Prayers for Pappaw

TUESDAY
-thankful thoughts-

Well, today I have many things for which I am thankful. After all, even the smallest beacons of hope shine brightly against a backdrop of dark circumstances.

Today I write to you on my phone from the Methodist University hospital in Memphis. My grandfather has had a stroke. After waking up to the phone call, jumping out of bed, rushing from Starkville to Grenada, MS, waiting in the hospital with my Aunt Cindy for the helicopter to airlift him, driving back to his house, packing bags at the house, driving to Memphis, and now 9 hours later and still in the ER, here I am. It’s been a long day, but there’s one thing, also, of which I’m certain: it’s been a blessed day.

Surrounded by family and friends, we have felt the presence of prayers to our Heavenly Father–the True Healer–bringing peace to our weary bodies and our anxious hearts. Yes… God is good; He is always good.

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So today, especially in this hospital ER, we give thanks to the Lord for the family here, the friends that drove here to be with us, the friends at home yet with us in spirit through thoughts and prayers. Today, we are thankful for many things, especially your prayers for Pappaw.

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day!

On this wonderful day, we have the great opportunity to celebrate our mothers.  Even though they should have MULTIPLE days of the year–actually everyday–we have this day in which we have the opportunity to take an extra moment, an extra opportunity to stop what we are doing and celebrate those special ladies in our lives.  When we were children, they were always there to pick us up when we fell down; their kisses made even the worst, scrapped knee feel better.

Today we celebrate all mothers, especially those that we sorely miss and wish we could have one more opportunity to send them a Mother’s day card, one more opportunity to tell them “thank you” for what we neglected to appreciate before, just even one more day… I know many of us feel that way, but there is hope greater than our sorrow.

Today is still a day of celebration, of thanks, and of remembering the wonderful ways in which God has blessed us through the many mothers on this earth.  Through sending Himself to this earth in the form of His Son Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father certainly knew the power of a mother’s love, too.  Not only does He know the power of that kind of love, but He also created it!  James 1:17 states that every good and perfect give comes from above and that includes our mothers!  So today, let’s thank our mothers that are here, and let’s cherish the ones who may have passed on, yet continue to live through the way we carry them within us.

To God–the Creator of our mother’s and their tenderness, thoughtfulness, hugs, smiles, laughter, and love–to Him be all the glory, honor, and praise!

Praying your day is filled with Sonshine,

Sarah 🙂

PS- I love you, Mom!  🙂

Living in the Body of Love

Thank you so much, dear readers, for your patience in these past few days that I have not posted.  On Thursday morning, I had a freak accident while making coffee that left me with first and second degree burns on my face and arm.  In light of this accident, I have so many things to be thankful for, especially my friends and family.

Since Thursday, many friends have rallied around me with their thoughts, prayers, and even some treats like cookies or trips to get frozen yogurt.  What I learned from all of this is that there are friends that “stick closer than a brother” as Proverbs 18:24 says.  In other words, there are friends that love us more than just as a family member, but that also love us as they love their own bodies.  When we feel pain, they feel pain; when we rejoice, they rejoice; etc…

Isn’t this what the Church is all about?  The Church–all believers as the body of Christ–is composed to love one another and support one another as part of one, single body.  God infuses the body with love, and with that gift of love, we are able to love Him.  Because of our love for Him, we give His love to other people: those inside and outside of the body.  As we pour ourselves out in love, He continues to refill us and infuse us with His love, and the cycle continues.  But still, everything begins and ends with God pouring out His love for us…

Have we experienced this kind of love in the Body of Christ?  Is there someone around us that may need to experience this kind of love, especially today?  Are we a friend that sticks closer than a brother? That loves our friends as we love our own body?  Have you felt the renewal of God’s replenishing love after pouring it out for someone else?  We don’t have to cling to the love that He once gave us… it was meant to be given out over and over, so that we could experience the gift of receiving His love daily, hourly, even in the strain of every minute…  Is this the love that we are giving and receiving as the Body of Christ?

Praying your day is filled with SONshine,

Sarah 🙂

 

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

Are you ever in search for a good, Biblical prayer for a friend, co-worker, or family member?  I absolutely love this passage in Ephesians because it is a wonderful prayer to write down on notecards and give to others and say, “Hey, so-and-so, I’ve just been thinking about  you, and I hope you have a great day :)”

“For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and legth and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.”

Ephesians 3:14-21

This is my prayer for you this morning, too.

Praying your day is filled with the all-consuming, radiant love of Christ.  Infect the world with your contagious Sonshine,

Sarah