Days 8 & 9: Your Great Name

Rise up, ladies! It's time to get up and face the day!

I am going to keep this brief this morning. I want to focus on the first part of how to pray effectively. Earlier this week I told you about a man (Moses) who changed the mind of God solely based on his obedience and prayers. Today, I want to tell you (based on Mathew 6 and the Lord's Prayer) the first step to powerful prayers that push through the roof instead of seeming to just bounce off the ceiling. It begins with your view of God.

Remember I asked you, "Who is God to you when you pray?" Well, if we respect and revere God, then we *should* be letting him know first and foremost in our prayers. Jesus modeled this in his prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven, 

may your name be kept holy.

May your Kingdom come soon, 

May your will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

Give us today the food we need, 

and forgive us our sins,

as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

And don't let us yield to temptation, 

but rescue us from the evil one.

Matt. 6:9-13 (NLT)

Step 1: Tell God how great he is to you! Simple, right? Well...we often are rushing so quickly through this process and jump straight into the "I need's" and the "Forgive me's" that we fail to simply recognize and give accolades to our Creator and Savior for being the incredible God he is. So this morning as you pray, thank Him for being Him. It doesn't have to be filled with the "thou's" and "thee's" and Hebrew words that you don't know the meaning of, for then it becomes just rambling. Just state your heart. That's it. 

While you are searching for the right words, take a listen to Natalie Grant's song "Your Great Name" over on our playlist to the right. Sing it out if you want. It's a perfect rendition of expressing the awesomeness of our God. Love it! 

Delight in the Lord, ladies. Rise up, and allow him to take on your day head on. Don't forget to pray for the kiddos!

Day 7: Powerful Prayers

Today I stared with the getting ready part, so i can take my time on the post! I am going to get into a routine at some point! This getting up early is easier than ever, but the getting ready on top of it? Yeah, not so much! I just want to hang out in the Word. Do you think someone would pay me for that?? Not without several more years in school, so it looks like I am still required to get up and at 'em in time to get out the door by 6:45.

When I left you yesterday, I promised this week we'd get into some powerful prayers that actually changed the mind of God. I m not a Biblical scholar, nor am I trained in how to explain it all and break it down by the prayer, BUT I am going to point you in the direction of these stories, and then you can spend some time with God diving in and maybe looking up some commentary.

Well, you hopefully know who Moses is if you're reading the Bible or have heard some stories from within it. Well, after being called to lead the people to the promised land, the people rebelled. They decided to do their own thing, and they lost sight of the One who had made the promise to deliver them out of Egypt. You can imagine that God was a bit angry, right? OK...more than a bit. He. Was. Angry. He was so angry, in fact, that he was ready to wipe out the Israelites. Enter Moses'power with words and their effect on the Almighty...

Look in Numbers 14. Around vs. 10 we see the people start grumbling and more rebelling getting ready to go down. In verse 11 God basically says he has had it! Let's face it! The people to whom God had proved to be faithful time and time again were in utter despair because they figured they were doomed. The spies they'd sent out from the 12 tribes had just come back with reports of literal giants on the horizon, and they are ready to throw in the towel. God is right there with them...

But Moses...the babe delivered out of Pharoah's hands via a basket on a dangerous river...all grown up and wise seemingly calms God down. (Really?!) He says is vs. 13, "'what will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?"' He is referring to the fact that God would be going against his word to the Israelites, and the Egyptians might assume that God simply was not able to fulfill his end of the deal. He then he lays it all out there and reminds God who he says He is. He reminds him that the people are going to fail...that's what we do without God. He pleads with God to reconsider. Check out his prayer, or better yet conversation, with God. (Oh how I wish I could have such with God!) Look at verses 17-25...

17 "Now, please, let the power of the Master expand, enlarge itself greatly, along the lines you have laid out earlier when you said,

18 God, slow to get angry and huge in loyal love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin; Still, never just whitewashing sin. But extending the fallout of parents' sins to children into the third, even the fourth generation.

19 "Please forgive the wrongdoing of this people out of the extravagance of your loyal love just as all along, from the time they left Egypt, you have been forgiving this people."

20 God said, "I forgive them, honoring your words.21 But as I live and as the Glory of God fills the whole Earth -22 not a single person of those who saw my Glory, saw the miracle signs I did in Egypt and the wilderness, and who have tested me over and over and over again, turning a deaf ear to me -23 not one of them will set eyes on the land I so solemnly promised to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with such repeated contempt will see it.

God changes his mind about killing the people. He does deliver a consequence, and tells them not one of the original Israelites will enter into the promised land, but he will not be killing them.

Can you imagine the look on Moses face? I wonder if it was one of  amazement and surprised shock?But more likely, it was one of satisfaction and confidence and relief that he had prayed such a prayer. He knew how to pray and he knew how to approach God. The people were still learning, but Moses? Moses knew! 

I pray today that you will seek Him today in your prayers. Remember that he WANTS to hear from us. He longs for it. Pray to Him because he is able. He knows your heart's desires before you even ask, but you have to ask...

I hope you have a fantastic Tuesday!

Day 6: Hello Monday! Let's Pray...

Hello Monday! I trust that you all had a good weekend. I know ours flew by entirely too quickly! It was jam-packed with some intriguing insight regarding prayer for those who attend our church here in the 'Boro. Our pastor offered some very useful tools and steps to making sure we are praying correctly. I will pull some of these into the blog posts this week, but the first is a major one on which I could probably write for days!

When we pray, we have to ask, first and foremost, "Who is God?" When we pray, are we creating an accurate image of God in our prayer lives? Not sure? Well, let's do a quick check....

When you pray, are you running through "God's Grocery Line" as you quickly pass off your "I wanna" list as he scans them in and bags them up? Does it sound something like this:

God, I would like you to bless my family. (:::beep:::)

God I need a new car. (::::beep:::)

Please turn all the lights green on my way to work. (::::beep:::)

....and so on as we run down the long grocery list of wants and needs?

So, here is the deal. I am guilty of turning my prayers into one liners at the lights on the way to work, but it hit home in a big way yesterday with a simple question from Pastor Mike. Here you go:

If  others were to form an image of God based off of your prayer life, what image would be formed?

Let that sink in for a minute.

Would others be forming an image of an Almighty checkout cashier? Yes, it would look as incredibly silly as it sounds out loud! Or would they form an image of a giant genie God in a bottle that simply blinks and grants wishes upon command? A Santa God? I send a list and he picks the top 3 things on my list to approve...

Before you check out of this blog forever because you are feeling a bit guilty, look at what the Bible does for us. Remember it is not a book of rules, but tools. Jesus shows us how to pray as do many folks in this Book. We'll dive a little deeper into some of them this week, but today I want you to look at Jesus in Matthew 6:5-13. His prayer is one of TRUST and simplicity. He begins his prayer by telling God how amazing he thinks he is. "Hallowed be your name..." That means his name is on his tongue with respect and reverence. He is speaking as though this is a conversation, but he is addressing God as his Father in heaven whom he regards with the highest of honor. 

God just wants our heart this morning. This week we'll dive in to how to pray a little bit more, but we're starting there. Who is God to you when you pray? Do you revere and honor his name? Make it a point when you pray this week to begin with letting God know you know his role. He is Almighty and powerful. He is capable of creating a vast universe as well as the most intricate and delicate flower. That never ceases to amaze me.

Tomorrow we'll discuss to mortal men, Moses and Abraham, who both changed the mind of God simply by praying. What a legacy to leave, right?! Prayer is powerful if you do it correctly. Let's do.

I am praying for you this morning that your morning has started off on the right note with prayer and diving into the word. Maybe a little exercise to boot?! 

Day 5: Rise Up! It's Friday!

It is amazing to me the steps the devil will take to knock us down while we're trying to do our best to get up and walk with the Lord. I haven't been sick all year other than a headache here and there. Yesterday I awoke with major allergy issues/sinus issues that are completely draining me! I am a mess and my body is craving every ounce of sleep I can get. But you know what? I am up. The devil is going to push, and so am I. Job was tested in the Bible in ways not even fathomable to me. Check out his story...Job 1:1-22 is just the beginning, but look at the conversation between Satan and God. 

..."Where have you come from?," the Lord asked Satan.

Satan answered the Lord, "I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on."

The the Lord asked Satan, "Have you notice my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He's blameless - a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil."

(Satan goes on to say that the reason Job fears God is because God has shielded him and he is simply afraid that he'll remove the shield of protection, so that's why he worships him...)

..."But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse your face!"

~Job 1:6-9 (NLT)

Now, the next part is what gets me. God says to go ahead and test him BUT Satan may not take Job's life or harm him at all physically. Like a kid who is told not to touch his brother and then does the "I'm not touching you!" game with a finger millimeters away from the face of his brother just to be as annoying as possible while still technically abiding by the rules, Satan strikes with full force against Job and everything he knows...watch...

13 Sometime later, while Job's children were having one of their parties at the home of the oldest son,14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing in the field next to us15 when Sabeans attacked. They stole the animals and killed the field hands. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."

16 While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Bolts of lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and fried them-burned them to a crisp. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."

17 While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Chaldeans coming from three directions raided the camels and massacred the camel drivers. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."

18 While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Your children were having a party at the home of the oldest brother19 when a tornado swept in off the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young people and they died. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."

20 Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped:

21 Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I'll return to the womb of the earth. God gives, God takes. God's name be ever blessed.

22 Not once through all this did Job sin; not once did he blame God.

~Job 13-22 (The Message - emphasis mine)

Seriously!? Can you imagine Job hanging out at the house and then all of the sudden this messenger running up to tell him his entire family has been wiped out in a freak accident, then while he is finishing the bad news, another one runs up to tell him a fire from heaven has killed all his livestock and shepherds. Then, while those two are getting out the last of their news ANOTHER messenger shows up to tell Job that thieves have come and stolen all he owns, including the camels, and killed all the help.  Talk about a bad way to start the day!

While no one has shown up lately to tell me about my sheep or camels, I do have friends that it seems never catch a break! It's one thing after another after another. I know it gets long and enduring Satan's blasts are draining and often feel hopeless to fight against, BUT take heart in two parts of this passage!

#1: Job throughout all of this falls face first on the ground and praises the Lord! Can you imagine? Do you do this even in the seemingly tiny tough times you've been through? No?...well, me neither, but I want this to become my instant reaction! Don't you??

#2: God calls Job blameless and specifically points him out to Satan. That sounds cruel at first, but it's because he KNOWS Job will respond with praise. He knows what Job can handle, enter in the guidelines that physical harm is out...How amazing God is to know exactly the limits of his children?!

I just wanted to start this morning out with encouragement that it can always be worse. At least no one stole all your camels and sheep this morning, and your house is still standing :) 

I love y'all and am praying for your time with our Savior this morning and today. I am now going to rush to get ready and out the door. I love getting lost in my time with God. His stories are engulfing my mind with questions and sheer wonder, which is exactly what I wanted! Love it! (and now I am late, lol!) Guess that means I'm getting up earlier tomorrow!

Day 4: Beacon

Good morning once again, ladies! I want to know how you gals are doing with the first week of Rising Up?! I have to be honest in saying that I was the skeptic about being cheerful in the morning and this having anywhere near an immediate effect on my day but you know, I am not too proud to say that Beth and Kat were right...I have already seen a change in my overall day. Getting up early enough to get going without being a dictator and rushing everyone else? Who'd have thought that was causing everyone else to have a bad day? Sheesh!

Reading Ps. 119 this morning, and realizing more and more how much an effect we can have on those around us makes me want to dive into the Word even deeper! The entire passage is chalk-full of references to the light we are called to be in a dark world. Can you imagine the impact we could have on this city if we all grew such deep roots in the Word? Check out this little treasure in Psalm 119:105-108

"Your word is a lamp unto my feet 

and a light unto my path. 

I've promised it once, and I'll promise it again.

I will obey your righteous regulations.

I have suffered much, O Lord;

restore my life again as you promised.

Lord, accept my offering of praise,

and teach me your regulations."

~Ps. 119:105-108 (NLT)

Now, if that doesn't light your fire, then your wood's wet! This Bible is not a "Rule Book", but instead a tool to use to be a LIGHT so that we may walk on steady ground through this tricky world. I cannot tell you enough how much I need to write this passage on my own heart as a daily reminder of why it is necessary for us to dive into this Book and memorize some Scripture. We have a powerful enemy at work in this world, but our God is greater!! He has inspired every letter of the Bible so that we don't have to go at this blindly. How could we? We would surely fall daily...oh, wait...we do... I am sure to have a rough go of things if I try this on my own. There is no possible way to do it. We are human and our flesh all to often takes over where the Spirit longs to lead. 

My prayer for us as a group is to have some Scripture on our hearts throughout these first 13 weeks on the schedule. We can start with this one above, which might be the easiest one! 

"Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." ~Psalm 119:105

Be encouraged! We're walking this early morning path together! With God to truly light the way with his Word, the journey possibilities are endless. I am truly thankful for urge to join up with such a great group of gals to use as a support and for the accountability. God is working in a big way on my heart, I know, so it warms me to the core to think about the hearts of those around me that are affected, especially my children and husband and even those with whom I daily come into contact. 

Let today begin with a gentle reminder that God wants your heart...will you let Him tattoo it with His perfect promises and beautiful pictures of love?

Day 3: Delight

"Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night." ~Psalm 1:1-2 (NLT)

What a passage to begin the Psalms. The Psalmists got right down to it, didn't they?! I remember a saying of a former student's grandmother regarding her grandchild hanging with the wrong crowd. Right there in our meeting she called her out and said, "Girl, you hang out by the garbage, you are gonna stink like trash!" How true! We hang out in a crowd of gossips, and gossip is sure to flow from our mouths eventually. If we spend time in television shows that go against all moral standards, they may begin to cloud our judgement. Sinners will cause us to stumble daily. That means trouble since I myself am a sinner! I have the innate ability to trip myself up more times than not! What is it about this world that makes it so enticing to do what we know we ought not to do?

Enter in vs. 2 of Psalm 1! That word delight is a small 7 letter word, but is powerful when you get right to the heart of the meaning. The dictionary defines "delight as , "a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture". This Psalmist is calling us to find pleasure in reading and pouring over the Word of God. He goes on to say in the later verses that those who do find that joy in the written Word grow deep roots, bear fruit, and evergreen leaves. How vivid a picture that paints of those of us who are reading this morning? I wonder how many are already excited to rise up early and dive in? Are you still groping for the snooze button? Or are you planting both feet firmly on the floor saying our mantra, "My name is :::insert name:::, and I will rise up!" Maybe you are somewhere in the middle, but hopefully it is getting a bit easier. As I tell my students sometimes, we have to fix the "want-to" first. The rest will follow. So our delight comes after our "want to's" are repaired! I am not quite to the "bells on my toes and birds chirping" kind of morning, but after reading yesterday about the necessary discipline, it brought new life to how I read and prayed this morning.

I prayed for you today. I prayed that you would grow strong in your faithwalk and that you would delight in the Word. I pray that a fire will rise up within you and give you the desire to want to read... and learn... and grow. God has big plans for us, ladies. How are we responding? As for me, today I'd prefer the perfume and fragrance of the Word to the alternative stench. Pray for your words today to flow from your reading. May you delight in the verses and commit them to memory so that they will flow out as a reflex to any situation!

Hello Wednesday!

Day 2: Discipline...

I can't help but think that this morning definitely came early! One of our Hello Mornings groups has already been up for an hour, though! Way to go, ladies!! I am jamming to "It's Your Life" by Francesca Battistelli over on our playlist, and I am encouraged by the reminder that the world is watching us as women of the Living God. So as we become disciplined in this routine and it becomes second nature, it helps to have a reminder from the Word about why we need to have this. Melody, a teacher and groupie in the 5 a.m. crew, shared a verse she felt led to memorize just a week ago that discusses discipline.

"No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening -- it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." ~Hebrews 12:11 (NLT)

Now, I don't want to be a "totally out of context Scripture" kinda gal, so keep in mind that this is talking about the discipline we receive as children of God, and it is an analogy of our relationship with him. Just like we as parents use discipline, so does he. The commentary in my Bible says, "Who loves his child more - the father who allows his child to do what will harm him or the one who corrects, trains, and even punishes the child to help him learn what is right?" So welcome to training! For those adding exercise into this program ( I am not quite there yet!), this may hit home a bit more for you! My body is not used to this early rising, but it will come...one day!! Listen to the next 2 verses in Hebrews and BE ENCOURAGED!!

"So take a new grip with your tired hands and your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fail but become strong." ~ Hebrews 12:12-13 (NLT)

No if that doesn't make you want to rise up like Rocky IV this morning, we may need to bust out some bootcamp!! Seriously, though, God is allowing us to be with him this morning and calling us to encourage one another. As my group wakes and is sending confirmation texts, I am praying that these determined gals down here in South Georgia will continue on this path, and as the world watches, they will see a bond deeper than we could fathom being formed amongst these daughters of the Living God. This relationship with our Father will pour out and overflow into our daily lives. So RISE UP, and run to Him this morning. Even you weak-kneed and heavy burdened! He just wants your heart this morning! 

Don't forget to saying a prayer for those beautiful youngins this morning. Mine is currently sitting in my lap since it didn't take him long to set his Mommy-is-up internal alarm! Today's verse from 2 Peter 3:18 is a prayer for "growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". What better way to start a day than with the picture of hope that paints for them. 

Hello Tuesday morning!

Day 1: Rise Up!!

Today is day one of our challenge in the Boro for our group to RISE UP and meet the Lord in the morning. I am up, and I am proud to say that my sweet robotic alarm I downloaded last night reminded me that "Others are counting on you...Rise Up, Stacey!". Oddly enough, that did NOT make me want to throw my alarm across the room... gotta love technology :)

Day one is down, and I am listening to worship and praying for my kids. What better way to start this first day?! Which reminds me, here is a link to the prayer calendar from Kat. Each day has something different to prayer for your kids. Enjoy!

So how about you, gals? Did you rise up this morning?!

Our passage this week is Psalm 1: I delight in the Lord because He speaks the TRUTH. Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts this morning.

Hello morning!

Welcome to Hello Mornings ~ Statesboro Style!

Are you a morning person? By that we mean are you the "I wake up in the morning with bells on my toes hearing imaginary birds chirping because all is right in the world and I am super-woman..." kind of girl? If so, please feel free to ditch our sweet little blog here, OR offer up some "How-To" steps to achieve such an attitude!  If you, however, are like most of the ladies and mommies we know, you are the "I despise the alarm, quick, throw it across the room and for the love of everything please don't wake the children" type and you need this more than you know!! Think all hope is lost and there is no way you could ever be a "Hello Morning!" kinda gal? Fear not. Hope is not lost. Not even close!

Kat over at InspiredToAction.com has begun something pretty incredible! Hello Mornings is her brain-child, and we have the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful opportunity to grow closer to God AND to one another via the "Maximize Your Mornings" e-book she has created.

For those of you who are wondering what it is all about, please check the links to the right. The philosophy is simple: start your day a little earlier on the right foot! Instead of feeling completely bothered by all your day has to offer (including the thought of your own kiddos, spouse, work, or just life in general), start your day with 15-20 minutes of growing closer to the Creator and, according to Kat, "accomplish more in an hour than most people accomplish in an entire day."

Join us on our journey to grow our relationships with other women and, most importantly, our Savior Jesus Christ. Imagine a day where you are actually excited to get up and go rather than wanting to crawl under the covers and hide from the world!? That day may be just around the corner if you can just make yourself GET OUT OF BED! With a few helpful women to hold you accountable and the knowledge that these few minutes a day will change the entire way you handle life, you will be more willing than you know :)

Here we go! Hello Mornings ~ Statesboro Style begins Monday, March 5th. Check out our modified schedule for where we are in our journey and feel free to join whenever you happen upon our sweet little blog! Tell your friends! Share this with every lady you know! You can even use the music to start your day off with some worship! All we ask is that you get up...the Lord will take it from there!