Day 23 Worship

"Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care."               Psalm 95:6

Day 22 Overcomer

We all have our superstitions...black cats, ladders, mirrors, salt. In traditional and other old beliefs, it's all about fate, control, and appeasing spirits that are capricious, fickle, or evil...and keeping bad juju away.

Thank you, God, for the freedom we have in you because of Jesus Christ. Fill Sarah with your power that overcomes the manifestations of evil!

"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you aughority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:18-20

Day 20 Seekers

Give Sarah the gift of an in-breaking of a true glimpse of heaven today, a moment to take in the fullness of Your kingdom. Even as she belongs to You, help her to be in a process of seeking You that never ends.

"Your heavenly Father knows what you need. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself!" Matthew 6:33

Day 19

Help Sarah remember today how much she is loved and who she is in You.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God--and that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

Day 16 I Got Spurs that Jingle, Jangle, Jingle...

God, help Sarah to find, soon in this year, a body of true believers who worship you together, love eachother deeply, and live out their faith daily!

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24

Day 14 Measured Loitering

Give Sarah discernment and persistence in her desire to move beyond the "hurry sickness" we know so well to new practices of "slowing" that prioritize people and relationships...including her relationship with You!

'What's the cure for hurry sickness? It doesn't just work itself out by itself, it takes training - the intentional practice of slowing. John Ortberg, in "The Life You've Always Wanted," puts it plainly - "Deliberately choose to place yourself in a position where you simply have to wait....Drive in the slow lane....Declare a fast from honking....Force yourself to eat your food slowing....For a month at the grocery store, choose the slowest/longest line. Get in it. Then let someone go ahead of you." I can see the looks on some of your faces even now. Ironically, the weirder you think these ideas are, the more you are probably suffering from hurry sickness and the more you should slow down!'

Day 13 Fresh, Local, in Leon

Provide like-minded friends for Sarah while she studies. She is a community-oriented person and needs some more good eggs!

"If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..." 1 John 1:7

Day 12 Amo Amas Amat...or Not

conjugate--vb
1. (tr) grammar to inflect (a verb) systematically; state or set out the conjugation of (a verb).

This week is verb conjugation week for Sarah at Language School...(almost) no one's favorite subject. Pray for a facile mind, toned memory, and patience....Be patient with yourself while you rebuild your language skills! 

Day 11 Wrestling Prayer

"We are always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured."
Colossians 4: 12

Day 10 Dress Up

Sometimes we forget that no matter how good we look on the outside, it's the inside that counts. Dress Sarah richly today, and ever more richly each day after.

"Therefore, as God's chosen daughter, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Hold these together with the belt of love, which binds them all in perfect unity." Colossians 3:9 and following

Day 9 Portion Control

On days when everyone else's slice of pie (or toys, or advantages, or stuff) looks scrumptious, remind us that pie is good--but pie doesn't last. Out of all that you created, you made your people your "portion," and you became our inheritance.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26

Day 9 Super Girl!

God, remind Sarah that your grace is enough to satisfy. She doesn't need to try to do or be everything because you already are. Help her to look more like her Super Dad today!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness....For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:8, 10

Day 7

Thanks, God, for teaching us that true contentment isn’t the product of great wealth: it’s the byproduct of few wants.

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I say again, rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus....

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances....I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

Philippians 4: 4-14, selected 

Day 6 You are Unforgettable

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...."

Isaiah 49:15-16

God, how can a nursing mother forget her baby? It's painful to forget a nursing child, even for a few hours!Only a greater pain, horrific pain, could detach a mother from her baby like this....maybe the pain of  chronic hunger, wretched injustice, trafficking? These could cause a mother to detach. Yet, you cannot forget your children.

We are engraved, etched in, permanent. Even if you tried to forget, you are reminded of us each time you open your own hands. How deeply, eternally, you love us....

....Don't forget!

Day 5 Celebrate Smallness

God, it's a big thing to go to a developing country to help start a sex trafficking project in its capital city...It's a Big Thing! 

Remind us that you are not limited by our ideas about Big Things or small things. You chose a baby, a whisper, the hem of a garment, to heal one person, to covenant with a nation, to save the world. Help us, like you, to choose to honor the small things today.

"Who despises the day of small things?....'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4: 10, 6

Day 4 Plug it in, plug it in

Father God, remind us today that you are our strength.

Who is your power source?

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."

2 Timothy 1:7

Day 3 More Light

Praise God the source of all, who is in all, and who protects, provides, sustains all!

"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice is like the great deep.

O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.

How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.

for with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light!" Psalm 36:5-9



Day 2 Enjoy!

Take a deep breath.

Help Sarah remember to take herself lightly today as she starts making Spanish her first language again. We are all students of something....and we look a little silly at it sometimes so enjoy the process!

Day 1 Stand Firm

Thanks God, for faith that grows from taking the tentative first step.

Stand firm in his strength today.

"As soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance a way....The priests who carried the ark of the covanant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all of Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground." Joshua 3:15, 17