What I am about to write about is personal, a bit heartbreaking, and just some reflections on how and why prayer is so powerful – and why it is necessary.  Along those lines, why it is paramount that we do not sit back quietly, keeping Jesus neatly packaged up, as our gift to ourselves.  We simply MUST share Him with those around us – with family, with friends, with anyone really.

I’d like to share with you the scenarios behind why this is such an urgency.  It always should be, but when tragedy strikes, we realize just how much we wish we could have shared the hope of Jesus with the world.

This sense of urgency comes because there are so many lost people, all around us.  I have some heartbreaking news to share with you, with the hopes not of just sharing bad news, but rather to light a fire, fanning the flame.  This is no joke folks.  There are hurting people, some who have no way to find a way out of their pain.  They take drastic measures, all in hopes of some sort of escape.

Just this week, I had one friend attempt suicide.  She is in the hospital, and the prognosis is not good.  There has been some good news sprinkled in with the bad, and I keep reiterating that HOPE IS REAL.  I proclaim that she will live, and she will not die.  Not only that, but  I agree with the prayers of friends – she will have a quick and full recovery.  I believe that she’ll be a living testimony of who Jesus is as a result of this experience, and her life moving forward.  I have that faith.

Just yesterday, I had another friend who is heartbroken because her cousin passed away yesterday.  He also took his own life – saw suicide as his only escape.

Also yesterday, yet another friend (completely unrelated to the previous) experienced a family member loss to suicide.  The person who passed away, her young (12 year old) son found her.  Praying that God hold him, and comfort him like only He is able.

I don’t tell you these stories for the shock value, but rather to just show this.  I am ONE person. One.  And, I have three friends whose lives, or the lives of their families have been radically changed (though not in a good way) because of this.  Sometimes people are out in the open with their pain, and sometimes not.  Sometimes a suicide really is a huge surprise.  Either way, it shows me that it is PARAMOUNT to share Jesus with everyone.  The hope found in Jesus, and in Him alone has the power to heal broken hearts, to carry a person through the pain, etc.  However, if they never hear this, they see no other way.  This is not to say that there was ANYTHING that ANYONE could have done differently in these above cases – and far be it from me to make anyone feel guilt as  a result.  It is just a wake up call for me because you just never know how that smile, that heartfelt “hello, how are you?” or moment to just care about a person will affect them.  It might literally be the difference in life and death.

Speaking from personal experience, sharing the love and hope found in Jesus really does make a difference, and is life changing.  I know what it’s like to hurt, and to feel pain – but thank God, I also know the radical life-changing love through our Savior.  One of my favorite songs has this line, “The Arms that hold the universe are holding you today.”  Take that one in for a moment.  Really think about it.  The creator of this entire world – He loves you and He loves me that much.  Take this life changing love and hope into any part of the world you’re able to affect.  Be bold with your faith.

Let your hearts break and your love overflow for people. Embrace the call, and go out into all the world and declare the name of Jesus!  That is something that really resonates with me right now.

Let our hearts break with and for people.  That sounds sad.  In one way, it is – but in another, it’s a blessing.  It’s a blessing to follow the call.  When others are hurting, have empathy.  When an entire nation is in poverty, lacking basic necessities, not having proper nutrition, etc – let God give you compassion and a love for people in such a way that your heart breaks for His people.

But, when you feel that tug – when you feel that pull at your heartstrings – don’t just ignore it. Do something about it!  Pray and ask God how He might use you to make a difference.  Sometimes making a world of difference can simply mean taking the time to listen, really listen to someone.  Care about what they have to say.  Reach out and share hope in combination with love.

What you sometimes have no idea about is just how much what seems to you to be a simple gesture will actually mean in the life of another.  What may seem simple to you might be life changing to someone else.  React in love, instead of anger, when you feel you’ve been wronged.

Take, for instance, a practical example that happened to me in the drive thru.  McDonalds has this odd two lane ordering system that funnels into one lane to go to the windows to pay.  There was a lady who seemed to be in a rush, and pretty unfriendly.  She essentially cut me off to get to the ordering box sooner.  I’ll admit – my first reaction wasn’t a nice one.  However, I heard the Lord say, “No. Forgive her.”  I have no idea what is, or was going on in her life.  Maybe she was having a rough start to her day.  I have no idea.  But, I kept feeling led to forgive and share grace.  So, I did something so very strangely against all I’m used to.  Ironically, I ended up in front of her to pay and get my food.  But, that’s not the point.  When I got up to the window, I felt an urge to do something that would show His love and grace.  Simple gesture.  I paid for her food.  It wasn’t expensive, but it surely made my day much brighter.  All I asked the lady who took my money to do, was to give her a note.  It was an encouraging note that said that someone had paid for her order, no strings attached, etc.

I biggest thing I took away from that whole experience is the age old saying ringing so true: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you….NOT “Do unto others as a result of what they’ve done unto you.”  They are both similar statements, but with very different meanings. Take time to think about it.  I know I am.  Forgiveness.  Grace.  Love.  JESUS.  Share Jesus with them – with all whom you’re able to connect with.

Today, I would like to tell you about my experience with life, and with prayer specifically.

As I was driving to pick up breakfast this morning, I did as I always do.  I hopped in my car, and I turned on some Christian radio.  Love hearing a continuous message through the music.  But, I will get back to my story.  As I am pulling out of my driveway, just singing along to the music, I felt strongly like God was telling me to turn the music off.  I couldn’t explain it, because it was – after all – Christian music.  But, I chose to obey.  Whether God or not, I figured it wouldn’t be harmful to not have music playing.  So, I took the opportunity to pray.

As I was driving, all seemed normal.  I was headed the direction I travel nearly every day.  As I approached the four way stop, it was my time to go.  But, just as I was going to pull out and cross the intersection, I heard an immediate “WAIT!” I had no idea what that was about, but in that split second, I made the decision to just wait.  What transpired next has me still thanking God for His angels, and for keeping me safe.  Within literally 1-2 seconds of when I would have pulled out, a car accident happened right in front of me.  Neither party yielded right of way, and I would have been hit by two different directions.

There is no denying that I was protected.  My point with this, is just that when you live a lifestyle where prayer is an integral part, He WILL take care of you.  If you are tuned into Him (praying and actually listening) He will keep you safe.  Always listen to and for His voice in all things.  Some things may be more dramatic than others.  Some may be nothing more than a God-inspired thought in your head.  Either way, heed His direction. He knows how to take care of you – 100% of the time.  God is faithful, and responds to the cries of His children.

Okay, so this is pretty much something on my heart. I just want to scream: CHURCH – or anyone who calls yourself a Christian – WAKE UP!  We simply must stop just playing Christian – pretending to be something we’re not!  Jesus has called us to so much more than any of us are willing to admit, or want to do.

Why?  Because He calls us to be like Him.  We take so much for granted, and are very much a consumer driven society.  We proclaim our love for God, but do we truly love Him?  Yes, of course…but, do we show it? He calls us to love our neighbors…to love the unlovely…to give hope to the hopeless…to reach out to the least of these…to provide love and practical help to those less fortunate…yes, you get the idea?  Do we obey?  I mean, truly obey!?

I know I don’t – not all the time.  I’ve recently prayed that God give me His heart for people.  That I learn to love people as He loves people.  I am finding this to be a dangerous prayer.  Not really – but when we truly care about other people, we allow Him to work through us, and step outside of our comfort zones.  We must reach out in love, and show them Jesus.  Our actions should point to Jesus, not to our unwillingness to even acknowledge their existence.

God is impressing on me a call to action…a realization that people are important…that God loves us exactly where we are, and when we reach out to others in love – that is when life change happens.

This is my little girl, holding a painting God put on my heart two days ago.  As I was praying, I just kept feeling led to paint.  I had a variety of ideas, but this one is the first one that I created.  I paint a variety of different things, in all sorts of different ways.  This one, however was unique.  How it was created was a first for me.

As I was gathering supplies, I kept feeling the need to put my brushes away.  What’s this you say?  Paint a picture with no brushes?  Well, that’s exactly what I did.  I created the entire painting (from the base coat on the canvas, to the mixture of colors, texture, more colors, etc) minus of the actual writing – all by hand.  Think finger painting, adult style.  This may sound odd to you.  It certainly did to me.  Equally as strange in my head, is that I felt as if God was directing me to use only my hands, and that these are the same hands that He will use to share hope and love.  As I was creating what was shaping up to be a frame, I still could not decide what to put on the inside of it.  Whether it was God behind my thought processes for sure or not, I don’t know — but what I DO know is that I had fun.

In my thinking and praying on it, I felt like Jeremiah 29:11 would fit perfectly.  So, there you have it.  My little hand-made creation.

One thing that this challenge is doing is encouraging me to pray.  Yes, to pray the specific “challenge” prayer, but to just talk to God (prayer) whenever and for whatever reason.  For many people, prayer is some sophisticated ritualistic thing that requires hours and hours. What we (and by we, I mean me) fail to realize sometimes is that prayer is nothing more than talking to God.  It can incorporate so much more, and can be structured etc…but, don’t get caught up in the symantecs and requirements to pray “X” amount of time.  Let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you.

With all that said, something I’m learning is that God loves when you simply come to Him…in both the good times, and the not so good times.  Something in your life may not be going well,and you might be mad about it.  Tell God.  Scream. Cry. He can take it.  That’s what amazes me about God.  He loves us with a never-ending, passionate love.  There is NOTHING we can do that will make Him love us any less.  Thank God and show gratitude when things ARE right in your life.  Seek Him then too.

Always know that you can (and should) go to God with any situation, any conversation on your heart.  I keep saying this, but I need to reiterate…for myself as much as for anyone reading. Praise him and seek His face when times are tough – but also don’t forget Him when times are happy, and when all is going well.  He is worth our all, all the time.

Every part of me wants to apologize ahead of time for what I’m about to write…but I can’t. It’s just that I’m not used to speaking what’s on my heart…especially when it may ruffle feathers. I just found myself convicted thinking about all this…so, here goes…

This line in our challenge prayer states, “I choose a lifestyle of honesty and integrity.” This really got me thinking. Is this an ideal important to anyone anymore? I know it sounds judgmental, but it’s not supposed to. It’s more of an internal soul searching that I find myself doing. I found myself asking the question – what do these words actually mean? For “honesty” one quick definition I saw is: the quality or fact of being honest; uprightness and fairness, truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness, freedom from deceit or fraud. And, for “integrity” I found this: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty – the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished, a sound, unimpaired or perfect condition.

So, if I just ponder those definitions, I wonder just how much of my lifestyle really reflects these features. It’s convicting because I see this as a challenge in and of itself. I mean, let’s talk about honesty. Think about honesty in all things. You probably think like I do – I’m an honest person. Sure, in some things. However to be honest in all things is more of a difficult concept. I mean, those of us with kids certainly understand the “necessity” to not be completely honest at times with our children. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. How many times have you told your children – “just a minute, sweetie – we’ll do <that – whatever the “that” is that their wanting> that after I’m done…or sure, we can get some ice cream just after…” You pick the scenario, but I’d imagine we’ve all done it to some degree.

That kind of leads right into integrity. Does your moral character speak for itself? Do you hold yourself to a standard of excellence? Does your lifestyle indicate your character? I know, for me – I have to really look at this. If we are striving to be the hands and feet of Jesus – to be more like Him, these qualities are imperative. Jesus didn’t stretch the truth, and his moral character was without reproach. Shouldn’t we strive for that? I’m not saying I’m perfect – not by any means. But, if we strive to be more like Him – to be a living witness of who He is – then just remember, we might very well be the only “Jesus” some people see.

I’d like to share my experience with this 30 day challenge.

So, yesterday I started Day 1 of the 30 day challenge. I prayed early in the day. The prayer itself led me to think and ponder many different things. It opened up new ways for me to think and pray for others. I began to pray with a passion that has been hiding for some time.

Then, mid afternoon, I was driving – out running errands and such. As I left a store, I picked up my phone. I was just going to make a few phone calls, and just chat with friends and/or family. But, even after I picked up my phone, I felt urged to put it down. It was as if God said directly to me. No, talk to me instead. I felt it very strongly. So, I put my phone down and just began to pray. I felt led to pray for our church’s missioin team down in Honduras. I just prayed for whatever God put on my heart. (This challenge was one thing.) It was a very sweet time, and His presence was almost tangible. I felt closer to Him than I have in quite some time.

You see, those things might seem simple to you, but to me – it’s a breakthrough. I’ve been through some really difficult times recently, and God has met me exactly where I am, in a very real way. I’ve decided it’s time to quit playing Christian. To reach out in love to people within my reach, simply because. To get real with myself, and with God. So, this challenge came in pretty perfect timing. I have the faith to believe it’ll continue doing things within me, but also all those people (and the things) I’m praying for. I also believe it’ll be amazing to watch God in action through this, and the prayers and faithfulness of His people.