The key word in this very short chapter was surrender.   I looked up the word surrender.  Merriam-Webster had four definitions for the word.

1. to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand

2. to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another

3. to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner

4. to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence)

What I found more compelling about the word surrender was the synonyms for it…. cede, cough up, deliver, give up, hand over, lay down, relinquish, render, turn in, turn over, yield.

Jesus laid down his life for me.  And I cannot seem to let go of what I want for what he wants.   It’s crazy, isn’t it?  That we think we know what’s best…what we need to do…. never considering that God knows better than us.   I think about this actually quite often.   What if God called my family to be missionaries?  Could we drop everything and go?  What if God told us that we needed to tithe the full 10% on a month that we know we are going to be short?  Can we step out in faith and trust that God knows what he is doing?  Or do we say no, I can’t do that.   I know I am guilty of the latter.   And you know, it’s not that I don’t trust God….it’s that I am scared.   I listen to the serpent from the Garden of Eden…. he tells things that scare me.   And so I “feel better”, I don’t do what God asks of me.

I will be reading and rereading this chapter and hope that the Lord helps me to understand what I am to do for him.  Help me, Lord, to surrender to you.

October 31, 2011
Categories: The Power of a Praying Woman . . Author: spicynutmeg . Comments: 1 Comment

I could so relate to Stormie’s opening vignette in this chapter…. there have been times where I could not understand why I was so down.  There was absolutely no reason for me to be down, and I seriously thought I needed to call my doctor to see if my antidepressant needed to be increased.   It wasn’t until I was on Facebook, and I just all of the sudden  got into one of my Youtube kicks…. I started posting praise songs left and right.   Praise You in this Storm, Who Am I, East to West , Grace Like Rain, Lead Me to the Cross… one after another, these songs came to mind.  I sang them as a posted them on Facebook, all of the sudden my mood changed.   I was praising God and it chased Satan away.   He had stolen God’s word away from me, and all these praise songs brought them right back.

I play in a classic rock band.  There are times when I get so involved in listening to those songs on Pandora, I find that I have more troubles in my life when I completely move away from worship music.  We started off doing Classic Rock/Modern Worship performances, but soon, demand was asking more for our classic rock side…. The words in some of those songs can really lead your mind down the wrong road…. and I find myself being so stuck on listening to that kind of music… but last night, God reminded me on my 4 hour + drive from my parents house to home, that I needed to spend that time with him…. so on Pandora, I plugged into my Christian contemporary station and listened to that most of the way home.   It really lifted me up after the reason I went to see my parents…. both are having health issues and I feel so far away from them.   But I refused to entertain the vision Satan was trying to give me… “what a bad daughter you are for not being there for your parents….”,  “why aren’t you doing anything to help them.”  “You are too involved in your own life to even care about theirs…”     I choose to focus on the reason for this season in my life…. God has a plan for every one of us.  His will be done, not mine.

When Satan camps out in your mind, what do you do to keep him at bay and run him off?

October 24, 2011
Categories: The Power of a Praying Woman . . Author: spicynutmeg . Comments: 2 Comments

This chapter is one I needed to read badly.   There are times in my life when I leave the door open just a crack, and Satan comes meandering right into my life again…because I let him in.

“We have an enemy who is like a terrorist to our soul.”  I never heard this put this way, and it really stood out to me as I began the chapter this week.   Of course, I knew that Satan was the enemy, but I never thought about him as a terrorist…but he really is!  I know the feelings that I get when I let him get his foot in the door.   Lately, he has gotten in somehow, and I need to use the power Jesus gave me when he died on the cross for me to rid my life of Satan.  I know he is in my life right now because there is a lot of anxiety…forgetfulness…confusion…. It’s like my mind is a great big black kettle, and Satan is just stirring things up, throwing things in that just muddle me even more.   It’s times like these when I throw on some worship music.  Pandora has become my friend… I love to sing worship music.  I find that when I listen or sing along, Satan isn’t present anymore.  Cause he hates worship music!  He hates me praising God.   So he disappears.

I didn’t grow up in the church.  I didn’t memorize a lot of verses in my youth…it just wasn’t done in my household.   I didn’t have much to go on, except two grandmothers who showed me the love of God through themselves.    My Dad’s mother used to play organ, and she taught me from the beginning of my being “Jesus Loves Me”  She would play it and we would sing it and I would feel so free!  My Mom’s mother influenced me so much that on my 16th birthday all she could afford was to give me $5.  I used that $5 and some money I earned and bought my first bible.   That’s where my life started changing, a little at a time.  So worship music is my thing.   I love it when I find the words of a Paul Baloche song in Psalms.  It’s like finding something new that I didn’t know about God’s word.   (Yeah, it’s weird…I know!  LOL)

I love Stormie’s 5 weapons against Satan.   They are really good tools to have in our arsenal.  God’s word…Praise….Obedience….Faith….Prayer and fasting.   All wonderful weapons that every Christian has at his/her disposal.

My mom’s been battling with cancer.  She was in remission, but we recently found out that it may be back.  There are still tests to be done to see if it is or not.   But Mom commented to my sister at the last procedure… “why me?”  It’s because she’s a child of God.  It’s because she is obedient to God.   Those are the exact people that Satan tries to break down.  I told my sister to tell Mom that God won’t let her go through anything that she can’t handle, and he will always provide a way out.   I hope that I am blessed with the same faith that she has.   Her strength comes from the Lord.  “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord” – Everlasting God by Brenton Brown.

Which weapon do you find that is the most effective way of keeping Satan out of your life?   What left an impression on you as you read through this chapter?

October 17, 2011
Categories: The Power of a Praying Woman . . Author: spicynutmeg . Comments: 2 Comments