A Pair of Bartletts

Prayer For Evening

A quiet prayer of reflection after a very long day. I still need reminding that my cup truly does run over.

~~Wife of Rob

Journeying Into Fall

I love it when my kitchen is filled with the warm candle scent of an inviting Fall filled with warm peaches, apples and berries mixed with yummy spices.  And even better, on a day that is finally letting a cooler spell of weather take it's place over the hot and sticky summer that is finally coming to a close.  This has to be one of the most favorites times of year for me.  I love the rainbows of changing leaves, my front yard littered with pecans from the 100 year old pecan tree and watching the squirrels run around with sheer glee as they scramble for all of the plump pecans...as many as their cute little paws can hold.  And I can't be upset at them in their gathering.....there is plenty for them and for us.   In fact, there are more than enough to serve us humans and as many of the little scampering squirrels as possible.  I have the best time watching those little guys.  Some days they run around as if they can't believe their little eyes.  They almost don't know where to start with their harvest!  God was so generous to us when He created all of the beauty that He did for our sheer enjoyment!  He could have easily made this a black and white dull place to be.  He could have created it any way that He wanted to create it.  But, in His infinite wisdom and because of His great love for his finest creation (that's us!), He created a place that could be enjoyed and treasured by us humans.  I am so thankful that when He created our surroundings that He did give us things like this that could bring such great pleasure.....be it the scents from a simple candle or the squirrel army in my front yard!

As I was sitting here reading and studying, I came across another of the Puritan prayers in The Valley of Vision; Puritan Prayers and Devotions that I enjoyed reading today.  So, I'll leave you with this from The Valley of Vision; Puritan Prayers and Devotions--

JOURNEYING ON

LORD OF THE CLOUD AND FIRE,

I am a stranger, with a stranger's indifference;

   My hands hold a pilgrim's staff,

   My march is Zionward,

   My Eyes are toward the coming of the Lord,

   My heart is in thy hands without reserve.

Thou has created it,

    redeemed it,

    renewed it,

    captured it,

    conquered it.

Keep from it every opposing foe,

     crush it in every rebel lust,

     mortify every treacherous passion,

     annihilate every earthborn desire,

All faculties of my being vibrate to thy touch;

I love thee with soul, mind, body, strength,

     might, spirit, affection, will,

      desire, intellect, understanding.

Thou art the very perfection of all perfections;

All intellect is derived from thee;

My scanty rivulets flow from they unfathomable 

       fountain.

Compared with thee the sun is darkness,

       all beauty deformity,

       all wisdom folly,

       the best goodness faulty.

Thou art worthy of an adoration greater than

        my dull heart can yield;

Invigorate my love that it may rise worthily 

          to thee,

   tightly entwine itself round thee,

   be allured by thee.

Then shall my walk be endless praise.

Praise Him Anyway

Here's the run down--

• My Dad's in the hospital
• My husband has to have a major surgery during Christmas
• My husband and I are dealing with infertility
• Got to have a painful HSG at the hospital before the end of the month
• I am beyond tired and worn out 
• I've been working tirelessly at my office and when I get home 

Guess how I handled of of this tonight?  How, you ask?  Like a loser.  Like someone who had lost every ounce of religion that they ever had.  Like someone who had no Christian witness whatsoever. Like someone who couldn't think of anything better to do than let their sorry attitude get the best of them.  That's how I handled it.  All of the above.  

Now that my husband has forgiven me for letting a rotten attitude hang out, I've been sitting up here in the bed (while he's been downstairs doing schoolwork), reading, pondering, praying, studying God's word....and asking forgiveness from the Father for the way that I let all of this "get" me.  I'm certainly not minimizing the fact that I am stressed.  I am.  I'm stressed...seriously.  It's just that I should have handled it MUCH differently than I chose to handle it.  At any rate, as I studied tonight, trying to learn something from all of this, I was reminded of two things. The first thing was as simple as the post that I put up on Monday, which contains the memory verses that I'm supposed to be working on this week!  Those verses  should have been on my lips as soon as I began letting my flesh take over tonight:

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:15-17

I can't begin to tell you how I wish now that I had already finished the memorization and had recalled them earlier tonight.  As for the second thing that I learned as I studied is that I should be praising the Lord NO MATTER WHAT.  Would you like to know what my list should have looked like?

• My Dad is alive and has great care from some outstanding physicians
• My husband has the greatest hip surgeon on the planet and is going to be pain free in BOTH hips once the left hip is replaced
• God knows the plans for our family, regardless
• I am thankful for one of the greatest (and smartest) OBGYN's on the planet, who I also consider a "friend", as well as a doctor.  I'm so thankful that the Lord introduced us to each other several years ago.  She has a great laugh and is fun to laugh with, even in the midst of painful circumstances.
• I'm called in this life to serve others.  I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I want to be a Proverbs 31 woman/wife.

This list looks a little brighter, don't you think?  I will leave you with another writing from The Valley of Vision that I really love to read, as much as the one from yesterday's post.  I pray you will be blessed.

EVENING PRAISE

GIVER OF ALL,

Another day is ended 

and I take my place beneath

my great Redeemer's cross,

    where healing streams continually descend,

    where balm is poured into every wound,

    where I wash anew in the all-cleansing blood,

    assured that thou seest in me no spots of sin.

Yet a little while and I shall go to thy home 

    and be no more seen;

Help me to gird up the loins of my mind,

    to quicken my step,

    to speed as if each moment were my last,

that my life be joy, my death glory,

I thank thee for the temporal blessings

    of this world--

the refreshing air,

the light of the sun,

the food that renews strength,

the raiment that clothes,

the dwelling that shelters,

the sleep that gives rest,

the starry canopy of night,

the summer breeze,

the flowers' sweetness,

the music of flowing streams,

the happy endearments of family,

kindred, friends.

Things animate, things inanimate, minister 

    to my comfort.

My cup runs over.

Suffer me not to be insensible to these

    daily mercies.

Thy hand bestows blessings: thy power averts evil,

I bring my tribute of thanks for spiritual graces,

    the full warmth of faith,

    the cheering presence of thy Spirit,

    the strength of thy restraining will,

    thy spiking of hell's artillery.

Blessed be my sovereign Lord!

A prayer for you....and for me

I would like to start out this post with my own disclaimer.   I would never recommend replacing daily prayers strictly and totally with those written by others.  The Father has given me a direct line of communication with Him through my faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.  However, I have found some prayers that are from time to time useful in bible study and meditation, such as one of my favorite books of prayer, The Valley of Vision.  This book of Puritan prayers is one that I have incorporated into my own time with the Lord and have really been blessed by reading them.  (I started reading my husband's copy so much that he went out and ordered me the leather bound version and had my name engraved on it....just so he could get his own little paperback copy back!)

I tell you this because I thought I would pass along one of my favorites from this book.  It's the prayer simply entitled "Sleep".  I think one my favorite parts of it is the charge that it gives to us, reminding us that just the mere act of sleep should remind us that every time we close our eyes, we become one step closer to the grave.  What a great reminder to us of how we should live each day and take each breath as if it should be our last!  In addition to that, I also love the request for rest and no evil dreams that would cause us anything less.  

So, when you find yourself pondering and praying over the sleep that you need, here is something that you can incorporate into your time with the Lord.  Like I said, I'm not encouraging you to stop praying your own prayers from your heart, but I hope that you will find the usefulness in these writings that I have found.

Restful and peaceful sleep to you,

SLEEP

Blessed Creator,

Thou has promised thy beloved sleep;

Give me restoring rest needful for tomorrow’s toil.

If dreams be mine,

let them not be tinged with evil.

Let thy Spirit make my time of repose

a blessed temple of his holy presence.

May my frequent lying down make me familiar with death,

the bed I approach remind my of the grave,

the eyes I now close picture to me their final closing.

Keep me always ready, waiting for admittance

to they presence.

Weaken my attachment to earthly things.

May I hold life loosely in my hand,

knowing that I receive it on condition of its surrender.

As pain and suffering betoken transitory health,

may I not shrink from a death that introduces me

to the freshness of eternal youth.

I retire this night in full assurance of one day

awakening with thee.

All glory for this blessed hope,

for the gospel of grace,

for thine unspeakable gift of Jesus,

for the fellowship of the Trinity.

Withhold not thy mercies in the night season;

thy hand never wearies,

thy power needs no repose,

thine eye never sleeps.

Help me when I helpless lie,

when my conscience accuses me of sin,

when my mind is harassed by foreboding thoughts,

when my eyes are held awake by personal anxieties.

Show thyself to me as the God of all grace, love and power;

thou hast a balm for every wound,

a solace for all anguish,

a remedy for every pain,

a peace for all disquietude.

Permit me to commit myself to thee

awake or sleep.

Amen.