31 Days to a Powerful Prayer Life ~ Welcome!

As long as man has walked on the face of the earth, a wireless connection has existed. This connection is infinitely faster and more powerful than any computer or smart phone. And it’s available to all – from the most despicable drunk lying in the gutter to the wealthiest oil sheik with money dripping from his fingertips.

Prayer.

So why don’t we use this powerful connection more often? The God of the universe invites us to “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things which you do not know.” (Jer. 33:3) And yet we stay silent. We worry. We fret. We try to fix things on our own. (Or at least I do!)

Prayer is a subject close to my heart this year. The word “pray” is the one word I chose to focus on in the year 2013. So when I decided to take the 31 Day Blogging Challenge again this year, prayer was a topic that rose to the top of my list. Not because I'm an expert. Or a prayer warrior. But because I want to be. I crave a more powerful connection with my Father, and He desires this for me as well.

So I hope you'll join me on this journey. I definitely don't have all the answers, but I'm going to dig deep into this vital subject of prayer and share what I discover with you. I hope you'll visit this page often for a link to each day's post! Thanks for reading!

Day 1 - Prayer: What's It All About?

Day 2  - Just a Prayer Away

Day 3 - Prayer, The Greater Work

Day 4 - How to Stop Making Your Grocery List When You Should Be Praying

Day 5 - Prayer: You Can Bank On It!

Day 6 - DIY Prayer Book

Day 7 - Why Worry When You Can Pray?

Day 8 - When There Are No Words

Day 9 - Disturb Us, Lord

Day 10 - Apron Prayers

Day 11 - Something to Think About

Day 12 - Prayer is the Key

Day 13 - Sunday Links

Day 14 -  Why Your Soul Needs Silence

Day 15 - Pray by Sanctus Real

Day 16 - Captivate Me: A Prayer

Day 17- Christians, Remember This

Day 18 - 31 Day Links

Day 19 - All Is Grace

Day 20 - Congratulations! You Have an All Access Pass!

Day 21 - On My Knees

Day 22 - He Is Praying for You

Day 23 - An Incredible Inheritance

Day 24 - Prayer for a Confident Heart

Day 25 - C. S. Lewis on Prayer

Days 26 & 27 - Weekend Links

Day 28 - One Prayer Can Make a Difference

Day 29 - Needing Direction?

Day 30 - Examining Our Doubts

Day 31 - Wrapping It Up
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During the month of October, bloggers from far and wide are linking up their posts on one topic for 31 Days. Check it out at The Nester's blog!

 

9/11 Through a Child's Eyes

The day the world changed forever, my 5-year-old daughter drew me a picture that took my breath away.

I thought she wasn’t paying attention to the news reports flashing on the TV,

to the images of

     planes crashing,

              people jumping,

                      buildings burning,

                             children crying,

                                          lives ending.

 

But she was.

Her little kindergartner mind was taking in all the tragedy and chaos as she colored with her 3-year-old sister in the family room.

And her artist’s rendering was simply heartbreaking.

In her picture, smoke billows, planes crash, people scream… and the buildings cry.

Twelve years later, her picture hangs in our house as a reminder of innocence lost. For her and for our country.

A reminder of the countless mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters who were lost that day to a senseless act of terrorism. A reminder of the countless heroes who stepped up to help the helpless. A reminder that we cannot "be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." And that someday, God will make everything right.

“In this world you will have trouble,” says Jesus, “but take heart. I have overcome the world.”

 

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This post commemorates the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Take a moment on this day to remember and honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children murdered by terrorists on September 11, 2001. Thank your local first responders for their dedication to protecting your community. Remember the many Americans who have served and are currently serving in our nation's military—many of whom enlisted as a response to the 9/11 attacks.

 

Let us come together this 9/11 and take a day to honor, remember and reunite. For more information from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, visit www.911memorial.org.

 

5 Minute Friday ~ Tell Me a Story

My Grandma & Me in 1978

That familiar twinkle always showed up after five simple words, "Grandma, tell me a story!"

"A story?" she'd ask, like she didn't have any up her sleeve. Then, of course, she'd clasp her weathered hands together, tilt her head and say, "Hmm... Let me think."

And the magic would begin.

She would transport me back to the days of her childhood, to the family-owned bakery in a small Midwest town. And somehow, I always felt like I was right there with her.

I never knew which story she was going to tell. It really didn't matter. Even if I had heard it a hundred times, I still hung on every word.

There was the infamous tar bucket story that all of the grandchildren loved to hear. It was the day of family pictures, when Grandma was just three years old. Just before the photo session, she fell into a bucket of tar, which completely coated her arm, with no time to clean it up. She was strategically placed in the photo so the blackened arm was hidden behind her sister.

Another favorite was the chicken story. She had seen her mother kill chickens for dinner, so one day, she decided to help. Much to her mother's horror, she caught a baby chick and promptly lopped off its feet with a butcher knife. Oh my goodness! Grandma must have been an early 1900s version of Junie B. Jones!

After all these years, her stories still echo in my memory. But more importantly, her love and prayers  follow me, even though she has been gone for almost 15 years.

My grandma, the storyteller.

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This is an entry for Five Minute Friday. Every Friday hundreds of writers join in this five minute writing exercise at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that Lisa-Jo posts on her blog. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #fmfparty (Five Minute Friday Party).

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

Have a blog? You can join in, too!

After the Writers Conference: 5 Ways to Get Moving!

Image © Julie Campbell, 2013

So, you just returned from a whirlwind trip to a writers conference, where you networked with agents and editors, made connections with other writers, and crammed your head with so much knowledge you could fill a football stadium. Now what?

Once the euphoria has worn off, here are five practical things you can do AFTER the conference:

1. Take a deep breath (and maybe even take a nap) – Most likely you have been waking up early (who decides to start these things at 8 a.m. anyway?) and staying up late, attending workshops and dinners and hobnobbing with (translation: kissing up to) agents, best-selling authors and editors. Don’t feel guilty about taking a day or two (or three) to chill, rest and process. As long as you get moving once your batteries are recharged, you’ll be fine.

2. Review and Write – Look over your notes, highlighter in hand, and mark valuable info that applies to you and your genre. If you really want to get fancy, you can even color-code your highlights – yellow for craft, pink for social media/website tips, green for marketing, etc. Then put all that good advice from the experts to good use and start writing and working on your trouble areas.

3. Follow Up – This is undoubtedly the single most important thing you can do after a conference. If an editor or agent has invited you to send a query, proposal, partial or full manuscript, get to work! Time is of the essence here, and as much as we writers like to procrastinate (heck, it’s a career for some of us!), now is NOT the time to mess around on Facebook or play Solitaire. Craft an amazing query letter (great advice on how to do that here), or get busy revising (or writing) your manuscript. At a recent conference I attended, one agent said if he requests a manuscript (and he knows the writer already has it written), he expects to see it within a week or two after the conference. Moral of the story: Don’t. Drag. Your. Feet.

4. Get Social – Remember all those business cards you collected at the conference? Now’s the time to follow your new found writer friends on Twitter and Facebook. It’s all about community, and there’s never been a better (or easier) time to network with your tribe and stay in touch.

5. Stay Productive and Be Patient – Don’t waste time hitting the refresh button on your e-mail every 30 seconds to see if your potential dream agent has contacted you. More than likely, it will take weeks, maybe even months, for anyone to get back with you. Publishing is one big waiting game, and the sooner you get to work on another project, the better. You need a distraction. So, if you haven’t already, start a blog or a website, get going on that new idea, or submit some magazine articles.

So, excuse me while I stop procrastinating by writing about what to do after a writers conference. Now, I actually need to follow my own advice and get to work. Happy writing!

Finding God from the Driver's Seat

In a million unique ways – as we change diapers, eat dinner, return e-mails, pay the bills – we are to be the evidence of God. Jesus factored in the mundane. We need to eat and sleep and shower and clean up and work on our marriages because of the way he made us – typical, inadequate, and human. Embrace the common: a Sunday afternoon watching sports, Starbucks with a friend, cooking dinner for a neighbor, taking the dog for a walk, heading to a job that is making you more humble and needy because it is so unfulfilling, or working through conflict with a friend you have offended. This and more is all part of it.

So do your everyday and your ordinary. Godliness is found and formed in those places…. Jesus says the way we glorify God, the way we step into his story, is by accomplishing the work God gives us to do. Jesus glorified his father on earth by doing that very thing.

We play our part in his story, and the beauty is, it was what we were made for.

~ from Anything, by Jennie Allen

 

After the umpteenth hour in the car this week, I was starting to feel a wee bit sorry for myself.

“I feel like I spend half my life in the car,” I huffed to my husband one evening.

Of course, he assured me that he appreciated my constant shuttling around of our three needy teens and that someday, they would look back and realize the amazing sacrifice their mother had made on their behalf.

Really? Well, a girl can dream, right?

Maybe you’ve felt like me lately… that you’re nothing more than a maid, cook, babysitter, dishwasher, errand runner, or (my personal favorite) chauffeur. Yes? That’s you? Did you ever stop to consider that this is all part of God’s story for you? That God is shaping and molding you into His image through these seemingly mundane tasks? That this is exactly where you belong?

The above passage in the book Anything by Jennie Allen really rocked my world. Instead of complaining about the ordinary, I should be embracing it! This is the way I can glorify God right where I am, in the left hand turn lane, waiting for the slow poke in front of me to turn already! (Oh, yikes, guess I better work on my attitude toward pokey drivers while I’m at it!)

Wow! If I can really get this – that I can glorify God even from the driver’s seat in the turn lane – I can’t imagine how much easier, and more fulfilling, my life would become!

The mundane, the common, the ordinary, the hum-drum – this is where godliness is found. This is where I belong. By accomplishing the tasks God has set out for me to do before the foundations of the world (Eph. 2:10),  I am participating in His grand story for my life.

Don’t know about you, but the driver’s seat (or the dishes, or the dirty laundry, or [insert your mundane task here]) just started looking a lot better!

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV

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This is an entry for Five Minute Friday. Every Friday hundreds of writers join in this five minute writing exercise at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that Lisa-Jo posts on her blog. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FiveMinuteFriday

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

Have a blog? You can join in, too!

 

Till the Storm Passes By

Image © 2013 by Julie Campbell

I have a secret. Shhhh… don’t tell anyone, OK? I’m afraid of storms.

Hey, are you laughing? Stop! I’m not a chicken! I wasn’t always afraid of storms (at least not as an adult). Not until last summer when lightning struck my house, zapped a bunch of wiring and appliances, and I thought my house was on fire for a terrifying 15 minutes or so (it wasn’t, but the zapping produced an electrical burning smell). See? I told you not to laugh!  

Well, last night we had a whopper of a storm. I mean, the big one. Flashes of lightning one after another, making my room flicker like an old-fashioned horror movie.

And just when I was about to freak out, God brought a song to my mind. A childhood hymn that I haven’t heard in what seems like forever. It’s called Till the Storm Passes By:

In the dark of the midnight have I oft’ hid my face

While the storm howls above me, and there’s no hiding place
Mid the crash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,

Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Your hand
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

This simple tune came seemingly out of nowhere, but it was actually a gift from God. And in the midst of my fear, He stilled my heart.

Maybe your storm isn’t a literal one, but that doesn’t make it any less scary. Maybe it’s a failing marriage, a wayward son, a financial crisis, an illness, a loss. Friend, let me encourage you today: God is there in the middle of your storm, smack dab in the center of the mess and disaster. Above the howling winds, He hears your cries for help.

If you are His child, you stand in the best place possible – in the hollow of His hand. He won’t let you go. He’s got you right where He wants you, holding you “till the storm passes by.”

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7 NIV

Five Minute Friday: What a Friend!

I have a friend who has stuck by me from the very beginning of my life. In fact, he was there even before I was born. (Psalm 139:13-16)

This friend is always for me, always on my side. He does constant battle with my biggest Enemy on my behalf. (James 4:7, 8, 10)

He prays for me fervently, each time I ask, and even when I don't. And he has direct access to God! (Hebrews 4:14-16)

He loves me in spite of my sins and failures. When I have a bad day, he's there gently encouraging me. When I have a good day, he's there cheering me on. (Romans 8:37)

I have a friend who has promised to never leave me, no matter what happens. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This friend carries me when I can't seem to take another step. (1 Peter 5:7)

He sings over me and delights in me! (Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 18:19)

Do you know my friend? His name is Jesus, and He is the ultimate friend! He willingly gave his life so that I could be redeemed of my sins and enjoy eternal life in heaven with him.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for his friends."  John 15:13

What a friend we have in Jesus!

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This is an entry for Five Minute Friday. Every Friday hundreds of writers join in this five minute writing exercise at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that Lisa-Jo posts on her blog. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FiveMinuteFriday

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

Have a blog? You can join in, too!