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Yesterday was a hard day. It was a long day; even an emotional day. And it was an amazing gift. I spent virtually the entire day in constant prayer, attempting to continually remain aware of the presence of the Lord.

I wasn’t in a religious retreat or devoting a day to get closer to Jesus. I was living life and it looked something like this.

I let my iMissal app read me the day’s readings as I drove north early in the morning fog, racing to make the three-hour trek to my 78-year-old Mom who fell and broke her knee the night before. I prayed the rosary, reflecting on the Glorious mysteries. I don’t really understand these mysteries but the Lord helped me see; helped me understand the power of this meditative prayer.

I listened to the writings of CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, pausing to reflect and let God help me understand the wily nature and very real, lurking presence of evil.

Many, many times I prayed against satan, invoking the name of Jesus and shaming evil back into its place. Satan hates that.

The Lord loves it.

The Lord loves when we use the power of His son to defeat evil, and strengthen ourselves against whatever it is we are struggling with.

I don’t know about you, but for me, getting lost while driving is extraordinarily frustrating (and sadly common). I either completely lose my temper, berating myself with expletive peppered insults or I break down in tears; sometimes both. Neither gets me any closer to my destination.

Yesterday, as the Lord held me close in prayer, I had a completely different experience getting lost. I was on my way to a pharmacy in Fort Worth that had the pain medicine my Mom needed. This was after waiting all afternoon to get the required paper prescription for a controlled substance. My mom was in pain, her friend was having to sit with her while I drove all around Fort Worth to doctors, etc. And on top of all of this, I wasn’t feeling so well myself.

Prayer wasn’t optional.

I punched the pharmacy address into my iPhone and Siri sent me on my way. She’d done a great job all day getting me around Fort Worth so I decided to trust her again, ignoring the little voice that told me otherwise. It wasn’t that her directions were wrong, mind you. I could get there that way…if I knew how to navigate a very large, very fast roundabout in the middle of Fort Worth rush hour. By the time Siri said the word roundabout I was already committed. Mind you, while my Dad was alive he went to great lengths to be sure my Mom and I knew every parking lot and back alley to take to avoid this roundabout. It is what he called a “No no.”

And I was about to be right in the middle of it. Take the third exit, Siri said. I was here now so I said a little prayer and figured the Lord would get me through it. He did, but not before I went around, missed my exit, nearly got slammed by an SUV, exited and found myself right back in the circle.

Much prayer and courage from the Lord got me off the roundabout unscathed and through dark, unfamiliar streets to my destination. I cannot tell you how many u-turns were involved in this adventure but I know at one point I recalled the parting of the red sea and asked the Lord to work his magic on six lanes of traffic. He did. Of course He did!

I know this may sound mad to some of you but I don’t care. We live in a mad world. We can choose to give ourselves over to the Lord and allow Him to strengthen us through the trials of this life or we can try to go it alone. By the way, you’re never alone. You’re either acknowledging the presence of the Lord and letting Him work in you and your circumstances or you’re choosing the default option. And that option is nothing short of evil.

Those of us who have the gift of faith cannot shrink to political correctness or shy away from looking or sounding strange to those who do not yet understand the power of the Lord. We must remember that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and we are of that Kingdom.

Yesterday, I had family and friends praying for me, my Mom and the doctors caring for her. The Holy Spirit helped me recall Christ’s lessons and Jesus aided my prayers to the Father who brought me peace beyond understanding. The promise of Philippians 4:4-7 is very real. My big sister reminded me of that.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Prayers bring peace, even on – no especially on – the roundabouts of life. Thank Jesus for his help today and know that he loves you.

May peace be with you always.

When I started IS5511, I set out to share the gospel via this blog and to encourage others to study and share the gospel with the little brown book of The Word. As Christians, this is what we are called to do – to love others so much that we are willing to set aside our own wants and desires, cast out pride and, through the Lord, overcome fear and anxiety or whatever it is we might struggle with and share the gospel. Once shared, we can be sure that the Lord will take care of the rest.

Let’s be honest, IS5511 isn’t so tough. While I confess I struggle sometimes to muster the courage to hit the publish button and send my posts out for the world to see, that struggle occurs from the comfort of my air conditioned, middle class home in a safe neighborhood in a lovely Texas community.

My friend Jenny Jenkins, founder of Imani-Tumani-Upendo, has put her faith to work in much harsher circumstances. To use her phrase, she saw a need and ran toward it. She did so with complete faith that the Lord would enable her, use her and provide for her as she sought to serve people in need in Africa. Two years later, having trained and delivered multiple mission teams to Kenya and Uganda, Jenny has added yet another amazing mission to her efforts. To say she is “all in” is an understatement. And watching the Lord work through her has been nothing short of amazing.

That’s why Imani-Tumani-Upendo is the first mission that we will support with IS5511’s Mission Support program. I can find no better example of faith, hope and love at work. Now through January 2014, 30% of our proceeds from the sale of the little brown book of The Word will be contributed to Imani-Tumani-Upendo.

There are three ways you can help:

1. go ahead and get the Christmas shopping started by purchasing a little brown book of The Word gift set from our Etsy store, Share The Light Gifts.

2. donate directly to Imani-Tumani-Upendo

3. pray for Jenny and all the women she is serving

Here’s a little video inspiration to help you see just how amazing God is when we let Him work in our lives.

Watch Imani’s latest update.

And my peace be with you!

 

 

Each morning I spend time in the Word. I read scripture, pray and sometimes journal about my reflections. This morning, I read today’s readings from the Catholic missal – the daily bible readings that Catholics all over the world are called to study and reflect upon.

My personal study is rarely limited to the prescribed verses. I generally start there and let the reflection lead me to further teaching. Often as I study one bit of scripture, I find myself recalling another and the lesson often hits hard – right when and where I need it. Such was the case this morning.

I was reading in 2 Maccabees the story of Eleazar, an elderly Jewish scribe who willingly accepted torture rather than eat unlawful meat that was literally being forced into his mouth.

“…he spat out the meat, and went forward of his own accord to the instrument of torture, as people ought to do who have courage to reject the food which is unlawful to taste even for love of life”

Like other noble men of the bible, Eleazar not only suffered at the hand of his oppressor but even his friends turned on him. They told him he should pretend to eat the meat of the sacrifice and avoid death.

Eleazar knew better. He explained:

“Should I thus pretend for the sake of a brief moment of life, young people would be led astray by me, while I would bring shame and dishonor on my old age. Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men, I shall never, whether alive or dead, escape the hands of the Almighty.”

I’m ashamed to say I’ve often been like a friend of Eleazar, willing people to ease up on their conviction for the sake of a quick peace or worse yet, my personal comfort. But who is served when we compromise on God’s law?

We all know the answer.

Thankfully, our most gracious and loving God has already provided us the courage and strength we need to face our own Eleazar moments. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us:

“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-control.”

Struggling and suffering for what is right and honorable comes in countless forms. Neither standing up for convictions, nor sitting a child down for discipline is likely to win you popularity in this world. But we are not of this world. If we call ourselves Christians, we belong to the Kingdom of God and are expected to find our conviction and courage in Him.

As I was thinking about my personal struggle to be more like Eleazar and less like his friends, I was reminded of a verse I recently added to my little brown book of The Word, Psalm 119:71.

“It is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes.”

The Word of God never fails to teach those who seek its wisdom. I’m so grateful for today’s lesson; grateful even for my struggles; grateful that I am learning. I hope in some small way, by sharing my thoughts, you are learning too and drawing ever closer to the Lord.

Peace be with you.