The Salty Peanut Gallery

We pray for blessings…

Lord, bless this day. Bless this food. Bless our efforts. Bless our worship. Bless the pastor as he delivers the message.

Lord, give us Your peace, Your comfort, Your healing, Your tender mercies. Enlarge our territory. Be with us and stay close beside us. Keep us from harm. Keep us free from pain.

Lord, give us Your wisdom, Your understanding. Lead, guide and direct us. Show us Your face. Reveal Your mighty hand.

We cry in anger…

Sometimes life is difficult. Sometimes we have to do without. Sometimes our efforts are futile, our worship is empty, Your word doesn’t inspire us. Sometimes no matter how hard we pray, we can’t find peace, comfort, healing. No matter how fervently we seek Your face, the way seems unclear.

It’s as if You’re not even there. Lord, don’t you even care? Can’t You see I’m suffering? Can’t You see I’m at the end of my rope?

And all the while, You hear each desperate plea…

“I am weary of my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
while I wait for my God” (Psalm 69:3).

And long that we’d have faith to believe…

“Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1-2).

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us…

There’ve been so many who have called us “friend” only to turn on us, abandoned us, deeply wound us, family members who’ve inflicted such hurt, such pain. The ache seems so unbearable, the darkness so hopeless, so endless.

We know the pain reminds this heart…this is not our home.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).”

Oh, how I long for home.

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ (Revelation 21:4-5)”

And what if trials of this life…

“My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3).

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights…
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Are Your mercies in disguise.

Thank you, God, for your many blessings.

Blessings
Copyright © 2011 Laura Story

“Yep, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Words to live by. I know it’s been weeks since I’ve written anything. And it’s not like I haven’t tried. I’ve started at least three different posts and have ideas for three or four more, but I just can’t seem to get a minute to do any writing. It’s been a busy summer. We went to the beach for a week; that was good. There was summer camp with the youth group; that was exhausting. I picked out Christmas music for the choir; that took a couple of weeks. My son came home for a week; that was fun. Then there were the renovations at work. And now summertime’s nearly over and it’s back to the grind. Whew!

I always look forward to summer to kind of get a break from the normal grind. Having a break is a good thing, as long as you’re not just exchanging one rat race for another. You know what they say, “All work and no play…”

This morning I saw the most beautiful sunrise while I was out for my morning run. Thank you, Lord, for a broken treadmill. The air was crisp and the sky was clear the way it usually is right after a storm. My driveway runs east to west and I could just see the horizon over the treetops beginning to turn red with the dawn. The gravels in the driveway crunched beneath my feet; the sounds of nature were all around.

In the distance I could just make out a squadron of indistinguishable black dots flying in perfect formation coming directly toward me. As they drew near I realized I was seeing a flock of geese. How on earth do they know to do that, to fly together like that so perfectly? Not the product of evolution; surely this can only be evidence of the hand of God.

My driveway is exactly two tenths of a mile. Five laps up and back equals two miles. With each successive turn the light of the sun got a little brighter, its warmth radiated a little more. By the end of my run it had risen a full finger above the trees and I basked in its glow. Thank you, Lord, for keeping me injury free yet another day. Thank you for the beauty of your creation.

What did Jesus do when He was feeling stress? After the feeding of the five thousand, certainly a very stressful day of ministry, we’re told in Mathew chapter 14 that He immediately loaded the disciples into a boat and sent them across the Sea of Galilee. Verse 23 says, “And after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone.”

Ever wonder what Jesus talked about to His Heavenly Father? Did He ask for direction? Did He ask for strength? Wonder what He saw up there on the top of that mountain? Did He see the sunset? Surely He saw the storm clouds forming that lay ahead. I can almost picture Him sitting on a rock somewhere under a sycamore tree and just worshiping in the beauty of the Father’s creation.

When we’re tired and feeling stressed, that’s the time when we can be the most vulnerable…vulnerable to temptation, vulnerable to discouragement, vulnerable to despair. On my GPS there’s a place up in the mountains on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park about forty minutes from my house that I’ve labeled “Best Sunset”. My wife and I found it together on our anniversary. While amusement and relaxation has its place, sometimes what I really need more than anything is to dismiss the crowds, the cares and concerns, the sources of stress and go up on the mountain, and watch a sunset, and worship the Lord, and pray. Life moves pretty fast, ya know.