What is Prayer?

January 8th, 2016

what-is-prayer

What is prayer? We all know that prayer is talking to God, but do we listen? Do we interact? Do we understand His heart? Are we actually connecting, or are we not?

Secular sources define prayer as:

  • a solemn request addressed to God or some other object of worship.
  • an earnest hope or wish.

This description is not what prayer is. A true Christian did not write this definition!

What, then, is prayer?

Prayer is yielding to God–connecting to Him. It’s communicating with your Creator in a relationship. Prayer is dynamic and powerful. It is the birthplace of your walk with God, and it is one of the ways you draw closer to Him.

What is Prayer? (Video #1)

Beginning Prayer

For many people, the first time you cry out to God might be in an emergency. You might not know what to say. Or you are in sorrow and ask God if He’s there. These prayers, if you are truly trying to connect to God for the first time, are real prayers and God is pleased that you are attempting to connect to Him.

Until you are ready to submit your life to Christ, you will be floundering around like a fish out of water when praying. This is because until you are truly born again, you are not a child of God (John 3:3). You are an outsider trying to talk to a stranger.

Before you are a Christian, your unrepented sin blocks you from God, and that sin has not been removed. The wrath of God abides on you (Ephesians 2:3). Sin is any action that is wrong or selfish. We have to recognize that we are sinners before we are able to cry out to God to save us from our sin. If our first cry to God is because of the anguish that other people’s sins have caused us, we are now able to see why sin is so despicable. Sin causes separation, damage, and destruction.

Salvation comes to you when you cry out to God and acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty for your sins, so that you can be forgiven and set free from the power of sin. As a result, He becomes Lord of your life because you recognize that He as your Creator has the right to rule you. (Romans 10:9)

You cannot truly commune with the Lord if you are not saved. Many people who think they are Christians are not actually connected to God (2 Corinthians 13:5). They don’t want to be ruled by God. They want to rule their own lives. True Christians have a supernatural love for other people and a softness in their eyes because God abides in them.

When you are saved, God’s Holy Spirit then takes residence inside your body, and you are able to receive comfort from Him (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). If you are having trouble accessing God’s supernatural comfort, find a true Christian to pray over you, that you might experience His presence in your time of anguish.

Do you have a real prayer life?

To follow my prayer posts, like my Prayer page on Facebook, YouTube, and Google+.

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Tea Party in a Bag

January 4th, 2016

tea-party-in-a-bag

When my daughter was in the hospital for her spinal surgery last year, someone gave her a gift of a “Tea Party in a Bag.” I thought this idea was wonderful! The woman from my mom’s church placed some delicious tea party snacks and dishes into a cloth bag. Whenever my daughter wanted a tea party, all she would have to do is open the bag and set out the dishes and treats!

We did need to heat up some water for the tea, but that’s pretty easy to do. You will want to make sure to include an assortment of tea bags to choose from, if you are wanting to assemble your own “Tea Party in a Bag.”

The dishes can be toy dishes or real teacups and a teapot. Since I had real dishes, we used the toy dishes from the bag as decorations for the table. If you want to get real teapots and teacups, you can buy them in second hand shops or yard sales inexpensively.

tea-party-gifts

You might want to include a lace tablecloth or other table covering, but this is optional. You might also want to include pretty decorations, like the cloth flowers that were included in our package.

Make sure the tea party treats are in sealed containers or bags. That way if the girl wants to wait for a month or two before having the tea party, the treats will not be stale. Store-bought cookies, cakes, miniature pies, or nuts would all be appropriate for inclusion in your tea party bag.

tea-party

My daughter invited a friend over, and we had a fun time with our tea party. This was a blessing to me as a mom because I was so exhausted from having stayed up all night at the hospital for several days, and I loved having an easy activity that required nothing from me but the heating up of water. A great gift!

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Star Wars Cake

December 14th, 2015

star-wars-cake

For my son Stephen’s 14th birthday, I made him a Star Wars cake–or to be more precise, a Darth Vader cake! I started with a simple rectangular cake. I baked it the previous day and cooled it overnight in the refrigerator.

I googled “Darth Vader” and tried to find a simple silhouette of his head so that I could cut out the shape with a knife. I cut the cake little by little until it was the perfect shape of Darth Vader’s head.

I found a piece of cardboard in the recycle bin in my garage, and I cut it slightly larger than the cake. I taped foil to the cardboard to make a base for the Darth Vader cake.

Next I grabbed the chocolate frosting. Since I didn’t want a black cake, I thought brown would be fine. I opened the frosting container and frosted the entire cake, including the sides.

Finally, I used a tube of black frosting to outline the details of Darth Vader’s face. First I outlined the outside of the cake. Then I did the forehead and eyes. Last, I did the mouth. My husband proclaimed that this Star Wars cake was one of my best cakes of all time!

princess-leia

We decorated the dining room table by throwing a dark blue sheet over it. Next we crossed two toy light sabers in the middle of the table. Last, we scattered star confetti and Star Wars paper chain links that we got at a party supply store.

While watching a movie marathon of Star Wars movies on DVD, I braided my daughter’s hair like Princess Leia. She looks so cute, don’t you think?

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Posted in Birthday Parties, Cooking and Baking | 2 Comments »

LEGO New Jerusalem

November 6th, 2015

lego-new-jerusalem

When studying the book of Revelation with your kids, you can have them build a LEGO New Jerusalem. This will help them to visualize what it will be like. It is a city with square walls. So you will build a wall around the city, with three gates on each of the four sides.

A river runs through the city. The river flows from the throne of God. The Tree of Life is also along this river, and its leaves give healing to the nations. All of our tears will be wiped away, and there will be no more crying or pain.

new-jerusalem-top

If you look at the bottom LEGO base, you can picture each of the bumps as buildings in the city of God. These would be the mansions that Jesus mentions to His disciples:

Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. -John 14:1-3 NASB

You can also choose to make larger buildings with individual LEGOs, making streets and neighborhoods. You have now completed your LEGO New Jerusalem.

If you would like to make drawings or crafts of the New Jerusalem, here are a few more activities you might enjoy:

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