The Indescribable significance

Still considering my prayer life and it's significance I thought of this weeks prayers. I just wondered if I don't sound like a whiney cranky baby when I am talking to God for myself sometimes.

Where does the prayer list come from? Is there a correct order to their significance? What does He think of my sometimes silly prayers?

I prayed for the Presidental candidates, starving children in foreign countries, my friends, my family, my favorite missionaries, for the new salvations at repossess to grow, for that customer whose child passed away leaving a plane ticket unused. I prayed for so many things that seem like they would matter more to God.

My prayers for me seem so silly and insignificant in comparison to the world and how much more God is needed beyond my desires. I prayed help staying awake on the way to work, for healing of my ankle that I as a clumsy girl twisted in my rushing done in haste. I prayed I would slow down and "Stay Strong" remembering Him in every step I take. I prayed for peace from worry about tomorrow in this economy. I prayed I would find a heart to share my life with. I prayed I wouldn't hit the kitty who ran out in front of me while driving.

What amazes me beyond all things is that God does care about me and all those little things that I pray for myself as much as He cares about everything else. He is so amazing in how He loves us. He values each "silly" prayer we pray. The glory of their significance comes in every step we take drawing closer to Him with every time we cry out to Him.

He sees my tears of feeling all those little disappointments from the week building up and pouring out while in service. Then He provides His awesome word to encourage, build up and restore us so we can walk on with Him. It's my greatest treasure to know and be known by a God like this. He gives us an indescribable significance through His love for us.




Fruit: Peace
Song in my head: Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
Verse: Isaiah 49: 1 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. 3 He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor." ...

Top Ten Prayers God always says yes to

Sometimes I am so hungry for the Bible. I just want it more and more. Yesterday was a significant day from my history and it caused me to really reflect. I found the scripture that goes with my journaling which is how it works. It just grabs me and challenges me to my every part.

I love it when God just uses His word to fill me up. I was feeling empty straving for His word and He just really satisfies. Like a Snickers bar but a whole lot less calories :)

We talked about prayer at our Monday night study this week and I was challenged about my prayer life. I found a headline today with this list of the top ten prayers God says Yes to. I have prayed all these prayers at one time or another.

God, Show Me That You Exist
God, Make Me an Instrument
God, Outdo Me in Generosity

God, Get Me Through This Suffering

God, Forgive Me,

God, Give Me Peace

God, Give Me Courage

God, Give Me Wisdom

God, Bring Good Out of This Bad Sidtuation

God, Lead Me to My Destiny

So does God only say yes for sure to Me prayers? It all seemed like the list said, that me, me, me, give me something Jesus prayers were all the top tens.

Looking for models when I was a new Christian I had a youth pastor of mine challenge me to make my prayers unselfish and I have taken that to heart and always tried to be less of me more of others ever since.

I was challenged at my Monday night Bible study that my desire for my communcation with God to be worship most and prayer for others second with prayers for me coming in the at the very last could not be the right way to pray. I'm not sure I agree but I am pondering. I just don't want my top ten list of prayers to all include the word ME in them. So I am praying on that one..

Fruit: Patience

Song in my head: For I am Convinced

Verses: Hebrews 10: 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful... 32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

French Encounters

I had a fun French customer today who made me smile. We were having a bit of a language barrier and so I said "Je m'appelle Michele..." to him as he asked my name again saying it in French.

He said "Oh your a Michelle..." and in that same wonderful French accent he hummed/sang a bit of my favorite Beatles song "Michelle, ma belle." The song goes "Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble, Très bien ensemble" which has always made me smile.

He was difficult to comunicate with but it made it easier to have the French connection when I said a few words here and there in French to him. In the end I booked him a trip to Vegas within his current trip and all was "très magnifique".

As an Expedia agent I get calls from all over the world but I really appreciate those ones that bring a little light and song into my day.

An Expedia agent from the Phillipines called later on in the day and was humming as I was looking up information for him. When I asked Ben what he was humming he said "Paul Simon's Boxer." I didn't know the song so I googled it and it made me want to hear it sometime.

I talked to strangers from all over the planet today. From the USA, Philippines, El Salvador, China, Mexico, Italy, Canada to France and back again. We are worlds apart in space but still have the same people that can laugh at our differences. Strangers can be pretty funny sometimes.

Another French encounter that I had recently shocked me a bit just a couple of Saturday nights ago when greeting at service.

An older gentlemen who I didn't know came to the doors quickly walking towards me. I offered my hand for him to shake but he promptly pushed it away hugging me and kissing me on my cheeks. I was a bit shocked tell I heard his accent in his quick greeting.

My fellow greeter and I just laughed and knew he must be French as we watched him walk inside. We both must have looked a bit shell shocked that a stranger would be so intimate with us but we concluded quickly that it's all about culture sometimes. I just have to keep remembering to see strangers like Jesus would... being His hands and feet.

Fruit: JOY
Song on my lips: Give me your eyes - Brandon Heath
Verses: Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it

Sarah Palin on Toast

I laughed out loud today when I saw this CNN story with a photo of the Ebay auction for a piece of toast that mysteriously had the image of Sarah Palin on it.

Thinking about it after though made me wonder. Sarah Palin on toast kind of mocks the people who see the image of Jesus on the sides of some building in some foreign country senario.

Those people truely believe they are seeing God but they also seem a bit "crazy" or "misguided" to a lot of other people.

It just really makes Christians look crazy and misguided. There are a lot of things in society that try to mock or discount Jesus and things God values.

I saw a part of a report on CNN where they kind of made fun of Sarah Palins church too. They started showing the gift of speaking in tougues in the report and made the church look a bit "crazy".

It's truely a media driven world that looks for something to laugh at that they don't understand. I can't begin to fathom what the media thinks it's doing other than trying to discount Christianity when it does those reports that scare people into thinking Christianity is all about crazy happenings with misguided people.

It's all relative in that world. So today I smiled at the toast but still disheartened to the reality of what it means. It's an example of the reality of living in this world that thinks we are followers of a religion that's just wierd.

"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord, Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord,"

Praying today for our future President and Vice GAL to be leaders that tomorrow will be proud to have had serve us with integrity.

Fruit: Peace
Song in my Head: Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster
Verses: Ephesians 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.... 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them. 8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible.

Sunshine & Watermelon Moons

Driving home last night from my small group study I looked up and saw a watermelon moon as listened to "Lord let me shine, Shine like the moon, A reflection of you, All that I do".

There are rare times when songs on the radio just hit you. That one and Stay Strong by Newsboys were lyrics that got me.

"Stay strong, You are not lost, Come on and fix your eyes ahead, There's a new dawn to light our day, our day, We've gotta stay strong, You and I run, For the prize that lies ahead, We've come too far to lose our way, our way, Get up, there's further to go, Get up, there's more to be done, Get up, this witness is sure, Get up, this race can be won, This race can be won".

I love music and how it motivates and inspires me when I need it. I was starting to feel a little lost until my small group last night. I had a tough week with my Aunt Paula passing away. I traveled to Sutherlin, Oregon on Wedensday and stayed tell Sunday.

They came from all over the USA and even from Canada by plane, train, car and RV. My uncles home had RV campers parked all over his property. It was awesome to see family from everywhere and I know Paula would have loved to be there to see everyone.

It was pretty crazy and exhausting emotionally as well as physically with helping in the kitchen but I loved being there. I love that this side of my family that love Jesus.

My uncle and cousin play guitar and sing at church and have been serving for years. Several other cousins from that side of the family sing aswell. The music in their home was such a blessing to hear again. My uncle brought out the guitar after a few days and I actually saw my uncle smile a bit again.

It was a beautiful funeral where her life was honored and it had a awesome slide show of her life in pictures. There was a time of sharing stories about her too. I heard so many stories about how she was truely a servant proverbs 31 woman of God during my stay. I heard stories of her helping people in the hospital and taking elderly church members far and wide. She was also a grandparent for a child who didnt have family on Grandparents day at school.

She had served in her church and in her womans minstry for many years. It was really the little everyday things she did to make everyone in her life feel special and included that made her special.

She was famous for her cooking and Sunday dinners where she would invite people to come no matter who they were. Her home was always open with so many different flavors of ice cream that everyone had their favorite on hand. She would make three kinds of potato salad just so everyone had their favorite. She loved so many people and blessed so many lives.

Tears flowed many times this week thinking of her. I was so touched when we were going though her photo albums looking for photos for the slide show to find that she kept so many pictures of me growing up. She had some photos of me that I didn't even know about. She never threw away pictures and treasured her memories.

She was truely a beautiful woman who I will miss dearly but know I will see again in heaven one day. At the funeral my cousin Kim sang "I can only Imagine". I didn't really catch the connection tell now but last night at my small group our leader Kelly brought out some different colored glass marbles with words on them and I think it brought a connection for me. She asked us to each pick one that we wanted to pray about for our lives for the upcoming season.

I chose a clear one with "Imagine" on it. For me it was about seeing through this clear marble to see myself with the "imagine" in it. I want to see that hope of what God could have for me, believe in myself and be clear in the direction He would have for me.

I want to be wise in the decisions I make and choices. It reminds me of another song I love. "For who you are" by Hillsong. "Standing here in Your presence, Thinking of the good things You have done, Waiting here patiently, Just to hear your still small voice again".

I just want to see Him everyday and praise Him. I thank God for the watermelon moon last night, awesome prayer with a word to inspire @small group and the beautiful sunshine today.

"Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." - Louisa May Alcott

Fruit: Patience

Song in my Head: Shine - Salvador

Verse: Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

Worldz apart

Coming into work this morning @4:30am as I usually do I found my travel agent alerts going wild and an email from my boss requesting we all do some overtime this week.

Another Earthquake in China 6.1, Hurricane Gustav hitting, soon to be a Hurricane Hanna on its way, Alitalia (my favorite overseas airline) going bankrupt, and Air India (one of my least favorite airlines next to Air France) LAX market cessation causing customers to rebook. It all makes us quite busy. Everyone in the office seemed to have a case of the Monday's this morning @Expedia. It's mornings like this that I start with a little prayer and a lot of CNN and other news orgs for the 411 on the world.

It always makes me feel like my world is so small when I see how big the rest of it is. It's huge when reading about how much is happening all around the world. Everything affects travel.

I got my passport again this weekend. I had lost it while moving about a year or so ago. I decided to get another just in case I have opportunity to travel with work or in missions again. I had wanted a new passport photo anyway :) My last passport photo was from when I was 19 years old and had very long curly hair.

I remember when I was 19 thinking that 30 was sooo old. Funny, Suzelle had me glowing a bit this weekend when she said she had thought I was actually more like 24 years old.

Feeling nostalgic... at my 12th hour at work today (as I did 14 hours) I had the song "reaching" by Carolyn Arrends in my head today. Kieth Green, Carolyn Arrends and Jars of Clay are the CD's I wear out the quickest.


I prayed today for China and the Hurricane victims. I prayed that God would calm the winds of hurricane Gustav. I was so encouraged and blessed to see my prayers answered each time I would refresh the news between work. Down from catagory 3 to catagory 2 and then to catagory 1... Now praying those levees hold.

Maybe it wasn't just my one prayer that calmed those winds but I know it had the power to.


"Just one more touch of the great Devine leaves me hungry every time. One more taste of what remains... until Heaves gates are reached".

Fruit: Patience
Song in my head: Reaching - Carolyn Arrends
Verse: James 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

A time to laugh

God is so good in giving me a time to laugh when I need it. Lately I have been focusing on seeing Joy in my life as a fruit in it. It's been tough during those days when working overtime and feeling tired. I found a website that I have found some seriously goofy "Christian" jokes on. One of my favorites is "leaves of the Book".....

A little boy opened the big Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found!" the boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!"

I was reading my friend Kelly's" blog today and thought "I need to always be seeing the season I am in and not just experiencing it". Part of that is making choices to choose to live out the fruit of the spirit in my life and Choose JOY in every season I am in. As a blog reader of many I am influenced by what I read and I was today by two. I read today in another and I thought about my season and decided to choose JOY in spite of whatever mountain I am facing each day and accept that who I am is what God tells me I am first and not what one person may say.

I can't sit around feeling I'm too insignificant and not worthy to confront someone who I feel has unjustly kept ahold of a opinon and judgement of me from my weakest of times. I am a new creation who has grown past and if they choose to still see me as in that place from where I was in the toughest trial I ever faced then they are missing the beauty of who I am today. They are missing the sunrise glimpse of my roses bloom and seeing the sweet dew drops shining in the morning sun. I know all of this yet it still hurts...

There are so many verses in my heart that just fight for me and are always telling me to never give up and believe in the God who loves me and what He says about me. I praise God for His word. My fight verses for when I fall and skin my knee on my hikes up the mountain sides of life are what pick me back up.. back up again.

I just take it one step up the mountain at a time and believe in the God who made me. Because "no weapon formed against me shall prosper" and "I am going to Love the Lord my God with all of my Heart Soul Mind and Strength! and "I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor highth, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate me from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus My Lord!!" and most of all "I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley, a strong woman among the thorns"... His sweet word on my mind takes action in my feet!

Fruit: JOY

Song in my Head: Turn Turn Turn - Byrds

Verse:Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: .... 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

Jars of Clay

Hands raised, voices loud. dancing under the sky of the warm August night, worship was made even sweeter with the gentle rain that came falling all around. Singing my favorite love song for Jesus that took me through those times back when I was in my little apartment in college made me smile. It been my song yet again this last two years.

I hadn't seen Jars of Clay since they were just the opening act band for another back in 1996 in Orange County, California. I have been waiting to see them for several months since I heard they would be coming to the Evergreen State Fair.

I won free tickets with Spirit 105.3 radio station and so it was perfect. We started off with six hours to get there and ended up needing all but one of them to get there. It was a grand adventure with some peculiar life lessons along the way.

Our first detour was to the Cheesecake factory where the food was out of this world and the cheesecake beyond comparison. Some great conversation and an hour or so on our detour was when it really started to pour. There had been rain forecast but it was so beautiful when we left we didn't even bring umbrellas.

So with the Metro-McGuiver good sense only my good friend could have, he made a suggestion. "Let's find a Costco along the way and get a big golf umbrella." Suddenly all that technology that we all pay to much for came in handy as we searched on cells for a Costco enroute.

We found one and managed to find a awesome set of two umbrellas that served us well. Then we realized we had forgotten the directions to the fair and decided to wing it when our "technology" failed us in directions.

So down the road we were a wee bit lost in the woods of a farming community. We saw a farm with a name and thought we would stop and ask. We decided that the sign that said "no trespassers" really wasn't meant for us. Out of options we braved it and entered. My friend ran out and knocked to encounter a drunk guy @5 in the afternoon. He said when he came back in "how do you feel about getting directions from a drunk guy?". We laughed and decided to follow them. We ended up finding signs along these directions that had signs that said "beware fish crossing" and some other crazy things.

Finally we asked yet again for some sober directions and found our way to the fair. It was an adventure and it rained like cats and dogs but we loved every minute of it. Of course another cherry was when I saw some Living Water friends at the concert. It's a small world when your a Christian @a concert sometimes.

Fruit: Joy

Song in my head: Love song for a Savior - Jars of Clay

Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (Version - Jars of Clay)

Jamaica Mon

Doing the "Jamaican happy dance" with my friend at work this morning I had to laugh and think "it really is all about culture". She was wearing her Jamaican hat today at work and telling me with her lovely Jamaican accent how proud her country was of "their boy" Usain Bolt for winning the Gold Metal.

She had a Jamaican happy dance she taught me. It's a fun little jig. She also shared about how Americans can misinterpet their culture at times. She told me that American reporters saw Usain pounding his chest after winning the Gold and didn't realize it was not pride saying "I am great" but part of what they do when their heart is pounding after a race in their culture.

She also shared about how when she was home working at a bank in Jamaica she had the Jamaican bobsled team visit her bank. I always love to hear her lovely accent when getting her on the phone at work.

Hearing her share about how her culture was misinterpeted reminded me of a missions class I took when I was attending Azusa Pacific University in California.

In the class we went on a "passport" to several countries in a seminar and were told to observe a "authentic" African tribe ceremony in one of them. We were told to also observe and then share what we believed was happening from our observations of the people and how they were feeling and thinking.

We were told we needed to respect this culture of the African tribe who were visiting APU and not to interfere with their ceremony no matter what happened. We were brought into a large dimly lit place and told to sit quitely while watching this ceremony.

In the ceremony they were speaking a tribal language we didn't know and it seemed brutal as it had a woman on the ground having her head violently rubbed on the ground by a male along with dancing and a fire. It was a long ceremony and it was a bit emotional to see this woman seem like she was being tortured.

Afterwords we went to a forum where we discussed what we thought was going on. The leaders of our class told us that this woman was actually highly reguarded as a "God" in their culture and was being honored in the ceremony. In this "culture" it was honoring of women to do what they did in the ceremony.

After we had discussed the culture they described to us and how we misinterpeted it. Then we got the lesson that everything is not always how it appears to be and a "zinger".

They had the cast of the "African Tribe" vistors come in and reveal they were truely guests acting as Africans to teach us about culture. In other words they had made up this "African tribe" that was visiting APU to teach us something about culture.

We were fooled but got a good lesson from it. After having been to China and Mexico before this class and dealing with culture differences there I had already seen some of this. Really though when I was completely out of my element to anything I had ever experienced before in this "African tribe" I didn't know how to interpet it.

I didn't have the experience or knowledge about the culture we where thrown into in the class. It just goes to show how valuable researching into a culture before traveling there can be and how as Americans we can misinterpet things.

My Jamaican friend also told me about a porriage recipe she has from home. She said it gives untold amounts of energy to people. Her son eats it before races and just can not be caught. I told her she should market this wonder but with a smile she said "no it's Jamaican secret recipe". I hate to tell her but I googled it and found the recipe. I am so going to try it.

Fruit: Joy

Song in my Head: Give me your eyes - Brandon Heath

Loving this Verse: Psalm42:1For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

"Total Money Makeover" Camel VS Needle

I just finished a 6 week study on Dave Ramseys book "Total Money Makeover" with my small group this week. We dug into it and I really got a new way to think about some of the aspects of how I manage my money. It had some great insights into a plan to get out of debt. It was simple and really a motivational book.

I already had some of the plan to do the "snowball" in the book and had my emergency fund saved even before reading. I was glad to know I was already doing some of the things he suggested and it gave me encouragment to continue. I liked his ideas and encouragment and how it provided stories of people who became debt free.

I really liked how he shared about giving in the book but there was something missing throughout that I wasn't quite sure of until chatting with my small group. I didn't see the emphasis on relying on God to determine the path of your money first quite enough.

We had a good discussion in my small group about this and about a quote from him that we questioned when balancing it with what scripture said. This is a great book overall and I would encourage reading it. However you have to look outside it to see "the God factor" in the equasion of His kingdom first.

You just can't leave out "the God factor" first when deciding out your budget. You have to leave room for God to tell you to do something unexpected with your money that may be out of your budget but in His plan with it. Even if this means while working on getting out of debt you have to give something God tells you to do with that "emergency fund".

Our security must come from the only true place it can come from. After all we have to remember what Jesus told us about worry and where our security should lie.

Matthew 6: 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?... and 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In the book Dave also talks about building large wealth being healthy for a Christian to desire. When I first read this I got a "spirit check" in my gut. It didn't feel right. Maybe it was the way he said it. Even though he did also note that wealth would free you up so your free to give it still didn't seem to line up for me. This is great to be desiring to give but you have to be careful there and so I went to scripture.

In building wealth you can't get away from seeing scripture like

Matthew 29: 23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Dave really doesn't address this in his book. How are we supposed to get through that eye of the needle if we are successfull in building the huge kind of wealth that his book discusses. It discusses in the book giving but if we are still rich where will our heart be if we are so concerned about keeping our half a Million dollar nest egg for retirement and building more?

I am not sure we really came to a conclusion that it was possible in our small group. Still pondering that one. Camel Vs Needle... hummm ... I did find a photo of a camel in a suitcase but no needle.. where is that big needle when you need one?

Fruit: Patience
Song in my head: Give me your eyes - Brandon Heath
Verse: Matthew 11:29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.