What is the power of prayer?

I suppose there are many answers to this question. Here's one... or so.

I believe that the power of prayer is first felt inside of us. It's a sense of God's assent, somewhat like someone answering our phone call when the phone has been ringing for a long time and we're wondering if maybe we should just hang up and try again another time. Then a voice answers and simply says, "I'm here. I'm listening to you." Communication has been established!

God has assented to our calling. God has assented to be in relationship with us. God has assented to us—to you, to me, to who we are and who we hope to be. But why? you might ask. And why now? Because that is God's deepest desire and what God has been hoping for all along. I believe that we experience the power of God when we sense God's assent to our seeking and even realize that God has been reaching out for us all along.

The power of prayer is the power that comes to us when we realize that God can be our point of reference in the midst of all the confusions of our daily lives, the steadfastness of God rather than the incomplete, fragile inconsistencies of ourselves. It's the power that comes when we're able to be centered, anchored in a belief and rooted in a Truth, which is stronger and deeper than the day-to-day truths we struggle with.

I think this may have been what the apostle Paul had experienced when he wrote to the people of Ephesus about God's desire for us "that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of people, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles." (Ephesians 4:14) In prayer our hearts and minds can be focused on the eternal truths of God and not the changing, fickle truths of human knowledge and human nature.

The power of prayer is the constant renewal of perspective. Prayer opens our eyes. It extends our horizons. It sheds light into the darkness of our fears and our sorrows, our hopes and joys, our shame and our pride. It gives us new ways of seeing life and relationships, of understanding work and the cost of growing.

The power of prayer is real and palpable. You can feel it and know it and depend on it. It comes to us as a gift, but we need to do our part as well. God calls us to pray and through our prayer, God empowers us and gives us strength.



hugs...love & blessings to you all
.::Tam::.

More Prayers Needed.....................

Ken has been dealing with a low fever the last week and a half. Today it has spiked to 101.7*
Please say a prayer for him! Fevers mean infection of some sort... infections are bad for Ken!

Thank you!
God Bless
.::Tam::.

Prayer request..........

Ken is having a bone marrow biopsy done today.................. please pray it comes back CLEAN!
Thank you!!!

love to all
.::Tam::.

Spring Music Concert............

As I was loading this picture.............it hit me.......... this is my youngest last Elementary music concert............. :'( OMGosh........... he'll be in Jr High next year. What in the world is going on? He cant be that old yet!!! *sigh*

The concert was awesome! Those 6th graders can sing! :)

Hold your children, love your family and friends, forgive your enemies and treasure every moment God has given you!

God bless you all
.::Tam::.

A needed day with my mom and daughter..........

After dropping the boys off at school................... I met up with my mom and my daughter for a few hours of "us" time! I love those few little hours with them! Although neither of them live far from me... our lives are so busy that we don't get enough time to see each other.... so planned days like this are perfect! And goodness knows.... just those few hours can help one get through the rest of the week!

We started our day out by getting manicures and/or pedicures. A nice little time of pampering!!!


Then off to Olive Garden for a nice lunch! We can make a lunch on their salad and bread sticks alone! :) It was yummy and fun!

Off to get the boys from school! Need to get home ... eat and rush to baseball practice!

Have a great evening everyone!

God Bless

.::Tam::.

What a day................

We first say good-bye to Melvin........... The boys sure do hate seeing him leave........ but they know he needs to.... and are so proud of him! They will wait patiently for the next time he can get away to come home! Good-bye son.............. we love you......... stay safe!

Then a trip to Best Buy to get Patrick a new computer............... *whew* found one for a good price!

Over to the hospital to visit Ken. He got Patrick's computer all registered and set up for him!

Home for baseball practice for David. Had to cut his practice short so we could get Patrick to his practice a few towns away.

Finally home to bake cookies. Michael had to create a cookie and make them himself for a class assignment. So .... 9:00pm at night... Michael and I are making cookies. I supervised and directed a bit... but Michael did it all himself.

Here they are baking in the oven.....



and here they are all cooled and iced....ready to be boxed up for class! He was able to make 5 extra cookies from the batch that we all got to taste! YUM! Great job Michael!
He calls these................. Cinnamon Bun Cookies!

Okay........................time to go rest.

God Bless to all!

.::Tam::.

Happy Easter................

Of all of God's gifts
Easter shows us our fate
Forgiven we will rise
And pass through Heaven's gate

This Easter remember
The sacrifice of a Son
And through His resurrection
Eternal life we have won

This Easter I pray
That the love of God
Is resurrected
Reborn, renewed
Inside your heart
God Bless You!

love you all

.::Tam::.

Home for Easter....................

My Navy boy came home for Easter! His dad will be so surprised!! I didnt tell Ken he was home ... So his Easter gift is his son home for the weekend! :)


"Non Sibi Sed Patriae!"
(Not for self, but for country)


hugs...love & blessings
.::Tam::.

Last day of chemo.................

for Ken.................. now we just sit and wait for his body to recover and his blood numbers to be right and two biopsies to come back clean.... and we're on to transplant!

*whew*

Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

they are very much appreciated!!!!

love to all!

God Bless

.::Tam::.

It may be delayed, but it's not denied....

...Do not fear, from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. Daniel 10:12

We all have goals, dreams, and visions in life. We pray about them and try to hold fast to them, because with faith in Jesus we know they will come to pass. And, when they do, it is the most wonderful feeling. A dream becoming reality, a prayer answered, and our faith in God strengthened even more.

But there are times the enemy will cloud the vision that God gives us. He may not be able to read your mind, but he can hear your words. He sees your actions (and reactions) and knows your "buttons". He knows just what buttons to push, and when to push them to get your mind off the vision. He would like nothing better than to steal our dreams. But he can't steal our dreams, unless we let him. This is why it's so important for us to hold fast our confession of faith. It's so important be diligent in our faith. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8)

Disappointment can open a door for the enemy to slip in and "steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10), our hopes and dreams. There is a song entitled "When God is Silent", that I truly love. It talks about how when God is silent He is giving us more time to pray. If you're praying and praying and praying for something and it just hasn't arrived yet, keep praying! Pray until something happens. Then pray some more.

There are times when we pray to God for an answer, and it seems that all hope is gone. There is no need to spend time worrying, just fall down on your needs again and again. Jesus prayed the same prayer three times in the Garden, the night before He gave His life for us (Matthew 26:44, Luke 22:41-44), and the Lord sent the angels to minister unto Him to give Him the strength He needed to make it to the cross. If you believe God is working all things out to your benefit, you have to believe His timing is part of that. He wouldn't have given His only Son if He wasn't going to keep His promise to us.

I want to encourage you today, not to be disappointed at what appears to be a lack of results in prayer. We have no idea what the Lord is doing on our behalf to answer our prayers. We cannot see it, but rest assured His is working it out. What He requires from us is faith to believe that the Word of God is true. Just because you FEEL the answer isn't coming, do not let the enemy make you BELIEVE your prayer has been denied. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus, and keep praying in faith, remembering to thank Him and praise Him for all He has done. Remember: GOD IS FAITHFUL!


hugs...love and blessings
.::Tam::.