11/20/2022
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 With Thanksgiving coming up I am so thankful for my husband coaching our kids teams including flag football, baseball & soccer since 2007. It is the end of an era:( A couple of weeks ago was his last time coaching & it was also Mikey’s last flag football game:( Kids really do grow up so fast! Also, we were blessed with a family road trip pulling our new surf boat to Branson, Missouri for Mikey’s travel baseball tournament. A few weeks ago we went to the UCLA vs UCI baseball game@ UCLA & took a walking tour of the campus.
Most importantly, this year, I am most thankful for our family Bible study! This has been my very favorite way to “go to church.” We were able to read Mathew, Mark, Luke, John & Acts while Emily was still living at home. We just finished Romans Chapter 8 which I think is probably the most important chapter of the Bible. I was so bummed that Emily wasn’t there to hear & participate in our discussion:(
Back tracking a bit, about a week after we dropped Emily off to college she texted Mike (her dad & my husband) that she didn’t want to be involved in our family Bible study anymore:(. She said she wanted to focus on prayer. My heart broke a little with the thought that it was going to be the 5 of us now instead of 6 and our church was starting to lose it’s congregation:( I absolutely loved listening to her well-articulated answers when she put the time into the reading and questions. Then I kinda got ticked off & insulted & thought I am going to FORCE HER to join us via FaceTime. I justified forcing her since we are paying for her college tuition including room & board & it isn’t cheap. She should be obligated to us to participate I thought. However, after a little time went by, I decided to just pray for her instead. My prayer is that she comes around to living with the Holy Spirit inside her, ON HER OWN! I can encourage her by making suggestions. This blog. Cough, Cough, Emily! But in the end, I want her making a free will choice to follow the Bible/God/Jesus/Holy Spirit & not through me or her dad or anyone else forcing her!
As I thought about it, I became thrilled with the thought that she said she wanted to “focus on prayer!” Afterall, with all my years of Bible reading, study & meditation I think the main action Jesus is trying to elicit through the bible is prayer. So in this week’s blog, I decided to define prayer, especially for Emily, as I understand it from my own education & past experiences.
To me, prayer is 3 things including 1) Praise to God, 2) Asking God & simultaneously believing God has answered our request, & 3) Conversation with God.
First, prayer is thankfulness to God/Jesus/Holy Spirit for all we have been given physically, spiritually & social-emotionally. Oprah has said that prayer could be as simple as thank you & that would be enough & I agree:) As many families do, in the past during Thanksgiving time, I have had our kids go around and say what they are thankful for. As a parent, I love this more than Christmas! Hearing all the things they are thankful for instead of what they want when they honestly don’t need much is music to my ears. We have even challenged our kids to write out 100 things they are thankful for and it is always fun to read them aloud and save them over the years.
Second, prayer is asking for things we need/want physically, spiritually & social-emotionally, all while simultaneously believing Jesus is or has already taken care of these things. This is still a great mystery/gift of the Holy Spirit to me. I can tell you honestly though that I only began to understand when I started asking & believing he will provide because he almost always provides more than I can imagine and then I’m overwhelmed with thankfulness and it starts over:)
Lastly, prayer is a conversation with Jesus. I love Joyce Meyer’s book Starting/Ending Your Day Right, which I bought & gave to both Emily and Julia. Meyer talks about how, as she has grown in the spirit, prayer to Jesus has become an on-going conversation in her life. This is my goal and I have achieved it at times but not continuously in the everyday. So, recently, I have been trying to take the thoughts in my head and instead of thinking I am on my own I direct them to conversation to Jesus. I often times get sidetracked and thrown back into the world but I have found the more I practice this exercise the happier I am and the more peaceful life becomes.
Anyway Emily, our Thanksgiving baby, thankfulness to God is a great way to start “focusing on prayer.” Maybe write out 100 new things you’re thankful for this year & post them on your wall next to your dorm room bed. This way you can easily pray when you go to bed or when you’re waking up slowly on the weekends. We absolutely LOVE having you home for the Holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas & The New Year! We love you Emily:)