Month: January 2021

Giving Thanks for the Prayer Warriors

Posted on by Wendy
Texts from Prayer Warriors brought me a deep sense of peace.

It’s been a dreary past couple of weeks at my house. My hubby and I, despite our best efforts, contracted Covid-19. We had what would definitely be considered a mild case. We didn’t have any breathing difficulties. We didn’t end up in the hospital, but it was a miserable experience.

As soon as I learned that my hubby tested positive, I reached out to some prayer warrior friends of mine and asked for prayer. The numbers were on our side, but I was seeking a deeper intervention from people who I knew would stand in the gap for us. I received daily texts and sometimes beautiful pictures, from people who I knew were praying and the peace that came from those prayers was priceless. A former pastor and dear friend of mine even called me and prayed for us over the phone.

It turns out that the hard reality of social distance and quarantine that was thrust upon us, was no match for the spiritual blessings that were showered upon us.

When I began to feel better and I was looking over the texts, I marveled at the faithful people who God has put in our lives. Some were from mission trips. Some were former co-workers. Some were current co-workers. Some were old friends and some were new friends. Some were family. My daughter even texted me to tell me that someone she met on a mission trip who has never even met us was praying for us.

I was truly humbled when I thought about how God carefully weaved these people into the fabric of our lives and how He knew when I met each one of these people that we would one day be sick and would need their prayers. He knew a pandemic was coming one day. He was not caught by surprise and just like He was with Joseph in Egypt, He was with us.

As I write this, the sun has finally come out after days of being shrouded by clouds. I am feeling better and I stand amazed at the power of prayer. I am reminded of the beautiful gift that a faith community is even when they are people that you rarely see. As a dear friend of mine once said, “Relationships built with Christ at the center are different than all others. They are deep and lasting.”

Those are wise words indeed.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Coyote Lessons

Posted on by Wendy

We are not called to fear, but we are called to be vigilant.

Last weekend, my hubby and I were having coffee at our kitchen table. There are power lines behind our house and we can see the path underneath them from our kitchen. It’s always interesting to see what will walk by. We often see deer. There’s sometimes a really big buck that walks by. We have a neighbor who lets his dog run on the trail. We have another neighbor who runs. There’s a kid who sometimes rides his dirt bike.

The power company only cuts the grass back there every three years or so, so at times it gets very tall.

But, last Saturday morning, a rather larger coyote trotted by in plain sight, just on the other side of our fence. He didn’t seem to have a care in the world. I was stunned. I know we have them around. I have heard them. I have neighbors who have seen them, but I have never seen one so close to my house.

I immediately picked up the phone and called my neighbor. He has a beloved cat who is the self-proclaimed king of the cul-de-sac and that cat didn’t stand a chance against that coyote. Thankfully, he answered on the first ring and told me that the cat was safely in the house.

I found myself truly annoyed at this brazen coyote for strolling around in broad daylight like he owned the place. Didn’t he know he was supposed to be nocturnal? Why wasn’t he following the rules?

What about the safety of all of the people who used that trail?

A little later, when I got over the coyote’s perceived breach of etiquette, I had to admit that what I really didn’t like was seeing such a stealthy predator so close to my doorstep. I have dogs. I have a neighbor with dogs and chickens and of course there’s the cat next door. While I know that coyotes are in my area, actually seeing one is a different matter altogether.

I needed to be more watchful and careful in the future.

When I thought about the incident a little later, I was reminded that our spiritual lives are very similar to our physical ones. We have another predator who is always seeking to cause chaos and as much harm as possible. Like that coyote, he is opportunistic and comes out when he sees the best chance of success.

But, we have better weapons on the spiritual realm. We have prayer and the Bible and we have the Holy Spirit. As people of faith, we have no need to fear him, because what is in us is much stronger than what is in him. Yet, we have to be on guard and keep watch for ourselves and those we love. Loving reminders, like the call to my neighbor along with prayer, can help the people who we care about to keep safe as well.

A coyote out in broad daylight reminded me to be vigilant with my physical and spiritual safety. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

A Call to the Light Bearers

Posted on by Wendy
We are called to be God’s light.

Last week, I watched in complete dismay as our Capitol was overrun and overtaken, not by foreign terrorists, but by Americans. People who’s anger and sense of disenfranchisement boiled over and they felt led to take matters into their own hands. Chaos reigned for a time both in Washington DC and all over social media. The enemies of freedom all over the world cheered.

I’ve no doubt Satan danced in utter delight.

I felt a spiritual darkness deep inside my bones over the next few days. I prayed without ceasing asking for God’s guidance and for His mercy upon our land. I read the Bible and I texted some of my strongest prayer warriors asking for perspective.

On Sunday morning, as I was continuing to pray about it, I felt like I got what I had been seeking.

The Holy Spirit reminded me of the story of Jonah and the city of Nineveh. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to speak the truth and tell them about Him and His coming judgement. Jonah ran the other way, not because he was afraid, but because he didn’t want God to forgive them. Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed.

But, as evil as the people of Nineveh were, they repented and God spared them.

We can argue all day long about whether God supports a particular political party, but in doing that, I believe we have allowed ourselves to become focused on man and not on God. Let’s be clear here: God can use whomever He chooses to use for His purposes. His hands are in no way bound by someone’s political party affiliation.

As people of God, we need to accept that we are in the middle of a spiritual war here and so our response must be spiritual. We are called to pray for both Trump and for Biden, for the Democrats and the Republicans. We are called to pray that revival will sweep through the halls and streets of Washington DC and on both sides of the aisle.

I watched an interview last week with Mike Huckabee and several other pastors. One of them pointed out that during the ninth plague in Egypt, the plague of darkness, found in Exodus 10:21-23, the darkness was so deep in the land that it could be felt. But, the Israelites, (God’s people) had light in the places where they lived.

1 Thessalonians 5:5 says: “You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.”

As children of the light, we are called to spread light not darkness, remembering that darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can.

Now more than ever, we are called to speak truth in love and to pray as never before. The people who walk in darkness don’t know anything, but darkness. We do. Every Christian is here for such a time as this. We may be surprised about what’s going on, but God is not.

We were chosen for this moment. How will we choose to respond?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂