Monthly Archives: July 2021

Specific Prayers Get Specific Results

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Specific Prayers Get Specific Results

I believe that specific prayers get specific results. So many times, Matt and I talk to and counsel with people who are considering a major life change. Maybe it’s deciding if they should pursue a new career or opportunity, a big move, a potential spouse, taking a chance on something, and more. When I ask how they are praying about it, they say something like this, “I’m just praying that God will show me.”

While that sounds good on the surface, that kind of a prayer does nothing to show you what it is you’re supposed to do. I am a huge advocate of specific prayers. I believe specific prayers get specific results. When you pray a specific prayer and line it out for God, you will know very clearly what his answer is.

An Example of Specific Prayer

A great example of this in the Bible is the story of Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac needed a wife, so Abraham (Isaac’s father) sends his servant back to his homeland with the goal of finding a wife for his son. Think of the enormity of the servant’s task. Knowing he his not equipped to be able to do this on his own, he enters the homeland of his Master Abraham and comes to rest at a well, and prays. He says God, I need you to point me to the right woman. Then he lays out his specific prayer.

He prayed, “O God, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, ‘Lower your jug and give me a drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and let me also water your camels’—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I’ll know that you’re working graciously behind the scenes for my master.”

Genesis 24:12-14 MSG

He let his specific requests be known to God, so he would know whether or not God had answered his prayer. When Rebekah comes to the well, she does exactly as he prayed she would. She offers him a drink and offers to water his camels. Then he knows that God has answered his prayer.

Learning to Pray Specifically

Too often, our prayers are not specific enough; so then we don’t know whether God is really answering that prayer or not. The best way to get God’s answer on a matter is to pray specifically.

For example, when Matt and I were praying about buying a building for our church, we prayed for the building to drop to a specific amount. We also prayed that the financing would work that we would rent from the owners of the building. When both of those prayers were specifically answered, we knew that this was the building God had for us.

If we had just prayed, “God, help us to know whether or not we should buy this particular building,” we wouldn’t have known if we God was answering our prayer or not. Praying specifically takes the guesswork out of prayer, out of knowing whether or not God is answering a specific prayer.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, read my post Stop Wavering in My Prayers and check out the book, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson. The Circle Maker is one of my favorite books on prayer.

An Update on Macey and the Last Six Weeks

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The Last Six Weeks at Home

We have been home from the hospital for about six weeks now and are adjusting to our new normal with Macey, who was diagnosed at the beginning of June with Type 1 Diabetes. She has been such a trooper and so brave and strong through all of this.

Macey with her Dexcom
Macey with her Dexcom on her arm

Macey’s New Dexcom

I am so happy to say that she got her Dexom—a continuous glucose monitoring system. It has made things so much easier for us to monitor her numbers continuously. It makes traveling soo much easier. With the touch of a button, we know her numbers. Whether it’s while she’s swimming in the pool, playing outside, traveling in the car, or sleeping…we can know what her numbers are and help to prevent any highs and lows. It’s been a game changer for us. The Dexcom takes the place of pricking her finger. So we don’t have to do all the finger pricking all day long, and she’s super grateful for that!

Macey's Dexcom
Macey’s Dexcom monitor

In the months to come, we are hoping to get her on an insulin pump. That will take the place of most of her insulin shots, so we are still praying and hoping for that sometime in the future. Right now, we are enjoying the freedom of using the Dexcom.

We got to go see our friends in Ohio and their new book store!

Back to Her Happy Self

Thank you to so many of you that have been praying for us and praying for Macey. She is doing so much better. She is back to her normal self, something that we are so incredibly grateful for. It took several weeks for her to be back to the “Macey” we know, but we are so happy with where she’s at now.

Macey and her daddy
Macey on a date with her Daddy

She turned six last week and celebrated by having a Wonder Woman party! We had our family over for the day, and the cousins all ended up in the pool! It was a great day.

Macey at her birthday party
Macey’s birthday party

Being Reminded of God’s Goodness

It’s during times like these that we are reminded of how good God is and how blessed we are to have family and friends that love us and pray for us. We experienced such an outflow of love from people. Macey received card after card, balloons, presents in the mail, and more. We are beyond thankful for all of you! Thank you so much!

We are so thankful that God prepared us as much as possible to be able to handle Macey’s diagnosis. Every time we meet with a new doctor or nurse, they ask us if we are ready to handle the trials that come from having a Type 1 Diabetic child in school. Every time, we are able to tell them that we don’t have to worry about that because I homeschool the kids. Every time, without fail, they say something like, “Oh, good. That will be so much easier!” God is so good. He knew exactly what Macey would need before we did.

Our Biggest Blessing this Summer

God has an amazing way of meeting needs before we even know we know them. One of the biggest blessings we’ve experienced this summer is getting an Intex pool in the backyard. We have wanted one for several years and just haven’t pulled the trigger. We decided that this was the year. It has been a God-send. One of the things that keeps Madcey’s numbers from going too high is exercise. So, every time her numbers start to climb, we throw her in the pool…which she is happy as a clam to do! It’s been such a blessing!

The girls in the pool

Sometimes, you have to pull back and look at the full situation to see God’s hand of blessing in your life. Other times, it’s so evident that you can’t miss it. I feel like that’s how the last several weeks have been.

We continue to trust God and his plan for Macey as we move forward. We are continually reminded of his faithfulness and goodness to us.

For More Encouragement

If you are in the midst of a difficult season right now in your own life and need some encouragement, check out our devotional: He Still Calms Storms: Finding Calm in the Midst of Chaos (a 30-day devotional) or read my blog post: When Problems Disrupt Our Lives.

4 Life Lessons You Can Learn from a Potter

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a potter creating pottery

A Local Potter

There’s a shop in Lancaster, PA that sells beautiful pottery pieces from a local potter. Each of the pieces are unique and beautiful, brightly colored and eye-catching. They’re also really expensive. That’s because each piece takes hours to create, and no two pieces are the same. They are all uniquely different. I’ve bought a few pieces over the years as gifts for people.

A Potter in Old Testament Times

The picture of the potter seemed to be a popular way for the people to understand how God works, because God was constantly using the potter to teach his people lessons in the Old Testament.

In the book of Jeremiah, God tells the prophet Jeremiah, “Go on down to the potter’s house and watch the potter. I’m going to use him to teach you and my people a few lessons.”

So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot.

Jeremiah 18:3,4 MSG

Then the Lord gave me this message:  “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.

Jeremiah 18:5,6 NLT

Lessons from the Potter

What do these verses teach us about God, as the Master Potter? Here are four life lessons we can learn from the potter.

1. A potter doesn’t discard the clay when the vessel he’s creating doesn’t turn out right.

Just as the potter doesn’t throw away the clay simply because it didn’t turn out the way he wanted, so God doesn’t set us aside when we make mistakes or when we experience massive failure in our lives. He simply helps us put the pieces of our life back together again and uses those failures to shape us into who he wants us to be.

2. The potter knows the value of the clay.

The potter knows the value of good clay and won’t throw any of it away. In the same way, God sees value in us long before we become anything spectacular.

3. A potter doesn’t get angry at the imperfections; he just starts over.

A good potter doesn’t react in anger when what he is creating doesn’t turn out. He simply molds it together and starts again. Similarly, God doesn’t get angry at us in our frailty. He patiently molds us and shapes.

4. The potter sees the final product in his head before it takes shape in his hands.

A potter has in his creative mind what the final product is going to look like. Then he patiently works at it until the piece resembles the picture in his mind. God does that same with us. He sees the final product, and he won’t give up until we resemble that final product.

Our job in all of this is to simply stay moldable, shapable. How do we do that? We have to constantly be tuned in to his voice and working in our life. We can do that in four ways.

1. Spend time every morning with God.

The easiest way for me to do this is to start each morning with my morning time routine. Check out My Best Tips for a Morning Time Routine.

2. Get plugged into a local church.

One of the best ways to stay close to God is to connect and align ourselves with him each week by listening to good preaching, participating in worshiping God through music, serving God and others, and fellowshipping with other believers. We can do all this by getting plugged into a local church.

3. Join a small group.

I am a huge proponent of small groups, even though I didn’t grow up with small groups. But after more than eight years of participating in small groups, I can see the amazing value of them. There’s something about being accountable to the same group of people week after week. Sharing a meal together, doing a Bible study and praying together each week, and just doing life together week after week keeps you accountable in a way that church just doesn’t. We love our small group and couldn’t imagine doing life without the members of our group.

If you’re interested in learning more about small groups, I devoted a chapter to small groups in both of my books—The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life and Finding Free: 5 Simple Steps to a More Peaceful, Content, and Happy You. You can check them out on Amazon.

4. Listen to good music and podcasts throughout the week.

Another way to stay close to God during the week is to listen to good Christian music and podcasts. By filling our hearts and minds with more of God and his goodness to us, we keep a tender heart towards him and are more apt to hear his voice and see his hand guiding us.

It’s our job to stay moldable, ready and willing to follow as God leads in our lives. It’s God’s job to make us into the person he created us to be. When we do our job and allow God to do his job, we will find ourselves at complete peace.

5 Signs You Won’t Make it Through this Storm

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storm

My husband, Matt, wrote this post for his blog this week. I liked it so much and thought it was so helpful, I decided to share it for this week’s post.

The Perfect Storm

October 30, 1991, was the day a nameless storm hit the North Atlantic seaboard.  Just a few days before, Hurricane Grace developed off the coast of Bermuda and headed to the Southeast coastline of the United States. As the days progressed, Grace came head-to-head with a low-pressure system hailing from Canada. The clash of the two storms created the perfect storm. The National Hurricane Center chose not to name the storm for fear it would confuse the public.

During the developing weather system, a crew of six manned a 70-foot fishing boat called the Andrea Gail. The crew headed to the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic, where they were hoping to catch swordfish. When the crew failed to arrive back into port on November 1, a search party was sent to look for the them. Sebastian Junger records the tale in his book, The Perfect Storm, which became a motion picture. The unnamed perfect storm swallowed the crew who were never found.  

A Storm of Biblical Proportions

The disciples were used to fishing on the twelve-mile-long and eight-mile-wide Sea of Galilee. What they were not used to were the freak storms that could whip up at a moment’s notice. The sea was nicknamed “The Great Abyss” by the locals. While the sea gave the men their livelihood, it also posed a threat to their lives.  

While we might not be in a literal storm like the disciples, we all face “storms” that threaten to take us down, along with the people we love as well as our future. How do you know if you’re going to make it through your storm? Here are five signs that indicate you won’t make it.

5 Signs You Won’t Make It Through the Storm

1. You are about to quit.

The worst time to leave a relationship, quit a job, or make a drastic decision is in the midst of a storm. It’s been said, “Don’t make a long-term decision, for short-term inconvenience.” Storms have a shelf-life with an expiration date. What’s the answer? H-A-L-T Don’t make a decision when you are H (Hungry), A (Angry), L (Lonely), or T (Tired.)

2. You think you’re the exception

You think you’re the exception. Sometimes the temptation comes to sail head-long into a bad situation, do nothing, or just hope for the best. “Let the chips fall where they may.” If you have advanced warning of a storm, experts say the best course of action is to find a port. Don’t look for just any port. Find a port that’s a “hurricane hole,” with high mountains or cliffs around it and a good holding. What’s the answer? Go to God. Reach out to friends who will point you back to God. Get to church. Church is a great port of refuge for those times we are the most troubled. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

3. You think another ship might help.

Target fixation can be a real problem in a storm. There are people and places you might think will be a help but will only sink you faster in the midst of chaos. What’s the answer? Have a plan and conviction before the chaos and crisis hits.

4. You’re in denial.

Ever heard this before? “Denial is not just a river in Egypt.” Some of us don’t like bad news, to feel pain, or deal with reality. We might get so used to chaos and living in a “storm” that we get comfortable with drama, stress, and toxicity. If you don’t get help or make a change, eventually you’ll start taking on water and sink any chance of making it through the storm. What’s the answer? Get HOT- be honest, open, and transparent with where you are in life. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. We are only as sick as our secrets. We’ve all got problems. If you’re in an abusive, unhealthy relationship, it might be time to reach out to someone and ask for help.

5. Your emotions are calling the shots.

Panic is the most dangerous crew member in the midst of a storm. If panic takes the helm and starts giving orders, the risk of injury and fatality increase exponentially. What’s the answer? Have a plan and stick to it. Get a buddy system. Who can you call to help you have objectivity in your situation? Who can you check in with on a regular basis so that you can keep a level head?

Your Own Perfect Storm

Maybe you’re facing your own unnamed perfect storm right now. You’re fearful of your circumstances swallowing you up. You fear no rescue party could find you. Friends and family have their own worries to tend to. You may feel alone like the disciples and wonder if anyone knows or cares about you. Be encouraged to know that Jesus will always come to you in your storm. 

In Matthew 14:22-33, the disciples experienced a literal storm. Jesus came to them in the midst of their storm and guided them safely to shore.

Jesus will allow for situations to unfold in which we feel far from him. In the start of the story, Jesus tells the disciples to go on ahead without him. Sometimes there are situations in life when we feel alone and far from Jesus. It’s simply a part of life. But just because we feel lonely doesn’t mean we are alone.  

Remember this: God may allow storms, but he doesn’t abandon us in them. When you are in the midst of your storm, call out to Jesus. He will be there and help guide you safely through your storm.

For More Encouragement

Check out our thirty-day devotional, He Still Calms Storms: Finding Calm in the Midst of Chaos or my post: How to Prepare My Heart for a Difficult Season of Life.