Praying like Hannah

I was thinking the other day how often we pray for things and get upset when God isn't quick to answer our prayers. How we get discouraged and wonder if our father in heaven even cares about the things that are going on with us. We live in a world of impatience, we want what we want at the moment we want it and the worst part is we think we deserve it in our time. I would even say that we are slightly guilty of walking around with a "life's not fair if I don't get what I want" attitude.  We tend to blame our circumstances or sometimes even our God. The reason this has been on my mind lately is because there is something in my life that I have been praying for and its been about 4 years. It all came crashing down yesterday when I just fell to my knees and cried out to God about it. I have been so discouraged because I haven't seen an answer to my prayer and I even asked God "hello can you hear me? Are you going to do anything about this? Are you there?"

I immediately was reminded about Hannah and her situation. Let me remind you of who Hannah was. She was married to Elkanah, she was one of two of his wives. Hannah was barren and scripture says that the Lord closed her womb. Peninnah was the other wife and was blessed with sons and daughters. Now the bible also says that Hannah was taunted by Peninnah, on purpose because she couldn't have children! Can you imagine being barren and then have it shoved in your face over and over by your husbands OTHER wife who already had a handful of children? Ugh Hannah was better than I would have been, I know I would not have responded well to that kind of thing. There would have been a whole lot of eye rolling and attitude coming from me on a daily basis! Hannah was different, she was sad of course but she was persistent with the Lord. God was silent for years with Hannah and she never stopped praying. She never doubted Gods abilities and had FAITH that God had the power to heal her womb. The bible says in 1 thes. 5:17 to pray without ceasing and Hannah was definitely doing that. Hannah cried out to the Lord and made a promise that if the Lord would bless her with a son she would give him back to the Lord. God blessed Hannah for her faithfulness and Hannah kept her promise. When Samuel was born she dedicated him to the Lord just as she promised. God then blessed her with 2 more sons and 2 daughters!

My point here is that Hannah is an awesome example of how we should be. She never gave up, honored her promises to God and then praised God for his kindness and wisdom. We need to be faithful to God even when we don't see an answer to our prayers, we need to love God for who he is and what He has already done for us. Otherwise we treat Him like a genie in a bottle. God deserves more than that from us. He deserves all cause He gave us all. Is there something in your life, an area or situation, where you haven't seen an answered prayer? Are you remaining faithful? Are you praying without ceasing? Remain faithful remember Hannah waited years while the Lord was silent but in the end it was worth it!

Creation Museum

This Holiday weekend we decided to take a road trip to Kentucky to see the Creation Museum.  Its about 10 hours from my house in PA so along the way we were blessed enough to stay with a dear friend in Ohio. We had a great time visiting some places in Ohio and Kentucky and enjoying some sweet fellowship with friends.
The Museum was awesome, as we walked through and I explained everything to the boys I started tearing up because it was like I was sharing our "heritage". It was awesome to see how the bible and science work together and how the word of god stands strong. My oldest son just finished 2nd grade and as we talked about evolution verses creation he stood back and took everything in. Its interesting because all I did was say scientists believe this and the bible says this. I stood back and watched him process and then declare with great confidence that God was the creator and never has he even thought about questioning that. Its like the truth was in him and always has been. Pretty great moment for me as a parent. My boys have to make the choice, I can't force them or even "save" them. All I can do is plant the seed and pray for them that they will acknowledge that Jesus is their personal Lord and savior.  3 John 1:4 " I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth".  Living my life as an example and teaching them about their heavenly father who loves them is something I can do. Continually pointing them to scripture and towards the cross is one of the most important jobs that I have as a mother. Along with loving them unconditionally. A big part of it I have learned also is that I need to be humble with my children. If I do wrong I need to go to them and talk to them and ask for forgiveness and show them that I am not perfect or above the need for a Savior. After the museum we got to go to their petting zoo and also take a ride on a camel. Very cool experience.

On the way to Kentucky there was a living bible wax museum. We decided to stop there as well. We watched the miracles of the bible. It was awesome to see the different scenes played out. During each scene we played sort of a guessing game to see if we could identify what the story was before the audio started. Another great experience.

I feel like I had a "spiritual awakening" this weekend. Like everything I have been living and talking about came to life. Not that I feel like my God isn't real or He is some fictional character made up to make others feel good or happy, but just seeing everything and being able to watch things happen (or "recreated") was such a great thing for me. It gave me a new love for the Lord, a new urgency to share the gospel. I feel like I have my fire back. You know in the beginning you have that "I'm so on fire for the Lord I need to tell everyone" thing? Or maybe I am the only one whose fire dimmed a bit. But regardless I feel like I have it back and its an awesome thing. For the first time I feel like life is this great opportunity and I don't want to waste one bit of it.

If you have a chance you should take a trip to Kentucky and check this place out. Well worth it.
creationmuseum.org
www.livingbiblemuseum.org

This post today was kind of all over the place but I really just wanted to share my experience this weekend with all of you. Praying for my friends and bloggers that you might have your fire back and the urgency to share the great gift you have been freely given. After all when we get an awesome gift why would we want to keep it all to ourselves!

Dreaming....

Today I woke up with an overwhelming joy in my heart no doubt put there by the Lord. I am beyond thankful for everything that I have in my life. Its funny because from the worlds view I don’t have an ideal life, I am a single mother, divorced, I don’t have a successful career and I’m lucky to be making ends meet. When I look around I see so much more! I see the house that God has provided that my boys call home, I see 3 amazing, challenging boys who have a strong love for the Lord and have the word tucked in their hearts. They are difficult at times but would give the clothes on their back to anyone in need, they have an amazing heart to serve. I see a future that is so bright and has so much hope. God is doing amazing things and preparing me for awesome opportunities. I have always prayed “Lord use me and my experiences to glorify you” and I look around and I see all the people that he puts in my path, it is such an amazing thing when you feel completely fulfilled knowing you are right where you need to be.

I recieved a gift for my 30th birthday, it was the casting crowns CD thrive. There are so many amazing songs on there that touch my heart but there is one I was thinking about today. Its called “Dream for you”.  The song talks about david, how he had plans for his life and how God had even bigger plans. How Mary had a plan for her and her marriage but God had a plan for her to raise a king. The chorus goes

So come on, let Me dream, let Me dream for you

I am strong when your weak and I’ll carry you

So let go of your plan, be caught by my hand

I’ll show you what I can do

When I dream for you

I have a dream for you

I’m stronger than you think I am

I’ll take you farther than you think you can

You sing and call Me great I Am

So take your stand

My child, If you only knew

All the plans I have for you

Just trust me, I will follow through

You can follow me

Powerful words, Is my life where I would have planned? No way but I have so much joy knowing that He is in control. God has plans for me and I am so excited to see where He is taking me. “My child if you only knew, all the plans I have for you, TRUST me I will follow through, you can follow me”.  I am going to move when He says move and not be afraid to step out of my comfort zone. He has given me opportunites that I never could have imagined. I am currently doing things that in all honesty I never knew I could. God is showing me that when I let down my control and follow His lead I am so much more happy and fulfilled. God kept me “wandering” for a bit until I finally let go of everything and completely put it all in His hands. I can’t wait to share the news with all of you but for now just know that it wasn’t until I completely gave Him all that He started to open these doors for me!

Are you holding onto something or afraid to step out into something new? God has a plan for all of us, Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans l have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  Examine your heart and pray, call out to your father ask Him to show you where He wants you to be and then Go. I can’t promise you’ll be rich and famous and successful but I can promise you that you will have peace knowing your in Gods will and following the plan He has for you which is greater than any plan we could make up on our own.