayer for you this NEW Year-
That God will fill your heart (and mouth) with a NEW song
Psalm 40:3
And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.
That every day you will see NEW reasons to praise God
Psalm 145:2
Every day [with its new reasons] will I bless You [affectionately and gratefully praise You]; yes, I will praise Your name forever and ever.
That you will experience great NEW things in God
Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
That you will see fulfillment of the NEW things God has promised you
Isaiah 48:6
You have heard [these things foretold], now you see this fulfillment. And will you not bear witness to it? I show you specified new things from this time forth, even hidden things [kept in reserve] which you have not known.
That you will live in NEWness of life
Romans 6:4
We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life.
Romans 6:5
For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be [one with Him in sharing] His resurrection [by a new life lived for God].
That you will believe and live like the NEW creation that you are
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
That you will hear and believe Jesus speaking these words over you-
Revelation 21:5
And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new.

A family New Year's Eve party complete with homemade party hats!