New prayers for the New Year!

Dear Lord, I ask that You will make it a life-changing year in 2016. Please reveal Yourself to us and fill us deeply with Your Holy Spirit. Give us unbridled wisdom, unblocked vision, unconditional love, and the unmatched strength we need to live in Your will and trust in Your promises everyday. 

May this year be our best year yet.  Amen.

OMIP - 7.2015

God of creation and new creations make new opportunities and new roads for you and your family today. May the wilderness become a flourishing city, the dry ground a flowing stream, and the blocked path a detour to greater heights and hopes. Blessings to you and enjoy the new things God is doing for you

The same Almighty God who slung a billion stars and galaxies into space, knows and cares about you!  Trust Him with your week and enjoy the pleasures and promises of His steadfast love for you.

God is bigger than any problem or enemy we could ever face. He will take care of us and He will see to it that His name is magnified as it should be.

The LORD is willing and able to conquer the enemies of His glory and His people.

Empower us, by Your Holy Spirit, to live transformed into Your image, and strengthened for the journey. We live covered by grace and showered with blessings.

God is mighty, strong, unbeatable and unstoppable and I am praying that God will bring His power to bear upon your week and make it great

"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6). God bless you today and this week with the fullness of His mercy, grace and lavish love. An awesome week Is taking shape. I pray that you will have a great week!

OMIP 12.28.2015

Monday - Tuesday
Focus on the power of the Almighty and find the strength, courage and power to push through difficulties, press on pass pain, and climb even the highest and hardest challenges. Praying that you will find victory and surpassing triumph in the arms and grace of the Glorious One. Have a great week! Love ya, Cassius

Wednesday - Friday
When you feel discouraged, remember the past blessings of God, dwell on His faithfulness, recall that His promises and His power never fail, and realize that "this too shall pass." May God bless you always, giving you hope, mercy, grace and endless love. Have a great week! Love ya, Cassius

Saturday
Find your strength in the One who is eternally strong divine strength and peace. Build your hope on Him! Have a fun and fantastic day! Love ya,  Cassius

Sunday
From Joanne Groff :
"May our Loving God, give us good things always. When we are overwhelmed, may He gently remind us of all our blessings."  Rest in the presence and promised blessings of our Savior, God.

Merry Christmas

Isaiah 9:6 (The Voice)

Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams, a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift. And even now, with tiny features and dewy hair, He is great. The power of leadership, and the weight of authority, will rest on His shoulders. His name? His name we’ll know in many ways— He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Dear Father everlasting, ever-present never-failing, Master of Wholeness, Prince of Peace.

Merry Christmas - 2015

The heart of Christmas is Christ Jesus!

Hope isn't a feeling, but the reality of God's promises

"When we can't fix our own problems, when we feel control slipping away, and when we feel hopeless, turn to God."

Because of God’s great love we always have hope! "We can endure difficult struggles, we can submit to God’s will, we can wait quietly for his deliverance and we can rest in the promise that his love will carry us through," give us victory and "make all things new!"

As the author of one of the devotionals said, "Hope isn't a feeling, but the reality of God's promises!"

We have hope!  God is with us always!

~ Sources: ODB, Upper Room, NIV Daily Bible Devotional

Prayer - journey with trust

Prayer
Faithful Father, thank you for the hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ in glory and power. Help me to live in anticipation of his coming.

Help me to trust you in the things I do not understand. And when life seems to be a mess, help me to remember that your work here on earth remains, for the time being, an unfinished project, and that you always complete what you begin.

Help me to cultivate an eternal perspective as I journey through this temporal arena. May I learn to pursue the eternal reality of the unseen future over the current reality of the visible present.

And may you always be the object of my deepest love so that I will pursue you above all else. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

Taken from Once a Day 25 Days of Advent

Prayer and Promises - Christmas week

I  hope and pray that you are doing well and ready for the blessings of this joyous Christmas week.  May God bless you with showers of His love; a love that is steadfast and pure.  May He fill your week with thanksgiving, grace, praise and the sweet love of those who love you.  May the hope, joy and eternal promises of the Christ child be born anew for you and all those you love.  Have a great Christmas!

OMIP

May we all receive greater knowledge of our freedom and forgiveness in Christ. And may we experience the wonder and joy of both.  May all of heaven's goodness and beauty flow down upon us.  May the kindness, compassion and mercy of our God break through in our darkness, showering us with The bright shining Sunrise.  And may God quench our longings with His kindness, compassion and the ceaseless goodness and beauty of heaven.

Luke 1:76-78

Life is hard. God is good!

Remind yourself of these two truths in the storm:
Life can be hard.
God is good!

Remember it this way: still or storm, God is Sovereign and God is good!

So, "when something doesn’t go your way, remind yourself  of God’s track record and  start watching for the next opportunity that will uncover God’s ultimate plan through the process.

God's track record is unblemished.
Countless victories - zero losses
Infinite success - zero defeats
Numerous miracles - zero failures

God is never stopped, never defeated, never fails, never unable to do what He intends to be done. 

Faithful is He... He will bring it pass.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 (ESV)

And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” Numbers 11:23 (ESV)

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 1 John4:4 (ESV)

God, our help in ages past and our hope for years to come, anchor our lives and very souls in the truth of Your Word and power of Your love.  "Help us today to see more of you and less of our problems."  Help us to remember that you are always good, always faithful, and always the God who loves us. Grant us a "stubborn, unrelenting determination not to let the hardships of life downsize or diminish" the truth that You are God.  Let nothing block our view of the majesty, grandeur and "bigness of our God."  Amen.

Quotes adapted from "Good Things, a 5 Day Devotional," by Kevin Gerald

Today's forecast

Today's forecast: bright rays of wonder mixed with frequent showers of joy and gladness. We will have a 100% chance of blessings, with strong winds of favor blowing all day. A steady and continual warm front of love and grace are blanketing our area and it is blocking off the cold of despair and shame. By all indications this will be a glorious day!

Great news!

Here is some great news: We are chosen and loved by God, adopted by the King, heirs to grace through Christ, and destined to be made holy, righteous, and blessed forever.

Ephesians 1:4-6 ESV

Riches in Christ

God in Christ has lavishly given us love, redemption, forgiveness and the ability to forgive, the richness of His grace, all wisdom and understanding - all b/c He is good, He is God, and we are His.  Ephesians 1:5,7-9

Timely reminders

One day all suffering will end. Our tears will dry up permanently, and we will be safe in God's arms forever (Rev. 21:4). Until then, we can depend on God's love to support us when we suffer. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

"When you evaluate the blessings in your life, you have to consider the big picture. Don't look at the momentary, day-to-day things. Look at your family overall. Blessings come in a variety of ways."

Infinite and Gracious God, help us today to live in Your love and believein your goodness.  Come what may, help us believe in the better things that are yet to come.  As we enjoy the good things that you are giving us now, we are even more excited and grateful for the better things to come.

Prayers from a [once, twice... many times] weary soul

God help you speak these realities into your heart:
You are His beloved child, beautiful, blessed and tremendously loved.

The Lord God push His love into your heart to crowd out fear, worry, and doubt.  The Lord pile favor, grace, mercy and victory on you so that despair and anxiety are crushed under the weight of His boundless joy and bright shining appearance.

The blessing of the Lord Almighty be like a divine hug; comforting, enjoyable, delightful, familiar, calming and wonderful.

The Mountain Mover never sleeps, never fails, never grows weary and is always ready to conquer, defend, and move mountains.   May God move mountains and demolish obstacles so that you understand and experience His love, His  glory and His gift.

May God’s face always and forever turn toward us to bless us with wholeness and complete well-being; shalom.

Get up and continually stand in the warmth of God's love, delight, His graciousness, security and care of you.  This day is blessed, enjoy!

When we find ourselves in situations that threaten our physical, spiritual, or emotional well-being, we can be tempted to despair. Instead of despair, look up and around to see a big, faithful, wonderful, and all powerful God who is able to save, is guarding your heart and has already come near to give us aid.

A reminder for the weary and downtrodden from Timothy Austin (Turkey ):
If  we’re not careful, we can miss the help God is sending our way. A timely message, a scripture verse, someone to listen, the prayers of a friend — even the outstretched arm of a friend to pull us out of the water — are just a few of the ways God can come to our aid."  When you are down, run to the wide open arms of the Savior,  Healer, and Lover of broken, wounded, and desperate children.

He never will

He’s thinking of you, sustaining you, comforting you, giving you strength. He doesn’t mentally check out. Whatever challenge you’re facing isn’t the worst thing that could happen to you. The worst that could happen would be for God to forget about you. But he hasn’t yet, and he never will.

Isaiah 49:15-16New International Version (NIV)

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.