Happy Monday!

Hope that you had a restful Sunday and that today finds you ready for another step in our YEAR OF GROWTH. 🙂

Saturday I wrote to you about taking a hard step toward getting myself more organized.  As I was writing, I was getting excited about the prospect of change in this area and how it could impact my ministry and personal life.  Completely focused, I was unaware of the time or anything around me.

I finished a little after 1:00 p.m. and thought I better check my phone.  And, in true unorganized fashion, I had missed two calls from Joann, the women’s ministry leader at a church in Seattle where I am supposed to speak this fall.  These were not random calls.  She and I had scheduled an 11:00 a.m. call to talk through some details only two days prior. I had completely missed it while writing a post about growing in organization and how it affects others and the things God has called me to.

Wow.  Case in point.

Embarrassed, I called her back, more than two hours late.  And then ran out and got myself a large desk calendar, brightly colored pens and a daily planner.

Part of today will be spent filling in the blank squares and lines with important dates, meetings and projects.  Which, in itself, could be my fourth hard thing.  🙂

But I am choosing something harder today.

It’s not hard because I don’t want to do it.  It’s hard because it affects my schedule.  It involves commitment.  It affects others.

I am joining the prayer team at church today.

God has been very clear with me in the past year that He wants me to grow in the area of intercessory prayer.  In other words, prayer for others. It’s easy to pray for ourselves.  For the things that affect us and our families, since they’re always at the forefront of our minds.

But, at least for me, it takes deliberate action to plead with God on the behalf of others on a regular basis.  I need to grow in this area – to strengthen lazy prayer muscles.  To invigorate my expectancy to see God work in the lives of those around me.  I want to be so inclined toward prayer for others that it’s my first response when I hear about a hurting soul.

Prayer is powerful.  I have experienced miracles in my personal prayer life that defy full definition.

Prayer is absolutely essential to anything and anyone else that God is drawing my heart toward this year.  It MUST be the wrapping on every gift God is asking me to use.

In Ephesians 6, Paul is talking about putting on the armor of God for spiritual battle against the devil’s schemes.  After each piece of protection is in place, he says this:

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

What stands in the way of me doing this today? Of going to join others in doing something so important to God’s heart?

Remember the three things our enemy uses to try and stop our growth process?

Fear.  Pride.  Selfishness.

My biggest hurdles today are selfishness and fear.

Selfishness because I will have to give up some time to do this.  Two hours or so every Monday.  Designated personal prayer time during the week to continue praying for those requests.

Fear because it is a commitment I take seriously and I’m afraid I will fail.  As a random personality, consistency over the long haul can be a problem for me.  I can lose focus.  Get distracted by other things.

So today’s hard thing will be ongoing.  Rubbing up against old habits that need changing.  Growth that will come over time.

Until that hard thing becomes just another part of who I am at my core.

– How can I pray for you today?

– What will be your Thing Four on this 9th day of January, 2017?

– What will you trust Jesus in today that will mark your tomorrow?

Take these verses with you as you go today:

Philippians 1:3-6 – I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

From my heart to yours,

J