Living Intentionally, A.C.T.S Prayer Time

When I got a journal in a blog swap I decided I would start writing down some prayers to God. At the end of each seminar my husband teaches a class for church about the importance of a devotional life. In that class he teaches the acronym A.C.T.S, which you can use during your prayer time with God.

A= Adoration
C= Confession
T = Thanksgiving
S = Supplication (A fancy word for the things you need and want)

I got to thinking about that acronym, applying it to my devotion time, and also how it related to Living Intentionally for God.

So here is my A.C.T.S prayer for this week:

A = I really adore God for the the beauty of His creation all around me: ocean, redwoods, wild daffodils, and sea life.

C= Some times this area is personal but I want to mention that I need forgiveness and your prayers for impatience, raising my voice, and better time management.

T = I am thankful for the safety God always bestows on us when we travel, I am thankful for my family, for our health, for hope, and above all for salvation.

S = Family friends just lost a 3 month old baby. After a surgery to repair a cleft pallette the baby stopped breathing in the home as he was sitting in his car seat (1 day after being released). I pray for them, it is difficult to understand that kind of loss. We also had 2 old friends come to our seminar, who are not walking in a right relationship with God. It is heartbreaking to witness that. One last supplication to God is that He help us fill up our 2011 seminar schedule.

So as you can see the A.C.T.S acronym can stretch your prayer time. I wrote this out briefly but when you actually pray to God this can make your prayers go from 1 minute to 10 minutes quite easily. And yes, I realize that my "S" section is a bit longer. Isn't that how we are? We need and want so much for God. I need to start incorporating more of the other categories in my prayer time as well. (Add one more necessity to my Living Intentionally in 2010 list!)

Blessings, LaVonne :)

For more Living Intentionally head over to Extravagant Grace.

Living Intentionally

Yesterday, my husband and I got into an argument. And we were both right. We are always both right. (That is the problem.) The thing is, the argument is often about something insignificant.

While he took the Princess out for errands, I began thinking of more ways I was right. Which is a wrong attitude, I know. It was then that I decided to take advantage of the time I had alone and read a chapter in a book, The Messiah, about the life of Jesus. Then I read and re-read Isaiah chapter 12.

As I was reading about God's awesome love and grace for us, I was convicted deeply. My husband and were not communicating effectively. My own pride and love of self were just getting in the way. I decided, intentionally, that I wanted to communicate my needs in a godly way. I prayed and wrote down what I wanted to say. When my husband returned home, gone was my prideful attitude, and in its place was a Christ like love. I could not have done it without the help of Jesus. I gave him my list, and you know what? He read that list, and said he was going to do his best to do every thing on the list. We hugged, apologized, and stated again, how much we love each other. That is what Intentional Living is for me this year -2010.

• Choosing to spend time with God, any opportunity I can.
• Choosing to allow Him to change me from the inside out.
• Choosing to love my family, even when it is hard.

Won't you join me, in Living Intentionally for Jesus? It is worth it, believe me.

Ten Things I Don't Miss About Apartment Living

Don't get me wrong, when we travel the country, working with churches, I actually prefer to stay in a furnished apartment. The reason? All the amenities of course. I mean, this recent apartment we stayed in had a pool, hot tub, cable television, wireless internet, gym, juice bar, and gated entry. How cool is that? But if I had to put a list together of 10 things I don't like very well about staying in an apartment, here they are (in no particular order):

1. Assigned parking spaces. Not fun when it is raining, or when someone else parks in your spot.
2. Snoring. Yes, I can hear the person next door who snores, loudly, at night.
3. Base. You know when music is so loud, all you hear is the bump, bump, bump.
4. Stairs. When you don't live on the ground level you have to walk up stairs, which takes a century for my Princess. And yes, I am still learning to deal with my patience. Most days I just pick her up, against her will, and carry her.
5. Uncomfortable couches. Some nights, when I can't sleep, I really can't sleep when I have to lay on the couch. The latest one was on a sloping cushion.
6. The road is below the bedroom window. The quiet of our Loop in Washington is bliss. Really. Which leads to #7:
   
7. Light in the bedroom at night. When you live above a major road the street lights, house lights, and car lights are BRIGHT.
8. Strangers. I have an irrational fear of strangers breaking in. I hear noises all the time and look out the peep hole 10x or more per day. And no, no one has ever tried to break in.
   
9. Central mailboxes, that are far from our apartment.
   
10. I don't have enough room for coupons and crafts.(And I do love coupons and crafts.)

Joshua 17: 14 "...The Lord has blessed us abundantly."

Born Again

Well, we are really half way through this seminar. I can't write about the Central Valley and not also talk about the great weather. How blessed are we to have 66 degrees and sunny today? We are going to get a new bathing suit for the Princess tomorrow so she can swim with daddy in the heated outdoor pool this week. Is it really winter? Wow!

Last night my husband's seminar topic was on the Biblical topic of baptism. He not only taught the audience about baptism in the Bible but also celebrated his ten year anniversary of being baptized. What a great night. 18 people made the decision to also be baptized or prepare for baptism. People here in Central California want to know God in a real way, and it is exciting to be a part of it.

As I look back at the last ten years since my husband was baptized, I am in awe of how far our Lord has brought us. When I say that I am living a blessed life, I mean it. It is not perfect, and we will always have trials, but now we have a Savior to rely on. And that is a good feeling.

So as people here are desiring to be born again, a new birth, I too want that each day. A renewal. I have so much to be thankful for and I want to live for Jesus. I also want my daughter and husband to truly see Jesus in me.

My prayer today is: Lord, help my anger, impatience, and selfishness to be washed away each morning. Amen.

Thankful Spirit

A couple nights per week, my husband gives out a card where people check mark the decisions they are making for Christ. He offers them to also write their prayer requests on the back of this card. It is part of my job to log in those decisions and prayer requests. (Did I mention that I also get paid to do this work? I get paid as a secretary for my husband!) It is during times like these that I truly realize how blessed my life is, and how my problems are small. It is easy for me to take advantage of how well my life is going, forget Who is the one that is blessing me, and to forget to just be thankful. I don't want a complaining and critical spirit. When I read about people suffering from cancer, broken marriages, broken homes, addiction, and so much more, I am committed more than ever to being thankful to the Lord and singing His praises. So today, I ask that you continue to pray for me and that I always have a thankful spirit.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2: 6, 7

Children's Ministry? Oh my!

Yes, I am a slow learner. Trust God, remember? Well, opening night was a little stressful. I really need to improve my relaxation skills. Things never go how they "should" and I need to roll with the punches.

The 0-4 year old children's program coordinator is sick. So guess who had to step up? Yes, me. Normally, I am not very good at children's ministry. I am usually too lenient. I don't like telling other children to behave. Luckily I was not alone, there were three children (including my own) and one other adult - the pastor's wife. Together we were able to keep the kids occupied.

And yes, I learned that telling other kids to behave is not so hard. It just gets old (and my own Princess is NOT good at sharing so she gets corrected very often). We did play Daniel and the lions den with a stuffed lion and playhouse. That was fun. Secretly, I am glad the Princess and I only attend the meetings on the weekends. Mainly because those children can sure wear a person out! (I am feeling old before I am old.)

So my lesson today: be open to whatever God places before you. Once we get a breather, I will need to find something for the kids to do, at least until the "teacher" is not sick. Plus, I am thankful that even though these other ladies have regular jobs, they still come out in the evening, tired, and willing to work for God. That brings conviction to this old complainer any day. Thank you, Lord, for helping me grow.

Oh, and if any of you know of some great children's ministry resources, drop me a comment or an email!

I linked this post to the Friday Frustrations meme.

Evicted!

We have arrived at our first seminar here in Central California. Yesterday, the Princess and I flew in and met my wonderful husband, who drove down from Washington. Isn't he great?

Unexpectedly, our housing situation changed. An older couple from church had a trailer here, and they were wintering in Palm Springs. Free housing enables to the local church to save money on the budget. While the thought of free housing instantly stresses me out. "A trailer?", I thought to myself. It is always difficult for me when plans change once I was looking forward to something. Our other housing was a furnished apartment with a gym on site. (I really have been wanting to work out daily!)

Once we arrived here at the trailer, we realized that it was a nice home, but the couple was not prepared to have a family stay here for 4 weeks - especially one with a toddler. (Sorry about that fake plant by the television!) Their pantry, fridge, closets, dressers - everything was full. We talked with their son, who lives here locally, and were given permission to move anything we needed to. Feeling strange about touching other people's things, we unpacked quite gingerly. Well, I did at least. I can't speak for other members of my family, who don't let things bother them so much. (My Princess, thought everything was hers, as she walked through the home saying, "Mine".

After we unpacked, all our things (you know we fit everything in our Honda Civic with us in it!) we decided to go for a walk. The first house we walk by, we met the neighbor who is taking care of the plants and watching the house. Within five minutes of talking with her she tells us we are not supposed to be staying here. It is a 55 an older community and no children are allowed here. The kind neighbor also told us to go speak with the on site manager and find out if they will make an exception. Before 5pm, we found out that yes, we do have to move. We were granted one night here since we had a baby (whew!) and we called the furnished apartment complex and we can move in at 2pm!

So after this day, I realized something. It is something I need to learn, and it is something I have realized many times before. (Why can't I just "get" it?) It is a simple two words:

Trust God!

Instead of worrying, getting frustrated, relying on self - I just need to rely on God. He is so good to us. Even if this housing worked out, it is nice. And the desire of my heart - a gym on site and empty cupboards and drawers - well that is possible, if it is God's will. In this case, I feel that God was testing my heart, and I failed yesterday for a couple hours. This is our first seminar back on the road again, in the future I must remember this lesson.

Oh, and thanks for keeping me in your prayers. I know I need it!