Day 31- Wrap Up

I'm sitting here reflecting on the last month with this challenge of writing for 31 days about Being Still with God. Overall I think I have made baby steps toward God and in strengthening this relationship with Him- the awesome thing is that when I just step towards Him he runs to me with open arms! Praise the Lord, He doesn't give up on the weak and distracted and then He welcomes all attempts to grow closer to Him.

Thank you for reading and following this month! I sure did help me have some more motivation knowing that others were checking in on me/my blog. You all are GREAT!

This is the last day of the 31 Days so I"ll leave you with some of the verses I was reading this morning:

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all this to be loss in view [in comparison to]of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. -Philippians 3:7-8

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. -Philippians 3:20-21

See the rest of the 31 Days here.

Day 28- A Day of Rest

source (and a good article on rest)

We often hear Sunday called a "day of rest" because the Lord rested from creating the world on the 7th day. It's best for us if we take at least one day a week off work to refresh-it allows for happier more productive people.

Sundays can get very busy even without work. I feel like most people just can't sit still, like the world will end if this or that doesn't get done! Now, I'm not petitioning for laziness, but it really is ok to just have a day to rest and enjoy without a to-do list or this or that place to be.

Our Sundays are usually pretty simple: Get up and go to church, have lunch, grocery shopping, maybe see friends, and maybe take a nap before dinner and homework. I know, I know- sounds like a really cush life, and you parents out there are shaking your heads at me-don't worry, i'm soaking in all my free time and naps before I have kids. :) But even Sundays as easy as that can feel burdensome due to being too worn out from the previous week.

Today was one of those days.

The alarm went off at 6:30 for church (we were going to head an hour south to our parents' church) and I just rolled over and asked if he still wanted to go. Of course he still wanted to go but my fabulous and caring husband saw that it was one of those Sundays I (we) needed off. So we rolled over and slept in.

Heathens! you say!

No, I don't think it's a sin to skip church, but I do think it is bad to make a habit out of it. We need fellowship and encouragement from fellow Christians, to learn and be convicted and have that time set apart to worship. Of course you can and should worship throughout your day (worship is anything you offer to God:singing, dancing, praying, fellowship, washing the dishes) but going and being with your church family is so important.

See more of the 31 Days here.

Day 27- Don't be Selfish

I've been slowly reading through Philippians this week, trying to soak in God's word every morning (I have missed a few days though.) THis morning I started chapter 2 and this is the verse I focused on:

Source

"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take interest in others too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form he humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." Phip. 2:3-8

This is such a good reminder! It is so easy to feel entitled to certain privileges or titles or that we are better than someone else. In all reality, every single one of us is bad. We've all sinned, done something wrong/something against God's Word, so we are all on the same playing field.

Then look at Christ! If anyone was ever deserving of honor and glory, or who had the right to gloat and demand our praise it was Him. He made the world, He made us, and He knows exactly what is going on now and in the future and in the past. He is King but he didn't remand our love or praise but HUMBLED himself! He not only gave up His heavenly glory for the weak body of a man but He died like a criminal on the cross. For what purpose you ask? For us. For all of us sinners-we don't deserve Him. He died because the penalty of sin is death, and since we have sinned and He never did, God accepted His sacrifice on our behalf so that all we have to do is put our faith and hope in Christ, accept Him as our King, and we are forgiven and rewarded eternal life in heaven!

Seriously, if Christ can humble Himself that much then I can follow His example and my sacrifice (giving up my pride, being right, looking out just for me) is NOTHING compared to His. Thank you Jesus!

See the rest of the 31 Days here.

Day 19+20+21- Priorities

By the looks of it, I have a commitment problem. You could also say that I'm really bad about completing goals I set for myself. Sometimes I think I can do more than is possible, other times I am plain lazy or don't prioritize my goal.

I could get a lot more done if I made it a priority instead of just talking about it.

This is the wallpaper on my desktop right now:

I find that I do better with goals if I've got someone to be accountable to- like a coach, team, teacher, boss, or friend. For example, I lost 6 pounds competing with my coworkers, but once the challenge was over I gained it all back. Or like this 31 Days where I am suppose to sit and have quite time with God every day and then blog about what I learned...obviously I haven't been great on that.

So there you have it, my "blog life" image is broken. :) I'm 15 pounds overweight, I don't read my Bible everyday, and I'm really bad about completing personal-individual goals.

Praise the Lord that He isn't finished with me yet.

"For I am confident of this very thing,that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ." Philippians 1:6

See more of the 31 Days here.

Day16+17+18- God's Love

God's love.

How can it be explained? It is so huge and wonderful and beyond description.

He could have forced us to love Him, but then that wouldn't really be love would it.

Instead He pursues us and gives us with everything- Himself.

There on the cross the God of the Universe died, arms outstretched, taking our sin and calling for us to come to Him.

God's love is freely given, undeserved, unrestrained, complete, and cannot be earned. Nothing, not even sending His Son to the cross, is to costly to show His love.

And what does he get in return?

"He gets adopted children who are petty, petulant, spoiled, demanding, argumentative, mistrusting, angry, critical and an irritant to everyone but God... Nevertheless, our God bought us with an infinite price and intends on seeing us crowned with His very glory. Is is any wonder that Paul shouts at the top of His lungs, :I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long, and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses all knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:17-19) Paul prays that I will know the unknowable love and be so full of God that I achieve dimensions of being that reflect the boundlessness of God." -Dan B. Allender

 (quote found in Becoming a Woman of Purpose by Cynthia Heald)

That is also my prayer for both you and me- that we may know God and His love, though they are too great to understand, more and more fully and be filled to the overflowing with His love, grace and joy.

See the rest of the 31 Days here.

Day 15- Pray for your husband

I found this great illustration on Pinterest which coincides with a book i have been reading- The Power of a Praying Wife. I believe every woman should pray through this book! Prayer is so important in relationships, and as women, wives, it is our duty and joy to pray for our husbands and our relationships to them. 

One of the most poignant things I learned from this book is that I can't do the work of the Holy Spirit. Duh right? But think about it, how often do we try to change them on our own? Tears, nagging, getting angry- while not always intentional it happens- but those things don't work. God works. He is powerful and knows our husbands more deeply then we ever could. Prayer is our connection to God and in our prayers for our husbands we are also grown and changed by God. What a blessing!

See the rest of 31 Days here.

Day 11- Draw Near

This morning I got to chat with my momma on the phone for a little over an hour. It is always so good to talk with her. She is fun and encouraging and very wise. One topic that came up was our various Bible times for this morning. I want to share some of her insight on a well known verse...

this is my pretty momma and me.

James 4:7-8

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..."

Momma talked about how a lot of people will only focus on one part of this verse, just submitting or just resisting, or just drawing, but we need all the parts.

The verse before this section says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gves grace to the humble. Submit therefore to God."  I know it is hard, but God really does know what He is doing, and besides who are we to question Him? Submit therefore to God. (submit means to relinquish your control, give it up, humble yourself.)

When we submit to God it also means we need to resist the devil and his temptations. We can't obey God and fall into sin, but "No temptation has overtaken you but such that is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are capable, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." (1 Cor. 10:13) Temptation is not sin. Sin is when you give in to temptation. The devil can only tempt us as far as God will let him and when we don't fall, he has to flee.

To draw near to God we have to submit to Him and resist the devil, to resist the devil we need to submit to God and be close to Him (to rely on His strength), to submit to God we have to draw near to Him and resist the devil.

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." That is what I am attempting to do this month, draw near to God and be still in His presence.

See the other 31 Days HERE.

Day 10- God's Glory

As I mentioned before, this morning I made the effort to get up early enough to have quiet time with the Lord before classes. I am so glad I did. I not only got to be in His Word but I had time for breakfast and it set a great happy tone to my entire day. I'm going to do it tomorrow to!

This morning I worked on about half of the first chapter of "Becoming a Woman of Purpose" entitled "God's Purpose: A people that will reflect His glory. It certainly makes sense that to more fully know our own purpose we would want to know God's purpose first since He is the one who gives us our purpose.

God is perfect, holy and wonderful. He created us with the general purpose of bringing Him glory. Part of that is how He saved us and wants a personal relationship with Him.

Think about it: this amazing God, THE God of the universe, who is perfect and all knowing wants a relationship with little, tiny, imperfect sinful ME! That is something worth praising Him for, worth living for, something worth centering our purpose around.

Here are some verses from my morning study about God's glory:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. -Psalm 19:1

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your lovingkindness, because of your truth. -Psalm 115:1

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 
-1 Cor. 10:31  

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in truth. It was for this He called you through our [the apostles] gospel, that you may gain the glory of Christ. -2 Thes. 2:13-14

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession. -Titus 2:11-14 

I heard this song {Amazed by Kutless} on the radio driving home today. Listen and worship!

 

See the rest of the 31 Days Here.

Day 9- Time

I think I've discovered that I need to change the layout of my day if I'm going to have quiet time with God everyday. For instance, I'm writing day 9 of day 10 ... 

I realized last night about 10pm that I needed to blog! Then it hit me that blogging isn't what this 31 Days is about. This month is between God and I and you just get to peak in at the process. God comes first, blog comes second. The other revelation form last night I mentioned already, I need to set aside a time in my day for the Lord, spending time with Him won't just happen and it's less likely to happen after noon.

So I decided last night to begin getting at least 45 minutes earlier, make coffee and breakfast and sit down with the Lord. That's what I did this morning and it was great! I'll post later about what I learned this morning.

See the rest of the 31 Days Here.

Day 8- Wherever You Are

Living in the moment has always been a problem for me. I'm a planner. I love to think about the next fun thing and plan it,  I obsess over know what my day tomorrow will look like, I like to know what's going on when and how we are going to get there, do it and all that jazz. This is a good thing, to an extent.

I often miss out in the now, and then miss it later. For instance, right now I am in my last semester of college, I don't know what I'm going to do with my major and I am SO ready to be done with school. I'm ready to know where we will be for next school year (when Jeff starts grad school), where we'll work, where we'll live. I'm just ready for the next step!

I have to remind my self to slow down and enjoy where I am at. I am taking some fantastic classes and if I'm not "all there" I'll miss out on the fun and the important learning experiences. If I'm too focused on the future I'll miss out on college, the friends, activities, campus life and I know that I will miss this time of life badly.

You would think after years and years of dealing with this problem I'd have it worked out, but no. It is hard to just trust the future to God and be in the moment.

It's Monday night and I'm procrastinating on writing a paper (a short paper) for my Russian Literature class, but here is my goal for this week- Wherever I am, to be all there. Whether its in class, doing homework, at work, spending time with Jeff or just relaxing, I'm going to be in the moment and trust the future to God.

You're prayers would be appreciated! And with that said, I'm going to go write my paper.

See the rest of my 31 Days Here.

Day 5- Purpose

Have you ever wondered- why am I here? What's my purpose?

I have.

John Piper says it well...

The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

I've never really understood the "religious" practices of denying/emptying of natural human desires. Weren't we given these desire for a reason? The need for love, accomplishment, recognition, joy, fun, and many other desires are easily corrupted but in God they are good.

God is Love.

Working for the Lord accomplishes His perfect plan.

We will share in Christ's glory.

In Christ their is joy in good and bad times.

God created the platypus-what's more funny or playful than a platypus?

Today (tonight) be still in His presence and ENJOY Him. We are building stronger relationships with Him-what is friendship, relationship, without love and enjoyment?

But how do you enjoy God?

Reflect on your blessings and thank Him for them.

Enjoy His creation.

Enjoy His gifts in a spirit of thankfulness. 

 

See the rest of the 31 Day Posts Here.

Day 3- God's Beauty

Fall is probably my favorite season for many reasons: Pumpkin lattes, pumpkins too, the delicious crisp smell in the air, new school supplies, etc.

But the thing I love best about Fall is how beautiful the trees get. The leaves start changing color and then the wind picks them up and tosses them in a rainbow of natural confetti. It is so beautiful.

Isn't creation beautiful? Isn't God beautiful?

Today I just want to reflect on His beauty, which is often revealed to us through His creation. And think of this-His creation is only a shadow of His glory!

Thank God today and worship Him in His beauty and power.

Here are some images that brought me to thank God for His beauty:

Read the rest of my 31 Days series Here.

Be Still- Day 2: Prayer

This last Sunday's sermon we went over Colossians 4:2 which says

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.

So i got to thinking about how thankful I've been lately, and how much I've actually been praying...

Praying is so easy, it's simply talking to God. So you'd think I'd be better about talking to the One who loves me more than I can dream possible. The Almighty God, maker of the heavens, the earth, mountains, rivers, animals, me, wants me to talk with Him.

It's so lame to say the reason...I get busy, I forget to pray, to be thankful. Oh, and when I do pray, it isn't always with an "attitude of thanks." I can be really selfish and bratty toward God. 

And yet, He still loves me.

 This little quote on Pinterest got me thinking:

Things I'm thankful for:

My husband, home, friends, my family and extended family, a warm day, ability to go to college, a warm sunny day, a good job, freedom to say things like this, freedom to worship God without fear of violent persecution, food in the fridge, gas in the car, pumpkin lattes, laughter, friends getting engaged, owning my own Bible, going to a Christian college, knowing that I am saved-a child of the Most High God.

There are so many things I am thankful for, things I need to thank God for and remember how He provides when I need an "attitude of thanks." 

What are you thankful for? How can I pray for you?

Day 1: Be Still

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth."

I think a good way to start off these 31 days would be to do a quick study of the inspiration verse above.

If you are going through this month with me, I encourage you to grab your Bible now or Google Psalm 46 and read it entirely. It's only 11 verses long, nice and short. We'll do it together, ready go.................

To really know what the meaning of a verse is we need to read it in context- that's why we just read all of chapter 46. I see three main sections in this verse:

First: verses 1-3: talks about not fearing because the Lord is our "refuge and strength." in other words the Lord's protection.

Second: Verses 4-7; This part is a little weird at first. There's this river, and then the earth is melted. Whaaa? Really this section is using poetic language (the Psalms are poetry bytheway) to show us the Lord's presence. He is in His Holy City, He is helping, protecting, He is there.

Third: Verses 8-11.This part shows God's might. He always wins His battles.This is showing the Lord's preeminence. (preeminence: simple definition: having the highest rank, honor, dignity, importance)

 To fully understand the meaning of truth of a verse we have to set it in it's original historical context as well.The Psalms were used for Hebrew worship and private devotions, they show a vast range of human emotion and experience all while praising God and acknowledging His power, greatness and love. Psalm 46 then is observing and telling the Israelite people that the peace and security of their nation was because of God. We all know that the Israelite nation has not always been at peace- this is because they broke their covenant with God. (see Exodus 19:5-6) Though this isn't a direct promise to believers today the principle and truth behind this passage are applicable to us.

Principles and Truths:

God is with us. (Matthew 28:20)

He is our protector. (John 10:27-29)

He is trustworthy. (John 14:1)

Therefore, because He is our protector, because He is always with us, and because He is above all others, we can be still (or cease striving) and know that He is God.

Application: Today I have been all too busy, striving with life, striving with work, striving with school, striving with God even. Go, go, go. Do, Do, Do. I need to cool it. I need to slow down, spend time in the Lord's presence. I need to Be Still, meditate on His word, and Know that He is God. He'll protect and provide for me, I don't need to worry. I don't have to work for His love and presence, He's already here.

That is what this month is about: slowing down and actually taking the time to study, meditate (think about and fill yourself with) on the Word, and get to Know God in a deeper way.

Are you ready to Know the Lord? I am. 

See the other 31 Days Here.

For this study I used Libronix Digital Library. It's a fantastic Bible study tool. It was a required "text" for my school and SO worth the money put in to it!

Be Still - 31 Days

I have been a "Christian" as long as I can remember. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was about 5 years old sitting on the living room couch with my momma.When I was 12 I realized what "Christianity" was really all about.

Let me explain why I use quotation marks: Christianity is far more than a religion, a bunch of rules, or some sort of action-consequence-god-induced-karma. I say "Christianity" because until I was 12 I thought of it as simply going to church, praying for meals and going to heaven one day.

 I was that Sunday school kid who knew ALL the right answers and was the disdainful little goody-two-shoes in elementary school. When I was 12 I attended summer camp (I had been to summer camps before mind you) but God met me there and I realize I was missing out- missing out on a relationship with Jesus. Now I knew and had said these things before, but it hadn't sunk in until just then. I rededicated my life to God and asked him to be not just my Savior, God and Father, but be a friend to me, a lover in a sense that I would know Him fully and completely.

At 21 years old I am not perfect and by all means have not made Jesus the Lord of my everyday life. I have so much to learn, so much room to grow, and so many faults to be pruned away. I want today to be another turning point in my walk with the Lord, and I want to share it with you.

There is a lot of talk in the "blogger-sphere" about the Nesting Place's 31 Days. Basically she challenged blogger to blog about one subject for the 31 days of October and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to accountably still myself before the Lord.

For the next 31  days I'm going to blog about my walk with the Lord, what I read that day, hot topics, Sermons, whatever the Lord has put before me for that day. I hope you join me in this. I'm calling it
31 Days to Be Still.

This is based off of Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exulted among the nations, I will be exulted in the earth."

Each day I'll add a link below so it will be easy-peasy to find all 31 days. May God bless this next month.

Day 1- Be Still- Psalm 46:10
Day 2- Prayer with Thankfulness 
Day 3- God's Beauty 
Day 4- Think on these things
Day 5- Purpose
Day 6+7
Day 8-Wherever You Are
Day Nine- Time 
Day 10- God's Glory 
Day 11- Draw Near 
Day 12- Christian Lady 
Day 13+14- Oswald Chambers 
Day 15- Praying for your Husband 
Day 16+17+18- God's Love 
Day 19,20,21- Priorities
Day 22,23,24- Philippians
Day 27- Don't be Selfish 
Day 28- A Day of Rest 
Day 31- Wrap Up

Life is like...

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."         -Forrest Gump

Taken over a year ago on a family vacation. BTW, i LOVE shrimp!

I love that movie. (Forrest Gump is a must see if you haven't already!) There is so much to think about in one two hour film. Parenting, bullies, friendship, schooling, war, social fads, sports, relationships, death, new life and of course love.

When Jeff and I watched it tonight the quote above got me thinking- do really not know what you are going to get? Are our lives simply left to fate and the which chocolate piece we unknowingly pick out of the box?

There is some truth to fate/destiny I think, at least in our not knowing what the future holds. We can't with absolute certainty say that  in 5 years we'll own our own home, or even that tomorrow I will be in class. Of course I plan on being in class and I really do want to be there but things can happen-alarms don't go off, flat tires, traffic, accidents. Life certainly does hold the unexpected and it is silly of us to think that we can control our lives completely. 

It would also be silly to think that we are robots and have no control over our lives. We choose what we wear, where we go, what we say and how we react to life. Our decisions result in consequences, good or bad, and it is our choice which way to go.

It is said that the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes. I can add another thing to that list: God's love and perfect plan are certain. Even though I don't know what I'm gonna get, God does "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) God has a plan for my life. My choices will effect how I get to His final destination, but I'll get there because another thing I am absolutely certain of is my life will end in my entrance into heaven.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." (Philippians 1:6)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and he will help you." (Psalm 37:5)

Weather: Guest Post

So I know this fantastic artist named Deanna. She loves her children deeply, and she has lots of kids because she seems to "adopt" every kid who comes through youth group. She is capable of such love because of her faith and love in Jesus Christ. She is artistic, loving, caring, wise, very funny, way cooler then me... oh and she happens to be my MOM! No worries, I'm not biased, everything I say about her is true and can be backed up by any of her other "kids."

Today's post comes from her blog An Artist Currently Known as Starving. One thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE about her blog is that she posts pictures of her art work along with an explanation of what she was thinking and meaning when she created it. Every piece of art comes with a touching lesson, and occasionally a silly story about her own children too :) Click HERE to read about her version of "Small Talk." This subject is very near and dear to me and something I've carried into my own life. Maybe you will too!

READ IT NOW!

Original Art Work by Deanna

Not Feeling It

My deepest desire is truly to know God better.

Sunday School How-To: Read your Bible, pray, go to church.

I do those things but I never feel closer to God.

I was listening to Air1 today in the car and the radio host was talking between songs about a letter he'd gotten from a lady, and I started crying. She talked about how she never felt God and that made her question her faith or if there was even a God, because if he was so loving, shouldn't she feel him? Then she realized that we aren't the one who draw close to God, He draws close to us.  We may try to get closer to Him, but we are human and He is all powerful.

I'm not exactly like this woman, I know unshakably that God is there and that He loves me, but like her I hardly ever feel God. What I realized when listening to her story was that I, despite my whole life in church being told otherwise, was trying to be good enough, do more, find that feeling on my own. I also realized that my faith is stronger because I don't always feel Him, but I know, believe and have faith that He is there.

The Lord loves me, He will never forsake me, He is awesome, beautiful, powerful, gentle, fierce, and holy. I am not good enough, strong enough, humble enough to earn His love or the feeling of it. The Lord Almighty will draw close to me if I seek Him with all my heart. (Jer. 29:13, James 4:8)

It's a huge weight off my shoulders that I don't have to work for the relationship and though I may still not feel Him, that's not the point. I want to know Him and have a deeper understanding of Him. So I'm going to keep reading and praying and fellowshiping but it won't be to earn anything but to know and love Him more.

Pray Without Ceasing? How?

Thessalonians5:17 tells us to "Pray without ceasing." I'll be the first to admit that I am terrible about this.

Now, this verse isn't necessarily saying that we must be in constant verbal and mental conversation with God because that just isn't possible. You can't hold two conversations at once, and if you can, well you are one of the few.
What God (the three in one-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) wants is a relationship with us, to be the biggest part of our day, to be in conversation with us, and the one guiding us. This only comes through continual conversation.

Prayer is like our cell phones. If you are like me, my cell phone is always in my pocket, I'm constantly checking the time and new messages, and if I forget it at home I feel sort of naked. Prayer should be the same way- constantly checking in with God.

Prayer is like talking to a best friend too. I love that I can call up Nikki and tell her about my day, from the most insignificant trifles to the catastrophes. God wants to hear it all, and not just when you tuck yourself in at night and remember at the last minute to thank Him for your day, but continually without ceasing.

There are a lot of things that remind me to talk to God.
-A beautiful sunrise, or light filled clouds bring praises of his beauty.
-Children's smiles and laughter make me thank him for his creation.
-Ambulance sirens remind me to pray for the health and safety of others-family, friends and strangers.

But there is one strange little thing that just reminds me to talk to Him, to say "hi" and just talk. It may be silly, but squirrels remind me to pray.

I love them, with their big bushy tails and quick playful movements. They fill me with joy. God began "communicating" with me/reminding me of His presence with squirrels at a cross country meet.

As most people know, I am not a long distance runner, I was built for speed and savor the 100 meter dash. But here I was in a 4 mile race, my knees and shins and hips hurt, I was angry and humiliated to be in last place and I wasn't in any mood to smile. But then God sent a big grey squirrel to run directly in front of me and up a tree. It was like He was saying, "I know it hurts, but remember I Am still here."
I didn't experience immediate healing, or go on to run my fastest race ever, but I was humbled and happy to be running in His presence.

So what is it that reminds you to pray? If you don't have a "prayer trigger" pick something (I started by picking Ambulances) and pray that God would send you a reminder, a glimpse of His presence.