Snow Bags

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQWFzMvCfLE&list=RDEMORiNTZh5MD9bcOhfcgo6iQ&start_radio=1

What a Beautiful Name ~ Hillsong Worship

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. …for each one should carry their own load. Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. ~ Galatians 6:2,5; Psalm 68:19 NIV

Most mornings, Elizabeth whines about having to carry her snow bag to the car, claiming it's too heavy. It's not too heavy. I confess that on mornings when we're running late, I will just carry her bag rather than fighting with her. (Please, no judgement). However, after school, she must carry it into the house.

How many times have we been like that? We're willing to carry everybody else's needs (or snow bags), but every once in a while, we whine about our own "snow bags": dishes, laundry, taking out the garbage, oil change, filing up the gas tank, you name it. It's not that we're incapable, but sometimes, especially when we've done too much carrying of everyone else's snow bags, we'd like someone else to carry ours. Galatians 6:2-5 talks about carrying our own loads vs. carrying other's burdens. Think of a load as a snow bag or backpack. Everyone has their own load, chore, job, etc. that they must carry every day. But sometimes, crisis or sudden illness hits and knocks you for a blow. That's the burden we're to help each other carry.

Hopefully, you have family and friends to help you carry your burdens. Regardless, as Psalm 68:19 promises, God is with you every day to carry your burdens for you. When the toilet floods and the baby cries, when you're sick but don't have a simple fix for dinner, when you've already borrowed from the emergency fund and get a flat tire -  in all of those times and more, God is walking with you, carrying you through all of it.

Today, allow the 5-year-old to carry her own snow bag and allow God to carry you as she pitches a fit all the way to the car, and in your other circumstances.

©Heather Potts 2020

In honor of Elizabeth, whom I love dearly, I picked her favorite worship song.

Prayer for Marriages

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOEviTLJOqo&list=RDyOEviTLJOqo#t=1

Old Church Choir ~ Zach Williams

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. ~ Psalm 5:11 ESV

Father, as even Brad and I have been under attack, ourselves, I do not take, nor speak Your Words lightly. Father, my wholehearted prayer for my married friends who are under attack, and sadly have been attacking each other, is for a fresh filling of Your Joy.

Joy is its own Spiritual fruit and does its own Spiritual work within us. It starts in the core, bubbling up from the inside, flushing out of our hearts, minds, and bodies, all the worldly toxins (unmet expectations, resentment, fear, doubt, comparisons, etc.). But unlike a chemical cleanse, which leaves us feeling empty and weak, Joy refreshes, recharges, and reignites us. What had dimmed down to an ember, has been fanned into a blazing, raging fire because of Joy. 

Joy is what emboldens us to stand and fight against every enemy that dares come against what You have tenderly placed in our loving care. Joy is what breaks the heaviest chains from around our arms and legs and lifts the most oppressive burdens from our shoulders, leaving us feeling lighter than air, bubbling out of us songs, dances, and words of Praise and thanksgiving, to Father God, who, through Jesus, has set us free!

Father, I pray that all who read this prayer will be blessed. I ask that You fill each of us with a fresh anointing of Your Joy. I ask also that You would continue to spread Your protection over us, our marriages, and our families. I pray that 2018 would be markedly different, that our marriages and our relationship with You would not only grow in strength and increase in depth, but would also be a beacon of hope for those who need You. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2018

Yet Praise

But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.

~ Psalm 71:14 NKJV

The enemy’s hope in beating us down is to feed into our fears and get us to question God’s faithfulness. Once we begin to question Him, the enemy again comes after us in hopes that we’ll doubt that God will come through this time. And once we begin to doubt, the enemy condemns us for doubting. And he tries to get us into an endless cycle of fear, doubt, and condemnation.

There are days of victory and triumph, but then there are seasons of testing, trial, and refinement. In those seasons, that’s when the enemy peppers us with his seeds of doubt and fear, in hopes we’ll say, “Though God came through before, I don’t see Him moving this time…Can He really get us out of this situation?” Our family has been under heavy fire for a full year and some days it’s all we can do to come before our Father and say, “We need You!” But when we do, His Spirit encourages us and we can say, “I’ll yet praise You.”

Yet is used to emphasize a comparative: Though what’s desired is not what’s seen, I’ll yet, moreover, still do this.

Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:

The faithful love of the LORD never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”

~ Lamentations 3:21-24 NLT

Though it’s been a hard road and one I definitely would not have chosen, I have seen more miracles and an outpouring of God’s faithfulness and blessings this past year than I think I’ve seen in my whole life.

If you’re finding it hard to breathe, press in to Father God and ask Him to encourage your heart. And when the enemy comes knocking tell him, “Though what’s happening hurts, I will praise my God yet more and more because His faithful love never ends!”

©Heather Potts 2016

Hiccups

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. ~ Ephesians 6:13-18 MSG

Hiccup: a minor difficulty, interruption, setback ~ dictionary.com

I was thinking about hiccups this morning as little Elizabeth had them, causing my whole stomach to jolt with each one.  Hiccups inside the womb are rather comical.  Hiccups in your infant when she’s almost asleep are frustrating, as there are so few “tricks” to stop them.  Hiccups in life can be just as frustrating, as they seem to come out of nowhere.  And even though they are “temporary,” in the midst of them, they can be all-consuming.

But Ephesians 6 reminds us to be prepared and to take all the help we can get.  You see, we may not know exactly when the hiccups will come or how they will come—as a job loss, as a sickness, as financial difficulty, or the failing of promise fulfilled—but we can take comfort in knowing that God has already given us everything we need so that after the dust settles, we will still be on our feet.  This passage also reminds us that God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.  Joshua 1:8 instructs us to meditate on it day and night so that we will prosper and succeed in everything we do.  We are also to keep our eyes open by praying for ourselves as well as each other so that we will be strong during this ongoing warfare and so that no one will fall behind.

So what are the hiccups in your life?  What are your setbacks, interruptions, and difficulties?  Unlike some of the tricks—drinking water upside down or holding your breath till they pass—you’ll need real weapons to get through them.  Just as Ephesians 6 instructs, learn how to apply truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation to your life, meditate on God’s Word, and be continuously in prayer.  Only then will you be able to stand through your hiccups.

Father, help us to remember that hiccups are only temporary and with the weapons You have entrusted to us, we can make our way through them.  Help us to remember to turn to You, as we are up against far more than we can handle on our own.  In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

© Heather Potts 2014

Are You Tired?

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” ~ Matthew 11:28 MSG

I heard a couple of my co-workers talking yesterday about how they hate Christians, because they are so fake and, “Have you been to their churches?  It’s so dull and boring and they look miserable.”  I was going to turn around and say something, but then they parted ways and I didn’t get a chance to speak up, but thought about their comments a long time. 

Today’s scripture reminded me of their conversation.  As a church, what are we saying to a hurting and worn out world when we, too, are hurting and worn out all the time?  How do we get refreshed?  From what Jesus is saying, it’s by keeping company with Him and through those times, we’ll learn how to live freely and lightly and well-rested.

Maybe the holidays, with all the hustle and bustle, have left you feeling worn out and tired.  How do you reenergize?  Where do you get the motivation to keep going?  Some will exercise and other will drink coffee or one of those energy drinks.  God wants us to turn to Him as our source of refreshing.  When we walk closely with Him, His energy seems to flow off of Him and cover over us.  If you are tired and weary today, I encourage you to spend intimate time with the Father and let His Words encourage and refresh you.

Father, thank you that you are always available to us when we need you.  Thank you that you don’t get burned out and you’ve never turned us away.  I pray that we would remember to stay close to your side, always abiding in the shelter of your wings, drawing from Your strength to carry us through.  Be with us today and always.  In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

Daily Bears Our Burdens

“It wasn’t your burden to bear.”  “But I did bear it.” ~ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. ~ Psalm 68:19

Isn’t it interesting, when we are in close relationship with someone, they know when we are having a good day and when we are not.  Sometimes, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we even know when a friend or relative is in need, even if they are far away from us.  No matter how close we feel in our relationship to God, He’s ever present in our lives.  When we weep, He weeps; when we rejoice, He rejoices; when we dances, He dances with us; when we feel as though we just can’t go on, He picks us up and carries us. 

Psalm 68:19 says that He daily carries our burdens.  He does this for two reasons.  1) Because He’s already in relationship with us. God knew us before we were woven together in our mothers’ wombs.  He knows when we need Him and He is always there for us. 2) Because He wants us to be free to enjoy intimacy with Him.  If we are always bogged down by all that live throws at us, we will never be free to enjoy a relationship with Him and never really realize all that He has for us.

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall. ~ Psalm 55:22

Stork Song

Carry each other's burdens. ~ Galatians 6:2

I've heard many pastors use storks as an example to us as to how we should live life together: by caring for each other and carrying one another's burdens.  There are many interesting things about storks, such as their nesting habits--the way stork mothers take care of their stork babies--and the fact that storks are mute, but use bill-clattering as their way of communicating with each other.  However, it was their flight habits that most of the stories I've heard centered around.  It's said that storks fly in flocks, as most birds do, but the thing that makes storks stand out is the way they take care of each other in flight.

These birds are flying several hundred miles together.  Because storks spend a lot of time gliding, if one stork is injured, it can rest its wing on some of the others and still be able to travel with the rest of the flock.  There's another unique quality to storks and it's in the way they take care of their sick and hurting.  If one stork falls away from the flock, two other storks will also leave the flock--allowing the rest of the flock to move on--and go to be with the stork who fell away.  They will remain with that stork until he either recovers and the three can rejoin another flock, or until he dies and then the pair will rejoin another flock.

There are a lot of hurting people in our world right now, and I don't just mean those you've never seen the faces of, but those you see everyday, whom you know and talk to quite often.  When we see people hurting around us, do we act like storks, offering to take them a meal, to pray with them, to hold them when they cry, to stand with them until they recover?  Or do we just keep walking, thinking someone else has got it?  Perhaps we offer words like, "Call if you need anything," and somehow feel put-out when they don't call, or say the words, but just keep moving on with our busy lives and packed schedules.

In a family or tribe or flock of people, we need to take the time to listen to one another, love on one another in a personal way, with a personal touch.  We are all busy, living our packed schedules, but perhaps there's something we can learn from a flock of storks.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers. ~ Galatians 6:10