"Call to me, and I will answer you..."

The following are excerpts from my personal prayer journal over the course of the last 6 months:

The sacrifice You made thousands of years ago has been given out to millions as a staple and saving grace of their life. I frequently think of heaven every time I take communion. You unite all. You unite an entire group of believers into a family. You unite nations. You unite generations. You unite realms.

And I am convinced that nothing can separate us form God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers [...] will separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus. Romans 8:37-39

Every day You make me new. Every day You conquer my sin. Every day Your grace floods my cracks and heals my wounds. Every day You call me to be Yours. Every day You continue to redeem me and claim me as a child of the living Lord.

Heart of my own heart whatever befall, still be my vision O Ruler of all. 

Allow the church to trust in Your plan, rather than numbers.

Without You, life would be filled with empty destinations rather than the constant and everlasting journey of Your daily redeeming grace.

Praise be to You - the One who makes all things good. The One who covers all under Your grace. The One who reaches for my heart. All glory be to You.

Help me to surrender the future, money, friendships, family, schooling, my career - all which already belong to You. Help me give those to You. It is out of my human ability to claim those. All is Yours. All is well.

It's exhausting living the "reality" of controlling the future. When in the truest of realities - I am not even able to reach out towards my future. You hold the future. I am called to live in the present because that is all that is possible.

I want to live in the full acknowledgement that my living is in Your hands.

Lord, I pray that I may continue to live with Jesus in between me and the hearts of sinners. May You perfect and complete my being to glorify You.

Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Our work this week seems very simple. Cooking food, building picnic tables. But that's the beautiful part of mission. It's simple. A place for sitting and eating is enough to exemplify His love. Broken Spanish is enough to share the Gospel. Our little faith is enough to move mountains. His grace is enough for me. His power rests on me despite my weaknesses. His power is behind and through the hands that chop vegetables and sand wood. His power is in the smiles and broken Spanish. His power rests on me. He uses my brokenness to bring healing.

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

The missionaries asked us if we were those "singing Lutherans." To which we replied with singing the doxology. My Lutheran heart was beaming.

And when I do fall into grief and sadness, may I genuinely grieve over the loss with full confidence in Your plan and Your comfort.

In all chaos and confusion You stay...
with me.
the same.
my heart.

In Your will, the kingdom is fulfilled. In Your will, I am fulfilled.

I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 1 Corinthians 14:15

You have given me the gift of changing in Your consistency. Thank You.

Lord, help me be thankful during these next few weeks as my life changes and my "normal" starts to disappear. Place a sense of gratefulness in my heart.

We are created and called for His purpose. Not His purpose for me, the individual, but for all of creation. We are called to be apart of that glorious and holy purpose. What a miracle. What grace.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

He created me for this purpose. I am not responsible for qualifying myself for His purpose. Allow me to live freely as Your created.

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

Your light reflects and illuminates. Your light shines on me, and by the grace of God it shines back and cuts the darkness. Your light cannot be overcome. Lord, continue to remind me that Your light reveals truth and life. I don't need to fabricate or mold Your light for others in order for them to accept You. Your light reveals the truth of salvation.

Today has been full of evil, division, killing, and despair. Lord, I pray for society. I pray that people may call out this racism as evil and turn to You. I pray that our nation may heal and reflect Your goodness.

Place my heart in Yours.

Lord, I ask that You give me a heart that perceives the future as Yours. A heart that is joyous and grateful to live under Your plan and Your future.

May I be a breathing, living, moving testament to Your redemption.

Continue to abide in my living. Continue to hold the future in the goodness of Your hands - may I trust the goodness of Your hands.

Have Your grace drown my past.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a new way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19