Prayers for my daughters...

First and foremost, I pray that you would come to know the God who created you and trust him as your only hope of salvation. It is God's desire for you to be saved (Rom. 10:1). I pray that God would open your eyes at an early age to the truth of the gospel. Lord help our children to turn from darkness to light and receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in God (Acts 26:18). 

I pray against the schemes of the enemy toward you and claim in the name of Jesus that your minds would not be blinded by the god of this world but you would see and embrace the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4). I pray that your minds would be renewed by the power of the gospel of Jesus and that you would not set your minds on fleshly things, but rather submit them to God (Rom. 8:7).

I pray that, like Jesus, you would grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. I pray you would not fear men, which is a snare, but rather, trust the Lord and be kept safe (Prov. 29:25). 

I pray in agreement with Psalm 91:10-11 and ask the Lord that no evil will befall you, nor any plague come near your physical dwelling, but that God would give angels charge concerning you and guard you in all of your ways. 

Daughters, delight in God above all else. Let the pleasures and lures of this world have no hold on your hearts. I pray you would have hearts undivided for God, and remain pure in a world where purity is laughed at and mocked. 

I pray you would be pure in speech: Let the words of their mouths and the meditations of their hearts be pleasing to you, O Lord (Psalm 19:14). 

Pure in deed: Lord help them to keep their way pure by guarding it according to your word (Psalm 119:9).

Pure in heart: Help them to turn, see, and know the one true God (Matt. 5:8).

It is my prayer that you would set an example for other believers in your speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity according to God's word (1 Tim. 4:12).

A Post About "Love"

You can't explain what love is any better than Paul did in 1 Corinthians 13. 

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails."

I am humbled and convicted whenever I encounter this truth. When I think about what the Lord did for me, and the love He showed in His death and resurrection, I am in awe. How can I receive perfect love from the God of the universe, when I am so undeserving of it, and not give it freely in return? 

"Feasting on Folly"

"The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feast on folly." Proverbs 15:14

Dear Daughters,

The latter part of Matthew 12:34 has often caused me to cringe at the thought of seeing, or hearing rather, the contents of my own heart. According to scripture, "out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks." 

When we harshly criticize others, whether it be in our marriage or other relationships, when we make snide comments or rude remarks under the guise of "sarcasm," when we purposefully defame another person's reputation in order to make ourselves look better, when we use foul language or inappropriate jokes to seem cool and down to earth, it all points to the same place…a heart issue.

The First of Many

Dear Daughters,

This is the first of hopefully many letters I will write to you throughout my life. My words so often come out more clearly when I write. You are young now, but one day will understand the things I want to tell you.

I am currently trying to rid my life of things that keep me from really living. Living in the way God intended. I am easily distracted. My mind wanders; my emotions are fickle. My desires are so often temporal and uneasily satisfied. I know the reason behind this, though I so often don't live in light of the truth. I am always striving but never quite getting where I am trying to go. I grasp at the temporal things of this world seeking satisfaction or a better life only to find I've been clawing at the sand, never leaving where I started.