Prayer For A Friend by Casting Crowns

Lord, I lift my friend to You, I've done all that I know to do
I lift my friend to You
Complicated circumstances have clouded his view
Lord, I life my friend up to You

I fear that I won't have the words that he needs to hear
I pray for Your wisdom, oh God, and a heart that's sincere
Lord, I lift my friend up to You

Lord, I lift my friend to You
My best friend in the world, I know he means much more to You
I want so much to help him, but this is something he has to do
And Lord, I lift my friend up to You

'Cause there's a way that seems so right to him
But You know where that leads
He's becoming a puppet of the world, too blind to see the strings
Lord, I lift my friend up to You
My friend up to You

Lord, I lift my friend to You, I've done all that I know to do
I lift my friend to You


Sometimes I don't know how to pray for the people in my life that I care deeply about. This song reminds me that, when I am in those times, I simply have to entrust those people into the hands of the One who knows them perfectly and can make a difference in their lives.

Lord, I lift my friends up to You.

Carrot Soup

So I was in the kitchen today looking for something to eat, as I often do multiple times during the day, especially on Sundays when I am hungry and bored ;), and I found some older-looking carrots. They weren't fresh carrots because the ends looked a little bit soft and droopy, kind of like the way our skin gets when we age...Anyways, I decided to make carrot soup in order to make good use of these droopy vegetables before they expired completely.

I looked for a recipe and this is what I found:

epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/carrot-soup-with-ginger-and-lemon-4083

Now fast-forward a bit. The soup was absolutely delicious! The same consistency as butternut squash soup but with a tangier taste. I will absolutely be making it again in the future.

Backing up to before I started making the soup...and about a year before that :).

My parents wanted new kitchen knives, and so did I, so we went to Canadian Tire and picked up the Henkels Aviara set which was on sale for $299.99 regular $899.99. Seemed like a great deal so we went for it.

Now back to the present day, January 10, 2016.

I was almost finished chopping the onion for the soup, using the sharpest Henkels Aviara chef knife...you may already have guessed where this story is going...and the last part of the onion was a little tricky to slice. Let's just say my thumb got in the way.

The knife took a 1cm x 1cm x 2mm chunk of skin off my left thumb. It wouldn't stop bleeding for quite some time, despite my constant pressure with a kleenex but I was eventually able to make it stop and let it air out. Now my thumb just has a pink wound on the tip that dips in a bit.

The moral of the story is that the Henkels Aviara knife set is a really good one! The knives are really sharp! But I was advised by one of my co-workers that this story is not the best one to tell when trying to sell knives :P. 

I'm Complicated

It must be because I'm a woman. 

Nah, I wish I could blame it on that fact but I cannot. 

I'm just not very good at communicating sometimes. They say that non-verbal communication (facial expression, gestures and the like) says a lot more than your audible words do. I truly believe that and it's proven by my texting conversations. Without the non-verbal, or even the verbal, it is easy to misinterpret while attempting to communicate. This is why I prefer most conversations to be face-to-face, especially the more "difficult" ones. 

I've had to say no to a number of guys at work who have wanted to pursue a dating relationship with me simply because they do not share my faith. 

While it may be easy for me to tell them "no" right off the bat, I have been tempted to keep thinking about some and the potential for a future relationship if they come to faith. 

Now anything is possible with God, I believe that, but I also believe that it is never in the will of God for a believer to even entertain the possibility of a romantic relationship with a non-believer. 

But the temptation is still there. I'm only human after all...The female kind...With lots of emotions and caring tendencies that just want to explode all over any guy who would dare try to approach with charm. 

The biggest, most complicated issue in this area of non-Christians asking me out is my strong feelings towards them. As if somehow I could convince them to repent and believe because I care so deeply about them. My feelings will make them follow Jesus! 

No Jessica...that's not how it works. 

You can cry all you want and beg God in daily prayer to save them, but it's ultimately going to be their decision and God's grace that will save them. 

Why, God? Why do these guys have to like me? My soul would prefer that they hate me though my flesh enjoys the attention. But I know that I must trust You because following my heart is foolish. I still pray that You would save these guys, not only from hell, but from the temptations of this world, and from the heartbreak that comes from sin. Would You also make me one who speaks Your truth in a clear, pure, and loving manner? Holy Spirit use me to further the Kingdom and proclaim the name of Jesus wherever I go, be it with my words and/or my actions. Ground me in Your truth. I don't want to be complicated. Amen

Children

I love children for a number of reasons, and a big one is that they provide me with lots of stories to share, some funny, others ridiculous, and many random...

I was babysitting three kids, all under the age of ten, and they had a trampoline in their backyard. I was supervising the two boys (ages 4 and 6) jumping on the trampoline when I heard a loud CRASH come from the kitchen. I turned my back for less than a minute to see that the girl (8) had dropped a pan on the floor while the 4 year old boy had been bounced off the trampoline by his older brother. As I picked the youngest boy off the ground and assessed his condition, the older boy ran out of the yard around the house to the front yard where I soon found him jumping and screaming on top of the family van. At this time, while I was trying to convince the boy to get down, a woman walked by with her dog and the first thing out of my mouth was, "I'm just babysitting! He's not my kid!"

Christmas season was fast approaching and, as I was organizing the toys on the shelf at work, there was a particularly enthusiastic little girl shopping with her mom. As soon as the little girl entered the toy aisle she gasped loudly and began exclaiming "OH MY GOSH!" followed by "LOOK MOM! IT'S A (insert names of various toys sold at Canadian Tire here)" This went on for about 5 minutes.

A little boy was carrying a bike horn in his hand and squeezing it over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. I think he and his parents are deaf.

Some twins I know played hairdresser one time and one of the girls ended up with shorter hair than she wanted. When I told her it looked nice she snapped at me and said, "No it's CUT OFF!"

One of the high school students that participates in drama for the kids at church on Sunday morning had just finished one of his scenes and a little 7 year old girl beside me told me, "His voice is sooo adorable!"

When I was 4 I had a friend over (also 4) and it was early spring and we were playing in my backyard. Before I know it my 2 year old brother is butt-naked in the kiddie pool (which had nothing but a tiny mud puddle in it). I ran and reported the scene to my mother with tears streaming down my face and when she asked my brother what he was doing he promptly replied, "I'm smimming!"

I asked a 5 year old boy to tell me a joke. He thought really hard about it for a few seconds and then his eyes lit up and he said, "JOKE!"

A 9-year-old girl I was babysitting wanted me to paint her nails. She first had me "try out" the colours she liked on my nails and then proceeded to have me paint the same multicoloured pattern on her own nails. Then she smiled and said, "Now we're twins!"

I was sitting on the floor watching a number of children play together when all of the sudden I hear, "Oh it didn't work that good." A couple of 7 year old girls were standing behind me with an open lip gloss container and they were looking at me with concerned looks on their faces. "It didn't make your hair pretty!" One of the girls blurted out. It took a few washes for me to get the light pink sparkly sticky substance out of my hair.

Those stories are the only ones I can think of at the moment but having babysat and worked with the kids at church for so many years, I can't help but love them!

Refocus

These past two weeks have been difficult. I've done a lot of stupid things. Even while knowing that God is everything that I need and that He knows what is best, I have once again inched my way toward the line of worldliness. But God has had mercy on me once again. Extremely thankful that He will never let me go, I repented and have been working to refocus.

I am loved by the Creator of the universe, and I would dare to think about throwing it all away for the "love" of man?
May God help me to never think that way again.

My Dad told me an analogy about three pop cans: The first one is perfect, never opened, not damaged in any way, whole. The second is as if it is about to burst, both top and bottom pushed to the limit. The third has exploded completely, crushed beyond repair. Some Christians have learned what it means to be content, to know that God is their everything, and they rest in that. Others are desperately clinging onto things of this world, desires of the flesh, and are finding themselves under increasing pressure. And still others have collapsed under the pressure and have given up on God altogether.

These past couple of months I know that I have been the second pop can and I want so desperately to be the first pop can. I want to be confident in the Lord and humbly living out what I believe. But I recognize that this is impossible without the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. I need to learn to listen and obey. To come out of the cold, dark, unloving freezer of the world and humbly allow God to thaw me out and reshape me in His loving arms.

And so I pray...

Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Bring the presence of the risen Lord
To renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see;
Give me passion for Your purity.
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

Holy Spirit, come abide within;
May Your joy be seen in all I do--
Love enough to cover ev'ry sin
In each thought and deed and attitude,
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my striving into works of grace.
Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.

Holy Spirit, from creation's birth,
Giving life to all that God has made,
Show Your power once again on earth;
Cause Your church to hunger for Your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise.
Lead us on the road of sacrifice
That in unity the face of Christ
Will be clear for all the world to see.

- Keith Getty and Stuart Townend