Three Prayers God Will Always Answer??????

Father Carl said this yesterday:
"God will never let us down.
It is OK to ask on behalf of others.
It is OK to ask for discernment.
It is OK to ask for protection."
I'm doing a study on Romans 1, which is of course is no good unless you read the whole book. At the same time I am looking at Acts 17. I'm using The Message and my new Archaeological Bible (NIV). Summer vacation has officially begun for this school teacher, although there are a few classes and tests I will have to take. Still, I am hoping to be more disciplined in my prayer and study time. Might even be able to fit in some quality blogging time.

Sunday Morning

We'll be leaving for Church very shortly. I just spent about two hours, blogging, editing my template, visiting some old friends.
I started the morning on the porch with my new prayer journal, pen, and a cup of coffee. So far the day has been very pleasent.
Yesterday we took our grand children to the River Fest. Fun for all. My grandson will be 4 tomorrow. God bless little Elijah!
Yet there is still a storm raging inside of me. Perhaps it is just this particular stage of life that makes me feel so strange. So estranged from the LORD that I have loved and served for so long.
I listen, I seek, I understand, yet the storm clouds seem to be blocking the light, and I do not like the darkness.

Show Me - Let Me See

Exodus 33:18
And Moses said "Please show me your glory."
Several months ago, a friend of mine heard a teaching on 2Kings 2:19-22

Ki 2:19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.
2Ki 2:20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
2Ki 2:21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
2Ki 2:22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

There are a lot of desert passages, dry and barren land promises, that are easy to apply to this place where I am currently planted. My friend wanted more than to hear these words and apply the promise to her home land, she wanted to DO them.
James 1:22. So she called some trusted friends, Pastor Art and I among them, and down to the San Juan River we went.

That night, I was greatly disturbed by a news report concerning a young Native American student, on a reservation far to the north, who had shot up his school. He and his victims were the same age as my students. I was crying out to the LORD for his sake and the sake of his community. I was crying for my own students and my own community. I wrote in my prayer journal, "Oh Lord, I need to feel your presence, I need to see Your Glory, please show me you glory."

The next day, late in the afternoon, as we were driving into town we saw an incredible rainbow. Vibrant colors against a dark sky. It stretched out before us like a gate, and it extended into the river, at the very place where we had prayed the day before. I grabbed my prayer journal to record this beautiful sight, and there, just above where I started to write were the words
"please show me Your Glory."

One time a friend of mine said, "Maryellen, sometimes a rainbow is just a rainbow." Well not that time.
We just saw another rainbow a few days ago. Ah, the heavens and earth declare His Glory!

Listening

Let's see, Faith comes from hearing
and
The voice of the LORD is over the waters - The God of Glory thunders
Once upon a time, a long time ago, a very messed up not that young woman sat in the lotus position, in the light of a single flame, seeking answers...
"I don't even know your name" she cried out into the darkness.
"What do you mean you don't know my name" spoke the still quiet voice. "I am Jesus..."
Once upon a time, not quite so long ago but long enough. A young mother, pregnant with her second child, listened intently to a sermon about the hidden talents.
"So what is the talent that I've buried LORD"
"I've made you a teacher" say He to her heart. And a teacher she has been ever since.
Once upon a time, a middle aged Christian Camp director read Psalm 29 in the little chapel in the woods. "The God of Glory Thunders!" And it did. And they all jumped. Amazing!
I'm listening right now LORD. I don't want to ramble. I don't want to argue. I just want to hear.

Knowing

Can we know the true nature of God?
Isn't the very concept of GOD infinately more complex than our feeble, finite minds can grasp?
Yet if we trust in the Bible - the living - God-breathed Word of God, He wants to be know by us, and He has revealed His true nature to us, or at least as much of it as He knows we can comprehend. One of the most simple truths about His nature is that He is LOVE. Some scholars balk at that statement. It must sound rather wishy washy. Many times critics say - "how could a loving God allow..."
Yet Love is a defining factor in the Divine and the whole of the Law is contained in the two greatest commandments - Love God and Love one another.
We also know that His Loving Kindness and Mercy endure forever.
He is of course a just God, which is why there had to be the Cross.
And the Word tells us He is a jealous God - He wants to be the only one worshiped, the only one honored, because of course He is the only one who created and the only one who saved...
But, if circumstances or theologies seem to contradict this Truth about a loving God...than we must dig deeper. There is no evil intent - no darkness - no lack of mercy in the God of the Bible.
Teachers beware. We who have received the gift of teaching carry a great resposibility.
There are some hard sayings in the Bible. And there are some frightening, overwhelming circumstances in life that can rip a person's faith to shreds. There are some doctrines of men which use Scripture as a basis, but are very dangerous. Teachers must search for wisdom as men search for precious jewels (Job 28) . And all truth, even Biblical truth, must be alligned with what God has revealed about Himself. He is Love. He loves. And His command is Love.

I'll Be Back

I've had a real bad cold this week and it has wiped me out. I've been distracted as well by some stray feelings of condemnation and depression. Our swamp cooler is on the fritz and our house is extreamly hot in the afternoons and early evening. Right now my chest is aching from coughing and I am feeling a bit light headed, but school is nearly out - just one more week and I am starting to feel a little better physically. I really do have a lot to do, and a lot to say. But right now it's time to be still.

Please Check

link to Gateway of the Rock for a ministry update...

Gateway of the Rock

Ok, I'm going to give this a try.
There is a vision to pursue. It seems pretty impossible. I will be reporting the progress on it on the Gateway of the Rock site. Right now I'm afraid to hope, but in obedience, I will get on with it.
Deep breath...

Sleepless in...Shiprock

Sunday Night, quiet...too quiet
It's really too early to be in bed, only now that Pastor Art has a "day job" we've been hitting the sack much earlier. Just a sign of old age I guess, and I am feeling very VERY old.
I can't get to sleep tonight, my brain is spinning and all my thoughts are distressing.
I am remembering all my foolish mistakes, broken dreams, loves lost, irresponibility, debts I owe, those sins...known and unknown - what I've done and what I've failed to do...that's the way it's said Sundays in Church.
I am feeling overwhelmed with regrets.
I think I know what the LORD would have me do, I even made a list while we were in South Dakota. But I am feeling so discouraged.
"Be strong and courageous!" that was the LORD's message to Joshua. "Be strong and very courageous." Yet my thoughts condemn me, reason tells me - don't bother. And the accuser says, there she goes, having another pity party. There are a lot of people out there with worse problems...I try to pray, and again the thought - what's the use?
Friday, as we drove into town, there was this black cloud hanging over Shiprock. Thursday there was a serious fire out here. This afternoon there was this awful dog fight near our house. Three against one, growling and snarling until the grandma next door started throwing rocks.
It just feels heavy, dark and heavy. I don't like the dark.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Good Night