Word of the Day - Pray / Prayer

Today was a day of eventfulness.  After two weeks of being off of work and successfully staying away from work that entire time school started back.  Ethan and I had a surprisingly good day.  Ethan said that his day was good and he was in a good mood when he came over to my school.  I had a good day, although incredibly busy.  Up until a year or so ago Ethan and I would say a prayer together every day before school.  There is no real reason that we stopped, but we did.  Sometimes the prayers were long and sometimes they were as short as "Thank you Jesus for this day.  Amen"  Although we stopped saying a prayer that ends with amen we have always said "Jesus bless you" to each other, no matter how blah our morning was.  It is something that we have always done and it is something that we will always do.  It is something special that Ethan and I do and it has brought us closer together and had built a bond and memories between us that we will never forget.  I know that some people will disagree with me, but others won't when I say that in my opinion, "Jesus bless you" is just as much of a prayer as anything else.  When we say that to each other we are praying for each other and truly praying that Jesus does bless the other.

Did you know that the word pray is used in the NIV translation of the Bible 367 times?  The word pray in the Webster Dictionary means "to enter into spiritual communion with God or an object of worship through prayer."  The following are some of the verses that really stuck out to me when I read them.

**Job 22:27 - You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. 

**Psalm 4:1 - [ Psalm 4 ] [ For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David. ] Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer. 

**Matthew 26:41 - “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

**Luke 3:21 - [ The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus ] When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 

**Luke 11:2 - He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 

**1 Timothy 2:1 - [ Instructions on Worship ] I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people

Heavenly Father I pray that you would continue to bless and keep Ethan and me as we continue down the road that you have set before us.  I pray that you would allow angels to surround us and protect us.  Please watch over Ethan as he continues to grow in you.  Help me raise him in your image.  Please watch over those that I love and even those that I don't know.  May your peace fill our lives and may we live for you.  Amen

As you go about your night, your day tomorrow, and the days ahead I hope that you remember to stop and pray and give thanks for what you have.  I pray that you remember the power of prayer in hard times and in good times.

Peace and Blessings,
Scarlet

Word of the Day Fellowship

I know that I missed a couple days.  Sorry about that.  I want to share with you a couple of really awesome things that happened in my life this weekend!

First, on Saturday, Ethan, my niece, Grace, and I went to Winter Jam 2015.  For those of you that don't know, Winter Jam is a concert that is 10 Christian bands for $10.  The concert is roughly 4 hours long and is so much fun.  There are literally thousands of people in the same space worshiping our Lord and Savior.  It is the most amazing thing ever!!  All of us were on our feet, shouting, praising God, and really having a wonderful time of fellowship.  We truly had an amazing time.  Ethan was singing as loud as he could when Building 429 played.  He was on his feet, clapping, waving his hands, and having a blast.  The picture to the right shows just a small amount of the enthusiasm that was shown by both of the kids.  After the concert we went to Steak-N-Shake and saw Jonathan (my brother) and ate some late night supper.  It was fun when we went in because by the time we left the entire restaurant was full of only people from Winter Jam!

Ok, secondly, today was AWESOME!  In the middle of church, right after communion, Ethan looked at me, smiled as big as he could, and then said the most wonderful thing to me.  He said, "mom, I am really blessed."  When I asked him why he simply said "because you love me so much."  Later in the day he told me that he loves hugs and he's glad that God loves him.  Now, I know that that might not sound like much, but to hear those words from Ethan is a true blessing.  He had a wonderful two week break from school and there were minimal meltdowns.  Top that with today and WOW it couldn't have been any better.  :-)

Well, onto the word of the day, fellowship.  Fellowship is an important part of being a Christian.  We cannot grow in our spiritual life without having fellowship.  There is something about being around fellow believers that really lifts your spirit and feeds your soul.  Did you know that the word fellowship is in the Bible 94 times?  The following are some of the verses:

**Acts 2:42 - [ The Fellowship of the Believers ] They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 

**2 Corinthians 13:14 - May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 

**1 John 1:6 - If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 

**1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

As you go about your week be in fellowship with one another and may that fellowship feed your soul and renew your spirit.

Father God:  I come to you and I humbly ask that you would renew my soul.  I thank you for the blessings that I have received from you and for the blessings that you have given to my son.  I pray that you would continue to be with us.  Please wrap your arms around us, protect us, and guide us.  Please allow my words and actions in the time ahead of me to be of you.  For thine is the glory and the kingdom forever.  Amen