The Prayer of Love

Gracious Lord,
Thy name is love,
in love receive my prayer.

My sins are more than the wide sea's sand,
but where sin abounds, there is grace more abundant.
Look to the cross of thy beloved Son,
and view the preciousness of his atoning blood;
Listen to his never-failing intercession,
and whisper to my heart, "Thy sins are forgiven,
be of good cheer, lie down in peace."
Grace cataracts from heaven and flows for ever,
and mercy never wearies in bestowing benefits.
Grant me more and more to prize the privilege of prayer,

to come to thee as a sin-soiled sinner,
to find pardon in thee,
to converse with thee;
to know thee in prayer as
the path in which my feet tread,
the latch upon the door of my lips,
the light that shines through my eyes,
the  music of my ears,
the marrow of my understanding,
the strenght of my will,
the power of my affection,
the sweetness of my memory.

May the matter of my prayer be always wise, humble, submissive, obedient, scriptural, Christ-like.
Give me unwavering faith that supplications are never in vain,
that if I seem not to obtain my petitions
I shall have larger, richer answers,
surpassing all that I ask or think.
Unsought, thou hast given me the greatest gift,
the person of thy Son,
and in him thou wilt give me all I need.



the cry of my heart this morning; from the prayer book of the saints before us;
"The Valley of Vision"


asking for grace these next few days while Amy and I are working in the ICU's;
all of  grace,
Robbie

The Church of all Nations- Jerusalem

(Re- posting some pictures this holiday season with information from our trip to Israel................longing to go back to a place that I feel is truly a part of me);

The Catholic church enshrines a section of stone in the Garden of Gethsemane that is believed to be where Jesus prayed on the night of his arrest (Matthew 26:36).

Inside, the symbols of each country that contributed to the church are incorporated into the inlaid gold ceilings of each of 12 cupolas. The 12 cupolas rest on six monolithic pillars.

The domed roof, thick pillars, and floor mosaic give the church a Byzantine appearance

The front of the church features a colorful facade supported by a row of pillars. The mosaic above the entrance depicts Christ as the link between God and humanity

The Church of All Nations, officially named the Basilica of the Agony, is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem next to the Garden of Gethsemane. 

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

--Matthew 26:36-39

History

The modern church stands on the foundations of two ancient churches: a 4th-century Byzantine basilica, destroyed by an earthquake in 746 and a 12th-century Crusader chapel, which was abandoned in 1345.
The Basilica of the Agony was built from 1919-24 with funding from 12 different countries, which gave it its nickname: "the Church of All Nations."

 

The architect of the building was Antonio Barluzzi, who also designed the nearby Dominus Flevit Church.

The basilica's three aisles culminate in three apses at the east end, which are decorated with mosaics depicting biblical events in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the center, the high altar overlooks a large slab of rock, which is said to be the very rock on which Jesus prayed in agony on the night of his betrayal.
The Church of All Nations is run by the Franciscans, but an open altar in the garden is used by the Anglican community on Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday).

all of grace,

Robbie

"God with us"

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel-

which means, God with us."  Matthew 1:22-23

God with us-

One of God's promises to us- is that he will never leave us nor forsake us.

Clarence lay there in his ICU bed, dying. There was nothing more that we- the medical team could do. His family was on their way. We were not sure if they would make it in time. I wish that I could say that he was not in pain, but he was. I wish that I could say that his death was peaceful, but it wasn't.

He did suffer before the end. At one point- the turning  point of the end- I looked straight into his eyes and said- You are very sick and there is nothing more that we can do. Clarence, you are dying. After a brief silence, I asked him if he knew Jesus.  He quickly said yes- he changed after that point. No more did he cry out just in pain- he cried out for Jesus. Begging Jesus to help him.

As the end came closer- several of us had gathered around the bed- his family still not there yet. He begin to say over and over again- God is with me.... God is with me.... I silently prayed for him- asking God to forgive any sins that he may have and to be with him and keep him comfortable.  Over and Over.... " God is with me".

I felt God in his room- I felt- protected- like we were in a glass bubble- one that could never pop. It is hard to explain, unless you have been with someone dying. He was dying, but only to live in eternity with our savior.

Clarence- you are going to be spending Christmas with Jesus this year. The one who made it possible for all of us. There was a peace in that room at that  moment. A peace a calmness. His nurse cradled his head in her arms. Minutes before he took his last breath, his family arrived. They were able to be with him for his last minutes on this earth. There was not a dry eye in the room.

We were in the room as his soul left his earthly body and rose to be with our king. His last words on this earth were... God is with me.   I thought about the word- Immanuel- God with us. He came over 2000 years ago to be with us and he is keeping his promise- as Clarence said just minutes before taking his last breath- God is with me.

In His Service,

Amy

Christmas is coming

There is something about the air this season.................it is turning...........bitter and cold.

The wind of this season has hit me hard.

I feel it and I see it...........our hearts in this house are not the ready for Christmas!

We are the running...............the spending.............the decorating. But what about our hearts?

Isn't this the time of year that we should be preparing our hearts?

As I drive down the roads............... I have never seen such lights...........Christmas lights. The beauty of them twinkling into the dark hours of the night. But have we missed it?  Missed it in this hustle and bustle of the season?   Have we missed the true meaning of Christmas?

It seems easier for us to decorate our homes than to open our hearts to God?

As I walk through the hospital halls I can see it......................even taste it.........the pain of grief!

And yet I have to ask myself, "What is the true meaning of Christmas?"

I have wasted too many moments with the frustrations of this life. So I ask myself today...............what have I done to open my heart up for Christ to come in?

To rid me of stinking self...........knowing the way up is down!

There is still time.............only a few more days......... to slow down and be ready........ready for His coming.

And the truest gift we can give this season is to surrender...........surrender our lives for the opening of our hearts to Christ so we will be ready when HE returns!

Are you ready? He is coming!

Joel 2:1  Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand--

all of grace,

Robbie

Jewels

The day............ Julie stepped off this earth into eternity...............I was running around crazy getting ready for a Christmas program at church. Funny how the pain of life can sometimes stop you right in your tracks.

And what is growing without hurting?

What is pain without grieving?

It was the morning when I didn't want to wake to pray that husband said the words I never wanted to hear. One of your high-school friends was killed yesterday.
But I hadn't known because the world that is spinning has been spinning me a bit disoriented lately.

I look at him as the tears swell and tell him; " I don't know how to pray anymore."
And this thing called growing in HIM doesn't shield you from that.
Sometimes I want to step off.........run away to somewhere far......far......away....where death is no longer and good people don't have to die.
I put my feet on the ground not knowing what to do............I walk to the kitchen...........there is trash over-flowing.........dishes piled in the sink, laundry on the floor.
One of the teens slam the front door as she is leaving and it is me who is seeing the filth of my sins. Who am I? I scream.............me a wretched woman with unclean lips who has had a story book life. But not Julie...............she has never had a story book life!
 It is then that I wonder why on Earth I allow the things that annoy me to sacrifice my own happiness?

I think about Julie finally being whole again..............dancing with her Savior. It is now that I realize how I wish I would have lived my life so different. Not wanting to lose any more moments that matter.
Not wanting to continue to RUSH around my day not even noticing that things that truly matter.
If Julie could speak to us now I have a feeling she would say to us all;  "don't miss it......don't miss the mundane things in the everyday life that God gives us. Stop, smell, and notice the gifts that God gives us everyday.........the sun rising in the morning glistening through the trees..........the leaves falling in the winter............the flowers blooming in the Spring!" She would want us to WAKE up to the blessings in our lives.....and to thank God for them in the moment in this now. Don't waste another moment in this life letting the things of this world still our joy.

John 10:10

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

My heart breaks for a friend who words of wisdom were so easily at my finger tips but now are gone...........and it us the living that will continue on in a world that continues to spin and people continue to hurt.............but where we can still have HOPE. So when the grief of this world gets to us I feel like I know what Julie would say............."breath and say His name Immanuel because you are never alone so you never have to be afraid!"  

Matthew 1:23

²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[a] (which means “God with us”).

There will be an ache..........a haunting remembrance of a girl who stood by her faith who gave us all direction by her wisdom. Rest easy my friend you are seeing His face just a little ahead of the rest of us.
She has stepped out of our dark world into the Light............to a God in heaven who loves.
 He LOVED the world so much He GAVE................his only SON for us.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(John 3:16)

;weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)


all of grace,
Robbie

Prayer Room

Prayer Room at the Cove

The only thing that keeps me from prayer is me. It's Wednesday and Monday almost destroyed me. I left the house Monday at 6am.  I didn't come home until 930pm. I feel no joy today with the everything being completely drained from me. Sometimes I wonder;  "is this it Lord?"

I want to stop and pray but I CAN'T!

I rolled over this morning and pretended I was too tired.

I have told Him before that I live in Babylon...........................and he gently whispers again; " so did Daniel."

So how did he do it stop three times to pray?

There is always one more crumb to wipe up........ and the piles of laundry that continue to grow and I can't help myself I don't know how to slow down and just breath.

And all the while it is my soul that is starving.

I am too busy with self!

The sun is shining through the coldness this morning and it's only my "excuses," that keep from the King.

 It is me who claims to want to know Him............so why is it that I consider me and my agenda more important?

He commands that we grow to a stillness............and know that He is God!

It's time to ask myself; "Do I really want to know Jesus?"

Remembering the way up is down.......It 's time to bow the low and pour out my heart like dirty water.

It's the inner washing that I need....................to step out of this world into the quietness of Him.

After all doesn't Christ dwell in a house of prayer? (Luke 19:46)

“Now when Daniel… he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” -Daniel 6:10

This is transformation! Kneeling three times a day not to ask but to praise. This is where we find refuge away from a lost World that is spinning.

IT'S A CHOICE!!! You and I can choose to STOP, to kneel and pray. It a choice to stop letting LIFE rule us. PRAYER takes our eyes off of us and puts our eyes on the one true thing that matters....."Christ!"

To live in this moment is a choice............Want you make it boldly with me today?

I am choosing to stop and sing praises to the King.

all of grace,

Robbie

Praising Him for all things big and small:

-the Christmas tree that looks like it belongs at South Park Mall

date night with hubby

Lights of Festival at my church

teens giggling into the wee hours of the morning

the laundry that is over-flowing

bare trees

cold crisp mornings

stillness in the darkness

seeing through His eyes

the longing for simplicity

the gift of eternity

Weekends are for pouring your heart out

I open the washing machine door to a clank, clank..........it is a quarter.......then I see a empty candy wrapper, three balloons. I gather all that has come out in the wash!

It's steady rhythm going around and around...............washing away the dirt of life.

May your weekend be one of asking.........to be washed in His blood.


Pour out your heart this weekend like dirty water.


all of grace,
Robbie