Reach Out and Touch SOMEONE~

Monday greetings ~

I have a personal bubble. It’s the space around me that I consider private, and I don’t particularly appreciate people all up in my bubble. Whether it’s to touch me, breathe on me, or to talk to me. A very select few are welcome in my bubble – like Jorge – but even then, I appreciate a respectable distance. (The exception is all babies and small, friendly animals). There’s actually a colleague I am very fond of because the first time we met, I accused him of being in my bubble – which he knows he was – and we both cracked up. And when he met Rayray for the first time, we played a joke where he introduced himself about half an inch away from her nose, and seeing her all uncomfortable was hilarious.

Thank goodness, though, that Jesus never had a personal bubble.

Mark 5:25-34 A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.

At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”
His disciples said, “What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you!”
But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story.
Jesus said to her,“Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”

†††††††††

This is one of my favorite passages in scripture, and here’s why. A woman, who by all accounts had every reason to be tired, frustrated, depressed, desperate, and hopeless did not give up.
Twelve years is a long time to be suffering. Honestly, 12 days, 12 weeks, 12 months of an ongoing serious problem is terrifyingly exhausted. But 12 years? Lord, have mercy. And yet she must have heard something amazing about Jesus to venture out in her worsening condition and touch Him – to touch Him without His permission, by the way. Talk about invading someone’s bubble. But Jesus did not get upset. Her “risk of faith” paid off.

Jesus welcomes our every effort to reach out and touch Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We reach out to You today by prayer and ask for a healing in our emotions, body, and soul. Thank You for being accessible. In Your name we pray, AMEN.

God's Way~

Greetings~

The great Fernandez purge of 2014 is still ongoing, and I found something over the weekend while I was cleaning out a box. It was Rayray’s Christmas wish list from 1999. It’s a small list of only 83 items, one of which is a “Persian cat for mom.” This list is cute or maybe it's troubling. I’m not sure, but I do know there are some gifts that are better than all the stuff on that paper.  

Galatians 5:22-23 “What happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

We get ourselves on the gift list by living life God’s way, and believe it or not, it can all be summed up in one sentence: Love others as you love yourself.  

Six words – that’s it! The antidote for everything we read about yesterday – loneliness, joylessness, dissatisfaction, emotional garbage, a brutal temper etc…is to love others as you love yourself. 

I saw an article on-line yesterday entitled: The Secret of Being Happy. One of the keys to feeling bright and full of sunshine is to serve others.

That’s really no secret at all. The Bible encourages us over and over again to take care of others, put others first, and to love others with the same energy as we put into our own self-preservation. 

When we do this we can expect everything it says in those verses above. I especially love the phrase “exuberance about life.” It’s actually so much more than being happy. It’s excitement, fervor, vitality, zest, eagerness, exhilaration, cheerfulness, AND happiness all rolled up in one!

That sounds so appealing to me. And that’s the kind of life I want for those I love as well.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for encouraging us to think about others and reach out to others. Somehow, by blessing others, we walk away being blessed with the kind of life that’s worth living. In Jesus’name, AMEN~

 

 

We Have a Choice~

Greetings~

 

Yesterday we learned that we have been set free and Galatians 5:13 says, “It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.”

God has called us to be free, and because we are free, we have a choice.  We can either live God’s way or our own way.  And what is God’s way anyway? And what is our way?   

Verses 19-21 provide some eye-opening insight: “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.”

Like my husband would say, “Hot dog and a corn bread!”

Those are some powerful words, and none of us wants any of that.  But when we look around at what is happening in society, maybe even right next door, or GASP! in our own homes, it’s frighteningly evident that a bunch of us – to a certain degree –  are trying to get our own way rather than doing it God’s way. 

Isn’t life hard enough already?  Yet some of us live with divided homes and an accumulation of emotional garbage.  I have lost track of how many marriages I know that have ended up in turmoil because one or both spouses felt they had a right to be happy no matter what the consequences.  So many folks desperately grab for any little thing they think will bring them peace, but they are joyless.  They buy this and buy that, but still feel crushing sadness.  Both my kids grew up playing sports, and I would often see parents have toddler-like meltdowns because their child wasn’t doing good enough, or chosen first, or accepted into a prestigious tournament.  They were so sure that being the best of the best was the answer to living a satisfied life.  But look at all the famous and successful people; I can’t think of one person who I would trade places with.

This passage is really saying that when we fail to plug into Christ on a daily basis and seek His blessings and guidance, we wind up doing things as we see fit, and the results are disastrous.

Fifteen years ago this month I had a conversation with another mom from my kids’ elementary school where she said, “My son is a Jesus fanatic.  I wish he would tone it down.”

I briefly debated in my mind what my response should be.  I figured that part of being a Christian is that we are to be Christ’s biggest fans.  If I can yell with glee when the Miami HEAT wins a game, can’t I get excited about eternal life?  Yet this mom, whose kids were all in a private Christian school, by the way, was bothered by her Bible-reading, Jesus-trusting, praying son.  I could have cried.

I simply replied that I had never heard of a mom who could be upset that her son was loving and honest.  That I had no idea what a “perfectly balanced Christian” should look like.  That I didn’t know where to draw the line of trusting Him too much as opposed to just enough.  I remember thinking that maybe she would have been happier if her son were sleeping around and taking drugs.  I didn’t get it then, and I still don’t understand.  Everyone I know wants joy, blessings, peace, commitment, and love.  And the first step is to stop trying to get our own way and do it His way, which we will finally explore tomorrow.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, If we look around there is an abundance of dissatisfaction and misery.  But we choose You and the joy You promise.  We choose You and the peace that comes from trusting You.  We choose You and the very health that permeates our bones when we pray.  And in case someone we love is not quite there yet, we pray for You to fill them up with joy, peace, and health anyway.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~     

Just Like Barabbas~

A post-Easter greeting to all ~

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, and I am not talking about the weather! It was beautiful because we celebrated the resurrection of Christ, and it was a time of getting together, counting blessings, and remembering His sacrifice.

Mark 15:15 “Pilate set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion.”

By the time we get to this verse, Jesus has already been arrested. We also learn that it was a custom during the Passover season to release any prisoner for any reason. Weird tradition, but nonetheless, instead of releasing our innocent Christ, Barabbas – a murderer –was set free.

Anyone who has seen a passion play or movie can hardly stand to witness the whipping and crucifixion of Christ. Yesterday in church they put on a play where an actor was literally put on a cross, and it was tough. But what really got to me was when Joseph of Arimathea tenderly took Jesus’ body off the cross to provide a proper burial. My whole family and I were seated a few rows back of this simple presentation, but it was impactful. I could scarcely breathe, if I am being honest. Jesus should have never been up there to begin with. He didn’t do anything wrong. Barabbas, on the other hand, he should have died. I wouldn’t have felt so bad either. Barabbas was a murderer, so he deserved it, right?

And then God spoke to my heart: “Yenisita, You are like Barabbas.”

“Say what? I ain’t never killed no body.”

“No, my precious girl, you haven’t. There’s a bunch of stuff you haven’t done and never will. But are you perfect? You still need forgiveness, don’t you? You still need Jesus, don’t you?”

“Yes I do – a lot – every second of every day I need Him.”

“Jesus took Barabbas’ place and yours. You are free.”

“Thank You, my Lord, I love You.”

“And I love you, Yenisita.”

When we do something wrong there’s a price to pay. But we don’t have to pay for our sins; Jesus did. All we have to do is live our life with the freedom we have been given.

How do we do that? (Mañana).

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for speaking into our hearts. We have been set free to love this life and live it to the full. We have been set free to love others and help them understand their freedom as well. Show us how. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Plow Through~

A blessed Good Friday to everyone. 

 

Hebrews 12:2-3 “Keep your eyes on Jesus… He plowed through...”

 

Three GOOD points to ponder:
 

1. Today of all days is a day to think of everything Christ put up with while on earth.  He was mistreated, falsely accused, slandered, verbally and physically abused, and put to death.  There is nothing you have ever gone through that Jesus doesn’t understand. Hebrews 4:15-16 “Jesus is not out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help."

 

2. Jesus plowed through all the testing.  One definition of plow is “an instrument used for pulverizing.”  I love that word – pulverize, which means “reduce to dust or powder – to crush completely.”  Jesus plowed through by prayer, wisdom, and love, ultimately allowing Him to defeat death, have victory, and provide us with hope, inspiration, and eternal life.

 

3. This is the greatest truth we will ever hear: Jesus completely crushed death the moment He rose out of that grave.  And because He did that, we can all call on Him for new beginnings and do-overs in this life.   Most importantly, we invite Him into our hearts so that our souls will never die.  Never ever never!   

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Praise Your high and holy risen name!  You totally get us, and we are grateful because no one on this earth fully understands us.  Thank You that You are always ready to give us the help we need to live this life.  We open our arms wide to receive it!  Thank You that You pulverized death, and one day we will celebrate the glories of a perfect heaven because of Your sacrifice.  We invite Your resurrection power into every area of our life that needs newness, restoration, and health.  We invite You to permanently live in our hearts so we can experience forgiveness of sin and eternal life.  AMEN!

Adrenaline Part Two~

Greetings~

Hebrews 12: 2-3 “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

 

For the past few days Christ has been front and center on many of our minds as we just celebrated Palm Sunday, and Good Friday and Easter are almost here.  And this is exactly what these verses are talking about.  We should start off our days and sign off at night plugged in to Him.  Ultimately, this will shoot adrenaline into our souls.  I looked up the definition of adrenaline to see what we can expect.

 

“Adrenaline helps the body meet physical and emotional stress.  It also typically gives a noticeable increase in strength and performance, causes heightened awareness, and allows the body to react quickly to danger.  During this surge, the body’s ability to feel pain also decreases.” (Thank you wisegeek.com).

When we keep our focus on Christ, we receive supernatural help to meet stress, we receive strength to live life, we experience heightened awareness to make wise decisions, and can react quickly to all the danger around us.  And as an added bonus, our pain decreases.  And in case you are wondering, you can stand right in the middle of any disconnect that someone you love is having with God and bridge that gap through prayer so your loved one can receive shots of adrenaline as well. In John 17 Christ prayed for God to show us His truth.  We can pray for that as well because the truth will inspire our loved ones to seek Him.  

 

Everyone alive already knows theses realities: Stress is unavoidable, we are powerless in so many situations, and pain is all too real.  The greater truth is that by keeping our eyes on Christ, all of us will receive the boost we need to make it through. 

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, We take a moment to enjoy Your presence.  Breathe Your goodness and joy into our souls.  We are focused on You right now and receive the adrenaline boost we need to live our lives.  We pray for those we love so that You will show them how much they need You – how much You want to bless them and help them.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~   

Adrenaline for Our Souls~

Happy Tuesday, dear and beautiful children of God~

 

I woke up this morning to the reminder that today is the one-year anniversary of the Boston bombing.  Somedays the bad news and suffering seem relentless.  And honestly, we do not have to turn on the national news to be reminded of all the junk in life; we’ve all gone through something or are currently in the midst of something.  Our struggles can be small or they can be big.  The point is they are real, and they cause upheaval in our lives.  How are we to cope?  It is not very practical to disengage from life, retreat to a room, cover our head with a lavender-scented pillow, snuggle under a blanket, and wait until the glory.    

 

Hebrews 12:2-3 “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

 

Part one: “Keep your eyes on Jesus!” 

 

We keep our eyes on Him by studying how He lived, and the most important thing He did was pray.

 

He prayed when He was alone, when He was with others, before He ate, before healing others, at His own baptism, in the morning, before walking on the water, and at the Lord’s supper.  He prayed over the little children, in the Garden before the betrayal, and once pulled an all nighter before choosing the 12 disciples.  While being nailed onto the cross He prayed, while suffering on the cross He prayed, and in His dying breath He prayed, “Father, into Your hands I entrust my spirit.”  In fact, He is still praying – right now – for you and for me.  Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”

 

In other words, it’s always a good time to pray – to have a little conversation with our Lord.  This is one of many aspects that “will shoot adrenaline into our souls!” 

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are excited to pray today.  By following Christ’s example, we are strengthening our faith.  We could all use a shot of adrenaline!  Help us plow through.  In His blessed and risen name we pray, AMEN~

Go Toward the Light~

Proverbs 3: 5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”

I like having plants in my home, but I do not have a green thumb. On the contrary, I am the antithesis of a green thumb, which thesaurus.com says is a brown thumb. That’s funny!

Nevertheless, I have one plant in particular that is a fighter. This green leafy vine has dutifully sat on my windowsill for over a year in a parrot planter and survived my sporadic attention. I water it when I remember, and sometimes I’ll say something nice like, “Thank you for not dying.” Sometimes I am insensitive and will say, “I can’t believe you’re still here!” But I noticed something remarkable the other day that really grabbed my attention. The entire plant started leaning in one direction, so I turned it around to straighten it up, but it started leaning again. I finally figured out that it was sun-starved, and in an effort to revive itself – (because I am no help) – it was reaching toward the light.

Selah~ (Pause and think about that)

Some of us right now need health in our bodies and nourishment in our bones. We need peace in our hearts, and joy in our families. We need to skip all the detours, wrong turns, and dead ends. We need for our path to be straight, which mean it will be smooth and successful. The way to invite that into our lives is by doing what my little plant did: Go toward the Light.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We lean into You right now through prayer. We are the first to admit that You know it all and we don’t. We need Your guidance and wisdom. Shine Your light into our lives. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

 

Make it Count for Something cont...

Greetings!

Proverbs 11:25 “…those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

Thank you all so much for your kind concern for Lis; she is getting better every day J

The phrase – make it count for something – really struck a nerve.

Check out these thoughts:

• My dad left our family when I was young, and it was brutal. I never wanted my kids to feel like I did growing up, so I have made every effort to keep my marriage happy and together. I realize that I have made it my lifelong crusade to be a devoted husband and father. In that way, my dad’s abandoning me has counted for something. Truth is that when divorce/separation is off the table, it leaves more room for communication and commitment.
• Amen amen amen!
• I have struggled for many years with a sick child. There have many ups and downs and long periods in my life where the only reason I got out of bed was because my child needed me. As hard as it has been, I have realized that I am way more of an encouraging and faith-filled person now than ever before. I won’t hesitate to let someone struggling with a health issue know that I will pray for them, and you better believe I will do it when I say I will. And even though that counts for something, the way which this journey has really made an impact is on my child personally. She has eye-witnessed me growing in my faith and being bold in my prayers. So much so, that now she has started praying herself!
• Glory glory glory!

These are just two of the many comments that touched my heart. I hope they have touched yours as well and gotten you to think about ways in which your struggles can turn around and bless someone else.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We put our lives in Your capable hands and thank You that You redeem us – You make even the most difficult aspects of our lives count for something. In Jesus’name, AMEN~

Make it Count for Something~

Psalm 107:2 “Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out!”

 

This morning I heard a local radio DJ say, “The only thing I haven’t failed at is failure.” What a totally true statement! On January 4, 2001 I failed as a mom: I sent Hormone to school with appendicitis. He was complaining of a stomachache, and I told him it was probably just hunger and that he would feel better after he ate. A few hours later the school nurse called to say Hormone was in a lot of pain and would I please pick him up. As soon I pulled into the school I saw him walking toward me – doubled over – and then he vomited into the bushes. Instantly, I knew it was appendicitis and drove my screaming-at-the-top-of-his-lungs son straight to the hospital. They operated on him immediately, and upon completion, the surgeon loudly announced that Hormone’s appendix was twice the size of a boy’s his age. I did not know whether to be proud or mortified.

 

Suffice to say that from that moment until now I have said a thousand times, “I will never ever tell anyone not to go to the emergency room if they have a stomachache because it could be appendicitis.” The last time I said it was this past Friday, April 4, when my son called to say his lovely wife had a pain in her side that would not subside. And even though she was not screaming, she was uncomfortable. And even though she did not have every single symptom, I made them promise they would go to the hospital if the pain persisted. And for the one thousandth and one time, I reminded every one of that time I sent a boy to school with an appendix on the verge of rupturing...

 

Turns out Lis did have appendicitis, and Saturday morning they wheeled her in for surgery. It was quick, and for the glory of God Almighty, she did not have any adverse reactions, even though the nurse said that young women her age sometimes do not respond well to the anesthesia side effects. Blah blah blah…

 

And yesterday when she was released, she promptly announced that her weekend hospital stay was like a mini vacation and that she and Hormone had a lot of fun. Go figure!

 

I said of all that to say one word: REDEMPTION.

 

One definition out of the 10 plus that exist is to make it count for something.

 

Jorgie’s experience was unpleasant, to say the least, but since it happened and valuable lessons were learned, the way it counts for something is by using what was learned to help others. In other words, one good thing that came from all this is that my lovely daughter-in-love was attended to in a timely manner. AMEN!

 

Is there something difficult or heartbreaking about your past that you still think about?

 

Let’s ask our redeeming Lord to make it count for something.

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You can bring something good even out of the most negative experiences of our life. In Christ’s name we pray, AMEN~

Yenise~

With God all things are possible~

www.speedypalomino.com

 

 

 

He's Only a Prayer Away~

TGIF greetings J

 

Hebrews 11:6 “It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. Why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.”

 

As I have thought about Bartimaeus for the last several days, I have been re-energized in my determination to pursue the Lord.  If a helpless, hopeless, blind man can go from begging to calling on Jesus, then I can make the effort too.  Bartimaeus heard Jesus was walking by and shouted, then he shouted even louder when others tried to shush him up, he also jumped up at the chance when Jesus invited him over, and finally, he did not mince words when asked what he wanted.  

 

What was the end result of all this?  He received an immediate, glorious answer and followed Jesus down the road.

 

It makes perfect sense to me to want to hang out with the One Who helps me so much.  And let’s not lose sight of an important truth: When we have an encounter with Christ, our lives dramatically improve. 

 

This blind beggar is actually a faith hero who is the perfect example of what the verse above means.  He did not doubt that Jesus could help him, or he wouldn’t have shouted so much and so loud, and when invited over he literally jumped at the chance.  Any hesitation on his part would have indicated doubt.  How could he have known so much about the Lord?  Jesus’ reputation preceded Him, and you and I have the wonderful Bible at our fingertips whenever we want to read about it and strengthen our faith.

 

Maybe some of us have been feeling a little like Bartimaeus did sitting on the side of that road—trapped by our circumstances without a clue as to when Jesus will show up.  The good news is He’s only a prayer away.

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Bartimaeus’ faith is inspiring.  What a beautiful example of what trusting in Jesus looks like.  Today we approach You believing that You are real and that You care enough to respond.  Help us believe.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Let's Jump~

Good afternoon~

Mark 10:51 "Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus."

All of Batimaeus' actions show he was eager to go to the Lord. He didn't casually stand up, or stretch his arms, or take a moment to fold his coat. He tossed the garment and jumped! Other versions say he leaped up, sprang up, and got on his feet at once! How could you not get excited about an invitation to pour out your troubles with the greatest Man Who ever lived?

And yet, I will be the first to admit that I haven't always been excited about going to Christ. Shame on me!!! We have been given the awesome privilege of direct access to the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth - the One Whom has all the power for everything we need - the One Whom according to Ephesians 3:20 "...is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." He wants a vibrant relationship with little ole' us. He desires to lead us and bless us, and I, well, there have been days when I didn't even pray.

What? Yes, you read that right: There have been days when I didn't even pray.

Trying to raise my kids, however, really helped me prioritize my prayer life, and prayerless days are honestly a thing of the past. I love Him too much, and I need Him too much. Bartimaeus reminds us all that we should be excited and in a hurry to meet up with Jesus. He has stopped, is waiting for us, and ready to do something awesome! Let's jump!

Prayer: Dear Lord, We come to You today with our hearts open to receive Your love, goodness, guidance, and protection. Forgive us for those times when we were slow to come or didn't come at all. We must have temporarily forgotten Who You are: The Best of the Best! In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Jesus is Calling You Over~

A terrific Tuesday to all; here's a tongue twister to warm up our brains. Say it three times really fast--if you can!

Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark 10: 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him!” They called the blind man and told him, “Cheer up! Get up! He’s calling you.”

At first, the crowd with Jesus had tried to shut Bartimaeus up when he called out to Christ. But as soon as Christ stopped and commanded that they call him, they became quite the little eager beavers. To their credit, they were obedient and fully embraced a role we should all strive for, which is to help others get excited about Christ.

Other versions of this verse say, "Take courage," "Take heart," "Be of good comfort," "Have confidence," and "Be of good cheer!"

Why? Because Jesus has stopped for you and is calling you over!

Amen amen amen!

Every single time we call on Christ, He stops, He listens, and invites us over. This is great news that we should be sharing with others. Every single person alive on this earth right now has something going on; it's called life. Imagine if we took the time to say to someone, " Take courage, take heart, be comforted, Jesus is ready to answer your call. Let me help you go to Him."

The best place to start is within our own walls. I have ventured out to encourage others because of all the practice I have had at home. There have been some situations where I found myself desperate on the sidelines of life - not knowing what to do - so I cried out to Him. When it became obvious in my life that Jesus answers prayers, I realized I could not keep this awesome revelation to myself. This is how this DEVO got started. I have lost track of all the beautiful things Christ has done for me and others through prayer, and I am so blessed to get to see the answers others are experiencing in their own lives. And while it is true that Bartimaeus was the one who received a mighty miracle that day, I know those who were there to witness it were super thrilled. Their faith tanks were filled that day. And that is exactly what happens to us when we help others - we become strengthened to fight our own battles when we see that Jesus is a Prayer-answerer!

Who do you know right now - maybe even in your home - who could use a little encouragement to seek Christ for a miracle? Be their cheerleader today and pray this prayer with them.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are confident today, of good cheer, and comforted because You love us and are here listening to us. We ask You to work this __________________________ out with Your incomparable power. Thank You, and in Your name we pray. AMEN~